StayinginLondonafterthecloseofmyuniversitypresidency,I
wassubjecttoanotherinfluencewhichhaswroughtwithpoweruponsomestrongmen。Itwasmywonttoattendserviceinsomeoneofthechurchesinterestingfromahistoricalpointofvieworholdingouttheprospectofagoodsermon;but,probably,acombinationwhichIoccasionallymadewouldnotbeapprovedbymymoreorthodoxfellow—churchmen。ForattimesIfoundpleasureandprofitinattendingtheservicebeforesermononSundayafternoonatSt。Paul’s,andthengoingtotheneighboringPositivistConventicleinFetterLanetohearFredericHarrisonandothers。
Harrison’sdiscourseswereadmirable,andoneuponRomancivilizationwasmostsuggestiveoffruitfulthought。Mytendencyhasalwaysbeenstronglytowardhero—worship,andthisfeatureofthePositivistcreedandpracticeespeciallyattractedme;whilethesuperbandennoblingmusicofSt。Paul’skeptmeinareligiousatmosphereduringanydiscoursewhichsucceededit。
Myfavoritereadingatthisperiodwasthe"BibleforLearners,"
abookmostthoughtfullyeditedbythreeoftheforemostscholarsofmodernEurope——Hooykaas,Oort,andKuenen。Simpleasthebookis,itmadeadeepimpressionuponme,rehabilitatingtheBibleinmymind,showingittobeacollectionofliteratureandmoraltruthsunspeakablyprecioustoallChristiannationsandtoeveryChristianman。Atalaterperiod,readingsintheworksofRenan,Pfleiderer,Cheyne,Harnack,Sayce,andothersstrengthenedmeinmyliberaltendencies,withoutdiminishingintheslightestmyreverenceforallthatisnobleinChristianity,pastorpresent。
Anotherexperience,whileitdidnotperhapssetmeinanynewtrainsofthought,strengthenedmeinsomeofmyearlierviews。
ThiswastherevelationtomeofMohammedanismduringmyjourneyintheEast。WhileMohammedanfanaticismseemstomeoneofthegreatmisfortunesoftheworld,Mohammedanworship,asIfirstsawit,madeadeepimpressiononme。OurtrainwasslowlymovingintoCairo,andstoppedforatimejustoutsidethecity;thePyramidswerevisibleinthedistance,butmythoughtswereturnedfromthembyapictureintheforeground。Underaspreadingpalm—tree,atallEgyptiansuddenlyarosetohisfullheight,tookoffanoutercoveringfromhisshoulders,laiditupontheground,andthensolemnlyprostratedhimselfandwentthroughhisprayers,addressingtheminthedirectionofMecca。
Hewasutterlyobliviousofthecrowdabouthim,andthesimplicity,directness,andreverenceinhiswholemovementappealedtomestrongly。Atvariousothertimes,onthedesert,inthebazaars,inthemosques,andontheNileboats,I
witnessedsimilarscenes,andmybroad—churchmanshipwastherebymadebroader。Norwasthisgeneraleffectdiminishedbymyvisittothehowlingandwhirlingdervishes。ThemanifestationsoftheirzealrangedthemselvesclearlyinthesamecategorywiththoseevidentinAmericancampmeetings,andInowunderstoodbetterthaneverwhattheRev。Dr。BaconofNewHavenmeantwhen,afterreturningfromtheEast,healludedtocertainChristian"revivalists"as"howlingdervishes。"
Imustsay,too,thatwhileIlovedandadmiredmanyChristianmissionarieswhomIsawintheEast,andrejoicedintheworkoftheirschools,theutternarrownessofsomeofthemwasdiscouraging。Anythingmorecold,forbidding,andcertainofextinctionthantheworshipofthe"UnitedPresbyterians"atthemissionchurchatCairoIhaveneverseen,savepossiblythatofsundryCalvinistsatParis。NorhaveIeverheardanythingmoredefiantofsanethoughtandrightreasonthantheutterancesofsomeoftheseexcellentmen。
Butthegeneraleffectofalltheseexperiences,asInowthink,wastoaidinahealthfulevolutionofmyreligiousideas。
Itmaynowbeaskedwhatisthesummingupofmyrelationtoreligion,aslookeduponinthelastyearsofalonglife,duringwhichIhavehadmanysuggestionstothoughtuponit,manyopportunitiestoheareminentreligionistsofalmosteverycreeddiscussit,andmanychancestoobserveitsworkingsinthemultitudeofsystemsprevalentinvariouscountries。
Asabeginning,Iwouldanswerthat,havingformanyyearssupplementedmyearlierobservationsandstudiesbyspecialresearchesintotherelationsbetweenscienceandreligion,myconvictionhasbeenstrengthenedthatreligioninitstruesense——namely,thebringingofhumanityintonormalrelationswiththatPower,notourselves,intheuniverse,whichmakesforrighteousness——isnow,asitalwayshasbeen,aneedabsolute,pressing,andincreasing。
