LIBRARY <>F Tin. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Accession 86128 Cfes , *^ar< 1?%^ ' * m -. . MY CREED BY M. J. SAVAGE BOSTON GEO. H. ELLIS, 141 FRANKLIN STREET 1897 COPYRIGHT BY GEORGE H. ELLIS 1887 ^Dedication* I DREAM of one to whom my thought will speak, One who will share the hooe that ever sings The new-creation song of fairer things That all true souls in all the ages seek. In such a dream I refuge find when weak, When courage flows not from its wonted springs, And all my schemes seem vain imaginings On which the Fates their hard revenges wreak. To such a one as this I dedicate My reading of time's forces and their drift, Of what I hold is purpose in the maze That makes the tangle of our human fate : For such a soul will feel and help the lift Of love divine that bringeth better days. 86128 Every sensible man must have a creed. He who says, "I have no creed," or " I don't believe in creeds," gives expression to one of two beliefs: I. That well-grounded opinions are unat- tainable; or, 2. That they are unimportant; and either of these opinions is itself a creed, though a very poor one. CONTENTS I. OUTGROWING THE OLD BELIEFS, 9 II. WHAT LIGHT HAVE WE TO GUIDE us ? . . . 28 III. RELIGION, 43 IV. GOD, 57 V. REVELATION, 72 VI. Is THIS A GOOD WORLD? 87 VII. MORAL FOUNDATIONS, 102 VIII. COMMUNION OF THE FINITE WITH THE INFI- NITE, 117 IX. THE CHURCH, 132 X. SALVATION, 145 XI. THE DEBT OF RELIGION TO SCIENCE, . . . 161 XII. IMMORTALITY AND MODERN THOUGHT, . . . 181 OUTGROWING THE OLD BELIEFS. EVERY religion implies a theology; that is, a scheme or system of thought underlying it, out of which it springs and which in some general way, at least, it matches part by part. There is a great deal of loose talk in the modern world in favor of religion and against theology ; and it seems to me to imply only a lack of clear thought. Persons who are opposing theology are opposing some definite kind of the- ology. If they are wise, they are not opposing theology itself. Every religion, with its theology, implies some sort of conception of the universe, and springs out of a cosmol- ogy to which it is fitted in some general way. No matter whether the person who holds his religious or theological opinions has thought about it or not, there is underlying his religion a theory of things ; a certain way of thinking about the world, its origin, its nature ; a certain way of thinking about God, his character, his method, his purposes ; a cer- tain way of thinking about man, as to what sort of being he is, where he came from, what his destiny is likely to be. Religion, then, springs out of and bases itself on a cosmol- ogy, a science of things. But, when the question is raised among us to-day whether science is a proper thing to refer to in the pulpit, it seems to be entirely forgotten that the very first words of the Bible are scientific. It begins with stating the scientific conception of the universe which was IO My Creed held at that time, and out of which the religious thought and emotion naturally and necessarily sprung. It follows from this that, when there passes any great change over the scientific thought of men, there must of necessity go along with it a corresponding change in theo- logical thought and religious feeling. The one must of ne- cessity draw after it the other ; that is, provided men think clearly and follow out the lines of their thinking. There have been great changes in the religious concep- tions of the universe many times in the past. When Chris- tianity superseded Paganism as the religion of the Roman Empire, it was little less than the creation of a new world of thought, of feeling ; and, by as much as the old scientific conceptions of the Hebrews were adopted along with the religion, it gave a changed conception of the physical uni- verse, so that it really created a new world for people to live in. When the American continent was discovered, it so changed the conceptions of the great mass of the people that they found themselves living in what was again prac- tically a new world. And when the Ptolemaic concep- tion of the universe gave place to the Copernican, once more, in a profounder and wider-reaching sense still, people found themselves the inhabitants of a new universe. All these were great and even fundamental changes ; but we to-day are passing through a change profounder, farther- reaching in its results, than either of these. It is in the air. We talk about it lightly, newspapers refer to it, magazine articles are written about it; yet only a few people have waked up to comprehend just how much it means, and what are to be its far-reaching results. The world we live in to-day is a new world, a world less than half a century old. It is made up of the same sun, the same stars, the same old earth ; and yet our conception of Outgrowing the Old Beliefs n these is undergoing so radical a change that it is not too much to say we have a new earth, a new sun, new stars, a new God, a new humanity, a new religion, a new church, a new outlook for humanity. We may say in language calm, and yet without taking away one jot or one tittle from its meaning, what was said by the author of the Book of Reve- lation hundreds of years ago, "The first heaven and the first earth are passed away " ; and the voice of the Eternal is heard, saying, " Behold, I make all things new." The scope of the course of sermons upon which we are entering to-day proposes, first, to deal with this transition, to indicate some of the main outlines of the change from the old belief to the new one ; then, in succeeding sermons, to take up and answer the question as to what we have left, what are the great fundamental beliefs which, so far as we can see, are so much a part of the nature of things that they are not likely to be disturbed or to pass away. There are thousands of persons who are feeling the change that is going on, and are wondering whether anything is going to be left. All things seem in flux, in movement. As they look on, they become dizzy; and they mistake their own dizziness for an unsettled condition of God's universe. It seems to me, then, that we can render no better service to men than to outline the change that is going on, and to see what are the great fundamental, eternal principles that are part of the universe itself. The task of this morning is to be to outline, so far as time will permit, this change, this -transition from the old world to the new. As I face the question, there are two methods before me, one of which I must follow. Shall I treat it ab- stractly, simply dealing with principles, outlining the position in which the world stood half a century ago, pointing out 12 My Creed some of the principal points of change, and attempting to indicate where the world stands, intellectually and spiritually, at this hour? Shall I do this? Or shall I give to this story a personal flavor by relating something of my own expe- rience, showing how I left the old and what road I followed in coming into the new ? It would seem somewhat more mod- est, perhaps, to follow the first method ; but there is always an added interest in that which has about it the flavor of per- sonal experience. For there is nothing in which we are so much interested as in people, what they think, how they feel, how the world looks to them, which way they are mov- ing. The difference is like that which one might follow in indicating the course pursued in a journey from one city to another. One might describe the first city, tell how far it is to the next, indicate what towns lie along the road, the nat- ure of the country, the mountains, valleys, streams that must be crossed, and leave it there. Or one may relate the story of his own personal journey from one city to the other, stating how he was impressed by what he saw, and giving some of the personal incidents that befell him by the way. It seems to me plain that the latter would be the more inter- esting method of the two. I trust, then, that I may be ex- empted from any charge of egotism if I choose the latter method, when I say that any man who can simply and plainly tell the story of his own religious experience in passing from the old faith into the new is telling not merely his own story, he is telling the story of thousands of others. But, if I am to treat it in this way, there is only one person's story that I am fitted to tell, the one with which I am acquainted, my own. You will let me say farther that I have no sort of feeling that the personal incidents of my own experience are of any value in themselves. They only stand as symbols of that Outgrowing the Old Beliefs 13 which we all hold in common ; and so I trust that you who have passed over substantially the same road will be think- ing not so much of my experience as of your own, and of the parallels that may suggest themselves along the way. I confess that, even after having decided to follow this method, as I stand here and look you in the faces, I shrink from it, especially from attempting to speak in this way. I could better read it, if I had it written ; for, then, I should be able to lose myself somewhat in my paper, as I cannot while your eyes are facing me. But let me, as simply as I may, tell this story ; and I shall weave into it as little of my own personal experience as possible, and thus I shall make it as much a story of all men as I am able to do. My father was trained as a child in the extremest form of the old Calvinism. Among the earliest recollections of my boyhood is listening to him as he told about the sermons which he used to hear, and as he spoke of the moral revolt which he felt as he listened to