trytogetwithhimandgenerallyfeelhispresence。”
Iletafewothercasesfollowatrandom:——
“Godsurroundsmelikethephysicalatmosphere。Heisclosertomethanmyownbreath。InhimliterallyIliveandmoveandhavemybeing。”——
“TherearetimeswhenIseemtostandinhisverypresence,totalkwithhim。Answerstoprayerhavecome,sometimesdirectandoverwhelmingintheirrevelationofhispresenceandpowers。
TherearetimeswhenGodseemsfaroff,butthisisalwaysmyownfault。”——
“Ihavethesenseofapresence,strong,andatthesametimesoothing,whichhoversoverme。Sometimesitseemstoenwrapmewithsustainingarms。”
Suchisthehumanontologicalimagination,andsuchistheconvincingnessofwhatitbringstobirth。Unpicturablebeingsarerealized,andrealizedwithanintensityalmostlikethatofanhallucination。Theydetermineourvitalattitudeasdecisivelyasthevitalattitudeofloversisdeterminedbythehabitualsense,bywhicheachishaunted,oftheotherbeingintheworld。Aloverhasnotoriouslythissenseofthecontinuousbeingofhisidol,evenwhenhisattentionisaddressedtoothermattersandhenolongerrepresentsherfeatures。Hecannotforgether;sheuninterruptedlyaffectshimthroughandthrough。
Ispokeoftheconvincingnessofthesefeelingsofreality,andI
mustdwellamomentlongeronthatpoint。Theyareasconvincingtothosewhohavethemasanydirectsensibleexperiencescanbe,andtheyare,asarule,muchmoreconvincingthanresultsestablishedbymerelogiceverare。Onemayindeedbeentirelywithoutthem;probablymorethanoneofyouherepresentiswithouttheminanymarkeddegree;butifyoudohavethem,andhavethematallstrongly,theprobabilityisthatyoucannothelpregardingthemasgenuineperceptionsoftruth,asrevelationsofakindofrealitywhichnoadverseargument,howeverunanswerablebyyouinwords,canexpelfromyourbelief。
TheopinionopposedtomysticisminphilosophyissometimesspokenofasRATIONALISM。Rationalisminsiststhatallourbeliefsoughtultimatelytofindforthemselvesarticulategrounds。Suchgrounds,forrationalism,mustconsistoffourthings:1definitelystatableabstractprinciples;2
definitefactsofsensation;3definitehypothesesbasedonsuchfacts;and4definiteinferenceslogicallydrawn。Vagueimpressionsofsomethingindefinablehavenoplaceintherationalisticsystem,whichonitspositivesideissurelyasplendidintellectualtendency,fornotonlyareallourphilosophiesfruitsofit,butphysicalscienceamongstothergoodthingsisitsresult。
Nevertheless,ifwelookonman’swholementallifeasitexists,onthelifeofmenthatliesinthemapartfromtheirlearningandscience,andthattheyinwardlyandprivatelyfollow,wehavetoconfessthatthepartofitofwhichrationalismcangiveanaccountisrelativelysuperficial。Itisthepartthathastheprestigeundoubtedly,forithastheloquacity,itcanchallengeyouforproofs,andchoplogic,andputyoudownwithwords。Butitwillfailtoconvinceorconvertyouallthesame,ifyourdumbintuitionsareopposedtoitsconclusions。Ifyouhaveintuitionsatall,theycomefromadeeperlevelofyournaturethantheloquaciouslevelwhichrationalisminhabits。Yourwholesubconsciouslife,yourimpulses,yourfaiths,yourneeds,yourdivinations,havepreparedthepremises,ofwhichyourconsciousnessnowfeelstheweightoftheresult;andsomethinginyouabsolutelyKNOWSthatthatresultmustbetruerthananylogic-choppingrationalistictalk,howeverclever,thatmaycontradictit。Thisinferiorityoftherationalisticlevelinfoundingbeliefisjustasmanifestwhenrationalismarguesforreligionaswhenitarguesagainstit。ThatvastliteratureofproofsofGod’sexistencedrawnfromtheorderofnature,whichacenturyagoseemedsooverwhelminglyconvincing,to-daydoeslittlemorethangatherdustinlibraries,forthesimplereasonthatourgenerationhasceasedtobelieveinthekindofGoditarguedfor。WhateversortofabeingGodmaybe,weKNOWto-daythatheisnevermorethatmereexternalinventorof“contrivances“intendedtomakemanifesthis“glory“inwhichourgreat-grandfatherstooksuchsatisfaction,thoughjusthowweknowthiswecannotpossiblymakeclearbywordseithertoothersortoourselves。IdefyanyofyouherefullytoaccountforyourpersuasionthatifaGodexisthemustbeamorecosmicandtragicpersonagethanthatBeing。
