Forlong - Rivers of Life

Introductory Chapter.
“Thus,” says an unknown but clever writer, “does religion vary in its development,
as the following table, which represents pretty correctly the progress in
religion from the lowest to the highest degree of a religious civilisation, abundantly
proves.” 1
GRADE OF
CIVILISATION.
NATURE OF
RELIGION.
HOW IT IS EXHIBITED. EXAMPLES.
Barbarous If any, it is Fetish. The Deification of nature, worship
of stones, sticks, rams’
heads, &c.
Tripartite or semibarbarous.
Unipartite barbarous
Civilised but not
scientific, with
idol worship.
Civilised but not
scientific, without
idol worship.
Civilised and scientific.
Worship of a spirit
with idols.
West coast of Africa, &c.
Ditto, with human sacrifices. West coast of Africa, Mexico,
&c.
Ditto. Worship of birds, snakes, and
beasts, and of images, half
man and half east, &c.
Idol worship. Representation of the Deity in
the form of man, that is Anthropomorphic
religion.
Fire Worship.
Miraculous Monotheism
and TrinitarianChristianitiy.
Anthropomorphic religion; that
is, imputing to God human
passions.
No idols. Belief in an invisible, infinite,
self-existing Deity, perfect in
goodness, wisdom, and power,
without any passion save
love, and without any image
or competitor.
Ancient religions of Mesopotamia,
of Egypt and Asia,
except Confucians.
The ancient pagan religions of
Greece and Rome. The
Mariolatry of Papal Christianity.
Parsees, Jews, Mahomedans
and Christians.
The scientific Theologies of the
nineteenth century.
This writer then goes on to show that, though religions may have different creeds
and ceremonies, they have all certain common fundamental principles, 2 such as:—
1 “Scrutator,” Trübner, 1867.
2 Since this was written, I observe that a Roman
Catholic, the Canon of St. Genevieve, of Paris,
has published a book, “La Catholicisme avant
Jesus Christ,” in which the author, “M. l’Abbé P.
J. Jállabert, means to prove that the beliefs and
traditions common to Pagans, Jews, and Christians
draw their origin from what he calls primitive
revelation. According to him the same symbols are
found by all nations; their worship is identical
in all its essential parts; the traditions conveyed
in the Sibylline verses, Hermes Trismegistus, and
Zoroaster, include the general expectation of a
Redeemer, and show the fundamental unity of dogmatic
and moral belief in Asia and Europe.” If
the writer means by this word “Redeemer,” a
Prophet—Imām—or King, or Messiah, such as the
Jews looked for, and which we trace in Boodha,
Confucius, Laotsee, Christ, and Mahomed, then he is
undoubtedly right, and the fact of the Catholic
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