has been spoken, "it is expedient for you that I go away." Perhaps he
went, in one form; but he quickly re-appeared in another; and each new
presentation had its own special kind of evil effect. The Christ of
Peter, James and John retired to make room for Paul's "Lord from
heaven." He withdrew in favor of the incarnate Word. The incarnate Word
loses itself in the Second Person of the Trinity. The imagination of
man, unable to invent further transformations rested here: Christendom
for fifteen hundred years has knelt in awe before the divine image it
projected on the clouds of heaven. But the work of disenchantment began
early. The sublimated ideal slowly came down from the skies. The
glorified Christ assumed the lineaments of a human being, from Deity
became archangel, chief of all the celestial hierarchy; from archangel
slipped down through the ranks of spirits, till he occupied the place of
Son of God, preexistent, and in attributes, super-human; thence he
declined a step to the position of premiership over the human family,
the inaugurator of a new type of man, virgin-born as indicating that he
was not the natural product of the generations but was introduced into
nature by an original law; a further lapse from the supreme dignity
brought him to the plane of humanity, but reported him as miraculously
endowed with gifts from the Holy Spirit, supernaturally graced with
attributes of power and wisdom, sent on a special mission to found a
church and declare a law, raised from the dead to demonstrate
immortality, and lifted to the skies to establish the presence of a
living Deity. To this eminent station he bids farewell to stand as the
perfect man, teacher, reformer, saint, before the enthusiastic gaze of
humanitarians, who made amends for the spoliation of his celestial
wardrobe by the splendor with which they endowed his human soul. Here
the idealists place him, still claiming for him no exceptional birth, no
super-human origin, no preexistence, no miraculous powers over nature,
no superiority of wit or wisdom, no immunity from errors of opinion or
mistakes of judgment, no fated sanctity of will, no moral impeccability,
but ascribing to him an unerringness of spiritual insight, an even
loftiness of soul, an incorruptibility of conscience, a depth and
comprehensiveness of humanity which raise him far above the plane of
history, and tempt them to look longingly backward, instead of directing
a steady gaze forward. But this figure is now seen to be an ideal, like
the rest unjustified by chronicle or by fact. The comforter, which is
the spirit of truth, requires that he should go away, following his
predecessors into the realm of majestic and beneficent illusion. The
Christ in every guise disappears and there remain only the uneven and
incomplete footprints of a son of man from which we can conclude only
that a regal person at one time passed that way.
All these transformations, it will be observed, came in the order of
mental development, each timely and beneficent in its place. The
crowning and the dis-crowning were alike inevitable and good. The
glorification and the disappearance were both justified. The final
change comes neither too late nor too soon; _not too late_, for still
the immense majority of mankind live in sentiment and imagination,
worship ideal shapes, being quite incapable of appreciating knowledge,
loving truth, or obeying principles. It will be generations yet, before
any save the comparatively few think they can live without this great
friend at their side. Sentiment is conservative. The poetic feeling
detains in picturesque form the ideas which if exposed to the action of
clear intelligence would be rejected as unsubstantial. The imagination
like the ivy loves to beautify ruins, making even robber castles and
deserted palaces attractive to tourists. Wordsworth, the poet of Nature
expresses the feeling that will at times come over powerful and
cultivated minds, in moods of sentiment--
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending we lay waste our powers.
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the Moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune,
It moves us not;--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn,
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea,
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
This is pure sentiment. The sea was as lovely to Wordsworth, is as
lovely to Tyndall, as it was to the superstitious Greeks. The winds
awaken similar emotions in the sensitive being. Why then, should
Wordsworth, having all that is or ever was to be had, beauty of form,
movement, color, regret the superstition that peopled the sea with
fanciful beings and animated the winds with supernatural spirits? Why
not be content with the facts, and the more content, because the
fancies are gone that disguised them? Is it not a weakness to love
dreams better than realities? Mr. Leslie Stephen, in his admirable
"History of English Thought in the XVIII century" explains this mood of
mind by saying that for the expression of feeling symbols are necessary,
and superstition supplies all the symbols there are. The bare truth may
awaken emotions, but it gives them no voice, and emotion unuttered,
becomes feeble; in all but sensitive natures it dies. "In time," says
Mr. Stephen, "the loss may be replaced, the new language may be learnt;
we may be content with direct vision, instead of mixing facts with
dreams; but the process is slow; and till it is completed, the new
belief will not have the old power over the mind. The symbols which have
been associated with the hopes and fears, with the loftiest aspirations
and warmest affections of so many generations may be proved to be only
symbols; but they long retain their power over the imagination." It is
not wise, therefore, to be impatient with sentiment that has so valid an
excuse; nor is it magnanimous to stigmatize as weak and childish the
romantic attachment to the symbol which is all that remains, which, with
the unthinking, unadventurous multitude is so large a part of what
abides of the mind's spiritual endowment. We must be patient with the
conservatism that is born, not of fear, but of feeling, sympathizing
when we can, with those that grieve when the idols lose their sanctity,
and rejoicing that sentiment has the power to break the shock caused by
the sudden dispelling of illusions. At the same time, it must be
remembered that intellect is the propelling force in the intellectual
world; that the acute, unimaginative, determined minds, impatient of the
mists, however beautiful, that conceal knowledge, clear a way for the
homes and gardens of the new generations; that the love of truth, simple
and unadorned, is the mother at last of real beauty.
