Ancient Religions

Debunking the myth of Divine origins of the Old Testament, and tracing the Old Testament myths to their original sources.

First published in 1893, this book contains a detailed discussion of the funerary rituals and objects which were used in Egyptian religion to allow the deceased to live again in the Duat (the afterlife). Budge provides detailed descriptions of common religious texts, religious rites and the major deities involved in these. He also includes interpretations for other artefacts which commonly accompanied a burial, including shabiti statues and amulets. His comprehensive study represents the state of Egyptian funerary archaeology before major archaeological finds of the twentieth century challenged its interpretations.

The resident official, travelling from place to place, spends a great deal of time seated in railway stations or on the banks of the Nile, waiting for his train or his boat to arrive; and he has, therefore, a great deal of time for thinking. I often try to fill in these dreary periods by jotting down a few notes on some matter which has recently been discussed, or registering and elaborating arguments which have chanced lately to come into the thoughts. These notes are shaped and "written up" when next there is a spare hour, and a few books to refer to; and ultimately they take the form of articles or papers, some of which find their way into print.

I have tried to show how Christmas is or has been kept in various lands and ages, and to trace as far as possible the origin of the pagan elements that have mingled with the Church's feast of the Nativity.

The seeds of the Gnosis were originally of Indian growth, carried so far westward by the influence of that Buddhistic movement which had previously overspread all the East, from Thibet to Ceylon, was the great truth faintly discerned by Matter, but which became evident to me upon acquiring even a slight acquaintance with the chief doctrines of Indian theosophy.

A doctrine with more than one point of resemblance to the doctrine of Plato and Spinoza; a doctrine which in its form rises at times to the majestic tone of religious poetry; a doctrine born in the same land, and almost at the same time, as Christianity; a doctrine which developed and spread during a period of more than twelve centuries in the shadow of the most profound mystery, without any supporting evidence other than the testimony of a presumptive ancient tradition, and with no apparent motive than the desire to penetrate more intimately into the meaning of the Sacred Books--such is the doctrine found in the original writings and in the oldest fragments of the Kabbalah

This book is about the search for spiritual truth. According to the author, the methods date back to ancient Egypt and Chaldea. It contains some of the most effective spiritual instruction ever used. The author was well-schooled in wisdom from around the world, often referring to Hermetic, Kabalistic, Theosophical, and Buddhist principles.