from the ,google ,print project47       
,,religion ,,and ,,theology  ,a ,,sermon
 ,,for ,,the ,,times   ,,preached ,,in  
,,the  ,,parish ,,church ,,of ,,crathie1
 #e,,th ,,september  ,,and ,,in ,,the   
,,college ,,church1 ,,st ,,andrews  ,,by
  ,,john ,,tulloch1 ,d4,d4  ,,principal 
,,and ,,professor ,,of ,,theology1 ,,st 
,,mary',s ,,college1 ,,in ,,the         
,,university ,,of ,,st ,,andrews1 ,,and 
,,one ,,of ,,her ,,majesty',s           
,,chaplains ,,in ,,ordinary ,,in        
,,scotland   ,,second ,,edition         
,,william ,,blackwood ,,and ,,sons      
,,edinburgh ,,and ,,london ,,mdccclxxv  
,,works ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4     
,i4  ,,history ,,of ,,rational          
,,theology  ,,and  ,,christian          
,,philosophy ,,in ,,england  ,,in ,,the 
,,seventeenth ,,century4  ,second       
,edition1 #b vols4 #hvo1 #a1 #hs4       
,edinburgh ,review4      ,the pleasure  
with which ,principal ,tulloch explores 
this     comparatively unknown field    
communicates itself to his readers1     

and the academic groves of ,oxford and  
,cambridge are invested     with the    
freshness of a new glory4               
,athenum4      ,it is rich in pregnant  
and suggestive thought4       ,saturday 
,review4      ,here we must take our    
respectful leave of this large-minded1  
lively1 and thoughtful work1 which      
deserves to the full the     acceptance 
it cannot fail to receive4              
,spectator4      ,every thoughtful and  
liberal ,englishman who reads these     
volumes     will feel that ,principal   
,tulloch has laid him under obligations 
in writing them4       ,british         
,quarterly ,review4      ,ample         
scholarship1 well-disciplined powers1   
catholic sympathies1     and a masculine
 eloquence1 give it a high place among  
modern     contributions to theological 
science4       ,nonconformist4          
,from his lively portraits they will    
learn to know some of the     finest    
spirits ,england has produced2 while    
from his able and     comprehensive     

summaries of the works they left behind 
them1 any     reader of quick           
intelligence may acquaint himself with  
their     leading thoughts4   ,,ii4     
,,theism3  ,,the ,,witness ,,of ,,reason
 ,,and ,,nature ,,to ,,an ,,all-,,wise  
,,and ,,beneficent ,,creator4  ,octavo1 
#ajs4 #f;d4      ,christian             
,remembrancer4      ,dr ,tulloch's      
,essay1 in its masterly statement of the
 real nature     and difficulties of the
 subject1 its logical exactness in      
distinguishing the illustrative from the
 suggestive1 its lucid     arrangement  
of the argument1 its simplicity of      
expression1 is     quite unequalled by  
any work we have seen on the subject4   
,,william ,,blackwood  ,,sons1          
,,edinburgh ,,and ,,london4             
,,religion ,,and ,,theology4  #b ,cor4  
xi4 #c4--,the simplicity that is in     
,christ4   ,there is much talk in the   
present time of the difficulties of     
religion4 ,and no doubt there is a sense
 in which religion is always difficult4 

,it is hard to be truly religious--to be
 humble1 good1 pure1 and just2 to be    
full of faith1 hope1 and charity1 so    
that our conduct may be seen to be like 
that of ,christ1 and our light to shine 
before men4 ,but when men speak so much 
nowadays of the difficulties of         
religion1 they chiefly mean intellectual
 and not practical difficulties4        
,religion is identified with the tenets 
of a ,church system1 or of a theological
 system2 and it is felt that modern     
criticism has assailed these tenets in  
many vulnerable points1 and made it no  
longer easy for the open and            
well-informed mind to believe things    
that were formerly held1 or professed to
 be held1 without hesitation4           
,discussions and doubts which were once 
confined to a limited circle when they  
were heard of at all1 have penetrated   
the modern mind through many avenues1   
and affected the whole tone of social   
intelligence4 ,this is not to be denied4
 ,for good or for evil such a result has