Thetruthisthatinthemetaphysicalandreligioussphere,articulatereasonsarecogentforusonlywhenourinarticulatefeelingsofrealityhavealreadybeenimpressedinfavorofthesameconclusion。Then,indeed,ourintuitionsandourreasonworktogether,andgreatworld-rulingsystems,likethatoftheBuddhistoroftheCatholicphilosophy,maygrowup。Ourimpulsivebeliefisherealwayswhatsetsuptheoriginalbodyoftruth,andourarticulatelyverbalizedphilosophyisbutitsshowytranslationintoformulas。Theunreasonedandimmediateassuranceisthedeepthinginus,thereasonedargumentisbutasurfaceexhibition。Instinctleads,intelligencedoesbutfollow。IfapersonfeelsthepresenceofalivingGodafterthefashionshownbymyquotations,yourcriticalarguments,betheyneversosuperior,willvainlysetthemselvestochangehisfaith。
Pleaseobserve,however,thatIdonotyetsaythatitisBETTER
thatthesubconsciousandnon-rationalshouldthusholdprimacyinthereligiousrealm。Iconfinemyselftosimplypointingoutthattheydosoholditasamatteroffact。
Somuchforoursenseoftherealityofthereligiousobjects。
Letmenowsayabriefwordmoreabouttheattitudestheycharacteristicallyawaken。
WehavealreadyagreedthattheyareSOLEMN;andwehaveseenreasontothinkthatthemostdistinctiveofthemisthesortofjoywhichmayresultinextremecasesfromabsoluteself-surrender。Thesenseofthekindofobjecttowhichthesurrenderismadehasmuchtodowithdeterminingtheprecisecomplexionofthejoy;andthewholephenomenonismorecomplexthananysimpleformulaallows。Intheliteratureofthesubject,sadnessandgladnesshaveeachbeenemphasizedinturn。
TheancientsayingthatthefirstmakeroftheGodswasfearreceivesvoluminouscorroborationfromeveryageofreligioushistory;butnonethelessdoesreligioushistoryshowthepartwhichjoyhasevermoretendedtoplay。Sometimesthejoyhasbeenprimary;sometimessecondary,beingthegladnessofdeliverancefromthefear。Thislatterstateofthings,beingthemorecomplex,isalsothemorecomplete;andasweproceed,I
thinkweshallhaveabundantreasonforrefusingtoleaveouteitherthesadnessorthegladness,ifwelookatreligionwiththebreadthofviewwhichitdemands。Statedinthecompletestpossibleterms,aman’sreligioninvolvesbothmoodsofcontractionandmoodsofexpansionofhisbeing。Butthequantitativemixtureandorderofthesemoodsvarysomuchfromoneageoftheworld,fromonesystemofthought,andfromoneindividualtoanother,thatyoumayinsisteitheronthedreadandthesubmission,oronthepeaceandthefreedomastheessenceofthematter,andstillremainmateriallywithinthelimitsofthetruth。Theconstitutionallysombreandtheconstitutionallysanguineonlookerareboundtoemphasizeoppositeaspectsofwhatliesbeforetheireyes。
Theconstitutionallysombrereligiouspersonmakesevenofhisreligiouspeaceaverysoberthing。Dangerstillhoversintheairaboutit。Flexionandcontractionarenotwhollychecked。
Itweresparrowlikeandchildishafterourdeliverancetoexplodeintotwitteringlaughterandcaper-cutting,andutterlytoforgettheimminenthawkonbough。Lielow,rather,lielow;foryouareinthehandsofalivingGod。IntheBookofJob,forexample,theimpotenceofmanandtheomnipotenceofGodistheexclusiveburdenofitsauthor’smind。“Itisashighasheaven;
whatcanstthoudo?——deeperthanhell;whatcanstthouknow?”