the doctrines of fore-ordina- tion, of the total depravity of men, and all that cast-iron relig- ion, as of fate, in which the souls of men were held and led from the cradle to the grave, and on into the darkness of the future. As soon as he was able to think and act for himself, he cast off this old belief ; and as the best thing he could do, under the circumstances, when he was, as he supposed, converted, he became a member of the Free-will Baptist church, in open revolt against the doctrines of Calvinism. In his early manhood, however, he moved away from the town of his birth to a place where there was no Free-will Baptist church, only a Methodist and Calvinistic societies. Finding himself still in revolt, and in sympathy with this doctrine of freedom as opposed to the old Calvinistic ideas, he became a member of the Methodist church. They, how- ever, held service but once a month, the town being part of 14 My Creed a circuit. The other three Sundays we were obliged to stay at home or to attend a Calvinistic church. We generally went to the Congregationalist church three Sundays and the Methodist the fourth. There were, however, class-meetings and prayer-meetings that I remember attending frequently with father and mother when I was a little boy. I grew up, then, in the country, in the midst of this intense religious atmosphere, without ever having the question sug- gested as to its divine authority and infallibility. I was, I suppose, and so far as I can remember, a "good" boy. I make no claims on the score of that, however. I only speak of it to emphasize the fact that, though regarding myself and being regarded as a good boy, in popular par- lance, I never connected this with the idea of salvation or safety in another world. From my earliest thought on the subject, I grew up in the unquestioning belief that I must experience a " change of heart," or I could have no hope of salvation in the future world. So all my childhood long, as I looked up at the clouds and saw them drift across the bright blue, as I lay upon my back under the trees and watched the shadows, I dreamed of eternity, I dreamed of a very definite heaven only a little way above the sky. I dreamed of quite as definite a hell ; and I can remember how I used to try to imagine eternity until my mind drooped weary, as if in a swoon, from the impossible task. I verily believed if I should happen to die, as some of my school- mates did, before my experiencing this change of heart, I should not be able to enter the gates of the city of which I dreamed, but that my destiny would lead me another way. It was natural, then, that I should think very much over this matter of conversion. When the minister came to call on us, I always expected that he would talk to me of the safety of my soul ; and there were friends of my father and Outgrowing tJie Old Beliefs 15 mother who, faithfully as they believed, faithfully, as I be- lieve, from the stand-point which they occupied, took every occasion to warn me of the danger in which I was living from day to day. I do not wonder at them as I look back. I rather wonder that there are any men, women, or children \vho are themselves Christians, who believe these things, who do not thus show their interest in the welfare of the souls of others. So long as the old minister the last one who was settled for life in the Congregational parish was living, there was no revival of religion, so far as I remember. But a young minister, fresh from the seminary, kindled with enthusiasm, came to be the minister of the church ; and he at once set about what I have heard in the country called "getting up a revival of religion." I believe, from his stand- point, he was doing that which he ought to have done. His first work was to have a revival in the church. He ap- pointed committees to visit the whole parish from house to house, he himself going with them, talking and praying with the members of the church, to rouse them to some sense of their duty and the work which they ought to be accomplish- ing for the salvation of their fellow-men. I remember the time when he came to our house, and talked with us and prayed. In the winter following that there was a revival of religion ; and large numbers of people Were added to the membership of the church. During the winter of 1855 there was one of the most wide-spread revivals of religion with which I have ever been acquainted. It swept so far as I knew, then from North to South, and from East to West. There was an intense religious feeling and religious activity in our town. Hardly a man, woman, or child who was not touched by it, either by sympathy or opposition. I made up my mind at that time, as large numbers of my friends and 1 6 My Creed schoolmates had become members of the church, that this was the time for me to experience this change, if possible. There were not only preaching services on Sunday, and Sunday-school, the main work of which was to convert chil- dren, but Sunday evening prayer-meeting and several prayer- meetings during the week, part of the time every night. Then the young people had their own meetings in private houses, to influence their friends and schoolmates. I remem- ber how I envied some of them. There were two or three whose faces were bright, and who seemed moved with the joy of their new faith, who told us they were never so happy in their lives, and urged us unceasingly to pass through the same great change. But how? I supposed that, first, I must experience some remarkable conviction of sin, that I must feel that I had been very wicked; and that in some marvellous moment would come a sense of forgiveness, and light and joy. I was told that there were two kinds of sin, original, that inherited from Adam, and that which was the result of our own personal action. But I could not, try as I would, feel myself guilty in either way. I could feel sorry for Adam ; but I could not feel sorry for his sin in the sense of its having anything to do with me, try as I might. And I am afraid, along with my sorrow, there was a sense of admiration. It seemed to me a grand thing in Adam that he did not let Eve bear the punishment alone, but that he decided to take his chances along with her. Nor could I feel very guilty about my own sins ; for I could not see what they could be. I had tried all my life not to be a sinner. I think there may have been a little spiritual pride about it. I looked about among my schoolmates, and thought, if I were like certain of them, I could feel guilty ; for they seemed to be anything but model boys. But I had tried to live a right life ; and I found it difficult to experience this sense of guilt. Outgrowing the Old Beliefs 17 But one night I came home from prayer-meeting late. Every one but myself had gone to sleep ; and I was alone in the old country farm-house. There was a bright winter moon, and no need of light except that which streamed in at the windows. There was no fire except in the farm-house kitchen. Here I sat down, and made up my mind that I would not leave that room until I had, as I said, given my- self to God. So I knelt in prayer, and told God that I would not cease praying till he came to my relief. A change of feeling did come over me ; and I believed myself pardoned, and a great joy was in my heart. And I went to bed that night, for the first time in my life, feeling the assurance that, if I did not wake up in the morning, I had some chance of find- ing myself in the bright, eternal city of the blessed. This joy lasted for a few days ; and then a great change came over me, perhaps only a nervous reaction, as a result of the strain I had been going through. But I found myself depressed and in great doubt. I was in doubt whether, after all, this experience had been genuine. I had heard it preached over and over again that a large number of those persons who thought that they were converted were mis- taken, that there were few only who would be saved. And so I began to torment myself with the thought that probably I was not one of the chosen, and that my experience had been spurious. I look back at myself with pity, as I review the weeks that followed. Night after night, I was only thirteen years old, I lay down upon a pillow wet with my tears, rising frequently to pray, finding no relief, and at last sinking to sleep in sheer despair, trying to reawaken the confidence of my having been accepted with God. It did not come. Friends, father, mother, brother, and ministers all tried to help me, but in vain. At last, I gave it up, thinking I had done all I could, and that perhaps the experience was 1 8 My Creed genuine. Along with many others, I then became a member of the Congregational church. I stood by and heard the creed read, almost no part of which did I understand. No one had made the attempt to make me understand it. No one had gone over it with me. I was expected to accept it in this public manner ; and I did so. As I grew older, the question of my after course in life came up. I can remember, when the stage came in, for the cars did not run to our village then, being fascinated with this glimpse of life from another world ; and I thought that nothing could be finer than to be a stage-driver. I was also interested in the work of the blacksmith and the shoemaker, and thought that here were careers good for any man. But, as I grew older, I do not remember when I did not expect to be a minister. When I went to the missionary concert, and saw the maps of the heathen lands and heard the appeals made in their behalf, I felt that probably I should become a missionary to the heathen. During this time, I had my first experience of scepticism. There