The sun., 1882-01-08

| to our habitual thought because We have drifts
cd away still further and more widely from
| primitive Jewish Christianity than Mos
| hammeds contemporaries had
With the discussion OF Islamism. Hartmann
| ends his sketch OF the progress OF religion
in external development. saying nothing OF the
| religions Of China and Japan. and nothing Of
| the religious events embraced in what is called
modern history. As to China and japan this
| is partly owing to their remoteness from Eu.
| rope. On tho other point. the immensity o. the
| field tho enormous mass OF material to bd
dealt WITH and tho fact that the subject has been
| treated by so many other writers. and has pros
| duced such a conflict OF opinion. are sufficient
| to account for his silence. After a briet essay
| on the condition ot modern Judaism. POINTING
| cutthe i'm possibility OF reforming 1t without de-
| stroyina its distinctive character. he winds up
| the book with an attempt at forecasiing thu
future Of religion. based upon the survey ha
| has made Of its development in the past.
| An accurate statement Of this forecast would
| occupy almost as much space as the author
| himself has devoted to it, and would require us.
| nlso. to supply what in our brief sketch we have
| omitted for tho sake OF cicarness. his metas
! physical exposition OF religion in its vari-
| GUS forms as he has described them. So
far rs his idea can DO presented in q
few words. however. 1t is this: Thd
worry earliest religion was. rs We have seen.
Il desire for material blessings. and an effort
TO secure them by prayers ard sacrifices. Next
grew up the religious sanction to precspts OF
morality. and the consequent transfer OF ideas
OF sin and guilt to wrong-doing rs a trausRres-
sion OF divine commands As the human mind
expanded and developed. came the furthsr
yearnng for spiritual purity and tho higher
and deeper happiness which was imagined to
result from a close union with the deity:
and this was sought In various ways.
as for example. by asceticism among
the Brahmans and Buddhists. by cere-
monials among the Parsees. tho Egyptians.
and tho later Jews, and. among Christians.
first. by the contemplation OF Jesus the Son Of
God as a Mediator with God the Father. and
later on. by the invocation OF the Holy Spirit as
the medium OF conjunction with the Son. Up to
tho present time no effort Of the Kind has been
completely successful because % the meta
physical impossibility OF an inward conjunction
between one solf-conscious being and another
being conceived OF as q distinctly separate per-
sona!ity. The craving OF man for union with
God can only be satisfied when God is perceived
to be spirit dwelling within US and within each
OF our follow men, and not as .a;porsouality ex-
ternal to us.
The ancient Egyptians were naturslistio
monsts: that is to say they regarded soul and
body. gods and men. earth. heaven. and hell. as
all composed OF ono and the same natural SUBJ
stance in different degrees of subimation. The
soul was fine matter. as the body was grosa
matter; the gods were fro. air lightning. and
other subtle essences. and the invisible world
OF the same substance as the visible.
only moro attenuated. Brshmanism. az
we'll rs Buddhism. was abstract monlsm
treating the ideNi Brehma as the only real thing
in existence. aud everything besides Us pure H..
lusion. Christianity thus far has boon for the
most part dualistic .heism. That is. it has as
sumed matter and spirit soul and body. crea-
turs and creator to be two distinct kinds Of
thing. and to this may be attributed Its failure
to solve ;he knotty metaphysical problem of OK.
istence. concrete monism. that is. Il monism
which regards God solely as a spirit and
concrete unit with man. meets the emergency.
Hartmann thinks. and to it. he says. religious
thought is now tending. His language, az
nearly as we can render it in English. is this:
The development OF the religious consciousness neth-
ing but the process OF gradual Coming to self
Sit IN religious aspect As soon as the oalyct OF
hgious relation recognized God Spirit this Cod.
spirit is eomprehenied as the sefceverning and self
saving nmsnenee'prnepls Of the religious. Conscious
ress, the process is substantially competed. anu Il
susceptible only Of haer AMI richer yerfecuny.
Such selEsavins. selfgoverning cosmotrasicsl immA
hence religion Of the absolute Spirit stands now
evidently much more remote from Christianity than
Chr,taniy does from judaism, for chTIstlanity and
Juiaism have under them the basis least Of
rheisn, while Tor the religion VI the and religion
OF the Spirit such common basis Is lacking. The re-.
ison OF the spirit can longer be called Chris
aahy or Thesn' not Christianity. since CHRIST hM
ceased to Be III 1t the objective the subjective prin
ople OF salvation. the religious lie principle OIL
the object OF religious regard aui Christianity with
out Christ Is o'"'".hto I" ay"h II is not Thei,m
either IN the Unitarian the TrInitariau
sne, because the absolute Spirit ionserG
divine personality OF its own distinguished the hui
man The Goiheai absolute Spirit is enc, and al
unity sIke the absolute ground and the absolute beinI
ot the world, therefore this religion AMI
called Monsn. though the plurality the divine human
persons i no illusion bat in each of them the iyeTsonaI
one cOncrctes itself into real personaty Therefore
tie unity o. the ioiheai i. abstract unity that
say. usity excluding real plurality. but unity
as includes in itself the real plursity inneI
naniIoiness Ani, the absolute spirit sceks
and Ind! IN the ende abundance OF
man single personalities its concrescence. ths
sm Is longer 10 be called abstract but rather
N onisn.
In previous passage the author had said:
' The religion OF the God-Spirt offers to the re-
ligious consciousness the real immanence OF
the absolute Spirit in the individual. but. na,u-
rally. not in absolute way. nor in ab-
solute measure. but according to the fnits
ability and the finite Apprehension Of tho
spirit in fnito way. aud In
laite de..ree. that is TO say. in n degree ca
paol9 OF exaltation and of Weakening" Fur
her on ne adds: Concrete monism forms thu
synthetic keystone Of the arch Rising on both
sides. the higher third. 10 which all forus -
we'll those OF abstract monism as those Of
Iheism, find their positive reoone-liati1n and
also their suhiuEation in e word the !a,, con-
rludins phase of the development Of lie ra-
ligious CONSCIOUSNESS"
How far the doctrine here advanced hy
Hartmann differs from that OF Sl!no2l wi1
saw God as tha iniwen. cause If all thiass
AMI the real substance giving them exs'euce:
from that OF Swe lei BORG. who tea 'i,- tG.i God
iwells in the inmost Of every erlatil thi-,E and
preserves il from aupihilat.Ju; or from that
even OF Matthew Arnold. who yisWs God
= the power not ourselves. which makes for
Or wisthcr. after al. y l. nut
simply Pantueisll. !ressed ~ N = :4~w i.ra-e.
We leave each rei,irr t. decide llT hiI- r.
Y hHt any cons ,'eruule number ~ peqpi" VIII
accept concrete G!OEism rs . rrurdY ior rs-
iislpus skeutl'lsui AMI unrest = imprniah.c, 10
~ t.Il laasi. !f.t iMat in nr..tInE ~ Ii IN