The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-10-27
PROF. JOHN FISKE AGAIN.
An Improved Bible and n Better Re-
IiUfnn

Iigfon.
"Deanthropomorphisati Up TO date
this is the longest word 1 have ever met
with in the English language. 1t was manu-
featured by the late John Fiske 1t makes
those old timers, ''sesquipedalian' and
'fncomprehensibility" look trifing. An
thropomorphc used to rank high as big
word, but when good DR.. Fiske added a
head and tail to it and launched it upon
an unsuspecting world. he must have said
to himself, Now Lord let Thy servant de-
part in peace"
We are so built that we express the
majority of our ideas in concrete and
metaphoric words. Anthropomorphism is
such an expression of divine things
in terms of human experience. We
involuntarily transfer all that is best in
our observation-disclosures Cod
first multiplying them by infinity and then
| say God is love wisdom justice"
Among these transfers is personality-the
highest fact in human nature. We speak
of the infinite personality regardless of the
/ great question-does not personality neces-
sarily imply limitation? And the question
is, would it improve our religion to dean
thropomorphize" it; that is, leave out its
human coloring and those ideas which
| although "of the earth, earthly have got
themselves in the lapse of time to be ac-
counted as ''of heaven. heavenly"
Now. DR.. Fiske thinks this process viii
increase our religious knowledge and pro-
mote clearness of thought No doubt this
habit of ours has been, as all such habits
are and will be, abused. For example, Mr..
Moody once said-"God loves praise.
Praise him. How did Mr. Moody know
the divine likes and dislikes? And yet,
| absurd as was the expression, the phrase
| only represents incorrigible and age
long human tendency, which, when closely
analysed, will be found to be the source
of some. at least Of the great dogmas of
| the church. The Westminster Confession,
which the Liberal Presbyterians are to-
| day trying to shake off, is a case in point.
1t was built $50 years ago in London and
| by the Puritans then in political power.
At that time the dominant thought OF all
the schools and churches was, God is
an absolute sovereign and has a perfect
| right to do as He pleases with His chill
| dren." The result was the barbarous
damnatory clauses of that great historic
| document. AS DR.. Herrick Johnson said.
1T was written by the elect and for the
elect" and he might have added that the
nonelect had to take what was left-all of
which was and is anthropomorphism. and
which good Or. Fiske proposed to cure by
the opposite course, namely, of eliminating
all human ideas based upon human ex-
periences when thinking of God or dis
cussing his ways Fiske's proposal is
evidently suggested by that great scrip
ture, My ways are not your ways, saith
the Lord of Hosts"
! Nbk -
it desirable that it should be done? Would
not religion lose, rather than gain, by any
such attempt, even if successful? Suppose
that we should take away personality both
in God and Satan, where would it leave
Us? God must then be what science and
Matthew Arnold make him. "a stream of
tendency" or "a power not ourselves
which makes for righteousness" The devil
would then become the exact opposite "a
power not ourselves which makes for wick
edness"-in other words, the old Persian
concept Of the two contending powers, Or
mudz and Ahriman, would again prevail
in A. D. 1900. Is God a person or not
That is, after ALL at the bottom of the
controversy between science and religion,
for if He is not a person, then the whole
Christian religion falls to the ground, does
becomes of the Bible. which is a message
from God to man? The truth seems to be
this, that God is a spirit, who works
through and upon human spirits as well
as with other agencies. But these human
agencies express themselves in the lam
guage and experiences of humanity. and in
reading revelation we must make all due
allowances for this human element. II
| do pof chon HDd
in endless difficulties. The message of the
Bible is adapted to and expressed in the
language of humanity Eliminate this pop.
ular language and substitute for it lam
guage which is above the average mans
capacity to understand, how would any
revelation be possible?
Suppose you take away from heaven the
idea of rest or the absence of tears and
sorrow, or of rewards for a life of self
sacrifice and well-doing-what would the
hereafter be worth? Per contra, punish
ment may be a wholly human idea, blu,
If the wicked are not to be punished here
after, do you not take away the most pow
erful Of human restraints against vice and
wickedness and one of the most powerful
incentives to well-doing?
This same anthropomorphism is the key
| OF our savior lie ana WOrR. All sTedl
religions are founded on great personalities
Take that religion which is so strangely
akin to our own-Buddhism. First and last
it rests upon the life of that sweet saint
who is justly called 1.-The Light OF Asia -
He taught kindness. justice, purity and.
above all else self-renunciation. No doubt.
after the lapse of $500 years. his religion.
like Christianity, has vastly deteriorated
and become overlaid by superstition and
dogma Still there stands the man. In
Japan there are a million images Of his
lovely face, from the tiny. one cut in ivory.
with eyes of pearl, for my lady's boudoir.
to the great Dibutsus, built Of bronze and
often fifty feet high and 600 years old. All
of these say to their worshipers with their
dumb lips, "Be pure, be kind, be just.
without these reminders of the man who
died so many centuries ago. what would
become of his 5OO,OCO.O0O followers. the ma
jority of whom are like so many children
Religion was made for man, not man for
| religion. 1t is vain and idle to think OF
eliminating its human and perhaps there
for fallible elements. That is exactly what
science is trying to do-"deanthropomor-
phize" it-and If in the future near or re-
| mote 1t shall succeed, it will be a sad day
| for the human family. Who wants to ex-