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experiment with Mrs. Piper! Your modern student, like the dogmatic theologians, love to dwell in the nimbus of mythology, but never to get down to verifiable facts.

Science is the verification of assertions about the past by the examination of the present. Tradition is not the standard of truth, but depends on present knowledge of the laws of nature. Too many people think science is the mere result of certain men's thinking. It is nothing of the kind. It is a method, a method of verification in present experience of any claims made about the past or future. It is an examination of the present moment and successive ones until we can distinguish between the transient and permanent elements in it. Then we can reasonably decide what is credible and what is not credible in the past. Of course, we may not be able to prove by investigation of the present whether a particular event or alleged event happened in the past, but we can ascertain whether it was possible or not, and when an event is a proved fact for the present it is not possible to deny its credibility in the past. Now science has abundantly proved the existence of all types of psychic phenomena that we have been reviewing in the New Testament and only certain physical "miracles" remain unproved. We do not have to believe them until they are made credible by present experience and proof. It is actual experience that is the fundamental test of truth and it has been nothing but an absurd confidence in tradition that has prevented men from examining the credentials of their beliefs in personal investigation.

One circumstance that tends to support the belief that remarkable cures took place under the supervision of Christ is the fact that the Apostles did not succeed after Christ's death so well as he did. Very few cures are recorded by them and these not so conspicuous as those of Christ. The Acts of the Apostles mentions

only two and the Epistle to the Romans mentions none at all. "Miracles" declined. The mythopoeic instinct should have been as active under their careers as under that of Christ. But the "miracles," so far as the New Testament accounts are concerned, are almost confined to the four Gospels and the life of Christ. It is probable that the Apostles' inferiority to Christ in power had more to do with the decline of "miracles" and the belief in them than the influence to which Mr. Lecky appeals. He thought it due to the gradual disappearance of the belief because of the growth of scientific intelligence. This was no doubt true, but this growth of the belief in “natural” laws was itself due to the neglect of the facts which psychic research rejuvenates. The power to do the same things that are reported of Christ was neglected or did not exist, and the belief fell as much by this default as by the progress of ordinary scientific knowledge.

The religious mind has been too intent in the past on combating science. If it could have clearly seen that scientific method is its best friend, it might have held the materialistic tendencies of this age in check. But it has always had the bad taste and bad politics of antagonizing the method which promised it the best of vindication. The conflict of religion and science is one of the standing beliefs of the age. Certain religious teachers may protest against this verdict all they please, it is a fact proved by the literature of both the scientific and religious world, and the first instinct of most religious people is to depreciate science whenever it proves a fact that suggests opposition to some favorite religious creed. But all this must be given up and science given the place which even Christianity gave it. Christianity was founded on alleged facts, not on a philosophic scheme of the universe. appealed to observed facts to prove immortality, not to a priori dogmas which one age may believe and the

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next reject. It was, in fact, a scientific religion, and in taking up the attitude of opposition to science it was but pursuing the way to the grave whose course it took as soon as it abandoned the pragmatic character of its master and refused to apply his gospel of brotherhood. It has, in fact, never tried persistently to carry out his teaching either in respect of healing or practical efforts to organize a brotherhood on a large scale. To approach it through the truths of psychic research is to discover its fundamental meaning and to give Christ and his work the unique place it deserves while it gives it scientific credentials. The reconstruction of the church, as organized idealism, is necessary, but it cannot be done without verifying its claims in the actual experience of the present. It rests with its devotees to see this and to make a rational effort to pursue this policy. Instead of this, it seems to be pursuing a course which Carlyle reproached so severely when he accused the aristocracy of not leading the world but simply preserving its game.

CHAPTER V

MODERN AND SCIENTIFIC DOCTRINES

ODERN ideas of a future life, so far as they

MOD

affect western civilization, have been determined by Christianity. That system was founded on two doctrines: (1) The immortality of the soul and (2) the brotherhood of man. The social scheme which was at first adopted to carry out the latter of these two doctrines was soon abandoned and there remained only the first one to dominate the thought of the church. Various subsidiary beliefs became attached to the system, assumed to be necessary to protect its validity and apparently the essential feature of it. But nevertheless they were to preserve the belief in immortality and salvation. A complete account of this would require the entire history of Christianity, but this cannot be given here. It is too complicated with sectarian variations from the original and these differ so much as to be almost diametrically opposed to each other in some of their characteristics. There seems to be more unity in the ancient religions, but that may be due to the paucity of historical material to show sectarian differences. At any rate we have abundant material for the study of Christianity and its sectarian ramifications. At the center of them, however, in spite of differences that are emphasized more than their common elements, is the immortality of the soul which has preserved its vitality for more than eighteen centuries, while its social scheme was relegated

to desuetude, to be revived in modern Socialism on an economic instead of an ethical basis.

Much can be said to dispute the view that the doctrine of immortality constituted the main doctrine of Christianity. Something, however, in this matter will depend on what we mean by "Christianity" and what we accept as authentic in the New Testament. If we are to define Christianity as the teaching of the Gospels or confine it to the period of Christ's teaching, we eliminate much that characterizes it to-day. This cannot very well be done after the term has come to mean so definite a thing to-day. But we can distinguish between primitive or original Christianity and modern Christianity. It is clear that the Gospels do not emphasize immortality as did the whole philosophical, theological and ecclesiastical schemes of later times. It is more implied than taught, and critics may raise the question whether legend and tradition may not have introduced much of it into the documents which we now possess. For instance, the story of the rich man and Lazarus is not found in Matthew and Mark, but in John and Luke, Mark is supposed to be the oldest Gospel and does not contain it. But in any case the story rather implies or takes immortality for granted. Its chief object is to teach human ethics and immortality is drawn in to enforce them. The doctrine of the resurrection which was a moot question between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and was referred to by Christ on one occasion, if we accept the account, implies it, but does not make it the central question about which the life and teachings of Christ revolved. The Sermon on the Mount is far more representative of this primitive Christian teaching than the doctrine of immortality. This doctrine received its chief interest and impetus from the death of its founder and the story of the actual resurrection. The ethical problem became subordinate, except as a means to the attainment of

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