At the winter solstice the sun seemed to the ancients to be commencing

its annual journey round the heavens. Accordingly, December 25th was

considered to be the sun's birthday, which was annually celebrated

by a great festival in many parts of the heathen world--in China,

India, Persia, Egypt, and also in ancient Greece, Rome, Germany,

Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland, and America. Similarly, at the

vernal equinox, the sun, which has been below the equator, suddenly

appears to rise above it, and so, usually upon a date calculated

by the pagan astronomers (and corresponding roughly to our Easter),

we find that throughout a considerable portion of the ancient world,

after mourning the sun's death (sometimes for a period of three days),

the Resurrection was celebrated with great rejoicings. Primitive man

regarded all sensible objects as instinct with a conscious life. He

noted the changes of days and years, and the objects which so changed

were to him as living things. The rising and setting sun, the return

of summer and winter, became a drama in which the actors were his

friends or enemies. It was no allegory, but, strange as it appears

to us now, all an absolute reality.

Christ's birth was ultimately placed at the winter solstice, the

birthday of the sun-god in the most popular cults; and, while that is

fixed as an anniversary, the date of the Crucifixion is made to vary

from year to year in order to conform to the astronomical principle

on which the Jews, following the sun-worshippers, had fixed their

Passover. This ignorance of the early Church concerning the dates

of the Jesus' birth, death, and "resurrection," is an exceedingly

suspicious circumstance. If the fundamental verities were an objective

fact to the early Christians, how could the dates have been so utterly

forgotten that dates belonging to idolatrous superstitions had to

be adopted? It is perplexing enough that God should have allowed the

memory of His Son's life on earth to be handed down for a considerable

time by tradition only; but that He should have permitted such lapses

of memory and the substitution of the dates of pagan festivals is

to me altogether inconceivable. It could not but raise suspicion

concerning His revelation in future thinking generations. We have a

certain knowledge of the dates of comparatively unimportant events

in the world's history, ages before the Christian era. If these

important dates could be forgotten, what else may not have been

forgotten; what else may not have been substituted in the place of

forgotten incidents? Again, did not the disciples and their converts

celebrate the anniversaries of these great events? And, if so, on

what dates? The question is of more importance than perhaps at first

sight it appears to be. The public will soon be asking the Church

for a satisfactory explanation, and she must be prepared to furnish

it. In the Daily Telegraph, during the Christmas of 1904, the public

were informed that "the most erudite archæologists and professors

of Church history confess that there is not a particle of evidence,

either Biblical or traditional, for the claim of December 25th to

be the birthday of Christ, and that everything goes to prove that

our existing festival of the Nativity was introduced to replace the

heathen festival of the 'sol invictus' in Southern Italy, and of the

Yule or Winter solstice festival among the ancient Teutons." Again, in

the Daily Graphic during the Easter of 1905, the public will have read

that "there is no particular sanctity in the 'Table to Find Easter,'

based as it is upon the calculations of a pagan astronomer who lived

four hundred years before Christ." In France the Christian names of the

four statutory holidays have been abolished by law. Christmas is called

the Festival of the Family, and so on. The time is coming, and is even

now at hand, when the English public will discover ugly facts about

Christianity without having to read books published by freethinking

firms--books which the parson advises us to leave severely alone.

P. 160, lines 3-4.--Why do we hear so little of this great

discovery from the pulpit?

The following from a sermon by the Bishop of Manchester, preached in

Manchester Cathedral on Sunday, September 4th, 1887, forms a striking

exception to the rule. "The sufficient answer," says the Bishop,

"to ninety out of a hundred of the ordinary objections to the Bible,

as the record of a divine education of our race, is given in that

one word--development. And to what are we indebted for that potent

word, which, as with the wand of a magician, has at the same moment so

completely transformed our knowledge and dispelled our difficulties? To

modern science, resolutely pursuing its search for truth in spite of

popular obloquy and--alas that one should have to say it--in spite

too often of theological denunciation!" (Quoted by Professor Huxley

in his essay on "An Episcopal Trilogy.") Would that there were equal

candour all round! But this indebtedness of theology to science in

spite of itself is certainly one of the many workings of the Holy

Spirit which are quite inexplicable. All the more so when we remember

that truth-seeking scientists are, nowadays, usually Agnostics.

P. 165, lines 38-9.--A Mithraist could turn to the Christian

worship and find his main rites unimpaired.

We have the witness of the Christian Fathers. Justin Martyr, after

describing the institution of the Lord's Supper (1 Apol., chap. 66),

goes on to say: "Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries

of Mithra, commanding the same thing to be done. For that bread and

a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic

rites of the one who is being initiated, you either know or can

learn." Tertullian intimates that "the devil, by the mysteries of

his idols, imitates even the main parts of the divine mysteries. He

also baptises his worshippers in water, and makes them believe that

this purifies them of their crimes. There Mithra sets his mark on

the forehead of his soldiers; he celebrates the oblation of bread; he

offers an image of the resurrection, and presents at once the crown

and sword; he limits his chief priest to a single marriage; he even

has virgins and his ascetics (continentes)." (Præscr. c. 40. Cp. De

Bapt. c. 5; De Corona, c. 15. Quoted on p. 322 of J. M. Robertson's

Pagan Christs.) We have also the witness of modern discoveries. For

example, Professor Franz Cumont, in his work, Les Mystères de Mithra,

gives a photograph of a recently-discovered bas-relief, representing

a Mithraic communion. On a small tripod is the bread, in the form of

wafers, each marked with a cross.

Chapter V.

P. 172, lines 14-15.--Ignorance of the gist of the

Darwinian theory, "natural selection," has been fruitful in

misunderstandings.

It is very necessary to understand exactly what the theory of natural

selection is and is not; because champions of the Faith, even when

believing in Evolution, base some of their arguments on the alleged

collapse of the Darwinian theory. Thus, in Present-day Rationalism

Critically Examined, the Rev. Professor George Henslow affirms that,

while the theory of Evolution stands on an impregnable basis, Haeckel's

Monism and Rationalistic agnosticism are based on Darwin's doctrine of

natural selection, and he enters upon an elaborate argument--covering

sixty pages of his book--to show that the origin of species by means

of natural selection is false, and that the primary cause of Evolution

is the definite action of the environment, combined with the adaptive

powers of the living organism. Such arguments, coming from a clergyman

having scientific attainments, are likely to impress the average

Christian reader and confuse the main issue. Natural selection is "the

action of the environment" (see The Origin of Species, chap. iv.),

and even if it were not, and if natural selection (or elimination)

were not the primary cause, the doctrine of the action of environment

will suit the Monist just as well.

Regarding the minor, but not unimportant, part played by sexual

selection, Darwin writes: "For my own part, I conclude that of all

the causes which have led to the differences in external appearance

between the races of men, and to a certain extent between man and the

lower animals, sexual selection has been by far the most efficient"

(Descent of Man, ed. 1871, ii., 367).

Scientists who are advocates of the Christian cause are not always

as candid as one could wish. While the Church cited Sir Richard

Owen "as an authority against the Darwinian theory, especially in

its application to man's descent, there remained in the memory of

his brother savants his lack of candour in never withdrawing the

statement made by him, and demonstrated by Huxley as untrue, that

the hippocampus minor in the human brain is absent from the brain of

the ape." (See p. 172 of Mr. Clodd's Pioneers of Evolution. See also

remarks by Sir Charles Lyell, pp. 485 and 486 of his work, Antiquity of

Man. On p. 290 he further tells us that "we may consider the attempt

to distinguish the brain of man from that of the ape on the ground of

newly-discovered cerebral characters, presenting differences in kind,

as virtually abandoned by its originator.")

P. 205, lines 18-20.--That there are not more links missing is

due principally to the discovery of fossil remains.

The greatest importance has been attached to a discovery in Java,

made in 1894 by Eugene Dubois. The remains consisted of the crown

of the skull, two teeth, and a femur belonging to a creature for

which the name Pithecanthropus erectus has been invented. This

pithecanthropus excited the liveliest interest as the long-sought

transitional form between man and the ape. Professor Haeckel writes

concerning this in his book, The Evolution of Man, vol. ii., p. 633:

"There were very interesting scientific discussions on it at the last

three International Congresses of Zoology (Leyden, 1895; Cambridge,

1898; and Berlin, 1901). I took an active part in the discussion at

Cambridge, and may refer the reader to the paper I read there." (It has

been translated by Dr. Gadow, under the title of The Last Link.) Since

then we have Professor Keasbey writing in 1901 that the remains have

been "pronounced genuine," and Professor Packard, in 1902, that it

is now "generally recognised."

Again, to give a still more recent "find," Dr. Andrews, who accompanied

the Geological Survey of Egypt, has (as mentioned by Professor Ray

Lankester in his lecture at the London Institution on November 2nd,

1906) discovered a remarkable skull (now in the Natural History Museum)

which is the connecting link between elephants, ancient and modern,

and other mammals.

There have also been discoveries of missing links among the living. The

duck-bill, a four-footed animal which lays eggs, is an important link

between reptiles and mammals. Cuvier, the celebrated French naturalist,

a persistent opponent of the evolutionary doctrines advanced by

Lamarck and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, did not believe it possible that

any four-footed animal could lay eggs, and it was not till long after

his time, and, indeed, only quite lately, that the statements of the

natives were verified, and the eggs of the duck-bill actually found.

P. 208, lines 14-18.--Enough has been said, I hope, to convince

the reader that ... there is overpowering evidence against

separate acts of creation, and in favour of an animal origin of

the human race.

This Family Tree of Life will enable him to form a brain-picture of

the various steps in the evolutionary process:--

[Note.--It is now generally admitted that man goes back at least

200,000 years.]

[Illustration: Protoplasm plus Chlorophyll]

This diagram of development is taken from Edwards Clodd's work,

The Story of Creation, by the kind permission of Mr. Clodd and

Messrs. Longmans.

Note by Mr. Clodd.--The ascent of the higher life-forms from the

lower is more lateral than the lines indicate, but the diagram is

only a rough attempt to show the relative places of the leading groups.

P. 218, lines 14-15.--The dogmas of sin and its atonement.

"Astronomers tell us that there are some 500,000,000 suns visible

from our earth, many if not most of them larger than our sun, and all

of them presumably surrounded by planets at least as important as our

earth; and to maintain the old theological view of the supreme value of

this little insignificant planet in the eyes of the 'Almighty Ruler'

of such a universe, or to suppose that He would send His 'Only Son'

to die for us little cosmic microbes, is presumption which, when one

thinks of it, really seems to amount to insanity" (quoted from p. 108

of Richard Harte's Lay Religion).

Chapter VI.

P. 220, line 1.--Deism denies Christianity.

"God," says Canon Liddon, "is banished from the world by deism, which

puts nature in His place" (Some Elements of Religion, pp. 56-7). The

seventeenth and eighteenth-century deists, however, did not deny the

personality of God, but the fact of revelation. "In recent theology

deism has generally come to be regarded as, in common with theism,

holding in opposition to atheism that there is a God, and in opposition

to pantheism that God is distinct from the world, but as differing

from theism in maintaining that God is separate from the world,

having endowed it with self-sustaining and self-acting powers, and

then abandoned it to itself" (Enc. Brit., art. "Theism").

P. 221, line 8.--"What it is to be a Christian."

Archdeacon Wilson avers that "We dare not deny the name of Christian

to such as live in Christ's spirit and do His will, though they

know not for certain how God manifested himself in Christ, and will

not profess a certainty they do not feel." Again, he argues that

"We rest on the broad ground of the vast experience of the world,

and the testimony of our own conscience, that Christ has lifted

mankind up, and shown man what is good; and this we may describe

as bringing man to God, and revealing God to man. This redemption,

salvation, we acknowledge as a fact. He who has this faith in Christ,

and lets it work its natural result in making him more like Christ,

deserves to be called a Christian." This does, indeed, give plenty of

latitude--far more, in fact, than the Church as a body seems likely

to give for some time to come. It, and the Rev. R. J. Campbell's "New

Theology," will certainly enable many who are in reality non-Christian

theists to continue calling themselves Christians.