The disappearance of the resplendent figure of the Christ from the
heaven of our philosophy has not, therefore, come _too soon_; for
thinking, clear-sighted, brave and resolute minds there are. Discerning
eyes, bright and gentle, look out and see the fields, sown with new
seed, whitening for a new harvest. To such as these Jesus is no longer
necessary for faith in humanity, for enthusiasm and constancy in
humanity's service. Heroic men and saintly women exist in such numbers
and in such variety that they sit in judgment on the judges, and call
the censors to account. The education of mankind in the qualities that
knit and adorn society has gone so far that these virtues require no
longer a super-human representative to give them honor. Knowledge of
every kind has so abundantly increased that the aid of revelation to
throw light on important subjects is not demanded. Philosophy,
literature, science have taken possession of the fields once occupied
by the surmise of faith, and are carefully mapping out the departments
of speculation. The problems that remain dark,--and they are the
many,--we are content should remain so till light comes from the proper
sources. The darkest of them, no darker than they have always been, are
no longer complicated by the difficulties of revelation which added
enigmas where there were enough before, but lie open to all the light
that can be thrown upon them. The confusion introduced into the orderly
sequence of the world's development by the exceptionally providential
man subsides, and the cumulative power of history is brought to bear on
the necessities of the hour. Relieved from the sacred duty of turning
backward for the form of the perfect man, thereby overlooking the
present and suspecting the future, we are permitted to estimate fairly
the conditions of the present existence, and to prepare for the future
with unprejudiced, rational minds. The standard of moral attainment and
the quality of moral character set up as authoritative by any single
race, however distinguished, by any one era, however brilliant, abuses
and injures the standards of other races, and casts suspicion on the
attributes of other generations. The belief that at some time humanity
has already come to full flower, discourages the laborers in the human
garden. Humanity is still a-making; its perfection is prophecy not
history.
The lesson of the hour is self-dependence, or rather, if we prefer,
dependence on the laws of reason. It will be a gain for truth when true
thoughts shall be welcomed because they are true, not because they are
spoken by a particular sage; when erroneous thoughts shall be judged by
their demerits, without fear of casting affront on the character of a
saint. James Martineau's tender wisdom gains nothing in charm by being
attributed to his beautiful fiction of a Christ, and Mr. Moody's painful
caricatures of Providence have an unfair advantage in being sheltered
behind the authority of the Hebrew Messiah. The holy beauty of Mr.
Martineau's ideal person is more than offset by the awful grandeur of
the "evangelical" Avenger, equally a creature of imagination. In the
realm of fancy the lurid conception outlasts and overwhelms the radiant
one. Safety lies in withdrawal from the realm of fancy, and
domestication in the humbler realm of fact. The lesson can be now safely
taught. Let men learn it as soon as they will. Dependence on individual
personalities has been the rule hitherto; dependence on general ideas
and organic laws, dependence on discovered fact and intelligent
conclusion, will be the reliance hereafter. As for the demands of the
heart, which must have persons to cling to, they will adjust themselves
to the new science and will satisfy themselves in the future as they
have done in the past. Are all the fine personalities dead? Then the
sooner we give them a chance to revive by removing the prodigious
personality whose shadow has blighted them, the better for us. Are there
none to love with enthusiastic ardor? Who have made us think so, if not
they by whom all amiable and adorable attributes have been claimed
before? Are there no feet it is an honor to sit at, no heads it is a
privilege to anoint, no hands it is a dignity to kiss? Whose fault can
this be, if not theirs who challenged the adoration of men and women and
pronounced it consecrated because rendered to him for one? Are there no
leaders worth following, no causes worth espousing? They that think so
must be listening to the voice that bade men follow in Galilee, and
sighing because they cannot take up the cross that was imposed on the
faithful in the cities of Judaea.
The imagination of man has not lost its power or forgotten its function
since it performed the prodigious task of enthroning its hope by the
side of the godhead. It is adequate to new and healthier performance. A
world of fresh materials lies before it; new heavens display their
glories; a new earth offers opportunity and prospect; a new humanity
presents its varieties of good and evil. New beauties gladden the open
vision; new glories fascinate the kindling hope. The regions of
possibility, so far from being exhausted, have but begun to disclose
their treasures. The realities of to-day surpass the ideals of
yesterday. Art has a new birth. Poetry has a new birth. Philosophy
teems with new births. These all look forward with confident
expectation. Why should religion, which has built up more grandeurs than
any of them, turn her back to the new day, confess her creative power
exhausted, and creep back to the images of her own idolatry? The
Christ-idea, become human, will surpass its old triumphs.
AUTHORITIES.
