E D I TO R S

P R EFA C E

Hank ey w r o t e

t he se cri t ical no te s he had

not hi ng more a m biti o us in his mind
t han t heir publica t ion as a review in
a f r i e ndly p e riodical V arious reasons
pr e ve n t ed th em se e ing t he ligh t b y
t h at m e dium and as his f riends know
t ha t he believ e d his notes migh t help
o t h er s w ho wer e su e r i n g fr o m t he
assaults o f c h eap ra t ionalism upon
t hei r fa i t h as h e himsel f had su f
f e r e d t hey think i t a duty t o m ak e
them available fo r the r e ad e rs who m
h e had in his mind
S uch a n explana ti on is n ece ssar y
v
H EN D o n ald

E di to r

P re fa c e

since i t will readily be discover e d t ha t

the little b o oklet has no pr e t e ns i ons
to b e ev e n in o u t lin e a complete
C h r i stian ap o loge t ic
I t is n o t f o r
sch o lars clerical o r lay I t is designed
for the plain man working class o r
o ther with o ut specialised knowledge
th e na t ural prey o f rationalis t w rite rs
and speakers wh o falls an easy victim
to arguments o f unbeli e f whic h hav e
no real value and ar e o f te n e asily
d e m ons tr ated to be false Th e mos t
familiar o f th e se argumen t s are he r e
dealt wit h in a v e ry simpl e way t hat
th e prey may a t least be ab le t o p u t
up a de f e nc e
Th e chapt e rs w e re o ff ere d for se
rial publicati o n to on e o f t he newest
o f our r eligi o us p e riodicals with t h e
original ai m s o f which D onald was in
sympathy When i t b e ca m e c lea r
t hat publica t ion in tha t pape r was
,

VI

E di tor

i n tended

P r e fa c e

he trie d t o ge t t h e
chapter s back and was m uc h d i s
I t i s c er
t u rb e d by n o t succe e ding
t ain t h a t he mean t to revis e the w h ole
perhaps to r emodel and e x te nd it
and publish in a more ambi t ious for m
Thre e months a ft e r his dea t h the
M S was ret u r ned t o h is li ter a r y
exe cu t o r
Th e o r iginal M S h as b ee n c a re
fully re vis e d by a sy m p a t h e t i c h and ;
al t erations have been made wher e
n ec essary and in several cases a lin e
or t wo add e d t o m ake t h e meaning
This P r e fac e has b e en
m o r e clear
writ te n to warn o ff th os e w h o migh t
f r o m t he title be l ed t o ex p ec t a
w e igh ti e r wo r k
n ot

A M

vi i

C O N TE N TS
PAGE

I AU
.

II

T H OR S

M I R AC LE s
F OR

III

EFA C E
OR
W HE RE TO

PR

O OK
6

OF

M E NT

T HE

E TA

O LD T S

II

IV T H E VA L U E
.

T HE

OF

M E NT

E TA

T S

N EW

22

T H E FR

OU N

TH E VA LU E

EEDOM

OF

JE S U S

GOD

OR

33

V N G JE S U S O U LO
VII N OTE S ON C OM A R A T IVE M T H
OL O G!
V III C OM A RA T IVE M T H O O G!
(
VI TH E L I I
.

RD

57

OM A AT IVE M ! T H OLO G! F I N A L
REMA K S
EVOLU T I ON A N D A TON E M E NT
C

47

c on

ti n u e d )

I!

42

i!

68
8
7

R ELI G I ON AN D C O M MO N
S EN S E

AU TH O R S

P REF C E

o ne o f th e e a r ly nu mb er s o f
a r e ce n tl y p ubl i s he d reli g i ou s
we ek l y I saw a full colu m n a d
V e r t i s em e n t o f a book ca l l e d Th e
N

C h u r c h es

an d

M o d em Th oug h t Th e
.

t i t le t ook m e back so m e s e ven yea r s

to w he n I r st cam e ac r oss it ; and
I rem emb ere d h ow the v e nerabl e
pr ie s t t o w h o m I sp o k e o f it t old m e
t o p ray f o r fai th ; and the un iv er s i ty
do n m a r v elle d th a t s u ch a s t u pi d
,

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm on S e n s e

book could upset any o ne ; and how

in S pi t e o f their remarks I remained
f o r l o ng very much upse t indeed
A n d then I wonder e d h o w many
readers o f the book to day could
read it without being as ups et as I
was A n d so I de t ermined t o r ead i t
again and w r i t e some not e s by way
o f reply t o its genera l argu m en t s
My second re ading f o und i t a
t horoughly un fair bo o k as s o many
bo o ks o f the sa m e class are b e cause
it trea t s o f all sor t s o f subj ec t s o f
wh i ch th e average m an is enti r ely
igno r an t and on w hic h he i s t he re fo r e
u n t te d t o f or m a sound c o nclusion
I t t ake s t h e ave r age m an ou t o f his
d epth a nd th en hi t s h im ove r t h e

h ead w ith auth o ri ties and d r owns

.

h im

Ye t such books would no t b e

dang ero us i f we had a c l ea rer idea o f
2

Au th or

P r e fa c e

wh at w e believe and w h y w e b el i e ve

it It is o ur vagueness o ft e n du e

to o ur la ! iness which makes u s s o

feeble and so e asily upse t W e h ave
no cl e a r s h arp ideas about t he fai th
We s ay one t hing wh e n we know
t h a t a scien t is t is lis t ening and so m e
t hing quite di fferent when we a re sa fe
in th e m iddle o f a cl e rgy school We
d o no t da r e encourag e p e op le t o t hink
and be st r ong and intelligen t in th ei r
fai th ; i ns te ad w e try t o at t ac h t he m
t o t he C h u r c h by giving the m c h eap
billiards o r s m all p ositions o f r e
s po nsibili ty
Th e so rt o f answer that thi s kind
o f book r e quires is simple teaching o f
the tr ut h s th at m at t er which m ake
a d i ff er enc e to one s li fe It is no
good answ er ing such a book word
fo r wo r d How e ver i nac c u r a te and
d i sh one st i t m ay b e the av er ag e man
,

R e li gi o n

an d

C omm o n S e n s e

no t going t o be abl e to si ft th e ev i
denc e o r to judge betwe e n th e r iva l
au t h or i t i e s Wha t does he know o f

h igher cr i t icism o r com p a r ative

?
A n d i f i t is necessary
m y t hology
th at he should in orde r to b e abl e to
r et ain his faith b e so m e t h i ng o f an
e x pe r t in such m a t t e rs i t would s e e m
t o indicate t hat C hris t ian it y had no t
l o ng t o live Bu t it i s no t ne ce s sary
Th e sting o f such books is m ade
dange r ous by th e fa ct th a t t h e
C hurch s o o f t en t eac h es wha t is n ot
t rue to he r child r en I f C hr is t ians

were t aught t he real faith t he fai th

w hich is able to m ak e t h em f r ee
such a b oo k would h ave no p ow er t o
ha r m them
In t he fol l ow i ng c h ap t e r s I shal l
no t s o m uc h a t t e m pt t o answer t he
argu m e n t s o f a par t icula r book as

cr it ic al
to d e a l wi th the typ e o f
is

Au th or

P re fac e

unbelie f which it represents and t o

S how that when o n c e o ne has under
st o od the r eal basis and na t ure o f
C hristiani t y such bo o ks are seen to
be m ostly beside th e point In e ffec t
their obj ec t will b e to t ry and indica te
wha t C hris t iani ty really is by con
trast to wha t such w riters as t he au
tho r o f tha t book th in k i t is
,

II

M I RA C LE S O R
,

H E RE To LOO K

FO R GOD

H E m at e rialist

has got i t r mly

xed in his mind t hat nature i s
an unin t elligen t aimless conscience
less proc e ss going o n fr o m e t erni ty
to e te rnity in o b e dience to blind r e
m o r s e le s s la w s
C o nsequently i f y o u
speak t o him o f God he imm e dia te ly

demands t o be sh o wn som e inter

ferenc e wit h nature w hich he agrees

wo uld prove t he existence o f some
power besides t h e dr i ving p ow e r o f
nature
He knows for ins t an ce th a t v e
,

M i ra cle s

loav e s c anno t according t o na t u r al

law ll ve t h o usand st o machs and

t w elve bask et s ; and he will admit
tha t i f you can p r ove t o him tha t
Jesus p e r f o rmed suc h a miracle tha t
is a S i gn o f the exis t en c e o f divine

powe r
Bu t h e will add I know
qui t e well tha t y o u can prove noth i ng
o f the kind ; be cause no nineteen
hund r ed year o ld evidenc e is g o ing
t o conv i n ce m e o f any th ing o f th a t

sort
Th is is unanswe r abl e
I t is no
goo d arguing Bu t th e fallacy is th a t
it is i n t he miraculous that o n e m ust
look for God Jesus Hims e l f con
d e m n e d th e people w h o d e mand e d a

sign and re fus e d t o give one H e

t aught that i t was n ot outside na t u r e
bu t i n nature and especially in t he
cons cie n ce and ideals o f m en th a t
one m us t l ook f o r th e t rack s o f God
,

R e li gi o n

Th e

you

C o mm o n S e n s e

an d

kingdom o f heaven is wit h in

Th e

miracles o f the Bible canno t

be pr o ved simply because they are
miracles Th e miracles tha t J e sus
is said t o have per f o rmed do no t
prove that He w as the So n o f God
R ather i f they are believed a t all
it i s the fact that w e believe Jes u s
t o have been the So n o f God that
makes i t p o ssible t o believ e them
They are o nly credible in s o far as
they are felt to t in with our pic t ur e
o f J e sus
Where we d o nd evidenc e o f God
i s in m an and in human h is t o r y
A gain and aga i n In the cou r se o f
t hese chapters we shall have to insis t
that it is in man that we have th e
c o mpelling evidence o f G o d Becaus e
men have s o uls they cann ot have
sprung f r o m a soulless na t u r e and
,

M i r a c le s

by soul we m ean the power t o t hink

t o reason to select to plan t o lo ve
to ac t disin t e r est e dly e t c
,

a to m i n a s o u ll e ss s c h e m e
M y b o dy re al b u t m y s o u l a d re a m ?
A h ye s ah ye s ! Bu t h o w e ! p lai n t h e b i rt h

O f d re a m s o f s o ul up o n a s o u ll e ss e a rt h ?

