Isis Unveiled

VOL. II. -- THEOLOGY.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Volume II: THE "INFALLIBILITY" OF MODERN RELIGION.

PREFACE

Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson and Baroness Burdett-Coutts.

Second Volume.

THE "INFALLIBILITY" OF MODERN RELIGION

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CHAPTER II.

THE CHURCH: WHERE IS IT?

Church statistics . . . 1

Catholic "miracles" and spiritualistic "phenomena". . . 4

Christian and Pagan beliefs compared . . . 10

Magic and sorcery practised by Christian clergy . . . 20

Comparative theology a new science . . . 25

Eastern traditions as to Alexandrian Library . . . 27

Roman pontiffs imitators of the Hindu Brahm-atma . . . 30

Christian dogmas derived from heathen philosophy . . . 33

Doctrine of the Trinity of Pagan origin . . . 45

Disputes between Gnostics and Church Fathers . . . 51

Bloody records of Christianity . . . 53

CHAPTER II.

CHRISTIAN CRIMES AND HEATHEN VIRTUES.

Sorceries of Catherine of Medicis . . . 55

Occult arts practised by the clergy . . . 59

Witch-burnings and auto-da-fe of little children . . . 62

Lying Catholic saints . . . 74

Pretensions of missionaries in India and China . . . 79

Sacrilegious tricks of Catholic clergy . . . 82

Paul a kabalist . . . 91

Peter not the founder of Roman church . . . 91

Strict lives of Pagan hierophants . . . 98

High character of ancient "mysteries" . . . 101

Jacolliot's account of Hindu fakirs . . . 103

Christian symbolism derived from Phallic worship . . . 109

Hindu doctrine of the Pitris . . . 114

Brahminic spirit-communion ... 115

Dangers of untrained mediumship . . . 117

CHAPTER III.

DIVISIONS AMONGST THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

Resemblance between early Christianity and Buddhism . . . 123

Peter never in Rome . . . 124

Meanings of "Nazar" and "Nazarene" . . . 129

Baptism a derived right . . . 134

Is Zoroaster a generic name? . . . 141

Pythagorean teachings of Jesus . . . 147

The Apocalypse kabalistic . . . 147

Jesus considered an adept by some Pagan philosophers and early Christians . . . 150

Doctrine of permutation . . . 152

The meaning of God-Incarnate . . . 153

Dogmas of the Gnostics . . . 155

Ideas of Marcion, the "heresiarch" . . . 159

Precepts of Manu . . . 163

Jehovah identical with Bacchus . . . 165

CHAPTER IV.

ORIENTAL COSMOGONIES AND BIBLE RECORDS.

Discrepancies in the Pentateuch . . . 167

Indian, Chaldean and Ophite systems compared . . . 170

Who were the first Christians? . . . 178

Christos and Sophia-Achamoth . . . 183

Secret doctrine taught by Jesus . . . 191

Jesus never claimed to be God . . . 193

New Testament narratives and Hindu legends . . . 199

Antiquity of the "Logos" and "Christ" . . . 205

Comparative Virgin-worship . . . 209

CHAPTER V.

MYSTERIES OF THE KABALA.

En-Soph and the Sephiroth . . . 212

The primitive wisdom-religion . . . 216

The book of Genesis a compilation of Old World legends . . . 217

The Trinity of the Kabala . . . 222

Gnostic and Nazarene systems contrasted with Hindu myths . . .225

Kabalism in the book of Ezekiel . . . 232

Story of the resurrection of Jairus's daughter found in the history of Christna . . . 241

Untrustworthy teachings of the early Fathers . . . 248

Their persecuting spirit . . . 249

CHAPTER VI.

ESOTERIC DOCTRINES OF BUDDHISM PARODIED IN CHRISTIANITY.

Decisions of Nicean Council, how arrived at . . . 251

Murder of Hypatia . . . 252

Origin of the fish-symbol of Vishnu . . . 256

Kabalistic doctrine of the Cosmogony . . . 264

Diagrams of Hindu and Chaldeo-Jewish systems . . . 265

Ten mythical Avatars of Vishnu . . . 274

Trinity of man taught by Paul . . . 281

Socrates and Plato on soul and spirit . . . 283

True Buddhism, what it is . . . 288

CHAPTER VII.

EARLY CHRISTIAN HERESIES AND SECRET SOCIETIES.

Nazareans, Ophites, and modern Druzes . . . 291

Etymology of IAO . . . 298

"Hermetic Brothers" of Egypt . . . 307

True meaning of Nirvana . . . 319

The Jayna sect . . . 321

Christians and Chrestians . . . 323

The Gnostics and their detractors . . . 325

Buddha, Jesus, and Apollonius of Tyana . . . 341

CHAPTER VIII.

JESUITRY AND MASONRY.