P. 224, note.--"Haeckel's Critics Answered."

In the chapter on "God" there is a striking exposition of the very

latest arguments for and against Theism. The opinions of Messrs. Ward,

Newman, Smythe, Le Conte, Fiske, W. N. Clarke, Croll, Aubrey Moore,

Iverach, Dallinger, Ballard, Rhondda Williams, Profeit, Kennedy,

W. James, and Royce are all considered. Many pious Christians may

have read the apologists' criticisms of Haeckel's well-known work, The

Riddle of the Universe, but few will have studied the work itself, and

still fewer these clear and convincing replies to the criticisms. It

cannot be on account of the cost, as a copy of the cheap edition of

either of these works can be obtained for 4 1/2d.

P. 253, lines 25-6.--Some such psychical experiences largely

account for religious superstitions.

With regard to phenomena at present popularly known as spiritualistic,

but for which scientists have now adopted the term "metapsychical,"

the following declaration by Professor Lombroso (appearing in the

review La Lettura, November, 1906) is of considerable interest. "As

the result," he writes, "of our researches, I have been bound to admit

the conviction that these phenomena are of colossal importance, and

that it is the plain duty of science to direct attention towards them

without delay." N.B.--The Professor, when interviewed subsequently by

the Turin correspondent of the Standard, repudiated any suggestion of

supernatural agency, and said: "All spiritualistic phenomena can be

understood and explained without any reference to the intervention of

the supernatural. Spiritualists affirm that the soul is an emanation

from God, while I contend that it is an emanation of the brain. This is

the whole thing in a nutshell. You therefore see how, from this point

of view, I cannot be called a spiritualist--at least, in the sense

in which the term is generally understood. Almost all spiritualistic

phenomena can be classed among those positive facts which science

can explain." However, in an article contributed by him to the Grand

Magazine for January, 1907, and entitled "Why I became a Spiritualist,"

Professor Lombroso admits that he has felt himself "compelled to

yield to the conviction that spiritualistic phenomena, if due in

great part to the influence of the medium, are likewise attributable

to the influence of extra-terrestrial existences, which may, perhaps,

be compared to the radio-activity which still persists in tubes after

the radium which originated them has disappeared." Professor Cesare

Lombroso, it may be mentioned, is Professor of Psychiatry at the

University of Turin, and the author of standard works on criminology,

hypnotism, and psychology, as well as of a number of valuable treatises

relating to cerebral study. Two of his publications, Man of Genius

(1891) and Female Offender (1895), have been issued in English.

The phenomena Professor Lombroso refers to are those which have induced

such eminent scientists as Wallace, Lodge, Hyslop, Barrett, and Crookes

to remain or to become supernaturalists. One, and to my mind the chief,

reason why these metapsychical phenomena are, as Professor Lombroso

tells us, of colossal importance--why science should direct attention

towards them without delay--is that, so soon as they are universally

acknowledged to be manifestations occurring in obedience to one of

Nature's laws--a law as yet not fully understood--the last excuse for

belief in the supernatural will have vanished. Supernaturalism will

receive its death-blow, and Rationalism be infused with fresh life.

P. 254, line 28.--Professor James--an earnest champion of religion.

In defining his philosophic position he admits his own "inability

to accept either popular Christianity or scholastic Theism" (see

his Postscript, p. 521). He is of opinion that both the metaphysical

argument for God's existence and the arguments for a God with moral

attributes must be rejected, and "the man who is sincere with himself

and the facts, but who remains religious still," must soothe "his

perplexed and baffled intellect" with "a trustful sense of presence"

(ibid, pp. 445-8). A careful perusal of his book, however, makes it

tolerably clear that this feeling of the presence of Spiritual Beings

is simply a hallucination.

P. 256, lines 22-26.--There has never yet been a case of a

Mohammedan or a Hindoo, or any other non-Christian, who, without

having heard of Christianity, has had a revelation of Christian

"truth."

Chet Ram, the founder of a sect whose numbers, according to the

last Indian census, "are increasing day by day," began by being

a Hindu, and then became the disciple of a Mohammedan fakir in the

Punjab. After following him for some years he had what he described as

a vision of Christ, who revealed Himself as the author of salvation,

and commanded him (Chet Ram) to build a church and to place within

it the Bible. He was himself illiterate, but immediately began to

proclaim the divinity of Christ, and was soon followed by disciples

recruited alike from the Hindus and the Moslems. It is "religious"

experiences such as these which continue to deceive even educated

men and women, and hinder the growth of Rationalism.

Chapter VII.

P. 285, lines 10-11.--The ghastly death of the witch.

"It is impossible to leave the history of witchcraft without reflecting

how vast an amount of suffering has, in this respect at least,

been removed by the progress of rationalistic civilisation.... It

is probable that no class of victims endured sufferings so unalloyed

and so intense.... All these sufferings were the result of a single

superstition, which the spirit of Rationalism has destroyed." (See

pp. 137-8 of Lecky's Rationalism in Europe, Longmans, Green, &

Co., 1904.)

Pp. 290-96, and p. 294, note 4.

The following are some further notes on the spread of Christianity:--

When, after more than three centuries, the spread became fairly rapid,

owing, as we have seen, to circumstances of a distinctly mundane

character, what was the effect on public morality? The Roman Empire

passed its zenith in the first half of the second century--under

Stoics. Historians agree that it was declining all through the third

century. On the other hand, it was making fresh progress morally

in the fourth century. It deteriorated morally after A.D. 380-90,

the date of the triumph of Christianity! Do these facts bear out the

Christian contention that Christianity purifies empire?

If we continue the history of Christianity's spread, we find

similar samples of Divine Providence and similar samples of moral

progress. Take, for instance, the facts connected with the conversion

of the barbarians, as related by the author of the apologetic work,

Beneficial Influence of the Ancient Clergy. We learn that "Many

a deviation from primitive simplicity, dangerous though it might

justly seem to the integrity of the Roman faith, was productive of

consequences the most momentous to tribes who reverenced principally

the pomp and mysterious ceremony attendant on the faith which they

embraced, and would have scorned to bow down before priests or

altars whose faultless humility merely recalled the rude shrines

of their native forests." Also we learn that "the lavish piety of

barbarian sovereigns" directed "the plunder of suffering lands into

the capacious coffers of the Church." Although this led to "the most

fatal period of clerical corruption," our apologist is yet able to

see in it the guiding hand of Providence establishing "the constant

grandeur of the ecclesiastical edifice"!

In Central Europe it was by force of arms that Charlemagne succeeded

in spreading Christianity. "It cannot be doubted," we are told,

"that the conquering hosts of the Franks were far more effective

in the conversion of Central Europe than could have been the most

self-denying of missionaries, or the most undoubtedly miraculous of

Italian relics." This fresh spread took place towards the close of the

eighth century. After a hundred years or so for the leaven to work,

we should expect to see a distinct advance in morality among both

the clergy and the laity. We find, on the contrary, that during the

whole of the tenth century the spectacle presented by society was

"revolting." "Not only did the clerical body present sure tokens of

that gigantic cancer which was wasting the energies of the Church,

but their degeneracy was relieved by nothing that was noble or

praiseworthy among the laity."

P. 315, lines 3-4.--The Rationalistic explanation of that essence

of the "religious instinct," belief in an after-life.

"Eternity is at best but an artificial idea; in reality, it is no true

idea at all, since we cannot conceive it; it is only the negation of

an idea, being, in fact, the negation of that which passes away. When

we begin discussing eternity we see that, from the point of view of

natural science, nothing is eternal except the ultimate particles

of matter and their forces; for no one of the thousandfold phenomena

and combinations under which matter and force present themselves to

us can be eternal" (Weismann on Heredity, vol. ii., p. 74 [Oxford,

Clarendon Press, 1892]).

Chapter VIII.

P. 331, lines 15-16.--A kind of undefined, but nevertheless potent

and serviceable, religion.

The Rev. Henry Scott Jeffreys, of Sendai, contributed a paper,

entitled "Some of the Native Virtues of the Japanese People," to the

Japan Evangelist. The following are some, out of many, exceedingly

significant admissions:--"After seven years' residence among this

people, I wish to place on record my humble testimony to their native

virtues. I refer to virtues that belong to the Japanese people without

reference to their faith. In this connection it may be said that

perhaps the most remarkable part is their devotion to ethics alone,

utterly divorced from religion. They love virtue for its own sake,

and not from fear of punishment or hope of reward.... They have

eliminated from their system of ethics not only heaven and hell,

but God also.... To be sure, there are religions (so-called), both

native and foreign; but they have little effect upon the popular

conscience.... The conversion of this people to the Christian faith

is a most complex and perplexing problem; not because they are so bad,

but because they are so good."

P. 334, lines 29-31.--Crime and bad lives will be the measure of

a State's failure.

It is customary to scout the idea of State control as the panacea

for social evils. One is warned against grandmotherly legislation,

interference with the liberty of the private individual, etc. I may

be permitted, therefore, to give an illustration of its beneficial

effect. The Gothenburg system, by which the liquor traffic is

judiciously controlled, has, in spite of all opposition, fought

its way victoriously, and is now adopted, although partly modified,

in most towns in Sweden, and also in Norway and Finland. Thus the

evil effects of drink have been considerably mitigated; intemperance,

pauperism, and vice have been reduced. Would not legislation of this

nature for the removal of England's greatest curse be far better than

half-hearted measures that are palliative rather than remedial? Now

that the Church has taken up the temperance cause, could she not bring

her great influence to bear towards the introduction of some such

system, pitting herself against vested interests? Remarkable work is

being carried on by the Danish temperance societies on the basis of

allowing their members to regard beer of low alcoholic strength as

a temperance beverage. Australia has been watching New Zealand in

the matter of drink reform, and the Government of New South Wales,

at any rate, has found it necessary to fulfil pledges given at the

last general election, with the result that, among a certain class,

there is an immense diminution in the temptation to drink. Where

the nature of the case demands it, more drastic remedies must be

applied. Thus Belgium has forbidden the very presence of absinthe

within her borders, and in Switzerland--in some of the cantons, at

all events--the authorities have made up their minds to prohibit the

manufacture and sale of absinthe. Even in China an edict has now been

promulgated for the abolition of the use of opium, and an anti-opium

movement is spreading which bids fair to embarrass the interested

abettor of the vice--a Christian Government.

In their volume, The Making of the Criminal (Macmillan & Co.),

Messrs. C. E. B. Russell and L. M. Rigby confirm the now generally

accepted view that it is, as a rule, between the ages of sixteen

and twenty-one that the habitual criminal is made, and show that

juvenile crime is a product of the wretched economic, social, and

family condition in which so many unhappy children are born and have to

live. The criminal is also recruited, as Dr. W. D. Morrison points out

(in a review of their book appearing in the Tribune, December 12th,

1906), from those whose home and social antecedents may be good

enough, but who are themselves either mentally or physically below

the average of the general community, and who, therefore, when times

are bad, drift insensibly into crime. When to all this unfavourable

environment we add an unfavourable heredity, we get a conjunction of

circumstances against which it is quite impossible for the unfortunate

to contend, even though he be aided by the "gift of freewill" and

by all the intercessory prayers of the Churches. The Borstal system

and other remedies recommended in The Making of the Criminal are

excellent in their way, but can be regarded only as palliatives. They

deal with the criminal after he has been made. What is wanted is,

to quote Dr. Morrison, "a wise and progressive statesmanship which

will cut off crime at its roots--a statesmanship which will devote

itself with care and foresight to ameliorating the whole material

and moral conditions of existence of the workman, the woman, and the

child." And this statesmanship will take an enlightened view of the

population question, recognising that it is in the diminution of the

struggle for existence, not in the rise of the birth-rate, that the

material and moral condition of the people can be ameliorated.