 come about2 and we live in times of    
unquiet thought1 which form a real and  
painful trial to many minds4 ,it is not 
my intention at present to deplore or to
 criticise this modern tendency1 but    
rather to point out how it may be       
accepted1 and yet religion in the       
highest sense saved to us1 if not       
without struggle 7for that is always    
impossible in the nature of religion71  
yet without that intellectual conflict  
for which many minds are entirely       
unfitted1 and which can never be said in
 itself to help religion in any minds4  
,the words which ,i have taken as my    
text seem to me to suggest a train of   
thought having an immediate bearing on  
this subject4 ,st ,paul has been        
speaking of himself in the passage from 
which the text is taken4 ,he has been   
commending himself--a task which is     
never congenial to him4 ,but his        
opponents in the ,corinthian ,church had
 forced this upon him2 and now he asks  
that he may be borne with a little in   

his folly4 ,he is pleased to speak of   
his conduct in this way1 with that touch
 of humorous irony not unfamiliar to him
 when writing under some excitement4 ,he
 pleads with his old converts for so    
much indulgence1 because he is jealous  
over them with a godly jealousy4 ,he had
 won them to the ,lord4 ,i have espoused
 you1 he says1 to one husband1 that ,i  
may present you as a chaste virgin to   
,christ4 ,this had been his unselfish   
work4 ,he had sought nothing for        
himself1 but all for ,christ4 ,that they
 should belong to ,christ--as the bride 
to the bridegroom--was his jealous      
anxiety4 ,but others had come in betwixt
 them and him--nay1 betwixt them and    
,christ1 as he believed--and sought to  
seduce and corrupt their minds by divers
 doctrines4 ,i fear1 lest by any means1 
as the serpent beguiled ,eve through his
 subtilty1 so your minds should be      
corrupted from the simplicity that is in
 ,christ4  ,what the special corruptions
 from ,christian simplicity were with   

which the minds of ,st ,paul's          
,corinthian converts were assailed1 it  
is not necessary for us now to inquire4 
,their special dangers are not likely to
 be ours4 ,what concerns us is the fact1
 that both ,st ,paul and ,christ--his   
,master and ours--thought of religion as
 something simple4 ,attachment to       
,christ was a simple personal reality1  
illustrated by the tie which binds the  
bride1 as a chaste virgin1 to the       
bridegroom4 ,it was not an ingenuity1   
nor a subtilty1 nor a ceremony4 ,it     
involved no speculation or argument4    
,its essence was personal and emotional1
 and not intellectual4 ,the true analogy
 of religion1 in short1 is that of      
simple affection and trust4 ,subtilty   
may1 in itself1 be good or evil4 ,it may
 be applied for a religious no less than
 for an irreligious purpose1 as implied 
in the text4 ,but it is something       
entirely different from the simplicity  
that is in ,christ4  ,it is not to be   
supposed that religion is or can be ever

 rightly dissociated from intelligence4 
,an intelligent perception of our own   
higher wants1 and of a higher power of  
love that can alone supply these wants1 
is of its very nature4 ,there must be   
knowledge in all religion--knowledge of 
ourselves1 and knowledge of the ,divine4
 ,it was the knowledge of ,god in       
,christ communicated by ,st ,paul that  
had made the ,corinthians ,christians4  
,but the knowledge that is essential to 
religion is a simple knowledge like that
 which the loved has of the person who  
loves--the bride of the bridegroom1 the 
child of the parent4 ,it springs from   
the personal and spiritual1 and not from
 the cognitive or critical side of our  
being2 from the heart1 and not from the 
head4 ,not merely so2 but if the heart  
or spiritual sphere be really awakened  
in us--if there be a true stirring of   
life here1 and a true seeking towards   
the light--the essence and strength of a
 true religion may be ours1 although we 
are unable to answer many questions that