was a young man, a student from Bowdoin College, who used to come to our village, and who was pointed out to me as a man who did not believe in the reality of the story of Adam and Eve in the garden ; and I remember I looked at him with a sort of horror, and wondered how any one so wicked was permitted to live. Perhaps I thought of that story of Paul on the Island of Melita, where the viper came out and fastened on his hand, and those that looked on ex- pected the judgment of God to visit him for his sins. It never occurred to me that this young man might be wiser than any of us, and thus have a basis for his doubt. When I went to the theological seminary, I was still firmly grounded in my belief ; and, while there, it never occurred to me, from anything that teachers said to us, that we were Outgrowing freely to discuss the great problems of religion. We were taught to accept them without question. We were treated as though we were religious cadets at a theological West Point, not seekers after truth, but persons to be trained in the belief that such and such things were so, and that we were to be ready to go out and fight for them against the world. That was the type of religious training through which I passed in fitting for the ministry. I have been asked many times why, if these modern ideas are true, the min- isters trained in the old faith are not more ready to accept them. When I look back to the kind of training through which I went, the answer is plain enough : they are taught not to be fearless truth-seekers, but to accept certain things as true, and to defend them against the world, an attitude the most utterly incompatible with the free consideration of great themes and the acceptance of light from any quarter from which it may come. When I left the seminary, instead of settling in some quiet country town, I was desirous of seeing something of pioneer life, of doing some missionary work, of standing on my own feet, of going to some piace where a minister was merely a man, and where he must make his own way on the basis of what he could say and do. So I took a commission from the Home Missionary Society, and went to California, and began my work by preaching in a school-house. Through the three years that I was there, I was still earnest in the old belief, and for some time engaged with the evangelist, Mr. Earle, in revival work. No question of the reality of these beliefs ever entered my mind in any serious fashion. I almost regretted leaving New England ; for I regarded the Unitarian heresy as so serious a matter that I wanted to be on the field, that I might fight it. 2O My Creed Family matters brought me back again. On my return, I preached in the Shawmut and Park Street churches, where, I presume, I should hardly be welcome at the present time. I needed at that time to make a home, not only for myself, but for my father and mother, who were old j and I settled in Framingham. There I first came in contact with Unita- rianism. But what I saw and knew of it, through the con- versations I had with a friend who had been a Unitarian clergyman, only set me more and more against it. This put me in a position of antagonism, making me feel that here was a battle to be fought. To one incident there, however, I trace a beginning of the larger results that followed. For the first time, while living in Framingham, I read a tract against future punish- ment. It was written by Dr. Bellows ; and, oh, how my heart longed to believe it! How I longed to accept this great hope for all mankind ! But I was afraid. I did not dare trust myself to this feeling, lest I should be led astray, and endanger not only my own soul, but the souls of others. Becoming restless in the quiet, old settled town of Framing- ham, after the stirring missionary work of California, I determined to go West, and, out of two calls, accepted one to Hannibal, Mo. During the three and a half years there was fought out the great battle that constituted the turning-point of my life. Here I began to doubt some of the main points of the old theology. As I looked over my church and at those outside of it, I began to question as to what were the fundamental distinctions between those out and those in. So far as I could see, my religious theories did not work practically, as I applied them to men and women. The men outside ought to have been worse, and the men inside ought to have been better. I could not tell wherein consisted the distinction. I knew many a man Outgrowing the Old Beliefs 21 and woman outside who were unspeakably better than some of the church members. Then I was haunted by the memo- ries of this desire to have some larger and better hope for men. My heart began to revolt against what seemed the cruelty, the injustice, and partiality of the divine government. I began to question whether it could be justice and goodness and love in a God who gave light to only a few of his chil- dren, and left the great masses of the world to wander in darkness and to perish. Then I began to doubt and question whether the Bible, which was the fundamental basis of the old belief, was as infallible as it had been claimed to be. So I began anew the study of the Scriptures, trying to find out their origin, their nature, their authority, what claim they had on the human heart and conscience. During this time, I read many books written by liberal divines. Among these, the one which influenced me most, and that I remember with peculiar distinctness, was James Freeman Clarke's Ortho- doxy : Its Truths and Errors. I began also a study of science ; and one of the principal charges brought against me, when I began to be suspected of being a heretic, was that I had too many scientific books in my library. This was supposed in itself to constitute an accusation against the soundness of my faith. Change then began, and grew apace ; and, as the result of this scientific study, I became a firm believer in the gen- eral theory of evolution. While still in the orthodox church, I read a paper on Darwinianism, accepting and defending it from first to last. But I had not outgrown the folly of trying to reconcile it with Genesis, as though any truth were not true, whether or not it agreed with something said thousands of years ago ! I soon became known as a man somewhat dangerous and unsound in the faith. 22 My Creed I congratulate you who can sit quietly in your pews through these transition times. You have little idea of what it means to one who occupies a pulpit, one who cannot sit still and brood until the changing, ripening process is complete, one who, out of the confusion of brain, out of the aching heart, out of the questioning as to what is true, what must be said or left unsaid, is still compelled, every week of his life, to face a waiting audience and discuss these great themes of life and death. The pain sometimes came to be almost unbearable. There were long and weary months when I believe I would have been glad to lie down and fall into an unwaking sleep, only to escape this terrible struggle. One thing, however, I can say. During that long time, I did not preach anything which I did not believe, though it was perpetually charged against me that I did not preach a great many things which I ought to believe, which I ought to have preached. It was the omissions that were the principal charges brought against me during those months and years. As I review this experience, I am obliged to think very tenderly of other ministers who are going through these transitions. It is very easy to say such a man of liberal tendencies ought to see his way clearly, that he ought not to stay where he is. It is easy to make such charges against men. But it is very difficult, when one is in the midst of this confusion, feeling his way, oppressed with the responsibility that is laid on him, not only for his own soul, but for the souls of others, to see the path which he ought to take. I became perfectly conscious of the fact that I was no longer orthodox, in the proper sense of that word ; but I did not know, with any clearness, whether there was a church on earth to which I could honestly belong or any pulpit in which I could honestly speak my word. So let me Outgrowing the Old Beliefs 23 bespeak your charity, then, for those ministers that are pass- ing through these transitions. Remember that it is easier to see and know after it has become perfectly clear than it is to comprehend when you are in the midst of the confu- sion of changing thought or when you are clouded over by fear as to the possible consequences of your action. At this time, two or three things occurred which threw a strong light upon the theological condition of the Church at that time. In spite of the fact that I had become a pro- nounced, out-and-out heretic, and that two or three persons had become strongly opposed to me, when it came to my leav- ing, even my enemies begged me to remain. At that time, I was called to two other orthodox churches, both of which ear- nestly tendered the call, although they knew of my heresies. There were two orthodox doctors of divinity in Chicago, who, after a long and free conversation with me, said, " You ought to have stayed in, and helped us fight it out on the inside." But I came to believe that this was not an honest course to follow. One other incident I will mention to show the condition of thought in the orthodox body. I published my first book while I was in Missouri, in the orthodox church. The papers, East and West, indorsed its position, and gave it more gen- erous praise than I dared to hope for. I republished it the first year of my residence jn this city, from the same