INTRODUCTION.

...instructors and benefactors of humanity; why shouldn't Christ have also been seen as an incarnation of God? People began to believe he must have been more than a man; that he was both man and God. He was seen not just spiritually or figuratively, but actually, as the Son of God original: "υἱὸς Θεοῦ". From this idea came further corruptions taken from Paganism, such as the miraculous conception and the virgin mother, a birth at the winter solstice, and a triumph over death and decay at the spring equinox original: "vernal equinox".

In short, as the life and teachings of the last and greatest of the prophets were increasingly misunderstood over several generations—and mixed with Pagan and superstitious ideas—he eventually came to be seen by the public as little different from the nature-gods of the non-Christian original: "heathen" world. It was accurately stated by the great writer whose recent death we mourn A reference to the historian Lord Macaulay, who died in 1859, that “Christianity conquered Paganism, but Paganism infected Christianity; the rituals of the Pantheon The Roman temple dedicated to all gods passed into its worship, and the complex philosophies original: "subtleties" of the Academy The school of philosophy founded by Plato into its creed.” This sentence is full of meaning to those whose eyes are opened, but it means nothing to those who are uneducated. The preceding explanation provides the key to understanding Macaulay’s deeply significant original: "pregnant" words.

It is time for superstitious ideas and Pagan influences to be removed from the grand ideal of religion, as it was undoubtedly intended by the founder original: "Author" of Christianity. Mankind must escape the maze of irrationality where they still wander, guided only by uneducated religious feelings. We must never forget that religious feelings are blind on their own. They require enlightenment from the intellect and direction from moral principles before their impulses can lead to good results. These feelings were undoubtedly intended by a kind original: "beneficent" Creator for the happiness and improvement of humanity; yet what misery has been suffered, and what crimes have been committed, under their influence and with their approval! Intelligence and its product, Science, must finally step in. They must appeal to the ever-existing revelation that God provides of himself—both in the mind he has given us and in the universe...