By Rev. D. J. MACASKILL, M.A., N. Uist.
SOME distinguished Protestant theologians, including Dr. Charles Hodge, are of the opinion that the Church of Rome is a branch of the Christian Church, although greatly corrupt and degenerate. The priests of Rome are said to baptize infants in the name of the Trinity. Therefore, they are orthodox to that extent in acknowledging Three Persons and only one God. We cannot subscribe to this view. First of all, there are many additional ceremonies which they use which are quite unscriptural. Their only warrant is tradition, which we do not recognise as being equally binding with Scripture. We had a lecturer on Roman History at Glasgow University, who admitted that the Church of Rome, as at present constituted, was very much different from the primitive Christians. He was himself of that false church. What was being discussed was Pliny’s letter to Trajan asking for an imperial rescript to guide him as to how he should proceed in regard to the Christians in Bithynia.
We wondered at the lecturer admitting so much when the proud boast of his church is “semper eadem,” but his explanation was that the Church was not bound to be always a babe, that it had to develop. The way in which it developed was from the “mystery of iniquity,” working in apostolic times, until the whole visible Church was leavened by corrupt doctrine and abominable superstition. It is not strictly true to say Rome believes in Father, Son and Holy Ghost as Three in One. The Virgin Mary has been exalted blasphemously to a place, not only equal to that of Christ, the eternal Son of God, but to a pedestal far above Father, Son and Holy Ghost. She is said to be “from everlasting,” all the attributes of Christ being given her. She is worshipped as the “Queen of Heaven,” to whom the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass is offered, continually, just as in Jeremiah’s day cakes of bread were kneaded by the Jews for the Babylonian Madonna and Child.
Easter is not a Christian festival, but refers to the worship of Ishtar, a heathen goddess. Hot cross buns were offered to Ishtar in connection with her worship. The sign of the cross itself has an ancient history, going far further back than the Christian era, as has been demonstrated by research in archaeology. Christmas is not a Christian festival either, as we are not commanded to remember the birth of our Lord in any such way. Besides, it is unlikely that shepherds would be watching their flocks by night on the 25th of December. The frost in Palestine can be very keen as well as in this country. Our pagan Anglo-Saxon forefathers observed these festivals long before they heard of Christianity. The secret system of Free Masonry is said to have been originally founded on the Mysteries of the Egyptian Isis, the goddess-mother, or wife of Osiris, who was worshipped as the “strong chief of buildings.” There are many references in the classics to the Eleusinian Mysteries. It is remarkable that there were mysteries of a similar nature in Greece, Rome, Phoenicia and Egypt. This can only be accounted for by the fact that they came originally from Babylon, which was the “hammer of the whole earth,” as well as the centre of civilisation. The study of comparative religion shows many points of similarity in the mythologies of far-distant races such as the Red Indians of Mexico, Hindoos, Chinese, Egyptians. As well as sun-worship, and fire-worship, which were not confined to the Druidical priesthood, there was a tradition of a Messiah or Child Deliverer, who was represented as destroying the serpent. Hercules is said to have strangled serpents in his cradle. The doctrine of Genesis seems to have been handed down among many races, although in a corrupt form. The tradition of a universal flood is referred to by Ovid and other heathen poets. The Virgin Mary would be the last to seek the place that is now given her by the Modern Babylon, as Queen of Heaven. One Papist went so far as to substitute her name in the Psalms, wherever the name of the Lord is mentioned. The Church of Rome was originally famous for faith, but now it is “Mystery, Babylon the Great.”