P. 336, note.--Psychical research will lead to the discovery

of a complete and scientific method for the toughening of our

moral fibres.

A quarter of a century ago Proctor remarked (see pp. 203-4 of his

essays, Rough Ways Made Smooth) that the phenomena of hypnotism

"promise to afford valuable means of curing certain ailments, and

of influencing in useful ways certain powers and functions of the

body." He recognised "possibilities which, duly developed, might

be found of extreme value to the human race." Since these words

were uttered this branch of science has not stood still, and there

seems every prospect that his prophecy will be fulfilled in the near

future. There are now cliniques for hypnotic treatment in France

(Dr. Bérillon's in Paris, for example), Germany, Belgium, Sweden,

Holland, Switzerland, and America. "The commencement of the present

revival of hypnotism in England, from its medical side, was apparently

due to Dr. Lloyd Tuckey, who happened to be in the neighbourhood

of Nancy in August, 1888, and visited Liébeault out of curiosity"

(see p. 35 of Dr. Milne Bramwell's Hypnotism: Its History, Practice,

and Theory [Alexander Moring, Hanover Square, London; 2nd ed., 1906]).

The following are some of the facts about the matter which should be

clearly understood and widely made known:--

(1) "The object of all hypnotic treatment ought to be the development

of the patient's control of his own organism" (see p. 436 of Hypnotism:

Its History, Practice, and Theory).

(2) The hypnotic control may be obtained without any effort on the

part of the operator, the effort formerly supposed to be required

being purely imaginary, and the hypnotic state being, in fact, obtained

without any operation whatever. Indeed, it has now been found that for

curative purposes the "suggestion" may be conveyed without throwing

the patient into the hypnotic condition, and that anyone not absolutely

an idiot or insane may be amenable to the treatment.

(3) "Both 'Scientist' [the author is speaking of Christian Scientists]

and Suggestionist also use the same method for creating belief--namely,

Assertion.... Assertions are not made clumsily, ignorantly, and at

random, as assertions are in our daily intercourse, but are made

skilfully, with a purpose, and with a knowledge of the effects

they will produce" (see p. 9 of the late Richard Harte's The New

Psychology; or, The Secret of Happiness [Fowler & Co., London and

New York]). Is this one of the reasons why the believer is able

to continue a believer in spite of all disproof? Certainly he is

constantly repeating assertions, and sometimes these must get through

to his subliminal consciousness--his subjective mind.

(4) Auto-suggestion. The suggestion should be made when you are

composing yourself to sleep. Dr. Bramwell tells me that the best time

is on first waking in the morning, before dozing off again.

(5) "Many cases of functional nervous disorder have recovered

under hypnotic treatment after the continued failure of other

methods.... Further, the diseases which frequently respond to

hypnotic treatment are often those in which drugs are of little or

no avail. For example, what medicine would one prescribe for a man

who, in the midst of mental and physical health, had suddenly become

the prey of an obsession?" (see p. 435 of Hypnotism: Its History,

Practice, and Theory).

(6) "The volition is increased and the moral standard raised" (see

p. 437 of Hypnotism, etc.). "Experience proves that 'principles'

instilled into anyone while in the hypnotic condition become

irrevocably [?] fixed in the mind" (p. 3 of Richard Harte's Hypnotism

and the Doctors). Thus degenerates, dipsomaniacs, morphinomaniacs,

kleptomaniacs, sexual perverts, and other unfortunates, may be

reclaimed.

(7) "'Suggestion' is of universal application, and of incalculable

power for good in almost every department of human life.... The

three principal ways in which suggestion (which has been called 'the

active principle' of hypnotism) affects human beings beneficially,

in addition to curing diseases, are: By facilitating education;

by preventing crime, and reforming the criminal; and by raising

the general standard of manliness--of courage, of independence of

character, and of respect for self and others" (ibid, pp. 2-4).

Note.--"The Medical Society for the Study of Suggestive Therapeutics"

was constituted at the close of 1906. Let us hope that it will soon

rival the flourishing French Société d'Hypnotisme et de Psychologie.

P. 337, lines 5-6.--It is the quality, not the quantity, of our

children that we have to keep to the forefront.

"This is the great problem in a nutshell: to improve the quality and

diminish the quantity of mankind--that is, in proportion to the means

of securing for each a truly human life." "Is not the quality rather

than the quantity of children the thing to be aimed at?" (Mona Caird

and Lady Grove on "The Position of Women," see pp. 118 and 128 of

the Fortnightly Review for July, 1905). Besides, "if we continued to

maintain the high birth-rate of the mid-Victorian epoch, it is certain

that, in the course of a few generations, there would be no elbow-room

left in our little islands. Already, indeed, Great Britain is, from

many points of view, over-populated. If all the people who are now

crowded together in the slums of our great towns were scattered over

the country, there would be practically no country left. England would

have become a vast suburb. That is not an ideal to which any patriotic

Englishman would care to look forward. Space and quiet are essential

for the development of some of the best qualities of human beings,

and those persons who too hastily regret a decline in the birth-rate

must explain how they propose to reconcile these essentials with an

unlimited increase of our present population" (The Daily Graphic,

August 7th, 1905, art. "A Declining Birth-rate").

Over-population spells strife, squalor, vice,

crime--misery. Dr. Barnardos and "General" Booths may get over the

"unemployed" difficulty by schemes for emigration to Canada and

elsewhere; but this is, at best, only a very temporary remedy. As it

is, thousands of white men are living and dying in climates for which

they are unadapted; while in some cases--in certain portions of Africa,

for example--they are ousting and making life a burthen to the races

that are adapted. We have only to look far enough ahead to discover

that the time must come when the world would so teem with human-kind

that even a Bishop of London or a President Roosevelt would have to

cry "Hold! Enough!"

At the present moment this problem presses for a very early solution

in India. For many months in the year, as I have again and again seen

with my own eyes, masses of the agricultural population are entirely

without employment. Hence the constantly recurring famines, or partial

famines, in years of bad or indifferent rainfall. The population

problem, being intimately connected with many another problem, is

one of the utmost gravity; but, so long as men hold that to increase

and multiply is the command of God and a duty we owe to the State,

it will never be rightly, never be sensibly, solved. P.S.--Millions

are starving in China now (February, 1907).

P. 345, line 3.--The Moral Instruction League.

The object of the Moral Instruction League (19, Buckingham Street,

Strand, London, W.C.) is to introduce systematic non-theological moral

instruction into all schools, and to make the formation of character

the chief aim of school life. Their contention is--and it seems a

wise one--that ethical principles on which we all agree should not be

associated in the schools of the State with theological principles

on which we all differ. Already certain education authorities are

providing for systematic moral instruction of a purely secular

nature. In the West Riding scheme it is expressly stated that it

is to be "part of the secular instruction," while the Cheshire

scheme emphatically lays down that the moral instruction must be

non-theological. The authorities of Groton, Blackpool, Norwich, York,

and elsewhere, have supplied all the teachers of their schools with

copies of the Moral Instruction League's Graduated Syllabus of Moral

Instruction for Elementary Schools. The West Riding Education Authority

has adopted the Syllabus, and it is now in use in the 1,270 schools,

Provided and Non-Provided, of that authority. In addition to these,

numerous education authorities have decided to make provision for

moral instruction a part of the secular instruction in their schools.

So much that is untrue has been said about the results of a purely

secular education by its strenuous opponents that it is high time for

the real truth to be known. This my readers will find in Mr. Joseph

McCabe's tractate, The Truth About Secular Education: Its History

and Results (Watts & Co., 1906, paper covers, 6d.).

Among some excellent works intended to assist parents and

teachers in the non-theological character-training of children,

I may mention F. J. Gould's The Children's Book of Moral Lessons,

in three series (Watts & Co.), Hackwood's Notes of Lessons on Moral

Subjects, Alice Chesterton's The Garden of Childhood (Sonnenschein),

Dr. Felix Adler's The Moral Instruction of Children (Edward Arnold),

the Moral Instruction League and also the Leicester Syllabus,

and A. J. Waldegrave's A Teacher's Handbook of Moral Lessons

(Sonnenschein). Dr. F. H. Hayward's Secret of Herbart, a powerful

appeal to the teacher on the scope and urgency of his moral mission,

is now re-issued at 6d. (Watts). The translation of Dr. F. W. Förster's

Lebenskunde, a book replete with illustrative matter for the teacher,

has been undertaken by the Moral Instruction League. Mr. W. M. Salter's

essay, "Why Live a Moral Life?" is of exceptional merit. This and

other ethical essays may be obtained from the Secretary of the Union of

Ethical Societies, 19, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C.; price one penny

each. One of the most important contributions to ethical sociology that

has appeared for many years is a work in two vols. entitled Morals in

Evolution (Chapman & Hall; 1906), by Mr. L. T. Hobhouse. I venture

to predict that it will ere long be recognised as the standard work

on the subject. Mr. Hobhouse, it should be noted, never wavers in

his assertion of the supremacy of ethics over all phases of religion.

P. 350, line 15.--The practices of the Latin and Greek Churches.

Diaries recounting the sights seen by a lord of high degree in 1465

were published in 1851 by the Literary Society of Stuttgart. They

include an interesting account of all the shrines and relics seen

during his travels through Western Europe. The account of the relics

which he saw in our own Canterbury Cathedral admits of no curtailment:

"First we saw the head-band of the Blessed Virgin, a piece of Christ's

garment, and three thorns from His Crown; then we saw the bedstead

of St. Thomas and his brain, and the blood of St. Thomas and of

St. John the Apostles. We saw also the sword with which St. Thomas of

Canterbury was beheaded; the hair of the Mother of God, and a part

of the Sepulchre. There was also shown to us a part of the shoulder

of the Blessed Simeon, who bore Christ in his arms; the head of the

blessed Lustrabena; one leg of St. George; a piece of the body and

the bones of St. Lawrence; a leg of the Bishop of St. Romanus; a cup

of St. Thomas, which he had been accustomed to use in administering

the Sacrament at Canterbury; a leg of the Virgin Milda; a leg of the

Virgin Eduarda. We also saw a tooth and a finger of St. Stephen the

Martyr; bones of the Virgin Catherine, and oil from her sepulchre,

which is said to flow to this day; hair of the blessed Virgin

[sic!] Magdalene; a tooth of St. Benedict; a finger of St. Urban;

the lips of one of the infants slain by Herod; bones of the blessed

Clement; bones of St. Vincent. Very many other things were also shown

to us, which are not set down by me in this place." Very many other

things have also been shown to me during my travels abroad (from

St. Anne de Beaupré in Quebec to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

in Jerusalem) which are not set down by me in this place, and I may

say that the grotesqueness of the frauds that are perpetrated is only

equalled by the gross ignorance and credulity of the worshippers. The

number of these "relics" scattered over Christendom must amount to

thousands upon thousands. To stop the traffic in them, there is now a

regulation that if you buy a relic you commit mortal sin. The relics

are still sold, however; only the price is said to be for the frame

or for the trouble, or something to that effect. For a description

of La Bottega del Papa (the Pope's shop) or La Santa Bottega (the

Holy Shop) see Dr. Robertson's book, The Roman Catholic Church in

Italy. Regarding the early Church, see Bible Myths, pp. 434-40.

P. 359, lines 7-10.--Some of our greatest divines ... condemn

obscurantism and the odium theologicum.

