Article May 1, 1920 Issue

Propitiation

WARWICK A. TYLER

The human mind is of such a nature that it is necessary for it to believe in something besides itself. When left to its own devices, it mistakes effect for cause, with the inevitable result that it is forever looking to matter for life and intelligence, happiness and substance. The fact is, however, that all reality has its origin and existence in God, the infinite intelligence or Mind; and this infinite intelligence, by the very nature of its infinitude, is so vast and inclusive that it cannot be contained within anything less than itself. God, Spirit, is not confined within corporeality or finiteness, cause does not originate in and is not controlled by effect, nor is the creator subject to that which is created.

The religion of an individual or a people (and religion is but the process or observance which associates man with God) is entirely dependent upon his or their concept of the Supreme Being. It does not matter for one moment how material may be the concept of Deity, what form or ceremonies may be observed in the attempted worship of that concept, how extensive or elaborate the rites, because nothing can be said or done before it is first thought; religion is and must always remain a question of thought. It is probable that the first concept primitive mortal man had of a being superior to himself was when he became aware that existence did not always appear to be harmonious. Because he lacked the ability to reason accurately, and did not realize that harmonious or inharmonious surroundings were but the expressions of right or wrong thinking, he almost inevitably concluded there was a being or beings, a power or powers, which took delight in making him uncomfortable. Instinctively he recognized there was nothing to fear from anything good, and he therefore set to work to devise a means of preventing, or at least neutralizing, the effects of the operation of this sense of malevolence. The result was the effort to appease this dreaded unknown by means of sacrifice. And every student of history, ancient or modern, knows the hideous extent to which appeasement by sacrifice has gone.

The curious thing is that the human mind is so steeped in materialism, so busy grasping for greater material riches or straining to preserve those it already believes it possesses, that it loses sight of the fact that all sacrifice is entirely mental. What but the effect of thought has sacrifice ever been, whether its external expression was in the form of burnt offerings of bullocks and rams to Jehovah, human sacrifice to Moloch, self-sacrifice under the wheels of the Juggernaut, the burning of joss sticks or incense, the wearing of red flannel next the skin, inoculation and other external and internal medication, or the slavish obedience to so-called health laws? And the grosser the mentality of the worshipers, the more material has been the concept of Deity, and the more barbarous the effort to win favor or prevent disaster.

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