^^> v*^ ^ *\^>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 L£|28 a 2.5 ut Kii 12.2 S 144 ■" £ |l£ 12.0 u I L25 IffllA 11.6 6" .^'^ PhotDgniphic Sciences Corporation f Congross at Washington. D. C PREFACE. ITIC Parliamcntof Rcliffions and the World's Re- ligious Congresses attracted the attention of mankind all over the earth. Those who lis- tened to the valuable papers read antl ad- dresses made regretted that millions could not read what oidy hundreds had heard. IJut it would require a library of encyclopa-dic vol- umes to contain all that was said at those great assemblages. The only feasible method of ex- tending their circulation in a concise form is to print the .iiost of the best and the best of the most of the Parliament papers, and condense the .siiiistancc of the Congresses into what might be termed a literary pem- niican, omitting, as far as possible, all personal and petty details con- nected with the conception, origin and progress of the meetings. Such matter, however interesting to those mentioned, is of minor impor- tance to the public, and if indulged in excludes the far more valuable l)apcrs themselves, and is at the expense of the increase of the size and cost of the volume, thus reiTioving it beyond the reach of many who iiii_t;ht otherwise possess it." This volume contains the most and the best of the Parliament and the Congresses. The Parliament papers arc largely from authors' manu- scri[)tsor stenographic reports, and the Congresses are mainly written by eminent clergymen and others who participated in them. If the reader will compare this book with others that profess to cover the same ground, he will discover that the important papers arc not "edited" in a manner to break the hearts of their authors by the ^mission of vital portions, nor disfigured by such errors as were ex» FREFACS. cusable in the haste incidental to their original appearance in the daily press, but discreditable in a permanent volume; that papers de livered to the Congresses do not appear in the proceedings of the Parliament, nor vice versa; that papers never read are not printed in these pages, nor are important ones read omitted; in a word, that the documents themselves are given as nearly as possible within the com- pass of a single volume, without note or comment. Mechanically, this work is all that any one would desire. Its large, legible type, beautiful illustrations and handso. le binding constitute it by far the most elegant book among those devoted to the laudable purpose of preserving the valuable words sooken at the World's Parlia- ment and Congresses, A complaint has been made by some of those who were prominent in the Parliament that their prerogatives have been invaded by others who have published the proceedings. Even Christian clergymen, who profess to be anxious that their utterances may reach the widest cir- culation, have attempted to confine the publication of their papers to one particular work. But it must be apparent that the great Parlia- ment and Congresses were the property of mankind. No one pos- sesses any monopoly in them. They were made successful by the generous contributions, and the unpaid time and toil of thousands. It was the constant announcement of the prominent promoters of the Parliament, that the unique gatherings were for the moral and religious welfare of mankind, and multitudes of men and women worked with- out money and without price to render the great occasion the mag- nificent success that it was. The statement will, therefore, doubtless occasion surprise, yet it is true, that some of those most prominent in making this proclamation have not only availed tho.'iselves of their opportunities to promote their personal emolument, but have attempted to confine the circulation of the valuable documents to the publications in which they are financially interested. The publishers of this volume have proceeded on the ground that no private individual or corporation has any exclusive property in the papers of the World's Parliament and Congresses of Religion, but that they are entitled rather to the widest possible circulation — a view which, it is pleasing to state, has been very heartily indorsed by the majority of those who participated in the Congresses — and they desire to do their part in spreading them before the world. To this end a large amount of money has been expended, and the present volume is the result; and they trust it will be a means to extend the beneficent work pf the PREFACE, „, greatest religious event of the Nineteenth Century, and, with con- fidence m its merits, they send it out to the world In the compilation and preparation of this volume the publishers are mdebted for valuable aid and services to a large number of gln^^^^^ men who were prommently identified with the great religious gather- ings, among whom may be specially mentioned' Rev. Simeon GHber . R.bhi T Tq. r^r5- ^'"°''°^ Mccormick Theological Seminary Rabb. Joseph Stolz, Bishop B. W. Arnett, D. D., Rev. J P Hale D D Rev. George Hall Rev. D. R. Mansfield, Rev. Lee M^HeHman R^v' ^ftPT^' ^'"'"^u ""^ ^°""' W'"'^'" J- Onahan, Secretary of the due to ther'^T- ."^'"^ '"' "*^^" --^"^^^^^ -»-^'- -^. -el in- due to them and a pleasure to us, to acknowledge their services. THE PUBLISHERS. ■!™i>W TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGES. Preface ,^ ; 5 to 7 Index of Papers 9 " 10 Index of Authors 11 Index of Illustrations 12 13 Opening of Parli am ent 1.5 " 45 God 47 " 82 Immortality 84 " 97 Scriptures ; 98 " 142 ( 143 " 152 Comparative Religions J 253 •< 340 Judaism 154 " 195 Christ...... 197 " 251 Hinduism '. 341 " 876 Buddhism 377 " 427 -"he Bramo-Somaj 428 " 440 aiNToisM AND Other Oriental Religions 441 " 469 ,ONFUCIANISM 471 " 490 ( 491 " 504 Mohammedanism J 523 •« roe „ e i 536 " 639 Practical Subjects i .^29 " 938 (507 " 621 Miscellaneous J g^j ,. 1^27 Close of Parliament 939 " 951 Denominational Congresses 953 " 1196 $ INDEX TO PAPERS. r o 1 3 5 !2 17 12 >2 10 )5 51 76 !7 ,0 >9 PAOE. Armenia, Spirit and Mission of the Apoetolio Church of 487 Amqrioa, World's Debt to 77E Amtrioa, What Christianity hue WrouKht for. 887 Anglican Chnrch and Church of FiretAttes, Relation Between 787 B Bible; What it has Taufjht .. 1S9 Brahnio-Somaj, The Principles of 428 Bnihino4ioma3, The Hpiritual Ideas of 435 Buddha 419 Buddha, Law of Cause and Kfiect Taught by . 388 Buddha, The World's Debt to 377 Buddhism 409 Buddhism and Christianity 413 Buddhism, As it Exists in Situn 404 Buddhism, Man's Relation to God 395 Buddhism, What it has Done in Japan 401 € Catholic Church, Needs of Humanity Sup- plied by 810 Catholic Church, Relation to Poor ... 58tl Children, The Religious Training of 851 China, America's Duty to 507 Church, The Civic 763 Christendom, The Reunion of 613 Christianity and the Social Ouestion 901 Christianity, A Reli^on of Facts 129 Cliristianity as a Social Force 863 Christianity as Interpret<>d by Literature 664 Christianity to Other Religions, The Message of 605 Christ the Unifier of Mankind 241 Confucianism, Prize Essay 471 Confucianism 480 Confucianism, Genesis and Development of. 489 Criminal and Erring Classes, Religion and.. 911 Crime and the Remedy 738 B Ethical Ideas, The Essential Oneness of, Amon^allMen S3b Evangelism in America 752 Evolation, Christianity and 779 F Faiths, Harmonies and Distinctions in the Theistio Twtchingsof the Various Historic. 319 « Germans Religious State of 743 God, Argument for 64 God, BninRof 47 God, Moral Evidence of Existence 75 9 PAGE. ' ;od. Rational Demonstration of the Being of 51 Ireek Church, Orthodox 547 Gi'eek Philosophy and the Christian Religion 217 H Hinduism 847 Hinduiam as aReligion 866 Hinduism, Concessions to Native Religions, Ideas^aving Special Reference to 841 Htbdu Thought, The Contact of Christian and 868 Human Progress, Spiritual Forces in 790 I Immortality, Argumentfor 84 InternationaJ Arbitration 757 Incarnation Idea in History and in Jesus Christ 197 International Justice and Amity 718 Incarnation of GodinClirist 206 Indians, North American, Religion of 541 J Japan, Christianity, its Present ('ondition and Prospects 281 JaiuH, The Ethics and History of 445 Jews, Errors About 187 Judaism, The Outloolc for 172 Judaism, The Relation of Historic and its Future 162 Judaism, Theology of 154 K Koran, Extracts from 588 Labor, Church and.. 86g 91 Man From aChristian Point of View 917 Man's Place in Nature "" 698 Marriage Bond, The Catholic Chnrch and 840 Mohammedanism and Christianity, Points of Contact 491 Music, Emotion and Morals ' '.. 698 IV Negro, Christianity, and..... 747 Negro Race, The Catholic Church and 898 Negro, Religious Duty to 898 P Parliament, Opening of 15 Pekin, Religion of 617 Parliament, e!nd of 939 10 INDEX TO PAIERS. PAGE. BeoonoUiation, VitAl, Not Vicariou* 248 Itofonn. Social. The Work of, in India 82S Relision, CertaintiM of tlM Reliifion and Condact, Relation Between tnu Religion, Elemente of Uni venal S2» ReliKion and the Lovp of Mankind B9n Religion, Essentials of 8H3 Religion Essentially Charact«riBtio of Hn. manity 040 Religion and Wenltli HM Religion of the World 892 Religion, The Ultimate «88 Religion, Science of. Aid to, From Philosophy 707 Religion, Hapreme End andOiticeof HO!i Religions, Comparative Stody - ' the World's 301 Religions, Importance of the btudy of Oom> parative 289 Religions, Inflaence of Ancient Egyptian, on Other Religions 148 Religions, Swedenborg and the Harmony of. 818 Religions, The Present Oatlook of (r29 Religions, The Sympathy of 264 Religions, What the Dead, Have Bequeathed to the Living 269 Religio ScientitB 728 Religions as Distingnished From Moral Life. 729 Religions Feeling, The Social Office of 821 Religions Intent, The.. 081 Religions Mission of ' English Speaking Nations 798 Relit, .ons Unification, Only Possibln Method of.. 268 Religions Unify, Practical Service of the Sci- ence of Religions to the Canee of 817 Rest Day. The Divine El«ment In Weekly 061 Hevelatfon, Need of a Wider Conception of . . 257 M Sacred Books of the World as Literatare.... 872 Savionr of the World, Christ 230 Scriptures, Catholic Church and 100 Scriptures, Character and Degree of the InspU rationof US Scriptures, Influence of the Hebrew 120 SoriptorM, Truthfnlneas of M Soriptn -es. What they have Taught 189 ShintoLm 441 Social Condition, The Influence of 820 Social Uneation, The Voice of the Mother of Religfonson 181 Somerset, Lady Henry, Letter From 860 Soul and its Fntnre Life M Sympathy and Fraternity, Groundsof 600 T Theology, Study of Comparative 280 Toleration, Plea for 880 W Woman and the Pulpit 551 Women, Influence of Religion on 568 Women of India 677 Women and Men, Cooperation of 558 Woman. A New Testament 580 Women, What Judaism haa done for 887 as Zoroaster, Belief and Ceremonieaof 458 Denominational and Other Congresses. PAGE. JewibJi 955 Jewish Women's 969 Catholic 984 Lutheran 1025 Lutheran Women's 1032 Presbyterian 1085 Congregational : 1045 Uethodist Episcopal 1068 Reformed Episcopal 1077 Universalist 1078 Unitarian 1098 African Methodist Episcopal 1102 Friends (Hicksite) 1121 Friends (Orthodox) 1126 Cumberland Presbyterian , IISO Adventists 1184 Seventh-Day Baptists 1140 Evangelical Association 1145 Wales and International Eisteddfod 1161 Disciples of Christ UBS Missiona 1160 Christian Science 1174 New Jerusalem Church 1181 Reli^ous Unity 1185 Evangelical Alliance 1180 Young Women's Christian Association 1187 Evolutionists 1180 United Brethren in Christ 1191 King's Daughters 1199 German Evangelical Church 1193 Theosophists 1198 Buddhist.^ 1108 Free Religionists 1104 Yonng Men's Christian Association UUft Ethical Culture 1196 Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant 1190 Reformed Church in the United States 1190 ?■ ^> ' INDEX TO AUTHORS. PAOK. Abbott, Rev. Lyman, D.D MO Alger, Wm.R... 253 Amett, HiHhopB.W., D. D 747 Ashitsu, ZitMuzen 419 Azarias, Brother 861 Baldwin, Rev. 8. J., D, D 71H Brown, Rev.Olynipia 78H Berkowitz. Rabbi H., U. U IHl BemBtorff, Count A 74S Blackwell, Rev. Antoinette Itriiwu. . . . SM Brand, Ilev. Jamee - - 752 Boardman, ReT. Dr. George Dana 241 Briggs, Charles A., D.D IW Bruce, Prof. A. B -- <»« Burrell. David James. D.I) H87 Byrne, Rev.Tho8.8.,D. D »17 Carpenter, J. Estlin 2.'>7 Ohatflchnmgan.OhanneB 4tl7 Chndha'.? Cambri.ige.*"*^ Prof. WUiiston Walked; Hartfo^^^^ {SI? §|I-&5'7A- Stimson. New York? ■ mk R^j^. A. Miier; d:-d:; ll: D.--B6iton. ^"^^ Rev.J.sVCMtwelhDVD.rcWoaio ?S? Mrs.M. R. M. Wallace cilcwS^ i^ Rev. Robert CpllPllew & Jggi 5P^JenkinUoydione8.Chica«6 iim LL^ Bishop Danief A. K^ne. Kd.". Rev. J. if.'Araistrong,'D.'b JJm H^nlL^^*!^?!'' Wllbirforce,o UU M^"" I'^ff*"^ ^£o«tlw, Washingtin.D. C" ' Uli nm ^V^L ^""'y' Nashville, Tenn "' "• ^ " " J{i? H. T. Johnson, PhiladelpLia. Pi uf, Jonathan W. PInmmer, L'bicago mm Anna M. Starr. Richmoml. IncT ::.;: ui Kev. H. 8. Williams, Chicago. . 1131 Rev. p. R. Mansfield, CW^o ngs ^J- ^.J.^ ^'yey* .HaverhUjfMiss:"": im ^venth-Day Baptists (Group).... "I" Jim Rev. David Swing, Cbicaso 1117 rIv- ^ ^F ^B°i^1j V' ^^«-io-'"""-":;:: "S n i VU.f.\ ™ack, Chicago iirh R^'-Tnhn'p**Sy"'J?«'Afi»'«'°'d- <'onn-"-"- 1 81 r!I' iVfcLfi.^f'^' ?,• D.. Chicago 1171 -- u> i Opening of the Parliament. HIS great religious gathering, never possible before in the history of the world, nor even now, perhaps, possible anywhere else than in the great "city by the unsalted sea," was in- augurated in the Art palace (see frontispiece), on Monday, September 1 1, 1893, and con- tinued eighteen days. All nations, tribes and tongues seemed assembled in the Hall of Co- lumbus. The orient and the Occident clasped hands. From "India's coral strand," from Japan and China, clad in robes of white, and red and orange, the oriental priests mingled with the sober-clad re^jresentati ves of the West, and the group on the platform gave to the four thousand spectators in the auditorium such a picture as was never before seen on earth. It would he im- possible, short of a library of volumes, to report the speeches made. A single volume can only give the best, and abstracts of others, and in these days when readers remember the brevity of life, and the multi- tude of books, in making which there is no end, they will be glad to know that the cream of the great religious parliament and congresses is in this volume. This work is not devoted to glorifying the names of those who suggested, or launched, or were conspicuous in this greatest of religious gatherings. It aims, in the shortest, most compact form, to present the gist of the World's Parliament and Congresses. Grouped on the platform were: Bishop D. A. Payne, Rajah Ram, of the Punjab; Carl von Bergen, President of the Swedish Society for Psychical Research, Stockholm, Sweden; Birchand Raghavji Gandhi, B. A., Honorary Secretary of the Jain Association, of India, Bombay; Rev. P. C. Mozoomdar, India; H. Dharmapala, India; Miss Jeanne Serabji, Bombay; Archbishop Ryan, Philadelphia; Rev. Alexander McKenzie, Massachusetts; Count A. Bernstorff, Berlin; Piince Serge Wolkonsky, Russia; Most Rev. Dionysios Latas, Archbishop of Zante, Greece; Homer Perati, Archdeacon of the Greek church; Pung Quang Yu, of China; Bishop B. W. Arnett; H. Toki, Japan; Rev. Takayoshi Matsuga- ma, Japan; Right Rev. Reuchi Shibata, Japan; Rev. Zitsuzen Ashitsu, Japan; Kinza Riuge Hirai, Japan; Swami Vivekananda, Bombay; 15 The Orient and Occident Clasp Hands, On the Plat- form. ^FW^e^ aMWa»nMiW»iiiimiui«W' 16 7"///; IVOKLDS CO.VGKESS OF KELIGIONS. Professor Chakravarti, Hombay; H. B. Najjarkar, Homiiay, representative of the reli^jion of tlie Jinihmo, Somaj; Jiiula Ram, India; Rev. P. G. Phi- anibolic Occonomus, a priest of the Greek chureh; Ikinriu Vatsubuchi, President of IIojii, lUiddhist society, Japan; Shaku Soyen, Archbishop of the Zen, of tiie liuddhist sects; Bishop Saniiki, Japan; Nojruchi and Nomura, Interpreters, Tokio, Japan; G. Honet-Maiuy, Paris; Prince Momulu Massaquoi, of Liberia; liishopjenner, Anf,dican I'lve church; Rev. Alfred Williams Momerie, 1). 1)., London, l<:n},dand; Rev. Mau- rice Phillips, of Madras; Professor N. Valentine, William T. Harris. Dr. Krncst Taber, Rev. (Jeorj^e T. Canillin, Professor Kosaki, Bishop C"«>tter, of Winona; Dr. Adolph Brodbeck, Z. Zimigrowski, Principal (irant, of Canada. After the Universal Prayer had been recited, led by Cardinal Gib- bons, President C. C. Bouncy ^ave the Atldress of Welcome. WoKSUii'KKs OK God and T.ovkrs ok Man: Let us rejoice that we have lived to see this {glorious ilay ; let us give thanks to the Eternal God, whose mercy eudureth forever, that we are permitted to take part in the solemn and majestic event of a Workl's Congress of Religions. The importance of this event cannot be overestimated. Its influence on the future relations of the various races of men cannot '■)C too highly esteemed. PreHiilont ^^ this coiigress shall faithfully execute the duties with which it BtmneyV Ail- has been charged, it will become a joy of the whole earth, and stand conn..' ' in human history like a new Mount Zion, crowned with glory, and marking the actual beginning of a new epoch of brotherhood antl peace. For when the religious faiths of the world recognize each other as brothers, children of one leather, whom all profess to love and serve, then, and not till then, will the nations of the earth yield the spirit of concord, and learn war no more. It is inspiring to think that in every part of the world many of the worthiest of mankind, who would gladly join us here if that were in their power, this day lift their hearts to the Supreme Being in ear- nest prayer for the harmony and success of this congress. To them our own hearts speak in love and sympathy of this impressive and prophetic scene. In this congress the word "religion" means the love and worship of God and the love and service of man. We believe the Scripture that " of a truth God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of Him." We come together in mutual confidence and respect, without the least surrender or compromise of anything which we respectively believe to be truth or iuty, with the hope that mutual acquaintance and a free and sincere interchange of views on the great questions of eternal life and human conduct will be mutually beneficial. As the finite can never fully comprehend the infinite, nor perfectly express its own view of the divine, it necessarily follows that indi- vidual opinions of the divine nature and attributes will differ. But, I I I I THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. X7 irc ce al ly li- lt, Tlio UoliKious Fttitim of tliu World. properly understood, tli« sc varieties of view are not eauses of discord and strife, but rather incentives to deeper interest and examination. Necessarily God reveals Himself tlifferently to a child than to a man; to a philosopher than to one who cannot read. I'.ach must see God with the eyes of his own soul. I'^ach one must Iji;hold 11 im throuj^h the colorecl ^lass of his own nature. ICach one must receive I Mm according to his own capacity of reception. The fraternal union of the relij^ions of the world will come when each seeks truly to kncnv how God has revealed Himself in the other, and remembirs the inex- orable law that with what judgment it juilf^es, it shall itself be judged. The relijjious faiths of the workl have most seriously misunder- stood and misjudged each other from the use of words in meanin^^s radically different from those which they were intended to bear, and from a disregard of the distinctions between appearances and facts; between signs and .symbols anil the things signified ami represented. .Such errors it is hoped that this congress will do much to correct and to render hereafter impossible. He, who believes that (iod has revealed Himself more fully in his religion than in any other, cannot do otherwise than desire to bring that religion to the knowledge of all men, with an abiding conviction that the God who gave it will preserve, protect, and advance it in every expedient way. And hence he will welcome every just oppor- tunity to come into fraternal relations with men ui other creeds, that they may see in his upright life the evidence of the truth and beauty of his faith, and be thereby led to learn it, and be helped heavenward by it. When it pleased God to give me the idea of the World's Con- gress of 1893, there came with th... idea a profound convicti(jn that the crowning glory should be a fraternal conference of the world's religions. Accordingly, the original announcement of the World's Congress scheme, which was sent by the (iovernment of the United States to all other nations, contained among other great themes to be considered, "The grounds for fraternal union in the religions of differ- ent people." At first the proposal of a World's Congress of Religions seemed impracticable. It was said that the religions had never met but in con- flict, and that a different result could not be expected now. A com- mittee of organization was, nevertheless, appointed to make the nec- essary arrangements. This committee was composed of representa- OrgtinizationT tives of si.xteen religious bodies. Rev. Dr. John Henry Harrows was made chairman. How zealously and efficiently he has performed the great work committed to his hands this congress is a sufficient witness. The preliminary address of the committee, prepared by him and sent throughout the world, elicited the most gratifying responses, and proved thav. the proposed congress was not only practicable, but also that it was most earnestly demanded by the needs of the present age. The religious leaders of many lands, hungering and thirsting for a larger righteousness, gave the proposal their benedictions, and prom- ised the congress their active co-operation and support. C^oramitteuof 18 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. KreHB. I ¥ si- To most of the departments of the World's Congress' work a single week of the exposition season was assigned. To a few of the most important a longer time, not exceeding two weeks, was given. In the beginning it was supposed that one or two weeks would suffice for the department of religion, but so great has been the interest, and so manj' have been the applications in this department, that the plans for it ha\e repeatedly been rearranged, and it now extends from Sep- tember 4th to October 15th, and several of the religious congresses have, nevertheless, found it necessary to meet outside of these limits. The programme for the religious congresses of 1893 constitutes what may with perfect propriety be designated as one of the most remarkable publications of the century. The programme of this of^'?h™"™n- Ji[cncral parliament of religions directly represents England, Scotland, Sweden, .Switzerland, France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, .Syria, India, Japan, China, Ceylon, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the American .States, and, indirectly, includes many other countries. This remarkable programn e presents, among other great themes to be considered in this congress. Theism, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Hin- duism, Huddhism. Taoism, Confucianism, .Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Catholicism, the (ircek ciiurcli, I'rotestantism in many forms, and also refers to the nature and intluence of other religious sj-stenis. This programme also announces for presentation the great sub- jects of revelation, immortality, the Incarnation of God, the universal elements in religion, the ethical unity of different religious systems, the relations of religion to morals, marriage, education, science, phi- losophy,evolution, music, labor, government, peace and war, and many other hemes of absorbing interest. Tiie distinguished leaders of human progress, by whom these great topics will be presented, con- stitute an unparalleK'd galaxNof eminent names, but we may not pause to call the illustrious roll. ]''or the execution of this part of the general progrannne seven- teen days have been assigned. During substivUtially the same, period the second part of the programme will be executed in the adjoining Hall of Washington. This will consist of what arc termed presentations of their distinctive faith and achievements by tne different churches. These presentations will be made to the world, as re|)resented in the World's Religious Congresses of 1893. All persons interested are cordially invited to attend. The third part of the general programme for the congresses of this department consists of separate and independent congresses of the different religious deii.)niinations f.)r the purpose of more fully setting forth their d.v.m of religion stands by itself in its own perfect integrity, uncompromised, in any degree, by its relation to any other. In the language of the preliminary publication in the department of religion, we seek in this congress "to unite all religion against all irreligion; to make the golden rule the basis of this union; and to present to the world the substantial unity of many religions in the good deeds of the religious life." Without controversy, or any attempt to pronounce judgment upon any matter of faith, or worship, or religious opinion, we seek a better knowledge of the religious condition of all mankind, with an earnest desire to be useful to each other and to all others who love truth and righteousness. This day the sun of a new era of religious peace and progress rises over the world, dispelling the dark clouds of sectarian strife. This day a new flower blooms in the gardens of religious thought, filling the air with its exquisite perfume. This day a new fraternity is born into the world of human progress, to aid in the upbuilding of the kingdom of God in the hearts of men. Era and flower and fraternity bear one name. It is a name which will gladden the hearts of those who worship God and love man in every clime. Those who hear its music joyfully echo it back to sun and flower. It is the brotherhood of religions. In this name I welcome the first Parliament of the Religions of the World. Welcome to the Imperial Feast. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, Adilrexs by T)r. HBrrowH, He was followed by the Rev. John Henry Barrows, D. D., chair- man of the general committee: Mr. Presidknt and Friends: If my heart did not overflow with cordial welcome at this hour, which promises to be a great moment in history, it would be because I had lost the spirit of manhood and had been forsaken by the spirit of God. The whitest snow on the sacred mount of Japan, the clearest water sprinj|;ing from the sacred fountains of India are not more pure and bright than the joy of my heart, and of many hearts here, that this day has dawned in the annals of time, and that, from the furthest isles of Asia; from India, the mother of religions; from Europe, the great teacher of civilization; from the shores on which breaks the "long wash of Australasian seas;" that from neighboring lands, and from all parts of this republic which wc love to contemplate as the land of earth's brightest future, you have come here at our invi- tation in the expectation that the world's first parliament of religions must prove an event of race-wide and perpetual significance. ♦ * * Welcome, most welcome, O wise men of the East and of the West! May the star which led you hither be like unto that luminary which guided the men of old, and may this meeting by the inland sea of a new continent be blessed of heaven to the redemption of men from error and from sin and despair. I wish you to understand that this great undertaking, which has aimed to house under one friendly roof in brotherly counsel the representativesofGotl's aspiring and believing children everywhere, has been conceived and carried on through strenuous and patient toil, with an unfaltering heart, with a devout faith in God and with most signal and special evidence of His divine guidance and favor. * ♦ * What, it seems to me, should have blunted some of the arrows of criticism shot at the promoters of this movement is this other fact, that it is the representatives of that Christian faith which we believe has in it Such elements and divine forces that it is fitted to the needs of all men, who have planned and provided this first school of com- parative religions, wherein devout men of all faiths may speak for themselves without^ hindrance, without criticism, and without com- promise, and tell what they believe and why they believe it. I appeal to the representatives of the non-Christian faiths, and ask you if Christianity suffers in your eyes from having called this parliament of religions? Do you believe that its beneficent work in the world will be one whit lessened? On the contrary, you agree with the great mass of Christian schol- ars in America in believing that Christendom may proudly hold up this congress of the faiths as a torch of truth and of love which may prove the morning star of the twentieth century. There is a true and noble sense in which America is a Christian nation, since Christianity is recognized by the supreme court, by the courts of the several states, by executive officers, by general national acceptance and observance, as the prevailing religion of our people. This does not mean, of course, that the church and state are united. In America they are m 's •^■M THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. %i cotn- ppeal ■^ou if ent of will schol- Id up may and ianity itates, ance, n, of ly are separated, and in this land the widest spiritual and intellectual freedom is realized. Justice Ameer Ali, of Calcutta, whose absence we lament today, has expressed the opinion that only in this western republic ' would such a congress as this have been undertaken and achieved. I do not forget — 1 am glad to remember— that devout Jews, lovers of humanity.have co-operated with us in this parliament; that these men and women representing the most wonderful of all races and the most persistent of all religion.s — who have come with good cause to appreci- ate the spiritual freedom of the United States of America — that these friends, some of whom are willing to call themselves Old Testament Christians, as I am willing to call myself a New Testament Jew, have i zealously and powerfully co-operated in this good work. But the world calls us, and we call ourselves, a Christian people. We believe in the Gospels and in Him whom they set forth as "the Light of the World," and Christian America, which owes so much to Columbus and Luther, to the pilgrim fathers and to John Wesley, which owes so much to the Christian church and the Christian college and the Christian school, welcomes today the earnest disciples of other faiths and the men of all faiths who, from many lands, have flocked to this jubilee of civilization. Cherishing the light which (iod has given us and eager to send \ Divine this light everywhither, we do not believe that God. the Eternal .Spirit, ^'«''*' has left Himself without witness in non-Christian nations. There is a divine light enlightening every man. "One accent of tlie Holy (Ihnst The hee(lless world has never lost." I'rof. Ma.\ iSIiiller. of O.xford, who has been a friend of our move- ment and has .sent a contribution to this parliament, has gathered together in his last volimie a collection of prayers -I^gyptian. .\ccadian, Babylonian, Vedic, Avestic, Chinese, Mohammctlan and modern Hindu — which make it perfectly clear that the sun which shone over Bethlehem and Calvary has cast some celestial illumination and called forth .some devout and holy aspirations by the Nile and the Ganges, in the deserts of Arabia and by the waves of the Vellow sea. It is perfectly evident to all illuminated minds that we should cherish loving thoughts of all people and humane views of all the great and lasting religions, and that whoever would advance the cause of his own faith must first discover and gratefully acknowledge the truths contained in other faiths. * * * Why should not Christians be glad to learn what God has wrought through Buddha and Zoroaster — through the sage of China and the prophets of India and the prophet of Islam! We are met together today as men, children of one God, sharers with all men in weakness and guilt and deed, sharers with devout souls everywhere in aspiration and hope and longing We are met as relig- ious men, believing even here in this "capital of material wonders— in the presence of an exposition which displays the unparalleled marvels of steam and electricity— that there is a spiritual root to all human 22 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. he i! Theology. )rogrcss. VVc arc met in a school of comparative theology, which I lope will prove more spiritual and ethical than theological; we are /;oraparaUve met, I bclievc, in the temper of love, determined to bury, at least for the time, our sharp hostilities, anxious to find out wherein we agree, eager to learn what constitutes the strength of other faiths and the weakness of our own; and we are met- as conscientious and truth-seeking men in a council where no one is asked to surrender or abate his indi- vidual convictions, and where, I will add, no one would be worthy of a place if he did. We are met in a great conference, men and women of different minds; where the speaker will not be ambitious for short-lived, verbal victories over others, where gentleness, courtesy, wisdom and moder- ation will prevail far more than heated argumentation. I am confi- dent that you appreciate the peculiar limitations which constitute the Eeculiar glory of this assembly. We are not here as Baptists ;.nd uddhists. Catholics and Confucians, Parseesand Presbyterians, Meth- odists and Moslems; we are here as members of a parliament of re- ligions over which flies no sectarian flag, which is to be stampeded by no sectarian war cries, but where for the first time in a large council is lifted up the banner of love, fellowship, brotherhood. We feel that there is a spirit which should always pervade these meetings, and if any one should offend against this spirit let him not be rebuked pub- licly, or personally; your silence will be a graver and severer rebuke. * ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ It is a great and wonderful programme that is to be spread befo.e you; it is not all that I could wish or had planned for, but it is too large for any one mind to receive it in its fullness during the seven- _ _ teen days of our sessions. Careful and scholarly essays have been Scholarly Es- prepared and sent in by great men of the old world and the new, which are worthy of the most serious and grateful attention, and I am confi- dent that each one of us may gain enough to make this parliament an epoch of his life. You will be glad with me that, since this is a world of sin and sorrow, as well as speculation, our attention is for several days to be given to those greatest practical themes which press upon good men everywhere. How can we make this suffering and needy world less a home of grief and strife and far more a commonwealth of love, a kingdom of heaven? How can we abridge the chasms of alien- ation which have kept good men from co-operating? How can wo bring into closer fellowship t'lose who believe in Christ as the .Saviour of the world? And how can we bring about a better understanding among the men of all faiths? I believe that great light will be thrown upon these problems in the coming days. * ♦ Welcome, one and all, thrice welcome to the World's first Parlia- ment of Religions! Welcome to the men and women of Israel, the standing miracle of nations and religions! Welcome to the disciples of Prince Siddartha, the many millions who cherish in their hearts Lord Buddha as the light of Asia! Welcome to the high priest of the national religion of Japan! This city has every reason to be grate- Carefnl and aaye. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 28 arlia- thc iples earts f the rate- HpiritH of fill to the enlightened ruler of the sunrise kingdom. Welcome to the men of India and all faiths! Welcome to all the disciples of Christ, and may God's blessing abiile in our council and extend to the twelve hundred millions of human beings, the representatives of whose faiths I address at this monient! It seems to me that the spirits of just and good men hover over this assembly. 1 believe that the spirit of Paul is here, the zealous missionary of Christ, whose courtes)-, wisdom and unbounded tact were manifest when he preached Jesus and the resurrection beneath the .shadows of the I'artiienon, I belie\e the spirit of the wise ami humane l^uddha is here, and of .Socrates, tlie siarciicr after truth, and of Jeremy .iiiHt'iind Good Taylor and John Milton and Kogrr Williams and Lessing, the great *'*'" lapostles of toleratitju. I believe tli.i; the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, who sought for a church founded on love for (iod and man, is not far from us, and the spirit of Tennyson anil Whittier and Phillips Brooks, who h)oked forward to this parliament as the realization of a noble idea. When, a few days ago I met for the first time the delegates who have come to us froui Japan, ami shortly after the delegates who have come to us from India, 1 felt that the arms of human brotherhood had reached almost around the globe. Jiut there is something stronger than human love and fellowship, and what gives us the most hope and happiness today is our conlidence that 'The whiile roinul world is every w.iy Bound l)y j^old cliiii:is about the feet of God." He was followctl by Archbishop l'"eehan, of Chicago: On this most interesting occasion, ladies and gentlemen, a privilege has been granted to me--that of giving greeting in the name of the Catholic church to the members of this parliament of religion. Surely we all regard it as a time and a day of the highest interest, for we have here the commencement of an assembly unique in the history t)f the world. One of the representatives from the ancient Kast has mentioned that his king in early days held a meeting sonielhinglike this, but certainly the modern and historical world has had no such thing come from distant lands, from many shores. They represent many Feehan types of race. They represent many forms of faith; sonic from the distant East, representing its remote antiquity; some from the islands and continents of the West. In all there is a great diversity of opinion, but in all there is a great, high motive. Of all the things that our city has seen and heard during these passing months, the highest and the greatest is now to be presented to it. For earnest men, learned and elocpient men of different faiths, have cotne to speak and to tell us of those things that of all are of the highest and deepest interest to us all. We are interested in material things; we are interested in beautiful things. We admire the won- ders of that new city that has sprung up at the southern end of our great city of Chicago; but when learned men, men representing the thought of the world on religion, come to tell us of God and of His truth, and IMCn nave Archbishop 24 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. It i! B««ponae by Cardinal Qib. boni. of life and of death, and of immortality and of justice, and of good- ness and of charity, then we listen to what will surpass, infinitely, whatever the most learned or most able men can tell us of material things. Those men that have come together will tell of their .systems of faith, without, as has been well said by Dr. Harrows, one atom of sur- render of what each one believes to be the truth for him. No doubt it will be of exceeding interest; but whatever may be said in the end, when all is spoken, there will be at least one great result; because no matter how we may iliffer in faith or religion, there is one thing that is common to us all, and that is a common humanity. And those men representing the nices and the faiths of the world, meeting together and talking together and seeing one another, will have for each other in the end a sincere respect and reverence and a cordial and fraternal feeling of friendship. As the jirivilegc which I prize very much has been given to me, I bid them all, in my own name, and of that I rep- resent, a most cordial welcome. Response by Cardinal Gibbons: Your honored president has in- formed you, ladies and gentlemen, that if I were to consult the inter- ests of my health I should perhaps be in bed this morning, but as I was announced to say a word in response to the kind speeches that have been offered up to us, I could not fail to present myself at least, and to show my interest in your great undertaking. I would be wanting in my duty as a ministerof the Catholic church if I did not say that it is our desire to present the claims of the Catholic church to the observation and, if possible, to the acceptance of every right-minded man that will listen to us. But we appeal only to the tribunal of conscience and of intellect. I feel that in possessing my faith I possess a treasure compared with which all treasures of this world are but dross, and, instead of hiding those treasures in my own coverts, I would like to share them with others, especially as I am none the poorer in making others the richer. Hut though we do not agree in matters of faith, as the Most Reverend Archbishop of Chicago has said, thanks be to God there is one platform on which we all stand united. It is the platform of charity, of humanity, and of benevolence. And as ministers of Christ we thank him for our great model in this particular. Our blessed Redeemer came upon this earth to break down the wall of partition that separated race from race, and people from people, and tribe from tribe, and has made us one people, one family, recognizing God as our common Father, and Jesus Christ as our Brother. We have a beautiful lesson given to us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ — that beautiful parable of the good .Samaritan which we all ought to follow. We know that the good Samaritan rendered assistance to a dying man and ban. aged his wounds. The Samaritan was his enemy in religion and in faith, his enemy in nationality, and his enemy in social life. That is the model that we all ought to follow. I trust that we will all leave this hall animated by a greater love for .. % L , JJ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF KEUGIONS. 86 one another, for love knows no distinction of faith. Christ the Lord is our model, 1 say. We cannot, like our Divine .Saviour, give sight t(» the blind, and hearing to the deaf, and walking to the lame and strengti) to the paralyzed limbs; we cannot work the miracles which Christ wrought; but there are other miracles far more beneficial to our- selves that we are all in the measure of our lives capable of working, and those are the miracles of char't'' of mercy, and of love to our felluwman. Let no man say that he cannot serve his brother. Let no man say, "Am I my brother's keeper?" That was the language of Cain, and 1 say to you all here today, no matter what may be your faith, that you arc and you ought to be your brother's keeper. What would be- come of us Christians today if Christ the Lord had said, "Am 1 my brother's keeper?" We would be all walking in darkness and in the shadow of death, and if today we enjoy in this great and beneficent land of ours blessings beyond comparison, we owe it to Christ, who redeemed us all. Therefore, let us thank God for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. Never do we perform an act so pleasing to God as when we extend the right hand of fellowship and of practical love to a suffering member. Never do wc approach nearer to our model than when we cause the sunlight of heaven to beam upon a darkened soul; never do we prove ourselves more worthy to be called the children of God, our Father, than when we cause the flowers of joy and of gladness to grow up in the hearts that were dark and dreary and barren and desolate before. For, as the apostle has well said, "Religion pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the orphan and the fatherless and the widow in their tribulations, and to keep one's self unspotted from this world." The Rev. Augusta J. Chapin, U. D., chairman of the women's committees, then said: I am strangely moved as I stand upon this platform and attempt to realize what it means that you all are here from so many lands rep- resenting so many and widely differing phases of religious thought and life, and what it means that I am here in the midst of this unique assemblage to represent womanhood and woman's part in it all. The parliament which assembles in Chicago this morning is the grandest and most significant convocation ever gathered in the n:ime of religion on the face of this earth. The old world, which has rolled on through countless stages and phases of physical progress, until it is an ideal home for the human family, has, through a process of evolution or growth, reached an era of intellectual and spiritual attainment where there is malice toward none and charity for all; where, without prejudice, without fear and with perfect fidelity to personal convictions, we may clasp hands across the chasm of our indifferences and cheer each other in all that is good and true. The World's first Parliament of Religions could not have been Remirks by Rev. AaRQBta •T. ChapiD, \i. D. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. cilk'd sooner and have ^athcrccl the rcli<^ionists of all these lands to^fether. We had to wait li r the hour to strike, until the steamship, the railwa)' and the telej^raph had brou u n K Quung Yu. has sprung from ancient India by a law of evolution, a process of continuicy which explains some of the most difficult problems of our national life. In prehistoric times our forefathers worshiped the threat living Spirit, God, and after many strange vicissitudes we, Indian theists, led by the light of ages, worship the same living .Spirit, God, and none other. No individual, no denomination, can more fully sympathize or more heartily join your conference than we men of the Hrahmo-Somaj, whose religion is the harmony of all religions, and whose congregation is the brotherhood of all nations. An address from Hon. Pung Quang Vu, secretary of the Chinese legation, Washington, was read by Chairman Barrows: On behalf of the imperial government of China, I take great pleasure in responding to the cordial words which the chairman of the general committee and others have spoken today. This is a great moment in the history of nations and religions. For the first time men of various faiths meet in one great hall to report what they believe and the grounds for their belief. The great sage of China, who is honored not only by the millions of our own land, but throughout the world, believed that duty was summed up in reciprocity, and I think that the word reciprocity finds a new meaning and glory in the proceedings of this historic i)arliament. I am glad that the great empire of China has accepted the invitation of those who have called this parliament and is to be represented in this great school of comparative religion. Only the happiest results will come, I am sure, from our meeting together in the spirit of friendliness. Kach may learn from the other some lessons, I trust, of charity and good will, and discover what is excellent in other faiths 'han his own. In behalf of my government and peojile I extend to the re])resentatives gathered in this great hall the friendliest salutations, and to those who have spoken I give my most cordial thanks. Prince Serge Wolkonsky, of Russia, described the feeling of fraternity everywhere present in the religious congresses, which he ^ Rnssian illustrated by a Russian legend. The story, he said, may appear rather LegBnd. too humorous for the occasion, but one of our nntional writers says: " Humor is an invisible tear through a visible smile," and we think that human tears, human sorrow and pain are sacred enough to be brought even before a religious congress. There was an old woman, who for many centuries suffered tortures in the flames of hell, for she had been a great sinner during her earthly life. One day she saw far away in the distance an angel taking his flight through the blue skies, and with the whole strength of her voice she called to him The call must have been desperate, for the angel stopped in his flight and coming down to her asked her what she wanted. "When you reach the throne of God," she said, "tell Him that a miserable creature has suffered more than she can bear, and that she asks the Lord to be delivered from these tortures." The angel promised to do so and flew away. When he had transmitted the message, God said: ■semimc'.;^ ^ 32 r//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. " Ask her whether she has done any good to anyone during her life." The old woman strained her memory in search of a good action during her sinful past, and all at once: " I've got one," she joyfully exclaimed: " One day I gave a carrot to a hungry beggar." The angel reported the answer. " Take a carrot," said God to the angel, " and stretch it out to he.'. Let her grasp it, and if the plant is strong enough to draw her out from hell she shall be saved." This the angel did. The poor old woman clung to the carrot. The angel began to pull, and lo! she began to rise! But when her body was half out of the flames she felt another weight at her feet. Another sinner was clinging to her. She kicked, but it did not help. The sinner would not let go his hold, and the angel, continuing to pull, was lifting them both. But, oh! another sinner clung to them, and then a third, and more and always more— a chain of miserable creatures hung at the old woman's feet. The angel never ceased pulling. It did not S' seem to be any heavier than the small carrot could support, and they all were lifted in the air. But the old wo.nan suddenly took fright. Too many people were availing themselves of her last chance of salva- tion, and, kicking and pushing those who were clinging to her, she exclaimed: " Leave me alone; hands off; the carrot is mine." No sooner had she pronounced this word "mine" than the tiny stem broke, and they all fell back to hell, and forever. In its poetical artlessnessand popular simplicity this legend is too eloquent to need interpretation. If any individual, yj:v\y community, any congregation, any church, possesses a portion of truth and of good, let that truth shine for everybody; let that good become the property of everyone. The substitution of the word "mine" by the word "ours," and that of "ours" by the word "everyone's" — this is what will secure a fruitful result to our collective efforts as well as to our individual activities. This is why we welcome and greet the opening of this congress, where, in a combined effort of the representatives of all churches, all that is great and good and true in each of them is brought together in the name of the same God and for the sake of the same men. We congratulate the president, the members and all the listeners of this congress upon the tendency of union that has gathered them on the soil of the country whose allegorical eagle, spreading her mighty wings over the stars and stripes, holds in her talons these splendid words: "E Pluribus Unum." The Rev. Reuchi Shibata voiced the feelings of those of the Th^^'of" the Shinto faith, Japan, and expressed the hope that the parliament might Shinto Faith, "increase the fraternal relations between the different religionists in investigating the truths of the universe, and be instrumental in uniting all the religions of the world, and in bringing all hostile nations into peaceful relations by leading them into the way of perfect justice." Here three Buddhist priests from Japan were introduced: Zitsuzen Rev. Dr. John Henry Barrows, Chicago. ^Va- m J^PIP^H^Mptfra*' 'f ^ ■■ ■"," THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ds Ashitsu, Shaku Soyen and Horiu Toki. Through their spokesman, Z. Noguchi, they expressed their appreciation of the cordial welcome they received. Count Bernstorff, of Germany, expressed his delight at being present on an occasion when religion for the first time was officially connected with a world's exposition. The basis of this congress is common humanity. Though the term humanity has often been used to designate the purely human apart from all claims of divinity, I hesitate not, as an evangelical Christian, to accept this thesis. It is the Bible which teaches us that the human race is all descended from one couple, and that they are, therefore, one fan'.ily. Let us not forget this; but the Bible also teaches that man is created after the image of God. Therefore, man as such, quite apart from the circumstances which made him be born among some historic religion, is meant to come into connection with God. This parliament teaches us that other great lesson. Not that — some one might say, and I have heard the objections expressed before —this idea of humanity will tend to make religion indifferent to us. I will openly confess that I also for a time felt the strength of this ob- jection, but I trust that nobody is here who thinks light of his own religion. I, for myself, declare that I am here as an individual evangelical Christian, and that I should never have set my foot in this parliament if I thought that it signified anything like a consent that all religions are equal and that it is only necessary to be sincere and upright. I can consent to nothing of this kind. I believe only the Bible to be true and Protestant Christianity the only true religion. I wish no compromise of any kind. vVe cannot deny that we who meet in this parliament are sepa- rated by great and important principles. We admit that these differ- ences cannot be bridged over, but we meet, believing everybody has the right to his faith. You invite everybody to come here as a sincere defender of his own faith, * * ♦ But what do we then meet for if we cannot show tolerance. Well,\ the word tolerance is used in a very different way. If the words of the great King Frederick, of Prussia, "In my country everybody can go to heaven after his own fashion," are used as a maxim of states- manship, we cannot approve of it too highly. What bloodshed, what cruelty would have been spared in the history of the world if it had been adopted. But if it is the expression of the religious indiffer- ence prevalent during this last century and at the court of the monarch who was the friend of Voltaire then we must not accept it. St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians, rejects every other doc- trine, even if it were taught by an angel from heaven. We Christians are servants of our master, the living Saviour. We have no right to compromise the truth He intrusted to us, either to think lightly of it, or withhold the message He has given us for humanity. But we meet Address b] - Coant Bern- storff, of Oer- manjr. .r'V «A O- 86 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. i I :ti '!i 1 ! ■t ■ \ I 1 Prof. Bonet- Maary Speaks for France. ^ V . ^ AddresB by Archbishop Redwood. together, each one wLshing to gain the others to his own creed. Will this not be a parliament of war instead of peace? Will it bring us further from, instead of nearer to, each other? I think not if we hold fast our truths that these great vital doctrines can only bu defended and propagated by spiritual means. An honest fight with spiritual weapons need not estrange the combatants; on the contrary, it often bring them nearer. Prof. G. Bonet-Maury spoke for France, and as " a Christian Frenchman and liberal Protestant," alluding to the purposes of the parliament, he said: There is also at Paris a similar institution in our religious branch of the " Ecole fratiqiie des hauter etude." You might have seen for six years in the old Sorbama's house, just now pulled down, Roman Catholics and Protestant ministers, Hebrew and Ikiddhist scholars commenting on the sacred bcoks of old India anil Egypt, Cirecce and Palestine, or telling the history of the various branches of the Christian church. Well now, gentlemen, you have resumed the same work as the Conqueror Akbar, and more recently the French republic. You have convoked here, in that tremendous city which is itself a wonder of human industry and, as it were, a modern pluenix springing again from its ashes, representative men of all great religions of the earth in order to discuss, on courteous and pacific terms, the eternal problem of divinity, which is the torment, but also the sign of sovereignty of man over all animal beings. I present you the hearty messages of all friends of religious liberty in P'rance and my best wishes for your success. May God, the Almighty P'ather, help you in your noble unrlertaking. May He give us all I lis spirit of love, of truth, of liberty, of mutual help, and unlimited progress, so that we may become pure as He is pure, good as Me is good, loving as He is love, perfect as He is perfect, and we shall find in these moral improvements the possession of real liberty, equality and fraternity. For, as said our genial poet, Victor Hugo: All men are sons of the same father, They are the same tear and pour from the same eycl Archbishop Redwood, of Australia, represented "the newest phase of civilization of the Anglo-Saxon race and the P^nglish speaking people." He closed an eloquent address by saying: Man is not only a mortal being, but a social being. Now the con- dition to make him happy and prosperous as a social being, to make him progress and go forth to conquer the world, both mentally and physically, is that he should be free, and not only to be free as a man in temporal matters, but to be free in religious matters. Therefore, it is to be hoped that from this day will date the dawn of that period when, throughout the whole of the universe, in every nation the idea of oppressing any man for his religion will be swept away. I think I can say in the name of the young country I represent, in the name of New Zealand, and the church of Australasia, that has made such a marvelous progress in our day, that we hope God will speed that day. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 87 Less than a century ago there were only two Catholic priests in the whole of Australasia. Now we have a hierarchy of one cardinal, six archbishops, eighteen bishops, a glorious army of priests, with brother- hoods and sisterhoods, teaching schools in the most practical manner. The last council of the church held in Sidney sent her greeting to the church in America, and the church in America was seized by surprise a'nd admiration at the growth of Christianity in that distant land. It is in the name of that church I accept with the greatest feeling of thank- fulness the greeting made to my humble self representing that new country of New Zealand and that thriving and advancing country of Australasia. H, Dharmapala, of Ceylon, representing Huddhism, followed, bring- ing the good wishes of four hundred and seventy-five millions of Ikid- dhists, the blessings and peace of the religious founder of that system which has prevailed so many centuries in Asia, which has made Asia mild, and which is today, in its twenty-fourth century of existence, the ,,„oj wishee prevailing religion of the country. I have sacrificed the greatest of all j'j!j"L*''*' ^"**" work to attend this parliament. I have left the work of consolidation — an important work which we have begun after seven hundred years — the work of consolidating the different Buddhist countries, which is the most important work in the history of modern Huddhism. When I read the programme of this parliament of religions I saw it was simply the re-echo of a great consummation which the Indian Buddhists accomplished twenty-four centuries ago. At that time Asoka, the great emperor, held a council in the city of I'atma of one thousanil scholars, which was in session for seven months. The proceedings were epitomized and carved on rock and scattered all over the Indian peninsula and the then known globe. After the consummation of that programme the great emperor sent the gentle teachers, the mild disciples of Buddha, in the garb that you see on this platform, to instruct the world. In that plain garb they went across the deep rivers, the Himalayas, to the plains of Mongolia and the Chinese plains, and to the far-off beautiful isles, the empire of the ri.;ing sun; and the influence of that congress held twenty-one centur- ies ago is today a living power, because you everywhere see mildness in Asia. Go to any Buddhist country and where do you find such healthy compassion and tolerance as you find there? Go to Japan, and what do you see? The noblest lessons of tolerance and gentleness. Go to any of the Buddhist countries and you will see the carrying out of the programme adopted at the congress called by the Emperor Asoka. Why do I. come here today? Because I find in this new city, in this land of freedom, the very place where that programme can also be carried out. For one year I meditated whether this parliament would be a success. Then I wrote to Dr.. Barrows that this would be the proudest occasion of modern history, and the crowning work of nine- teen centuries. Yes, friends, if you are serious, if you are unselfish, if you arc altruistic, this programme can be carried out, and the twenty- THE WORLiyS CONGRESS OF REUG/ONS. k; ! I H ! IN other Vi>ip«'H of KnuonruKe- inunt. fifth century will sec the teachings of the meek and lowly Jesus accom* pHshecl. Dr. Carl von Bergen, of Stockholm, s[)()kc for Sweden, and de- scribed the mental and spiritual afifinit>' between the leaders of relig- ious thought in Sweden and the United States. The best in Sweden and America, he said, were nio\ed by the same impulses. Virchand A. Ciandhi, of liomba)-, re])resented Jainism, a faith, he said, oilier than liuddhism, similar to it in its ethics, but different froiii it in its p.sychology, and professed by one million five hundred thousand of India's most ])eaceful and law-abiding citizens. You have heard so man\' speeches from eloquent members, and as I shall speak later on at some length, I will, therefore, at jjresent, only offer, on behalf of my community and their high priest, Moni Atma Ranji, whom I especially represent here, our sincere thanks for ti'e kint' wel- come you ]ia\e given us. This spectacle of the learned Icatlers of thought and religion meeting together on a common platform, and throwing light on religious ])roblems, has been the dream of Atma Ranji's life. lie has commissioned me to say to you that he offers his most cordial congratulations on his own behalf, and on behalf of the Jain community, for your having achieved the consummation of that grand idea of convening a parliament of religions. Prof. Minas Tcheraz spoke for Armenia. A pious thought animated Christopher Columbus when he directed the prow of his shij) toward this land of his dreams: To convert tlie natives to the faith of the Roman Catholic church. A still more])ious thought animates you now, noble Americans, because you try to convert the whole of human- ity to the dogma of universal toleration and fraternity. Old Armenia blesses this grand undertaking of young America, and wishes her to succeed in laying on the extinguished volcanoes of religious hatred the founilation of the temple of peace and concord. At the beginning of our sittings, allow the liumble representatives of the Armenian ])eople to invoke the Divine benediction on our labors, in the very language of his fellow country: Zkorzs tserats nierots ooghecgh ora i mc/-, Der, yev zkorzs tserats mcrots achoghia mez. Prof. C, N. Chakravarti represented Indian theosophy. He said: I came here to rrprcsent a religion, the dawn of which appeared in a misty antiquity which the powerful microscope of modern research has not yet been able to discover; the depth of whose beginnings the plummet of history has not been able to sound. From time immemorial spirit has been represented by white, and matter has been represented by black, and the two sister streams which join at the town from which I came, Allahabad, represent two sources of spirit and matter, according to the philosophy of my people. And when I think that here, in this city of Chicago, this vortex of physicality, this center of material civilization, you hold a parliament of religions; when I think that, in the heart of the world's fair, where abound all the excellencies of the physical world, you have provided also a hall for the feast of reason and the flow of soul, I am once more reminded of my native land, A ''.'' «,', THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUGIONS. 89 "Why?" Because here, even here, I find the same two sister streams of spirit and matter, of the intellect and physicality, joininjj hand in hand, representing the symbolical evolution of the universe. I need hardly tell you that, in huldini^ this parliament of religions, where all the religions of the world are to he represented, you have acted worthily of the race that is in the vanguard of civilization — a civilization the chief characteristic of which, to my mind, is widening toleration, breadth of heart, and liberality toward all the different re- ligions of the world. In allowing men of different shades of religious opinion, and holding different views as to philosophical and metajjhys- ical problems, to speak from the same platform aye, even allowing me, who, I confess, am a heathen, as you call me - to speak from the same platform with them, you have acted in a manner worthy of the motherland of the society which 1 have come to reiiresent today. The fundamental principle of that society is universal tolerance; its car- dinal belief that, underneath the superficial strata, runs the living water of truth. Swanii Vivekananda, of Bombay, India, a monk, responded: It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religion, and I thank you in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects. My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who have told you th.it these men from tar-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to the ilifferent lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both toler- ance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal tol- eration, but we accept all religions to be true. I am proud to tell you that I belong to a religion into whose sacred language, the .Sanskrit, the word seclusion is untranslatable. I am proud to belong to a na- tion which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all relig- ions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, a remnant which came to southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in wliich their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remem- ber to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams, having their sources in different places, all mingle their water in the sea, oh, Lord, so the different paths which men take through differ- ent tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee." The present convention, which is one of the most august assem- blies ever held, n in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of (JnspeBkabla Joy. ;>^/;' a."-- * '1- 40 rm: world's coxcress of REi.mioNS. I FrntiTiiitj. llu- WDiuloil'ul (IdctriiU" priMrlird in (iita. " Wluisorvi-r comes lo I'.Tc, thr<)ii,i;ii \\li,itsle nations to de- spair, i lad it not lui n lor tins lion ihle (K'lnon, linmaii soeiety would he tar iiion' ad\ aneed tli.in it is now . Hut its t ime li.is eonie, and 1 lei\ eiitly hope til, It ilu' lull that tolled this nuunini; in honor ol this eoip.entiim williie the death Iviiell to all ianal ii'ism, to all piTseent ions with tlu- sword or tin- pen, and to all uneharitahle leeliiij^s hetwecMi |)ersons wemliiiL; their w,iy to tlu- same t4o,il. rrineipal (ir,int,oi Canada, leleniiiL; to the ieelini; ol Iraternity lietwi-iii Cinad.i and the United St,ilis, lemaiked: l'".iL;hteen \iars ai;o, tor i;;st,inee, all tlii' riesl)\ieii,iii di-iioniin.ilions united into one ehiireh in t he l)oniinion td ( an,id,i. !ninu'di,ilel\- theiealter all the Methodist ehiirehes took tin." s.iine sti'p, ami now , ill tlu- I'lotestanl ehinees h,i\ e appointed eoniniillie> to see whether it is not jiossihli' to li.ue a Kilmer union, and all thi' yount', liie ol ( ,in,id,i says ".\men" to the iiiopos.d. Now it is i-as\- lor a people with .sueli ,iii eiixiroiinieut to undiT- staml tli,it wluri'iueii diller they must he in enof, tli,it tiutli i^^tliat which unites, tli.it i-\ery ai;e h, is its piohlenis to sol\ x', tli,it it is the i^loiN' ol the hum. in mind to sol\e them, and ih.it. no ( liuiili h.is ;i nUMiopoK' ol the truth or ol tin- spirit ol tlie lixiii'^' (iod. It seems to me tli.it we should heqin this p.irli.iment of relii;ions, not with a eonseiousiuss tli.it we are doiiii;" a i^ieat tliiiii;, but with an luimhlo and low ly eonfessicm of sin and failure. \\'h\'ha\e not the inhabitants of the woild f.ilh'ii before truth ? The fault is ours. The Apostle r.iui, lookiu!.; b.iek on centuries of m.irxi'lous ( iod-i;ui(k'y their own inherent merit. We try not only to learn in an in- tellectual way what those prophets have to teach, but to assimilate and imbibe these truths that are very near our spiritual being. It was the grandest and noiilest aspiration of the late Mr Senn to establish sucli a religion in the lantl of India, which has been well known as the hirthjilace of a number of religious faiths. This is a marked charac- teristic of the Kast, and especially India, so that India and its outskirts iiave been glorified l)y the touch and teachings of the prophets of the world. It is in this way that we live in a spiritual atmosphere. The Rev. Alfred W. Momerie, D. D., of London, closed an elo- quent address, thus: The fact is, all religions are, fundamentally, more or less true; and all religions are, superficially, more or less false. True. '"*'"°* Antl I suspect that the creed of the universal religion, the religion of the future, will be summed up pretty much in the words of Tenny^son, words which were (juoted in that magnificent address which thrilled mt I \^. i f 44 T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Si It [!i Africa- US this morning: "The whole world is everywhere bound by gold chains about the feet of God." Bishop Arnctt, of the African Methodist church, rejoiced that through him Africa had been welcomed. Africa has been welcomed, and it is so peculiar a thing for an African to be welcomed, that I con- gratulate myself that I have been welcomed here today. In res])ond- ing to the addresses of welcome I will, in the first place, respond for Wpicome to the Africans in Africa, and accept your welcome on behalf of the Afri- can continent, with its millions of acres, and millions of inhabitants, with its mighty forests, with its great beasts, with its great men, and its great possibilities. Though some think that Africa is in a bad way, 1 am one of those who has not lost faith in the possibilities of a re- ' • 'on of Africa. I believe in providence and in the prophesies of G^ iat Ethiopia yet shall stretch forth her hand unto God, and, alth gh today our land is in the possession of others, and every foot of land, and every foot of water in Africa has been appropriated by the governments of Europe, yet I remember, in the light of history, that those same nations parceled out the American continent in the past. Hilt America had her Jefferson. Africa in the future is to bring forth a Jefferson, who will write a declaration of the independence of the dark continent. And, as you had your Washington, so God will give us a Washington to lead our hosts. Or, if it please God, Me may raise up not a Washington, but another Toussaint L'Ouvertiire, who will become the pathfinder of his country, and, with his sword, will, at the head of his people, lead them to freedom and equality. He will form a republican government, whose corner-stone will be religion, morality, education and temperance, acknowledging the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of Man; while the Ten Commandments and the golden rule shall be the rule of life and conduct in the great republic of redeemed Africa. But, sir, I accept your welcome, also, on behalf of the negroes of t. c American continent. As early as 1502 or 1503, we are told, the negroes came to this country. And we have been here ever since, and we are going to stay here too — some of us are. Some of us will go to Africa, because we have got the spirit of Americanism, and wherever there is a possibility in sight, some of us will go. We accept your welcome to this grand assembly, and we come to you this afternoon and thank God that we meet these representatives of the different religions of the world. Wc meet you on the height of this parliament of religions and the first gp.thering of the peoples since the time of Noah, when Shem, I lam and Japhet met together. I greet the chil- dren of .Shem, I greet the children of Japhet, and I want you to under- stand that Ham is here. ♦ * * We come last on the programme, but I want everybody to know, that although last, wc are not least in this grand assembly, where the Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man is the watchword of us all; and may the motto of the church which I represent be the motto of mE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 45 "God our Father. Christ our Redeemer, and the coming civilization: mankind our brother " that Follow. fir fl t 1 .ill - ill if fit i IK I'i :! 1 i.'l ! 1 Rev. Samuel J. Niccolls, D. D.,L.L.D.,St.Louis,|Mo-J'^4j; Being of Qo^- Introductory Address by the REV. S. J. NICCOLLS, D. D.,LL. D., of St. Louis. ii'^^HB But utter that simple name and straightway there comes gather- ing around it tlie clustering of glorious words slUning and leaping out of the darkness until they blaze hke a galaxy of glory in the heavens -law, order justice, love, truth, immortality, righteousness, glory! Blot out that word and leave n ts nlace simnlv th-,t ,.fi,^.. ,. j Effe "atheism," and then in the surroundilig blaXS wfn^^ Sordini' ""^' shadowsofanarchy. lawlessness, despair, agony, distress; and if such words as law and order remain they are mere echoes of somethinir that has long since passed away. [Cheers ] ^nnug We need it. then, first of all for ourselves that we may understand the d.gmty of human nature, that this great truth of God's existence should be brought close to us; we need it for our civilization Effect of tlmt le Name. ; ( I I :' :"n 1 :'i! i m i i ! Very Rev. Augustine F. Hewitt, C. S. P., New York. ^i^ Rational Demonstration of the ^e'mg of God. Paper by VERY REV. AUGUSTINE F. HEWITT, C. S. P., of New York. N honorable and arduous task has been assigned me. It is to address this numerous and dis- tinguished assembly on a topic taken from the highest branch of special metaphysics. The thesis of my discourse is the *' Rational Demonstration of the Being of God." as pre- sented in Catholic philosophy. This is a topic of the highest importance and of the deepest interest to all who are truly rational, who think and who desire to know their destiny and to fulfill it. The minds of men always and e\erywhere, in so far as they have thought at all, have been deeply interested in all questions relating to the divine order and its relations to nature and humanity. The idea of a divine principle and power, superior to sensible phenomena, above the changeable world and its short-lived inhabitants, is as old and as extensive as the human race Among vast numbers of the most enlightened part of mankind it has existed and held sway in the form of pure monotheism, and even among tho-se who have deviated from this original religion of our first ancestors the divine idea has never been entirely effaced and lost. In our own surrounding world and for U classes of men differing in creed and opinion who may be represented in this audience, this theme is of paramount interest and import. Christians, Jews, Mohammedans and philosophical theists are agreed in professing monotheism as their fundamental and cardinal doctrine. Even unbelievers and doubters show an interest in discuss- ing and endeavoring to decide the question whether God does or does not exist. It is to be hoped that many of them regard their skepti- cism rather as a darkening cloud over the face of nature than as a light clearing away the mists of error; that they would gladly be convinced 51 ^V Idea of a Di. rine Principle. I ■^ BS THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RE/./G/ONS. ^ ! -ni ii that God docs exist and ffovcrn a world which He has made. I may, therefore, hope for a welcome reception to my thesis in this audience. I have said that it is a thesis taken from the special metaphysics of Catholic philosophy. I must explain at the outset in what sense the term Catholic philosophy is used It does not denote a system derived from the Christian revelation and imposed by the authority of the Catholic church, it sifjnifies only that rational scheme which is received and taufjht in tlie Catholic schools as a science proceeding from its own proper principles by its own methods, and not a subal- rnw^lunco?* ^^'''" science to do^Muatic tiieolo^y It has been adopted in ^'reat part from Aristotle and Plato and does not disdain to borrow from any pure fountain or stream of rational truth. The topic before us is, therefore, to be treated in a metaphysical manner on a ground where all who pro- fess philosophy can meet and where reason is the only authority which can be appealed to as umpire and judge. All who profess to be stu- dents of philosophy thereby proclaim their conviction that metaphysics is a true science by which certain knowledge can be obtained. . jNIetaphysics, in its most general sense, is ontology, ;. <•., discourse concerning being in its first and universal prin ^les. Being in all its latitude, in its total extension and compre' on, is the adequate object of intellect, taking intellect in its ab . essence, excluding all limitations. It is the object of the human intellect in so far as this limited intellectual faculty is proportioned to it and capable of appre- hending it. Metaphysics seeks for a knowledge of all things which are within the ken of human faculties in their deepest causes. It in- vestigates their reason of being, their ultimate, efficient and final causes. The rational argument for the existence of God, guided by the principles of the sufficient reason and efficient causality, begins from contingent facts and events in the world and traces the chain of causation to the first cause. It demonstrates that God is, and it pro- ceeds, by analysis and synthesis, by induction from all the first princi- ples possessed by reason, from all the vestiges, reflections and images of God m the creation, to determine what God is, His essence andHis perfections. Let us then begin our argument from the first principle that everything that has any kind of being, that is, which presents itself as a thinkable, knowable or real object to the intellect, has a sufficient reason of being. The possible has a sufficient reason of its possibility. There is in it an intelligible ratio which makes it thinkable; without this it is unthinkable, inconceivable, utterly impossible; as, for instance, a circle, the points in whose circumference are of unequal distances from the center. The real has a sufficient reason for its real existence. If it is contingent, indifferent to non-existence or existence, it has not its sufficient reason of being in its essence. It must have it, then, from something outside of itself, that is, from an efficient cause. All the beings with which we are acquainted in the sensible world around us are contingent. They exist in determinate, specific, actual, individual forms and modes. They are in definite times and places. SofficieutRea- 80D of BeiDK. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 53 They have their proper substantial and accidental attributes; they have (jualitics and relations, active powers and passive potencies. They do not exist by any necessary reason of beinf^; they have become what they are. They are subject to many chanj^es even in their smallest molecules and in the combinations and movements of their atoms. This changeablencss is the mark of their contingency, the result of that potentiality in them, which is not of itself in act, but is brought into act by some moving force. They arc in act, that is, have actual being, inasmuch as they have a specific and inilividuai reality. Hut they are never, in anyone instant, in act to the whole extent of their capacity. There is a dormant potency of further actuation always in their actual essence. Moreover, there is no necessity in their essence for existing at all. The pure, ideal essence of things is, in itself, only possible. Their successive changes of existence are so many move- ments of transition from mere passing potency into act under the im- pulse of moving principles of force. And their very first act of exist- ence is by a motion of transition from mere possibility into actuality. The whole multitude of things which become, of events which happen, the total sum of the movements and changes of contingent being" taken collectively and taken singly, must have a sufficient reason ui being in some extrinsic principle, some efficient cause. The admirable order which rules over this multitude, reducing it to the unity of the universe is a display of efficient causality on a most stupendous scale. There is a correlation and conservation of force acting on the inert and passive matter, according to fixed laws, in harmony with a definite plan and producing most wonderful results. Let us take our solar system as a specimen of the whole universe ofi bodies moving in space. According to the generally received and highly probable nebular theory, it has been evolved from a nebulous' mass permeated by forces in violent action. The best chemists afifirm by common consent that both the matter and the force are fixed quantities. No force and no matter ever disappears, no new force or matter ever appears. The nebulous mass and the motive force acting within it arc definite quantities, having a definite location in space, at definite distances from other nebulas. The atoms and molecules are combined in the definite forms of the various elementary bodies in definite proportions. The movements of rotation are in certain direc- tions, condensation and incandescence take place under fixed laws, and all these movements are co-ordinated and directed to a certain result, viz., the formation of a sun and planets. Now, there is nothing in the nature of matter and force which determines it to take on just these actual conditions and no others.; By their intrinsic essence they could just as well have existed in greater or lesser quantities in the solar nebula. The proportions of hydro-, gen, oxygen and other substances might have been different. The', movements of rotation might have been in a contrary direction. The process of evolution might have begun sooner and attained its finality ere now, or it might be beginning at the present moment. The IiIpaI EHsence of Things. Solar Syatom as a Specimen. T — - nmnn^ I s Si . ii r 54 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. marks of contingency are plainly to be discerned in the passive and active elements of the inchoate world as it emerges into th* consist- ency and stable equilibrium of a solar system from primitive chaos. Equally obvious is the presence of a determining principle, [acting as an irresistible law, regulating the transmission of force, along A FirstCftase idefinite lines and in an[harmonious order. The active forces at work in emon e . (nature, giving motion to matter, only transmit a movement which Uiey have received; they do not originate. It makes no difference now far back the series of effects and causes may be traced, natural forces remain always secondary causes, with no tendency to become primary principles; they demand some anterior, sufficient reason of their being, some original, primary principle from which they derive the force which they receive and transmit. They demand a first cause. In the case of a long train of cars in motion, if we ask what moves the last car, the answer may be the car next before it, and so on until we reach the other end; but we have as yet only motion received and transmitted, and no sufficient reason for the initiation of the move- ment by an adequate efficient cause. Prolong the series to an indefi- nite length and you get no nearer to an adequate cause of the motion; you get no moving principle which possesses motive power in itself; the i^eed of such a motive force, however, continually increases. There is more force necessary to impart motion to the whole collection of cars than for one or a few. If you choose to imagine that the series of cars is infinite you have only augmented the effect produced to infinity without finding a cause for it. Vou have made a supposition wl ich imperatively demands the further supposition of an original principle and source of motion, which has an infinite jjower. The cars singly and collectively can only receive and transmit motion. Their passive potency of being moved, which is all they have in themselves, would never make them stir out of their motionless rest. There must be a locomotive with the motive power applied and acting, and a con- nection of the cars with this locomotive, in order that the train may be propelled along its tracks. The series of movements given and received in the evolution of the world from primitive chaos is like this long chain of cars. The question, how did they come about, what is their efficient cause, starts up and confronts the miiul at every stage of the process. You may trace back consequents to their antecedents, and show how the things which come after were virtually contained in those which came betore. The present earth came from the paleozoic earth, and that from the azoic, and so on, until you come to the primitive nebula from which the solar system was constructed. Hut how did this vast mass of matter, and the mighty forces act- ing upon it, come to be started on their course of evolution, their I movement in the direction of that result which we see to have been 'accomplished? It is necessary to go back to a first cause, a first mover, an original principle of all transition from mere potency into act, a Chance AbRardity. an THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 55 being, self-existing, whose essence is pure act and tiic source of all actuality. The only alternative is to fall back on the doctrine of chance, an absurdity long since exploded and abandoneil, a renuncia- tion of all reason aiid an abjuration of the rational nature of man. Toi'-ethcr with the question " How" and the intjuiry after efficient causes of movements and changes in the world, t,,r question "Why" also perpetually suggests itself. This is an inquiry into another class of the deepest causes of t'lings, vi/., final causes. Final cause is the same as the end, the design, the purpose toward which movements, changes, the operation of active forces, efficient causes, are directed, and which are accomplished by their agency. Mere the (piestion arises, how the enil attained as an elTect of efficient causality can he properly named as a cause. How can it exert a causative influence, retroactively, on the means and agencies by which it is proiluced? It is last in the series and does not exist at the beginning or during the progress of the events whose final term it is. Nothing can a':t before it exists or gi\e existence to itself. Final cause does not, tlierefore, act physically like efficient causes. It is a cause of the movements which precede its real and physical existence, only inasmucli as it has an ideal pre-existence in the foresight and intentit)n of an intelligent mind. Regard a masterpiece of art. It is because the artist conceived the idea realized in this piece of work j that he employed all the means necessar)' to the fulfillment of his desired end. riiis finished work is, therefore, the final cause, the motive of the whole series of operations performed b)- the artist or his workmen. The multitude of causes and effects in the world, reduced to an admirable liariuoiu' and unit)-, constitutes the order of the universe.. In this order then; is a multifarious arrangement and co-ordination of means to ends, denoting design and jnirpose, the intention and art of a supreme architect and builder, who impresses his itleas upon what we may call the raw material out of which he forms and fashions the worlds which move in s[>ace, and their various innumerable contents. From these final causes, as ith-as and types according to which all movements of efficient causality are ilirected, the argument proceeds which demonstrates the nature of the first cause, as in essence, intelli- gence and will. The best and highest (Jreek philosophy ascended by this cosmo- logical argument to a just and sublime conception of God as the supremely wise, powerful aid good .Author of all existing essences in the universe, ami of al! it • complex, harmonious order. Cicero, the Latin inter|)reter of (ire. k philosoi)hy, with cogent reasoning and in language of unsurpassoil beauty, has summarized its best lessons in "hoV natural theology. In brief, his argument is that since the highest human intelligence discovers in nature an intelligible object far sur- p.assing its capacity of apprehension, the design and construction of the whole natural order must proceed from an author of supreme and divine intelligence. Final Causee. PuriHjBo. and A S.'i rptiip anil Divijie An- mnji 58 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \ I \ ■■ % ;:fl i Demand Reason. of The questioning,^ and the demand oi reason for the deepest causes of tliinj^s is not, however, yet entirely and explieitly satisfied. The concept of God as the first builder and mover of the universe comes short of assit^niuLj the first and final cause of the underlj'int^ subject matter which recei\es formation and motion. When and what is the first matter of our solar nebula? How and why did it come to be in hand and lie in readiness for the divine architect and artist to make it burn and whirl in the process of the evolution of sim and planets? Plato is understood to have tauij^ht that the first matter, which is the term receptive of the di\ine action, is self-existing and eternal. The metaphysical notion of first matter is, however, totally differ- ent from the concept of matter as a constant cjuantity and distinct from force in chemical science. Metaphysically, first matter has no specific reality, no quality, no quantity. It is not as sej)arate from active force in act, but is onlj- in potency. Chemical first matter exists in atoms, sa\' of h\clroi:;en, oxypjen or some other sui)stance, each of which has definite weiii^ht in proportion to the weight of different atoms. It would be perfectly absurd to imat^ine that the primitive nebulous vapor which furnished the material for the evolution of the solar s)-stem was in any wa\' like the platonic concept of orit^inal chaos. We may call it chaos, relatively to its later, more developed order. The artisan's workshop, full of materials for manufacture, the edifice which is in its first stas^e of construction, are in a comparative disorder, but this disorder is an inchoate order. .So, our solar chaos, as an inchoate virtual system, was full of ini- tial, elementary principles and elements of order. The platonic first matter was supposed to be formless and void, w ithout cpiality or quan- tity, devoid of every ideal element or aspect, a mere recipient of ideas which God impressed upon it. The undermost matter of chemistry has definite cpiiddity antl (piantity, is never separate from force, and as it was in the primitive solar nebula, was in act and in violent activity of motion. It is obvious at a fflance that a platonic first matter, exist- ing eternally by its own essence, without form, is a mere vacuiuu, and only intelli.L,nb!e under the concept of pure possibility. Aristotle saw and demonstrated tiiis truth clearly. Fherefore, the analysis of mate- rial existences, carried as far as experiment or hypt)thesis will admit, finds iiothint^- except the changeable and the contingent. Let us supi'ose that underneath the so-called simple substances, such as ox)'gen ;.nd hydrogen, there exists, and nia>- hereafter be dis- cerned by chemical analysis, some homogeneous basis, there still tctnains something which tloes not account for itself, ami which dcmaiuls a sufficient reason for its being, in the efficient causality of the first cause. The ultimate molecule of the ctunposile substance and the ultinuite atom of the simple substance, each bears the marks of a mamifactured article. Not only the ortler which combines and arranges all the sim|)le elements of the corporeal world, but the gath- ering together of the materials for the onlerly structure; the union and relation of nuitter and force; the beginning of the first motions, THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIG/ONS. 67 Crontive of Ood. act and the existence of the movable element and the motive principle in definite quaiUilies and proportions, all demand their origin in the intellitjence and the will of the first cause. In God alone essence and existence are identical. 1 le alone exists by the necessity of His nature, and is the eternal self-subsisting beinjj^. There i:- nothinj^ outside of His essence which is coeval with Him, and which presents a real cxistintj^ term for His action. If He wishes to communicate the t^ood of beint^ beyond Himself I le must create out of nothimj the ol)jective terms of His beneficial action. He must give first beintf to tlie recipients of motion, change and every kind of tran- sition from potency into actuality. The first and fundamental tran- sition is from not being, from the absolute non-existence of anything' outside of (iod, into being and existence by the creative act of God;i called by His almighty word the world of finite creatures into real existence. i In this creative act of God the two elements of intelligence and volition are necessarily contained. Intelligence perceives the possi- bility of a finite, created order of existence, in all its latitude. Possi- bility docs not, however, make the act of creation necessary. It is the free volition of the creator which determines him to create. It is likewise his free volition which determines the limits within which he will give real existence and actuality to the possible. We have al- ready seen that final causes must have an ideal pre-existence in the mind, which designs the work of art and arranges the means for its execution. The idea of tiie actual universe and of the wider universe which He could create if He willed must have been present eternally to the intelligence of the Divine Creator as possible. Now, therefore, a further (juestion about the deepest cause of Eternal Fo* being confronts the ni'"d w ith an imperative demand for an answer. sibUity. What is this eternal p ilujity which is coeval with God? It is evi- dently an intelligible obje^ ;, an idea ( '|ui\alent to an iiitiiiite number of i)articular ideas of essences and orders, which are thinkable by in- tellect to a certain extent, in proj, .tion to its ciipacity, and exhaust- ively by the divine intellect. The di\ :ie essenei alone is eternal anil necessary self-subsisting being. In the formula of St. Thomas: "Il)sum esse subsistens." It is pure and perfect a :, in the most simple, indivisible unity. Therefore, in God, as Aristotle demons* rales, intelligent subject and intelligible object arc identical. I'ossibilit)' has its foundation in the divine essence. Gotl contemplates His ow\i essence, which is the plentiiude of being, with a comprehensive intelligt i e. In this con- templation He perceives His essence as an arelu i ^tc which eminently and virtually contains an infinite multitude of ty[,.v.al essences, capable of being made in various modes and degrees a likeness to Himself. He sees in the comprehension of His omnipotence the power to create whate\cr He will, according to His divine ideas. And this is the total ratio of possibility. These arc the eternal reasons according to which the order of "-"M'l'H'iji'ir ]sis^ memm mt dlM •I t ii I 58 T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. tj Something Divine. Mental Con- cepts. nature has been established under fixed laws. They are reflected in the works of God. By a perception of these reasons, these ideas im- pressed on the universe, wc ascend from single and particular objects up to universal ideas and finally to the knowledge of God as first and final cause. When wc turn from the contemplation of the visible word, and sen- sible objects to the rational creation, the sphere of intelligent spirits and of the iiitcllcctual life in which they live, the argument for a first and final cause ascends to a higher plane. The rational beings who are known to us, ourseKes and our fellowman, bear the marks of con- tingency in their intellectual nature as plainly as in their bodies. Our individual, self-consci)us, thinking souls ha\e come out of non-exist- ence only yestirday. They begin to li\e with onlja dormant intellect- ual capacity, without knowleilge orthe use of reason. The soul brings with it no memories and no ideas. It has no immediate knowledge of itself and its nature. Nevertheless the light of intelligence in it is something divine, a spark from the source of light, and it indicates clearly that it has receiveil its being from (iod. In the material tilings we see the vestiges of the Creator, in the rational soul His very image. It is capable of appreheniling the eternal reasons which are in the mind of (i(jd; its intelligible object is being in all its latitude, according to its specific and finite mode of apprehen- sion and the proportiiui which its cognoscitive facult)' has to the think- able and knowable. y\s contingent beings, intelligent spirits come into the universal order of effects from which by the argument, a posteriori, the existence of the first cause, as supreme intelligence and will is in- ferred, ami likew ise the iileas of necessary and eternal truth which, as so many mirrors, reflect 'he eternal reasons of the divine mind, sub- jectively consideretl, come uniler the same category as contingent facts and effects produccil l)y second causes and ultimately by the first cause. These ideas are not, however, mere subjective concepts. They are, indeed, mental concepts, but they have a foundation in reality, according to the fanu)us formula of .St. Thomas: " Uuiversalia sunt conceptus mentis cum fumlamento in re." They are originally gained by abstraction from the single objects of sensitive cognition; for instance, from singU things wliich have a concrete existence, the idea of being in general, llie nu)st extensive and universal of all concepts is gained. .So, also, the notions of species and genus; of essence and existence; of beaut)-, goodness, space and time; of efficient anil final cause; of the first principles of meta])hysics. mathematics and ethics. But, notwithstanding this genesis of abstract ami uni\ersal concepts from concrete, cijiitingent realities, they become free from all con- tingency and (k-i)en(liMii c on contingent things, and assume the char- acter of necessarj- and uni\ersal. and therefore of eternal truths, {'"or instance, that the three sides of a triangle cannot exist without three angles, is seen to be true, supp ing there had never been any bodies or minds creatid. There is an intelligible world of iileas, super-sensible if Ui THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 59 and extra-mental, within the scope of intellectual apprehension; they have objective reality, and force them Ives on the intellect, com- pelling its assent as soon as they are clearly perceived in their self- evidence or demonstration. Now, what are these ideas? Are they some kind of real beings,' inhabiting an eternal and infinite space? This is absurd and they can- , not be conceived except as thoughts of an eternal and infinite mind. \ In thinking them we are re-thinking the thoughts of God. They are the eternal reasons reflected in all the works of creation, but especially in intelligent minds From these necessary and eternal truths we infer, therefore, the intelligent and intelligible essence of God in which Necessarjand they have their ultimate foundation. This metaphysical argument is Eternal Truths, the apex and culmination of the cosmological, moral, and in all its forms the a posteriori argument from effects, from design, from all reflections of the divine perfections in the creation to the existence and nature of the first and final cause of the intellectual, moral and physical order of the universe. It goes beyor.d every other line of argument in one resi)ect. From concrete, contingent facts we infer and demonstrate that God does exist. We obtain only a hypothetical necessity of His existence; /. i., since the world does really exist it must have a creator. The argument from necessary and eternal truths gives us a glimpse of the absolute necessity of God's existence; it shows us that He must exist, that His non-existence is impossible. We rise above contingent ■ facts to a consideration of the eternal reasons in the intelligible and intelligent essence of (iod. We do not, inilced, perceive these eternal reasons immediately in Ciod as divine ideas itlentical with his essence. We have no intuition of the essence of (iod. God is to ms inscrutable, incomprehensible, dwelling in light, inaccessible. As when the sun is below the horizon we perceive clouds illuminated by his rays, and moon and planets shining in his reflected light, so we see the reflection of God in His works. We perceive Him immediately, by the eternal reasons which are reflected in nature, in our own intellect, and in the ideas which, have their foundation in His mind. Dur mental concepts of the divine are analogical, derived from created tmngs, and inade- quate. They are, notwithstanding, true, and give us unerring knowl- edge of the deei)est causes of being. They give us metaphysical certitude that Ciod is. They give us also a knowledge of what God is, within the limits of our human mode of cognition. All these metaphysical concepts of liod are summed up in the: formula of .St. Thomas: " Ipsum esse subsistens." Being in its in-i trinsic essence sulisisting. He is the being whose reason of real, sclf-1 subsisting being is in His essence; He subsists, as being, not in any limitation of a particular kind and moile of being, but in the whole intelligible ratio of being, in every respect which is thinkable and comprehensible by the absolute, infinite intellect. He is being in all its longitude, latitude, profundity and plentitude; He is being subsist- ing in pure and perfect act, without any mixture of potentiality or • If. m I ^l I; , i ^ '1 i ii s : 1 1 1 ' t ^■' * ( 1 ' t 60 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Nat a re and PerfoctionB of God. possibility of change; infinite, eternal, without before or after; always being, never becoming; subsisting in an absolute present, the now of eternity. Boethius has expressed this idea admirably: "Totasiniul ac perfecta possessio vit;e interniinabilis." The total and perfect pos- session, all at once, of boundless life. In order, therefore, to enrich and complete our conceptions of the nature and perfections of God, we have only to analyze the compre- hensive idea of being and to ascribe to God. in a sense free from all limitations, all that we find in His works which comes under the gen- eral idea of being, lieing. good, truth, are transcendental notions which imply each other. They include a multitude of more specific S terms, expressing every kind of definite concepts of realities which are intelligible and desirable. Beauty, splendor, majesty, moral excel- lence, beatitude, life, love, greatness, power and every kind of per- fection are phases and aspects of being, goodness and truth. Since all which presents an object of intellectual apprehension to the mind and of complacency to the will in the effects produced by the first cause must exist in tlie cause in a more eminent way, we must predi- cate of the Creator all the perfections found in creatures. The vastness of the universe represents His immensity. The multifarious beauties of creatures represent His splendor and glory as their archetype. The marks of design and the harmonious order which are visible in the world manifest his intelligence. The faculties of intelligence and will in rational creatures show forth in a more per- fect image the attributes of intellect and will in their Author and orig- inal source. All created goodness, whether physical or moral, pro- claims the essential excellence and sanctity of (iod. He is the source of life, and is, therefore, the living God. All the active forces of nature witness to His power. All finite beings, however, come infinitely short of an adequate representation of their ideal archetype; they retain something of the intrinsic nothingness of their essence, of its potentiality, changeable- ness and contingency. Many modes and forms of created existence have an imperfection in their essence which makes it incompatible with the perfection of the divine essence that they should have a for- mal being in God. We cannot call him a circle, an ocean or a sun. Such creatures, therefore, represent that which exists in their arche- type in an eminent and divine mode, to us incomprehensible. And those qualities whose formal ratio in God and creatures is the same, being finite in creatures, must be regarded as raised to an infinite power in God. Thus intelligence, will, wisdom, sanctity, happiness are formally in God, but infinite in their excellence. All that we know of God by pure reason is summed up by Aris- totle in the metaphysical formula that God is pure and perfect act, logically and ontologically the first principles of all that becomes by a transition from potential into actual being. And from this concise, comprehensive formula he has developed a truly admirable theodicy. Aristotle says: "It is evident that act (energeia) is anterior to THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 61 :r; always le now of rota sinuil ;rfcct pos- ons of the e compre- e from all ;r the fjjen- al notions re specific itics which oral excel- iid of per- ith. Since o the mind Dy the first nust predi- isity. The lid glory as lious order lie faculties a more per- jr and orig- moral, pro- ■i the source forces of in adequate ling of the hangeable- l existence compatible ave a for- in or a sun. leir arche- ible. And the same, an infinite happiness ip by Aris- )erfcct act, ecomes by lis concise, e theodicy, anterior to potency (dunamis) logically and ontologically. A being does not^ pass from potency into act and become real except by the action of a principle already in act." (Met. viii, 9.) Again, "All that is pro- duced comes from a being in act." (De Anim. iii, 7.) "There is a being which moves without being moved, which is eternal, is substance, is act. * * ♦ The immovable mover is necessary being, that is, being which absolutely is, and cannot be otherwise. This nature, therefore, is the principle from which heaven (meaning by this term immortal spirits who are the nearest to God) and nature depend. Beatitude is his very act. * * * Contempla- tion is of all things the most delightful and excellent, and God enjoys it always, by the intellection of the most excellent good, in which intelligence and the intelligible are identical. God is life, for the act of intelligence is life and God is this very act. Essential act is the life of God, perfect and eternal life. Therefore we name God a perfect and eternal living being, in such a way that life is uninterrupted; eternal duration belongs to God, and indeed it is this which is (iod." (Met. xi., 7.) I have here condensed a long passage from Aristotle and inverted the order of sonic sentences, but I have given a verbally exaa statement of his doctrine. I will add a few sentences from Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of the Neo-Platonic school. "Just as the sight of the heavens and the brilliant stars causes us to look for and to form an idea of their author, so the contemplation of the intelligible world and the admiration wliich it inspires lead us to look for its father. Who is the one, we exclaim, who has given existence to the intelligible world? Where and how has he begotten such a child, intelligence, this son so beau- tiful? The supreme intelligence must necessarily contain the universal archetype, and be itself that intelligible world of which Plato dis- courses." (Ennead iii. L viii. 10 v. 9.) Plato and Aristotle have both placed in the clearest light the relation of intelligent, immortal spirits to God as their final cause, and together with this highest relation the subordinate relation of all the inferior parts of the universe. Assimi- lation to God, the knowledge and the love of God, communication in the beatitude which God possesses in Himself, is the true reason of being, the true and ultimate end of intellectual natures. In these two great sages rational philosophy culminated, Clem- ent, of Alexandria, did not hesitate to call it a preparation furnished by divine Providence to the heathen world for the Christian revela- tion. Whatever controversies there may be concerning their explicit teachings in regard to the relations between God and the world, their principles and premises contain implicitly and virtually a sublime nat- ural theology. St. Thomas has corrected, completed and developed this theology with a genius equal to theirs, and with the advantage of a higher illumination. It is the highest achievement of human reason to bring the intel- lect to a knowledge of God as the first and final cause of the world. The denial of this philosophy throws all things into night and chaos, God n Perfec*. ami E t p r n a ; LiviuK ReiDK. Hixheat Acliievement of Human liMMon. u r <■ i1iii»iilftW 1^ 62 77//i IVOJiLD'S CONGRESS OF JiELIUIONS. ruled over by blind cIkiiicc or fate. Philosophy, however, by itself docs not siififice to give to mankind that relijjion the excellence and iteLastLes- necessity of which it so brilliantly manifests. Its last lesson is the ""• need of a divine revelation, a divine relij^ion, to lead men to the knowlcdjTc and love of God and the attainment of tluir true destiny as rational and immortal creatures. A true and practical philosopher will follow, therefore, the example of Justin i\Iart}'r; in his love of and search for the hit^hest wisdom he will seek for the genuine religion revealed by God, and when found he will receive it with his whole mind and will. ' jii i fl f| Hi i:' li: IS 1 1] i'l i' I' t •, by itself llcnce and isson is the nen to the rue destiny )hilosopher love ol and inc religion I his whole o Ji > ii| Tfhe A^*§^^^rit for the [)ivine B^'"^- Paper by HON. W. T. HARRIS, United States Commissioner of Education. ;::! I i III'", first thinker wlio discovcrccl an adt.'(iuatc proof of the existence of (iod was I'lato. He devoted his life to thinkin<^ out tlie necessary conditions of independent bein^. or, in otlier words, the form of an)" wholeortotalityof beinj^ Dependent liein^ implies somethiii},'' else than itself as that on which it depends. It cannot l)e said to derive itsht-inLj from another dependent orderi\ati\el)ein,ij, because that has no bein^f of its own to lend it. Awholeseries of connected dependent beint^s must derive their origin and present subsistence from an independent beini^^ that is to sa\- from what exists in and through itself and ini])arts its l)e- int;' to others or derived beiiif^s. llence the Independent beinjjf. which is presupposed b\' the dependent beint:^, is creative and active in the sense that it is self-determined and deter- mines others. I'.'ato i?i most |)assa_t:^es calls this presu|)posed independent being by the woril idea ex sos or itlea. lie is sure that there are as many ideas as there are total beinijs in the universe, lie reasons that there are two kinds of motion — that which is deri\ed from some other mover and that which is derived from self; tiuis the self-moved and the moved-throULjh-others includes all kinds of bein<^s. Hut the moved- throuLfh-others presii|)|)oses the self-movi'd as the source of its own motion. I lenco the ixplanation or all that exists or moves must be sought and found in the self-moved. (Tenth l)()ok of Plato's laws.) In his dialogue named "The Sophist" he argues that ideas or inde- pendent beings must possess activity and, in siiort, be think'i.g or rational beings. This great disco\ery of the principle that there must be indepen- dent being if tlu-re is ilependent l)eiug is the foundation of philosophy of ' 'I'jinTwopiiy and also of theolog)'. iAtlmit that there may be a world of dependent uai liiLooKj. ij^jip^j, (jach one of whii h depends on another and no one of them nor all of them depend on an independent being, and at once philosophy 64 Fniuidiit ion ^eing. Education. an adequate s riato. lie lie necessary , or, in other iilityotbcin^^ nielhiiiK^ else Icpends. It from another :ause that has '\ whole series must derive ;nce from an y from what I'nparts its be- llcnce the lent beintj, is d and deter- )cndent being are as many )ns that there c other mover ;)ved and the , the moved- c of its own .oves must be I'lato's laws.) Ideas or inde- think'i g or ^t be indepen- )f philosophy of dependent c of them nor c philosophy Hon. W. T. Harris, Washington, D. C mmm YfF^ ikA. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUGIONS. C7 is made impossible and theologv deprived of its subject matter. But such admission .vould destroy thought itself. Let it be assumed, for the .sake of considering where it would lead, that all existent beings are dependent; that no one possesses any other being than derived being. Then it follows that each one borrows its being from others that do not have any being to lend. Each and all are dependent and must first obtain being from another before they can lend it. If it is said that the series of dependent beings is such that the last depends upon the first again, so that there is a circle of dependent beings, then it has to be admitted that the whole circle is independent, and from this strange result follows that the independence of the whole circle of being is something transcend- ent—a negative unity creating and then annulling again the particu- lar beings forming the members of the series. This theory is illustrated in the doctrine of the correlation of) ( forces. The action of force number one gives rise to force number/ "' two, and so on to the end. Hut this implies that the last of the series) gives ri.se to the first one of the series, and the whole becomes a self-j determined totality or independent being. Moreover, tlie persistent, force is necessarily different from any one of the series- it is not heat nor light nor electricity nor gravitation, nor any other of the series, but the common ground of all, and hence not particularized like any one of them. It is the general force whose office it is to energize and produce the series — originating one force and annulling it again by causing it to pass into another. Thus the persistent force is not one of the series but transcends all of the particular forces — they are de- rivative; it is original, independent and transcendent. It demands as the next step of explanation the exhibition of the necessity of its production of just this series of particular forces as involved in the nature of the self-determined or absolute force It involves, too, the necessary conclusion that a self-determined force which originates all of its special determinations and cancels them all is a pure Ego or self-hood. For consciousness is the name given by us to that kind of being which can annul all of its determinations. For it can annul all ob- jective determination and have left only its own negative might while it descends creatively to particular thoughts, volitions or feelings. It can drop them instantly by turning its gaze upon its pure self as the creator of those determinations. This turn upon itself is accomplished by filling its objective field with negation or annulment — this is its own act and in it realizes its personal identity and its personal tran- scendence of limitations. Hence we may say that the doctrine of correlation of forces pre- supposes a personality creating and transcending the series of forces correlated. If the mind undertakes to suppose a total of dependent or derivative beings, it ends by reaching an independent, self-deter- mined being which, as pure subject, transcends its determinations as object and is therefore an Ego or person. Again, the insight which established this doctrine of independent orrplntion ForcfB. f j'jffif.rirTnvT"^*'" ij i" } •I |: !f m i ' m m 68 T//£ IVOKLD'S COIVGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Mumun KeU' Hon. beings or Platonic "ideas" is not fully satisfied when it traces depend- ent or derivafve motion back to any intelligent being as its source; thcic is a further step possible, namely, from a world of many ideas to an absolute idea as the divine author of all. For time and space are of such a natine that all beings contained by them, namely, all extended and successive beings, are in necessary mutual dependence and hence in one unity. This unity of dependent beings in time and space demands a one transcendent being. Hence the doctrine of the idea of ideas— the doctrine of a divine being, who is rat'onal ar.d personal and who creates beings in time and space in order to share his fullness of being with a world of created beings — created for the special purpose of sharing his blessedness. This is the idea of the supreme goodness, and Plato comes upon it as the highest thought of his system. In the Tim;tus he speaks of the absolute as being without -envy, and therefore as making the world as another blessed God. In this Platonic .system of thought wc have the first authentic sur- vey of human reason. Human reason has two orders of knowing — one the knowing of dependent beings and the other the knowing of inde- pendent beings. The first is the order of knowing the senses, the sec- ontl the order of knowing by logical presupposition. I know by se^^- ing, hearing, tasting, touching things and events. I know by seeing what these things and events logically imply or presuppose that there is a great first cause, a personal reason who reveals a gracious purpose by creating finite beings in time and space. This must be, or else hui: an reason is at fault in its very founda- tions. This n' ist be so or else it must be that there is dependent being which has nothing to depend on. Human reason, then, we may say from this insight of P'ato, rests upon this knowledge of transcend- ental being -a being that transcenils all determinations of extent and succession such as ajjpertain to space and time, and therefore, that transcends both time and space. This transcendent being is perfect fullness of being, vhile the beings in time and s))acc are partial or impinfect beings in the scMse of being embryonic or undeveloped, being partially realized and j>artially potential. At this point the system of Aristotle can be understood in its har- mony with the Platonic .system. Aristotle, too, holds explicitly that the beings in the world which derive motion from other beings pre- suppose a first mover. But he is careful to eschew the first expression self-moved as applying to the prime movei. God is Himself unmoved, but He is the origin of motion in others. This was doubtless the true thought of Plato, since he made the divine eternal and good. In his metaphysics (book eleventh, chapter seven) Aristotle un- I'rodf of i)i. folds his doctrine that dependent bein ^s i resuppose a divine being Whose activity is inire knowing. He alone is perfectly realized — the school men call this technically "pure act" — all other being is partly potential, not having fully grown to its perfection. Ari.stotles proof of the divine existence is substantially the same as that of Plato — an trine THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, 69 :es depend- its source; iny ideas to s contained n necessary ■ dependent ng. Hence being, who id space in cd beings— omes upon ic speaks of g the world ithentic sur- owing — one ing of inde- xes, the sec- iiow by se^- w by seeing e that there uus purpose ery founda- lependcnt n, we may transcend- xtent and reforc, that is perfect partial or developed, ascent from the dependent being by the discovery of presuppositions to tile perfect being who presupposes nothing else than the identifi- cation of the perfect or depenilent being with thinking, personal, will- ing being. This concept of the divine being is wholly positive as far as !t goes and nothing of it needs to be withdrawn after further philosophic rcHcction has discussed anew the logical presuppositions. More pre- suppositions may be discovered — new distinctions discerneil where none were perceived before — but those additions only make more cer- tain the fundamental theory explained first by i'lato and subsequently byArislotlc. This may beseen by aglanceat the thcoryof Christianity, which unfolds itself in the minds of great thinkers of the first six cent- iinmnn Nn'- urics of our era. The object of Christian theologians was to give unity " x;„;j|(, [ ; ' and system to the new doctrine of the divine-human nature of God lUr.... taught by Christ. They discovered, one by one, the logical presuppo-| sitions and announced them in the creed. \ The Greeks had scjn the idea of the Logos or eternally begotten son, the word that was in the beginning and through which created be- ings arose in time and s]);vce. But how the finite and imperfect arose from the infinite and perfect the Greek did not understand so well as the Christian. The Hindu had given up the solution altogether and denied the l^roblem itself. The perfect cannot be conceived as making the imper- fect — it is too alisurd to think that a good being should make a bad being. Only Brahman the absolute exists and all else is illusion — it is Maya. How tile illusion can exist is too much to explain. The Hindu has oiiK' po.->l[)oned tlie problem, and not set it asitle. His philosophy remains in that contradiction. The finite, including Brahma him- self, who philosophizes, is an illusion. vXn illusion recognizes itself as an illusion — an illusion knows true being and discriminates itself from false being. .Such is the fundamental doctrine of the .Sankhya ])liilosophy, and the .Sankhya is the fundamental type of all Hindu; thought. The Greek escapes from this contradiction. He sees that the absolute cannot be empty, indeterminate, pure being devoiii of all attributes, without consciousness. IMato and Aristotle see that the absolute must be pure form — that is to say, an activity which gives form to itself — a self-determined being with subject and object the same, hence a self -knowing and self-willed being. 