plates, without the change of a sentence, word, or even punctuation point; and, suddenly, these same papers discovered that it was a very dangerous book. This showed that it was a very different thing to speak from the platform of a Congrega- tional and that of a Unitarian church. I came at last to feel that honesty demanded that I should carry in the sight of the world the colors under which I proposed to fight. I have no "railing accusation" to bring 24 My Creed against those men who, holding liberal ideas, propose to stay in, and fight it out on the inside. They may see a way to do it honestly. I cannot. It seemed to me very much like a member of the Democratic party secretly working in favor of the Republicans, or like a soldier wearing the uniform of one army and secretly opposing those with whom he pro- fessed to be in sympathy. It seemed to me, therefore, that I must come out and stand where I was understood. Though those who listened to me from Sunday to Sunday found no fault with my sayings, I knew that they only partly understood the implications of the position which I was taking and defending. I felt per- fectly sure that, if they did know, they would not be thus cor- dial. I determined, then, to come out, and occupy a position where I could be perfectly open and free. I was invited to the Third Unitarian Church in Chicago. Up to this time, I had never stood in a Unitarian pulpit. The first Sunday I did so stand, I stood in my own, preaching my first free ser- mon in my own free pulpit. When they asked me to become their minister, I told them frankly that I did not know whether I was a Unitarian or not, and I did not care much, but I knew I could not stay longer where I had been. If they were willing to give me an opportunity to study and think freely and to preach what I earnestly believed, whether it might be labelled by one title or by another, then I would accept. On those terms, they did accept me ; and I began my work as a Unitarian. Now, dropping this personal part, I wish to sum up some of the principal steps which I took, which all men take, in leaving the old beliefs and coming into the new. One of the first steps is the revolt of the heart against this old conception of God, against this old method of governing the universe, the feeling that it is unjust, that it is partial, Outgrowing the Old Beliefs 25 that it is cruel, that it is not like a Father, and that, if God be our Father, then this cannot be true. Next comes a new study of the Scriptures, to see whether they be divinely inspired in a sense to make them infallible. And the careful, free study of the Bible discovers it to be a human production from first to last, the natural outgrowth of the religious nature of man, beginning in barbarism, as humanity began ; ending in those grand glimpses of the eter- nal future which are so beautifully outlined and illustrated in some of the higher and finer words of Jesus. Then there comes this scientific study of the world, this new theory of the universe, of God, of man, of destiny. What do we find here ? We find not this tiny world of the Mosaic cosmology, with God sitting outside, ruling it as a despot rules his kingdom : we find an infinite universe, and that God, if he be anywhere, is the life and soul and heart of the universe itself. And we find that man, instead of having been created perfect six thousand years ago, and hav- ing fallen from that perfect state, and so needing to be re- deemed in the theological sense of that term, began close on the border of the animal world, that there has been no fall. Note the result of this. The whole theological scheme of Christendom rests on the foundation of the doctrine of the fall of man. There follows from that an infallible revela- tion given by miracle, confirmed by miracle, the necessity of an infallible church to hold this revelation as in a sacred depository, and to interpret it for the benefit of man. Third, the necessity of an incarnation of the Son of God to work atonement through his suffering and death for those that believe and so are sharers in the benefits of that atone- ment. There follows of necessity on this old basis of belief an eternal heaven for those that accept the salvation and 26 My Creed of necessity a belief in an eternal hell for those who do not. This scheme is perfectly logical and consistent from begin- ning to end. It springs out of and rests on the doctrine of the fall. If there be no fall, then there is no need of any miraculous revelation ; no need of any infallible church, no need of God's coming down to the world to be a man, living and suffering and dying; and the doctrine of the future destiny of the race is entirely transformed. As the result of the study of modern science, this belief in the fall of man dissolves as a -dream dissolves when a man awakes. After going through this process of thought, one finds himself in a new world. The old theological scheme belonged to the old universe. In this new universe which evolution has revealed to us, there is no place for one single essential doctrine of the old theology. It fades away as the mists fade from the sides of the mountains when the sun is up, when the world stands out clear. I feel sometimes as if I had waked up from a dream. You know that grotesque and irrational things seem perfectly natural and logical in dreams, because you are in the dream-world. But, when the morning comes and the light shines into the easterly windows, you rub your eyes, and say, It is impossible that I should now look upon things as I did when I was in the dream. I feel sometimes as though, in emerging from this old belief, I had cdme from an underground cavers where everything was dim twilight, and only shadows could be seen, but that now I am up under the blue sky, in the breezy world where the sun is shining, where I hear the birds sing in the trees, and listen to the far-off music of the waters. This seems a real world. My friends say to me now and then, those who were my friends in the old time, and are personal friends still, " You Outgrowing the Old Beliefs 27 have given up the old beliefs, but you have nothing to take their place." I have given them up, thank God, all those old beliefs. But what did I give up? I gave up belief in a cruel, partial, imperfect God. I gave up belief in a disastrously ruined and fallen world. I gave up belief in the total depravity of man. I gave up belief in miracles. I gave up belief in a miraculous, divine incarnation, and in the suffering and death of God. I gave up belief in endless hell. And what have I in place of these ? I have an infinite, ' perfect, loving God. I have a world that has not been the scene of any disaster or ruin, but has been simply one line of orderly law and progress from the first. I have a human- ity having begun, indeed, very low down, but having climbed up to the point where we can say, " Now are we the sons of God." I have a belief not in a special, miraculous, impos- sible incarnation of God in one man eighteen hundred years ago, but in the divineness of all men, in the immanence of ; God in every heart, in every brain, in all the race from the i beginning until the end. I have a belief in an eternal hope, not that all men will be perfect when they die, but that there is the same God, the same love, the same light, the same possibility, in all worlds and all ages. Given up ? Yes l' Given up darkness, given up doubt, given up fear, given up horror and despair, and found life and light and joy and peace and hope for evermore 1 WHAT LIGHT HAVE WE TO GUIDE US? I HAVE already taken you over one of the several paths that lead from the old universe into the new one; and I have told you that in succeeding sermons it was my purpose to raise and answer the question, What trustworthy beliefs are still left to us? We have given up many of the main points of what is called the old faith. Have we lost or have we gained ? Is going from the old world into the new progress or retrogression ? But preliminary to this, and necessary by way of preparation for the answer to these questions, is the one that I propose as our morning theme, What light have we in this new world by which to guide our steps ? We have given up many of those things which were regarded as lights, lamps, candles, by which human pilgrims have been directing their steps in the ages of the past : what have we left by which to guide our feet to-day ? All the old religions of the world have claimed that they had some supernatural, some infallible guidance ; that they were not in doubt in regard to any of the main questions of religious belief and practice. Priest or church, oracle or book, whatever it has been, they have advanced and held to the claim that they had some secret way of access to the council of the gods, so that there have been persons or hierarchies, organizations, institutions, bibles, set up above the ordinary level of humanity, and regarded as beacons by which the ships of humanity were to sail on their What Light have we to guide us 29 quests after truth, after happiness, after life. If you go among barbarous tribes, you will find that this belief has been held by them no less strongly than by those more civilized. Perhaps it is even true that the lower you go in the scale of civilization, the more confidence of certainty do you discover. Among our North American aborigines, there has always been the medicine man, some one who has gained an ascendency over the people, some one who has claimed to be in the secrets of the invisible powers that held the destiny of the tribe in their hands, some one who could find out what they wished to have done, and communicate