William Robertson Smith
William Robertson Smith
William Robertson Smith FRSEwas a Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Biblica. He is also known for his book Religion of the Semites, which is considered a foundational text in the comparative study of religion...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth8 November 1846
sanctuary fancy worship
The myths connected with individual sanctuaries and ceremonies were merely part of the apparatus of the worship; they served to excite the fancy and sustain the interest of the worshipper... no one cared what he believed about its origin.
religion deities dissolution
The dissolution of the nation destroys the national religion, and dethrones the national deity.
sacrifice men ideas
That the God-man died for his people, and that His death is their life, is an idea which was in some degree foreshadowed by the older mystical sacrifices.
sacred essentials ancient
But, strictly speaking, this mythology was no essential part of ancient religion, for it had no sacred sanction and no binding force on the worshippers.