principle may be wanting. Still for the whole apprehension of Christianity, we may say, not only that much, but that all depends on the question, which of these views shall be adopted; whether this central fact shall be regarded as a general "unity of the divine and human" realizing itself in the consciousness of the race as such, or be conceived of as a concrete "union of God and man," that actualizes itself from a definite point and only under certain moral conditions.

7.

Hegel acknowledged Christianity as the absolute truth of religion. He did so, because it has its essential nature in the incarnation, exhibiting thus the unity of the divine and human. On this ground mainly, he undertook to reconcile Christianity with philosophy, and to show their full identity in their last results. For both this unity is the highest idea; only, what Christianity holds in the concrete form of the individual, historical God-man, is raised by philosophy into the sphere of speculative thought as something general. It belongs to the nature of the absolute or divine spirit to actualize itself in humanity, and the human spirit accordingly, as it descends into the depths of its own being, recognizes itself to be divine. It is the nature of God to be human, and to be divine is the nature of man. The consciousness of this we owe to Christianity. It made known to man his inborn divinity, put an end to the opposition between eternity and time, brought heaven down upon the earth, overthrew the dualistic antagonism of finite and infinite, and laid the foundation in this way for that Monismus des Gedankens, as they call it, which forms the great triumph of modern speculation.

With this however the later Hegelians, of the so called left side, were by no means satisfied. The peace made between Christianity and philosophy by Hegel, appeared to them to be hollow. It was not allowed accordingly to stand. It was denied that Christianity includes such a unity of the finite and infinite as the truth requires. Either it was held to be in direct contradiction to the speculative principle of God's immanence in the world; or else it was said, that the unity which it allowed

between God and man, as being restricted to a single individual, had no force for the general mass of humanity and nature, in the case of which accordingly the dualistic contradiction remained still unsurmounted. With this last view it was admitted indeed, that Christianity owes its world-historical power to such union of the divine and human as it exhibits, notwithstanding the isolated form in which it appears; the idea at least served to stimulate the human spirit to a new life, and places this religion high above all that had been known before. Still however the union in the case of Christ himself was not to be taken as real or historical; it was counted as mythical only, an idea made to take a concrete form in his person by the mere imagination of the Church. And then as it was but a transient fact for the Christian faith itself, which failed at the same time to acknowledge the universal oneness of God and humanity, Christianity, it was contended, still fell short of the truth. There was still no proper reconciliation, save for Christ only, between God and man, the infinite and the finite, heaven and earth; the unity allowed was not apprehended as a present divine fact, but only as something past in the Saviour himself, or as something still future in the heavenly world.

We find then three ways of looking at the subject in the same school. They agree in considering the absolute identification of God with the world, (pantheism and monism), to be the highest truth. But the difference between them is very material. The first makes Christianity and speculation to be essentially the same; the second throws them absolutely asunder; the third allows them to come together, but only in a single point, the isolated centre of Christianity, which the modern speculation has extended into a whole world of truth not acknowledged by Christianity itself.

Taking the school as a whole, it has the merit of having grasped with decision the main point in Christianity; it finds its grand distinction, its inmost nature, in the constitution of Christ's person, and places in full view thus its true specific character. But in doing so, it reduces this central point again to a mere caput mortuum, and sinks what in Christianity is the highest form of life, a divine act, most real and full of power, into an

incomplete stage simply of speculation. For what is here styled unity of the divine and human, is not the union of God and man as different, accomplished in a real and perfect way in Christ, and taking effect also through him in the race; but an original and eternal oneness, in virtue of which divinity and humanity are held to be essentially the same, God only the truth of man, and man the reality of God; in such sort that man at a certain point of development, must necessarily come to the consciousness of his own truth, that is of his divine nature or unity with God. This point was reached in Christianity, whether in the consciousness of Christ himself, or only by means of him in the mind of the Church, would seem to be considered indifferent. In either case, the form in which the truth at first came into view, was very incomplete; since the unity which belongs properly to the race in general, was supposed to have place only in a single instance. It remained for modern philosophy to burst the bonds of this conception, and push the speculative germ contained in it to its proper perfection. But this was in fact to rob the conception itself of all its significance, whether retained as a symbol still or cast aside as of no farther use. Thus the system did indeed fix its eye on the centre, the very heart of Christianity; but it was only to aim its deadly arrow the more surely at this vital point.