 may be asked1 or to solve even the     
difficulties raised by our own          
intellect4  ,the text1 in short1        
suggests that there is a religious      
sphere1 distinct and intelligible by    
itself1 which is not to be confounded   
with the sphere of theology or science4 
,this is the sphere in which ,christ    
worked1 and in which ,st ,paul also1    
although not so exclusively1 worked     
after ,him4 ,this is the special sphere 
of ,christianity1 or at least of the    
,christianity of ,christ4  ,and it is   
this1 as it appears to us1 important    
distinction to which we now propose to  
direct your attention4 ,let us try to   
explain in what respects the religion of
 ,christ is really apart from those     
intellectual and dogmatic difficulties  
with which it has been so much mixed up4
   ,i4 ,it is so1 first of all1 in the  
comparatively simple order of facts with
 which it deals4 ,nothing can be simpler
 or more comprehensive than our ,lord's 
teaching4 ,he knew what was in man4 ,he 

knew1 moreover1 what was in ,god towards
 man as a living power of love1 who had 
sent ,him forth to seek and save the    
lost2 and beyond these great facts1 of a
 fallen life to be restored1 and of a   
higher life of divine love and          
sacrifice1 willing and able to restore  
and purify this fallen life1 our ,lord  
seldom traversed4 ,unceasingly ,he      
proclaimed the reality of a spiritual   
life in man1 however obscured by sin1   
and the reality of a divine life above  
him1 which had never forsaken him nor   
left him to perish in his sin4 ,he held 
forth the need of man1 and the grace and
 sacrifice of ,god on behalf of man4    
,and within this double order of        
spiritual facts ,his teaching may be    
said to circulate4 ,he dealt1 in other  
words1 with the great ideas of ,god and 
the soul1 which can alone live in ,him1 
however it may have sunk away from ,him4
 ,these were to ,him the realities of   
all life and all religion4 ,there are   
those1 ,i know1 in our day1 to whom     

these ideas are mere assumptions--dogmas
 of a tremendous kind1 to assume which  
is to assume everything4 ,but with this 
order of thought we have in the meantime
 nothing to do4 ,the questions of       
materialism are outside of ,christianity
 altogether4 ,they were nothing to      
,christ1 whose whole thought moved in a 
higher sphere of personal love1         
embracing this lower world4 ,the        
spiritual life was to ,him the life of  
reality and fact2 and so it is to all   
who live in ,him and know in ,him4 ,the 
soul and ,god are1 if you will1 dogmas  
to science4 ,they cannot well be        
anything else to a vision which is      
outside of them1 and cannot from their  
very nature ever reach them4 ,but within
 the religious sphere they are primary  
experiences1 original and simple data   
from which all others come4 ,and our    
present argument is1 that ,christ dealt 
almost exclusively with these broad and 
simple elements of religion1 and that   
,he believed the life of religion to    

rest within them4 ,he spoke to men and  
women as having souls to be saved2 and  
,he spoke of ,himself and of ,god as    
able and willing to save them4 ,this was
 the simplicity that was in ,him4       
,everywhere in the ,gospels this        
simplicity is obvious4 ,our ,lord came  
forth from no school4 ,there is no      
traditional scheme of thought lying     
behind his words which must be mastered 
before these words are understood4 ,but 
out of the fulness of ,his own spiritual
 nature ,he spoke to the spiritual      
natures around ,him1 broken1 helpless1  
and worsted in the conflict with evil as
 ,he saw them4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord
 is upon me1 ,he said at the opening of 
,his ,galilean ministry1 because ,he    
hath anointed me to preach the ,gospel  
to the poor1 to heal the broken-hearted1
 to preach deliverance to the captives1 
and recovering of sight to the blind1 to
 set at liberty them that are bruised4#a
 ,these were the great realities that   
confronted ,him in life2 and ,his       

mission was to restore the divine powers
 of humanity thus everywhere            
impoverished1 wounded1 and enslaved4 ,he
 healed the sick and cured the maimed by
 ,his simple word4 ,he forgave sins4 ,he
 spoke of good news to the miserable4   
,all who had erred and gone out of the  
way--who had fallen under the burthen1  
or been seduced by the temptations1 of  
life--,he invited to a recovered home of
 righteousness and peace4 ,he welcomed  
the prodigal1 rescued the ,magdalene1   
took the thief with ,him to ,paradise4  
,and all this ,he did by ,his simple    
word of grace3 ,come unto me1 all ye    
that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i 
will give you rest4#b ,if ye then1 being
 evil1 know how to give good gifts unto 
your children1 how much more shall your 
,father which is in heaven give good    
things to them that ask ,him6#c  ,this  
was the ,christianity of ,christ4 ,this 
is the ,gospel4 ,it is the essence of   
all religion--that we feel ourselves in 
special need or distress1 and that we   