Am I

an

W r i ter s who deny t he e xis te nc e o f

G o d ar e t herefo re obliged to call
the s o ul an illusion I t i s because
this is such a poo r solu t i o n o f the
di fculty that we are obliged t o
believe in God and t o s e e in t he
h uman soul th e e videnc e o f t h e di
V in e
I t i s in the unique his t o r y and the
unique r eligious ideas re e ct e d in the
O ld Te stament and in th e pic t ur e o f
a fr e e human personality which we
get in t he N ew Tes t amen t t hat w e see
most cl e a r ly th e e v i denc e o f God s
.

R e li gio n

an d

C omm o n S e n s e

existence and car e fo r us Th e

miracles may come t o be und e rs to od
and appreciated later A t all events
they are o f qui t e s ec onda r y i m po r
tanc e
.

!I

III
THE

VA L U E

THE
T E STA M E NT
OF

O LD

m o dern unbeliever thinks

nothing o f the O ld Testamen t
because the higher critics tell him
t hat D euter o nomy was n o t writ t en
by M oses and t he geologists t ell him
t h at t he wo rld w as n ot made i n S ix
days and the anthr o p o l o gists tell
h im that the s t ory o f J o n ah and the
whale is clos e ly allied to th e So lar
My th
Bu t o f c o urs e th a t is to miss the
w ho le poin t o f the O ld Tes t ament
w hi c h is th a t it is t he l i ter a t ur e o f a
UR

II

R e li g i o n

an d

C omm o n S e n s e

real people w ith a uniqu e r eligion

w h o se s to ry when read with the as
alm o st
s i s t a n c e o f the higher cri t ics
am o unts t o a pr oo f o f t he p ro v i d e n
tial o rdering o f his to ry O f c o urse
all o f the events rec or ded ther e d o n o t
t In t o our c o ncep t i o n o f how things

sh o uld be I t is easy and fo o lish

alth o ugh c o mm o n f o r unbelievers t o

ask Is it likely that a go o d G o d

P
etc
but it is no argument A n d i f
it canno t be maintained that any o f
us have a right t o beg the q u es t i o n
in that style we are n o be t ter t han
pet u lan t children i f we refuse th e
kn ow ledge o f Himsel f that G o d does
give us because it is inc o mplete and
d o es n o t c o me in the exac t for m
that we sh o uld like Th e fac t tha t
s u ch writers and speakers think that
i f there is a goo d G o d He must
be a bungler only emphasises t he
,

12

Valu e

th e O ld Te s tam e n t

of

in t ell e ctual vanity t hat i s a t t he

b o t to m o f all their thinking

Go d
is in heav e n and th o u up o n earth ;

therefore le t thy words be few

Tha t is Jewish but the p ro f o undes t
wisdo m o f the wo r ld c anno t go
beyond it
Be for e t he rise o f C hr i stianity
there w as o ne religi o n in t he R oman
Empire WI i C h was unique ; i t was
J u daism Judaism was uniqu e in th e
f o llowing particula r s !
I t preached O n e God denied the
existence o f all ot hers and re fused to
regard them wi t h tolerance
I t had no images o f G o d
It had n o my t hol ogy o f m inor
dei t i e s
I t commended justic e and purity
and mercy as the sures t way o f gain
ing God s favour
To s ay t he least it i s r e m arkable
.

I3

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n Se ns e

that o f all the na t ions in t he E m pi re

w hich had religi o ns o f their o wn
this little Semitic tribe S h o uld be t he
o nly o ne t o have a faith s o fr e e fro m
superstiti o n and so ethically sound
It w as R enan wh o said that the Jews

had a geni u s f o r religi o n ; it i s c e r

t a i n ly interesting t o ask how they go t
this uniq u e religi o n
They did n o t ge t it all in a mom e nt
It ev o lved fr o m very primitive con
c e p t i o n s in the c o u rs e o f a chequered
hist o ry w hich was h ow ever very
m u ch like that o f their neighb o urs
Th e hist o ry o f this ev o luti o n is given
in t he O ld Testament as read by the
cri t ics
M o ses acc o rding to our t ypical
critic is n o t a his to rical cha r acter ;
bu t be that as it may some fell ow
w ho lived ab o ut the time that he is
said t o h av e lived p e rsuad e d some
,

14

Valu e

of

th e O ld Te s tam e n t

d e se r t t rib e s o f S e m itic st o ck to com

bin e unde r t he r u le o f a G o d named

J e hovah o r Yaveh as the m o derns

spel l i t and to invade Canaan A t

t ha t t i me the Israelites for so t h e

tr ibes were called were probably

no t m o n ot heis t s They believed in
Yav eh just as th e M oabi t es be liev e d
in C h em oi h and t h e A mmonit e s i n
M o l o ch as t heir o wn nati o nal God
bu t no t as t h e G o d o f all mankind
c
f
Judg
x
i
But
al
r
eady
t
h
e
re
(
was a di ff erenc e be t ween t he relations
o f t h e Israelites t o Yaveh and thos e

o f o the r t r i b e s t o th eir go ds a di ffe r

e nc e that was destined to hav e t he
mos t fa r reaching e ff ects
In t he case o f th e o rdinary S e m itic
tribe t h e relations b et ween th e m and
t hei r god we r e mu t ually a dv an t a
geo n s Th e go d was eit h er th o ugh t o f
as bound t o t h e tr ibe by blood t i e s or

15

R e li gi o n

an d

C o m m on S e n s e

else limited to a c ertain ar e a o f

ground which they o ccupied In t he
former case the g o d could no t b e th e
go d o f any other nation and in th e
latter he c o uld n o t be the god o f any
other place In b o th cases he was de
penden t o n the tribe f o r h o n o ur and
w o rship and gi fts Bu t Yaveh was
not bound t o the Israeli t es by any
t i e but His own free will He h ad
chosen them ; they had n ot ch o sen
Him They were dependen t on Him
but H e w as not dependent on
them M o re o v er Yaveh did no t de
mand sacrice as t he conditi o n o f
His fav o u r s o m u ch as sole loyalty
to Himsel f and m u t ual l oyalty and
j ust i c e among the members o f His
Th e two gr e a t
chosen people
o ffences were to sa c rice t o other
gods and t o be t ray a brot her
Israelite
.

'

16

Valu e

of

th e O ld Te s tam e n t

I t is tru e tha t a f ter their ar r iva l

in C anaan t he Israelites borr ow ed a
goo d m any ideas fr o m t he o t he r
S e m i tic peoples already established
ther e and that S ol o m o n and the kings
o f S amaria especially were guil ty o f
w o r sh l p p m g Yaveh j ust as i f H e
w er e o n e o f the many other gods ;
bu t a con t inual stream o f pr o phets
den o u nced this tendency and kept

alive the ancient M o saic t radi t ion

that Yaveh w as a j eal o us G o d and

t hat He demanded mercy and n o t

sacrice ( see especially A m os v 2 0

2 6 and Jer Vii 2 2 and
By the tim e o f Isaiah the di fferen c e
be tw een Yaveh and other go ds had
become s o eviden t to the prophets
that t h ey proclaimed Him t he God
o f all t he world t he only tru e G o d
They spok e o f H im as c o ntrolling
th e d e s t ini e s o f o th e r nations b e sid e s
,

I7

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

the Israelites as when Isaiah c rie s

Ho A ssyrian rod o f mine ange r

T
x
h
e
j
ealousy
o
f
Yav
eh
(
had led t o m o notheism !
When the Israelites among o ther
tribes were deported by the A s s yr i
ans and Babyl o nians to othe r coun
tries some o f them w ere monotheis t s
and some we r e no t Thos e w h o w er e
n o t admi t ted tha t Yaveh had pr o ved
less po w er ful than they had hoped
and proceeded to wo r ship the go ds
o f th eir place o f e xil e Th ey beca m e

Th o se w h o w ere
the lost tribes
m on o theists and believed t hat they
al o n e o f all the na t i o ns o f the ear t h
wer e w o rshippers o f the o ne tr u e
God were c o nvinc e d that t hey still
had a mighty fu t u re be f o re them and
survived t o return t o Jerusale m and
kept th eir distinc t nationality ( c f 2
K ings x vii

18

Valu e
Th e

of

th e O ld Te s tam e nt

m on ot heistic

charac ter o f
Judaism was therefo re fully an d
nally established by th e t i m e o f the
res to rati o n and in the y e a r s o f
tr o uble w hich f o ll o w e d led th e J ews
t o be intensely exclusiv e in thei r re la
ti o ns with o ther pe o pl e s N o religion
is so free from foreign inu e nces as
the Jewis h
It remain e d uniqu e
a m ong the re ligion s o f th e wo r ld b e
cause th e Je w s wer e s o c o nvinc e d o f
i t s rationa l and m o ral sup er i o ri t y t o
all others An d s o th e way was p av e d
f o r Christianity a religion no less
u niqu e ; bu t wit h a far wide r appeal
far m o re tr u e t o t he f a ct s o f
li f e
This history s h owing h ow the

j ealousy o f Yaveh l e d t o t h e
d o ctrine o f m ono t heis m and h ow
the m utual l o yal t y t ha t Yav eh d e
m an d e d f r o m t he m e m b er s o f H i s
,

I9

R e li gi o n

an d

C omm o n S en s e

chos e n pe o ple bl o ssomed i nto t he

d o ctrine o f the brotherhood o f men
under the fatherh oo d o f G o d is ex
t r ao r d i n a r i ly in t eresting
O u r mod
e rn unbeliev e r s ees in it an en t ertain
ing illustra t i o n o f t he p o wer o f h e
r e d i ty and environment t o create illu
sions in the human brain P eople
w it h less certainty o f thei r wisdom
will s e e in i t an illustra t ion o f the
revelati o n o f G o d in his t ory
In th e course o f this a m a ! ing
ev o lution t he O ld Tes t amen t was pr o
d u c e d ; and although th e o rdinary
r eader will n ot perhaps b e able t o
app r eciate w it h out help its historical
signicance he will as h e l ea r ns h is
way ab o ut it nd i t an inexhaus t ibl e
s t or e o f insp i ra t i o n and c o m for t in
t h e t roubles o f li fe There is m uch in
i t whic h i s i n conic t W i th th e highes t
te ac hi ng o f t o day and no t a little o f
.