Astothecharacterofsuchnormalrelations,Ifeelthattheyinvolveasenseofneedforworship:forpraiseandprayer,publicandprivate。Iffine—spuntheoriesarepresentedastothenecessarysuperfluityofpraisetoaperfectBeing,andthenecessaryinutilityofprayerinaworldgovernedbylaws,myansweristhatlawisaslikelytoobtaininthespiritualasinthenaturalworld:thatwhileitmaynotbeinaccordancewithphysicallawstoprayfortheannihilationofacloudandthecessationofarain—storm,itmaywellbeinaccordancewithspirituallawsthatcommunicationtakeplacebetweentheInfiniteandfiniteminds;thathelpfulinspirationmaybethusobtained,——greaterpower,clearervision,higheraims。
Astothequestionbetweenworshipbymanasanindividualbeing,facetofacewiththeDivinePower,andworshipbyhumanbeingsincommon,asbrethrenmovedtoexpresscommonideas,needs,hopes,efforts,aspirations,Iattributevastvaluetoboth。
Astothefirst。Eachindividualofushasperhapsanevenmoreinadequateconceptionof"theGodandfatherofusall"thanaplanthasofaman;andyettheuniversalconsciousnessofourraceobligesahumanbeingundernormalconditionstofeeltheneedofbetterment,ofhelp,ofthankfulness。Itwouldseembestforeverymantocultivatethethoughts,relations,andpracticeswhichhefindsmostaccordantwithsuchfeelingsandmostsatisfyingtosuchneeds。
Astothesecond。Theuniversalnormalconsciousnessofhumanityseemstodemandsomeformofworshipincommonwithone’sfellow—men。Allformsadoptedbymenundernormalconditions,whetherincathedrals,temples,mosques,orconventicles,clearlyhaveusesandbeautiesoftheirown。
Ifitbesaidthatallformsofbelieforceremonialobscurethatworship,"inspiritandintruth,"whichaidshighaspiration,myansweristhattheincorporation,inbeliefsandformsofworship,ofwhatmanneedsforhisspiritualsustenanceseemstomeanalogoustotheincorporationinhisdailymaterialfoodofwhatheneedsforhisphysicalsustenance。Asarule,thetruthsnecessaryforthesustenanceanddevelopmentofhishighernaturewouldseembetterassimilatedwhenincorporatedinformsofbeliefandworship,publicorprivate,eventhoughthesebeliefsandformshaveimperfectionsorinadequacies。Wedonotsupportmateriallifebyconsumingpurecarbon,ornitrogen,orhydrogen:
wetaketheseinsuchadmixturesasourexperienceshowstobebestforus。Wedonotlivebybreathingpureoxygen:wetakeitdilutedwithothergases,andmainlywithonewhich,iftakenbyitself,isdeadly。
Thisisbutapoorandroughanalogy,butitseemsalegitimateillustrationofafactwhichwemusttakeaccountofinthewholehistoryofthehumanrace,past,present,andfuture。
Itwill,inmyopinion,beasaddayforthisorforanypeoplewhenthereshallhavecomeinthemanatrophyofthereligiousnature;whentheyshallhavesuppressedtheneedofcommunication,nomatterhowvague,withasupremepowerintheuniverse;whenthetieswhichbindmenofsimilarmodesofthoughtinthevariousreligiousorganizationsshallbedissolved;whenmen,insteadofmeetingtheirfellow—meninassemblagesforpublicworshipwhichgivethemasenseofbrotherhood,shallloungeathomeorinclubs;whenmenandwomen,insteadofbringingthemselvesatstatedperiodsintoanatmosphereofprayer,praise,andaspiration,tohearthediscussionofhigherspiritualthemes,tobestirredbyappealstotheirnoblernatureinbehalfoffaith,hope,andcharity,andtobemovedbyacloserrealizationofthefatherhoodofGodandthebrotherhoodofman,shallstayathomeandgivetheirthoughtstotheSundaypapersortotheconductoftheirbusinessortothelanguidsearchforsomerefugefromboredom。
Butthusrecognizingthenormalneedofreligiousideas,feelings,andobservances,Iseeinthehistoryoftheseanevolutionwhichhasslowlybroughtourraceoutoflowerformsofreligionintohigher,andwhichstillcontinues。Nowhereisthismoreclearlymirroredthaninourownsacredbooks;nowheremoredistinctlyseenthaninwhatisgoingonaboutus;andonefindsinthisevolution,justasinthedevelopmentofourraceinotherfields,survivalsofoutwornbeliefsandobservanceswhichremainasmile—stonestomarkhumanprogress。
BeliefinaGodwhoisphysically,intellectually,andmorallybutanenlarged"averageman"——unjust,whimsical,revengeful,cruel,andsofarfromomnipotentthathehastomakeallsortsofinterferencestorectifyfaultsinhisoriginalscheme——ismoreandmorefadingawayamongtheracescontrollingtheworld。
Moreandmorethethinkingandcontrollingracesaredevelopingthepowerofrightreason;andmoreandmoretheyareleavingtoinferioranddisappearingracestheme...剩余内容请长按扫描二维码或下载丁香书院APP继续免费看:
前往下载:https://www.kanbaapp.com/share/