THE KALIKAPURANA. "In this abominable book human sacrifices are held to be a right inherent in the Princes, to whom they are a source of wealth, the cause of victory and other temporal blessings." Christ. Obs. Sept. 1817, p. 583. The Kalikapurana is one of the Sacred Books of the Hindoos. The account of it was given by Abbe Dubois in his "Description of the Characters, Manners and Customs of the People of India." Human sacrifices are mentioned among the abominations practised by the Hindoos; and the Book which authorizes these sacrifices is denounced as an abominable Book." The Hindoos have several customs of offering human sacrifices as falling prostrate to be crushed to death by the wheels of the carriage on which their idol is moved, and the burning of women on the funeral piles of their deceased husbands. In other instances parents sacrifice a child by casting it into the Ganges, and, from the account before us, it appears that rulers are considered as having a right to sacrifice subjects. These sacrifices are made as religious offerings-as means of propitiating the Deity and procuring his favor. This being the case, it is very justly inferred by Christians that the Hindoos must have very unworthy conceptions of God, and that they impute to him a bloody and odious character. On the ground of these barbarous sacrifices Christians are urged to exert their influence and to do all they can to save the Hindoos from these fatal delusions, and to give them more just and noble conceptions of the Supreme Being. As the Hindoos received these customs by tradition and education, and as they are enjoined in Books which are by them deemed sacred, it is found difficult to persuade them to abandon what has been so long regarded as essential to their welfare. Instances of conversion however have occurred through the instrumentality of missionaries; and no exertions are deemed too great to effect the abolition of such horrible sacrifices. Accordingly the most impressive appeals are made to excite the sympathy and compassion of Christians, and to persuade them to unite for the poble and beneficent object of converting the Hindoos from the error of their bloody ways. Shall we discountenance such humane and benevolent efforts? God forbid! ing human sacrifices which is as bad or worse than those which we wish to reform in the Hindoos? Are there no professed Christians who persuade themselves and who try to persuade others, that human sacrifices are permitted and required by our Sacred Book-the Gospel of peace? And is this Book also such an "abominable Book ?" '' Do not a great majority of Christians admit that the "human sacrifices" made by war are a right inherent in the Princes" or other Rulers "to whom they are a source of wealth, the cause of victory and other temporal blessings?" Do not many Christians try to prove that rulers have this right, and that it is the duty of subjects to consent to be thus sacrificed when ever the Ruler says the word and that too without inquiring, why, or wherefore? Now if our sacred Book is of this abominable character-if it really teaches that rulers have a right whenever they please to sacrifice their subjects, by calling them into a field of battle What is our Sacred Book better than the Kalikapurana ? As to the mode of offering human sacrifices, Christian rulers have certainly no advantage of the Hindoo princes; for it is not less horrible or inhuman to offer such sacrifices by murderous combat, and with hatred, malignity and revenge, than to offer them as a religious sacrifice, unaccompanied with these odious passions. In Christendom we do not see people prostrate them selves before the idol Juggernaut to be crushed to death; but we see them prostrate before the idols Ambition, Avarice and Revenge, to be slaughtered by thousands and tens of thousands. We do not behold parents casting their children alive into the Ganges to be destroyed by sharks; but we see parents educate their children for war and slaughter, and tamely resign them to sharks in human form, whose avarice and ambition will swallow whole provinces, but never say, "it is enough." And what is still worse, these destroyers of men are often idolized and praised by Christians as Saviors. The Hindoo bows his knee to an idol which can do him neither good nor harm; the Christian is too often seen paying homage and adoration to men who have acquired preeminence by doing mischief. And as though it were their delight to pour contempt on the character of the Messiah, Christians are seen extolling as Gods or Demi-Gods those who came not to save men's lives, but to destroy them. In respect to the character imputed to God by the different customs of offering human sacrifices-that which is imputed by the custom of Christians is much more abhorrent than that suggested by the practice of the Hindoos. In both cases it is imagined that God approves the sacrifice. Are we then shocked to find the Hindoo imputing to God a character to be pleased with suicide, or with the offer ing of children by parents, or of subjects by rulers, not from enmity but from misapprehension respecting the nature of acceptable services? How much more shocking to suppose that God can be pleased with human sacrifices offered under the influence of murderous ambition, insatiable avarice, or implacable malignity and revenge! I can hardly conceive of a more detestable character, than that of a man who can delight to see armies of his brethren wantonly and maliciously butchering one a nother! How horrible then to suppose the Father of all is of such a character, that he can witness with complacency and approbation such scenes of carnage and murder among his children! Yet such a detestable character is imputed to God by warring Christians; for each of the parties at war supplicates his aid, and expects his approbation. It is probably a truth that the people of every country are blind in regard to the immorality of the vicious customs in which they have been severally educated. Christians in general, for many ages, have been as blind to the immórality of war, as the Hindoos are to the evils of their peculiar and sanguinary customs. This blindness of Christians, however, is far more wonderful than that of the Hindoos; for the Books, regarded as sacred by the Hindoos, approve and require human sacrifices; but our Gospel of Salvation enjoins peace on earth and good will to all men-it requires of each that love which worketh no ill to its neighbour. Besides, if we consider the dreadful amount of human sacrifices which are