20

Value

of

th e O ld Te s tam e n t

it that f o r t he ordinary reade r IS

w it h o u t e d i c at i o n bu t the m an wh o
reads it and marks it w ith a pencil
w ill s oo n dis c ov er t h e ric h es
it
con t ains
,

21

IV
U

THE
T E STA M E NT

TH E VA L E O F

N EW

HE m an wh o missed t h e s i gn i
c ance o f th e O ld Te s t ament
naturally miss e s t he meaning and
value o f the N e w Testament He
thinks n o thing o f th e Gospels b e cause
o f th e miracl e s H e t hinks tha t we
know v er y little about Jesus and t hat
it is ev e n arguable that t h e r e never
w as suc h a p e rson Th e Gospels were
w rit t e n suc h a l o ng time a fter th e
events w h ich they pr o fess t o describe
and c on t ain s o many suspi ci ous f e a
tures tha t th ey cannot be r elied on
.

22

Valu e

of

th e N e w Te s tam e nt

St P aul very likely w ro te none o f t he

Epis t les attributed t o him and ev e n i f
h e did he be tr ays an a m a ! ing Ign o
rance o f the li fe and teaching o f
Jesus as reco r ded in t he G o sp e l s
A n d s o on and s o f or th !
N o w in dealing wi t h t h e s e sta rt ling
ass ert ions we must be qui t e c l e a r
what it i s th at we wan t t o ge t ou t o f
t he N ew Te s t a m ent We hav e al
ready re fe rre d briey to the m i r acl e s
They ar e no t o f quit e the rst i m p o r
t ance t ha t unbeli e ving wri t ers think
th e m W h at w e r e quire fro m the
Gos pe ls i s a pic t ur e o f Je s us w h ich
shal l m ak e u s feel tha t w e know w h a t
m ann er o f m an He w a s
I f in t he
G o s p el s w e get a living pic t ur e o f a
m an W i th d e n i t e ch a r ac t eristics and
i f th o s e c h a r ac teri stics amoun t t o t he
p er f ec t ion o f spiritual freed o m and
i f w e c an tr a ce t h at fr e e d o m t o i t s
.

23

R e li gi o n

C omm o n S e ns e

an d

underlying cause that is all we re

quire from the G o spels as a f o un d a
ti o n o f Christianity We believe that
in the rst three G o spels there is e x
a c tly wha t we w ant and in the n e x t
chap te r we shall t ry t o set d o wn wha t
we feel to be the salient features o f
the M aster wh o s e li f e and teaching
t hey por tr ay and t o trace His grea t
ness t o i t s underlying cause Th e
greatness o f Jesus lies as we beli e ve
in His freed o m fr o m all th e evil t h a t
enslaves o ther men ; and the unde r
lying cause is His unique s e ns e o f
and t rust in God
Th en from the Epistles w e wan t t o
kn o w that other pe o ple ca m e t o s h a re
th at sense and l o ve o f G o d in a m ino r
deg r ee th rough their faith in Jesus ;
and t ha t in due measur e i t p r odu ce d
th e sa m e s ort o f resu l ts in th em I f
w e nd evidenc e o f th i s in the Epi s
,

'

24

Va lu e

Of

th e N e w Te s tam e nt

tles and i t is bo rne ou t by our own

ex pe rienc e o r by tha t o f th o s e w h o m
w e know C hristiani ty is es t ablish e d
fo r u s
Bu t r s t a wo r d a bou t critic i sm a n d
i t s r esults
Firs t wit h re ga r d t o t h e Go spel s
th e critics have disc o ver e d that t wo o f

o ur G o spels M atthew and Luk e

are n o t o riginal d o cument s Tha t is
to s ay they are c o mpiled f r om earlier
d o cumen t s o f w hich o ne was our
M ark and another a c o ll e ction o f t he
sayings o f Jesus I t is c o mmonly
ag r eed t h a t M ark w as written within
for t y years o f the C rucixi o n by o ne
o f the second generati o n o f d i s c 1p le s
M ost pr o bably it was writ t en by J o hn
M ar k wh o was the companion o f
B arnabas P aul and probably P eter
w h o had liv e d a t Jerusalem at t he
ti m e o f th e C r u c i x ion and w h os e
,

25

R e li gi o n

an d

C omm o n S e n s e

m o ther s h o u se was a c e n tre w here

t he apostles used to me et
Th e o the r d o cument t he say i ngs
o f Jesus is sometimes t ho u gh t to be

t h e O racles o f the Lord which

M a t thew is said t o have wri t ten and
i s c ommonly held t o be o f the highest
au th ority and to have been wri t ten
be t w ee n t e n and t w enty years a f t er
t he C r ucixi o n It is n o t t ru e to s ay
t hat Luk e did n ot write the Gosp e l
called by his name or t he A ct s Th e
indications ar e t hat he did
Th ere are other sourc e s us e d in
M at t hew and Luke which ar e held to
be o f vari o us val u e Th e stories in
M atth e w ab o ut t he bir t h and death o f
Jesus are com m only held t o be late
and legendary Those i n Luke ar e
cer t ainly e arly though opinions vary
as t o thei r valu e Th e i m p o r t an t
th i ng t o re a li s e i s tha t the Gospels do

26

Valu e

of

th e N e w Te s tam e n t

not hang togethe r That is t o say

that i f o ne thinks th e re is go o d reas o n
t o doub t the st o ry o f t he igh t in t o
Egyp t or even the whol e sto r y o f the
Virgin bir t h that is no r eason for
doubting the authen t icity o f t h e Ser
mon on the M o u n t because t hey c ome
f r o m di ff eren t documents which w e re
transcribed in their o riginal form
It is generally admitted that John
was written a fter the o ther G o spels
and is m o re o f a serm o n o n the i n c ar
na t ion than a hist o ry o f Jesus ; but
t he q u esti o n whether o r n o it was
writ t en by J o hn the son o f ! ebedee is
s t ill an o pen o ne
To say tha t the Epistles o f P aul
w e re n o t written by him as our
m o dern unbelieving critic asserts is
as a generalisati o n even n ot true
It is generally admi t ted that h e
ce rt ainly wr o te R o m ans C o r in thi ans
.

27

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm on S e ns e

and Gala t ians and mos t p robably h e

w rote all t he o thers called by his nam e
except Heb r ews I t is S i mply non
sense t o s ay tha t P aul s ho ws ign o
rance o f the teaching and li fe o f J e sus
as recorded in t he G o spe l s Th e Epis
tles w ere not wri t t e n t o display kn o wl
edge o f the gospel story which h ad
been c o nveyed by word o f m o uth ; bu t
to decide par t icular di fcul t ies which
had arisen t o warn and t o e xhort
Bu t t wo things stand ou t in th e m
Th e rst is tha t S t P aul s gene r al
attitude was an adap t ation to his cir
c u m s t an c e s o f th a
t o f Jesus J e sus
claimed t hat He fullled the law H e
abrogated it by fullling its inten t i o n
To Jesus the law had b e come u n
n e cessary because He was in t h e
cl o ses t t ouch wi t h God t he Fath e r
and t he law was simply in t ended as
a help t o bring men into to u ch wi t h
,

28

lu e
va

th e N e w Te s tam e n t

of

G o d St P a u l said t hat the law was

a sc h oo l m as t er to bring us t o C hrist
Fo r him t o o the law was abrogat e d
and fullled beca u se th r o ugh faith in
C h ris t h e had go t int o to uch wi t h G o d
and having the l o ve o f G o d w ithin
him had a guide whic h w as bette r
than t h e law Wha t P aul calls fai th
and John calls love is simply t he
s ense and trust o f G o d which had
p o ssessed the M aster reproduced in
the disciple In additi o n t o tha t t h e
Epistles a b o und w ith phrases and
ideas w hich are ech o es and o ften quo
t at i o n s from the teaching o f Jesus as
rec o rded in t he G o spels
Th e f o llowing lis t o f suc h re m i n i s
cences o f t he G o spel in the sin gle
Epistle to the R o mans is suggestive !
i 1 6 ( M ark viii
ii I ( M a tt v i i
1
ii 6 ( M at t xvi
ii 1 9
M
M
at
t
v
I
I
att
x
v
V
(
3 (
)
.

