Connecticut western news., 1894-12-27
FIRE WORSHIPERS.
REV.. DR. TAlMAGE INVESTIGATES
 ThE eARSEE RELIGION.


 Parsss Marriage-Zoroaster and Christ.
 BRooNYN. Dec. 2S.-Rev. Dr. Tal- mage, continuing his series of round the world sermons through the press, chose today for his subject "The Fire Worshipers, the text selected being Matthew ii. 1, ''There came wise men from the east to Jerusalem"
 These wise men were the Parsees or the so called fire worshipers, and I found their descendants in India last October. Their heathenism is more toll erable than any of the other false reli- gions and has more alleviations, and while in this round the world se- ries Ihave already shown you the worst forms of heathenisn today show you the least offensive.
 The prophet of the Parsees was Zo- roasser of Persia. He was poet and philosopher and reformer as we'll as .religionist His disciples thrived at first in Persia, but under Mohammedan persecution they retreated to India, where I met them, and in addition to what saw of them at their headquar- ters in Bombay, India, had two weeks of association with one of the most learned and genial of their people on shipboard from Bombay to Brindisi.
 Parsee Religion.
 Tho Bible of the Parsees, or fire wor- shipers, las they are inaccurately call ed. is the Zend-Avesta. a collection of the strangest books that ever came into my hands. There were originally 21 volumes, but Alexander the Great, in a drunken fit, set fire to palace which , contained Eome of them, and they went into ashes xntf forgetfulness. But there arc more of their sacred volumes left than most people would have patience to read There are many things in the religion of the Parsees that suggest Christianity, and some of its doctrines are in accord with our own religion. Zoroaster, who lived about 1, 400 years before Christ, was good man, suffered persecution for his faith and was assas- sinated while worshiping at an altar. He announced the theory, "He is best who is pure of heart" and that there are two great spirits in the world, Ormusd, the good spirit, and Ahriman, the bad spirit, and that all who do right are under the influence of Or musd, and all who do wrong are un- der Ahriman; that the Parsee must be born on the ground floor of the house and must be buried from the ground floor; that the dying man must have prayers said ever him and sacred juice given him to drink; that the good at their deoease go into eternal light and the bad into eternal darkness; that, having passed out of this life, the soul fingers near tho corpse three days in paradisaic st.ate, enJoying moro than all the nations of earth put together could enjoy or in a pandemoniao state, suffering more than all the nations put together could possibly suffer, but at the end of three days departing for its final destiny, and that there will be resurrection of the body. They are more careful than any other people about their ablutions, and they wash and wash and wash. They pay great atten- tion to physical health, and it is rare thing to zee sick Parsee. They do not smoke tobacco, for they consider that misuse of fire.
 At the close of mortal life the soul appears at the bridge Chinvat, where an angel presides and questions the soul about the thoughts and words and deeds of it's earthly state. Nothing, however, is moro intense in the Parsee faith than the theory that the dead body is impure. A devil is supposed to take possession of the dead body. All who touch it are unolean, and hence the strange style of obsequies But here must give three or four questions and answers from one of the Parsee cateohisms:
 P.rsee Cateohism.
 Question Who is the most fortunate man in the worldf
 Answers-He who is the most inno- cent.
 Q-Who is the most innocent man in the world?
 Ale who walks in the path of God and shuns that of the devil.
 (Which is the path of God and which that of the devil?
 A.-Virtue is the path of God and vice that of the devil
 Q-What constitutes virtue and what vice?
 A-0ood thoughts. good words and good deeds constitute virtue, and evil thoughts, evil words and evil deeds constitute vice.
 Q.-What constitute good thoughts, good words and good deeds and evil thoughts. evil words and evil deedsa
 A.-Honesty, charity and truthful ness constitute the former, and dishon- esty, want of charity and falsehood con- stitute the latter.
 And now the better to show you these PArsees I tell you of two things I saw within short time in Bombay, India It was an afternoon of contrast
 We started for Malabar hill, on which the wealthy classes have their embowered homes and the Parsees their strange temple of the dead As we rode soending the sky, and disciple of Zo- roaster, Parsee, was in lowly posture and with reverential gaze looking into the sky. He would have been said to have been worshiping the sun, as all Parsees are said to worship the fire. But the intelligent Parsee does not worship the fire. He looks upon the sun as the emblem of the warmth and light of the Creator. Looking at blaze of light, whether on hearth. on mountain height or in the sky, he can more easily bring to mind the glory of God-aat least so the Pmsees tell me. Indeed they are the pleasantest heathen have met. They tress their wives as equals, while the Hindoos and Buddhists treat them as cattle, although the cattle and sheep and swine are better of than most of the women of India
 This Parsee on the roadside on our way to Malabar hill was the only one of that religion had ever seen engaged in worship. Who knows but that be- yond the light of the sun on which he gazes he may catch glimpse of the God who is light and ''in whom there is no darkness at all2''