“And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord.” Gen. 9:20. “Our earth owes
the seeds of all higher culture to religious traditions, whether
literary or oral.”--_Herdee._
The Bible, modern scholarship and Armenian traditions agree that the
ark of Noah rested “upon the mountains of Ararat,” or Armenia. We
learn from the Bible, that Noah came out of the ark and all those that
were with him, and he builded an altar unto the Lord “and offered
burnt offerings on the Altar.” This fact justifies Armenia’s claim to
be the first country where a true and pure divine worship was again
practised after the Deluge. The tradition of the Armenians coincides
with the truth revealed in the Bible and with the results of modern
scholarship, that the primitive religion of mankind was a pure and
simple monotheism, in form patriarchal. Prof. Max Müller of Oxford,
England, says “Religion is not a new invention. It is, if not as old
as the world, at least as old as the world we know. As soon almost as
we know anything of the thoughts and feelings of man, we find him in
possession of religion, or rather possessed by religion.”
The Bible furnishes sufficient facts to assert that this pure
monotheism in its patriarchal form was perpetuated among the immediate
descendants of Noah, and later especially in the line of Abraham. Many
centuries after the building of the first altar unto the Lord we find
Abraham called by Jehovah out of his country and from his people to
become the head of a nation through whom the knowledge of the only one
true God should be perpetrated. God’s call of Abraham was not for the
purpose of making a true worshiper of him, but that through him the
true worship of Jehovah might be perpetuated. The Lord said “I will
make of thee a great nation.”
Another example of the true worshiper of God in the time of Abraham was
Melchizedek (King of righteousness), King of Salem (peace), “who was
the high priest of the most high God.”[35] Melchizedek was not only a
monotheist, but also the priest of a monotheistic faith. He reigned
over his people on whose behalf he officiated as the high priest of the
most high God. Now, therefore, it ought to be admitted that not only
solitary individuals, like Abraham and Melchizidek, but the people of
the latter also were true worshipers of God.
The Bible is not a universal history of mankind. Were it so, well
might we have expected it to mention other nations and their early
religious beliefs; though what little it incidentally states in regard
to them is marvelously accurate. The Armenian tradition that their
primitive religion was monotheism, therefore, is neither incredible
nor inconceivable, but on the contrary, it is most probable and is
supported by the analogy of the Bible record.
The investigations of modern scholarship maintain the idea and
render it almost a moral demonstration that the primitive religions
of the ancient nations were of a monotheistic type or if not a pure
monotheism, at least not very far from it. Prof. Max Müller, in his
lectures on the “Origin and Growth of Religion,” says: “The Ancient
Aryans felt from the beginning, aye, it may be more in the beginning
than afterwards, the presence of a Beyond[36] of an Infinite, of a
Divine, or whatever else we may call it now; and they tried to grasp
and comprehend it, as we all do, by giving to it name after name.” It
is conceded by the scholars that the ancient Armenians were closely
connected with the ancient Aryans (See Chap. II), indeed that they
were Aryans, and their legitimate descendants now speak a language
which modern ethnologists decidedly pronounce to belong to Aryan or
Indo-Germanic origin. Although we do not know when the separation of
the Aryans took place, we can safely say that the above statement of
Prof. Max Müller is also perfectly applicable to the ancient Armenians;
yet we are not able to say how long such a purity of faith prevailed in
Armenia.
The human mind is capable of progress, but when it is left to itself
is sure to retrograde and degenerate. This is verified in the case
of almost all nations and in the history of all the religions of
the world. “That religion is liable to corruption is surely seen
again and again. In one sense the history of most religions might
be called a slow corruption of their primitive purity.” Divine aid,
especially in religion, is therefore absolutely necessary for a true
progress. Armenia left to herself fell into a gross form of idolatry.
Her fall must have been hastened, if not caused, by her idolatrous
neighbors, the Babylonians and Assyrians. For the idolatry which we
find in the early history of the country is decidedly like that of
Assyro-Babylonian. It is not the same religion adopted and practised by
the inhabitants, but it is modeled after the Assyrian.
Anterior to the cuneiform inscriptions of Armenia the people must have
had an idolatry similar to the Sabeism (Sabianism) of Babylonia, which
was afterwards modeled to the Assyrian style, with its distinctive
character. One of the inscriptions furnishes a long list of the gods
and the regulations for sacrifices daily to be offered to them. There
are, however, three other gods, which stood apart by themselves at
the head of the Pantheon. These are Khaldis, Tusbas (the air god) and
Adinis (the sun god). But Khaldis is the supreme god and the father
of other gods; and in addition to these every tribe, and city and
fortress seem to have its respective god. Some other gods are Avis or
Auis (the water god), Agas (the earth god), Dhuspuas (the god of Tosp,
the City of Van), Selardis (the moon god), Sardis (the year god). The
Armenians, in this period, do not seem to have any goddess. Saris
is found only mentioned once in the inscriptions and is translated
“queen,” yet it is supposed to have been borrowed from the Assyrian
Istar. Whether all the other gods are the children of the supreme god
Khaldis, or are subordinate to him and separate from his numerous
offsprings, it is not quite clear; the latter, however, is most likely
the case, because the Kaldians (the children of Khaldis) and other
gods have their separate offerings assigned to them according to their
importance.
With the rise of the Medo-Persian empire a new religion rises from
obscurity to prominence in western Asia. This is the religion of
Zoroaster. It is generally believed that Zoroaster was a real person
and the founder of this religion, which is called after his name,
Zoroastrianism. There is, however, great uncertainty about the period
of his existence; some would make him contemporary with David or
Solomon. It is probable that he lived in a much later time than these
Israelitish kings.
The religion of Zoroaster is dualistic. It teaches that there are two
uncreated beings. Ormazd, the supreme good, and Ahriman, the evil;
that Ormazd created the earth, the heavens, and man, and that man is
created free; Ahriman is the evil and evil-doer, and in constant war
with Ormazd; this world is their battlefield. There are inferior (good
and bad) spirits which are called _genii_, who are the instruments of
Ormazd (the good spirits) and Ahriman (the bad spirits). Fire alone was
the personification of the son of Ormazd, and therefore an object of
veneration.[37]
The Magi were the priests of Zoroastrianism, with a high priest of this
order who was called in the Armenian language _Mogbed_ (the head or the
leader of Magi). No doubt this was the religion of the Armenians for
nearly eight centuries (550 B.C. to 275 or 280 A.D.), possibly with
some modifications and additions from the Grecian polytheism after the
conquest of Alexander the Great. The Roman deifications of her emperors
did not effect Armenia.