'

29

R e li g i o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

M
i
M
V
i
at
t
att
x
v
v
6
3 (
(
i x 3 2 ( M att xxi
x 4 ( M a tt
v I I ) x 9 ( M at t x
xi 8
1
M
att
xiii
xii
ff
M
a
t
t
v
4
(
(
xiii 7 ( M a t t xxii
xiv 9
43
M
1
M
at
t
xxii
xiv
a
t
t
V
ii
0
(
(
1
xiv 1 2 ( M att xii
xiv 1 3
M
1
M
att
xviii
x
iv
a
t
t
V
ii
(
7 (
xiv 2 0 ( M a tt xv I I ) A ll t h es e
v ii

brea t he th e spirit o f the Gosp els and

o ften repr o duce the actual w o rds
They f o rm s u fcien t ans w er t o the
sta t ement as to the P auline auth o r
ship o f the Epis t les which like many
othe r state m en t s ar e as un t ru e as they
are dogmati c

Th er e f o r e t he eriti
S u m m ar y
c i s m o f t he Gospels far f r om des t r o y
i ng t h e ir value merely makes t h e m
m o re in t elligible and m ore elastic
The y w er e compil e d from d o cum e n t s
W hich undoub t edly giv e us a true pic
,

0
3

Valu e

of

th e N e w Te s tam e n t

t u re o f J e sus and His t e aching whil e

on t he o th e r hand they w ere r educ e d
t o t heir present fo r m at a su fcien t
time a fter t he events recorded f o r us
t o be able t o u s e them in t elligen t ly
and n o t slavishly Th e author o f Th e
C h u r c h es an d M o d e r u Th o ug h t wants
t o use t he Bible slavishly o r no t a t
all and feels that i f God were going
t o r ev e aF H i m s e lf thr o u gh a human
li fe H e ought n o t o nly to have sen t
an in fallible bi o grapher but als o an
i n fallibl e p o rtrait painter to pr ese r v e
t he revelati o n
Had t he revela t ion o f G o d in t h e
pers o n o f Jesus ended a t His dea t h
instead o f only beginning there might
have been s o m e show o f reason in this
c o ntenti o n Bu t God do e s n o t act in
that mechanical way A S i t is we get
a good enough idea in the Gospels o f
th e p e rson o f J e sus as H e was t o
,

1
3

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

e nabl e us to know Him and l o ve Him

a s H e is ; while i f th e Gospels were
any m ore accura te and in fallible than
t hey a re t here would be grave danger
t hat we S h ould exc h ange t h e knowl
e dg e o f t he liv i ng Lord f or the pic
ture and Christianity would become
a d e ad worship o f a book as Judaism
d i d b e fo re it
,

\
V

TH E F EE D

OM

OF

J E S U S,

OR

GOD

OU ND

E h a ve said t h at it i s in the

s p i r i t ual pa rt o f a m an
t h at we have t he sures t indica t ion o f
t he e x is t enc e o f G o d It i s the p res
ence in m e n o f c o nscienc e r eason
c h o i c e p u r pose lov e et c w h i ch
mak e s it n e cessary and p ossib l e t o
th ink th at suc h facu l ti e s m us t also
exist in m an s C rea t o r
Sp iri t uality S h o ws itse l f in fr ee do m
from the fo rc es o f h e r edi t y and en
V i r o n m en t
i n fr ee do m t o w or k ou t
the i d e a l s wh ic h the reason an d
.

33

R e li gi o n

C o mm on S e n s e

an d

c o nscience and t he nobler aff ec t ion s

j o in in f o rming I t is i n t he man
wh o is most free t o carry ou t w ha t
he believes to be best and wha t the
c o mm o n c o nscience o f mankind re
c o gnises as the best way o f li fe tha t
we s e e th e mos t o f G o d ; and th e
m an w h o is per fec t ly fr ee would b e
the full e s t possibl e rev e la t ion o f God
t o m e n Th e qu e s t ion is wh et he r in
th e Gospels we g e t a pic t u r e o f a man
who satises t o t he full our highes t
id e als f or human li fe and c h a r ac ter
I f so th ey g i ve us a tr u e basis fo r the
C hris t ian re lig i on
Fea r w h e th er m o r al o r p h y s i cal
is on e o f the mos t con te m p t ible an d
com m on o f human failings
Ye t
Jesus see m s to have be e n c o mpl et ely
fre e f r o m i t He was no t a fraid to
stand ou t agains t t he P harisees an d
p r ies t s and all th e chi e f p er sonage s
.

34

Fre e d om

of

e s us , or

Go d Fo u n d

o f His ti m e N o r was He a f r aid t o

stand ou t against the masses Th e
impo rt an t p eo ple wan t ed H i m t o
keep quiet and t he m asses wan t ed
Him to pr o claim Himsel f t h e M e s
siah and lead th em in a h o ly war
Jesus wan t ed to persuade p e opl e t hat
the only thing i n l i fe r eally wo r th
h aving was t he single minded puri t y
o f hea r t and t he unselsh and u n
boastful l ove tha t comes fr o m b eli ev
ing in and loving t h e good God and
Fa ther
He was n ot a fraid t o incu r the
ha t r e d o f the hypocrites in high places
w h o m He den o unced n o r t o l o se th e
supp o r t o f t he m o b whose hopes H e
disapp o inted ; He went o n His way
in co m plete freedom and i n d e p e n d
ence and w as n o t dismay e d when i t
becam e eviden t t h a t it was leading to
t he cro s s
H e did no t f e a r m en
.

35

R e li gio n

C o mm o n S e n s e

an d

because He trusted G o d ; H e did

n o t fea r dea t h because H e be l i e ved
in eterna l li fe
We nd the same f r eed o m fr o m
fear in P eter and resting up o n t h e
sam e gr o und when he says t o th e

priests We must obey G o d ra t her

than men ( A cts v 2 9 ) and in P au l

w h en h e w rites I f God i s fo r u s

?
R
w ho i s aga i ns t us
o
m
v
i
i
i
(
.

Th e

per fect fai th o f Jesus a l so i n

v o lved freed o m fr o m all the p r ide
and sensitiveness and desire fo r pe r
s o nal p o pularity o r p o sition o r w e al t h
which s o o ft en enslav e s men and
w hich led the Buddha t o t each t ha t

the Illusion o f sel fhood w as t h e

s o u r ce o f al l evil His mind was too
full o f t h e g r ea t ness o f God to b e
o ccupied with c l ass p ri d e o r socia l
prejudic e ; w h ile His f ai th was suc h
,

6
3

Fr e e d o m

of

e su s , or

Go d F o u n d

as to m ake Him indi ff erent t o t he

immedia t e r esults o f His w ork W e
read tha t He was content t o t rus t
t hat His dea th would acco m plish th e
coming o f the kingd o m with pow e r
since His li fe h a d failed t o do s o
C onventi o n an d t radition exercise d
no domini o n o v r Him for His fai th
led H i m t o t r ust His ins t inct in al l
ma tte rs Of m o rality and beli e f ; an d
o th er s shared that c o ndence with
t he r e sult that t h e c o nscience o f Jesu s
becam e f or His disciples an auth o rity
h igh er ev e n t han th e law which t hey
had been t augh t to b e liev e th a t Go d
Himsel f had given t o M os e s
He was n ot the slave o f any
a rt ic i al phil o s o phy He w as no t re
d uc e d to calling the grea t est see m
ing re ali t ies o f life illusions like the
Buddh a or t he B rahmins His fait h
in Go d as Father and C re a t o r e n
.

37

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e ns e

abled Him t o accep t w h a t se e med

good and wholesome as being go o d
and wholes o me and wha t seem e d
bad and harm ful as being bad and
harm ful H e taugh t men to t r us t
the guides that G o d had given them
thei r c o nscienc e s and r e asons and
ideals and t o believ e in t heir ability
thr ough G o d s h elp t o ac c omplis h
w h a t good d e signs t h ey were led t o
fo r m
We nd t h a t t o J e sus t h e union
o f t he s e xes see m e d a h oly par t ner

ship indeed a partnership wi t h God

in H i s w o rk o f creation For H i m

sel f t h e re was no such union

Fash

i o n e d i n f o r m as a m an
He was
withou t passion and t he unclouded
Vision o f God whic h He enjoyed was
th e d ir ec t outcome o f the purity o f
hea rt fro m w h ic h ca m e His m arv e l
lous sere n i ty
,

8
3

Fr e e d om

of

Go d Fo u n d

e su s , or

J e sus i n s p i te o f H i s V ision o f
God and H i s c l ea r s e ns e o f having
b ee n c al le d does n ot se e m t o have
be e n in any way fana t ical He was ap
l
pe
r
f
e
ctly
h
umb
le
the
fri
e
nd
n
ar
e
t
p
y
o f all kinds o f m e n and wo m en j o in
ing wit h t he m in t hei r o r dinary fes
H i s t e a c hing a cc o r ding t o
t iv i t ie s
th e r st t hree Gospels was full o f
san e co m m on sense and h um our ; and
shows no signs o f fanaticis m o r
m o nomania Th ere is e viden ce t ha t
t he discipl e s tri ed t o w e ave a web o f
mys t e r y and wond e r abou t Him ; bu t
J e sus always s ee ms to have br o ught
t h em t o e a rth again wit h wo r ds o f
warning and r epr oo f
Though H e lov e d to re tir e by
Himsel f t o pray it was always th a t
He m ight r etu r n t o work re freshed
Lik e al l m e n J e sus was liab le t o
the te m pt a t ion t o doub t H e l iv e d by
,

39

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

subj ec ti v e knowl e dge o f God no t

o bj ec t ive ; by t rus t ing the spi ri tual
n o t by the e vidence o f the s e nses He
did not s e e God wi t h His ey e s no r
h e a r H i m wi t h His ears
N o soone r did He r e c e iv e t h e re v
elation o f His divine S onship a t H i s
bap t is m t han H e was te mp t ed to
d o ubt it and to d e mand an o b j e c

tiv e S ign
I f t hou ar t t he S on o f
God
whispe r ed th e t empter
A t His betrayal He shrank fr o m the
ordeal bef o re Him and y et at His
trial be fore Caiaphas He m ade the
supre m e c onfessi o n o f His faith O n
t he cross i t was s t ill p ossible that
H e had t r usted in vain and t he
su ffering b o dy cri e d ou t t hat it was
Ye t the words w ith whic h H e
so
v o iced His agony ar e fr o m t h e b e
ginning o f a psal m o f ago ny that
e nds in tri u m p h ; and i f Luk e i s
,

0
4

Fr e e d om

of

e s u s , or

Go d Fo un d

t o b e b e li e v e d H i s las t words w e r e

Fa t h er in t o thy h and s I c o mm en d

m y s piri t
In th is pic t u re o f t he nob il i ty o f
p e r f e ct f r e e dom w e C h r i st i ans nd
the basi s o f our fai t h S u r ely su ch a
re v e la t ion i s wo r thy o f a God w h o
d e si re s the l oving tr us t o f child re n
rat her th an the fear o r c u p boa r d lov e
o f s lave s
,

VI
TH E LIVI

NG

J E S U S,

O UR

O RD

hav e giv e n ou r reasons fo r

disag r eeing with the writ er s
who d e ny th e authenticity o f t he Gos
pels and who call t he story o f Jesus

legend
We m ust now go on to
s h ow why w e disagr e e wi th t hem
wh e n th ey call th e belief in the li v i ng

Jesus hallucina t ion

O f co urs e th e belief s t a rt ed wit h

w h at such writ er s call t h e lege nd

o f t h e r e su rre ction G r an t ing tha t
w e c anno t e s t ablish by histo r ical proo f
the d et ails o f the gospel s t o r y and
ind ee d s u ch a s t o r y c anno t by
.