We have a striking example of this in Dean Farrar's tractate, The

Bible and the Child (James Clarke & Co., 1897). The passage runs

as follows: "There are a certain number of persons who, when their

minds have become stereotyped in foregone conclusions, are simply

incapable of grasping new truths. They become obstructionists, and

not infrequently bigoted obstructionists. As convinced as the Pope

of their own personal infallibility, their attitude towards those who

see that the old views are no longer tenable is an attitude of anger

and alarm. This is the usual temper of the odium theologicum. It

would, if it could, grasp the thumbscrew and the rack of mediæval

Inquisitors, and would, in the last resource, hand over all opponents

to the scaffold or the stake. Those whose intellects have been thus

petrified by custom and advancing years are, of all others, the most

hopeless to deal with. They have made themselves incapable of fair

and rational examination of the truths which they impugn. They think

they can, by mere assertion, overthrow results arrived at by the

life-long inquiries of the ablest student, while they have not given

a day's serious or impartial study to them. They fancy that even the

ignorant, if only they be what is called orthodox, are justified in

strong denunciation of men quite as truthful, and often incomparably

more able than themselves. Off-hand dogmatists of this stamp, who

usually abound among professional religionists, think that they can

refute any number of scholars, however profound and however pious,

if only they shout 'Infidel' with sufficient loudness."

P. 367, lines 21-2.--Did not slavery flourish side by side with

the Christian Church?

Serfdom in England was fully extinguished only in 1600, and the Act for

the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies was passed

only in 1833. For eighteen long centuries Christianity countenanced

the atrocious inhumanities of the slave trade. The very irons used by

the native chiefs for shackling the prisoners when handing them over to

the Christian traders were made in Birmingham, and the greatest horrors

of slavery have been exhibited only under the rule of the Christian

slave-owner. We can form some idea of the inhumanity then displayed

from the treatment of the coloured races by the white man in Africa

to-day. Read, for instance, the accounts of the Congo atrocities, or

of the German Colonial scandals. Read, again, some home-truths about

our own Colonies in Labour and other Questions in South Africa, by

Medicus (T. Fisher Unwin, 1903). The white man has indeed a burden

to bear--the burden of his own iniquity. Regarding negro slavery,

Dr. Westermarck clearly shows (in his work, The Origin and Development

of the Moral Ideas) that "this system of slavery, which, at least

in the British Colonies and the slave States, surpassed in cruelty

the slavery of any pagan country, ancient or modern, was not only

recognised by Christian Governments, but was supported by the large

bulk of the clergy, Catholic and Protestant alike."

P. 368, lines 25-8.--The Christian Church has been more cruel

and shed more human blood than any other Church or institution

in the world. Let the Jew bear witness among the crowd of victims.

History is repeating itself to-day, and my previous allusions to the

present situation in Russia are all too brief. I would ask my readers

kindly to put to themselves the following crucial questions: To what

party do the religious bigots and their partisans belong? Is it not to

the reactionary party, the party that sets its face against reform? On

what do the reactionaries chiefly rely for the retention of their hold

upon the bulk of the people? Is it not on a peasantry wallowing in

ignorance and steeped in superstition? What are the actual instruments

employed for maintaining their power? Do they not consist of corrupt

officials and cruel Cossacks? Who are responsible for shameless acts of

persecution, and, indeed, very largely for all the bloodshed, strife,

and anarchy? Is it not the orthodox Church and her supporters? Is it

too much to say, with the Rev. J. Lawson-Forster, that "the Russian

Church has become the tool of murderers"? (Mr. Lawson-Forster expressed

himself in these words when presiding at the great public meeting held

at the Brondesbury Synagogue to protest against the recent outrages

in Russia.) To what party do the Freethinkers belong? Are they not

all, everyone of them, adherents of the party desirous of reform

and of religious toleration? With regard to religious persecution

generally, Christians might study with advantage Buckle's History of

Civilisation in England, or Lecky's History of the Rise and Influence

of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, or C. T. Gorham's Faith: Its

Freaks and Follies (Rationalist Press Association), or the latest work

on the subject, Religious Persecution, by E. S. P. Haynes (Duckworth;

a revised edition has now been issued by the R. P. A. at 6d.). Few

realise that the favourite method for overcoming the scruples of the

heretic--torture--was used in England so late as 1640.

Pp. 371-2, lines 31 and 1-3.--History, viewed as a whole,

is nothing but a succession of struggles for existence among

rival nations.

If Major Murray had stopped short at offering us a somewhat highly

coloured picture of the past and present conditions ruling among

Christian nations, and at inculcating the necessity of our being in

readiness to face the inevitable, few of us would be found to quarrel,

in the main, with his conclusions. But when he tells us that "Peace

never has been, and never will be [italics are mine], as long as the

passions of mankind endure, more than a lull between the storms of

war," then the better-informed and peace-loving Rationalist will beg

to differ with him. He feels that this gospel of universal hatred is

being carried too far. Never is a very long time. Major Murray says:

"No great nation will ever submit to arbitration any interest that it

regards as absolutely vital." Did not our British forefathers think,

and with more reason, that "men of honour" could settle their disputes

only by the duel? May we not trust that the decisions of learned

and unbiassed judges will be equitable, and therefore that their

acceptance will redound to the honour of the great nations concerned?

Natural selection, or, as we have elsewhere called it, natural murder,

ceased to have full power over men on the day that man commenced to

control his environment. Since then he has been constantly engaged in

making nature do some work for him, in altering the environment in

which he finds himself instead of letting it alter him. Now that he

is equipped, better than ever before in his history, for this task,

now that he has learnt more of the secrets of Nature--of her crude

and cruel processes--is he going to acquiesce tamely, and make no use

of his knowledge? Now the nature of the malady has been diagnosed, and

now the proper remedies have been discovered, will he not set about the

cure? Is the struggle for existence, with all its attendant horrors,

to be perpetuated? Does the end--the survival of the fittest--justify

the means--over-production and murder? Cannot the same and better

results be attained by a process less crude, less cruel? Nature

procures adaptation to existing environment by methods fraught with

untold suffering for the sentient, and the obvious course is for man

to reverse the process, bringing the environment into harmony with his

existing constitution. Of a truth, nature is, as Major Murray reminds

us, red in tooth and claw; but science is both able and willing to

tame the shrew.

P. 374, lines 15-19.--The "Lord mighty in battle" is expected to

take interest in bloodshed ... to fight for his people.

A parody appearing in an evening paper on November 29th, 1901, conveys

a wholesome lesson on this subject. "Lest we forget," I quote it

at length:--

PROCESSIONAL.

Lord God of Battles, whom we seek

On clouds and tempests throned afar,

When tired of being tamely weak,

We Maffick into deadly war;

If it should chance to be a sin,

At least enable us to win.

Give to the Churches faith to pray

For what they know they shouldn't ask,

And such abounding grace that they

May cheerfully perform the task;

Wave flags and loyally discount

That fatal Sermon on the Mount.

Give to the people strength to be

Convinced all happens for the best,

To see the thing they wish to see,

And prudently ignore the rest;

So priest and people shall combine

To gain their ends, and call them Thine.

P. 374, lines 23-4.--Its [Christianity's] impotency to carry out

this, one of its chief missions.

"In no field of its work," exclaims Mr. Andrew Carnegie, "does

the Christian Church throughout the whole world--with outstanding

individual exceptions--so conspicuously fail as in its attitude to

war. Its silence when outspoken speech might avert war, its silence

during war's sway, its failure during days of peace to proclaim the

true Christian doctrines regarding the killing of men, give point to

the recent arraignment of the Prime Minister, who declared that the

Church to-day busied itself with questions [e.g., of vestments and

candles] which did not weigh even as dust in the balance compared

with the vital problems with which it was called upon to deal." (See

reports of the ceremony at which Mr. Carnegie was installed as Rector

of St. Andrew's University.)

P. 374, lines 24-5.--Religion being frequently the actual occasion

of, the strife.

From the Crusades to the Crimea, religion has continually been

either directly or indirectly the cause of war. Protestants, who may

be ready to excuse the wars undertaken to drive the infidels from

the "Holy Land," will do well to remember that Pope Innocent III.,

besides proclaiming the fifth of these crusades, proclaimed also the

infamous crusade against the Albigenses (who opposed the corruptions

of the Church of Rome), when Simon de Montfort and the Pope's legate,

at the head of half a million of men, put to the sword friend and

foe, men and women, saying, "God will find his own." In the case of

that mischievous and unnecessary blunder, the Crimean War, the great

masses of the Russian people saw but a spirited defence of the Cross

against the Crescent, wherein, from their point of view, the infidel

was being supported by renegade Christians. It was an appeal to the

religious emotions of the Russian peasants--an insincere appeal,

as history has discovered--that lent to the last Russo-Turkish war

a fictitious popularity.

P. 375, lines 6-7.--Every Rationalist, every Freethinker, is an

honest advocate of peace.

Note these lines by an eminent divine and great dignitary of the

Church, Archbishop Alexander, of Armagh:--

And when I know how noble natures form under the red rain of war,

I deem it true

That He who made the earthquakes and the storm perchance made

battle too.

And these by the gentle Wordsworth, the poet of sweet simplicity:--

But Thy most dreaded instrument

In working out a pure intent

Is man--array'd for mutual slaughter;

Yea, Carnage is Thy daughter!

And compare: "The very ideas and efforts which have led men to struggle

against the Papal Church are exactly those which are exorcising the

demon of militarism from the soul of France" (Contemporary Review

for January, 1905, art. "France and Rome"). Or again the following,

reported in the daily papers: "A petition to stop the war between

Russia and Japan owes its inception to Signor Carlo Romissi, Deputy

and editor of the Secolo of Milan. The petition has penetrated into

every workshop, household, and school, and roused the people to a

passionate desire for peace, not only between the belligerents in the

Far East, but between all nations." The Secolo is the most widely-read

Freethought paper in Italy.

Though it may be a long time before our efforts are rewarded, is that

any reason for not making a commencement in the right direction? Let

me give an instance. The effort now being made to popularise the

international language "Esperanto" is one such commencement. Could

not the Church spare a little of her military ardour (exhibited in

the arm-chair and pulpit) for supporting peaceful projects of this

nature? This one, at any rate, among the many to be found on the

Rationalist programme, is not contrary to her teaching; but I have

not as yet heard of any ecclesiastical support to a scheme that will

undoubtedly conduce to a better acquaintance between the peoples

of different nationalities. It is Rationalist and liberal-minded

philanthropists (Mr. W. T. Stead, e.g.) who are at present chiefly

interested in the movement.

During the Boer War one was continually hearing declamations from

the pulpit to the effect that war is a necessary evil. For instance,

the late Bishop of Calcutta, Dr. Welldon, actually advocated war

on the ground that it was a means of keeping a nation virile. Has

the Boer War made us more virile? Whatever Imperial necessity there

may have been for it, owing to blunders in the past and the existing

condition of affairs, the certain effects of it, so far as we can see,

have been the untimely destruction of some of the flower of our race,

sorrow spread throughout the length and breadth of the land by many

bereavements, the burden of a great debt, and the unemployed question

rendered more acute than ever.

"The brotherhood of man is a long way off--it may never be reached;

but as an ideal it is better worth having than that of half-a-dozen

sullen empires, trading only within their own boundaries, and shut

up behind high tariff walls over which they peer suspiciously,

scanning one another's exports and imports with jealous eyes, and

making from time to time fawning alliances with one rival, while

harbouring enmity with another, maintaining millions of men under

arms and spending millions of pounds in armaments, and all the time

waiting, waiting, waiting for an affrighted sun to rise upon the day

of Armageddon.... But nobler things lie before us and a brighter

dawn." (See Mr. Birrell's article, "Patriotism and Christianity,"

in the Contemporary Review for February, 1905.)

SELECTIONS FROM A FEW (OF MANY) PRESS OPINIONS ON EARLIER EDITIONS.

"Written in a temperate spirit."--Times.

"A well-presented and interesting survey."--Daily Telegraph.

"A freshly thought-out discussion of the whole subject. A temperate

and well-reasoned study."--Scotsman.

"A comprehensive survey of many perplexing problems ... full of cogent

criticism and stimulating suggestion."--Tribune.