own a ,divine ,power willing to give us 
what we need1 and to save us from our   
distress4 ,other questions outside of   
this primary range of spiritual         
experience may be important4 ,they are  
not vital4 ,what is the soul8 ,what is  
the divine nature8 ,what is the ,church8
 ,in what way and by what means does    
divine grace operate8 ,what is the true 
meaning of ,scripture1 and the character
 of its inspiration and authority8      
,whence has man sprung1 and what is the 
character of the future before him8     
,these are all questions of the greatest
 interest2 but they are questions of    
theology and not of religion4 ,i do not 
say that they have no bearing upon      
religion4 ,on the contrary1 they have a 
significant bearing upon it4 ,and your  
religion and my religion will be        
modified and coloured by the answers we 
give or find to them4 ,we cannot        
separate the life and character of any  
man from his opinions4 ,it is           
nevertheless true that our religious    

life1 or the force of divine inspiration
 and peace within us1 do not depend upon
 the answers we are able to give to such
 questions4  ,it is the function of     
theology1 as of other sciences1 to ask  
questions1 whether it can answer them or
 not4 ,the task of the theologian is a  
most important one--whether or not it   
be1 as has been lately said1#d the      
noblest of all the tasks which it is    
given to the human mind to pursue4 ,none
 but a sciolist will depreciate such a  
task2 and none but a sceptic will doubt 
the value of the conclusions which may  
be thus reached4 ,but all this is quite 
consistent with our position4 ,the      
welfare of the soul is not involved in  
such matters as ,i have mentioned4 ,a   
man is not good or bad1 spiritual or    
unspiritual1 according to the view he   
takes of them4 ,men may differ widely   
regarding them1 and not only be equally 
honest1 but equally sharers of the mind 
of ,christ4 ,and this is peculiarly the 
case with many questions of the present 

day1 such as the antiquity of man1 the  
age and genesis of the earth1 the origin
 and authority of the several books of  
,scripture4 ,not one of these questions1
 first of all1 can be answered without  
an amount of special knowledge which few
 possess2 and secondly1 the answer to   
all of them must be sought in the line  
of pure scientific and literary inquiry4
 ,mere authority1 if we could find any  
such authority1 would be of no avail to 
settle any of them4 ,modern theology    
must work them out by the fair weapons  
of knowledge and research1 with no eye  
but an eye to the truth4 ,within this   
sphere there is no light but the dry    
light of knowledge4  ,but are our       
spiritual wants to wait the solution of 
such questions8 ,am ,i less a sinner1 or
 less weary with the burden of my own   
weakness and folly8 ,is ,christ less a  
,saviour8 ,is there less strength and   
peace in ,him whatever be the answer    
given to such questions8 ,because ,i    
cannot be sure whether the ,pentateuch  

was written1 as long supposed1 by       
,moses--or whether the fourth ,gospel   
comes as it stands from the beloved     
apostle--am ,i less in need of the      
divine teaching which both these        
,scriptures contain8 ,surely not4 ,that 
,i am a spiritual being1 and have       
spiritual needs craving to be satisfied1
 and that ,god is a spiritual power     
above me1 of whom ,christ is the        
revelation1 are facts which ,i may know 
or may not know1 quite irrespective of  
such matters4 ,the one class of facts   
are intellectual and literary4 ,the     
other are spiritual if they exist at    
all4 ,if ,i ever know them1 ,i can only 
know them through my own spiritual      
experience2 but if ,i know them--if ,i  
realise myself as a sinner and in       
darkness1 and ,christ as my ,saviour and
 the light of my life--,i have within me
 all the genuine forces of religious    
strength and peace4 ,i may not have all 
the faith of the ,church4 ,i may have   
many doubts1 and may come far short of  

