Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 3 · Section 1
SECT. 1. Of the beginning of Idolatry.
IT is moſt probable that this Idolatrie tooke the beginning from the love which men carie to their dead parents, to ſet up images and ſtatues to them in remembrance of them, which Satan afterward moved them to worſhip: and then they began to ſay to the ſtocke thou art my father, Ier. 2.27. and to the ſtone that thou haſt brought mee forth;Men ſet up firſt images in remembrance of their fathers, and afterward fell to worſhip them. and hence it was that they were commanded to forget their fathers houſe when they were to leave Idolatrie, Pſal. 45.10. That is the religion which they had from their parents, and which was continued amongſt them in remembrance of their fathers: And thoſe Idolaters are more blamed who choſe new Gods which their fathers knew not, Deut. 32.17.
The devill made them beleeve that images were ſent downe from God.Secondly, the ſubtill devill deluded people; and made them beleeve that the gods ſent downe images from Heaven, which they called foreign comming downe from Iupiter, Act. 19.35. So hee made them beleeve that gods came downe to them in the likeneſſe of men,The devill made men beleeve that images made with mens hands had ſome divine power aſsiſting them. Act. 14.11. and ſo they worſhipped them. Thirdly, hee made them beleeve that thoſe images which were made with mens hands had ſome divine power aſſiſting them, and that they were not lyke other workes of mens hands; Acts 19.26. It is naturall for all men to have ſome god or other; and men according to their ſeverall inclinations found gods to themſelves, ſome one way, and ſome another;Men fained gods to themſelves according to their ſeverall inclinations. Thoſe who were inclined to warre made Mars for their God, and the Scythians a belicouſe people worſhipped their ſword; and thoſe who inclined to filthineſſe or luſt, made Venus for their godeſſe; And the Iewes worſhipped Tammuz, Ezech. 8.14. with their foreign, and from hence ſprang all their fabulous theologie (as Varro calles it) of the inceſts, adulteries, and rapts of their Gods: So men inclining to coveteouſneſſe made their gods accordingly, as the Philiſtines made Dagon a fiſh their god, becauſe they lay neare the ſea coaſt and uſed fiſhing; So ſome worſhipped a ſheepe, as the Syrians worſhiped gnaſhtoroth a ſheepe, So in Egypt they worſhiped an oxe; an oxe was a ſigne to them of plenie of corne, Pro. 14.4. where no oxen are the crib is cleane, but much increaſe is by the ſtrength of the oxe; and thoſe who were given to drunkenneſſe made Bacchus their god;Vide Amianum dego es de rebus ethiopicis, lib. 3 And even as the Ethiopians becauſe they are blacke themſelves, paint the good Angels blacke like themſelves, and the devills white; So did men imagine of their gods, and made them like unto themſelves, and that which they affected moſt, fooliſh man imagine that God is like unto him, Pſal. 50. becauſe I held my peace thou thoughteſt I was like unto thee.
When men beheld the ſtarres, firſt they obſerved the influx of the ſtarres, and that bred Phyſicke: ſecondly they obſerved the courſe of the ſtarres, and that bred Aſtronomie. Thirdly, they uſed predictions by the ſtarres, and that bred Aſtrologie: Fourthly, they worſhipped the ſtarres, and that was Idolatry.
They worſhipped their gods of gold; ſilver, yron, wood, and ſtone, Dan. 5.4. they repreſented Iupiter, by gold, Venus, or Diana, by ſilver, they made ſilver ſhrines to Diana; They repreſented Caeres, by wood, and Pluto and the infernall gods, by ſtone.
To theſe Idols they gave all honour which was due to God, they called them their husbandes, Hoſ. 2.7. they called them their kings, Zeph. 1.5. and their gods, and their kings and their great men tooke names from thoſe Idoles, as Nebuchadnezer, and Nebuch palaſſar tooke their names from their Idoll Nebo, Iſa. 46.1. So Balthaſar, Hanniball, Hasdruball, tooke their names from Baal, ſo the King of the Sidonians was called Ethbaal, 1 Sam. 6.31. and others tooke their names from Bell, which is the contraction of Baal; So they beſtowed their goods upon their Idoles, they ſacrificed their children unto them, and powred out all their affections upon them, and they held that all which they did poſſeſſe they poſſeſſed it by their Idols, Iud. 11.24.