"An absolutely sincere and sympathetic contribution to the controversy

of our time."--Morning Post.

"There is much in this work that deserves close study."--Daily Mail.

"It is a very full, lucid, and candid work."--Morning Leader.

"Evidence on both sides is lucidly set forth."--Daily Graphic.

"By an able critic ... is written with moderation and in a spirit of

reverent inquiry ... is manifestly honest, and the tone is dignified

and courteous."--Yorkshire Post.

"There is considerable novelty in his presentation of his case. He

writes without bitterness or acrimony, exhibiting, indeed, in his

treatment a scholarly mind."--Academy.

"I am glad to see a second and revised edition."--T. P.'s Weekly.

"Mr. Vivian's excellent book."--Observer.

"Deserves attentive consideration."--John Bull.

"A careful and thorough perusal of this book has led us to admire

the industry, carefulness, and lucidity of the writer."--London Argus.

"All we can do is to commend this book to the serious attention

of all who have the welfare of Christianity--not mere dogma--at

heart."--Public Opinion.

"A clever and lucid statement of Rationalism."--Review of Reviews.

"Every competent critic seems to have recognised the book as one

of the few which immediately command recognition, and which are

unhesitatingly added to our classics."--Westminster Review.

"Illusions must be grappled with and exhibited as such before people

can be got to discard them. And as a guide to the performance of

that office Mr. Vivian's book is the best that can be named."--Albany

Review.

"Candid and conscientious."--London Quarterly Review.

"The arguments of Agnosticism very clearly put."--Guardian.

"Mr. Vivian does not aim at bespattering his opponents with

mud."--Christian Commonwealth.

"Ought to be carefully studied by preachers."--Christian World.

"Is well worth reading by all who have to do with unbelief."--Methodist

Times.

"It is a frank and full inquiry into the grounds of modern unbelief,

and a masterly plea for candour in Christian thought."--Christian

Advocate.

"Calmly-reasoned criticism.... Writes in excellent style."--Clarion.

"Mr. Vivian's book is an admirable reply to When it Was Dark."--New

Age.

"An interesting and instructive book."--Positivist Review.

"This book does much to show where rationalism can rightly influence

both our creed and our conduct."--Light (devoted to the interests of

psychical research).

"I am recommending it to everybody who is interested in the religious

problems of the hour."--The Reader.

"Comprehensive in scope, judiciously written, and embodying an

admirable selection of facts."--Literary Guide.

"The book is written with marked ability."--Teacher.

"Philip Vivian is a clear thinker, who has made a special study

both of Christian evidences and of comparative religions."--Journal

of Education.

"Comprehensive, systematic, and strenuous ... based on much knowledge

... very capable."--Educational Times.

"Exhaustive ... up-to-date ... claims the respect of thinking people,

and demands the prayerful attention of all Christian teachers."--Bombay

Gazette.

"Any earnest, thoughtful man may read the volume with considerable

profit."--Daily Mail, Brisbane.

"Thoughtful and evidently earnest work."--Herald, Melbourne.

"Clear, forceful, fair, and temperate."--Register, Adelaide.

"Well arranged and well written, and adding to-day's conclusions to

the polemics of the past."--Bulletin, Sydney.

"A reliable and useful guide."--Otago Times, New Zealand.

"A healthy tonic for parsons and Churches."--Cape Times.

"A very stirring book."--Star, Johannesburg.

"Many of its chapters are of great interest."--African Monthly.

"Mr. Vivian has brought to his task wide reading and a clear,

judicial mind; nor has he feared to follow his investigation to a

logical end."--World, Toronto.

"A clever and frank writer."--World, Vancouver.

"From first to last most interesting and instructive."--Japan

Chronicle.

"It contains in little space a summary of modern knowledge."--Chicago

Daily News.

"A work of unusual clearness, dealing with the entire question of the

so-called conflict between religion and science."--American Review

of Reviews.

"Will appeal to the widest possible range of readers."--New York

Herald.

NOTES

[1] In the June (1906) number of Review of Theology and Philosophy,

edited by Professor Allan Menzies, D.D.

[2] As the Rev. John A. Hutton attempts to show in the Hibbert Journal,

July, 1905.

[3] In his address at the London Diocesan Conference in April, 1904.

[4] When addressing a conference of clergy and church-workers at

Blandford on September 7th, 1905.

[5] In the course of one of those remarkable orations of his which

always command the thoughtful attention of the House. The speech was

reported in the newspapers of March 15th, 1904.

[6] See Dr. Horton's letter to the Daily News, August 23rd, 1905.

[7] The Rev. Charles Voysey, in a sermon preached at the Theistic

Church, Swallow Street, on February 5th, 1905.

[8] See pp. 63-4.

[9] Quoted from What it is to be a Christian, a pamphlet written by

the Ven. J. M. Wilson, D.D.

[10] Eighteen per cent. was the figure given by Bishop Ingram,

speaking of "Londoners," in his speech at the annual meeting of the

Bishop of London's Fund in 1904; but, according to the strict results

of the census, the figure for London is twenty-two or twenty-three

per cent. of the total population.

[11] As Mr. Fielding remarks in his book, The Hearts of Men

(pp. 217-8): "To one coming to Europe after years in the East

and visiting churches, nothing is more striking than the enormous

preponderance of women there. It is immaterial whether the church

be in England or France, whether it be Anglican or Roman Catholic or

Dissenter. The result is always the same--women outnumber the men as

two to one, as three to one, sometimes as ten to one."

[12] As a matter of fact, no distinguished leader among modern

biologists has come to any such conclusion. People are apt to forget

that, while Lord Kelvin is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished

living physicists, he is not himself a biologist.

[13] See Nature, April 23rd, 1903; also Appendix to this work.

[14] This assertion is severely criticised by Mr. Joseph McCabe in

the Hibbert for July, 1905. Mr. McCabe holds that "Sir Oliver Lodge's

own conception of life may, with a far greater show of reason, be

described as a modified survival of an older doctrine" (p. 746).

[15] Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, the distinguished naturalist and

evolutionist, is another scientist with spiritist convictions, and

his concern for supernatural religion led him to step outside his own

domain and make that remarkable attack upon current scientific opinions

in astronomical matters which met with such unanimous condemnation

(see the Fortnightly Review for March and September, 1903).

[16] In the Times, October, 1904.

[17] At Exeter Hall, in March, 1905, Lady Blount developed her

"flat-earth" theory, and accused Newton of want of logic.

[18] A book, edited by the Rev. J. E. Hand (George Allen), which

gives, perhaps, the best that can be said by able and fair-minded men,

writing in the light of the latest knowledge and criticism, in favour

of a reconciliation between religion and science. The book contains

essays by various authors--Sir O. Lodge, Professors Thomson, Geddes,

and Muirhead, the Rev. P. N. Waggett, the Rev. John Kelman, and others.

[19] Dr. W. Barry, in his Ernest Renan, is content to attribute

the change mainly to Renan's study of Kant. But such a theory is

inconsistent with Renan's own statement in his Reminiscences, where

he expressly declares that questions of history, not metaphysics,

shook his faith.

[20] Author of a vituperative libel on agnostics, called Atheism

and Faith.

[21] The psychical aspect of the belief of such persons is discussed

in Chap. VI., § 5.

[22] Canon Scott Holland, in a sermon preached in St. Paul's Cathedral

on the first Sunday after Epiphany, 1905. See also Appendix.

[23] The Secretary of the Rationalist Press Association has received

several private letters from clergymen expressing their desire to

leave the Church if they could find some employment. They usually

have large families dependent upon them for support.

[24] I omit all mention of the trading or domestic classes who often

depend directly for their support on strict religionists. The way in

which "their bread is buttered" is bound to enter considerably into

their calculations, and also they have often even less leisure for

the study of modern thought than a steady (temperate) working man.

[25] A cheap edition has since been published by the R. P. A.

[26] Anti-Nunquam, by Dr. Warschauer, with prefatory note by J. Estlin

Carpenter, is considered by many Churchmen to be an admirable

refutation of God and My Neighbour. I have seldom read anything less

likely to convince. Sentence after sentence is open to the gravest

exception.

[27] See Appendix.

[28] E.g., in the Nineteenth Century and After, see the article on

"The Present Position of Religious Apologetics," appearing in the

issue for October, 1903; or on "Freethought in the Church of England"

in the issues for September and December, 1904. The answers in the

same journal are most unsatisfactory, and only serve to show how very

little, apparently, can be said in reply.

[29] Although the Church has ever been charitable, she has made no

effort to cure poverty. She is, she must be, the ally of those to

whom she chiefly owes her power and prestige. Jeremy Taylor is not

the only eminent divine who has systematically courted the favour of

the influential and rich.

[30] Essay on "Possibilities and Impossibilities," appearing in the

Agnostic Annual for 1892.

[31] Paley's Evidences--Preparatory Considerations.

[32] In his book, The Service of Man.

[33] In his notable oration upon the apparitions of Llanthony.

[34] See p. 132 of An Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures,

by the Right Rev. W. Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon.

[35] See p. 222 of Some Elements of Religion, Liddon.

[36] See p. 51 of An Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures.

[37] Extract from a sermon preached in St. Paul's, Finsbury, on

November 23rd, 1904.

[38] This explanation has been given by the Rev. Samuel Cox, and

it is quoted with approval by the Bishop of London on p. 63 of his

little work, Old Testament Difficulties (S.P.C.K.).

[39] See p. 41 of Old Testament Difficulties.

[40] Article "Genesis."

[41] Miraculum means merely a wonderful thing. It is certainly a

proper translation of simeia (signs) and terata (wonders), as used

by New Testament writers.

[42] By the author of Supernatural Religion. (Longmans, Green, and

Co.; 1889.)

[43] See Encyclopædia Biblica, article "Gospels," paragraph 138 (e).

[44] See article "Paul" in the Encyclopædia Biblica. Four of the

Pauline Epistles are, however, pretty generally accepted. Five are

hotly disputed; Professor Loofs, for example, rejects them.

[45] See article "Epistolary Literature" in the Encyclopædia Biblica.

[46] Swedenborgians (the New Jerusalem Church) are to be found

scattered throughout almost every part of Christendom. In England,

principally in Lancashire and Yorkshire, there are seventy-five

societies with 6,063 registered members.

[47] Eight persons in all testify to the apparition of the Virgin

Mary in the Abbot's meadow at Llanthony on September 15th, 1880.

[48] Hodder & Stoughton, 1906.

[49] See p. 31 of What is Christianity? (Williams & Norgate, 1904).

[50] See, for instance, art. "Moses," Encyclopædia Biblica.

[51] Quoted from a sermon by the Bishop of London in Fulham parish,

Christmas Day, 1904. Compare this with Dr. Kirkpatrick's remark,

p. 2 of his book, The Divine Library of the Old Testament: "It is

true that the critical investigation of the Bible raises not a few

questions of grave difficulty."

[52] "The adjective 'higher' (the sense of which is often

misunderstood) has reference simply to the higher and more difficult

class of problems, with which, as opposed to textual criticism, the

'higher' criticism has to deal" (see Preface to The Higher Criticism,

being three papers by S. R. Driver, D.D., and A. F. Kirkpatrick, D.D.).

[53] See Appendix.

[54] Exodus xxxi. 18 and xxxii. 16. Or, to be precise, these having

been broken and their fragments considered of no value at the time,

the duplicates carefully prepared and inscribed to the dictation of

God Himself (Exodus xxxix.).

[55] Believed to date from about 853 B.C. The inscription records

the victories of King Mesha over the Israelites.

[56] Erected in honour of Ptolemy Epiphanes, 106 B.C. Famous as

having furnished the first key for the interpretation of Egyptian

hieroglyphics.

[57] Encyclopædia Biblica, art. "Messiah," p. 3058, par. 2.