2
4

Th e Li vi ng

O ur Lord

e sus ,

r e ason o f i t s wond er b e e s t abl i s he d

on pu re ly his t o r ica l g r ounds w h a t do
?
w e know fo r c e rt ain abou t the m a tte r
Jus t thi s t ha t th e discipl e s o f Jesus
r an away w hen H e was b et rayed
and mad e no a tte m p t to sav e Him ;
and th at a coupl e o f m on th s a ft er
H e was safely c r u c i e d and as His
e ne m ies t hough t nish e d wi th t he y
were preaching t h a t He was r is e n t o
an e te r nal li fe a nd c ou l d no t b e d e
t e r r e d fro m p re ac h ing
W h a t J e su s h ad prop he s ie d h ad
com e t o pass His death and
w h a t happen e d a f ter wards had don e
wha t His li fe had fail e d t o do
brough t the kingdo m o f God t o men
wi t h pow er W e ll w h at did happen
?
a fte r wards Wha t was t he e ffe c t iv e
?
cause o f th is c h ang e i n th e disciples
O u r c r i ti c fo r exa m p l e says nothing

in p ar tic u l a r h allu ci na t ion s e l f d e

,

43

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

I
imagina t ion ne r ves
P eter said it w as the fac t t hat Jesus
had risen fr o m t he dead and that
th ey had se e n Him and receiv e d t he
gi ft o f the Holy S pirit which had
made new men o f them Choos e
whic h e xplanation you lik e
A poin t o f in t er e s t is t h at t his

h allucinat io n o f t he discipl e is

exac t ly lik e t he hallucinat i on o f hi s

M ast e r Jesus though t tha t H e was
th e S on o f God and tha t God His
Fath er gave H i m wisdo m and pow er
and purity and goodness A n d 10 !
H e h ad the m ! P et e r and P aul
t hought t h a t they had re ceiv e d t h e
Holy S piri t which would giv e the m
cou r age and p o w er to do t hei r work
in the w o rld A n d 10 ! Th ey did i t !
We have to admit t h a t w h ere fait h
is strong i t is m i gh tily e ffe c t iv e f o r
good

c ep tio n ,

44

Th e Li vi ng

e sus ,

O ur Lo rd

a f t er all i s i t s o i rr a t iona l an d

absurd to trus t the spiritual th e s ub

?
c
i
v
s
e
t
e
a
It
is
easy
t
o
that
wha
t
j
y
isn t mat t er d o esn t m atter and tha t
no t hing is rea l bu t t h e p h ysical
A n d yet e v e ry t i m e we tr y to i n
u e n c e o u r c harac ter s and de s t ini e s
we ar e showing a p r actic al b e lie f
in a pow e r or faculty which th e ma
t e r i ali s t l s oblig e d to cond e m n as an
illusion Ev e ry tim e w e prais e o r
bla m e anothe r m an or t r y to r o us e
him t o e ff ort against v ice or t e m p t a
t ion w e a re tr us t ing t h e spiritual and
according t o the m a te rialis t a c ting
irrationally
I t is un fo rt una t ely tr u e tha t
C hris t ians by no m e ans liv e up t o
t he cr e ed tha t t hey p r o fess It is
no t e asy to e mbody Jesus Bu t
wh e n on e do e s m e e t the r e ally C hr is t
lik e m an t he m an w h o h as s t rengt h
An d

45

R e li gi o n

C o mm o n S e n s e

an d

temp er ed by lov e and faith wi t h h u

m i li ty and hu m ou r h e is t he bes t t ha t
can b e A n d s o t hough w e may grant
t hat faith m ay b e hallucina t ion and
the spirit may b e illusion w e can
a ff ord to run th e risk becaus e o f t he
solid ben e t s t ha t ensu e O n the
oth er hand we cannot a fford to run
th e r isk o f los i ng t h e bes t things in
li f e b ec aus e our belie f in them may
b e illusion I t was the t ea c hing o f
J e sus that we mus t t ake th e r isk

H e th at wou l d nd h i s l i fe sh al l

l o s e it
,

V II
N

OTE S ON C OM P ARATIV E
M ! T H O LO G!

the book w h ic h s upp lie d the

basi s fo r this simple A pologe t i c
by a layman t here i s a ch ap te r o f
som e
words on thi s subj ect i n
w h ich t h e au th o r tri es to S ho w t ha t
the te ac h ing and th e incid e nts in th e
li f e o f C h ris t and t he c h i e f doc tr in e s
and rite s o f t h e C hu r c h are non e o f
the m o r i ginal but all pa r al l eled in
i f no t borrowed f r om o th e r re ligions
Th e c h a r g e i s an o l d one ; it h as
o ften b ee n adequa te ly answ e red by
s ch o lar s bu t so m eh ow i t s err o r s an d
N

47

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

exaggerati o ns are never sco tc he d ;

and s o t hey a r e constantly s t a rt ling
the unwary ignoran t and c re du l ous
reader In the case o f Th e C h u r c h es
an d M o d e ru Th o u g h t i t i s t h e wo r s t
and least hones t ch apter in t he b o ok
I t is bad be c aus e i t displays a ll
th r ough a co m ple te fai l u re to re a l is e
the na t ure o f C hristianity e i th e r ac
t ually o r h is t orically ; it is d i s i n ge n u
ous becaus e i t i s full o f s t a t e m ents
on s ubj e cts o f which t h e o rd i nary
read er is quite igno r an t w h ic h s t a te
ments a r e drawn fr o m wo rthl ess
and i naccu r a te sou r c e s and bols ter ed

up wi t h t he nam e s o f au th ori t ies

wi th w h ose works the w r i t e r s h ows
h e has had no r st h and a c qua i n t
an ce In t his chap ter w e sh all try
to sh o w s h ortly w h y ev e n i f the
facts were correc t the au th o r s r e
m arks are m os t ly b e s id e th e po int ;
,

'

8
4

C om par at i v e M yth ology

and i n t h e next c h apt er w e sha l l try
to S how e qually sh o rtly tha t his

fac t s ar e m ain l y ctions o r d i s t o r

t i o ns o f th e tr u th
Th e obj ec t s o f t h e a t tack m ay be
r o ugh ly divided in t o ( a ) incidents in
the gos pe l s t o r y ; ( I? ) the t eaching and
sinl e ssn e ss o f Jesus ; and ( c ) C h u r ch
doc tri n e an d pr ac t ic e
,

I n c i d e n ts i n t h e g o s pel s to ry

Th e

i nc i d e n t s in the gos p el s t o r y which

a re a tt a ck e d a r e chi e y t h e st o ries
c on n ecte d wi t h th e bir th and m i r acles

P a r allels
o f J e s us
are adduced
fr o m Buddhis m Hinduism M i t hra
i s m t he anci e n t r eligion o f M exico
and o ther sourc e s t o S h ow th a t t he
s t o r i e s o f the Sl aught er o f t he Inn o
ce n t s the V i r gin Bir t h th e A dora t ion
o f the Sh ep her ds
t h e Tempta t ion
et c w ere m o s t p r obably adap t a t ions

fr o m the s t o rie s o f pre v i ou s gods

.

49

R e li gio n

C o mm o n S e n s e

an d

saints and teachers or a t t h e bes t t he

kind o f st o ry tha t al w ays i s invented
about great h e roes o f an ti quity when
they are dead
A s a ma t ter o f fact m os t o f the

alleged parallels ar e absurd ; bu t

even i f t hey we r e not i t need no t
t rouble us In any case thes e sto r i e s
ar e me r ely e mbellishm e n t s o f th e gos
pel s to ry w h ethe r tr u e o r not Th ey
ar e not evidenc e s o f Christianity ;
t hey a re not from t he li t e r ary poin t
o f View bound up wi th t he r e s t o f t he
Gosp e ls f o r th e y a re decla re d by
critics to be derived fro m di ff e ren t
sourc e s fro m t h e bulk o f t he Gospels
Tak e them away and C h ristiani t y i s
still lef t It is m er ely r o bbed o f so m e
j ewellery whic h m any c onsid er t o b e
m er e t rici o us and unb e co m ing
,

Th e Te ac h i ng

J es us

an d

H is

O u r mod er n agn os tic

s i n less n es s

0
5

C omparati v e M yth o logy

would h av e us believe tha t the te ach
ing a tt ribu t ed t o Jesus is j u s t like
th e te aching o f any o t h e r sain t o r
m o ralist In th is t he o r y there is a
supercial t ru th and a fundam e n t al
fallacy
I t is p er fe c t ly tr u e t hat
nea r ly all t hought ful and holy m en
have been and a r e agre e d th a t c er
t ain ac t ion s and s t ates o f m ind are
good and o the rs bad U n s elsh n e s s
gen er osi ty courage h u m ility and
pur it y fo r i nstan ce a re c o mm only
ag ree d t o b e good ; m eann e ss c an t
fea r p assion b e s t iality ar e as uni
v e r s ally
rec o gnised t o be bad
If
Jesu s h ad don e n o m ore t han t o s e t
t he s e al o f His a ppr oval on ou r i deas
o f w h a t i s good and bad He co uld
no t c lai m any o ri ginality
Bu t t ha t which m akes Jesus o r igi

na l and for th a t m a tte r m ak e s

the Bu dd h a and th e B rah m ins and
.