1 lence the absolute cannot be an abstract unity like lirahma, but must be a self-deter- mined or a unity that gives rise to dualitj within itself and recovers its unity and restores it by recognizing itself in its object. , The absolute as subject is the first- the absolute as object is the' second It is Logos. God's object must exist for all eternity, because' He is always a person and conscious. But it is very important to recognize that the Logos, God's objcct,is Himself, and hence equal to Himself, and also self-conscious. It is not the world in time and (pf^^ mum miM ! i 1 .'111 J. ■ n 70 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUGIONS. Not a Part of tho Holy ity. Trin- space. To hold that God thinks Himself as the world is pantheism — it is pantheism of the left wing of Hegelians. To say that God thinks Himself as the world is to say that He discovers in Himself finite and perishable forms, and therefore makes them objective. The schoolmen say truly that in God intellect and will are one. This means that in God his thinking makes objectively existent what it thinks. Plato saw clearly that the Logos is perfect and not a world of change and decay. He could not explain how the world of change and decay is derived except from the goodness of the divine being who imparts gratuitously of his fullness of being to a series of \ creatures who have being only in part. ! Jiut the Christian thinking adds two new ideas to the two already 1 found by Plato. It adds to the divine first and the second (the Logos), also a divine third, the holy spirit, and a fourth not divine, but the process of the third — calling it the processio. This idea of process explains the existence of a world of finite beings, for it contains evolution, development or derivation. And evolution implies the existence of degrees of less and more perfection of growth. The pro- cession thus must be in time, but the time process must have eternally gone on because the third has eternally proceeded and been pro- ceeding. The thought underneath this theory is evidently that the Second Person or Logos, in knowing Himself or in being conscious, knows Himself in two phases — first, as completely generated or perfect, and this is the Holy Spirit, and secondly, He knows Himself as related to the First as his eternal origin. In thinking of His origin or genesis from the Father, Ho makes objective a complete world of evolution con- taining at all times all degrees of development or evolution and covering every degree of imperfection from pure space and time up to the invisible church. This recognition of His derivation is also a recognition on the part of the First of His o\\\\ act of generating the Second — it is not going on, but lias been eternally completed, and yet both the Divine First and the Divine Second must think it when they think of their relation to one another. Recognition is the intellectual of the First.and Sec- ond is the mutual love of the Father and the Son, and this mutual love is the procession of the Holy Spirit. Hut the procession is not a part of the holy trinity; it is the crea- tion in time and space of an infinite world of imperfect beings develop- ing into self-activity and as self-active organizing institutions — the family, civil society, the state and the church. The church is the New Jerusalem described by St. John, the apostle, who has revealed this doctrine of the third person as an institutional person — the spirit who makes possible all institutional organism in the world and who tran- scends them all as the perfect who energizes in the imperfect to develop it and complete it. Tims stated, the Christian thought as expressed in the symbol of the holy trinity, explains fully the relations of the world of imperfect 'S. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 71 IS pantheism — ) say that He erefore makes I intellect and :es objectively s is perfect and how the world >s of the divine to a series of lie two already : second (the not divine, but idea of process for it contains )n implies the rt'th. The pro- have eternally md been pro- at the Second nscious, knows or perfect, and If as related to 3r genesis from evolution con- evolution and and time up to iop on the part -it is not going Divine First f their relation First, and Sec- id this mutual it is the crea- leingsdevelop- stitutions — the rch is the New revealed this the spirit who ind who tran- imperfect to the symbol ot d of imperfect beings and makes clear in what way the goodness or grace of God^ makes the world as Plato and Aristotle taught. The world is a manifestation of divine grace — a spectacle of the evolution or becoming of individual existence in all phases, inorganic and organic. Individuality begins to appear even in specific gravity and in ascending degrees in cohesion and crystallization. In the plant it is unmistakable. In the animal it begins to feel and perceive itself. In man it arrives at self-consciousness and moral action' and recog nizes its own place in the universe. God, being without envy, does not grudge any good; He accord- ingly turns, as Rothe says, the emptiness of non-being into a reflection of Himself and makes it everywhere a spectacle of His grace. Of the famous proofs of divine existence, St. Anselm's holds the first place. But St. Anselm's proof cannot be understood without re- curring to the insight of Plato. In his Proslogium St. Anselm finds that there is but one thought which underlies all others; one thought universally presupposed, and this he discribes as the thought of that than which there can be nothing greater. "Id quo nihil majus cogi- tari potest." This assuredly is Plato's thought of the totality. Every- thing not a total is less than the totality. But the totality is the greatest pos3ible being. The essential thing to notice, however, is that St. Anselm per- ceives that this one thought is objectively valid and not a mere sub- jective notion of the thinker. No thinker can doubt that there is a totality — he can be perfectly sure that the plus the not me includes all that there is. Gaunillo, in the lifetime of St. Anselm, and Kant in re- cent times have tried to refute the argument by alleging the general proposition — the conception of a thing does not imply its corre- sponding existence. The proposition is true, except in the case of this oneontological thought of the totality of the thoughts that can be log- ically deduced from it. The second order of knowing, by presump- tions, implies an existence corresponding to each concept. St. Anselm knew that the person who denied the objective validity of this idea of the totality must presuppose its truth right in the very act of denying it. If there be an Ego that thinks, even if it be the P^go of a fool (insipiens), who says in his heart, "there is no God," it must be cer- tain that its self plus its not-self makes a totality, and that this totality surely exists, the existence of his P^go is or may be contingent, but the totality is certainly not contingent but necessary. This is an onto- logi<;al necessity and the basis of all further philosophical and theolog- • .cti thoughts. St. An.selm does not, it is true, follow out this thought to its con- templation in his Proslogium nor in his Monologium. He leaves it there with the idea of a necessary being who is supreme and perfect because he contains the fullness of being. He undoubtedly saw the further implication, namely, that the totality is an independent being and self-existent because it is self- .ictive He saw this so clearly that he did not think it worth while to An OutoloK- ical NecoHfiily. ft" 'mimm 72 T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. i ll: ^ I 4 ■a! li " ■>, 1,5 1 ii v 1 \ 1 i ■ I' i stop and unfold it. Hut he did speak of it as a necessary existence contrasted with a contingent existence. "Everywhere else besides God," he says, "can be conceived not to exist." Descartes, in his Third Meditation, has repeated with some modi- fication the demonstration of St. Anselm. lie holds, in substance, that the idea of a perfect bein_f law. ht of the abso- :s on her way ig and so indit- le direst suffer- icc convert the e is the certain rem the same that they will hard— that a r disease, that to life. Hut he child has if such viola- great induci- hard— that the if he had taken ic did not. It would cease to -that children luld be harder ng doing were ;st incentive to in the moral evelopment of the world. Each individual is apt to think that .in xception might be made in his favor, liut of course that could not je. If the laws of nature were broken for one person, justice would require that they should be broken for thou.sands, for all. And if only ne of nature's laws could be proved to have been only once violated, ur faith in law would be at an end; we should feel that we were liv- ,ig in a disorderly universe; we should lose the sense of the para- lount importance of conduct; we should know that we were the sport f chance. Pain, therefore, was an unavoidable necessity in the creation of ^he best of all possible worlds. Hut, however many antl however great irere the difficulties in the Creator's path, the fact of evolution makes certain that they are being gradually overcome. And among all the Changes that have marked its progress, none is so palpable, so remark- ;, so persistent as the development of goodness, hvolution "makes )r righteousness." That which seems to be its end varies. "The truth is constantly becoming more apparent that on the whole in the long-run it is not well with the wicked; that sooner or later, )th in the lives of individuals and of nations, good triumphs over ;il. And this tendency toward righteousness, by which we find cur- sives encompassed, meets with a ready, an ever readier response in \\xx own hearts. We cannot help respecting goodness, and we have lextinguishable longings for its personal attainment. Notwithstand- ig "sore lets and hindrances," notwithstanding the fiercest tempta- |ons, notwithstanding the most disastrous failures, these yearnings )ntinually reassert themselves with ever increasing force. We feel, re know that we shall always be dissatisfied and unhappy until the Bndcncy within us is brought into perfect unison with the tendency without us, until we also make for righteousness steadily, unremit- |ngly and with our whole heart. What is this disquietude, what are lese yearnings but the spirit of the universe in communion with our _)irits, inspiring us, impelling us, all but forcing us to become cc rorkers with itself. To sum up in one sentence — all knowledge, whether practical or sientinc, nay, the commonest experience of everyday life, implies the tistence of a mind which is omnipresent and eternal, while the tend- icy toward righteousness, which is so unmi.stakably manifest in the )urse of history, together with the response which this tendency /akens in our own hearts, combine to prove that the infinite thinker just and kind and good. It must be because he is always with us lat we sometimes imagine that he is nowhere to be found. "Oh, where is the sea?" the fishes cried As they swam the crystal clearness through; "We've heard from of old of the ocean's tide And we long to look on the waters blue. The wise ones speak of an infinite sea; Oh, who can tell us if such there be?" Tendeno) Tn. ward l{ i g li ( . eounneM. DeTelopnent of noodnes*. I ' m-Hp''' lull IJ! I; it! il ^t i? TiViE: WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. The lark flew up in the morning bright And sang and balanced on sunny wings, And this was its song: "I see the light; I look on a world of beautiful 'ulngs; And flying and singing everywhere In vain have I sought to find the air." , I fl if H ,1 ;r 1 . •!: 'i'- 1 n \ r , '-■':' ;:;; ^ilWiHM •^ a 3 ID V) e o ou ui O s -9*»'^ -ssTCsteKicn Xhe y^rgument for Immortality. Paper by REV. PHILIP ;^. MOXOM, of the University of Chicago. ( 'I II Uif( iiuniuu ilipirit ir T is impossible, of course, within the lim'ti of this brief paper even to state the entire argu- ment for tiie immortality of man. The most that 1 can hope to do is to indicate those main lines of reasoniiijj^ which appeal to the average intelligent mind as confirmatory of a belief in immortality already existent. Three or four considerations should he noticed at the outset: First, it is doubtful if any reasoning on this subject would be intelligible to man if he did not have precedently at least a capacity for immortality. However we may define it, there is that in man's nature which makes him sus- ceptible to the tremendous idea of everlasting istence. Here sits he, sha]iiii^ wings to fly; His lieait forebodes a mystery; He names the name Eternity! It would seem that only a deathless being, in the midst of a world in which all forms of life perceptible by his senses arc born and die in endless procession, could tiiink of himself as capable of surviving this universal ortler. The capacity to raise and discuss the question of iinmortality has, therefore, implications that radically separate man from all the creatiu'es about him. Just as he could not think of virtue without a capacity for virtue, so he could not think of immortality without at least a capacity for that of which he thinks. 1 A second preliminary consitleration is that immortality is insej)- 'arably bound up with theism. Theism makes immortality rational: atheism makes it incredible, if not unthinkable. The highest form ol the belief in immortality inevitably roots itself in and is part of the soul's belief in God. of tho/ A third consideration is that a scientific proof of immortality is, at present, impossible in the ordinary sense of the phrase "scientific proof." The life of the human spirit is a transcendent fact. It cannot be co-ordinated with the phenomena of natin-e on which the scientifii mind is turned, Even the miracle of a ph)'sical resurrection, while il 84 lity. r Chicago. the lim'ti of le entire arg.i- xn. The most itc those main to the average y' of a belief in Three or four d at the outset: asoning on this man if he did a capacity for • define it, there nakes him sus- i of everlasting lidst of a world ]iorn and die in f surviving this |he question ot separate nian think of virtue |of immortality rtality is insej)- jtality rational: jiighest form ol 1 is part of the limortality is, at Irase " scientific fact. It cannot ;h the scientifi' tion, while it Rev. Philip S. Moxom, D. D , Boston. M '"""" 11 in iiiiiii' inaiirfiiniTiiiiiii ^ i; ^! il i I 'a i '1 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 87 would be demonstration of revival from death, would not prove immor- tality; for it would be a transaction quite as much on the plane of the material as revival fron- a swoon, and, as death supervened once, it might supervene again. Demonstration of immortality lies solely in the sphere of personal experience. The man who, from blindness, attains sight, has demon- stration of the reality of vision; but even he could not demonstrate that reality to blind men. So only the soul that has entered upon immortality has demonstration of that supreme reality, and "though one should rise from the dead," yet would he be incapable of demon- strating immortality to mortal man. It is both interesting and immensely suggestive that while St. Paul evidently argues immortality from the attested resurrection of Jesus, Jesus Himself uttered no word basing the doctrine of immortality on the mere fact of His return from death in the sphere of sense perception. True, He said to His disciples, "Because I live ye shall live also;" but that was an affirmation entirely apart from the implications of physical resurrection. None of the highest, the essentially spiritual, facts of man's knowledge and experience fall within the scope of what is known as scientific proof. God, the soul, truth, love, righteousness, repentance, faith, beauty, the good — all these are unapproachable by scientific tests; yet these and not salts and acids and laws of cohesion and chemical affinity and gravitation, are the supreme realities of man's life even in this world of matter and force. When one demaiuls scientific proof of immortality, then it is as if he demanded the linear measurement of a principle, or the troy weight of an emotion, or the color of an affection, or as if he should insist upon finding the human soul with his scalpel or microscope. A fourth consideration is that immortality is inseparable from/ personality. The whole significance of man's existence lies ultiinatelyi in its discreetness — in the evolution and persistence of tlie self-' conscious ego. Men cheat themselves with |ihrases who talk about the re-absorption of the finite soul in the infinite soul. The finite .iiui the infinite co-exist in this world; that of itself is proof that they may co-exist in the next world and forever. The absorption of the con- scious finite into the infinite is unthinkable save as the annihilation of the finite. With the semblance of deeply religious self-abnegation, this idea of human destiny mocks the heart and hope of man by eternally frus- trating the supreme end of aspiritual creation. The treasures ol life — of its struggle and passion and pain— are inseparable from personality the unfolding and perfecting being in whom the • ontiiiuity of 'experience conserves the results of all the divine education of man; he perfected individual fulfilling himself in the perfected society, the lever unfolding kingdom of God. The loss of personality is, for man, ht loss of being. Extinction is remediless waste, In nature there is o waste. Individuals perish, but the type remains in ever recurring "orms that but repeat the antecedent forms by absorbing their disor- DetDDUsir- tion of iDimor tality. Lo"8 of I'ei Konality. "♦«■ iosmmmsm 88 r//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS ganized substance. There is succession and there is economy, but no advance. In man, because he is a .spiritual personality, there is the possibility and the realization of endless progress, not the mere recur- rence of types nourished on the decay of preceding types. The loss of personality is utter loss of life, and such self-abnega- tion as the poet contemplates, were it possible, would be suicide and the lapse of human life into ab.solute, hopeless failure. The plea that the desire for "personal immortality" (as if there were or could be an impersonal immortality) is selfish, is at once specious and false. The greatest service which we can render to our kind, present or future, is by and through the fullness and strength and sweetness of personality to which we attain. To covet this is the supreme passion of unselfish- ness. " One sows and another reaps," said Jesus, but " that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together " ! The argument for immortality presents as its first, if not its (Weightiest consideration, the fact that the belief in the survival of the jsoul after death is well nigh universal. Practically, it is co-extensivt and co-etaneous with the human race. In this respect it is like the belief in God. Within the bounds of our knowledge there is no pecpk nor even a considerable tribe entirely destitute of some idea of God. Qiiatrefages and other anthropologists make this affirmation. In the case of rare apparent exceptions it is safe to assume that these are due to a lack of adequate and accurate knowledge on the part of inves- tigators. So intimately are these two ideas related— the idea of God and the idea of the perdurable soul — that it is not surprising to find them held co-cxtensively by maiikiiul. Immortality is not merely an idea to which man in his progress upward from the brute has attained, it is also and increasingly a desire. I'lioii madest man, he knows not why, He tliiiiks he was not made to die. There is in humanity an instinctive revolt against death. This is far more than our natural recoil from the pain of physical dissolution. Re»oit ABRinst Indeed the fear of death is in part due to the still imperfect discrim- ination in the minds of most men between the fact of mere physical death and the ct)inplete extinction of being. Death is the palpable contradiction ol life. Man 1 liiiik^ he was not made to die And instinctively revolts from the threatened termination of his existence. The belief in immortality and the aspiration for immortality, not- withstanding a|)parent exceptions which a particular time, when special moods are dominant, seems to present, grow stronger with the growth of men, and tiiey arc strongest in the best. The wisest, the most spiritual, ma)- be the least dogmatic, but they hold the finest and the most efHcacious faith in the persistence of the human spirit through and he><>iid tiie death of the body. We are dealing here with a broad and multiform fact of experience and observation. Man does believe that V - ^vas not made 'o die. s THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 89 )nomy, but no r, there is the le mere recur- es. h self-abnega- be suicide and The plea that or could be an nd false. The nt or future, is ; of personality >n of unselfish- "that both he first, if not its survival of the is co-extensivi ct it is like the 2re is no people lie idea of God. nation. In the it these are due part of inves- phe idea of God prising to find in his progress Lsingly a desire. death. This is cal dissolution. >erfcct discrim- f mere physical s the palpable ination of \\\> ^mortality, not- ar time, when ronger with tlie The wisest, the d the finest ami human spirit re dealing here ervation. Man And that belief, allying with itself the most of the faiths and hopes and purposes that make life worth living, becomes a reasonable evidence that the belief is a result and reflex of the possession of immortality. .,,..,- . •. ' Moreover, the universality and strength of the desire suggests its fulfillment. There is prophecy in pure and elemental human desire if wc believe in God. The principle of correlation in natural, gains in significance as it is carried up into the spiritual realm. The adoption of supply to need in the whole realm of creature life surely does not cease the moment we rise above the level of sense. It is a fair inference that if man has an appetite and a need for an existence beyond the material life which he shares with plant and ani- mal, there is provision for that need in the divine ordering of the uni- verse. In the experience of men we see instinct growing into idea, and idea ripening into conviction, and conviction shaping not only philos- ophy but the entire conduct of life. That conviction gives steadiness to the thinker, patience to the sufferer and energy and inspiration to the toiler, for it makes life intelligible when otherwise it would sink in '' confusion and defeat. "For my own part," says John Fiske, "I believe in the immortality' of the soul, not in the sense in which I accept the demonstrable truthfi . of science, but as a supreme act of faith in the reasonableness of God'si work." Man is Gods creature, the evolution of His thought and the product of His love, and his instinctive belief that "life is life forever "- more" is but his "faith in the reasonableness of God's work." "i- The denial of immortality is always an artificial product; it is not " a natural stage in the progress of thought, but the corollary of the philosophy which regards humanity not as an end, but as "a local inci- dent in an endless and aimless series of cosmical changes." An argument for immortality is grounded in the nature of the human mind, that is, in the nature of man as an intelligent being, I i cannot pause here to consider the materialistic conception of mind f which excludes the possibility of life after the organism has perished, ^tbccause it identifies mind with organism. It will suffice to quote these Itrenchant sentences from Fiske: "The only thing which cerebral physiology tells us, when studied fwith the aid of molecular physics, is against the materialist, so far a.s fit goes. It tells us that, during the present life, although thought and i feeling are always manifested in connection wjith a peculiar form of [matter, yet by no possibility can thought and feeling be in any sense Itlic products of matter. Nothing could be more grossly unscientific Ithan the famous remark of Cabanis, that the brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile. It is not even correct to say that thought goes )n in the brain. What goes on in the brain is an amazingly complex series of molecular movements with which thought and feeling are in some unknown way correlated, not as effects or as causes, but as con- comitants. ♦ * * The materialistic assumption * ♦ ♦ that PvoTiBionfor a Need. >■ > ^' 5)0 THE WORLD'S LONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. % 1 ' % iil| \.\i 5? i Drawn from [.'vi'.'iilion. the life of the soul accordingly ends with the life of the body, is per- haps the most colossal instance of baseless assumption that is known to the history of philosophy." \ An arjfument for immortality, to many the stronj^est argument of all, is that which is drawn from revelation. Naturally this argument appeals chielly to those whose minds have been nourished on the Scripture's of the Old and New Testaments. The implications of the most si)iritual utterances of the Hebrew prophets and psalmists are on the side of man's immortality. The teachings of the New Testa- ment are surchargeil with the idea anil the atmosphere of immortality Whoever accepts these needs no other argument To expound them iiere in detail is unnecessarj', even were there time. l?ut revelation is bromler than the Bible, for it is the communication of spiritual truth to man by the immediate action of the divine spirit, and that is not limited e\en to the great and incomparable writings of Hebrew prophet aiul Christian seer, liut were we conhned to the sacred scriptures we should ha\e ample ground and reason for the faith 'I'hat tliose we call the dead Are breathers of an ampler day. Whatever the Scrijjtures contain with respect to the triumph of the sold over death reaches highest expression in the character and teachings of Jesus. Nowhere does Jesus e.xi)licitly affirm the abstract truth of man's immortality, but it is the ever-present assiunption that is absohitel)' necessar\' to the intelligibility of His doctrines and His life and death. Maii>' are llis sayings which imply the deathlessness of the human spirit. Many and strong are His affirmations of life eternal. Ikit uKjre impressive even than His words are His constant air and temper. I le speaks out of a consciousness of indwelling iiie to which death, save as an incident in physical experience, is absolutely foreign. The three words that are dominantly express!, e of that consciousness are "light," "life" and "Ciod." .So domesticated is He in the sphere of eternal moral being that we feel no shock when He speaks of Himsell as "The .Son of man who is in Heaven." The consciousness of Jesus, as revealed in His speech, approaches as near to a demonstration ol immortality as is possible to souls that have not passed through the gate of death. In His last hours before the betrayal, fully aware of wliat awaited 1 lim, with the seriousness that imminent death must ever give to the calm and thoughtful soul. He sjioke to llis disciples words, the significance of which lies less even in their explicit sense than in the time and situation and manner in which they were spoken: "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God and believe in Me. In iny I'^athcr's house are many abiding places. If it were not so, 1 would have told you, because I. go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again, and will receive you to Myself, that where I am ye may be also." One cannot read those words, even at this remote day, without feeling the calm certainty as of impregnable faith and clear insight THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 1)1 : body, is pcr- that is known t argument of this argument irislicd on the cations of the .1 psalmists are ic New Testa- L){ immortality cxpt)vinil them It revelation is spiritual truth and that is not ijrs of Hebrew to the sacred r the faith . the triumph of ; character and irm the abstract assuniption that )Ctrines and Hi> ic deathlessncss mations of lifc ue His constant to which death, y foreign. Tho nsciousncss arc n the sphere of (caks of Himscll usness of Jesus, cnionstration ol cd through the fully aware of death must ever disciples words, it sense than in i spoken: "Let licvcinMe. In i not so, 1 would m. And if I go will receive you which breathes through them to infect his heart with happy con- fidence. . . . .,,..,, The teaching of Jesus in its entire scope is unintelligible apart from the fact of immortality,and the unique person of Jesus and His I transcendent life among men, and His profound and ever deepening influence on human lives is inexplicable apart from the fact of immor- tality Out of a full consciousness of an indwelling divine life which could not know death He said. "IJecausc I live, ye shall live al.so." Such a personality and such a life would make man immortal by con- tat.-,: ►«.i.. ■•■ % ;', *!'.' "'^^iX^'^ •C.iS Tfhe §oul and jts Future \jiQ. Paper by REV. SAMUEL M. WARREN, of the Swedenborgian Church. T is a doctrine of the New Church that the soul ' is substantial — though not of earthly substance, —and is the very man; that the body is merely ^ the earthly form and instrument of the soul, ' and that every part of the body is produced from the soul, according to its likeness, in order that the soul may be fitted to perform its functions in the world during the brief but important time that this is the place of man's conscious abode. If, as all Christians believe, man is an im- mortal being, created to live on through the endless ages of eternity, then the longest life in this world is, comparatively, but as a point, ail iiifinitessimal partof hisexistencc. In this view, it is not rational to believe that that part of man iirhich is for his brief use in this world only, and is left behind when Be passes out of this world, is the most real and substantial part of " m. That is more substantial which is more enduring, and that is e more real part of man in which his characteristics and his qualities ifire. All the facts and phenomena of life confirm the doctrine that i^be soul is the real man. What makes the cpiality of a man? What tves him character as good or bad, small or great, lovable or detest- »le? Uo these qualities pertain to the body? Every one knows tbat they do not. Hut they arc the qualities of the man. Then the real man is not the body, but is "the living soul." If there is immor- tal life he has not vanished, except from mortal and material sight. ^s between the soul and the body, then, there can be no rational estion as to which is the substantial and which the evanescent ing. Again, if the immortal soul is the real man, and is substantial, at must be its form? It cannot be a formless vaporous thing and \^ a man. Can it have other than the human form? Reason clearly Mtes that if formless or in any other form he would not be a man. The laul of man, or the real man, is a marvelous assemblage of powers and 93 Form of tlie Soul. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 Li|2£ |25 mm ^ |i£ 12.0 I' I . ijil U IIIIIL6 0% ^'^ ■> ^> y Pholj}graphic Sciences 23 WfST MAIN STRUT WltSTU.N.Y. 14510 (716) •72-4503 ^^^ ^^^^Sli^ik.i^^^i:^^: -1 U ,■■ 1 H ii ^ ■ ' \ , . S ,], Form of the Soul. > 1 '•?: 1: •if !' i M TI/E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, faculties of will and understanding, and the human form is such as ii is because it is perfectly adapted to the exercise of these various powers and faculties; in other words, the soul forms itself, under the Divine Maker's hand, into an organism by which it can adequately and perfectly put forth its wondrous and wonderfully varied powers, and bring its purposes into acts. J The human form is thus an assemblage of organs that exactly cor- 1 respond to and embody and are the express image of the various fac- ulties of the soul. And there is no organ of the human form the .absence of which would not hinder and impede the free and efficient ' action and putting forth of the soul's powers. And by the human form is not meant merely, nor primarily, the organic forms of the material body. The faculties are of the soul, and if the soul is the man, and endures when the body decays and vanishes, it must itself be in a form which is an assemblage of organs perfectly adapted and adequate to the exercise of its powers, that is, in the human form. The human form is then primarily and especially the form of the soul — which is the perfection of all forms, as man, at his highest, is the consummation and fullness of all living and intelligent attributes. But when does the soul itself take on its human form? Is it not until the death of the body? Manifestly, if it is the very form of the soul, the soul cannot exist without it, and it is put on in and by the fact of its creation and the gradual development of its powers. It could have no other form and be a human soul. Its organs are the necessary. organs of its faculties and powers, and these are clothed Iwith their similitudes in dead material forms animated by the soul for temporary use in the material world. The soul is omnipresent in the material body, not by diffusion, formlessly, but each organ of the soul is within and is the soul of the corresponding organ of the body. That the immortal soul is the very man involves the eternal pres- ervation of his identity. For in the soul are the distinguishing qual- ities that constitute the individuality of a man — all those certain characteristics affectional and intellectual which make up such or such a man, and distinguish and differentiate him from all other men. He remains, therefore, the same man to all eternity. He may become more and more, to endless ages, an angel of light — even as here a man may advance greatly in wisdom and intelligence, and yet is always the same man. This doctrine of the soul involves also the permanency of established character. The life in this world is the period of char- acter building. It has been very truthfully said that a man is a bundle of habits. What manner of man he is depends on what his manner of life has been. If evil and vicious habits are continued through life they are fixed and confirmed and become of the very life, so that the man loves and desires no other life, and does not wish to— will not be led out of them — because he loves the pra>^tice of them. On the other hand, if from childhood a man has been inured to virtuous habits, these habits become fixed and established and of his very soul and life. In either ^m^mT^ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 95 > such as it a lese various vfl ', under the "fl ;quately and 1 powers, and '1 exactly cor- various fac- in form the and efficient % the human % orms of the 1 ilis the man, 1 tself be in a nd adequate The human ul — which is 1 msummation 1? Is it not % form of the \ and by the 1 powers. It '1 gans are the are clothed i ^ the soul for % resent in the ■ '« m of the soul '9 le body, eternal pres- uishing qual- hose certain 1 such or such .j| cr men. He '^1 may become 9 IS here a man '9 is always the 'm permanency riod of char- 1 in is a bundle J is manner of \ hey are fixed lan loves and I \ out of them "''- hand, if from '5 these habits 1 fe. In either case the habits thus fixed and confirmed are of the immortal soul and constitute its permanent character. The body, as to its part, has been but the pliant instrument of the soul. With respect to the soul's future life, the first important consider- ation is what sort of a world it will inhabit. If we have shown good reasons for believing the doctrine that the soul is not a something formless, vague and shadowy, but is itself an organic human form, sub- stantial, and the very man, then it must inhabit a substantial and very real world. It is a gross fallacy of the senses, but there is no sub- stance but matter, and nothing substantial but what is material. Is not God, the Divine, Omnipotent Creator of all things, substantial?/ Can Omnipotence be an attribute of that which has no substance and\ no form? Is such an existence conceivable? But He is not material/ and not visible or cognizable by any mortal sense. Yet we know thatf He is substantial; for it is manifest in His wondrous and mighty works. j There is, then, spiritual substance. And of such substance must be the world wherein the soul is eternally to dwell. It is the reality of the spiritual world that makes this world real, just as it is the reality of the soul that makes the human body a reality and a possibility. As there could be no body without the soul there could be no natural . world without the spiritual. Not only is that world substantial, but it must be a world of sur- passing loveliness and beauty. It has justly been considered one of the most beneficent manifestations of the divine love and wisdom that this beautiful world that we briefly inhabit is so wondrously adapted to all men's wants and to call into exercise and gratify his every faculty and good desire. And when he leaves this temporary abode, a man with all his faculties exalted and refined by freedom from the incumbrance of the flesh — an incumbrance which we are often very conscious of — will he not enter a world of beauty exceeding the loveliest aspects of this? The soul is human and the world in which it is to dwell is adapted to human life; and it would not be adapted to human life if it did not adequately meet and answer to the soul's desires. Is it reasonable that this material world should be so full of life and loveliness and beauty, where "Nature spreads for every sense a feast," to gratify every exalted faculty of the soul, and not the spiritual world, wherein the soul is to abide forever. And the life of that world is human life. The same laws of life and happiness obtain there that govern here, because they are grounded in human nature. Man is a social being, and even there, in that world as in this, desires and seeks the companionship of those that are congenial to him; that is, who are of similar quality to him- self. Men are thus mutually drawn together by spiritual affinity. This is the law of association here, but it is less perfectly operative in this world, because there is much dissimulation among men, so that they often do not appear to be what they really are, and thus by false and deceptive appearances the good and the evil arc often as.sociated together. Sort of World 'tlie eJoul Will Inhabit. 96 THE WORLtyS CONGRESS OP RELIGIONS. i% '( d! < i itti :^iir| ll Qood and Evil. I ^ I! And so it is for a time and in a measure in the first state and region into which men come when they enter the spiritual world. They go into that world as they are, and are at first in a mixed state, as in this world. This continues until the real character is clearly manifest, and ^Se^tima of good and evil are separated, and they are thus prepared for their final and permanent association and abode. They who, in the world, have made .some real effort, and beginning to live a good life, but have evil habits not yet overcome, remain there until they are entirely purified of evil, and are fitted for some society of heaven; and those whu inwardly are evil and have outwardly assumed a virtuous garb, remain until their dissembled goodness is cast off and their inward character becomes outwardly manifest. When this state of separation is complete there can be no successful dissimulation — the good and the evil are seen and known as such and the law of spiritual affinity becomes per- fectly operative by their own free volition and choice. Then the evil and the good become entirely separated into their congenial societies. The various societies and communities of the good thus associated constitute heaven and those of the evil constitute hell — not by any arbitrary judgment of an angry God, but of voluntary choice, by the {>erfect and unhindered operation of the law of human nature that eads men to prefer and seek the companionship of those most con- genial to themselves. As regards the permanency of the state of those who by estab- lished evil habit are fixed and determined in their love of evil life, it is not of the Lord's will, but of their own. We are taught in His Holy Word that He is ever " gracious and full of compassion." He would that they should turn from their evil ways and live, but they will not. There is no moment, in this or in the future life, when the infinite mercy of the Lord would not that an evil man should turn from his evil course and live a virtuous and upright and happy life; but they will not in that world for the same reason that they would not in this, because when evil habits are once fixed and confirmed they love them and will not turn from them. " Can the Ethiopian ch vnge his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may they also do good that are accus- tomed to do evil." Heaven is a heaven of man and the life of heaven is human life. The conditions of life in that exalted state are greatly different from the conditions here, but it is human life adapted to such transcendent conditions, and the laws of life in that world, as we have seen, are the same as in this. Man was created to be a free and will- ing agent of the Lord to bless His kind. His true happiness comes, not in seeking happiness for himself, but in seeking to promote the happiness of others. Where all are animated by this desire, all ate mutually and reciprocally blest. Such a state is heaven, whether measurably in this world or fully and perfectly in the next. Then must there be useful tvays in heaven by which they can contribute to each other's happiness. And of such Empioymenu kind wiU be the employments of heaven, for there must be useful " """""" employments. There could be no happiness without to beings who in UMTan. THE WORUys CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 67 re designed and formed for usefulness to others. What the employ- lents are in that exalted condition we cannot well know, except as ame of them are revealed to us, and of them we have faint and fee- ble conception. But, undoubtedly, one of them is attenuance upon len in this world. Such, in general, according to the revealed doctrines of the New phurch, is the future life of the immortal souls of men. mmm 1 ?l ^ >ii iliil; ! .'I i 'Pruthfulness of H^^Y Scriptures. Paper by REV. CHARLES A. BRIGGS, D. D., of New York. M n B t. Kiire RriticiHin iiud Bcience. VIK time alottcd for a paper like this is so short that I can only treat the subject very cursorily and with many gaps, which every one of yon will probably notice. All the great historic religions have sacred books which are re- garded as the inspired word of God. Prom- inent among those sacred books are the Holv Scriptures of the Christian church. The hi tory of the Christian church shows that it is the intrinsic excellence of these Holy Script- ures which has given them the control of so large a portion of our whole race. With a few exceptions the Christian religion was not extended by force of arms or by the arts of statesmanship, but by the holy lives ami faithful teaching of self-sacrificing men and women, who had firm faith in the truthfulness of the Holy Scriptures and were able to convince men in all parts of the world that they are faithful guides to God and salvation. Wcmay now say confidently to all mc;^.; "All the sacred books of the world are now accessible to you; study them; compare them; rec- ognize all that is good and noble and true in them all and tabulate results, and you will be convinced that tho Holy Scriptures of the OKI and New Testaments are true, holy and divine." When we have gone searchingly through all the books of other religions we will find tliat they arc as torches of various sizes and brilliance lighting up the dark- ness of the night, but the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Tes- taments are like the sun shining in the heavens and lighting up the whole world. Wc arc living in a scientific age, which demands that every tradi- tional statement shall be tested. Science explores the earth in its height and breadth in search of truth; it explores the heavens in ortler to solve the mysteries of the universe; it investigates all the monu- ments of history, whether of stone or of metal, and that man must be lacking in intelligence, or in observation at least, who imagines that 88 tures. New York. c this is so short ct very cursorily ivery one of you le great historic s which are ro- of God. Proni- )ks are the Holv iiurch. The hi> 1 shows that it is icse Holy Script- the control of so le race. With a religion was not or by the arts of holy lives and who had firm faith able to convince uides to God and sacred books of nipare them ; rec- all and tabulate 3tures of the Old icn we have gone we will find that iting up the dark- )ld and New Tcs- ighting up the s that every tradi- the earth in its c heavens in order es all the monu- that man must be ho imagines that Rev. Charles A. Briggs, D.D., New York. R ■ Ml ic R/Ssnt:^^ ~n 4 !■ I THE WORLDS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 101 he sacred books of the Christian religion or the institutions of the Jhristian church shall escape the criticism of this age. It will not do o oppose science with religion or criticism with faith. Criticism makes it evident that the faith which shrinks from critiA ism is a faith so weak and uncertain that it excites suspicion as to its ife and reality. Science goes on, confident that every form of religion hich resists this criticism will ere long crumble into dust. All depart- ents of human investigation sooner or later come in contact with the .hristian Scriptures; all find somethmg that accords with them or con- icts with them, and the question forces itself upon us. Can we main- gci,nt|flo ;ain the truthfulness of the Holy Scriptures in the face of modern ErrorB. cience? We are obliged to admit that there are scientific errors in e Bible, errors of astronomy, geology, zoology, botany and anth'o- )logy. In all these respects there is no evidence that the authors of e Scriptures had any other knowledge than that possessed by their lontemporaries. Their statements are such as indicate ordinary obser- ation of the phenomena of life. They had not that insight, that rasp of conception and power of expression in these matters such as ey exhibited when writing concerning matters of religion. If it was not the intent of God to give to the ancient world the ientific knowledge of our nineteenth century, why should any one ippose that the Divine Spirit influenced them in relation to any such atters as science? Why should they be kept from mis-statements, isconceptions and errors in such respects? The Divine Spirit wished use them as religious teachers, and so long as they made no mis- kes in that respect they were trustworthy and reliable, even if they rred in such matters as come in contact with modern science There re historical mistakes in the Bible, mistakes of chronology and geog- aphy, discrepancies and inconsistencies yi^hich cannot be removed y any proper method of interpretation. There are such errors as we e apt to find in modern history. There is no evidence that the writ- ers of the Scriptures received any of their history by revelation from od. There is no evidence that the Divine Spirit corrected these nar- tivcs. The purpose of the sacred writers was to give us the history of od's redemptive workings. This made it necessary that there should no essential errors in the redemptive facts and agencies, but did ot make it necessary that there should be no mistakes in places, dates nd persons, so long as these did not change the redemptive lesson^ redemptive facts. None of the mistakes which have been discov-i' d disturb the religious lessons of the Biblical history, and those les4 IS arc the only ones whose truthfulness we are concerned to defend.^ pplause.] Higher criticism recognizes faults of grammar, of rhetoric d logic in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, but errors in these rmal things do not mar the truthfulness of the religious instruction elf. Higher criticism shows that most of the books were composed unknown authors; that they passed through the hands of a consid- rable number gf unknown editors. In this process of editing, arrang- 1 1 i 1 -1 rlfl i Ini and. pintion Lccaracy. t 1 i ^ 1 1 ■ 1 ;'; ii 102 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ing, subtraction and reconstruction, extending through so many cent- uries, what evidence have we that these unknown editors were kept from error in all their work? They were guided by the Divine Spirit in their comprehension and expression of the divine instruction, but, judging also from their work, it seems most probable that they were not guided by the Divine Spirit in grammar, rhetoric, logic, expression, arrangement of material or general editorial work. They were left to those errors which even the most faithful and scrupulous of writers will sometimes make. The science which approaches the Bible from without and the science which studies it from within agree as to the essential facts of the case. Now, can the truthfulness of Scripture be maintained by those who recognize these errors? There is no reason why the substantial truthfulness of the Bible shall not be consistent with circumstantial errors. God did not speak Himself in the Bible except a few words recorded here and there; He spoke in much greater portions of the Old Testament through the voices and pens of the human authors cf the Scriptures. Did the human minds and pens always deliver the inerrant word? Even if all writers possessed of the Holy Spirit were merely pass- ive in the hands of God, the question is. Can the human voice and pen express truth of the infinite God? How can an imperfect word, an imperfect sentence express the divine truth? It is evident that tiie writers of the Bible were not, as a rule, in an ecstatic state. The Holy- Spirit suggested to them the divine truths they were to teach. They received them by intuition, and framed them in imagination and fancy. Then, if the divine truth passed through the conception and imagina- tion of the human mind, did the human mind receive it fully without any fault or shadow of error; did the human mind add anything to it or color it; was it delivered in its entirety exactly as it was received? How can we be sure of this when we see the same doctrine in such a variety of forms, all partial and all inadequate? All that we can claim is inspiration and accuracy for that which suggests the religious lessons to be imparted. God is true He is the truth. He cannot lie; He cannot mislead or deceive His creatures. But the question arises. When the infinite God speaks to finite man, must He speak words which are not error? This depends not only upon God's speaking, but on man's hearing, and also of the means of communication between God and man. It is necessary to show the capacity of man to receive the Word before we can be sure that he transmitted it correctly. The inspiration of the Holy Scriptures does not carry with it inerrancy in every particular; it was sufficient if the divine truth was given with such clearness as to guide men aright in religious life. The errors of Holy Scripture are not errors of falsehood or deceit, but of ignorance, inadvertence, partial and inadequate knowledge and of incapacity to express the whole truth of God which belonged to man as man. Just as light is seen, not in its pure unclouded state, but in THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 103 Le beautiful colors of the spectrum, so it is that the truth of God, its Evelation and communication to man, met with such obstacles in aman nature. Men are capable of receiving it only in its diverse derations and diverse manners as it comes to them through the fvcrsc temperaments and points of view of the biblical writers. The (ligion of the Old Testament is a religion which includes .somethings brd to reconcile in an inerrant revelation. The sacrifice of Jephtha's lughter, the divine command to Abraham to offer up his son as a irnt offering and other incidents seem unsuitcd to divme revelation, le New Testament taught that sacrifices must be of broken, contrite jarts and humble and cheerful spirits What pleasure could God ce in smoking altars? How could t)?'' true God prescribe such jerilities? t i i ■ t We can only say that God was traming Israel to the mcanmg of le higher sacrifices- The offering up of children and domestic ani- lals was part of a preparatory discipline. But it was provisional and iporal discipline. It was the form necessary then to clothe the Ivine law of sacrifice in the early stages of revelation. They were le object lessons by which the children of the ancient world could be iained to understand the inerrable law of sacrifice for man. St. Paul them the weak and beggarly rudiments, the shadow of the things come. We cannot defend the morals on the Old Testament at all points. )where in the Old Testament was polygamy or slavery condemned. ic time had not come in the history of the world when they could condemned. Is God to be held responsible for these twin relics of irbarism because He did not condemn, but, on the contrary, recognized item and restrained them in the early stages of His revelation? The itriarchs are not truthful. Their age seems to have had little com- i-ehensir>n of the principles of truth, yet Abraham was faithful to ' )d, and so faithful under temptation and trial that he became the icr of the faithful, and from that point of view the friend of God. nA was a sinner, a very wicked sinner, but he was a very penitent mer, and showed such a devout attachment to the worship of God his sins, though many, were all forgiven him, and his life, as a lole, exhibits such generosity, courage, human affection and such troism and patience under suffering, and such self-restraint under ignificent prosperity, such nobility and grandeur of character alto- bther that we must admire him and love him as one of the best of 1, and we are not surprised that the heart of the infinite God went It to him. Many of the stories of revenge in the Old Testament md out in glaring contrast to the picture of Jesus Christ praying for enemies, and it is the story of Christ that lifts us into a different lical air from any of the Old Testament. We cannot regard these things in the Old Testament as inerrable, [the light of the moral character of Christ and the moral character I God as He reveals it. And yet we may well understand that the Old fstament times were not ripe for the higher revelation of His will Morals in the OldTeetameat. BCTSr ! i THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. such as would guide His people in the right direction, with as steady and rapid a pace as they were capable of making. Jesus Christ teacht s the true principle. You may judge the ethics of the Old Testament when He repealed the Mosaic laws of divorce. He said: "Moses, f^r your hardness of heart suffers you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it hath not been so." In other words. Mosaic law of divorce was not in accord with the original institution of marriage, nr with the mind and will of the holy God. [Applause.] God revealed Himself partially to the people or the Old Testa- ment '1 a way sufficient for their purposes of preparatory discipline, which revelation was to disappear forever when it had accomplislin! its purpose. The laws of the Old Testament have all been cast down Di'Icfpfine."'^'' by the Christian church, with the single exception of ten laws; and with reference to the fourth of these Jesus Christ says: "The Sabbaili was made for man and not man for the .Sabbath." The doctrine of the creation is set forth in a great variety of beautiful poetical representa- tions, which give in the aggregate a grand conception of the creation, a '' iller conception than the ordinary doctrine drawn from an interprc- tucion of the nrst and second chapter of Genesis. I grant He was con- ceived as the Father of the nations and of the kings. Hut as our Fatlior made known to us through Jesus Christ, He was not known to the Old Testament dispensation. The profound depth of .sympathy of Gud and of Jesus Christ were not yet manifested. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity w.is not yet revealed. But there is a difference in God's revelation in these other successive layers of the Old Testament writing, which is like the march of an invincil)lc army. It is true there are times when there are expressions of the jealousy of God and a cruel disregard of human sufferings, all of which betrayed the inadequacy of ancient Israel to understand their God. We all know that the true God, whom we a'l love and worship, docs not agree with these ancient conceptions. The truthfulness of the teachings of the doctrine of God is not destroyed by occasional inac- curacies among the teachings. The doctrine of man of the Old Testament is a noble doctrine. Unity of brotherhood of the race in origin and destiny is established in the Old Testament as nowhere else. The origin and development of sin finds a response in the experience of mankind. The idea! of righteousness and the original plan of God for man. His ultimate destiny for man is held up as a banner over the heads of the peo])le. Surely these are inspirations; they are faithful, they are divine. Hut there are doubtless expressions of faulty psychology and occasional exaggerations of mere external forms in ceremonial worship; but these do not mar, but rather serve to enhance our estimate of their value for all of that in the Scriptures which binds our race to all that is gooil in the history of the past, created and given by holy God for the welfare of humanity. The scheme of redemption is so vast, so comprehensive, so far reaching, that the Christian church has even thus far failed to fully THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 105 ; known to the Old sympathy of GdiI I comprehend it. All evil is to be banished. There is to come in a reiRii of universal peace. There is to be a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem, from which the wicked will be e.\cluded. Such [ideals of redemption are divine ideals which the human race has not yet attained, and which we can only partially and inadequately comprehend. If, in the course of training for these ideals of redemp- ttion for God's people, they have made mistakes, it is quite sure that Iforfjiveness of sins was appropriated without any explanation of its Igrounds. The sacrifices of the New were unknown m the Old Testament. It . the mercy of God which is the forgiveness of sins. There is a lack jf appreciation in the Old Testament of the richness of faith. It was Jesus Christ who first gave faith its unique place in the order of salva- tion— the doctrine of holy lo^' -; the doctrine of the future life and )f the resurrection from the ilrid. Thus in every department of ioctrine the Old Testament has only advanced through the centuries. The several periods of Biblical literature, of unfolding df the doctrines )repared the way for a full revehition in the New Testament. That /elation looked only at the end, the highest ideals, that what would accomplished in the last century of human time; that would be a jvelation for all men, but it would be of no use to any other century ktt the last. But man must be prepared for the present as well as for the future, [an must have something for every century of human history, a revc- ition for the barbarian us well as for the Greek, the Gentile as well as le Jew, the dark-minded African as well as the open-minded Kuro- )ean, the South Sea Islander as well as the Asiatic, the child as well the man. It is just in this respect that the Holy Scriptures in the lew Testament are so permanent and have in them religious instruc- Itions for the world. They were designs for the training of Israel in tvcry stage of their development, and so they will train all minds in fcvery stage of their development. It does no harm to the advanced .student to look back upon the meducated years of his youthful days. It does not harm the Christian 3 see the many imperfections, crudities and errors of the more ele- icntary instructions of the Old Testament. Nor does it destroy his h of the truthfulness of the Divine Word because it has passed irough human hands. The infallible will has all the time been at ^'ork using the imperfect medium, training them to their utmost Opacity, to get man to raise them, to advance them in the true relig- )n. The great books are always pointing forward and upward. They always extending in all directions They are now, as they always lave been, true and faithful guides to God and all the highest. They e now, as they always have been, trustworthy and reliable in their ligious instruction. They are now, as they always have been, alto- gether truthful in their testimony to the heart and experience of lankind. 8 Sacrificofi of the New Testa- ment. 'Hxs^?:^, :,flrt«*iM^^ fl !K i ' ill M :l Xhe Catholic Qhurch and the H^^y §criptures. ""'f/^ Paper by RT. REV. MGR. SETON, of Newark, N. J. it Written and Printed Word. IBLE is the name now given to the sacred books of the Jews and Christians. Indepen- dently of all considerations of its moral and religious advantages, we believe that no book has conduced more than the Bible to the intellectual advancement of the human race; we believe that no book ha;s been to so many and so abundantly wealth in poverty, liberty in bondage, health in sickness, society in sol- itude; and as a divinely inspired work, such as the testimony of the Jewish nation for the greater part of it and the tradition of the Christian church for the whole of it, declares it to be, it claims our sincerest homage The relations of the church to these Scriptures of the Old and New Testament form an important part of dogmatic theology and an inter- esting portion of ecclesiastical history. They have, also, been the occasion of religious differences in the Christian body; for as the wise Englishman, John Selden, said in his Table Talk of two centuries ago, " 'Tis a great question how we know Scripture to be Scripture, whether by the church or by man's private judgment." We shall not discuss purely controversial matters, but limit ourselves to an introductory statement of facts and to a brief consideration of the Canon, the Inspiration and the Vulgate edition of Scripture. The church is a living society commissioned by Jesus Christ t preserve the word of God pure and unchanged, This revealed word of God is contained partly in the Holy Scripture and partly in tradi- tion. The former is called the Written Word of God. Writing, not (necessarily, indeed, on paper, but as often found on more durable materials, such as clay or brick, tablets, stone slabs and cylinders, and metal plates, being the art of fixing thoughts in an intelligible and 106 :;«fW|!iff^ he Ho^y k, N. J. ;en to the sacred istians. Indepeii- s of its moral and lieve that no book the Bible to the f the human race; s been to so many in poverty, liberty less, society in sol- spired work, such v'ish nation for the 2 tradition of the loie of it, declares rest homage church to these cstament form an o{^y and an intcr- tory. Ihey have, le Christian body; lis Table Talk of know Scripture to »rivate judgment." )ut limit ourselves f consideration of of Scripture. )y Jesus Christ t his revealed word nd partly in tradi- }od. Writing, not on more durable and cylinders, and in intelligible and Rt. Rev. Mgr. Seton, Newark, N. J. . ■ ll.l,.l ll.lppppl I , !i: THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 109 la'Stinff shape, so as to hand them down to other generations and thus perpetuate historical records. There is a special congruity that the Almighty, from whose instructions not only original spoken, but prob- ably also written, language was derived, should have put His divine revelations in writing through th^ instrumentality of chosen men; and as the human race is originally one, we think that the fact that script- ures of some sort claiming to be inspired are found in all the civilized nations of the past, shows that such conceptions, although outside of the orthodox line of tradition, are derived from the primitive unity and religion of the human family. The church teaches that the sacred Scriptures are the written Word 'of God and that He is their author, and consequently she receives Ithem with piety and reverence. This gives a distinct character to the *! Bible which no other book possesses, for of no nsere human composition, ihowever excellent, can it ever be said that it comes directly from God. |The cJiurchalsojTiaintains^ it belongs to her— and tn her .alone— written Ito dctcrmiiieTlTcTFue sense oF'tTT c Scriptur es, and that they cannot be Word of God. frightly interpi-eted" contrary toTie? decision; because she claims to be land is the living, unerring authority to whom— and not to those who [expound the Scripture by the light of private judgment— infallibility Iwas |)ioniised and giver. 1 Her teaching is the rule of faith, since she is a visible, perpetual land universal organization, possessed of legislaiive, executive and Ijudicial functions. She is historically independent ot the Holy Script- lures, some parts thereof being anterior and other parts subsequent to Iher own existence, but receives safeguards and preserves them as her Imost sacred deposit, somewhat as, to make a comparison taken from four civil polity, the government of the United States in its three co- [ordinatc branches venerates, interprets and executes the American Iconstitutiop. ^ One of the duties incumbent upon the pastors of the church, in i [the conduct of public worship, has ever been the reading of the Script-j lures with an explanation of what was read or an exhortation derived' [from it. During the middle ages, owing to the lack of those aids and/ [appliances, such especially as archaeology and comparative philology ,1 [learned and scientific as contrasted with scholastic and devotional in-j jterpretation of the Holy Scripture, although never quite neglected, oc-' Icupied relatively only a small share in the studies of those times. ! The Catholic principles as to the general use of the Bible may be [deduced from the Tndentine decree, which was particularly directed [against those irreverent and sometimes blasphemous expounders of |hol\' writ, whom the council qualifies as " petulant spirits," According) Ito our view, the Bible docs not contain the whole of revealed truth) Oenor^Use Inor is it necessary for every Christian to read and understand it. Thq Ichuich existed as an organized society, having powers from her Diving [Founder to teach all nations, before the Scriptures as a whole existed] md before there was question or dispute about any part of the Script- jres. of the Bible. ^^SPPIP aM!„f.,»™.M..tK-- fluwtfttetet Vernacnlar VeraionB. ! • 'i '111 1 ■:j '.:i ■;i (1 Septnagint Version, < i 110 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. The redemption by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ being tlic central idea of all Christian instruction, the Old Testament subjects in these rare and valuable works were chosen for their typical significance and relation to it, and thus the people were instructed in a manner not less calculated to excite their piety than that which is conveyed by means of speech. During this present century several popes have warned the faithful against societies which distribute vernacular ver- sions, often corrupt ones, with the avowed purpose of unsettling the belief of simple-minded Catholics; but it is unjust to conclude from this that the church is not solicitous for her children to read the Bible if this be correctly rendered into their language and they possess the necessary qualifications and proper disposition. The Christian church did not receive the canon of Old Testament Scripture from the Jewish synagogue, because there was not settled Hebrew canon until long after the promulgation of the Gospel. The inspired writers of the New Testament did not enumerate the books received by Christ and His disciples. Nevertheless, we are certain that the Septuagint version, or translation of the Old Testament Scriptures into Greek, made some part (the Pentateuch) ; Alexandria about 2.So years H. C, and the rest, made also in Kgypt ocfon 133 B. C, whicli contains several books now thrown out by the Jews, was favorably viewed and almost constantly quoted from by them, so that Saint Augustine says that it is "of most grave and pre-eminent authority." It is supposctl to be the oldest of all the versions of the Scriptures and was commonly used in the church for four centuries, since from it was made that very early Latin translation which was used in the western part of the empire before the introduction of Saint Jerome's Vulgate. It was heici in great repute for a long time by the Jews and read in their .synagogues, until it became odious to them on account of the arguments drawn from it by the Christians. From it the great body of the fathers have quoted, and it is still used in the Greek church. This celebrated translation contains all the books of the Old Testa- ment which Catholics acknowledge to be genuine. The Christian writers of the first three centuries were unanimous in accepting these books as inspired; and the letter of Pope Saint Clement, written about A. D. 96, indicates that a scriptural canon must already have been fixed upon by apostolical tradition in the church at Rome, since tlie author cites from almost every one of the books of the Old Testament, including those called dcutero-canonical and rejected by the J s. At the council of Florence the canon was not discussed. "A clear proof," says Dixon in his General Introduction to the Sacred Scr'pture, "that the (ireek and Latin churches were then unanimous upon this point." At this period, A. D. 1439, the decree of union drawn up by Pope Eugene IV for the Orientals who came to Rome to abjure their errors, gives the canon as it had always been held by his predecessors. In the next century the Bible having become an occasion of bitter religious controversy, the canonicity of the Script- ures was thoroughly discussed and forever settled for Catholics by THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Ill [the council of Trent, which ases these words in the fourth session, {held on the 8th day of April, A. D. 1546: The synod, "following the [examples of the orthodox fathers, receives and venerates with an [equal affection of piety and reverence, all the books, both of the Old land of the New Testament, seeing that one God is the author of both; ind it has thought it meet that a list of the sacred books be inserted n this decree, lest a doubt may arise in any one's mind which are the jooks that are received by this synod." Inspiration is a certain influence of the Holy Spirit upon the mind ^of a writer urging him to write, and so acting upon him that his work is truly the word of God. Father, since Cardinal, Franzelin's second thesis on the sacred Scriptures, in his course at the Roman college in 1864, states the Catholic idea of inspiration in the following words: "As books may be called divine in several senses, the Scriptures, iccording to Catholic doctrine contained both in the apostolic writ- ings and in unbroken tradition, must be held to be divine in this sense, i,jeao£lnB i' that they arc the books of God as their efficient cause and that God ration." --—' is the author of these books by His supernatural action upon their luman writers, which action is styled inspiration in ecclesiastical terminology derived from the Scriptures themselves." The Holy Scriptures have been translated into every language, but jimong these almost innumerable versions one only, which is called the wulgate, is authorized and declared to be "authentic" by the church. ^The belief of the faithful being that the doctrinal authority of the j^church extends to positive truths and "dogmatic facts" which, although 'inot revealed, are necessary for the exposition or defense of revelation. ^^_ The Vulgate has an interesting hi '-ry. It is the common opin- ion that, from the first age of Christianity, one particular version made from the Septuagint, was received and sanctioned by the church in Rome and used throughout the west. Among individual Christians almost innumerable Latin translations were current, but only one of these, calleil the Old Latin, bore an official stamp. These translations, corrections and portions left untouched by 5aint Jerome, being brought together form the Vulgate, which, how- ever, did not displace the old version for two centuries, although it spread rapidly and constantly gained strength, until about A. D 600 ft was generally received in the churches of the west and has continued 5ver since in common use. In the collect for the feast of Saint Jerome, jeptember 30th, he is called, "A doctor mighty in expoundiiig Holy icripturc." ,l,ggS8gJW w^ i /*!■ 3 ji i#!i . 1 M'i ■i E (U J3 3 u Character and Degree of the Inspiration of the Christian §criptures. Paper by REV. FRANK SEW ALL, of New York. HERE is a common consent among Christians^ tliat the Scriptures known as the Holy Hiblej are divinely inspired, that they constitute a/ book unlike all other books in that they con- tain a direct communication from the Divine Spirit to the mind and heart of man. The nature and the degree of the inspiration which thus cha acterizcs the Bible can only be learned from the declaration of the Iloly Scriptures themselves, since only the Divine can truly reveal the Divine or afford to human minds the means of judging truly regarding what is divine. The Christian Scripture, or the Holy Bible, is written in two parts, the Old and the New Testament. In the interval of time that ^transpired between the writing of these two parts, the divine truth and ssential word which, in the beginning, was with God and was God, )ecamc incarnate on our earth in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, [c, as the word made flesh and dwelling among men, being himself 'the true light that lighteth every man that comcth into the world," )laccd the -seal of divine authority upon certain of the then existing Bacred Scriptures, He thus forever fi.xed the divine canon of that )ortion of the written word; and from that portion we are enabled to lerivc a criterion of judgment regarding the degree of divine inspi- ration and authority to be attributed to those other scriptures which fere to follow after our Lord's ascension and which constitute the lew Testament. The Divine Canon of the Word in the Old Testament Scripture^ ^^'scriptofSr' declared by our Lord in Luke, twenty-fourth chapter, forty-fourth) /erse, where he says: "All things must be fulfilled which were writteiv In the law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the I'salms concerning 113 i i i : 1 1 iii 114 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. t ; '■ i i; i^ i ' '\ M N Mc." And in verses twenty-five to twenty-seven: "O, fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken;" and befjinniiii; at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all iiw Scripture thinj^s concerning Himself. The Scrij^ures of the Old Testament, thus enumerated as testify- ing of Him and as being fulfilled in Him, embrace two of the three divisions into which the Jews at that time divided their sacred books. These two are the Law (Torah),or the Five Hooks of Moses, .so-called, and the Prophets (Nebiim). Of the books contained in the third division of the Jewish canon, known as the Ketubim, or "Other Writ- ings," our Lord recognizes but two; He names by title "The I'salms," and in Matthew, twenty-fourth chapter, fifteenth verse, when predict- ing the consummation of the age and His own second coming, our Lord cites the prophecy of Daniel. It is evident that our Lord was not governed by Jewish tradition in naming these three classes of tlu' ancient books which were henceforth to be regarded as essentially "The Word," because of having their fulfillment in Himself. In the very words of Jesus Christ the canon of the word is estai)- lished in a twofold manner: First, intrinsically, as including thosr books which interiorly testify of Him, and were all to be fulfilled in The Law, the Hipi. Secondly, the canon is fixed specifically by our Lord's namiii;; tho°&eaim""'* the books which compose it under the three divisions: "The law, the prophets and the psalms." The canon in this sense comprises, consequently, the five books of Moses, or the "law," so-called; the books of Joshua, the Judges, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, or the so-called earlier prophets; the later prophets, including the four "great" ami the twelve "minor" prophets, and finally the book of Psalms. The other books of the Old Testament are Fzra, Nehemiali, Job, Proverbs, F'irst and Second Chronicles, Ruth, F^sther, the Soiii; of Solomon and Kcclesiastes, as well as the so-called "Apocryjilia. " Of these books, which compose the Divine Canon itself, it may lie said that they constitute the inexhaustible source of revelation and inspiration. We may regard, therefore, as established that the source of the tlivinity of the Hible, of its unity, aiul its authority as divine revelation lies in having the Christ- as the Paternal Word within it. at once its .source, its inspiration, its prophecy, its fulfillment, its power to illuminate the minds of men with a knowledge of divine and spirit- ual thing.s, to "convert the soul," to "make wise the simple." We next obsei've regarding these divine books, that, besides beins,' thus set apart by Christ, they declare themselves to be the word of the Lord in the sense of being actually spoken by the Lord and so as constituting a divine language. This shows that not only do the>e books claim to be of God's revealing, but that the tnanner of the revelation was that of direct dictation by means of a voice actually heard, as one hears another talking, although by the internal organs of hearing. The same is also true throughout the prophetical books above enumerated. Here we are met with the constant declaration of W iiicludinfT thosi' to be fulfilled in ur Lord's naniini,' ns: "The law, the tly, the five books shua, the Jud^is, or the so-calkd four "great" and Psalms. Ivzra, Nchcmiah, Esther, the Sou;^ ed "Apocrypha." itself, it maybe )f revelation ami xl that the source uthority as divine Word within it, at llment, its power divine and spirit- nnple. hat, besides bein;,' jc the word of the Lord and so as not only do these c manner of the f a voice actually le internal organs prophetical books ant declaration of T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 115 the "Word of the Lord coming," as the "voice of the Lord spcaHmg," to the writers of these books, showing that the writers wrote not of Ehcmselves. but from the "voice of the Lord through them " We now turn to the New Testament, and applying to these books irhich in the time of Christ were yet unwritten, criteria derived from ,hosc books which had received from him the seal of divine authority, iamely, that thev are words spoken by the Lord or given by His (pirit, and that they testify of Him and so have in them eternal life; ire find in the four Gospels either; First. The words "spoken unto" us by our Lord Himself when imong men as the Word, and of which He says:^ "The words which speak unto you they are spirit and they are life." Second The acts done by Him or to Him " that the Scriptures jiight be fulfilled," or finally the words " called to the remembrance " ^f the apostles and the evangelists by the Holy Spirit a'-cording to MWs promise to them, in John xiv, 26. Besides the four Gospels wc '^ave the testimony of John the Revelator that the visions recorded in 4the Apocalypse were vouchsafed to him by the Lord Him.self. thus Imhowing that the book of Revelation is no mere personal communica- ^Pion from the man John, but is the actual revelation of the Divine Spirit yiof truth itself. m No such claims of direct divine inspiration or dictation are made Mn any other part of the New Testament Only to the, four Gospels md to the book of Revelation could one presume to apply these I'orils, written at the close of the Apocalypse and applying immedi- itely to it. " If any man shall take away from the words of the proph- ;cy of this book God shall take away his part out of the book of life ind out of the Holy City and from the things which are written in this jook." In t'ii^ jwrtion of the Bible which we may thus distinguish _)re-eminently as the " Word of the Lord," it is therefore the words themselves that are inspired, and not the men that transmitted them. "This is what our Lord declares. Moreover, the very words which the apostles and the evangelists themselves heard and the acts which they beheld and recorded had a leaning and content of which they were partially, and in some cases totally, ignorant. Thus when our Lord speaks of the "eating of His lesh" the disciples murmur, "This is an hard saying; who can bear it?" ind when He speaks of "going away to the Father and coming again," ^he disciples say among themselves, "What is this that He saith? We sannot tell what He saith." If we look at the Apocalypse, with its strange visions, its myste- rious numbers and signs, if we read the prophets of the Old Testament, ivith their commingling of times and nations, and lands and seas, and |hings animate and inanimate, in a manner discordant with any con- ceivable earthly history or chronology, if we read the details of the peremonial law dictated to Moses in the Mount by the "voice of Jeho- rah;" if we toad in Genesis the account of creation and of the origins If human history, we are compelled to admit that the penmen record- Tho New Tes- tament. jW 116 7 WE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, it ■ i ; 1 ; 1/fl ^ ■ i iiiiiiiuJi^ ing these things were writing that of which they knew not the meanin.,^; that what tlicy wrote did not represent their intelligence or counsel, Imt Divine Rpve- was the faithful record of what was delivered to them by the voice ui ly'i)«)iftp^/**^ the Spirit speaking inwardly to them. Here, then, we see the manner of divine revelation in human language again definitely declared and exemplified in Jesus the word incarnate, in that not only in His acts did He employ signs and miracles, but in teaching His disciples lie "spake in parables," and "without a parable spake He not to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 1 will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have bcni kept sacred from the foundation of the world." VVe learn, therefore, that the divine language is that of parable wherein things of the kiiii^'- dom of heaven are clothed in the familiar figures of earthly speech and action. If the Bible is divine, the law of its revelation must be coin- cident with that of divine creation. Ik)th are the involution of the divine and Infinite in a series of veils or .symbols, which become more and more gross as they recede from their source. In rcvelatiun the veilings of the divine truth of the essential Word follow in accord- ance with the receding and more and more sensualized states of man- kind upon earth. Hence, the successive dispensations, or church eias, which mark off the whole field of human history After the I'.din days of open vision when "heaven lay about us in our infancy" tnl- lowed the Noetic era of a sacred language, full of heavenly meaning's, traces of which occur in the hieroglyphic writings and the great woiiil — myths of most ancient tradition; then came the visible an'', local i/eii theocracy of a chosen nation, with laws and ritual and a long histor\ of its war and struggle and victory and decline, and the promise ol a final renewal and perpetuation; all being at the same time a revelatim! of God's providence and government over man, and a picture of thi process of the regeneration of the human soul and its preparation Un an eternal inheritance in heaven. Ikit even the law of God thus revealed in the form of a national constitution, hierarchy and ritual was at length made of none elTctt through the traditions of men, and men "seeing saw not, and hearing: heard not, neither did they understand." Then for the redemption ol man in this extremity "the Word itself was made flesh and dwelt anions; us," and now, in the veil of a humanity subject to human tcmptatiur. and suffering, even to the death upon the cross. Thus the process of the evolution of the .Spirit out of the veil (jI the letter of the Scripture, begun in our Lord's own interpretation di the "Law for those of ancient time," is a process to whose further ct)ii- tinuance the Lord Himself testifies. The letter of Scripture is the cloud which everywhere proclaims the presence of the Infinite (iod with His creature man. The cloud of the Lord's presence is the infin- itely merciful adaptation of divine truth to the spiritual needs nt humanity. The cloud of the literal gospel and of the apostolic tradi- tions of our Lord is truly typified by that cloud which received the CIONS. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 117 \v not the meanin.^; Mice or counsel, hut .•m by the voice n| \vc sec the m;innri itcly declared aiul ot only in His acts ; His disciples 1 le :c He not to them, prophet, saying, 1 s which have btt. ii Ve learn, therefore, thinjjs of the kiii;^- of earthly speech :ion must be coin- : involi;tion of ihc ols, which becoiiiu rce. In revelation ■d follow in accord- izcd states of man- ons, or church eras, r After the 1m Un in our infancy" fol- heavenly nieanini,'s, Und the ^reat woiM isible an'', locali/iii and a loufj history id the promise of ;i le time a revelation nd a i)icture of tin its preparation tur form of a national lade of none e fleet iw not, and hearing r the redemption ot ill and dwelt anions: ) human temptation rit out of the veil dl n interpretation nt o whose further con- )i Scripture is the of the Infinite (1ml )resence is the infm- spiritual needs ot the apostolic tradi- which received the scending Christ out of the immediate sight of men. The same letter the VVord is the cloud in which He makes known His second coming power and great glory, in revealing to the church the inner and riond of the jiritual meaning of both the Old and New Testaments of His VVord. Literal OoBpei. 'or ages the Christian church has stood gazing up into heaven in ado- Ition of Him whom the cloud has hidden from their sight, and with .le traditions of human dogma and the warring of schools and critics, iore and more dense has the cloud become. In the thickness of the Soud it behooves the church to hold the more fast its faith in the lory within the cloud. The view of the Bible and its inspiration thus presented is only , le compatible with a belief in it as a divine in contradistinction from |" fhunian production. Were the Bible a work of human art, embody- 1 JIg human genius and human wisdom, then the question of the writers' | Idividuality and their personal inspiration, and even of the time and i [rcumstanccs amid which they wrote, would be of the first importance. / 3t so if the divine inspiration and wisdom is treasured up in the very )rds themselves as divinely chosen symbols and parables of eternal ith. Far from placing a human limitation upon the divine Spirit, a verbal inspiration as this opens in the Bible vistas of heavenly Id divine meanings such as they could never possess were its inspira- bn confined to the degree of intelligence possessed by the human titers, even under a special illumination of their minds. The difference between inspired words of God and inspired mea riting their own words, is like that between an eternal fact of nature %A the scientific theories which men have formulated upon or about The fact remains forever a source of new discovery and a means ever new revelation of the divine; the scientific theories may come| laid go with the changing minds of men. ' It is not, then, from man, from the intelligence of any Moses, or Janiel. or Isaiah, or John, that the VVord of God contains its authority jl divine. The authority must be in the words themselves. If they re unlike all other words ever written; if they have a meaning, yea, Drlds and worlds of meaning, one within or above another, while inian words have all their meaning on the surface; if they have a lessage whose truth is dependent upon no single time or circuni- mce, but speaks to man at all times and under all circumstances; if ey have a validity and an authority self-dictated to human souls, lich survives the passing of earthly monuments and powers, which ;aks in all languages, to all minds— wise to the learned, simple to the iple — if, in a word, these are words that experience shows no man \\M have written from the intelligence belonging to his time, or from |e experience of any single human soul, then may we feel sure that I have in the words of our Bible that which is diviner than any pen- in that wrote them. Here is that which " speaks with authority and not as the scribes." words that God speaks to man are " spirit and are life." The thorship of the Bible and all that this implies of divine authority to 'I • ^ I I II 'i jM fi I i im t\ W '. > 118 It Abide th ForeTt-r. 7y//i IVOKLIJ-S CONGJiESS OF MEUGIONS. the conscience of man is contained, like the flame of the Urim and Thiimmim, on the brcast[)latc of the hij^h priest, in the bosom of its own lanjjuafjc to reveal itself hy the spirit to ail who will " have an car to hear." So shall it continue to utter the "dark parables of oM wiiich we have known and our fathers have told us," and "to show forth to all generations the praises of the Lord," becoming ever moio and more translucent with the {^lory that shines within the cloud ot the letter; and so shall the church rest, amid all the contentions that cnjja^fc those who study the surface of revelation, whether in natuio or in Scripture, in the undisturbed assurance that the "Word of tlic Lord abideth forever." i I i. 1 ^if;; Wlll/^ I ^ Ij • 1 4 \: «f ". .' ' 'li t i ■;■( i 1 s. the Urim and J bosom of i\-. II " have an cat- arables of oM and "to show lin^^ ever more n the cloud ct jntentions that ^ther in natiiic " Word of tlie r V m (A U v^ 4J Ul o a < 43 O a "rt a 9 o ■.5 *l Viewed in thf LiK'it uf Faith. rharnrtorin- ticH of iHrat'l'e Faith. Influence of the H^t)rew Scriptures. Paper by DR. ALEXANDER KOHUT, of New York. O tluMii who, cradled in the infancy of faith, rocked !)>■ the violent tempests of adversity and tried by passion waves of lurkintj tenii>ta- tit)n; who, seekint^f virtue find but vice; who, striving lor the iileal, j^ain but the bleakest summit of realism; who, sorely pressed by \rude time and ruder destiny and whirled l)y jfjay balloons of chance into rainbow clouilsof jspacc, redesccnil into the sad arena of mortal jtraj^eih', only to encounter fresh shipwrecks !in the turbulent oceans of existence; God is the anchor of a new-born hope, the electric (|uickener of life's uneven current, driftinj^ into His harbor of safest refuse from the luir- , -. ^_. — ricane of outward seas into the j^laclsome, cheery gu\i shores of welcome ])eace, the placid water's sacreil con- sciousness, wherein no ship, no craft, no burden and no trust ever founders, the trancpiil Hible streams. Faith is a spark of God's own tlame and nowhere did it burn with more persistence and vehemence than in the ample folds of Israel's devotion. With faith as the corner-stone of the future, the t^lorious past of the jew, suffused with the warmest sunshine of divine efful- gence and human trust, reflects the most perfect imaf^e of individual and national existence. Faith the Bible creed of Israel- was the first anil most vital principle of universal ethics, and it was the Jew, now the Pariah pili^rim of unijrateful humanity, who beciueathed the precious legacy to .Semitic-Aryan nations; who sowed the healthy seeds of irradicable belief in often unfertile ground, but with inex- haustil)le vigor infused that iniierent vitality of propagation and endurance, which forever marks the progress and triumph of God's chosen, though unaccepted people. The sonorous clang of the trite adage. "The Hebrews drank of the fountain, the Cireeks from the stream, and the Romans from the pool," applied by an able critic, is more universally acknowledged with the dawn of unbiased reason, turned upon history with the I'JO i I II Or. Alexander^Kohut, New York. •3^ ! I ' i'. k ■ ■1 ' i , ; THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 123 Diogenes lantern of searching justice. The religion of Israel is the grandest romance of idealism, blended with the sedate realism of ter- restrial perpetuity. Every unprejudiced mind gladly acknowledges that the Bible, the divine encyclopedia of unalienable truths and morals, belongs to the world, like the sun, the air, the ocean, the rivers, the fountains — the common heirloom ot humanity. The doctrine of divne unity, by collecting all the scattered race of beauty and excellence, from every quarter of the universe, and con- densing them into one overpowering conception — by tracing the innu- merable rills of thought and feeling to the fountain of an infinite mind — surpasses the most elegant and ethereal polytheism immeasur- ably more than the sun does the "cinders of the element." However beautiful the mythology of Greece, as interpreted by Wordsworth, it must yield without a struggle to the thought of a great One Spirit. Compared to those conceptions, how does the fine dream of the pagan mythus melt away; Olympus, with its multitude of stately, celestial ' natures dwindles before the solitary, immutable throne of Adonay, the poetry as well as the philosophy of Greece shrink before the single sentence, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord," or before any one of these ten majestic commands hurled down amid lurid blaze above in a halo of divine revelation! The history of the Jewish nation offers to the consideration of the philosopher and the chronicler many peculiar circumstances nowhere else exemplified in any one branch of the great family of mankind, originating from one common stem. In all the characteristics which listinguish the Israelites from other nations, the difference is wide. The most remarkable of the distinctions which divide the Jewish people from the rest of the world is the immutability of their laws. Revelation, the primal source of inspiration and prophecy, set the universe on fire with a torch of blazing grandeur aglow with the com- bustible sparks of heaven-imparted gifts and illuminated the softly creeping shadows of fast decaying races with the brightest colors of a future hope. Revelation, the essence of religious relief, was the guid- Eggence of ing star in the unstudded labyrinth of national and individual progress ReUgiouB Be- and inspiration. The code bequeathed to Israel by their great law- "* ' giver contains, as a modern exegctist, Wilkins, aptly remarked, "the only complete body of law ever vouchsafed to a people at one time." The Mosaic crdinance, with its unequaled mastery of detail, its com- prehensiveness of character, its universality of human rights and rigid suppression of most trivial wrongs, its earnest, nay, enthusiastic avowal and championship of truth, justice, morality and above all righteous- ness — yet the firmest seal of His imperishable document — is the most unique marvel of lofty wisdom and divine forethought ever penned into the inspired records of ancient history. Righteousness, from its patriarchal primitivencss to the full-grown glory of prophetic instinct, is the choicest pearl of biblical ethics, and, excepting the fervent sentiment of brotherly love, which is so often ■MMMUBrWlxjM. SHF^Twrw" 1: 1^:! 124 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Abraham an Evide n c e o f Scripture Ver- ity. «l commended by the sages of the Talmud, embodying the frequent teachings of the Nazarene, pleads most eloquently Judea's claim as the first moral preceptor of antiquity. Bible ethics, justice, morality, righteousness and all the mighty elements embodied in virtuous life arc summed up in Judaism's great truths, faithfully portrayed and preserved to mankind in that ponder- ous volume of poetic inspirations. Israel's Bible fust re-echoed the reverberating melody of truth as a musical synonym for omniscience. No more plausible evitlence of Scripture verity can be cited than Abraham, that staunch pioneer of monotheism, who, after mocking the household gods of Terah, emerged from his gross surroundings in Ur of Chaldean magic, unscathed by the stigma of sinful idolatry and Crosccuted his noble mission of popularizing the God-idea with una- ated vigor. The same God, with whom Abraham's chivalric spirit of brother-redeeming love pleaded, Jacob's dreaming fancy beheld en- throned on the celestial ladder-top of sterling faith. That very same invigorating and omnipresent iin])ulse i)reserved Joseph's chastity; lured Moses from his flocks to guide a nation's destiny; letl Joshua to victory; smote the encnies of Ciideon anil gave Samson iron strength. David's lyre pealed forth, Solomon's wisdom lauded, and prophecy proclaimed the majesty of God the only truth, in poetr\', in rhythmic prose and in melody of song What, then, is truth but faith ; what, then, is faith but trust in llis sole unity, and where else so manifest as in Judea's inscribeil rock of salvation? Israel's entire history teems with apt illustration to preserve intact their sublime doctrine of the All I'ather, and jealously guard every accessory to higher, perfecter conception of the potential Deity — Jehovah — the Lord of Hosts. \\c "search the writ" according to its liberal dictates and cannot but remark a tacit, unflinching and unbending perseverance, continu- ally on the alert to comprehend anil ajipropriate a deeper, more enlightening idea of (iod and His wajs. "\Ve have seen," again remarks IMathew Arnold, "how in its intuition of God — of that net ourselves, of which all mankind from some conception or other — as the eternal that makes for righteousness, the Hebrew race found the revelation needed to breathe the notion into the laws of morality and to make morality religion. This revelation is the capital fact of the Old Testament and the source of its grandeur and power. For while other nations had the misleading idea that this or that other than right- eousness is saving, and it is not; that this or that, other than conduct, brings happiness, and it does not, Israel had the true idea — that righteousness is saving, that to conduct belongs happiness." We have pointed out the priceless benefits conferred upon man- kind by Israel's Bible. It only remains to be briefly demonstrated to what degree humanity is indebted to Hebrew scriptures for gifts equall\- invaluable, though not so generally accredited to Judaism by the envy of modern skeptics. On Judea's soil, that green oasis in the desert of antiquity, there :!, i* ii' J* !■ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS Of RELIGIONS. 125 Wide Diffa. blossomed the bud of polite arts, of the so much boasted sciences of later Greece and plagiarizing Rome. Greece and Rome were indebted to humble Israel for that reputed familiarity with profound philosophy and cognate learning which ascribed to any source and every origin, save that here advocated, the wide diffusion of Hebraic wisdom among the heathen nations of the past. Can Plato, Demosthenes, Cato, Cicero and other thunderers of , eloquence compete with such lightning rods of magnetic power as , Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and other past orators of Bible times? Who wrote nobler history, Moses, Livy or Herodotus? Were the dramas and tragedies of Sophocles, iCschylus and Euripides Bion'ofHebraio worthy of classification with the masterpieces of realism and grand ^'"^*"°- cosmogonic conceptions, furnished us in the soul-vibrating account of Job's martyrdom? In poetry and hymnology, the harp of David is tuned to sweeter melody than Virgil's ^Eneid or Horace's odes. Strabo's accurate geographical and ethnological accounts are not more thorough in detail than scriptural narratives and the famous tenth chapter of Genesis. The haughty philosophical maxims of Mar- cus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca fade into insignificance before the edifying discourse and moral chidings of Koheleth, whose very pessi- mism, in contradistinction to heathenish levity, failed not to inspire and instruct. CompdCC the ethics of Aristotle with those pure gems of monition to truth, righteousness and moral chastity contained in the Book of Proverbs, as confront even the all-conquering wisdom of .Soc- rates with Solomonic sagacity. "The Zephyrs of Attica were as bland, and Helicon and Parnassus were as lofty and verdant before Judea put forth her displays of learning and the arts as afterward." Yet no Homer was ever heard reciting the vibrating strains of poetry with David. Isaiah and other monarchs of genius and soul culture poured forth their sublime symphonies in the holy land; yet none of all the nuises breathed their inspiration over Greece till tlie spirit of the Most High had awakened the soul of letters and of arts in the nation of the Hebrews. Not to h.gypt, Pluunicia, or Syria, do Greece and her apt (!iscii)Ie, Rome, owe their eminence in the entertaining and refined branches of learning. They flourished at a period so remote that fable replaces fact, and no authentic records — chiefly obtained through a comparatively new field in modern exploration — are e.xtant which establish an impartial priority of culture and science before the He- braic age. Egypt is accredited with far too much distinction in knowledge which she never possessed to any eminent degree. Recent excava- tions and discoveries from ruins of her ancient cities tend to corrobo- rate our view. A mass of inscribed granite, a papyrus roll, or a sar- copiiagus, bears the tell-tale message of her standard in taste and her progress in art. "They prove/* says Hosmer, "that if she was ever en- titled to be called the Cradle of Science, it must have been when science, owing to the feebleness of infancy, required the use of a cradle. But when science had outgrown the appendages of bewildering and >-iii,lB 126 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. M \ Architecture. I ; tottering infancy, and had reached matured form and strength, Egypt was neither her guardian nor her home." Many of Egypt's works of art, for which an antiquity has been claimed that would place them anterior to David and Solomon, have been shown to be compara- tively modern; while those confessedly of an earlier date have marks of an age which may have excelled in compact solidity, but knew lit- tle or nothing of finished symmetry or grace. Architecture, the boast of Greece and the pride of Assyria, whose stately palaces at Nineveh are to this day the marvel of the world, attained its loftiest summit ol perfection in the noble structure reared by Israel's mighty hand in Jerusalem, of which the holy tabernacle mounted by the cherubim oi peace and sanctity was the magnificent model. No one acquainted with the history of the Hebrews can question their pre-eminence in the noble art. The proof of it is found in the record that endureth forever. Though the temple at Jerusalem was n destroyed before Greece became fully adorned with her splendid archi- In the Art of tccture, the plan which had been given by inspiration from heaven, and according to which the peerless edifice was built, remains written at full length in Hebrew scriptures. The dimensions, the form and proportions of all the parts are described with minute exactness. Everything that could impart grandeur, grace, symmetry to the art palace of worship, and which made it to be called for ages "the excel- lency of beauty," was placed in the imperishable volume to be con- sulted by all nations in all ages. Wherever we turn, in fact, we are forcibly reminded of Israel's precious legacies to mankind in almost every department of industry, VVe must ever return and sit at the feet of the Hebrew bards, who as teachers, as poets, as truthful and earnest men, stand as yet alone — uuhurmounted and unapproached — the Himalayan moumains of man- kind. The Hebrew scriptures, not mere trickery of fate, is the cause and effect of the long life and immortality of Judaism, To us "the dictum of a romantic scribe," unique among all the peoples of the earth, it has come undoubtedly to the present day from the most dis- tant antiquity. Forty, perhaps fifty, centuries rest upon this vener- able contemporary of Egypt, Chaldea and Troy. The Hebrew defied the i'haraohs; with the sword of Gideon he smote the Midianite; in Jephthah, the ciiildren of Amnion. The purple chariot bands of Assyria went back from his gates humbled and diminished. Babylon, indeed, tore him from his ancient seats and led him captive by strange waters, but not long. He had fastened his love upon the heights of Zion, and, like an elastic cord, that love broke not, but only drew with the more force as the distance became great. He saw the Hellenic flower bud, bloom and wither upon the soil of Greece. He saw the wolf of Rome suckled on the banks of the Tiber, then prowl ravenous for dominion to the ends of the earth, until paralysis and death laid hold upon its savage sinews. At last Israel was scattered over the length and breadth of the II THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 127 earth. In every kingdom of the modern world there has been a Jew- ish element. There are Hebrew clans in China, on the steppes of Cen- tral Asia, in the desert heat of Africa. The most powerful races have not been able to assimilate them. The bitterest persecution, so far from exterminating them, has not eradicated a single characteristic. In mental and moral traits, in form and feature even, the Jew today is the same as when Jerusalem was the peer of Tyre and Babylon. And why not strive through the coming ages to live in fraternal concord and harmonious unison with all the natio's on the globe? Not theory but practice, deed not creed, should be the watchword of ^^^ ^^^ modern races stamped with the blazing characters of rational equity Creed, and unselfish brotherhood Why not, then, admit the scions of the mother religion, the wandering Jew of myth and harsh reality, into the throbbing affections of faith-permeating, equitable peoples now inhabiting the mighty hemispheres of culture and civilization? Three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, imbibed the liquid of enlightenment from that virgin spring of truth, and yet they are distinct, estranged from each other by dogmatic separatism and a fibrous accumulation of prejudice, v, hich yet awaits the redeeming champion of old, who with Ilerculean grasp of irrevocable conviction should hurl fcr away the lead-weight of passion and bigotry, of malice and egotism from the historical streams of original truth, equity and righteousness. Three religions and now many more are gathered at the sparkling fountain of a glorious enterprise in the cause of truth, congregated beneath the solid splendor of a powerful throne, wherein reclines the new monarch of disenthralling sentiment, a glorious sov- ereign of God-anointed grace, to examine and to judge with the impartial scepter of Israel's holiest emblem — justice — the merits of a nation, who are as irrepressible as the elements, as unconquerable as reason and as immortal as the starry firmament of eternal hope. The scions of many creeds are convened at Chicago's succoring parliament of religions, aglow with enthusiasm, imbued with the courage of expiring fear, electrified with the absorbing anticipation of dawning light. The hour has struck. Will the stone of abuse, a bur- den brave Israel bore for countless centuries, on the rebellious well of truth, at last be shattered into merciless fragments by that invention of every-day philosojihy, the gun-powder of modern war, rational con- viction; and finally, a blessed destiny, establish peace for all faiths and unto all mankind? Who knows? readth of the ,.,ii , of men, and this [escribed in plain cannot tell what i^r of the law and ic Gospel is a sy?- ,t given examples, ut they arc related ;ombine them and ture not filled out, parts that even appear to clash, the same is true of almost every branch of knowledge. The physiologist, the chemist, the astronomer, will confess just this imperfection in their respective sciences. For who, tor example, will pretend that he understands the human body so liioroughly that he has nothing to learn and no difficulties to explain? If all human knowledge is defective, and if, in every department of Rsenrch barriers are set at some point to the progress of discovery, li()\v unreason.ible to cry out against Christian theology because the \\\h\c (loos not reveal everything.and because everything that the Bible (io(.s not reveal is not yet ascertained. Ill aftirming, then, that the Gospel is pre-eminently a religion of liuts, tliere is nt) design to favor in the slightest degree the sentimental niitism or the indifference to objective truth, whatever form it may i.ikr. which would ignore theological doctrine But there is a sort of ( \|)I;ination and a sort of science which men, especially in these days, Ml- jjroiie to demand, which, from the nature of the case, is impossible; - ;mii the state of mind in which this demand originates is a fatal dis- (|iialiruati()n for receiving or even comprehending the Gospel. riierc is a disposition to overlook this grand peculiarity of Chris- li,uiit\-. that whatever is essential and most precious in it lies in the >|ilure of spirit, of freedom. We arc taken out of the region of meta- jiliNsical necessity and placed among personal beings and among I \i iits which find their solution, and all the solution of which they are ( iipahlc, in the free movement of the will and affections. To seek for ail ulterior cause can have no other result than to blind us to the real „„T,|[r,!f' "1*"^ iiatmc of the phenomena, which we have to explain. In order to pre- Will. M lit tlic subject in a clear light, let me ask the reader to reflect for a iimnunt on the nature of sin. Look at any act, whether committed by lynmscH or another, which you feel to be iniquitous. This verdict, [wiili the self-condemnation and shame that attend it, imply that no |^(H)(1 reason can be given for such an act. Much more do they imply llliat it forms no part of that natural development and exercise of our Ifaculties over which we have no control. It is an act -a free act— a breaking away from reason and law — having no cause behind the sinner's will, and admitting of no further explication. Do you ask why one sins? The only answer to be given is, that U' is loolish and culpable. You strike upon an ultimate fact, and you .ill stay by that fact, but to endeavor to make it rational or inevitable l^du iiuist deny morality, deny that sin is sin and guilt is guilt, and )r(inoim(.e the simple belief in personal responsibility a delusion. liat we have said of a single act of wrongdoing holds good, of nir>(.', of iiioially evil habits and principles. Supiiose, again, an act of love and self-sacrifice. A man resolves [^ivc ii|) his life for a religious cause, or a woman, like Florence |ie;htiiiL;alc, to forsake her pleasant home for the discomforts and ex- -urc of a soldiers' hospital. What shall be said of these actions? in. plainly you have done with the explanation when you comeback that principle of free benevolence — to the noble and loving heart — An InHult tt asthc,unper\erted conscience looks upon it, and the Gospel has nn longer any intelligible purpose. Unless sin brings a separation lioiii God, with whom we ought to be in fellowship and a union with wliuiii is our true life, there is no significance in the Gospel. Here, then, we begin not with an abstract theory or first proof ut philosophy, but with a naked fact, which memory and consciousncs: f f^ ' THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 188 is ;i work Fii testify to. Sin is something done. It is a hard fact, to be compared to the existence of a disease in the human frame, whose pains arc felt ill every nerve. And sin, be it observed, is no part of the healthy proc- ess of life, but of the process of death. To presume to think of it as a necessary, normal transition point to the true life of the soul, is to annihilate moral distinctions at a sin- stroke. And what is salvation rcjfarded as the work of God? It It is not a form of knowledf^c, but is a deed emanating iioin the love of God. It is an act of His love. Christ is a gift to the world. He teaches, to be sure, but He also goes about doing good," aiul rises from the dead, opening by what He does a way of reconcil- iation with God. The method of salvation is not a philosophical tlK'orcni, but a living friend of sinners, suffering in their behalf and inviting them to a fellowship with Himself. It is the reconciliation of aiH>rfcnder with the government whose laws he has broken, and with the I'ather whose house he has deserted. In like manner, the reception of the Gospel is not by the knowing farulty, moving through thought. It is rather an act of the will and hi ut. It is the acceptance of the gift. Repentance toward God and laitli in our Lord Jesus Christ are each an act, as much so as repcnt- aiuc for a wrong done an earthly friend und faith in his forgiveness. \\li;it is repentance? To cease to do evil and begin to do well, to ■«n'i*'i cease to live to ourselves and to begin to live to Gotl. And what is faitli? It is an act of confidence by which we commit ourselves to another to be saved by him. When you witness the rescue of a drown- \\ys^ man, who is struggling in the waves, by some one who goes to his assistance, you do not c.'.i this a philosophy. Here is not a scries of conceptions evolved from one another and resting on some ultimate al)stiaction, but here is life and action. There was distress and e.\- tieiiie peril and fear on the one side with no means of self-help; there was compassion, courage and self-sacrifice on the part of him who did the i^iKid deed. .Aiul the metaphysics of the matter ends when you .sec this. So il is with Christianity, though the knowledge of it is preserved in a hook. It is not, properly speaking, a philosophy. On the contrary, it is made up of the actions of personal beings and of the effect of tlu'se upon their relations to each other. There is ill-desert, there is love, tlicre is sacrifice, there is trust and sorrow for sin. The story of tlie alienation of a son from an earthly parent, of his penitence and return, of his forgiveness and restoration to favor, is a parallel to the realities which make up Christianity. Tiio Gospel being thus the very opposite of speculation, being historical in its very foundations, being simply, as the term imports, tlic good news of a fact, everything depends upon our regarding it from the right point of view. For if we expect to find in the Bible that wliich the Bible does not profess to furnish, and to get from Christianity that which Christianity does not undertake to jjrovide, we .shall almost invariably be misled, Let us suppose, for example, that Rpppntanpo', 'iiitli. } -""^'yr--'' ■I'l3 I ,'« Ui ■////■: ilVKLD'S CONGKI16S OF KELJuJONS. (Kill. a pcTstMi conirs lo tlir l{il)k', liavinir previously persuaded himself that (lu- verdirt ol coiiseii-iue and the ^aMieral voice of uiaidl)elief which pri-sents itself in the ^arb of philosophy at the present da\' plants itselfon this theory, that the s\stem of thing's or the cause of things, as we experience it and behold it, is the ideal system. There has bi-eii no transgression in the proper sense, but oulv an ujjward movement from a half brute existeiue to civilizaticui ami enlit^htemnent, the last step of advancenii-nt beiui; the discovery that sin is not i^uilt, but a |)oint t>f development, and that e\il really is j;ood. And the forms of unbelief which do not brini; toward distiu( I theories i;enerallv approximate more or less nearly to the \ii-w jusi mentioned. The eilect u|)ou the mind of denvin^' tlu- simi)le realit\' ol sin, as it is felt in the conscience, is tiecisive. One who emiiraces sucli a si)iHulation can make nothing of t'hristianity. but must either reject it alto.i;ether or lose its real contents in tlu- effort to translate them intt) metaph\sical notions of his own. .■\ livini,' (lod, a livini; Christ, with a heart full of compass H)ll offerint^ fornix eness, cailiiiLj to repentance ami ilis ri'dem])tioii cm have no sit^niticance. W hat call for a di\ine interposition in ;i system alreaily itleally perfect, with all its harmonies undistmbed? Why break upon a strain of perfect music? \\ h\' ^i\e medicine to them who ai( not ill? They that are whole need iu)t a physician. I low evident tli.it the failure to reco^m/e sin as a jierxerse act |)roceetlin^ from the will of tlu- cre.it urc incajvuitates one from receiving (Christ ianit\! Now, suppose tie case of a person who abiiles b\- the plain aiul well-ni.L;h inevitable dec larations of his conscience respectinj.j j^ood and evil, and tlu> utter hostilitv' of one to the other. He has connuittcd sin. Ilis uRiuorv recurs in part to the occasions. I'Acry day adds tn liiwimi ivmc. (In- iminlnf of his transsfressions. Ilis motives h.ive iu)t been what tlu-v ouijht to be. A sense of unworthiness weiiihs him down and se arates hini, as he feels, from fellowshii) with every holy beinj li e is not suffering' so much froni lack t»f knowleilije. lie needs li^dit, it ujav be, but he has a profounder want, a far deeper source of distie-s He desires somethinj^ to be dom- for him to restore his spiritual intcL; rity and take him up another pi. me where he can find inwanl peace. It is just the case of a child who has fallen under the displeasinc of a parent aiul under the stains of conscience. The want of in this situation is life. 'The crv is: "Dh, wretchcil man that I liu' SiUll \\m. who shall deliver me?" We will not stop to incpiire whether this state of feeling represents the truth or not; but suppose it to exist, how WIl THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 185 a ir.riii, ilnis feclincj. come to the Hiblc or to the Gospel? He is not I oiicerned lo explain tlie universe and enlaij^e the hounds of his kno\vled};e by exjjhu'in^ the mysteries oi beiIl^^ He feels that no intellectual aecjuisition would }j[ive him much comfort — that none could be of much value, as lonjf as this caidhoi!ld be. As sin breaks the ori|j;inal order, so it is natural to expect that the system will be restored from the top. A penitent sinner is prepared t.) meet God in Christ, reconcilini,f the world to himself; anil this fact IS sweeter and tjrander in his view than all philosophies which profess, V. hetlier truly or falsely, to gratify a speculative curiosity. Were it his tliief desire to be a knowing man, he would feel differently; but his intense and absorbing desire is to be a good man. It is not strange that among Protestants there should impercep- tibly s|)ring up the false view concerning the Cjospel on which I liavc idinuKiited. We say truly that the Hibh; is the religion of Protestants. Our attention is directed to the study o/ a book. A one-sided, intel- lectual bent leads to the idea that the sole or the principal office of Christ is that of a teacher. He does not come to live and die and rise a,;,iiii and unite us to Himself and God, imparting a new principle or moia' and spiritual life to loving, trusting souls; but He comes to tiMch and explain. If this be so. the next step is to drop Hini for a coiisiileration as a person and to fasten the attention on the contents •jt His iloctrine; and who shall say that this step is not logically taken? .\< the intellectual element obtains a still stronger sway the interest in lli.s iloctrine is merely on the speculative side. Historical Christianity, witli its great and moving events and the auc;u■^t personage who stands in the center, disappear from view and iiaiit;ht is left but a resiiluum of abstractions, a perversion aiul carica- ture of Gospel uleas. This proceeding may be compared to the course I nnc who should endeavor to resolve the American revolution into w intellectual process. Retlemption is made up of events as real as ;ho battles by which independence was achieved. We need some e.x- laiialioii of the purpt)rt of those battles and their bearing on the end hiclt they secure. And so in the Bible, together with the record of „hal was done by (lod, tliere is given an inspired interpretation [rum the Reileemcr Himself, and from those who stand near Him, on hem the events that secured salvation made a ixc<\> and lively imprcs- Rcdomption Mnilc up of Evontg. ■1 186 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, sion. The import of these events is sot forth. Aiul the coiulilions of attaining' cilizeiisliij) in this new state in the kiii[;cloin of God, winch is provided tliroiij^h C"lirist, are defined. iMoni the views wiiieh have lu-en presented, periiaps, it is possil^lc to see tile f«)undatioii on wiiieh Ciiristians iiereafter may unite, and also how the (Josi)el will (inally i)revail over mankind. If redemption, looked at as the work of (lod, is thus historical, eonsistinp; in a series t>f events which culminati" in the Lord's resurrection and the mission of the Holy tiliost, the tirst thint; is that these events should be be- lieved. So that riiristianity, in both fact and doctrine, will become a tliiiii; perfeetl\- established, as much so in our minils ami feelini^s as are now the transactions of the American revolution, with the import and results that beloni; tt) them. It is every d.iy becomiiiLj more evident that the facts of Christi.uiit\' cannot be dissexereil fri mi the Christian .system of doctrine, that the one cannot be In K' v.h ' • the t)ther is renounceil, that if the doctrine is abaiuKmeil the f ; •■ ")c ilenied. So that the time approaches when the acknt)wkdf;inciii of the evan ^elical histor\', carryinj; with it. as it will, a faith in the .Scriptural exposition of it. will be a sulVicient bond of union amoni; Christians, antl the church will return to the apostolic creed of its earh' davs, which recounts an epitome ol the tacts ot relii^ion. w ■I ' -. '- » : I conditions oi ioil, which is it is possible nito.aiul also icilciuption, 1^ in a scries I the mission Uu)uUl be he- iconic a thini; ii^s as are now e import antl more evident ♦he Christian • the other is :': l)c denied. I oi the evan the Scriptural iiij Christians, its early days, •*"''"¥^ '' , -I : ■' 'f i' 1; i '^ ^ (■ ■ ' 1 ' 1 1 I 'if 11^ Joseph Cook, Boston. \Yhat the ^\b\e Was Xaught. Address by JOSEPH COOK, of Boston. •iJ^' HE trustworthiness of the Scriptures in revealing the way of peace for the soul has well been called religious infallibility. The worth of the Bible results also from the fact that it contains a revelation of religious truth not elsewhere communicated to man. The worth of the Bible results also from the fact that it is the most powerful agency known to history in promoting the social, industrial and political reformation of the world by securing the religious regeneration of individual lives. It is certain that men and nations are sick, and that the Bible, open and obeyed, heals them. All this is true wholly irrespective of any question as to the method of inspiration. Ihc worth of the Bible results, in the next place, from its containing, ;is ,1 wiiolc, the highest religious and ethical ideals known to man. Tluic is the liible, taken as a whole, and without a forced iiiti. iprctation, a coherent system of ethics and theology and aw. implied ])hilosophy dazzling any other system known to any age of! UeliKjousln- till' world. In asserting the religious infallibility of the Scriptures I j|g|j''^i_H?yu^°J assume only two things : One. The literal infallibility of the st'-ictly scll-inidcnt truths of Scripture. Two. The veracity of Christ. It is a fact, and a verifiable, organizing, redemptive fact, t'lat the Scriptures teach monotheism, not polytheism, not pantheism, not atheism, not agnosticism. This pillar was set up early. It has been inaiiitaiiicd in its commanding position at the cost of innumerable slnii^t^lcs with false religions and false philosophies. It has resisted all attack and dominates the enlightened part of the world today. Man's creation in the image of God is the next columnar truth. This means (lod's Fatherhood and man's sonship. It means God's sovereignty and man's debt of loyalty. It means the unity of the race. IVlen cai\ have communion with each other only through their common unidii w ith (iod. It means susceptibility to religious inspiration. It means tree will with its responsibilities. 