The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-31

| changed the cha IA cter of Christianity as
| "a religion of the book bat their ten
dency has been to Vindicate the unique
and essential place of the Bible in litera-
| ture as containing The veritabie record Of
| a divine revelation. Some things, indeed,
| have been changed; the order in which
! the books of the Bible were written is not
the order in which they stand; some of
them are OF composite authorship, whose
| various parts were written at different
times; the traditional chronology. known
| at Usshers d656, has been abandoned.
nor is there anything in the Bible which
! places II in opposition to the teachings
/ Of geology relative to the length of time
| during which man has occupied the earth:
! the historical order of priest and prophet
| has been reversed. so that the voice of
/ prophecy comes before the decline into
ritual CVeIlhausen and others. Popular
| NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. tend to vanish in the
| light of true insight and Interpretation,
| such as that the first chapter of Genesis
/ was intended to be an infallible record of
the divine order in the creation of the
world. That a similar account of the Gre
alton is found in Baoylonian literature
only shows that the Bible writer was
! illustrating by the best scientific knowI-
itual truth with which the Bible opens,
that the creation is the work of God,
] thus leading man to the worship of God
and away from the lower worships of
sun and moon and all the hosts of
/ heaven.
! The mechanical conceptions as to the
mode Of inspiration and revelation tend
| to give way before =, larger and truer
! conception of the process by which the
revelation Is made-that God speaks to
man actually and authoritatively through
/ the experience of the events of life. Thus
I revelation becomes living process. and
| all later history may become a COM
mentary on sacred history, renewing and
conforming the primal utterance of God
/ 10 the soul of man Much. il is true, vet
/ remains 10 be done in bridging the gulf
between the learned and scientific inter
probation of the sacred record and the
popular apprehension. which formed in
I the unoritical moments of youth. often
persists to mature years and constitutes
! a source OF confusion and weakness. A
similar situation was seen in the Middle
scholastic theologians and the popular
mind.
A new department has been added 10
religious enquiry in Comparative Religion,
which aims at an impartial investigation
and free from prejudice, and is also
moved by the sentiment of common hui
manity to respect all utterances of reli-
, gious feeling in the soul of man. How
widely the nineteenth century has ad-
vanced in this respect is seen by recall
| ing a statement of DIR. Johnson: There
are two objects of curiosity-the Chris
tian world and the Mohsmmedan world.
| All the rest may be considered as bar
| barous" One of the most representative
monuments of religious scholarship in the
| last century is Prof Max Muller's 'Sa-
I cred Books of the East" Some enquirers
| in this unfamiliar department have work
| ed under the impression that these an
| cient religions were equal in value to the
Christian revelation; others even have
thought them to be in some respects SUI
perior. And, in general, the first effect OF
the discovery that there was truth in
other religions had tendency to weaken
the claim of Christianity to be the abso-
| II.
| study have been placed in their normal
perspective, it becomes evident that they
! only confirm the words of st. Paul, that
| God has at no time left himself without
/ witnesses I'm the world. Revelation also
| is seen to have been a universal process
and profound spiritual motives are to bt
/ discerned beneath the diverse manifesto
lions Of the religious instincts. Yet, OF
the whole, the preponderating Judgment
leads to the conclusion that Christianity
| contains the larger, even the absolute
truth; that while it confirms some fea-
lures in these religions as true ii con.
| dernns others as false: that Christianity
! also has for one of its essential charsc.
teristics an assimilatiye power, which moi
only enables. but forces. it to appropriate
as its own any aspects of truth contained
In other religions which have not hither-
to been illustrated in the history of the
Christian Church Nor Is the familiar test
applied to religions wholly an unworthy
one which judges them by their historical
fruits or associations. In accordance will
this test, Confuciansm is represented by
China. Hinduism by India. Buddhism 10y
Ceylon and Siam. Mohammedanism by
Turkey, Christianity by Europe anc
America.
The influence of the humanitarian sen
timent may be further traced in soften
ing the asperities of some forms OF ira
ditional theology, as, for example, The
Calvinistic doctrine OF election with it.
alternatives of reprobation or preterition
These certainly have not been the favor
tie doctrines which have commended
themselves to the spirit Of the age. Tn,
effort has been made to bring the doctrine
| of the atonement within the limits of hu.
man experience. II has been found i'm.
possible to present the doctrine Of end
! less punishment after the manner of al
earlier age. Many causes have combined
to deepen the sense of mystery in which
is enveloped the destiny of man, and there
has been begotten In consequence an un-
willingness to dogmatize where In earlier
| times such reluctance was not felt. II
this connection may be mentioned two
| religious bodies. which took their rise
| about the beginning OF the century-Uni-
versalism, proclaiming ultimate salvation
for all men; and Unitaria nisn, asserting
the dignity of man and his divine endow.
ment But in all the Churches alike has
the same humanizing force been felt
leading TO efforts ia theological recon
struction in order to make IL apparent
that the primary truths of Christianity
are not merely arbitrary principles or ar
rangements unrelated to life and to tn,
needs of the soul, but that I'm their essen
tiaI quality there is conformity with tn,
larger reason of humanity. with that feel
ing for the inherent worth of things on;
OF which reason proceeds. and with whicl
it's conclusions must conform