the catholic dogma4 ,but faith is a     
progressive insight1 and dogma is a     
variable factor4 ,no sane man nowadays  
has the faith of the medievalist4 ,no   
modern ,christian can think in many     
respects as the ,christians of the      
seventeenth century1 or of the twelfth  
century1 or of the fourth century4 ,no  
primitive ,christian would have fully   
understood ,athanasius in his contest   
against the world4 ,it was very easy at 
one time to chant the ,athanasian       
hymn--it is easy for some still2 but    
very hard for others4 ,are the latter   
worse or better ,christians on this     
account8 ,think1 brethren1 of ,st ,peter
 and ,st ,andrew taken from their boats2
 of ,st ,matthew as he sat at the       
receipt of custom2 of the good          
,samaritan2 the devout centurion2 of    
curious ,zaccheus2 of the repentant     
prodigal2 of ,st ,james1 as he wrote    
that a man is justified by works1 and   
not by faith only2#e of ,apollos1 mighty
 in the ,scriptures1 who was instructed 

in the way of the ,lord2 and being      
fervent in the spirit1 spake and taught 
diligently the things of the ,lord1 and 
yet who only knew the baptism of        
,john2#f of the disciples at ,ephesus   
who had not so much as heard whether    
there be any ,holy ,ghost2#g think of   
all the poor and simple ones who have   
gone to heaven with ,christ in their    
hearts1 the hope of glory1 and yet who  
have never known with accuracy any      
,christian dogma whatever1--and you can 
hardly doubt how distinct are the       
spheres of religion and of theology1 and
 how far better than all theological    
definitions is the honest and good      
heart1 which1 having heard the ,word1   
keeps it1 and brings forth fruit with   
patience4#h   ,,ii4 ,but religion       
differs from theology1 not only in the  
comparatively simple and universal order
 of the facts with which it deals1 but  
also because the facts are so much more 
verifiable in the one case than in the  
other4 ,they can so much more easily be 

found out to be true or not4 ,it has    
been sought of late1 in a well-known    
quarter1 to bring all religion to this  
test--and the test is not an unfair one 
if legitimately applied4 ,but it is not 
legitimate to test spiritual facts      
simply as we test natural facts2 such   
facts1 for example1 as that fire burns1 
or that a stone thrown from the hand    
falls to the ground4 ,the presumption of
 all supernatural religion is that there
 is a spiritual or supernatural sphere1 
as real and true as the natural sphere  
in which we continually live and move2  
and the facts which belong to this      
sphere must be tested within it4        
,morality and moral conditions may be so
 far verified from without4 ,if we do   
wrong we shall finally find ourselves in
 the wrong2 and that there is a ,power  
not ourselves which makes for           
righteousness and which will not allow  
us to rest in wrong4 ,this constantly   
verified experience of a kingdom of     
righteousness is a valuable basis of    

morality4 ,but religion could not live  
or nourish itself within such limits4   
,it must rest1 not merely on certain    
facts of divine order1 but on such      
personal relations as are ever uppermost
 in the mind of ,st ,paul1 and are so   
clearly before him in this very passage4
 ,moreover1 the higher experience which 
reveals to us a ,power of righteousness 
in the world1 no less reveals to us the 
living personal character of this       
,power4 ,shut out conscience as a true  
source of knowledge1 and the very idea  
of righteousness will disappear with    
it--there will be nothing to fall back  
upon but the combinations of            
intelligence1 and such religion as may  
be got therefrom2 admit conscience1 and 
its verifying force transcends a mere   
order or impersonal power of            
righteousness4 ,it places us in front of
 a living ,spirit who not only governs  
us righteously and makes us feel our    
wrong-doing1 but who is continually     
educating us and raising us to ,his own 

likeness of love and blessedness4 ,we   
realise not merely that there is a law  
of good in the world1 but a ,holy ,will 
that loves good and hates evil1 and     
against whom all our sins are offences  
in the sense of the ,psalmist3 ,against 
,thee1 ,thee only1 have ,i sinned1 and  
done this evil in ,thy sight4  ,so much 
as this1 we say1 may be realised--this  
consciousness of sin on the one hand1   
and of a living ,righteousness and ,love
 far more powerful than our sins1 and   
able to save us from them4 ,these roots 
of religion are deeply planted in human 
nature4 ,they answer to its highest     
experiences4 ,the purest and noblest    
natures in whom all the impulses of a   
comprehensive humanity have been        
strongest1 have felt and owned them4    
,the missionary preacher1 wherever he   
has gone--to the rude tribes of ,africa1
 or the cultured representatives of an  
ancient civilisation--has appealed to   
them1 and found a verifying response to 
his preaching4 ,st ,paul1 whether he    