139 J""'''W ' 140 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. I ■'. I ! i i i -1 ; 1 i -ii ' i Pillars in the Structure. The family is the next column which we meet in the majestic nave. Here is the germ of all human government. The ideal of the family set up in Scripture is monogamy. This ideal has been subjected for ages to the severest attack. It is an unshaken columnar truth, ho\y- ever, and dominates the enlightened portions of humanity to tliis hour. The Sabbath is the next pillar, a column set up early and seen far and wide across the landscapes of time, and dominating their most fruitful fields. The cuneiform tablets now in the hands of Assyriolo- gists show that centuries before Abraham left Chaldea, one day in seven was spoken of as the day of cessation from labor, and the day of rest for the heart. A severe view of sin is the next pillar. Ethical monotheism appears on the first page of the Bible. The free soul of man is there represented as under probation without grace. Freedom is abused; disorder springs up among the human faculties; there is a fall from the divine order. This severe view of sin is found nowhere outside the Scriptures. This fall from the divine order is a fact of man's experience to the present hour, Ho{x,* of redemption through undeserved mercy, or the divine- grace, is the next pillar. This column is set up early in the Biblical cathedral and the top of it yet reaches to the heavens themselves Man is represented in the most ancient page of the Scriptures as at first under probation without grace. He fell from the divine order and is then represented as under probation with grace. "The seed ol the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." These words are the germ of the Gospel itself. The Decalogue is the next pillar — a clustered column — whoU) erect after ages of earthquakes. This marvelous pillar is the cen- tral portion of the earliest Scriptures. All the laws in the books in which the Decalogue is found, cluster around it. Even if it were known where and how and when the Decalogue originated, the prodigious fact would yet remain that it works well. Who knows where the mul- tiplication table originated? It works well. Who can tell who in- vented the system of Arabic notation, giving a different value to .i figure according to its position? The books do not inform us. This system is based on a very refined knowledge of numbers, and is prob- ably a spark from the old Sanscrit anvil; but the Hindu writers ascril)c it to supernatural revelation. No matter where the scheme originated, it is certain that it works well. The Psalms are the next pillar in the divine cathedralof the Script- ures, or rather a whole transept of pillars. Three thousand years they have been the highest manual of devotion known among men. Nothinij like them as a collection can be found in all antiquity. Greece has spok- en, Rome has had the ear of ages, modern time has uttered all its voices, but the Psalms remain wholly unsurpassed. They express, as nothint; outside the Holy .Scriptures does, not only the unity, the righteous- ness, the power, and the majesty of God, but also His mercy. His con- THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. U\ desccnslon, His pity, His tenderness, His love. They are the blossom- ing of the religious spirit of the law. The Great Prophecies are the next pillar, or rather we must call these, like the Psalms, a whole transept of pillars. A chosen man called out of Ur of the Chaldees was to become a chosen family, and that family was to become a chosen nation, and that nation gave birth to a chosen religious leader, who was to found a chosen church to fill the earth. This prediction existed ages before Christianity appeared in the world. Not even the wildest claim made by negative criticism invalidates the fact that this prophecy spans hundreds of years as an immeasurably majestic bow of the divine promise. This was to be the course of re- ligious history, and it has been. The Jews were to be scattered among ;ill nations and yet preserved as a separate people, and they have been. The Sermon on the Mou.c is the next pillar, and it stands where nave and transept of the Bi' i^al cathedral open into the choir. " The Sermon on the Mount," Da' iel Webster wrote on his tombstone, " can- not be merely human prodi ction. This belief enters into the depth of my conscience. The whole history of man proves it." There stands the clustered column, there it has stood forages, and there it will stand forever. The Lord's Prayer is the next column. It has its foundation in the |)iofoundest wants of man; its capital in the boundless canopy of the i-'atherhood of God. Neither the foundation nor the capital will crum- li!o, nt)r the column fall while man's nature and God's nature remain unchanged. The character of Christ is the Holy of Holies of the cathedral of Holy of Holies. the Scriptures. The Gospels, and especially the fourth Gospel, are the inn\ost sanctuary of the whole divine temple. "I know men," said Napoleon, "and I tell you that Jesus Christ was not a mere man." Mis. Browning wrote these words on the leaf of her New Testament, and Robert Browning quoted them from that sacred place to a friend at the point of death. "The sinlessness of Christ," said Horace Bush- ncU, "forbids His possible classification with men." The identification of Christ with the Logos, or the eternal wisdom and reason, and of Christ's spirit with the Holy Spirit, is the supreme truth rising from the side of the sanctuary in the Holy of Holies of the Biblical cathedral. The verifiable promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit to every soul self-surrendered to God in conscience is the next pillar. The founding of the Christian church, which is with us to this day, is the next. The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, insti- tuted by our Lord Himself, are His continuous autograph, written across the pages of centuries. The fruits of Christianity are the final cluster of pillars rising to the eastern window that looks on better ages to come, and is perpetu- ally flooded with a divine illumination. Goethe represented the Phil- istine as failing to admire cathedral windows because he sees them from the outside, while they are all glorious if seen from within the V t i . 1 i 'H ■^ Thp (•'ouiida tion Hiones. ,-*( H2 r//A" irOKLDS CUAGRESS OF RELIGIONS. temple. l\\\ tliis is true of the nuijcstic windows in the Hiblicil cathe- dral, iiicliulintf tlie most sacred spiritual history oi" the church, aj^'c after a^c. The foundation sto?ics ])cncath all the i)illars and beneath the altar in the cathctlral of revelation are the strictly self-evident truths of the eternal reason or the divine Loj,'os, who is the essential Christ. God is one, and so the s)'stems of nature and of revelation must be one. The universe is called such because it is a unit. It reveals God as Unity, Reason and Love. i\nd all the strength kA the foumlation stones belon^^s to the pillar and pinnacle of the cathedral of the IIol\- Word. And the form of the whole cathedral is that of the cross. The unity of the Scriptural architecture, built a^^e after a<;e, is one of the supreme miracles of history. It is a self-revelation of the hand that lifted the liiblical pillars one by one accoriliiiii t(j a plan known unto God from the bei^inning. Aiul the cathedral itself is full of a clouil of .souls. There is a goodly company of the martyrs and the apostles and the prophets. There is the Lord and the Giver of Life. And with this company we join in the perpetual anthem: "Forever, ( ) Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." "Oh, how love I Thy law; swt:eleris it to me than honey and the honeycomb." It is true there are things in the Old Testament we do not now imitate, but they were trees that were trimmeti from the start, Hut take the .Scriptures as a whole and from them jou can gather an inspi- ration such as comes from no other book. I believe it and you believe it. I take up the books of Plato, which I think are nearest to those of the Hible, and press those clusters of grapes, and there is an odiou> stench of polj'gamy and slavery in the resulting juices. I will sa>' nothing of the other sacred books. There are atlulterated elements in all of them, however good some of the elements may be. Now it is nothing to me if Professor Hriggs can show that some lly has lighted here or there on one or two of these golden clusters of grapes and specked it. Now, don't misunderstand me, for I think that parts of the Hiblc were absolutely dictateil by the Holy Ghost. I beliexe the Lord's Praj-er is exactly as G(jd gave it. Was Christ inspired? If anybody e\er was, he was. f ^ \ c.il c;itlic- urch, a.m' 1 tluNilliir ths of Uk ist. Gt)(l t be oiic. s God as juiulatiou the Holy ross. Tile )iic of the IkuhI thai own unto a ch)ucl ol ,' apostles ife. And ;r, ( ) Lord, ,vc:eter is it ) not now ;tart. Hut r an insi)i- ou believe :o those of an odious I will say ;lementsin Now it is las lif^htetl grapes and at parts of believe the ;pired? It South Sea Island Chief; Convert to Christianity. 11 ! 'L I 11 • 1 . 1 ] Iff " : A -i:. J,** Influence of the Ancient Egyptian Religion on Qthev Religions. Paper by J. A. S. GRANT (Bey), of Cairo, Egypt. ANETHO, an ancient I'^jjyptian priest and historian, writinj^ in Greek a history of his country and people at the request of Ptolemy Philadelphus( 280 B.C.) for the grand library at Alexandria, tells us that the history of Egypt, as gathered from the hierogljphic archives in the temple libraries, was divided into a myth- ical period and an historical period. These periods were also subdivided into dynasties. The mj'thical period had four dynasties and the historical period had thirty, down to Nectanebo II, the last Pharaoh of Egyptian blood. As the ancient Egyptian religious beliefs have their foundation in the mythical ^^®"'"^' period, I shall confine myself to that particular* division of the history, leaving out only the prehistoric dynasty that does not come within the scope of this paper. Here, then, is Manetho's way of putting it: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HISTORY. I. THF. MYTHICAL I'KRIOD. 1st Dynasty— A Dynasty of Gods (F'uhim in Hebrew), as rulers, probably over nature and the lowei creation. 2d Dynasty — A Dynasty of Gods, as rulers over a higher creation, as Man. 3d Dynasty — A Dynasty of Deini-Gods, as rulers over Man as a race. 4th Dynasty— A Dynasty of Prehistoric Kings, as rulers over communities of men. \Vc sec in this profane history of Manetho transitions that he himself does not explain, but that now are made clear by the latest 145 Tho Mythical A Kind of Evolu- tion. ^'^Y" ' I \ \ i 1 'i ■ I l).vn;i)-t.v IJ'JIli (iollr- 146 T//£: IVOKLDS COyORKSS UF KICIJGJONS. lijjht lliiuwn on ihc rclipfion of tltc ancient I'-^'yplians. l.ci nu; tlicn give N'oii a riinnin},' commentary on the aliove. The lirst -nast>', tiiat lasted a j,neat niaii)- Sothii- cycles, was taken up with the creation of the woilcl iincler the j^^ikIs ( l-llohiin ). The second dynast\- probal)ly became so throuf^di some j,Meat change that took place on the creation of man. I'he ^ods now were riilinj; over while at the same time they had free intercourse with man. I lere Manetlu)'s tlivision of his history mij^ht have stopped, and if so we should have had at the present day the second dynast\- of the mythical period still continuing;, /, <•., God ruling' over and iiaviiij^ free intercourse with uiifallen man; but no, it was destir.ed otherwise. It apjjcars, from some cause unrecorded by Manetho, tliat the ^ods were obli^a-d to withdraw themselves from man and have no further intercourse with him. Man. howe\er. beinj,' naturally relij^Mous. was ill at ease, owin^ to the witiulrawal of his ^nxls. And the ^'ods had pit)' on him, so. as he could no more raise himself to the level of the s^'ods, till' L(ods Unvered themseUes b\- p.irtakinff of his nature, and thus the\' came a^ain to the earth to rule o\er and iiavc friendly inter- course with man. This introduces us t(j the third dj-nastv. or djii;' of demi-ffods. This was tau^dit to the people thus: The sk>- was ■^d and called Nut. a ^os. while the earth was deifird and .^il .Seb, a j^cmI. .Seb and Nut now appear as husband ami w ife, and have a lar}.je family of sons and dauijhtirs. who are partl\- terrestrial and parti)- celestial, shariii^^ the natun-s of father and mother. This is the family (jf demi- (female). .Set (male). Nephthys (female). This part of the nn-th has been put into verse by a Scottish bard, thus: .\ new relationship, yet nlet he appears in the nether world as jiid<,fe of the dead, and llorus, his son, is represented in the world of spirits introducinjf the justified ones to his father, i fere Osiris takes the place of t!;'j Christian Messiah, anil is offered up as a sacrifice for sin. The Osiriaa m\-tli was als(j allet:^()ricall>- explained b\- a sohir ni\th. Osiris, after his de.ith, became "the sun of the ni,L,dil," and ap- peared no more upon the earth in his own i)erson, but in that of his son llorus, who was "the sun at sunrise," as the dispeller of darkness, to brin^f •ik^'i'^ '"i*^' '''•■■ ^" the whole world and to destro\- the power of Set. Osiris, after his death, was Ra, the, sun of the da\-. Isis. the wife f Osiris, was the moon lioddess, and all the IMuiraoh o s were ilei fied ami looki'd ui)on as the personificatioi of Ra upon the earth. ( Here we ha\e the origin of the divine rij^dit of kini;s. ) The belief in the death of Osiris on account of sin w.is the only .itoiiing sacrifice in the I']^\ptian relii;ion. All the other sacrifices wc re sacrifices of thanks' offereil to the j^otls il ow ers, fruits, meat ami drink; for they thouijht the ^ods had \\^:ci\ of such thiiis^s, as the l'".t,')-ptians believed s[)iritual beings li\ed on the spiritual essences of material thiiii4s. liesides these beliefs, the ancient M<;\i)tians had a moral coile in which not one of the Christian \irtues is forijotten — pii'ty, charity, sobriety, i^entleness, self-command in word ;ind action, chastit\-, the l)n)tecti(in of the weak, benexolence toward the needv, tleference to periors, respect for propert\- in its minutest details, etc. Sll son, were wor- Sll ()>iris, isis and llorus, ;'. <•., lather, mother ami ipcd universalis' as a triad; and Isis, so freciueiitt)' represented with llorus as a suckling' chihl on her knecj^ave oriLjin.to the condjination ol the Madonna and iid'ant on her knee in tlu- Christi;in relii',ion. This worship of the Madonna was a cunning device to L;ain over tiio p;ig,ins to Christianity, who saw in her their Isis or Ashtoreth.as the I Sacrifices, N fliiii 'i ff'T.lWraW^TflSfti.WPP'^^ffll^Wff*''^ I ; 't ■'■ *i ■■ ) -■ if;' H^ TVy^' WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. case might be. (The Ptolemies, about four centuries before this, adopted a similar trick to unite the Egyitians and (irceks in t!:cir cultus, and when Egypt came under the sway of the Romans they adopted the tactics of the Greeks.) , Again, the ancient Egyptians believed that the living human body consisted of three parts: First, Sahoo, the fleshy, substantial body — UckIj* """""' the mummified body; second, Ka, the double. It was the exact coun- terpart of the substantial body, only it was spiritual and could not be seen. It was an intelligence that permeated all through the body and guided its different physical functions, such as digestion, etc. It cor- responded to what wc call "the physical life; third. Ha. The \\,\. corresponds to our soul, or, rather, spirit; that i)art of our nature which fits us for union with God. When the Sahoo died the Ka and the lia continued to live, but separated from each other. The Ha, after the death of the i)od\-, took flight from this earth to go to the judgment hall of Osiris i;. Amenta, there to be judged as to the deeds done in the body, whether they hacl been good or bad. The justified soul was admitted into the presence of Osiris, and made daily progress in the celestial life, as represented by different heavenlj- mansions, which the soul entered by successive gates, 11 it could pronounce the special prayers necessary for opening these gates. Tiiere were still obstacles in the path, but these were easily over- come by the soul assuming the form of the deity. And, in fact, the justified soul is always called " the Osiris " or Pa-aa, the great one, /. <•., it became assimilateil to the great and good god. The lia was gener- ally represented as a hawk with a human head (the hawk was the em- blem of Horus), as if the seat of the soul was in the head, which was furnisficd with the hawk's body, whereby it was able to fly away from the earth to be with Horus. The Ka. which means double, was represented by two human arms elevated at right angles at the elbows. Tliis was to indicate that tlu' spiritual body was exact!/ the same in every way as the natural bod\-, just as one arm is like tlie other, only it could not be seen. The Ka was not furnished with wings, so that it could not leave the earth, but continued to live where it used to live before it was dis- embodied and more particularly in the tomb, where it could rest in the mumni)- (it was for this very purpose that the l^gyptians preserved the dead body), or in the portrait statues placed for it in the ante- chamber of the tomb. The Egyptians believed that the Ka could rest also in portrait statiies. This must have been a great consolation to the friends of those whose bodies had been lost at sea or in any otlur way that prevented their being embalmed and preserved. The Ka continued to ha^c hunger and thirst, to be subject to fatigue, etc., just as when in the body, and it had to live on the s[)iritual essence of the offerings brought to it. It could die of hunger, etc., but this meant annihilation for the Ka. There is some indication of the future union of the K.-: ^nul the H;i, THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 149 •I il Ka ^ihI the H.I, for we occasionally find the Ba visiting the mummy in the tomb where the Ka dwells, and again we have a divinity called Nehcb-Kaoo, which simply means the joiner of Kas (probably to Bas). This may come out more clearly after further research. There were two grades of punishment for the condemned Ba: The more guilty Ba was condemned to frightful sufferings a d tortures and devouring fire till it succumbed and was ultimately annihilated; the less guilty Ba nas put into some unclean animal and sent back to the earth for a second probation. After the dead body was embalmed, it was a common custom with the Egyptians for the relatives of the deceased to keep the mummy for even a lengthened period in the house, and the place apportioned Kept in the tt) it was the dining-hall, where it served as a constant reminder of House, death. And at their great public feasts a mummified image of Osiris was handed round among the guests, not only to remind them of death, but to indicate that the contemplation of the death of Osiris would benefit them in the midst of their feasting and hilarity. While Osiris and Horus are represented as father and son, they .ire yet really one and the same. Osiris was "the sun of the night," while Horus was "the sun of the day." This symbolism simply taught (lifierent phases of the same deity; for the sun remains the same sun alter sunset as it was before sunset, and all the Egyptians must have known this. You may get people even novvada)s to believe in the coat of Treves, the Veronica, the liquifying of .St. Januarius' blood, ;ui(l a thousand other cunningly devised fables that do not lead to higher beliefs, but rather detract from such beliefs when they exist, i'lie ancient I'lgyptians, however, although accused of animal worship, saw in these animals attributes of their one nameless God, and origi- n;ill\- their apparent adoration of an animal was in reality adoration of their god for one or other of his beneficent attributes; and the result was elevating, as the history of the early dynasties proves. Bunsen says that the animals in the animal worship of l*'gypt were at first mere symbols, but became by the inherent curse of idolatry real objects of worship. Maspen; believes that the religion of the Egyptians, at first pure and spiritual, became grossly material in its later developments, and that the old faith degenerated. To clothe or symbolize a spiritual trutli is evidently a very dan- gerous proceeding, as we learn from past history. The ancient I'-gyp- tiaiis figured the attributes of their one god, and in due time each of tluse figures was worshiped s a separate deity. This constituted idolatry, which led to the d. gradation of the l"',gyptians and disinte- ^natiun of their power. The Elohim of the Hebrews was exactly the s.uue as the gods of the l*'gyptians. /. <-., a unity in plurality and vice versa, one god with many attributes. The one god of the Egyptians was nameless, but the combination of all the other good divinities made up his attributes, which were simply powers of nature. Renouf says that in the ICgyptian, as in almost all known religions, a power behind all the powers of nature Idolatry. miMMi i iii.'iii i w miWWB^ ■ ! I'm ii ' M 150 'jy/£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF KELIGIONS. was recognized and was frequently mentioned in the texts. But to this power no temple was ever raised, "lie was never graven in stone His shrine was never found with painted figures. He had neither ministrants nor offerings." The Jehovah of tiie i febrews woulil correspond to the Egyptian Osiris, jeliovaii is more particularly the divine ruler of the Hebrews, while Osiris was the divine ruler more particularly over Egypt and the Egyptians, iiaving his seat of government in Egypt. These two names were licld so sacred that they were never pronounced, and in the ancient I\g\ptian religion this superstition was carried to such an extent that sculptor and scribe alwa\'s s[)elled the name Osiris backward; i. c, instead of "As-ari," made it "Ari-as." W'c don't know, 1 believe, how Jehovah should be spelled or pro- nounced, and, therefore, we do not know its etymology; but some Solar Deity, scholars trace it through the I'lKL-nician to an appellation for the sun. Now, Osiris was a solar deity, and his name, "As-ari," means "the en- throned eye," no doubt to indicate that he is the all-seeing one, just as the sun in the heavens throws light on everything and rules the sea- sons for the benefit of man. Jehovah-I'lohim in the Hebrew religion would be Osiris-Ra in the Egyptian mytholog)'. Elohim created the heavens and the earth, in the Hebrew religion, while Ra, in Egyptian m>tliology, received mate- rials from Phthah to create the world w ith. Ra was the creative prin- ciple of Phthah. Phthah was the originator of ail things, but he worked visibly through Ra, just as, in the case of the Christian relig- ion, God created all things through Jesus Christ. "The search for know ledge is only good when it is the seeking for truth, and truth vali able only when it leads to duty, right and God. Sleepless vigilance is the jjrice of liberty. What man knows of God is from Christ, who was able to re\eal the one to the other, because He partook of the nature of each. Clirist's doctrine of a Gocl-head is that of One whose unity is not the unity of a monad but oi an organ- ism. That God could be God in the attributes which our modern consciousness ascribes to Him, ?'. ^., that He could be ethical, social and paternal, involves the necessity of His nature containing subject and 'object, both i>f knowledge and feeling; in other words, of a sub- division of His essence into what we may speak of as persons." .Summary: In the ancient I^gyptian religion, therefore, we have cleaiiy depicted to us an unnamed almighty deity who is uncreated and self-e.xistent. He is at first re])resented In* a battle-ax and aft(M- ward by a dwarfish, embrytjnic-looking human figure, and as such he supplied materials (protoplasm) to Ra, the sun god, to create the world with. God dwelt with man till man rebelled against Him. A god man (Osiris) had to come to the earth to deli\er and do good toman. He, however, was sacrificed, having been killed by the evil principle, but only in as far as his human body was concerned, for he afterward appeared in the next world as the judge of the dead, and his son, Horus, who came from his father's dead body, manifested THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 151 himself on the earth as the sun at sunrise to ch'spcl darkness and de- rfiroy the works of llie wicked one. The ancient Egyptian hope, both for time and for eternity, was founded on faith in the Osirian myth and conformed to the code of morals laid down in the religious books After death the condemned soul, according to the enormity of its guilt, was allowed a second pro- i),Uion, or had such punishment inflicted as ultimati-ly to end in anni- hilation; the justified soul was assimilated into Osiris, dwelt in his presence and obeyed his commands, being helped by angelic servants ( isliabtioo) in carrying on the mystic husbandry. The justified soul liad to take part in the daily celestial work, and had daily to acquire nil lie knowledge and wisdom to help it in its progress through the niaiisions of the blest. The illustrations for this paper graphically explain the influence the ancient Egyptian religion e.xerted over the religions that came in cdiilact with it, more particularly by way of grafting a great deal of its symbolism on those religions; and many of our Biblical expressions ;in: word for word the same as we find in the Egyptian mythological Texts. The evolution of the emblem now used to represent the Christian cross had its origin in ancient Egyptian symbols. The fore and iiialdle fingers were used as a talisman by the ancient Egyptians to a\Lit the evil eye. It was grafted on to the Christian leligion as the s} iiibol for conferring a divine blessing. The winged disc of the sun tliat overshadowed the gateways of the Egyptian temples and that icinosented the overruling Providence was called by the Greeks the Atjatliodaemon, and the Messiah is uterreil to in the Bible as the sun ol rii;liteousness, rising with healing in His winL;s. Besides these similaritic in symbolism between the Egyptian mythology antl other religii'. mention might also be made of the sameness in plan of an Egypti.m temple and the tabernai le of the Israelites and temple of .Solomon. There is also a singulai snnilarity between the cherubim and the winged Isis and Nephihys prt)tecting Hoius. The ostrich egg that one meets with so frequently suspended in oriental places of worship has its origin in the mundane egg that Ra, the sun-god, created and out of which the world came w iien it was hatcheil. The Pharaoh (who was always deified), like th Jewish high priest, was the only one admitted into the Holy of Holies (Adytum), there to appear before the symbol of Deity to present the oblations of his people; for, be it remembered, no one could offer an ol ition to the l)eity but through the deified king. The temple pr ' -ions and car- ryiiii; of shrines with symbols of gods in them forniva a conspicuous part of the ancient Egyptian ritual. Before the Pharaoh entered upon a warlike campaign the image that symbolized the warlike attribute of the Deity was carried in a shrine at the head of a grand procession of priests and adherents of the temple, and the people bowed the head as it passed and sent up a prayer for a blessing on the campaign. The Similiirit ip8. in Symboliiiiu ■^-nrr=: An K 1 a 8 1 i c Faith, 352 7//A" il'OKI.nS CONGRKSS OF RELIGIONS. "immaculate conception" was accepted by the ancient Egyptians with- out a disscntini; voice; tor Isis was a t^ocldess, and, therefore immacu- late, and her conception of llorus was miraculous. Many ol the Mohaininedaii social and religious customs are decid- edly ancient lC;;\])tian in their oriijin. This can easily be accounted for from the fact that the prophet Mohammed had a Koi)tic (descended from the ancient h",g\ptian ) scribe (the prophet himself was illiterate, for he could neitlu'r read nor write) as well as a Koptic wife, who must ha\e e.\erte* Krror the CauKP of Fac- liunalisin. DoKinas Specified. Tfheology oLjudaism. Paper by DR. ISAAC M. WISE, of Cincinnati. ms^ HE theology of Judaism, in the opinion of many, is a new academic discipline. They maintain Judaism is identical with legalism; it is a religion of deeds without dogmas. The- ology is a systematic treatise on the dogmas of any religion. There could be no theology of Judaism. The modern latitudinarians and .syncretists on their part maintain we need more religion and less theology, or no the- ology at all, deeds and no creeds. For re- ligion is undefinable and purely subjective; theology defines and casts free sentiments into dictatorial words. Religion unites and theol- ogy divides the human famii}-, not seldom, into hostile factions. Research and reflection antagonize these objections. They lead io conviction, both historically and psychologically. Truth unites and appeases; error begets antagonism and fanaticism. Error, whether in the spontaneous belief or in the scientific formulas of theology, is the cause of the distracting factionalism in the transcendental realm. Truth well defined is the most successful arbitrator among mental com- batants. It seems, therefore, that the best method to unite the human family in harmony, peace and good will is to construct a rational and humane system of theology as free from error as possible, clearly defined and appealing directly to the reason and conscience of all normal men. Research and reflection in the field of Israel's literature and history produce the conviction that a code of laws is no religion. Yet legalism and observances arc but one form of Judaism. The underlying principles and doctrines are essentially Judaism, and these are material to the theology of Judaism, and these are essentially dogmatic. .Scriptures from the first to the last page advance the doctrine of tlivine inspiration and revelation. Ratiocinate this as you may, it ahva)s centers in the proposition: There exist an inter-relation and a faculty of intercommunication in the nature of that universal, prior Voi jli Dr. Isaac M. Wise, Cincinnati. I \rw" '!' ' iffl(wBsifffl,iysiflft^f THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 157 and superior being and the individualized being called man; and this also is a dogma. Scriptures teach that the Supreme Being is also Sovereign Provi- dence. He provides sustenance for all that stand in need of it. He foresees and foreordains all, shapes the destinies and disposes the affairs of man and mankind, and takes constant cognizance of their doings. He is the lawgiver, the judge and the executor of His laws. Press all this to the ultimate abstraction and formulate it as you may, it always centers in the proposition of "Die sittlichc Weltordnung," the universal, moral, just, benevolent and beneficent theocracy, which is the cause, source and text-book of all canons of ethics; and this again is a dogma. Scriptures teach that virtue and righteousness are rewarded; vice, misdeeds, crimes, sins are punished, inasmuch as they are free-will actions of man; and adds thereto that the free and benevolent Deity under certain conditions pardons sin, iniquity and transgression. Here is an apparent contradiction between justice and grace in the Supreme Being. Press this to its ultimate abstraction, formulate it as you may, and you will always arrive at some proposition concerning atonement, and this also is a dogma. As far back into the twilight of myths, the early dawn of human reason, as the origin of religious knowledge was traced, mankind was in possession of four dogmas. They were always present in men's consciousness, although philosophy has not discovered the antece- dents of the syllogism, of which these are the conclusions. The excep- tions are only such tribes, clans or individuals that had not yet become conscious of their own sentiments, not being crystallized into concep- tions, and in consequence thereof had no words to express them; but these are very rare exceptions. These four dogmas are: 1. There exists — in one or more forms of being — a superior being living, mightier and higher than any other being known or imagined. (Existence of God.) 2. There is in the nature of this superior being, and in the nature of man, the capacity and desire of mutual sympathy, inter-relation and inter-communication. (Revelation and worship.) 3. The good and the right, the true and the beautiful, are desir- able, the opposites thereof are detestable and repugnant to the superior being and to man. (Conscience, ethics and aesthetics.) 4. There exists for man a state of felicity or torment beyond this state of mundane life. (Immortality, reward or punishment.) These four dogmas of the human family are the postulate of all theology and theologies, and they are axiomatic. They require no proof, for what all men always knew is self-evident; and no proof can be adduced to them, for they are transcendent. Philosophy, with its apparatuses and methods of cogitation, cannot reach them, cannot expound them, cannot negate them, and none ever did prove such negation satisfactorily even to the individual reasoner himself. All systems of theology are built on these four postulates. They L a w K i V e r, JadKB and Ex. ecutur. Justice and Grace. PoHtnlate of all Tbeulugy. ir.s /•/// lli>U//>S < tK\^^;/^/SS or A'/.l./i./OXS. 1 liHllMIH Sl'tltl- 11 |'lll^. NR'iirrd and «lil"l\M onl\' in tl\i tli liniliitns ol llic »|iiitl(lilv. the rsMt'iisitui ami cxpaii- MOM ol tlu'M' t'i,j;i«"ssiuii oi irtro(;ics siiii) ol ilirinciit .iLM's ,111(1 I oiiiilrii's. I'Ikv tlitit'i in llicir tU-riva(ioii ol (lot liii)(> Ol (lo!>,Mi,i liotn tlu' tu,iiii |)ostiil.it«-s; their icdiu lion lo |>rii<' lift- ill (lliK^ .iMil \voi-^lii|), loinis .111(1 loriiiul.i'<; tlicir int'tlxHJs ol applii .itioii to luiiiMii .itl.iiis, ,111(1 tluii notions ol ol>li(>,,ilioii, act'oinit al)ilit\', liopr Ol l«Mi. riu-sr ,u ( imuil.iti'd (Iiri'«'H"ii(«-s in llic v,irioiis systems of tlicolo(.;y, in,ismm li .is tlu'\ .uc not lin;i( .ill\' lont. lined in tlu-se postulates, are siihieet to ( lilit'iMii, .in .ippcil lo le.isoii is alw.ns le^;itini.ite, a rational iiistilicition is ii'(|iiisite. Ilie .iri;iiiiieiits .idv.itu ed in all these eases are not .il\\.i\ s .ippcils to the st.ind.nd «d re.isoii tlierel(ni' tiie dis- aereeiiieiits tl u\ .lie inos(l\ liisloru .li •Wh.it ever we h.ive not Iroiii the know leili;e ol .ill m.iiilviiid we li.i\v' iKmi the knowledj^e ol a very lespeel.iiiie poition ol it in our iioly hooks and s.icicd ti.idit i<»ns" is tiie ni.iin .niMimeiit. So e.u h s\stiin ol theoioijv, in as lar as it «liliers lioni ollieis, n'lies lor prool Ol its p.ii lii iil.ir e(Hieeptions and knowl- edi;i-s oil its tr.iditions, written or unwritten, as the knowled^;c> ol a portion ol in.inkind; so e.nli p,irtieiil.ii theoioi;y depends on its SiMII ii''' .^o .ilsodoes Ind.usni. It is h.ised upon the lour postulates of all thi'oI(>i;\-,.ui(i in justitie.ition ol its extensions and expansions, its deri- v.ition ol diutnne .iiid dot;ni.» from the ni.iiii postul,ites, its entire dc- \(l(ipment, it points to its soiin cs .iiid tr.iditions .ind at various times ,iUo to tlie st.uid.ird ol riMsoii, not, liowexei, till tlu" philosophers pn'ssi'd It to le.ison in si-ll defense, 1 nHMiise it ei.nnu't .lutlioiitx for its souiees, his/her th.iii which llicre is nunc, li.i\ e .III i\ ed .it our siil>jeet. |)|lllOSO| 1 the i\ Ami ivine so we W .now w ii.it theolo''\- is. s(» we must define here onlv what .'^. liHi.iisin IS. luti.iisni IS th e eomplex o .f h sr.iel's religious sentiments i.itioein.Ued to iiMuept ion,> in h.union\- with its Jchi)vistic (ioil-co^;iii- lUMl. riiese eoneeptii>ns in.ide permanent in the eonseioiisness of this people .uethe relii;ious kiiowledi;es whiih form the siihstratum to the theoloj;)- of liid.iism. The I'hor.di m.iintains th.it its "teaehiii}; and e,»iu>n" .ire divine. M.m's knowledge of the true ami the i^ootl comes directU" to hum. in re.ison and conscience ( which is unconscious reason ) tiom the supreme .iiul universal reason, the al)soluti'l\' tiueaml j^ood; or it comes to Iiim indirectly from the same source by the manifesta- tions of ii.Uure. the t.icts of history and man's power of imiuction. This principle is in conformitv w ith the si>coiul postulate of thcolo^jy, and its extension in luunioin- with the st.uulard of reason. All knowledge of tiod and His attrihutes, the true and the {^[ood, came to ni.m li\- successive revel.itions, of the indirect kiiul first, which uc mav call natural revelation, anil the iliiect kiiul afterward which wo may c.ill tr.insccndenta! revelation; both these revelations concerning Tr:tiis.vii.i,'iii- tiod aiul His substaiiti.d attributes, toi;cthor with their historical genesis, are recorded in the Thorah in the seven holy names oi God, to III Kovol.stion. rill: lldUliy.S (<)A'l,AI:.SS III' A'i:l.l(,li).\'S, I.V.) wliit h ni'illuT |tin|»li(l i\(»r |»liil<)s(»i>lifr in Israel adilcd ( mm >' any indnelion or iniereiii e horn any law, story or doiiif; asrrilted to ( ioil anywhere I lie propliels only expand «ir deHne those eoiueptioiis o| Deity wliii li t hese passajMs ol diii i t traiisi:endenlal revelation in the Thorali i Diitain Thiie exists no t)||ier soiiri'i- Iroiii wliii h to derive the eo|^;nitioii ol the (iod id revelation. 'vV hat I'M I thiol >• or piaitit f is eon t lary or i oiil radii lory toh lae (iixl (-o^'.iiilioii tan have no |)lai:e in the tlu-olo}',y ol Judaism. It i oni- pioniises neeessaiily ; The doctrine eoiiecrniiifj Providence, its rel.itioiis to the individual, the nations and iiiankind. This iin hides the doi trine ol < oveiiaiit hetweeii (iod anil man, ( iod anti the lathers o! the nation, dod and the people ol Israil or the election ol Israel. The doctrine concerning; atonement. Are sins expiated, lor^nven or pardoned, ami whicli are the conditions or incaiis lor sinh expiation III sinsi* This leads iis to the iloctriiu- of divine worshi]) ('enerally, its oMif^j- iilory nature, ils proper means and lorms, its snhjei live oi ol)jii live import, which includes also the precepts concerniiii^ holy seasons 'I 111' SlVCrlll liol\' places, hoi)' convtii ations .(iid consecrated or speciidly a|)pointid persons to conduct such divine worship, and the standard to distin- jMiish conscientiously in the 'I'liorah, the laws, statutes and ordinaiic(;s whit h wi-re originally intendeil to he alwavs obligator)-, Ironi those which were ()ri^;inally intended for a certain time and place and under special circumstances. The doctrine toiicernin}; the human wili; is it free, (onditiom.d or controlled by reason, faith or any other aj^feiicy.'' This includes the postulate of ethics. The duty and accouiiti'ihility of man in all his relations to (iod, man and himself, to his nation and to his government and to the whole nf the human famil\'. This includes the duty we owe to the |)ast, to that which the |)rocess of history developed and established. This leads to the doctrine concerning; the future of mankind, the ultimate of the historical |)rocess, to culminate in a higher or lower st.itus of humanit\-. This inelude.s the i|ue.stioii of perfectibility of human nature and the possibilities it euntuins, which establishes a standard of dut)' we owe to the future. The doctrine concerning; personal immortality, future reward and punishment, the means by which such immortality is attained, the con- dition on which it deiieiids, what insures reward or punishment. The theology of Judaism as a sytematic structure must .solve these problems, on the basis of Israel's God co{;nition. This bein^ the hi^diest hi 1(50 THE WORLiys COXGRESS OF RELIGIONS. in man's cognition, the solution ot all problems upon this basis, eccle- siastical, ethical, or in cschatology, must be final in theology, provided the judgment which leads to this solution is not erroneous. An erro- neous judgment from true antecedents is possible. In such cases the first safeguard is an appeal to reason, and the second, though not sec- ondary, is an appeal to holy writ and its best commentaries. Wher- ever these two authorities agree, reason and holy writ, that the solu- i^ttson and tion of any problem from the basis of Israel's God-cognition is cor- **'' ' ■ rect, certitude is established, the ultimate solution is found. This is the structure of a systematic theology, Isr^iel's God-cog- nition is the substratum, the substance; holy writ and the standard of reason are the desiderata, and the faculty of reason is the apparatus to solve the problems which in their unity arc the theology or Judaism, higher than which none can be. II K T .1 I ' 'i 91 !' ^ Pr- : ■■: ■; 1 1,-1 ■' I* Ideals Im- larteil to IIOSMI, S ] Yhe Relation of Historic Judaism to the Past, and jts puture. Paper by REV. H, PEREIRA M-ENDES.of New York. UR history may be divided into three eras • — the biblical, the era from the close of the Bible record to the present day, the future. The firsi is the era of the an- nouncement of those ideals vvhidi are essential for mankind's happiness and progress. The Bible contains for us and for humanity all ideals worthy of human effort to attain. I make no exception. The attitude of historical Judaism is to hold up these ideals for mankind's inspi- ration and for all men to pattern life accord- ingly. The first divine message to Abraham con- tains the ideal of righteous Altruism— "lie a source of blessing" And in the message an- nouncing the Covenant is the Ideal of righteous egotism. "Walk be- fore RIc and be perfect." "Recognize me, God, be a blessing to thy fellow man, be perfect thyself." Could religion ever be more strik- ingly summed up? The life of Abraham, as \\ ". have it recorded, is a Kigical resj)onse, despite any human feeling. Thus he i^efused booty he had captured. It was an ideal of warfare not yet realized — tnat to the victor the spoils did not necessarily belong. Childless and old, he believed God's promise that his descendants should be numerous as the stars. It was an ideal faith; that also, and more, was his readiness to sacrifice Isaac - a sacrifice ordered, to make more public his God's condemnation of Canaanite child-sacrifice. It revealed an ideal God, who would not allow religion to cloak outrage upon holy sentiments of humanity. To Moses next were high ideals impanod for mankind to aim at. On the very threshold of his mission the ideal of "the Fatherhood of God" was aiuiounced — "Israel is my son, v.yy first born," implying that 16a THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 163 other nations are also his children Then at Sinai were ffiven him those ten ideals of human conduct, which, called the "ten command- ments," receive the allegiance of the great nations of today. Magnifi- cent ideals! Yes, but not as magnificent as the three ideals of God revealed to him — God is mercy, God is love, God is holiness. "The Lord thy God loveth thee." The echoes of this are the commands to the Hebrews and to the world. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might." "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; ye shall love the stranger." God is holiness! "Be holy! for I am holy;" "it is God calling to man to par- ticipate in his divine nature." To the essayist on Moses belongs the setting forth of other ideals associated with him. The historian may dwell upon his "proclaim freedom throughout the land to its inhabitants." It is written on Boston's Liberty Bell, which announced "Free America." The politi- cian may ponder upon h,'s land tenure system; his declaration that tl'.c poor have rights; his limitation of priestly wealth; his separation of church and state. The |)reacher may dilate upon that Mosaic ideal so bright with hope and faith— wings of the human soul as it flies forth to find (iod — that God is the God of the spirits of all flesh; it is a flashlight of immortality upon the storm-tossed waters of human life The physician n)ay elaborate his dietary and health laws, designed to prolong life and render man more able to do his duty to society. The moralist may point to the iiieal of personal responsibility, not even a Moses can offer himself to die to save sinners. The ex- ponent of natural law in the spiritual world is anticipated by his "Not by bread alone does man live, but by obedience to divine law." The lecturer on ethics may enlarge upon moral impulses, their co-relation, free will and such like ideas; it is Moses who teaches the quickening of m"I»."h! cause of all is God's revelation, "Our wisdom and our understanding," and who sets before us "Life and death, blessing and blighting," to choose either, though he advises "choose the life " Tenderness to brute creation, equality of aliens, kindness to servants, justice to the emjiloyed; what code of ethics has brighter gems of ideal than those which make glorious the law of Moses! As for our other prophets, we can only glance at their ideals of purity in social life, in business life, in personal life, in political life, and in religious life. We need no Bryce to tell us how much or how little they obtain in our commonwealth today. So, also, if we only mention the ideal relation which they hold up for ruler and the people, and the former "should be servants to the latter," it is only in view of the tremendous results in history. For these very words license the English revolution. From that \ cry chapter of the liible the cry, "To your tents, O Israel," was taken by the Puritans, who fought with the Bible in one hand. Child of that Ivnglish revolt, which soon consummated luiglish liberty, America was born- herself the parent of the French revolution, which has made so ^^>,.. (HoriouBLnw V { 1 1 1 1 p i Nil 164 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. IiIhiUh of the Prophets. !i i ■ 1 ■ i 1 Voice of IUh- torical ism. many kings the servants of their peoples. English liberty, America's birth, French revolution! Three tremendous results truly! Let us, however, set these aside, great as they arc, and mark those grand ideals which our prophets were the first to preach. 1. Universal peace, or settlement of national disputes by arbitra- tion. When Micah and Isaiah announced this ideal of universal peace it was the age of war, of despotism. They may have been regarded as lunatics. Now all true men desire it, all good men pray for it, and bright among the jewels of Chicago's coronet this year is her universal peace convention. 2. Universal brotherhood. If Israel is God's first born and other nations are therefore His children, Malachi's " Have we not all one Father?" does not surprise us. The ideal is recognized today. It is prayed for by the Catholics, by the Protestants, by I lebrews, by all men. 3. The universal happiness. This is the greatest. For the ideal of universal happiness includes both universal peace and universal brotherhood. It adds being at peace with God, for without that hap- piness is impossible Hence the prophet's bright ideal that one day "All shall know the Lord, from the greatest to the least," " Fuxrth shall be lull of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea," and "All nations shallcome and bow down before God and honor His name." Add to those prophet ideals those of our Ketubim. The "seek wisdom" of Solomon, of which the " Know thyself " of Socrates is but a partial echo; Job's "Let not the finite creature attempt to fathom the infinite Creator;" David's reachings after God! And then let it be clearly understood that these and all ideals of the Bible era are but a prelude and overture. How grand, then, must be the music of the next era which now claims our attention. The era from Bible days to these is the era of the formation of religious and philosophic .systems throughout the Orient and the classic world. What grand harmonies, but what crashing discords sound through these ages! Melting and swelling in mighty diapason they come to us today as the music which once swayed men's souls, now lifting them with holy emotion, now mocking, now soothing, now iiuiiii- exciting. For those religions, those philosophies were mighty plectra in their day to wake the human heartstrings. Above them all rang the \-oice of historical Judaism, clear and lasting, while other sounds blended or were lost. Sometimes the voice was in harmony; most often it was discordant as it clashed with the dominant note of the day. For it sometimes met sweet and elevating strains of morality, of beauty, but more often it met the debasing sounds of immorality and error. Thus Kuenen speaks of "the afifinity of Judaism and Zoroastrian- ism in Persia to the afifinity of a common atmosphere of lofty truth, of a simultaneous sympathy in their view of earthly and heavenly things." If Max MuUcr declares Zoroastrianism originally was monotheistic, so far historic Judaism could harmonize. But it would raise a voice of protest when Zoroastrianism became a dualism of Ormuzd, light or THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 165 good, and Ahriman, darkness or evil Hence the anticipatory protest proclaimed by Isaiah in God's very message to Cyrus, king of Persia, "I am the Lord, and there is none else." "I formed the light and create darkness." " I make peace and create evil." " I am the Lord, and there is none else; that is, I do these things, not Ormuzd or Ahriman." Interesting as would be a consideration of the mutual debt be- tween Judaism and Zoroastrianism, with the borrowed angclology and demonology of the former compared with the "ahniiyat ahmi Mazdan amma" of the latter manifestly borrowed from the "I am that I am" uf the former, we cannot pause here for it. Similarly, historical Judaism would harmonize with Confucius's instance of belief in a Supreme Being, filial duty, his famous "What you do not like when done to you, do not unto others," and of in Hjirmony the Buddhistic teachings of universal peace. But against what is con- ligions."'" *^''' trary to Bible ideal it would protest, and from it it would hold separate. In 521 B. C, Zoroastrianism was revived. Confucius was then actually living. Gautama Buddha died in 543. Is the closeness of the dates mere chance? The Jews had long been in Babylon. As Gesenius and Movers observe, there was traffic of merchants between China and India via Babylonia with Pluenicia, and not unworthy of mark is lunest Renan's observation that Bab\lon had long been a focus of Buddhism and that Boudasy was a Chaldean sage. If future research should ever reveal an influence of Jewish thought on these three great oriental faiths, all originally holding beautiful thoughts, however later ages might have obscured them, would it not be partial fulfillment of the prophecy, so far as concerns the orient, "that Israel shall blossom into bud and fill the face of the earth with fruit?" In the west as in the east, historical Judaism was in harmony with any ideals of classic philosophy which echoed those of the Bible. It protested where they failed to do so, and because it tailed most often liistorical Judaism remained separate. Thus, as Dr. Drummond remarks, Socrates was "in a certain sense monotheistic, and in distinction from the other gods mentions llim wiu) orders anil holds together the entire Kosmos," "in whom are all things beautiful and good," "who from the beginning makes men" — historical Judaism commends. Again, Plato, his disciple, taught that God was good or that the planets rose from the reason and understanding of God. Historical ludaism is in accord with its ideal "God is good," so oft repeated and its t! o'.'ght hymned in the almost identical words, "Good are the lumi- n;'."'.os which our God created; He formed them with knowledge, understanding and skill." But when Plato condemns stutlies except as mental training and desires no practical results; when he even rebukes Arytas for inventing machines on mathematical principles, declaring it was worthy only of carpenters and wheelwrights, and when his master, Socrates, says to (^laucon, "It amuses me to sec how afraid 4 M I ■m If: i I l:ji 166 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS Be Pprferf. .'^ llpbrpw Pro- U.'bt. you are lest the common herd accuse you of recommending useless studies" — the useless study in question being astronomy — historical Judaism is opposed and protests. For it holds that even Bezalcal and Aholiab is filled with the spirit of God. It bids us study astronomy to learn of God thereby. "Lift up your eyes on high and see who hath created these things, who bringeth out their host by number. Hecall- eth them all by name, by the greatness of His might, for He is strong in power; not one faileth." l^ven as later sages practically teach the dignity of labor by themselves engaging in it. And when Macaulay remarks "from the testimony of friends as well as of foes, from the confessions of Kpictetus and Seneca, as well as from the sneers of Lucian and the invectives of Juvenal, it is plain that these teachers of virtue had all the vices of their neighbors with the additional one of hypocris)-," it is easy to understand the relation of historical Judaism to these with its ideal, "He perfect." Similarly the sophist school declared "there is no truth, no virtue, no justice, no blasphemy, for there are no gods; right and wrong are conventional terms." The skeptic school proclaimed "we have no cri- terion of action or judgment; we cannot know the truth of anything; we assert nothing; not even the Kj)icurean school taught pleasure's pursuit. But historical Judaism solemnly protested. What are those teachings of our Pirkc Avoth but protests formerly formulated by our religious heads? Said tiiey: "The Torah is the criterion of conduct. Worship instead of doubting. Do philanthropic acts instead of seeking only |)!easure. .Society's safeguards are law, worship and philanthropy." So preached Simon Hatzadik. "Love labor," preached Shemangia to the votary of epicurean ease. "Procure thyself an instructor," was Gamaliel's advice to anyone in doubt. "The practical application, not the theory, is the essential," was the cry of Simon to Platonist or Pyrrhic. "Deed first, then creed." "Yes," added Abtalion, "Deed first, then creed, never greed." "He not like servants who serve their master for price; be like servants who serve without thought of price — and let the fear of God be upon you." "Separation and protest" was thus the cry against these thought-vagaries. Brilliant instance of the policy of separation and protest was the glorious Maccabean effort to combat Hellenist philosophy. If but for Charles Martel and Poictiers, Europe would long have been Mohammedan, then for but Judas Maccabeus and Hethoron or Em- maus, Judaism would have been strangled. But no Judaism, no Chris- tianity. Take either faith out of the world and what would our civili- zation be? Christianity was born, originally and as designed and declared by its founder, not to change or alter one tittle of the law of Moses. If the Nazarene teacher claimed tacitly or not the title of "Son of God" in any sense save that which Moses meant when he said, "Ye are children of your God," can we wonder that there was a Hebrew protest? Historical Judaism soon found cause to be separate and to pro- \k ■■ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 167 leless jrical 1 and ny to hath call- test. For sect upon sect arose — Ebionites, Gentile Christians, Jewish Christians, Nazarenes, Gnostic Christians, Masbotcans, l^asilidians, Valentinians, Carpocratians, Marcionites, Balaamites, Nicolaitcs, Em- kratitcs, Cainites, Ophites or Nahasites; evangels of these and of others were multiplied, new prophets were named, such as I'achor, Barker, Barkoph, Armagil, Abraxos, etc. At last the Christianity of Paul rose supreme, but doctrines were found to be engrafted which not only caused the famous Christian heresies of Pelagius, Nestorius, luityches, etc., but obliged historical Judaism to maintain its attitude of se[)ara- tion and protest. For its Bible ideals were invaded. It could not join all the sects and all the heresies. So it joined none. Presently the Cresent of Islam rose. From Bagdad to Granada Hebrews prepared protests which the Christians carried to ferment in their distant homes. For through the Arabs and the Jews the old classics were revived and experimental science was fostered. The misuse of the former made the methods of the academicians the methods of the scholastic fathers. But it made Aristotleian philoso- phy dominant. Experiment widened men's views. The sentiment of protest was imbibed — sentiment against scholastic argument, against bidding research for practical ends, against the supposition "that syllogistic reasoning could ever conduct men to the discovery of any new principle," or that such discoveries could be made except by induction, as Aristotle held, against the ofificial denial of ascertained truth, as, for example, earth's rotundity. This protest sentiment in time produced the reformation. Later it gave wonderful imi)ul.sc to thought and effort, which has substituted modern civilization, with its glorious conquests, for medieval .semi-darkness. Here the era of the past is becoming the era of the present. Still historical Judaism maintained its attitude. As the new philosophies were born, it is said, with Bacon, "Let us liave fruits, ])ractical results, not foliage or mere words." Hut it opposed a Voltaire and a Paine when they made their ribald attacks. It could but praise the success of a Newton as he "crowned the long labors of the astronomers and physicists by co-ordinating the phenom- ena of solar motion throughout the visible universe into one vast system." So it could only cry "Amen" to a Kepler and a Cialileo. For did they not all prove the long unsuspected magiiificeiice of the 1 lebrew's God, who made and who ruled the heavens and heaven of heavens, and who presides over the circuit of the earth, as Isaiah tells us? So it cried "Amen" to a Dalton, to a Linneus; for the "atomic notation of the former was as serviceable to chemistry as the binom- inal nomenclature and the classificatory schematism of the latter were to zoology and botany." What else could historic Judaism cry when the first message to man was to subdue earth, capture its powers, har- ness them, work? True historical Judaism means progress. A word more as to the attitude of historic Judaism to modern thought. If Hegel's last work was a coinse of lectures on the proofs of the existence of God; if in his lectures on religion he turned his Ribln Ideas Invaded. PrfMluced the Uefurmation. Maintt.inslts Attitudo. \ . i < j ii . Hi ' ' [;il: IGS THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 'W o (I « r n TlioiUjI'.t. i : 1 i weapon against the rationalistic schools which reduced religion to the modicum compatible with an ordinary, worldly mind and criticise the school of Schleirmacher, who elevated feeling to a jjlace in religion above systematic thi-ologj', we agree with him. But when he gives successive phases of religion and concludes with Christianity, the highest, because reconciliation is there in open doctrine, we cry, do justice also to the Hebrew, Is not the Hebrew's ideal God a God of mercy, a God of reconciliation? It is said, "Not forever will lie con- tend, neither doth He retain His anger forever." That is, He will be reconciled. We agree with much of Comptc, and with him elevate womanhood, but we do not, cannot exclude woman, as he does, from public action; for besides the teachings of reverence and honor for motherhood; be- sides the Bible tribute to wifehood "that a good wife is a gift of God;" besides the grand tribute to womanhood offered in the last chapter of Proverbs, we produce a Deborah or a woman-president, a Huldah as worthy to give a divine message. If Uarwin and the disciples of evolution proclaim their theorj', the Hebrew points to (icnesis ii, 3, where it speaks of what God has createtl "tt) make," iiitiniti\e mood; "not made," as erroneously trans- lated. But historic Judaism i)rotests when any source of life is indi- cated, save in the breath of God alone. We march in the van of progress, but our hand is always raised, pointing to God. This is the attitude of historical Judaism. And now to sum up. For the future ojjens before us. First. The "separatist" thought, (ienesis tells us how ^Xbraham obeyed it. Ivxodus illustrates it: We are "separated from all the people upon the face of the earth." Leviticus proclaims it: "I ha\e separated \ou from the peoples." "I have severed you from the peo- ples." Numbers illustrates it: "Behold, the people shall dwell alone." And Deuteronomy declares it: "He hath avouched thee to be His special people." The thought began as our nation; it grew as it grew. To test its wisdom, let us ask who have survived? The 7,000 separatists who tlid not bend to Baal or those who did? Those who thronged Babylo- nian schools at Pumbeditha or Nahardea, or those who succumbed to Magian influence? The Maccabees, who fought to separate, or the Hellenists, who aped Greek or the .Sectarians of their day? The Bnai Yisrael remnant, recently discovered in India, under the auspices of the Anglo-Jewish association, the discovery of Theaou-Kin-Keaou, or " people who cut out the sinew," in China, point in this direction of separation as a necessity for existence. And who are the Hebrews of today here and in Europe, the descendants of those who preferred to keep separate, and therefore chose exile or death, or those who yielded and were baptized? The course of historic Judaism is clear. It is to keep separate. .Second. The i)rotest thought. We must continue to protest against social, religious or political error with the eloquence of reason. Never THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ion by the force of violence. No error is too insignificant; none can be too stupendous for us to notice. The cruelty which shoots the inno- cent doves for sport; the crime of duelists who risk life which is not xhe iVoiest theirs to risk, for it belongs to country, wife or mother, to child or to Thougiit. society; the militarianism of modern nations, the transformation of patriotism, politics or service of one's country into a business for per- sonal profit, until these and all wrongs be rectified, we Hebrews must keep separate, and we must protest. And keep separate and protest we will, until all error shall be cast to the moles and bats. We are told that Europe's armies amount to 22,0CXD,C)00 of men. Imagine it! Arc we not right to protest that arbitration and not the rule of might should decide? Yet, let me not cite instances which render protest necessary. " Time would fail, and the tale would not be told," to quote a rabbi. How far separation and protest constitute our historical Jewish policy is evident from what I have said. Apart from this, socially, we unite whole-heartedly and without reservation with our non-Jewish fellow citizens; we recognize no difference between Hebrew and non- Hebrew. We declare that the attitude of historical Judaism, and, for that matter, of the reform school also, is to serve our country as good citi- zens, to be on the side of law and order and fight anarchy. We are hound to forward every humanitarian movement; where want or pain calls there must be answer; and condemned by all true men be the Jew March in^- who refuses aid because he who needs it is not a Jew. In the intrica- f>"int1ni y'l,. cies of science, in the pursuit of all that widens human knowledge, in ward, the path of all that benefits humanity, the Jew must walk abreast with non-Jew, except he pass him in generous rivalry. With the non-Jew we must press onward, but for all men and for ourselves we must ever point upward to the Common Father of all. Marching forward, as I liave said, but pointing upward, this is tlie attitude of historical Judaism. Religiously, the attitude of historical Judaism is expressed in the creeds formulated by Maimonides, as follows: We believe in God the Creator of all, a unity, a Spirit who never assumed corporeal form, Eternal, and He alone ought to be worshiped. We unite with Christians in the belief that revelation is inspired. We unite with the founder of Christianity that not one jot or title of tlie law should be changed. Hence we do not accept a First Day Sabbath, etc. We unite in believing that (iod is omniscient and just, good, lov- ing and merciful. We unite in the belief of a coming Messiah. We unite in our belief in immortality. In these Judaism and Christianity agree. As for the development of Judaism, we believe in change in relig- ious custom or idea only when effected in accordance with the spirit of God's law and the highest authority attainable. Hut no change 12 11 i 1 \A ! t Pffvi'IopiTieul ut Judaism. \ Lt'Kend. ^ III >•»{«'♦ I V- 1| 170 7///. U'ORJjys CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, V I I :: AH V F II 1 f\ 1 1 i II K Destiny. without. Hence we cannot, and may not, recognize the authority of any conference of Jewish rabbi.s or niini.stcra, unless those attending are formal l\- empowered by their communities or congregations to represent them Needless to atld, they must be sufificiently versed in Jlebrew law and lore; they must live lives consistent with Bible teach- ings and they must be sufificiently advanced in age so as not to be im- mature in thought. And we believe, heart, soul and might, in the restoration to Pales- tine, a Hebrew state, from the Nile to the Euphrates — even though as Isaiah intimates in his very song of restoration, some Hebrews remain among the Gentiles. We believe in the future establishment of a court of arbitration, above suspicion, for a settlement of nations' disputes, such as could well be in the shadow of that temple which we believe shall one day arise to be a "house of prayer for all peoples," united at last in the service of one Father. How far the restoration will solve present pressing Jewish problems, how far such spiritual organization will guarantee man against falling into error, we cannot here discuss. What if doc- trines, eustoms ancl aims separate us now? There is a legend that when Adam and Eve were turned out of I'.dcn or earthly paradise, an angel smashed the gates and the frag- ments n>ing all over the earth are the precious stones. We can carry the legend further. The i)recious stones were picked up by the various religions and philosophers of the world. Each claimed and claims that its own fragment alone reflects the light of heaven, forgetting the settings and incrustations which time has added. Patience, my brothers. In Gotl's own time, we shall, all of us, fit our fragments together and reconstruct the gates of paradise. There will be an era of reconcilia- tion of all living faiths and systems, the era of all being in at-one- ment, or atonement, with God. Through the gates shall all people pass to the foot of God's throne. The throne is called by us the mercy-seat. Name of happy augury, for God's mercy shall wipe out the record of mankind's errors and strayings, the sad story of our unbrotherl}' actions. Then shall we better know God's ways and behold His glory more clearly, as it is written, "They shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more." ( Jer. x.\xi, 34.) What if the deathless Jew be present then among the earth's peoples? Would ye begrudge his presence? His work in the world, the J5ible he gave it, shall plead for him. And Israel, God's first born, who, as his prophets foretold, was for centuries despised and rejected of men, knowing sorrows, acquainted with grief and esteemed stricken by God for his own backslidings, wounded besides through others' transgressions, bruised through others' injuries, shall be but fulfilling liis destiny to lead back his brothers to the Father. For that we were chosen; for that we are God's servants or ministers. Yes, the attitude THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 171 rity of ending ons to rsed in ; teach- be im- of historical Judaism to the world will be in the future, as in the past, helping mankind with His Bible, until the gates of earthly paradise shall be reconstructed by mankind's joint efforts, and all nations whom Thou, God, hast made, shall go through and worship before Thee, O Lord, and shall glorify Thy namel ) Pales- )Ugh as remain itration, s could jne day ; in the pressing larantcc if doc- I : I out of he frag- an carry ions and t its own settings hers. In ther and ;concilia- II at-one- 11 people ay us the wipe out ry of our ,vays and all know the Lord, ir sins no he earth's the world, first born, d rejected ;d stricken igh others' ,t fulfilling at we were he attitude ! 1 i^r m ..I ! I III I ! Trnth Bronghl toLiglit. Tfhe O^t^ook for Judaism. Paper by MISS JOSEPHINE LAZARUS. HE nineteenth century has had its surprises; the position of the Jew s today is one of these, both for the Jew himself and for most enlight- ened Christians. There were certain facts we thought forever laid at rest, certain condi- tions and contingencies that C(juld never con- front us ai' lin, certain war cries that could not be raised In this last decade of our civiliza- tion, howe\ er, we have been rudely awakened from our false dream of security — it may be to a higher calling and destiny than we had yet foreseen. I do not wish to emphasize the painful facts by dwelling on them, or even pointing them out. We are all aware of them, and whenever Jews and Christians come to- gether on equal terms, ignoring difference and opposition and injury, it is well that they should do so. At the same time, we must not shut our eyes, nor, like the ostrich, bury our head in the sand. The situation, which is so grave, must be bravely and honestly faced, the crisis met, the problem frankly stated in all its bearings so that the whole truth may be brought to light if possible. VVc are a little apt to look on one side only of the shield, especially when our sense of justice and humanity is stung, and the cry of the oppressed and persecuted — our brothers — rings in our ears. As we all know, the effect of persecution is to strengthen solidity. The Jew who never was a Jew before becomes one when the vital spot is touched. When we are attacked as Jews we do not strike back angrily, but we coil up in our shell of Judaism and intrench ourselves more strongly than before. The Jews themselves, both from natural habit and force of circumstances, have been accustomed to dwell along their own lines of thought and life, absorbed in their own point of view, almost to the exclusion of outside opinion. Indeed, it is this power of concentration in their own pursuits that insures their success in most things they set out to do. They have been content for the most part to guard the truth they hold rather than spread it. Amid 172 tr.H'o not sn iinicli llu* (k-vrltipiiuiil of I |iro|iIi' l)iit of an idea that I'oiistantl)' ^rows in stnii^;th anil purity. ri u- |i('tt\' tiioal L^od, ( riH'l and partisan hkt- tlu- \\\.n\^ around iiini (diiu s the nnivcrs.d .ind t-tiinal (iod, uho I'llls all tinu* and spaii', all l\ia\i n and larth, and lii-suU- whom no otiur powi-r ixists. ,'i, roiij^h- oiit nature his will is lau , his t'lat ^ocs lorlh and the stars ohey him in then eoiiise, the winds and w.iMs, tiie and h.iil, snow and va|iois stoini\- w iiid tuililliu!.^ his word. Tlu- lii^htnin^.s do his biddiiij^ and say leii' we are w lien lie eoniinaiHls tlieni Itiit not alone in the phssual realm, still more is he the moral w riilei ot thi- iiiii\irsi', and lieie we eomc upon the lore «)f the llehri' I inu eptioii, its tiue <;iaudeur .ind (n'it;inalit\', upon wliiih the whole stress was laid, naniels, that it is mil)' in the moral splu're, tnily '•"i'ii""i. .IS a iiioi.d beiiii; that man ean enter into rehilimi with his Maker, .mil llu' MaU«r id the univir-'e, and eonii" to an\' imderst.iiulinif id I lim. 'l a list thou l)\' si-. in hint; liiid out (Iod i* Cmst thou t'liid out I'liri' of llit> lli'liii'w e II a the .\liui;;lit\' unto |ieilei tion ? It IS as lii^h as luM\eii; what eaiist llion do .J deipir than hell; what I'.inst tlum know ?" Not tlirou|;h the liiiite limited iiitilieet, iior aii\' outward sense perception, hut only tluouidi the moral si'iise do tliesi" earnest te.ielurs hit! us seek (loti, who re\eals lluiiselt in the law whieh is at oiiee liimian and divine, the \oieeol dut\' and of eoiisi ienee animating the soul of man. It is this lne.ith of the ili\ iiie that \ it.ili/es the pai;es of the llehrew prophets M\A then moral preei'pts. It is the Meiidinir of the t wo Ideals, the evunplete and ahsolnte identilieation of tlu- moral and religious life, so that i\u h ean he interpreted in terms of the other the moral life s.itii- tated ,iiul fed, siist. lined ami saiietilied h\- the divine; the reli>'ious life mereU .1 ili\ iiieU' ordained mor.ilil\- that it is isseiue of their teael uiil;s, the iinit\' and L;raiul siniplieit\- ot their tli.it I eonstitutes the ide.il. The link was ne\er hrokeii hetweeii the human ami divine, hetween eoiuhut and its niotises, reli<;ion .mil moralit)-, nor ohsenred, h\' any eloiul)' .ihsti.ietions of theory or met.iph)sies. I heir (iod w.is a tioil whom the people eouKI understand; no mystic liijure relei;ati'd ti) the skies, hut a \er\' present power, workiii<^ upon earth, a i)erson- .ility \er\' elear .iiid distinet, \er\- hum.m, one miL;ht .ilnnot s.i\-, who minified in human atf.iiis, whose word w.is swift and sure, .mil whose path M) pl.iin to follow "th.it w.iyf.iriiii; men, though fools, should not eirlherein." W'h.it I le reipiired w.is no impossihle ideal, l)nt simply to ^V^ justiee, to lo\e mere\- ami w.ilk liumh'y hefore I lim. What lie II ow ean one fail ti promised w.is: ".svt.-k ye Me .md \e sli.ill li\( he impresseil hy the heroie mold ol these austere impassioned souls, and h\'the riehness ot the soil that j^.ive them hirth at .i time when spiritual thoui;ht h.ul scareel\' dawned upon tlu' world? The prophets were "hiijh lights" of Jud.iisni, hut the li;4ht faileil. the voices ceased and prophetism died out. In oriler that Israel should survive. shouUI continue ti> exist at all in the midst ot the ruins that were all around it. and the darkness upon which it was enterin;^, it was necessary that this close, eternal THE WORLD'S ( OA'oKESS Of K/.IJU/UNS. I') orj^'ani/iititm, this mcsli and iittwurk ol law and practici: of ri'^ulatcd iisam; c:(»\rriii}4 tlir most iiisij^nilicanl acts ol' lilc, kniltiii^,^ thciii to- ^itluT as with iiiTvc and sinew, and inviiln* raMi- to ;iiiy i .itastiopho Iroiii without, should lake- tlic |)lacc ol all ixtciiial prop and loiin ol unit)'. I lu; whole outiT lianicwoik ol lilc lill aua)-. The lears. i'he l''rench revolution soumled a note of freedom so loud, so clamorous, that it pierced the (ihelto ua aiK f()uml its way to the imprisoned souls. The ^ates were thiown open, the liijht streanu'd in from outside, and the Jew entered the modern worlil. As if b\' ench.intment, the spell which had bound him, hand and loot, boil)' and soul, was broken, and his mind and si)irit, released from thrall, spranj^ into rebirth and viLjor. I{ Mdilificiilion liiii'liJi t h ra«i Crnliiry, a_L;er lor lite m e\i'ry form aiul in every ilirection, w ilh unused pent-up vitality he pressed to . the front and crowded the avenue where life was most crowdeif, thoui:[ht and action most stimulated. Ami in order to this movement, naturally ami of necessity, he be,i;an to diseni;aL;e himself from the toils in which he was involveil; to unwind himself, so to speak, from fold to fold, of outworn and outlaiulish custom. Casting off the outer shell or skeleton, which, like the bony covering;; of the tortoise, serves as armor at the same time that it impedes all movement and progress, as well as inner growth, Judaism thought to re\ ert to its original type, the pure and simple monotheism of the early days, the simple creed that right is might, the simple law of justice among men. Divested of its spiritual mechanism, absolutely without myth or tlogma of any i; ! ill 1 17(5 THE WORLD'S COXGRESS OF RELIGIONS. I I III %% K M n r k (> Uiino Alwa.\ k, ;,,.f- kind, save the all-cmbracintr Unity of God, taxing so little the credu- lity of men, wo reiijj^ion scciiicti so fitted to withstand the .•'torni and stress of modern thoui^ht, the doubt and skepticism of a critical and scientific at^e that has jjlayed such havoc with time honored creeds. And having- rid himself, as he proudly believed, of his own super stitions, naturally the Jew had no inclination to adept what he looked upon as the superstitions of others. lie was still as much as ever the Jew, as far as ever removed from the Christian stanilpoint and outlook, the Christian philosophy and solution of life. Broad and tolerant as cither side niii^ht consider itself, there was a fundamental disaLjree- nient and opposition, almost a different makeup, a dii'ferent caliber and attitude of soul, fostered In' centuries of mutual alienation anil distrust. To be a Jew was still sometiiinij special, something;' inherent, that did not depend upon any external conformity or non-conformit>', any pecul- iar mode of life. The tremendous background of the pa;'t, of tra- ditions and associations so entirely apart from those of the people amon_i,r whom they dwelt, threw them into strong' belief. They were a marked race alwiiys, upon whom an indelible stamp was set, a nation that cohereil not as a political unit, l)ut as a single famil)', throuijh ties il the most sacred, the most vital and intimate, of i)arent to child, of brother and sister, bound still more closely together throuifh a com- mon fate of sufferint^. And yet they were e\erywhere living among Christians, making part of Christian communities and mi.xing freely among them ior all the business of life, all material and temporal ends. Thus the spiritual and secular life which luul been absolutely one with the Jew giew apart in his own sphere as well as in his intercour.se with Christians; the divorce was complete between religiv)n and the daih" life. In his inmost consciousness, deep ilowii below the surface, he was still a Jew. The outer world alhn-ed him, and the false gods whom the nations around him worshijied: Success, Tower, the I'ride of Life and of the Intellectual, lie threw himself full tilt into the arena where the clash was loudest and the press thickest, the struggle keenest to eomi)ete anil (Mitslrij) one another, which we moderns call life. And his faculties were sharpened to it, and in his eagerness lie forgot his ])roper birthright. lie, the man of the ])ast, became essen- tially the man of today, with interest centered on the present, the act- ual; with intellect set tree to grapple with the problems of the hour and solve them by its own unaidi-d light. Liberal, progressive, human- itarian he might become, but alv\a\'s along human lines; 'in linl < was itisfv gone witli any larger, more satistymg anil comprehensive lile Relit ion had detached itself from life, not only in its trivial everyday con- cerns, but in its highesi aims and as])irations. And here was just the handle, just the grievance for their encmie.s to seize upon, livery charge would fit. Behold the Jew ! livery cry could shape itself against them, every class could take alarm and every prejudice go loose. y\iul hence the I'roteus form of anti-Semitism. VVhere\er the social conditions are most unstable, the equilibrium most threatened and easilv disturbed, in barbarous Russia, liberal France K. ' IV THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 177 and philosophic Germany, the problem is most acute; but there is no country now, civilized or uncivilized, where some echo of it has not reached; even in our own free-breathing America some wave has come to di J upon our shores. What answer have we for ourselves and for the world in this, the trial liour of our faith, the crucial test of Judaism? We, each of us, riust look into our own hearts and see what Judaism stands for in that inner shrine, what it holds t'.iat satisfie.- our deepest need, consoles and fortifies us, compensates for every sacrifice, every humiliation we may i)e called upon to endure, so that we count it a glory, not a shame, to suffer. Will national or personal loyalty sufifice for this, when our per- sonality is not touched, our nationality is merged? Will pride of family or race take awa} ^Ih! sting, the stigma? I-oI We have turned the shield and persccutinii becomes our opportunity. "Those that were in darkness upon them tne light hath shined." What is the meaning of this exodus from Russia, from Poland, these long black lines crossing the frontiers or crushed within the pale, the "despised and rejected of men," emerging from their Ghettos, scarcely able to bear the light of day? Many of them will never see the promised lanil, and for those who do, cruel will be the suffering before they enter, long and difficult will be the task and process of assimilation and regeneration. Hut for us, who stand upon the shore in the full blessed light of freedom and watch at last the ending of that weary pilgrimage through the centuries, how great the responsibility, how great the occasion, if only we can rise to it. Let us not think our duty ended when we have taken i'l the wanderers, given them food and shelter and initiated them into the sharp daily struggle to exist, upon which we are all embarked; nor yet guarding their exclusiveness, when we leave tliein to their narrow rites and limiting observance, until, break- ing free from these, they find themselves, like tlieir emancipated brethren elsewhere, adrift on a blank sea of indifference and mate- rialism. If Judaism would be anything in the world today it mu.st be a spiritual force. Only then can it'be true to its special mission, the spirit not the letter of its truth. Away, then, with all the Ghettos and with spiritual isolation in every form, and let the "spirit blow where it listeth." The Jew must change his attitude before the world and come into spiritual fellowship with those around him. John, Paul, Jesus Himself, we can claim them all for our own. We do not want " missions" to convert us. We cannot become Presbyterians, Episco- palians, members of any dividing sect, " teaching for doctrines the opinions of men." Christians, as well as Jews, need the larger unity that shall embrace them all — the unity of the spirit, not of doctrine. Mankind at large may not be ready for a universal religion, but let the Jews with their prophetic instinct, their deep, spiritual insight, set the example and give the ideal. The world has not yet fathomed the r-ccrct of its redemption, and " salvation may yet again be of the Crucinl Ti>sl of .)ll(lai^<^ll. in \ fli 1 i \\ ir ] t» ■ \ \ 1 Im 1 I I 178 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. J cws. The times arc full of sitrns. O n cvcrv sale th ere IS a cal challenge and auakenin^j. \\ hat the world needs today, not alone the Jews, who have borne the >oke, but the Christians w ho bear Christ's name and perseeute and who have built up a civilization so entirely at variance with the princi])les 1 fe taui^ht — w hat we all need. Gentiles and Jews alike, is not so much " a new body of iloetrine," as Claude Mon- tefiore su.q^ijests, but a ik\v spirit put into liic which shall refashion it AUOncFiitlipr. upon a nobler plan and ciHisecrate it anew to hii;her purpose and ideals. Science lias done its work, clearing- awa)- the deaduo(jil of ignorance and superstition, eiilartj[in<^ the vision and opening out the path. (Jiiri.- I'' . i turns am created us; 1 lew; am have we not all one Ivither? Ilalh not one Ciod Remend)er to what you are called, jou w lu) cL urn beliel in a li\ iiig Ciod who is a spirit, and who, therefore, must be worshiped "in spirit and in truth," not with \ain forms and with meaningless ser\ice, nor \et in the world's glittering shapes, the work of men's hands or brains, but in the e\er-grow ing, ever-deepening love and knowledge of His truth and its showing forth to mei O nee more let the IIol\- Spirit descend and dwell among you, in your life today, as it ilid upon )\)ur holy men, \'our prophets of the olden times, lighting the world as it did for them with that radiance of the skies; ami so make known kninv them." the faith that is in \-ou, " l'"or b\- their fruits \e shall II wi^'^'^mvm B a (/> s (It u Ul (4 B nl Q O Xhe Voice of the JV^other of f^eligions on the Social Question. Paper by RABBI H. BERKOWITZ, D. D., of Philadelphia. N this assembly of so many of her spiritual chil- dren, in the midst of the religions which have received from her nurture and loving care, Ju- daism, the fond mother may well lift up her voice and be heard with reverent and affec- tionate attention. It has been asked: "What has Judaism to say on the social question?" From earliest days she has set the seal of sanctity on all that question involves. From the very first she proclaimed the dignity, nay, the duty of labor by postulating God, the Cre- ator, at work and setting forth the divine exam- ple unto all men for imitation, in the command: "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." Industry is thus hallowed by religion, and religion in turn is made to receive the homage of industry in the fulfillment of the ordinance of Sab- bath rest. Judaism thus came into the world to live in the world, to make the world more heavenly. Though aspiring unto the heavens she has always trod firmly upon the earth, abiding with men in their habitations, ennobling their toils, dignifying their pleasures. Through all the centuries of her sorrowful life she has steadfastly striven with her every cnerj^y to solve, according to the eternal law of the eternally righteous, every new phase of the ever recurring problems in the social relationships of men. When the son of Adam, hiding in the ilismal covert of some pri- meval forest, heard the accusing voice of conscience in bitter tones up- braiding him he defiantly made reply: "Am I my brother's keeper?" then the social conflict began. To the question then askcii Judaism made stern reply in branding with the guilt mark of Cain evv'r\- trans- gression of human right. From then until now unceasingly through all the long and trying centuries she has never wearied in lifting up 181 C ♦ ) f ' 9-'^^ "' M-^ The CouQiot. Soci;. i f-.: \:t H\ I » 182 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. IM jlj :^' ■ ■ i:j ', A Prime rhurncteristic. her voice to denounce wrong and plead for right, to bmnd the op- pressor and uplift the oppressed. Pages upon pages of her Scriptures, folio upon folio of her massive literature, are devoted to the social question in its whole broad range and full of maxims, precepts, injunc- tions, ordinances and laws aiming to secure the right adjustment of the affairs of men in the practical concerns of every day. In the family, in the community, in the state, in all the forms of social organization, iiicciualities between man and man have arisen which have evoked the contentions of the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, the high and the low. Against the iniquity of self- seeking Judaism has ever protested most loudly and none the less so against the errors and evils of an unjust self-sacrifice. " Love thy- self," she says, "this is natural, this is a.xiomatic, but remember it is never of itself a moral injunction. Egoism as an exclusive motive is entirely false, but altruism is not therefore exclusively and always right. It likewise may defeat itself, may work injury and lead to crime. The worthy should never be sacrificed for the unworthy. It is a sin for you to give your hard earned money to a vagabond and thus propagate vice, as much as it is sinful to withhold your aid from the struggling genius whose opportunity may yield to the world un- dreamed-of benefit.s." In this reciprocal relation between the responsibility of the indi- vidual for society, and of society for the individual, lies one of Juda- ism's prime characteristics. .She has pointed tlie ideal in the conflict of social principles by her golden precept, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself — I am God." (Leviticus xix, i8.) According to this precept she has so arranged the inner affairs of the family that the purity, the sweetness and tenderness of the homes of her children have become proverbial. "Honor thy father and thy mother" ( I'.x. xx, 12). "The widow and the orphan thou shalt not oi)i)rcss" (Ex. xxii, 22). "Before the hoary head shall thou rise and shalt revere the Lord thy God" ( Lev. xix, 32). ".\nd thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children" (Deut. vi, :\. These, and hundreds of like injunctions, have created the institu- tions of loving and tender care which secure the training and nurture, the education and rearing of the child, which sustain the man and the woman in rectitude in the path of life, and with the staff of a devout faith guide their downward steps in old age to the resting place "over which the star ol immortality sheds its radiant light." Judaism sets ctlucation before all things else and knows but one worcl for charity — Zedakah,/. c, Justice. .She has made the home the basis of the social structure, and has sought to supply the want of a home as a just tlue to e\'er\ < reature, guarding each with this motive, from the cradle to the grave. With her sublime maxim, " Love thy neighbor as thyself— I am (iod," Judaism set u[) the highest ideal of society as a human brt>therhood under the care of a divine I"'atlicrhood. i!'^ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 183 op- res, cial linc- of of sen the elf- so thy- According to this ideal Judaism has sought, passing beyond the envi- ronments of the family.to regulate the affairs of human society at large. "This is the book of the generations of men " — was the caption of Gen- esis, indicating as the Rabbins taught, that all men, without distinction of race, caste or other social difference, are entitled to equal rights as being equally the children of one Creator. The social ideal was accord- ingly the sanctification of men unto the noblest in the injunction to the " priest-people:" " Holy shall ye be, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." (Ex. xix, 22.) The freedom of the individual was the prime necessary conse- quence of this precept. Grandly and majestically the Mosaic legisla- tion swept aside all the fallacies .vhich had given the basis to the heart- less degradation of man by his fellow man. Slavery stood forever con- demned when Israel went forth from the bondage of Egypt. Labor then for the first time asserted its freedom, and assumed the dignity v.hich at last the present era is vindicating with such fervor and power, Judaism established the freedom to select one's own calling in life irrespective of birth or other conditions. For each one a task according to his capacities was the rule of life. The laborer was never so hon- ored as in the Hebrew commonwealth. The wage system was inaug- urated to secure to each one the fruits of his toil. It was over the work of the laboring man that the master had control, not over the man. Indeed the evils of the wage system were scrupulously guarded against in that the employer was charged by the law as by conscience to have regard for the physical, moral and spiritual well being of his employes and their families. To the solution of all the problems, which under the varying condi- tions of the different lands and different ages, always have arisen and always will arise the Jewish legislation in its inception and develop- ment affords an extraordinary contribution. It has studiously avoided the fallacies of the extremists of both the communistic and individual- istic economic doctrines. Thus it was taught: He that saith, "What is mine is thine and what is thine is mine" (communism), he is void of a moral concept. He that saith, "What is mine is mine and what is thine is thine," he has the wisdom of prudence. But some of the sages declare that this teaching too rigidly held oft leads to barbarous cruel- ties. He that saith, "What is mine is thine and what is thine shall re- main thine," he has the wisdom of the righteous. He that says that, "What is mine is mine and what is thine is also mine," he is utterly Godless. (Pirque Aboth. v, 13.) Judaism has calmly met the wild outbursts of extremists of thd anti-poverty nihilistic tyi)es with the simple confession of the fact which is a resultant of the imperfections of human nature: "The needy will not be wanting in the land." (Deut. xv, n.) The brotherly care of the needy is the common solicitude of the Jewish legislatures and\ people in every age. Their neglect or abuse evokes the wrath of prophet, sage and councillor with such a fury that even today none but the morally dead can withstand their eloquence. The effort of Freedom o f the Individaal. ^i 5;; i; \\ i 1^ t - ■. i 184 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ii The Common Welfare. Hv % all legislation and instruction was directed to a harmonization of these two extremes. The freedom of the individual was recognized as involving the de- velopment of unlike capacities. From this freedom all progress springs. But all progress must be made, not for the selfish advantage of the individual alone, but for the common welfare, "That thy brother with thee may live." (Lev. xxv, 36.) Therefore, private property in land or other possessions was regarded as only a trust, because every- thing is God's, the Father's, to be acquired by industry and persever- ance by the individual, but to be held by him only to the advantage of all. To this end were established all the laws and institutions of trade, of industry, and of the system of inheritance, the code of rentals, the jubilee year that every fiftieth year brought back the land which had been sold into the original patrimony, the seventh or .Sabbatical year, in which the lands were tallow, all produce free to the consumer, the tithings of field and flock, the loans to the brother in need without usury, and the magnificent system of obligatory charities, which still hold the'germ of the wisdom of all modern scientific charity. "Let the poor glean in the fields" (Lev. xix, 10), and gather through his own efforts what he needs, /. e., give to each one not support, but the opportunity to secure his own support. A careful study of these Mosaic-Talmudic institutions and laws is bound more and more to be recognized as of untold worth to the present in the solution of the social question. True, these codes were adapted to the needs of a peculiar people, homogeneous in char- acter, living under certain conditions and environments which i)roba- bly do not now exist in exactly the same order anywhere. We cannot use the statutes, but their aim and spirit, their motive and method we must adopt in the solution of the social problem even today. Con- sider that the cry of woe which is ringing in our ears now was never heard in Judea. Note that in all the annals of Jewish history there are no records of the revolts of slaves such as those which afflicted the world's greatest empire, and under Spartacus threatened the national safety, nor any uprisings like those of the Plebeians of Rome, the Demoi of Athens, or the Helots of Sparta; no wild scenes like those of the Paris Commune; no procession of hungry men, women and children crying for bread, like those of London, Chicago and Denver. Pauperism, that specter of our country, never haunted the ancient land of Judea. Tramps were not known there. Because the worst evils which afflict the social body today were unknown under the Jewish legislation, we may claim that we have here the pattern of what was the most successful social system that the world has ever known. Therefore does Judaism lift up her voice and call back her spiritual children, that in her bosom they may find comfort and rest. "Come back to the cradle of the world, where wis- dom first spake," she cries, "and learn again the message of truth that for all times and unto all generations was proclaimed through Israel's THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS 185 m precept, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself, for I am God.'" (Lev. xix, l8.) The hotly contested social questions of our civilization are to be settled neither according to the ideas of the capitalist nor those of the laborer; neither according to those of the socialist, the communist, the anarchist or the nihilist; but simply and only according to the eternal laws of morality of which Sinai is the loftiest symbol. The guiding l)rinciplesof all true social economy are embodied in the simple lessons t)f Judaism. As the world has been redeemed from idolatry and its moral corruption by the vital force of Jewish ideas so can it likewise be redeemed from social debasement and chaos. Character is the basic precept of Judaism. It claims as the mod- ern philosopher declares (Herbert Spencer) that there is no political alchemy by which you can get golden conduct out of leaden instincts. Whatever the social system it will fail unless the conscience of men and women are quick to heed the imperative orders of duty and to the obligations and responsibilities of power and ownership. The old trutli of righteousness so emphatically and rigorously insisted on from the first by Judaism must be the new truth in every changing phase of economic and industrial life. Only thus can the social questions be solved. In her insistence on this doctrine Judaism retains her place in the van of the religions of humanity. Let the voice of the mother of religions be heard in the parliament of all religions. May the voice of the mother not plead in vain. May the hearts of the nations be touched and all the unjust and cruel re- strictions of ages be removed from Israel in all lands, so that the eman- cipated may go in increasing colonies back to the native pursuits of agriculture and the industries so long denied them. May the colonies of the United .States of America, Argentine and Palestine be an earnest to the world of the purity of Israel's motives; may the agricultural and industrial schools maintained by the Alliance Israelite Universelle,the Haron dc Hirsch Trust and the various Jewish organizations of the civ- ilized world from Palestine to California, prove Israel's ardor for the honors of industrj'; may the wisdom of her schools, the counsel of her sages, the inspiration of her lawgivers, the eloquence of her prophets, the rai)ture of her psalmists, the earnestness of all her advocates, in- creasingly win the reverent attention of humanity to, and fix them unswervingly upon the everlasting laws of righteousness which she has set ;t« the only basis for the social structure. ("hanictcr thp Basic Prerppt. "fi TtSSs: iiii \ r rl \M B CONHiy to Rabbi Joseph Silverman, New York, ^rrors /\bout the Jews. Paper by KABBI JOSErM^ SILVERMAN, of New York. ',r/' juft k/J TliM (inmli'sl MartjTH. \ , I l i I t i j I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1 4.5 I.I 1.25 ISO ^^^ N^i^ lit Ui& 12.2 S "^ In ■IMU U il.6 - 6" Sciences Corporalion 23 WIST MAIN STWIT WCBSTIR.N.Y. 14S«0 (716)t72-4S03 ^"'^^ .«MiMjM##*» 188 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. r.\ T'aradozen About the Jew. ! I: \ tl f the basis of what has been said about him in history (so called), in fiction, or other forms of literature, both prose and poetry, he would find himself confused and baffled, and would be compelled to give up his task in despair. The greatest paradoxes have been expressed about the Jew. The vilest of vices and crimes, as well as the greatest of virtues have been attributed to him. Pictures of him have been painted as dark as Barabbas and as light as Mordecai, while between the two may be found every shade of wickedness and goodness. There can be no doubt but that many errors and misconceptions about the Jew can be traced to this source. The opinions of the world are to a great extent formed by what men read in history or fiction, in any form of prose or poetry. In this way so great an injus- tice has been done to the Jew that it will be impossible for mankind ever to rectify it or atone therefor. To cite but one example out ot an infinite number, I refer to Shakespeare's portrayal of the Jew in his character of Shylock, This picture is untrue in every heinous detail. The Jew is not revengeful as Shylock. Our very religion is opposed to the practice of revenge, the "le.x talionis" having never been taken literally, but interpreted to mean full compensation for injuries. The Jew, in all history, is never known to have exacted a pound of human flesh cut from the living body as forfeit for a bond. Such was an ancient Roman practice. Shylock can be nothing more than a carica- ture of the Jew, and yet the world has applauded this abortion of lit- erature, this contortion of the truth more than the ideal portrait which Lcssing drew of Israel in his "Nathan, the Wise." If any one coming from another world were to inquire of the inhabita:'ts of this world regarding the character of the Jew, their beliefs and practices, he would obtain the most incongruous mixture of opinions. A dense ignorance exists about the Jews regarding their social and domestic life, their history and literature, their achieve- ments and disappointments, their religion, ideals and hopes. And this ignorance is not confined merely to ordinary men but prevails also among scholars. Ovid, Tacitus, Shakespeare, Voltaire and Renan, most heathen and Christian writers, have been guilty of entertaining, and, what is more culpable, of disseminating erroneous ideas about the descendants of ancient Israel. " In regard to the Jews," says George Elliot, " it would be difficult to find a form of bad reasoning about them which had not been heard in conversation or been admitted to the dignity of print, but the neg- lect of resemblances is a common property of dullness which invites all the various points of view, the prejudiced, the puerile, the spiteful and the abysmally ignorant. Our critics have always overlooked our resemblances to thera (the Jews) in virtue; have, in fact, denounced in Jews the same practices which they admired in themselves." There is no doubt but that prejudice against the Jews is as much a cause of ignorance and false reasoning as a result therefrom. When I sometimes hear or read a certain class of opinions con- cerning the Jews, I am reminded of an anecdote about Bishop Brooks, THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 189 He attended a meeting in England, at which an Englishman declared, "All Americans are narrow minded and illiberal. They are in spirit, just as in body, small, dwarfed and pigmy." The late Bishop Brooks then arose in all the majesty of hii colossal stature, and called out in his stentorian voice, "And here is one ot those American dwarfs." For the sake of completeness I will speak of the error ordinarily CO nmitted of referring to the Jew as a particular race. Hebrew is the name of an ancient race from which the Jew is descended, but there have been so many admixtures to the original race that scarcely a trace of it exists in the modern Jews. Intermarriage with Egyptians, the various Canaanitish nations, the Midianites, Syrians, etc., are fre- (juently mentioned in the Bible. There have also been additions to the Jews by voluntary conversions such as that in the eighth century, of Bulan, prince of the Chasars and his entire people. We can, therefore, not be said to be a distinct race today. We form no separate nation and no faction of any nation. Nor is there any general desire to return to Palestine and resurrect the ancient nationality. We can only look with misgiving, rather with in- difference, upon any organized effort undertaken by fanatic believers who arc deeply concerned in the fulfillment of certain Biblical prophe- cies. They overlook the fact that those prophecies have either already been, or need never be, fulfilled. We form merely an independent religious community and feel keenly the injustice that is done us when the religion of the Jew is singled out for aspersion, whenever such a citizen is guilty of a misde- meanor. Jew is not to be used parallel with German, Englishman, American, but with Christian, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Moham- medan or Atheist. Over fifty years ago the late Isaac DTsraeli wrote that "the* Jewish people are not a nation, for they consist of many nations; they are Russian, English, French, or Italian, and, like the chameleon; reflect the color of the spot they rest on. They are like the waters running through the countries tinged in their course with all the varie- ties of the soil where they deposit themselves." An eminent Jewish divine, in a spirit of indignation at some harsh « criticism cast upon the Hebrew nation, so called, asked: "If we are aj separate nation, where is our country; where, our laws; where, our 1 armies; where, our courts of justice; where, our flag?" To this ques- \ tion the critic made no reply. But we, here in congress assembled, can unitedly answer: "The land of our nativity, or of our adoption, is our country. Its laws we obey; in its armies we find our comrades; by the decision of its courts we abide; under its flag we seek protection, and for it we are ready to sacrifice our substance and our lives and to pledge our sacred honor." We are, furthermore, often charged with exclusiveness and clan- nishness, with having only narrow, tribal aspirations, and with being averse to breakmg down social barriers. Few outside of that inner close circle that is to be met in the Jewish home, or .social group, know Mode*n JewH Not Entirely H o 1) r a i in Haoe. 'iii i i% ■'J I '!?i I : ! ~ Hi ill 19 I'. 1 k i Do m o 8 1 i c HiippiDPBB and Socinl Virtues. 190 T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. aught of the Jew's domestic happiness and social virtues. If there is any clannishncss in the Jew, it is due not to any contempt for the out- •.ide world, but to an utter abandon to the charm of home and the fas- cination of confreres in thouijht and sentiment. However, if there is a remnant of exclusiveness in the Jews of today, is he to blan.c for it? Did he create the social barrier? We must a.i^ree with j\Ir. Zan^jwil when he says: "People who have been living m a Ghetto for a coujjle of centuries are not able to step outside merely because the gates are thrown down, or to efface the brandi on their souls by put*, ng off the yellow badges. The isolation from with- out will have come to seem the law of their being." (Children of the Ghetto, i,0.) None is more desirous of fraternity than the Jew, but he will not gain it at the loss of his manhood, lie will not accept fraternity as a patronage, but would rather claim it as a simple matter of equality. That is a i)oint which our critics and detractors do not understand. Again, if the Jew is exclusive, it is due to the fact that while he is willing to come to any truce for brotherhood, he declines to do so and be regarded as legitimate prey for religious concpiest. And that is a point which tlie missionaries cannot understand. The fact that Jews are, as a rule, averse to intermarriage with non- Jews has been cpujled in evidence of Jewish exclusiveness. Two errors seem to underlie this false reasoning. The one that Judaism dn-ectly interdicts intermarriage with Christians, and the other that the Jewish church disciplines those who are guilty of such an act. The Mosaic law, at best only forbade intermarriage with the seven Canaanit- ish nations and, though the only justifiable inference would be that this intc'-diction applies also to heathens, still by rabbinical forms of inter- pretation it has been made to applj- also to Christians. The historical fact is that the Roman Catholic council held at Orleans, in 533 A. C. K., first prohibited Christians to intermarry w ith Jews. This decree was later enforced by meting out the penalty of death to both parties to such a union. Jewish rabliis, then, as a matter of self-protection, interdicted the practice of intermarriage. And though today, men are free to act according to their tastes, there exists on the part of the Jew as much repugnance to intermarriage as on the part of the Chris- tian. Such ties are, as a rule, not encouraged by the families of either side, and for very good cause. And even if there exists on the part of the Jew a greater aversion to intermarriage, this cannot and should not be charged to a desire for elannishness or exclusiveness, but rather to those natural barriers that separate Jewish from Christian society. It is not my purpose, at present, to lay the blame for the creation or continuance of such barriers, but only to submit that social ostracism, as that term is understood today, has never in any form been under- taken by Jews. A sense of just pride even constrains me from strongly protesting against the social ostracism that, at times, manifests itself against the Jew. I desire here to merely point out the error that seems to inspire it, namely, the grievous error that ostracism is sup- THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 191 posed to purify the one side of all objectionable characters, and to stamp all ostracised as the outcast of the earth. We are familiar with that false logic that infers a broad generality from a few isolated par- ticulars, which imputes the sins of an individual to the class of which he may be a member, which charges the misdemeanor of one upon a whole people, which condemns a religion because of the wickedness of a few hypocrites, which punishes the guilty with the innocent. And it is such faPacious reasoning thatjs time and again applied to Jews, with this exception that the virtues of a Montefiore or a Baron de Hirsch arc not generalized in the same manner. We are convinced that Jews who have outlived the terrors of the Inquisition will be able to live down all abuse, all false reasoning, and maintain the majesty of their manhood even outside the charmed circle of self-appointed censors of social life. But we must protest against the error which mistakes ostracism for exclusiveness. In this case the latter is a virtue, the former a vice, a crime. Let the verdict of history say who is guilty? We have even been charged with exclusiveness in our religion, so lit- tle is our practice known. I have myself been lately asked by a lady who makes some pretense to education, whether she could not go to the synagogue in order to see the offering of animal sacrifices and the burning of incense. She had supposed that the Jewish religion was a secret, mysterious rite, to witness which was only the privilege of the initiated. Frequently we are asked whether non-Jews are permitted to enter a Jewish house of worship. Error and misrepresentation about Judaism are common. A Christian divine once remarked that the offering of the Paschal lamb in the synagogue, at this very day, contains a sublime picture of the transfiguration of Christ. And re- cently in New York (anil perhaps in other cities also), a missionary was giving iierformanccs in Christian churches, showing how the Jews still offer the Paschal lamb. If such gross errors and misrepresenta- tions are current and are taught in this country with the connivance of men in authority who know better, it is not difficult to understand how benighted peasants in Europe can be made to believe that Jews use the blood of Christian children at the Passover services, and how such monstrous calumnies could rouse the prejudice and vengeance of the ignorant masses. So little is Judaism understood by even educated men outside of our ranks, that it is commonly believed that all Jews hold the same form of faith and practice. Here the same error of reasoning is used to which reference has already been made, in speaking of the char- acter of the Jew as an individual and as a class. Because some Jews still believe inthe coming of a personal Messiah, or in bodily resurrection, or in the establishment of the Palestinian kingdom, the inference is at once drawn by many that all Jews hold the same belief. Very little is known by the populace of the several schisms in modern Judaism ilenominated as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Radical. It is not my province to speak exhaustively of these sects, and it must suf- •'II Able to Livfl Down all Abuse. ■yr 103 Reformed Jn- daiHm. ! lit 1 i I Iff ':■/'■ ■m^ THE WORLD'S C0N(7RESS OF RELIGIONS. fice to merely remark here that Orthodox Judaism believes in carry- ing out the letter of the ancient Mosaic code as expounded by the Talmudic rabbis; that Reform Judaism seeks to retain the spirit only of the ancient law, discarding the absolute authority of both Bible and Talmud, making reason and modern demands paramount; that Con- servatism is merely a moderate Reform, while Radicalism declares itself independent of established forms, clinging mainly to the ethical basis of Judaism. Reform Judaism has been the specially favored subject of mis- understanding and of ignorance. Recently an eminent Christian divine of St. Louis objected to extending an invitation to a Reform rabbi to lecture before the Ministers' Association, on the plea that "y\ll Reform Jews are infidels." A still grosser piece of ignorance is the identifica- tion of Reform Judaism with Unitarianism. As scholarly and finished a writer as Frances Power Cobbe, in a recent article on "Progressive Judaism," made bold to show her extreme interest in this Reform movement, believing it to evidence a breaking up oi; Judaism alto- gether and a turning toward Christianity. Far from breaking up Judaism, Reform has strengthened it in many ways and retained in the fold those who would have gone over, not to Christianity, but to Atheism. Judaism can never tend toward Christianity, in any sense, notably to Unitarianism; the latter rather is gradually breaking away from Christianity and tending toward Jewish belief. For the present, however. Reform Judaism still stands opposed to even the most liberal Unitarians and protests against hero worship, against a second revela- tion and the necessity of a better code of ethics than the one pro- nounced by Moses and the prophets. To prevent the inference that Judaism is no positive quantity and that there are irreconcilable differences dividing the various sects, I will say that all Jews agree on essentials and declare their belief in the Unity and Spirituality of God, in the eflficacy of religion for spiritual regeneration and for ethiral improvement, in the universal law of com- pensation according to which there are reward and punishment, eith?r here or hereafter, in the final triumph of truth and fraternity of all men. It may be briefly stated that the decalogue forms the constitu- tion of Judaism. According to Moses, the prophets and the historical interpretation of Judaism, whoever believes and practices the "ten commandments" is a Jew. P>rors about the Jew pertain not only to questions of race and nationality, not only to his individual, domestic and social character, not only to his religion, but also to his inherent power to resist the condemnation and opposition of an evil enemy and his persistent ex- istence in spite of the destructive forces of a hostile world. The very fact that after so many fruitless efforts to destroy the Jew by persecu- tion and inquisition, similar efforts are still put forth, only proves that the itivincibility of Israel has ever been, and is still underestimated. It is a fact that the cause of the Jew is strengthened in times of persecu- tion. When the hand of the oppressor is felt, the oppressed band ¥ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 193 '/ '^^ together encourage one another, become more faithful to their God, firmer in their conviction and more zealous in behalf of their religion. It has been said that martyrdom is the seed of the church. This is no less true of Judaism. The very means adopted to destroy it have only plowed up the fallow land and planted a stronger faith. Persecution against any religion is a wanton error, a monstrous blasphemy. The very traducers and persecutors of the Jews arc the real ene- mies of Christianity. Russia has set Christianity one or two centuries backward. Anti-Semitic agitation in Germany will have a similar re- sult. The church is committing a monumental blunder in conniving at this nineteenth century outrage and must sooner or later be over- taken by her Nemesis. The church should in her own interest, in the name of her own principles and teachings, rise up in arms against unholy Russia and unrighteous Germany. When persecution had done its work to no avail, when inquisition failed to make any impression on the Jew in order to induce him to leave his brethren, detraction and ostracism were resorted to in order to weaken the hold of the Jew upon his co-religionists. We have already referred to some forms of this persecution and wish to add that Jews were falsely charged with having poisonous wells, with having spread contagi us diseases and been the cause of the black death and every public c lamity. Strenuous efforts have also been made to impair their com nercial relations with the world. Jews have been condemned as a people of usurers, of avaricious money-lenders, as consumers in contradiction to producers. "In the Middle Ages," says Lady Mag- nus (Outlines of Jewish History), "'.7t:i'' meant to the popular mind nothing more than money-lender. Men spoke of having their 'Jews,' as we speak of having our grocers and druggists. Kach served a par- ticular pumcse and was primarily regarded in connection with that service. The real reason was never recognized by popular judgment, and the rude peasant of medieval Europe firmly believed that the Jew amassed more money than those about him, not because he was more industrious or more frugal, but because he was meaner, trickier, more deceitful, and, if necessary, positively dishonest." Whatever may be the reprehensible practice of individuals, such an aspersion docs not apj)ly to the Jewish character, Jewish teachings, both in Scripture and Talmud, being ojjposed to usury and overreaching of whatever kind. It is malicious slander to class the Jews as consumers, as distin- guished from producers. The Jew is by birthright a tiller of the soil. Of this birthright he has been robbed by rapacious governments. Through centuries of jjersecution, when he was but a wandering sojourner on the earth, with no country he could call his own, no government to love, no flag to revere, he was like a tortoise that carries his house with him. The Jew was compelled to traffic in moneys and gems which he could take with him from place to place as necessity demanded. Today, however, he is found in all trades and professions; today he is agriculturist, mechanic and artist, partakes of all the bounties of free citizenship and must be counted among the producers of the world. Roal K n e mipH of ("hrir' tianity. 11 R ii i-ii , ii ■*M**aMRIMM'')^-'' Iftt THE WORLD'S CONGkESS OF RELIGIONS. I a I V- i; ni \ And what shtll \vc say of the Bible, the Talmufi, music and poetry, art and science, which tlie Jews have contributed to the intellectual and material wealth of mankind! To st'U repeat the old threadbare charge is worse tlwin malicious slander, it is criminal detraction, a sub- version of all fact, a travesty upon truth. There is sufficient reason to believe that all persecution and detraction of Jews rest on the further fundamental erroneous supposi- tion that Jews can, in some way or other, be converted to Christianity. When men think they can destroy the Jew and his religion, they forget his indomitable patience, his untiring perseverance, his almost stolid obstinacy. When they endeavor to crush him, they overlook his hardened nature, steeled by trials and misfortune. When they expect to lure him from his associates, and wean him from his religion, they lose sight of his keen wit, his sense of the humorous and ridiculous. When they endeavor to punish him with ostracism, they fail to note his cheerful disposition, his happy home, and charming .social in- stincts. When they endeavor to injure his influence by slander and detraction, they are blind to his utter disregard for public fa\ors, and to his ability to rise to any emergency. When they look forward to converting him by force of persuasion, by threat or bribe, they disclose their ignorance of his deepseated conviction of the truth of his own religion. The meager results achieved by missionaries and tracts have proved how futile are all efforts to convert the Jews. And even those few who have changed their faith have done so, there is amjile reason Futile Efforts to bclievc, ouly through mercenary motives, only because abject pov- j^wb""^""^' "'" crty forced them to accept the bribe that was temptingly held out toward them. I believe there arc many sincere missionaries, and t!iat, perhaps, among savages they accomplish some good as a civilizing leaven, but among the Jews their labors are uncalled for ami misdirected. This whole modern system of anti-Semitic agitation, and of .ittenipts to convert the Jews by any means, reveals to us the errone- ous impression entertained by many, it seems, that Jews have entered into a kind of secret rivalry with the rest of the world for the suprem- acy of Judaism and its followers. Nothing could be further removed from the truth. Jews do not aspire to supremacy (perhaps unfortun- ately ) religiously, .socially, or politically. They desire no distinction as a ])articular sect, apart from the re.st of the world, in dress, habits, maniicis, social features or politics. Jews have renounced the title of " Peculiar People," and regard such a sobriquet rather as a reproach than a compliment. They claim the name of Jew merely as a term denoting their particular faith and practice. In religion only are Jews different from others, aid they claim the right as free men to worship their God in peace, according to the dictates of their own and not another's conscience. The Jew is tolerant by nature, tolerant by virtue of his religious teaching. He believes in allowing every man, what he claims for him- ry, art il and adbarc a sub- TlIE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUUIONS. 103 self, the right to work out his own salvation and make liis own peace with God. Me has only one important request to make of Christian teachers and preachers, namely, that they desist from teaching their school children and congregations the prevailing error that the Jews have crucified Jesus of Nazareth. Because of this great error the believing world looks upon the Jew through an imperfect medium, one that enlarges faults and minimizes virtues. It is this error which has caused so much prejudice, bitter hatred and unjust persecution. If it were once corrected the way would be opened for the correction of many other errors. Now is the great opportunity of the age for rectifying it. Let the truth to told to the world by the assembled parliament of religions, that not the Jews but the " Romans have cru- cified the great Nazarean teacher." An Krri>r tlin CaiiH)- i>r .Muvli I'rt'jndicc. fil ||i ■I 141 '.