[58] Ibid, p. 3063, par 10.

[59] In Studies in the Character of Christ, by Rev. C. H. Robinson,

Hon. Canon of Ripon and Editorial Secretary to the S.P.G.

[60] Enc. Bib., art. "Nativity," par. 10, 11, 12.

[61] The late Rev. A. B. Bruce, D.D., Professor of Apologetics and

New Testament Exegesis, Free Church College, Glasgow.

[62] See Enc. Bib., art. "Gospels," par. 139.

[63] See Enc. Bib., art. "Gospels," par. 138, where the reasons for

this conclusion are explained. See also par. 108.

[64] Author of various theological works, Hulsean Lecturer, Cambridge,

1876; Select Preacher, Oxford, 1877.

[65] The interpolation in the last chapter of St. Mark goes back far

into the second century. It is important to bear in mind that none

of the dates given by Dr. Harnack and other authorities applies to

the Gospels exactly as we now have them. Accounts of miracles have

been added subsequently!

[66] Enc. Bib., art. "Lazarus."

[67] Ibid, art. "Gospels," par. 147.

[68] W. C. van Manen, D.D., Professor of Old-Christian Literature

and New Testament Exegesis, Leyden.

[69] Spoken in an address to the St. Paul's Lecture Society, at the

opening of a new session in 1904.

[70] The italics in these quotations from Dr. Harnack are mine.

[71] Fully reported in the Methodist Times.

[72] The Greek version, known as the Septuagint (LXX.), made in Egypt

in the third and second centuries B.C. for the use of the numerous

body of Greek-speaking Jews and proselytes in that country.

[73] A Greek document which is supposed to have existed and then to

have been entirely lost (imagine God's Word lost!), and to contain

some of the matter related by St. Matthew and St. Luke, while omitted

by St. Mark. N.B.--While the evangelist St. Mark is relegated to

the position of a translator only, St. Matthew and St. Luke are

taken by orthodox theologians to be mere copyists of St. Mark and a

"lost" document!

[74] See art. "Gospels," in the Enc. Bib., and Westcott and Hort,

The New Testament in the Original Greek.

[75] In his address at the Church Congress held at Weymouth in 1905.

[76] In his work, Verbal Inspiration. Quoted by Bishop Colenso in

The Pentateuch Examined.

[77] The Dean of Canterbury, speaking on the Bishop of Winchester's

paper at the Church Congress, 1903.

[78] The Dean of Canterbury, speaking in St. Mary Bredin's Church,

Canterbury, December 4th, 1904.

[79] See Appendix.

[80] See Bk. VIII., chap. ii., par. 2, on p. 324, vol. i. Eusebius

(Oxford: Parker & Co.). His candour here is deserving of all

praise; but his methods can hardly be termed scientific; while an

impartial perusal of his Vita Constantini, a panegyric on the Emperor

Constantine, should be enough to shake the confidence of all but the

blindest of his admirers.

[81] See p. 179, chap. xv., of Gibbon's Rome (Oddy, 1809).

[82] See Appendix.

[83] In note A, pp. 42-3, of his book, The Study of the Gospels.

[84] At the discussion on Christian Science during the London Diocesan

Conference, May, 1906.

[85] See his book, The Days of His Flesh; Hodder & Stoughton, 1906.

[86] See chap. xxviii. of The Historical Geography of the Holy Land,

by the Rev. George Adam Smith, M.A., D.D., LL.D.; Professor of

O. T. Lang., Liter., and Theology, etc.

[87] The quotation is from Canon C. H. Robinson's book, Studies in

the Character of Christ.

[88] J. G. Frazer (Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge;

Hon. D.C.L. Oxford; Hon. LL.D. Glasgow; Hon. Litt. D. Durham, etc.),

in his Preface to the second edition of The Golden Bough.

[89] Professor Max Müller, in The Science of Religion, p. 40.

[90] The italics are mine throughout this quotation; also words within

brackets [ ].

[91] See Appendix.

[92] "We are accustomed to find the legendary and the miraculous

gathering, like a halo, around the early history of religious leaders,

until the sober truth runs the risk of being altogether neglected

for the glittering and edifying falsehood" (Enc. Brit., vol. iv.,

art. "Buddhism," p. 424). This process is recognised as a universal

rule. What grounds have we for assuming that Christianity is exempt

from it?

[93] See Appendix.

[94] See Appendix.

[95] Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, was possibly a historical person. We

are quite in the dark as to the precise date of Zoroaster. Duncker

places him about the year 1000 B.C.

[96] Apol. I. 54 and I. 21. Quoted in the Enc. Bib., art. "Mary."

[97] Pp. 78-9 of his important work, Divine Immanence.

[98] Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi., pp. 197-200.

[99] Egyptian Belief, p. 370.

[100] Middleton's Works, vol. i., pp. 63, 64.

[101] Rawlinson's Herodotus, vol. ii., p. 260, note 3.

[102] See his work, Mythology of the Aryan Nations, vol. ii., p. 113.

[103] Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi., p. 95.

[104] Myths of the New World, p. 166.

[105] P. 393 of Monumental Christianity, or the Art and Symbolism

of the Primitive Church as Witness and Teachers of the One Catholic

Faith and Practice.

[106] In his book, Bushido, pp. 15-19 and 24.

[107] P. 152 of his book, King David of Israel (Watts, 1905).

[108] The Gods of the Egyptians, vol. ii., p. 220.

[109] Ibid., vol. i., Preface, p. xv.

[110] They appear in Part II., pp. 171, 183, 188, 300, and 302.

[111] A translation of the Chinese version of the "Abbinishkramana

Sûtra." For the probable date, see Appendix.

[112] See Herbert Spencer's Principles of Sociology, Vol. I., Part I.,

chapter on "The Primitive Man--Emotional."

[113] Professor Robertson Smith, in The Religion of the Semites,

p. 347. Dr. W. R. Smith was a distinguished Scottish Biblical scholar

and Orientalist. From 1881 he was associated as joint editor of the

ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica with Professor Spencer

Baynes, after whose death in 1887 he was sole editor.

[114] J. M. Robertson, in his book, Pagan Christs, pp. 373-4.

[115] For this and the following graphic accounts I am indebted to

Mr. J. M. Robertson's book, Pagan Christs, Part IV.--"The Religion

of Ancient America."

[116] Quoted from his celebrated book, The Golden Bough.

[117] See p. 145, note.

[118] See Appendix.

[119] See "Gods of Cultivation" in Grant Allen's Evolution of the

Idea of God.

[120] See Appendix.

[121] The Evolution of the Idea of God (chapter on "The Gods of

Cultivation").

[122] Ibid (chapter on "The Origin of Gods").

[123] Principles of Sociology, vol. i. (chapter on "Primitive Ideas,"

p. 102).

[124] Principles of Sociology (chapter on "Inspiration, Divination,

Exorcism, and Sorcery," p. 241).

[125] P. 366, vol. ii. of The Golden Bough.

[126] Anacalypsis, vol. 1., p. 638.

[127] St. Matthew xii. 40.

[128] See Appendix.

[129] Studies in the Character of Christ, vi. 102.

[130] Encyc. Brit., art. "Mythology."

[131] See Appendix.

[132] See p. 117 of Monumental Christianity.

[133] See Appendix.

[134] Quoted from Darwin's Descent of Man.

[135] "The preservation of favourable variations and the rejection

of injurious variations I call natural selection" (Darwin, Origin of

Species, ed. 1860, iv.).

[136] Darwin, Varieties of Animals and Plants, xx., 178.

[137] Concluding remarks in Darwin's Descent of Man.

[138] Ibid.

[139] See his book containing the aforesaid lectures, and called God's

Image in Man and its Defacement in the Light of Modern Denials. (Hodder

and Stoughton; 1905.)

[140] Lent by Mr. Reginald Blunt to the Chelsea Public Library.

[141] See Professor Huxley's essays, "The Interpreters of Genesis

and the Interpreters of Nature" and "Mr. Gladstone and Genesis,"

appearing in the Nineteenth Century for December, 1885, and February,

1886, respectively, and also in the collection of Huxley's essays

entitled Essays Upon Some Controverted Questions.

[142] Dr. Torrey informed a huge audience in the Albert Hall

recently that he had given up the theory of Evolution for scientific

reasons. "People speak of the missing link; why, they are all

missing!" cried Dr. Torrey. Now, this is nothing more nor less than

an untruth, and Dr. Torrey must know that it is, if he has studied

Evolution, as he assures us that he has. Here is an example of the

way Christians are misinformed by their spiritual teachers on the

subject of Evolution. But what can you expect of an evangelist who

thinks that he is serving God's cause by slandering the dead, as he

did in the case of Colonel Ingersoll and Thomas Paine?

[143] See Mr. W. H. Mallock's Religion as a Credible Doctrine, p. 177.

[144] Origin of Species, p. 65.

[145] From The Story of Creation, by Edward Clodd. Chapter on "The

Origin of Species," p. 95 of the cheap edition.

[146] The Nineteenth Century, February, 1888, pp. 162, 163.

[147] Pp. 519-20.

[148] Theism, by the Rev. Robert Flint, D.D., LL.D., F.R.S.E.,

Professor of Moral Philosophy, Divinity, etc., being the Baird Lectures

for 1877.

[149] On p. 39 of his own work, Anti-Nunquam.

[150] The Light of Asia, Book the First.

[151] Quoted from Huxley's Lectures on Evolution.

[152] Quoted from Huxley's Lectures on Evolution.

[153] Controverted Questions, pp. 100, 102, 103, 104.

[154] In Lectures on Evolution.

[155] Quoted from "The Interpreters of Genesis," in the essays on

Controverted Questions, p. 91.

[156] "Mr. Gladstone and Genesis," pp. 112-3 of Controverted Questions.

[157] The Descent of Man, p. 10.

[158] The Nature of Man, by Metchnikoff, p. 41.

[159] The Descent of Man, p. 10.

[160] The Nature of Man, p. 42.

[161] Man's Place in Nature, p. 126.

[162] Ibid, p. 127.

[163] The Nature of Man, p. 42.

[164] Man's Place in Nature, p. 111.

[165] Ibid, p. 139.

[166] Ibid, p. 102, note.

[167] Pp. 49-54. At the late International Congress on Tuberculosis,

Professor Behring paid the highest tribute to Metchnikoff's labours

on phagocytosis. Strange indeed are the instruments chosen by God for

conferring His benefits on mankind; for the author of The Nature of

Man denies His existence!

[168] Described in the Lancet, January 18th, 1902.

[169] The Nature of Man, pp. 45-48.

[170] The Descent of Man, vol. i., p. 14. According to the latest

authorities, however, the human ovum (when mature) differs in many

respects from other (especially non-mammal) ova.

[171] See the "Family Tree" of Life in the Appendix.

[172] "It is," says Professor Huxley (in Man's Place in Nature, 1863,

p. 67, and quoted by Darwin in his Descent of Man, p. 14), "quite in

the later steps of development that the young human being presents

marked differences from the young ape, while the latter departs as

much from the dog in its developments as the man does. Startling as

this last assertion may appear to be, it is demonstrably true."

[173] The Descent of Man, vol. i., pp. 17-18.

[174] See The Nature of Man, p. 60.

[175] The Descent of Man, vol. i., p. 29.

[176] The Evolution of Man, vol. ii., p. 708.

[177] Ibid, 774.

[178] The Descent of Man, vol. ii., p. 32.

[179] The Nature of Man, p. 67.

[180] The Descent of Man, vol. i., pp. 32-33.

[181] God and My Neighbour, p. 134.

[182] The document and the hostile criticisms concerning it in

religious papers are highly instructive. Except for the correspondence

on the subject in the Standard during May, 1905, under the title of

"Faith and Religion," the general public are not likely to know of

the matter.

[183] Tylor and Hartmann, however, believe in the animal descent of

man, and therefore in a rise from primitive civilisation.