I
S

R e li gio n

an d

C o mm o n S en s e

M r s Eddy and l ot s o f o t h er t e ac h ers

.

original is

tha t they all re cognis e

t ha t it is h o peless t o at t e m p t t o be
good by m aking a s er ies o f discon
n e c t e d e ff o r ts to do the righ t thing
when t e mpta t ion to d o the o pposi t e
a r ises ; they all rec o gnise t ha t in
order to be goo d o ne has got t o
hav e a point o f View a theory o f li f e
a conditi o n o f mind which will au t o
m at i c ally produce the right solution
o f each pr o blem as it arises Th e
r e ason w hy Jesus is differen t fro m
o ther te achers is th at He giv e s a di f
f e r e n t and a more na t ural explana
t i o n o f why c e rtain t hings are go o d
and ot hers bad ; and beca u se He giv e s
a di fferen t pic t ure o f the right p o in t
o f Vie w fr o m which to regard li f e

S im i la r ly th e question o f His s i n

lessness is no t t o be s e t t led by a
c r i tic al i nquiry in t o e a ch s epa r at e
,

2
5

Co m p arat i v e M y th o logy
inciden t recorded o f H i m but by
asking wh et her He seems t o have
been able t o adopt the p o in t o f vi e w
w hich H e r eco m m e nded t o o t h ers
and i f s o w h e ther the re su lt s w ere
s a t is fac t ory
,

J es u s K r i s h n a

an d

t h e B u d dh a

to the alleged similarity be t ween

K r i sh n a \an d Jesus on t he id e a o f
go o dness the f o llowing quotation is

a typical example !
Le t a man i f
seeking G o d by deep abstracti o n
aband o n his p o ssessi o ns and his
hopes and betake himsel f t o s o me
s ec luded spot and x his h eart and

th ought s on G o d alon e
Her e we

h av e ( I ) the comm o n ground the

rec ogni t i o n t hat wo rldl y riches and
re wa r ds are n o t wor th the price paid
fo r the m and that it is the eternal
ri c he s o f God which really mat t er
Bu t ( 2 ) w e h ave t h e e x p ressio n o f
As

53

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

the f o undatio n d o c t rine o f the

B rahmins w hich is wh o lly at variance
with that o f Christ Th e B rahmins
hold that the material w o rld is an
illusion and that the w ay o f salva
tion is to w ithdra w fr o m c o ntact with
it and t o try and bec o me o bsessed
w ith t h e t hough t o f God Th e Chris
tian t heory i s that th e world is a
school t o prepare m e n f or a wider
li fe H o liness and s t rengt h o f char
acter are t o be gained by lov i ng and
helping ot her m e n by enduring s u f
f e r i n g and g ht ing e vil wi t h f aith
Th e fundamental doc t r i ne o f Jesus
was tha t G o d is t he Fa t her and that
once a m an has r e ally grasped t hat he
w i l l b e able t o s ee everything else in
i t s r ight p r op o r t ion and t o meet
e ve r y proble m o f life wi th c ourag e
and p r ot A band o nmen t o f wealth
is only re co mmended wh e n weal t h
,

54

C om p arat iv e M yth olo gy

obscures a man s vision o f God ; and
withd r awal to s o litary p r ay er i s only
advis e d as a preparation for a ret u r n
t o active li fe A s a matt er o f fac t no
words could h ave been chosen which
would be t te r illust r at e the di fferenc e
be t w e en th e m !
Bu t th e re re m ains t he Budd h a
J e sus an d t he Budd h a bo th t augh t
u n s e lsh n e s s
Bu t wh e r e as the
Budd h a t aught th e art i cial doc tr in e
t hat the p e r sonal ity o f a m an was
an i l l usion and th at th is illus i on was
the sou r c e o f al l e vil Jesus t augh t
th e natura l d o ctrin e t ha t a m an s
pe r sonali ty was t h e be s t th ing h e
had and th at i t made h i m capab l e
o f being a lov i ng son t o a l oving
Fath er i n he av e n and a lov i ng
and loya l b r o t h er t o h i s f ell ow m en

S uc h parallels may a r ous e g r av e

suspicions in p re j udiced minds abou t

55

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

They
the t ru t h o f Christianity

arouse grave suspici o ns in mine as

to th e tness o f agn o stics o f t h is class
to w rite abou t C h r ist i anity !
.

VIII
C

O M P A RAT I VE M ! T H OLO G!
( c o n ti n u e d )

t he las t ch apt e r w e deal t wi th

re c e nt a t tacks on t h e o r iginality
o f ce r tain incidents in the gospel na r
r at i v e and on the te aching and cha r

act e r o f Jesus o n the assump t ion

that t h e fac t s were c orrect In t h e
pr e s e n t chapter w e m us t deal o n
the same assumption wi t h the at
tacks o n C hris t ian d o ctrines and rit e s
Th e three m o s t imp o rtant doctrines
tha t are generally at t acked are th e
Incarnation the A t o nement and t he
R e surre ct ion ; th e m o st i m portan t r ite
N

57

R e li g i o n

C o mm o n S e n s e

an d

that is attack e d is t hat o f H o ly C o m

muni o n
Th e I n c ar n a ti o n
Th e critic p o ints
ou t that in several ancient religi o ns
t he n e cessity was felt f o r s o me link
be t we e n men and G o d Fo r instance

t he Graec o R o man demig o ds were di

vin e men and t o some ex t en t in c ar

na ti ons o f deity
The r e is indeed some tr u t h i n t hi s
s t at e men t ; but it i s certainly n ot an
argu men t against C hristianity Two
fac t s li e at t he r oot o f all religion
I
n
t
h
at
m
e
n
are
par
t
ly
spiritual
a
d
( )
there fore compelled t o imagine t he
existence o f a G o d or gods ; 2 ) that
men c an only r ec e ive i mpressi o ns and
nd e xpression o f their though t s
thr o ugh t h e ir bodies It follo w s that
religi o n o r men s t houghts about G o d
can o nly b e come articula t e i f G o d is
r e v e aled to m e n in t e r m s o f h uman
.

8
5

Co m p arat i v e M y t hol o gy
li fe A n incarna t i o n is t h e only p o s
sible sound basis for a r e ligion whic h
is to be something m o re than s e n t i
men t and guess wor k and it is na t u
ral en o ugh that th o ugh t ful m en
should have r ealised it long ago
C hristianity is based on t he id e a
tha t in Jesus G o d revealed Himsel f
to men in s o far as He c ould b e so
r e v e a le cL
I f God wants us to hav e
a r e ligi o n i t is impossible t o i m agin e
how e lse He c o uld have given us a
t r u e one Christianity is thus based
o n what had long been recognised
as the only possibl e bas i s fo r re al re
.

li g i o n

In every o t her r e sp ec t t h e C hris t ian

incarnation di ffers from t hose o f c o n
temporary religi o ns This di ffere n ce
was fully realised by t he e a r ly Chris
tians t h o ugh not by their o pponents
Th e pagans o f t he R oman Emp ire
.

59

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

w e re qu ite w illing to le t Jesus hav e

a place am o ng the numerous demi
go ds o f their panthe o n and w e re u t
t e r ly un able t o understand th e Chris
t ians o bstinate re fusal t o accep t their
o ffer I f the Chris t ian incarnati o n
had been as has been sugges t ed bor
rowed from pagan ideas this r efusal
would have been incomprehensible ;
bu t as i t is the re fusal proves t ha t
the suggestion has no real f o un d a
ti o n

Th e A t o n e m e n t
In s e v e ral O r i
e ntal religions the idea is f o und o f a
demi god saving his adheren t s by
freeing the spirit from the b o ndage o f
the esh This w as the ro o t idea ap

r
r
e
a
e
n
l
o
f
m
o
st
o
f
the
mys
t
e
r
y
t
p
y

li g i o n s
G o d w as th o ught o f as pure
spiri t and men as partly spirit and
par t ly es h S alvation consis t ed in
se t t i ng the sp ir it fr ee fr om the e s h
,

60

C om p arati v e M y th o lo gy
Th i s

was supposed to b e accomplis h ed

in so m e cases by abusing t h e e sh

r e ligious i mm o rali ty and in o thers

by s t arving i t religi o us asc et icism

and chasti t y In C hristianity we hav e
the novel idea which when under
s t ood i s such a sensible idea o f the
spi rit gaining strength by con t r o lling
t he body and using it for right and
natura l pur p oses In s o m e cases espe
c i ally i n t he case o f religions founded
o n S un worship there o ccurs th e idea
o f a g o d dying and r ising again f o r
t h e salva t ion o f men Bu t here again
we have pract i cal e xperience fo r cing
pe o pl e to re cognise fundam e n t al
facts and t o inv e n t symb o ls fo r t hem
in their mythol o gies
Th e author o f Isaia h c h ap t er liii
is an example o f a man forced by ex
r
i
e
e
n
c
e
to
re
cognis
e
the
great
prin
p
c i p le
t h a t t h e su fferings o f t h e
.

61

R e li g i o n

an d

C o mm o n S e ns e

innoc e n t a re o ften t he salvation o f

t he guilty Tha t this fundam e n t al
fact o f li fe sho u ld be emb o d i ed in
Christianity is no argumen t agains t
C hristianity In fact we may assert
that i f it were not s o emb o died
C h ri s t ianity would be inadequa t e a s
a u n i versal religion That t he prin
c i p le
S h o uld h ave been r eco gn i se d
in pagan m y t h o logies i s si m ply an
additional d e m o ns t ration o f h ow e s
s e n t i al it i s
Th e doc t rine o f th e
A t on e m e n t l i ke t ha t o f th e Incarna
ti o n is a n ece ssary e l em e n t in r e
li g i o n Tha t J e sus su ff e re d and t ha t
through His su fferings His discipl e s
gain p ow er ; th at He rose from the
dead and that H i s disciples hope for
et e rnal li fe are fea t ur e s which h elp
t o mak e Chr i stiani ty a re al p o w er
in li f e Tha t oth e rs should hav e
rec ognis e d t he n ece s s i t y fo r suc h
.

