Christian Phrenology: A Guide to Self-Knowledge — John Shaqi
Christian Phrenology: A Guide to Self-KnowledgeBunney, Joseph
Religion
Christian Phrenology: A Guide to Self-Knowledge
Bunney, Joseph
Phrenology
The organ of Hope lies on each side of Veneration; the mental faculty
being altogether different from desire, led phrenologists to seek for a
primitive organ, and thus the faculty has been identified with this
portion of the brain. In well formed characters, this faculty leads to
sanguine expectation in the goodness of God, it produces the blessed hope
of everlasting life, the perfect love that casteth out fear, through hope
and belief in Christ; it gives confidence in all undertakings commenced
and carried on in a Christian spirit; it is the true staff of moral and
religous courage, buoying up the soul amid the darkest terrors of distress
or desolation. Hope supports Faith, and perfects Charity, since without
it, the religion of man would be dark, gloomy, and desponding; in abuse,
the faculty is directed to hopes of this world only; it creates too
sanguine expectations, leading to disappointment that is often the bitter
but wholesome fruit of experience; it often leads to vain and foolish
speculations, and sometimes to want of exertion from a hope of good
happening; "hope deferred maketh the heart sick." When in unity with
faith, benevolence, and the higher sentiments, it is productive of
_Theosophy_, the knowledge of God from his works of love, and by a warm
hope of everlasting life, leads men to subdue the lusts of the flesh, to
be humble in their own wisdom, and to hope for the accomplishment of the
great promise, "to be heirs of glory, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ."
36. BENEVOLENCE.
Benevolence is the noblest sentiment that man is enabled fully to
exercise: it is in the coronal bone, central and immediately before the
fontanel, it produces the generous and forgiving Christian, and the
faculty is always delighted in doing good, and in ministering to the
happiness of others; it compassionates distress, communicating a warmth of
generous feeling that overcomes acquisitiveness and selfishness: it
disposes to mildness of disposition, general kindness, charity, sympathy
and love; it is the foundation of Christian charity and tends to relieve
the wants and necessities of others. The higher sentiment is that of
charity to the weaknesses of others, and a due regard to their opinions
and errors; if too freely exercised it becomes abused that is, it inclines
to generous extravagance, and alms-giving without regard to necessity in
the object; it may thus be used to effect injustice to others, and
although one of the noblest virtues of the human character it is useless
unless exercised in a right way: for as St. Paul says--"though I give all
my goods to feed the poor, and my body to be burned, and have not
_Charity_, it profiteth me nothing."
37. SELF ESTEEM.
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