New-York tribune., 1909-05-29

Colgate University. Crown Svo. PIP. xii. AZ.
Charles Scribners Sons
The author Of this impressive exposition
comes to his labors cherishing no expectation
Of offering definitive statements for he in
quires what is man. at any given hour Of
history, that he should know all that is 10 be
known O. God? Each generation must know
for itself as it may in the light of its knowledge
Of other realities and of the cumulative expert
ence of mankind; and since we do not accept
as final any doctrinaI deliverance of the past
we are not TO suppose that doctrine we our
selves formulate will need no revision hereafter
Representing the present stage in the long his
torical development, our doctrine, the next after
that of yesterday is the prelude 10 a better
doctrine tomorrow, to-day's form of the ssa
persisting Christian truth. The main purpose
therefore, is to describe and to describe rather
than to prove, the conception of God which
Christian faith and thought propose for our day
in view of the Bible. and of history and Of all
sound knowledge and experience. interpreted
in the light Of Jesus Christ the reveaIer.
The sources for such an inquiry are to be
found in the Hebrew faith that Graded the
Christian faith also in the general faith of
mankind and far among the primitive thoughts
of Without attempting a study of re-
ligion antflropologically Professor Clarke s,ig-
gests in regard to the excursions Of primitive
thought that the simplest and truest explana-
tion of the rise of belief in God is that it is
always the nature of life to take hold upon the
realities that it needs for service to its welfare
and that for the human spirit God is one of
thacc 4-anries. At what stage in the early life
OF the lace the ethical element united with the
religious feeling we shall never know, for il
was not an event but process If the ethical
life of the world has. at times suffered much
from religion, IL owes to religion iynmeasurabfv
more than it has suffered from it. The ethical
conception Of God rose highest in the religion
of the Hebrew people, and Christians have al
ways said that so high thought of God was
due 70 revelation. Men were not merely dis
covering God. but God was making Himself
known to men. When Jesus came living the
life OF a devout Hebrew, He never stood as a
rejecter of the doctrine Of God which the an
cient religion had bequeathed. Nevertheless.
He brought in a new religion: He brought
richer doctrine of God, and inspired and illus
trated a better practice OF God than the world
had known elsewhere.
The right of theology to discuss this august
theme in metaphysical light is not 10 be oues-
toned, Yet Professor Clarke thinks proper to
insist that when we go to The chief source we
find Jesus not a metaphysician in his account
of God, but exclusively d religious teacher He
does not bring us doctrine OF God he brings
US Goo. He does not explain Cod but looks
into His face, ard leads US to do the same II
was inevitable that there shoulds arise in the
later history of the Church many spec,,la. .i,.
constructions of the religious experience and
theology has erred only when the order has
been reversed and metaphysical considerations
have been made Indispensable 10 the shnplest
Christian faith The condition Imposed ,v Pro-
fessor Clarke's view that the doctrine is re-
hGious before 1t is philosophical has its ra,uIt