62

C omp arati v e M y th o l ogy

featur e s in r e ligi o n i s n o a r gum e nt
against the likelih oo d o f their o ccur
ring i n the t ru e r e ligion given by God
to m e n

Th e R es u r r e c ti o n
It is suggested
tha t t h e story o f Jesus rising again
the t h ird day i s c t ion based o n the
s t ory o f Jonah and the whal e which

in tu r n 15 ction based on the So lar

M y th
M
a
S
olar
yth
w
hich
h
e
p
T
pears i n m any ancient religi o ns is the
s t ory o f a s u n god dying and rising
again Jonah how e v e r was not a
su n god ; and t h e story o f the resur
r ec t i on o f Jesus is no t based on Jo
nab s adven t u r es in the whale ! There
is a r e fer e nc e t o J o nah in t he G o s
pels which i s presumably th e f o un d a
ti o n o f this th eory ; but it appears in
two for m s o f which the earlier and
mo r e au t hentic ( acc o rding to all
cr i t ics ) i s that o f Luk e x i 3 0 In
!

63

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

Luke Jesus says that no S ign S h all

be given to His generati o n bu t t h e
S ign o f t he pr o phet J o nah and ex
plains it by p o inting out t hat whereas
th e N inevi t es repented at the pr e ach
ing o f J o nah t he Jews will n o t
rep e nt a t the preaching o f Himsel f
I t is t he pr o phetic denunciati o n o f

M at t hew
sign
s i n which is t he
h o wever pu t a new cons t ruction o n
the passage and read into it a ref
erence to the R esurrec t ion But the
re ference is obvi o usly forced i f o nly

because w hereas J o nas w as thre e

days and t hree nights in the belly

o f the whale ( M at t xii

J e sus
w as only two nights and one day

in the heart o f the eart h

th at
is according t o the gospel
If

the third day resurrec t ion had been

inv e nted in connection with Jonah
pr esu m ably Jesus would h a v e b e en
,

64

C om p arati v e M yth o lo gy
al l ege d to have r is e n on M onday
evening

M ith r a i s m had
H o ly C o m m u n i o n

a myst er y in which t he sy m b o ls
w er e a wa fer marked wi t h two
c r oss e d lin e s and a c u p o f wa t er
Th a t Holy C o mmunion sh o uld hav e

be e n cribb e d fro m th is i s an id e a
t oo f anci ful to be wo r th dis c ussing
Th e par t ak ing o f a com m on m eal i n
t oken o f mutual loyal ty was qu it e a
recogn i sed c us to m in an c ien t t i m e s
and th i s i s und o ubtedly t he r e ason
why Je s us chose tha t fo r m o f r it e f o r
binding H i s d i sciples t o H i m a t t h e
mo m e n t o f His depa rt ure f r o m them
Th e c h oic e o f bread and wine as sym
bo li s i ng His body and blood e ndow e d
t h e rit e w ith a peculiar charac t e r th e
a p p r o pri a te n e s s o f w h i ch w as rec og

n i s e d a s soon a s
th e gi f t o f the

Ho l y Spirit had m a de the apos tle s

.

55

R e li gi o n

C omm o n S e n s e

an d

r e alise that they were to t ry and e m

b o dy Jes u s
A g e n e r al r e m a r k
In a l l books
s u ch as the o ne t o w hich we have b e en
re ferring s o o ften a roo t de fect i s
that th e writers all appear to re ga r d
t hemselv e s as capable o f sk et c h ing
o ut the plans o f God with th e wo r ld i f
there had been a God Thus t h e y are
ready t o s ay t ha t God ought t o have
ign o r e d all previous human aspira
tion in giving H i s sel f re vela t ion H e
o ugh t no t t o have met m e n hal f
w ay as He ac t ually has don e They
can s e e n o hal f way hous e b e tw ee n
cl ai m i ng absolu te o r iginali ty fo r e v
er y de t ail o f t he form o f God s s e l f
re ve l a t ion and gran t ing the sanction
o f C hr istianity to every pre vious
e ffo rt o f t h e h u m an m i nd t o s e ek
God h oweve r great a m ixt u re o f
tru t h and fantasy it m ay c on t a i n
.

66

C om p arati v e M y th ology
Bu t surely th e C hr is ti an t h e o r y t h a t
in all m en s searches f o r God t h ere
was a measur e o f success and a
measur e o f fai l ure and that ev e ry
gu e ss a t truth nds i t s fullment in
C h ris ti an it y w hi l e e v er y fals e id e a
is d e s t in e d t o per is h eve ntually e v e n
i f i t h as no t don e s o al r eady is t h e
na t u r al and rational e x p lanation o f
t he P h encHnena o f C o mparative R e

li gi o n

O M P ARAT IVE M ! TH O LOG!

F I N A L R E M AR K S

ITH ER TO

w e h av e a s su me d

t h a t t he par al l els w h ic h

o ur ty p ica l m odern agnos tic ad

duces are w ell f o unded on c a re ful
r s t h and s t udy o f t h e b e s t au th o r i
ti es Bu t alas it is a vain as s um p
ti o n ! S uc h an ai r o f reg retf u l h on
esty suc h c onden t dogm atis m s uch
pr o f e ss io n s o f a l o ve o f tr u th for i t s
own sak e m ay w e l l h av e l ed us ast r ay
as no doub t they we re i ntended to d o
When I r s t re ad Th e C h u rc h es an d
M o d er n Th o u gh t I a c c epte d th e
!

68

C om p arati v e M yth ology

au t h o r s goo d faith and aut h o r i t ies
unqu es t i o ningly Bu t when I r ead
C u m o n t s book on M ithraism which
appeared to b e the most impartial
and scientic auth o rity o n the subj ec t
Theref o r e
m y d o ub t s were aroused
m y own r emarks will be c o nned to
t his b r anc h o f th e subj ec t
Bu t
anyone who wants t o read t h e
c r i t i c i s m o f other branc h es sh o uld
buy H o ward N ash s P ag an C h r i s ts
w hi ch re v e als the fac t t h a t t he grea t
e r pr o p ortion o f Th e C h u r c h e s an d

M o de rn Th o ug h t f ac t s were taken
w h o le s a le and wi th ou t verica t i o n
from a wor t hless A m er ican work
w hi ch i s a d e libe r ate dis t orti o n o f the

r ea l auth o ri t ies Th e h igher c r i t i

C I Sm
o f th a t work is thus b o th amus

ing and i ns tr uctive and t he grave

su sp ici ons th a t it ar o uses o f h on e s t y

o r i n tellig e n ce o f th e au t ho r a re

69

R e li gi on

an d

C o mm on S e n s e

well graver than the g r a ve s t o f

h i s abou t Christianity

M os t o f h i s i mpres
M i th r ai s m

siv e facts ab o ut M i t h r aism se e m

t o b e t aken from J M R o ber t son
This la t ter gentleman is d o ubtless
h o nes t ; but i t is doubt ful whether he
has a sense o f humour since the fol

l o wing a r e am o ng th e parallels
whic h he adduces be twe e n M i th r a i s m
and C h r istiani t y !
M
1
ithras
evolved
f
r
o
m
a
oc
k
r
( )
as a f u ll blown m an in a P hrygian
ca p Jesus was bo r n a baby o f a
hu m an m ot h er i n a s t able which i s
sa i d by Justin M ar ty r and O rig e n (
t o h av e b e en a r o c k cav e P eter in h i s
Epis tle t a l ks abou t C hris t ians b e ing

built a s li v i ng s to nes i n t o Ch r is t
2
M
She
ph
er
ds
ithras
aris
w
s
a
( )
ing fr o m t he r ock and ado r ed h im
Shepher ds a re sa i d t o h av e ado re d
,

O
7

C omp arati v e M yth o logy

th e in fant J e sus ( Incid e n t ally as it
was a l ittl e whil e a f te rwards t hat
M i t h r as created th e rs t h uman
coupl e it is unce rt ain who the sh e p
he rd s were )
M
n
o
f
it
h
ras
was
o
f
a
hos
t
e
o
(3)
dem igods suppos e d to bridge t he
gul f be t w ee n God and man Jesus
i s suppos e d t o h av e embodied the
and r ev e aled H i m t o
W 111 o f
od
.

m en

A
S
everal
o
f
t
h
e
T
w
el
v
e
pos
tle
s
4
( )
were sherm e n Th e re w ere t we l v e
signs o f ! odiac on e o f w h ic h was

A qua r ius
i nciden t ally t h ere w ere
also twelve t rib e s o f Is r ae l !
M
i
thr
ais
m
had
ri
t
es
conn
e
c
te
d
(5)

wit h the So la r M y th and th e dy

ing and rising o f t h e su n go d C hris
t ians believ e d t h a t J e sus di e d and r os e
again
Th e M ithr ai s t s h ad a rit ua l
.

R e li gi o n

C o mm o n S e n s e

an d

meal in w h ic h a wa fe r ma r ked w i t h
crossed l ines and a cup o f wa ter
gur e d
I t i s suppos e d t o hav e
some t hing to do wi t h the slaying o f
a bul l by M it h ras bu t the exac t mean
ing is los t Th e C hristians had a
m eal o f br e ad and W ine whic h s ym
b o li s e d th e e mbodi m ent o f J e sus
by His C hurc h
M
ithras
is
t
o
judg
e
t
he
dead
(7)
and s o i s Jesus
8
D
a
Christmas
i
s
on
the
same
( )
y
da t e as a M ith raic feas t

O f these par a llels all bu t t he las t

two are surely pa l pably a b surd Th e
da t e o f C hris t mas D ay very likely was
xed f o r conven ie nce o n a date whic h
was alr e ady a f esti val I t was no t
o ne o f t he o riginal feast days o f the
S o t he only r eal paralle l
C hurc h
i s num b er s eve n ; w h ich
p r oves
no th ing
.

