brother-prophets, Moses and Jesus, the latest of
the major religions was revealed.

At the present time, the Hebrews and Christians, although worshiping the
same Jehovah, are disputing with each other, and indeed, amongst
themselves, with regard to the various attributes, amorous pursuits, and
lineal descendants of the Godhead. Jehovah himself appears to be on the
decline and his unity is steadily disintegrating into a paradoxical
trinity. But we are progressing, for in 1300 years no new prophet has
arisen, and no new divine revelation is perturbing our race; the old
ones, however, are causing quite enough disturbance.

It would be of value for the modern religionist who believes that the
worship of a deity in our own age is far removed from the worship of an
idol by our savage ancestors, to retrace his steps and compare the
savage mind worshiping his particular idol and a so-called civilized
mind of today worshiping his deity.

The savage prayed to his idol, that is, he _begged_. He begged the idol
to watch over his flock or his fields. The modern prays, that is he begs
of his idol, his deity, to prosper his business, to guard his life, and,
as one of my "super-devout" acquaintances recently informed me, on the
eve of an important golf match, for the Deity to give him endurance; in
other words, "to cut down his golf score."

The savage voiced his incantations; the modern sings hymns, that is he
flatters. There is still a great deal of the charlatanry of the magician
in the construction of the houses of prayer, with the sunlight shut out
and only filtering through the leaded and multi-colored panes, the
semidarkness, the solemnity, the rise and swell of the organ; all things
combined to overcome the senses, to play upon the emotions, and to
subdue the reason.

The savage made sacrifices to his idols, that is, he paid tribute,
chiefly out of fear, but partly in the hope of getting something better
in return. The modern does not offer human or animal sacrifice, it is
true; but it must be borne in mind that the wealth of the savage
consisted of his sheep, oxen, oils, and wines, not money. Today, the
devout offer a sacrifice of money to the Deity. We are all familiar with
the requests of religious institutions for gifts, which nearly always
finish with the phrase, "And the Lord will repay you many fold." In
other words, sacrifice part of your worldly goods to the idol, and he
will repay with high interest. He will giv