■'•» • 11 ,1 I i : ■ 1 ( II! I m -Rev. John J. Keane, D. D. (Rector Catholic University,) Washingtou, D. C \l yhe Incarnation Idea in p-Iistory and in Jesus (Christ. Paper by RT. REV. JOHN J. KEANE, D. D., of Washington, D. C. HE subject assifjiied to nic is so vast that an hour would not suffice to do it justice. I leiice, in the space of thirtj- minutes I can only point out certain lines of thouj^ht, trusting, houextr, that their truth will be so manifest and thvir sif^nificancc so evident that the conclusion to which they lead may be clearl\- reco^ni/ed as a demonstrated fact. Cicero has truly said that there nc\erwas\ a race of atheists. Cesare Balbo has noted with equal truth that there ne\er has been ^ race of deists. Individual atheists and indi-l vidual deists there have always been, but the\i have always been recognized as abnormal beings. Humanity listens to them. wei<;hs their utterances in the scales of reason, smiles sadly at their xa^arics, and holds fast the two-fold conviction that there is a Supreme lieinfj, the Author of all else th^vt is; and that man is not left to the mercy of ignorance or of guess work in regard to the purpose of his being, but has knowledge of it from the great Father. This sublime conception of the existence of (iod and of the exist- ence of revelation is not a spontaneous generation from the brain of man. Tyndal and Pasteur have demonstrateil that there is no spon- taneous generation from the inorganic to the organic. Just as little is Existonce of there, or could there be, a spontaneous generation of the idea of the Revelation. Infinite from the brain of the finite. The fact, in each case, is the result of a touch from above. All humanity points back to a golden age, when man was taught of the Divine by the Divine, that in that knowledge he might know why he himself existed, and how his life was to be shaped. Curiosly, strangely, sadly as that primitive teaching of man by his Creator has been transformed in the lapse of ages, in the vicissi- 397 m m 11 I- ; 13 I ( I itf v\V 1 1 ) i i 1 f ■'■ ' i ! I 108 T//JS WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. tudcs of ilistaiit waiulcriiu^s, of varying fortunes and of changinff cul- ture, still the comparative study of ancient religions shows that in them all there has existed one central, i)ivotal concept, dressed, indeed, in various garbs of myth and legend and philosophy, yet ever recog- nizably the same — the concept of the fallen race of man and of a future restorer, deliverer, reileemer, who, being human, should yet be different from and above the merely human. Again we ask, whence this concept? And again the sifting of Aufieiit Mem- scrious aud honest criticism demonstrates that it is not a spontaneous orjof till. Jiu- frcneratron of the huiuan brain, that it is not the outgrjwtli of man's contemplatu)n or nature around Imui and of the sun and stars above . him, although, once having the concept, ho could easily find in all nature symbols and analogies of it. It is part, and the central part, of the ancient menu)ry of the human race, telling man what he is and why he is such, and how he is to attain to something better as his heart \eanis to do. (ilancing now, in the light of the history of religions, at that stream of tradition as it comes down the ages, we sec it divide into two clearly distinct branches — o- shaping thought, or shaped by thought, in the eastern h.df of Asia; the other in the western half. And these two separate streams receive their distinctive character from the idea prevalent in the east and west of Asia concerning the nature of man, and, consecpiently, concerning his relation to God. In the west of Asia, the Semitic branch of the human family, to gether with its Aryan neighbors of Persia, considered man as a sub- stantial individuality, produced by the Infinite Heing, and produced as a distinct entity, distinct from his Infinite Author in his own finite personality, and through the immortality of the soul. I'2astern Asia, on the contrary, held that man had not a substan- tial individualit}', but only a phenomenal individuality. There is, they said, only one substance — the Infinite; all things arc but phenomena, emanations of the Infinite. "Behold," say the Laws of Manou, "how the sparks leap from the flame and fall back into it; so all things ema- nate from Hrahma and again lose themselves in him." "Behold," says Buddhism, "how the dewdrop lies on the lotus leaf, a tiny particle of the stream, lifted from it by evaporation and slipping off the lotus leaf to lose itself in the stream again." Thus they distinguished between being and existence, between persisting substance, the Infinite and the evanescent jjhenomena emanating from it for a while. From these opposite conct,)ts of man sprang opposite concepts of the nature of good and evil. In western Asia, good was the con- formity of the finite will with the will of the Infinite, which is wisdom and love; evil was the deviation of the finite will from the eternal norma of wisdom and love. Hence individual accountability and guilt, as long as the deviation lasted; hence the cure of evil when the finite will is brought back into conformity with the Infinite; hence the happiness 'of virtue and the bliss of immortality and the value of existence. Eastern Asia, per contra, considered existence as simply and THE WORLD'S CUNUKEHS OF RELIGIONS. 100 cul- it in Iced, 11 1 lire crcnt ami solely ail evil; in tact, the sole and all-pervadinjj evil, and the unly ^'uod was deliverance from existence, the extinction of all individuality in the oblivion of the Infinite, Although existence was conceived as the work of the Infinite — nay, as an emanation coming forth from the Infinite — yet it was considered simply a curse, and all human duty had this for its meaning and its purpose, to break loose from the fetters of existence ami to help others with ourselves to reach non-existence. Hence a}j;ain, in western Asia, the future redeemer was conceived as one masterful individuality, human, indeed, txpe and head of the race, but also pervaded by the divinity in ways and ile^rees more or less obscurely conceived and used by the divinity to break the chains of moral evil and f^uilt— nay, often, they supposed, of phjsical and national evils as well — and to brinj^ man back to happiness, to holi- ness, to God. Thus, vaguely or more clearly, they helcl the idea of an incarnation of the Deity for man's {^ood; and IIis incarnation was nat- urally looked forward to as the crowninjf blessing and ^lory of humanity, In eastern Asia, on the contrary, as man and a'' tliinj^fs were re- f^arded as phenomenal emanations of the Infiniti-, it followed that every man >ias an incarnation. And hence this ,/heiU)menal existence was considered a curse, which metempsychosis dnij;;;ed out pitifully. .And if th'MC was room for the notion of a redeemer, he was to be one recoffui/iufj more clearly than others what a curse existence is, stru^- ii )>iit it i'liiliiKophy. { i 1 V '■ .'i'.i' '>(i') tiO'. 77/i? JVOi-iLD'^ COS*GRESS CF RELIGICNS. arcth, "thou shall conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his n.unc Jesus, lie shall be great and shall be calicil the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto Ilim the throne of David, His father, and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." "How shall this be done, l)ecause I know not man?" "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, anil the power of the Most High shall overshadow tliee; and, therefore, also the Holy One that shall be born of thee shall lie called the Soi' of (Jod." "Jiehold the handmaid of the Lord: be it (lone tf) ine according to thy word. * And what then? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Cjod. an*l the Word was God. i\nd the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth, and tjf His fullness we a!l have received." And concerning Him all subsequent tiges were to chant the canticle of faith: "I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages; God of God, Light of 1 jght, true God of true God, begotten, not made.consubstan- tial with the Father, through whom all things were made, who, for us men and l<>r our sahation, came down from heaven and was incarnated l)\- the H()l\' (ihost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man." Hut, again, to this tremendouL' dechiration, w hich involves not only ;i n ligion but a j)hilosophy also, we ma\-, and wo should, apply the touchstone of reason and ask, "Is this possible or is it impossible things that are here told us? For we never can be expected to believe tiie impossible. Let us analyze the ideas comprised in it. Can God and man thus become one?" Now, first, reason testifies as to man that in him two distinct and, as it would seem, opposite substances arc brought into unity, namely, spirit and matter, the one not confounded with the otiicr yet both linked in one, thus completing the unity and harmony of created things. Next reason asks. Can the creature and the Creator, man and God, be thus united in order that the unity and the harmony may embrace all? Reason sees that the finite could not thus movmt to the Infinite any more than matter of itself could mount to spirit. But could not the Infinite stoop to the finite and lift it to Hisbo.som and unite it with Himself, with no confounding of the finite with the Infinite nor of the Infinite with the finite, yet .so that they shall be linked in one? Here reason can discern no contradiction of ideas, nothing beyond the power of the Infinite. But could the Infinite stoop to this? Reason sees tliat to do so would cost the Infinite nothing, since He is ever His unchanging Self; it sees, moreover, that since creation is the offspring not of His need but of His bounty, of His love, it would be most worthy of infinite love to thus perfect the creative act, to thus lift uj) the creature and bring all things into unity and harmony. Then must reason declare it is not only possible, but it is most fitting, that it should be so. Moreover, we sec that it is this very thing that all humanity has 'i:n: world's congress of religions. ^!(>:5 n This very tliiiii;' ;ill rc- jpiiiLj for in the The Kxpeot/■• /:al/c/oxs. To thai clnircli I K- i^ivcs a ronimissioii ol" r.piritual ar.tliorily ex- tending to all aues, io all nations, to evcr\- creature; a commission that 1 ' H 1 1 in ( 1 n y llim-rlf would he madness in aiu' mouth save that of God Incarnate. This is the testimony concernintr 1 1 imsell" t^iven to an inquiring riiin'i; and needy world In' Ilim whom no one will clare accuse of lyint^ or nposture, and tin.' lo\ iuL; adoration of the aj^^i's proclaims that Ilis 1! le^ tnnon\' is true, In ilim are fult'ilU'd all the t"i!:,nn'es and predictioiis of Moses and tlie pr()pliet> tile expectation and yearninj of Israel. In 1 lim is the fullness of L^race and of truth toward which the sashes of the Cien- tdes, with sad or with eat^cr loni^inn-. stretched forth their hands. In each of theni there was much that was true and ^ood; in Ilim was all they had, and .ill the rest that the\' loni;ed for; in Him alone is the fullness, and to all of them and all of their disciples wi- say: "Come to the fullness." I'Mwin .Arnold, who in his "Li^hl of Asia" has pictured in all the colors of poes\- the saj^e of the far east, has in his later "Li^ht of the World" brought that wisdom of the east in adoration to the feet of lesus Christ. .Ma\- his words be a prophecy. ( ), I'.itlur, ^rant that the words of Thj- Son may hi! \erit"ied, that all. liirou'.'li 11 im, m m- at last be made one in Thee. If i;i:) • ) i'"»*^irtltWlfl8^S'?*! I'rcscnrri )f 0(Hliii Huiniiu ity. i ^ "yhe Incarnation of G^d in Christ. Paper by REV. JULIAN K. SMYTH, of Boston. Htnc 20(5 1 1 M Rev. Julian K. Smyth (Church of the New Jerusalem), Bostot?, Mass. '»illi * .■ ) . ■■ 1 ■,' f ■ • ■ >M ■ THE WORLD'S CONGKE^S OF KELICIOMS tion form and with various deforces of certainty, looked for. This is what sang itself into the songs and prophesies of Israel. "And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed; and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it." "Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come in strength, and His arm shall rule for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Christianity is in the world to utter her belief that He who revealed Himself as the Good Shepherd realizes these expectatic^ns and fulfills these promises, and that in the Word made flesh the glory of Jehovah has been revealed and all flesh may see it together, luen in child- hot)d He bears the name iMnmanuel, wiiicli, being interpreted, is "God with us." He explains His work ami His presence by declaring that it is tile coming of the kingdom— not of law, nor of earthly govern- ment, nor of ecclesiasticism — but of (jod. His purj)ose, to manifest and bring forth tlie l(»ve and the wisdom of God; His miracles, simply the allestations of the divine imma- nence; His supreme end, the culmination of all His labors; His suffer- ings, His victories, to become the open and glorified medium of divine life to the world. It is not another Moses, nor another IClias, but God in the world--Gotl with us — this, the su])reme announcement of Christianity, asserting his inuuanence, revealing God and man as intended for each other and rousing in man slumbering wants and capacities to realize the new \ision of manhood that dawns upon him from this luminous figure. Christianity aflirnis as a finulamental fact of the ' iod it worships that He is a (iod who docs not hide or withhold Himself, but who is ever going forth to man inthe effort to reveal Himself, and to be known and felt according to the degree of man's capacity and need. This self-manifcstation or "forthgoing of all that is known or knowable of the divine perfections" is the Logos, or Word; and it is the very center of Christian revelation. This word is (iod, not withdrawn in dreary solitude, but coming into intelligible and personal manifestation. From the beginnings — for so we may now read the "Golden Proem" of .St. John's Gospel, with its wonderful spiritual history of the I-ogos— from the beginning God has this desire to go forth to something outside of Himself ami be known by it. "In the f)eginning was the Word." Hence the creation. "All things were made by Him." Hence, too, out of this divine desire to reveal and accommodate Himself to man, His presence in various forms of religion. "He was in the world." I'lven in man's sin and spiritual blindness the eternal Logos seeks to bring itself to his consciousness. "The Light shineth in the darkness." But gradually through the ages, through man's sinfulness, his spiritual perceptions become dim aiul lie sees, as in a state of open-eyed blindness, only the forms through which the divine mind has sought to manifest Himself. "He was in (il«iry hovali. .f Jo Ifi u . 110 THE WORLD'S CONJRESS OF RELIGIONS, Hi 1^ 1 m\ Story MuDger. i.f tliu the world and the world knew Him not." What more can be done? Type, syini)ol, reli^Mous ceremonials, scriptures — all have been em- ployed. Has not man slipped beyond the reach of the divine endeav- ors? ]iut the Christian history of the Logos moves on to its supreme announcement: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Not some angel come from heaven to deliver some further message; nt)t another prophet sprung from our bewililcrcd race to chide, to warn or to extort, but the I^ogos, which in the beginning was with God and which was God; the Jehovah of the olil propliecii's. whose glory, it had been promised, would be revealed that all llesli might see it together. And so in the Christian view of it the story of the Logos com- pletes itself in the story of the manger. And so, too, the incarnation, instead of being exceptional, is exactly in line with what the Logos has, from the beginning, been doing. God, as the Word, has ever been coMiiiig to man in a form accommodated to his need, keeping step with Ills stijjs until, in the com])leteiU'ss of this desire to bring Him- self to man where he is. I le appears to the natural senses and in a form suitabK' III our natural life. Ill tin- Christian conception of God, as one who seeks to reveal iiiniscH to man, it simp!\' is inevitable that tiie Word sIkjuUI manifest Him>cll en the \er\' lowest plane of man's life, if at any time it would be true to s.iy of his spiritual ccjudition: "This |>eople's heart is waxed gross, anil their ears are dull of hearing and theii e\es they have closet!." It is not extraordinar\- in the sense of its being a hard or an unnatural tliii.g for (iodto do. He has always been approaching man, alwa\s adapting His re\elations to human conditions and needs. It is this constant aeconimodation and manifestation that has kept man's jjouer of s|)iritual thought alive. The history of religions, together with their remains, is a proof of it. Tiie testimony of the historic faiths jjresented in this parliament has confirmed it as the most self- evident thing of the divine nature in His dealings with the children of men, and the iiuarnation of its natural and completest outcome. And when we begin to. follow the life of Him whose footprints, in the light of Christian history and experience, are still looked upon as the \ery footprints of the liuarnate Word, the (iospel story is a story of toil, of suffering, of storm and ten)|Hst: a story of sacrifice, of love so pure and hol\t!iat e\en now it has the power to touch, to thrill, to re-create man's selfish nature. There is an undoubted actuality in the human side of this life, but just as sureh- there is a certain divine somethijig fore\er speakin;"^ through those human tones and reaching t)ut through those kindly haiuls. The character of the Logos is never lost, sacrificed or lowered. It is always this^divine something trying to manifest itsc;lf, trying to make itself understood, trying to redeem man fnjin his slaver)- to evil and draw to itself his spiritual attach- ment. Here, plain to human sight, is part of that age-long effort of the ! i.'i 1 THE WURLirS CONURKSS OF RELiaiOXS, !ll Word to reveal itself to man only now tliroiij^h a nature fornieil and huin for the purpose. We are reminded of it when we hear llim say 'Before Abraham was, 1 am." We are assiiretl of it when He declares that lie came forth from the Father. And we know that lie has tri- umphed when, at the last, we hear His promise, "Lo, I am with you always." It is the Lo^os speakint(. The divine purpose has been ful- filled. Tlie Word has come forth on this ])lane of human life, mani- ksted Iliniself and established a relationship with man nearer anil ', the for- mer, arc prior anil the active foriiiati\e aij^eiits, pla>'in. ami then try to pack them with ideas and intentions. The process is the rexerse. I*'irst, the intention, then that intention comini;" forth as a thouf^ht. aiul then the thouijht incar- natinff itself by means of articulated sounds or written characters. Hy this same law man is primarily, essential l\-. a spiritual beiiifr. In the very form of his creation that wliich essentiall\' is the man, and which in time lo\es, thinks, makes plans and eiforts for useful life, is spiritual. In his conception, then, the human seed must not oid}- be actcil upon but be deriveil from invisible, spiritual substances, which are clothed with natural substances for the sake of conveyance. That wh'ch is slowly developed into a human bein^' or soul must be a living organism composed of spiritual substances, (jraduall)' that jjrimitive form becomes eiueloped and protc'cted within successive clothings, while the mother, from the substances of the natural worlil, silently Sironitili and omfort . .Man Esiten- tially ft Spirit- ual HeinK. TUE U'OKf.irs CONGKESS OF A'EL/(J/(WS. weaves tlic swatliin^s ami coxcrin^'s whicli arc to serve as a iialuial or )liysical bud)- ami make possible its entrance into tliis outer court (»l ife. W'e do not concede, then, that there is anything,' impossible or con- trary to order ill the declaration of the (iospel, but "that which is conceived in her i.i of the Holy S])irit." It is still in line with the }.;en- eral lawof the conception and birth of all human beiuf^'s. The primitive form or nature, as in the case of man, is spiritual. Hut in this instance it is not derixed fiom a human father, but is esjjecially formed or molded by the di\ ine creati\e spirit, formed as with us of spiritual substances; fornu-d with a perfection ami with infinite |)ossibilities of development unknown to us; formeil, too, for the special purpose of bein,L,f the perfect instrunuiU or medium upon and throuy;h which the di\ine miifht act as its \erv soul. because that prinn'tive form is (li\inel>- molded or be<4otten, in- stead of beinj,^ iKriwd from a linite paternity, it is uniciue. It is divine in first principles. In the outer clothintis of the natural mind and in the successive wrappings furnished by tlie woman nature, it shares our weakness. Hut primarih-, essentiall\-, it is born with the capacity of becominij tli\ine throu^di the remoxal of whatever is imperfect or limiting, and tlirou;j[h complete union with the Ui\ine which formed it for 1 limsi'lf. N'ery like our liumanilies in all th.at pertains to the ^^rowth of the natural bod\- and natural iniiul would l)e this luimanit\' of the Son of Man. The same teiulerness and helplessness of its infantile bod)'; the LikeOnrllu- possibilit\' of Weariness, luuiijer, tluist, iniiii ; the same exposure, too, itinitmw •11* 1 ri ^'1 I I r 'I I* in the lower i)lanes of tile miiul, to the assaults ot e\ il resultinij in eternal strui^^le, temptation and anj^uish of spirit. ;\iid yet there is always an unlikeness, a difference, in that the ver\- i)riiiiiti\e, deter- mining forms anil ])ossil)ilities of that humanity are tli\inely begotten. And so we think of this liumaiiit\' of Jesus Christ as so formed and born as to be able to ser\e as a perfect instrument whereby the eternal Lo<^os mii^ht come and dwell anionic us; nii^ht so express and pour forth His love; miijlit so accommodate and re\eal Ilis truth; mi^ht, in a word, so set Himself on all the i)lanesof anjj^elic and human exist- ence as to be forever after immediatel)' present in them, ;ind so tnunitio' )eC()ille literall\', actuallv (iod-with- us. (iraduall)' this was done, (irailuall)' the l)i\iiie Life of love and wisdom came into the scxeral ])laiies which, 1)\- incarnation, existed in this humanit)-, reinoviii;4 from them whatever was limitiii,L( or imper- fect, substituting what was divine, l"illkn}f them, ^d )rifyinj; them, and in the end makin.Lj them a \ery part of Himself. This brinjjjs into harmony the two elements w liich we are apt tc look upon and keep distinct, the human and the divine. For He Himself tells us of a process, a distinct chan^jje which His humanit)' underwent, and w liicli is the ke)- to His real nature. "The Holj' .Spirit," sajs the record, "was not yet },nveii, because that jesus was not yet glorified." .Some divine operation was going on within that humanity THE WORLD'S COXCRFSS OF J^FI.fClOXS. 213 wliic'i was not fully .'uioinplislud. lint on tlu' t'\L of His crucifixion he cxrlaiiiicd; "Now is the Son of Man ]L;lorili(.(! and (iod is glorified Humon ill Ilini." It is this process of piiltin^f off what was fuiitcand infirm in mentg."" the human and the substitution «>f the di\ine from within, resulting in the formation of a di\ine humanitw So lon^ as that is going on the human as the Son feels a separation from the divine as the Father and speaks of it and turns to it as though it nere another person. liut when the glorification is accomplished, when the divine has entirely filled the human and they act "reciprocally aiul unanimouslj' as soul and l)od\-," then the declaration is: "I and the Father are one." Di- vine in origin, human in birth, divinely human through glorification. As to His soul, or immortal being, the I'ather; as to His human, the Son; as to the life and saving power that go forth from His glorified nature, the Hol\' Spirit. This story of the divine life in its descent to man, this coming or incarnation of the Logos througl' ihe humanit\'of jesus Christ, is the sweet and serious jjrivilege of Christianil)' to carr\- into the world. I try to state it; I try from a new theological standpoint to show reason.s for its rational acceptance. Hut I know that however true ami necessary explanations may be, the fact itself transcends them all. No one in this free assembly is reipiired or expected to hide his denominationalisni. And yet 1 love to stand with my fellow Christians and unite with them in that simplest, most comprehensive creed that was ever uttered, Credo Uomino. l^enominationalism, dogmatism, aside! Aside, too, all prejudices and practices. What is tlu> simplest, the fundamental idea of the being of jesus Christ? lirother men, are we not read\- to unite in saying it is, and saving it to the whole round world? The Lord Jesus Christ is the life or the love of (Joil, manifesting itself to man, going out into the world, awakening the capacity which is in everv' man for spiritual, yes, for divine life. Is not that the very heart of the (iospel, or rather, is not that the (iospel? Ami is it not ecpiallv true that u|) to this hour there is no fact so real, lU) fact so powerful, no fact that is working such spiritual wonders as the fact, the inlluence, the being of Jesus Christ? We are sitting here as the first great jiarliamcnt of the religions of the world. We rightly believe, we boldl)- sa\', that from this time on the F'atherhood of (iod and the brotherhood of man must mean more to us than ever before, and noiu) can be so timid but would dare to stand here and say that in this hall the death-knell of bigotry has sounded. Yet it were a sacrilege to suppose that the large tolerance which has been shown here and which has secured for the representa- tives of every faith such a hospitable reception is the evolution of mere good nature. It is the Spirit of Him whose utterance of tho.se sim])le words, which have been inscribetl as the text of the Columbian Liberty Hell, arc already ringing in "The Christ that is to be." "A new com- mandment I give unto you. That ye love one another." And the same lips also said: "Other sheep I have which arc not of nnd Ele- Lota One An> othpr. Ie wi .iHwMiUHS***'-- '> i ' 1 4 1 i t-U ;.'U yy/A' iroA'jjrs coavaass of religions. CliriHt ttm this folil; llicin ;ils(t I iiiiisl hiiiit;, uiul tiny shiill Iu;ir My voice; .'iiui there .shall be one lohl and one sheplierd." 15 'caiist; ol such words we listen with a new eai^eriiess to all that men ha\e to tell ot their taitiis; and there is no declaration of Irulh, howe\er old, from whatever source, by whomsoever spoken, i)ut iuis calK-d out; the heartiest tokens of approval, if only it strikes (U>wn to what we feel to be the eternal verities underl\in^ our existence. To the surprise of many, these declarations often bear a strikiuLj similarity to some t)f the teachings of Christianitv, when, in realit)-, the marvel is, that the reli^non of Jesus Christ should be so all-embracini; ami univers.il. Nor is it to be forgotten that the Christ not simply taught the truth. Me so eml)odied it, so lived it, that He is the truth. And Chris- tianity is not afraid to say that the relij^ion which bears His name is grouiuled not upon truth- the abstract — iK)ra ])hilosophy, noran eccle- siasticism, nor a ritual, but upon a person; a person so true, so perfect in holiness, that we believe, nay, we feel, that lie emboilies the vcr)- Truth. life and spirit of (lod. And with this manifestation has come a ne\ conception of (iod as one who is willing- to ljo any len<;th in order to seek and to save that which is lost. And it is this truth, God seekint,^ man, man servin ;;! "■11 "I ! 'I The Step. Critical ■ ! I' i MS THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. beyond all names and comprehension, except so far as it is manifested or revealed in the phenomenal world." What we call the different types, or ideas, or logoi in the world are the Xo^m or thou^dits or wills of that bein^^ whom human language has called God. These thoughts, which embrace everything that is, existed at first as thoughts, as a thought-world, before by will and force they could become what we see them to be, the types or species realized in the visible world. So far, all is clear and incontrovertible, and a sliarj) line is drawn between this philosophy and others, likewise |)owcrfully represented in the previous history of Greek philosophy, which denied the existence of that eternal reason, denied that the world was thought and willed, as even the Klameiths, a tribe of red Indians, professed, and ascribed the world, as we see it as men of science, to purely mechanical causes, to what we now call uncreate protoplasm, assuming various casual forms by means of natural selection, influence of environment, survival of the fittest, and all the rest. The critical step which some of the philosophers of Alexandria took, while others refused to take it, was to recognize the perfect real- ization of the divine thought or logos of manhood in Christ, as in the true sense the Son of God; not in the vulgar nythological sense, but in the deep mctai)hysical meaning which had long been possessed in the (ireek philosophy. Those who declined to take that step, such as Celsus and his friends, did so either because they ilenied the possi- bilit)' of any divine thought ever becoming fully realized in the flesh or in the phenomenal world, or because they could not bring them- selves to recognize that realization in Jesus of Nazareth. Clement's conviction that the phenomenal was a realization of the divine reason Avas basetl on purely philosophical ground, while his conviction that the ideal or the divine conception of manhood had been fully realized in Christ and in Christ onl\,d}ing on the cross forthe truth a.s revealed to ilim and by Him, could have been based on historicalgrounds only. Everything else followed. Christian morality was really in com- plete harmony with the morality of the stoic school of philosophy, though it gave to it a new life and a higher purpose, liut the whole world assumed a new aspect. It was seen to be supported and per- vaded by reason or logos; it was throughout teleological, thought and willed by a rational power. The same divine presence had now been perceived for the first time in all its fullness and perfection in the one Son of God, the i)attern of the whole race of men, henceforth to be called "the sons of (iod." This was the groundwork of the earliest Chri.-itian theology, as presupposed by the author of the fourth Gospel, and likewise by many passages in the synoptical Gospels, though fully elaborated for the first time by such men as St Clement and Origen. If we want to be true and honest Christians, we must go back to those earliest ante- nicene authorities, the true fathers of the church. Thus only can we use the words: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word became flesh," not as thoughtless repeaters, but as ' ->nest thinkers and be- THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 219 lievers. In the first sentence, "In the beginninpf was the Word," requires] thought and thought only; the second, "and the Logos became flesh," ( requires faith — faith such as those who know Jesus had in Jesus, and j which we may accept, unless we have any reasons for doubting their' testimony. There is nothing new in all this; it is only the earliest Christian theology restated, restored and revised. It gives us at the same time a truer conception of the history of the whole world, showing that there was a purpose in the ancient religions and philosophies of the world, and that Christianity was really from the beginning a synthesis of the best thoughts of the past, as they had been slowly elaborated by the two principal representatives of the human race, the Aryan and the Semitic. On this ancient foundation, which was strangely neglected, if not purposely rejected, at tlic time of the Reformation, a true revival of the Christian religion and a reunion of all its d'vi:'ions may become |)ossible, and I have no doubt that your Congress of the Religions of the World might do excellent work for the resuscitation of pure and primitive ante-Nicene Christianity. 1 •5 !.^ • Wi ;i I Christ the §avior of the World. Paper by REV. B. FAY MILLS, ofPawtuxet, Khode Island. h I No EXCQBO for Sin. arc all agreed that, in its present con- dition, this is not an ideal woriti. W'c all believe that it is not what it is meant to be; we all hope tliat it is not what it is to become. The (U)etrine ot Christianity cen- ters not in a tlieorx' ot morals nor a creed, but in a person. Christ is the revelation of what ticxl is and ot what man must become, lie revealed the char.icter of God as lo\e sutferin^^ for the sins of man. lie showetl the tri- iimi)liant possibility of life anioiij; the hardest human conditioiis, when lived (iotl. 1 le tauijht ssoii of trial and ould be no excuse " no escape from nission and mes- lis Son into the rid throULili 11 im and myster\- and estin\-of the lace. n th ese words: 11 thout,dit of His upreme title and Is nor any chosen sa\e humanity in so to sa\e st)ciety I" unixersal life ot )v trodden under n w itli 1 lis claim '! 1 i, 'i tsl i • Rev. B. Fay Mills, Pawtuxet, R. I. J : 11' THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUG/ONS. 228 Whenever in the teachinfjs of Christianity tliere lias been a limita- tion of the extent of the atoncnjent of Christ, for the saving of tiiis world from out its present conlitions of bondage and sin into the glorious liberty of redemption, tliere lias come a deadly paralysis of His spirit and of the progress of His kingdom. There is a very real sense in which it was not necessary for Christ to come into the world in order that indivitluals might liecome ac- quainted with (iod. "The true light, that which lighteth every man that cometli into the world," was shining in darkness for all the ages before the shepherds heard the angel song, and "as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of (iod." And then the "Word be- came flesh and dwelt among us, and \vc beheld His glory, the glory as- of the only begotten of the Father; full of grace and truth." The Scriptures of the Old Testament anil the annals of all nations teach us that "there never was a time when a penitent and consecrated soul might not walk with God." Knoch "walked with God," "and be- fore his translation he had his testimony that he pleased God." Abra- ham was called the "friend of (lod." Closes was called "the man (jf God." .Socrates was, in his light, a true prophet of the Most High and a forerunn*";* of Jesus of Nazareth. But the mission of Jesus was to save the world itself. As a recent writer has well said, it is a deadly mistake to suppose that "Christ sim-i ply came to rescue as many as possible out of the wrecked and sink- ing world." He came to give the church a "commission 'hat includes the sav- ing of the wreck itself, the question of its confusion and struggle, the relief of its wretchedness, a deliverance from its destruction." This certainly was his own conception of his mission upon earth. The first annunciation by his immediate forerunner, when he stood in his presence, was: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." He said of Himself, "For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world." "1 am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man cat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give him is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." He said to His followers: "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; 1 have overcome the world." The mission of Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world may be expressed, as has already been suggested, in four conceptions. First. He has a new and complete revelation of (jod's eternal suffering for the redemption of humanity. He showed that God was pure and unselfish, and meek and forgiving, and that He had always been suffering for the sins of men. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." He revealed the meaning of forgiveness and of deliverance from sin. A popular writer has suggested to us the vast distinction between indifference to sin and its forgiveness, which may well be illustrated The True Light. Mission o f JeHusl'hribt. 22A THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIC IONS. Toleration of Siu. by the experience of an individual in forp[ivin}:j injury against himself. Resentment aj^ainst sin is a far liijjher experience than that of indiffer- ence to it, but there is somethiiitf far better than either, and that is to realize the enormity of the transj^ressor at its very worst and then to let resentment be destroyed and a sclf-sacrificinfj love fill the place that had been occupied by the resentment. It would be better for (iod to hate sin than to tolerate it; it would have been better to punish the most trivial sin of the most thoughtless sinner with all the excruciating; tortures of the most terrible unending hell conceived by the imagination of man; but, it was iniinitely better to take up into His own pure heart the blackest and deadliest sin of the lowest sinner, who should be willing to forsake it and return to God, and there let it be forever blotted out; to bind it upon the bleed- ing Lamb of God and let Mini bear it away, as far as the east is from the west, into God's eternal forgetfulness of love. A tender-spirited follower of Jesus Christ said to me not long ago that it had taken him twelve years to forgive a a injury that had been committed against him; and (iod's forgiveness of sin means something infinitely in contrast to His being able to look at it with indifference, and something even infinitely beyond the mere destruction of its grasp on man and his deliverance from its penalty and power. It meant the realizing of it in God's own soul in all its foul hidcousness and deadly strength, and the consuming it in the fires of his infinite love "He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.' Jt has been costing God to forgive sin all that it had cost man \.o bear it and more. This had to be in Goil's thought before He made the world. In the words t)f a modern prophet, " riie cross of Christ indicates the cost and is the pledge of (iod's eternal friendship for man." Jesus Christ came to show what (jod was. He was in no sense a shield for us from the wrath of (iod, but "was the effulgence of (iod's glory and the very image of His substance." He said to one of His disciples, "He that hath seen Mc hath seen the Father." The heart of His teaching was "that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." He taught, not that He had come to reconcile (iod unto the world, but that "God was in Christ reconcilingthe world unto Himself." He .said of His Father, "I delight to do Thy will, O, God, Thy law is written on My heart." He said in His pra\er to His Father, "I have declared Thy name unto them; yea, and I will declare it. 1 have glorified Thee on the earth, 1 have finished the work." He came to show us that the world had never belonged to the powers of evil, but that, in His original thought, God had decided that a moral world should be created, and that in this decisi(Mi, which gave fion V'Parrof to humanity thc choice of good and evil, He had to take upon Ilim- UieCreauon. j,^j£ infinite Suffering until the world should be brought back to Him. The redemption of the world by Christ is a part of the creation of the world for Christ. The cry upon thc cross, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" was the exhibition of what had been in the The Rp tlic uttermost period of life, to the uttermost length of depravity, to tlio uttermost depth of misery and to the uttermost measure of perfection." The Quaker poet has beautifiilly written: " Through all the iJL'p'hs df sin and loss Drops the ])luniini t of tlie cross. Never yet abyss was found, Deeper than the cross could sound." Paul says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. liehold, all things have become new." It is when the soul is willing to .say, "He was wounded for my transgressions," that he is in a position to realize that if he will sur- render himself unto the cross of Jesus and to the teachings of Jesus, the power of death and hell over him shall have forever been broken and he may live a life of freedom in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The way of salvation for the individual through Christ is the THE WORLDS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 227 ocl in ml th;it ;vt op- f or to O lUiUl n^ ami aces in I, cotn- ilisobc- Dusncss itsbap- )f Jesus re is no iilso live dieth no he (lied likewise, into (iod should teousness live Uo\\\ less unto not undei "unto the me, t') the ity, to the cr'tection." iturc. Old ft new. led for my he will sur- s of Jesus, ,een broken esus Christ. :hrist is the knowledge of tiic love of God making,' atonement for the sins of the world; the discerning, the only real principle of power, in losiu^^ the life in order to save it, and the glad forsaking of all things to become wuy of H«l. His disciple and to "fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of »«'«»"• Christ for His body's sake." It is here that the teaching and the life of Jesus arc in glorious unity. The cross is not one thing and the Sermon on the Mount another. The kingdom which the Prince of I'cace came to establish on earth hail for its constitution those vital wortls whicii may be ex- pressed by the one word, love. God was "not willing that any should perish," and the bitterest drop in the dregs of the unrepentant sinner's cup of woe will be that it is utterly needless, and worse than needless, becau.se of the redemp- tion of tl)<- world through Jesus Christ. Hut il a man "sin willfully after that he hath received the knowl- edge o<^ the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin;" and to- day, in view of the infinite love and purpose of God and the great possibility and destiny of man, 1 tlo "beseech you, that you receive not the grace of Gt)d in vain." The last thought concerning the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ is, that the loving righteousness of (iod must be finally triumphant. We cannot conceive of a heaven in which man should not be a moral being and free to choose good or evil, as he is upon this earth; and the joy of heaven will consist largely in that glad fixity of will that shall eternally lose itself in (Jod. But what a terrible conception comes to us of the lost world, when we conceive ourselves, in spite of all the loving kindness and sacrifice of the eternal God, as still choosing to go on in sin, determining to resist His love, conscit)Us of it, and yet without the power to escape it, saying: "H 1 make niy bed in hell, behold thou art there," and yet choosing through the ages and ages to turn away from the righteous- ness of God and to pursue a life of indifference and sin. " Though God be pood and free be heaven, No force can love compel; And though the sonps of sin forgiven Might sound through lowest hell; The sweet persuasion of His voice Respects thy sanctity of will. He giveth day. Thou hast thy choice To walk in darkness still." No hell can extinguish the righteousness of God, and no flames consume His love, which is the manifestation of His righteousness, and must pursue all unrighteousness in every sinner with a "worm that dicth not and a fire that is not quenched." "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For our God is a consuming fire." And as for our conception of heaven, when the world shall obey Jesus Christ and when all those who have surrendered unto His heart of love and have been working with Him throughout the eons, in the establishment of righteousness, shall be with Him in the new earth, no ff^ Hid RiKl't- fOUUUUHH. i ■ i I i!) «.! Not Fnlly Doui> His Will, Tonfession of Compiirativo Kailare. 22S oth THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. cr licavcn can l)c .iiuisrincd. Tlic rcdccincd earth shall be at least a part of hca\eii, and the city which John saw, the new Jerusalem descendiii^r out of heaven from God, shall be established. " The tabernacle of God shall be with men and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His peojile; and God, Himself, shall be with them and be their (ioil. And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor cryii;;,;, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.' This must be the end of the atonement of the life and the death of Jesus Ciirist and the keeping of His commandments, which are all summed \\\> in the great name of God, which is Love. With shame 1 confess that all the disci])les naming the name of Jesus Christ ha\e not full\- done His will in J I is spirit of self-sacritice, and. indeed, have sometimes scarcely seemed to api^rehend it. H we had, if is my honest conviction that we couUl not be gathered here to- da\- as a " Parliament of Religions," but that we would all be praising Goii together for His wonderful salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. We have already in this Parliament been rebuked by India and Japan with the charge that Christians ilo not practice tne teachings of Jesus. If China has not been hearil from in words of even keener cen- sure, it has not been because she has not had good cause, as she thinks of the opium curse forced upt)n her by the laws of Christian I'".nglantl anil of tile action of the corrupt legislatures and congresses and pres- idents who have enacted, or stood by and consentetl to the enacting of the unjust, selfish, unreasonable, inhuman, unchristian and barbaric anti-Chinese laws of these Christian United .States. I might reply by pointing to our hospital walls and college towers and myriad missionaries of mercy, but I forbear. We have done some- thing, but with shame and tears I say it — as kingdoms and empires and republics, as states and municipalities, ami in our commercial and in- dustrial t)rganizations, and even, in a large measure, as an organized church, we lia\e not been jjracticing the teachings of Jesus as He said them ami meant them, as the earliest disciples understood anil prac- ticed them, and as we must again submit to them if we are to be the viiiners of the worlil for Jesus Christ. It is no excuse to say that with Christians the nation is not the church. That is a still further confession of comj)arative failure, for, in so far as tlxj Christian church and Christian state are not coincident, the church hr.s come short of the command of the Master: "Go ye therefore, and discii le all nations, teaching them to observe all thing.s whatsoever I have commanded you." One of the local papers said the other day that perhaps the non- Christian delegates to this Parliament might be converted to Chris- tianity if they could be taken about Chicago blindfolded. There have been, and are today, in every Christian community white-soulcd saints of God, who arc following "the Lamb whitherso- ever He goeth" and bearing His cross after Him; but let us be willing THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 229 to say plainly, althov;p;l> with shame, that while we have in the life and death and resui'-eclion and teachin<^s of Christ and the descent of the Holy Ghost the eoniplete remedy for all the ills of iiulividuals and nations, we have lacked the power of conquest because organized Christianity has been sayinf^, "Lord, Lord," to her Master and, as refjards politics and society and property and iiulustr\', has not been doing the things that He said. lienjaniin Franklin said that a generation of followers of Jesus,' who practiced His teachings, would change the face of the earth j And it is true. When evil shall go forth with its deadly poison ready for dissemination, and find Christians who are meek and merciful and poor in spirit ami pure in heart, and who count it all joy to be perse- cuted for righteousness' sake; when it shall dart its venomed tongue at men and women who "resist not evil," who "give to him that ask- eth" and from the borrower do not turn awa\'; who "being struck upon one cheek turn the other also;" who love their enemies, bless those that curse them, do gooil to them that hate them and pray for them that despitefuUy use them and persecute thenv, who forgive their debtors because Ciod has forgiven them; then shall the oUl serpent finil no blood that shall be resi)onsive to his poisonous touch, and shall sting himself unto the death, even as he did under that other cross which he looked upon as the token t)f the impotence of righteousness, but which was the wisdom and the pt)wer of (iod unto salvation and the prophecy of the trium|)h of eternal love Aiul this I will say: That our brethren from across the sea have said all we need ask them to say, when, instead of attacking the life and teachings of Jesus, they show that we fail only because we may have said, "Lord, Lord," and not done the things that He said. And this univorsal also I say: That the only hope of Asia, as of America and of Africa, KjjiKdom of as of Knrope, is in the love of God anil the establishment of His uni- versal kingdom of peace which must be set up on earth and which shall have no end. This, my brothers, is all that must, is all that can endure; it is the teaching of teachings and the inspiration of inspirations for the sons of men. It is of universal application. Jesus was born in the east and has gained His greatest present triumphs in the west. When men shall have begun again to practice the teachings of Jesus in e\ ery walk and relationship of life, then there will be no social enigmas unsolved and iio \)olitical questions unanswered; but men shall be in union with (iod and at peace with one another, and heaven and earth shall be one in the creation of the "new earth wher<.'in dwelleth righteousness." 'lU And there are indications of such a triumph now. Isvery Ian- age ma\' be translated into every other tongue of man. The last IndicAtidDR of umpb, religion of the world has been investigated and its teachings arc open guch aXri- to the eyes of all. (iod today looks down upon such a spectacle c)f sincere desire antl of honest |)urpose to know the truth as the gro.m- ing and travailing creation has never before seen, and the only st)lu- ■ :■( H' i! i I 230 r//E IVORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ■ i - i i 1 U 1 !! . 1 ! il ■1' ■f'J I r I ! l i 4i .;■ 1 I I 111 I El I On« Rrxly nnd tion of all the questionings and differences and hopes of men must be in the principles of the ruler of the kinjjdomof God: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy niiiul and with all thy strength, andthy neighbor as thyself." No message of love to God and man lias ever been in vain. No love ot" man or God has ever perished from the universe; no life of love has c\ er been or ever can be lost. This is the only infinite and only eternal message, and this is the reason why the mission and the message of jesus of Nazareth must abide. This is the reason that the life of Jesus is eternal and that all things must be subdued unto Him; for "Lc)\e never faileth; but whether there will be prophecies, they shall he done away; whether there be tongue.^, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done awaj'. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. For now we see in a miiTor (larkl\', but then face to face; now we know in part, but then shall we know even as also we are known." '' For, lo! the days are hastening on Hy [)ro|)het l)ar(ls foretold, When, with the ever circling; ycirs, Comes round the aj;e of pold; When i)eace shall, over all the earth, Its ancient splendor fliti;,'. And the whole workl ^ive hack the son>j Which now the angels sing." And when, at lasi, we shall clearly know what we now dimly sec in Josus Christ, that " Love is righteousness in action;" that mercy is the necessary instriunent of justice; that "good has been the final goal of ill," ami that through testing, innocence must have been glorified into virtue; when we shall see that God is love and law is gospel, and sin has been transformed into right^eousness- then shall we also see that "there is one bod)' and one spirit, even as also we were called in one hope of oiu' calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one (iod and h'atherof all, who is over all and through all and in all." Then shall we .see "that imto each one of us was this grace given acct .ding to the measure of the gift of Christ, and we shall all attain unto the imity of the faith aiul of the knowledge of the .Son of God; unto a full grown man; unto the measure <>f the stature of the fullness of Christ," and "Every kindred, every tribe on this terresiinl hr.il, Tu Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord ot all.' !'■■ Qhristianity in Japan; jts present C^"' dition and putare Prospects. Paper by PROF. HARNICHI KOSAKI, of Japan. editing papers. ROGRESS of Christianity in Japan is quitp re- markable. It is only thirty-four years since the first Protestant missionary put his foot on its shore. And it is scarcely twenty years since the first Protestant church was organ- ized in Japan. Yet now there are more Christians here than in Turkey, where mis- sionaries have been workinff more than sev- enty years, and there are more self-support- ing churches there than in China, where double or thrice number of missionaries have been working nearly a century. In Japan, Christian papers and magazines are all edited hj' the natives, not only in name but in real- Christian books, which have been most influ- ential, have nearly all been written or translated by them, while in other countries it is very rare to find the native Christians writing Christian books or Only recently the Christian, the mos«- influential C hristian paper in Japan, had a symposium to name hitcen books i icli arc most useful in leailing men to Christianity, instructing ' in Uians and giving gocd counsel to young peoi)le; and it is interest- rr. lo see that most of the books named are those written or translated bv V:i;)ancse Christians. Christianity in Japan has already reached a stage that no other ill 1 M Leading all iing missionary fields have ever attained. Their native Christians not only oiMionsr ^"^ take a put in all discussions, but they are in fact leading all kinds of iliscussioiis, theological as well as practical. They arc leading, not ( nly in all kinils ol Christian work, literary and evangelistic, educa- tional and charitable, but they arc also leading Christian thought in Japan. Let mc relate one or two instances. Some si.x or seven years ago, when we were contemplating the •^31 232 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Pocnliar Fea- tures. I 'T I 'W\ % n. i I i I' ' ■■ Ciw 1 iipi ' ™f.;i : i union of the Itochi and Kumiai denominations, the two most powerful Christian bodies in Japan, among twenty members of a joint committee appointed by the synod of one and the general council of the other, there were only four missionaries. When a few years ago, the Kumiai denomination adopted a new confession of faith, the missionaries took almost no part. This confession was drawn up by a committee, con- sisting entirely of Japanese, and adopted in the general council, in which missionaries took very little or no part. In Japan mission- aries are really "helpers," and I should say to their credit, they, in most cases, willingly take secondary position in all Christian works. All this, I say, is not to disparage the work of missionaries, but only to show the progress of Christianity among the natives of Japan. There are now many peculiar features in Japanese Christianity which are seldom ; «, en in other countries. One distinctive ■ ' > lies in the peculiarity of the constituency of its membership. 1 er countries female members ahva\s pre- dominate. For install- , in most of the churches in this country teniale members are almost two to one in projiortion to male memiiers. The membership of the Congregational church in 1S92 stanils as follows: Male members, one hundred and seventy thousand; female members, three hundred and fifty thousand. Hut it is quite otherwise in Japan. Female members, in relation to male members, are nearly three to four. It is almost in inverse ratio as it is in the United .States. The statistics of the Kumiai churches in the last )ear is this: Male members, 6,087; female mem- bers, 5,087. Another fact we may notice is the predominance of young people in our churches. Vou niay step into any of our churches in any city or village and see the audience, and you will be struck by the great preponderance of young faces. We have not yet taken any statistics of members as to their age. Hut anyone who has experience in Chris- tian work there notes this peculiarity. The last year when Dr. F. K. Clark, president of the V. P. S. C.Iv, was in Japan, in advising the need of that society, he saul that >oung people were hard to reacli and were diffident and slow t>- take any part in Christian work. Hut the case is different there. In many places young people are the only people who are accessible. The\- are most easily reached. In most of our churches young people are most active in all kinds of Christian works, while in some churches young people are so predominant and take everything into their hands that elderly people feel often quite annoyed. ^ One more point is the predominance of the Shizoku, or military class. They have been, and still are, the very brains of the Japanesp people. Though they are not usually well off in material wealth, they TiioBhizokn are superior intellectually and morally. Christians in other missionary fields are usually from the lower classes. In India the Hrahmans rarely become Christians, neither do the literary class in China. I3ut in Japan the Shizoku class take a lead. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 233 ^rrcat These peculiarities in the constituency of the membership of Christian churches in Japan may be accounted for by the simple fact that the males, the youu^^ and the Shizoku classes are most accessible. I'he Shi/oku class, as a body, has had hitherto almost no religion, and they have been mostly Confucianists. Hy the last revolution tiicy lost their profession as well as their means of support, and thus they are all unsettled in life, and so accessible to every kind of new influence and truth. Young people have also no settled opinions and are open to new influences, and tluis accessible to new truth. And so it is with men as compared with women. They are generally more progressive and, hence, more accessible. These peculiarities are of its strength as well as its weakness. As the Japanese Christian population is composed of such a constituency, the native Christians are more progressive, more active, more able to stand on their own feet, and more capable of establishing self-support- ing churches. Hut this strength is also their weakness. They are more liable to be drifted, more apt to be changed and more disposed to be flippant. The next peculiar feature of Japanese Christianity is lack of sec-' tarian or ilenominational spirit. About thirty different denominations; of Protestant churches, represented by about an equal number of mis-- sionary boards, are on the field, each teaching its own peculiar tenets. Hut tliey are making very little impression on our Christians. In fact, denominations which have strong denominational spirit are getting fewer converts than those which have less. The broader their princi- ple or spirit the greater is the inmiber of their converts. Any one who is at all conversant with the history of denominations knows that all over the world, other things being equal, denomitiations having stronger denominational spirit are making greater gains in their membership than those which have less. Hut in Japan it is the exception. We have been having, at first annually, but lately once in three years, what was called " Dai Shin Haku Kwai," which was afterward changed into the l^vangelical Alliance, the meeting of all Christians in Japan, irrespective of denominations or churches— the most popular and interesting meeting wc ha\e. Japanese Christians do not know any distinction in denominations or churches. Hut when they found out that there are many different folds, and that one belongs to his denomination not by his own choice but simply by chance or circum- stance which could in no way be controlled, there is no wonder that these Christians begin to ask: Why should not we, all Christians, unite n one church ? The union movement in Japan rose at first in some such way. Though we have now lost much of this simple spirit, still Japanese Christians are essentially undenominational. Vou may see that the church which adopts Presbyterian forms of government refuses to be called "Presbyterian," or "Reformed," and adopted the broad name "Itschi," the "United;" but, not content even with this broad name, it has recently changed it to a still broader name, "Nippon Kinisuto Kio Kwai," "The Church of Christ in Japan." 10 No Distinc- tion in Deni>in> inutiuOB. r ! \ i 284 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \ \' i .. Doctrinal Mat- *\\ Ab to the Crueds. The church which has adopted an Episcopal form of government lately dropped the name of Episcopacy and adopted instead the name of "The Holy Church of Japan." Kumiai churches fur along time had no name except this: "A Church of Christ." When it was found out that it is necessary to adopt some name to distinguish it.self from other churches, its Christians reluctantly adopted the name of "Kumiai," which means "associated;" for at that time they happened to form an association of churches which was until then independent of each other. They always refused to be called the "Ct)ngregati<)nal churches," although they have adopted mostly Congregational policy of church government. The church union which failed lately may not be revived in any near future. But there is a hope that some day our different denom- inations may be united in some way. , The third distinctive feature of Japanese Christianity is the prev- alence of lilieral spirit in doctrinal matters. While missionaries ar^ both preaching and teaching the orthodo.x doctrines. Japanese ClirisV tians are eagerly studying the most liberal theology. Not onl)' are they studying, but they are diffusing these liberal thoughts w ith zeal and diligence, and so I believe that, with a small exception, most of Jap- anese pastors and evangelists are more or less liberal in their theolog). While the Presbyterians in the United .States are i)ersecuting IJrs. Briggs and .Smith, the Presbyterians of Japan are almost in a body on the side of these two professors. While the A. 1^ C. V. I\I. is strenu- ously on the watch to send no missionary who has any inclination toward the Andover thct)logy. the pastors and evangelists of the Kumiai churches, which are in close connection with the same board, arc advocating and preaching theology perhaps more liberal than the Anilover theology. JtisV to illustrate, scjme years ago. in one ol our councils, wheti we were going to install a pastor, he expressed the or- thodox belief on future life, whicii was a great surprise to all. Then members of the council pressed hard questions to him so as to force him to adopt the doctrine of future probation, as though it is the only doctrine which is tenable. Only recently, when abishopof a certain church was visiting Japan, he was surprised to find that a young Japanese professor in the sem- inary connected with his own church was teaching quite a liberal the- ology, and he gave him a strong warning. As to the creeds: When the "Church of Christ in Japan" was or- ganized it adopted the Presbyterian and the Reformed standards, namely, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Canon of Dort and the Heidelberg Confession of Faith. But Christians of the same church soon found them too stiff, one sided and conservative, and thus they have lately dropped these standards as their creed altogether. They have now the "Apostles' Creed" with a short preface attached to it. When the Kumiai church was first organized it adopted the nine articles of the basis of evangelical alliance as its creed. But Christians THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 285 denomination became soon dissatisfied with its nar- so, in 1890, they made their own creed, which is far of the same rowness, and simpler and broader. But even this creed is not understood as bind- ing to all, but only as a common expression of religious belief and pre- vailing amonj^ them in general. Though Japanese Christians are largely on the side of liberal the- ology, they are not in any way in favor of Unitarianism or even Uni- versalism. Some years ago there was a rumor that the Japanese were in general inclined to Unitarian Christianity. The most of our edu- cated classes have no religion. Though they favor certain kinds of Christian ethical teachings, they have no faith in any religion or super- natural truth, and thus they are seemingly in the same position hs cer- tain Unitarians. But Christians are, as a whole, loyal to Christ, and ate all to be characterized as evangelical. Often Unitarians and those who call themselves "liberal Christians are as narrow and prejudiced as some orthodox Christians. And, moreover, their beliefs are too negative. Where there p_ ijl;,jted, hard orthodox Christians they may have soil to thrive on; but in such a place like Japan they will find it hard work to keep up interest enough to have any religion. There was a time when Christianity was making such a stride in its progress that in one year it gained forty or fifty per cent increase. This was between 18S2 and 1888. These years may be regarded as a flowery era in the annals of Japan. It was in 1883 that, when we were having the "Dai shin Boku Kwai" in Tokyo, perhaps the most inter- esting meeting in its history, one of the delegates expressed his firm belie, that in ten years Japan would become a Christian country. This excited quite an applause, ami no one felt it as in any way too extrav- agant to cherish such a hope; such was the firm belief of most Chris- tians at that time. Since then progress in our churches has not been such as was expected. Not only members have not increased in such a proportion as jears before, but in some cases there can be seen a decline of religious zeal and the self-sacrificing spirit. And so in these last few years the cry heard most freciuently among our churches has been, "Awake, awake, as in the days past!" To show the decline of that religious enthusiasm, I may take an illustration from statistics of the Kumiai churches as to its amount of contribution. In 1882 this amount was SS6.72 per Christian; in 1888 this amount ran down to JS2.15, and in the last year there has been still nu)re decline, coming down to ^J.QS. In amount of increase of mem- bership there has been a proi)ortional ilecline. Why there was such decline is not hard to see. Among various causes I may mention three principal ones: First. Public sentiment in Japan has been always fluctuating from one side to another. It is like a pendulum, now going to one extreme and then to another. This movement of public sentiment, within the last fifteen or twenty years, can easily be pointed out. From 1877 to 1882 I may regard as a period of reaction and that of revival of anti-foreign spirit. During this period the cry "Repel for- A Flowery Eru. Public Senti. ment. 1 ■J : I ! M: hi .1 it -K 23C 77/ j; UVALV'S COA'HA'ESS OF K ELI C IONS. ei^ncrs," wliich was oti the lips of every Japanese at the time of the revolution, and since tlicn unlieard, was again heard. It was at this time that Confucian teaching was revi\ed in all the public schools, and the emperor issued a proclamation that the western ethical principles were not suitable U) the Japanese, and were not to be taught in our public schools. Then the pendulum went to the other side. And now another era came in. This was a period of western ideas which covers the years between iSSj and iSSS. This was the age of great interest in every- thing that came from al)road. Not only was Knglish eagerly taught, but all sorts of foreign manners and custom were busily introduced. Foreign costumes, not onl\- of gentlemen l)ut of ladies, foreign diet as well as foreign licpujrs I)ecame most popular among all classes. Mvery newsi)aper, almost without exception, advocated the adoption of every- thing foreign, so that japan seemed as if it would be no longer an ori- ental nation, but would become occidcntalized. It was at this time that such a pa|)er asjiji .Shimpu advocateil adoption of Christianity as the national religion of Ja])an. It was no w' the mis- sionaries must either co-operatf or join native churches and become like one of the native workers. Third. Problem of tlenominations ami church government is another difficult)-. Of course we shall not entirely dispense with denominations and sects, liut it seems rather foolish to have all denominations which arc jieculiar to some countries and which have certain peculiar history attacheil to them, introduced into Japan where no such history exists and where circumstances are entire!)- different. Anil so we think we can reduce the number of denominations. Hut how to begin is a hard problem. So, also, with the form of church go\eniment. It is needless to say that we need not or ought not to copy in any way the exact forms of church governments which are in vogue in the United States or in any other countries. Hut to formulate a form of goxernment thatsuitsour country the best, and at the same time works well elsewhere, isi|uitea difficult task. Fourth. Whether we need any written creed, and if so, what kind of creed is best to have, is also a question. In all teachings of mis- sionaries and others there is always more or less of husks mixed with genuine truth. And at the same time every form of Christianity has it ,'ir !, : t* >■ '■ '\ »' ' ;( 1 1 238 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, HnxkHwitli GonuinpTruUi, ■ I some excellent truth in it. And it is hard to make distinction between essentials and non-essentials, between creed and husks. This is a hard problem for Japanese theologians to solve. Japanese Christians must solve all these problems by themselves. I believe there is a grand mission for Japanese Christians. I believe that it is our mission to solve all these problems which have been and arc still stumbling blocks in all lands; and it is also our mission to give to all the oriental nations and the rest of the world a guide to true progress and a realization of the glorious Gospel which is in Jesus Christ. And now, in conclusion, I may say that Christianity is from God and so it will be in all times. We may plan many things, but all will be executed by the divine will. As the saying runs, " Man proposes and God disposes." Then our prayer is and always must be: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done as in heaven so in earth." i .1 ;1 1 1 I fi ? ■( ! i 5 lil: n t I (If h J 1 ;:] Rev. George Dana Boardman, Philadelphia, Pa. ■BHi ^S Christ the (Jnifier of ]V\ankind. Paper by REV. DR. GEORGE DANA BOARDMAN, of Philadelphia. NVOVS ICxtraordinary and Ministers IMcni- potcntiary in the Kin},ulom of Gotl, Men and women: The hour tor the closinj^ of this most extraordinary convention has come. Most extraordinary, I say, for this conjjress is unparalleled in its purpose— not to array sect ajjainst sect, or to exalt one form of religion at the cost of all other forms, but to unite all relifrion affainst all irreligion. Unpatalleled in its composition save on the day ol Pentecost, and it is I'en- tecostal day again,for here arc gathered to- gether devout men from every nation under heaven — Persians and Medes and l\lamites and dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Juilc.i and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in Phrjgia and Pamphylia, in Kgypt and the parts of Lybia about Cyrenc, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and Pros- elytes, Cretans and Arabians, we do hear them speaking every man in his own language, and yet as though in one common vernacular, the wonderful works of God. All honor to Chicago, whose beautiful "white city" symbolizes the architectural unity of the one city of our one God. AH honor to those noble officers — this James the Just, surnamed Bonney, and this John the Beloved, whose name is Barrows— for the far-reaching sagacity with which they have conceived and the consummate skill with which they have managed this most august of human parliaments, this crown- ing glory of the earth's fairest fair. And what is the secret of this marvelous unity? Let me be as true to my own convictions as you, honored representatives of other religions, have been nobly true to your own. I believe it is Jesus of Nazareth who is the one great unifier of mankind. Jesus Christ unifies mankind by His incarnation. For when Me was born into the world He was born "The Son of Man." Ponder the profound significance of this unique title. It is not "a son of men," it is not "a son of man," 241 of lluiniin Pur- liamentH. >f !! r I i MMiugeBWMr^.; 'il 'If. I' '■" I • I I ."^ IS: J -^^ Si tJ42 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, •y v: of Mankind. it is not "the son of men," but it is "The Son of Man." Thai is to say, Jesus of Nazareth is the universal Homo, the essential Vir, the son of human nature blending in Himself all races, ages, se.xes, capacities, temperaments. Jesus is the archetypal rnan, the ideal hero, the consummate incarnation, the symbolofpcrfecteil human nature, the sum total unfolded, fulfilled humanity, the Son of Mankind. All other religions, comparatively speaking, arc more or less topo- The iteiiKion graphical. For example, there was the institute religion of I*alestine; the priest religion of hgypt, tiie hero religion oi Greece, the empire religion of Rome, the Gueber religion of I'ersia, the ancestor religion of China, the Vedic religion of India, the lUiddlia religion of Hurmah, the Shinto religion of Japan, the Valhalla religion of .Scaiulinavia, the Moslem religion of Turkey, the spirit religion of our American aborig- ines. Hut Christianity is the religion of mankind. Zoroaster was a Persian; Mohamnvd was an y\rabiaii. J^ut Jesus is the .Son of Man. And, therefore. His religion is ecpially at home among black and white, red and tawny, mountaineers and lowlanders, kuulsmen and seamen, philosophers and journeymen, men and women, partriarchs and children. Jesus Christ is unifxing mankind by His own teaching. Take, in way of illustration. His doctrine of love asset forth in i lis own mountain sermon. For instance. His beatitudes, His precepts of reconciliation, non-resistance, lo\'e of enemies, Hisbidiling each of us i\se, although in solitary closet praxer. the i)lural, "Our, we, us." Or take, particu- larly, Christ's summary of His mountain teaching as set forth in His own golden rule. It is Jesus Christ's posiiive contribution to sociology, or the philosophy of society. Without loitering amid minute classification, it is enough to say that the various theories of society niaj', substantially s|)eaking, be reduced to two. The first theory, to borrow a term from chemistry, is the atomic. It proceeds on the assumption that men are a mass of separated units or independent Adams, having no common bond of organic union or interfunctional connection. Pushing to the xtreme the idea of indi- vidualism, its tendency is egotistic, ilisjunctive, chaotic. The second theory, to borrow again from chemistry, is the molo:- ular. It [jioceeds on the assumption thai there is such an actuality as mankind, and this mankind i>, so to speak, one colossal pirson ; (.ach individual membei thereof forming a \ital com|)oueiit, a fiuictioiial factor in the one great organism, so that membership in societ)' is uni- versal, mutual, co-membership. Recognizing each iiuiividual of man- kind as a c<-)nstituent member of the one great human cori)us, its ten dcncy is altruistic, co-operati\e, constructive. Us motto is, " We arc members one of another." It is the theory of Jesus Christ and those who are His. 1 say, then, that it is Jesus Christ Himself who has g-ven us the key to that greatest of modern problems— the problem of sociology. Do you not see, then, that when every human being throughout the world THE WORLDS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. <>bcys our Master's golden rule, all mankind will, indeed, become one glorious unity? Or take Christ's doctrine of neighborhood, as set forth in His parable of the good Samaritan. According to this parable neighbor- hood does not consist in local nearness; it is not a matter of ward, city, state, nation, continent; it is a matter of glad readiness to relieve tlistress wherever found. Jesus transfigures physical neighborhood into moral, abolishing the word "foreigner," making "the whole world kin." " Mankind," what is it but "Man-kinned? " How subtle Shakespeare's play on words when he makes Hamlet whisper aside in presence of his royal but brutal uncle : A little 1111)10 tluiii kill and less than kind. Or take Christ's doctrine of mankind as set iorth in His own missionary commission. After two thousand years of an exclusively Jewish religion the risen Lord bids His countrymen go forth into all the world and preach the Gospel of reconciliation to every creature, discipling to Himself every nation under heaven. How majestically the son of Abrahani dilates into the .Son of Man. How heroically His great apostle to the gentiles, .St. I'aul, sought to carry out his Master's missionary commission. In fact, the mission of Paul Was a reversal of the mission of y\braham. Great was Abraham's call ; but it was a call to become the fouiulcr of a single nationality and an isolated religion, (ireater was I'aul's call, for it was the call to become the founder, imder the St)ii of Man, of a universal brotherhood aiul a cosnuipolitan religion. He himself was the first conspicuous human illustration of his Master's parable of the gootl .Samaritan. And so he sent forth into all the world of the vast Roman empire aniunmcing, it might almost be said in literal truth, to every creature luuler heaven the glad tidings of mankind's reconciliation in Jesus Christ. In the matter of the " solidarity of the nations," Paul, the Jew apostle to the Gentiles, towers over every other human hero, being himself the first conspicuous human deputy to the parliament of man, the federation of the world. Do you, then, not see that when every human being believes in Christ's doctrine of mankind, as set forth in His missionary commis- sion, all niankiiul will indeed become one blessed unity? Or take Christ's doctrine of the church, as set forth in His own parable of the sheep and the goats - a wonderful parable, the magnifi- cent catholicity of which we miss, because our commentators and the- ologians, in their anxiety for standards, insist on applying it only to the good and the bad living in Christian lau''^, whereas it is a parable of all nations in all times. Wliat unspeakable catholicity on the part of the Son of Man! Oh, that His church had caught more of His spirit; even as His Apostle Peter did when, discerning the unconscious Christianity of heathen Cornelius, he exclaimed: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but that in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to Him." Paul the Ha- man Hero. ■ 1 1' I I I li I'i ■>■■) 244 ?'//£ IVORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. % Do you sec, then, that when every human being recognizes in every ministering service to others a personal ministry to Jesus Christ Himself, all mankind will indeed become one blessed unity? o , Once more, and in a general summarj' of Christ's teachinir, take Summary <)f ,,. .^ r ^i i 4. r i.i • ii- ^ .1 1 . rhriHt's Teach- His own cpitome ot the law as set forth m His answer to the lawyers ""**■ question: " IMaster, which is the greatest of the commandments?" And the Master's answer was this: "Thou shalt love tlij Lord thy God 'vith all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with rJl thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first and great commanilment. And a second like unto it is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thjself. On these two commandments hangeth the whole law and the prophets." Not that these two commandments are really two; they arc simpi\' a twofold commandment ; each is the complement of the other ; both being the obverse and the reverse legends engraved on the golden medallion of God's will. In other words, there is no real difference between Christianity and moralil)-, for Christianity is morality looking (iodward ; morality is Christianity looking inanuartl. Christianity is morality celestialized. Thus on this twofold command- ment of love to God and lo\e to man hangs, as a mighty portal hangs on its two massive hinges, not only the whole Bible from (iciiesis to Apocalypse, but also all true morality, natural as well as revealed, or, to express myself in language suggested by the undulatory theory : Love is the ethereal medium pervading God's moral uni\erse, i)y means of which are propagated the motions of His impulses, tlu- heat of His grace, the light of I lis truth, the electricit\' of 1 lis activities, the mag- netism of His nature, the affinities of His character, the gravitation of His will. In brief, love is the \ery definition of Deity Himself: "God is lo\c; and he that abideth in love abideth in God and (lod in him." " I'm ai)t to tliiiik tlic man' That loiild .surrmiiHl tlic ^^llm of tliiiij,fs, ami spy 'I'he lifart of ( ]ih\, and secrets of His einitire, Would speak hut love. With him the bright result Would ( haii,i;e liie iuic of intermeiliate S( eiies, And make one thiii^ of all tiieoloiry." Do you not, then, see that when every human being loves the Lord his God witii all his heart, and his neighbor as his own self all mankind will indeed lecome one blessed imity? Jesus Christ is iniii\ing mankind by His own ilcath. Tasting, by the grace of (iod. death for every man, He became by that death the |-)ro|)itiatioii, not only for the sins of the Jew, but also for the sins of the whole world. Antl in thus taking away the sin of the whole world by reconciling in Himself (iod to man and man to God, He is also reconciling man to man. What though His reconciliation has been slov.', ages have elapsed since He laid dow n His own life for the life of the world, and the world still rife with wars and rumors of wars, underrate not the reconciling, fusing power of our iMediator's blood. ,«^!;i, THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 245 Recall the memorable prophecy of the high priest Caiaphas, when he counseled the death of Jesus on the ground of the public necessity: "Ye know noth'ng at all, nor do yc take account that it is expedi- ent for you, that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not." But the Holy Ghost was upon the sacrilegious pontiff, though he knew it not, and so he builded larger than he knew. Meaning a nar- row Jewish polii.)-, he pronounced a magnificently catholic prediction: Now this he said not of himself; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; and not for the nation only, but that lie might also gather together (.synagogue) into one the children of God that are scattered abroad. Accordingly, the moment that the Son of Man bowed i lis head and gave back I lis spirit to liis l"'ather, the veil of the temjile was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; thus signifying that the way into the true Holy of Holies was henceforth open to all mankind alike; to Roman Clement as well as to Hebrew IVter; to Greek Athanasius as well as to Hebrew Jt)lin; to Indian Khrishnu I'al as well as to Hebrew Paul. l'"or in Christ Jesus, Gentiles, wlio were once far off, are made nigh; for He is the uorlil's peace, making both Jews and non-Jews one body, breaking down the midiUe wall of partition between them, hav- ing abolished t)n His own cross the emiiity, that He might create in Himself of the twain, Jews ami non Jews, one new man, even mankind Christiani/.i'd into one unity, so making peace. Thus the cross declares the brotherhood ol :nan, under the l'"atherhooil of (iod, in the .Son- hood of Christ. A\e, Jcsiis Christ is the unifier of inankind. Jesus Christ is unifj'ing mankind hy His own i:iimortality. I''or wc Christians do not worship a deail. embalmeil l.)eil\ . Ibe .Son uf ]\I;in has burst the bars of death and is alive for evermore, holding in His own grasp the keys of liades. The foUowi of Buddha, if I mistake not, claim that Nirvana, that state of existeroe so nebulous that we cannot tell whether it means simple unconsciousness or total ex- tinction, is the supremest goal of aspiration; and tli.ii even Buddha himself is no longer a self-conscious person, but has him elf attain^ 1 JUiddhahood, or Nirvana. On the other hand, the followers of Jesu.T claim til. a He is still alive, sitting at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. from henceforth expecting, till I le make 1 lis foes I lis foot- stool. lh)lding personal communion with Him, His disciples f i ( ! the inspiration of His vitali/ing touch, and, therefore, are ever waking to broader thoughts and diviner catholicities. As He llimself promised. He is with His followers to the en r livermtiro. 11 1 it l! ! m !■ 2M> rilE WORLD'S COXGRESS OF KEUGIOSS. ''I H« !lll t i TheOneUni versul Man inent; in brief, to uprcar out of the debris of human cliaos the one august teinnle of the new mankind in Jesus Christ. Thus the Son of Man, by His own incarnation, by His own teach- ings, by His own death, by His own immortality, is most surely unify- ing mankind. And the Son of Man is the sole unifier of mankind. Huddha was in many resjiects very noble, but he and his religion are Asiatic. W'iiat has liudilha done for the unity of mankind? Mohammed taught some very noble truths, but Mohammedanism is fragmental aiui antithetic. Why have not his followers invited us to meet at Mecca? Jesus Christ is the one univcrs'd man, and therefore it is that tiie lirst parliament of religions is meeting in a Christian land, un- der Christian auspices. Jesus Christ is the sole l)ond of the human race; the one nexus of the nations, the great vertebral column of the one body of mankind. He it is who by His own pcrsonalit) is Ijridg- ing the ri\ers of languages, tunneling the mountains of caste, dismnn- tling the fortresses of nations, spanning the seas of races, incorpo- rating all iiuman \arieties into one majestic tem])le-bod\- of mankind. For Jesus Christ is the true center of gravitw and it is oidy as the forces of mankind arc pivt^tetl on Him that they are in !)alance. i\iul the oscillations of mankind are perceptibl\- shortening as the time of the promised equilibrium draws near. There, as on a great white throne, serenely sits the swordless King of ages Himself both tiie an- cient and the infant of days -cahnl\- abiding the centuries, mendingthe bruised reed, fanning tiie ilx'ing wick, sending forth righteousness un- to victory; there lie sits, e\ermore drawing niankiiul nearer and nearer Himself; and as they approach I sec tiiem dropping the s])ear, wa\ ing the oli\e ijranch, arranging themseKes in symmetric, siiining, raptur- ous groups around the divine .Son of Man. He HiiiiseU being tiieir ever- iastincf mount of beatitudes. ( i ^1 ' Down the dark future, ttirou^h loiifj KeiicrjUioiis. Tlie echoing smincls j^row fainter ;nnl then cease; And like a hell, with solemn, sweet vihrations, 1 hear once more the voice of Christ say "I'eace." Peace, and no longer from its Kr.'izen portals The blast of War's ^;rcat or^^.m sliakes the skies; Hut beautiful as souths i.l the iiuinoitals The holy melodies of love arise ^.»-*' '•.1 -1" V •*f»*' tzm.. The Church of St. John the Baptist, Samaria. H ;H '•! ! t ■: I li i I . i 1 1 1 j:.| 1 41 ■' ' 'ill i ! 'i\!SS\ ilii'Sl j ■ : ' ' ' ■ : J il r I UnivprMil UiviuH Liove. f^econciliation V^^^^ Not \^icarious. Paper by REV. THEODORE F. WRIGHT, Ph. D. HERE are certain dicta of Scripture which are universal because fundamental, and fundamen- tal because universal. One of these is that saying of the Apostle John, "God is Love, and he that dwelleth in Love dvvelleth in God and God in him." Once of sympathies so narrow that he was for bringing fire from heaven down upon a village which would not receive his Lord as He journeyed, he was now so tenderly conscious of the Infinite Love which had sought him out and gathered him, that he could say: "He that lovcth not knoweth not God, for God is love; beloved, if God so love us, we also ought to love one another." John had attained to this conviction by the process of religious experience Others have seen the same infinite fact written in vernal fields and ripening harvests. Others find it in the intricate harmony of natural forces. Thev all see that there is as the center and source of life a fountain of fatlieiliness which is even begetting and nurturing, so that, indeed, we cannot conceive of tiie idle God, the neglectful God or the God of limitcil interests. Our minds will not work until we i>lace before tiiem the ever-creating God who neither slumbers nor sleeps; the ever pres- ent Help. "I'eradventure He sleepeth" might be said of Haal, for there was no answer; but when Elijah called on the God of Abraham, of Isaac a. id of Israel, "the fire of the Lord fell." It is in the light of this fact of the universal Divine Love that the fallen condition of man finds its remedy disclosed. There may have been a time when this light was so dim that Judaism fancied its God a partisan, and a regressive Christianity thought that it had ascer- tained the limits of the Divine care, but now we know that God is one, and that "His tender mercies are over all His works." This being so, it is true to say that fallen man was succored by the same love that created him. The father of the prodigal does not sulk in his tent while some elder brother is left to search out the wanderer and bring THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 249 him in, pointing to the wounds he got in rescuing him as a means of softening the heart of the father; nay, the father watches the patliway with longings, and sends his love after the boy, and when the way- ward one is yet a great way off, he sees, he hath compassion, lie runs, he ialls on his neck, he kisses him, he bids them bring the robe, the ling, the shoes, the fatted calf, he reproves the cold vindictivcness of llie elder brother, he is all she])herd-like. We need not dogmatize as to the fallen st.ite of man. Intellect- ually man has not fallen. He is as bright as he ever was. I le is grow- ing brighter. The evolution of the intellect is indisputable, liiit as to the will, what is man? Is he the worshiping child that he once was? Does he eagerly do the truth he learns, or does he find it necessary to compel iiiniself to do it? There is a degree of ignorance, of illiteracy, but it is easy to find a remedy for it in the common school. There is on every side a spectacle of lust and greed and indolence and selfishness, and our schools touch it not. We are making men shrewd, but we are not making them good. The human mind wants reaching in its ilepths. The moti\es behind our thinking want renewal, else mind life is like John Randolph's mackerel in the moonlight, which stank as it shone. So was man in the sad d/ys of Roman sensuality and Jewish hypocrisy, and so do our daih' chronicles testify today. The cure for the lost sheep is, to seek for it till it is found. " All we like shee|) have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.' (Is. liii, 6. ) The (piestion is: How should the I)i\ine Lord accomplish the purpose with which it must be teeming — the recovery of the lost state? ( )ur answer is in general, to say that the remeily was within the keeping of the infinite love and wisdom which had so far made and coiulucted man, orwe must hold some view which limits the Holy One of Israel. If God would come with any mercy He must descend to the place of the fallen. If He would conquer the evil with- out destroying them. He must contend with them on their own plane. To take upon Himself the nature born of woman would be His means of redemption. He must take on the office of Joshua, who led the peo- ple out of the wilderness into their inheritance. And a virgin con- ceived and bore a .Son, and called His name Jesus — that is Joshua. The wisdom or word of God was made flesh, so that wc behold the glory of the Father. It was the Father in the Son who did the works. How marvelously clear are the prophetic songs of Mary and Zacha- rias. She said: "My spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour. He hath showed strength with His arm. He hath holpen His serxant, Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spake to our fathers." And the father of the forerunner said: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people; that we, being deli\ered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve Him without fear all the days of our life; the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to theiii that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace." Therefore, John the Baptist proclaimed Him as "the Lamb of God that takcth away the sin of the world." and Fallen of Man. State Prophetic SongH of Mi'ry and Zauharias. m m 1 .1 250 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. r«- '4 ^! f: M ^ The Inoiri- tablo Conflict. therefore He bade His hearers prepare the way of Jehovah and make strait His path. Born of wonian, and so open to every temptation, He was early led to find the written word, His light of life. He went ahout His father's business by expoundinj^ it. Tried in the wiUierncss, He made no other answer than the law. Goinr.4 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. T 1 i 1 i M catiuD. Hi . : .1 " »Ji ' .fc'l ■ \\ ' ■■ \ 1- ll H of the parts afrainst tlie whole. This insurrectionary spirit is a personi- fication, a collectivity in a person, an act of sin-j,niilt. It is evil, l)iit not ^iiilt. Guilt comes in with the voluntary rebellion of the individual free spirit. Liberals have rebelled, but they simply blink the whole problem of evil and assert "there is no evil, man is divine." Man is not divine in actuality; he is in potentiality. Man is a rational animal. He is a divine animal. The animality is actual, until he develops the |)otentiality by voluntary co-operation with divine {^race. The first form of partial unification of the human race is the .es- thetic unification. The second step is the scientific uniticatioti; the third is the es.scntial; the fourth is the political unification bj' the es- tablishment of an international code for the settlement of all disputes by reason. The fifth will be the commercial and .social, the free cir- culation of all the component items of humanity through the whole of humanity. Our commerce, steamshi|)s, telefj[iaplis and telephone, The Boverai ''^'^*^' ''" f^^^th ; the ever increasinfj travel is rapidly bringing that about, 8t«t|)8in Uuifi. but the commercial spirit, as such, is cosmic, is selfish. Thev seek to make money out of others by the principle of profit, fjettin^ more than they should. The next partial form of unification is the ecoiu)mic. The economic unification of the human race will be what? The trans- fer of civilization from its pecuniary basis to the basis of labor. The whole effort of the human race must not be to purchase floods and sell them in order to make money. It must be to produce ^oods and distribute them on the principles of justice for the supply of human wants, without any profit. The pursuit of money is cosmic and hos- tile. The money I get nobody else can have, but the spirit of co- operation is unifying and universal, because in the spiritual order there is no division; there is nothing l)ut wholes. The knowledge I have all may have, without division. And when we work in co-operation, in- stead of antagonism, in producing and distributing the goods of this life, the interest of all men will be one, namely, to reduce cost to the minimum and increase product to the maximum. That will abolish waste and make the whole earth one in interest, while now they are bristling wit'h hostility. There arc three in unity, if I may so speak, unification of the whole race, for which seven is whole, the whole made up of six preceding distinctions. Now the seventh is a trinity. Let us see what arc the three. We have the philosophical unification and the theological uni- fication, and the unity of those is the religious unification. Let me define. Philosophy is the science of ultimate ground. Theology is the science of the first principle. The unity of those two, transfused through the whole personality and applied as the dominant spirit of life in the regulation of conduct through all its demands, is religion. That is the pure, absolute, universal religion in which all can agree. The first great obstacle to overcome is our environment — our so- cial environment. Our social environment, instead of being redeemed, instead of representing the archetype mind of God, the redemptive, is cosmic, and it is utterly vain for us to go and preach Christianity, El THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. when just as fast as wc utter these precepts they arc neutralized by the atmospheric cnviroiuucnts in which they pass. The [,'reat anti-Christ of tile world is the unchristian character and conduct of Christendom. All through Christendom we i)reach and profess one set of precepts and practice the opposite. \Ve say, "Seek ye first the kinjfdom of heaven and righteousness, and all elsi/ shall he added unto us." We put the kiuffdom of heaven ami its rijrhteousness in the background and work like so many incarnate devils for every form of self-jfratifi- cation. The j^reat obstacle to the religious unification of the liuman race is the irreligious always associated and often identified with the relig- ious, There are three great specifications of that. First, hatred is a made religion. Did not the Hrahmans and the Mohammedans slaugh- ter each other in the streets of Bombay a few days ago, hating each other more than they loved the generic humanity or God? Did not the Catholics and I'rotestants struggle together furiously and come near committing murder in Montreal and Toronto a few days ago? All over the world the hatred of the professors of religion for one an- other is irreligion injected into the very core of religion. That is fatal. Rites and ceremonies arc not religion. A man may repeat the soundest creed verbally a hunilred times a day for twenty years. He may cross himself three times and bend his knee and bow his head, and still be full of pride and vanity; or he may omit those ceremonies and retreat to himself into his closet and shut the door, and in strug- gle w ith God efface his egoism and receive the divine spirit. That is religion, and so on through other manifestations. We must arrive at pure, rational, universal interpretations t)f all the dogmas of theology, \\'e must interpret every dogma in such a way that it will agree with all other dogmas in a free circulation of the distinctions through the unity. Then the human race can be united on that. They never can on the other. We must put the pre|)onderating emphasis, without any division, on the ethical aspects of religion instead of on the spcc- ulati\e. l''ormerl\', it was just the other way. We are rapidly coming to that. The liberalists began their protests against the Catholic and evangelical theology by supporting the ethical, emphasizing charac- ter and conduct. \S\\i all the churches now recognize that a man must have a good character, that he must behave himself properly, morally. There is not one that doubts or questions it. These have become commonplaces, and yet the liberals stay right there and don't move a step. Liberalism thus far has been ethical and shallow. lu'angelicanism has been dogmatic, tyrannical and cruel, to some extent irrational, but it has always been profound. It has battled with the real problems which the liberalists have simi)ly blinked at, and settled these prob- lems in universal agreement. For example, the doctrine of the fall of Adam, There was a real problem. The world is full of evil; God is perfect; he could not create imperfections. How happened it? Why, ObRtaclei to Religion. \ ■ mmm n CMMHBMNte^'t,. . 250 i) » : 1 V : i 1^1! Redemption Must lie Real- izeil on Earth. ; J |: r///S WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. man was created all right, but he fell. It was an amazi*^;;'/ original, subtle and protc und stroke to settle a real problem. The liberals came up and, saying it was not the true solution, they blinked at the prob- lem and denied that it existed. Now the real solution seems to me is not that the evils in the universe have come from a fall. The fall of an archdemoniac spirit in heaven does not settle the problem; it only moves it back one step. How did he fall? Why did he fall? There can be no fall in the archetypal of God. Creatures were created in freedom to choose between good and evil in order that thr )ugli their freedom and the discipline of struggle with evil they migut become the perfected and redeemed images of God. That set- tles the problem and we can all agree on that. Of course you want an hour to expound it. This hint may seem absurd, but there is more in it. Finally, I want to say we must change the emphasis, from the world of death to this world. Redemption must not be postponed to the future. It must be realized on the earth. I don't think it is heresy to say that we must not confine the idea of Christ to the mere historic individual, Jesus of Nazareth; but \vc must consic'er that Christ is not merely the individual. He is the completed ger us incarnate. He is the absolute generic unity of the human race in inanifestation. Therefore, he is not the follower of other men, but their di 'ine exem- plar. We must not limit our worship of Christ to the mere historic person, but must sec in the individual person the perfected genus of the divine humanity which is God Himself, and realize that that is to be multiplied. It cannot be div ided, but it may be multiplied commen- suratcly with the dimensions of the whole human race. 11 it'r Tfhe fSleed of a \Yider Co^^^P^^o" of Revelation, or Lessons from the Sacred B^o^^ of the \Yorld. Paper by PROF. J. ESTLIN CARPENTER, of Oxford. HE congress which I have the honor to address in this paper is a unique assemblage. It could not have met before the nineteenth century, and no country in the world possesses the needful boldness of conception and organiz- ing energy save the United States of America. History does indeed record other endeavors to bring the religions of the world into line. The Christian fathers of the fourth century credited Demetrius Phalereus, the large- minded librarian of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 250 H. C, with the attempt to procure the sacred books, not only of the Jews, but also of the Ethiopians, Indians, Persians, P.lamites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Romans, Phoenicians, Syrians and Greeks. The great iMuj^M^r Akbar (the contemporary of Queen I{lizabeth) invited to his court Jews, Christians, Mohammedans, Hrahmans and Zoroastrians. He listened to their discussions, he weighed their argumentij, until (says one of the native historians) there grew gradually as the outline on a stone the conviction in his heart that there were sensible men in all relig- ions. Different indeed is this from the court condemnation by the English lexicographer, Samuel Johnson, who said a hundred years ago: "There are two objects of curiosity — the Christian world and the EeligioM^' "* Mohammedan world; all the rest maybe considered barbarous." This' congress meets, I trust, in the spirit of that wise old man v.ho wrote:! "One is born a Pagan, another a Jew, a third a Mussulman. The true philosopher sees in each a fellow seeking after God." With this con-{ viction of the sympathy of religions, I offer some remarks founded on the study of the world's sacred books. n 257 f! :'■ I ! i III ■ ^1; Kit ■ii ill I; i III* I I ! 1 ,1 ' ' ; '' i i 1 i , f 1 • t 1 .1 ■ ' , j 'H ' .i' S ,f j i ! P ^ 1 ' ! I illM:. ri 258 77/ir WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. V3 ~\>' V. I will not stop to define a sacred book, or distinguish it from [those which, like the "Imitatio Christi," the "Theologia Gcnnanica," ( or "Pilgrim's Progress," have deeply influenced Christian thought or ' feeling. It is enough to observe that the significance of great collec- ' tions of religious literature cannot be overestimated. As .soon as a jfaith produces a scripture, /. i\, a book invested with legal or other 'jauthority, no matter on lunv lowly a scale, it at once acquires an cle- knent of permanence. Such permanence has both advantages and dan- gers. First of all, it provides the great sustenance for religious affec- tion; it protects a young and growing religion from too rapid change through contact with foreign influences; it settles a base for future in- ternal development; it secures a certain stabilit)'; it fi.xes a standard of belief, consolidates the moral type. It has been sometimes argued that if the Gospels had never been ^ written, the Christian church which existed for a generation ere they were composed, would still have transmitted its orders and administered J its sacraments, and lived on by its great tradition. But where would/ have been the image of Jesus enshrined in these brief records? How could it have sunk into the heart of nations and served as the impulse and the goal of endeavor, unexhausted in Christendom after eighteen A Nation centuries.'' The diversity of the religions of Greece, their tendency to | uires*"* ^"*^ P**^-^ '"**^ ^"*^ another, the ease with which new cults obtained a foot-' ing in Rome, the decline of any vital faith during the last days of the republic, supply abundant illustrations of the religious weakness of a nation without scriptures. On the other hand, the dangers are obvious. The letter takes the place of the spirit, the transitory is confused with the permanent, the occasional is made universal, the local and tem- poral is erected into the everlasting and absolute. The sacred book is indispensable for the missionary religion. Even Judaism, imperfect as was its development in this direction, dis- covered this as the Greek version of the seventy made its way along the IMeiliterranean. Take the Koran from Islam, and where would have been its conquering power? Read the records of the heroic . labors of the Buddhist missionaries and of the devoted toil of HnmcU'Bt Eie- the Chinese pilgrims to India in search of copies of the holy books; in...it f.t H.'ve- yQ^, j^,.jy, j-jj^. ^^ ^ j^j^^ ^y understanti the enthusiasm with which they ga\e their lives to the reprotluction of the teachings of the Great Mas- ter; you will see how clear and immediate was the perception that the diffusion of the new religion depended on the translation of its scriptures. And now, one after another, our age has witnessed the resurrection of ancient literatures. Philology has put the key of language into our hands. Shrine after shrine in the world's great tenq)le has been entered; the songs of praise, the commands of law, the litanies of peni- tence, have been fetched from the tombs of the Nile or the mounds of Mesopotamia, or the sanctuaries of the Ganges. The Bible of hu- manity has been recorded. What will it teach us? I desire to suggest to this congress that it brings home the need of a conception of revel- ation unconfined to any particular religion, but capable of application liitum. ' m wm THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 259 r\.-.\jy o-' in diverse modes to all. Suffer me to illustrate this very briefly under three heads: First, ideas of ethics; second, ideas of inspiration; third, ideas of incarnation. ; The sacred books of the world are necessarily varied in character! and contents. Yet no group of scriptures fails to recognize, in thq long run, the supreme importance of conduct. Here is that which, in the control of action, speech and thought, is of the highest signifi- cance for life. This consciousness sometimes lights up even the most arid wastes of sacrificial detail. All nations do not pass through the same stages of moral evolu- tion within the same periods, or mark them by the same crises. The The Develop, development of one is slower, of another more swift. One people evolution, seems to remain stationary for millenniums, another advances with each century But in so far as they have both consciously reached the same moral relations and attained the same insight, the ethical truth which , < they have gained has the same validity. Enter an Egyptian tomb of the century of Moses' birth and you will find that the .soul, as it came before the judges in the other world, was summoned to declare its in- nocence in such word-s as these: "I am not a doer of what is wrong, I am not a robber, I am not a murderer, 1 am not a liar, I am not un- chaste, I am not the causer ot others' tears." Is the standard of duty here implied less noble than that of the decalogue? Are we to depress^ the one as human and exalt the other as divine? More than five hun-' drcd years before Christ the Chinese sage, Lao Tsze, bade his disciples, \ "Recompense injury with kindness," and at the same great era, faithful/ in noble utterance, Gautama, the Buddha, said, "Let man overcome' anger by liberality and the liar by truth." Is this less a revelation of \ a higher ideal than the injunction ot Jesus, "Resist not evil, but who- \ soever smitcth thee on thy right check turn to him the other also?" The fact surely is that we cannot draw any partition line through the phenomena of the moral life and affirm that on one side lie tlie gen- eralizations of earthly reasons and on the other the declarations of heavenly truth. The utterances in which the heart of man has em- bodied its glimpses of the higher vision are not all of equal merit, but they must be explained in the same way. The moralists of the flowery land, even before Confucius, were not slow to perceive this, though they could not apply it over .so wide a range as that now open to us. Heaven in giving birth to the multitudes of the people to every faculty and relationship affixed its law. The people possess this normal virtue. In the ancieni "-^cords gathered up in the Shu King, the Duke of | Chow related hew Ilea would not follow the leading of .ShangTi.i supreme ruler of God. "In the daily business of life and the most! common actions," wrote the commentator, "we feel, as it were, an] influence exerted on the intelligence, the emotions and the heart./ Even the most stupid are not without their gleams of light." This is the leading idea of Ti, and there is no place where it is not felt. Modern ethical theory, in the forms which it has assumed at the hands of Butler, Kant and Martineau, recognizes this element. Its relation m ■biMUIIMWIUiuM;*)).' .^,. . 260 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. < > • VA. V' I ? \ i 'i 1 i Tln>t(li)« Many but ligiou One. to the whole j)hik)Sopliy of reUgion will no doubt be discussed by other s])e;ikers at this congress. Suffer me in brief to state my conviction that the authority of con- science oiil)- receives its full e.\[)lanation when it is atlmitted that that difference which we desit^iuite in ft)rnis of "higher" and "lower" is not of our own making. It issues forth from our own nature because it has been fust implanted w ithin it. It is a speech to our souls of a loftier \()ice, grow ing clearer and more articulate as thought grows wider ami feeling more pure. It is, in fact, the witness of God within V us; it is the sell-manifestation of His righteousness, so that in the com- mon terms of universal moral experience lies the first and broadest cle- ment of Revelation. lUit ma\' we not appl)'the same tests, the worth of belief, the genuineness of feeling, to more special cases? If the divine life shows itself forth in the development of conscience, may it not be traced also in the slow rise of a nation's thought of (iod, or in the swifter response of nobler minds to the appeal of heaven? The fact is, that man is so conscious of his weakness that in his earlier days all higher knowledge, the gifts of language anil letters, the discovery of the crafts, the inventions of civilization, poetry and song, art, law, phi- losoph)', bear about them the stamp of the superhuman. "From thee," sang Pindar ( nearest u( (ireeks to 1 lebrew prophecy), "cometh all high excellence to nu)rtals." .Such love is, in fact, the teaching of the unseen, the manifestati(jn of the infinite in our mortal ken. If this conception of pnnidential guidance be true in the broad sphere of human intelligence, does it cease to be true in the realm of religious thought? Read one of the I'^gyptian h\-mns laid in the believer's cof- fin ere Moses was born: " Praise to Amen-Ra, the good God beloved, the ancient of heavens, the oklest of the earth, Lord of Paternity, Maker Kverlasting. He is the Causer of pleasure and light. Maker of grass for the cattle and of fruitful trees for man, causing the fish to live in the river and the birds to fill the air, lying awake when all men sleep to seek out the good of 11 is creatures. We worship Thy spirit whoaione hast made us; we, whom Ihou h.is made, thank Thee that Thou hast given us birth J wc give Thee praises for Thy merc\- to us." Is this less inspired than a Hebrew psalm? .Study that antique record of all the Zaratluistra in the (iathas, which all scholars receive as the oldest part of the Y.cnd Avesta. Does it not rest on a religious experience similar in kind to that of Isaiah? Tlieologies may be many, but religion is but one. It was after this that the \'edic seers were groping when the}' looked at the varied wor- ship around them and cried: "They call Him India, Mitra, Varuna, Kc" -^^^"i' ■'^'i.i,^'-"^ name \ariousIy Him who is but one;" or again, "the sages in their hymns give many forms to Him who is but one." It was this essential fact with which the early Christians were confronted as they saw that the (ireek poets and philosophers had reached truths about the being of God not at all unlike those of Moses and the prophets. Their solution was worthy ot the freedom and universality of the spirit of THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 261 Jesus. They were for recop[nizinff and welcomirifj truth wherever they found it, and they referred it without hesitation to the ultimate source of wisdom and knowledj^e, the Lotjjos, at once the minor thouj^ht and the uttered word of (iod. The niart)r Justin affirmed that the Logos' had worked through Socrates, as it had been i)resent in Jesus; na>', with a wider outlook he spoke of the seed of the Lofjos implanted in every race of man. In virtue of this fellowship, therefore, all truth was rev- elation and akin to Christ Himself. "Whatsoever things were said among all men are the property of us Christians." The yMexandrian teachers shared the same conception. The divine intelligence per- vaded human life and history and showed itself in all that was best in beauty, goodness, truth. The way of truth was like amighty river ever flowing, and as it passeil it was ever receiving fresh streamson this side and that. Nay, so clear in Clement's view was the work of Greek phi- losophy that he not onl\' reganled it like L;iw and {i()si)el as a gift of God, it was an actu.tl covenant as much as that of Sinai, possessed of its own justifying power, or following the great generalization of St. I'aul. The law was a tutor to bring the Jews to Christ. Clement added that philosophy wrought the same heaven-appointed service for the Greeks. May we not use the same great conception over other fields of the history of religion? "In all ages," aflirmed the author of the wisdom of .Solomon, "wisdom entering iiitodioh' souls maketh them friends of God and prophets." .So \\c ma\' claim in its widest applica- tion the saying of Mohammed: "Kver\- nation has a creator of the heavens- to which they turn in praj'er it is Ciod who turneth them toward it. 1 lasten, then, emuk)usly after gootl wheresoever ye be. God will one day bring you all together." We shall no longer, then, speak like a distinguished Oxford pro- fe.ssor of the three chief false religions -Hrahmanism, Huddhism, Islam. In so far as tlie soul discerns Ciod. the reverence, adoration, trust, whi(;h constitute the moral and spiritual elements of its faith, are in fact identical through every variety of creed. They may be more or less clearly articulate, less or nu)re crude and confused, or pure and elevated, but they are in substance the same. "In the adoration and beneilictions of righteous men," said the poet of the Masnavi-i-Mana\i, "the praises are mingled into one stream; all the vessels are emptietl into one ewer; because lie that is prai.sed is in fact only one. In this respect all religions arc only one religion. Can the same thought be carried one step farther? If in- spiration be a world-wide process unconfmed by specific limits of one people, or one book, may the same be saiil of the iilea of incarnation? Theconception of incarnation has man\' lorms, anil in different theol- ogies serves various emis. Hut they all possess one feature in common. Among the functions of the manifestatii)n of the divine man is instruc- tion; his life is in some senseor otlu-r a mode of revelation. Study the various legends belonging to Central America, of which the beautiful story of the Mexican Ouet/alc* ^fl ^i«^ African Mission Children of the Upper Congo, Ity pi'iMiissiini of Mr. Win. S. C'lu'riy. i I ■i r r r * i I .I ^MIP 'i: ■ 1 li r:\ !i I ; ■ t J 4 , ■ ^^1 . i H t H 1 *, t -1 : >i ■■'i^r :! , •Hi K| f j";^, ! ||i: ^ ! Fonnded on Beli^ions Tol« eration. fhe Synipathy oLReligions. Address by COL. T. W. HIGGINSON, of Cambridge. AM sorry to sec that our chairman keeps up a practice, in the introduction of many gentle- men with long names from many other coun- tries, of heaping injudicious epithets upon them with a result that could silence anybody but an American. [Laughter.] It is interesting to think, as a result of his great labors and your sympathy, that all over this land probably ^- fM^H^^^^H»r- hundreds of pulpits were making this parlia- ^ >X^^^h^HH^^ ment of religions their topic for discussion yes- terday. All over this land there were discus- sions varying in a range only to be equaled by the range of the parliament itself. Some of those discussions had a breadth and grasp, no doubt, worthy of their subject; others among those discussions had a concentrated narrowness and pettiness which could only be illustrated by what a Washington lady said about the English statesman, Mr. Chamberlain, after his residence there. "He is a nice man," she said, "but he doesn't know how to dance. He takes steps so small that you'd think he had practiced on a postage stamp." [Laughter.] Amid all that range of discussion, how few there probably were who recognized that this is, after all, not the first American parliament of religions, but that the first parliament was coincident with the very foundation of this government and was accepted in illustration of its workings. When in 1788 the constitution of the United States was adopted and a commemorative procession of 5,000 people took place in Phila- t delphia, then the seat of government, a place in the triumphal march was assigned to the clergy, and the Jewish rabbi of the city walked between two Christian ministers, to show that the new republic was founded on religious toleration It seems strange that no historical , painter, up to this time, has selected for his theme that fine incident. ' It should nave been perpetuated in art, like the landing of the Pilgrims or Washington crossing the Delaware. And side by side with it might well be painted the twin event which occurred nearly a hundred years WBo afBimrr sx: ■*«*r*i TJ/E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 265 later, in a Mohammedan country, when in 1875 Ismael Pasha, then khedive of Egypt, celebrating by a procession of two hundred thous- and people the obsequies of his beloved and only daughter, placed the Mohammedan priests and Christian missionaries together in the pro- cession, on the avowed ground that they served the same God, and that he desired for his daughter's soul the prayers of all. During the interval between these two great symbolic acts, the world of thought was revolutionized by modern science, and the very fact of religion, the very existence of a divine power, was for a time questioned. Science rose, like the caged Afreet in the Arabian stoiy, and filled the sky. Then more powerful than the Afreet, it accepted its own limitations and achieved its greatest triumph in voluntarily reducing its claims. .Supposed by many to have dethroned religion forever, it now offers to dethrone itself and to yield place to imagina- tive aspiration, a world outside of science, as its superior. This was done most conclusively when Professor Tyndall, at the close of his lielfast address, uttered that fine statement, by which he will perhaps be longest remembered, that religion belongs not to tiie knowing pow- ers of man, but to his creative powers. It was an epoch-making sen- tence. If knowing is to be the only religions standard, there is no middle ground between the spiritual despair of the mere agnostic and the utter merging of one's individual reason in some great organized church — the Roman Catholic, the Greek Catholic, the Mohanuiicdan, the lUiddhist. Hut if human aspiration, or in other words, man's creative imagination, is to be the standard, the humblest individual thinker may retain the essence of religion and may, moreover, have not only one of these vast faiths but all of them at his side. Kach of them alone is partial, limited, unsatisfying. Among all these vast structures of spiritual organization there is .sympathy. It lies not in what they know, for they are alike, in a scientific sense, in knowing nothing. Their point of sympathy lies in what they have sublimely created through longing imagination. In all these faiths is the same alloy of human superstition, the same fables of miracle and prophecy, the same signs and wonders, the same perpetual births and resurrections. In point of knowledge all are help- less; in point of credulity, all puerile; in point of aspiration, all sub- lime. All seek after God, if haply they might find Him. All, more-j over, look around for some human life, more exalted than the rest, which may be taken as God's highest reflection. Terror leads them to imagine demons, hungry to destroy, but hopf^ creates for them redeem- ers mighty to save. Buddha, the prince, steps from his station; Jesus, the carpenter's Son, from His, and both give their lives for the service of man. That the good thus prevails above the evil is what makes religion — even the conventional and established religion — a step for- ward, not backward, in the history of man. Every great medieval structure in Christian Europe recalls in its architecture the extremes of hope and fear. Above the main doors of 18 I ' I ; I Modern Science. .^■n MA W f-iif ' ^ " --- 266 77/A" n'OIiUrS COAGNESS OF liELIGJONS. i) B'! • ■ ' lloiieiiud Fear. Kxcrrigo tllf IlIlllK (ion. / \r the cathedral of Xotrc Dame, hi Paris, stran'pe, ilistorted with evil [)assions, we saw in striking contrast here and there an image of the contemplative Huddha, with beautiful, c.ilm features, pure and pitiful, such as they have been handed down by painting and sculpture for two thousand years, and which the Lamas (|)riests), with all their perverted imagination, have never ventured t change when designing an idol of the (ireat Incarnation," The need of this high e.xercise of the imagination is shown even inii- ^y ^^^^ regrets of those who, in their devotion to i)ure science, are least willing to share it. The penalties of a total alienation from the relig- ious life of the world are perhaps severer than even those of sujjer- stition. 1 know a woman who, passing in early childhood from the gentle- ness of a Roman Catholic convent to a severel)' evangelical boarding- school, recalls distinctly how she used in her own room to light matches and smell of the sulphur, in order to get used to what she supposed to- be her doom. Time and the grace of (iod, as she thought, saved her from such terrors at last; but what chance of removal has the gloom of the sincere agnostic of the Clifford or Ambcrley type, wlio looks out upon a universe impoverished by the death of Deity? The pure and high-minded Clifford said: "We have seen the spring sun shine out of an empty heaven upon a soulless earth, and we have felt with utter loneliness that the (ireat Companion was dead." "In giving it up" (the belief in God and immortality), wrote Viscount Amberley, whom I knew in his generous and enthusiastic \outh, with that equally high-minded and more gifted wife, both so soon to be re- moved by death, "We are resigning a balm for the wounded spirit, for which it would be hard to find an equivalent in all the repertories of science and in all the treasures of philosophy." It is in escaping this dire tragedy- in believing that what we cease to hold by knowledge we can at least retain by aspiration — that the sympathy of religions comes in to help us. That sympathy unites the kindred aspirations of the human race. No man knows God; all strive with their highest powers to create Him by aspiration; and we THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. SO* id by Is sit s, like s aiul uul 1 hilc 1 And ir, but ory of L'scrib- riciul?