it to the people. And so in every tribe on all the face of the earth you find some religious authority, some one claim- ing infallible insight or information as to what the people ought to believe and do, how and when they ought to accom- plish certain things demanded at their hands. Among the ancient Greeks there were oracles, the oracle at Delphi and the oracle at Dodona. In the one case, the mysterious vapor rising from a subterranean cave was sup- posed to be the source of the divine inspiration, so that the priestess who was under its influence would utter the wisdom of the god who presided over the temple. At Dodona, those gifted with power to interpret were supposed to listen to the rustling of the leaves on the sacred oak, and so to gain a knowledge of the will of the deity to whom this oak was sacred. In Rome there were soothsayers and diviners, who watched the flight of certain sacred birds, the movements of certain sacred animals, who examined the entrails, the vital parts, of sacrifices, and in this way claimed to interpret the will of the gods. Among the Hebrews, the priests claimed that, in the use of the sacred instruments, the Urim and the Thummim, they could find out the will of Jehovah. And among the early Christians the belief was no less strong; 3O My Creed for, when it came to the case of electing some one to make complete the number of the twelve apostles after the fall of Judas, they chose two, and then, after having prayed, they cast lots, in the sure confidence that God would direct this casting of the lot. And, when it fell upon Matthias, they supposed that they had an infallible intimation as to the will of God in the matter. Even to-day, when it comes to the choosing of a new pope, the college of cardinals, after fasting and praying and going through religious ceremonials of one kind and another, claim to have perfect confidence that, when they come to the voting, there will be such a divine influence moving in the hearts and working on the minds of the members of the college that their choice shall only be registering that which has already been made in heaven. To be sure, this confidence does not preclude the possibility or the fact of a great deal of lobbying, of log- rolling, of what seem like political methods, in the attempt to obtain the position or secure the election of a favorite candidate. But it is easy enough to get over all this, and to say that God rules even among the passions of men, and so he thus registers his unchangeable will. So it is true, as I have said, that in all the religions of the world men have claimed some infallible guidance, a light whose beams never led astray. There are, however, only two forms of this faith with which we need specially concern ourselves this morning. There are two claims as wide as Christendom which we have rejected, but which are so important, and which so divide between them the allegiance of the great Christian world, that we cannot pass them over without at least some brief review. In the Catholic world, it is claimed that God's Spirit so resides and works in and through the Church that, where it What Light have we to guide us 31 delivers its opinion as to a matter of faith, either through an oecumenical council or through the lips of the pope, it is the infallible truth of God. The Protestant world, of course, rejects this claim, and, instead of it, points to its Book. It says the Church, the council, the pope, are fallible, and make mistakes; but the Book at least is a transcript of divine, unchangeable, eternal truth. Now let us consider this subject for a little, and see where we stand in regard to these two great claims. In the first place, I am willing to confess for one that I would like very much indeed, as I think of it in some ways, to have some infallible guidance. Mr. Huxley not long ago, in discussing the question whether men were free or whether they were under some compulsion, whether their actions and even their thoughts were automatic, went so far as to say that he would be willing, for his part, to be an automaton, if he could only be absolutely certain that the mechanism would always work right and produce perfect results. So it seems very desirable to have some sort of infallible guidance in regard to these great matters of the religious life. And yet, as I think of it a little more carefully, I am not quite so certain as to its desirability ; for, as a matter of fact, those who have claimed this infallible guidance in the past have never been able to understand their guide in precisely the same way, so that the practical result of it has not been any certainty of being guided right. There have been all sorts of parties, discussions, disputes, in regard to the guidance of the Church. And, when we come to the matter of the Bible, do we not know, as we look over Christendom, that it is all split up into little, bitter, warring, antagonistic sects and parties, divided simply on the question as to what the in- fallible guide really says ? All that claim to have infallible guidance, therefore, are not walking in the same path ; they 32 My Creed do not understand the voice of this infallible guide in the same way ; so that, practically, it does not work very well. If you stop to think of it for a moment, you will see that there is either some defect in the human mind or else some defect in language. It is simply impossible to have any form of words framed that shall bear precisely the same meaning to every human mind. The Constitution of the United States of America is a very plain document appar- ently : it is not full of figures, or poetry, or imagery, or phrases that may be interpreted this way or that. The framers intended, at any rate, to make it as plain as a guide- board at a country cross-roads. Yet scholars, statesmen, diplomats, politicians, ever since it was framed, have been quarrelling over the meaning of some of its apparently plain- est phrases. Again, those who have claimed to have this infallible guidance have developed spiritual conceit, spiritual pride : they have been taught to look upon themselves as peculiar selected people, chosen out of the great mass of the world by the peculiar favor of God, and set apart for the reception of his special grace. It has cultivated and developed cer- tain qualities and characteristics of mind and heart that are not desirable, and that do not lift men in reality, in spiritual grade of being, above their fellows. It has developed hard- ness of heart, cruelty, persecution, and has led to all sorts of divisions, wars, bloodshed, and some of the most disas- trous results, some of the greatest horrors, that are recorded in history. Then, again, if one claims to have an infallible guide and it be not really infallible, you see the evil that must result. Only the other day, the captain of one of our great Cunard steamships came on our coast in a fog, not having been able to see the sun or to make his observations for several days. What Light have we to guide us 33 The great trouble of it all, and that which led to the disaster, was his confidence that, in spite of the difficulties through which he had passed, he thought he knew more about the coast and the situation of things than he actually did. If he had doubted a little more, if he had had a little less confidence and so a little more caution, he might not have been so sure that the south shore of Boston Harbor was the north, and so have kept his ship off the coast. It would have been better to doubt and wait until he knew. So, in any direction, when men think they know more than they actually do, this confidence is not a guide into safe paths, but will certainly lead them astray. Let us look then for a moment at the great guides of the world in the past, and note some illustrations of the results of mankind's following them. What has been the result of the claim of the infallibility of the Church ? As a matter of fact, recorded in history, the main development of an infallible church, the Church of Rome, has gone wrong on almost every namable question which has been up for prac- tical settlement. It went wrong as to the geography of the earth, claiming to know and opposing those who proposed to investigate and dared to doubt, persecuting them, hurl- ing against them the lightning of divine wrath, threatening with penalties unending in the future. And yet, at every single point, the Church was wrong. Then, when you come to matters of astronomy, through how many hundreds of years did the Church fight against this new science, and the proposal to change the conception of the world as to the relative position of this little earth of ours in the infinite universe of which it is such a tiny part. Here, again, the Church was all wrong in spite of its infallibility. And those who in the midst of difficulty were feeling their way, inves- tigating, trying to discover some solid basis for their feet, 34 My Creed these men were friends of God, and were trying to read some little fragment of God's real word. When we come to chem- istry and physics, the same is true, the Church all wrong, the students, so far as they went, right, and reaching out in the right direction ; the Church opposing, righting, persecuting, hindering, until at last the infallible guide suffers ignomini- ous defeat. Then, in political economy, the Church fighting for ages the taking of interest on money, for example, regarding it as a sin ; against having a census taken, because David, forsooth, was reported to have been punished be- cause he counted the number of his people and armies. In his day, this was looked on as an indication of distrust in God. So in