Evolution of Christianity. CHAPTER I. THE RELIGIOUS NATURE. A system of revelation or of religion purporting to be of divine origin can be established only by the proof of its adaptation to the needs and the requirements of the human race. Every religion of man claims authority of some kind for its propagation; but if it is deficient in ethics, if it entertains unphilosophical or groveling ideas of the supernatural, or if it stands committed to a false cosmogony, it is sure to be left behind in the progress of intellectual development. A divine revelation must therefore accord with the needs of humanity in all ages of the world. Without discussing here the matter of the giving of such a revelation, we will proceed to consider the subject of MAN'S MENTAL AND MORAL CONSTITUTION, as a necessary basis for the future consideration of the divine plan brought to light in the Bible. Man is by nature a religious being. This is shown, in the first place, by the universality of religious phenomena. Winchell defines religion as "the feeling of the existence of the All Cause, and of his inevitable grasp upon us, and paternal interest in us. "1 And Dr. Cocker styles it, “A mode of thought, of feeling, and of action determined by the consciousness of our relations to God."2 It is certain that the entire human family has experienced "the feeling of the existence of the All Cause," as a result of which men have devised modes "of thought, of feeling, and of action" for his worship in accordance with their intellectual state. This belief in a grand First Cause, or Deity, has led mankind in all ages to form many systems of worship; and these religions bear in common the ideas of man's sinfulness, of his moral accountability to a higher power, of future rewards and punishments, of supplication, of a revelation either in visible external things or in a body of sacred writings, and of a priesthood whose duty it is to administer the ceremonies of their religion, and who are regarded as possessing superior authority. James Freeman Clarke's celebrated work, "Ten Great Religions of the World," impresses the mind with the prevalence of religious belief; while Alexander Winchell enumerates twelve great systems which, he 1 Reconciliation of Science and Religion, p. 327. 2 Theistic Conception of the World, p. 345. |