offered in the wars of Christians-the hatred, revenge and inhumanity with which these. sacrifices are made, and the shocking extent of vice and misery produced by the custom-we shall see still greater reason to wonder at the blindness of Christians. Probably within the last 20 years a number of human beings has been sacrificed by the wars of Christendom equal to the present population of the U. States. To this we may add millions. and millions more who have been wounded or bereaved, or reduced to wretchedness and despair, by these inhuman wars. Nor is this all; for there is scarcely a vice or a crime that can be named, which is not authorized, encouraged, excited or nourish. ed by this detestable custom. If, therefore, the Christian's God is pleased with the custom of offering human sacri. fices by war, he must be pleased with every vice and crime which is forbidden by the gospel. The Christian is shocked when he reads Dr. Buchannan's account of the scenes which he witnessed at Juggernaut-the vast concourse of people, the blindness of the worshippers, the human sacrifices which were offered, and the piles of skulls and bones occasioned by the multitude of former sacrifices. On reading these accounts the Christian feels as though something should be done; some great effort made to open the eyes of the Hindoos, and to abolish their dreadful customs. This is feeling as he ought to feel. Now let this same Christian take the most authentic accounts of the modern wars of Christendom-let him read the descriptions of the renowned battles of Smolensko, Borodino, Leipzig and fifty others; let him compare these scenes of havoc and horror, and the conduct of Christians on these occasions, with the most revolting accounts of the Hindoos as given by Dr. Buchanan ;-then let him say, in the fear of God, which country affords the more horrible scenes, and which people have the greater need of being converted to the Christian religion. Military Ambition, Avarice and Revenge are the Juggernauts of Christendom. Το these idols human sacrifices are offered in numbers almost surpassing belief, and in a manner the most inhuman. Dr. Buchanan speaks of Juggernaut as the Moloch of the Hindoos; but Christians also have their Molochs, more insatiable in their thirst for blood or their demands for human sacrifices than the Juggernaut of India; and the custom of war which has been semi-deified throughout Christendom is, in my opinion, more fatal as well as more repugnant to christian principles, than any one of the Hindoo customs described by the worthy wri ter of the "Christian Resear ches." While therefore we applaud the benevolence which would convert the Hindoos to the Christian faith, and abolish their human sacrifices-we should not overlook the inconsistency of Christians, nor imagine that it is overlooked by God. All who are convinced of this inconsistency should feel no less concern for warring Christians than for superstitious pagans; they should be no less willing to exert themselves and to contribute of their property for the abolition of human sacrifices in Christendom, than in India. Indeed, it is important that Christians should first cast the beam out of their own eyes, that they may see more clearly to pluck the mote out of the eyes of their Hindoo brethren. So long as the nations of Christendom shall continue in the practice of public war, their missionaries to the heathen, for the abolition of human sacrifices, must be subject to great embarrassments. For the heathen may with perfect propriety affirm, that, bad as their customs are, they have not one among them more inhuman, more impious or more horrible than the custom of war, to which Christians themselves have attached the highest renown; and that it cannot possibly be worse to offer human sacrifices after the manner of Hindoos, than after the manner of Christians. While Christians shall gen erally believe that public wars are consistent with that spirit of meekness, love and forbearance which the gospel requires, the influence of Christianity on the character of nations must be very inconsiderable, compared with what it would be if the opposite opinion were generally adopted. As the popular opinion now is, the worst passions and the worst crimes which have any place in the history of man, are sanctioned by public authority, and practised as consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But if the conduct of rulers and nations in their public wars is not morally evil, but consistent with the precepts of the gospel, it is just, reasoning from the greater to the less, to infer, that private murder, robbery, and all the atrocious conduct of the most abandoned individuals in private life, are consistent with the christian religion; and on the whole, that there is no such thing as moral evil among men. Hence we may safely conclude, either that Christians have been under the influence of "strong delusions," and have “believed a lie," in supposing that public wars are consistent with the precepts of the Messiah, or that the Gospel, like the Kalikapurana, is an "abominable Book." OBJECTIONS TO THE ABOLITION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENTS. Objection 8. "We cannot conceive it to be reconcilable with the wisdom and goodness of God, to have enjoined any positive precepts upon any nation, in opposition to his moral precepts. He never suspends, nor counteracts, nor commands his creatures to counteract his moral rules." Answer. The ways of God are past finding out! I will mention some facts. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his innocent son Isaac! This appears to be a command to counteract the moral rule, Thou shalt not kill. I will grant that the command given to Abraham was binding on him; but I contend that no other father is bound by the command given to Abraham, to perform a similar act. In like manner I grant that the penal laws given to the Israelites, were binding on them; but I contend that none of those laws are binding on us. Obj. 9." But the matter is pur beyond all doubt by a solemn precept which God gave to Noah soon after the deluge, and consequently to all bis pcsterity. Gen. ix. 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. That this is a moral precept which was to stand in full force in all ages of time, is evident, because a moral reason is given to enforce it. If it remains true in all ages, that God made man in his own image, then the command to destroy the life of the murderer, founded on this reasons continues in full force and vittue." 1 |