The Sohar and Rabbi Simeon . . . 348

The Order of Jesuits and its relation to some of the Masonic orders. . . 352

Crimes permitted to its members . . . 355

Principles of Jesuitry compared with those of Pagan moralists. . . 364

Trinity of man in Egyptian Book of the Dead . . . 367

Freemasonry no longer esoteric . . . 372

Persecution of Templars by the Church. . . 381

Secret Masonic ciphers . . . 395

Jehovah not the "Ineffable Name" . . . 398

CHAPTER IX.

THE VEDAS AND THE BIBLE.

Nearly every myth based on some great truth . . . 405

Whence the Christian Sabbath . . . 406

Antiquity of the Vedas . . . 410

Pythagorean doctrine of the potentialities of numbers . . . 417

"Days" of Genesis and "Days" of Brahma. . . 422

Fall of man and the Deluge in the Hindu books . . . 425

Antiquity of the Mahabharata . . . 429

Were the ancient Egyptians of the Aryan race? . . . 434

Samuel, David, and Solomon mythical personages. . . 439

Symbolism of Noah's Ark . . . 447

The Patriarchs identical with zodiacal signs . . . 459

All Bible legends belong to universal history . . . 469

CHAPTER X.

THE DEVIL-MYTH.

The devil officially recognized by the Church . . . 477

Satan the mainstay of sacerdotalism . . . 480

Identity of Satan with the Egyptian Typhon . . . 483

His relation to serpent-worship . . . 489

The Book of Job and the Book of the Dead . . . 493

The Hindu devil a metaphysical abstraction. . . 501

Satan and the Prince of Hell in the Gospel of Nicodemus . . .515

CHAPTER XI.

COMPARATIVE RESULTS OF BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY.

The age of philosophy produced no atheists . . . 530

The legends of three Saviours . . . 537

Christian doctrine of the Atonement illogical . . . 542

Cause of the failure of missionaries to convert Buddhists and Brahmanists . . . 553

Neither Buddha nor Jesus left written records. . . 559

The grandest mysteries of religion in the Bagaved-gita . . . 562

The meaning of regeneration explained in the Satapa-Brahmana . . . 565

The sacrifice of blood interpreted . . . 566

Demoralization of British India by Christian missionaries . . . 573

The Bible less authenticated than any other sacred book . . . 577

Knowledge of chemistry and physics displayed by Indian jugglers . . . 583

CHAPTER XII.

CONCLUSIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Recapitulation of fundamental propositions . . . 587

Seership of the soul and of the spirit . . . 590

The phenomenon of the so-called spirit-hand . . . 594

Difference between mediums and adepts . . . 595

Interview of an English ambassador with a reincarnated Buddha . . . 598

Flight of a lama's astral body related by Abbe Huc . . . 604

Schools of magic in Buddhist lamaseries . . . 609

The unknown race of Hindu Todas . . . 613

Will-power of fakirs and yogis . . . 617

Taming of wild beasts by fakirs . . . 622

Evocation of a living spirit by a Shaman, witnessed by the writer . . . 626

Sorcery by the breath of a Jesuit Father . . . 633

Why the study of magic is almost impracticable in Europe . . . 635

Conclusion . . . 635

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PREFACE TO PART II.

WERE it possible, we would keep this work out of the hands of many Christians whom its perusal would not benefit, and for whom it was not written. We allude to those whose faith in their respective churches is pure and sincere, and those whose sinless lives reflect the glorious example of that Prophet of Nazareth, by whose mouth the spirit of truth spake loudly to humanity. Such there have been at all times. History preserves the names of many as heroes, philosophers, philanthropists, martyrs, and holy men and women; but how many more have lived and died, unknown but to their intimate acquaintance, unblessed but by their humble beneficiaries! These have ennobled Christianity, but would have shed the same lustre upon any other faith they might have professed -- for they were higher than their creed. The benevolence of Peter Cooper and Elizabeth Thompson, of America, who are not orthodox Christians, is no less Christ-like than that of the Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts, of England, who is one. And yet, in comparison with the millions who have been accounted Christians, such have always formed a small minority. They are to be found at this day, in pulpit and pew, in palace and cottage; but the increasing materialism, worldliness and hypocrisy are fast diminishing their proportionate number. Their charity, and simple, child-like faith in the infallibility of their Bible, their dogmas, and their clergy, bring into full activity all the virtues that are implanted in our common nature. We have personally known such God-fearing priests and clergymen, and we have always avoided debate with them, lest we might be guilty of the cruelty of hurting their feelings; nor would we rob a single layman of his blind confidence, if it alone made possible for him holy living and serene dying.

An analysis of religious beliefs in general, this volume is in particular directed against theological Christianity, the chief opponent of free thought. It contains not one word against the pure teachings of Jesus, but unsparingly denounces their debasement into pernicious ecclesiastical systems that are ruinous to man's faith in his immortality and his God, and subversive of all moral restraint.

We cast our gauntlet at the dogmatic theologians who would enslave both history and science; and especially at the Vatican, whose despotic pretensions have become hateful to the greater portion of enlightened Christendom. The clergy apart, none but the logician, the investigator, the dauntless explorer should meddle with books like this. Such delvers after truth have the courage of their opinions.

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