The sun., 1901-04-14

most striking. In that sphere Christian
meeltness mercy and self-sacrtAce are
being openly superseded by maxims drawn
from the Darwinian Struggle for Existence
and by avowals Of the right Of the strong
Even professed ministers OF Christ have
been pandering to Imperialism and the
lust OF war. In truth. by strange turn
OF events, Christian ethics, in questions be-
tween nation and nation and in questions
concerning humanity at large, have been
passing out OF the hands Of the orthodox
teachers Of supernatural Christianity into
those OF men who recognize only the hu-
man character and ethical teachings Of life.
Prof. Seeley In his earlier days had
made great impression with his "Ecce
| Homo" an attempt to bring the character
OF Christ nearer to the heart Of humanity.
| The work was decidedly pietist; yet ration
| alizing tendency was scented in it by the
| Evangelicals, whose leader. Lord Shaftes-
| bury. denounced IT, Its author promised
a theology But when. after years Of re-
| Election and subjection TO the Influences
Of moving time. the theology came, under
the title OF Natural ReIs!cn," it was total
disappointment. Religion was reduced by
It TO enthusiasm. not exclusively Christian
or even theistic but Of any kind such as
enthusiastic love Of country or Of art.
Minds Of the finer cast have preserved the
religious spirit, while they have thrown
OF the shackles Of creed and even regarded
the whole religious question az matter OF
doubt and suspense.
! There lives more faith in honest doubt,
| Believe me. than in half the crcedA
| This Is the pervading spirit Of Tenny-
sons poems, and Of such work as Amiels
diary but it must manifestly be confined
to circle Of minds such ms those Of Tenny-
son and Amiel Agnosticism ia the cond!
ton into which large number Of educated
minds have been more or less consciously
passing or drifting But while In some OF
them religious spirit still prevails and the
hope IL cherished ~ a new religious dawn.
others seem to have finally settled In the
conviction that theological inquiry Ia hope
less and that our knowledge must forever
be bounded by that which our senses and
science tell US about the laws or forces OF
our own world.
Reluctance TO give up belief In the unseen
world. and perhaps still more unwillingness
TO think that the loved ones who are lost
by death are lost forever, have given birth
TO Spirttualism. II will hardly be thought
necessary TO comment on an illusion which
has been so often and 80 decisively ex-
posed It's very name is beLed when the
spirits have 10 materiaize before they can
make their existence known or hold con-
verse with those who evoke them. The
alleged communications from the spirit
world through such medium "a Planchette
have been trivial. almost fatuous IL IL
now forgotten that the movement began
with table-turning. as though spirits had
a special affinity for tables.
Among the anti-thcistic. or at least the
ecclesiastical, influences and the solv-
ents Of our religious system may be reck-
oned the foundation OF systems OF morality
Independent Of the divine sanction. Paley's
! definition Of virtue Is the doing good TO
mankind in obedience 10 the will OF God
and for the sake OF everlasting happiness
| This Ia the theistio view. Opposed TO
| It is the Utilitarian system. generally
connected with Bentham's name. which
| finds the sole and sufficient motive and re-
ward Of virtue in the promotion Of our
well-being here. SO long rs a system aims
/ at perfection and beauty Of character
which transcend temporal happiness, there
Is in the philosophy a theisto element,
patent or latent. But Of perfection and
beauty Of character the Unitarian phil
osophy in It's thorough going form takes
no account.
The weakening Of religious belief IA a
social influence on the conservative side
| Ia very marked. and exCites the fears Of
statesmen, some Of whom, even II they are
| Protestants, are inclined TO look with
/ complacency on the PapaCy IA buwark
! against social revolution. The drudge
! rested in dull contentment with his lot while
he could believe that hereafter the parts
| of Dives and Lazarus would be reversed
and full amends would be made TO him for
| his privatons in this life, This hope having
/ vanished he is resolved, II he can. TO have A
| share Of the good things ofthe present world
! That this sentiment helps 10 set seethng the
| caldron OF socialstic and communlstc
/ agitation all who are familiar with labor
| literature must he aware. II would proha-
bly, be found that anarchism and atheism
! generally went together,
As the natural consequence ~ the loos-
| ened hold of religion over the nations there
! has been n general tendency in Europe
| toward disestablishment. In Italy, the seat
/ of the Papacy. dlsestablishment is complete.
! In Spain, while Catholicism ia still recog-
nized as the exclusive religion Of the nation
| the immense revenues Of the clergy have
| been secularized. monasteries have been
| dissolved and religion has been almost
reduced to department 81 the state. In
/ France the process has gone still further
than in Spain. and religion may almost be
said to be not only department. but n
despised department, Of the state In Ire
| land the state Church has been disestab-
| lished A bill has been brought In for the
dsestabishment Of the Church In Wales,
and in England disestahliShment seems 10
be approaching, It's advent being fastened
hy the collision of rtualism with the anti
Roman and anti-sacerdotal spirit Of the
nation Popular education has everywhere