[184] Our ancestors were never "molluscs"; "worm" would be an

appropriate word here.

[185] Review in the Church Times of May 31st, 1905, of the Dean of

Westminster's book, Some Thoughts on Inspiration.

[186] This and the following quotations are from "Advent Lectures on

Sin," delivered by Dr. Gore, then Bishop of Worcester, in St. Philip's

Church, Birmingham. They were reported in the Church Times of December

4th, 11th, and 18th, 1903.

[187] See pp. 234-5.

[188] In an address to the Students' Christian Union of Owens College,

Manchester, on January 8th, 1904.

[189] In his interesting book, Problems of Religion and Science, p. 70.

[190] Teleology is the name given to the doctrine of final causes;

the theory of tendency to an end, or the arrangement of things as

they are for a purpose.

[191] See Appendix.

[192] Contemporary Review for May, art. "The Scientists and Common

Sense."

[193] Under this title there is a pamphlet (Charles H. Kelly,

Paternoster Row) by the Ven. J. M. Wilson, Archdeacon of Manchester,

in which the latitudinarian views to which I refer are openly

expressed. See Appendix.

[194] Flint's Theism, pp. 133-4.

[195] Theism, p. 102. This book is a standard apologetic work on

Theism. Dr. Flint is also the writer of the article on "Theism"

in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

[196] See p. 73 of Haeckel's Critics Answered, by Joseph McCabe.

[197] Ibid, p. 73.

[198] Haeckel's Critics Answered, p. 74.

[199] Religion and Science, pp. 89-90.

[200] Theism, Lecture IV.

[201] See p. 76 of Haeckel's Critics Answered.

[202] Theism, p. 79.

[203] Chapter on "Theism and Natural Selection."

[204] Religion and Science, p. 83.

[205] Religion and Science, pp. 89, 90.

[206] In The Ethics, Part i., appendix.

[207] In his work, Divine Immanence.

[208] Divine Immanence, pp. 71-2.

[209] Ibid, pp. 71-2.

[210] Ibid, pp. 71-2.

[211] Ibid, pp. 71-2.

[212] Ibid, p. 73.

[213] Ibid, p. 161.

[214] Divine Immanence, p. 161.

[215] In the preface to his poem.

[216] Art. "Theism" in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

[217] E.g., see p. 15 of The Three Superstitions, by Dr. Keeling,

an ex-professor of gynecology.

[218] Theism, p. 245.

[219] Theism, p. 246.

[220] In an address at the inaugural meeting of the session of the

Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, held on October 31st, 1905.

[221] A Text-Book of Apologetics, by Charles Harris, B.D.,

Lecturer in Theology and Parochialia, St. David's College,

Lampeter; Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Llandaff. (London:

John Murray, 1905.) A noticeable point about this latest contribution

to apologetic literature is that, though it purposes to deal with

all the chief arguments which have been urged against religion, it

leaves the weightiest argument of all--the argument from Comparative

Mythology--practically untouched. Why is this?

[222] Theism, p. 228.

[223] Theism, "The Argument from Order."

[224] Theism, p. 226.

[225] Ibid., p. 67.

[226] This description is borne out by the Rev. A. R. Robertson, D.D.,

in The Roman Catholic Church in Italy (Morgan & Scott), a book which

was accorded a flattering reception in January, 1903, by the King

of Italy. In Southern Italy the Church's methods remind one of what

Paschal tells us concerning the Jesuits--how they kept men wicked,

lest, if they became virtuous, the priests should lose their hold

upon them.

[227] Encyclopædia Britannica, art. "Newman, John Henry."

[228] See art. "Francis William Newman," by Francis Gribble, The

Fortnightly, July, 1905.

[229] Being an address given at the Pusey House, Oxford.

[230] Their guiltlessness is made abundantly clear in Robert

Blatchford's Not Guilty, a book containing a lucid presentment of

the case for Determinism which may be understood of all. There are

copious illustrations of heredity and environment--terms the wide

application of which must be thoroughly realised.

[231] Regarding his philosophic position, however, see Appendix.

[232] In his book, Rough Ways Made Smooth, chapter on "Bodily Illness

as a Mental Stimulant."

[233] In Occult Japan, by Percival Lowell (Riverside Press), there

is an interesting account of these practices.

[234] The delusions of the "Christian Scientists" in mixing up religion

with psychic healing can only be attributed to their ignorance of

modern psychology. Those who know better, and are making money out

of it, are as shamefully imposing upon the credulity of religious

folk as is the Roman Catholic Church with her shrines of healing.

[235] In the December (1904) Journal of the Society for Psychical

Research a lady gives a vivid description of how she cured herself

completely of certain nervous complaints by auto-suggestion. It is

interesting to note that she says: "I did not believe in the efficacy

of this treatment one bit; I just made myself do it; but I felt,

most of the time, that it was extremely ridiculous." See also Appendix.

[236] The following is from the Mikado's Rescript issued on the

conclusion of peace:--"The result is due in a large measure to the

benign spirits of our ancestors, as well as to the devotion and duty

of our civil and military officials and the self-denying patriotism of

all our people.... We are happy to invoke the blessing of the benign

spirits of our ancestors." N.B.--The word "God" is conspicuous by

its absence; "ancestors' spirits" take its place.

[237] International Journal of Ethics, April, 1904, p. 338,

art. "Professor William James's Interpretation of Religious

Experience," by James H. Leuba.

[238] An instructive treatise on this subject will be found in

Vol. II., ch. x., of Weismann on Heredity. (Clarendon Press Series.)

[239] Do you know a hymn tune by Lord Crofton, set to the words,

"Bless'd are the pure in heart"? When I first heard that tune played

I shook with emotion. I did not know at that time the words that

the tune had been set to; so it could only have been the music that

affected me. At one time I confess that I myself used to mistake this

hysterical element in my nature for religious fervour.

[240] The Ven. Archdeacon J. M. Wilson, D.D., late headmaster of

Clifton College--in the Journal of Education, 1881.

[241] In Three Essays on Religion, p. 80 of the Cheap Reprint issued

for the Rationalist Press Association.

[242] As remarked by the Bishop of London in a sermon at Westminster

Abbey. See cover of Mr. Guy Thorne's book, When it was Dark.

[243] Quoted from an address delivered by the Bishop of London at

St. Paul's, as reported in the Church Times of October 7th, 1904.

[244] See footnote p. 37 of The Religion of Woman, by Joseph McCabe.

[245] Professor Jinzo Naruse. For the quotation see chap. xxi. on

"The Position of Women" in Mr. Alfred Stead's recent publication,

Japan by the Japanese.

[246] See p. 31 of the Rev. Herbert Moore's The Christian Faith

in Japan.

[247] Ibid., p. 129.

[248] We learn this from reliable sources--for example, from

W. M. Flinders Petrie and Gaston Camille Charles Maspéro, the

celebrated English and French Egyptologists.

[249] The Religion of Woman.

[250] These remarks are quoted on p. 15 of The Religion of Woman from

vol. iii., p. 290, of Mrs. Cady Stanton's History of Women's Suffrage.

[251] The Religion of Woman, pp. 105, 107, 111.

[252] Pinchwife, it will be remembered, is the anxious husband

(in Wycherley's comedy, The Country Wife) who held that a woman is

innocent in proportion to her lack of knowledge. There are, of course,

other reasons why a wife's ignorance is deemed desirable. Cf. "And

so far will I trust thee, gentle Kate."

[253] In his sermon at St. Crantock's on August 27th, 1905.

[254] The Religion of Woman, p. 78. This work embodies a complete

refutation of the assertion which we have cursorily examined. The

truth-seeker desirous of studying other aspects of the Christian

contention is strongly recommended to peruse also Mr. McCabe's

brilliant essay, The Bible in Europe (Watts, 1907).

[255] See his Notes on Popular Rationalism.

[256] Anti-Theistic Theories, Lecture 5, on Comte's Positivist

Philosophy.

[257] Approximately 300,000 copies by the end of January, 1907.

[258] In the Nineteenth Century and After, November, 1904.

[259] See Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii., p. 27 (ed. 1809).

[260] Ibid., vol. iii., p. 27.

[261] Ibid., vol. iv., p. 21.

[262] Among his victims were: his father-in-law (A.D. 310); sister's

husband (314); nephew (319); wife (320); former friend (321); sister's

husband (325); own son (326).

[263] Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii., p. 337 (ed. 1809).

[264] The death-bed baptism of Constantine is described by Eusebius,

the Bishop of Cæsarea, in his Life of Constantine, bk. iv., chaps. 61,

62, 63, and 64. The Bishop assumes the salvation of Constantine with

the utmost confidence, and says: "He was removed about mid-day to the

presence of his God, leaving his mortal remains to his fellow-mortals,

and carrying into fellowship with God that part of his being which

was capable of understanding and loving Him."

[265] It has been urged upon me by my Christian friends that the

enormous funds at the disposal of the various Christian propagandist

societies testify to the growth, not the decay, of the Christian

faith. If these funds were chiefly derived from the small donations

of the many, there would be something in this argument. Such, however,

is not the case.

[266] Ammian. Marcell. 1. xxvii. c. 3.

[267] Cod. Theodos., Lib. xvi. tit. ii. 1. 20.

[268] Lib. xvi. tit. x. 1. 20, and tit. v. legg. 43, 52, 57, 65.

[269] See pp. 58-9 of the Beneficial Influence of the Ancient

Clergy (the title under which the Hulsean Prize Essay for 1850 was

subsequently published in book form), by the late Henry Mackenzie,

B.A., scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. Other quotations are

given in the Appendix.

[270] The Gods of the Egyptians, Preface, p. xv.

[271] Ibid.

[272] Huxley's Essays on Controverted Questions, p. 9, Prologue.

[273] Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii., p. 257 (ed. 1809). In 1638, forty

thousand Japanese Christians were put to death in the great Castle of

Hara, the Dutch traders at Nagasaki supplying cannon and gunpowder to

be used against their fellow-Christians. (Mentioned in The Christian

Faith in Japan, p. 19, a book published by the S.P.G.) This wholesale

butchery, however, marked the destruction, not the introduction,

of Christianity.

[274] Quoted from page 543 of The Martyrdom of Man, seventeenth edition

(1903).

[275] Are we not liable to forget that the most brilliant geniuses

may make mistakes sometimes, either from want of knowledge of facts,

or from a psychological unwillingness to accept them? May not the very

subtlety of their intellects aid the work of their own self-deception?

[276] Liddon's Some Elements of Religion, p. 48.

[277] Flint's Anti-Theistic Theories.

[278] See address to the Royal Naval Volunteers by their hon. chaplain,

the Bishop of London, reported in the Church Times for June 23rd, 1905.

[279] Anti-Nunquam, p. 80.

[280] See his inaugural address at the Church Congress, October, 1906.

[281] See Anti-Theistic Theories, Lecture vii., "Are there Tribes

of Atheists?"

[282] The Descent of Man, pp. 394-5.

[283] Quoted by Dr. Flint in the lecture above referred to.

[284] See The Living Races of Mankind, pp. 721-3.

[285] The Living Races of Mankind, pp. 721-3.

[286] Ibid.

[287] In a letter to Dr. Frazer. See the Fortnightly Review, July,

1905, p. 171.

[288] The Golden Bough, p. 73, note 1. See also (as there noted)

Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn, vii., "Anthropologie, Ethnographie,"

par P. Hyades et J. Deniker (Paris, 1891), pp. 253-257.

[289] The Golden Bough, p. 61.

[290] Ibid.

[291] In the Preface to the second edition of The Golden Bough.

[292] The Golden Bough, p. 61.

[293] Ibid.

[294] In his little book called Magic and Fetishism (Constable, 1906).

[295] The Golden Bough, p. 74.

[296] See Preface to the second edition of The Golden Bough.

[297] In his interesting and standard work, Chinese Characteristics,

ch. xxvi.

