The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-12-27
THE RELIGION OF GREECE.
DR.. B1anchards Fourth Lecture in His
Series.

Rev. DR.. Blanchard delivered his fourth
lecture on the Religions of the World in
the vestry of Congress square church
last evening. The lecture opened with
picture of Athens in the year 40 B.
G. 1t was the Golden Age of Pericles.
Marathon and Thermopylea and Salamis
saving Greece from Persia, had quick
ened intellectual life. Sculpture, archi-
tecture,ss tradegy made Athens a light
of the world. Acropolis, Agora, theatres
were resplendent with statues, temples,
dramas. In the throngs of bright
witted, gay, beautiful Greeks, this satyr-
looking apostle Of righteousness moved,
provoking laughter, seriousness, anger,
fear. His mission was to reform the
religion of his country. The second part
of the lecture was therefore devoted to
the consideration of this religion.
DR.. Blanchard showed how all religions
are greatly influenced by the topography
and climate of the lands in which they
arise. In the religions OF India we saw
man subjugated by nature. In Greece,
we shall see that man is exhilarated by
nature. We soon discover that the
religion is without the feeling of awe.
There are three clearly marked eras in
it's history-the times anterior to Homer
the centuries succeeding till the rise
of the great dramatists-the days of
decadence as dramatist and philosopher
treated the stories of Homer with con-
tempt. We can thus understand the
words of Socrates. 1t was not till he
was in middle life that the felt he had
a call" to turn men away from empty
speculations about the world to self
knowledge and self government.
Perplexing men by making them con-
tradict themselves, he led them on to
see the need of beholding the laws of life.
They could read these in their own
selves. Men are social and sympathetic
their own reason. Not ceremony, not
oracle nor poet could take the place of
self examination. In carrying out his
magnificent mission, he rendered to the
intellectual world of all times immeas-
urea BILE service. We cannot exalt that
mission too highly. Nevertheless, we
must see that he is inferior to Christ
Socrates depended upon knowledge. The
Nazarene depended upon love. Socrates
had loving disciples, but they never
organized. Jesus organized the Church
Universal which, with knowledge and
love, is one day to redeem the world
However much, therefore, we may re-
joice in the splendid physical develop
ment of the Greeks, in their love of
beauty, in their intellectual greatness;
however much we may feel the worlds
immense Indebtedness to Greece's archi-
lecture and art and literature, and de-
clare most earnestly that these are simply
Incompatible, still the history of it's
religion is clear and awful. Religion
died in Greece because it lacked awe of
the power that made the universe, be-
cause it made its gods in the image of
sinful, selfish men, because it's aim was
enjoyment and not righteousness. To
Greece the world owes much. To Israel
it owes much more. Socrates is great,
Jesus is greatest.
The next lecture will be on "What
Alexander the Great did for Religion, !"
and will be given on Tuesday, January
9th, 1894.