> jil with a^c of re ami iilpture 11 their siynin^ ,n even vie least le reliu'- f super- : ^entle- Darclin^- to li'f,dit vhat she as she lance ol ff(Mil or cl by the seen the 1, ami we is deatl." Viscount uth, with to i)C re- ;pirit, for rtories of what wc Ition— that thy unites ^ God; all ,n; and wc iced, in this vast effort, not the support of some single sect alone, like Roman Catholics or Buddhists, but the strength and sympathy of the human race. What brings us here today? What unites us? but that we are altogether seeking alter God, if haply we may find Ilim. We sliall liiid Him, if we find Him at all, individually; by opening each for himself the barrier between the created ami the Creator. If supernatural infallibility is gone forever, there reman what Stuart Mill called with grander baptism, supernatural hopes. It is the essence of , ,. . , a hope that it cannot be formulated or organized or made subject or Ho"«.."* "' conditional, on the hope of another All the vast mechanism of any scheme of salvation or religious hierarchy beconus powerless and insignificant beside the hope in a single human soul. Losing the sup- jjort of any organizetl human faith we become possessed of that which all faiths collectively seek. Their joint fellowship tjives more than the loss of any single fellowship takes away. We are all engaged in that magnificent work described in the Buddhist "Dhammapada," or. "Path of Light." "Make thyself an island; work hard, be wise." If each could but make himself an island, there would yet ajipcar at last above these waves of despair or doubt a continent fairer than Columbus won. ■v"' ;> i I II I lit i I ! I i I i : 1 1 1 («i If »■ ■ ' jf' ' T»j I in 4 i U^^^^H V^^^l V ^^ 1 J t* ii "* ^t k. .. -: r ' Bktj^^k^ ^ B'.-. • Wp ^1 1^ .jM :^^ ':..Jtadl _.. _i_i^A.Si_i^ _.«u«^«^-4i*tai*W*-.«»l*^^. i Rt. Rev. Bishop C. E. Cheney, Chicago. (Member General Committee.) ; fX t ■ \Yhat the £)ead f^eligions H^^^ B^' queathed to the L'^'"^- Paper by PROF. G. S. GOODSPEED, of Chicago University. ilialf the World K)-- Intpd to One implies tnat tlic reunions oi tiic worui arc not isolated or iiulepeiuleiit. The)' arc related to one another, and so relateil that their attitude is not one of hos- tility. pA'en the dead religions ha\e left beijiiests to the liviiifj. The subject also implies that these bequests are positive. It is not worth ^''"'''«''' our while to consider the topic if we are convinced beforehand that the dead ielij,Mons have left behind them only "bones and ;i bad odor." \Ve arc inviteil to recognize the fact that a knowledge of them serves a somewhat higher j)urpose than "to point a moral and adorn a tale;" to sec in them stages in the religious histor)- of iuimanity, and to ac- knowledge that a study of them is important, yes, indispensable, to adequate understanding of present systems. If they have sometimes seemed to show "what fools these mortals be" when they seek after God, they also indicate how lie has made man for himself and how [•i i I ffj : I 111! 111! ^ iin Hi J i l< '! '■! I)( ioliH Ul.. iflip- .Siuumpil m rrourt'ss i II SpilPdf l:;rrorB. 270 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. human hearts arc restless till they rest in Him. Thouj^h dead, they yet speak, and amon;^ their words are some which form a part of oar inlieritance of truth. These dead religions may be roughly summed up in several groups: 1, Prehistoric cults, which remain only as they have been takeu up into more developed systems, and the faiths of half-civilized peoples like t'lose ot Central .Vnierica a!ul Peru. 2. The dead religions of Semitic Antiquity; that is, those of Phccuicia and Syria, of Habylonia and of Assyria. ;}. The religion of Egypt. 4. The religions of Celtic Heathendom. T). Th<* religions of Teutonic Heathendom. <). The religion of Greece. 7. The religion of Rome. It \v\n by them to be absorbed into larger and higher faiths, whose superiority they themselves have had a share "n making po.ssi- blc. How important and stimulating, therefore, is an investigation of them. As illustration may l)e tlrawn from the religions of two ancient nations, Kg\-pt and Habylonia, which gave two highly influential relig- ious ideas to the world. There is tlu> religion of l\gypt, that land of contradiction and myster\-, where men thought deej) things, yet wor- Ekvpi tiud shiped bats and cranes, were the most joyous of creatures, and yet Habylonia. seemed to have devoted themselves to buiitling tondjs; e.xploreil many fields of natural science and practical art, yet give us the height of their achie\euu'nts, a human mummy. K )ne central religious notion of Kgyi>t was the nearness of the di\ine. It was .losely connected with a fimda- menlal social idea of the I\g\'ptians. The man of l".g>'pt ne\er looked outside of his own land without disdain. It contained lor him the'fuUness of all that heart could wish. lie was a thoroughl\' contented and joyous creature, and the favorite ])icture wiiich he formed of the future life was only that of another l\g\pt like the present. What caused him the most thought was how to maintain the conditions of the present in the passage through the vale of death. The bod\-, for example, indispensable to the present, was e<|ually reipiired in the future and must be preserved. Thus it came to pass that the l'',gy])tian, happiest and most contented of all men in this life, has left jehind him tomi)s, mummies and the book of the dead. Now in this favored land the Egyptian must have his gods. I)i.'itv must be ne.ir at hand. \\'hat was nearer than His presence and manifestation in the animal life most characteristic of each district? 'I'hus was wrought into shape, founded on the idea of the divine nearness, that bizarre worship of animals, the wonder ami the con- tempt of the ancient world. This idea, which umlerlay that animal worship, though so crudely conceived, was tleeply significant and con- stituted a most important contribution to the world. Another great religion of ancient times — the Habvlonian-Assyrian, coPtrib\ited (]uite a iliifercnt truth. Living in a l.ind open on every side tu the as^iaults of nature and man, and having nu occasion to \ i W II I'll w^'l^ h i\ .1 -> 1 il ti '■ Pen itential 1 I ^i ■l ■■ j 1 1 ( 070 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. glorify Babylonia as the Egyptian exalted his native land, the Baby- lonian found his worthiest conception of the divine in an exalted deity who, from the heights of heaven and the stars, rained influence. Me cinphasi/cd the transcendence of the divine. Time does not permit mc to give the fuller explanation of the origin of this idea or to trace its growth. .Surrounded by a crowd of indifferent or malevolent spirits, who must be controlled by a debasing system of magic, these men looked abo\e and found deliverance in the favor of the divine beings who gave help from the skies. Their literature gives evidence of how the)' rose by slow degrees to this higher plane of thought in the con- stant appeal from the earth to heaven, from the power of the spirits to the grace of the gods. Whatever was its origin, it is noticeable that this idea of the eleva- tion, scparateness, transcendence of deity is a fruitful basis of morality. Put one's self under the protection of a Lord implies acknowledgment of a standard of obedience. At first purely ritual or even physical in its requirements, this standard becomes gradually suffused with ethical elements. The process is traced in the so-called Babylonian peniten- tial psalms, which, indeed, do not contain very clear traces, if any, or purel)' ethical ideas. But the fact remains that the Babylonian doctrine of tlie transcendence of deity thus developed out of the antagonism of natural forces is a starting point for the ethical reconstruction of relig- ion. I'-gypt never could accomplish this with her religion. She has nt)thing corresponding to the penitential psalms. Tliese two primitive religious systems gave to the world these two fundamental ideas. These two earliest empires carried these ideas w ith their armies to all their scenes of conquest and their merchants bore them to lands whither their warriors never went. The significance of this is not always grasped; nor is it easy to trace the results of the diffusion of these conceptions. Standing among the earliest religious thoughts, which man systematically developed, they had a wonderful opportunity, and we shall see that the opportunity was not neglected. 2. In considering the extent and character of the influence exer- cised by these religious ruling ideas of Egypt and Babylonia, we pass over to the second element in the bequest of the dead religions to the living, the direct contributions made by the former to the latter. The subject requires careful discrimination. Not a few scholars have gone far astray at this point in their treatment of religious systems. Formerly it was customary to find little that was original in any religion. All was borrowed. The tendency today is reactionary, and the originality of the great systems is exaggerated. There is no (juestion as to the fact of the dependence of religions upon one another. The danger is. lest it be overlooked, that similar conditions in two religions may produce independently the same results. It must be recognized also that ancient nations held themselves more aloof from one another, and especially that religion as a matter of national tradition was much more conservative both in revealing itself to strangers and in accepting contributions from without. msES I'l 7Y/£ IVORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. i73 Yet the student of religion knows how, in one sense, every faith in the world has absorbed the life of a multitude of other local and limited cults. This is true of the sectarian religions of India. Islam swallowed the heathen worships of ancient Arabia. Many a shrine of Christianity is a transformation of a local altar of heathendom. There is no more important and no more intricate work lying in the sphere of comparative religion than an analysis of existing faiths with a view to the recovery of the bequests of preceding systems. Wlule much has been done the errors and extrax'agances of scholars in many instances should teach caution. We must i)ass over a large portion of this great field. Attention should be called to the wide range of materials in the realm of Chris- tianity alone. Tt) her treasury the bequests c>f usage and ritual have come from all the dead past. From Teutonic and Celtic faiths, from the cultus of Rome and the worshi[) and thought of Greece contributions can still be pointed out in the complex structure. Christian scholars have done splendid work in tracing out those remains. I need but refer to the labors of Dr. Hatch and Professor Harnack upon the relations of Christianity to (Greece anil those of the eminent I*"rench scholar, the late ]'il. The circumstances which moved him to depart from that center of the world's civilization are not clear to us, but the tradition gives no hint of hostile relations such as occasioned Israel's tleparturr from Eg\pt. It was here, therefore, that he came in contact with tiiose elevated ideas of the di\ine transcendence which are characteristic alike of the relig- ion of Habyloniaand in a higher ami purer det;rce of the religion t)f Israel. Can he lia\e gained his fust perception of this truth from the Babylonians? It is not imjirobable, It- is certainly true that a mighty impetus was gi\en to this doctrine in Israel by this earliest contact with Babylonian life. The third of these periods was the Bab>lonian cai)livity. Many scholars are inclined to assign to this time a large number of accpiisi- tions by Israel in the field of Babylonian religion, such as the early traditions of the creation and the deluge. But the)' f(^rget that the same feeling which led Israel to reject all the attractions of Eg\pt would be ecpially aroused against Babylon, in whose cruel grasp they found themselves hehl fast. It is m the second j)enod, that of tlu Assxrian con(|uest of v.est- ern Asia, that Israel came most fully under the influence of the relig- ion and the religious ideas of the Babylonians. Both Israel and Assj-ria had developed a religious s\-stem, though Assyria was far in advance of Israel in this respect. IIcu' of Babylon's civilisation anil religion Assyria had advanced a step beyond her ancestral faith. In amuaaammmjimii^ wcst- jy/A IVOKLV'S CONCJiESS OF K ELI G IONS. '>7r. 75 the God Ashur the nation worked out a conception of a national God, before whom the other deities of the pantheon took subordinate posi- tions. Without denyinf^ the divine transcendence, Assyria moved in the direction of monotheism. A God of majesty, he was also con- ceived in the Assyrian style as a God of justice, whose law, though but slightly tinged with ethical ideas as we hold them, must be obeyed. The Hebrew conception of Jahveh had also been fashioned in the struggle after nationality. It was a conception born out of the very heart of the nation divinely moved upon by the true God. It did not owe its origin to Egypt or Assyrio-Habylonia. But we cannot fail to observe how the note of divine transcendence, the majesty of Jehovah, was ever kept clear in the • linds of the Hebrew nation from the two opposite influences — the negative force of Egypt's contrary doctrine and the positive power of the Assyrio-Habylonian religious system as conceived by the Assyrian empire. They were ever present and im- pressive examples throughout the centuries of Israelitish history. Under this supporting influence Israel took the one higher step which remained to be taken. Moved forward by the irresistible im- pulse thus outwardly and inwardly felt, the proplicls released Israel's God from the fetters of nationality and from the bonds of a selfish morality and preached the doctrine of a transcendent righteous God of all the earth. Thus these two elemental truths about Ciod have been conveyed from l^g\ pt and from lialnlonia to the nations of men, The\- have come to be together the possession of Christianity. The doctrine of the divine transcendence is the gift of Judaism to the Christian church, and Christian theology has wrought it out into complex and impress- ive s\'stems of truth. The truth of the divine imnuuience earl)- found its place in the hearts and minds of the believers. It is noticeable that the scene of its swa\'. if not of its Christian origin, was the cit\' of Ale.vaudria. The place where Greek and Egj'ptian met was the home of this Gr;eco-Eg>'ptian doctrine which the Alexandrian lathers wrought into the Christian system, and which is today beginning to claim that share in the system which its complementary truth has seemed to usurp. The religions which flourished and passed away have in this way contributed to the fundamentals of Christian theism. The preceding discussion has unavoidably encroached upon the grouiul of the third line of iiKjuiry, namely, What have the dead religions afforded to the li\ ing in their history? What instruction do 'heir life and death give as to the success or failure of religious sys tems? Two a-priori theories occupy the field as exi)lanali()iis of these r ligions. I""irst, thc\' are regardeil as teaching the bliuilness of man 111 his search after Gotl. and the falsity of humanly constnictetl sj'stems a[)art from special divine revelation. The dead religions perished Fni because they were false, the production cither of Satan or of deluded or nc^ignrng men. 4cp^ 111 the progreNsne evolution oi the leligious life of hum.iiiily, passing through well-detined and philosophically arranged stages, ^V Peripliprl np- rnupp thc.v witp The second theorv hoUls these religions to be ■'I i * ■f II ;' in ' ipl V 5' J ;■; f ( ■ 1! I 5 Valne of the Dead Kclig- iona. 270 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Ends and Aim» of Truth. each justifiable in its own circumstances, each a preparation for some- thing higher. Both views arc inadequate because they do not include all the facts. What is needed in the study of religion today more than any- thing else is a .study of the manifold facts which religions present and a rigid abstinence from philosophical theories which find facts to suit themselves. One great excellence of this parliament is that it brings us face to face with these facts. These brief sessions will do more for the study of religion than the philosophizing of a score of years. No religion in the totality and complexity of its phenomena is wholly false or wholly true. The death of a religion is not always an evidence of its decay and corruption, its inadequacy to meet the wants of men. There are certain phases of living religious life which every sane man would prefer to see removed and their place supplied by the doctrine and practice of some dead religions. In the search for the laws of relig- ious life and the results of religious activity, the dead religions are particularly valuable because of what these laws and forces have in them worked out to the end. They have formed a completed struc- ture or produced a ruin, both of which disclose with equal fidelity and equal adecjuacy the working of invariable and irresistible law. Generalization on these phenomena, if correctly made, have a satisfying quality and a validity which afford a basis for instruction and guidance. Thus these religions themselves constitute what may be after all their most valuable bequest, and as such they have a peculiar interest for the student of religion. The proofs of this statement throng in upon us and wc can select but a few. Among the problems of present religious life, that of the relations of church and state receive light from the.se dead religions. In antiquity these relations consisted in almost complete identification of the two organisms. Most frequently the church existed for tiie state, its servant, its slave. The results were most disastrous to both parties, but religion especially suffered. Its priesthoods either became filled with ambitious designs upon the state as in I\gypt, or fell itito the jx'^ition of subserxiency and weakness as in Habylon and Assyria, Rome and Greece. Tlie airrts and ends of truth were narrowed and trimmed In fit imperfect soci^al conditions, and the fate of religion was bouiul up with the success or failure or a political policy. The destruction of the nation meant the disappearance of the religion. Assyria dr.igm.tl into her grave the religion which she professed. A similar fate attendeti many ftf the cults of Semitic antiquity through the coiuiucsts of the great \\orld empires which dominated western Asia. The finished experience of these dead faiths, therefore, speaks clearly in favor of the separation of religion from the state. Another pr-'hlem which they enlighten is that of religious unity and the ronseqni nt future of religious v\-stems, the ultimate religion. Where these systcnib survived the rum of the nationality on which moiSa i|) 7'ff£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 277 they depended, they met their death through a mightier religious force. The most brilliant example of this phenomenon is the conflict of Christianity with the religions of the ancient world. Christianity's victory was achieved without force of arms. Was it merely that its foes were moribund that the religious forces of antiquity had all but lost their power? This is not by any means all the truth. I cannot glory in the victory of a Christianity over decaying religions that would have died of themselves if only left alone, but I am proud of her power in that when "the fullness of the times" was come, when Kgypt and Syria, Judea, Greece and Rome offered to the world their best, she was able to take all their truths into her genial grasp and incarnating them in Jesus Christ make them in Him the beginning of a new age, the starting point of a higher evolution. These religions were crippled by their essential character. They had no real unity of thought. Their principle of organization was the inclusion of local cults, not the establishment of a great idea. There ^mnt of u was broad toleration in the ancient religious world, both of forms and tiiooIokj. ideas, but the toleration of ideas existed because of the want of a clear thought basis of religion, or, to speak more i)recisely, the want of a theology. With the absence of this the multiplicity of forms produced a meaningless confusion. Even where each of these systems reveals to us the presence of a common idea traceable through all its forms this one idea is only a phase of the truth. Assyria's doctrine of the divine transcendence and ICgypt's view of the divine nearness and Greece's tenet of the divineness of man or the humaneness of God, were valid religious ideas, but each was partial, riiese religions, so inclusive of forms, could not include or comprehend more than their own favorite idea. liut when Christianity came against them with a well-rounded theology, a central truth like that of the incarnation, a truth and a life which not merely included, but reconciletl, all ailments of the world's religious progress, none of these ancient systems could stand before it. They seem to tell us that the true test of a religious system is the measure in which it is filled with God. So far as they saw Him they led men to find help and peace in Him. They proclaimed His law, the\- sought to assure to men His favor. So far as they accomplished this, so far as they were filled with God. both as a doctrine and as a life, tlu\- fulfilled their part in the education and .salvation of the human rate. \\y that test they rose and fell; by that measure they take their place in the complex evolution of the world. And it was because they failed to rise to the height of Christianity's comprehen- sion and absorption of God that they perished. We are sometimes inclined, amid the din of opposing creed.i, to long for a rtligion without theology. These dead faiths warn us of the folly (jf any such dream. In the presence of a nniltitude of relig- ions, such as are represented in this parliament, we are tempted to believe that the ultimate religion will consist in a boutpiet of the sweetest and choicest of them all. The graves of the dead religions r is i 1 i i I' f 1 \ t \ i 1 278 THE WORLD'S COXGRESS OF RELIGIONS. '!!i ■ i '^1 Inn ■\\ ;■ ! -i •| T li (■ Li«ht Mi'cciviil. deciaie that not selection but incorporation makes a rolitJ[ion stronf^; not incorporation but reconciliation, not reconciliation but the fulfill- ment of all these aspirations, these partial truths in a hij^her thought, in a transcendent life. The sjstcms of rcliLjions here representetl, or to come, which will not merely select but incorporate, not merely incorporate but recon- cile, not merely reconcile but fulfill, holds the reliLjious future of humanity. Al)art from particular jiroblems these dead relij^ious in clear tones ^ive two precious testimonies. The\- bear witness to man's need of God anil mail's capacit)' to know lliin. Lookins^back toda)' upon the dead past, we behold men in the juuij^le and on tlu- mountain, in the Roman tem|)le and before the Celtic altar, liftinj^ up holv haiuls of as- piration anil petition to the divine. Sounding,' throuijh (ireek Iniiins and lialntonian psalms alike are heard human voices crvini.; out after the eternal. \h\t there is a nobler heritage of ours in these oldi'st of relis^ions. The capacity to know (iod is mtt the knowledge of llim. The\- tell us with one voice that the human heart, the universal human heart that needs (iod and can know llim was not left to search for 1 1 im in Ijlindi-.ess and ii^niorance. He |j;ave them of Himself. They recei\e the lii^ht which lij^hteth every man. That lijjfht has come down the a;^es unto us, shiniiiLj as it comes with e\er brii,diter beams of divine re\elation. "For God who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake unto the fathers" - and we arc. bej:jinnin;4 to realize today, as ne\er before, how many are our spiritual fathers in the past - "hath in these last da) s spoken unto us in the Son." "i.'og Interior of the Free Church, Copenhagen, Denmark. I; I |l ' I I' ' i :!t 4 .; III Ki ; t M §tudy of (^omparaXWe theology. Paper by PROF. C. P. TIELE, of Leiden University. HAT is to be understood by compara- tive thcoloy;y? 1 find that English- writing authors use tiie appellation promiscuously with comparative re- ligion, but it' we wish words to con- vey a sound meaning we should at ' least beware of using these terms as convertible ones. Theology is not the same as religion; and, to mc, com- parative theology signifies nothing but a comparative study of religious dogmas, comparative religion nothing but a comparative study of various religions in all their branches. I sup- pose, however, 1 am not expected to make this distinction, but compara- tive theology is to be understood to mean what is now generally called the science of religion, the word "science" not being taken in the limited sense it commonly has in English, but in the general signification of the Dutch Wetenschap (H. G. Wissenschaft ), which it has assumed more and more even in the Roman languages. So the history and the study of this science iMigUm h! hi ^^'o'^'l'' have to form the subject of my paper, a subject vast enough to Infancy. devote to it one or more volumes. It is still in its infancy. Although in former centuries its advent was heralded by a few forerunners, as .Selden ( De Dus.Syriis),de Hrosses (Le culte des dieux fetiches), the tasteful Herder and others, as a science it reaches back not much farther than to the middle of the nineteenth century. "Duxius Origine de tous les Cultes," which appeared in the opening years of the century, is a gigantic pamphlet, not an impartial historical research. Nor can Creuzer's and Baur's Symbolik and Mythologie lay claim to the latter appellation, but are dominated by long refuted theory. Meiner's "Allgemeine kritische Geschichte der Religionen" (1806-07) only just came up to the low standard which at that time 280 Tl THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 2S1 Hliiirply !)■>• historical scholars were expected to reach Much higher stood Ben- jamin Constant, in whose work, "La Religion Considcrce dims sa Source, ses formes et ses Developpmcnts" (1824), written with French lucidity, for the first time a distinction was made between the essence and the forms of religion, to which the writer also applied the theory of development From that time the science of religion began to assume a more sharply defined character, and comparative studies on an ever grow- ing scale were entered upon, and this was dune no longer chiefly with by-desires, either by the enemies of Ciiristianity in order to combat it and to point out that it differed little or nothing from all »"«'' "t'lmn.o. the superstitions one was now getting acquainted with, or by the apologists in order to defend it against these attacks and to prove its higher excellence when compared with all other religions. The impulse came from two sides. On one side it was due to philosophy. Philosophy had for centuries past been speculating on religion, but only about the beginning of our century it had become aware of the fact that the great religious problems cannot be solved without the aid of history; that in order to define the nature and the origin of religion one must first of all know its development. Already before lienjamin Constant this was felt i)y others, of whom we will only mention Hegel and Schelling It may even be said that the right method for the philosophical iiKpiiry into religion was defined by Schelling, at least from a theoretical point of view, more accurately than by anyone else; though we should add that he, more than anyone else, fell short in the api)lying of it. 1 fegel even endeavored to give a classification, which, it is proved, hits the riglit nail on the head here and there, but, as a whole, distinctly proxes tiiat he lacked a clear conception of the real historical development of religion. Nor could this be otluM'wise. Even if the one had not been confined within the narrow bounds of an a-prioristic sj'stem of the historical data which were at his disposal, even if the other had not been led astray by his unbridled fancy, both wanted the means to trace religion in the course of its developments. Most of the religions of anticpiity, especially those of the east, were at that time known but superficially, and the critical research into the newer forms of religion had as yet hardly been entered upon One instance out of many. Hegel characterized the so-called Syriac religions as ''die Religion dcs Sihmcrzcns" (religion of suffering). In doing this, he of course thought of the myth and the worship of Thammuz-Adonis. He did not know that these are by no means of Aryanaic origin, but were borrowed by the people of western Asia from their eastern neighbors, and are, in fact, a survival of an older, highly sensual naturMu. Kven at the time he might have known that Aclonis was far from jeing an ethical ideal, that his worship was far from being the glorification of a voluntarily suffering deity. In short, it was known that only th comparative method could conduce to the desired end, but the means of comparing, though not wholly wanting, were inadequate- \\ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ 1.0 1.1 I^|2j8 |25 ■^ lii 12.2 Ul illl US u liO 1^ l.25,|,.4 |,.6 -« 6" ► V2 ^> Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WMSTH.N.Y. 14SS0 (716)872-4503 !AiSit'tWaEaHhs i iil<' liiiw of the New Science. 284 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. years past, and so he is, to some extent, a party to the conflict of opinions. His views would be apt to be too subjective, and could be justified only by an exhaustive criticism which would be misplaced here, and the writing of which would require a longer time of prepara- tion than has now been allowed to him. A dry enumeration of the names of the principal writers, and the titles of their works, would be of little use, and would prove very little attractive to you. There- fore, let me add some words on the study of comparative theolog". The first, the predominating question is: Is this study possible? In other words, what man, however talented and learned he may be, is able to command this immense field of inquiry, and what lifetime is long enough for the acquiring of an expansive knowledge of all religion ? It is not even within the bounds of possibility that a man should master all languages, to study in the vernacular the religious records of all nations, not only recognize sacred writings, but also those of dis- senting sects and the songs and sagas of uncivilized people. So one will have to put up with the translations, and everybody knows that mean- ing of the original is but poorly rendered even by the best transla- tions. One will have to take upon trust what may be called second- hand information, without being able to test it, especially where the re- ligions of the so-called primitive peoples are concerned. All these ob- jections have been made by me for having the pleasure of setting them aside; they have frequently been raised against the new study and have already dissuaded many from devoting themselves to it. Nor can it be denied that they contain at least some truth. But if, on account o. these objections, the comparative study of religions were to be esteemed impossible, the same judgment would have to be pronounced upon nian>' other sciences. I am not competent to pass an opinion concerning the physical and biological sciences. I am alluding only to anthropology and eth- nology, history, the history of civilization, archaeology, comparative philology, comparative literature, ethics, philosophy. Is the inde- pendent study of all these sciences to be relinquished because no one can be required to be versed in each of their details equally well, to have acquired an exhaustive knowledge, got at the mainspring of every people, every language, every literature,every civilization, every group of records, every period, every system? There is nobody who will think of insisting upon this. Every science, even the most compre- hensive one, every theory must rest on an empirical basis, must start from an "unbiased ascertaining of facts;" but it does not follow that the tracing, the collecting, the sorting and the elaborating of these facts and the building up of a whole out of these materials must needs be consigned to the same hands. The flimsily constructed speculative systems, pasteboard buildings all of them, we have done away with for good and all. But a science is not a system, not a well-arranged storehouse of things that arc known, but an aggregate of researches all tending to the same purpose, though independent yet mutually connected, and tK ec nu nu to »[;, THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 1^85 each in particular connected with similar researches in other domain.s which serve thus as auxiliary sciences. Now the science of religion has no other purpose than to lead to the knowledge of religion in its nature and in its origin. And this knowledge is not to be acquired, at least if it is to be a sound, not a would-be knowledge, but by an unprejudiced historical-psychological research. What should be done first of all is to trace religion in the course of its development, that is to say in its life, to inquire what every family of religions, as for instance the Aryan and Semitic, what every particular religion, what the great religious persons have contributed to this development, to what laws and conditions this development is subjected, and in what it really consists? Next the religious phenomena, ideas and dogmas, feelings and inclinations, forms of worship and religious acts are to be examined, to know from what wants of the soul they have sprung and of what aspirations they are the expression. Hut these researches, without which one cannot penetrate into the nature of religion nor form a conception of its origin, cannot bear lasting fruit, unless the comparative study of religious individualities lie at the root of them. Only to a few it has been given to institute this most comprehensive inquiry, to follow to the end this long way. Me who ventures upon it cannot think of examining closely all the particulars himself; he has to avail himself of what the students of special branches have brought to light and have corroborated with sound evidence. It is not required of every student of the science of religion that he should be an architect; yet, though his study may be confined within the narrow bounds of a small section, if he does not lose sight of the chief purpose, and if he applies the right method, he, too, will contribute not unworthily to the great common work. So a search after the solution ot the abstruse fundamental ques- tions had better be left to those few who add a great wealth of knowl- edge to philosophical talents. What should be considered most need- ful, with a view to the present standpoint of comparative theology, is this: Learning how to put the right use to the new sources that have been opened up; studying thoroughly and penetrating into the sense of records that on many points still leave us in the dark; subjecting to a close examination particular religions and important periods about which we possess but scanty information; searching for the religious meaning of myths, tracing prominent deities in their rise and develop- ment, and forms of worship through all the important changes of meaning they have undergone; after this the things thus found have to be compared with those already known. Two things must be required of the student of the science of religion. He must be thotv^ughly acquainted with the present state of the research, he must know what has already been got, but also what questions are still unanswered; he must have walked, though it be quick in time, about the whole domain of his science; in short, he must possess a general knowledge of religions and religious phe- nomena. But he should not be satisfied with this. He should then AKKresate of Reseurclu'H. 286 THE WORLD'S CONGHESS OF RELIGIONS. V ! Reqnire- ments of the Students, select a field of his own, larger or smaller, according to his capacities and the time at his disposal; a field where he is quite at home, where he himself probes to the bottom of everything of which he knows all that is to be known about it, and the science of which he then must try to give a fresh impulse to. l^oth requirements he has to fulfill. Meeting only one of them will lead either to the superficial dillettan- teism which has already been alluded to, or the trifling of those Philis- tines of science, who like nothing better than occupying our attention longest of all with such things as lie beyond the bounds of what is worth knowing. But the last-named danger does not need to be especially cautioned against, at least in America. I must not conclude without expressing my joy at the great interest in this new branch of science, which of late years has been revealing itself in the new world. I ! 1 if' f %\ W'- t:\t li i\ I iii '4: ) ! ( i f! ,.1 1 i ii - :,i ■ :; it- : i ' '■^' 1 K"' ■,' .'; • , ■ -, > Vjiy^M • |i ^^^^^^^r \. 1 N f 4 Mrs. Eliza R. Sunderland, Ph. D., Ann Arbor, Mich. l'l% (I I Importance of the §tudy of Comparative f^eligions. Paper by MRS. ELIZA R. SUNDERLAND, PH. D., of Ann Arbor, Mich. « sign conquc banner the medieval church was challenged to give reason why each individual soul should not inquire and decide freely for itself in matters of religion, and the Protestant reformation resulted. The old established mon- archies of Europe were asked to give reason why the many should live and toil and die for the few, and modern republicanism was born. Earth, and air and sea were asked to give reason why man should not enter into his birthright of ownership of all physical nature, and Man's Sover steamship and steam car, telegraph and telephone came as title deeds '"•^''^y* to man's sovereignty. Onward moves the victorious banner, and collective humanity is asked to show its face and give reason why it is black, and brown, and white; to produce its languages and give reasons for such infinite variety; to draw aside the curtain from its holy of holies, pronounce its most sacred names, recount its myths, recite its mythologies, ex- 19 289 290 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. In II !■! Viiltip n n (1 Imiiorlancf. plain its symbols, describe its rites, sing its hymns, pray its prayers and, finally, jjive up its life history of origins and transformations. Such in brief is the work of the nineteenth century. What is the value of this work? I am asked to respond only for one department of it, namely, that of hierology, or the comparative study of religions. What is the value and importance of a comparative study of relig- ions? What lessons has it to teach? I may answer, first, that the results of hierology form part of the great body of scientific truth, and as such have a recognized scientific value as helping to complete a knowledge of man and his environment; and I shall attempt to show that a seri- ous study by an Intelligent public of the great mass of facts already gathered concerning most of the religions of the world will prove of •great value ill at least two directions — first, as a means of general, second, as a means of religious culture. Matthew Arnold defines cult- ure as "the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world and thus with the history of the human spirit." This is a nineteenth century use of the word. The Romans would have used instead "humanitas," or, with an English plural, "the humanities," to express a corresponding thought. The schoolmen, adopting the Latin term, limited its application to the languages, literature, history, art and archaeology of Greece and Rome, assumin. ' thither the world must look for the most enlightening and hurr- ig influences, and, in their use of the word, contrasting these a? i.u .an products with "divinity" which completed the circle of scholastic knowledge. But the world of the nineteenth century is larger than that of medieval Europe, and we may well thank Mr, Arnold for a new word suited to the new times. Culture — acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world and thus with the history of the human spirit This will require us to know a great body of literature; but when we inquire for the best we shall find our- selves confronted by a vast mass of religious literature. Homer was a great religious poet; Hesiod, also. The central idea in all the great dramas of /Eschylus, Sophocles and Euripides was religious, and no one need hope to penetrate beneath the surface of any of these, who lacks a sympathetic acquaintance with the religious ideas, myths and mythol- ogies of the Greeks. Dante's "Divine Comedy," Milton's "Paradise Lost" and Goethe's "Faust" are religious poems, to read which intelli- gently one must have an acquaintance with medieval mythology and modern Protestant theology. Then there are the great Bibles of the world, the Christian and Jewish, the Mohammedan and Zoroastrian, the Brahman and Buddhist and the two Chinese sacred books. It is of these books that Emerson sings: Out of the heart of nature rolled The burden of the Bible old; The litanies of nations came, Like the volcano's tongue of flame, Up from the burning core below, The canticles of love and woe. unc wh< Pai can knc the the late ceri fine 11 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUGWNS. 291 He who would be cultured in Matthew Arnold's sense of beinj,' acquainted with the history of the human spirit must know these books, and this means a patient, careful study of the growth and de- velopment of rites, symbols, myths and mythologies, traditions, creeds and priestly orders through long centuries of time, from far away primitive nature worship up to the elaborate ritual and developed lit- urgy which demanded the written book. But religion is a living power and not, therefore, to be confined to book or creed or ritual. All these, religion called into being, and is itself, therefore, greater than any or all of them. So far from being confined to book and creed and ritual, religion has proved, in the words . , . of Dr. C. P. Tiele"one of the most potent factors in human history; Power.'""* it has founded and overthrown nations, united and divided empires; has sanctioned the most atrocious deeds and the most cruel customs; has inspired beautiful acts of heroism, self-renunciation and devotion, and has occasioned the most sanguinary wars, rebellions and persecu- tions. It has brought freedom, happiness and peace to nations, and, anon, has proved a partisan of tyranny; now calling into existence a brilliant civilization, then the deadly foe to progress, science and art!' All this is a part of world history, and the student who ignores it or passes over lightly the religious motive underlying it is thereby ob- scuring the hidden causes which alone cart explain the outer facts of history. Again, the human spirit has ever delighted to express itself in art. True culture, therefore, requires a knowledge of art. But to know the world's art without first knowing the world's religions would be to read Homer in the original before knowing the Greek alphabet. Why the vastness and gloom of the Egyptian temples? the approaches to them through long rows of sphinxes? What mean these sphinxes and the pyramids, the rock-hewn temple tombs and the obelisks of ancient Egyptian art? Why the low, earth-loving Greek temple, with all its beauty and external adornment? What is the central thought in Greek sculpture? Why does the medieval cathedral climb heaven- ward, with its massive towers and turrets? What is the meaning of the tower temples of ancient Assyria and Babylon and the mosques and minarets of western Asia? All are symbols of religious life, and are blind and meaningless without an understanding of that life. Blot out the architecture and sculpture whose motive is strictly religious, and how great a blank remains? Painting and music, too, have been the handmaidens of religion, and cannot be mastered in their full depths of meaning save by one who knows something of the religious ideas and sentiments which gave them birth; eloquence has found its deepest inspiration in sacred themes; and philosophy is only the attempt of the intellect to formu- late what the heart of man has strfven after and felt. Let a student set himself the task of becoming intelligent con- cerning the philosophic speculations of the world, and he will soon find that among all peoples the earliest speculations have been of a ! h\, ! 292 T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Earliest Spec- nltttions. i i- ]< : r religious nature, and that out of these, philosophy arose. If, then, he would understand the development of philosophy, he must begin with the development of the religious consciousness in its beginnings in the Indo-Germanic race, the Semitic race, and in Christianity. As Dr. Pfleiderer shows in his "Philosophy of Religion on the Hasis of Its History:" "There could have been no distinct philosophy (^f religion in the ancient world, because nowhere did religion appear as an independent fact, clearly distinguished alike irom politics, art and science. This condition was first fulfilled in Christianity. But no philosophy of religion was possible in medieval Christianity, because independent scientific investigation was impossible. All thinking was dominated either by dogmatism or by an undefined faith." If the germs of a philosophy of religion may be found in the theosophic mysticism and the anti-scholastic philosophy of the renais- sance, its real beginnings r , to be found not earlier than the eight- eenth century, liut what a magnificent array of names in the two and a quarter centuries since Spino;',a wrote his theologico-political treatise in 1670. Spinoza, Leibnitz, L<;ssing, Kant, Herder, Goethe, Fichte, Schleiermacher, Schelling, Hegel, and, if we would follow the tendencies of philosophic religious thought in the present day, Feuerbach, Comte, Strauss, Mill, Spencer, Mattiiew Arnold, Hermann, Schopenhauer, Von Hartmann, Lotze, Edward Caird.JohnCaird and Martineau. No student, who aspires to an acquaintance with philosophy, can afford to be ignorant of these thinkers and their thoughts; but to follow most intelligently the thought of any one of them he will need a prelimi- nary acquaintance with hierology through such careful, painstaking conscientious work in the study of different religions as has been made by such scholars as Max Miiller, C. P. Tide, Keunen, Ernest Renan, Albert Reville, Prof. Robertson Smith, Renouf, La Saus saye and Sayce. If religious thought and feeling is thus bound up with the litera- ture, art and philosophy of the world, not less close is its relation to the language, social and political institutions and morals of humanity. It is sacred names quite as often as any other words which furnish the philologist his links in the chain of proofs of relationship between languages. It does not need a Herbert Spencer to point out that political institutions and offices are frequently related to religion as effect to cause ; the king's touch and the doctrine of divine right of kings are only survivals from the days of the medicine man and heaven-born chief. The question concerning the relations of religion to ethics is a living one in modern thought. One class of thinkers insists, that ethics is all there is of religion that can be known or can be of value to man; another, that ethics, if lived, will of necessity blossom out into religion, since religion is only ethics touched with emotion; another, that religion and ethics are two distinct things which have no neces- sary relation to each other; and still others maintain that there is til ■1 1 THh WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 203 :n, he begin mings , As of Its in the Mulcnt This phy of endcnt linatcd in the rentiis- ; eight- :\vo and treatise Fichte, idencies Comte, Licr,Von student, d to be ivv most prelimi- istaking las been Ernest Saus le litera- lation to umanity. rnish the between out that ;ligion as right of man and ethics is sists, that iof value m out into another, no neces- : there is no high and persistent moral life possible without the sanctions of religion, and no high and worthy religion possible without an accom- panying high morality; that whatever may be true in low conditions of civilization, any religion adapted to high civilizations must be eth- ical, and any ethical precepts or principles which arc to helpfully con- trol men's lives must be rooted in faith. A wide and careful study of the world's religions ought to throw light upon the problem. Such a study would point to the conclusion that, though differing greatly among themselves in other ways, all religions, even the oldest and poorest, must have shown some faint traces at least of awakening moral feeling. From an early period moral ideas are combined wi*h Mondldeu. religious doctrines, and the old mythologies are modified by them. Ethical attributes are ascribed to the gods, especially the highest. Later, but only in the higher nature religions, ctr," ■ 1 as well as intel- lectual aostractions are personified and worshiped as I'ivine beings. What are the historic facts in the case? Have religion and mor- ality had a contemporaneous development, and in conjunction? or has the history of the two run on distinct and divergent lines? Who shall answer authoritatively save the student of the history of religions? Let us q',',e;>tion some such. "All religions," says C. P. Tiele, "are either race religious or religions proceeding irom an individual f" mder; the former are nature religions; the latter ethical religions. In the nature religions the supreme god;? are the mighty powers of nature, and though there are great mutual differences between them, some standing on a much higher plane than others, the oldest and poorest must have shown some faint traces, at least, of awakening moral feeling. In some a constant and remarkable progress is also to be noticed. Gods are more and more anthropomorphized, rites humanized. From an early period moral ideas are combined with religious doctrines and the old mythologies are modified by them. Ethical attributes are ascribed to the gods, especially to the highest. Nay, ethical as well as intellectual abstractions are personified and worshiped as divine beings, liut, as a rule, this happens only in the most advanced stages of nature worship. Nature religions can for a long time bear the introduction into their mythologies of moral as well as ^esthetic, scientific and philosophical notions; and they are un- able to shut them out, for if they did so they would lose their hold upon the leading classes among the more civilized nations. " If, however, the ethical elements acquire the upper hand so that they become the predominating principle, then the old forms break in twain by the too heavy burden of new ideas, and the old rites being useless, become obsolete. Then nature religion inevitably dies of inanition. When this culminating point has been reached the way is prepared for the preaching of an ethical religious doctrine. " Ethical religions aie communities brought together, not by a com- mon belief in national traditions, but by the common belief in a doc- trine of salvation, and organized with the aim of maintaining, fostering, SaiTstion." propagating and practicing that doctrine. This fundamental doctrine fi 1 A Doctrine of J^i^. 294 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. I M .1 1^ ; ; . A RuliKiouB Duty. is considered by its adherents in each case as a divine revelation, and he who revealed it, an inspired prophet or son of God." The ethical religions Tide divides into national, or particularistic and univcrsalistic. The latter, three in number, are the dominant re- ligions in the world today. Of these, Islamism has emphasized the religious side, the absolute .sovereignty of God, opposing to it the nothingness of man, and has thus neglected to develop morals. Bud- dhism, on the contrary, neglects the divine, preaches the final salvation of man from the miseries of existence through the power of his own self-renunciation, and as it was atheistic in its origin it soon becomes infected by the most fantastic mythology and the most childish super- stitions. Christianity in its founder did full justice to both the divine and human sides; if the greatest commandment was love to God, the second was like unto it, viz., love to man. Such is a brief resume of C. P. Tide's account of the mutual historical relations of ethics and religion. Albert Rcville devotes a chapter of his "Prolegomena to the His- tory of Religions" to the same question. He finds that morality, like religion, began very low down and rose very high; that with morality, as with religion, we must recognize in the human mind a spontaneous disposition siii generis, arising from its natural constitution, destined to expand in the school of experience, but which that school can never create. With the entrance of moral prepossessions into religion, life be- yond the tomb becomes a a new chapter of religious between religion and mora ilace of divine rewards, and thus originates listory. Under monotheism the connection ity becomes still closer. Here everything, the physical world, humansocicty, human personality, has but one all- powerful master. Moral order is his work by the .same right and as completely as physical order. Obedience to the moral law becomes then essentially a religious duty. Consequently, the religious ideal rises and becomes purified at the same time as the moral ideal. We may even say that, in the Gospel, religion and morality are no longer easily to be distinguished; upon the basis of the monotheistic princi- ple and the affinity of nature between man and God, the religion of Jesus moves on independently of dogma and of rite, consisting essen- tially of strictly moral provisions and applications. "Has morality gained or lost by this close alliance with religion?' asks Reville; and answers: "In a general way we may say that the characteristic of tiie religious sentiment, when it is associated with another element of human life, is to render this element much more intense and more powerful. P>om this simple observance we have the right to conclude that as a general rule morality gains in attractive- ness, in power and in strenj^th by its alliance with religion." True, unenlightened religion has sometimes perverted the moral sense and reduced morality to a utilitarian calculation. Most of the religions which have assigned a large place to morality have found- ered on the rock of asceticism, especially Brahmanism, Buddhism and THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 295 k on, and ularistic lant re- zcd the it the Bud- alvation lis own secomcs h super- e divine od, the me of C. lies and the His- ity, like iiorality, itaneous stinedto in never life be- riginates nnection crything, tone all- t and as becomes Dus ideal eal. We o longer c princi- ligion of ig essen- eligion?' that the ited with jch more : have the ttractive- he moral st of the MC found- hism and ObstTTpr Bites. the Christianity of the Middle Ages. Religion has sometimes failed to distinguish between morality and ritual, or morality and occult belief, and we have the spectacle of a punctilious observer of rites consid- ered to be more nearly united to God, notwithstanding terrible viola- tions of the moral law, than is the good man who fails in ritual or creed. And yet, Reville concludes from the individual point of view: "The question which the spiritual tribunal of each of us is alone quali- fied to decide is, whether we ought not to congratulate the man who derives from his religious convictions, freed from narrowness, from utilitarianism and from superstition, the source, the charm and the vigor of his moral life. Persuaded that for most men the alliance be- tween religion and morality cannot but be salutary, I must pronounce in the affirmative." If the conclusions of all students of hierology shall prove in har- mony with the views here expressed as to the close connection in origin and in history, between morality and religion, a connection growing closer as each rises in the scale of worth, until we find in the very highest the two indissolubly united, may we not conclude a wise dictum for our modern life to be "what God in history has joined together let not man in practice put asunder?" Rather let him who would lift the world morally avail himself of the motor power of re- ligion; let him who would erect a temple of religion see to it that its foundations are laid in the enduring granite of character. I come now to the second division of my subject, namely, the value of hierology as a means of religious culture. What is religion? Ask the question of an ordinary communicant of any religious order and the answer will in all probability, as a rule, emphasize some surface characteristic. The orthodox Protestant defines it as a creed; the Catholic, a creed plus a ritual — believe the doctrines and observe the sacraments; the Mohammedan as a dogma; the Buddhist as an ethical system; the I'S'o^. Brahmin as caste; the Confucian as a system of statecraft. But let the earnest student ask further for the real meaning to the worshiper, of his ritual, creed, dogma, ethics, caste and ethics-political, and he will find each system to be a feeling out after a bond of union between the human and the divine; each implies a mode of activity, a process by which the individual spirit strives to bring itself into harmonious re- lations with the highest power, will, or intelligence. Each is of value in just so far as it is able to inajgurate son-"" '-^ilt relation between the worshiper and the superhuman powers in ^.hich he believes. In the language of philosophy, each is a seeking for a reconciliation of the ego and the non-ego. The earnest student will find many resemblances between all these communions; his own included. They all started from the same sim- ple germ; they have all had a life history which can be traced, which is in a true sense a development, and whose laws can be formulated; they all have sought outward expression for the religious yearning and have all found it in symbol, rite, myth, tradition, creed. The result of What is R«. I 2})n THE IVOKLD'S CONGRESS OF KELIGIONS. < ; I ■ t;. ■ • An Attribute r>f Hnmanity. Study (if All lielitiioDH' of such a study must be to reveal man to himself in his deepest nature; it enables the individual to trace his own lineaments in the mirror and see himself in the perspective of humanity. Prior to such study, religion is an accident of time and place and nationality; a particular revelation to his particular nation or age, which might have been with- held from him and his, as it was withheld from the rest of the world, but for the distinguishing favor of the Divine Sovereign of the universe in choosing out one favored people and sending to that one a special revelation of His will. After such study religion is an attribute of humanity, as reason and language and tool-making are; needing only a human being placed in a physical universe which dominates his own physical life, which cribs and cabins him by its inexorable laws, and, lol defying those laws he steps out into the infinite world of faith, of hope, of aspiration, of God. The petty distinctions of savage, barbarian, civilized and en- lightened sink into the background. He is a man, and by virtue of his manliood, his human nature, he worships and aspires. A compara- tive study of religions furnishes the only basis for estimating the relative worth of any religion. Many of you saw and perhaps shared the smile and exclamation of incredulous amusement over the paragraph which went the rounds of the papers some months ago to the effect that the Mohammedans were preparing to send missionaries and establish a Mohammedan mission in New York City. But whythe smile and exclamation? He- cause of our sense of the superiority of ourown form of religious faith. Yet Christianity has utterly failed to control the vice of drunkenness. Chicago today is dominated by the saloons. Nor is it alone in this res[)ect. Christian lands everywhere are dotted with poorhouses, asy- lums, jails, penitentiarit;s, reformatories, built to try to remedy evils, nine-tenths of which were caused, directly or indirectly, by the drink habit which Christendom fails to control and is powerless to uproot. Hut Mohammedanism does control it in oriental lands. Says Isaac Taylor. "Mohanmiedanism stands in fierce opposition to gambling: a gambler's testimony is invalid in law." And further: "Islam is the most powerful total abstinence association in the world." This testi- mony is confirmed by other writers and by illustration. If it can do so on the western continent as well, then what better thing could hap- pen to New York, or to Chicago even, than the establishment of some vigorous Mohammedan missions? And for the best good of Chicago it might he well that Mayor Harrison instruct the police that the mis- sionaries are not to be arrested for obstructing the highway if they should venture to preach their temperance gospel in the saloon quarters. Hut if a study of all religions is the only road to a true definition of religion and classification of religions, it is quite as necessary to the intelligent comprehension of any one religion, Goethe declared long ago that he who knows but one language knows none, and Max Miiller applies the adage to religion. A very little thought will show the fSl THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS 2m truth of the application in either case. On the old time supposition that religion and language alike came down ready formed from heaven, a divine gift or revelation to man, this would not be true. Complete in itself, with no earthly relationships, why shoulc' it need anything but itself for its comprehension. But modern scientific inquiry soon dispels any such theories of the origin of language and religion alike. If the absolute origin of each is lost in prehistoric shadows, the light of history shows each as a gradual evolution or development, whose laws of development can to some extent be traced, whose history can be, partially at least, deciphered. But if an evolution, a development, then are both religion and language in the chain of cause and effect, and no single link of that chain can by any possibility be compre- hended alone and out of relation to the links preceding and following. Allow me to illustrate this proposition at some length. I am a Christian. I want to know the nature, meaning and import of the Christian religion. I find myself in the midst of a great army of sects all calling themselves Christians. I musteithcr admit the claim of all, or I must prove that only one has right to the name, and to do either rationally I must become acquainted with all. But they absolutely contradict each other and some of them, at least, the original records of Christianity, in both their creed and ritual. Here is one sect that holds to the unity of God; here another that contends earnestly for a Trinity; here one that worships at high altars with burning candles, processions of robed priests, elevation of the host, holy water, adoration of the Virgin Mother, and humble con- fessional, all in stately cathedrals, with stained-glass windows, pealing organ and surpliced choir; there another, which deems that Christian- ity is foreign to all such ritual, and whose worship consists in waiting quietly for an hour within the four bare walls of the quaker meeting- house to see if the inner voice hath ought of message from the great enlightening spirit. How account for such differences when all claim a common, source? Only by tracing back the stream of Christian history to its source and following each tributary to its source, thus, if possible, to discover the origin of elements so dissimilar. Seriously entered upon the quest, we discover here a stream of influence from ancient Kgypt, "through Greece and Rome, bringing to Roman Catholic Chris- tendom," so says Tiele, "the germs of the worship of the virgin, the doctrine of the immaculate conception and the type of its theocracy." Another tributary brings in a stream of Neo-Platonism with its doctrine of the Word, or Logos; there a stream of Gra^co-Roman mythology with a deifying tendency so strongly developed that it will fall in adoration equallj' before a Roman emperor or a Paul and Cephas, whose deeds seen marvelous. Another stream from imperial Rome brings its gift of hierarchical organization, and here a tributary comes in from the German forests bringing the festivals of the sun god and the egg god of the newly developing life of spring. Christianity cannot banish these festivals; too long have they held place in the »20 All Claim a ("oiiimon Hource, ; ' I 298 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. the t^-mitea. of religious consciousness of the people. She can, however, and does adopt and baptize them, and we have the gorgeous Catholic festivals of Christmas and Easter. Christianity itself sends its roots back into Judaism; hence, to know it really in its deepest nature, we must apply to it the laws of heredity, i. e., we must study Judaism. Judaism has its sacred book, and our task will be easy, so we think. But a very little unbiased study will show us that Judaism is not one, but many. There is the Judaism which talks freely of angels and devils and the future life, happiness or misery, and there is the earlier Mosaism which knows nothing of angels or dcvMs and of no future life save that of sheol, in which, as David declares, there is no service of God possible. Would wc understand this difference we must note a tributary stream flowing in from Babylonia, and if we will trace this to its source we shall find its fountain head in the Persian dualism of Ormuzd and Ahriman, the god of light and the god of darkness, with their attendant angels. Only after the Babylonish captivity do we find in Judaism angels and a hierarchy of devils. Pass back through the Jewish sacred books, and strange things will meet us. Here a "Thus saith the Lord" to Joshua; "Slay all the Canaanitcs, men, women and helpless children; I suffer not one to live;" "Sell the animal that has died of itself to the stranger within your gate, but not to those of your own flesh and blood." The Lord comes to dine with Abraham under the oak at Mamre on his way down to Sodom to see if the reports of its great wickedness be true, and discusses his plans with his host. Naaman must carry home with him loads of Palestinian earth if he would build an altar to the god of the Hebrews whose prophet has cured his leprosy. The Lord guides the Israelites through the wilderness by a pillar of fire by night and of smoke by day, lives in the ark, and in it goes before the Israelites into battle; is captured in the ark and punishes the Philistines till they send Him iJack to His people. The Lord makes a covenant with Abraham, and it is confirmed according to divine command by Abraham slaying and dividing animals and the Lord passing between the parts, thus affirming Hisshare in thecovenant. Is this the same God of whom Jesus taught? This the religion out of which sprang Christianity? How, then, account for the immense distance between the two? To do this we must trace the early Hebrew religion to its source and then follow the stream to the rise of Chris- tianity, seeking earnestly for the causes of the transformation. What was the early Hebrew religion? A branch of the great Semitic family of religions. What was the religion of the Semites and who were the Semites? These quest ons have been answered in an exhaustive and scholarly manner, so far as he goes, by Prof. Robertson Smith in the volume entitled, "The Religion of the Semites," a volume to which no student of the Old Testament, who wishes to understand that rich treasury of oriental and ancient sacred literature, can afford not to give a serious study. ■~1 I THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 200 Magic and The Semites occupied all the lands of western Asia from the Tigro-Euphrates valley to the Mediterranean Sea. They included the Arabs, Hebrews and Phoenicians, the Aramaean^, Babylonians and Assyrians. A comparative study of the religions of all these peoples has convinced scholars that all were developments from a common primitive source, the early religion of the Semites. This religion was first nature worship of the personified heavenly bodies, especially the sun and moon. Among the Arabs this early religion developed into animistic polydemonism, and never rose much higher than this; but among the Mesopotamian Semites the nature beings rise above nature and rule it, and one among them rises above all the others as the head of an unlimited theocracy. If magic and augury remained prominent constituents of their ceremonial religion, they practiced, besides, a real worship and gave utterance to a vivid sense of sin, a deep feeling of man's dependence, even of his nothingness, before God, in prayers and hymns hardly less fervent than those of the pious souls of Israel. Among the western Augnry. Semites, the Aramaeans, Canaanites, Phoenicians seem to have so- journed in Mesopotamia before moving westward, and they brought with them the names of the early Mesopotamian Semitic gods, with the cruel and unchaste worship of a non-Semitic people, the Akkad- ians, which henceforth distinguished them from the other Semites. From the Akkadians, too, was probably derived the consecration of the seventh day as a Sabbath or day of rest, afterward shared by the Hebrews. The last of the Semitic peoples, the Hebrews, seem to be more closely related to the Arabs than to the northern or eastern Semites. They entered and gradually conquered most of Canaan Hv'ring the thirteenth century, B. C, bringing with them a religion ot extreme simplicity, though not monotheistic, and not differing greatly in char- acter from that of the Arabs. Their ancient national god bore the name El-Shaddai, but his worship had given place under their great leader, Moses, to a new cult, the worship of Yahveh, the dreadful and stern god of thunder, who first appeared to Moses at the bush under the name " I am that I am," worshiped according to a new funda- mental religious and moral law, the so-called Ten Words. Were this name and this law indigenous to Arabia or a special revelation, de novo, to Moses? But whence had Moses the moral culture adequate to the comprehension and appropriation of a moral system so far in advance of ^nvthing which we find among other early Semites? Nineteenth ceiituiy research has discovered an equally high moral code in Egypt, and the very name "Nukpu Nuk," "I am that I am," is found among old Egyptian inscriptions. Whatever its origin, this new religion the Hebrews did not aban- don in their new home, although they placed their national god. Yah- .TheirNation. veh, by the side of the deity of the country, whom they called briefly "the Baal," and whom most of them worshiped together with Ashera, the goddess of fertility. After they had left their wandering life and :i alQod. il 300 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ■\\ i ■:l All cred. Life Sa- settled down to ajjriculture, Yahveh, however, as the God of the con- querors, was commonly placed above the others, though his stern char- acter was softened by that of the gentler Baal, Well for Israel and well for the world that these two conceptions of deity came together in Judea twelve centuries before Christ. If the worship of the jeal- ous god Yahveh made the Jew stern and uncompromising, it also girded him with a high moral sense whose legitimate outcome was Israel's great prophets, while the fierceness itself, as gradually trans- formed by the gentler Baal conception of deity, gives us in the final outcome, the holy God who cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance and yet pitieth the sinner even as a father pitieth his children. If any have been perplexed over a religion of love such as Christianity claims to be, proving a religion of bloody wars, persecu- tions, inquisitions, martyrdoms, mayhap its Hebrew origin may throw light upon the mystery. Jesus' thought of a God, a Father, could not wholly displace at once the old Hebrew Yahveh, the jealous God. All the Semitic religions, while differing among themselves in the names and certain characteristics of their deities, had much in com- mon. Their gods were all tribal or national gods, limited to particular countries, choosing for themselves special dwelling places, which thus became holy places, usually near celebrated trees or living water, the tree, rock or water often coming to be regarded not simply as the abode, but as in some sense, the divine embodiment or representative of the god, and hence these places were chosen as sanctuaries and places of worship; though the northern Semitic worshiped on hills also, the worship consisted, during the nomadic period, in sacrifices of animals sacred alike to the god and his worshipers, because sharing the common life of both, and to some extent of human sacrifices as well. The skin of the animal sacrificed is the oldest form, says Rob- ertson-Smith, of a sacred garment appropriate to the performance of holy function, and was the origin of the expression "robe of righteous- ness." Is this the far-away origin of the scarlet robe of office? All life, whether the life of man or beast, within the limits of the tribe, was sacred, being held in common with the tribal god, who was the progenitor of the whole tribal life; hence, no life could be taken, save in sacrifice to the god, without calling down the wrath of the god. Sacrifices thus became tribal feasts, shared between the god and his worshipers, the god receiving the blood poured upon the altar, the worshipers eating the flesh in a joyful tribal feast. Here, then, was the origin of the Hebrew religion. It was not monotheistic, but what scholars designated as henotheistic, a belief in the existence of many gods, though worshiping only the national god. Thus, a man was born into his religion as he was born into his tribe, and he could only change his religion by changing his tribe. This explains Ruth's impassioned words to Naomi, "Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God." This idea of the tribal god, who is a friend to his own people but an enemy to all others, added to the belief in the inviolability of all life save when offered in sacrifice, un Se bn on th( th( of th( pa^ re u^ I Ai 1 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 301 explains the decree that an animal dying of itself might not be eaten by a tribesman, but might be sold to a stranger. A tribal god, too, might rightfully enough order the slaughter of the men, women and children of another tribe whose god had proved too weak to defend them. Life was sacred only because shared with the god, and this sharing was limited to the tribe. The Hebrew people moved onward and upward from this early Semitic stage and have left invaluable landmarks of their progress in their sacred books. The story of the sacrifice of Isaac tells of the time when human sacrifices were outgrown. Perhaps circumcision docs the same. The story of Cain and Abel dates from the time when agricult- ure was beginning to take the place of the old nomadic shepherd life. The men of the new calling were still worshipers of the old gods, and would gladly share with them what they had to give — the fruits of the earth. But the dingers to the old life could see nothing sacred in this new thing, and were sure that only the old could be well pleasing to their god. The god who dined with Abraham under the terebinth tree, at Mamre, was the early tribal god, P^l-Shaddai. Naaman was cured of his leprosy because the Jordan was sacred to the deity. It was the thunder god, Yahveh, whom the people worshiped on Sinai and who still bore traces of the earlier sun god as he guided the people in a pillar of fire. The ark is a remnant of fetichisni, /. f., a means of pitting the deity under control of his worshipers. They can compel his presence on the battlefield by carrying the ark thither, and if the ark is captured the god is captured also. A powerful element in the upward development of Mosaism was prophecy. The eighth century prophets had moved far on beyond the whole sacrificial system, when, as spokesman for the Lord, Isaiah ex- claims: "I am tired of your burnt sacrifices and your oblations. What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God." Jesus condemns the whole theorj' of holy places when he declares: "Neither in this holy mountain nor yet in Jerusalem shall men think to worship God most acceptably." God is a spirit unlimited by time or place, and they who would worship accept- ably must worship in spirit and in truth. How long the journey from the early tribal sacrificial, magical, unmoral, fetich, holy place, human sacrifice worship of the early .Semites, including the Hebrews, to the universal fatherhood and brotherhood religion of the Sermon on the Mount and the golden rule, only those can understand who are willing to give serious study not to the latter alone, but to the former as well. To such earnest student there will probably come another revelation, namely, that there is need of no miracle to account for this religious transformation more than for the physical transformation from the frozen snows of December to the palpitating life of June. They are both all miracle or none. The great infinite life and love was hidden alike in the winter clod and the human sacrifice. Given the necessary conditions and the frozen clod Infinito Life and Love. 802 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUGIONS. % i. \ ('Bpacltjr Change. t3 ' m has "climbed to a soul in grass and flowers," the tribal god and the tribal blood bond are seen in their real character as the universal God Fatherhood and man brotherhood. What the necessary conditions were, only those shall know who are ready to read God's thoughts after Him in the patient researches of scientific investigation. What is to be the future of this religion which has had so long and varied a history from far away Akkad even to this center of the west- ern hemisphere, and from twenty centuries before Christ to this last decade of the nineteenth century after Christ? One contribution made by the Hebrew to the Christian Scriptures demands special notice because it occupies so central a place in the development of the Christian system. I refer to the record of a first man, Adam, a Garden of Eden, a fall, an utter depravity resulting, and ending in a universal flood; a re-beginning and another fall and con- founding of speech at Babel. The founder of Christianity never refers to these events and the Gospels are silent concerning them. Paul first alludes to them, but in his hands and those of his successors they have become central in the theology of Christendom. Whence came this record of these real or supposed events? Genesis is silent con- cerning its origin. The antiquary delving among the ruins of ancient Chaldea finds almost the identical record of the same series of events upon clay tablets which are referred to an Akkadian people, the founders of the earliest civilization of the Tigro-Euphrates valley, a people not Semitic, but Turanian, related, therefore, to the great Tu- ranian peoples represented by the Chinese, Japanese and Fins. We started out to make an exhaustive study of Christianity, an Aryan religion if named from its adherents; Semitic from its origin. We found it receiving tributary streams from three Aryan sources, namely, Alexandrian Neo-Platonism, Pagan Rome and Teutonic-Ger- many; its roots were nurtured in Semitic Hebrew soil which had been enriched from Semitic Assyria, Aryan Persia, Turanian Akkadia and Hematic Egypt. Its parent was Judaism, a national religion, limited by the bound- aries of one nation. It is itself a universal religion, having transcended all national boundaries. How was this transformation effected? For answer go to Kuenen's masterly handling of the subject, " National Religions and Universal Religions." If our study has been wide we have learned that religions, like languages, have a life history of birth, development, transformation, death, following certain definite laws. Moreover, the law of life for all organisms is the same, and may, per- haps, be formulated as the power of adjustment to environment; the greater the adjustability the greater the vitality. But this means capacity to change. "That which is no longer susceptible of change," says Kuenen, "may continue to exist, but it has ceased to live. And religion must live, must enter into new combina- tions and bear fresh fruit if it is to answer to its destiny; if refusing to crystalli.'re into formulae and usages it is to work like the leaven, is to console, to inspire and to strengthen." Has Christianity this vital t "1 Mi ; THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 303 power? "Yes," again answers Kuenen, and quotes approvingly a say- ing of Richard Rothe: "Christianity is the most mutable of all things. That is its special glory." And why should this not be so? Chris- tianity has gathered contributions from many lands and woven them into one ideal large enough to include all peoples, tender enough to comfort all, lofty enough to inspire all— the ideal of a universal human brotherhood bound together under a common Divir e Fatherhood. * ■I j i Yhe (^ompeLraXwe §tudy of the YV'o^^^'s Religions. Paper by MGR. C. D. D'H^RLEZ, Louvain University. f 1 ; F I ! i •At II *z Kinnl I[iip|>i- in-H i>f Man. m T is not without piofound emotion that I address niysclt to an assemblage of men, the most dis- tinguished, come together from all parts of the worUl and who, despite essential divergences of opinion, are nevertheless united in this vast eilitltx', pursuing one purpose, animated with one thought, the most no' !e that may occujjy the human mind, tlie seeking ouL of religious truth. I have under my e)es this unprece- dented spectacle, until now unheard of, of dis- ciples of Kong-fu-tse, of liuddha, of Hrahma, of Ahura Majda, of Arah, of Zoroaster, of Mo- hammetl, of Naka-nusi, of Laotze, not less than those of Moses and of the divine Chri.st, gath- ered together, not to engage in the struggle of hos- tilit)', of animosil}', sources of sorrow and griefs, but to hold uj) before the eyes of the world the beliefs n-liich they profess and wliicli they have received from their fathers and tlieir religion. Religion! Word sublime. VuW of harmony to the ear of man, penetrating on through the depths of his heart and stirring into vibra- tion its profouiulest chords. How gooiUy the title of our programme -World's I'arliamcnt of Religions. 1 low true the thought put forth by one who took part in lis production: " Comj^arison, not controversy, will best serve the most wholesome and therefore the most divine truth." Parliam'::nt. It is in such an asseml)ly that the most weighty interests of humanity are discussed, that their most accredited representatives come to set forth what they believe to be most favorable to their development, to their legitimate satisfaction. But in this parliament of religions it is not the world that is the question, but heaven — the final happiness of man. 304 THE IVOKLirS CONGRESS OE EELIGIONS. 805 LcL mc sneak of the importance of a serious study of all systems of religion. Hut first let us ask if it is useful, if it is {^oocl, to give one's self to this study. This is in effect the cjuestion which in Europe men of faith put themselves when this new branch suildcnly sprouted forth from the trunk of the tree of science. At first it inspired only repufj- nance, or at least great distrust, and this was not without reason. The opinions, the designs of those who made themselves its promoters in- spired very legitimate suspicions. It was evident that the end pursued was to confound all religions as works of human invention, to put them all upon a common level, in order to bring them all into common contempt. The comparative history of religions in the minds of their orig- inators was to be an exposition of all the vicissitudes of human thought, imagination, and, to say the real word, folly. It was to be Darwinism, evolution applied to religious conditions that were generally held as coming from God. Naturally, then, a large number of the enlightened faithful, some of them eminent minds, saw only evil and danger in the new science. Others, clearer of sight, better informed on prevailing ideas, on the needs of the situation, convinced, besides, that a divine work cann4)t perish, and that providence disposes of things for the greater good of humanity, wclconicil without reserve this new child of science, and by their example, as by their words, drew with them into this wiiw field of research e\en the hesitating and trembling. They thought, besides, that no fieklof science should, or could, be interdicted to men of faith without placing them and their belief in a state of in- feriority the most fatal, and that to abandon any one of them whatever EtiTnnl Truth would be to hand it o\er to the spirit of system and to all sorts of errors. They judged that any science, seriously controlled in its methods, can only concur in bringing about the triumph of the truth, and that eternal truth must come forth victorious from every scientific discussion, unless its defeiuiers, from a fear ami mistrust injurious alike for it and its di\'ine author, al)andon it and desert its cause. Today the nu)st timid Christian, be he ever so little in touch with the circumstances of the times, no longer dreads in the least the chi- merical nuuisters i)ictured to his imagination at the dawn of these new .itudics, and follows, with as much interest as he formerly feared, the tliscoveries which the savants lay lieforc him What study today excites more attention aiul interest than the compaiati\e study of religions? What object more pre-occupies the mind of men than the one contained in that magic word? Religion! In Christian countries and this (jualification embraces the whole of Europe, with the exception of Turkey and all of Amer- ica -three classes of men maybe distinguished by their dispositions and attitudes toward relig'ous (juestions. Some possess the truth doscended from on 'ligh, study it, search into its depths with love and I pect; others, at the very opposite pole, animated by I do not know what spirit, wage against it an incessant warfare and do their utmost to stifle it; others, in fine, ranged between these two extremes, plunged T 806 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Snmn t li i n K rootB(i by tions historical studies have uprooted. I speak of the theory which "tJ,ji„H ■"''■" ' has borrowed its process from the Darwinian system of evolution, the system of perpetual progress. If y(ni would believe its authors and defenders, primitive humanity have no religious sentiment, not the least notion that raised it above material nature. Hut, fcoiing in him- self a living principle, man attributed the same to whate\er moved about him, and thence arose fetichism and animism. After the first stage of fetichism and animism man would have considered separately the living principles of the beings to which he had attributed it, and this separation would have given rise to tlie be- lief in spirits. These spirits, growing upon the popular imagination, would have become gods, to whom, ultimately, after the fashion of iim 310 T//E WORLDS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. i 'I! ■ m A Grain of Truth Want- ing. earthly empires, they would have given a head. These gods would have at first been exclusively national, then a universal empire would have been imagined, and national religions would have at length ended as a last effort of the human mind in universal religions. Here, indeed, we have an edifice wonderfully planned and per- fectly constructed. This would appear still more plainly were we to describe in detail all its parts. Unfortunately, one thing is wanting — one thing only, but essential — that is a little grain of truth. Not only is the whole of it the fruit of hypothesis without foundation in facts, but religious studies have demonstrated all and each of its Jetails to be false. The examples of Egypt, of India and of China, especially, have demonstrated that monotheism real, though imperfect, preceded the luxuriant mythologies whose development astonishes, but is only too easily explained. In Egypt the divinity was first represented by the sun; the different phases of the great luminary were personified and deified. In the most ancient portions of Aryan India the personality of Varuna, with his immutable laws, soars above the figures of India and the other devas who have in great part dethroned him, just as the Jupiter of Greece supplanted the more ancient Pelagian Ouranas. Among these two last people, it is true, monotheism is at its lowest degree; but in China, on the contrary, it shows itself much less imper- fect than elsewhere and even with relative purity. Shang-ti is almost the God of the spiritualist philosophy. These facts, we may easily con- ceive, are exceedingly embarrassing for the adherent of the evolutionary theory, but they worm out of the difficulty in a manner that provokes both sadness and a smile. The thesis of national divinities everywhere preceding the universal divinities is not more solidly grounded. For neither. Varuna nor Brahma nor Shang-ti nor Tengri ever saw their power limited by their devotees to a single country. The theory that fear or ancestral worship gave birth to the gods received in China the most formal contradiction. In fact, at the very first appearance of this first great empire upon the scene of history, the supreme deity was already considered as the father, the mother, not only of the faithful, but of the entire human race, and the first to receive worship among the dead were not departed relatives but kings and ministers, bene- factors of the people. That it is gratitude which has inspired this worship is expressly affirmed in the Chinese ritual. It remain:, for us to say a few words about these conditions. The first is clearly that enunciated In our program. These studies ought to be serious and strictly scientific. They should be based upon strict logic and a thorough knowledge of the original sources. Too long have would-be adepts been given over to fantastic speculations, every- where seeking an apology for either faith or incredulit" Too long have they limited themselves to superficial views, to sumi. ry glimpses, dwelling with complacency upon whatever might favor a pet system. Or else they have been content with documents of second hand whose authors themselves had but an imperfect knowledge of who they pre- tended to treat as masters. mim» 1 7'ff£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 311 We may easily understand that in order to be able to choose among them all, and to distinguish the sources, it is necessary to know thoroughly the language and the history, both political and literary, of the people whose religions one would investigate and expose. It is necessary to be a specialist and a specialist competent in this special matter. It is only when the work of such authorized and impartial specialist has been done, the others will be able to draw from the waters which they have collected. Hov many errors fatal to true science have been propagated by men too prone to generalize? This leads us to consider the second condition for the serious study of the comparative history of religion. It is the necessity of penetrating one's self with the spirit of the people who form the object of particular research. It is necessary, asit were, to think with their ^J^^ xhe'i^ minds and to see with their eyes, making entire abstraction of one's Minds, own ideas, under pain of seeing everything in a false light as one sees nature through a colored glass and of forming of foreign religious ideas the most erroneous and often even the most unjust. ' i ' I sii»«ii»«U^,., il '1 I '^ '.I il o ^ .2 >- (0 a 1 I Swedenborg and the H^^^iony of Religions. Paper by REV. L. P. MERCER, of Chicago. i I iKFORK the closing of this grand historic as- sembly with its witness to the worth of every form of faith by which men worship God and seek communion with Him, one word more needs be spoken, one more testimony defined, one more hope recorded. Kvery voice has witnessed to the recogni- tion of a new age. An age of inquiry, expec- tation and experiment has dawned. New in- ventions are stirring men's hearts, new ideals inspire their arts, new physical achievements beckon them on to one marvelous mastery after another of the universe. And now we see that the new freedom of " willing and thinking " has entered the realm of religion, and the faiths of the world are summoned to declare and compare not only the formulas of the past but the movements of the present and the forecasts of the future. One religious teacher, who explicitly heralded the new age, be- fore men had yet dreamed of its possibility, and referred its causes to great movements in the centers of influx in the spiritual world, and described it as incidental to great purposes in the providence of God, needs to be named from this platform— one who ranks with prophets ,A, Rnypi'itor and seers rather than with inquirers and speculators; a revelator rather Preacher, than a preacher and interpreter; one whose exalted personal character and transcendent learning are eclipsed in the fruits of his mission as a herald of a new dispensation in religion, as the revealer of heavenly arcana, and " restorer of the foundations of many generations;" who, ignored by his own generation, and assaulted by its successor, is hon- ored and respected in the present, and awaits the thoughtful study, which the expansion and culmination of the truth and the organic course of events, will bring with tomorrow; "the permeating and formative influence "of whose teachings in the religious belief and life of today, in Christendom, is commonly admitted; who subscribed 813 314 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIOIONS. li ,\ Ahead of His Goaeration. 1 \'\ with his name on the last of his Latin quartos — Emanuel Swcdcnborg, " servant of the Lord Jesus Christ." That Swedenborg was the son of a Swedish bishop, a scholar, a practical engineer, a man of science, a philosopher and a seer, who lived between 1683 and 1772, is generally known. That the first fifty years of his remarkable life, devoted to the pursuit of natural learning and independent investigation in science and philosophy, illustrates the type of man in which our age believes is generally con- ceded. Learned, standing far ahead of his generation; exact, trained in mathematical accuracy and schooled to observation; practical, see- ing at once some useful application of every new discovery; a man of affairs, able to take care of his own and bear his part in the nation's councils; aspiring, ignoring no useful application, but content with no achievement short of a final philosophy of causes; inductive, taking nothing for granted but facts of experiment, and seeking to ascend therefrom to a generalization which shall explain them — this is the sort of man which in our own day 'we consider sound and useful. Such was the man who, at the age of fifty-six, in the full maturity of his powers, declares that " he was called to a holy office by the Lord, who most graciously manifested himself to me in person, and opened my sight to a view of the spiritual world and granted me the privilege of conversing with spirits and angels." "From that day forth," he says, " I gave up all worldly learning, and labored '^nly in spiritual things according to what the Lord commanded me to write." He tells us that, while in the body, yet in a state of seership, and thus able to note the course of events in both worlds, and locate the stupendous transactions in the spiritual world in earthly time, he wit- nessed a last judgment in the world of spirits in 1757, fulfilling in every respect the predictions in the Gospel and in the Apocalypse; that he beheld the Lord open in all the Scriptures the things concerning Him- self, revealing in their eternal sense the divine meaning, the whole course and purpose of His providence, organizing a new heaven of angels out of every nation and kindred and tongue, and co-ordinating it with the a; cient and most ancient heavens for the inauguration of a new dispen5;ation of religion, and of the church universal; and that this new dispensation began in the spiritual world, is carried down and inaugurated among men by the revelation of the spiritual sense and divine meaning of the sacred Scriptures, in and by means of which he makes his promised second advent, which is spiritual and universal, to gather up and complete all past and partial revelations, to consummate and crown the dispensations and churches which have been upon the earth. The Christian world is incredulous of such an event, and for the m>. . part heedless of its announcement. But that does not much signify, except as it makes one with the whole course of history, as to the reception of divine announcements. What prophet was ever welcomed until the event had proved his message? The question is not whether it meets the expectation of men; not whether it is what ences turnel somel tholol religif time 1 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 315 human prudence would forecast, but whether it reveals and meets the needs and necessities of the nations of the earth. "My thoughts are not your thoughts," saith the Lord, "neither are your ways my ways." The great movements of divine Providence are never what men antici- pate, but they always provide what men need. And the appeal to the Parliament of Religions, in behalf of the revelation announced from heaven, is in its ability to prove its divinity by outreaching abundantly all human forecast whatsoever. Does it throw its light over the past, and into the present, and project its promise into the future? Docs it illuminate and unify history, elucidate the conflicting movements of today, and explain the hopes and yearnings of the heart in every age and clime? There is not time at this hour for exposition and illustration, only to indicate the catholicity of Swedenborg's teachings in its spirit, scope and purpose. There is one God and one church. As God is one, the human race, in the complex movements of its growth and history, is before Him as one greatest man. It has had its ages in their order cor- responding to infancy, childhood, youth and manhood in the individ- ual. As the one God is the Father of all. He has witnessed Himself in every age according to its s.ate and necessities. The divine care has not been confined to one line of human descent, nor the revelation of God's will to one set of miraculously given Scriptures. The great religions of the world have their origin in that same word or mind of God which wrote itself through Hebrew lawgiver and prophet, and became incarnate in Jesus Christ. He, as "the word which was in the beginning with God and was God," was the light of every age in the spiritual development of mankind, preserving and carrying over the life of each into the several streams of tradition in the religions of men concerning and embodying all in the Hebrew Scriptures, fulfilling that in His own person, and now opening His divine mind in all that Scripture, the religions of the world are to be restored to unity, purified and perfected in Him. Nor is this word Swedenborgian, the liberal sentiment of good will and the enthusiasm of hope, but the discovery of divine fact and the rational insight of spiritual understanding. He has shown that the sacred Scriptures are written according to the correspondence of natural with spiritual things, and that they contain an internal spirit- ual sense treating of the providence of God in the dispensations of the church and of the regeneration and spiritual life of the soul. Be- fore Abraham there was the church of Noah, and before the word of Moses there was an ancient word, written in allegory and correspond- ences, which the ancients understood and loved, but in process of time turned into magic and idolatry. The ancient church, scattered into Egypt and Asia, carried fragments of that ancient word and preserved something of its representatives and allegories, in Scriptures and my- thologies, from which have conv; the truths and fables of the oriental religions, modified according to nations and peoples, and revived from time to time in the teachings of leaders and prophets. Catholicity of Sweden bor^'H Teachings. ' 816 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. anil Hymbols, Myt :i I /' From the same ancient word Moses derived, under divine direc- tion, the early chapters of Genesis, and to this in the order of Provi- dence was added the Law and the Prophets. The history of the in- carnation and the prophecy of a final judgment of God, all so written as to contain an integral spiritual sense, corresponding with the latter, but distinct from it as the soul corresponds with the body, and is dis- tinct and transcends it. It is the opening of this internal sense in all the Holy Scriptures and not any addition to their final letter which constitutes the new and needed revelation of our day. The science of correspondences is the key which unlocks the Scriptures and dis- closes their internal contents. The same key opens the Scriptures of the orient and traces them back to their source in primitive revela- tion. If it shows that their myths and representatives have been mis- understood, misrepresented and misapplied, it shows, also, that the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures have been likewise perverted and falsified. It is that very fact which necessitates the revelation of their internal meaning, in which resides their divine inspiration and the life of rational understanding for the separation of truth from error. The same rational life and science of interpretation separates the great primitive truths from the corrupting speculations and traditions in all the ancient religions, and furnishes the key to unlock the myths and symbols in ancient Scriptures and worship. If Swcdcnborg reveals errors and supersitions in the religions out of Christendom, so does he also show that the current Christian faith and worship is largely the invention of men and falsifying of the Christian's Bible. If he promises and shows true faith and life to the Christian from the Scriptures, so does he also to the Gentiles in leading them back to primitive revelation and showing them the meaning of their own aspirations for the light of life. If he sets the Hebrew and Christian word above all other sacred Scripture, it is because it brings, as now opened in its Scriptural depths, the divine sanction to all the rest and gathers their strains into its sublime symphony of revela- tion. So much as the indication of what Swedenborg does for catholic enlightenment in spiritual wisdom. As for salvation, he teaches that God has provided with every nation a witness of Himself and means of eternal life. He is present by His spirit with all. He gives the good of His love, which is life, internally and impartially to all. All know that there is a God, and that He is to be loved and obeyed; that there is a life after death, and that there are evils which are to be shunned as sins against God. So far as anyone so believes and so lives from a principle of religion he receives eternal life in his soul, and after death instruction and perfection according to the sincerity of his life. No teaching could be more catholic than this, showing that "whom- soever in any nation feareth God and worketh righteousness is ac- cepted of Him." If he sets forth Jesus Christ as the only wise God, in est of woil opt der wh( res the pre poil 1 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 317 whom, is the fullness of the Godhead, it is Christ glorified, and realizing to the mind the infinite and eternal lover, and thinker, and doer, a real and personal God, our Father and Saviour. If he sum- mons all prophets and teachers to bring their honor and glory unto Him it is not as to a conquering rival, but as to their inspiring life, whose word they have spoken and whose work they have wrought out. If he brings all good spirits in the other life to the acknowledgment of the glorified Christ as the only God, it is because they have in heart and essential faith, believed in Him and lived for Him, in living ac- cording to precepts of their religion. He calls him a Christian who lives as a Christian; and he lives as a Christian who looks to the one God and does what He teaches, as he is able to know it. If he denies reincarnation, so also does he deny sleep in the grave and the resur- rection of the material body. If he teaches the necessity of regeneration and union with God, so also does he show that the subjugation and quiesence of self is the true "Nirvana," opening consciousness to the divine life and confer- ring the peace of harmony with God. If he teaches that man needs the spirit of God for the subjugation of self, he teaches that the spirit is freely imparted to whosoever will look to the Lord and shun selfishness as sin. If he teaches thus, that faith is necessary to salvation, he teaches that faith alone is not suffi- cient, but faith which worketh by love. If he denies that salvation is of favor, or immed.ate mercy, and affirms that it is vital and the effect of righteousness, he also teaches that the divine righteousness is imparted vitally to him that seeks it first and above all; and if he denies that several probations on earth are necessary to the working out of the issues of righteousness, it is be- cause man enters a spiritual world after death, in a spiritual body and personality, and in an environment in which his ruling love is devel- oped, his ignorance enlightened, his imperfections removed, his good beginnings perfected, until he is ready to be incorporated in the grand Man of heaven, to receive and functionate his measure of the divine life and participate in the divine joy. And so I might go on. My purpose is accomplished if I have won your respect and inter- est in the teachings of this great apostle, who, claiming to be called of the Lord to open the Scriptures, presents a harmony of truths that would gather into its embrace all that is of value in every religion and open out into a career of illimitable spiritual progress. The most unimpassioned of men, perhaps because he so well un- derstood that his mission was not his own, but the concern of Him who builds through the ages, Swedenborg wrote and published. The result is a liberty that calmly awaits the truth-seekers. If the re- ligions of the worlf* become disciples then, it will not be proselytism that will take them there, but the organic course of events in that providence which works on, silent but mighty, like the forces that poise planets and gravitate among the stars. Present history shows the effect of unsuspected causes. This par- « All that is of Valau in Kelig- ion. 818 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. II.. { liament of religions is itself a testimony to unseen spiritual causes, and should at least incline to belief in Swedcnborg's testimony, that a way is open, both in the spiritual world and on earth, for a universal church in the faith of one visible God in Whom is the invisible, imparting eternal life and enlightenment to all from every nation who believe in Him and work righteousness. ! i k t *' 'v % i I I Harmonies and Distinctions in the The- istic 1 eaciiings of the Various Historic Faiths. Paper by PROF. M. VALENTINE. ^ N calling attention to the "Harmonies and Dis- tinctions in the Theistic Teachings of the Vari- ous Historic Faiths," I must, by very neces- sity of the case, speak from the Christian stand- point. This standpoint is tc me synonymous with the very truth itself I cannot speak as free from prepossessions. This, however, does not mean any unwillingness nor, I trust, in- ^^^^^^^^^ ability to see and treat with sincerest candor \n/^^^B^^Bt^ ^"'^ genuine appreciation the truth that may be . M^^B^^KK^ found in each and all of the various theistic conceptions which reason and Providence may have enabled men anywhere to reach. Un- doubtedly, some rays from the true divine "Light of the World" have been shiningthrougli reason, and reflected from "the things that arc made" everywhere and at all times, God never nor in any place leaving Himself wholly without witness. And though we now and here stand in the midst of the high illumination of what we accept as supernatural revelation, we rejoice to recognize the truth which may have come into view from other openings, blending with the light of God's redemptive self-manifestation in Christianity. It is not necessary prejudice to truth anywhere when from this standpoint I am further necessitated, in this comparative view, to take the Christian conception as the standard of comparison and measure- ment. We must use some standard if we are to proceed discriminat- ingly or reach any well defined and consistent conclusions. Simply to compare different conceptions with one another, without the unifying light of some accepted rule of judging, or at least of reference, can never lift the impression out of confusion or fix any valuable points of 319 Standard fni ConsistentCou clarions. 820 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. l::U I I 1 I \ Tho Truth (lluurly HtH'U. Theistic Fnitlis «if Men. il '. J' truth. Only to hold our eye to the varied shifting colors and combina- tions of the kiilcidoscope can brinjf no satisfactory or edifying; conclu- sion. To the Chiistian's comparative view of the " historic faiths " other than his own necessarily thus ranges them under his own Christian canons of juilgment, means no exclusion or obscuration of the light, but merel)' fi.xes the leading parallelism of its fall, securing consistency aiul clearness of presentation, a presentation under which not only the harmonies and distinctions, but the actual truth, may be most clearly and fairl)- seen. The phrase "theistic teaching, ' in the statement of the subject of this paper, I understand, in its broadest sense, as referring to the whole conception concerning (iod, including the very tpiestion of His being, and therefore applicable to systems of thought, if any such there be, that in philosophic reality are atheistic. In this sense teachings on the subject of Deity or "the divine" are "theistic," though they negative the reality of God, and so may come legitimately into our comparative view. And yet, we are to bear in mind, it is onl>' the "theistic" teach- ing of the historic faiths, not their whole religious view, that falls under the intention of this paper. The subject is special, restricting us spe- cifically to their ideas about God. At the outset we need to remind ourselves of the exceeding diffi- culty of the comjiarison, or of precise and llrm classification of the theistic faiths of mankind. They are all, at least all the ethnic faiths, developments or evolutions, having undergone various and immense changes. Their evolutions amount to re\olutioiis in some cases. They arc not permanently marked by the same features, and will not admit the same i)redicates at different times. Some are found to differ more from themselves in their history than from one another. There is such an inter-crossing of principles and manifold forms of representation as to lead the most learned specialists into tlisputes and opposing con- clusions, and render a scientific characterization and classification im- possible. The most and best that call be done is to bring the teach- ings of the historic religions in this particular into comparison as to five or six of the fundamental anti must distinctive features of theistic conception. Their most vital points of likeness and difference will thus appear. It will be enough t(' include in the comparison, besides Christianity, the religions of ancient Greece and Rome, of old Egypt, Indian Hinduism or more exactly Hrahmanism, Persian Parseeism or Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Chinese Confucianism, Celtic Druidism, the Norse or Teutonic mythology and Mahonmiedanism, with incidental reference to some less prominent religions. I class Judaism as the early stage of unfolding Christianity. Adopting this method, therefore, of comparing them under the light of a few leading features oc elements of the theistic view, we begin with that which is most fundamental — belief in the existence of God, or of what we call "the divine," Deity, some higher power to which or to whom men sustain relations of dependence, obligation and hope. This is the bottom point, the question underlying all other questions THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 321 •yMO- T)ie Fiinda- mental and in rclitjioiis belief: Does ii God exist? And here it is assuring; a wuiulerliil harmony is found. All the historic faiths, save perhaps one, rest on belief of some divine existence or existences to be acknowl- ed^fed, feared or pleased. It seems to be part of the relij^ious instinct of the race. And the intellect ct)ncurs in fostering and developing the belief. History, ethnology and philology not only suggest, but amply prove, that the idea of (lod, of some power or powers above, upon V horn man depends and to whom he must answer, is so normal to human reason in the presence and experience of the phenomena of nature and liie, that it is developed wherever man's condition is high enough for the action of his religious nature at all. "God" 1/. the fundamental and constructive idea, and it is the greatest and mr cvil spirit, was not conceived of as a (jod, it afterward lapsed into theological dualism and practical pohtheism. All the rest arc pre- vailingly and discordantly polytheistic. They move off into endless multiplicity of divinities and grote.>que degradations of their char- acter. This fact does not speak well for the ability of the human mind without supernatural help, to formulate and maintain the necessary idea of God worthily. This dark and regretful phenomenon is, however, much relieved by several modifying facts. One is, that the search-lights of history and philology reveal for the i)rincipal historic faiths back of their stages and conditions of luxuriantly developed polytheism the existence of an early or possibly, though not certainly, primitive monotheism. This point, I know, is strongly contested, especially by many whose views are determin«xl by acceptance of the evolutionist hypothesis of the derivative origin of the human race. Hut it seems to me that the evidence, as made clear through the true historical method of investi- gation, is decisive for monotheism as the earliest known form of theistic conception in the religions of Egypt, China, India and the original Druidism, as well as of the two faiths already classed as asserting the divine unity. Polytheisms are found to lie actual growths. Tracing them back they become simpler and simpler. "The yoimger the polytheism the fewer the gods," until a stage is reached where (jod is conceived of as one alone. This accords, too. as has been well pointed out, with the psychological genesis of ideas — the singular number preceding the plural, the idea of a god preceding the idea of gods, the affirmation, "There is a God," going before the affirmation there are two or many gods. Another fact of belief is, that the polytheisms have not held their fields without dissent and revolt. Over against the tendency of de- praved humanity to corrupt the idea oi (lod and multiply imaginary and false divinities, there are forces th.'it act for correction and im- provement. The human soul has been formed for the one true and only (}od. Where r'Mson is highly devel()|)eil and the testing powers of the intellect and conscience are earnestly applietl to the problems of existence and duty, these grotesque and gross polytheisms prove unsatisfactory. In the higher ascents of civilization faith in the mythologic divinities is undermined and weakened. Men of lofty genius arise, men of finer ethicai intuitions and higher religious sense and aspira- tion and better conceptions of the power by and in which men live and THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 323 move arc reached and a reformation comes. This is illustrated in the epocli-makiii V i ^ lu lm ^M m kK : 'in THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \ \ % > < I 1 f ■ :l- Human Foci. iun of ]{('l|i- lessnt't^H, dcrod by the immense diversity in which, in this particular, the objects of worship are conceived, from the intense anthropomorphism that makes the [j^ods but mii^hty men or apotheosized ancestors, down through endless personifications of the powers and operations to the lowest forms of fetichism. Largely, however, their theistic thought includes the notion of personality, and so a point of fellowship is established between the worshiper and his gods. But we have to do mainly with the monotheistic faiths or periods of faith. In the early belief of Egypt, of China, of India, in the teaching of Zoroaster, of Celtic Dru- idisMi, of Assyrian and Babylonian faith, and in the best intuition of the Greek and Roman philosophers, without doubt, God was appre- hended as a personal God Indeed, in almost the whole world's relig- ious thinking this element of true theistic conception has had more or less positi\e recognition and maintenance. It seems to have been spontaneously and necessarily demanded by the religious sense and life. The human feeling of helplessness and need called fo»- a God who could hear and understand, feel and act. y\nd whenever thought rose beyond the many pseudo-gods to the existence of the one true God, as a Creator and Ruler of the world, the ten thousand marks of order, plan and i)urposc in nature speaking to men's hearts and reason led up to the grand truth that the Maker of all is a Thinker, and both knows and wills. i\nd so a relation of trust, fellowship and intercourse was found and recognized. None of the real feelings of worship, love, de- votion, gratitude, consecration, could live and act simply in the pres- ence of an impersonal, unconscious, fateful energy or order of nature. No consistent hope of a conscious personal future life can be estab- lished except as it is rooted ip faith in a personal Goil. And yet the personality of God has often been much obscured in the historic faiths. The observation has not come as a natural and spontaneous product of the religious impulse or consciousness, but of mj-stic speculative philosophies. The phenomenon presented by .Si)inozism and later pantheisms, in the presence of Christianity, was substantially anticipated again and again, ages ago. in the midst ot x'arious religious faiths, despite their own truer visions of the eternal God. As we understand it, the philosophy of religion with Hinduism, the later Confucianism, developed Parseeism and Druidism is substan- tially pantheistic, reducing God to impersonal existence or the con- scious factors and forces of cosmic order. It marks some of these more strongly and injuriously than others. How far do the religions harmonize in including crcational relation and activity in their conception of God? In Christianity, as you know, the notion of creatorship is inseparable from the divine idea. "In the beginning (jod created." Creator is another name for Him. How is it in t' e polytheistic mythologies? The conception is thrown into inextricable confusion. In some, as in the early Greek and Roman, the heavens and the earth are eternal, and the gods, even the highest, are their offspring. In advancing stages and fuller pantheons, 1 7'ffE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, 825 almost everywhere, the notion of creatorship emerges in coimection with the mythologic divinities. In the monotheisms, wlicther the earlier or tnose reached in philosophic periods, it is clear and unequiv- ocal — in China, India, Egypt, Persia and the Druidic teaching. Pantheistic thought, however, while it offers accounts of world origins, confuses or overthrows real creational action by various pro- cesses of divine and self-unfolding, in which God and the universe are identified and either the divine is lost in the natural, or nature itself is God. The pantheism seems to lesolve itself sometimes into atheism; sometimes into acosmism. But while the creative attribute seems to appear in some way and measure in all the historic religions, I have found no instance apart from Christianity and its derivatives in which creatio e.x nihilo, or absolute creation, is taught. This is a distinction in whic.h Christianity must be counted as fairly standing alone. A point of high importance respects the inclusion of the ethical attribute in the notion of God and the divine government. To what extent do they hold Him, not only a governor, but a moral governor, whose will enthrones righteousness and whose administration aims at moral character and the blessedness of ethical order and excellence? The comparison on this point reveals some strange phenomena. In the nature-worships and polytheistic conditions there is found an almost complete disconnection between religion and morality, the rituals of worship not being at all adjusted to the idea that the gods were holy, sin-hating, pure and righteous. The grossest anthropomorphisms have prevailed, and almost every passion, vice, meanness and wrong found among men were paralleled in the nature and actions of the gods, Often their very worship has been marked b\' horrible and degrading rites. But as human nature carries in itself a moral constitution and the reason spontaneously acts in the way of moral distinctions, judg- ments and demands, it necessarily, as it advanced in knowledge, crctN ited the objects of its worship with more or less of the moral qualities it required in men. The moral institutions and demands could not act with clearness and force in rude and uncivilized men and peoples, The degrees of ethical elements in their conceptio.. of the gods cflected the less or greater development of the moral life that evolved the theistic ideas. But whenever the religious faith was monotheistic, and especially in its more positive and clearer forms, the logic of reason and con- science lifted thought into clear and unequivocal apprehension of the Supreme Being as the power whose government makes for righteous- ness. Finely and impressively does this attribute come to view in the teacliiinjs of the faith of the ancient Egyptians, of Confucianism, of Zoroastrianism, of Druidism, and of the theism of the Greek and Roman sages. But Brahmanism, that mighty power of the east, though it abounds in moral precepts and virtuous maxims and rules of life, fails to give these a truly religious or theistic sanction by any clear assurance that the advancement or triumph of the right and good is the aim of the divine government. Indeed, the pantheistic thought of C'rcntional Relation. iJ 1 f^W iii; 326 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ii ,■: ■I ■ I i Moral Attri- bates of God. ! i ■:' I that system obliterating the divine personality leaves scarcely any room for a moral purpose, or any other purpose, in the cosmic energy. And Buddhism, though largely a philosophical ethic only— however, of the "good" sort — yet by its failure to make ])ositive assertion of a .Su- preme Being, save simply as the infinite unknown behind nature, of which (Brahma) nothing may be predicted except that it is, perceives and is blessed, fails also, of course, to affirm any moral predicates for its nature or movement. The ethics of life, divorced from religious sanction, stand apart from theistical dynamics. Christianity makes the moral attributes of God fundamental. His government and providence have a supreme etliical aim, the over- throw of sin with its disorder and misery, and the making of all things new in a kingdom in which righteousness shall dwell. Anil we rejoice to trace from the gi t natural religions rountl the globe how generally, and sometimes inspi>i this grand feature of true tlieism has been discerned and used for uplifting of character and life, furnishing a testimony obscured or biuken only by the crudest fetichisnis, or low- est polytheisms, or by pantheistic teachings that reduce God to imper- sonality where the concept of moral character becomes inapplicable. But a single additional feature of theistic teaching can be brought into this comparative view. How far do the \arious religions include in their idea of God redemptive relation and administration? .Some comparativists, as you are aware, class two of them as religions of re- demption or deliverance — Buddhism and Christianity. But if 15ud- dhism istobe so classed, there is no reason for not including Brahman ism. For, as Prof. Max Miiller has so clearly shown. Buddhism rests upon and carries forward the same fundamental conceptions of the world and human destiny and the way of its attainment. Tiic>' both start with the fact that the condition of man is unhappy through his own errors, and set forth a way of deliverance or salvation. l?oth connect this state of misery with the fundamental doctrine of metempsychosis, innumerably repeated incarnations, or births and deaths, with a possi- ble deliverance in a final absorption intii the rei)ose of absolute exist- ence or cessation of conscious individualit\- Nirvana. It is connected, too, in both, with a philosophy of the world that pantheistically reduces God into impersonality, making the divine but the ever-moving course of nature. And the deliverance conies as no free gift, gracious help or accomplishment of (iod, but an issue that a man wins for himself by knowledge, ascetic repression of desire and self-reduction out of conscious inilividuality, re-absorption into j)rimal being. God is not conceived of as a being of redeeming love and loving activity. A philosophy of self-redemi)tion is substituted for faith and surrender to a redeeming god. As I understand it, it is a philosophy that pessimistically condemns life itself as an evil and misfortune to be escaped from and to be escaped by self-redemption, because life finds no saving in God. And so these faiths cannot fairly be said to attribute to God redemptive character ami administration. Christianity stands, therefore, as the only faith that truly and dij pa I Gi G< tri th( kk tior eler the; tori Ch. oth the .sou thej sen] hQli It., i* Vi "?> THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 327 fully conceives of God In redcmptory rulershlp and activity. In this faith "God is love," in deepest and most active sympathy with man. While He rules for the maintenance and victory of lii^hteousness, He uses, also, redeeming action for the same hi<^h ends— recovering the lost to holiness. In this comes in the uni(iue supernatural character of Christianity. It is not a mere evolution of natural religious intuitions. Even as a revelation, it is not simply an ethic or a jihilosophy of happy life. Christianity stands fundamentally and essentially for a course of divine redemptive action, the incoming presence and activity of the supernatural in the world and time. Let us fix this clearly in mind, as its distinction among all relig- ions, causing it to stand apart and alone. From the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New it is a disclosure in record of what God in grace has done, is doing, and will do, for the deliverance, recovery and eternal salvation from sin of lai^sed, sin-enslaved human- ity. It is a supernatural redcmptory work and provision with an in- spired instruction as to the way and duty of life. If Christianity be not this, Christendom has been deluded. It is the religion ol the divine love and help whiL-L the race needs and only God could give. Let us sum up the results of this hurried Comparison. C)n the fundamental point of affirming or implying the existence of God the testimony is a rich harmony. To the monotheistic conception there is strong witness from the chief earliest great historical re ligions— the Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, original Zoroastrianism and Druidism, obscured and almost lost in later growths of enormous jjolytheisms, till restored there and elsewhere in greater or less degree under the better intuitions of sages, including those of Greece and Rome. The divine personality is witnessed to, though often under ihe rudest and most distorted notions, by almost all religions, but darkened out of sight by pantheistic developments in India, China, Druidism and among the Greeks. Creational activity in some sense and measure has been almost easy where inclutled in the idea of God; but creatio ex nihilo seems peculiar to Christianity. The attribution of ethical attributes to (iod has varied in degrees accoiding to thecivilization and culture of the tribes anil nations ortheir religious leaders made inconsistent here and there by pantheistic theories Christianity, however, giving the moral idea supreme emphasis. And finally, redeeming love and effort in redemp- tion from moral evil is clearly asserted only in the Christian teaching. The other historic faiths have grasped some of the great essential elements of theistic truth. We rejoice to trace and recognize them. But they all shine forth in Christian revelation. As I see it, the other his- toric beliefs have no elements of true theistic conception to give to Christianity that it has not, but Christianity has much to give to the others. It unites and consummates out of its own given light all the theistic truth that has been sought and seen in partial vision by sincere souls along the ages and round the world. And more, it gives what they have not- a disclosure of God's redeeming love and action, pre- senting to mankind the way, the truth and the life. And we joy to hold it and offer it as the hope of the world. Supernatnra Clmracter o f Christinnity. A Kich niony. Har- u km I. if HI' iifi HI i ', ! i i.'i ! i if* ill ! i ■v. Rabbi E. G. Hirsch, Chicago. IS I lit ci lU If Elements of Universal Religion. Paper by DR. EMIL G. HIRSCH, of Chicago. .vfR <^ ■W^^^Bt 'Wiggum ^^ human, as distinct from mere animal life. /' ip^HL, ■ 'MpBil^ To this proposition ethnology and sociology bear abundant testimony. Man alone in the wide sweep of creation builds altars. And wherever man may tent there also will curve upward the burning incense of his sacrifice or the sweeter savor of his aspirations after the better, the diviner light. However rude the form of society in which he moves, or however refined and complex the social organism, re- fails to be among the determining forces one of the most potent. It, under all types of social architecture, will be active as one of the decisive influences rounding out individual life and lifting it into significance for and under the swifter and stronger current of the social relations. Climatic and historical accidents may modify, and do, the action of this all-pervading energy. But under every sky it is vital and under all temporary conjunctures it is quick. A man without religion is not normal. There may be those in whom this function approaches atrophy. But they are undeveloped or crippled specimens of the completer type. Their condition recalls that of the color blind or the deaf. Can they contend that their defect is proof of superiority? As well might those bereft of the sense of hearing insist that because to them the reception of sound is denied the universe around them is a vast ocean of unbroken silence. A society without religion has nowhere yet been discovered. Religion may then in very truth be said to be the universal distinction of man. Still the universal religion has as yet not been evolved in the pro- cession of the suns. It is one of the blessings yet to come. There are now even known to men and revered by them great religious systems 329 22 ...... Vital ander every Uky. I t 'it 330 T//E IVORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. r ': ! Ill i I liM:'!' Rapo dental. which pretend to universah'ty. And who would deny that Buddhism, Christianity and the faith of Islam present many of the characteristic elements of the universal faith? In its ideas and ideals the relij^ion of the prophets, notably as enlart;ed by those of the Babylonian exile, also deserves to be numbered amonji; the proclamations of a wider out- look and a hij^her uplook. These systems are no longer ethnic. They thus, tlie three in full practice and the last mentioned in spiritual inten- tion, have passed beyond some of the most notable limitations which are fundamental in other forms created by the religious needs of man. They have advanced far on the road leading to the ideal goal; and modern man, in his quest for the elements of the still broader univer- sal faith, will never again retrace his steps to go back to the mile-posts these have left behind on their climb up the heights. The three great religions have emancipated themselves from the bondage of racial tests and national divisions. Race and nationality cannot cir- cumscribe the fellowship of the larger communion of the faithful, a communion destined to embrace in one covenant all the children of man. Race is accidental, not essential in manhood. Color is indeed Acci- only skin deep. No caste or tribe, even were we to concede the absolute purity of the blood flowing in their arteries, an assump- tion which could in no case be verified by actual facts of the case, can lay claim to superior sanctity. None is nearer the heart of God than another. He certainly who takes his survey of iiuman- ity from the outlook of religion and from this point of view remembers the serious po.ssibilities and the sacred obligations of human life cannot adopt the theory that spirit is the exponent of animal nature. Yet such would be the conclusion if the doctrine of chosen races and tribes is at all to be urged. The racial ele- ment is merely the animal substratum of our being. Hrain and blood may be crutches which the mind must use. But mind is always more than the brain with which it works, and the soul's equation cannot be solved in terms of the blood corpuscles or the pigment of the skin or the shape of the nose or the curl of the hair. Ezra with his insistence that citizenship in God's people is depend- ent on -Abrahamitic pedigree, and therefore on the superior sanctity which by very birth the seed of the patriarch enjoys as Zea Kodesh, does not voice the broader and truer views of those that would proph- esy of the universal faith Indeed, the apostles of Christianity after Paul, the Pundits of Buddhism, the Imams of Islam and last, though not least, the rabbis of modern Judaism, have abandoned the narrow prejudice of the scribe. God is no respecter of persons. In His sight it is the black heart and not the black skin, the crooked deed and not the curved nose which excludes. National affinities and memories, however potent for good and though more spiritual than racial bonds, are still too narrow to serve as foundation stones for the temple of all humanity. The day of national religions is past. The God of the universe 1 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 331 speak? to all mankind. He is not the God of Israel alone, not that of Moab, of KgyjJt, Greece or America. He is not domiciled in Pales- tine. The Jordan and the Ganges, the Tiber and the Euphrates hold water wherewith the devout may be baptized unto His service and re- demption. "Whither shall I j^o from thy spirit? Whither flee from thy presence?" exclaims the old Hebrew bard. And before his won- derinjf gaze unrolled itself the awful certainty that the heavenly divis- ions of morning and night were obliterated in the all-embracing sweep of divine law and love. If the wide expanses of the skies and the abysses of the deep cannot shut out from the divine presence, can the pigmy barriers erected by man and preserved by political intrigues and national pride dam in the mighty stream of divine love? The prophet of Islam repeats the old 1 lebrew singer's joy when he says: "The East is God's and the West is His," as indeed the apostle true to the spirit of the prophetic message of Messianic Judaism refused to tolerate the line of cleavage marked by language or national affinity. Greek and Jew are invited by him to the citizenship of kingdom come. The church universal must have the pentecostal gift of the many flaming tongues in it, as the rabbis say was the case at Sinai. God's revelation must be sounded in every language to every land. But, and this is essential as marking a new advance, the universal religion for all the children of Adam will not palisade its courts by the pointed and forbidding stakes of a creed. Creeds in time to come will be rec- ognized to be indeed cruel barbed wire fences, wounding those that would stray to broader pastures and hurting others who would come in. Will it for this be a Godless church? Ah, no! it will have much more of God than the churches and synagogues with their dogmatic definitions now possess. Coming man will not be ready to resign the crown of his glory which is his by virtue of his feeling himself to be the son of God. He will not exchange the church's creed for that still more presumptuous and deadening one of materialism which would ask his acceptance of the hopeless perversion that the world which sweeps by us in such sublime harmony and order is not cosmos but chaos — is the fortuitous outcome of the chance play of atoms produc- ing consciousness by the interaction of their own unconsciousness. Man will not extinguish the light of his own higher life by shutting his eyes to the telling indications of purpose in history, a purpose which when revealed to him in the outcome of his own career, he may well find reflected also in the interrelated life of nature. Hut for all this man will learn a new modesty now woefully lacking to so many who honestly deem themselves religious. His God will not be a figment, cold and distant, of metaphysics, nor a distorted caricature of embit- tered theology. "Can man by searching find out God?" asks the old Hebrew poet. And the ages so flooded with religious strife are vocal with the stinging rebuke to all creed-builders that man cannot. Man grows unto the knowledge of God, but not to him is vouchsafed that fullness of knowledge which would warrant his arrogance to hold that his blurred vision is tne full light and that there can be none other might which rejjort truth as does his. The Church Universal. ; i i ■ 332 TIIK WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. i hi i i I '1}l\-\ m Says Maimonitlcs, {greatest thinker of the many Jewish philosophers of the Middle iX^es: "Of God we may merely assert that He is; what He is in Himself we cannot know. 'My thoughts are not yourthoughts A rroph tic and l\Iy \\a\s are not your ways.'" This prophetic caution will re- sound in clear notes in the cars of all who will worship in the days to come at the universal shrine. They will cease their futile efforts to ^i\e a delinition of Him who cannot be defined in human symbols. They will certainly be astonished at our persistence — in their eyes very blasphemy -to describe by article of faith God, as though. He were a fugitive from justice and a Pinkcrton detective should be enabled to capture Him by the identification laid downin the catalogue of His at- tributes. The religion universal will not presunse to regulate God's government of this world by circumscribing the sphere of His possible salvation, and declaring as though He had taken us into His counsel whom He must save and whom He may not save. The universal re- ligion will once more make the God idea a vital principle of human life. It will teach men to find Him in their own heart and to have Him with them in whatever they may do. No mortal has seen God's face, but he who opens his heart to the message will, like Moses on the lonely rock, behold Him pass and hear the solemn proclamation. It is not in the storm of fanaticism nor in the fire of prejudice, but in the still small voice of conscience that God speaks and is to be found. He believes in God who lives a Godlike, «". r., a goodly life. Not he who mumbles his credo, but he who lives it, is accepted. Were those marked for glory by the great teacher of Nazareth who wore the largest phylacteries? Is the Sermon on the Mount a creed? Was the Decalogue a creed ? Character and conduct, not creed, will be the key- note of the Gospel in the Church of Humanity Universal. But what then about sin? Sin as a theological imputation will perhaps drop out of the vocabulary of this larger communion of the righteous. Hut as a weakness to be overcome, an imperfection to be laid aside, man will be as potently reminded of his natural shortcom- ings as he is now of that of his first progenitor over whose conduct he certainl)' had no control and for whose misdeed he should not be held Rccountable. Religion will then as now lift man above his weaknesses by reminding him of his responsibilities. The goal before is paradise. Kden is to come. It has not yet been. And the life of the great and good and saintly, who went about doing good in their generations, and who died that others might live, will for very truth be pointed out as the spring from which have flown the waters of salvation by whose magic efficacy all men may be washed clean, if baptized in the spirit which was living within these God-appointed redeemers of their in- firmities. This religion will indeed be for man to lead him to God. Its sacramental word will be duty. Labor is not the curse but the bless- ing of human life. For as man was made in the image of the Creator, it is his to create. Karth was given him for his habitation. He changed it from chaos into his home. A theology and a Monotheism, THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. S33 vvliich will not leave room in this world for Juan's free activity and dooms him to passive inactivity, will not harmonize with the '.ruer recoj^nition that man and God are the co-relates of a working plan of life. Sympathy and resijjnation arc iiuleed beautiful flowers j^rown in the jfarden of many a tender and noble human heart. Hut it is active love and cner}:[y which alone can push on the chariot of human prog- ress, and prof^re.ss is the gradual realization of the divine spirit which is incarnate in every human being. This principle will assign to relig- ion once more the place of honor among the redeeming agencies of society from the bondage of selfishness. On this basis every man is every other man's brother, not merely in miser\', but in active work. "As you have done to the least of these you have unto ]\Ie," will be the guiding principle of human conduct in all the relations into which human life enters. No longer shall we hear Cain's enormous excuse, a scathing accusation of himself, "Am I my brother's keeper?" no longer will be tolerated or condoned the doufile standard of morality, one for Sunday and the church and another diametricall>- opposed for weekdays and the counting-room. Not as now will be heard the cynic insistence that "business is business" and has as business no connection with the Decalogue or the Sermon on the Mount. Religion will, as it did in Jesus, penetrate into all the relations of human society. Not then will men be rated as so many hands to be bought at the lowest possible price, in accordance with a deified law of supplj' and demand, which cannot stop to consider such sentimentalities, as the fact that these hands stand for soul and hearts An invidious distinction obtains now between secular and sacred. It will be wiped away. Every thought and every tleed of man must be holy or it is unworthy of men. Did Jesus nierel\- regard the temple as holy? Did Huddha merely have religion on one or two hours of the .Sabbath? Did not an earlier prophet deride and con- demn all ritual religion? "VWish ye, make ye clean." Was this not the burden of Isaiah's religion? The religion universal will be true to these, its forerunners. Hut what about death and hereafter? This religion will not dim the hope which has been man's since the first day of his stay on earth. Hereaftei Rut it will be most emphatic in winning men to the conviction that a life worthily spent here on earth is the best, is the onl)- ])reparation for heaven. .Said the old rabbis: "One hour spent here intrul)- good works and in the true intimacy with God is more precious than all life to be." The egotism which now mars so often the aspirations of our souls, the scramble for glory which comes while we f(-.j^et duty, will be replaced by a serene trust in the eternal justice of Ilim "in Whom we live and move and have our being." To have ilone religiously will be a reward sweeter than which none can be oriercd. Vea, the relig- ion of the future will be impatient of men who claim that they have the right to be saved, while they are perfectly content that others shall not be saved, and while not stirring a foot or lifting a hand to redeem brother men from hunger and wretchedness, in the cool assur- Deatli and \ *!' I i! t 1 i 1^ f i, 1 ■i 1 1 li ( 'i i j ' j ' 1 1 ( i; f I I : ! ■J 1 1 ■ 1' i i .] 1 1 . A Qaestion of Life. 33 ( Ti/E irO/iLD'S CONGh'/:SS OF h'i:L/J/ONS. ancc that this life is destined or ilooincd to be a free r.ue of lia.i,fj;liii}^, snarliiifr competitors in wliich, by some mysterious will ol proxideiice, the devil takes the hindmost. Will there be pra)er in the universal reli<;ion? Man will worship, but in the beauty of holiness his prajer will be the prelude to his prayerful action. .Silence is more reverential and uorshiptul than a wild torrent of words breathing,' fortii not afloration, but i^reedy re- quests for favors to self. Can an unfori^nxiiii,^ heart pray "forj^ixe as we forgive?" Can one ask for daily l)riMd when he refuses to break his bread with the hungry? Did not the pr,i> ir ol the (ireal Master of Nazareth thus teach all men antl all aL;es thiit pr;i\ cr must be the stirriuLj to love? Had not that little waif cautjht the inspiration of our universal prayer who, when first taut^ht its sublime phrases, persisted in chantj- \n\^ the opening words to "\'our h'atlier whicii is in heaven?" Rebuked time and a^ain by the teacher, he tinally broki' out, "W'c-Ii, if it is our I^'ather, why, I am your brother." Vea. tlu' <,Mtis of pra\er in the church to rise will lead to the recoi,Miition of the uiii\ersal brother- hood of men. Will this new faith have its Bible? It retains the old remembt'riui; that ion is not a ([ues- It will. Bibles of mankind, but j^ivcs them a new luster b\- "the letter killeth, but the spirit ^iveth life." Keli tion of literature, but of life. Goil's re\eIation is continuous, not con- tained in tablets of stone or sacred parchmenl. lie speaks ioday yet to those that would hear llim. .A book is inspired when it inspires. Relifjion made the ]?iblc, not the book reli_i,Mon. And what will be the name of this church? It will be known not by its founders, but by its fruits, (iod re])lies to him who insists upon knowing His name: "I am He who I am." The church will be. If any name it will have, it will be "tlie church of Ciod," because it will be the church of man. When Jacob, so runs an old rabbinical lej^end. weary and footsore the first nit^ht of his sojourn away from home, would l.iy him down to sleep under the canopy of the starset skies, all the stones of the field exclaimed: "Take me for th\- ])illow." And because all were ready to serve him all were miraculous!)- turned into one stone. This became Beth VA, the <;ate of heaven. .So will all reIiL,Moiis, because eager to become the pillow of man, dreamintj of God and beholdiiiL; the ladder joining earth to heaven, be transformed into one gri'.it rock which the ages caiuiot move, a foundation stone for the all-embracing temple of humanity united to do God's will with one accord. Interior of the Church of Ecce Homo, Jerusalem. til alii iiii.- W3 I , >\'<- m til;-: I, ; J" ' as ' it V I ,^i!ll \\' '-'A m f: m 1 ;■ lit ■ |i 1 iV r "''■■ ?* . The Whonce of Ethical Sense. Xhe Essential Qneness of £thical [deas Among All Men. Paper by REV. IDA C. HULTIN. F ethical ideas, nut of ethical systems or doctrines, am I bidden to speak tixhiy. Let mc sa\' ethical sense. It will mean the same and be more simple. The uni- versality of the ethical sense. Gravitation is not more surely a fact, it seems to us, than is the unity of all life. If life is a H'hole, then that which is an essential quality of one part must be common to the whole. Throujrh all life not only an eternal purpose runs, l)ut an eternal moral purpose. Human history has been a strufj- tjlc of man to understand himself and the other selves, and beyond that the infinite self. The laws which, with unswerving fidelity, the stars obey in their eternal sweep through space, that the dewdrop responds to when it becomes an ocean to mir- ror back the world, that chisels the lichen's circle and paints the sun- set, that draws the lily from the black ooze of the pond and calls the atoms to their foreordained places in the cr, '^♦■al — this law is inerad- icably written in the nature of man and issues as ethical sense. Of course, we understand that with some the experiences of animal and* human life in the long eons of their existence is the explanation of the existence of this sense. Add to the experience of individuals the hereditary tendency which accumulates and passes on in increasing power from generation to generation, the results of all str-uggle, and you have an all-sufificient answer about the whence of this ethical sense. We do not deny the truth of the cumulative tendency of ex- perience, but we do deny that it solves all the problem. Would this not be evolution, doing that which it claims cannot be done, creating something out of nothing? If the fittest, morally as well as physically, is to survive, then there must have been something that had the ele- 336 ■;*ii: THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 887 ment of fitness to start with. In the firc-niist and world-stuff of our soiar system's beginning there were the elements, or clement, from which, through change and growth, has come the multiplicity of the life of our world. VVhat is the meaning of all this varied life? It is not real. It is not stable. To what is it passing? From whence does it come? Is there no infinite fact to match the finite fact, or the hu- man mind and soul? Is there no invisible real to which the visible passing stands related? The old oak tree, we say, is what it is because it has grown through years and storms, through heat and cold, withstanding and outliving them all. What made it to be an oak tree? It will not always be so, and what will the life of it be when it is not oak tree? Diil sun and rain and storm and seasons create the oak? Then plant a piece f;om your polished oak table, give it to the earth and the .un and rain and storms and ask them to make it grow. Will it? What is in the acorn that answers back to the call of the voices of the earth and air, and draws from the invisible places of the universe the atoms that come trooping to take their i)laces in root and trunk and limb and leaf and blossom and fruit? Is it not God in the acorn? And could it grow without its God? I ask this question reverentially, and when I say God, friends, I mean the same invisible spirit that you mean when you pronounce another name. We each know that the other is but naming his or her best conception of the Infinite, and if we should put all of these words together, we would not have the whole name, for the secret of its pronunciation lieth with Him, whose children we all are. This all-pervading ])rinciple — this sense of right, of good that we find to 1 c the possession of all peoples, of life, is it not God in us? Vou may call it a categorical imperative, a primitive element in the soul, a sense rooted in the nature of things, the moral sense of the imivcrse, what you will, it is the sign and seal of our heretlity from God. Mine, yours, ours, humanity's. Humanity is not God-touched in spots, with primitive exterior revelations on mountain tops ior acho^;en few. He is the Divine Immanence, the source of all — revealing Himself to all; recognized just So fast as His children grow able to discover Him. It is an infinite revelation— an eternal discovery. Hunger is the goad to growth; hunger for protoplasm, and then — Oh. the weary way that stretches between! — hunger for righteousness. An eternal search — an eternal finding. The resistless sweep of the divine forces bears man on to newer and ever newer births. We find that we caiuiot speak of ethical principles without touch- ing .eligious realities. Let us identify morals -ith re!igii)n. Is it not time? I do nf)t mean by religion theologica. formulas, creeds, doc- trines. I do not mean a religion. I mean oligion. The science of man's highest development, physical, mental, moral development. There is no part of life that may not, ought not to be religious. Vou cannot make one part of your nature religious, as though it were a side issue of real living. In the last analysis it becomes correlated with the nature of things, with God. Not simply dependence on, as ^^\">^- Uod lu Ub. 'I is I.i;3 ■■I ii i i ! ' i; ! / I F1 ; H ii 1^ I i i t '. . ■ i 338 T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Ileritugc thou^fh tlicte was a full sway from Him, but consciousness of unity, and as if we craved the unity as if lie needed us and we were hasten- ing to do His will and ours. The doing of the will is ethical action. It is man at work on the problem, the making of religious conditions. It is humanity on the road toward God. How rarely do we enter into the full possibilities of our high her- itage. They who have learned to live on the heights have been the onr Higher prophet souls of all ages and all races. The multitudinous voice of humanity has uttered itself through them. I know that there are sore souls, but if we would know humanity we must interpret it at its best. What these are, all humanity may be. The ideal man is the actual man. It is what all men may become. The ought that moves one man to deeds that thrill a nation is essentially the same in kind with the ought that impels the lowliest deed in the obscurest corner of the world. If one human soul has come into being without a tendency toward goodness, toward the right, the true, and with hope to at length reach a divine destiny, then the universe is a failure. There is a place where God is not, and infinite goodness, infinite justice, is a myth. Morality may not be ])ossible in ant and bee and beaver and dog, but ethical principle is there. .Striving to be man, the worm struggles through all the spheres of form. Not that man is recognized and there is a conscious reach toward him, but because back of worm and clod there is the same persuasive power that impelled man to be man, that led him to lay hold of the forces of the universe and compel them to serve him. Through the realization of the divine potency of the ethical sense in the experiences of his own life, man becomes con scious of Gotl, of God as good. Rising to this higher realization through the lesser, the lesser takes on new meaning. Our relations to tree, to dog, to man. assume new dignity. We find the ultimate mean- ing of these common relationships. Here is the explanation of life's details. Tiiey are all manifestations of God. He is Lord of these hosts, He is ail. And we find Him only as we tread loyally the path- way of the common place. Relationship to Him is the culmination of all these lesser relationships. And "We turn from seeking Thee afar And in unwonted ways, To l)uil(l from out our daily lives The temples of Tliy [iraise." Humanity docs not reach its best life through any scheme of re- \ demption, hut through an age-long struggle with God. It is not "What (shall 1 do to he save 1?" but "What shall I do to inherit eternal lite?" I The moral man is olieying the God-voice, whether he knows to call it that or not. Is h?; ^li'nied theological classification? Well, it will not 1 be surprising if he enters heaven without a label. He who cannot hear ! God, sec God, feel God in the living, potent things of the every day must buy a hook and find God and His law there. But if the church disband or his book is burned, where shall he turn for authority? May he steal now with impunity? Pity the man whose moral nature is net Kxplatifition of Life's l)e- tailo. }\ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 831) e of re- What lal lite?" o call it will not lot hear cry day church y? May re is net a law unto himself. Shrink from it though we may, the truth appears, when we are honest with ourselves, that churches and creeds have never done the world's best work. The church has never freed the slave of any land. In this country, even while the armies were gath- ering, which eventually freed the slave, ministers were preaching that slavery was divinely ordained and right according to the word of God. But the spirit of eternal justice, revealing itself in the ethical sense of thousands of men and women, ignoring the dogma and its expounders, moved against the wrong and overcame it. There were those who could read but one page of God's Word, but in the "terrible swift light- ning" of that judgment day men read the law written by human hearts. Try to evade the truth if you will; you must face it at last. No creedal church and no form of ecclesiasticism has ever lent itself to the emancipation of the woman half of humanity. She has suffered and still suffers because of the results of dogmatic beliefs and theological traditions, but the ethical senseof the humanity of which she is a part is lifting her out into the fullness of religious liberty. She docs not come into the fellowship to write creeds nor to impose dogmas, but to co-operate in such high living as shall make possible religiousness. She conies to help do away with false standards of conduct by demand- ing morality for morality, purity for purity, self-respecting manhood for self-respecting womanhood. She will holp remove odious distinc- tions on account of se.x and make one code of morals do for both men antl women. This not alone in the western world, where circumstances have been more propitious for woman's advancement, but in all parts of the world. Churches as a whole do not feed the hungry, clothe the sick, turn prisons into reformatories and unite to stay the atrocities of legalized cruelties. If churches were doing the humane wuik of the w nrld there would not be needed so many clubs and a^^^ociations ami institutions for philanthropic work. Men and woniei the churches and out of them do this work. While theologians are bi>y w ith c;ii h other and the creeds, these men and women, belonging to all couiitrit s and all races, who perhaps have not had time to formulate tl ir heliifs about humanity, are busy working for it. Those who have nevi known liou to define God are finding Him in their daily lives. Faith .^ \'cs, but faith wi'hout works is dead. When the ethical intent has Ik en removed from a theological system it is a dead faith. Interesting is the history of a religious convention, and not to be lightly estimated; but as a working force in spiritual advancemtiil it is useless. It was well said from this platform a few da\'S ago, not Chris- tianity, but Christ, I plead. Many of us are not |)articular about tlu- Christian name, but we do care about the Christ spirit; that saiiu spirit that has been the animating force in every prophet life. Tlu ,».•- ligious aspirations that gave birth to the ethical science, tiiat made to be alive oUl forms, have passed on to vivify new forms and systems that yet shall have a day and give place to others. "It is the spirit that gives it life; the letter kills it." Spirit of Eterniil Justice Kiiitli niif VV. Willi. 840 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Rich wilh Hlessings. When you remember some of the things that have been taup^ht and have been clone in the name of Christ, do you wonder that our brother said, "If such be the Christian ethics, well, we are perfectly satisfied to be heaihen ?" Do you wonder that the calm-souled prophet from India pleads with us for a manifestation of the spirit that was in Jesus? Do we need assurance that boasting of our religion will not prove us to be a religious people? This pentecostal session is rich with blessing if we are able to bear it. May it help us to help each other, to understand each other, to believe in each other; and out of the fellowship of this time may there grow a diviner love for all that is human, a deeper reverence and braver faith in its possibility, a surer knowledge of this essential oneness. Learning to love each other, may we abide in the measureless, matchless love which, because we know no better naming, we call our Father, Mother, God. 1 i I w ! t (Concessions to fsjative Peligious Jdeas, pjaving gpecial Reference to p^induism. Paper by REV. L. E. SLATER, of Bungalore, India. HE Hindus by instinct and tradition are the most religious people in the world. Thry are born religiously, they eat, bathe, sha\\i and write religiously, they die and are cremated or buried religiously, nnd for years afterward are devoutly remembered religiously They will not take a house or open a shop or office, they will not go on a journey or engage in any enter- prise without some religious observance. We thus appeal in our missionary effort to a deeply religious nature; we sow the gospel seed in a religious soil. The religion of a nation is its sacred impulse toward an ideal, however imperfectly appre- hendetl and realized it may be. The spirit of India's religions has been a reflective spirit, hence its philosophical character, and to understand and appreciate them, we must look beyond the barbaric shows and feasts and cere- monies, and get to the undercurrents of native thought. Hinduism is a growth from within; and to study it we have to lay bare that ii\ ward, subtle soul which, strangely enough, explains the outward loim with all its extravagances; for India's gross idolatry is connected with her ancient systems of speculative philosophy; and with an extensive literature in the .Sanskrit language; her Kpic, Puranic and Tantrika mythologies and cosmogonies have a theosophic basis. India, whose worship was the probable cradle of all other similar worships, is the richest mine of religious ideas; yet we cannot speak of the religion of India What is styled "Hinduism" is a vague eclec- ticism, the sum total of several shades of belief, of divergent systems, of various types and characters of the outward life, each of which at one time or another calls itself Hinduism, but which, apparently, bears little resemblance to the other beliefs. Every phase of religious 341 ,V>^ vO'- HinilniHin Not, Oue lieligion, 842 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. !; Hiibits of Tliduglit uu(i Lifo. I 1 thought and philosophic speculation has been represented in India. Some of the Hindu doctrines are theistic, some atheistic and material- istic, others i)antheistic — the extreme development of idealism. Some of the sects hold that salvation is obtained by practicinjj austerities and by self-devotion and prayer; some that faith and love (bhakti) form the ruling principle; others that sacrificial observances are the only means. Some teach the doctrine of predestination; others that of free grace. It is hard for foreigners to understand the habits of thought and life that prevail in a strange country, as well as all the changes and sacrifices that conversion entails; and, with our brusque, matter-of-fact western instincts and our lack of spiritual antl philosophic insight, we too often go forth denouncing the traditions and worship of the people, and, in so doing, are a])t, with our heavy heels, to trample on beliefs and sentiments that have a deep and sacred root. A knowl- edge of the material on which we work is quite as important as deft- ness in handling our tools; a knowledge of the soil as necessary as the conviction that the seed is good. Let us glance now, in the briefest manner, at some of the funda- mental ideas and aspects of l^rahmanical Hinduism, that may be re- garded as a ])reparation for the Gospel, and links by which a Christian acKocate may connect the religion of the incarnation and the cross with the higher phases of religious thought and life in India. It should be borne in mind, however, throughout, that this foreshadowing relation between Hinduism and Christianity is ancient rather than modern, that these "foreshadowings"of the Gospel are unsuspected by the masses of the people; and, further, that the points of similarity be- tween the two faiths arc sometimes apparent rather than real, and that the whole inquiry becomes clear only as we realize that Hinduism has been a keen and pathetic search after a salvation to be wrought by man rather than a restful satisfaction in a redemption designed and offered by God. The underlying element of all religions, without which there can be no spiritual worship, is the belief that the human worshiper is somehow made in the likeness of the divine. Aiul the central thought of India, which binds together all its conflicting elements, is the reve- lation of life, the progress of the pilgrim soul through all definite ex- istences to reunion with the infinite. l''rom the opening youthfulness, hopefulness and self-sufificienc\' depicted in the songs of the Rig-veda, where the spirit is bright and joyous and homage is given to the forms and powers of nature — the mirror of man's own life and freedom— on through the dreary stage, where " the weary weight of this unintelligi- ble w(Mld " and the soul wakes from the illusive dream of childhood to experience a bitter disappointment, to realize that the search for individual happiness in tiie infinite or phenomenal is a futile one, to find that the world is a vain shadow, an empty show, the reverence of the Indian has not been for the material form, but for pure spirit --for liis own conscious soul — whose essential unity with the divine is an Every THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIC IONS. 348 axiomatic truth, and whose power to abide in the midst of all ciianjjjcs is the test of its everlasting being, the proof of its ininiortalitj'. The ideal, then, before which the Indian Gnostic bows, is the spirit of man. The soul retires within itself, in a state of ecstatic reverie, the highest form of which is called Yoga, and meditates on the secret of its own nature; and having made the discovery, which comes sooner or later to all, that the world, instead of being an ely- sium, is an illusion, a vexation of spirit, the speculative problem of Indian philosophy and the actual struggle of the religious man lia\ e been how to break the dream, get rid of tlie impostures of sense and time, emancipate the self from the bondage of the fleeting world and attain the one reality — the invisible, the divine. This can only l)e achieved by becoming iletached from material things, by ceasing to love the world, by the mortification of desire. And though this "love of the world" may have little in common with the idea of the Apostle John, yet have we not here an affinity with the affirmation of Chris- tianity, that "the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor., iv., iS); that "the world passeth away, and the lust thereof" (i John, ii., 17); though the Christian completion of that verse, "but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever," marks the fundamental defect of pantheistic India and its .striking contrast to the (jospel. For the Ciod of Hinduism is a pure Intelligence, a Thinker; not a Sovereign Will as in Islam, nor the Lord of Light and Right as in Parsiism, still less having any paternal or providential character. Nothing is created by His power, but all is evolveili)y emanation, from the one eternal Entity, like sparks from fire. No commands come from such a Being, but all things flow from Him, as light from the sun, or thoughts from a musing man. Hence, while between God and the worshiper there is the most direct affinity, which may become identity, there exists no bond of sympathy, no active and intelligent co-operation, and no quickening power being exercised on the human will, and in the formation of character, the fatal and fatalistic weak- ness of Hindu life appears, which renders the Gospel appeal so often powerless; the lost sense of practical moral distinction, of the recpiire- ments of conscience, of any necessary connection between thought and action, convictions and coiuluct, of di\ine authority over the soul, of personal responsibilitx', of the duty of the soul to love and honor God, and to love one's neighbor as one's self. Idolatry itself, foolish and degrading as it is, seeks to realize to the senses what otherwise is oidy an idea; it witnesses, as all great errors do, to a great truth; and it is only by distinctly recognizing antl liberating the truth that underlies the error, and of which the error is the counterpart, that the error can be successfully combated and slain. Every error will live as long, and only as long, as its share of truth re- mains unrecognized. Adapting words tiiat Archdeacon Hare wrote of Dr. Arnold: "We must be iconoclasts, at once zealous and fear- less in demolishing the reigning idols, and at the same time animated Ideal Jiidiuu ticH. of the (inott. fiod of II i n d u ti Tliiukpr. tlie a 11 Tr noHH toiiTnitli. I i ;! '!' ii •^ Hi 'i ::i ^^^ h I '1 1 * i I n i 344 T//E IVORLnS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. with a reverent love for the ideas that the idols carnalize and stifle," Idolatry is astroiitj human protest against pantheism, which denies the personality of God, and atheism, which denies God altogether; it tes- tifies to the natural craving of the heart to have before it some mani- festation of the Unseen — to behold a humanized god. It is not, at bot- tom, an effort to get away from God, but to bring God near. Once more. The idea of the need of sacrificial acts, "the first and primary rites" — cucharistic, sacramental and propitiatory- bearing the closest i)arallelism to the provisions of the Mosaic economy and prompted by a sense of personal unworthincss, guilt and misery — that life is to be forfeited to the Divine Proprietor — is ingrained in the whole system of Vedic Hinduism. A sense of original corruption has been felt by all classes of Hindus, as indicated in the prayer: ■'I am sinful; I commit sin; my nature is sinful. Save me, O thou lotus-eyed Hari, the remover of sin. The first man, after the deluge, whom the Hindus called Manu and the Hebrews Noah, offered a burnt offering. No literature, not even the Jewish, contains so many words relating to sacrifice as Sanskrit. The land has been saturated with blood." The secret of this great importance attached to sacrifice is to be found in the remarkable fact that the authorship of the institution is attributed to " Creation's Lord " himself and its date is reckoned as coeval with the creation. The idea exists in the three chief Vedas and in the Urahmanas and Upanishads that Prajapati, "the lord and sup- porter of his creatures" — the Purusha (primeval male) — begotten before the world, becoming half immortal and half mortal in a body fit for sacrifice, offered himself for the devas (emancipated mortals) Sacrifice Co- '^"^' '^"•' ^'^^' benefit of the world; thereby making all subsequent sacri- eviiwitii c'ren- fice a reflection or figure of himself. The ideal of the Vedic Prajapati, mortal and yet divine, himself both priest and victim, who by death overcame death, has long since been lost in India. Among the many gods of the Hindu pantheon none has ever come forward to claim the vacant throne once reverenced by Indian rishis. No other than the Jesus of the Gospels "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world " has ever appeared to fulfill this primiti\e idea of redemption by the cflicac\- of sacrifice; and when this Christian truth is preached it ought not to st)und strange to Indian ears. An eminent Hindu preacher has said that no one can be a true Hindu without being a true Christian. But one of the saddest and most disastrous facts of the India of today is that modern Hrahmanism, like modern Parsiism, is fast losing its old ideas, relaxing its hold on the more spiritual portions, the dis- tincti\e tenets, of the ancient faith. Happily, however, a reaction has set in, mainly through the exertions of these scholars and of the Arya Somaj; and the more thoughtful minds are earnestly seeking to recover from their sacred books some of the buried treasures of the past. For ideas of a divine revelation, " Word of God," communicated directly to inspired sages or rishis, according to a theory of inspiration tion. "T I THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REUGIONS. U7> higher than that of any other religion in the world, is perfectly familiar to Hindus, and is, indeed, universally entertained. Yet the conclusion reached is this: That a careful comparison of religions brings out this striking contrast between the Bible and all other scriptures; it estab- lishes its satisfying character in distinction from the seeking spirit of otiier faiths. The liible shows God in quest of man rather than man in cpiest of God. It meets the questions raised in the philosophies of the east, and supplies their only true solution. The Vedas present " a shifting play of lights and shadows; some- times the light seems to grow brighter, but the day never comes." For, on examining them, we note a remarkable fact. While they show that the spiritual needs and aspirations of humanity are the same — the same travail of the soul as it bears the burdens of existence — and con- tain many beautiful prayers for mercy and help, we fail to find a single text that purports to be a divine answer to prayer, an explicit promise of divine forgiveness, an expression of experienced peace and delight in God, as the result of assured pardon and reconciliation. There is no realization of ideas. The Hible alone is the Hook of Divine Promise — the revelation of the "exceeding riches of God's grace — " shining with increasing brightness till the dawn of jierfect day. And for this reason it is unique, not so much in its ideas, as in its vitality; a living and regulating force, embodied in a personal, historic Christ, and charged with unfailing inspiration. Idea of n Dl- vino ItovelE^ tiou. Veda; Hinduism. Paper by MANILAL N. DVIVEDI, of Bombay, India. INDUISM is a wide term, but at the same time a vafjue term. The word Hindu was invented by the Mohammedan contiucrors of Aryavata, the historical name of Jiulia, and it denotes all who reside beyond tiie Indus. Hinduism, therefore, eorrectly speak- ing is no religion at all. Itembraces within its wide intention all shades of thought, ■■'■L '^^^M^^m^i^^m,^ from the athei.stic Jainas and Hauddhas to J j|HH^^BH|^H^|y^ the theistic Sampradaikas and Samajists and ^4'^^IiH^^H9piw\ ^'^^' rationalistic Advaytins. But we may agree to use the term in the sense of that body of philosophical and religious princi- ples which are professed in part or whole by the inhabitants of India. 1 shall confine in this short address to unfolding the meaniiipf term, and shall try to show the connection of this meaning with the ancient records of India, the Vcdas. Before entering upon this task permit me, however, to make a few preliminary observations. And first it would greatly help us on if we had settled a few points, chief among them the meaning of the word religion. Religion is defined by Webster generally as any system of worship. This is, however, not in the sense in which the word is understood in India. The word has a threefold connotation. Religion divides itself into physiccs, ontology and ethics, and without~T)eing that vague something \vTiich is^cTup to satisfy Hie requirements of the emotional side of human nature, it resolves itself into that rational demonstration of the universe which serves as the basis of a practical system of ethical rules. Every Indian religion— for let it be under- stood there is quite a number of them— has therefore some theorj- of t.n; physical universe, complemented by some sort of spiritual govern- ment, and a code of ethics consistent with that theory and that govern- ment. .So, then, it would be a mistake to take away any one phase of any Indian religion and pronounce upon its merits on a partial survey. 347 I . WhatHindn. iBva EmbraceH. 848 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. I ■»l! i'j t !:: Fanoifnl Tiieurks. Indinn Pliilos. opliic Thought. Ijli'r Hi > I The next point I wish to clear is the chronology of the I'uri'mas. I mean the chronoloj^y f^iven in the PurAnas. Whereas tlie Indian relijjioii claims extravagant anticjuity for its teachin^js, the tenticncy of Christian writers has been to cramp everything within the narrow period of 6,000 \ears. Ikit for the numerous vagaries and fanciful tlieo- ries these extremes give birth to, tiiis point would have no interest for us at the present moment. With the rapid advance made by physical science in the west, numerous testimonies have been uneartheil to show the untenablencss of J^iblical chronology, and it would be safe to hold the mind in mental suspense in regard to this matter. The third point is closely connected with the second. lCver\- one has a natural inclination toward his native land and language, and particu- larly toward the religion in which he is brought up. It, however, behooves men of impartial judgment to look upon all religions as so many different explanations of the dealings of the Supreme with men of varying culture and nationality. It is impossible to do justice to these themes in this place, but we will start with these necessary pre- cautions that the following pages may not appear to make any extra- ordinary demands upon the intelligence of those brought up in the atmosphere of the so-called "Oriental research" in the west. We may now address ourselves to the subject before us. At least six different and well n)arked stages are visible in the history of Indian philosophic thought, and each stage appears to have left its impress upon the meaning of the word Hinduism. The six stages may be enumerated thus: ( i ) the Vcdas', ( 2 ) the Sutra; ( 3 ) the l)ar- sana; (4) the Purina; (5) the Samapradaya; (6) the Samaja. Each of these is enough to fill several volumes, and all I can attempt here is a cursory survey of " Hinduism," in the religious sense of the word. I. Let us begin with the Vcdas. The oldest of the four Vcdas is admittedly the Rigveda. It is the most ancient record of the Aryan nation, nay, of the first humanity our earth knows of. Traces of a very superior degree of civilization and art, fountl at every page, pre- vent us from regarding these records as containing only the outpoi r- ings of the minds of pastoral tribes ignorantly wondering at the grand phenomena of nature. We find in the Vedas a highly superior order of rationalistic thought pervading all the hymns, and we have ample reasons to conclude that the childish poetry of primitive hearts, Agni and Vishne and Indra and Rudra, are indeed so many names of differ- ent gods, but each of them had really a threefold aspect. Vishne, for example, in his terrestrial or temporal aspect, is the physical sun; in his corporal aspect he is the soul of every being, and in his spiritual aspect he is the all-pervading essence of the cosmos. In their spiritual aspect all Gods are one, for well says the well-known text, "only one essence the wise declare in many ways." And this con- ception of the spiritual unity of the cosmos as found in the Vedas is the crux of western oriental research. The learned doctors are unwill- ing to see more than the slightest trace of this conception in the Veda, for, say they, it is all nature worship, the invocation of different inde- %>: THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 840 pendent powers which held the wondering mind of this section of primitive humanity' in submissive admiration and praise. However well tiiis may accord witli the psycholof^ical development of the human mind, there is not the slightest semblance of evidence in the V'edas to show that these records belong to that hypothetical period of human progress. In the W'llas there are marks everywhere of the recognition of the\ idea of one (ind.the (lod of nature, manifesting Himself in many forms.. This word "(iod" is one of those which have been the stumbling block ' of philosophy, (iod, in the sense of a i)ersonal Creator of the universe, is not known in the Veda, and the highest effort of rationalistic thought in India has been to see God in the totality of all that is. And, indeed, , it is doubtful whether philosophy, be it that of a Kant or a Hegel, has ever accomplished anything more. It hereby stands to reason that nun who are so far admitted to be Kants and Hegels should, in other \ respects, be only in a state of childish wonderment at the phenomena of nature. 1 humbly beg to differ from those who see in monotheism, in the recognition of a personal God apart from nature, the acme of intellect- ual devek)pment. T believe that is only a kind of anthropomorphism which the luunan mind stumbles upon in its first efforts to understand the unknown. The ultimate satisfaction of human reason and emotion lies in the realization of that universal essence which is the all. And I hold an irrefragable evidence that this itlea is present in the Veda, the numerous gods their invocations notwithstanding. This itlea of the formless all, the .Sat — /. c, esse-being— called Atman and Hrahman in the L'|)anishads, aiul further explained in the Darsanas, is the central idea of the \'eda, nay, the root idea of the Hindu religion in general. There are several reasons for the opposite error of finding nothing more than the worship of many gods in the Vedas. In the first place, western scholars are not cpiite clear as to the meaning of the word Veda. Native commentators have always insisted that the word Veda does not mean the Samhita only, but the Hrahinanas and the Upani- sliads as well; whereas, oriental scholars have persisted in understand- iiig.the word in the first sense alone. The Samhita is no doubt a col- lection of hymns to different powers and, taken by itself, it is most likely to produce the impression that monotheism was not understood at the time. Apart, however, from clear cases to the contrary observ- able by any one who can reatl between the lines, even in the Samhita, a consideration of that portion along with the other two parts of the Veda will clearly show the untenableness of the Orientalist position. The second source of error, if I may be allowed the liberty to refer to it, is the religious bias already touched upon at the outset. If, then, we grasp the central idea of the Vedas we shall understand the real meaning of Hinduism as such. The other conditions of the word will unfold themselves, by and by, as we proceed. We need not go into any further analysis of the Veda, and may come at once to the second phase of religious thought, UiulerBtand- inK of the Word V.dn. sno THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \ \ I ; n' f ,: - ll''i^ Tlio Butru Period, the Sutras and Smritis, based on the ritualistic portion of ^'cdic litera- ture. 2. Sutra means an aphorism. In this period we have aphoristic works bearing upon ritual, philosophy, morals, grammar and other subjects. Though this period is distinct from the Vedic and subse- (lucnt periods, it is entirely unsafe to assume that this or any other period occurred historically in the order of succession adopted for the purpose of this essay. Between the Veda and .Sutra lie the Brah- manas, with the Upanishads and Aryanakas and the Smritis. The i)c)oI:s called Brahmanas and Upat'.ishads form part of the Veda, as expi.iined before; the fornicr explaining the ritualistic use and appli- cation of Vedic hymns, the latter sjstematizing the unique philosophy containetl in them. What the Brahmanas explained allegorica'.ly, and in the ciuaint phraseology of the Veda, the Smritis, which followed them, explained in plain, systematic, modern Sanskrit. As the Veda is called Siruti, or something handed down orally from teacher to pu])il. these later works are called Smritis, something rjmembered and recorded after the Smritis, The Sutras deal with the i?'-ahmanas :ind Smiitis on the one hand, and with the Upanishads o i the other. These latter we shall reserve for consideration in the rext stage of religious development, but it should never be supposed tha* the cen- tral idea of the All as set forth in the Upanishads had at this period, or indeed at any period, ceased to govern the whole of the religious activity of India. The Sutras are divided principally into the Grhva, Sranta and Dharma Sutras. The first deals with the Smritis, the seconil with the Brahmanas, and the third with the law as administered by .Smritis. The first set of Sutras deals with th > institution of V^lrnas and Asramas and with the various rites and duties belonging to them. The second class of .Sutras deals with the laiger Vedic sacrifices, and those of the third deals with that special la>' subsequently known as Hindu law. It will be interesting to deal 'en masse" with these sub- jects in this place — leaving the subject of law out of considerati(jn. And first let us say a few words about caste. In Vedic times the whole Indian people is s|)oken of broadly as the Aryas ant! the Anar- ya:'. Arya means respectable and fit to be gone, from the root R "to go," and not an agriculturist, as the orientalist would have it, from a fancifid root ar, to till. The Aryas arc divided int(j four sections called Varnas, men of white color, the others being Avarnas. These four sections comprise, respectively, priests, warriors, merchants and cultivators, artisans and menials, called Brahmanas, Ksatrivas and .Sudras. These divisions, however, are not at all mutuallj- exclusive in the taking of food or the giving in marriage of sons and daughters. Nay, men used to be promoted or degraded to superior or inferior Varnas according to individual deserts. In the Sutra per'od we find all this considerably altered. Manu speaks of promiscuous irtercourse among Varnas and Avarnas leading to the creation of several jatis, sections known by the incident of birth, instead of by color as before. This is the beginning of that exclusive system of castes which has THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 351 proved the banc of India's welfare. Varna and Jati arc foremost among many other important features which we find grafted on Hin- duism in this period. We find in works of this perioil that the life of every man is distributed into four periods — student life, family life, forest life and life of complete renunciation. This institution, too, has become a part of the meaning of the word Hinduism. The duties and relations of Varnas, Jatis and Asramas are clearly defined in the Sutras and Smritis, but with these we need not concern ourselves except in this general manner. I can, however, not pass over the well-known subject of the .Samskaras, certain rites which under the .Sutras every Hindu is bound to perform if he professes to be a Hindu. Those rites, twenty-five in all, may be divided into three groups — rites incum- bent, rites optional and rites incidental. The incumbent rites are such as every householder is bound to observe for securing immu- nity from sin. Every householder must rise early in the morning, wi\sh himself, revise what he has learned and teach it to others without remuneration. In the next place he must worship the family gods and spend some time in silent communion with whatever power he adores. He should then satisfy his prototypes in heaven — the lunar Pitris — by offerings of water and seamen seeds. Then he should reconcile the powers of the air by suitable oblations, eiuling by inviting some stray comer to dinner with him. Beft)re the householder has thus done his duty by his teachers, gods and Pitris and men, lie cannot go about his business without incurring the bitterest sin. The optional rites refer to certain ceremonies in connection w ith the dead, whose souls are supjiosed to rest with the lunar Pitris for about a thousand years or more before reincarnation. Tiiesc are called sraddhas, ceremonies, whose essence is sraddha, faith. There are a few other ceremonies in connection with the commencement or suspension of studies, antl these, together with the sraddhas, just re- ferred to, make up the four oi)tional .Samskaras, which the Smritis allow every one to perform according to his means. liy far tlie most important are the sixteen incidental Samskaras. I shall, however, dismiss the first nine of these with simple enumera- tion. Four of the nine refer, res])ectively, to the time of first cohab- itation, conception, quickening and certain sacrifices, etc., performed with the last. The other five refer to rites performed at the birth of a child and subsequently at the time of giving it a name, of giving it food, of taking it out of doors, and at the time of shaving its head in some sacred jilace on an aus])icious day. The tenth, with tiie four subsidiary rites connected with it, is the most important of all. It is called Upanavana, the "taking to the gurnu," but it may yet better i)e described as initiation. The four subsidiary rites make up the four pledges which the neophyte takes on initiation. This rite is performed on male children alone at the age of from five to eight in the case of Brah- manas, and a year or two later in the case of others, except .Sudras, who have nothing to do with any of the rites save marriage. The young boy is given a peculiarly prepared thread of cotton to wear con ( P' I i Incidcniiil HiiiiiHkiiras. i !?l 352 11 3 l".r I';-. I; m f t. ! ( .i ■ I JiM b i < a : ■ , 1 ■ 1 I; ^ J''!'- i H ' i ^ i H ; -P f 1 ; ; Li iiili Till' MarriiiKe Ci'ii'iiiouy. T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. stantly on the body, passing it crossways over the left shoulder and under the riifht arm. It is a mark of initiation which consists in the imparting of the sacred secret of the family and the order to the boy, by his father and the family gurnu. The boy pledges himself to his teacher, under whose protection he henceforth begins to reside, to carry out faithfully the four vows he has taken, viz., study, observance of religion, complete celibacy and truthfulness. This period of pupilage ends after nine years at the shortest, and thirty-six years at the longest period. The boy then re- turns home, after duly rewarding his teacher, and finds out some suita- ble girl for his wife. This return in itself makes up the fifteen Samskars. The last, but not the least, is the vivaha— matrimony. The sutras and smritis are mo?t clear on the injunctions about the health, learning, competency, familj' connections, beauty, and above all, personal liking of principal parties to a marriage. Marriages between children of the same blood or family are prohibited. As to age, the books are very clear in ordain- ing that there must be a distance of at least ten years between the respective ages of wife and husband, and that the girl may be married at any age before attaining puberty, preferably at ten or eleven, though she may beaffiancedatabouteightor nine. Be it remembered that mar- riage and consummation of marriage are two different things in India, as a consideration of this Samskara, in connection with the first of the nine enumerated at the beginning of this group, will amply show, several kinds of marriage are enumerated, and among the eight gener- ally given we find marriage by courting as well. The marriage ceremony is performed in the presence of priests and gods represented by fire on the altar, and the tie of love is sanc- tified by Vedic mantras, repetition of which forms indeed an indispen- sable i)art of every rite and ceremony. The pair exchanges vows of fidelity and ii. dissoluble love and bind themselves never to separate even after death. The wife is supposed henceforth to be as much dependent on her husband as he on her, for as the wife has to com- plete the fulfillment of love as her principal duty, the husband has, in return, the entire maintenance of the wife, temporally and spiritually, as his principal duty. When the love thus fostered has sufificiently educated the man into entire forgetfulness of self, he may retire, cither alone or with his wife, into some secluded forest and prepare himself for the last period of life, complete renunciation, i. v., renunciation of all individual attachment, of personal likes and dislikes, and realiza- tion of t!ic All in the eternal self-sacrifice of universal love. It goes without saying that widow remarriage as such is unknown in this system of life, and the liberty of woman is more a sentiment than something practically wanting in this careful arrangement. Woman us woman has her place in nature quite as much as man as man, and if there is nothing to hamper the one or the other in the dis- charge of his or her functions as marked out by nature, liberty beyond this limit means shadows, disorder and irresponsible license. And THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF REL/GIONS. 353 but are ncy, cipal )loocl indeed nature never meant her living embodiment of lone woman to be degraded to a footing of equality with her partner, to fight the hard struggle for existence, or to allow love's pure stream to be defiled by being led into channels other than those marked out for it. This is in substance the spirit of the ancient Sastras when they limit the sphere of woman's action to the house, and the flow of her heart to one and one channel alone. 3. We arrive thus in natural succession to the third period of Aryan religion, the Darsanas, which enlarge upon the central idea of Atman, or Brahma, enunciated in the Veda and developed in the Upanishads. It is interesting to allude to the Charvakas, the material- ists of Indian philosophy, and to the Jainas and the Buddhas, who, though opposed to the Charvakas, are anti-Brahmanical, in that they do not recognize the authority of the Veda and preach an independ- ent gospel of love and mercy. These schisms, however, had an in- different effect in imparting fresh activity to the rationalistic spirit of the Aryan sages, lying dormant under the growing incumbrances of the ritualism of the Sutras. The central idea of the All as we found it in the Veda is further developed in the Upanishads. In the Sutra period several sutra works were composed setting forth in a systematic manner the main teach- ing of the Upanishads. .Several works came to be written in imitation schools oi of these subjects closely connected with the main issues of philosophy Philosophy, and metaphysics. This spirit of philosophic activity gave rise to the si.x well known Darsanas, or schools of philosophy. Mere again it is necessary to enter the caution that the Darsanas do not historically belong to this period, for, notwithstanding this, their place in the general development of thought and the teachings they embody are as old as the Veda, or even older. The six Darsanas are Nyaya, Vaiseshika, .Sankhya, Xoga, Mimansaand Vcdanta, more conveniently grouped as the two Xyayas, the two Sankhyas and the two Mimansas Each of these must require at least a volume to itself, and all I can do in this place is to give the merest outline of the conclusions maintained in each. Each of the Darsanas has that triple aspect which we found at the outset in the meaning of the word religion, and it will be convenient to state the several conclusions in that order. The Nyaj-a then is exclusively con- cerned with the nature of knowledge and the instruments of knowl- edge, and while discussing these it sets forth a system of logic not yet surpassed by any existing system in the west. The Vaiseshika is a complement of the Nyaya, and while the latter discusses the meta- physical aspect v'f the universe, the former works out the atomic theory and receives the whole of the namable world into seven categories. So, then, physically, the two Nyayas advocate the atomic theory of the universe. Ontologically they believe that these atoms move in accordance with the will of an extra-cosmic personal creature called Isvara. Every being has a soul called Jiva, whose attributes are de- 28 r.4 THE U'OkLD'S CONGRESS OF KEUQIONH. Wlw ! '. < i. m, V I ' ' \i-M m I'i , Uuitiplicity of 8(iuIh. sire, intelligence, pleasure, pain, merit, demerit, etc. Knowledge arises from the union of Jiva and mind, the atomic manas. The high- est happiness lies in Jiva's becoming permanently free from its attri- bute of misery. This freedom can be obtained by the grace of Iswara, pleased with the complete devotion of the Jiva. The Veda and the Upanishad arc recognized as authority, in so far as they are the word of this Iswara. The Sankhyas differed entirely from the Naiyayikas in that they repudiated the idea of a personal creator of the universe. They ar- gued that if the atoms were in themselves sufficiently capable of form- ing themselves into the universe, the idea of a God was quite super- fluous. And as to intelligence the Sankhyas maintained that it is inher- ent in nature. These philosojjhers, therefore, hold that the whole universe is evolved b\' slow degrees, in a natural manner, from one primordial matter called mulaprakriti, and that purusa, the principle of intelligence, is always co-ordinate with, though ever apart from, mulaprakriti. Like the Naiyayikas, they believe in the multiplicity of purusas — souls; but unlike them they deny the necessity, as well as the existence, of an extra-cosmic God. Whence, they have earned for themselves the name of atheistic Sankhyas. They resort to the Vedas and Upanishads for support so far as it may serve their purpose, and otherwise accept in general the logic of the ten Naiyayikas. The Sankhyas place the summum bonum in "life according to nature." They endow primordial matter with three attributes — pas- sivity, restlessness and crossness. Prakriti continues in endless evolu- tion under the influence of the second of these attributes, and the purusa false!)- takes the action on himself and feels happy or miserable. VVhen a purusa has his prakriti brought to the state of passivity by analytical knowledge ( which is the meaning of the word sankhya), he ceases to feel himself hapjiv or miserable and remains in native peace. This is the sense in which those philosophers understand the phrase "life according to nature." The other .Sankhya, more popularly known as the Yogo-Darsana, accepts the whole of the cosmology of the first .Sankhya, but only adds to it a hypothetical Isvara and largely expands the ethical side of the teaching by setting forth several physical and psychological rules and exercises capable of leading to the last state of happiness called Kanivalya— life according to nature. This is theistic .Sankhya. The two Mimansas next call our attention. These are the ortho- dox Darsanas par excellence, and as such are in direct touch with the Veda and the Upanishads, which continue to govern them from beginning to end. Mimansa means inquiry, and the first preliminary is called Purva-Mimansa, the second Uttara-Mimansa. The object of the first is to determine the exact meaning and value of the injunctions and prohibitions given out in the V'cda, and that of the second is to explain the esoteric teachings of the Upanishads, The former, there- fore, does not trouble itself about the nature of the universe or about the ideas of God and soul. It tells only of Dharma, religious merit, li f.' dge gh- tri- ara, the ,'ord THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 355 which, according to its teaching, arises in the next world from strict observance of Vedic duties. This Mimansa, fitly called the purva, a preliminary Mimansa, we may thus pass over without any further remark. The most important Darsana of all is by far the Utara, or final ^Mimansa, popularly known as the Vedanta, the philosophy taught in the Upanishads as the end of the Veda. The Vedanta emphasizes the idea of the All, the universal Atman or Brahman, set forth in the Upamshads, and maintains the unity not only of the Cosmos but of all intelligence in general. The All is self- illumined, all thought (gnosis), the very being of the universe. Being implies thought, and the All may in Venuaiita phraset)logy be aptly described as the essence of thought and being. The Vedanta is a system of absolute idealism in whicli subject and object are rolled into one unique consciousness, the realization wlu-rcof is the end and aim of existence, the highest bliss — Moksa. This state of INloksa is not anything to be accomplished or brought about it is in fact the very being of all existence; but experience stands in the way of com- plete realization by creating iniaginar\' distinctions of subject and object. This system, besides being the orthodox Darsana. is philo- sophically an improvement upon all previous speculations. The Nyaya is superseded by the .Saidcya, whose distinction of matter and intelligence is done av.ay with in tliis philosophy of abso- lute idealism, which has endoweil the phrase "life according to nature" with an entirely new and more rational meaning. l""or, in its ethics, this system teaches not only the i)rotherhood, but the .Xtma-hood /Vb- heda, oneness, of not only man but of all beings, of the whole uni- verse. The light of the other Darsanas pales before the blaze of unity and love lighted at the akar of the Veda by this sublime philosophy, the shelter of minds like IMato, Pythagt)ras, Hruno, Spinoza, I lagel, Schiipenhauer in the west, and Krisna, \Vasa, .Sankara and others in the east. We cannot but sum up at this point. Hinduism ailds one more attribute to its connotation in this period, viz., that of being a believer in the truths of one or othi-r of these Darsanas, or of one or other of the three anti-Hrahmanical schisms. And with this we must take lea\e of the great Darsana sages and come to the period of the Puranas. 4. The subtleties of the Darsanas were certainly too hard i"or ordinary minds, and some popular exposition of the basic ideas of philosophy and religion was indeed very urgentlx- rci[uired. i\iul this ivri.>dofthe necessity began to be felt the more keenl\- as .Sanskrit began to die Pnruuus. out as a speaking language and the people to decline in intelligence, in consequence of frequent inroads from abroatl. No idea mure happy could have been conceived at this stage than that of devising certain tales and fables calculated at once to catch the imagination and enlist the faith of even the most ignorant, and at the .same time to suggest to the initiated a clear outline of the secret doctrine of old. It is exactly because Orientalists don't understand this double aspect of Pauranika ! Si lis J 1 cleB. ,„ya,H llKd they f^^^ ,, -"^'^"'i"",,!.'; "v fobcar in mind of the basic ideas of pmi 1 > ^^^^^^^ ,^^.^^^j^ them. , ,h.- Furanas are nothin- nvm^ "? J ^or exam- ^•^ "^^^^^ ^y:;± m the mcicnt teaching o^^-:^;^^^ jor^ot that clear commentanes on iii .^^^^j^^^ of tUe i u ^ ^^ . pic, it is not because \ > j -i. ^,^^ Veda that ^^ ^a Uea ^^^^^^^^ ^Vi^hnu was the nan.e - ^^^^^^r^mranas, endownv^ : " ,, et tion would nue ,od of tU;;t n- e u tlie^.^^^^^^ ^'ve'^ te " "mSdence in the . ttributes. ^>^Xn. nie Hindus ^^^^ as he knew per^ dispose f - ,\\\^^ 'l';,,a could at once ^^^ .^ ' VoUition, maintenance and insi-ht ot Vyasa a HI ^^^^^ lays in the e o uta ^^^.^^^^^^ ^ I f.-ctlv well what paiL Lii , V .),-escntecl nun »y' ^. ■,,,,,{ the life ^sslilution of the worU^ t^,ii^^:aUsmi. a l--^;\:f^n.t with the Vishnu, the all-P^ \^'' J:' ite from the sun foi '\'"^ ^;' ,,., tUe endless Iild prosperitv -^^^ ; J^l^^^^^ j that name, but -;; --;^ >esentin, the anauta-populaily t e mi, ^^^^^^ ^^ '^^"n this one symbol sufh- circle of -•t^.'-"'^> 77, , 1 is vehicle. Tbcre is n this o , ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^I^Vedas a- not mere poau^^::^^^ ^,^ '^^^ of aSe?" aspect oi con.domeration -^^;^^^ to put me >- " ' - ;;,,f' ,, ^alpas, Man- The cycles 3^'^\ "-' ..k^ theory of cycles '^'^ ^^j appears to Puranika ^Y^r^''^^ . }r::^Lctiov^ ^^' V'r/ The Kalpa of the vantanisand \u^as ;clc|Ul> ^^^^^ ^^^^. credulity. J^^^^.^tinues in n-Kc ---•^^' "t o r 20.oOO.ooo years -';;;. ^,,Xtion and remains Puranas is a c ^'^ "^J f ' Jft^r which it goe. ^f '][^,^^^ ^^ a fresh period activity for one ^^ J 'nother Kalpa, to be o''^^'.^ , ;ubcycles called in that condition ^.wKH^thu^ ^^^l^^^^^^ ^^^^1" c^ o^pc^iods called of activity. l^acU ^'1 ^ ^ ;, ^..ain made ^'P > ' ^hc: Manus, and Manvantaras, ^^^ \^'L^, ^antanv m^^^ns tune ^ \'; 'the whole su-- ^^'^=^^- ^': •"! h o^ nund,- that is to sa> .^um-^> • j^,.,,,ity and Manu means ^^i^^ ^^^t.,,,^ is the period l>^\^ ^^\^.^, ,vhy the piescnt .rcstini,^ that a Main amai -^ ,,.,u a so be c cai j ^^ .^ ^^^^j Another on th^^ J- ^.J^^^., .eloign, oU^ of man on Manvantara is caiieu . depends the Uic established, on that luminary 1 corroborated by this earth. . ^,,d subcycles f^^'^^considerable light This theory of ^ '^/''-..^.i.omical researches, aiul con ^^^ ^^.^ modern geological ancl-s^--^, ^^ ,, ^^^^'f'smian descent is con- may be th^o^vn o« the c^o ^^^^ ti^.^r "f ^^^^^^jth reason and t:^:^t:ri^ -th a theory .ore n. v» THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 357 experience. But 1 have no time to <^o into the details of each and every Puranika myth. I can only assure you, ^fcntlemen, that all that is tauf^ht in the I'uranas is capable of beint^ explained consistently in accord with the nuiin body of ancient theosophy expounded in the Vedas, the Sutras and the Darsanas. We must only free ourselves from what Herbert Spencer calls the relitfious bias and learn t(j k)ok facts honestly in the face, 1 must say a word here about idol worship, for it is exactl)' in or after the I'auranika period that idols came to be used in India. It may be said without the least fear of contradiction that no Indian idolater I''<>1 Worshiii. as such believes the piece of stone, metal or wood before his eyes to be his God in any sense of the word. He takes it only as a symbol of the all-pervadin,Lr and uses it as a convenient object for purpcjses of concentration, which, beint^ acct)mplished, he does not hesitate to throw it away. The relit^ion of the Tantras, which i)lays an important part in this period, has considerable influence on this question, and the symbolo^y they tauijht as typical of several important processes of evolution has been made the basic idea in the formation of idols. Idols, too, have, therefore, a double pur[)ose — that of perpetuatin"du Xhought; Points of Likeness and of Co^t^^st. Paper by REV. R. A. HUME, of New Haven, Conn. ^ . HI'^N Christian and Iliiulu thoujfht first came into contact in India neither un- derstood tlic other. This was tor two reasons, one outward, the other in- wartl. The outward reason was this. The Christirii saw Hinduism at its worst. Polytheism, id(jhitry, a mjthol- o^y explained by the Hindus them- selves as teachin^^ puerilities and sen- sualities in its many deities, caste ram- pant, ij^niorance widespread and pro- found; these are what the Christian first saw and supposed to be all of Hinduism. Naturally he saw little except evil in it. The outward reason why the Hin- du, at first contact with Chiistianity, failed to understand it was this: Speak- intj generally, every chikl of Hindu parents is of course a Hindu in religion, whatever his imnost thouj^hts or conduct. The Hindu had never conceived of such an anomaly as an un-Hindu child of Hindu parents. Much less had they conceived of an unchristian man from a country where Christianity was the religion. Seeing the early comers from the West killing the cow, eating beef, drinking wine, sometimes impure, sometimes bullying the wild Indian, the Hindu easily supposed that these men, from a country where Christianity was the religion, were Christians. In consequence they despised what they supposed was the Christian religion. They did not know that in truth it was the lack 863 Tliinee Seeiiu iut$ly uulovely. .... mmMm^ ; li , ! ■ !i! i; '"T fii' III: ■■'1' { U h Mi ' i> I J In I il 1 li' i (i:; 4 I 1'il! 30t XiVJ? IVORLD'S COA'GRESS OF RELIGIONS. truly Christian religion of the The Mind. of Christianity which then* were despis.nj.^. Kven in men tliey saw things which seemed tu them unlovely. Moreover, Christianit)' was to the Iliiulu the conquerors of his country. For this outward reason at the first con- tact of Christianity and Ilinilu thought neither understood the other. ]^ut there was an additional, an inward reason, why neither rader- stood the other. It was the very diverse natures of the Hindu and the western mind. The Hindu mind is supremely introspective. It is I. ever active mind which has thought about most things in "the .luce worlds," heaven, earth and the netherworld. But it has seen them through the eye turned inwardly. The faculties of imagination and of abstract thought, the faculties which d';pend least on external tests of validity, are tlie strongest of the mental [)owers of the Hindu. The Hindu mind has well been likened to the game of chess. Hindn whcre there is the co'iibination of an active mind and a passive body. A man may be strong at chess while not strong in meeting the prob- lems of life. The Hindu mind cares little for facts, except inward ideal ones. When other facts conflict with such conceptions the Hindu disposes of them by calling them illusions. A second characteristic of the Hindu mind is its intense longing for comi)rehensivencss. " I"'kam eva ach'itiya," /. e., "There is but one and no second," is the most carilinal doctrine of philosophical Hindu- ism. .So controlling is the Hindu's longing for unity that he places contradictory things side by side and serenely calls them alike or the same. To it, spirit and matter are essentially the same. In short, it satisfies its craving for unity by syncretism, /. c, by attempts to unify irreconcilable matters. In marked contrast the western mind is practical and logical. First anil foremost it cares for external and historical facts. It needs to cultivate the imagination. It naturalh' dwells on individuality and dilferences which it knows. It has to work for comprehension and unity. Above all, it recognizes that it should act as it thinks and believes. This extreme unlikeness Ijetween the Hindu and the western mind was the inward reason why, at the first contact of Christian and Hindu thought, neither understood the other. Hut in the providence of (iod, the Father of both Christian and Hindu, these two diverse minds came into contact. Let us briefly trace the result. Apart from the disgust at the unchristian conduct of some men from Christendom, when the Hindu thinker first looked at Christian thought he viewed with lofty contempt its pretensions and proposals. Similarly, in its first contact with Hinduism the western mind saw only that which .-wakened contempt and pity. The Christian naturally supposed the popular Hinduism which he saw to be the whole of Hinduism, a system of many gods, of idols, of puerile and sometimes immoral mythologies, of mechanical and endless rites, of thorough- going caste, and often cruel caste. The Christian reported what he saw and many Christians felt pity. In accordance with the genius of the M ; i THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 865 western mind to act as it tliinks, and under tlu- inspiration of Christian motive, Christians began efforts to give Christian thought and h'fe to India. Longer and fuller contact between Christian antl Hindu thought has caused a modification of first im[)rcssions. lV)th »„iiristian and Hindu thought recognize an infinite being with whcii '■. bound up man's rational and spiritual life. Both magnifj- the indwelling of this infinite being in ever)- part of the u!iiverse. Both teach that this great being is ever revealing itself ; that the universe is a unit, and that all things coniL- under the uni\'ersal laws of the infinite. To Christianity God is the Hcaxenlj' Father, alwaws and infinitely good ; God is love. To |)hiloso[)hical Ilintluism, ni;Mi is in emanation from the infinite, which, in ihe present stage t)f existence, is the exact result of this emanation in [)revious stages of existence. His moral sense is an illusion, for he cannot sin. To popular Hinduism, man is partially what he is to philosophical Hinduism, determinetl by fate ; ])artially he is thought of as a created being more or less sinful, dependent on God for favor or ilisfavor. To Christianitv', man is the child of his Heavenly Father, sinful and often erring, yet longed for ami sought after by the h'ather. To Christianity, caste, wliich teaches that a pure ami learned man of humble origin is lower than an ignorant, })roud man of higher origin, and tliat the shadow of the former could defile the latter, and that eat- ing the same food together is a sin, is a tlisobedience to God. To i)opular Hiiuluism, caste is ordained of God, and is the chief thing in religion. Says Sir Monier Williams: "The distinction of caste and the inherent su})eriority of one chiss over the three others were thought to be as much a law of nature and a matter of divine api)ointment as the creation of separate classes of animals with insur- mountable differences of physical constitution, such as elephants, lions, horses and dogs." I're-emiuently does the contrast between Christian and Hindu thought appear in God's relation to sin and the sinner. y\ccording to philosophical Hinduism there is no sin or sinner, or Saviour. According to popular Hinduism sin is mainly a matter of fate. According to Christianity sin is the only evil in the universe. Hut it is so evil that God grieves over it, suffers to put it away, and will sui'fer till it is put away. The revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ was pre-eminently of this character and to this end. To philosophical Hinduism (mukti), salvation is passing from the ignorance and illusion of conscious existence through unconsciousness into the infinite. To popular Hinduism, salvation is getting out of trouble into some safe place through merit somehow ac(|uired. To Christianit}-, salvation is present deliverance from sin and moral union with (jod. begun hero and to go on forever Modification of FirHt. Jm- jiressions. Kelation to Sin and Sinner. smm m Mi! f!i,| ■ ! ; i Li II ^^i milt ill ii i', h SivniinRly Ho|ic1p-h (on- tnidictioiii- j-Jinduism as a Religion. Paper by SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, of India. i"iii I ! ! i/i,! XI c O CO E S ns S itl n! E in rt ►J rt >, u O (< z ^ ii 'ill !Ms 1**4 ■ f, , « ' f : 'l ( u '! :' i 1? I i i 1 i ^ ^■.' H i 1 i l^HE WORLirS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 860 The discoverers of these laws are called Rishis and we honor them as perfected beings, and I am glad to tell this audience that some of the very best of them were women. 1 lere it may be said, that the laws as laws may be without end, but they must have had a beginning. The Vedas teach us that crea- tion is without beginning or end. Science has proved to us that the sum total of the cosmic energy is the same throughout all time. Then, if there was a time when nothing existed, where was all this manifested energy? Some say it was in a potential form in God. liut then God is sometimes potential and sometimes kinetic, which would make him mutable, and everything mutable is a compound, and everything com- pound must undergo that change which is called destruction. There- lore God would die. Therefore there never was a time when there was no creation. Here I stand, and if I shut my eyes and try to conceive my j existence, " 1," " I,"" " I," what is the idea before me? The idea of a body. Am I, then, nothing |jut a combination of matter and material substances? The Vedas declare," No." 1 am a spirit living in a body.' I am not the body. The body will die, but I will not die. Here am I in this body, and when it will fail, still I will go on living. Also I had a past. The soul was not created from nothing, for creation means a combination, and that means a certain future dissolution. If, then, the soul was created, it must die. Therefore, it was not created. Some are born hapi)y, enjoying perfect health, beautiful body, mental vigor, and with all wants supplied. Other's are born miserable. Some are without hands or feet, some iiliots, and only drag out a miserable existence. Why, if they are all created, why does a just and merciful God create one haj)py and the other unhappy? Why is He so partial? Nor would it mend matters in the least to hold that those who are mis- erable in this life will be perfect in a future life. Why should a man be miserable here in the reign of a just and merciful God? In the second place, it does not give us any cause, but simply a cruel act of an all-powerful being, and therefore it is unscientific. There must have l)een causes, then, to make a man miserable or happy before his birth, and those were his past actions. Why may not all the tendencies of the mind and body be answered for by inheriteil aptitude from parents? Here are the two parallel lines of existence- one that of the mind, the other that of matter. If matter and its transformation answer for all that we have, there is no necessity of supposing the existence of a soul. Hut it cannot be proved that thought has been evolved out of matter. We cannot deny that bodies inherit certain tendencies, but those tendencies only mean • le physical configuration through which a peculiar mind alone caii act in a peculiar way. Those peculiar tendencies in that soul have been caused by past actions. A soul with a certain tendencj- will take birth in a body which is the fittest instrument of the display of that tendency, by the laws of affinity. And this is in perfect accord with science, for science wants to explain everything by habit, and habit is VVithont B.<. Ki n n i u R or Uuii. Mind .Miittci And \ i| •aiMBjuUHtk.: 370 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. iiJi , i , , J Rlpm4>ry j^ot throuf^h repetitions. So these repetitions are also necessary to explain the natural habits of a new-born soul. They were not got in TheOrpnnof this present life; therefore, thej'' must have come clown from past lives. Hut there is another suggestion, taking all these for granted. Mow is it that I do not remember anything of my past life? This can be easily explained. I am now speaking l^iiglish. It is not my mother tongue; in fact, not a word of my mother tongue is present in my con- sciousness; but, let uie try to bring such wortls up, they rush into my consciousness. That shows that consciousness is the name only of the surface of tlic mental ocean, and within its depths are stored up all our experiences. Try and struggle and they will come up and you will be conscious. This is the direct and ilenioMstrative evidence. X'erification is the periect proof of a theory, and here is the challenge thrown to the world by Rishis. We have discovered precepts b\' which the very depths of the ocean of memory can be stirreil up; follow them and you will get a complete reminiscence of \'our i)ast life. So then the Hindu bilieves tiiat he is a spirit, llim the sword cannot pierce, him the the cannot burn, him the water cannot melt, him the air cannot ilr\-. lie beliexes e\er\' soul is a circle whose cir- cumference is nowiu're, I)ut wliosi- center is iocateil in a body, and death means llie change of this ci-iiter from body to body. Nor is the soul bound b\- the condition of matter. In its very essence it is free, unbound, holy and pure and perfect. Hut somehow or other it has got itself bound down b\- matter, and thinks of itself as matter. Wily should the free, jjcrfect and pure being be under the thral- dom of matter? lli>\v ean the [)erlect be deluded into the belief that he is iniperlrct? We ha\e been toKi that the Hindus shirk the ques- tion antl sa\' that no such <[uestion can be there, and some thinkers want to answer it b}' the supi)osiug of one or more cpiasi perfect beings, and u>e big scientific names to till u|) the gap. Hut naming, is not e.vplaining. The ([uestioii remains the same. How can the perfect beo'une the cjuasi periect; how can the jiuri', the absolute, change even a microscopic particle of its nature? 1 he Hindu is sincere. He docs not «ant to take slv'ter under sophistry. He is brave enough to face the .:]ue■^tielf as llu 1 am in this bod}-. \\\'ll, then, the human -^ou infinite, and death means onlv is eternal and immortal, perfect and I change of center from cMie botly to another. The ])resent is determined b\' our past actions, and the future will be by the present. The soul wUl gt) on < \olving u]> or reverting back from birth to birth and de.ith to death like a tiny boat in a tem- pest, raised one moment on the foaming crest of a billow and dashed down into a vau iiing chasm the ne.vt. rolling to aiul fro at the mercy ? !i THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 371 of pfood and bad actions — a powerless, helpless wreck in an ever raging, over rushing, uncompromising current of cause and effect. A little moth placed under the wheel of causation which rolls on, crushing everything in its way and waits not for the widow's tears or the orphan's cry. The heart sinks at the idea, 3'Ct this is the law of nature. Is there no hope? Is there no escape? The cry that went up from the bottom of the heart of despair reached the throne of mercy, and words of hope and consolation came down and inspired a Vedic sage and he stood up before the world and in trumpet voice proclaimed the glad tidings to the world, " Hear, ye children of immortal bliss, even ye that resisted in higher spheres. I have found the ancient one, who is beyond all darkness, all delusion, and knowing Him alone you shall be saved from death again." "Children of immortal bliss," what a sweet, what a hopeful name. Allow me to call you, brethren, by that sweet name, heirs of immortal bliss; yea, the Hindu refuses to call you sinners. Ye are the children of God. The sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings. Ye divinities on earth, sinners? It is a sin to call a man so. It is a standing libel on human nature. Come up, live and shake off the delusion that you are sheep — you are souls immortal, spirits free and blest and eternal; ye arc not matter, ye are not bodies. Matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter. Thus it is the Vedas proclaim, not a dreadful combination of unfor- giving laws, not an endless prison of cause and effect, but that, at the head of all these laws, in and through every particle of matter and force, stands One "through whose command the wind blows, the fire burns, the clouds rain, and death stalks upon the earth." And what is His nature? He is everywhere, the pure and formless One, the Almighty and the All-merciful. "Thou art our Father, Thou art our Mother, Thou art our beloved T^-iend, Thou art the source of all strength. Thou art He that bearest the burdens of the universe; help me to bear the little burden of this lite." Thus sang the Rishis of the Veda. And how to worship Him? Through love. "He is to be worshiped as the One beloved, dearer than everything in this and the ne.xt life." This is the doctrine of love preached in the Vedas, and let us see how it is fully developed and preached by Krishna, whom the Hinilus believe to have been God incarnate on earth. He taught that a man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water, but is never moistened by water; .so a man ought to live in this world, his heart for God and his hands for work. It is good to love God for hope of reward in this or the next world, but it is better to love (jod for love's sake, and the prayer goes. "Lord, 1 do not want wealth, in)r children, nor learning. If it be Thy will I will go l(» a hundred hells, l)ut grant me this, that I may love Thee without the hope of reward unselfishly love for lo\e's sake." One of the disciples of Krishna, the then emperor of India, was driven from his throne by his enemies and had to take shelter in a forest in the The Law Nature. of M'A llh' r;,i 87a THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OE EELHl/OXS. ill i% 1 Iini;ila\;i.s w itli liis (luccn, ;ind there one diiy the queen was askinff him hinv it was that he, tiie most virtuous of men, should suffer so nuich ^ miserj-, and \'uchistera answered, 'ikthold, my (jueen, the llimahuas, < ^> how j^raiul and beautiful they are! I love them. They do not f^ive \v' me an\•thint,^ but m\' nature is to love the ^rand, the beautiful; there- ^ fore, 1 lo\e them. .Simihirl)', 1 love the I-ord. He is the souree of all beauty, of all sublimity, lie is the oidy object to bo lo\ed. My nature is to lovi; llim, and therefore I love. 1 do not pray for any- thinen and women, through various condi- tions and circumstances, to the same goal. ICvery religion is only an evolution out of the material man, a (iod -and the same God is the in- spirer of all of them Wh\-, then, are there so many contradictions? They are only apparent, says the Hindu. The contradictions come from the same truth adapting itself to the different circumstances of different natures. It is the same light coming through different colors. And these little variations are necessary for that adaptation. Hut in the heart of everything the same truth reigns. The Lord has declared to the Hindu in His incarnation as Krishna, " I am in every region as the thread through a string of pearls. Anil wherever thou seest extraordinary holiness and extraordinary power raising and purifying humanity, know ye, that I am there." y\nd what was the result? Through the whole order of .Sanskrit ])hilosophy, I challenge anybody to find any such expression as that the Hindu only would be saved, not others. Says Vyas, " We find perfect men even beyond the pale of our caste and creed." How, then, can the Hindu, whose whole idea centers in God, believe in the Buddhism which is agnostic, or the Jainism which is atheist? The whole force of Hindu religion is directed to the great central truth in every religion, to evolve a God out of man. They have not seen the Father, but they have seen the .Son. And he that hath seen the Son hath seen the Father. This, brethren, is a short sketch of the itleas of the Hindus. The Hindu might have failed to carry out all his plans. Hut if there is ever to be a universal religion, it must be one which will hold no loca tion in plac; or time; which will be infinite, like the God it will preach; whose .Son shines ijpon the followers of Krishna or Christ, saints or sinners, alik; which will not be the Brahman or Hudtlhist, Christian or Mohammedan, but the sum total of all these, and still have infinite space for development; which, in its Catholicity will embrace in its Coutradic- tionH only Ap- parent . HeciuirementB of H UniTerwtl lieliRion. / IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 U&M2A |25 yj ■■■ i^ ■tt Ui2 |22 jw u^ mm S[ |l£ 12.0 K MRI 1.25 1 ,.4 1 ,.6 < 6" ► PhotDgjaphic Sdences Corporation N5 V \ \ <^. ^.^^ >. ^3 WibiT MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.y. MSM \ 7l6)r3-4S03 i .^,..,u,.Mi>i.AMm'> Hi >i n I I Hail, Colttni'- bia. 376 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. infinite arms and find a place for every human being, from the lowest groveling man, from the brute, to the highest mind towering almost above humanity and making society stand in awe and doubt His human nature. It will be a religion which will have no place for persecution or intolerance in its polity, which will recognize a divinity in every man or woman, and whose whole scope, whose whole force, will be cen- tered in aiding humanity to realize its divine nature. Aseka's council was a council of the Buddhist faith. Akbar's, though more to the purpose, was only a parlor meetingi It was reserved for America to proclaim to all quarters of the globe that the Lord is in every religion. May He who is the Brahma of the Hindus, the Ahura Mazda of the Zoroastrians, the Buddha of the Buddhists, the Jehovah of the Jews, the Father in heaven of the Christians, give strength to you to carry out your noble idea. The star arose in the east; it traveled steadily toward the west, sometimes dimmed and sometimes effulgent, till it made a circuit of the world, and now it is again rising on the very horizon of the east, the borders of the Tasifu, a thousand fold more effulgent than it ever was before. Hail, Columbia, motherland of liberty! It has been given to thee, who never dipped hand in neighbor's blood, who never found out that shortest way of becoming rich by robbing one's neighbors — it has been given to thee to march on in the vanguard of civilization with the flag of harmony. The World^s Debt to Buddha, Paper by H. DHARMAPALA, of India. F I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions of them which well deserve the attention of those who have studied Plato and Kant, I should point to India. If I were to ask myself from what literature we here in Europe may draw that corrective which is most wanted in order to make our inner life more perfect, more com- prehensive, more universal, and in fact more truly human a life, not for this life only, but for a transfigured and eternal life, again I should point to India. Ancient India twenty-five centuries ago was ; scene of a religious revolution the greatest the world has ever seen. Indian society at that time had two large and distinguished religious foundations— the Szmanas and the Brahmanas, Famous teachers arose and, with their disciples, went among the peo- ple preaching and converting them to their respective views. Chief of them were Purana Kassapa, Makkhali, Ghosala. Ajita Kesahambala, Pakudha Kacckagara, Sanjaya Belattiputta and Niganta Nathaputta. Amidst the galaxy of these bright luminaries there appeared other thinkers and philosophers who, though they abstained from a higher claim of religious reformers, yet appeared as scholars of independent thought. Such were Havari, Pissa Mettcyya, Mettagua, Uunnaka, Dkotaka, Upasiva, Henaka, Todeyya, Sela Parukkha, Pokkharadsati, Maggadessakes, Maggajivins These were all noted for their learning in their sacred Scriptures, in grammar, history, philosophy, etc. The air was full of a coming spiritual struggle. Hundreds of the most scholarly young men of noble families (Kulaputta) were leaving their homes in quest of truth; ascetics were undergoing the severest mortifications to discover the panacea for the evils of suffering. Young dialecticians were wandering from place to place engaged in disputa- tions, some advocating skepticism as the h?st .veapon to fight against 377 RetigioaB Rt>Tolution. I '^smsmssatm.. 37S T//E IVORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. When naddha ippenrwl. the realistic doctrines oi the day, some a sort of life which was the nearest way to gettinjj rid of existence, some denying a future life. It .vas a time deep and many sided in intellectual movements. The sacrificial priest was powerful then as he is now. He was the mediator between Ciod and man. Monotheism of the most crude type, fctichism from anthropomorphic deism to transcendental dualism was rampant. So was matcrialisni from sensual epicureanism to trans- cendental nihilism. In the words of Dr. Oldenberg: "When the dialectic skepticism began to attach moral ideas, when a painful long- ing for deliverance from the burden of being was met by the first signs of moral decay, Buddha appeared." " The Saviour of tlie world, Prince Siddhartha styled on earth. In earth on heavens and hells inicomparable. All honored, wisest, best, most pitiful, The teacher of Nirvana and the law." Oriental scholars, who had begun their researches in the domain of Indian literature at the beginning of this century, were put to great perplexity of thought at the discovery of the existence of a religion called after Buddha in the' Indian philosophical books. Sir William Jones, H. H. Wilson and Mr. Colbrooke were embarrassed in being unable to identify hiin. Dr. Marshman, in 1824, said that Buddha was the Egyptian Apis, and Sir William Jones solved the problem by say- ing that he was no other than the .Scandinavian Woden. The barge of the early orientals was drifting into the sand banks of Sanskrit literature, when in June, 1837, the whale of the obscure history of India and Buddhism was made clear by the deciphering of the rock- cut edicts of Asoka the Great in Garnar, and Kapur-da-gini by that lamented archaeologist, Jaines Pramsep, by the translation of the Pali Ceylon history into English by Turner, and by the discovery of Bud- dhist manuscripts in the temples of Mcpal Ceylon and other Buddhist countries. In 1844 the first rational scientific and comprehensive account of tlie Buddhist religion was published by the eminent scholar, Eugene Puniouf. The key to the archives of this great relig- ion was also presented to the thoughtful people of Europe by this great scholar. With due gratitude I mention the names of the .scholars to whose labors the present increasing popularity of the Buddha religion is due: Spence, Hardy, Gogerly, Turner, Professor Childers, Dr. Davids, Dr. Oldenberg, Max Miiller, Professor JansboU and others. Pali scholar- ship began with the labors of the late Dr. Childers, and the western world is indebted to Dr. Davids, who is indefatigable in his labors in bringing the rich stores of hidden wisdom from the minds of Pali lit- erature. To two agencies the present popularity of Buddhism is due: Sir Edwin Arnold's incomparable epic, "The Light of Asia," and the theosophical .society. "The irresistible charm which influences the thinking world to .study Buddhism, is the unparalleled life of its glorified founder. His 11 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS 370 teaching has found favor with every one who has studied his history. His doctrines are the embodiment of universal love. Not only our philologists, but even those who are prepossessed against his faith, have ever found but words of praise," says H. G. Blavatsky. "Noth- ing can be higher and purer than his social and moral code." "That moral code," says Max Miillcr, "taken by itself is one of the most per- fect which the world has ever known." "The more I learn to know Buddha," says Professor Jansboll, "the more I admire him." "We must," says Professor Barth, "set clearly before us the admirable figure which detaches itself from it, that finished model of calm and sweet majesty, of infinite tenderness for all that breathes, and compassion for all that suffers, of perfect moral freedom and exemption from every prejudice. It was to save others that he who was one day to be *Gautama disdained to tread sooner in the way of Nirvana, and that he chose to become Buddha at the cost of countless numbers of supple- mentary existences." "The singular force," says Professor Bloomfield, "of the great teacher's personality is unquestioned. The sweetness of his character and the majesty of his personality stand forth upon the background of India's religious history with a degree of vividness which is strongly enhanced by the absence of other religions of any great importance." And even Bartholemy St. Hilaire, misjudging Buddhism as he does, .says: "I do not hesitate to say that there is not among the founders of religions a figure either more pure or more touching than that of Buddha. Ho is the perfect model of all the virtues he preaches; his self-abnegation, his charity, his unalterable sweetness of disposition do not fail him for one instant." That poet of Buddhism, the sweet singer of the "Light of Asia," Sir Edwin Arnold, thus estimates the place of Buddhism and Buddha in history: "In poi^it of age most other creeds are youthful compared with this venerable religion, which has in it the eternity of a universal hope, the immortality of a bound- less love, an indestructible clement of faith in the final good and the pro dest assertion ever made of human freedom." "Infinite is the wisdom of the Buddha. Boundless is the love of Buddha to all that live." So say the Buddhist scriptures. Buddha is called the Mahamah Karumika, which means the all merciful Lord who has compassion on all that live. To the human mind Buddha's wisdom and mercy is incomprehensible. The foremost and greatest of his disciples, the blessed Sariputta, even he has acknowledged that he could not gauge the Buddha's wisdom and mercy. Already the thinking minds of Europe and America have offered their tribute of admiration to his divine memory. Professor Huxley says: "Gautama got rid of even thut shade of a shadow of permanent existence by a metaphysical tour de force of great interest to the stu- dent of philosophy, seeing that it supplies the wanting half of Bishop Berkeley's well-known idealist argument. It is a remarkable indication of the subtlety of Indian speculation that Gautama should have seen deeper than the greatest or modern ideali.sts," His Social and Moral Code. DonndlessLoTe ^mmim^ M i^ u ; '5i I Ms I :il History Re- peating Itself. ContlictinK Opiuions. 380 TJ/£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS, The tendency of enlightened thought of the day, all the world over, is not toward theology, but philosophy and psychology. The bark of theological dualism is drifting into danger. The fundamental principles of evolution and monism are being accepted by the thought- ful. The crude conceptions of anthropomorphic deism are being rel- egated into the limbo of oblivion Lip service of prayer is giving place to a life of altruism. Personal self-sacrifice is gaining the place of a vicarious sacrifice. History is repeating itself. Twenty-five centuries ago India v, itnessed an intellectual and religious revolution which cul- minated in the overthrow of monotheism and priestly selfishness, and the establishment of a synthetic religion. This was accomplished through Sakya Muni. Today the Christian world is going through the same process. It is difficult to properly comprehend the system of Buddha by a spiritual study of its doctrines. ;\nd especially b\' those who have been trained to think that there is no truth in other religions. When the scholar Vachcha, approaching Buddha, demanded a complete elucidation of his doctrines, he said: "This doctrine is hard to see, hard to understand, solemn and sublime, not resting on dialectic, sub- tle, and perceived only by the wise. It is hard for you to learn who are of different views, different ideas of fitness, difterent choice, trained and taught in another school." A systematic study of Buddha's doctrine has not yet been made by the western scholars, hence the conflicting opinions expressed by them at various times. The notion once held by the scholars that it is a system of materialism has been exploded. The positivists of France found it a positivism. Buckner and his school of material- ists thought it was a materialistic sjstem. Agnostics found in Buddha an agnostic, and Dr Rhys Davids, the eminent Pali scholar, used to call him the "agnostic philosopher of India.'' .Some scholars have found an expressed monotheism therein. Arthur Liliie, another stu- dent of Buddhism, thinks it a theistic system. Pessimists identify it with .Schopenhaur's pessimism. The latq Mr. Buckle identified it with the pantheism of India. .Some have found in it a monoism, and the latest dictum is Professor Huxley's, that it is an idealism supplying "the wanting half of Bishop Buckley's well-known idealist argument." Dr. Eikl says that " Buddhism is a system of vast magnitude, for it embraces all the various branches of science, which our western nations have been long accustomed to divide for separate study. It embodies, in one living structure, grand and peculiar views of physical science, refined and subtle theories on abstract metaphysics, an edifice of fanciful mysticism, a most elaborate and far reaching system of practical morality, and, finally, a church organization as broad in its principles and as finely wrought in its most intricate network as any in the world. All this is, moreover, confined in such a manner that the essence and substance of the whole may be compressed into a few formulas and symbols plain and suggestive enough to be grasped by the most simple-minded ascetic, and yet so full of philosophic depths THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 881 |pccl by depths as to provide rich food for years of meditation to the metaphysician, the poet, tlie mystic, and pleasant pasturage for the most fiery imag- ination of anj' poetical dreamer." In the religion of Buddha is found a comprehensive system of ethics, and a transcendental metaphysic embracing a sublime psychol- ogy. To the simple minded it offers a code of morality, to the earnest student a system of pure thought. But the basic doctrine is the self- purification of man. Spiritual progress is impossible for him who does not lead a life) of purity and compassion. The sui)erstructure has to be built on thej basis of a pure life. So long as one is fettered by selfishness, passion^' prejudice, fear, so long the doors of his higher nature are closed against ihe truth. The rays of the sunl-'ght of truth enter the mind of him who is fearless to examine truth, who is free from prejudice, who is not tied by the sensual passion, and who has reasoning faculties to think. One has to be an atheist in the sense employed by Max Miiller: "There is an atheism which is not death; there is another which is the very life bloi id of all true faith. It is the power of giving up what, in our best, our i ^st honest movements, we know to be no longer true. It is the re;i 'incss to replace the less perfect, however dear, however sacred it may have been to us, by the more perfect, however much it may be detested as yet by the world. It is the true self-sur- render, the true self-sacrifice, the truest trust in truth, the truest faith." Without that atheism no new religion, no reform, no reformation, no resuscitation would ever have been possible; without that athei'.m no new life is possible for any one of us. The strongest emphasis has been put by Buddha on the supreme importance of having an un- prejudiced mind before we start on the road of investigation of truth. The least attachment of the mind to preconceived ideas is a positive hindrance to the acceptance of truth. Prejudice, [)assion, fear of ex- pression of one's convictions and ignorance are the four biases that have to be sacrificed at the threshold. To be born as a human being is a glorious privilege. Man's digni'.y consists in his capability to reason and think and to live up to the highest ideal of pure life, of calm thought, of wisdom, without extraneous interventions. Buddha says that man can enjoy in this life a glorious existence, a life of indi- vidual freedom, of fearlessness and compassionatcncss. This dignified ideal of manhood may be attained by the humblest, and this consum- mation raises him above wealth and royalty "He that is compassion- ate and observes the law is My disciple." Human brotherhood forms the fundamental teaching of Buddha — universal love and .sympathy with all mankind and with animal life. Every one is enjoined to love all beings as a mother loves her only child and takes care of it even at the risk of her life. The realization of the ideal of brotherhood is obtained when the first stage of holi- ness is realized. The idea of separation is destroyed and the oneness of life is recognized. There is no pessimism in the teachings of Buddha, for he strictly enjoins on his holy disciples not even to sug- A Sublime Psychology. DiKnified Ideal uf Man* bood. m ;{s^ THE WORLD'S COXGRESS OF RELIGIONS. •ii I I !*< !;' \ I ^ ! , ■ :■ : -p, * ■ ■ 1 ■ ■ !P' ' 1, f 1 1 ' L f 1 'Ml ' ■ , i ^ If ' : • 'i i ■ , i '■ ' ■ ^ •' 1 1: : 'IVH<'MinK8 oil Kvolutiiiu, |][est to others that life is not worth living. On the contrary, the use- fulness of life is cmphasi/cd for the sake of doinij good to self and humanity. From the fetich worshiping savage to the highest type of hu- nianitj' man naturally yearns for something higher. And it is for this reason that Buddha inculcated the necessity fur self-reliance and inde- pendent thought. To guide humanity in the right path, a Tathagata (Messiah) appears from time to time. In the sense of a supreme Creator, Buddha says that there is nu such being, accepting tin- doctrine of evolution as the only true one, with corollary, the law of cause and effect. He condemns the idea of a Creator, but the supreme God of the lirahmans and minor gods are accepted. But they are suliject to the law of cause and effect. This suprenie God is all love, all merciful, all gentle, and looks upon all beings with equanimity, liuddha teaches men to practice these four supreme virtues. But there is no difference between the perfect man and this supreme God of the present world. The teachingsof the liuddhacyu evolution are clear and expansive. We are asked to look upon the cosmos " as a continuous process un- folding itself in regular order in obetlience to natural laws. We see in it all not a yawning chaos restrained by the constant interference from without of a wise and beneficent external power, but a \ast aggregate of original elements perpetualh' working out their own fresh redistribu- tion in accordance with their own inherent energies. He regards the cosmos as an almost infinite collection of material, animated by an almo.st infinite sum total of energy," which is calletl Akasa. 1 have used the above definition of evolution, as given l)y (irant Allen in his " Life of Darwin," as it beautifull\- expresses the generalized idea of Buddhism. We do not postulate that man's evolution began from the protoplasmic stage, but we are asked not to speculate on the origin t)f life, on the origin of the law of cause and effect, etc. So far as this great law is concerned we say that it controls the i)hei"omena of human life as well as those of external nature, the whole l.nowabie uni\-erse forms one undi\ ided whole. Buddha promulgated his system of philosophy after having studied all religions. And in the Brahma-jola sutta sixty-two crec.^l.