anatomy, in medicine. It was ages before the world was permitted to study medicine in any rational way. We wonder sometimes that the doctors are not wiser than they are ; but it is only within modern times that they have had any opportunity for free, untrammelled investigation. For ages, the Church did its best to hinder them. It declared that it was sacrilege to dissect the human body ; but how else could one find out how it was made ? It declared that it was sacrilege to inoculate for the prevention of small-pox, because it was interfering with God's judgment ; that it was blasphemy to prevent suffering, by the use of an anaesthetic, in the case of child-birth, because it was interfering with God's judgment on woman on account of the fall. The infallible Church has always opposed every step of human progress, and, so far as it has been followed, has led men astray. Whatever progress has been made has been made in open revolt against this infallible leadership, and under the dictation and guidance of this poor human reason of ours. When we come to the Bible, what then? The Bible starts in its very first chapter with false science, the best What Light have we togftti&ws - 35 science that any one knew at the time, but wrong, as every unbiassed scholar knows to-day. It starts with mistaken teaching in regard to the origin and nature of man, in re- gard to his character, in regard to his moral condition. The Bible is mistaken all the way through, almost from first to last, whenever it dares to teach a matter of history. The Bible is anything but infallible, especially in the older parts of it, in its ethics. It represents at the beginning the ethical conception of a barbaric people. It indicates the nat- ural steps of human growth. It is merely the natural out- come and reflection of purely human and fallible conditions of thought and life. What then ? In so far as men have followed either the Church or the Bible as being infallible guides, they have been continually liable to go into wrong paths, and fall into difficulties of every kind. Whether, then, we would like an infallible guide or not, whether it would be a good thing or not, we must frankly admit that we have none. Again, let me say, and for another reason, grander per- haps than those which I have alluded to, that it may be more than a question whether the possession of an infallible guide be a desirable thing. What is the most important part of our human life ? It is that we, by the experiences through which we pass, be- come schooled, self-developed ; that we grow ; that our powers and faculties expand ; that we become whatever it is possible for us to become. Now, if you put into the hands of people what they are led to believe is an infallible guide, do you not see how it necessarily takes away from them any reason for investigation ; that it leads directly to stagnation, to lack of progress ; that it hinders, restricts, cripples ? One of the wisest things that was ever said, quoted many 36 My Creed times and misunderstood many times, because not read in the light of this thought, is that famous saying of Lessing's, I quote not the words, but the thought, If God should hold out to me in one hand perfect infallible truth, and in the other the privilege of seeking for truth, I would reply, O God, truth is for Thee alone ; give me the joy and the labor of seeking for it. Suppose a boy is struggling over a problem in arithmetic on first entering school, what will you do with him? It would please him at the time, be a great gratification, save him a vast amount of trouble, if you would show him the process and result, or at any rate give him the correct an- swer to his question. But suppose, on the other hand, you let him labor over this problem, even to heavy heart-ache and tears ; suppose, after a long struggle, he is able to reach only a partially correct answer : even then is he not unspeak- ably better off than the other boy, to whom you have given the answer outright, and who has not been permitted to go through the pain, the effort, the growth, that comes in the process of solving the question ? So the men and women who struggle with these great problems of the universe, and get only a partially correct answer, are unspeakably better off, if they honestly, earnestly, faithfully attempt to find it out, than they would have been if some infallible guide had lifted them in his arms, and saved them all the trouble and toil of the journey. For, when they had reached the truth in the latter case, they would have been puny and half-devel- oped. In the other case, they have only partially found the truth ; but they have grown strong, they have broadened, deepened, heightened, been made mighty, by the search. Here we are, then, in this new world, without any infalli- ble guide ; and yet note one thing. When the world changed its thought from the old Ptolemaic to the Copernican con- What Light liave we to guide us 37 ception of the universe, not one single star was put out, not one light was even dimmed. They shone with all their old- time lustre ; nay, the number of them discovered and added to that wonder-sky of human thought is almost uncounted. So, when we go out of the old universe into the new one, we lose none of the lights which were lights by which the men of old guided their feet: not one single star of ethics, of religion, of science, of human thought of any kind, has dimmed its ray. Every real light shines with its old-time lustre ; and, now that we are free to seek, we are rinding new stars in every development of human thought. We are per- petually told that we have given up old guides and have none left, that we are all at sea, that we are wandering in a wilderness, that we do not know where we came from nor where we are going nor what the journey is for ; while they who thus taunt us assume that they have all these problems clearly settled, and that we are thus in danger of being lost, because we are not willing to take them on board as pilots. Let us see what our condition really is, whether it is so very dangerous, after all. What are the things in doubt ? What are the things concerning which we have practical certainty? I wish to answer this question by one general statement, of which a few particulars that I shall add will be illustrations. We are not in doubt as to any one single, great, important, practical truth, not one. The things we are in doubt about are almost entirely speculative, things that it would .be rather pleasant to know, that it would satisfy our curiosity to understand, but that are not necessary as guides for life. We do not know with absolute certainty about the origin of this solar system, how old it is, where it came from, by just what process. We have our theories, and think they are probably correct ; but we cannot say with certainty. But what of it ? What difference does it make ? Is it a practical 38 My Creed question ? We have the solid earth under our feet, the blue sky in the day-time over our heads, and the infinite, alluring vista of stars at night. No matter where they came from, they are here ; and they are what they are, and we stand in certain definite relations to them. We are learning more and more of those physical forces by which we are sur- rounded and of which we are a part. We are learning more and more to comprehend and control them. We are bring- ing them so under control that they are ready to come and go at our bidding. As one specific illustration, no man is able to answer the question, What is electricity? It is an infinite mystery, as much so as the question, What is God ? But we know enough about the working of this mysterious power to guard our- selves against the flashes of lightning. We know enough about it to make it run round the world on our errands, to bring us next door to the farthest points on the planet. We do not know very much about ourselves. No man knows precisely the origin of man, his nature, how it is that the mind is connected with the body, its dependence on the brain, the mystery of consciousness. These things are as insoluble to-day, so far as we can see, as they ever were. But what of it ? There is no doubt about the fact that we are conscious, that we are living, that we have minds, that we think, that we feel, that we hope, that we fear, that we know, that we are ignorant. There is no sort of practical doubt as to the great questions of the relationship which we ought to maintain toward each other as persons, friends, in the family, in society, in the State. Only let us live out what we know, and the kingdom of God would come to- morrow. How is it about God? You can mystify any man by asking him a question or two about the Divine. There are What Light have we to guide us 39 any number of problems that cannot be solved ; but they are all on the speculative side. We do not know where God was or what he was doing before this solar system came into being. We do not know very much about the different per- sonalities that have played so large a part in theological speculation. Nobody knows about these things except a few people in the Orthodox Church, who have got it all down in their creeds. But these are purely speculative matters. That there is an infinite Power, who was before we were, who will be when we have passed away, who holds us in his arms, "in whom we live and move and have our being," who surrounds us on every hand, on a knowledge of and obedi- ence to whose laws depend life, happiness, well-being, all these things that touch us, that are practical, are not in doubt. Then, once more, in regard to destiny. There is no end of speculation as to what lies beyond that curtain that shuts down before us, before which we stand so many hours listen- ing, which we try to lift, to gain a glimpse of the farther side. But what of that? Under the guidance of the light of the law of cause and effect, we know the relation of yesterday to to-day, and of to-day to to-morrow. We know that the past has made the present ; and that the present is making the future ; and that we have the power to modify in some degree the present, so as to make the future different from what it would be but for that modification. All that is practical, then, we know. Not a shadow of doubt rests upon it. Therefore, I reiterate that which I said ; and they who talk about not knowing anything, not believing any- thing, are thoughtless, and do themselves huge injustice, and those outside who taunt us with not knowing anything, not being certain of anything, not believing anything, are guilty either of ignorance or slander. We know all that we 40 My Creed need to know to make our lives grand and sublime, to re- deem the present and .