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Article ON THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EQUILATERAX TEIA... ← Page 3 of 4 →
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On The Symbolism Of The Equilaterax Teia...
religious feelings and prejudices , and did not travel beyond the limits set by the sacred records of their nation , to whose interpretation they devoted themselves ; while the Pythagorean philosophers were quite unshackled in their cosm ogonic and theological specula * tions 5 and the notions which their master had acquired in his association with the Eastern philosophers were treated by him and his disciples with the freedom and vigour of the Greek intellect .
It is , indeed , probable that the equilateral triangle , taken as a symbol of the Deity , is rather of Pythagorean than of Hebrew origin ; and even if so , I shall , I believe ^ be able to demonstrat ^ Jtat it is a symbol , not of a triune character , or of the equality of three persons in one , but a symbol of the unity and perfection or completeness of the Divine agency .
I would , in the first place , premise , that the notion that a triunity of the Deity is to be observed in all or most of the religions of antiquity—is one of those generalizations which have been adopted rather from the captivating nature of the theory than upon well * founded observation—and rests , for the most part , on inaccurate or
exaggerated conceptions of the meaning of ancient traditions ot pictorial representations . Thus the triple representation of the Deity in the Egyptian temples , as father , mother , and child—Osiris , Isis , Horus , & c—has been designated a trin ity * but without any foundation other than the appearance of the three persons .
The idea involved in the representation is rather that which runs through most of the religions of the old world—that of a duality , male and female , the generating and reproducing powers of nature . As far as the Hebrew theology is concerned , nothing can be more improbable , prima facie , than that the doctrine of a trinity of persons in the One G-od should be discoverable , even under the
application of the key of the Kabbala , in the Hebrew writings . Even if it should be contended that the Elohiatic portion of the Book of Genesis points to a time when a plurality of gods was acknowledged , there is nothing in that document to shadow forth the doctrine of a triple personality ; and the idea of plurality , even if it can be supposed to have existed , was certainly abnegated on the assumption of the most sacred name , the Tetragrammaton .
The distinctive doctrine of the Old Testament is undoubtedly that of the unity of the Deity , as opposed to the polytheism of the nations by whom the Hebrews were surrounded , and the revelation of a trinity in unity was reserved for the era of the Christian dispensation .
The passages in the Old Testament in which the doctrine of a trinity has been supposed to lie concealed , have been collected in the learned work of Dr . J . P . Smith ;* but it is evident that the interpretations and arguments are too ingenious to weigh against the positive tendency of the great body of the Hebrew Scriptures . The presumption is clearly against the introduction into the
* " Scripture Testimony to the Messiah . " H 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Symbolism Of The Equilaterax Teia...
religious feelings and prejudices , and did not travel beyond the limits set by the sacred records of their nation , to whose interpretation they devoted themselves ; while the Pythagorean philosophers were quite unshackled in their cosm ogonic and theological specula * tions 5 and the notions which their master had acquired in his association with the Eastern philosophers were treated by him and his disciples with the freedom and vigour of the Greek intellect .
It is , indeed , probable that the equilateral triangle , taken as a symbol of the Deity , is rather of Pythagorean than of Hebrew origin ; and even if so , I shall , I believe ^ be able to demonstrat ^ Jtat it is a symbol , not of a triune character , or of the equality of three persons in one , but a symbol of the unity and perfection or completeness of the Divine agency .
I would , in the first place , premise , that the notion that a triunity of the Deity is to be observed in all or most of the religions of antiquity—is one of those generalizations which have been adopted rather from the captivating nature of the theory than upon well * founded observation—and rests , for the most part , on inaccurate or
exaggerated conceptions of the meaning of ancient traditions ot pictorial representations . Thus the triple representation of the Deity in the Egyptian temples , as father , mother , and child—Osiris , Isis , Horus , & c—has been designated a trin ity * but without any foundation other than the appearance of the three persons .
The idea involved in the representation is rather that which runs through most of the religions of the old world—that of a duality , male and female , the generating and reproducing powers of nature . As far as the Hebrew theology is concerned , nothing can be more improbable , prima facie , than that the doctrine of a trinity of persons in the One G-od should be discoverable , even under the
application of the key of the Kabbala , in the Hebrew writings . Even if it should be contended that the Elohiatic portion of the Book of Genesis points to a time when a plurality of gods was acknowledged , there is nothing in that document to shadow forth the doctrine of a triple personality ; and the idea of plurality , even if it can be supposed to have existed , was certainly abnegated on the assumption of the most sacred name , the Tetragrammaton .
The distinctive doctrine of the Old Testament is undoubtedly that of the unity of the Deity , as opposed to the polytheism of the nations by whom the Hebrews were surrounded , and the revelation of a trinity in unity was reserved for the era of the Christian dispensation .
The passages in the Old Testament in which the doctrine of a trinity has been supposed to lie concealed , have been collected in the learned work of Dr . J . P . Smith ;* but it is evident that the interpretations and arguments are too ingenious to weigh against the positive tendency of the great body of the Hebrew Scriptures . The presumption is clearly against the introduction into the
* " Scripture Testimony to the Messiah . " H 2