spoke to ,jew1 or ,greek1 or ,roman1    
found the same voices of religious      
experience echoing to his call--the same
 burden of sin lying on human           
hearts--the same cry from their depths1 
,what must ,i do to be saved8 ,it is not
 necessary to maintain that these       
elements of the ,christian religion are 
verifiable in every experience4 ,it is  
enough to say that there is that in the 
,gospel which addresses all hearts in   
which spiritual thoughtfulness and life 
have not entirely died out4 ,it lays    
hold of the common heart4 ,it melts with
 a strange power the highest minds4     
,look over a vast audience2 travel to   
distant lands2 communicate with your    
fellow-creatures anywhere1--and you feel
 that you can reach them1 and for the   
most part touch them1 by the story of   
the ,gospel--by the fact of a ,father in
 heaven1 and a ,saviour sent from       
heaven1 that whosoever believeth in ,him
 should not perish1 but have eternal    
life4#i ,beneath all differences of     

condition1 of intellect1 of culture1    
there is a common soul which the ,gospel
 reaches1 and which nothing else in the 
same manner reaches4  ,now1 in contrast 
to all this1 the contents of any special
 theology commend themselves to a       
comparatively few minds4 ,and such hold 
as they have over these minds is for the
 most part traditionary and             
authoritative1 not rational or          
intelligent4 ,there can be no vital     
experience of theological definitions1  
and no verification of them1 except in  
the few minds who have really examined  
them1 and brought them into the light of
 their own intelligence4 ,this must     
always be the work of a few--of what are
 called schools of thought1 here and    
there4 ,it is only the judgment of the  
learned or thoughtful theologian that is
 really of any value on a theological   
question4 ,others may assent or dissent4
 ,he alone knows the conditions of the  
question and its possible solution4 ,of 
all the absurdities that have come from 

the confusion of religion and theology1 
none is more absurd or more general than
 the idea that one opinion on a         
theological question--any more than on a
 question of natural science--is as good
 as another4 ,the opinion of the        
ignorant1 of the unthoughtful1 of the   
undisciplined in ,christian learning1 is
 simply of no value whatever where the  
question involves--as it may be said    
every theological question              
involves--knowledge1 thought1 and       
scholarship4 ,the mere necessity of such
 qualities for working the theological  
sphere1 and turning it to any account1  
places it quite apart from the religious
 sphere4 ,the one belongs to the common 
life of humanity1 the other to the      
school of the prophets4 ,the one is for 
you and for me1 and for all human       
beings2 the other is for the expert--the
 theologian--who has weighed            
difficulties and who understands them1  
if he has not solved them4   ,,iii4 ,but
 again1 religion differs from theology  

in the comparative uniformity of its    
results4 ,the ideal of religion is      
almost everywhere the same4 ,to do      
justly1 to love mercy1 to walk humbly   
with ,god4#aj ,pure religion 7or pure   
religious service7 and undefiled1 before
 ,god and the ,father is this1 to visit 
the fatherless and widows in their      
affliction1 and to keep himself         
unspotted from the world4#aa ,where is  
it not always the true1 even if not the 
prevalent type of religion1 to be good  
and pure1 and to approve the things that
 are excellent8 ,whatsoever things are  
true1 whatsoever things are honest1     
whatsoever things are just1 whatsoever  
things are pure1 whatsoever things are  
lovely1 whatsoever things are of good   
report2 if there be any virtue1 and if  
there be any praise1 think on these     
things and do them1 says the apostle1#ab
 and the ,god of peace shall be with    
you4 ,christians differ like others in  
intellect1 disposition1 and temperament4
 ,they differ also so far1 but never in 

