Forlong - Rivers of Life

Serpent and Phallic Worship.
tidings” rcbf (Isa. xl. 9; 2 Sam. xviii. 26), “which was made Basar,” Flesh or Phallus,
for us;” for the s£rx sarx, or flesh, of John i. 14, is in the Bible, the Greek equivalent
for the word anciently used for the Phallus; so we very plainly see that in the times
when the Old and New Testaments were translated there was but a very hazy
distinction between “the Logos,” Phallus, Flesh, “Gospel” and “Sun of Righteousness,”
or the words Basar, Zakar rkz. Mebaser, and such like. 1 Strange that educated
men cannnot even now free themselves from such gross fleshly fetishes, embracing the
low s.ni.mal ideas of phalluses crosses, arks or wombs; &c. Looking back over only
the last two thousand years, we see the painful fact, that we have not even in Europe,
freed ourselves at the rate of one little fetish in three hundred years. Thus Spencer,
in his L. Heb. p. 145, names seven fetishes as the usual accompaniments of every ark.
His words are, “there were laid up usually in arks, Indian Wheat Pyramids, pieces of
dressed wool, cakes or wafers, made of oil and honey, for use in sacrifice (our Roman
Catholic) fetish, and studded with bosses like navels), a serpent, Persian apples, and a
Thyrsus;” so that here we have seven fetishes, the Eduth or Phallus, manna as the
wheat bread, cakes or wafers for “Showbread;” Apples, very fit representatives of the
first god-given stones (see Inman’s Ancient Faiths), and pyramids and bosses or little
lingams and omphi. This result of the orthodox and learned Spencer’s investigations
as to the use and contents of arks ought surely to convince the most bigoted, and also
show them why altars, with bread and wine, a Pyx and Monstrance, a Lord, a
Cross, with candles and fleurs-de-lis, have come down to us. Mr C. W. King in his
History of Gnosticism, tells us that in Egypt’s most sacred ark—that of Isis—“was
carried the distinctive marks of both sexes, the Lingam and Yoni of the modern
Hindoos,” whilst Spencer shows us that the lingam.was tha.t of the Sun, saying (De
Leg. Heb. 45): “In this mystic ark was only deposited the privy member of Bacchus,”
for looking on which quite as severe punishment was awarded, as that which befel
him for gazing on his patriarchal “stock” (Gen. ix. 22); but I am digressing from
the modern Christian Ark, the Catholic Monstrance, Or Protestant Altar.
These carry metaphorically “the body and blood of the Lord,” and are undoubted
remnants of the gross superstitions of far back ages; Ark, Altar, and Pyx are of course
the same in the eyes of the pious searcher out of the roots of faiths. The symbolism is
1 From Parkhurst and Fürst we learn that rcb
Basar is that which spreads itself out, swells out, as
Flesh, &c, is carnal, utters sounds, gives good (that
is intelligence), and hence is used for the Phallus
and gospel, but this last rather as the sing. masc.
part rcbm mebaser, as in 2 Sam. xviii. 26, and in
the form trcbm mebasereth, in Isa. xl. 9, where it
signifies a messenger of good tidings; we are justified
therefore in saying that the new LOGOS has taken
the place of the old god rcb, who was circumcised,
and is “the secret parts,” as very clearly
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appears from the word Basar begin used in Gen.
xvii. 11; Exodus xxviii. 42; Ezek. xvi. 26,
xxiii 20. “The fleshy object might be that of
men, beasts, birds, fishes, or reptiles (Parkhurst),
and the New Testament translators considered
therefore that the Greek equivalent to be used for
rcb in John i. 14 was s£rx. The work Zakar rkz
then, is that used for a male object, literally
“sword,” “pin,” or “piercer,” see Gen. i.
27, but Zakar has also the idea of Sun and Fire
(Ancient Faiths, i. 303).