2
7

C om p arati v e M yth o lo gy
Fac ts

M i th r ai s m

a bo u t

ti o n e d by

agn o s ti c

o ur

m en

n ot

M i t h r aism

a p a rt o f th e ancien t religion o f
P e r s i a o f w h ic h P r o fessor C umont

wri t es O n e must lay t o t he charge

o f the P ersian m ys te ri e s the se r iou s
re pr oac h o f having condoned p er haps
e ven promo t ed
su p e r

He al s o says M it hr a was
stiti o n s
ac c o m p g n i e d on h i s m ig r a t ions by a

gr e a t p a rt o f the M a ! d e an P an t heon
O f t hes e ot her gods the r e st w e re
c he er fully id e n ti e d w ith th ose o f

Gre e c e and R o m e Th us Ti m e

or i ginally na m e l es s was i den ti ed

with S a t urn Heav e n wi th Jupit er

Eart h with Juno O c e an with

N e ptun e Haoma with B acchus A t ar
with V ulcan et c e t c M i thras h im
sel f was god o f the u pp e r air A f ter
h e ca m e to ear t h he fought and con
qu e r e d the su n god w h o b ec am e his
w as

73

R e li gi o n

an d

C omm o n S e n s e

friend and to who m he gave t he

t o rch w ith w hich t o dispel the dark
n e ss Then he sle w a b u ll fr o m
w h o se blo o d arose plants u seful
animals and the rst human c o uple
They demanded water w hich he
o btained by sh o oting an arr o w at a
r o ck Then he and t he su n go d
ret u rned to he aven and had a feast
He is the god o f t ru t h and courage
and m o r ality
S uch is the legend o f M ithras
u pon w h o s e li f e and work it is gravely
suggested tha t som e o f the m o st dis
t i n c t i v e f e atur e s o f C hristianity were
built ! A s t o the explana t i o ns o f th e
extinction o f M ithraism and th e s u r
v i v al o f Chris t ianity i t is pu t fo r ward
tha t the vulgarity o f t he ca r p e n t er
w as bette r suited to th e low level o f
intelligence prevalen t in t h e dying
yea r s o f the Empi re th an the l o f t i er
,

74

C o mp arati v e M yth olo gy

sy m bolism o f M i t h r a i sm ! A s a mat
t e r o f fac t howev er Chris t ianity w as
dened l o ng before M ithrais m had
any h o ld o n the R oman Empire at all ;
!a nd t he o bvi o us re as o n why Christian
i t y survived when M ith raism f ell was
tha t Chris t ianity was bas e d o n h i s
t o r y and exper i enc e w hi l e M ith r a i sm
w as based on myth o l o gy ; Christiani t y
w as r a t ional and intelligible wh il e
M i t hraism w as fanci ful and m y s t e r i
ous ; Chris t ianity was m o n o theis t ic
w hile M ithraism t hough it had a
supr e m e Being in t h e backgr o und
was o verl o aded with hundreds o f
pu r ely imagina r y lesse r dei t ies
A n e le m en tar y f ac t of h i s to r y
O n e impo rt an t i f e l e mentary fac t

must b e no t ed Judaism and C hris

t i an i ty w e re bot h unique religi o ns in
the R o m an Empire and t here fore
canno t h a ve b ee n i n any i m po rt an t
,

75

R e li gi o n

C omm o n S e n s e

an d

par ti cular derived fr o m tho s e w hi c h

were no t unique We have already
t o uched o n the uniq u e character o f
Judaism in connec t ion w i th the O ld
Testament
Christianity was unique
in t he f o ll ow ing respec t s !
1
It
w
a
s
th
e
o
nly
religion
which
( )
claimed t o be universal and which
had neither images o f God no r a
mythology o f subordina t e gods no r
sacri ce
2
I
t
was
th
e
only
r
elig
i
on
e
x
cep
t
( )
Judaism wh i c h re f used to t ol er at e
ot her r el igions and was w h olly ex
el u siv e
It
was
t
he
o
n
l
y
r
eligion
which
3)
preached a ge nuine hist o rical incarna
tion and which c o n t ained in a r ation
a l and hist o rical f o rm t he satis facti o n
o f all the true aspira t i o ns o f paganism
For t hese reasons and because it
p re ac he d on re as o nabl e g r ounds the
.

6
7

C omp arati v e M y th o lo gy
b r o th e rh ood o f m an i t survived Bu t
fo r a l ong t ime C hristians we r e m i s
understood Becaus e they had n o
images and becaus e th ey denied t he
o ther g o ds and becaus e wo m en were
as welco m e a t the i r wors h i p as men
they were accus e d o f a t h eism and
immorali t y Becaus e the y claimed
Ch r istianity t o be the t rue religion
fo r ala anki n d t h ey did no t receiv e
t h e t o l e r anc e w h ic h was al l ow e d t o

J u dais m as a na t ional supe r stiti o n

C h ris t iani ty m oved a t rst along a

stony pa th m i sundersto o d lonely

exclusiv e What li tt le it did borr o w
fro m paganism was borr o wed long
a fter t he N e w Testament had x e d
for e v er i ts e s s e n ti a l f e a tu re s
.

77

!
EV O LU T I ON

AN D

ATON E M E NT

E
7

may r eadily gran t the p r oo fs

o f o u r animal origin an d as
readily abandon t h e e arly c h ap te rs
o f Genes i s r ega r ded e it he r as h is t ory
or sc i ence Th e q u esti o n i s w h ether
t he acceptanc e o f th e t he or y o f ev o lu
tion compels us t o believe t h a t ther e
i s no such thing as human sin and
no suc h thing as divine f o rgiv e ness
Th e argumen t is that i f man
evo l v e d from the animal the rs t
man c anno t h av e been be t ter t han
us he mus t have b e en worse ; b e cause
h is p assions w e r e s tr onger and h i s

8
7

E vo lu t i o n

Ato n e m e nt

an d

p ow er o f c on tro l m o r e rudim e n t a r y
Fu rther i f w e e volved fr o m t he
ani m al by slow deg r ees a t w h at s t age
did the s p i r i t e n t e r and th e ani m al
?
b e co m e a man A gain i f man was
nev er i nnocen t and neve r had the
c h ance t o be innoc e nt how can he b e
?
he ld r e sponsibl e f o r s i n
.

O h Th o u wh o m an
m ake ,

of

ba ser

e a rt h

d i d st

An d wh o wi t h E d e n d i ds t d ev i s e th e s n a ke ,
F o r all t h e s i n w i t h w hi c h t h e f a c e o f m an
Is

b la c ke n e d m a n s f o rgi v e n e ss gi v e an d

t ake

We canno t h o pe t o expla i n e v er y
thing i n t he world becaus e w e do no t
know eno u gh ab o u t it We can t
say exactly w hen the spirit e n t er e d
P erhaps the spiri t was in the
m an
a pe and ev e n in the rst living cell
t ha t a ppe ar e d upon t h e earth bu t only
b ecam e art i c ulat e wh e n t he ani m al
,

79

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e n s e

organism reac he d the stage tha t it

reached with the rs t man We
cannot s ay h o w innoc e nt o r how
guilty th e rs t man was A f ter all
guil t is not judged by an ex t e r nal
s t andard bu t by a balancing o f
achievemen t and oppor tunity
S in
in o n e m an is no t s i n i n ano th er
S in is failure t o mak e th e b e s t o f
wha t o ne h as t h e failure t o p r og re ss
Th e sinners i n t he Gospels are the
men who lik e t h e P ha r isees a re
conten t with t he m easu r e o f r e sp e ct
abili ty t ha t they possess and are
n o t hungry for somet h ing b e tter
Th e p u blican was in ferior t o the
P ha r isee i f j u dged by a xed stand
ard o f m o rali t y ; but th e fact tha t he
was dissatised wi t h himsel f while
t h e P harisee w as sa t ised m ad e him
the more bel o ved by God
We kn o w for an absolu te fac t th a t
.

80

E vo lu ti o n

an d

Ato n e m e n t

we ar e n o t as go o d as we migh t be
and t ha t with more fait h and l o ve and
c o u r age we might b e far better than
we a re W e canno t a ff o rd t o neglect
thes e fac t s o f e xperience becaus e we
cannot nd t he c o rresponding b io
logica l facts which wo u ld explain
th em s c i e n t ically
W e know f o r a fa ct o f exp er ience
t h a t c o rTfe s s i o n t o God c o mb i ned
wi th p ray er f o r help and faith enable
us t o o v e r co m e s i n We kno w f o r a
fac t th a t i f C h ris t had never died
upo n t h e c r oss H e w o uld n ot h ave
th e pow er t o help us tha t He has
W e know f o r a fac t that h o wever
m uc h we may ge t o ver our s i n we
canno t undo all i t s e ff ects ; and that
sin ce w e canno t bear t he w h o le
burden o f our own sins w e m u st i f
our f orgiveness i s to prevail help t o
bear the bu r d e n o f ot he r pe o ple s
,

81

R e li gi o n

an d

C o mm o n S e nse

sins We may n ot be able to say

exactly h o w it is d o ne ; bu t w e d o
kn ow that su ffering w h ic h is und e
served has redemptive powe r An d
i f this fac t is o pp o sed t o s t rict jus ti ce
it is essential to br o th e rly lov e a m ong
men

I t is f ac t s suc h as t hese fac t s o f

experience that are the m o s t i m

p o r t ant and the sures t facts i n li fe ;
and i t is on them tha t o ur religi o n
must b e built up Th e man who w ill
n ot believe wha t he kno w s from
exp e rience t o be true and will no t
attempt w hat he kno w s in his h ear t
to be right beca u se his in t ellect
canno t nd t he exac t reas o n why
such things ar e true and right is
making his in t ellect a master when
it was m ean t t o be a servan t He
is missing freed o m th e fr e edo m o f
t he spiri t
.

82