the same degree1 in spiritual condition 
and character4 ,to be a ,christian is in
 all cases to be saved from guilt1 to be
 sustained by faith1 to be cleansed by  
divine inspiration1 to depart from      
iniquity4 ,there may be1 and must be1   
very varying degrees of faith1 hope1 and
 charity2 but no ,christian can be hard 
in heart1 or impure in mind1 or selfish 
in character4 ,with much to make us     
humble in the history of the ,christian 
,church1 and many faults to deplore in  
the most conspicuous ,christian men1 the
 same types of divine excellences yet   
meet us everywhere as we look along the 
line of the ,christian centuries--the   
heroism of a ,st ,paul1 an ,ignatius1 an
 ,origen1 an ,athanasius1 a ,bernard1 a 
,luther1 a ,calvin1 a ,chalmers1 a      
,livingstone2 the tender and devout     
affectionateness of a ,mary1 a          
,perpetua1 a ,monica2 the enduring      
patience and self-denial of an          
,elizabeth of ,hungary1 a ,mrs          
,hutcheson1 a ,mrs ,fry2 the beautiful  

holiness of a ,st ,john1 a ,st ,francis1
 a ,fenelon1 a ,herbert1 a ,leighton4   
,under the most various influences1 and 
the most diverse types of doctrine1 the 
same fruits of the ,spirit constantly   
appear--,love1 joy1 peace1              
long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1   
faith1 meekness1 temperance4#ac  ,all   
this sameness in diversity disappears   
when we turn to theology4 ,the          
differences in this case are radical4   
,they are not diversities of gifts with 
the same spirit1 but fundamental        
antagonisms of thought4 ,as some men are
 said to be born ,platonists1 and some  
,aristotelians1 so some are born        
,augustinians1 and some ,pelagians or   
,arminians4 ,these names have been      
strangely identified with true or false 
views of ,christianity4 ,what they      
really denote is diverse modes of       
,christian thinking1 diverse tendencies 
of the ,christian intellect1 which      
repeat themselves by a law of nature4   
,it is no more possible to make men     

think alike in theology than in anything
 else where the facts are complicated   
and the conclusions necessarily         
fallible4 ,the history of theology is a 
history of variations2 not indeed1 as   
some have maintained1 without an inner  
principle of movement1 but with a       
constant repetition of oppositions      
underlying its necessary development4   
,the same1 contrasts continually appear 
throughout its course1 and seem never to
 wear themselves out4 ,from the         
beginning there has always been the     
broader and the narrower type of        
thought--a ,st ,paul and ,st ,john1 as  
well as a ,st ,peter and ,st ,james2 the
 doctrine which leans to the works1 and 
the doctrine which leans to grace2 the  
milder and the severer interpretations  
of human nature and of the divine       
dealings with it--a ,clement of         
,alexandria1 an ,origen and a           
,chrysostom1 as well as a ,tertullian1  
an ,augustine1 and a ,cyril of          
,alexandria1 an ,erasmus no less than a 

,luther1 a ,castalio as well as a       
,calvin1 a ,frederick ,robertson as well
 as a ,john ,newman4 ,look at these men 
and many others equally significant on  
the spiritual side as they look to ,god1
 or as they work for men1 how much do   
they resemble one another6 ,the same    
divine life stirs in them all4 ,who will
 undertake to settle which is the truer 
,christian8 ,but look at them on the    
intellectual side and they are          
hopelessly disunited4 ,they lead rival  
forces in the march of ,christian       
thought--forces which may yet find a    
point of conciliation1 and which may not
 be so widely opposed as they seem1 but 
whose present attitude is one of obvious
 hostility4 ,men may meet in common     
worship and in common work1 and find    
themselves at one4 ,the same faith may  
breathe in their prayers1 and the same  
love fire their hearts4 ,but men who    
think can never be at one in their      
thoughts on the great subjects of the   
,christian revelation4 ,they may own the

 same ,lord1 and recognise and reverence
 the same types of ,christian character1
 but they will differ so soon as they   
begin to define their notions of the    
,divine1 and draw conclusions from the  
researches either of ancient or of      
modern theology4 ,of all the false      
dreams that have ever haunted humanity1 
none is more false than the dream of    
catholic unity in this sense4 ,it       
vanishes in the very effort to grasp it1
 and the old fissures appear within the 
most carefully compacted structures of  
dogma4  ,religion1 therefore1 is not to 
be confounded with theology1 with       
schemes of ,christian thought--nor1 for 
that part of the matter1 with schemes of
 ,christian order4 ,it is not to be     
found in any set of opinions or in any  
special ritual of worship4 ,the         
difficulties of modern theology1 the    
theories of modern science 7when they   
are really scientific and do not go     
beyond ascertained facts and their      
laws71 have little or nothing to do with

