< Order Above Us, Religion, or Christian Theosophy (continued from page 11-229) >
ually more prominent as national communities acquired stability and complexity.
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to trace the transition of belief in physical powers possessed of human and often debasing passions, to faith in a Divine Being distinct from and governing all natural agencies, and recognised as the archetype of moral perfection in man. And yet we have a connected history which professes to record the manner in which, among a gross and barbarous tribe of slaves, the Divine Being revealed himself to the mind and conscience, through the great moral relations of human beings to each other. He revealed himself as the Father of Israel, the Husband of the nation, their Lawgiver and King, and as an Inspiring Spirit of holiness, love and wisdom uniting them in a common bond of fellowship. Nor only so. From the beginning the highest glory of these barbarous tribes Was to consist in being the channel of spiritual blessings to all other nations.
I said that it is impossible to trace the origin of these religious ideas, because an agency in spiritual causation is witnessed here beyond the reach of reason; and in the history of Israel there is evident a providential preparation for the next great stage in the progress of the religious life of mankind. Whatever view may be taken of the character of that history, the fact remains the same that it does constitute the foundation of the deepest and sublimest religious conceptions which have yet appeared in the world.
The next stop in advance lies in the realization by man that there is in his nature, that by which he may claim spiritual kindred with the infinite and eternal: that—in the phraseology of the New Testament— he may become co-heir with Christ in the kingdom and glory of the Father. This, however is possible only in so far as man becomes the vehicle of the divine life, which is otherwise denominated love. In the Divine Being this life or love is creative, regent, educative; in many respects its manifestations are utterly beyond our powers of comprehension, because infinite in nature and scope. In us this love—as revealed in Christ and in the varied developments of. the Christian spirit in the Church carrying with them proofs of the Divine sanction—may, I think, be recognised and estimated according to certain generally approved characteristics. In us this love may be considered pure and divine in proportion to its universality and unselfishness.
Briefly to recapitulate: the old ethnic religions, especially the Greek and Roman and tile exceptional Hebrew religion, gave depth and persistence to the moral'' sentiments of men, imparting healthiness, strength and beauty to intellectual and emotional life. The Christian faith in its ideal perfection combines, in a wonderful union with a pure morality, an aspiration towards and even an approximate attainment of a spiritual infinitude of life and love. This was rendered possible only by the exalted position, in the world of thought as well as fact, attained by the Christian Church. But a variety of secular changes, and a consequent growth of knowledge, has at length rendered the visible Christian Church a monstrous practical and theoretical anomally, which becomes more perplexing and obstructive every day.
It is a very grave consideration how religion can continue to exist and widen and deepen, as it should do, when its present purest institutional vehicle, the Christian Church, falls to pieces. Perhaps our opening definitions may the ow some light upon the matter. If religion is based on the dependence of man upon the realm of spiritual causation, and presupposes some knowledge of the order of which man forms a part, it would be well to inquire whether any knowledge has been obtained of that order sufficiently reliable to start with as axiomatic. Now, I would ask, Is there any conception of any religion or any philosophy which transcends the idea of spiritually perfect archetypal manhood? There may be such, hut I certainly never heard of, nor can I conceive it. Infinite power, intelligence and grace manifesting itself in utterly unselfish love. This I take to be the imperfect, yet truthful expression, so far as it goes, of Christian theology, the source of Christian morality and spiritual life. And it would seem that we can never rise higher, however imperfect'' our present comprehension of that life may he. But the development of, still more the living out, this spiritual life is possible only in a perfectly organized society: a society organized in exact conformity with the amount of actual knowledge existent in the world, and with the different degrees of physical, mental and moral development, the material resources, &e., of its various sections, — in a word, a Utopian Atlantis. And who shall say how long it will be before the human race gets organized in that sort of fashion? Why it is only a short time ago that the different members of the human family began to be even distantly acquainted with each other. At present the chief branches of it are armed to the teeth and stand ready to fly at each other’s throats, and spend a very large portion of their time and resources in simple preparation for mutual destruction. This state of things could not he, if their eyes were open to the realm of spiritual causation on which they are dependent.
On the approximate truth of the conception of this realm of causation does the grade of a religion depend. The scientific and, therefore, now dominant notion of causation is simply material and mechanical, and therefore horribly degrading to the mind and heart. Man will never rise much above the ape, which he claims to be his ancestor, — his present boastful civilization, hub real savagery, will go on becoming grosser and grosser, until he learns to look for a sphere of causes, the action of which is very imperfectly seen in protoplasm or any of its developments.
I am afraid to add anything more—to seem knowing—when I am only conscious of extremest ignorance, and in that respect alone Wiser than some of my neighbours. But, while I shrink <... continues on page 11-231 >