StayinginLondonafterthecloseofmyuniversitypresidency，I
wassubjecttoanotherinfluencewhichhaswroughtwithpoweruponsomestrongmen。Itwasmywonttoattendserviceinsomeoneofthechurchesinterestingfromahistoricalpointofvieworholdingouttheprospectofagoodsermon;but，probably，acombinationwhichIoccasionallymadewouldnotbeapprovedbymymoreorthodoxfellow—churchmen。ForattimesIfoundpleasureandprofitinattendingtheservicebeforesermononSundayafternoonatSt。Paul’s，andthengoingtotheneighboringPositivistConventicleinFetterLanetohearFredericHarrisonandothers。
Harrison’sdiscourseswereadmirable，andoneuponRomancivilizationwasmostsuggestiveoffruitfulthought。Mytendencyhasalwaysbeenstronglytowardhero—worship，andthisfeatureofthePositivistcreedandpracticeespeciallyattractedme;whilethesuperbandennoblingmusicofSt。Paul’skeptmeinareligiousatmosphereduringanydiscoursewhichsucceededit。
Myfavoritereadingatthisperiodwasthe"BibleforLearners，"
abookmostthoughtfullyeditedbythreeoftheforemostscholarsofmodernEurope——Hooykaas，Oort，andKuenen。Simpleasthebookis，itmadeadeepimpressionuponme，rehabilitatingtheBibleinmymind，showingittobeacollectionofliteratureandmoraltruthsunspeakablyprecioustoallChristiannationsandtoeveryChristianman。Atalaterperiod，readingsintheworksofRenan，Pfleiderer，Cheyne，Harnack，Sayce，andothersstrengthenedmeinmyliberaltendencies，withoutdiminishingintheslightestmyreverenceforallthatisnobleinChristianity，pastorpresent。
Anotherexperience，whileitdidnotperhapssetmeinanynewtrainsofthought，strengthenedmeinsomeofmyearlierviews。
ThiswastherevelationtomeofMohammedanismduringmyjourneyintheEast。WhileMohammedanfanaticismseemstomeoneofthegreatmisfortunesoftheworld，Mohammedanworship，asIfirstsawit，madeadeepimpressiononme。OurtrainwasslowlymovingintoCairo，andstoppedforatimejustoutsidethecity;thePyramidswerevisibleinthedistance，butmythoughtswereturnedfromthembyapictureintheforeground。Underaspreadingpalm—tree，atallEgyptiansuddenlyarosetohisfullheight，tookoffanoutercoveringfromhisshoulders，laiditupontheground，andthensolemnlyprostratedhimselfandwentthroughhisprayers，addressingtheminthedirectionofMecca。
Hewasutterlyobliviousofthecrowdabouthim，andthesimplicity，directness，andreverenceinhiswholemovementappealedtomestrongly。Atvariousothertimes，onthedesert，inthebazaars，inthemosques，andontheNileboats，I
witnessedsimilarscenes，andmybroad—churchmanshipwastherebymadebroader。Norwasthisgeneraleffectdiminishedbymyvisittothehowlingandwhirlingdervishes。ThemanifestationsoftheirzealrangedthemselvesclearlyinthesamecategorywiththoseevidentinAmericancampmeetings，andInowunderstoodbetterthaneverwhattheRev。Dr。BaconofNewHavenmeantwhen，afterreturningfromtheEast，healludedtocertainChristian"revivalists"as"howlingdervishes。"
Imustsay，too，thatwhileIlovedandadmiredmanyChristianmissionarieswhomIsawintheEast，andrejoicedintheworkoftheirschools，theutternarrownessofsomeofthemwasdiscouraging。Anythingmorecold，forbidding，andcertainofextinctionthantheworshipofthe"UnitedPresbyterians"atthemissionchurchatCairoIhaveneverseen，savepossiblythatofsundryCalvinistsatParis。NorhaveIeverheardanythingmoredefiantofsanethoughtandrightreasonthantheutterancesofsomeoftheseexcellentmen。
Butthegeneraleffectofalltheseexperiences，asInowthink，wastoaidinahealthfulevolutionofmyreligiousideas。
Itmaynowbeaskedwhatisthesummingupofmyrelationtoreligion，aslookeduponinthelastyearsofalonglife，duringwhichIhavehadmanysuggestionstothoughtuponit，manyopportunitiestoheareminentreligionistsofalmosteverycreeddiscussit，andmanychancestoobserveitsworkingsinthemultitudeofsystemsprevalentinvariouscountries。
Asabeginning，Iwouldanswerthat，havingformanyyearssupplementedmyearlierobservationsandstudiesbyspecialresearchesintotherelationsbetweenscienceandreligion，myconvictionhasbeenstrengthenedthatreligioninitstruesense——namely，thebringingofhumanityintonormalrelationswiththatPower，notourselves，intheuniverse，whichmakesforrighteousness——isnow，asitalwayshasbeen，aneedabsolute，pressing，andincreasing。