To meet the wishes of such as may desire to know on what grounds his
opinions are founded, or to pursue them further, the author gives the
titles of a few books that may be profitably consulted. It were easy to
make a long list of erudite works; much easier than to make a short list
of accessible and suggestive volumes. In an essay prepared for the
intelligent and thoughtful, not for the learned or scholarly class,
reference to stores of erudition would be out of place. For this reason,
the pages are left unencumbered with notes, and the books cited are
purposely such as come within easy reach of general readers. The better
known book is preferred before the less known, the conservative when it
will answer the purpose, before the destructive. If the whole case were
presentable in English, none but English authorities would be mentioned.
Unfortunately for the general reader, the best literature is in German
or French, much of which is still untranslated. To indicate these is a
necessity for those who are acquainted with those languages, while those
who are not, will, it is believed, find enough in English writings
reasonably to satisfy their need.
The titles of the books indicate sufficiently the points on which they
throw light. The classical references, which are numerous, are most
copious in Denis and Huidekoper, though Lecky, Renan, Johnson and others
cite all the most important.
Allen, J. H. Hebrew Men and Times.
Baur, F. C. Kanonische Evangelien.
Paulus,--(Translated.)
Drei Ersten Jahrhunderte.
Socrates und Christus.
Die Tuebinger Schule.
Ursprung des Episcopaets.
Baring-Gould, S. Lost and Hostile Gospels.
Buddha. Romantic History of.
Cohen. Les Deicides, (Translated.)
Coquerel, A. Histoire du Credo.
Les premieres Transformations
Historiques du Christianisme.
Des Beaux Arts en Italie.
Cowper, B. Harris. The Apocryphal Gospels.
Deutsch, E. The Talmud.
Didron. Iconographie Chretienne, (Translated.)
Ewald, Heinrich. History of the People Israel.
Prophets of the Old Testament.
Drei Ersten Evangelien.
English Life of Jesus.
Fontane's. Le Christianisme Moderne.
Furness, W. H. Life of Jesus.
Jesus and his Biographers.
Gingsburg, The Essenes
Geiger. Judenthum und Seine Geschichte.
Greg, W. R. The Creed of Christendom.
Huet, F. La Revolution Religieuse.
Huidekoper, F. Judaism at Rome.
Hennell, C. C. Origin of Christianity.
Christian Theism.
Hennell, S. S. Christianity and Infidelity.
Present Religion.
Holyoake. Christianity and Secularism.
Johnson, S. The Worship of Jesus.
Jost. Geschichte des Judenthum.
Knight, Richd. Payne. The Symbolical Language of
Ancient Art and Mythology.
Lecky, W. E. H. History of European Morals
Lundy, J. P. Monumental Christianity.
Martineau, James. Studies of Christianity.
Merivale, Charles. Conversion of the Roman Empire.
Milman, H. H. History of the Jews.
History of Christianity.
History of Latin Christianity.
Maury, Alfred. Les Legendes Pieuses du Moyen Age.
La Magie et l'astrologie dans l'antiquite
et au Moyen Age.
Neander, A. Life of Jesus.
Planting and Training of the Church.
Newman, F. W. History of the Hebrew Monarchy.
Phases of Faith.
Catholic Union.
Nicolas, Michel. Des Doctrines Religieuses des Juifs.
Essais de Philos. et d'histoire religieuse.
Etudes Critiques sur la Bible.
Les Evangiles Apocryphes.
Le Symbole des Apotres.
Philippson. Developpement de l'idee religieuse.
Parker, Theodore. Discourse of Religion.
Pressense, Ed. De. Jesus Christ, son temps, sa vie, son oeuvre.
Renan, Ernest. Life of Jesus.
The Apostles.
St. Paul.
L'Antichrist.
Etudes d'Histoire religieuse.
Reville, A. Histoire du Dogme de la Divinite de Jesus Christ.
Essais de Critique religieuse.
Etudes Critiques sur l'evangile selon St.
Matthieu.
Quatre Conferences sur le Christianisme.
La vie de Jesus de M. Renan.
Theodore Parker.
L'enseignement de Jesus Christ comparee a celui
de ses Disciples.
Reuss, Ed. Histoire du Canon dans l'eglise Chretienne.
The Apostolic Age. (Translated.)
Rodrigues. Origin du Sermon de la Montagne.
Schenkel. Character of Jesus (tr. by Furness).
Schwegler, A. Das Nachapostolische Zeitalter.
Strauss. Leben Jesu. (Translated.)
Leben Jesu fur das Deutsche Volk.
Christliche Glaubenslehre.
The Old Faith and the New.
Supernatural Religion.
Schlesinger, M. The Historical Jesus of Nazareth.
Salvador. Jesus Christ et sa Doctrine.
Tayler, J. J. The Fourth Gospel.
Thierry, A. Tableau de l'empire Romain.
Vacherot Etienne. La Religion.
Weber, C. F. Neue Untersuchung ueber das Alter
und Ansehen des Ev. der Hebraeer.
Wise, Isaac M. The Origin of Christianity.
Zeller, Ed. Acts of the Apostles. (Translated.)
Strauss und Renan. (Translated.)
* * * * *
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