-> .ire dis- cussetl. In the Kalama, the sutta, Buddha says: "Do not believe in what ye have heard. Do not believe in tradi- tions, because they have been handed down for man)' generations. Do not believe in anything because it is renowned and spoken of by man\'. Uo not believe merely because the written statement of some olil sage is produced. Do not believe in conjectures. Do not l)elie\'e in that as truth to which you have become attached by habit. Do not be!ie\e merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Often observa- tion and analysis, when the result agrees with reason, is conducive to the good and gain of one and all. Accept and live up to it." To the ordinary householder, whose highest happiness consists in being wealthy here and in heaven hereafter, Buddha inculcated a sim- mm U Buddhist Priest, Siam. ■Jr !'1 I. :; ;f: M ; i i III 884 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. pie code of morality. The student of Buddha's religion from destroy- ing life, lays aside the club and weapon. He is modest and full of pity. He is compassionate to all creatures that have life, lie abstains from theft, and he passes his life in honesty and purity of heart. He lives a life of chastity antl purity. He abstains from falsehood and injures not his fcllowman by deceit. Putting away slander he abstains from calumny. He is a peacemaker, a speaker of words that make for peace. Whatever word is humane, pleasant to the ear, lovely, reaching to the heart, such arc the words he speaks. He abstains from harsh language. He abstains from foolish talk, he abstains from intoxicants and stupifying drugs. The advance student of the religion of Buddha, when he has faith in him, thinks " full of hindrances in household life is a path defiled by passion. Pure as the air is the life of him who has renounced all UprfRhtnesB Worldly things How difificult it is for the man who dwells at home Mb Object. ^q ijyg ^.hc higher life in all its fullness, in all its purity, in all its freedom. Let me then cut off my hair and beard, let me clothe myself in orange-colored robes, let me go forth from a household life into the homeless state." Then before long, forsaking his portion of wealth, forsaking his circle of relatives, he cuts off his hair and beard, he clothes himself in the orange-colored robes and he goes into the homeless state, and tli'Mi he passes a life of self-restraint, according to the rules of the c )f the blessed one. Uprightness is his object and he sees dangc .e least of those things he should avoid. He encompasses himseli with holiness, in word and deed. He sustains his life by means that are quite pure. Good is his conduct, guarded the door of his senses, mindful and self-possessed, he is altogether happy. The student of pure religion abstains from earning a livelihood by the practice of low and lying arts, viz., all divination, interpreta- tion of dreams, palmistry, astrology, crystal prophesying, charms of all sorts. Buddha also says: "Just as a mighty trumpeter makes himself heard in all the four directions without difficulty, even so of all things that have life, there is not one that the student passes by or leaves aside, but regards them all with mind set free and deep-felt pity, sympathy and equanimity He lets his mind pervade the whole world with thoughts of love." To realize the unseen is the goal of the student of Buddha's teach ings, and such a one has to lead an absolutely pure life. Buddha says: ' 'Let him fulfill all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone. Fulfill all righteousness for the sake of the living, and for the sake of the blessed ones that are dead and gone." Thought transference, thought reading, clairvoyance, projection the sub-conscious sel^and all the higher branches of psychical science that just now engage the thoughtful attention of psychical researchers TlIK WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 385 four there , them limity arc within the reach of him who fulfills all righteousness, who is de- voted to solitude and to contemplation. Charity, observance of moral rules, purifying the mind, making others participate in the good work that one is doing, co-operating with others in doing good, nursing the sick, giving gifts to the deserving ones, hearing all that is good and beautiful, making others learn the rules of morality, accepting the laws of cause "^nd effect are the com- mon appanage of all good men. Prohibited employments include slave dealing, sale of weapons of warfare, sale of poisons, sale of intoxicants, sale of flesh- all deemed the lowest of professions. The five kinds of wealth are: Faith, pure life, receptivity of the mind to all that is good and beautiful, liberality and wisdom. Those who possess tliese fivo kinds of wealth in their past incarnations are influenced by the teachings of Buddha. Hesidcs these, Ikiddha says in his universal precepts: "He who is faithful, and leads the life of a householder, and possesses the follow- ing four (Dhammas) virtues, truth, justice, firmness and liberality — such a one does not grieve when passing away. Pray ask other teachers and philosophers far and wide, whether there is found anything greater than jtruth, self-restraint, liberality and forbearance." The pupil should minister to his teacher; he should rise up in his presence, wait upon him, listen to all that he says with respectful attention, perform the duties neces.sary for his personal comfort, and carefully attend to his instruction. The teacher should show affection for his pupil. Me trains him in virtue and good manners, carefully instructs him, imparts to him a knowledge of the sciences and wisdom of the ancients, speaks well of him to relatives and guards him from danger. The honorable man ministers to his friends and relatives by pre- senting gifts, by courteous language, by promoting as his equals and by sharing with them his prosperity. They should watch over him when he has negligently exposed himself, guard his property when he is careless, assist him in difinculties, stand by him and help to provide for his family. The master should minister to the wants of his servants, as depend- ents; he assigns them labor suitable to their strength, provides for their comfortable support; he attends them in sickness, causes them to partake of any extraordinary delicacy he may obtain and makes them occasional presents. The servants should manifest their attach- ment to the master; they rise before him in the morning and retire later to rest; they dt not purloin his property, do their work cheer- fully and actively and are respectful in their behavior toward him. The religious teachers should manifest their kind feelings toward lawyers. They should dissuade them from vice, excite them to virtu- ous acts— being desirous of promoting the welfare of all. They should instruct them in the things they had not previously learned, confirm them in the truths and point out to them the way to heaven. The CniTenal Pi* oepU. 886 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. A TathaffKt* torn into Um (Torld. A Warnings lawyers should minister to the teachers by respectful attention mani- fested in their words, actions and thoughts, and by supplying them their temporal wants and by allowing them constant access to them. The wise, virtuous, prudent, intelligent, teachable, docile man will become eminent. The persevering, diligent man, unshaken in adver- sity and of inflexible determination will become eminent. The well- informed, friendly-disposed, prudent-speaking, generous-minded, self- controlled, self-possessed man will become eminent. In this world generosity, mildness of speech, public spirit and courteous behavior are worthy of respect under all circumstances and will be valuable in all places. If these be not possessed the mother will receive neither honor nor support from the son, neither will the father receive respect nor honor. Buddha also says: *' Know that from time to time a Tathagata is born into the world, fully enlightened, blessed and worthy, abounding in wisdom and good- ness, happy with knowledge of the v .Id, unsurpassed as a guide to erring mortal, a teacher Oi gods and men, a blessed Buddha. He, by himself, thoroughly understands and sees, as it were face to face, this universe, the world below with all its spirits and the worlds above, and all creatures, all religious teachers, gods and men, and he then makes his knowledge known to others. The truth doth he proclaim, both in its letter and its spirit, lovely in its origin, lovely in its progress, lovely in its consummation; the higher life doth he proclaim in all its purity and in all its perfectness. First. He is absolutely free from all passions, cooimits no evil even in secrecy and is the embodiment of perfection. He is above doing anything wrong. Second. Self-introspection — by this has he reached the state of supreme enlightenment. Third. By means of his divine eye he looks back to the remotest past and future. Knows the way of emancipation, and is accomplished m the three great branches of divine knowledge, and has gained per- fect wisdom. He is in possession of all psychic powers, always will- ing to listen, full of energy, wisdom and dhyana. Fourth. He has realized eternal peace and walks in the perfect path of virtue. Fifth. He knows three states of existence. Sixth. He is incomparable in purity and holiness. Seventh. He is teacher of gods and men. Eighth. He exhorts gods and men at the proper time, according to their individual temperaments. Ninth. He is the supremely enlightened teacher and the perfect embodiment of all the virtues he teaches. The two characteristics of Buddha are wisdom and compassion." Buddha also gave a warning to his followers when he said: "He who is not generous, who is fond of sensuality, who is disturbed at heart, who is of uneven mind, who is not reflective, who is not of calni mind, who is discontented at heart, who has no control over his senses— such a disciple is far from me, though he is in body near me." THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 387 The attainment of salvation is by the perception of self through charity, purity, self-sacrifice, self-knowledge, dauntless energy, pa- tience, truth, resolution, love and equanimity. The last words of Huddha were these: " He ye lamps unto yourselves; be ye a refuge to yourselves; betake yourself to an eternal voyage; hold fast to the truth as a lamp; hold fast as a refuge to the truth; look not for refuge to any one besides yourselves. Learn ye, then, that knowledge which I have attained and have declared unto you and walk ye in it, practice and increase in order that the path of holiness may last and long endure for the bless- ing of many people, to the relief of the world, to the welfare, the blessing, the joy of gods and men." Attainment of Halvation. # ^ J''^, ;. y\' M :fl : 'i i.4 !i Xhe L^w of Qause and ^ffect, as X^^ght by B^d<^ha. Paper by SHAKU SOYEN, of Japan. Natare of CUUHO, F we open our eyes and look at the universe we observe the sun and moon and the stars on the sky; mountains, rivers, plants, animals, fishes and birds on the earth. Cold and warmth come alternately; shine and rain chan<4c from time to time without ever reachiiit,' an end. Again let us close our eyes and canily rctlcct upon ourselves. From morning to c\ oning we are agitated by the feelings of pleasure and pain, love and hate; sometimes full of ambition and desire, sometimes called to the utmost ex- citement of reason and will. Thus the action of mind is like an endless issue of a spring of water. As the phenomena of the external world are various and marvelous, so is the internal ^V)' attitude of human mind. Shall we ask for the explanatioaof these marvelous phenomena? Why is the unixerse in a constant flux? Why do things ciiange? Why is the mind subjected to a constant agitation? For these Huddhism offers only one explana- tion, namely, the law of cause and effect. Now let us proceed to understand the nature of this law, as taught by Buddha himself: First. The complex nature of cause. Second. An endless progression of the causal law. Third. The causal law in terms of the three worlds. Fourth. Self-formation of cause and effect. Fifth. Cause and effect as the law of nature. First. The complex nature of cause. A certain phenomenon cannot arise from a single cause, but it must have several conditions; in other words, no effect can arise unless several causes combine together. Take for example a case of fire. You may say its cause is oil or fuel; but neither oil nor fuel alone can give rise to a flame. Atmosphere, m M «. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 889 space and several other conditions, physical or mechanical, are neces- sary for the rise of a flame. All these necessary conditions combined toj^cther can be called the cause of a flame. This is only an example for the explanation ot the complex nature of cause, but the rest may be inferred. Second. An endless progression of the causal law. A cause must be preceded by another cause, and an effect must be followed by an- other effect. Thus, if we investigate the cau=e of a cause, tiie past of a past, by tracing back even to an eternity, we shall never reach the first cause. The assertion that there is the first cause is contrary to the fundamental principle of nature, since a certain cause must have an origin in some preceding cause or causes, and there is no cause which is not an effect. From the assumption that a cause is an effect of a preceding cause, which is also preceded by another, thus, ad infinitum, ProgreBBion we infer that there is no beginning in the universe. As there is no LawT* ^" effect which is not a cause, .so there is no cause which is not an effect. Huddhism considers the universe has no beginning, no end. Since, even if we trace back to an eternity, absolute cause cannot be found, so we come to the conclusion that there is no end in the universe. Like as the waters of rivers evaporate and form clouds, and the latter changes its form into rain, thus returning once more into the original form of waters, the causal law is in a logical circle changing from cause to effect, effect to cause. Third. The causal law in terms of three worlds, namely, past, present and future. y\ll the religions apply more or less the causal law in the sphere of human conduct, and remark that the pleasure and happiness of one's future life depend upon the purity of his present life, liut what is peculiar to Ikiddhism is, it applies the law not only to the relation of present and future life, but also past and present. As the facial expressions of each individual are different from those of others, men are graded by the different degrees of wisdom, talent, wealth and birth. It is not education nor experience alone that can make a man wise, intelligent and wealthy, but it depends upon one's pastlife. What are the causes or conditions which produce such a difference? To explain it in a few words, I say, it owes its origin to the different qual- ity of actions which we have done in our j)ast life, namely, we are here enjoying or suffering the effect of what we have done in our past life. If you closely observe the conduct of your felh oeings, you will notice that each individual acts different from the others. From this we can infer that in future life each one will also enjoy or suffer the result of his own actioi s done in this existence. As the pleasure and pain of one's present actions, so the happiness or misery of our future world will be the result of our present action. Fourth. Self-formation of cause and effect. We enjoy happiness and suffer mise:>', our own actions being causes; in other words, there is no other cause than our own actions which make us happy or un- gelf I i happy. Now let us observe the different attitudes of human life; one tion of o is happy and others feel unhappy. Indeed, even among the members •""* ''*^*^*' PaHt, Present and Future. J 8flO THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 4 it ■ ^ I ! i M MS \ iJiili i I s i 4 1 The Law Nature. erpr«if tlii'Ijuv. of the same family, we often notice a pfreat diversity in wealth and fort- une. Thus various attitudes of human life can be explained by the self-formation of cause and effect. There is no one in the universe but one's self who rewards or punishes him. The diversity in future stages will be explained by the same doctrine. This is termed in Huddhism the "sclf-dccd and self-gain," or "self-make and self-receive." Heaven and hell are self-made. God did not provide you with a hell, but you yourself. The glorious happiness of future life will be the effect of present virtuous actions. Fifth. Cause and effect as the law of nature. According to the different sects of lUiddhism.more or less, different views are entertained in regard to the law of causality, but so far they agree in regarding it as the law of nature, independent of the will of lUiddlia, and much less of the will of human beings. The law exists for an eternity, without beginning, without end. Things grow and decay, and this is caused, not by an external power, but by an internal force which is in things themselves as an innate attribute. This internal law acts in accordance with the law of cause and effect, and thus appear immense pheiH)mena of the uni\erse. Just as the clock moves by itself without any inter- vention of any external force, so is the progress of the universe. We are born in the wt)rld of variety; some arc poor and unfortu- nate, others are wealthy and happy. The state of variety will be repeated again and again in our future lives. \\\\\ to whom slu 11 we complain of our miserv? To none but oursehes. We reward our- selves; so shall we do in our future life. If you ask me who deter- mined the length of our life, I say, the law of causality. Who made him happy and made me miserable? The law of causalit\-. Hodily health, material wealth, wonderful g' nius, umiatural suffering are the infallible expressions of the law of causality which governs every ])article of the universe, ever\' ])ortion of human conduct. Would you ask me about the Buddhist moralit}? I reply, in Huddhism the source of moral authority is the causal law. He kind, be just, be humane, be honest, if j-ou desire to crown your future. Dishonesty, criieit)', inhumanit)', will condemn you to a niiserable fall. ;\s I ha\e already explained to you, our sacred Huddlia is not the creator of tins law of nature, but he is the first discoverer of the law who led thus his followers to the height of moral perfection. Who shall utter a word against him? Who iliscovered the first truth of the universe? Who has saved and will save by his noble teaciungs the millions and millions ( i" the falling human beings? Indeed, too much approbation could not be uttered to honor his sacred name. il n I 1 1 I -!'! ,8 i'xi Brinnhia BiidHihiirt Faith. Xhe {Religion of the \^orld. Paper by ZENSHORI NOGUCHI, Interpreter for the Japanese Buddhist Priests. TAKE much pleasure in addressing you, my brothers, on the occasion of the first world's religious congress, by your kind indulgence, with what comes to my mind toda)' without any preliminary preparation, for I have been entirely occupied in interpreting for the four Hijiris vvho came with me to attend this con- gress. As you remembered Columbus for his dis- covery, and as you brought to completion the wonderful enterprise of the world's fair, 1 also have to remember one whose knocks at the long-closed door of my country awakened us from our long and undisturbed slumber and led us to open our eyes to the condition of other civilized countries, including that in which I now am wondering at its greatness and beauty, especially as it is epito- mized in the World's Fair. I refer to the famous Commodore Perry. I must do for him what Americans have done and do for Columbus. With him I have one, too, to remember, whose statue you have doubt- less seen at the world's fair. His name was Naosuke jl, the Lord of Hikone and the great Chancellor of Bakufu. He was unfortunately assassinated by the hands of the conservative party, which proclaimed him a traitor because he opened the door to the stranger without waiting for the permission of his master the emperor. Since we opened the door about thirty-six years have passed, dur- ing which time wonderful changes and progress have taken place in my country, so that now, in the midst of the White Citv and the World's Fair, I do not find myself wondering so much as a barbarian would do. Who made my country so civilized? He was the knocker, as 1 called him. Commodore Perry. So my people owe a great deal to him and to the America who gave him to us. I must therefore make some return to him for his kindness, as you u,re doing in the World's Fair to Columbus for his discovery Shall I pffer to you, who represent him, Japanese teapots and teacups? No. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 893 Then what is to be done? These things that we have just laid aside as inadequate are only materials, which fire and water can destroy. In their stead I bring something that the elements cannot destroy, and it is the best of all my possessions. What is that? Buddhism! As you see, I am simply a layman, and do not belong to any sect of Buddhism at all. So I present to you four Buddhist sorios, who will give their addresses before you and place in your hands many thousand copies of English translations of Buddhist works, such as "Outlines of the Mahayana, as Taught by Buddha;" "A Brief Account of the Shin-shu;" "A Shin-shu Catechism," and "The Sutra of Forty-two Sections and Two Other Short Sutras," etc. Besides these 400 volumes of the complete Buddha Shaka'a "Sutra" are imported for the first time to this country as a present to the chairman of this congress by the four Buddhist sorios. These three Chinese translations, which, of course, Japanese can read, are made from the original Sanskrit by many Chinese sorios in ancient times. 1 liope they will be translated into English, which can be understood by almost all the people of the world. I regret to say that there is probably no Mahayana doctrine, which is the highest order of Buddnist teaching, translated into En- glish If you wish to know what the Mahayana doctrine is, you must learn to road Chinese or Japanese, as you are doing in the Chatauqua system of education, otherwise Chinese or Japanese must learn English enough to translate them for English reading people. Whichever way it be, wc religionists must do this, for the sake of the world. I have devoted some years and am now devoting more years to learning English, for the purpose of doing this in my private capacity. But the work is too hard for me. For example, I have translate;' "^.ev Pro- fessor Tokunaga's work, without any help from foreigners, on account of the want of time. T am very .sorry that I have not enough copies of that bfiok to distribute them to you all, for 1 almost used them up in presents on my way to this city. Permi*- r..; to distribute the ten last copies that still remain in my trunk to those who happened to take the seats nearest me. How many religions and their sects are there in the world? Thousands. Is it to be hoped that the number of religions in the world will be increased by thousands more? No. Why? If such were our hope we ought to finally bring the number of religions to as grnat ;i figure as that oi the population of the world, and the priests of tiie \arious religions should not be allowed to preach for the purpose of bringing the i)coplc into their respective sects. In that case they snould liithcr siy: "Don't believe whatever we preach; get away from the churtli and make your own sect as we do." Is it right for the priest to say so? No. Then, is there a hope of decreasing the number of religions? Ves. How far? To one. Why? Because the truth is only one. Each sect or religion, as its ultimate object, aims to attain truth. Geometry teaches us that the shortest line between two points is lim« 26 Mahayi Doctrine. mu THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGION: u\ ' Roiigion the World. ited to only one; so uc must find out that one way of attaining the truth among the thousands of ways to \vhich the rival reli.;fions point us, and if we cannot find out that one way among the alt jaU) estab- lished religions we must seek it in a new one. .So lonj.' as \vc have thousands of religions the religion of the world has not yet attained of its full development in all respects. If the thousands of religions do continue to develop and reach the state of full tlevelopmen\: there will be no more any distinction between them, or any difference between faith and reason, religion and science. This is the end at which we aim and to which we iDelieve that we know the shortest wny. I greet you, ladies and gentlemen of the World's Pijrliamcnt of Religions, the gathering together of which is an impouant step in that direction. \Yhat 3^<^<^hism X^^ches of /V\an's Rela- tion to Go^' ^^^ h^ Influence on Xhose Who Y\awe f^eceived jt. Paper by KINZA RIUGE HIRAI, of Japan. HKRK arc very few countries in the world so niisuiiderstood as Japan. Anion^ the innu- merable unfair judgments, the religious thought of my countrymen is especially mis- represented, and the whole tation is con- demned as heathen lie they heathen, pagan, Aj^KU^'^^SSBi "'^ something else, it is a fact that from the ^'^'^BM^^masM beginning of our history Japan has received "^ all teachings vvith open mind; and also that the instructions which came from outside have commingled with the native religion in entire harmony, as is seen by so many temples built in the name of truth w ith a mixed appellation of Buddhism and Shintoism; as is seen by the afifinity among the teachers of Confucianism and Taoism, or other isms, and the liuddhists and Shinto priests; as is seen by the individual Japanese, who pays liis other respects to all teachings mentioned above; as is seen by the pecidiar construction of the Japanese houses, which have generally two rooms, one for a miniature Buddhist temple and the other for a small Shinto shrine, before which the family study the respective scriptures of the two religions; as is seen by the popular o'ls, Wake noborii Fumoto no iiiichi oa Ooke redo, Ona ji takane no Tsuki wo niiru Kana, which translated means: "Though there are many roads at the foot of the mountains, yet if the top is reached the same moon is seen," and 3 8S)5 Unfiiir.ltulK- niiMitMif,)u|iuu. 306 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \\ Treaty of other similar odes and mottoes, which are put in the mouth of the ignorant country old woman, when she decides the case of bigoted religious contention among young girls. In reality Synthetic religion, or Kntitism, is the Japanese specialty, and I will not hesitate to call it Japanisni. But you will protest and say: "Why, then, is Christianity not so warmly accepted by your nation as other religions?" This is the point which I wish especially to present before you. There are two causes why Christianity is not so cordially received. This great relig- ion was widely spread in my country, but in 1637 the Christian mis- sionaries, combined with the converts, caused a tragic and bloody rebell- ion against the country, and it is understood that those missionaries in- tended to subjugate Japan to their own motljer country. This shocked all Japan, and it took the government of the Shogun a year to suppress this terrible and intrusive commotion. To those who accuse us that our mother country prohibited Christianity, not now, but in a past age, I will reply that it was not from religious or racial antij)alhy, but tv> prevent such another insurrection; and to protect our independence we were obliged to prohibit the promulgation of the Gospels. If our history had had no such record of foreign devastation under the disguise of religion, and if our people had had no hereditary horror and prejudice against the name of Christianity, it might have been eagerly embraced by the whole nation. Hut this incident has passed and we may forget it Vet it is not entirely unreasonable that the terrified suspicion, or )ou may say superstition, that Christanity is the instrument of depredation should have been avoidably or una\ oiilably aroused in the oriental mind, when it is an admitted fact that some of the powerful nations of Christendom arc graduall>' encroaching upon the orient and when the following circumstance is daily impressed upon our minds, reviving a vivid memory of the past historical occur- rence. The circumstances of which I am about to speak is the present experience of ourselves, to which I especially call the attention of this parliament, and not only this Parliament, but also the whole of Chris- tendom. .Since 1853, when Commodore Perry came to Japan as the ambas- sador of the President of the United .States of America, our country began to be better known by all western nations and the new ports were widely opened and the prohibition of the Gospels was abolished, as it was before the Christian rebellion. By the convention at Yedilo, now Tokio, in 1858, the treaty was stipulated between America and Japan, and also with the European powers. It was the time when our country was yet under the feudal government; and on account of our having been secluded for over two centuries since the Christian rebell- ion of 1637, diplomacy was quite a new experience to the feudal offi- cers, who put their full confidence upon western nations, and, without any alteration, accepted every article of the treaty pre ented from the foreign governments. According to the treaty we are in a very disad- vantageous situation; and amongst the others there arc two prominent THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 307 articles, which deprive us of our rights and advantaf'cs. One is the exterritoriality of western nations in Japan, by which all cases in regard to rijrht, whether of property or person, arising between the subjects of the western nations in my country as well as between them and the Japanese, are subjected to the jurisdiction of the authorities of the western nations. Another regards the tariff, which, with the excep- tion ot five per cent ad valorum, we have no right to in'pose where it might properly be done. It is also stipulated that either of the contracting parties to this treaty, on giving one year's previous notice to the other, may demand a revision thereof on or after the 1st of July, 1872. Therefore, in 1871, our government demanded a revision, and since then we have been constantly re(iuesting it, but foreign governments have simply ignored our re(|uests, making many excuses. One part of the treaty between the United Stales of America and Japan concerning the tariff was annulled, for which we thank with sincere gratitude the kind-hearted y\merican nation; but I am sorry to say that, as no lunopean power has followed in the wake of America, in this respect our tariff right remains in the same ccmdition as it was before. We have no judicial power over the foreigners in Japan, and as a natural consetiuence we are receiving injuries, legal and moral, the accounts of which are seen constantly in our nati\e newspapers. As tiie western people li\e far from us they do not know the exact cir- cumstances. l'robal)ly they hear now and then the reports from the missionaries and their friends in Japan. I do not deny that their reports are true; but if a person wants to obtain any unmistakable inlormation in regaril to his friend he ought to hear the opinions about him from many sides. If you closely examine with your unbiased mind wliat injuries we receive you will be astonished. Among many kinds ot wrongs there are some which were utterK' unknown before ;ind entirely new to us - heathen, none of whom would ilare to speak ol them even in private conversation. One of the excuses offered by foreign nations is that our country is not yet civilized. Is it the principle of civilized law that the rights and profits of the so-called uncivilized or the weaker should be sacri- ficed? As 1 understand it, the spirit and the necessity of law is to protect the rights and welfare of the weaker against the aggression of the stronger; l)ut 1 have never learned in my shallow studies of law that the weaker should be sacrificed for the stronger. y\nolher kind of apology comes from the religious source, and the claim is made that the Ja[)anese are idolaters and heathen. Whether our people are idolaters or not you will know at once if you will investigate our relig- ious views without prejudice from authentic Japanese sources. Hut admitting, for the sake of argument, that we are idolaters and heathen, is it Christian morality to trample upon the rights and advan- tages of a non-Christian nation, coloring all their natural happines.s with the dark stain of injustice? I read in the Bible, "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the ether also;" but I Foreignen in Jui>an. 3f)S THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELTGIONS. In Donht \buut Advice. Falge tiiinity tl\- paradise of purity, peace and love- The regulating power of such cuiuuiand- 401 Ten roiii- tiinuilm«nt>'. 402 THE IVORLUS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \\ i i-i iif A I, i V i n K S p i r i t _ a n il Nationality. incnts shall turn this troublesome world into the spiritual kinj^iloin of fraternity and humanity. This is only one illustration of Buddhist prcachin^t:;; therefore, you see that Buddhism does not quarrel with other religions about the truth. If there were a religion which teaches the truth in the same way Ikid- dhism regards it as the truth of Buddhism disguised under the garment of other religion. Buddhism never cares what the outside garment might do. It only aims to promote the purity and morality of man- kind. It never asks who discovered it? It only appreciates the good- ness and righteousness. It helps the others in the purification of man- kind. Buddha himself called Buddhism "a round, circulating relig- ion," which means the truth common to ever}- religion, regardless of the outside garment. The absolute truth must not be regarded as the monopolization of one religion of another. The truth is the broadest and widest. In short, Buddhism teaches us that the Buddhism is truth, the goddess of truth who is common to every religion, but who showed her true phase to us through the Buddhism. And now let me tell you that this Buddhism has been a living spirit and nationality of our beloved Japan for so many years and w ill be forever. Consequently, the Japanese people, who have been con- stantly guided by this beautiful star of truth of Buddha's, arc very hos- pitable for other religions and countries, and are entirely diffiient from some other obstinate nations. I say this witlu)ut the least boast. Nay, I say this from simplicity and purity of mind. The Japanese of thirty years since — that is since we opened our country for foreigners— will prove to you that our country is quite uncc|ualed on the wa)' of pick- ing up what is good and right, even done 1)\- others. We never say who invented this? which country brought that? The things of good nature have been most liearlily accepted by us, regardless of race and nationality. Is this not the precious gift of the truth of Buddhism, the spirit of our country? But don't too hastily conclrde that we arc only bliutl in imitating others. We have our own nationalit)' ; let me assure \'ou that we have our own spirit. But we are not so obstinate to deny even what is good. So we trust in the unity of truth, but do not believe in the Creator fancied out by the imperfect brain of human beings. We also firmU- reserve our own nationality as to manner, customs, arts, literature, benevolence, architecture and language. We have a charming and lovely nationality which characterizes all customs and relation between the se.xes, between old and young and so on with peace and gentleness. You may think me too boastful, but allow me to warrant )'ou that in traveling into the interior of Japan you will never be receix-eil with the salutation of " Hello, John." You will never be recei\ed with the salutation, " Hello, Jack." Nay, our people are not so imi)olite--none of them. Everywhere you go you will receive hearty welcome ami kind hospitality. Not only this, you are well aware of the fact that Japan has her own originality in fine arts, sculpttire, painting, architecture, etc. ■m^U' THE WORLDS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. . 403 Should you doubt me, please trouble yourself to come over to Japan, where the beautiful mountains and clear streams will welcome you with smiles and open heart. Japan, though small in area, with the glorious rising as well as the setting sun, which shines over the beautiful cherry tree flowers, will do her very best to please you. The Japanese fine arts productions, which abound in all the cities of Japan, will tell you their own history. Not only is there the beautiful climate, which will tempt you to forget the departure from Japan, but I say that you ladies and gentlemen are not so weak as to be tempted by climate or the other things so far as to forget your country; but the respect, courtesy, kindness and hospitality you will constantly receive there might, perhaps, make it too hard for you to leave Japan without shedding tears. You must not thi^*'' that this is spoken by one mortal^ Horin Toki, of Japan, but it is spoken to you by the truth, who borrowed my tongue. Truly, it is. And let me ask you, who do you think originated such beautiful customs and the fine arts of worldwide reputation in Japan? Allow mc to assure you that it was Buddhism. I have no time to ccunt, one by one, what Buddhism has wrought out in Japan during the past eleven hundred years. But one word is enough — Buddhism is the spirit of Japan; her nationality is Buddhism. This is the true state of Japan. But it is a pity that we see .some false and obstinate religionists, who, comparing these promising Japanese with the South Islanders, have been so carelessly trying to introduce some false religion into our country. As I said before, we liuddhists welcome any who arc earnest seekers after the truth, but can we keep silent to sec the falsehood disturbing the peace and nationality of our country? The hateful rumor of the collision taking place between the two parties is some- times spread abroad. We, from the standpoint of love to our country, cannot overlook this falsehood and violation of peace and fraternity. Do you think it is right for one to urge upon a stranger to believe what he does not li're and call that stranger foolish, barbarous, igno- rant and obstm;»ie on account of the latter's denying the proposition made by the former? Do you think it is right for the former to excite the latter by calling so many names and producing social disorder? 1 should say that such a one as that is against peace, love and order, fraternity and humanity. I should say that such a one as that is against the truth. He who is against the truth had better die. Justice does conquer injustice, and we are glad to see that the cloud of falsehood is gradually disappearing before the light of truth. Also, you ladies and gentlemen who are assembled now here are the friends of truth. Nay, you are amidst the truth. Vou breathe the truth as you do the air. And you surely indorse my opinion, because it is nothiuj^ but the truth. Originator of Fine Artv, \ i;i. (J I i ■1 ' i ; tl Eternal Evo- lution. Buddhism as jt ^xists in §iam. Paper by H. R. H. PRINCE CHANDRADAT CHUDHADHARN, of Siam. UDDHISM, as it exists in Siam, teaches tkit all thiiif^s arc made up from the Dharma, a Sanscrit term meaning the "essence of nat- ure." The Dharma presents the three fol- lowing phenomena, which generally exist in every being: i. The acconiplishnient of eter- nal evolution. 2. Sorrow and suffering, ac- cording to human ideas. 3. A separate power, uncontrollable by the desire of man, and not belonging to man. The Dharma is formed of two essences, one known as matter, the other known as spirit. These essences e.xist for eternity; they are without beginning and without end; the one represents the world and the corpo- parts of man, and the other the mind ot man. The three phenomena combined are the factors for molding forms and creating sensations. The waves of the ocean arc foriiietl but of water, and the various shapes they take are dependent upon the degree of motion in the water; in similar man- ner the Dharma represents the universe, and varies according to the degree of evolution accomplished within it. Matter is called in the Pali "Ru[)a," and spirit "Nania." Kverj'thing in the universe is made up of Rupa and Xama, or matter and spirit, as already stated. The difference between all material things, as seen outwardly, depends upon the ilegree of evolution that is inherent to matter; and the dif- ereiice between all spirits depends upon the degree of will, which is the evolution of spirit. These differences, however, are only apparent; in reality, all is one and the same essence, merely a modification oiF the one great eternal tri'*-'5, Dharma. Man, who is an aggregate of Dharma, is, however, unconscious of the fact, because his will either receives impressions and becomes modified by mere visible things, or because his spirit has become identified with appearances, such as man, animal, deva or any other beings that are also hut modified spirits and matter. Man becoir-'. TT-jnr'Wia:' THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 405 therefore, conscious of separate existence. Hut all outward forms, man hinisell included, are made to live or to last for a short space of time only. They are soon to be destroyed and recreated a^ain and again by an eternal evolution. He is first body and spirit, but, through ignorance of the fact that all is Dharma and of that which is good and evil, his spirit may become impressed with evil temptation. Thus, for instance, he may desire certain things with that force peculiar to a tiger, whose spirit is modified by craving for lust and anger. In such a case he will be continually adopting, directly or indirectly, in his own life the wills and acts of that tiger, ard thereby is himself that animal in spirit and soul. Yet outwardly he ap])ears to be a man, and is as yet unconscious of the fact that his spirit has become endowed with the cruelties of the tiger. If this state continues until the body be dissolved or changed intt) other matter, be dead, as we say, that same spirit which has been endowed with the cravings of lust and anger of a tiger, of exactly the same nature antl feelings as those that have api)eare(l in the body of the man before his death, may reappear now to find itself in tiie body of a tiger suitable to its nature. Thus, so long as man is ignorant of that nature of Dharma and fails to iilentify that nature, he continues to receive different impressions from beings arouiul him in this uni- verse, thereby sufferings, pains, sorrows, disappointments of all kinds, death. If, however, his spirit be impressed with tlie gtxxl qualities that are fouml in a superior being, such as the deva, for instance, b\' adopt- ing in his own life the acts and wills of that superior i)eing, man becomes spiritually that sujjcrior being himsell', both in nature aiul soul, even while in his i)resent form. When death puts an eiul to his physical body, a spirit of the veiy same nature aiul (piality nia\' rea})- pear in the new body of a deva to enjoy a life ol hap[)iness, not. to be compared to anything that is known in this w lgw>' i • 1 ^ (K 1 W il i«r I ffii V f w r p "n' i . r 1 in Il»< Present Life. JdS 77//; WORLD'S CONGKESS OF K ELI G IONS. tliosL- who uspirc to any one of theni. I will only quote a few exam- ples; To those wlio a.sj)irc to advantages in the present life liuddhism reconiineiuls diliL^ence, economy, expenditure suitable to one's income, and association w ith the good. To those who aspire to the advantages of the future life are rec- oninuMuled charity, kindness, knowledge of right and wrong. To tliose who wish to enjoy the everlasting advantages in all eternity are recommended purity of conduct, of mind and of knowl- edge. Allow me now to say a few words on the duties of man toward his wile ami family as preached by the Lord Huddha himself to the lay disciples in ditferent discourses, or suttas, as they are called in Pali. They belong to the group of advantages of the present life. A good man is characterized by seven qualities: He should not be loailed with faults, he should be free from laziness, he should not boast of his knowledge, he should be truthful, benevolent, content and should aspire to all that is useful. A hushand siiould honor his wife, never insult her, never tlispleasc her, make her niisLress of the house, and provide for her. On her part, a wile ought to be cheerful toward him when he works, entertain his friends and care for his dependents, to never do anything he does not wis!), to lake good care of the wealth he has accumulated, not to be idle but alwa\-s cheerful when at work herself. I'aiiiUs in old age expect their children to take care of them, to do all their work and business, to maintain the household, aiu'. ::fter death, to do honor to their remains by being charitable. Parents help tiieir children b>' preventing them from doing sinful acts, by guiding til' 111 ill the path of virtue, by etliicating them, by providing them with liusl)aiuls antl wives suitable to them, by leaving them legacies. When po\erty, accident or misfortune befalls man, the Ikiddhist is taugiit to bear it with patience, and if these are brought on by him- self it is his duty to discover their causes and try, if possible, to rem- edy them If the causes, however, are not to be found here in this life he iiiiist account for them by the wrongs chjne in his former existence, Teiiiperance is enjoined upon all liuddhists for the reason that the jiabit of using iiitoxica^'-ig things tends to lower the mind to the level of that of an idiot, a m, Ci man or an evil spirit. Tluse are some of the doctrines and moralities taught by liud- dhism, which I hope will give you an idea of the scope of the Lord Ihiddhas teachings. In closing this brief paj)er, I earnestly wish )ou all, iii\- brother religionists, the enjoyment of long life, happiness and prosperity. 3uddhism. Paper by BANRIEU YATSUBUCHI, of Japan. » HE radiating lijil't of the civilization of tlie present century, to be seen in l{ui<)])c and America, is reflected on all corners of the earth. INIy country has already opened inter- national intercourse and niaile rapid ])r()L;rcss, owinjj to America, for which I return many thanks. The present state of tiie world's civilization, however, is limited al\va\s to the near .material world, and it has not \ et set forth the best, most beautiful and most truth- ful spiritual world. It is because e\er\' relitf- ion, stooping in each corner, neglects its duty, of universal love and brotherhood, lint, at last,.the day came fortunately that all religions sent their members to attend the world's relig- ious confjress in connection with the Columbian exposition of 1893. PucUlhisin is the doctrine taught by Buddha Shakyamuni. The word Buddha is .Sanscrit and in Japanese it is Satorim, which means understanding or comprehension. It has three meanings — self com- |)rehension, to let others comprehend and perfect comprehension. When wisdom and hvunanity are attained thorouj^jhly by one he may be called Huddha, which means perfect comprehension. In Buddhism we have Buddha as our saviour, the spirit incariuite of perfect self-sac- rifice and divine compassion, and the embodiment of all that is |)ure and jTood. Although Buddha was not a creator ami had ikj power to destroy the law of the universe, he had the power of knowledge to know the origin of nature and end of each revolving manifestation of the universal phenomena. H»' supi)ressed the craving and ])assi()ns of his mind until he could reach no higher spiritual and moral plane. As every object of the universe is one part of the truth, of course it may become Buddha, according to a natmal reason. The only difference between Buddha and all otiur brings is in point of supreme enlightenment. Kegon Sutra teaches us that there is no distinction between Mind, Buddha and Beings, and Nirvana Sq- 4U» Riiddlia fined. no- li 410 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Hmldliii. tra also teaches us that all beinjr.s have the nature of Buddahood. If one docs not neglect to purify his mind and to increase his power of relijjion, he may take in the spiritual world or space and have cogni- zance of the past, present and future in his mind. Kishinron tells us that space has no limit, that the worlds are innumerable, that the beings are countless, that liuddhas are numberless. Huddhism aims to turn from the incomplete, superstitious world to the complete enlighten- ment of the world of truth. The complete doctrines of Huddha, who spent fifty years in elab- orating them, were preached precisely and carefully, and their mean- ings are so profound and deep that I caniu)t explain at this time an infinitesimal part of tlicm. llis preaching was a compass to point ('..inpiHtg out the direction to the bewildering sijiritual world. He tauin fur (!i>u«uri". (I tl. If ' ^cr of :oj;ni- '11s us cinj^s ) turn htcn- chih- iican- uo ail point ht his nicd- is and Idha's Idha's lism? chiiiL,' ate of iciin^ sects jnsid- aiers, c not les us man)- were in the y cle- bject, - to the know riiose ' t read anese Bud- \ - : • r A \ I ( 1l H j! t 1 I i It 1 1 ; I i\:i I! KJ( e '£ U n o c l« U S u H J3 •a •o s n o b 2 'u 4) 5 "~t Buddhism and Christianity. Paper by H. DHARMAPALA, of India. AX .MiJLLKR says: "When a religion' has ceased to piotUice champions, proph- ets and martyrs it has ceased to live in the true sense of the word, and the decisive battle for the dominion of the world would have to be fouj^ht out amonj; the three missionary relijjions which are alive: Huddhisin, Moham- medanism and Christianity." .Sir Will- iam W. JIunler, in his "Indian iMnjjire" ( 1893), •'^iiy^: "The secret of Ikiddha's success was that he brought spiritual deliverance to the people, lie preached tiiat salvation was ecjually open to all men, and that it nuis^ be earned, not by propitiating imaginary deities, but by our own conduct. His doctrines thus cut away the religious basis of caste and had the effi- ciency of the sacrificial ritual anil assailed the supremacy of the Hrahmans ( i)riests) as the mediators between God and man." Ikiddha taught that sin, sorrow aud tlcli\crance, the state of man in this life, in all previous and in all future lives, are the inev- itable results of his own acts ( Karma). 1 le thus a[)plied the inexorable law of cause and effect to the soul. What a man sows he must reap. As no evil remains without punishment and no good deal without reward, it follows that neither priest nor God can prevent each act bearing its own consequences. Misery or happiness in this life is the unavoidable result of our conduct in a past life, ami our actions here will determine our happiness or misery in the life to come. When any creature dies he is born again, in some higher or lower state of exist- ence, according to his merit or demerit. His merit or demerit- that is, his character — consists of the sum total of his actions in all previous lives. By this great law of Karma Buddha explained the inequalities and apparent injustice of men's estate in this world as the consequence of 413 Resnlts of IIi8 Own ActB. i ■V'i 1 1 . i III i : ( !,, rractiRal Aim of Huddliu'a Teuchintf. 414 T//£ IVORLDS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. acts in the past, while Christianity compensates those inequalities by rewards in the future. A system in which our whole well-being, past, presiMit and to come, depends on ourselves, theoretically leaves little room for the interference, or even existence, of a personal God. IJut the atheism of Huddha was a philosophical tenet, which, so far from weakening the functions of right and wrong, gave them new strength from the doctrine of Karma, or the metempsychosis of character. To free ourselves from the thraldom of desire and from the fetters of sel- fishness was to attain to the state of the perfect disciple, Arabat, in this life and to the everlasting rest after death. The great practical aim of Buddha's teaching was to subdue the lusts of the flesh and the cravings of self, and this could only be attained by the practice of virtue. In place of rites and sacrifices Buddha pre- scribed a code of practical morality as the means of salvation. The four essential features of that code were: Reverence to spiritual teach- ers and parents, control over self, kindness to other men, and reverence for the life of all creatures. He urged on his disciples that they must not only follow the true path themselves, but that they should teach it to all mankind. The life and teachings of Buddha are also beginning to exercise a new influence on religious thought in Europe and America, liuddhism will stand forth as the embodiment of the eternal verity that as a man sows he will reap, associated with the duties of mastery over self and kindness to all men, and quickened into a popular religion by the example of a noble and beautiful life. Here are some Buddhist teachings as given in the words of Jesus and claimed by Christianity: Whosoever cometh to Me and heareth My si ings and doeth them, he is like a man which built a house and laid the foundation on a rock. Why call ye me Lord and do not the things which I say? Judge not, condemn not, forgive. Love your enemies and do good, hoping for nothing again, and your reward shall be great. Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. , Be ready, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Sell all that ye have and give it to the poor. Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years,takc thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him: Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, then whose shall these things be which thou hast provided ? The life is more than meat and the body more than raiment. Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot be My disciple. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful in much. Whosoever shall save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF KELICJONS. 41 n |es by past, little Diit from Migth To )f scl- but, in For behold the kingdom of God is within you. There is no man that hath left house or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of (iod's sake who shall not receive manifold more in this present tiim.-. Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be over- charged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always. Here are some Jiuddhist teachings for comparison: Hatred docs not cease by hatretl at any time. Hatred ceases by CompiiruSnf"' love. This is an ancient law. Let us live happily, not hating those who hate us. Among men who hate us, let us live free from hatred. Let one overcome anger by love. Let him overcome evil by good. Let him overcome the greedy by liberality, let the liar be overcome by truth. As the bee, injuring not the flower, its color or scent, flics away, taking the necuir, so let the wise man dwell upon the earth. Like a beautiful flower, full of color and full of scent, the fine "ords of him who acts accordingly are full of fruit. Let him speak the truth, let him not yield to anger, let him give when asked, even from the little he has. By these things he will enter heaven. The man who has transgressed one law and speaks lies and denies a future workl, there is no sin he could not do. The real treasure is that laid up through charity and piety, temper- ance and self-control; the treasure thus hid is secured, and passes not awa>'. He who controls his tongue, speaks wisely and is not puffed up; who holds up the torch to enlighten the world, his word is sweet. Let his livelihood be kindness, his conduct righteousness. T hen in the fullness of gladness he will make an end of grief. He who is tnuuiuil and has compU'^r ' his course, who sees truth as it really is, but is not partial when there are persons of different faith to be dealt with, who with firm mind overcomes ill will and cov etousness, he is a true disciple. As a mother, even at the risk of her own life, protects her son, her only son, so let each one cultivate good will without measure among all beings. Nirvana is a state to be realized here on this earth. He who has reached the fourth stage of holiness consciously enjoys the bliss of Nirvana. Hut it is beyond the reach of him who is selfish, skeptical, realistic, sensual, full of hatred, full of desire, proud, self-righteous and ignorant. When by supreme and unceasing effort he destroys all sel- fishness anil realizes the oneness of all beings, is free from all preju- dices and dualism, when he by patient investigation discovers truth, the stage of holiness is reached. Among Buddhist ideals arc self-sacrifice for the sake of others, compassion based on wisdom, joy in the hope that there is final bli.ss for the pure-minded, altruistic individual. The student of Buddha's 410 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. R u (1 (I li i H t I(k>llll:>. !'^J •!-U. i/ ; i rclijjfion takes the burden of life with sweet contentment; uprightness is Ills dolij^lit; he encompasses 1 Imself with holiness in word and deed; he sustains his life by means that are quite pure; fjood is his conduct, guarded the door of liis senses, mindful and self possessed, he is alto- gether liappy. H. T. Buckle, the author of the "History of Civilization," says: "A knowledge of Buddhism is necessary to the right understanding of Chrislianity. Buddhism is, besides, a most philosophical creed. Theo- logians should study it." In his inaugural address delivered at the congress of orientals last year Max Miillcr remarked: "As to the religion of Buddha being intluenced by foreign thought, no true scholar now dreams of that. Tiic religion of Buddha is the daughter of the old Brahman religion ant! a daughter in many respects more beautiful than the mother. On the contrary, it was through Buddhism that India, for the first time, stepped forth from the isolated position and became an actor in the historical draina of the world." Dr. Hocy, in his preface to Dr. Oldberg's excellent work on Bu(Kllia, says: "To thoughtful men who evince an interest in the com- parative study of religious beliefs Buddhism, as the highest effort of pure intellect to solve the problem of being, is attractive. It is not less so to the metaphysician and the sociologist, who study the philos- opli\- of the modern German pessimistic school and observe its social tciulciicies." Dr. Rliys David says that Buddhism is a field of inquiry, in which the only fruit to be gathered is knowledge. K. C. Dutt says: "The moral teachings and precepts of Buddhism have so much in common with those of Christianity that some connec- tion between the two systems of religion has long been suspected. Can- did iiiipiirors who have paid attention to the history of India and of the Greek world during the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era, and noted the intrinsic relationship which existed between these countries in scientific, religious and literary ideas, found no difficulty inhrlievingthat Buddhist ideas and precepts penetrated into the Greek work! licfore the birth of Christ. The discovery of th j A:)oka inscription of Mirnar, which tells us that that enlightened emperor of India made peace with five Greek kings and sent Buddhist missionaries to preach his religion in Syria, explains to us the process by which the ideas were coninuuiicated. Researches into doctrines of the Therapeuts in Egypt, and oi the Essenes in Palestine, leave no doubt, even in the minds of such devout Christian thinkers as Dean Mansel, that the movement which those sects embodied was due to Buddhist mission- aries wlio visited Egypt and Palestine within two generations of the time of Alexander the Great. A few writers like Benson, Seydal and Lillie maintain that the Christian religion has sprung directly from IJuddhism." it •J'/ I ii :: I' ';•! 1! ?f I I;: lil 1(1 Buddhist Priest, Ceylon. 3uddha. Paper by ZITSUZEN ASHITSU. not, really, a remarkable cv^ent in human story that such a large number of the dele- es of different creeds are come together rom every corner or tlie world, as m a cou- rt, to discuss one problem ot humanity — iversal brotherhood — without the least jeal- sy? 1 am so hai)py in giving an address as oken of my cordial acceptance of the mem- bership of this congress of religions. My subject is Buddha. This subject might be treated in two ways, either absolutely or relatively. Hut if I were to take an absolute way I am afraid I should not be able to utter even a single word, because, when Buddha is observed at absolute perfection, there is no word in human tongue which is powerful enough to interpret the state of its grand enlightenment. So, meanwhile. I stoop down to the lower stage, that is, to the manner of I'elativity, in treating this subject, and will explain the highest human enlightenment, which is calleil Ikuldha, according to the order of its five attitudes; that is, denomination, personality, principle, function an(i doctrine. Denomination. Buddha i.s a Sanskrit word and is translated K i^usha in Chinese language. The word Kaku means c.ilightcn, so i.' who enlighteiieil his own mind and also enlightened those of Diiitswas called Buddh;', Buddha has three personalities, namely, {•<'-.-.Lin, Iloshin and VV'ojin. Now, in Hosshin, Ho means law and Sii .1 leans personality, so it is the name given to the personality of the constitution after the Buddha got the highest Buddhahood. This personality is entirely colorless and formless, but, at the same time, it has the nature of eternality, omnipresence, and unchangeableness. Hosshin i^ called Birushana in Sanskrit and Ilen-i.ssai-sho in Chinese, both meaning omnipresence. Then, in Hoshin, Ho means effect, so this is the name given to the personality of the result, which the Buddha attained by refining 419 Whut the Word Hnddhu UIUUDS. I i t r.iii iiiii ;i Til rpp Peraon- alitii-H in Uae. 5 ii;!: im : .u I ( ■ s I f '! I ^ i i'i Pii! fin t |.l 420 T//£ WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. his action. Its Sanskrit name is Rushana, and m Chinese it is Jonian, in whidi Jo means clear and Man means fuUness, and when put tofjether it means a state of the mind free from lust and evil desire, but full of enlightened virtues instead. This personality has another designation, which is called Jiyn- shin, meaning an enjoying personality. And it is again subdivided into two classes of Jijiyu and Vajiyo. Jijiyu means to enjoy the I^uddha himself, the pleasure of attaining to the highest human virt- ues; while Tajiyu, which is also called world enlightenment, desig- nates the Huddha's benevolent action of imparting his holy pleasure to his fellow beings with his supreme doctrine. In short, the former is to enlighten one's own mind, while the lat- ter is to enlighten those of others. These two make a whole as 1 loshin, which is the name given to the personalitj' of the constitution, as 1 mentioned before, attainel by the Buddha b>' his self-culture. So this personality has a beginni^ , ' i^ no end. Lastly, Wojin is the na- 'en to a personality which spontane- ously appears to all kinds of . gsin any state and condition in order to preach and enlighten them equally. In Sanskrit it is called Sha- kammi, and in Chinese, Noninjakumoku. Jakumoku means calmness and Nonin means humanity. Me is perfectly calm; therefore he is en- tirely free from life and dvath. lie is perfectly humane; consequently is not content even in his state of Nirvana. These three personalities which I have just briefly mentioned are the attributes of the Budilha's intellectual activity, and at the same time they are the attributes of his one supreme personality. Nay, in the way of explanation, we can say that these three personalities are not the monopoly of the Huddha, but we also are provided with the same attributes. Our constitution is Hosshin, our intellect is Hoshin, while our actions are Wojin. Then what is the difference between the ordinary beings and Ikiddha, who is most enlightened of all? Noth- ing but that he is developed, by his self-culture, to the highest .state, while we ordinary beings are buried in the dust of passions. If we cultivate our minds we can, of course, clear off the clouds of ignorance and reach the same enlightened place with the Buddha. So in my sect of Budd'"sm we, the Ordinary beings, arc also called Risoku lUiddha, or beings with nature of Buddha. But, as our minds are unfortunately full of lusts and superstition, we cannot be called Kukyosoku Buddha, as Ahaka, or Gautama, is. lie is so entitled be- cause he has sprung up to the highest state of mental achievement, and there is no higher attainable. He says, in his sacred Sutra, "Bomino," "I am the Bucldha already enlightened hereafter." Personality. The person of Buddha is perfectly free from life and death. ( h\isho fumetsu.) We call it Nehan or Nirvana. Nehan is divitled into four classes: I lonrai Jishoshojo Nehan, Uyo Nehan, Muyo Nehan, Mujusho Nehan. I lonrai Jishoshojo Nehan is the name given to the nature of Buddha, which has neither beginning nor end, and is perfectly clear of THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 421 lust like a perfect mirror. But such an excellent nature as I just men- tioned is not the peculiar property of Buddha, but every bcin^( in the universe has just the same constitution as Buddha. So it is told in Kcgon. .Sutra that "There is no sli!:Tht distinction between Mind, Buddha and lacings." Uyo Nehan is the name given to the state little advanced from the above, when we perceive that our solicitude is fleeting, our lives are inconstant, and even there is no such thing as ego. In this state our mind is ijuite empty and clear, but there still remains one thing, that is, the body. So it is called Nyo, or "something left." Muyo Nehan is the state which has advanced one step higher than Uyo. In this Nehan our body and intellect come to entire annihila- tion and there nothing istraceal)le; therefore, this state is called Muyo, or "nothing left." Mujusho Nehan is the highest state of Nirvana. In this state we get a perfect intellectual wisdom; we are no more subject to birth and death. Also, we become j)erfcctly merciful; we are not content with the self-indulging state of highest Nirvana, but we appear to the beings of every class to save them from prevailing pains by imparting the pleasure of Nirvana. These being the principal g'and desires of Buddhahood, the four merciful vows accompanj' them, namely: I hope I can save all the beings in the universe from this igno- rance! I hope I can abstain from my inexhaustible desires of ignorance! I hope I can comprehend the boundless meaning of the doctrine of Buddha! I hope I can attain the highest enlightenment of Buddhaship! Out of these four classes of Nirvana the first anil last are called the Nirvana of Mahayana, while the remaining are that of Ninayana. Principle. The fundamental principle of Buddha is the mind, which may be compared to a boundless sea into which the thousand rivers of Buddha's doctrines flow; so it is Buddhism comprehends the whole mind. The mind is absolutely so grand and marvelous that even the heaven can never be compared to its highness, while the earth is too short for measuring its thickness. It has shape neither long nor short, neither rouml nor square. Its existence is neither inside nor outside, nor even in the middle part of bodily structure. It is purely colorless and formless and appears freely and actively in every place through- out the universe. But for the convenience of studying its nature we call it, True Mind of Absolute Unity (Shinnyo). It is told in Sutra that "all figures in the universe are stamped but by the one form." What docs that one form mean? It is nothing but another tlesignation of Absolute Unity and that stamps out figures, means the innumerable phenomena before our eyes which are the shadow or appearance of the Absolute Unity. Thus the mind and the figure (or color) reflect each other; so the Four Merci- ful Vowe. 422 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. rir I W T\ If i,:!i r. Mn:) EBsential Fanctions, ') : 11 mind cannot be seen without the figure and the figure cannot be seen without the mind. In other words, the figure and mind are standing relatively, so the figure cannot exist without the mind and the mind cannot exist without the figure. It is told in Sutra that "when we see color we see mind." There is nothing but the absolute mind-unity throughout the universe. Every form of figure such as heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, trees, grasses, even a man, or what else it might be, is nothing but the grand personality of absolute unity. And as this absolute unity is the only object with which Buddha enlightens all kinds of existing beings, so it is clear that the principle of Buddha is the mind. Function. Throe sacred virtues arc essential functions of Buddha, which are the sacred wisdom, the graceful humanity, and the sublime courage. Of these the sacred wisdom is also called absolute wisdom. Wisdom in ordinary is a function of mind which has the power of judg- ing. When it is acting relatively to the lusts of mind it is called, in Buddhism, relative wisdom, and when standing alone, without relation to ignorance or superstition, it is called absolute wisdom. The Buddha with his absolute wisdom is called Monju Bosatsu, or Buddha of intel- lectual light (Chiye Kivo utsu), or Myochi Mutorin (marvelous wis- dom, nothing comparable). The graceful humanity is a production of wisdom. When intel- lectual light shines, penetrating the clouds of ignorant superstition of all beings, they are free from suffering, misery, and endowed with an enlightened pleasure. It is tolil in .Sutra: "The mind of Buddha is so full of humanity that he waits upon every being with an absolutely equal humanity." The object of Buddha's own enlightenment is to endow with pleas- ure and happiness all beings without making a slight distinction among them. So it is told in Hokke Sutra that "Now all these three worlds (which, as a whole, means the universe) are possessed of my hand, all beings upon them are my loving children. These worlds arc full of innumerable pains, from which I alone can save them." The word "humanity" in Buddhism is interpreted in two ways. One is to tender and bring something up, while the other to pity and save. Again, the humanity of Buddha is divided into three classes, namely, humanity relating to all kinds of beings, humanity relating to the appearance, and humanity universally common to all things. Now, firstly, humanity relating to all beings is the humanity with which Buddha comprehends the relation of all beings and saves them all alike, just as merciful parents would do their children. Secondly, humanity relating to the appearance is the humanity with which Buddha comprehends all phenomenal appearances which exist in relation to conditions and preserves them on the field of perfect unity, where there are no such distinctions as ego and non-ego, and no difference of beings. Thirdly, humanity which is universally common to all beings, is the humanity with which Buddha, appearing everywhere, saves all the beings according to their different conditions, as naturally as a THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 423 een ling lincl P .< lodestone attracts iron. This is one of the four holy vows of Buddha, that is: "I hope I can save all the beinj^s in the universe from their ignorance." Although the Buddha have these two virtues of wisdom and hu- manity, he could never save a being if he had not another sacred virtue, that is, courage. But he had such wonderful courage as to give up his imperial priesthood, full of luxury and pleasure, simply for the sake of fulfilling his desire of salvation. Not only this, he will not spare any trouble or suffering, hardship or severit\', in order to crown himself with spiritual success. So Amita Buddha also said to himself that "firmness of mind will never be daunted amid an extreme of pains and hardships." Truly, nothing can be done without courage. Courage is the mother of success. Courage is the foundation of all requisites for success. It is the same in the saying of Confucius, "a man who has humanity in his mind, lias, as a rule, certain courage." Among the disciples of the Buddha, Kwan-on represents humanity, Monju represents wisdom and Sei-shi represents courage; so it is very manifest that these three sacred virtues are essential functions of Buddha. Doctrine. After .Shaku Buddha's departure from this world two Dootrimii disciples, Kaslio and Suan, collected the dictations of his teachings. ToachinK.x. This is the first appearance of Buddha's book, and it was entitled "The Three Stores of llinayana ( Sanzo)," which means it contains three different classes of doctrine, namely, K>'o, or principle; Kitsu, or law, and Ron, or argument. Now, firstly, Kyo (Sanskrit Sutra) is a Chinese word which means permanent, so that it designates the principle which is permanent and is taken as the origin of the law of the Buddhist. Second Ij-, Ritsu (Sanskrit Vini) means a law or commandment, s(» that this portion of the stores contains the commandments founded by the Buddha to stop human evils. Thirdly, Ron (Sanskrit Abidarma) means argument or discussion, so this part contains all the arguments or discussions written by his disciples or followers. These three stores being a part of Buddhist works, there is another collection of three stores which is called that of Mahayana, compiled by the disciples of the Buddha Monju Miroku, Anan, etc. Both the Hinayana and Mahayana were prevailing together among the coun- tries of India for a longtime after the Buddha's departure. But when several hundred years were passed they were gradually divided into three parts. One of them has been spread toward northern countries such as Thibet, Mongolia, Manchuria, etc. One has been spread east- ward through China, Corea and Japan. Another branch of Buddhism is still remaining in the southern portion of Asiatic countries such as Cey- lon, Siam, etc. These three branches are respectively called Northern Mahayana, Eastern Mahayana and Southern Hinayana, and at present Eastern Mahayana, in Japan, is the most powerful of all the Buddhist branches. , Jul ■.-II Mi J i H if I Hasty Con- cloaion. ! i; ■i|'i ,1 i ; I i 111 !i;i m M 424 TW^" WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. The difference between Mahayana and Hinayana is this: The former is to attain an enlightenment by getting hold of the intellectual constitution of Buddha, while the latter teaches how to attain Nirvana by obeying strictly the commandments given by Buddha. But if you would ask which is the principal part of Buddhism, I should say it is, of course, Mahayana, in which is taught how to become Buddha our- selves instead of Hinayana, There have been a great many Europeans and Americans who studied Buddhism with interest, but unfortunately they have never heard of Mahayana. They too hastily concluded that the true doc- trine of Buddhism is Hinayana, and that so-called Mahayana is noth- ing but a portion of Indian pure philosophy. They are wrong. They have entirely misunderstood. They have only poorly gained, with their scanty knowledge, a smattering of Buddhism. They are entirely ignorant of the boundless sea of Buddha's doctrine rolling just beneath their feet. His preaching is really so great that the famous Chisha- daishi, of ancient China, divided it into five epochs of time and eight teachings. Right after Buddha attained his perfect enlightenment, he preached that all beings have the same nature and wisdom with him. This epoch is called Kegon. Then he preached the Hinayana doctrine of fourAgons; that is, Cho Agon, Chu Agon, Zo Agon, Zochi Agon. This doctrine is divided into three classes, namely, Shomon, Engaku, and Bosaku. Buddha preached and taught to the Shomon class of his followers the principle of four glorious doctrines, according to which one can attain Nirvana of Hinayana. Firsi, the world is full of sufferings and miseries; second, superstitions and lusts come one after another and induce us to misconceive birth and death; third, the way of attaining Nirvana is to get rid of pains; fourth, cahiiness and emptiness is the profound state of Nirvana. Next he preached to his followers of the Engaku class about the doctrine of twelve causes and conditions of human mind, which follow each other continually just like links in a chain — sudden appearance of idea, continuation of idea, intellect, uniting of intellect and body, completion of six organs, feeling, retaining, loving, catching, having birth, old age and death. In this class one is also able to attain Nir- vana by closely pursuing the course of mental culture. Then he taught six glorious behaviors to his followers of the Bosaku class, by which men become Buddha, such as charity, good behavior, forbearance, diligence, meditation, comprehension. These three teachings of Agon are what are called the three fundamental principles of Hinayana. After he finished the teaching of Agon he began to preach the principle of Yuima, Shiyaku, Eyoga, Ryogon, etc. This was the means adopted by him to lead the disciples from Hinayana doctrine to Mahayana, and the time is called the Ho-do Epoch. Next comes the epoch of Mahayana, or the time when he tr.ught THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 425 The ctual •vana you it is, our- the personality of wisdom, that it is perfectly spiritual and entirely colorless and formless. By this teaching he led his higher disciples to comprehend the constitution of the spiritual world. And he at last brought his disciples lo the highest summit of his doctrine, where he taught the perfect principle of absolute unity, the perfect enlightenment of true, grand Nirvana. This epoch is called the time of Hokke and Nehan (or Nirvana). The five epochs are so arranged according to the development of the Shaka Buddha's preaching. His intention is simply to lead his followers into the glorious stage of true Nirvana, so he, for the sake of convenience, temporarily showed the truth at the first, and then pro- ceeded step by step to the absolutely highest truth. This is a brief explanation of the five epochs of Buddha's preach- ing. Now let me speak a few words of the so-called eight teachings. First comes Ton, tliat is, sudden, and it is a teaching for the persons who have a quick perception. Second comes Zen, that is, by -give Epochs degrees, and it is a teaching for the class of beings who can only of Preaching, develope gradually, step by step. Third cofnes Himitsu, that is, secret, and it is the teaching which docs not correspond to either of Ton or Zen, but which each understand separately. Fourth comes Fujo, that is, unfixed, and it is the teaching which corresponds to both Ton and Zen ; it means that the teaching is not limited to any particular class at all, but sometimes it is for the beings with quick perception, while sometimes it is for the beings of gradual progress, or, in other words, it preaches as the case might demand. Fifth comes Zo, that is, a store, and it is the teaching of three collections of principles, law and argument. .Si.xth comes Tsu, that is, correspondence, and it is the preaching which corresponds with those three, the fifth, the seventh and the eighth. Seventh comes Beku, that is, difference, and it is a teaching quite different from those with which the last corresponds. Eighth comes Kn, that is, perfection, and it is the teaching of perfect absoluteness. Of these eight teachings, the first four are called the four kinds of teaching manners, while the last four are called the four kinds of teach- ing i)rinciple. These eight teachings are the doorway through which the Buddhists enter the perfect enlightenment. Daizokyo, or " complete work of .Shaku Buddha," is really a won- derful store of truth. Most students in Buddhism lose their courage and ambition at the first glance at this inexhaustible fountain of the truth, so profound in meaning. But still the pleasure once felt in digesting its meaning can never he forgotten, and will naturally lead scholars into deeper and deeper parts of the sea of spiritual tranquillity and calmness. They will at once understand that those deep problems are nothing but symbols of grand unity which is perfectly absolute from the human word. So, shortly before closing his eyes, Shaku Buddha said: " I have never spoken a word until now, since I attained to perfect enlightenment." If you understand what Shaku said you can easily see the greatness of Buddha or his attainment. I am not an orator, neither a great talker, myself, but I sincerely ' 42(5 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ! ■■ I i Truth 1 ■ believe that your characteristic quick perception has made you under- stand what I have said hitherto, and that the miscomprehension you had about Buddha or Buddhism has been cleared off. But I hope you will not stay there satisfied with what you have hitherto understood. Go on, my dear brothers and sisters. Keep on, and you will at last succeed in crowning your future with the perfect cnlijrhtenment. It is for your own sake. Nay, not only for your own, but also for your neighbors. You occidental nations, working in harmony, have wrought out the civilization of the present century, but who will it be that establishes the spiritual civilization of the twentieth century? It must be you. You know very well that our sun-rising Island of Japan is noted for its beautiful cherry-tree flowers. But don't you know that our Flowers of native country is also the kingdom where the flowers of truth are blooming in great beauty and profusion at all seasons? Come to Japan. Don't forget to take with you the truth of Buddhism. Ah, hail the glorious spiritual spring day, when the song and odor of truth invite you all out to our country for the search for holy paradise! I do not believe it totally uninteresting to give here a short account of our Indo Busseki Kofuku Society, of Japan. The object of this society is to restore and re-establish the holy places of Buddhism in India and to send out a certain number of Japanese priests to perform devotional services in them, and promote the convenience of pilgrims from Japan. These holy places are Buddha Gaya, where Buddha attained to the perfect enlightenment; Kapila- vastu, where Buddha was born; the Deer Park, where Buddha first preached, and Kusinagara, where Buddha entered Nirvana. Two thousand nine hundred and twenty years ago — that is, 1,026 years before Christ — the world became honored — Prince Siddhartha was born in the palace of his father, King Suddhodana, in Kapilavastu, the capital of the kingdom Magadha. When he was nineteen years old he began to lament men's inevitable subjection to the various suffer- ings of sickness, old age and death; and, discarding all his precious possessions and the heirship of the kingdom, he went into a mount- ain jungle to seek, by meditation and asceticism, the way of escape from these sufferings. After spending six years there and finding that the way he sought was not in asceticism, he went out from there and retired under the Bodhi tree, of Buddha Gaya, where at last, by profound meditation, he attained the supreme wisdom and. became Buddha. The light of truth and mercy began to shine from him over the whole world, and the way of perfect emancipation was opened for all human beings, so that everyone can bathe in his blessings and walk in the way of enligiitenmcnt. When the ancient King Asoka, of Magadha, was converted to Buddhism, he erected a large and magnificent temple over the spot to show his gratitude to the founder of his new religion. But, sad to say, since the fierce Mohammedans invaded and laid waste the country, there being no Buddhist to guard the temple, its THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 42'; possession fell into the hand of a Brahmanist priest, who chanced to come there and seized it. It was early in the spring of 1891 that the Japanese priest, Rev. Shaku Kionen, in company with H. Dharmapala, of Ceylon, visited this holy ground. The great Buddha Gaya temple was carefully re- paired and restored to its former state by the British government, but they could not help being very much grieved to see it subjected to much desecration in the hands of the Brahmanist, Mahant, and com- municated to us their earnest desire to rescue it. With warm sympathy for them and thinking, as Sir Edwin Arnold said, that it is not right for Buddhists to leave the guardianship of the holy center of a Buddhist's religion of grace to the hand of a Brah- manist priest, we organized this Indo Busscki Kofuku Society, in Japan, to accomplish the object above mentioned, in co-operation with the Maha Bodhi Society, organized by Mr. H. Dharmapala and other Buddhist brothers in India. These are the outlines of the origin and object of our Indo Bus.scki Kofuku Society; and I believe our Buddha Gaya movement will bring people of all Buddhist countries into closer connection and be instru- mental in promoting the brotherhood among the people of the whole world. Promotion theism and the truth of the existence of the li\ inj^ (iod. This brought upon his head persecution, nay, even such serious dis- pleasure of his own parents that he had to leave his home for awhile and live the life of a wanderer. In 1S30 this man founded a society known as the Hrahmo-Somaj; Hrahma, as >'ou know, means (iod. Hrahmo means the worshiper of (Iod, and Soma] means societ\; there- fore Hrahmo-Somaj means the societ\- of the worshipers of the one living (iod. While, on the one hand he established the Hrahmo-Somaj, on the other hand he co-operateil with tlu; l?ritish government to abolish the barbarous custom of suttee, or the burnin^^ of willows with their deail husbands. In 1S3J he traveled to ICntjIand, the ver\- first Hindu who ever went to ICurope, and in iS^^ he died, and his sacred bones are interred in Hrisco, the place where every Hindu pilfjrim jjoes to pa)" his trii)ute of honor and reverence. This monotheism, the one true li\ inj^ (iod — this .society in the name of ihis <^reat God- what were the underljin^ principles upon which it was established? The principles were those of the old Hin- du .Scrii)tures. Tiie Hrahmo-.Somaj foundetl this nu)notheism upon the inspiration of the V'edas and the Upanishails. When Rajar Ram Dohaii Roy died his followers for awhile found it nearly impossible to maintain the infant association. Hut tiie spirit of (iotl was there. The movement sprant; up in the fullness of time. The seeds of eternal truth were st)wn in it; how couUl it die? Hence in the course of time other men sprang uj) to preserve it and contribute toward its ;4rowth. Did 1 say the spirit of (iod was there? Did I say the seed of eternal truth was there? There! Where? All societies, all churches, all religious movement have their fouiulation, not without, but within the depths of the human soul. I Applause. | Where the basis of a church is outside the floods shall rise, the rain shall beat, and the storm shall blow, and like a heap of sand it will melt into the sea. Where the basis is within the heart, within the soul, the storm shall rise, and the rain shall beat, and the flood shall come, but like a rock it neither wavers nor falls. .So that movement of the Hrahmo-Somaj shall never fall. [Applause.] Think for yourselves, my brothers and sisters, upon what fountlation your house is laid. In the course of time, as the movement ^rew the members began to doubt whether the Hindu Scriptures were reall>' infallible. In their souls, in the depth of their intelligence, they thought the\' heard a voice which here and there, at first in feeble accents, contradicted the deliverances of the Vedas and the Upanishads. What shall be our theological principles? Upon what principles shall our religion stand? The small accents in which the question first was asked became louder Old Hindu Scriptures. ' ^v 430 TJ/E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. fi '■: ^ i: '': 11, H A'- \^v Kztract frum . jcriptnres. and louder and were more and more echoed in the rising religious society until it became t.'.c most practical of all problems — upon what book shall true religion stand? Briefly, they found that it was impossible that the Hindu Scriot- ures should be the only records of true religion. They found that tne spirit was the great source of confirmation, the voice of (jod was the , great judge, the soul of the indweller was the revealcr of truth, and, although there were truths in the Hindu Scriptures, they could not recognize them as the only infallible standard of spiritual reality. So twenty-one years after the foundation of the Hralimo-Somaj the doc- trine of the infallibility of the Hindu Scriptures was given up. Then a further question came. The Hindu Scriptures only not infallible! Are there not other Scriptures also? Did I not tell you the other day that on the imperial throne of India Christianity now sat with the Gospel of Peace '.a one hand and the scepter of civilization in the other? [Applause.] The Hible had penetrated into India; its pages were unfolded, its truths were read and taught. The Bible is the book which mankind shall not ignore. [Applause.] Recognizing, therefore, on the one hand, the great inspiration of tlie Hindu Script- ures, we could not but on the other hand recognize the ins])iration and the authorit\' of the Bible. [^Applause.] And in l86l we pub- lished a book in which extracts from all scriptures were given as the book which was to be read in the course of our devotions. Our monotheism, therefore, stands upon all Scriptures. That is our theological principle, and that principle did not emanate from the depths of our own consciousness, as the donkey was delivered out of the depths of the German consciousness; it came out as the natural result of the indwelling of God spirit within our fellowbelievers. No, it wcis not the Christian missionary that drew our attention to the Bible; it was not the Mohammedan priests who showed us the excel- lent jjassages in the Koran; it was no Zoroastrian who preached to us the greatness of his Zend-Avesta; but there was in our hearts the God of infinite reality, the source of inspiration of all the books, of the Bible, of the Koran, of the Zend-Avesta, who drew our attention to His excellencies as revealed in the record of holy experience every- where. By His leading and by His light it was thut we recognized these facts, and upon the rock of everlasting and eternal reality our theological l)asiswas laid. [Loud applause.] What is theology without morality? What is the inspiration of I this book or the authority of that prophet without personal holiness — i the cleanliness of this God-made temple and the cleanliness of the \ deeper temple within? Soon after we had got through our theology the question stared us in the face that we were not good men, pure ! minded, holy men, and that there were innumerable evils arounil us, in ' our houses, in our national usages, in the organization of our societ)'. Reformation ^ '^^' Brahmo-Souiaj, theretore, ne.xt laid its hand upon the reformation of Society. of society. In 185 1 the first intermarriage was celebrated. Intermar- riage in India means the marriage of persons belonging to different Pi ^ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OE RELIGIONS. 431 Irelig-ious pon what Scrjot- tliat tne was tlic |Lith, and, mlci not lity. So |thc doc- castes. Caste is a sort of Chinese wall that surrt unds every household and c-zcry little community, and beyond the limii^s of which no auda- cious man or woman shall stray. In the lirahmo-.Somaj wc asked, "Shall this Chinese wall disj^raee the freedom of God's children for- ever?" Break it down; down with it, and away. [C'heers.J Next, my honored leader and frieiitl, Keshub Cluinder Sen, so ar- ranged that marriage between different castes should take place. The Brahmans were offended. Wiseacres shook their heads; e\en leaders of the Hrahmo-Somaj shrugged up their shoulders and put their hands into their pockets. "These young firebramls," they said, "are going to set fire to the whole of society." Hut intermarriage took place, and widow marriage took place. Do you know what the widows of India are? A little girl of ten or twelve years happens to lose her husband before she knows hi.s widows of int features very well, and fri):n that tender age to her dyiiig day she shall '^"' "''*'■ go through penances and austerities and miseries and loneliness and disgrace which you tremble to hear of. I do not approve of or under- stand the conduct of a woman who marries a first time and then a second time and then a third time and a fourth time who marries as many times as there are seasons in the year. [Laughter and ap- plause.] I do not understand the conduct of such men and women. But I do think that when a little child of eleven loses what men call her husband, and who has never been a wife for a single day of her life, to put her to the wretchedness of a lifelong widowhood, and in- flict upon her miseries which would disgrace a criminal, is a piece of inhumanity which cannot too soon be done away with. [Applause.] Hence intermarriages and widow marriages. Our hands were thus laid I pon the problem of st)cial and cU)mestic imi)rovcment, and the result of that was that very soon a rupture took place in the Brahmo- Somaj. VVe young men had to go we, with all our social reform — and shift for ourselves as we best might. When these social reforms were partially completeil there came another cpiestion. We had married the widow; we hail prevented the burning of widows; what about her personal purity, the sanctitication of our own consciences, the regeneration of our own souls? Wiiat about our acceptance before the awful tribun.d of tlie (loil of infinite justice? Social reform and the tloing of public good is itself only legitimate when it develojjs into the all-embracing principli- of i)ersonal purity and the holiness of the soul. My friends, I am often afraid, I coi.fess, when I contemplate the condition of I^ur«)pean and American society, when xour activities are so manifold, your work is so extensive that \'0) are drowned in it and you have little time to consider the great ([uest.vuis of regeneration, of personal sanctification. of trial ami juilgment did of accc'[)taiue before God. That, is the ([uestion of all ([uestions, [Applause.] Aright theological basis may lead to social reform, but a right line of public activity and tlie doing of good is bound to had to the salvation of the doer's soul ami the regeneration of i)ublic men. \\ : «. m |h tb ;i :'t:^ III:' ( ; : I i 11 M . 4 ? i 1 ■:f 11 i I t * I! I i: 432 Secret of Per- sonal Holinees. i • Making Con- teosions. Divine fection. Per- \ T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. After the end of the work of our social reform we were therefore led into this great subject, How shall this unregenerate nature be re- generated; this defiled temple, what waters shall wash it into a new and pure condition? All these motives and desires and evil impulses, the animal inspirations, what will put an end to them all, and make man what he was, the immaculate child of God, as Christ was, as all regenerated men were? [Applause.] Theological principle first, moral principle next, and in the third place the spiritual of the Brahaao- Somaj. Devotions, repentance, prayer, praise, faith; throwing ourselves entirely and absolutely upon the spirit of God and upon His saving love. Moral aspirations do not mean holiness; a desire of being good does not mean to be good. The bullock that carries on his back hundred-weights of sugar does not taste a grain of sweetness because of its unbearable load. And all our aspirations, and all our fine wishes, and all our fine dreams and fine sermons, either hearing or speaking them — going to sleep over them or listening to them intently — these will never make a life perfect. Devotion only, prayer, direct percep- tion of God's spirit, communion with Him, absolute self-abasement before His majesty; devotional fervor, devotional excitement, spiritual absorption, living and moving in God — that is the secret, of personal holiness [Loud applause.] And in the third stage of our career, therefore, spiritual excite- ment, long devotions, intense fervor, contemplation, endless self- abasement, not merely before God but before man, became the rule of our lives. God is unseen; it does not harm anybody or make him appear less respectable if he says to God: "I am a sinner; forgive me." But to make your confessions before man, to abase yourselves before your brothers and sisters, to take the dust off the feet of holy men, to feel that you are a miserable, wretched object in God's holy congregation — that requires a little self-humiliation, a little moral courage. Our devotional life, therefore, is two-fold, bearing reverence and trust for God and reverence and trust for man, and in our infant and apostolical church we have, therefore, often immersed ourselves into spiritual practices which would seem absurd to you if I were to relate them in your hearing. The last principle I have to take up is the progressiveness of the Brahmo-Somaj. Theology is good, mora! resolutions are good; de- votional fervor is good. The problem is, How shall we go on ever and ever in an onward way, in the upper path of progress and approach toward divine perfection? Grd is infinite; what limit is there in His goodness or liis wisdom or His righteousness? All the Scriptures sing His glory; all the prophets in the heaven declare His majesty; all the martyrs have reddened the world with their blood in order that His holiness might be known. God is the one infinite good; and, after we had made our three attempts of theological, moral and spiritual principle, the question came that God is the one eternal and infinite, the inspirer of all human kind. The part of our progress then THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 433 Precepts Httiiuomzed- lay toward allying ourselves, toward affiliatinfj ourselves with the faith and the righteousness and wisdom of all religions and all man- kind. Christianity declares the glory of ("iod; Hinduism speaks about His infinite and eternal excellence; Mohammedanism, with fire and sword, proves the almightiness of His will; Buddhism says how joy- ful and peaceful He is. He is the God of all religions, of all denom- inations, of all lands, of ail Scriptures, and our progress lay in har- monizing these various systems, these various prophecies and devel- ood of opments into one great system. Hence the new system of religion in Reii«»onB- the Brahmo-Somaj is called the New Dispensation. The Christian speaks in terms of admiration of Christianity; so does the Hebrew of Judaism; so does the Mohammedan of the Koran; so does the Zoroas- tr-an of the Zend-Avesta. The Christian admires his principles of spiritual culture; the Hindu does the same; the Mohammedan does the same. liut the Brahmo-.Somaj accepts and harmonizes all these precepts, systems, principles, teachings and disciplines and makes them into one system, and that is his religion. For a whole decade, my friend, Keshub Chundler Sen, myself and other apostles of the Brahmo-Somaj have traveled from village to village, from province to province, fron\ continent to continent, declaring this new dispensation and the har- mony of all religious prophecies and systems unto the glory of the one true, living God But we are a subject race; we arc uneducated; we are incapable; we have not the resources of money to get men to listen to our message. In the fullness of time you have called this august parliament of religions, and the message that we could not propagate you have taken into your haiuls to propagate. We have made that the gospel of our very lives, the ideal of our very being. I do not come to the sessions of this parliament as a mere student, not as one who has to justify his own systc- 1 come as a disciple, as a follower, as a brother. May your labors la: blessed with prosperity, and not only shall your Christianity and your America be exalted, but Broti.er the Brahmo-Somaj will feel most exalted; and this pfu^ man who has come such along distance to crave your sympathy and your kindnes•^ shall feel himself amply rewarded. Maj/- Mie spread of the New Dispensation rest with j'ou antl make you our brothers and sisters. Representatives of all religions, may all your religions merge into the l''atiierhooil of Ciod and in the brother- hood of man, that Christ's prophecy may be fulfilled, the world'- hope may be fulfilled, and mankind may beconie one kingdom with God, our Father. [Loud cheers. J aU Com PS us s I Xhe Spiritual Ideas of the Br^hmo-Somaj. Paper by B. NAGARKAR, of Bombay. HE last few days various faiths have been press- ing; their claims upon your attention. And it must be a great puzzle and perplexity for you to accept any of these or all of these. But during all these discussions and debates I would earnestly ask you all to keep in mind one prominent fact — that the essence o* all these faiths is one and the same. The truth that lies at the root of them all is unchanged and unchanging, liut it requires an impartial and dispassionate consideration to understand and appreciate this truth. One of the poets of our country has said: "When Scriptures differ, and faiths dis- agree, a man should see truth reflected in his own spirit." This truth cannot be observed unless we are prepared to forget the accident of our nationality. We are all too apt to be carried away for or against a system of religion by our false patriotism, insular nationality and scholarly egotism. This state of the heart is detri- mental to spiritual culture and spiritual development. Self-annihila- tion and self-effacement are the only means of realizing the verities of the spiritual world. The mind of man is like a lake; and just as the clear and crystal image of the evening moon cannot he faithfully reflected on the surface of the lake so long as the waters are disturbed by storms and waves, so in the same way spiritual truths cannot be imaged in the heart of man so long as his mind is disturbed by the storms of false pride and partial prejudice. I stand before you as an humble member of the Brahmo-Somaj, and if the followers of other religions will commend to your attention their own respective creeds, my humble attempt will be to place before you the liberal and cosmopolitan principles of my beloved church. The fundamental, spiritual ideal of the Brahmo-Somaj is belief in ' the existence of one true God. Now, the expression, belief in the existence of God, is nothing new to you. In a way you all believe in 435 Detriment to SpirituHl (^ul- tare. H 430 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. :1 ii 1; '.:: i! is I *« • n Livos by SiKht. Unity of Truth. i > God, but to us of the Hiahmo-Soinaj that belief is a stern reality; it is not a logical idea; it is nothing arrived at after an intellectual process. It must be our aim to feel God, to realize God in our daily spiritual communion with Him. We must be able, as it were, to feel His touch; to feel as if we were shaking hands with Him. This deep, vivid, real and lasting perception of the Supreme Being is the first and fore- most ideal of the theistic faith. You, in the western countries, arc too apt to forget this ideal. The ceaseless demand on your time and energy, the constant worry and hurry of your business activity and the artificial conditions of your western civilization are all calculated to make you forgetful of the per- sonal presence of God. You are too apt to be satisfied with a mere belief; perhaps at the best, a notional belief in God. The eastern does not live on such a belief, and such a belief can never form the life of a lifegiving faith. It is said that the way to an Englishman's heart is through his stomach; that is, if you wish to reach his heart you must do so through the medium of that wonderful organ called the stom- ach. The stomach, therefore, is the life of an Englishman, and all his life rests in his stomach. Wherein does the heart of a Hindu lie? It lies in his sight. He is not satisfied unless and until he has seen God. The highest dream of his spiritual life is God-vision — the seeing and feeling in every place and at every time the presence of a .Supreme Being. He does not live by bread, but by sight. The second spiritual ideal of the Brahmo-Somaj is the unity of truth. We believe that truth is born in time but not in a place. No nation, no people, or no community has any exclusive monopoly of God's truth. It is a misnomer to speak of truth as Christian truth. Hindu truth, or Mohammedan truth. Truth is the body of God. In His own providence He sends it through tlie instrumentality of a nation or a people, but that is no reason why that nation or tnat people should pride themselves for having been the medium of that truth. Thus, we must always be ready to receive the Gospel truth from whatever country and from whatever people it may come to us. We all believe in the principle of free trade or unrestricted exchange of goods. And we eagerly hope and long for the golden day when people of every nation and of every clime will [)roclaim the principle of free trade in spiritual matters as ardently and as zealously as they are doing in secular affairs or in industrial matters. It appears to me that it is the duty of us all to put together the grand and glorious truths believed in and taught by different nations of the world. This .synthesis of truth is a necessary result of the recognition of the principle of the unity of truth. Owing to this character of the Brahmo-Somaj the church of Indian theism has often been called an eclectic church; yes, the religion of the Brahmo-Somaj is the religion of eclecticism— of putting together the spiritual truths of the entire humanity and of earnestly striving after assimilating them ■ij THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 487 with our spiritual being. The religion of the Brahmo-Somaj is inclusive and not exclusive. The third spiritual ideal of the Brahmo-Somaj is the harmony of) prophets. We believe that the prophets of the world— spiritual! teachers such as Vyas and Buddha, Moses and Mohammed, Jesus and' Zoroaster, all form a homogeneous whole. Each has to teach man- kind his own message. Every prophet was sent from above with a distinct message, and it is the duty of us who live in these advanced times to put these messages together and thereby harmonize and unify the distinctive teachings of the prophets of the world. It would not do to accept the one and reject all the others, or to accept some and reject even a single one. The general truths taught by these different prophets are nearly the same in their essence; but, in the midst of all these universal truths tliat they taught, each has a distinctive truth to teach, and it should be our earnest purpose to find out and understand this particular truth. To me Vyas teaches how to understand and apprehend the attributes of Divinity. The Jewish prophets of the Old Testament teach the idea of the sovereignty of God; they speak of God as a king, a monarch, a sovereign who rules over the affairs of mankind as nearly and as closely as an ordinary human king. Moham- med, on the other hand, most emphatically teaches the idea of the Unity of Ciod. He rebelled against tlic trinitarian doctrine imported into the religion of Christ through Greek and Roman influences. The monotheism of Mohammed is hard and unyielding, aggressive and almost savage. I have no sympathy with the errors or erroneous teachings of Mohammedanism, or of any religion for that matter. In spite of all such errors Mohammed's ideal of the Unity of God stands supreme and unchallenged in his teachings. Buddha, the great teacher of morals and ethics, teaches in nudahism most sublime strains the doctrine of Nirvana, or self-denial and self- deuiai!*"* ^''' effacement. This principle of extreme self-abnegation means nothing more than the subjugation and conquest of our carnal self. For you know that man is a composite being. In him he has the angelic and the animal; and the spiritual training of our life means no more than subjugation of the animal and the setting free of the angelic. , So, also, Christ Jesus of Nazareth taught a sublime truth when he inculcated the noble idea of the Fatherhood of God. He taught many other truths, but the Fatherhood of God stands supreme above them all. The brotherhood of man is a mere corollary, or a conclu- sion, deduced from the idea of the Fatherhood of God. Jesus taught this truth in the most emphatic language, and, therefore, that is the special message that He has brought to fallen humanity. In this way, by means of an honest and earnest study of the lives and teachings of different prophets of the world, we can find out the central truth of each faith. Having done this, itshould be our highest aim to harmon- ize all these and to build up our spiritual nature on them. The religious history of the present century has most clearly shown the need and necessity of the recognition of some universal tm ■Hi i ) YearninK for UniTttrsal Religiou. il- Ji^ I ■. 1 I ; . : ! I l.'i 1 f f i ■■■'t 'IimI ' ! ( i ; III, 1 1 I I 'I continnons chaiaofTrutbB .'■( • la 43S TJ/£ IVORLD'S CONliRJCSS OF KEUCIOiXS. truths in religion. For the last several years there has been a cease- less yearning, a deep longing after such a universal religion. The present parliament of religions, which we have been for the last few days celebrating with so much edification and ennoblement, is the clearest indication of this universal longing, and whatever the prophets of despondency, or the champions of orthodoxy, may say or feel, every individual who has the least spark of spirituality alive in him must feel that this spiritual fellowship that we have enjoyed for the last several days, within the precincts of this noble hall, cannot but be productive of much that leads toward the establishment of universal peace and good will among men and nations of the world. To us of the Brahmo-Somaj this happy consummation, however par- tial and imperfect it may be for the time being, is nothing short of a sure foretaste of the realization of the principle of the harmony of prophets. In politics and in national government it is now an estab- lished fact that in future countries and continents on the surface of the earth will be governed, not by mighty monarchies or aristocratic autoc- racies, but by the system of universal federation. The history of po- litical progress in your own country stands in noble evidence of my statement; and I am one of those who strongly believe that at some future time every country will be governed by itself as an independent unit, though in some respects may be dependent on some brotiier pov.er or sister kingdom. What is true in politics will also be true in '•eligion; and nations will recognize and realize the truths taught by the universal family of the sainted prophets of the world. In the fourth place, we believe that the religion of the Brahmo- Somaj is a dispensation of this age; it is a mes.sage of unity and har- mony; of universal amity and unification, proclaimed from above. We do not believe in the revelation of books and m.cn, of histories and his- torical records. We believe in the infallible revelation of the Spirit — in the message that comes to man, by the touch of human spirit with the supreme spirit. And can we even for a moment ever imagine that the spirit of God has ceased to work in our midst? No, we cannot. Even today God communicates His will to mankind as truly and as really as he did in the days of Christ or Moses, Mohammed or Buddha. The dispensations of the world arc not isolated units of truth; but viewed at as a whole, and followed out from the earliest to the latest in their hi.storical sequence, they form a continuous chain, and each dispensation is only a link in this chain. It is our bounden duty to read the message of each dispensation in the light that comes from above, and not according to the dead letter that might have been re- corded in the past. The interpretation of letters and words, of books and chapters, is a drag behind on the workings of the spirit. Truly hath it been said that the letter killeth. Therefore, brethren, let us seek the guidance of the Spirit and interpret the message of the Su- preme Spirit by the help of His Holy Spirit. Thus the Brahmo-Somaj seeks to Hinduize Hinduism, Moham- THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 43» danize Mohammedism, and Christianize Christianity. And whatever the champions of old Christian orthodoxy may say to the contrary, mere doctrine, mere dogma can never give life to any country or community. We are ready and most willing to receive the truths of the religion of Christ as truly as the truths of the religions of other prophets, but wc shall receive these from the life and teachings of Christ Himself, and not through the medium of any church or the so- called missionary of Christ. If Christian missionaries have in them the meekness and humility, and the earnestness of purpose that Christ lived in His own life, and so pathetically exemplified in His glorious death on the cross, let our missionary friends show it in their lives. We are wearied of hearing the dogmas of Christendom reiterated from Sunday to Sunday, from hundreds of pulpits in India, and evan- gelists and revivalists, of the type of Dr. Pentecost, who go to our country to sing to the same tunc only add to the chaos and confusion presented to the natives of India by the dry and cold lives of hundreds and thousands of his Christian brethren. They come to India on a brief sojourn, pass through the country like birds of passage, moving at a whirlwind speed, surrounded by Christian fanatics and dogmatists, and to us it is no matter of wonder that they do not sec any good, or having seen it do not recognize it, in any of the ancient or modern re- ligious systems of India. Mere rhetoric is not reason, nor is abuse an argument, unless it be the argument of a want of common sense. And we are not disposed to quarrel with any people if they are inclined to indulge in these two instruments generally used by those who have no truth on their side. For these our only feeling is a feeling of pity — unqualified, unmodified, earnest pity, and we are ready to ask God to forgive them, for they know not what they say. The first ideal of the Brahmo-Somaj is the ideal of the Motherhood of God. I do not possess the powers, nor have I the time to dwell at length on this most sublime ideal of the church of Indian theism. The world has heard of God as the Almighty Creator of the universe, as the Omnipotent .Sovereign that rules the entire creation, as the Pro- tector, the Saviour and the Judge of the human race; as the Supreme Heing, vivifying and enlivening the whole of the sentient and insen- tient nature. We humbly believe that the world has yet to understand and rea. ize, as it never has in the past, the tender and loving relationship that exists between mankind and their Supreme, Universal, Divine Mother. Oh, what a world of thought and feeling is centered in that one mono- syllabic word ma, which in my language is indicative of the P2nglish word mother. Words cannot describe, hearts cannot conceive of the tender and self sacrificing love of a human mother. Of all human re- lations the relation of mother to her children is the most sacred and elevating relation. And yet our frail and fickle human mother is noth- ing in comparison with the Divine Mother of the entire humanity, who is the primal source of all love, of all mercy and all purity. Let us, therefore, realize that God is our Mother, the Mother of ceiv« Trutlis. 1! r i ( 1 1 ^ ■' , ,i \i 440 T//E WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELICIONS. mankind, irrespective of the country or the clime in which men and women may be born. The deeper the rcaUzation of the Motherhood Ocxl onr Mo- "f ^od the greater will be the stren|j[th a»i J intensity of our itlcas of **•*•■• the brotherhood of man and the sisterhood of woman. Once we see and feel that God is our Mother all the intricate problems of theology, all the puzzlinj^ quibbles of ciiurch government, all the (juurrels and wranglings of the so-called religious world will be solved and settled. We, of the Hrahmo-Somaj family, hold that a vivid realization of the Motherhood of God is the only solution (>f the intricate problems and differences in the religious world. May the Universal Mother grant us all Her blessings to understand and appreciate Her sweet relationship to the vast family of mankind. Let us approach 1 ler footstool in the spirit of 1 ler humble and obedient children. Shintoism. Paper by RT, REV. REUCHI SHIBATA, President of the Thikko Sect of Shinto- ism in Japan. FICI""J^ very li.ippy to be able to attend this Congress of kclii^nons as a member of tlie ad- visory council and to hear the hi^h reasonings aiul profound opinions of the p^cntlemen who come from \arious countries oi; the work!. As for me it will be my proper task to explain the character of Shintoism, anil especially of my Jikko sect. . The word Shinto or Kanii-no-michi, comes' from the two words "Shin" or "Kami," each of, which means Deity, ami "to" or "michi" (way),i and tlesii^Miates the way transmitted to us from' oiu' di\ ine ancestors and in which every Jap-; anese is bound to walk. Havintr its foundation ^.^ts Fonnda* , , , . ^ ,- . . " . , tion in Anciant our old lustory, conlormini^ to our ^eofrrapical History. positions and the disposition of our people, this way, as old as japan itself, came down to us with its ori^nnal form and will last forever, inseparable from the Internal Imperial Mouse and the Japanese nationalit}'. Accordintj to our ancient scriptures there were a ^feneration of Kami or deities in the beLjinnini; who created the heavens and the earth tof^ether with all thinj^s, including" human beings, and became the ancestors of the Japanese. Jimmu-tenno, the {grandson of Nini<^i-no-Mikoto, was the first of the human emperors. Ilavini^ brou<^ht the whole land under one rule he ])erformed great services to the divine ancestcjrs, cherished his sub- jects and thus discharj^ed his ^reat filial duty, as did all the emperors after him. .So also all the subjects were deep in their respect and adoration toward the divine ancestors and the emperors, their descend- ants. Thouf^h in the course of time various doctrines and creeds were introduced into the country, Confucianism in the reign of the fifteenth emperor, Ojin, Buddhism in the reign of the twenty-ninth emperor, Kimmei, and Christianity in moilern times, the emperors and the sub- jects never neglected the great duty of Shinto. The present forms of 441 f ', Ml fli ; ^ ! I :M I It . ,1 i !l it 1 iii •f: NatnreandOrl f;in of KoliK' 0U8 Fonns, :? i 442 TVZE WORLD'S CONGRF.SS OF EELiaiONS. ceremony are come down to us from time immemorial in our history. Of the three divine treasures transmitted from the divine ancestors, the divine j^eni is still held sacred in the imperial palace, the divine mirror in the ^'reat temple of Iso, and the divine sword in the temple of Atsuta, in the province of Owari. To this day his majesty, the emperor, performs himself the ceremony of worship to the divine ancestors, and all the subjects perform the same to the deities of temples, which are called, accordinjf to the local extent of the festivity, the national, the provincial, the local ami the birth-place temple. When the festival day of temples, especially of the birth- place, etc., comes, all people who, li\injf in the |)lace, are, considered specially protected by the deity ctf the temple have a holiday and unite in performinj^ the ancient ritual of worship and prayinj^ for the perpetuity of the imperial line and for profound peace over the land and families. The deities dedicated to the temple are divine imperial ancestors, illustrious loyalists, benefactors to the plarc, etc. Indeed, the Shinto is a beautiful cultus peculiar to our native land and is con- sidered the foundation of the perpetuity of the imperial house, the loyalty of the subjects, and the stability of the Japanese state. Thus far I have {jiven a short description of Shinto, which is the way in which every Japanese, no matter to what creed — even Hud- dhism, Christianity, etc. — he belonj^s, must walk. Let me explain briefly the nature and oritjin of a religious force of Shinto, /. c, of the Jikko sect, whose tenets I profess to believe. The Thikko (practical) sect, as the name indicates, does not lay so much stress upon mere show and speculation as upon the realiza- tion of the teachings. Its doctrines are plain and simijle and teach man to do man's proper work. Heinjf a new sect, it is free innw the old dogmas and prejudices, and is regarded as a reformed sect. The scriptures on which the principal teachings of the sect are founded are . l*"urukotobumi, Yamatobumi, and many others. They teach us that 1 before heaven and earth came into existence there was one Absolute t Deity called Amcnominakanushi-no-kami. lie has great virtue, and jpower to create to reign overall things; He includes everything within Himself, and He will last forever without end. In the beginning the iOne Deity, self-originated, took the embodiments of two Deities— one iwith the male nature and the other female. The male Deity is called Takai-musibi-no-kami, and the female Kami-musubi-no-kami. These two Deities are nothing but forms of the one substance and unite again in the Absolute Deity. These three are called the "Three Deities of Creation." They caused a generation of Deities to appear, who, in their turn, gave birth to the islands of the Japanese Archipelago, the sun and moon, the mountains and streams, the divine ancestors, etc., etc. .So their virtue and power are esteemed wondrous and boundless. According to the teachings of our sect we ought to reverence the famous mountain Fuji, assuming it to be the sacred abode of the Divine Lord, and as the brain of the whole globe. And as every child of the Heavenly Deity came into the world with a soul separated from arc lat ute and thin the one led cse ain sof in the tc, ess. the the lild oni THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 448 the one original soul of Deity, he ought to be just as the Deity ordered (in sacred Japanese "kanngara") anil make Fuji the example and emblem ot his thought and action, {'"or instance, he must be plain and simple as the form of the mountain, make his body and mind pure as the serenity of the same, etc. We wouUl resi)ect the i)resent world, with all its practical works, more than the future world; pray for the long life of the emperor and the peace of the country; and by leading a life of temperance and diligence, co-operating with one another in doing public good, we should be responsible for the blessings of the country. The founder of iiiis sect is Masegawa Kakugyo, who was born in Nagasaki, of the Hi/en province, in 1541. In tlie eighteenth year of his age, il.isegawa, full of grief at the gloomy state of things over the countr)', set out on a pilgrimage to various sanctuaries of famous mountains and lakes, ShiiUoistic and Buddhistic temples. While he was offering fervent prayers on sacred I*'uji, sometimes its summit and sometimes within its cave, he received inspiration through the mirac- ulous power of the mountain; and becoming convinced that this place is the holyaboile of Aineno-mina-kanu-shi-no-kima, he founded a new sect and propagated the creed all over the empire. After his death in the cave, in his loCth year, the light of the doctrines was handed down by a series of teachers. The tenth of them was my father, .Shibata Ilanamori, l)orn at ( )gi, of the Hi/en province, in iS0(j. lie was also in the eighteenth >-ear of his age when he ado|)ted the doctrine of this sect. Ainiil the revolutionar)' war of Meiji, which followed immediately, he e.xerted all his power to prop- agate his faith by writing religious works and preaching about the provinces. Now I have given a short sketch of the doctrines of our religion and of its histor)'. In the next place, let me express the humble views that I have had for some years on religion. As our doctrines teach us, all animate and inanimate things were born from One Heavenlj- Deity, and every one of them has its partic- ular mission; so we ought to love them all, and also to respect the various forms of religions in the world. They are all based, I believe, on the fundamental truth of religion. The difference between them is only in the outward form, influenced by variety of history, the dispo- sition of the i)eople and the physical conditions of the places where they originated. Lastly, there is one more thought that I wish to offer here. While it is the will of Deity and the aim of all religionists that all I lis beloved children on the earth should enjoy peace anil comfort in one accord, many countries look still with envy and hatred toward one another, and appear to seek opportunities of making war under the slightest pretext, with no other aim than of wringing out ransoms or robbing a nation of its lands. Thus, regardless of the abht^rrence of the I leavenly Deity, they only inflict pain and calamity on innocent people. Now find here my earnest wish is this, that the time should come soon when 'IVarliitiKH lit tlut.likkii HHut. RoHpect ReliKioni*. hU 444 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF .^ELIGIOxWS. i'; % Univesral Peac e and Tranquility. all nations on the earth will join their armies and navies with one accord, jjuarding the world as a whole, and thus prevent preposterous wars with each other. They should also establish a supreme court, in order to decide the case when a difference arises between them In that state no nation will receive unjust treatment from another, and every nation and eve:y individual will he able to maintain their own right and enjoy the blessings of Providence. There will thus ensue, at last, the universal peace and tranquility w'hich seem to be the final object of the benevolent Deity. ]*'or many years such has been my wish and hope. In order to facilitate and realize this in the future, I earnestly plead that every religionist of the world may try to edify the nearest jieople to devo- tion, to root out enmity between nations, and to promote our common objcel. . -I I V. \ \\'-\\'^ m :f Xhe Ethics and H 'story of the Jains. Paper by VIRCHAND A. GANDLHI, of Bombay. WISH that the duty of addressing you on the history and tenets of the Jain faith world had fallen on an abler person than myself. The in- clemency of the climate and the distant voyage which one has to undertake before he can come here have prevented abler Jains than myself from attendinjj this grand assembly and pre- senting their religious convictions to you in person. You will, therefore, look upon me as simply the mouthpiece of Muni Almarimji.thc learned high priest of the Jain community in India, who has devoted his whole life to the study of that ancient faith. I am truly sorry that iVIuni Almarimji is not among us to take charge of the duty of addressing you. Without further preface I shall at once go to the subject of the day. It will be convenient to divide this paper Two Ways of into two parts; First, "The Philosophy and Mthics of the Jains;" sec- iji"^"''''*'' "' ond, "The History of the Jains." ""*"' First. Jainism has two ways of looking at things — one called Dravyarthekaraya and the other Paryayarthcka Noya. 1 shall illus- trate them. The production of a law is the production of something not previously existing, if we think of it from the latter point of view, /. e., as a I'aryaya, or modification; while it is not the production of something not previously existing if we look at it from the former point of view, t. e., as a Dravya or substance. According to the Dravyarthekaraya view the universe is without beginning and end, but according to the Paryayarthcka view we have creation and destruction at ever>' moment. The Jain canon may be divided into two parts: First, Shrute Dharma, /. c, philosophy; and second, Chatra Dharma, /. r., ethics. The .Shrute Dharma inquiries into the nature of nine principles, six substances, si.x kinds of living beings and four states of existence — Jiva (sentient beings), Ajiva (non-sentient things), Punya (merit), Papa (demerit). Of the nine principles, the first is pua (soul). Ac- 445 fere -.1 l^ : i* ! H u !U.,„«aJ,Jaljil!ilHHBnH IP I Ii(( TJ/J-J nVALVS CONGA'ESS OF /i£L/070A/'6\ rordiuj;' to the );iin view, soul is that olritu'iit which knows, thinks ami tccls. It is, in tact, the divine element in the living; heinj;'. The Jain thinks that the phenomena ol" knowle(l«;e, feelinf,^ thinking;- and will- inj;', arc conditit>ncil on something, and that that somclhinL; must l)c as real .is an\thint; can he. This "si>\il" is in a certain sense ililTeient from knowlcili;e, and in another sense iilentical with it. So far as one's knowlcdi;e is concerncil the soul is identical with it, l)ut so far as knowled{4"e is concerncil it is ditferent from it. The true nature of soul is rii;ht knowleili^e, rij4ht faith and ri^ht conduct. The soul, so lon^ as it is subject to transmij^ration, is untler^oin^' evo- lution ami involution. The second principle is non-soul. It is not simpl)' what we under- Noii-SouV''' *'' ^taiul 1>>' matter, but it is more than that. Matter is a term contrary to soul. Rut ni>n-soul is its ci>ntradictt>rv. Whatever is not .soul is some one else s non-sou The rest of the nine principles an- but the different states pro- iluced by I'le combination ami separation of soul and non-soul. The thiril principle is Tnnya (merit), that, on account of which a bcini;' is happ>-, is ruiu'a. The fourth principle is Papa (demerit), that on account of which a beini;" suiters from misery. The fifth is Ashrana, the st.ite which brini;s in merit ami demerit. The seventh is Nirjara, ilestruction of actions. The oij^hth is Jiardha, l)ondai;e of soul with Karwa, actions. The ninth is ^loksha, total and permanent freedom of soul from all Karwas (actions). Substance is divideil into the sentient, or conscious, matter, stabil- ity, space and time. .Six kinds of livinii' beings are divideil into si.\ classes, earth boily bein;j,s, water Ixuly beinj^s, tire boily beiiiLjs, wind body beings, vegetables, ami all i>f them ha\ in^' one or^^an of sense, that of tt>uch. These are ai;ain ilividetl into four classes of beings ha\ini'" two oruans of sense, those of touih and «)f taste, such as t.ipeworms, leeches, etc.; beings having three o those of touch, taste ami smell, such as ants, 1 ree origans ot ice, etc, sense, bein>'s javiiiiT four origans o "Mse, those i>f touch, taste, smell ami ^iL;ht, such as bees, scorpions, etc.; beinj^s havinij live organs of sense, t! lose of touch, t;iste, smel SI! rht ami h earmi:. ri lere are human beiuiis, animals, birll^ n >en and t^ods. All these livintj beiui^s have four, five or six of the followimj capacities: Cap;icity of t.ikinj;' flH^ll, capacitv i^f coustructinij^ body, capacity of constructiut; origans, ciip.icity of rcspiratii)n, capiicity of speak iiii; ;uul the capacity of thinkin«;. Heinj;s havini:^ t>nc ori;an of sense, that is, of touch, have the first fi>ur capacities. Heiiiijs havim; two, three and four organs of sense, have the first five capacities, while those having; fi\e origans ha\e all th e si.x capacities. Fhe Jain canonical book tuMts very cl;iboratel\' of the minute divisii>ns of the livinj; bciiii^s, and their prophets have lonj; before the discovery o( the micri>sc».>pi' been able to tell how many origans of sense the minutest animalcule has. I would refer those who are ilesir- ous of studying Jain biology, zoology, botany, anatomy and physiology to the many books published by our society. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF HELIGIONS. wn I shall now refer to the four states of existeiici-. Tliey are iiaraka, tiryarch, iiiaiuishyra and diiva. Naraka is tlie hnvest state of exist- ence, that of l)eint^ a denizen of hell; tiryarch is the next, that of hav- Ht^um of k«- in^jan earth body, wati-r hody, fire body, wind body, vej^etable, of hav- •»'^""'''- injr two, three or four orj^ans, animal and birds. The third is nianii- shyra, of bein^f a man, and the fointh is deva, that of bein^f a deni/en of the celestial world. The hi<^hest state of existence is the Jain Moksha, the apotlurosis in the sense that the mortal bein^ by the destruction of all Karnian attains the highest spiritualism, and the soul beinj^ severed from all connection with matter re^^ains its purest state and becomes divine. Ilavinff briefly stated the principal articles of Jain belief, I c:ome to the jriand (piestions the answers to whit:h are the objects of all religious iiupiiry and the substance of all creeds. First. What is the orij^in of tlu; universe? This involves the ([uestion of (Jod. (iautama, tlu; Hu common in the <;arliest writings of the Gatha and the third in the later scriptures. In later times the word Ahura- . Mazda, instead of beiiis^ restricted, like Mazda, the name of God fjc^an M iKunder- to be used in a wider sense, anil was applied to Spenta-mainyush, the **"*'**• creative or the good princi|)le. This beinif the case, wherever the word Ahura-Mazda was used in opposition to that of Anj^ra-mainyush, later authors took it as the name of (Jiod, and not as the name of the creative principle, wlucli it really was. Thus the very tact of Ahura- Mazda's name beint^ eniplojed in ojiposition to that of Anijra-main- yush or Ahrimanled to the notion that Zoroastrian scriptures preached dualism. Not only is the charLje of dualism as leveled against Zoroastrian- ism, and as ordinaril)- understood, groundless, but there is a close resemblance between the ideas of the devil among the Christians and those of the Ahriman among the Zoroastrians. Dr. Haug says the same thing in the following words: 'The Z(M()astrian idea of the devil and the infernal kingdom coin- cides entirely with the Christian doctrine. The devil is a murderer and fattier of lies, according to both the Jiible and the Zend Avesta." Thus we see that, according to Zoroaster's philosophy, there are two primeval princi[)les that produce our material world. Conse- quently, though the Almighty is the creator of all, ;•. nart of the creation is said to be created b)- the good principle and :>, part by the evil principle. Thus, for example, the heavenly bodies, the earth, water, fire, horses, dogs and such other objects are the creation of the gootl principle, and serpents, ants, locusts, etc., are the creation of the evil principle. In short, those things that ct)nduce to the greatest good of the greatest number of mankind fall under the category of the m Ik 11 I,! ir.(5 TIIL WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ! I \ :i creations of the good principle, and those that lead to the cont»«ry result, iiiulcr tluit oi the creations ot the evil principle. This bcin},' the case, it is incumbent upon men to do actions that would support the cause of the ^ood principle and destroy that of the evil one. Therefore, the cultivation of the soil, the rearinj^ of ilomcstic animals, etc., on the one hand and the destruction of wild animals and other noxious creatures on the other, arc considereil meritorious actions by the I'arsces. As there arc two primeval principles under Ahura-Mazda that produce our material world, so there are two principles inherent in the nature of man which encourage him to do good or tempt him to do evil. One asks him to support the cause of the good principle, the Other to sunport that of the evil principle. The first is known by the name of Vohumana or lichemana, i. <•., "good mind." The prefix "vohu" or "bcl. ' is the same word as that of which our luiglish "better" is the comparative. Mana is the same as the word "maniyu," and means mind or spirit. The secontl is known by the name of Aka- mana, /. r., "bad mind." The prefix "aka" means "bad" and is the same as our English word "ache" in "headache." Now' the fifth chapter of the Vcndidad gives, as it were, a short definition of what is morality or piety. Tliere, first of all, the writer says: "Purity is the best thing for man after birth." This, you may say, is the motto of the Zoroastrian religion Therefore, M. llarlez very properly says that, according to Zoroastrian scriptures, the "notion of the word virtue sums itself up in that of the'Asha." This word is the same as the Sanskrit "rita," which word corresponds to our I'^nglish "right." It means, therefore, righteousness, piety or purity. Then the writer proceeds to give a short definition of piety. It says that, "the f reservation of good thoughts, good words and good deeds is piety." n these pithy words is summed up, so to say, the whole of the moral philosophy of the Zoroastrian scriptures. It says that, if you want to lead BafftWlotto a pious and moral life and thus to show a clean bill of spiritual health iiwivJ"'^' "' to the angel, Meher Daver, who watches the gates of heaven at the Chinvat bridge, practice these three: Tliink of nothing but the truth, speak nothing but the truth, and do nothing but what is proper. In short, what Zoroastrian moral philosophy teaches is this — that your good thoughts, good deeds and good words alojie will be your inter- cessors. Nothing more will be wanted. They alone will serve you as a safe pilot to the harbor of heaven, as a safe guide to the gates of paradise. The late Dr. llaug rightly observed that "the moral philos- ophy of Zoroaster was moving in the triad of 'thought, word and deed." These three words form, as it were, the pivot upon which the moral structure of Zoroastrianism turns. It is the groundwork upon which the whole edifice of Zoroastrian morality rests. The following dialogue in the Pehelvi Padnameh of liuzurgc-Meher shows in a succinct form what weight is attached to these three pithy words in the moral code of the Zoroastrians: Question. Who is the most fortunate man in the world? THE WORLD'S COS'GRESS OF RELiaiONS. 4B7 Answer. (Jucstion. Answer, devil. Question. Answer. (Question. Answer. 1 le who is the most innocent. N^ *^' Who isthi; most innocent man in the world? lie who walks in the path of God and shuns that of the Which is the path of (lod, and which that of the devil? \'irtiie is tiie path of Gt)d, and vice that of the devil. What constitutes virtue, and what vice? ( llumata, hukhta and hvarshta) ^ooil tlioujjhts, ^food words and j.jood deeds constitute virtue, and (dushmata, duzukhta and duzvarshta) evil thoughts, evil words and evil deeds constitute vice. Question. WHiat constitute (humata, hukhta and hvarshta) j^ood thouf^hts, {food words and {jood deeds, and (dushmata, duzukhta and duzvarshta) evil thou^jhts, evil words and evil deeds? Answer. I lonesty, charity and truthfulness constitute the former, and dishonesty, want of charity and falsehood constitute the latter. Krom this dialo{,aie it will he seen that a man who acquires (humata, hukhta and hvarshta) {food thou{jhts, {^ood words and {^ood deeds, and thereby practices honesty, charity and truthfulness, is con- sidered to walk in the path of God, and, therefore, to be the 'nof.t innocent and fortunate man. Herodotus also refers to the third cardinal virtue of truthfulness mentioned above. He says that to speak the truth was one of the three thin^js tau<;ht to a Zoroastrian of his time from his very childhood, Zoroastrianism believes in the immortality of the soul. The Avesta writing's of Hadokht Nushk, and the nineteenth chapter of the Vendidail, and of the I'ehelvi books of Minokherad and Viraf-nameh, treat of the fate of the soul after death. Its notions about heaven and hell correspond, to some extent, to the Christian notions about them. A plant called the Homa-i-saphid, or white Homa, a name correspond- injf to the Indian .Soma of the Hindus, is held to be the emblem of the immortality of the soul. Accordinjjf to Dr. Windischmann and Prof. Ala.x Miiller, this plant reminds us of the "Tree of Life" in the {garden of lulen. As in the Christian scriptures the way to the tree of life is strictly {guarded by the Cherubim, so in the Zoroastrian script- ures the Iloma-i-saphid, or the plant which is the emblem of immor- tality, is {guarded by innumerable Fravashis, that is, guardian spirits. The number of these {^uardian spirits, as ti;iven in various books, is 99.999- Ac][ain, Zoroastrianism believes in heaven and hell. Heaven is called Vahishta-ahu in the Avesta books. It literally means the "best life." This word is afterward contracted, with a slii^ht chanjrc, into the Persian word "Behesht," which is the sui)erlative form of "Veh," 8*f.^^^ meaning "good," and corresponds exactly with our English word "best." Hell is known by the name of "Achishta-ahu." Heaven is represented as a place of radiance, splendor and glory, and hell as that of gloom, darkness and stench. Between heaven and this world there is supposed to be a briilge, named "Chinvat." This word — from the 30 Mtirnl (' ;ss of hell. -, he is sent le Christian rious deeds lell, and his ss of t;ood f time. As lie by a niiin ts. 'TIhis, a n that very .•irtuefrom cir meritori- c burden of . y\ yonn;;- <^ood deeds oes not take vil deeds i<.- j ;. The very sual form of y merely rc- ;he most i)er- tative of His less, activity, I, lance to the nature and perfection of the Deity." A i'arsee loo! acts that would please the Almighty Ciod. The assurance is followed by an expression of regret for past evil thoughts, words or dectls if any. Man is liable to err, and so, if iluring the interval any errors of commission or omis- sion are C(nnmittetl, a Parsee in the beginning of his prayers repents for those errors, lie sa\s; ( ), Omniscient Lord! I repent of all my sins. 1 repent of all evil thoughts that I might have entertained in m)' mintl, of all the evil words that 1 might have s])oken, of all the evil actions that I might have committed. (), Omniscient Lord! I repent of all the faults that might have originated with me, whether they refer to thoughts, words or deeds, whether the)- appertain to my body or soul, whether they be in connecticjn with the material world or spiritual. To educate their children is a spiritual duty of /oroastrian par- ents. I'.ducation is necessar\-, not only for the material good of the children anil the parents, but also for their spiritual good. Accortl- ing to the Parste books, the parents participate in the meritorious- ness of the gooii .icts performed by their children as the result of the good education imparted to them. On the other hand, if the parents neglect the education of their children, and if, as the result of this neglect, they do wrongful acts or evil deeds, the parents have a spirit- THE WORLD'S COXGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 461 iial responsibility for such acts. In proportion to the nialij^nity or cvilness of these acts the parents are responsible to God for their nejflect of the education of their children. It is, as it were, a spirit- ual self-interest that must prompt a Parsce to look to the ^ood edu- cation of his children at an early age. Thus, from a religious point of view, education is a great question with the Parsees. The proper age recommended by religious I'arsee books lor or- dinary education is seven, liefore that age children should have home education with their ]>arents, especially with the mother. At the age of seven, after a little religiouseducation, a I'arsee child is invested with Sudreh and Kusti, ?'. <•., the sacred shirt and thread. This cere- mony of investiture corresponds to the conHrmation ceremony of the Christians. A I'arsee may put on the dress of an\' nationalits' he likes, I)ut under that dress he must always wear the sacred shirt and thread. These are the symbols of his being a /oroastrian. These sNiubols are full of meaning and act as perpetual nu)nitors advising the wearer to lead a life of puritj' of phj'sical and spiritual purity. A I'arset- is enjoined to remove, and put on again imnu'diately, the sacred lliread several times during the da)\ saying a vers* s hort prater duiiiig I lie process. He lias to do so early in the morning on rising from i)ed. before meals and after ablutioi IS. Th( putting on o f tl le sym iboli thread and the accompanying short praj'er remiiul him to i^e in a state of repentance for misdeeds, if any, and to preserve good thougiUs, good words and good deeds, the triad in which the moral ])hilosophy of Zoroaster moved. It is after this investiture with the sacred shirt and tliread liial the general education of a child generally begins. The I'arsee books speak When (icniT- Ik'Kins. of the necessity of educating all children, whether male or female. ''' .KducHtiou ■r-i r I 1 ■ 1 • 1 ■ I l> l«'i-'inR. lluis lemale education claims as mueli attention aiiK)ng tlie 1 arsees as male education. Physical educati(ni is as much spoken of in the /oroastrian books as mental and moral education. The health of the i)ody is considered as the first retiuisite for the health of the soul. I'liat tile physical education of the ancient Persians, tlie ancestors of tile modern Parsees, was a subject of admiration among the ancient (ireeks and Romans, is t oo we I mown. n a I the 1 e hlessmgs iinoked ■ poll one in the religious i)rayers, the strength of boily occupies the first md the most prominent ])lace, .Analyzing the I5omba\- census o f iSSi, Dr. Weir, the health officer, said: 'i<: xainimng eilucation according to taith or class, we liiul lliat education is most extended among tlu> I'arsee people; female educa- tion is more diffused among tiie I'arset- ])opulation tlian aiu- o ther Class. Contrasting these results with education at an earl>- age among Parsees, we find U, 2 per cent I'arsee male ami S.S4 per cent female cliildreii under six \-ears of .ige, under mstruetion; between six aiul fifteen the number of I'arsee male and female children under in- struction IS much laigs for a S(jn that could take an intelliijent part in the deli!)erations (jf the councils of his community aiul s^o^ernmciU ; so a re.<,^ard for the rci^ular forms of tjovernment was necessary. (^f all the ])ractical (|uestit>ns, the one most affecte*.! b\- the relit.(ious precepts of Zoroastrianism is that of the observation o| san- itary rules and principles. .Several chapters of the X'endidad /'orm, as it were, the sanitary code of the I'arsees. Most of the in juii'. lions will stand the test of sanitary science for aijes toj^^ether. ( )f tht.- different Asiat ic eommuiiiln-s mlial)itnu H oml)av. the arsees iiaxi- th( \^^\\ est death rate. ( )ne can sai'el\' s;i\- that that is, to a \^wa\ extent, due to the Z(jroastrian ideas of sanitati(jn, segregation, puritieation ane(l to spri'ac 1 d )assin'' iseaM..- l)\- CO iita- ^non. .So he is enjoined to periorm ablutions se\eral time-. duriiiL,^ tin- (lay, as before sa\int;' his praxers, before meals, and after answering th e calls ot nature. If his hand comes into contact with the --aliva of his own mouth or with that of somebody else, he has to wash it. lie has to keep himself aloof from corpse-bearers, lest he s|)iead any disease throuLfh them. If accidentallv he comes into e(uUact witli th ese pi'o])le, he has to bathe him^e If bel( in- mi\ini,f in society. A breach ot these and \'arious other .^auitarx- rules is, as it were, Ik )in'. the cause o f th( e\ il 1 )riiicii)le A,Ljain, Zoroastrianism asks its discipK-s to keep the earth pure, to eep the air pure, and to keep tiie w.iter pui=e. It considers tlie sun as the greatest purifier. In places wlu-ie tl.e ra)\s of the sun do not enter, fire o\er which fragrant wood is burned is the next puril'ier. It is a L,neat sin to pollute water by decomijosiip.^ matter. Not oiil\' IS the Icommission of a fault of this kind a sin, but also the omission, when V)ne sees such a pollution, of taking' proper means to remove it. A Zoroastrian. when he happens tf) see, while passin-^- in his way, a nm- ninf,f stream of drinking water polluted by some decomposing^ matter, such as a corpse, is enjoined to wait aiul try his best to ijo into the stream and to remove the putrifyini,^ matter, lest its continuation ma\- spoil the water and affect the health of the people usiin,^ jt. An omission to do this act is a sin from a Zoro.istrian point of \ ic At the bottom of a I'arsee's custom of dis[>osini4' of the dead, and at the THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 4h;^ bottom u£ nil the strict religious ceremonies enjoined therewith, lies the one nuiin principle, viz., that, preserving all possible respect for the (leatl, the body, after its se|)aration from the immortal soul, should be disposeil of in a way the least harmful and the least injurious to the living. The homely i)roverb of "cleanliness is godliness" is nowhere more recommended than in the I'arsee religicnis books, which teach that the cleanliness of boil\- w ill lead to and help the cleanliness of mind. We now come to llie (juestion of wealth, po\ert\" and labor. As Herodotus saitl, a I'arsee, before ])ra>'ing for himself, prays for his sovereign and for his communilx', for he is himself included in the community. Ills religious precepts teach him to drown his individu- Woaiili, i'«v- aiily in the common interests of his comnumity. lie is to consider crty ami LBbor, himself as a part and ])arccl of the wliole community. The good of the whole will be the good and that a solid gooil— of the parts. In the twelfth chai)ter<)f the Vasna, which contains, as it were, /oroastrian articles of faith, a Zoroastrian ])roinises to nreserve a perfect brother- hootl. 1 le promises, e\ en at the risk of his life, to protect the life and the i)ro|)erty of all the meinl)ers of his conununity and to help in the cause that would bring about their prosperity and welfare. It is with these good feelings of brotherhood and charity that the I'arsee com- munity has endowed large iunils for benevolent and charitable ])ur- poses. If the rich I'arsees of the future generations were to follow in the footstips of tluir ancestors of the past and present generations in the matter of giving lil)eral donations lor the good of the ileserving poor of tlu'ir communit)', one can sa\' that there would be very little cause for the socialists to complain from ;i |)oor man's point of view. It is these notions of charit\- and brotherhood that ha\ e urged them to start public funds lor the general gootl of the whole community. Men of all grades in societ\' contribute to these funds on various occasions. The rich contribute on occasions both of joj-'and grief. On grand occasions, like those of weddings in their families, they con- tribute large sums in charity to commemorate those events. Again, on the death of their dear ones, the rich and the poor all pay various sums, according to their means, in charit\'. These sums are announced on the occasion of the ( )otliumna, or the ceremony on the third day after death. The rich pay large sums on these occasions to com- memorate the names of their dear ones. In the Vendidad three kiiuls (■' charitable deeds are especiall\- mentioned as meritorious to hel]) tlu poor; to help a man to marr\', and thus to enable him to lead a virtuous and honorable life, and to give education to those who are in sear, h of it. If one were to look to the long list of i'arsee charities, headed I)\' that of that prince of I'arsee charitj', the first I'arsee baronet, he will find these three kintls of charity especially attended to. The religious training of a I'arsee does not restrict his ideas of brotherhootl .I'ul charity to his own C(nnmunit\' alone. He extends his charity to uon-Zoroastrians as wi'll. The ciualitications of a good liusbaml, from a Zoroastrian point \v 1 i i: ;i ^1 1 t Iflji 4(U T//E IVOKLD'S CONGKEiiS OF RELIGIONS. NO Vv* Q u ii I i fi <■ a - tiniis I if ii(Jood IIu.xImiikI. of view, arc that he must be (i) young and handsome; (2) strong, brave and healthy; (3) diligent and industrious, so as to maintain his wife and children; (4) truthful, as would prove true to herself, and true to all others with whom he would come in contact, and is wise and educated. i\ wise, intelligent and educated husband is compared to a fertile piece of land which gives a plentiful crop, whatever kind t)f seeds are scnvn in it. The cpialifications of a good wife are that she be wise and educated, modest and courteous, obedient and chaste. Obedience to her husband is the first duty of a Zoroasirian wife. It is a great \irtue, deserving all praise and reward. Disobedience is a great sin, punishable after death. According to the Sad-dar, a wife that expressed a desire to her iuisband three times a da)' in the morning, afternoon and evening — to be one with him in thoughts, words and deeds, i.e., to sjinpalhize with him in all his noble as|;)irations, jiursuits and desires, performeil as meritorious an act as that of saying her prayers three times a ilay. She must w ish to be of the same \iew with him in all his noble pur- suits and ask him e\ery day: " W'h.it are your thoughts, so that I may be one with you in those thoughts? What are your words, so th:it I may be one with you in j'our sjjeech? What ;ire your deeds, so that I may be oxw. with you in deeds?" ;\ Zoroastrian wife so affectionate and obeilient to her husband was held in great respect, not only by the husband and the household, but in society as well. As Dr. West says, though a Zoroastrian wife was asked to be very obedient to her husband, she held a more respectaljle position in societx' than that enjoined by an\' other Oriental religion. As .Sir John Malcolm says, the ordinance of Zoroaster secured for Zoroastrian women an e(|ual rank with the male creation. The progress of the ancient Persians in ci\i!- ization was ])artl)- due to this cause. "The gri'at respect in which the female sex was held was, no doubt, the principal cause of the progress they had made in civilization. These were at once the cause of gener- ous enterprise and its reward." The advance of the modern Parsis, the descendants of the ancient Persians, in the path of civilization is greatly rds to j-ou marrying brides and to }t)u bride- ■i; • THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 4(5r) 10 ss er- ic ly s il o- ;is O.HXl Impress them in your mind. May you two enjoy the life of . -»«■ . < ; Mohammedans of Damascus. Spirit and ]\/\ission of the Apostolic Qhurch of y\rmenia. . Paper by OHANNES CHATSCHUMGAN, of Armenia. }, ' CCJ()RI)l\(i to the l;l'Hli;i1 testimony <»f liislo- liaiis, C'liristiaiiity was iiUrodiiccd into Arme- nia ill the tirst ceiitiiry. lii tlic \car 34 A. I). tin- Ajjostle Tliaddeus went to this coimtr\-, and in thi- \ear 60 A. 1). Hartholomew fol- lowed. They preached the (jospel and were mart) red. lliese ai)(»stles were, tlieretore, the founders of the Armenian cliureh. Mesides them two otliers, .Simeon and jiuhdi, preached in Arnnida. Hul C'Iiristianil\- (hd not become 1 rel iijion imtil the vear ,02 his interval thousands of .\rme- ^ for (."hristianit\-. in that )-ear linator enli<.;hteiied the entire stianitx' became the religion of • people. In the Armenian lan- ns to " Christiauue." Whether. oiiIphi ct.i f Christianitv- from the first cent- l!"."„V''JI.V''' ' the Armenian church remains tliu World. ih Jh ;ir place amon.L,M)lher churclies While the church is tJuU' one element in the lives of other nations element sometimes s an i^. sometimes less strontr in Armenia it tron^ en.'braces the whole life of the nation. There are not two different ide.ds, one for Christianit)', the other for nationality These two ideals are united. The Armenians love their country because they love Christianit)-. Church ami fatherland ha\ e been almost s\-n()n\- mous in their tonj^aies. The constructit)n of the Armenian churcli is simple and apos- tolic. It is independent and national. The head is called the Patri- arch Catholicos of all Armenians in whatever i)art of the wcirld they may be. He is eleited by the representatives of tlie natii)n and clert^y 4( )< !' l'\ il \ii MIA r ^;>+ i Tlic Amit'iii- AM ClerKj. 4(iH 7y/Z," UVKLD'S COXOKESS OF KELJU/ONS. ill ICtclimiaclzin, at the foot of Mount Ararat. Any Armenian, even a la)-man, can become licad of tlie cluircli if the ^'cneral assembly finds iiim wortliy of tliis hi^li office. .Since Armenia has been divided amonj^ the three powers Turkey, Russia and Persia -the election of the Catholicos is confirmed by tlie Russian emperor. The bishops are elected by the people of each province and are anointed by the Catholicos. The ordinar)- clerjjy are elected by each parish. The parish is free in its election, and neither bishop nor Catholicos can assijrn a priest to a parish a^Minst its wish. ICach church bein^ frei- in its home work, the)' are all bound with one another and so form a unit)-. The people share larf^^el)- in the work of tin- church. .All assiin- blies which ha\ e to decide _t,H'neral (piestions, e\en dogmatic matters, are gathered from both people and cler}4)\ The cleri;)- e.\ists for the pet)i)le and not the people for the cleri;)'. The Armenian clerj^y have always i)een pioneers in the educa- tional ailvancement of the nation. They have been the brin^ers in of I'.uropean civilization to their people. I''rom the fifth centur)- t«> this \ery da))()un^ men intended for the priesthood are sent to the Occident to study in order that Christianity and civilization may ^o hand in hand. The countrv owes everythinij to its clertjy. Tliey have been first in danger and first in civilization. The spirit of the Armenian church is tolerant. .'\ characteristic feature of /Xrmenians, even while they were heathen, was that they were cosmop(jlitan in relifjious matters. Armenia, i'i earl)' a^'es, was an America for the oppressed of other lands, i-'rom Ass\ria, as we read in the Hible,inthe liook of Kinou listen and caniu)t hear them, but tliey are em- bodied in all things without missing any, causing all men to revereice them and be purified, and be well adorned in order to sacrifice unto them." All things are alive, as if the gods were right above our heads or on our right hand or t)n the left. Yili King makes much of divin- ing to get decisions from the gods, knowing that the gods are the forces of heaven ami earth in operation. Although unseen, still they influence; if difficult to prove, yet easily known. The great sages and great worthies, the loyal ministers, the righteous scholars, filial sons, the pure women of the world having received the purest influ- ences of the divinest forces of heaven and earth, when on earth were heroes, when dead are the gods. Their influences continue for many generations to affect the world for good, therefore many venerate and sacrifice unto them. As to evil men, they arise from the evil forces of nature; when dead, they also influence for evil, and we must get holy influences to destroy evil ones. As to rewards and punishments the ancient sages also spoke of them. The great Yu, B. C. 2255, said: "Follow what is right and you will be fortunate; do not follow it and J'ou will be unfortunate; the results are only shadows and echoes of our acts." Tang, B. C. 1766, says: " Heaven's way is to bless the good and bring calamity on the evil." His minister, Yi Yin, said: " It is only God who is perfectly just; good actions are blessed with a hundred favors; evil actions are cursed with a hundred evils." Confucius, speaking of the "Book of Changes" (Yih King), said: " Those who multiply good deeds will have joys to overflowing; those who multiply evil deeds will have calami- ties running over." But this is very different from Taoism, which says that there are angels from heaven examining into men's good and evil deeds, and from Buddhism, which says that there is a purgatory or hell according to one's deeds. Regards and punishments arise from our different actions just as water flows to the ocean and as fire seizes what is dry; without expecting certain consequences they come inevitabl)-. When T THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 475 these consequences do not appear they are like cold in summer or heat in winter, or like both happeninjj the same day; but this we say is unnatural. Therefore, it is said, sincerity is the way of heaven. If we say that the gods serve heaven exactly as mandarins do on earth, bring- ing quick retribution on every little thing, this is really to make them appear very slow. At present men say, "Thunder killed the bad man." But it is not so, either. The Han philosopher, Tung Chung Shu (sec- ond century B. C), says: "Vapors, when they clash above, make rain; when they clash below make fog; wind is nature's breathing. Thunder is the sound of clouds clashmg against each other. Lightning is light emitted by their collision, Fhus we see that when a man is killed it is by the collision of these clouds." As to becoming genii and transmigration of souls, these are still more beside the mark. If we became like genii, then we would live on without dying; how could the wond hold so many? If we transmi- grate, then so many would transmigrate from the human life and ghosts would be numerous. Besides when the lamp goes out and is lit again it is not the former flame that is lit. When the cloud has a rainbow it rains, but it is not the same rainbow as when the rainbow appeared before. From thi we know also that these doctrines of transmigra- tion should not be b lieved in. So much on the virtue of the unseen and hereafter. As to the great aim and broad basis of Confucianism, we say it searches into things, it extends knowledge, it has a sincere aim, i.e., to have a right heart, a virtuous life, .so as to regulate the home, to govern the nation and to give peace to all under heaven. The book of "Great Learning," Ja Hsigh, has already clearly spoken of these. The founda- tion is laid in illustrating virtue, for our religion in discussing govern- ment regards virtue as the foundation, and wealth as the superstructure. Mencius says: "When the rulers and ministers are only seeking gain the nation is in danger " He also says: "There is no benevolent man who neglects his parents, there is no righteous man who helps himself before his ruler." From this it is apparent what is most important. Not that we do not speak of gain; the "Great Learning" says: "There is a right way to get gain. Let the producers be many and the consumers few. Let there be activity in production and economy in the expenditure. Then the wealth will always be sufficient. But it is important that the high and low should share it alike." As to how to govern the country and give peace to all under heaven the nine paths are most important. The nine paths are: Cul- tivate a good character, honor the good, love your parents, respect great offices, carry out the wishes of the ruler and ministers, regard the common people as your children, invite all kinds of skillful work- men, be kind to strangers, h..ve consideration for all the feudal chiefs. These are the great principles. Their origin and history may also be stated. Far up in mythical ancient times, before literature was known, F"u Hi arose and drew the eight diagrams in order to understand the superhuman powers and Aim. Sincere 476 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. When Confu- cius Aruse. the nature of all things. At the time of Tang Yao ( B. C. 2356) they were abie to illustrate noble virtue. Nine generations lived together in one home in love and i)eace, and the people were firm and intelli- gent. Yao handed down to Shun a saying, "Sincerely hold fast to the 'mean'." Shun transmitted it to Yu, and said: "The mind of man is restlc:.3, prone to err; its affinity for the right way is small. Be dis- criminating; be undivided that you may sincerely hold fast to the mean." Yu transmitted this to Tang, of the Siang dynasty ( B. C. 1766). Tang transmitted it to Kings Wen and VVu, of the Chow dynasty (B. C. n22). These transmitted it to Duke Kung. And these were all able to observe this rule of the heart by which they held fast to the *' mean." The Chow dynasty later degenerated; then there arose Confucius, who transmitted the doctrines of Yao and Shun as if they had been his ancestors, elegantly displayed the doctrines of Wen and Wu, edited the odes and the history, reformed religion, made notes on the "Book of Changes," wrote the annals of spring and autumn, and spoke ot governing the nation, saying: " Treat matters .seriously and be faith- ful; be temperate and love men; employ men according to proper times, and in teaching your pupils you must do so with love." He said to Yen Tsze: "Self-sacrifice and truth is benevolence. If you can for one whole day entirely sacrifice self and be true, then all under heaven will become benevolent." Speaking of being able to put away selfishness and attaining to the truth of heaven, everything is possible to such a heart. Alas! He was not able to get his virtues put into practice, but his disciples recorded his words and deeds iiwd wrote the Confucian Ana- lects. His disciple, Jseng Ts/e, composed the Great Learning, His proud son, Tsze Sze, composed the Doctrine of the Mean (Chung Yung). VVhen the contending states were quarreling, Mencius, with a loving heart that could not endure wrong, arose to save the times. The rulers of the time would not use him; so he composed a book in seven chapters. After this, although the ages changed this, religion flourished. In the Han dynasty. Tung Chung Shu (twentieth century B. C); in the Sui dynasty, Wang Tung (A. D. 583-617); in the Tang dynasty Han Yo (A. D, 768-824), each made some part of this doc- trine better known In the Sung dynasty (960-1260) these were the disciples of the philosophers Cheng, Chow and Chang, searching into the spiritual nature of man, and Chu Fu-Tsze collected their works and this religion shone with great brightness. Our present dynasty, respecting scholarship and considering truth important, placed the philosopher Cho in Confucian temples to be reverenced a.id sacrificed to. Confucianists all follow Chu Fu-Tsze's comments From ancient times till now those who followed the doctrines of Confucius were able to govern the country; whenever these were not followed there w?s disorder. On looking at it down the ages there is also clear evidence of re- sults in governing the country and its superiority to other religions. We WORLD'S Congress of religions. 47? Tbotv. is a prosperity of Tan^ Yis, of the dynasties Hsia Siang and Chow (B. C, 2356, B. C. 255), when virtue and jirood government flour- ished. It is needless to enlarge upon them. At the time of the con- tending states there arose theorists, and all under heaven became dis- ordered. The Tsin dynasty (of Tsin She-Hwang fame) burned the books and buried the Confucianists and did many other heartless things, and also went to seek the art of becoming immortal (Taoism), and the empire was soon lost. Then the Han dynasty arose (B, C. 206-A. D. 220). Although it leaned toward Taoism, the people, after hiving suffered so long from the cruelties of the Tsin, were easily governed. Although the religious rites of the Shu Sun-tung do not command our confidence, the elucidation of the ancient classics and books we owe mostly to the, Confucianists of the Han period. Although the emperor, the emperor Wu, of the western (early) Han dynasty, was fond of genii (Taoism), he knew how to select worthy ministers. Although the emperor Ming, of the eastern (later) Han dynasty, introduced Buddhism, he was able to respect the Confucian doctrines. Since so many followed Confucianism, good m^indarins were very abundant under the eastern and western Han dynasties, and the dynasty lasted very long. Passing on to the epoch of the three kingdoms and the Tsin dynasty (A. D. 221-419) the people then leaned toward Taoism and negl cted the country. Afterward the north and south quarreled and Emperor Laing VVu reigned the longest, but lost all by believing in Buddhism and going into the monastery at T'jing Tai, where he died of starvation at Tai Ching. When Yuen Ti came to the throne (A D. 552) the soldiers of Wei arrived while the teaching of Taoism was still going on, and the country was ruined. It is not worth while to speak of the Sui dynasty. The first emperor of the Tang dynasty (618-907) greatly sought out famous Confucianists and increased the demand for scholars, so that the country was ruled almost equal to Cheng and Kangof ancient times. Although there was the affair of Empress Woo and Lu Shan, the dynasty flourished long Its fall was because the emperor Huen Tsung was fond of Taoism and Buddhism, and was Eut to death by taking wrong medicine. The emperor Mu Tsung also elieved in Taoism, but got Hi by eating immortality pills. After this the emperor Wu Tsung was fond of Taoism and reigned only a short time. The emperor Tsung followed Buddhism and the dynasty fell into a precarious condition. Passing by the five dynasties (907-960) on to the first emperor of the Sung dynasty (960-1360) who, cherishing the people and having good government, step by step prospered — when Jen Tsung ruled he reverenced heaven and cared for the people; he reformed the punish- ment and lightened the taxes, and was assisted by such scholars as Han Ki, Fan Chung Yen, Foo Pih, Ou Yang Sui, Wen Yen Poh and Chas Pien. They established the government at the mountain Pas Sang and raised the people to the state of peace which is .still in everv home. Such government may be called benevolent. UohiiUh (ioverniDK Country. I u the Benevolent Government. 47S THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RBUGlONS, «t t Wisely Reffa- Ikti-ii. Afterward there arose the troubles ot Kin, when the good minis* tors wore destroyed by cliques ;^and the Sang dynasty moved to the south of China. When the Mongol dynasty (A. D. 1260-1368) arose, it believed in and employed Confucian methods, and all under heaven was in order. In the time of Jen Chung the names of the philosophers. Chow and Cheng (of thcSun^ dynasty), were placed in the Confucian temples to be sacrificed to. They carried out the system of examinations and sent commissioners to travel throughout the land to inquire into the sufferings of the people. The empress served the emperor dowager with filial piety and treated all his relations with honor, and he may be called one of our noble rulers, but the death of Shunti was owing to his passion for pleas- ure. He practiced the methods of western priests (Buddhists) to reg- ulate the health and had no heart for matters of state. When the first emperor of the jMing dynasty (A. D. 1368-1C44) arose and reformed the religion and ritual of the empire, he called it the great, peaceful dynasty. The pity was that he selected Buddhist priests to attend on the princes of the empire, and the priest Tao Yen corrupted the Pekin prince, and a rebellious spirit sprung up, which was a great mistake. Then Yen Tsung, too, employed Yen Sung, who only occupied himself in worship. Hi Tsung employed Ni Ngan, who defamed the loyal and the good, and the dynasty failed. These arc the evidences of the value of Confucianism in every age. But in our pre. 'vnasty worship and religion have been wisely regulated, and the rnment is in fine order; noble ministers and able officers have t ..1, ed in succession down all these centuries. That is what has caused Confucianism to be transmitted from the oldest times till now, and wherein it constitutes its superiority to other religions is that it does not encourage mysteries and strange things or marvels. It is impartial and upright. It is a doctrine of great im- partiality and strict uprightness, which one may body forth in one's person and carry out with vigor in one's life; therefore, we say, when the sun and moon come forth (as in Confucianism), then the light of candles can be dispensed with. i ! i! , \ :\y I (Confucianism. Paper by HON. PUNG KWANG YU, First Secretary of the Chinese i.egation. Washington, D. C. «• LL Chinese reformers of ancient and modern times have either exercised supreme authority as political heads of the nation or filled high posts as ministers of state. The only notable exception j Confucius. "Man," says Con- fucius in the Book of Rites, "is the product of heaven and earth, the union of the active and passive principles, the conjunction of the soul and spirit, and the ethereal essence of the five elements." Again he says: "Man is the heart of heaven and earth, and the nucleus of the five elements, formed by assimilating food, by distinguishing sounds and by the action of light." Now, the heaven and earth, the active and passive principles, and the soul and spirit are dualisms resulting from unities. The product of heaven and earth, the union of the active and passive principles, the conjunction of the soul and spirit, are unities resulting from dualisms. Man, Mantheiieurt being the Connecting link between unities and dualisms, is, therefore, «f Heaven nnd called the heart of heaven and earth. By reason of his being the heart of heaven and earth humanity is his natural faculty and love his con- trolling emotion. "Humanity," says Confucius, "is the characteristic of man." On this account humanity stands at the head of the five fac- ulties, or the innate qualities of the soul, namely, humanity, rectitude, propriety, understanding and truthfulness. Humanity must have the social relations for it;; sphere of action. Love must begin at home. What are the social relations? They are the sovereign and sub- ject, parent and child, husband and wife, elder and young brothers and friends. These are called the five relations or natural relations. As the relation of husband and wife must have been recognized before that of sovereign or subject, or that of parent and child, the relation of husband and wife is, therefore, the first of the social relations. The relation of husband and wife bears a certain analogy to that of "kien" and "kium." The word kien may be taken in the sense of heaven, 480 THl' WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 481 sovereign, parent or husuund. As the earth is subservient to heaven* so is tlic subject subservient to the sovereign, the child to tlie parent and the wife to the husband. These three mainstays of the social structure have their origin in the law of nature, and do not owe their existence to the invention of men. The emotions are but the manifestations of the soul's faculties when acted upon by external objects. There are seven emotions, namely, joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hate and desire. The faculties of the soul derive their origin from nature, and are, therefore, called natural faculties; the emotions emanate from man, and are, therefore, called human emotions. Humanity sums up the virtues of the five natural faculties. Filial duty lies at the foundation ot humanity. The sense of propriety serves to regulate the emotions. The recognition of the relation of husband and wife is the first step in the cultivation and dcvp'opment of humdnity. The principles that direct human progress ar'> sincerity and charity, and the principles that carry it forward are devotion and honor. "Do not unto others," says Confucius, "'"hatsoc.er ye would not that others should do unto you." Again, he says: "A noble-minded man has four rules to regulate iiis conduct: To serve one's parent i in such a manner as is required of a son; to serve one's sovereign in such a manner as is required of a subject; to serve one's cl''er brother in such a manner as is required of a younger brother; to set an examj)le of dealing with one's friends in such a manner as is required of friends." This succinct statement puts in a nutshell all the requirements of sincerity, charity, devotion and honor; in other words, of humanity itself. Therefore, all natural virtues and established doctrines that relate to the duties of man in his relations to society must have their origin in humanity. On the other hand, the principle that regulates the actions and conduct of men, from beginning to end, can be no other than propriety. What are the rules of propriety? The"Bookor Rites" treats of such as relate to ceremonies on attaining majority, marriages, funerals, sac- rifices, court receptions, banquets, the worship of heaven, the observ- ance of stated feasts, the sphere of woman and the education of youth. The rules of propriety are based on rectitude and should be carried out with understanding, so as to show their truth, to the end that humanity may appear in its full splendor. The aim is to enable the five innate qualities of the soul to have full and free play, and yet to enable each in its action to promote the action of the rest. If we were to go into details on this subject and enlarge on the various lines of thought as they present themselves we should find that myriads of words and thousands of paragraphs would not suffice, for then we should have to deal with such problems as relate to the observation of facts, the sys- tcmatization of knowledge, the establishment of right principles, the rectification of the heart, the disciplining of self, the regulation of the family, the government of the nation and the pacification of the world. All the gjiiremtmts Homanity. Re. of 482 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. OriKin of Re- ligiouB Wor. ■hip. NataraJ Im- perfoctione. ,i: I .J •• ,1 Such are the elements of 'nstruction and self-education which Confu* cianists consider as essential to make man what he ought to be. Now, man is only a species of naked animal. He was naturally stricken with fear and went so far as to worship animals against which he was helpless. To this may be traced the origin of religious wor- ship. It was only man, however, that ni;ture had endowed with intel- ligence. On this account he could take advantage of the natural ele- ments, and his primary object was to increase the comforts and remove the dangers of life. As he passed from a savage to a civilized state he initiated movements for the education of the rising generation by defining the relations and duties of society and by laying special emphasis on the disciplining of self. Therefore, man is called the "nucleus of the five elements and the ethereal essence of the five ele- ments formed by assimilating food, by distinguishing sounds and by the action of light." Herein lies the dignity of human nature Herein we recognize the chief characteristic that distinguishes man from ani- mals. The various tribes of feathered, haired, scaled, or shelled animals, to be sure, are not entirely incapable of emotion. As emotions are only phenomena of the soul's different faculties, animals may be said to possess, to a limited degree, faculties similar to the faculties of man, and are not therefore entirely devoid of the pure essence of nature. From the beginning of the creation the intelligence of animals has remained the same, and will doubtless remain the same until the end of time. They are incapable of improvement or progress. This shows that the substance of their organization must be derived from the im- perfect and gross elements of the earth, so that when it unites with the ethereal elements to form the faculties, the spiritual qualities can not gam full play, as in the case of man. "In the evolution of the animated creation," says Confucius, in connection with this subject, "nature can only act upon the substance of each organized being, and bring out its innate qualities. She, therefore, furnishes proper nour- ishment to those individuals that stand erect and trample upon those individuals that lie prostrate." The idea is that nature has no fixed purpose. As for man, he also has natural imperfections. This is what Con- fucianists call essential imperfections in the constitution. The reason is that the organizations which different individuals have received from the earth are very diverse in character. It is but natural that the faculties of different individuals should develop abilities and capabili- ties which are equally diverse in degrees and kinds. It is not that different individuals have received from nature different measures of intelligence. Man only can remove the imperfections inherent in the substance of his organization by directing his mind to intellectual pursuits, by abiding in virtue, by following the dictates of humanity, by subduing anger, and by restraining the appetites. Lovers of mankind, who have the regeneration of the world at heart, would doubtless consider it THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 483 desirable to have some moral panacea which could completely remove all the imperfections from the organic substance of the human species, so that the whole race might be reformed with ease and ex- pedition. But such a method of procedure does not seem to be the way in which nature works. She only brings out the innate qualities of every substance. Still it is worth while to cherish such a desire on account of its tendency to elevate human nature, though we know it to be impossible of fulfillment, owing to the limitations of the human organization. Man is then endowed with the faculties of the highest dignity. Vet there are those who so far degrade their manhood as to give themselves up to the unlimited indulgence of those appetites which they have .in common with birds, beasts and fishes, to the utter loss of their moral sense without being sensible of their degradation, perhaps. Facnltiea ot In case they have really become insensible then even heaven cannot **"''*'• possibly do anything with them. But if they, at any time, become sensible of their condition, they must be stricken with a sense of shame, not unmingled, perhaps, with fear and trembling If, after experiencing a sense of shame, mingled with fear and trembling, they repent of their evil doings, then they become men again with their humanity restored. This is a doctrine maintained by all the schools of Confucianists. " Reason," says Confucius in his notes to the " Book of Changes," "consists in the proper union of the active and passive principles of nature" Again, he says: "What is called spirit is the inscrutable state of 'yin' and 'y3"S>' or the passive and active principles of n?iture." . Now, "yang" is heaven, or ether. Whenever ether, by condensation, paa^iilT assumes a substantive form and remains suspended in the heavens, c>pie«' there is an ailinixture of the active and passive principles of nature, with the active principle predominating. "Yin," or the passive prin- ciple of nature, is earth or substance. Whenever a substance which has the property of absorbing ether is attracted to the earth there is an admixture of the active and passive principles of nature, with the passive principle predominating. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, its going and coming making one day, so the (juantity of ether which the earth holds varies from time to time. Exhalation follows aJ^^^rption; sys- tole succeeds diastole. It is these small changes thi... produce day and night. As the sun travels also from north to south and makes a complete revolution in one year, so the quantity of ether which the earth holds varies .'rom time to time. Exhalation follows absorp- tion; systole succeeds diastole. It is these great changes that produce heat and cold. The movements of the active and passive principles of the universe bear a certain resemblance to the movements of the sun. There arc periods of rest, periods of activity, periods of expan- sion, and periods of contraction. The two principles may sometimes repel each other but can never go beyond each other's influences. Tney may also attract each other, but do not by tnis means spend their and Prin. 484 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. I: Nature an Ac- ''ive Element. force. They seem to permeate all things from beginning to end. They are invisible and inaudible, yet it cannot be said for this reason they do not exist. This is what is meant by inscrutability, and this is what Confucius calls spirit. Still it is necessary to guard against confounding this conception of spirit with that of nature. Nature is an entirely active element and must needs have a passion element to operate upon in order to bring out its energy. On the other hand, it is also an error to confound spirit with matter. Matter is entirely passive and must needs have some active clement to act upon it in order to concentrate its virtues. It is to the action and reaction, as well as to the mutual sustentation of the essences of the active and passive principles, that the spirit of any- thing owes its being. In case there is no union of the active and pas- sive principles, the ethereal and substantive elements lie separate, and the influences of the heavens and the earth cannot come into conjunc- tion. This being the case, whence can spirits derive their substance? Thus the influences of the heavens and material objects must act and react upon each other, and enter into the composition of each other, in order to enable every material object to incorporate a due propor- tion of energy with its virtues. PZach object is then able to assume its proper form, whether large or small, and acquire the properties pecu- liar to its constitution, to the end that it may fulfill its functions in the economy of nature. For example, the spirits of mountains, hills, rivers and marshes are invisible; we see only the manifestations of their power in winds, clouds, thunders and rains. The spirits of birds, quadrupeds, insects and fishes are invisible; we see only the manifestations of their power in flying, running, burrowing and swimming. The spirits of terrestrial and aquatic plants are invisible; we see only the manifestations of their power in flowers, fruits and the various tissues. The spirit of man is invisible; yet when we consider that the eyes can sec, the ears can hear, the mouth can distinguish flavors, the nose can smell and the mind can grasp what is most minute as well as wliat is most remote, how can we account for all this? In the case of man, the spirit is in a more concentrated and better disciplined state than the spirits of the rest of the created things. On this account the spirit of man after death, though separated from the body, is still able to retain its essential virtues and does not become easily dissipated. This is the ghost or disembodied spirit. The followers of Taoism and Buddhism often speak of immortality and everlasting liic. Accordingly they subject themselves to a course of discipline, in the hope that they may by this means attain to that happy Huddhistic or Taoistic existence. They aim merely to free the spirit from the limitations of the body. Taoist and Buddhist priests often speak of the rolls of spirits and the records of souls, and make frequent mention of heaven and hell. They seek to inculcate that the good will receive their due reward and the wicked will suffer eternal punishment. They mean to convey the idea, of course, that rewards ■p THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 485 and punishments will be dv ttlt out to the spirts of men after death according to their deserts. Such beliefs doubtless had their origin in attempts to influence the actions of men by appealing to their likes and dislikes. The purpose of inducing men to do good and forsake evil by presenting in striking contrast a hereafter to be striven for and a hereafter to be avoided is laudable enough in so'.iic respects. Hut it is the perpetuation of falsehood by slavishly clinging to errors that deserve condemnation. For this reason Confucianists do not accept such doctrines, though they make no attempt to suppress them. "We cannot as yet," says Confucius, "perform our duties to men; how can we perform our duties to spirits?" Again, he says: "We know not as yet about life; how can we know about death?" "From this time on," says Tsang-tze,"I know that I am saved." "Let my consistent actions remain," says Chang-tze/'and I shall die in peace." It will be seen that the wise and good men of China have never thought it advisable to give up teaching the duties of life and turn to speculations on the conditions of souls and spirits after death. But from various passages, in the "Book of Changes," it may be inferred that the souls of men after death are in the same state as they were before birth. . Why is it that Confucianists apply the word "ti" to heaven and not to spirits? The reason is that there is but one "ti," or .Supreme Ruler, the governor of all subordinate spirits, who cannot be said to be propitious or unpropitious, beneficent or maleficent. Inferior spirits, on the other hand, owe their existence to material substances. As substances have noxious or useful properties, so some spirits may be propitious, others unpropitious, and some benevolent, others malev- olent. Man is part of the material universe; the spirit of man, a spe- cies of spirits. All created things can be distributed into groups, and individuals of the same species are generally found together. A man, therefore, whose heart is good, must have a good spirit. By reason of the influ- ence exerted by one spirit upon another, a good spirit naturally tends to attract all other propitious and good spirits. This is happiness. Now, if every individual has a good heart, then from the action and reaction of spirit upon spirit, only propitious and good influences can flow. The country is blessed with prosperity; tlie government fulfills its purpose. What happiness can be compared with this? On the other hand, when a man has an evil heart his spirit cannot but be likewise evil. On account of the influence exerted by one spirit upon another, the call of this spirit naturally meets with ready responses from all other unpropitious and evil spirits. This is misery. If every individual harbors an evil heart, then a responsive chord is struck in all unpropitious and evil spirits. Kvil influences are scattered over the country. Misfortunes and calamities overtake the land. There is an end of good government. What misery can be compared with this? Thus, in the administration of public affairs, a wise legislator Good Hrart, Qood Spirit. 486 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \ ? ■ . I Decrees Heaven. I ■ of always takes into consideration the spirit of the times in devising means for the advancement and promotion of civilization. He puts his reliance on ceremonies and music to carry on the good work, and makes use of punishments and the sword as a last resort, in accord- ance with the good or bad tendency of the age. His aim is to restore the human heart to its pristine innocence by establishing a standard of goodness and by pointing out a way of salvation to every creature. The right principles of action can only be discovered by studying the waxing and waning of the active and passive elements of nature, as set forth in the"Bookof Changes,"and surely cannot be understood by those who believe in what priests call the dispensations of Provi- dence. Human affairs are made up of thousands of acts of individuals. What, therefore, constitutes a good action, and what a bad action? What is done for the sake of others is disinterested; a disinterested action is good and may be called beneficial. What is done for the sake of one's self is selfish; a selfish action is bad and naturally springs from avarice. .Suppose there is a man who has never entertained a good thought and never done a good deed, does it stand to reason that such a wretch can, by means of sacrifices and prayers, attain to the blessings of life? Let us take the opposite case and suppose that there is a man who has never harbored a bad thought and never done a bad deed, docs it stand to reason that there is no escape for such a man from adverse fortune except through prayers and sacrifices? "My prayers," says Confucius, " were offered up long ago." The meaning he wishes to convey is that he considers his prayers to consist in liv- ing a virtuous life and in constantly obeying the dictates of con- science. He, therefore, looks upon prayers as of no avail to deliver any one from sickness. "He who sins against heaven," again he says, "has no place to pray." What he means is that even spirits have no power to bestow blessings on those who have sinned against the decrees of heaven. The wise and the good, however, make use of offerings and sacrifices simply as a means of purifying themselves from the contam- ination of the world, so that they become susceptible of spiritual influences and be in sympathetic touch with the invisible world, to the end that calamities may be averted and blessings secured thereby. Still, sacrifices cannot be offered by all persons without distinction. Only the emperor can offer sacrifices to heaven. Only governors of provinces can offer sacrifices to the spirits of mountains and rivers, land and agriculture. Lower officers of the government can offer sac- rifices only to their ancestors of thf. five preceding generations, but are not allowed to offer sacrifices to heaven. The common people, of course, are likewise denied this privilege. They can offer sacrifices only to their ancestors. All persons, from the emperor down to the common people, are THE WORLUS CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 487 strictly required to observe the worship of ancestors. The only way in which a virtuous man and a dutiful son can show his sense of obligation to the authors of his being is to serve them when dead, as when they were alive, when departed as when present. It is for this rea on that the most enlightened rulers have always made filial duty the guiding prin- ciple of government. Observances of this character have nothing to do with religious celebrations and ceremonies. Toward the close of the Ming dynasty the local authorities of a certain district invited a priest from Tsoh to live in their midst. The people began to vie with one another in their eagerness to worship the new-fangled deities of Tsoh. Shortly afterward an invitation was extended to a priest from Yueh to settle there also. Then the people, in like manner, began to vie with one another in their eagerness to worship the new-fangled deities of Yueh. The Tsoh priest, stirred up with envy, declared to the people that the heaven he taught was the only true heaven, and the deities he served were the only true deities, adding, that by making use of his prayers they could obtain the for- j^iveness of their sins and the blessings of life, and if they did not make use of his prayers even the good could not attain to happiness. Me at the same time denounced the teachings of the Yueh priest as altogether false. The Yueh priest then returned the compliment in s'rnilar but more energetic language. Yet they made no attack on the inefficiency of prayers, the reason being that both employed the same kind of tools in carrying on their trade. To say that there are true and false deities is reasonable enough. But can heaven be so divided that one part may be designated as belonging to Tsoh and another part to Yuen? It is merely an attempt to practice on the credulity of men, to dogmatize on the dispensation of Providence, by saying that no blessings can fall to the lot of the good without prayer, and that prayer can turn into a blessing nC retribution that is sure to overtake the wicked. Tr'ne and False Deities. r ir > i i ( 1 f i 1 1 i :l I. Interior of the Mosque of Sultan Hassan. Genesis and Development of Con- fucianism. Paper by DR. ERNEST FABER, of Shanghai, China. N order to show the greater contrast in modern China and its Confurianism compared with China in the times of Confucius and RIencius and their teaching's, it seems best to invite both Confucius and Mencius to a short visit in the middle kingdom. On their arrival Mencius began to congratulate his great master on the success of his sage teachings, but Confucius would not accept congratulations until he had learned the cause of the success. He found that the spread of C nfucianism was brought about, not by the peaceful attrac- tion of neighboring states but by bloody wars and suppression. The constitution of the state was changed and ruins were everywhere. He no- ticed splendid temples dedicated to gods he had never heard of, while around these magnificent homes lived people who were poor and famine-stricken or who spent their lives opium smoking and gambling. He found that benevolent institutions were misman- aged and that the money which belonged to the poor found its way into the pockets of the respectable managers dressed in long silk robes. There had been changes in dress which chilled the hearts of Con- fucius and Mencius. They sighed when they saw women with dis- torted feet and men wearing queues. As they wandered along they found that sacrifices were made at graves, and that every one bowed down before the genii of good luck. In the colleges they found that most of the time was spent in empty routine and phraseology. There was no basis for the formation of character, Passing by a large bookstore they entered and looked about them in surprise at the thousands of books on the shelves. "Alas!" said Confucius, "I find here the same state of things I found in China 2,400 years ago. The very thing that induced me to clear the ancient literature of thousands of useless works, retaining only a few, filling 32 489 ■■ fl i PolifuciUB •i is ii In Honor of Funioai* Wom- an. 490 T//£ lyORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. five volumes, worthy to be transmitted to after ages. Is nothinfj left of my spirit anonjj the myriads of scholars professing to be my fol- lowers? Why do they not clear away the heaps of rubbish that have accumulated during twenty centuries? They should transmit the essence of former ages to the young generation as an inheritance of wisdom which they have put into practice and so increase." Going into a gentleman's house, they were invited to take chairs, and looked in vain for the mat spread on the ground. Tobacco pipes were handed to the sages, but they declined to smoke, saying that the ancients valued pure air most highly Seeing many arches erected in honor of famous women, they wondered that the fame of women should enter the streets and be proclaimed on highways. "The rule of antiquity is," said Confucius, "that nothing should be known of women outside the female departments, either good or evil." Then they found out that most of the arches were for females who had committed suicide, or who had cut a little flesh from their own bodies, from the arm or the thigh, as medicine for a sick parent. Others had refu.sed marriage to nurse their old parents. Arches were erected to a few who had reached an old age, and to a very few who had performed charita- ble woiks. Neither Confucius nor Mencius raised any objection to these arches, though they did not agree to some of the reasons given for their erection. They did not approve of the imperial sanction of the Taoist pope, the favors shown to Buddhism, and especially to the Lamas in Peking, the widespread superstition of spiritism, the worship of animals, fortune lolling, excesses and abuses in ancestral worship, theatrical performances, dragon festivals, idol processions and displays in the street, infanticide, prostitution, retribution made a prominent move in morals, codification of penal law, publication of the statutes of the empire and cessation of the imperial tours of inspection. Then they noted the progress of the west, the railroads, the steam engines and steamers of immense size moving on quickly, even against wind and tide. "Oh, my little children," said Confucius, "all ye who honor my name, the people of the west are in advance of you as the ancients were in advance of the rest of the world. Therefore, leain what they have good and correct their evil by what you have better. This is my meaning of the great principle of reciprocity." '*;'! 1 '^ Points of Qontact Between Qhristianity and ]V\ohammedanism. Paper by GEORGE WASHBURN, D. D., President of Robert College, Constantinople. T is not my purpose to enter upon any defense or criticism of Mohammedanism, but simply to state, as impartially as possible, its points of contact and contrast with Christianity. The chief difficulty in such a statement arises from the fact that there are as many dif- ferent opinions on theological questions among Moslems as among Christians, and that it is impossible to present any summary of Moham- medan doctrine which will be accepted by all. The faith of Islam is based primarily upon the Koran, which is believed to h:ve been delivered to the prophet at sundry times by. the angel Gabriel, and upon the traditions reporting the life and words of the prophet; and secondarily, upon the opinions of certain distin- guished theologians of the second century of the hegira, especially, for the Sunnis, of the four Imams, Hanife, Shafi, Malik and Ilannbel. The Shiites, or followers of Aali, reject these last with many of the received traditions, and hold opinions which the great body of Moslems regard as heretical. In addition to the two-fold divisions of Sunniis and Shiites and of the sects of the four Imams, there are said to be several hundred minor sects. It is, in fact, very difficult for an honest inquirer to determine! what is really essential to the faith. A distinguished Moslem states-| man and scholar once assured me that nothing was essential beyond a^ belief in the existence and unity of God. And several years ago the Sheik-ul-Islam, the highest authority in Constantinople, in a letter to a German inquirer, states that whoever confesses that there is but one God, and that Mohammed is his prophet, is a true Moslem, although to be a good one it is necessary to observe the five points of confes- • ■ ' 491 . ■-.,. What iH Es. Hiiutial t<> the MuHlem Faith. p 1 :' 1 i i- i : 1 1. ; !i' li . fjl II li I 492 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. H iHtoriciil Iti'luliiiiiN. ■i' li sion, prayer, fasting, almsgiving and pilgrimage; but the difficulty about this apparently simple definition in that belief in Mohammed as the prophet of God involves a belief in all his teaching, and we come back at once to the question what that teaching was. The great majority of Mohammedans believe in the Koran, the traditions and the teaching of the school of Hanife, and we cannot do better than to take these doctrines and compare them with what are generally regarded as the essential principles of Christianity. With this explanation we may discuss the relations of Christianity and Mohammedanism as historical, dogmatic and practical. It would hardly be necessary to speak in this connection of the historical relations of Christianity and Islam if they had not seemed, to some distinguished writers, so important as to justify the statement that Mohammedanism is a form and outgrowth of Christianity; in fact, essentially a Christian sect. Carlyle, for example, says: " Islam is definable as a confused form of Christianity." And Draper calls it "The southern reformation, akin to that in the north under Luther." Dean Stanley and Dr. Doel- linger make similar statements. While there is ascertain semblance of truth in their view, it seems 'to me not onl\' misleading but essentially false. Neither Mohammed nor any of his earlier followers had ever been Christians, and there is no satisfactory evidence that up to the time of his announcing his prophetic mission he had interested himself at all in Christianity. No such theory is necessary to account for \vi> mono- theism. The citizens of Mecca were mostly idolaters, but a few, known as Hanifs, were pure deists, and the doctrine of the unity of God was not unknown theoretically even by those who, in their idoL;!;ry, had practically abandoned it. The temple at Mecca was known as Beit ullah, the house of (iod. The name of the prophet's father was Abdallah, the servant of God, and "by Allah" was a common oath among the people. The one God was nominally recognized, but in fact forgotten in the worship of the stars, of Lat and Ozza and Manah, and of the 360 idols in the temple at Mecca. It was against this prevalent idolatry that Mohammed revolted, and he claimed that in so doing he had returned to the pure religion of Abraham. Still, Mohammedanism is no more a reformed Judaism than it is a form of Christianity. It was essentially a new religion. The Koran claimed to be a new and perfect revelation of the will of God, and from the time of the prophet's death to this day no Moslem has appealed to the ancient traditions of Arabia or to the Jewish or Christian Scriptures as the ground of his faith. The Koran and the traditions are sufficient and final. I believe that every ortho- dox Moslem regards Islam as a separate, di.stinct, and ab.solutely exclusive religion; and there is nothing to be gained by calling it a form of Christianity. But, after having set aside this unfounded state- ment, and fully acknowledged the independent origin of Islam, there is THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 408 still an historical relationship between it and Christianity which demands our attention « The prophet recognized the Christian and Jewish Scriptures as the word of God, although it cannot be proved that he had ever read them. They are mentioned 131 times in the Koran, but there is only one quotation from the Old Testament, and one from the New. The historical parts of the Koran correspond with the Talmud, and the writing current among the heretical Christian sects, such as Tho Koran the Protevangelium of James, the pseudo Matthew, and the Gospel mud. **"' ^*'" of the Nativity of Mary, rather than with the Bible. His informa- tion was probably obtained verbally from his Jewish and Cliristiau friends, wno seem, in some cases, to have deceived him intentionally. He seems to have believed their statements, that his coming was foretold in the Scriptures, and to have hoped for some years that they would accept him as their promised leader. His confidence in the Christians was proved by his sending his persecuted followers to take refuge with the Christian king of Abys- sinia. He had visited Christian Syria, and, if tradition can be trusted, he had some intimate Christian friends. With the Jews he was on still more intimate terms during his Inst years at Mecca and the first at Medina. Hut in the end he attacked and. destroyed the Jews and declared war against the Christians, making a distinction, however, in his treat- ment of idolaters and "the people of the Hook," allowing the latter, if they quietly submitted to his authority, to retain their religion on the condition of an annual payment of a tribute or ransom for their lives If, however, they resisted, the men were to be killed and the women and children sold as slaves (Koran, sura i.\ ). In the next world Jews, Christians and idolaters are alike consigned to eternal punish- ment in hell. Some have supposed that a verse in the second sura of the Koran was intended to teach a more charitable doctrine. It reads: ".Surely those who believe, whether Jews, Christians or Sabians, whoever be- lieveth in God and the last day, and tloth that which is right, they shall have their reward with the Lord. No fear shall come upon them, neither shall they be grieved." Hut Moslem commentators rightly understand this as only teaching that if Jews. Christians or Sabians become Moslems they will be saved, the phrase used being the com- mon one to express faith in Islam. In the third sura it is stated in so many words: " Whoever fol- loweth any other religion than Islam it shall not be accepted of him, and at the last day he shall be of those that perish." This is the orthodox doctrine; but it should be said that one meets with Moslems who take a more hopeful view of the ultimate fate of those who are sincere and honest followers of Christ. The question whether Mohammedanism has been in any way modified since the time of tiic prophet by its contact with Christianity 1 think every Moslem would answer in the negative. There is much 404 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELICrONS. Wido Divpr Kenco uf Fuitli. 'I' to be said on the other side, as, for example, it must seem to a Chris- tian student that the offices and qualities assigned to the prophet by the traditions, which arc not claimed for him in the Koran, must have been borrowed from the Christian teaching in regard to Christ; but we have not time to enter upon the discussion of this (juestion. In comparing the dogmatic statements of Islam and Christianity we must confine ourselves as strictly as possible to vhat is generally acknowledged to be essential in ea»-h faith. To go beyond this would be to enter upon a sea of speculation almost without limits, from which we could hope to bring back but little of any value to our present dis- cussion. It has been formally decided by various fetvas that the Koran re- tjuires belief in seven principal doctrines, and the confession of faith is this: "I believe on God, on the Angels, on the Hooks, on the Prophets, on the Judgment day, on the eternal Decrees of God Almighty concerning both good and evil, and on the Resurrection after death." There are many other things which a good Moslem is expected to believe, but these points arc fundamental. Taking these essential dogmas one by one we shall find that they agree with Christian doc- trine in their general .statement, although in their development there is a wide divergence of faith between the Christian and Moslem. First. The Doctrine of God This is stated by Omer Nessefi (A. D. 1 142), as follows: "God is one and eternal. He lives, and is almighty. He knows all things, hears all things, sees all things. He is endowed with will and action He has neither form nor .feature, neither bounds, limits nor numbers, neither parts, multiplications nor divisions, because He is neither body nor matter. He has neither beginning nor end. He is self-existent, without generation, dwelling or habitation. He is outside the empire of time, unequaled in His nature as in His attributes, which, without being foreign to His essence, do not constitute it." The Westminster catechism says: "God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. There is but one only, the living and true God." It will be seen that these statements differ chiefly in that the Christian gives special prominence to the moral attributes of God, and it has often been said that the God of Islam is simply a God of almighty power, while the God of Christianity is a God of infinite love and per- fect holiness; but this is not a fair statement of truth.. The ninety-nine names of God, which the good Moslem constantly repeats, assign these attributes to Him. The fourth name is "The Most Holy;" the twenty- ninth, "The Just;" the forty-sixth, "The All Loving;" the first and most common is "The Merciful," and the moral attributes are often referred to in the Koran. In truth, there is no conceivable perfection which the Moslem would neglect to attribute to God. Their conception of Him is that of an absolute Oriental Monarch, TIIL WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \\):^ tho CnriCi' ^-^Si^ and His unlimited power to do what He pleases makes entire submission to His will the first, most prominent duty. The name which they fjiivc to their religion implies tliis. It is Islam, which means submission or resignation; but a kinjj may be jjood or bad, wise or foolish, and the INIcjslem takes as much pains as the Christian to attribute to God all wisdom and all ({oodness. The essential difference in the Christian and Mohammedan con- ception of God lies in the fact that the Moslem does not think of this great King as having anything in common with His subjects, from whom He is infinitely removed. The idea of the incarnation of God in Christ is to them not only blasphemous but absurd and incompre- of UckI. hensible; and the idea of fellowship with God, which is expressed in calling Him our Father, is altogether foreign to Mohammedan thought. God is not immanent in the world in the Christian sense, but apart from the world and infinitely removed from man. .Second. The Doctrine of Degrees, or of the Sovereignty of God, is a fundamental principle of both Christianity and Islam. The Koran says: "God has from all eternity foreordained by an immutable decree all things whatsoever that come to pass, whether good or evil." The Westminister catechism says: "The decrees of God are His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His will, whereby for His own glory He hath foreordained whatever comes to pass." It is plain that these two statements do not essentially differ, and the same controversies have arisen over this doctrine among Moham- medans as among Christians with the same differences of opinion. Omer Nessefi says: 'Predestination refers not to the temporal, but to the spiritual state. Klccti.)n and reprobation decide the final fate of the soul, but in tem- poral affairs man is free." A Turkish confession of faith says: "Unbelief and wicked acts happen with the foreknowledge and will of God, but the effect of His predestination, written from eternity on the preserved tables, by His operation but not with His satisfaction. God foresees, wills, produces, loves all that is good, and docs not love unbelief and sin, though He wills and effects it. If it be asked why (jod wills and effects what is. evil and gives the devil power to tempt man, the answer is. He has His views of wisdom which it is not granted to us to know." Many Christian theologians would accept this statement without criticism, but in general they have been careful to guard against the idea that Goil is in any way the efficient cause of sin, and they gener- ally give to man a wider area of freedom than the orthodox Moham- medans. It cannot be denied th.it this doctrine of the decrees of God has degenerated into fatalism more generally among Moslems than among Christian?- J have never known a Mohammedan pf any sect who was DilTfl (•ii''< i!i III'. I t.N.-f \. 496 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. I! \l (iood and Evil Angels. not more or less a fatalist, notwithstanding the fact that there have, been Moslem theologians who have repudiated fatalism as vigorously as any Christians. In Christianity this doctrine has been offset by a different concep- tion of God, by a higher estimate of man, and by the who!.- scheme of redemption through faith in Christ. In Islam there is no such coun- teracting influence. Third. The other five doctrines we pass over with a single remark in regard to each. Both Moslems and Christians believe in the exist- ence of good and evil angels, and that God has revealed His will to man in certain inspired books, and both agree that the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are such books. The Moslem, however, believes that they have been superseded by the Koran, which was brought down from God by the angel Gabriel. They believe that this is His eternal and uncreated word; that its divine character is proved by its poetic beauty; that it has a miraculous power over men apart from what it teaches, so that the mere hearing of it, without understanding it, may heal the sick or convert the infidel. Both Christians and Mos- lems believe that God has sent prophets and apostles into the world to teach men His will; both believe in the judgment day and the resur- rection of the dead, the immortality of the soul, and rewards and pun- ishments in the future life. It will be seen that in simple statement the seven positive doc- trines of Islam are in harmony with Christian dogma; but in their ex- position and development the NewTestamentand the Koran part com- pany, and Christian and Moslem speculation evolve totally different conceptions, especially in regard to everything concerning the other world. It is in these expositions based upon the Koran {c. g., suras, Ivi, and Ixxviii), and still more upon the traditions, that we find the most striking contrasts between Christianity and Mohammedanism; but it is not easy for a Christian to state them in a way to satisfy Mos- lems, and as we have no time to quote authorities we may pass them over. Fourth. The essential dogmatic difference between Christianity and Islam is in regard to the person, office and work of Jesus Christ. The Koran expressly denies the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, His death, and the whole doctrine of the incarnation and the atonement, and rejects the sacraments which He ordained. It accepts His miraculous birth. His miracles, His moral perfec- tion, and His mission as an inspired prophet or teacher. It declares that He did not die on the cross, but was taken up to heaven without death, while the Jews crucified one like Him in His place. It conse- quently denies His resurrection from the dead, but claims that He will come again to rule the world before the day of judgment. It says that He will Himself testify before God that He never clainictl to be divine; this heresy originated with Paul. And at the same time the faith exalts Mohammed to very nearly the same position which Christ occupies in the Christian bcheme. He ■m^-^ THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 4J)7 it IFc never is not divine, and consequently not an object of worship, but he was the first created being; God's first and best beloved, the noblest of all creatures, the mediator between God and man, the greatest intercessor, the first to enter Paradise and the highest there. Although the Koran in many places speaks of him as a sinner in need of pardon (Kx., suras xxiii, xlvii, and xlviii), his absolute sinlessness is also an article of faith. The Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, is not mentioned in the Koran, and the Christian doctrine of His work of regeneration and sanctification seems to have been unknown to the prophet, who ^ represents the Christian doctrine of the Trinity as teaching that it consists of God the Father, Mary the Mother, and Christ the Son. The promise of Christ in the Gospel oi ,;ohn to send the Paraclete, the Prophet applies to Himself, reading Parakletos as Periklytos, which might be rendered in Arabic as Ahmed, another form of the name Mohammed. We have, then, in Islam a specific and final rejection and repudia- t tion of the Christian dogma of the Incarnation and the Trinity, and the substitution of Mohammed for Christ in most of his offices, but it should be noted in passing that, while this rejection grows out of a different conception of God, it has nothing in common with the scien- tific rationalistic unbelief of the present day. If it cannot conceive of God as incarnate in Jesus Christ, it is not from any doubt as to His , personality or His miraculous interference in the affairs of this worl^, or the reality of the supernatural. These ideas are fundamental to the faith of every orthodox Mohammedan, and are taught everywhere in the Koran. There are nominal Mohammedans who -are atheists, and others^ who are pantheists, of the Spinoza type. There are also some smalll „ sects who are rationalists, but after the fashion of old English deism jistflllmT'panl rather than of the niodern rationalism. The deistic rationalism is ^i'"*^- represented in that n')i,st interesting work of Justice Ameer Aali, "The Spirit 'of Islam." He speaks of Mohammed as Xenophon did of Socrates, and. he reveres Christ also, but he denies thatJihere was any-; thing supernatural in the inspiration or lives of either, and claims that Hanife and the other I mams vcorrupted Islam as he thinks Paul, the apostle, did Christianity; but this book does not represent Moham- medanism any more than Renan's "Life of Jesus" represents Christian- ity. These small rationalistic sects are looked upon by all orthodox Moslems as heretics of th<; worst description. The practical and ethical relations of Islam to Christianity arc even more interesting than the historical and dogmatic. The Moslepi code of morals is much nearer the Christian than is generally supposed on either side, although it is really more Jewish than Christian. The truth is that we judge each other harshly and unfairly by those who do not live up to the demands of their religion, instead of comparing the pious Moslem with the consistent Christian. We cannot enter here into a technical statement of the philosoph- iii I |!;i, l!!!* 498 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. \ \m Code ical development of the principles of law and morality as they arc given by the Imam Hanife and others. It would be incomprehensible without hours of explanation, and is really understood by but few Mohammedans, although the practical application of it is the substance of Mohammedan law. It is enough to say that the moral law is based upon the Koran, and the traditions of the life and sayings of the Prophet, enlarged by deductions and analogies. Whatever comes from these sources has the force and authority of a revealed law of God. The first practical duties inculcated in the religious code are: Confession of God and Mohammed, His prophet; Prayer at least five times a day; Fasting during the month of Ramazan, from dawn to sun- set; Alms to the annual am.ount of two and a half per cent on prop- erty; Pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a lifetime. A sixth dut\ , of equal importance, is taking part in sacred war, or war for religion, but .some orthodox Moslems hold that this is not a perpetual obliga- tion, and this seems to have been the opinion of Hanife. In addition to these primary duties of religion, the moral code, as given by Omer Nessefi, demands: Honesty in business; modesty or decency in behavior; fraternity between all Moslems; benevolence and kindness toward all creatures. It forbids gambling, music, the Thf Moral making or possessing of images, the drinking of into.xicating liquors, the taking of God's name in vain, and all false oaths. And, in general, Omer Nessefi adds: "It is an indispensable obligation for every Moslem to practice virtue and avoid vice; i. <., all that is contrary to religion, law, humanity, good manners and the duties of society. He ought especially to guard against deception, lying, slander and abuse of his neighbor." We may also add some specimen passages from the Koran: "God commands justice, benevolence and liberality. He forbids crime, iniustice and calumny." "Avoid sin in secret and in public. The wicked will receive the rewards of his deeds.'* "God promises His mercy and a brilliant recompense to those who add good works to their faith." "He who commits iniquit\- will lose his soul." "It is not righteousness that you turn }'our faces in prayer toward the east or the west; but righteousness is of him who bclioveth in God and the last day, and the angels and the prophets; who giveth money, for God's sake, to his kindred and to orphans, and to the needy and the stranger, and to those who ask, and for the redeiniition of capti\es; who is constant in prayer, and giveth alms; and of those \\ho])erform their covenant, and whc behave themselves ])atieiitl\' in adversity and hardships, and in time of violence. These are t'\c\' who are true, and these are they who fear God." So far, with one or two exceptions, these conceptions of the moral life are essentially the same as the Christian, although some distinctively Christiaj? virtues, such as mggkngss and humility, arc t emphasized. THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ,499 Beyond this we have a moral code equally binding in theory, and equally important in practice, which is not at all Christian, but is es- sentially the morality of the Talmud in the extreme value which it attaches to outward observances, such as fasting, pilgrimages and cer- emonial rites. All the concerns of life and death are hedged about with prescribed ceremonies, which are not simple matters of propriety, but of morality and religion; and it is impossible for one who has not lived among Moslems to realize the extent and importance of this ceremonial law. In regard to polygamy, divorce and slavery, the morality of Islam is in direct contrast with that of Christianity, and as the principles of PoiyBamy. the faith, so far as determined by the Koran and the traditions, are Biavery."* """^ fixed and unchangeable, no change in regard to the legality of these can be expected. They may be silently abandoned, but they can never be forbidden by law in any Mohammedan state. It should be said here, however, that, while the position of woman, as determined by the Koran, is one of inferiority and subjection, there is no truth whatever in the current idea that, according to the Koran, they have no souls, no hoi)c of immortality and no rights. This is an absolutely unfounded slaniler. Another contrast between the morality of the Koran and the New Testament is found in the spirit with wliich the faith is to be propa- gated. The Prophet led His armies to battle and founded a temporal kingdom by force of arms. The Koran is full of exhortation to fight for the faith. Christ founded a spiritual kingdom, which could only be extended by loving persuasion and the influence of the Holy Spirit. It is true that Christians have had their wars of religion, and have committed as many crimes against '.lumanity in the name of Ciirist as Moslems have ever committed in the name of the Prophet; but the opposite teaching on this -subject in the Koran and the New Testament is unmistakable, and involves different conceptions of mtjrality. .Such, in general, is the ethical code of Islam. In practice there are certainly many Moslems whose moral lives are irreproachable according to the Christian standard, who fear God, and in their deal- ings with men are honest, truthful and benevolent; who are temperate ill the gratification of their desires and cultivate a self-denying spirit, of whose sincere desire to do right there can be no doubt. There are those whose conceptions of pure spiritual religions seem to rival those of the Christian mystics. This is specially true of one or two sects of Dervishes. Some of th .'se sects are simply IMohammedan Neo-Platoiiists, and deal in magic, sorcery and purely physical means of attaining a state of ecstacy; but others are neither pantheists nor theosophists,«and seek to attain unity of spirit with a supreme, per- sonal God by spiritual means. Those who have had much acquaintance with Moslems know that in addition to these mystics there are many common people — as many women as men — who seem to have more or less clear ideas of spiritual life and strive to attain something higher than mere formal morality I 500 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. • \{ . it and verbal confession; who feel their personal unworthiness, and hope only in God. The following extract from one of many similar poems of Shereef Hanum, a Turkish Moslem lady of Constantnople, rendered into En- glish by Rev. H. O. Dwight, is certainly as spiritual in thought and language as most of the hymns sung in Christian churches: \ "O Source of Kindness and of Love Who givest aid all hopes above, 'Mid grief and guilt although I grope, From Thee I'll ne'er cut off my hope. ', My Lord, O my Lord! , Thou King of kings, dost know my need, Thy pardoning grace no bars can heed; Thou lov'st to help the helpless one. And bidd'st his cries of fear be done. My Lord, O my Lord! Should'st Thou refuse to still my fears, Who else will stop to dry my tears? For 1 am guilty, guilty still. No other one has done so ill. My Lord, O my Lord! The lost in torment stand aghast To see this rebel's sin so vast; What wonder, then, that Shereef cries For mercy, mercy, e'er she dies. My Lord, O my Lord!" These facts are important, not as proving that Mohammedanism is a spiritual faith in the .same sense as Christianity, for it is not, but as Spiritual Life showing that many Moslems do attain some degree, at least, of what Attained. Christians mean by spiritual life; while, as we must confess, it is equally possible for Christianity to degenerate into mere formalism. Notwithstanding the generally high tone of the Moslem code of morals, and the more or less Christian experienceof spiritually minded Mohammedans, I think that the chief distinction between Christian and Moslem morality lies in their different conceptions of the nature and consequences of sin. It is true that most of the theories advanced by Christian writers on theoretical ethics have found defenders among the Moslems; but Mohammedan law is based on the theory that right and wrong depend on legal enactment, and Mohammedan thought follows the same direction. y\n act is right because God has commanded it, or wrong because He has forbidden it. God may abrogate or change Mis laws, so that what was wrong may become right. Moral acts ha\e no inherent moral character, and what may be wrong for one may be right for another. So, for example, it is impossible to discuss the moral character of the prophet with an orthodox Moslem, because it is a sufficient answer to any criticism to say that God commanded or expressly permitted those acts which in other men would be wrong. There is, however, one sin which is in its very nature sinful, and THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 501 (irBve iinil Light Hins. which man is capable of knowing to be such; that is, the sin of deny- ing that there is one God, and that Mohammed is His prophet. Everything else depends on the arbitrary command of God, and may be arbitrarily forgiven; but this does not, and is consequently unpardon- able. For whoever dies in this sin there is no possible escape from eternal damnation. Of other sins some are grave and some are light, and it must not be supposed that the Moslem regards grave sins as of little conse- quence. He believes that sin is rebellion against infinite power, and that it cannot escape the notice of the all-seeing God, but must call ilown His wrath upon the sinner; so that even a good Moslem may be sent to hell to suffer torment for thousands of years before he is pardoned. Hut he believes that God is merciful; that "he is minded to make his religion light, because man has been created weak." (Koran, sura 4. ) If man has sinned against His arbitrary commands, God may ar- l)itrarily remit the penalty, on certain conditions, on the intercession of the Prophet, on account of the expiatory acts on the man's part or ill view of counterbalancing good works. At the worst, the Moslem will be sent to hell for a season and then be pardoned, out of consid- eration for his belief in God and the Prophet by divine mercy. Still, we need to repeat, the Moslem does not look upon sin as a light thing. Hut, notwithstanding this conception of the danger of sinning against God, the Mohammedan is very far from comprehending the Christian idea that right and wrong are inherent qualities in all moral actions; that (iod Himself is a moral being, doing what is right because it is right, and that He can no more pardon sin arbitrarily than He can make a wrong action right; that He could not be just and yet justify the sinner without the atonement made by the incarnation and the suf- fering and the death of Jesus Christ. They do not realize that sin itself is corruption and death; that mere escape from hell is not eternal life, but that the sinful soul must be regenerated and sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit before it can know the joy of beatific vision. Wiiether 1 have correctly stated the fundamental difference between the Christian and Mohammedan conceptions of sin, no one uiio has had Moslem friends can have failed to realize that the differ- ence exists, for it is extremely difficult, almost impossible, for Chris- tians and Moslems to understand one another when the question of sin is discussed. There seems to be a hereditary incapacity in the Moslem to comprehend this essential basis of Christian morality. Mohammeilan morality is also differentiated from the Christian by its fatalistic interpretation of the doctrine of the Decrees. The .Moslem who reads in the Koran, "As for every man we have firmly fixed his fate about his neck," and the many similar passages, who is taught that at least so far as the future life is concerned his fate has *''* i>«crees, been fixed from eternity by an arbitrary and irrevocable decree, natur- ally falls into fatalism; not absolute fatalism, for the Moslem, as we Doctrine of ' 11 a-f! •s5» ' il I 502 THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ■^- '*"^? J liUiW Will unci Vi'. sire. Inflnenco of the Prophet'M Life. have seen, has his strict code of morality and his burdensome cere- monial law, but at least such a measure of fatalism as weakens his sense of personal responsibility, and leaves him to look upon the whole Christian scheme of redemption as unnecessary, if not absiud. It is perhaps also due to the fatalistic tendency of Mohammedan thou<;ht that the Moslem has a very different conception from the Christian of the relation of the will to the desires and passions. He does not distinguish between them, but regards will and desire as one and the same, and seeks to avoid temptation rather than resist it. Of conversion, in the Christian sense, he has no conception — of that change of heart which makes the regenerated will the master of the soul, to dominate its passions, control the desires and lead men on to final victory over sin and death. There is one other point concerning Mohammedan morality of which I wish to speak with all possible delicacy, but which c;innot be passed over in silence. It is the influence of the prophet's life upon that of his followers. The Moslem world accepts him, as Christians do Christ, as the ideal man, the best beloved of God, and consequently their conception of his life exerts an important influence upon their practical morality. I have said nothing, thus far, of the personal character of the prophet, because it is too difficult a question to discuss in this connec- tion; but I may say, in a word, that my own impression is that, from first to last, he sincerely and honestly believed himself to be a super- naturally inspired prophet of God. I have no wish to think any z\\\ of him, for he was certainly one of the most remarkable men that the world has ever seen. I should rejoice to know that he was such a man as he is represented to be in Ameer Aali's "Spirit of Islam," for the world would be richer for having such a man in it. But whatever may have been his real character, he is known to Moslems chiefly through the traditions; and these, taken as a whole, present to us a totally different man from the Christ of the Gospels. As we have seen, the Moslem code of morals commands and forbids essentially the same things as the Christian; but the Moslem finds in the traditions a mass of stories in regard to the life and savings of the prophet, many of which arealtogether inconsistent with Christian ideas of morality, and whichni ke the impression that many things forbidden are at least excusable. There are many nominal Christians who lead lives as corrupt as any Moslems, but they find no excuse for it in the life of Christ. They know that they are Christians only in name; while, under the influence of the traditions, the Mohammedan may have such a conception of the prophet that, in spite of his immorality, he may still believe him- self a true Moslem. If Moslems generally believed in such a prophet as is described in the "Spirit of Islam," it would greatly modify the tone of Mohanmiedan life, VVc have n presented, as briefly and impartially as possible, the THE WORLD'S COxXGRESS OF RELIGIONS. 503 Mntnally Kx- (•luHive. puints of contact and contrast between Christianity and Islam, as his- torical, dogmatic and ethical. VVe have seen that while there is a broad, common ground of be- lief and sympathy, while we may confidently believe as Christians that God is leading many pious Moslems by the influence of the Holy Spirit, and saving them through the atonement of Jesus Christ, in spite of what we believe to be their errors of doctrine, these two religions arc still mutually exclusive and irreconcilable. The general points of agreement are that we both believe that there is one supreme, personal God; that we are bound to worship Him; that we are under obligation to live a pious, virtuous life; that we arc bound to repent of our sins and forsake them; that the soul is immortal, and that we shall be rewarded or punished in the future life for our deeds here; that God has revealed His will to the world through prophets and apostles, and that the Holy Scriptures arc the word of God. These are most important grounds of agreement and mutual re- spect, but the points of contrast are equally impressive. The supreme God of Christianity is immanent in the world, was incarnate in Christ, and is ever seeking to bring His children into lov- ing fellowship with Himself. The Ciud of Islam is ai)art from tl.e world, an absolute monarch, who is wise and mercilul, but infinitely removed from man. Christianity recognizes the freedom of man, and magnifies the guilt and corrujition of sin, but at the same time offers a way of recon- ciliation and redemption from sin and its consequences through the atonement of a Divine Saviour and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Mohammedanism minimizes the freedom of man and the guilt of sin, makes little account of its corrupting influence in the soul and offers no plan of redemption except that of repentance and good works. Christianity finds its ideal man in the Christ of the Gospels; the Mcvslem finds his in the Prophet of the Koran and the Traditions. Other i)oints of contrast have been mentioned, but the funda- mental difference between the two religions is found in these. This is not the place to discuss the probable future of these two great and aggressive religions, but there is one fact bearing upon this point which comes within the scope of tliis paper. Christianity is essentially progressive, while Mohanmiedanism is unprogressive and stationary. In their origin Christianity and Islam are both Asiatic, both Sem- itic, and Jerusalem is but a few hundred miles from Mecca. In regard to the number of their adherents, both have steadily increased from TwoR«UgiV the beginning to the present day. After 1,900 years Christianity numbers 400,000,000, and Islam, after 1,300 years, 200,000,000; but .Mohammedanism has been practically confined to Asia and Africa, while Christianity has been the religion of Europe and the New World, and politically it rules over all the world, except China and Turkey. Future of tlie i ■ \'i i I' i M tr 1 pi ! ■ ; « 1 i 1 JLil 504 iW^- WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS Monammedanism has been identified with a stationary civilization, and Christianity with a progressive one. There was a time from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries, when science and philosophy flourished at Bagdad and Cordova under Moslem rule, while darkness reigned in Europe; but Renan has shown that this brilliant period was neither Arab nor Mohammedan in its spirit or origin; and although his statements may admit of some modification, it is certain that, however brilliant while it lasted, this period has left no trace in the Moslem faith, unless it be in the philosophical basis of Moham- medan law, while Christianity has led the way in the progress of modern civilization. Both these are positive religions. Each claims to rest upon a divine revelation, which is, in its nature, final and unchangeable; yet the one is stationary and the other progressive. The one is based upon what it believes to be divine commands, and the other upon di- vine principles; just the difference that there is between the law of Sinai and the law of Love, the Ten Commandments and the two. The ten are specific and unchangeable; the two admit of ever new and pro- gressive application. Whether in prayer or in search of truth, the Moslem must always turn his face to Mecca and to a revelation made once for all to the prophet; and I think that Moslems generally take pride in the feeling that their faith is complete in itself, and as unchangeable as Mount Ararat. It cannot progress because it is already perfect. The Christian, on the other hand, believes in a living Christ, who was indeed crucified at Jerusalem, but rose from the dead and is now present everywhere, leading His people on to ever broader and higher conceptions of truth, and ever new applications of it to the life of humanity: and the Christian church, with some exceptions, perhaps, recognizes the fact that the perfection of its faith consists not in its immobility but in its adaptability to every stage of human enlighten- ment. If progress is to continue to be the watchword of civilization, the faith which is to dominate this civilization must also be pro- gressive It would have been pleasant to speak here today only of the broad field of sympathy which these two great religions occupy in common, but it would have been as unjust to the Moslem as to the Christian If I have represented his faith as fairly as I have sought to do, he will be the first to applaud. No true Moslem or Christian believes that these two great relig- ions are essentially the same, or that they can be merged by compro- mise in a jcommon eclectic faith. We know that they are mutually ex- clusive, and it is only by a fair and honest comparison of differences that we can work together for the many ends which we have in com- mon, or judge of the truth in those things in which we differ. ivilization, ; from the hilosophy ; darkness int period igin; and is certain o trace in Moham- ogress of t upon a able; yet is based upon di- he law of two. The and pro- 3t always 11 to the e feeling 3 Mount rist, who d is now d higher e life of perhaps, ot in its ilighten- lization, be pro- ' of the cupy in to the )ught to It rclig- ompro- allyex- erences in com- f* \m M 'ill' i'i« M a 1 (4 s w J3 M 3 o H /America's D^^y to Qhina Paper by DR. W. A. P. MARTIN, of Peking, China MONG the hundreds of inviting themes of- fered in the official programme,! have select- ed this because it is pregnant with live issues, and because in a parliament of religions no subject is more fitting than that of duty. A religion that withdraws men from the active duties of life and leads them to consume their brief span of earthly existence in fruit- less contemplation, or one that exalts cere- monial observances, at the expense of jus-, tice and charity, has forgotten the mission' of a heaven-sent faith. The seal of religion is the .sanction which it lends to morality. This is what St. James means when he says that "pure and undefiled religion is to visit the widow and the father- less in their affliction; and to keep one's self unspotted from the world." The same conception is set forth in the eighty- fifth psalm, in that beautiful picture of heaven and earth combining to give birth to truth, mercy and righteousness: " Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springeth out of the earth. Righteousness hath looked down from heaven." There is not a religion worthy of the name that docs not in some degree exert this kind of elevating and sanctifying influence. But it is not claiming too much for Christianity to assert that beyond all other systems it has made its influence felt in the morality of individuals and of nations. It is like the sun, which not only floods the earth with light, but impart.5 the force that enables her to pursue her pathway. It has been well said "that it is one of the glories of Christianity that it has caused the sentiment of repentance to find a place in the heart of nations." This is the sentiment that I desire to evoke, and I trust that the views presented in this paper will in some measure contribute to the promotion of a public opinion, which will not merely check the prevailing tendency to private and legislative outrage on our Chinese neighbors, but stimulate to increased efforts for the promotion of their i)0? luflucnce of Christianity. 'A ri.i; i nm THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. Onr Imlphted- nt)B8 to China ^^' • welfare. "The duty of nations," says Montesquieu, "is, in peace to do good to each other, and in war to do as little harm as possible;" - a maxim which expresses the essence of Christian ethics, and one which could not have sprung up in any other than a Christian soil. Hefore taking up the discussion of our specific duties let us for a moment take a view of our indebtedness to China. The word duty in its primary sense signifies what we owe. Gathering a fullness of mean- ing and rising with the growth of morals and the development of lan- guage, it finally attains the conception of what we ought, signifying in the first instance an obligation to make a return for benefits received, and in its higher sense that which we are impelled to do from any consideration that binds the conscience. In either sphere we shall dis- cover a number of weighty obligations which we have to discharge to- ward the people of China. To begin with those of the lower order — our obligations for bene- fits received: Rich are the gifts which that ancient empire has poured into the lap of our western civilization; gifts, which like air and sun- shine, we enjoy without taking the trouble to reflect on their origin, though their withdrawal would carry a sense of grievous loss into every household. Here, where the products of inventive genius are so profoundly displayed, let it not be forgotten that to China we are indebted for the best of our domestic beverages; for the elegant ware that adorns our table, and for those splendid dress materials that set off the beauty of our women. To China, moreover, we arc indebted for at least one of our sciences, one which is doing more than any other to transform and subjugate the elements. For, as I have shown in a paper devoted to that inquiry, alchemy, the mother of our modern chemistry, though reaching Europe by way of India, Byzantium and Arabia, had its orig- inal root in the Chinese philosophy of Tao, one of the religions repre- sented here today. Its votaries, seizing on a hint of the transmuta- tions of matter which they found in that oldest of the sacred books two thousand years ago, of their country, the Yi Kingoriiook of Changes, notonly conceived the ideaof obtaining gold from baser metals, but came to believe in the possibility of evolving from this perishable body an imperishable spiritual existence. Thus; at that early date, we find amon^f the Chinese the search for the secret of making gold and com- pounding the elixir of immortality — the twin pursuits that have fired the ambition of alchemists in all subsequent ages. Are not these few items, if taken alone, suOTicient to warrant the inference that the nation which originated such things is not unde- serving of respect, as a benefactor of the human race? But I hasten to emphasize another obligation which connects itself directly with the great event commemorated by this Columbian exhi- bition. For to China, beyond a doubt, we are indebted for the motive that stimulated the Genoese navigator to undertake his adventurous voyage, and to her he was indebted for the needle that guided him on his way. Being an Italian, he was familiar with the marvelous narra- K THE WORLD'S CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS. ROO tivc of Marco Polo's residence at the court of Kublai Khan (A. D- 1280), in Combalar, the present city of I'ckinjj. His imajrination was filleil with the splendors of Cathay, the name that Polo ^ivcs to China from the Kitai Mongols, to whose sway it was then subject; and be it remembered, that at that epoch Europe was far in the wake of China, both in wealth and civilization, her only pre-eminence consisting in the possession of those undeveloped germs of religion and science which since that day have transformed the globe. The doctrine of the earth's rotundity, which was not new, but which he was the first to make subservient to maritime enterprise, assured Columbus that the ocean, on which he looked, must have a farther shore, and that by crossing it to the west he miglrt arrive at the Asi- atic Eldorado after passing the island empire of Zipangu, never dreaming that the ocean held in its bosom a new world, which stretched almost from pole to pole and barred his westward course. Convinceii as he was that by steering to the west he might arrive at tl.at land of wealth and culture, without the aid of the mariner's compass he would have been powerless to pursue such course. In- deed, but for the assistance of that mysterious pilot, he never would have dared to leave behind him coast and headland, and to plunge into a vast unknown where clouds and fogs might deprive him of sun and stars. "I.oiin lay tlie ocean paths from him concealed; I.ij;ht came from heaven, the magnet was revealed. Then first Columbus, with the graspini; hand Of mighty genius, weighed the sea and hind. There seeme