Thereisanastringentrelishaboutthetruthofthisconvictionwhichsomemencanfeel,andwhichforthemisasnearanapproachascanbemadetothefeelingofreligiousjoy。
“InJob。”saysthatcoldlytruthfulwriter,theauthorofMarkRutherford,“Godremindsusthatmanisnotthemeasureofhiscreation。Theworldisimmense,constructedonnoplanortheorywhichtheintellectofmancangrasp。ItisTRANSCENDENT
everywhere。Thisistheburdenofeveryverse,andisthesecretiftherebeone,ofthepoem。Sufficientorinsufficient,thereisnothingmore……Godisgreat,weknownothisways。Hetakesfromusallwehave,butyetifwepossessoursoulsinpatience,weMAYpassthevalleyoftheshadow,andcomeoutinsunlightagain。Wemayorwemaynot!……WhatmorehavewetosaynowthanGodsaidfromthewhirlwindovertwothousandfivehundredyearsago?”[29]
[29]MarkRutherford’sDeliverance,London,1885,pp。196,198。
Ifweturntothesanguineonlooker,ontheotherhand,wefindthatdeliveranceisfeltasincompleteunlesstheburdenbealtogetherovercomeandthedangerforgotten。Suchonlookersgiveusdefinitionsthatseemtothesombremindsofwhomwehavejustbeenspeakingtoleaveoutallthesolemnitythatmakesreligiouspeacesodifferentfrommerelyanimaljoys。Intheopinionofsomewritersanattitudemightbecalledreligious,thoughnotouchwereleftinitofsacrificeorsubmission,notendencytoflexion,nobowingofthehead。Any“habitualandregulatedadmiration。”saysProfessorJ。R。Seeley,[30]“isworthytobecalledareligion“;andaccordinglyhethinksthatourMusic,ourScience,andourso-called“Civilization。”asthesethingsarenoworganizedandadmiringlybelievedin,formthemoregenuinereligionsofourtime。Certainlytheunhesitatingandunreasoningwayinwhichwefeelthatwemustinflictourcivilizationupon“lower“races,bymeansofHotchkissguns,etc。,remindsoneofnothingsomuchasoftheearlyspiritofIslamspreadingitsreligionbythesword。
[30]Inhisbooktoolittleread,Ifear,NaturalReligion,3dedition,Boston,1886,pp。91,122。
InmylastlectureIquotedtoyoutheultra-radicalopinionofMr。HavelockEllis,thatlaughterofanysortmaybeconsideredareligiousexercise,foritbearswitnesstothesoul’semancipation。Iquotedthisopinioninordertodenyitsadequacy。Butwemustnowsettleourscoresmorecarefullywiththiswholeoptimisticwayofthinking。Itisfartoocomplextobedecidedoff-hand。Iproposeaccordinglythatwemakeofreligiousoptimismthethemeofthenexttwolectures。
Thelastlecturewasapainfulone,dealingasitdidwithevilasapervasiveelementoftheworldwelivein。Atthecloseofitwewerebroughtintofullviewofthecontrastbetweenthetwowaysoflookingatlifewhicharecharacteristicrespectivelyofwhatwecalledthehealthy-minded,whoneedtobebornonlyonce,andofthesicksouls,whomustbetwice-borninordertobehappy。Theresultistwodifferentconceptionsoftheuniverseofourexperience。Inthereligionoftheonce-borntheworldisasortofrectilinearorone-storiedaffair,whoseaccountsarekeptinonedenomination,whosepartshavejustthevalueswhichnaturallytheyappeartohave,andofwhichasimplealgebraicsumofplusesandminuseswillgivethetotalworth。Happinessandreligiouspeaceconsistinlivingontheplussideoftheaccount。Inthereligionofthetwice-born,ontheotherhand,theworldisadouble-storiedmystery。Peacecannotbereachedbythesimpleadditionofplusesandeliminationofminusesfromlife。Naturalgoodisnotsimplyinsufficientinamountandtransient,therelurksafalsityinitsverybeing。Cancelledasitallisbydeathifnotbyearlierenemies,itgivesnofinalbalance,andcanneverbethethingintendedforourlastingworship。Itkeepsusfromourrealgood,rather;andrenunciationanddespairofitareourfirststepinthedirectionofthetruth。Therearetwolives,thenaturalandthespiritual,andwemustlosetheonebeforewecanparticipateintheother。
Intheirextremeforms,ofpurenaturalismandpuresalvationism,thetwotypesareviolentlycontrasted;thoughhereasinmostothercurrentclassifications,theradicalextremesaresomewhatidealabstractions,andtheconcretehumanbeingswhomweoftenestmeetareintermediatevarietiesandmixtures。
Practically,however,youallrecognizethedifference:youunderstand,forexample,thedisdainofthemethodistconvertforthemeresky-bluehealthy-mindedmoralist;andyoulikewiseenterintotheaversionofthelattertowhatseemstohimthediseasedsubjectivismoftheMethodist,dyingtolive,ashecallsit,andmakingofparadoxandtheinversionofnaturalappearancestheessenceofGod’struth。[86]