-to create a future. Finally, let me give some specific statements by way of reply to the question with which we began. What light have we in this new world to guide us ? Here, again, let me give one general statement, which will include all the partic- ulars that will follow. We have all the light there is, all the light that anybody has. Nay, more. If there be some little sect, party, denomination, that shuts itself in some one room of God's many-mansioned house, draws the curtains at the windows, locks every door, and stops every keyhole, lest a glimpse of light should come in from some other room, and takes only for light and guidance that which it can see in this particular apartment, instead of having more light than we have, it has less ; for it has the light only of one room, while we have it all. We have not only the light which the Protestant has, and we have all the light which the Protes- tant has, but we have whatever light the Catholic has be- sides. We have all the light of the Christian, undimmed; and, if there be any light that God has shed on any other part of the world, that, too, is as free to us as that which shines from Judea. Whatever light in any star or heaven shines on any country on the globe, that light is free and open to us, to use unprejudiced in guiding our feet aright. We have, then, as particulars under this : 1. All the light of all the saints, prophets, religious teachers, of the world. Whatever they have been able to catch of the eternal truth and to reflect for the enlightening of the world is open to us to investigate and use. 2. We have all the light of all the Bibles of the world. You would wofully misunderstand and misrepresent my meaning, if you should suppose that I have intended to say one word derogatory to our Bible. Not the Bible ought What Light have we to guide us 41 we to speak against. For the sake of the Bible, and for the sake of the rational use of it, we should speak and fight for- ever against the misinterpretation, the false use, and the false claims that put it beyond our reasonable use. The Bible is the noblest body of religious literature that can be found in any one collection under heaven. No sane critic has ever for one moment questioned this ; but it is not in- fallible. It simply represents the best religious life and the highest religious inspiration of the time when its several parts were written. We have this Bible, then, in all that it is and all that it can do for us ; and we have all the Bibles of all the other races, which, though lesser lights, are still lights. There are times in this world when a candle is of much more service than an electric light ; and so some dim- mer ray of truth may, for particular uses and occasions, be better for us than the glory of the noon-day sun. 3. We have all the light of all the discoverers, all the inventors, all the truth-seekers, all the scientific investigators of all nations and all times. The results of their labors are open for our use. 4. We have the results of all the experience of humanity. This experience it is which, uttered by seers or written in Bibles or as part of the scientific investigation of the world, rightly used, is the great light of the world. Men found out what conditions were helpful for them to live in by expe- rience, what articles of food were good for them to eat by experience ; they found what plants, herbs, minerals, might be serviceable for medicine, how best to live together in families, how to secure the highest type of society, how to establish the best political organization, all these things were learned by experience ; and the only reason why men are going perpetually astray is that they have no knowledge of this experience of the past. Every little while, you will 42 My Creed hear of some brand-new reform in political economy or some patent method for rejuvenating the world ; but, if the frame-r had known a little something of human history, he would have known that the same old panacea had been tried over and over again. There is enough light in human experience, only we need to know where it is, to be educated, enlightened, as to its results. 5. We have that which I know not how rightly to charac- terize, but which we sum up under the name of the ideal. What is this ideal ? Is it the outshining of the face of God looking at us through the dim mists of the future ? Is it the first rays shooting up over the globe of the future of a yet unrisen sun, heralding a new dawn and a better day ? What is this ideal, this dream, this vision, this foregleam of some- thing better than has ever been, that shines with " a light that never was on sea or land " ? We may not know, but yet this we may know : that this ideal is a light for the guid- ance of the world ; and that, wherever there has been prog- ress in political economy, in sociology, in science, in liter- ature, in art, in religion, it has been under the impulse of this ideal, this dream of something fairer than ever yet came down out of the sky. There is light enough, then, for all our needs. It is not for lack of light that we go astray. It is only for lack of heeding the light we have. This light is growing and in- creasing every day, age by age ; and we may rest in sure confidence that it will grow more and more, brighter and brighter, unto the perfect day. RELIGION. OUT of the old universe into the new ; that was our start- ing-point in this course of sermons. Then we raised and answered the question as to what light we had to guide us in this new world. After having given up the claimed infal- libilities and authorities to which men have looked in the past, we asked what there was left for us. This morning, in the light which we found for our guidance, I ask you to go with me in this great search for religion. That is the first, the most pressing theme : it is fundamental to every- thing else that will follow. Have we religion left? If we are able to answer that question in the affirmative, then it will be pertinent, before I am through, to raise the further question as to the aim of religion in this modern world, as to what it is to continue to exist for, and what are some of the methods by which we are to seek this end. This is no useless question ; but it is one that is being debated very widely, both by those who hope and those who fear. Thousands hope that religion is to be outgrown. Other thousands fear it. And this fear, this lurking distrust, this lack of vital faith in God, manifests itself in the dis- quietude, in the anger, in the opposition, of those who are afraid to have the great problems of the world freely dis- cussed, lest they should find out that, after all, the world is an illusion ; that there is no real basis for their faith, that faith which they claim has been delivered to them from the God of the universe himself. 44 My Creed There are several classes of persons who either hope or fear that religion has received its death-blow ; that it is something which fitted well enough into the old crude uni- verse of the past, but that it is not anything which belongs to the free, earnest thought of those who dare to look the world in the face, and receive without flinching the answers to their questions. The Orthodox Church naturally looks upon us who have rejected this claimed authority as irrelig- ious. We ought not to wonder at this : it is only logical and consistent. Now and then, you find a liberal who won- ders at the narrowness that does not allow the use of one of the old churches for a different type of service. Yet it is purely unreasonable that we should expect it. It means for them suicide, if they permit it. They believe that they have received by miracle an infallible revelation from the one only God of the universe, of the one only religion. This is the foundation on which they build their Church. And, if this be so, then, of course, he who rejects that reve- lation and that conception of religion rejects all the religion there is ; for on that theory there can be but one. It is perfectly natural then, perfectly logical, perfectly consist- ent, that they should look upon us as without God and with- out hope in the world, and as having turned away from religion and gone out into a life that is secular, that is in the true sense of that word irreligious. This type of think- ing is not confined to those who consistently stand by these old beliefs. There are those who call themselves liberal, who have accepted the results of modern investigation, who still keep in their minds as the one definition of religion that which belongs to the old, and which comes down to them by