Looking at the several views of the school separately, no attention whatever is due to that which regards Christianity as a religion which places God abstractly beyond the world. Every one who is at all acquainted with it must know, that while it distinguishes the one from the other, it teaches at the same time the existence of God in the world and of the world in God. It does not merge the being of God in the world, but allows him to fill it notwithstanding with his actual presence and power. The thought is in some sense correct, that Christianity has put an end to the opposition of the infinite and the finite, the divine and human. It is true at the same time however, that it acknowledges an absolute union of divinity and humanity only in Christ, and sees a hopeless dualism every where else. The unity in this case is not indeed restricted to Christ as a solitary, transient

instance, in the way pretended by the objection; it proceeds from him over into the spiritual organism of which he is the head, and becomes thus a permanent constitution for the race; heaven and salvation belong not exclusively to the next world, but have place also in the present life. Still Christianity is not for this reason monistic, in the Hegelian sense. It allows by all means a dualism; a dualism that is not to be speculated or ignored simply out of the way, deeply seated as it is in the inmost consciousness of the whole human world; the dualism of sin. The existence of sin finds its evidence for every man in his own conscience. By it moreover, he feels himself to be involved in the most terrible self-contradiction, and what is still worse, in direct opposition to a holy God. This dualism can be denied, only by denying either sin or God, or else both together. That is, he who does so must sacrifice his moral or religious consciousness, or with the destruction of both at once, subvert his whole spiritual nature. In any case he must at least discard Christianity entirely, which without the acknowledgment of this dualism has no meaning whatever. Speculation sets the dualism aside in the way of logic, joining opposites that are held to have been originally one; but by such logical redemption no conscience is quieted, no duty turned into ability, no sinner born to a new life. Christianity makes full account of the opposition as it actually exists, shows holiness and sin, God and the world lying in wickedness, in sharp contradiction. But it overcomes all this in the way of historical fact, by bringing God and humanity to a true inward union, not in thought merely, but in an actual human life; establishing thus a real power of redemption, through which the race. is made to participate in the same life, not by a single stroke of consciousness, but all the more surely by means of a severe moral process. Here accordingly the ethical and redemptional interests, of which Hegelian speculation makes so little account, are allowed to stand in their full force; and Christianity altogether retains its true character as a theistic religion, in which God and the world though not sundered are clearly distinguished, a religion. that acknowledges the absolute holiness of God, and leads to

union with him only in the way of deliverance from the power

of sin.

8.

That Christ himself possessed the consciousness of entire unity with God, and that others were made to feel the presence of a divine life in his person, admits of no doubt. In one form or another this idea lay at the ground of the whole Christian faith. It wrought such world movement and world change, as no pious fiction, but a real life power only, could ever have produced. Equally clear is it, that Christ's will was to impart his spirit and life to his people, and thus to continue and extend his existence in them as the proper life of the world. Both thoughts are exhibited in the fourth Gospel particularly, under the most manifold representation, as the highest idea of Christianity. Christ, himself first glorified of the Father, will glorify himself again in his people; they shall eat his flesh and blood, that is, take into them his life; cast into the ground by death, like a grain of wheat, he shall rise again as a plentiful seed in the Church, and multiply and perpetuate himself in this way through all time. All concentrates however in this, that he will draw them, through himself, to the Father, and make them one with the Father: "that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us"—and then again: "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me." All that belongs to God, belongs also to Christ, and with all this divine fulness he communicates himself to his people, makes his abode with them, and sanctifies them; or as the apostle Paul expresses it, only in reversed order: "All is yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

The ground of the Christian faith then, that to which it owes its origin and character, is the unity of Christ with God; but along with this it includes with equal necessity the assurance, that the fact thus constituted is not single, solitary and transient in its nature, but must with the spirit and life of Christ extend itself to those also who believe in him, and so by degrees to