[298] Chinese Characteristics, p. 289.

[299] Ibid., p. 306.

[300] Chinese Characteristics, p. 291.

[301] Ibid., pp. 292-3.

[302] Ibid., p. 313.

[303] Chinese Characteristics, pp. 294 and 295.

[304] Also if she heard of General Chaffee's remarks to an American

Methodist audience in New York not long ago. While praising the work

of the missionaries, he told his audience that he met many of the

most prominent Chinamen while at Pekin, and he was obliged to say

that he did not meet a single intelligent Chinaman who expressed a

desire to embrace the Christian religion. (Reported in the Hong Kong

Daily Press of May 9th, 1903.)

[305] The classical quotation commonly seen over the door of a temple

is: "Worship the gods as if they were present."

[306] Chinese Characteristics, pp. 299-300.

[307] Ibid., p. 305.

[308] Chinese Characteristics, p. 288.

[309] See p. 78 of Anti-Nunquam.

[310] See p. 164 of Science and Education Essays, by T. H. Huxley

(Macmillan & Co.; 1895).

[311] The Christian Faith in Japan, pp. 42, 43.

[312] The Christian Faith in Japan, pp. 128-9.

[313] See chapter ii. of Conventional Lies of our Civilisation,

by Max Nordau.

[314] Ibid.

[315] P. 439 of the Proceedings of the S. P. R.

[316] P. 441 of the Proceedings of the S. P. R.

[317] See p. 477 of The Relation of Confirmation to Baptism, by

A. J. Mason, D.D. (Longmans.)

[318] At a men's service held in St. Mary Bredin's Church, Canterbury,

on December 4th, 1904.

[319] One phase of this failure was well shown by "Oxoniensis," in his

letters which started and ended the "Do We Believe?" correspondence in

the Daily Telegraph. On the other hand, we find pronounced unbelievers

taking a leading part in wise reforms, and devoting their lives to

researches that will benefit humanity.

[320] This statement is made on the authority of Darwin and of all

our modern naturalists. The theory is established, and its important

message to the human race elaborated, in such works as Darwin's Descent

of Man (see vol. i., chap. v., "The Development of the Intellect and

Moral Faculties"), Huxley's Ethical Lectures ("Science and Morals,"

1886; "Evolution and Ethics," the Romanes' lecture for 1893, etc.),

Clodd's Story of Creation (chap. xi., on "Social Evolution"), Winwood

Reade's Martyrdom of Man, and Prince Kropotkin's Mutual Aid.

[321] P. 264 of Japan by the Japanese, edited by Alfred Stead.

[322] Pp. 147-8 of Lafcadio Hearn's book, Kokoro.

[323] In the Japan Times. Quoted by Mr. Moore in his book, The

Christian Faith in Japan, p. 131.

[324] The Christian Faith in Japan, pp. 53-4. Explanations regarding

the shortcomings of the Japanese in the matter of commercial morality

will be found in Professor Nitobe's Bushido, pp. 64-70, and also,

as there mentioned, in Knapp, Feudal and Moral Japan, and in Ransome,

Japan in Transition, ch. viii.

[325] The Nineteenth Century and After, February, 1905, art. "Moral

Teaching in Japan." Regarding their native virtues, see Appendix.

[326] The Independent Review, December, 1905, art. "The Religions

of Japan."

[327] See p. 221 of Dr. Lydston's book, The Diseases of Society.

[328] In his book, A Modern Utopia, p. 144. See also Appendix to

this work.

[329] It may not be out of place to mention here that various Ethical

Societies in England (and her Colonies), Europe, and America are

doing all they can to meet the ethical needs of Agnostics, and their

efforts deserve far greater support than they have yet received

from the wealthy. For this want of sympathy there are many obvious

reasons--reasons, fortunately, that will disappear in the near

future. It will be urged that the truly pious and honest believer

finds prayer of the greatest help towards right conduct, while the

unbelieving ethicist is destitute of this aid. I do not propose now

to discuss the ethical value of prayer, or consider the causes of

its success and failure; but I would ask the reader to refer to my

remarks in Chapter VI. on the psychology of prayer. Personally, I

am of opinion that the practice of auto-suggestion may prove useful

to those in need of such assistance, and that one day (let us hope

at no distant date) psychical research will lead to the discovery

of a complete and scientific method for the toughening of our moral

fibres. See also further note in the Appendix.

[330] Mr. H. G. Wells furnishes us with some novel ideas on this point

in his book, A Modern Utopia, chap. vii., §§ 2-5. If we cannot prevent

degenerates from marrying, at least we can abolish an environment

that assists heredity in their production. See also Appendix.

[331] See pp. 25-6 of Stanley de Brath's The Foundations of Success.

[332] See Prince Kropotkin's articles in The Nineteenth Century and

After (August, 1904, and March, 1905), entitled "The Ethical Need

of the Present Day" and "The Morality of Nature." Anyone wishing to

know why we must lead the moral life should not fail to read these

instructive articles, and also Dr. Saleeby's Evolution: The Master-Key.

[333] Prince Kropotkin in The Nineteenth Century and After.

[334] "Rationalism may be defined as the mental attitude which

unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at establishing

a system of philosophy and ethics verifiable by experience and

independent of all arbitrary assumptions or authority" (from

the Memorandum of the Aims and Objects of the Rationalist Press

Association).

[335] Closing words of Professor Huxley's essay, Science and Morals.

[336] Essay entitled "An Episcopal Trilogy," p. 312 of Essays on

Controverted Questions (Macmillan & Co.).

[337] Art. "Why Live a Moral Life?" in the Agnostic Annual, 1895.

[338] Art. "Why Live a Moral Life?" in the Agnostic Annual, 1905.

[339] Art. "Why Live a Moral Life?" in the Agnostic Annual, 1895.

[340] Ibid.

[341] Quoted from his Autobiography, entitled My Life: A Record of

Events and Opinions (Chapman & Hall).

[342] Art. "Why Live a Moral Life?" in the Agnostic Annual, 1895.

[343] Ibid.

[344] P. 121 of The Story of Creation (R. P. A. Cheap Reprint).

[345] The Nineteenth Century and After, August, 1904, art. "The

Ethical Need of the Present Day."

[346] Quoted from a little volume recently published, entitled The

Japanese Spirit. (Constable.)

[347] Cited by Mr. L. Gulick, an American missionary organiser,

in his work on The Evolution of the Japanese.

[348] Quoted from a leaflet of the Moral Instruction League. (See

Appendix.)

[349] Quoted from p. 507, Vol. II., of The History of English

Rationalism in the Nineteenth Century, by A. W. Benn (Longmans, Green,

and Co., 1906).

[350] In his masterly work, On Compromise.

[351] See p. 55 of The Bible and the Child.

[352] Bishop Diggle, the President of the Church Congress of 1906,

in his opening address.

[353] Ibid.

[354] Recorded in The Life of Frances Power Cobbe, as Told by

Herself. (Sonnenschein.)

[355] See § 3 of the last Chapter and § 2 of the present.

[356] P. 392 of The Independent Review, December, 1904.

[357] Browning's Funeral, a poem by Mrs. Huxley. The last three

lines were inscribed, at Prof. Huxley's request, upon his grave-stone

(in St. Marylebone Cemetery, East Finchley).

[358] See Chapter I., p. 30.

[359] See Appendix.

[360] An Agnostic's Apology, pp. 131, 133, 138, of the

R. P. A. Reprint.

[361] Spencer's Principles of Sociology, p. 98, "The Data of

Sociology."

[362] In his book, The Hearts of Men.

[363] See art. "Is Man by Nature Religious?" by H. Dundas, in The

Agnostic Annual for 1906.

[364] We are speaking now, remember, of a religion such as the

Christian faith, one involving a belief in the supernatural, and not

of religion as Professor Huxley defined it--"a reverence and love for

the ethical ideal, and the desire to realise that ideal in life." We

are not speaking of a mere ethical "binding" between man and man,

of a religion free from all theology, such as Comte's "Positivism."

[365] Quoted from pp. 169-171 of A Reply to Dr. Lightfoot's Essays.

[366] An Agnostic's Apology, p. 137.

[367] In Chap. VII., pp. 311, 315-16, and in Chap. VIII., § 2 and §

3 (3) and (4).

[368] Quoted from p. 27 of The Agnostic Annual for 1906.

[369] Canon Scott Holland, in a sermon preached in St. Paul's

Cathedral, May, 1906.

[370] These are the concluding words of a lecture delivered in the

Central Hall, Manchester. The lecture is incorporated with others

in a book entitled Is Christianity True? (Charles H. Kelly, 26,

Paternoster Row, E.C.; 6d.).

[371] See Appendix.

[372] This view is confirmed by such standard works as Lecky's

Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe, Buckle's History of

Civilisation in England, Robertson's Short History of Freethought,

and Benn's History of Rationalism in the Nineteenth Century.

[373] Quoted from a sermon preached by the Rev. Charles Voysey at

the Theistic Church, October 22nd, 1905. See also Appendix.

[374] See Gibbon's Rome, p. 257, vol. ii. (ed. 1809).

[375] This warning was pronounced by Canon Henson on November 16th,

1905, when commenting, in St. Paul's Cathedral, upon the Russian

atrocities.

[376] P. 352, Vol. I., of his History of Civilisation in England

(Longmans, Green, & Co.; 1891).

[377] See also Chap. VII., p. 281, note.

[378] On Sunday, April 13th, 1890.

[379] At a gala banquet at Dresden, October 25th, 1905.

[380] Taken from the emperor's speech at the opening of the Reichstag,

November 28th, 1905. N.B.--Christian nations distrust one another's

righteousness even when the State and the Church are united and the

rulers are defenders of the Faith. It may be noted also that at the

swearing-in of the recruits of the Potsdam garrison on November 14th,

1905, they were told to make the Crucifix their Generalissimo!

[381] In his book, The Peace of the Anglo-Saxons, with an Introduction

by Field-Marshal Earl Roberts, K.G. (Watts & Co.) Observations

suggested by this warning will be found in the Appendix.

[382] Apart from the extra burden on the workers, does the Church,

I wonder, ever thoroughly realise the inevitable effect on public

morality of keeping a large body of men from living a normal domestic

life? Does she realise that diseases hurtful to the race are more

prevalent than ever, and that nowadays prostitution has spread from

the garrison towns to the villages? Does she realise that her "purity"

campaigns fail to strike at the root of the evil?

[383] Held in Lucerne on September 19th-23rd, 1905.

[384] See Appendix.

[385] See Mr. (now the Right Hon.) Augustine Birrell's suggestive

article, "Patriotism and Christianity," in the Contemporary Review,

February, 1905.

[386] The Tsar is probably sincere in his professions, and is the

helpless tool of his advisers. Can we make the same excuse for another

potentate--for him of the "mailed fist"?

[387] See Appendix.

[388] Butler, Analogy, pt. ii., 3.

[389] In Literature and Dogma. See p. 21 of the R. P. A. Reprint.

[390] See p. 183 of The Hibbert Journal, October, 1905.

[391] Compounds of cyanogen have a close resemblance to living

matter. As cyanogen is only produced at an intense heat, it is

surmised that the living substance may have been produced once and

for all when the earth was incandescent.

[392] P. 387 of The Independent Review, December, 1904.

[393] To those willing to be instructed I suggest a perusal of Doane's

Bible Myths and their Parallels in Other Religions (New York: The

Commonwealth Company), where they will find some intensely interesting

information which has been laboriously gathered from innumerable

volumes, ancient and modern. The few inaccuracies occurring in it

are of a trivial nature; besides, as the author invariably quotes his

authorities, his statements can be verified and the trustworthiness

of his authority for them ascertained. I may add that I found this

work of considerable assistance at the commencement of my study of

Comparative Mythology.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Churches and Modern Thought, by Philip Vivian