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The Christian Foundation, Or,
Scientific and Religious Journal
Vol. 1. No 3.
March, 1880.
CONTENTS
The Influence Of The Bible Upon Moral And Social Institutions. The Influence Of The Bible Upon Social Life And Social Institutions. Law, Cause, And Agent. The Inconsistency Of Modern Unbelievers Or Materialists. Materialism In Its Bearings Upon Person And Personality. Was It Right? It Only Needs To Be Seen, And Its Ugliness At Once Appears. Did The Race Ascend From A Low State Of Barbarism? The Flood Viewed From A Scientific And Biblical Standpoint. The Mosaic Law In Greece, In Rome, And In The Common Law Of England. Did Adam Fall Or Rise? Did They Dream It, Or Was It So? Miscellaneous.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE UPON MORAL AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
It is profitable for us to occasionally survey the dark arena where men have played their part, in lonely gloom, without a Savior and without a God. Pagan morality, being without the motives and restraints of revealed religion, and guided wholly by the passions and the lights of reason and nature, is grossly defective. It has no settled standard of right and wrong. It is vain to look, in all heathen philosophy for any settled principles of duty or motives that commend themselves to enlightened minds.
What is the basis and character of virtue? What is the law of moral conduct? What is the object which governs it? In what does human happiness consist? These are questions which have never been satisfactorily answered by the unaided powers of the human mind. The annals of Pagan history show the real results of all their speculations upon these questions. They are comprehensively presented in the following: "They became vain in their imaginations and their foolish hearts were darkened. They were filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, deceit, malignity. They were backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without natural affection, implacable and unmerciful." Their manners and habits were the results of mere whim and caprice when they were not the results of simple love of wickedness. The vice of one community was the virtue of another; and refinement in one was unpardonable rudeness in another. The public festivals celebrated in Egypt are disgraceful upon the pages of history, being accompanied with shameful practices. Egypt was noted for corrupt morals as far back as the times of Abraham. Asia Minor was no better; unrighteousness, sensuality and luxury prevailed. In Greece there was brutal savageness in its most hideous forms; in the age of its greatest refinement sin was dressed up in the finest style. The Olympic, Pythian and Isthmian games, which were kept up to give strength to the body and courage in the battle, were debasing and corrupting to the lowest degree of wretchedness. The ages of ancient heroism were filled up with crime and debauchery. They were fruitful in incest and parricide, and all the dark and gloomy events which were necessary to make up the most fearful picture of immorality. The monarchs of Assyria spent their time mainly in debasing crime and voluptuousness. The brightest and best days of Babylon were notorious for lewdness and accomplishment in crime and iniquity; loaded with riches, they spared no pains and withheld no means in the production of all that gratified their lusts and fed their passions. In Babylon there was a certain well known temple in which adultery was legalized by compulsory law for the purpose of increasing the public revenue. The ancient Pagan religions sanctioned and practiced the most detestible licentiousness. Cato commended young men for visiting houses of ill fame. Such was the very best phase of morals and public manners in the purest state of Roman society... Continue reading book >>