 religion4 ,let the age of the earth be 
what it may 7we shall be very grateful  
to the ,british ,association1 or any    
other association1 when it has settled  
for us how old the earth is1 and how    
long man has been upon the face of it72 
let man spring in his physical system   
from some lower phase of life2 let the  
,bible be resolved into its constituent 
sources by the power of modern analysis1
 and our views of it greatly change1 as 
indeed they are rapidly changing1--all  
this does not change or destroy in one  
iota the spiritual life that throbs at  
the heart of humanity1 and that         
witnesses to a ,spiritual ,life above4  
,no science1 truly so-called1 can ever  
touch this or destroy it1 for the simple
 reason that its work is outside the    
spiritual or religious sphere           
altogether4 ,scientific presumption may 
suggest the delusiveness of this sphere1
 just as in former times religious      
presumption sought to restrain the      
inquiries of science4 ,it may1 when it  

becomes ribald with a fanaticism far    
worse than any fanaticism of religion1  
assail and ridicule the hopes which1    
amidst much weakness1 have made men     
noble for more than eighteen ,christian 
centuries4 ,but science has no voice    
beyond its own province4 ,the weakest   
and the simplest soul1 strong in the    
consciousness of the divine within and  
above it1 may withstand its most        
powerful assaults4 ,the shadows of doubt
 may cover us1 and we may see no light4 
,the difficulties of modern speculation 
may overwhelm us1 and we may find no    
issue from them4 ,if we wait till we    
have solved these difficulties and      
cleared away the darkness1 we may wait  
for ever4 ,if your religion is made to  
depend upon such matters1 then ,i do not
 know what to say to you in a time like 
this4 ,i cannot counsel you to shut your
 minds against any knowledge4 ,i have no
 ready answers to your questions1 no    
short and easy method with modern       
scepticism4 ,inquiry must have its      

course in theology as in everything     
else4 ,it is fatal to intelligence to   
talk of an infallible ,church1 and of   
all free thought in reference to        
religion as deadly rationalism to be    
shunned4 ,not to be rational in religion
 as in everything else is simply to be  
foolish1 and to throw yourself into the 
arms of the first authority that is able
 to hold you4 ,in this as in other      
respects you must work out your own     
salvation with fear and trembling1      
remembering that it is ,god which       
worketh in you4 ,you must examine your  
own hearts2 you must try yourselves     
whether there be in you the roots of the
 divine life4 ,if you do not find sin in
 your hearts and ,christ also there as  
the ,saviour from sin1 then you will    
find ,him nowhere4 ,but if you find ,him
 there1 ,christ within you as ,he was   
within ,st4 ,paul1--your righteousness1 
your life1 your strength in weakness1   
your light in darkness1 the hope of     
glory within you1 as ,he was all this to

 the thoughtful and much-tried          
apostle1--then you will accept          
difficulties and doubts1 and even the   
despairing darkness of some intellectual
 moments1 when the very foundations seem
 to give way--as you accept other       
trials2 and looking humbly for higher   
light1 you will patiently wait for it1  
until the day dawn and the shadows flee 
away4   ,,footnotes3  #a ,luke1 iv4 #ah4
  #b ,matthew1 xi4 #bh4  #c ,matthew1   
vii4 #aa4  #d ,mr ,gladstone1           
',contemporary ,review1' ,july1 p4 #aid4
  #e ,james1 ii4 #bd4  #f ,acts1 xviii4 
#bd1 #be4  #g ,acts1 xix4 #b4  #h ,luke1
 viii4 #ae4  #i ,john1 iii4 #ae4  #aj   
,micah1 vi4 #h4  #aa ,james1 i4 #bg4    
#ab ,philippians1 iv4 #h1 #i4  #ac      
,galatians1 v4 #bb1 #bc4   ,,printed    
,,by ,,william ,,blackwood ,,and ,,sons4