Astothecharacterofsuchnormalrelations，Ifeelthattheyinvolveasenseofneedforworship:forpraiseandprayer，publicandprivate。Iffine—spuntheoriesarepresentedastothenecessarysuperfluityofpraisetoaperfectBeing，andthenecessaryinutilityofprayerinaworldgovernedbylaws，myansweristhatlawisaslikelytoobtaininthespiritualasinthenaturalworld:thatwhileitmaynotbeinaccordancewithphysicallawstoprayfortheannihilationofacloudandthecessationofarain—storm，itmaywellbeinaccordancewithspirituallawsthatcommunicationtakeplacebetweentheInfiniteandfiniteminds;thathelpfulinspirationmaybethusobtained，——greaterpower，clearervision，higheraims。
Astothequestionbetweenworshipbymanasanindividualbeing，facetofacewiththeDivinePower，andworshipbyhumanbeingsincommon，asbrethrenmovedtoexpresscommonideas，needs，hopes，efforts，aspirations，Iattributevastvaluetoboth。
Astothefirst。Eachindividualofushasperhapsanevenmoreinadequateconceptionof"theGodandfatherofusall"thanaplanthasofaman;andyettheuniversalconsciousnessofourraceobligesahumanbeingundernormalconditionstofeeltheneedofbetterment，ofhelp，ofthankfulness。Itwouldseembestforeverymantocultivatethethoughts，relations，andpracticeswhichhefindsmostaccordantwithsuchfeelingsandmostsatisfyingtosuchneeds。
Astothesecond。Theuniversalnormalconsciousnessofhumanityseemstodemandsomeformofworshipincommonwithone’sfellow—men。Allformsadoptedbymenundernormalconditions，whetherincathedrals，temples，mosques，orconventicles，clearlyhaveusesandbeautiesoftheirown。
Ifitbesaidthatallformsofbelieforceremonialobscurethatworship，"inspiritandintruth，"whichaidshighaspiration，myansweristhattheincorporation，inbeliefsandformsofworship，ofwhatmanneedsforhisspiritualsustenanceseemstomeanalogoustotheincorporationinhisdailymaterialfoodofwhatheneedsforhisphysicalsustenance。Asarule，thetruthsnecessaryforthesustenanceanddevelopmentofhishighernaturewouldseembetterassimilatedwhenincorporatedinformsofbeliefandworship，publicorprivate，eventhoughthesebeliefsandformshaveimperfectionsorinadequacies。Wedonotsupportmateriallifebyconsumingpurecarbon，ornitrogen，orhydrogen:
wetaketheseinsuchadmixturesasourexperienceshowstobebestforus。Wedonotlivebybreathingpureoxygen:wetakeitdilutedwithothergases，andmainlywithonewhich，iftakenbyitself，isdeadly。
Thisisbutapoorandroughanalogy，butitseemsalegitimateillustrationofafactwhichwemusttakeaccountofinthewholehistoryofthehumanrace，past，present，andfuture。
Itwill，inmyopinion，beasaddayforthisorforanypeoplewhenthereshallhavecomeinthemanatrophyofthereligiousnature;whentheyshallhavesuppressedtheneedofcommunication，nomatterhowvague，withasupremepowerintheuniverse;whenthetieswhichbindmenofsimilarmodesofthoughtinthevariousreligiousorganizationsshallbedissolved;whenmen，insteadofmeetingtheirfellow—meninassemblagesforpublicworshipwhichgivethemasenseofbrotherhood，shallloungeathomeorinclubs;whenmenandwomen，insteadofbringingthemselvesatstatedperiodsintoanatmosphereofprayer，praise，andaspiration，tohearthediscussionofhigherspiritualthemes，tobestirredbyappealstotheirnoblernatureinbehalfoffaith，hope，andcharity，andtobemovedbyacloserrealizationofthefatherhoodofGodandthebrotherhoodofman，shallstayathomeandgivetheirthoughtstotheSundaypapersortotheconductoftheirbusinessortothelanguidsearchforsomerefugefromboredom。
Butthusrecognizingthenormalneedofreligiousideas，feelings，andobservances，Iseeinthehistoryoftheseanevolutionwhichhasslowlybroughtourraceoutoflowerformsofreligionintohigher，andwhichstillcontinues。Nowhereisthismoreclearlymirroredthaninourownsacredbooks;nowheremoredistinctlyseenthaninwhatisgoingonaboutus;andonefindsinthisevolution，justasinthedevelopmentofourraceinotherfields，survivalsofoutwornbeliefsandobservanceswhichremainasmile—stonestomarkhumanprogress。
BeliefinaGodwhoisphysically，intellectually，andmorallybutanenlarged"averageman"——unjust，whimsical，revengeful，cruel，andsofarfromomnipotentthathehastomakeallsortsofinterferencestorectifyfaultsinhisoriginalscheme——ismoreandmorefadingawayamongtheracescontrollingtheworld。
Moreandmorethethinkingandcontrollingracesaredevelopingthepowerofrightreason;andmoreandmoretheyareleavingtoinferioranddisappearingracestheme...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：