tradition. Religion to them is something apart from and outside the natural order of the world; and, just as fast as they cease to believe in any supernatural interfer- Religion 45 ence in the order of nature, they are under the impression that religion is being done away. I wish to call your attention to one type of this thought. Mr. Philip Gilbert Hamerton is a well-known writer on art and other subjects. In one of his later books, perhaps the last one, entitled Human Intercourse, there are two very interesting and suggestive chapters. One is entitled " How we are apparently becoming less Religious." The next one is, " How we are really becoming less Religious " ; for he believes that we are ceasing to be religious, and are be- coming secular. He gives one or two illustrations to show the kind of thought which he holds. He tells the story of the Athenian general, Nikias, who was besieging the city of Syracuse. The siege having failed, he was ready to retreat, but just about the time he was to give his orders there was an eclipse of the moon ; and he consulted the soothsayers as to what it meant, thinking, no doubt, that this was some message from the gods. The priests told him that he must wait three times nine days before he raised the siege; that this was the will of the gods. Obedient to this, he stays there, his soldiers dying on every hand, he himself becoming more and more surrounded and enmeshed by the forces of the enemy, until his army is ruined ; and the whole expedi- tion ends most disastrously. This, according to Mr. Ham- erton, is what it means to believe in religion ; and he says the moment that we understand that the eclipse of the moon is a natural thing, that moment we cease to have any relig- ious emotion as connected with anything of that sort. We henceforward look upon it as pure mechanism, as part of the natural order of the world. He tells another story of an escape from an accident on a railroad train. There was a priest on the train, who, just about the time of the crisis of the accident, uttered a prayer ; and all those who be- 46 My Creed lieved with him in supernatural interference attributed the escape of the passengers to this prayer. He gives this as an illustration of the religious way of looking at the world. Those who had given up this idea treated this deliverance as natural, and accounted for it on scientific principles. These two points I have used to illustrate some modern theories as to what religion means. Religion with them is some outside supernatural interference with the order of nature ; and, if we cease to believe in that, we cease to be religious. There is another type of thought somewhat akin to this, and yet different enough to call for separate mention. There are those, and perhaps the French philosopher and scientist Comte may be mentioned as the best example of them, who look upon the mythological ideas of the childhood of the world, and the religion founded upon them, as some- thing to be outgrown ; recognizing the fact, which of course no one thinks of denying, that, as fast as these people became intelligent, they have left this religion behind them. They carry this train of reasoning so far as to say that, as fast as the world becomes wiser, it outgrows one after another the religious theories and religious types of thought which belong to the cruder stage of civilization. The philosophy of these men has come to be a proverbial phrase, that igno- rance is the mother of devotion. If ignorance ceased, devo- tion would die along with it. Comte carried this thought so far as to say that, to the enlightened man, the heavens no longer declare the glory of God : they declare only the glory of the astronomers, Newton, Laplace, and their peers. Those who hold this idea feel that religion is only a misin- terpretation of natural phenomena ; and, as soon as people become wise, it will be outgrown and left behind. Then there are thousands of people, not very well versed Religion 47 perhaps in philosophy or science, yet with a smattering cf these, who are accustomed to think that those persons who still remain religious are not quite so wise as the enlightened few, among whom, of course, they always include themselves, who have seen through the hollowness of it all. They are ready to treat it benevolently and gently as a phase of the childhood development of the world; but they look upon themselves as having outgrown it, as being beyond anything of that sort, as having dismissed all these conceptions of the universe. Now, then, in order to find out whether these things are so, I propose to ask you to join with me in a serious examination of a few of the varied types of religious thought, feeling, and life developed in the course of human history, and see if we can find out what is the essential thing in this matter of re- ligion and what is only dress and accident. In this way, perhaps, we shall be able to answer the question, Is religion something to be outgrown and left behind as humanity advances ? Let us take at the outset one of the crudest and lowest types of religion with which we are acquainted. We will begin with the fetich worshipper, the barbaric man who in some curious way, we cannot stop to examine how or why, has come to reverence a stone or stick, a serpent, toad, or tree, no matter what. He has Come to look upon them as the residence of some mysterious spirit or power of which he stands in awe. He believes that in this stick or stone or toad is a power invisible and mighty ; one that can hurt him if he does not keep on the right side of it ; one that can help him, if he can win its favor ; one that wants certain things of him ; one that would like to be fed, perhaps, or to have a sacrifice offered, or prayers made, or some especial honor paid to it ; that would like to be flattered, to be called by 48 My Creed high-sounding titles. Perhaps it may be the spirit of some dead chief within it ; but, whatever it is, here is a mysterious, invisible power, and this fetich worshipper offers that power gifts, prays to it, p~aises it, adores it. Here is religion, here is worship, here are all the essentials of what we find in any higher type of life. Now what is this man doing ? What does he think he is doing? He recognizes a power here which is not himself. He recognizes himself as standing in some sort of relation to that power. He has come in some way to believe that that power wants him to do certain things, and that, if he does these things, he will establish a better relationship between himself and that power than already exists. By better, I mean more advantageous. If the power is angry, he will appease it. If it loves him, he will gratify that love. He will placate its wrath, and win its favor. This is what the fetich worshipper tries to do. Leave that, and come to a higher type. Stand with me in Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, at the height of the glory of Israel's worship. The temple porch is thronged with those who have come from the different portions of the kingdom to attend one of the great festivals. The service is going on. The choir is chanting some of those great psalms that are still read as parts of our religious service. The sacrifice has been offered. The high-priest has entered the mysterious holy of holies, as he was accustomed to once a year, to perform the most important rite of their religion. When this is done, he comes out and blesses the people. They are hushed and bowed, and feel that somehow or other the favor of their God is brooding over them and giving them peace. Now, what are these people doing ? What do they think they are doing? They recognize, no longer associated with a stick or stone or serpent, they recognize a power invisible, mysterious, mighty, that is not themselves. Religion 49 They recognize themselves as standing in certain relations to this power. They believe this power wants them to do certain things, to feel in certain ways, to bring sacrifices, to offer praise, and that, in consideration of their doing this, they will establish better relations between themselves and this power, and win his favor. Here, again, better relation- ship means more advantageous relationships to themselves. Here you see, then, is only another type of what we saw in the case of the fetich worshipper. Let us visit for a moment St. Peter's at Rome. The Jewish religion, so far as the domination of the civilized world is concerned, has passed away ; and Christianity has taken its place. They are celebrating one of their great services in this magnificent cathedral. It is crowded with loving and reverent hearts. The priests enter, the host is lifted up, and the people fall on their knees in adoration. Perhaps the supreme pontiff is present, and blesses the wait- ing people. What have these people been doing ? What do they think they are doing? Is it not clear that they are thinking of a mysterious, invisible power outside of them- selves, that can help them, that can hurt them ? They are thinking of themselves as standing in certain relations with this power. They believe that he wants them to do certain things, to cherish certain feelings, to hold certain faiths, and that, in consideration of their doing it, better relations, more advantageous, will be established between themselves and this power. They will be better off after the service than they were before. Is not here, again, essentially the same thing that we saw in Solomon's temple and in the fetich worshipper ? To give one more illustration. By a great leap down the centuries, let us come here to this service this morning. What are we here for in our simple service ? What do we 5