Lux Mundi: A Series of Studies in the Religion of the Incarnation,: 10th Edition, 1890
Religion
Lux Mundi: A Series of Studies in the Religion of the Incarnation,: 10th Edition, 1890
Christianity; Incarnation
Nor is preparation all that is wanted. Science is impossible without
experiment, and experiment is the lower analogue of what in religion
is called experience. As experiment alone gives certainty in the one
case, so does experience alone in the other. And it is only the man
who has undergone such experience, with all its imperative demands
upon his whole character and life, that can justly expect satisfaction
of his religious doubts and needs; while only those who, like S. Paul
or S. Augustine, have experienced it in an exceptional degree, are
entitled to speak with authority upon the things to which it leads.
Here again a human analogy may help us. For in studying a human
character there are different planes upon which we may approach it.
There are the external aspects of the man, the fashion of his
garments, the routine of his life, the regulation of his time, his
official habits; all which, it may be noted in passing, in the case of
a great character, are uniform, not because they were not once the
free creation of his will, but because he knows the practical value of
uniformity in all such things; and all these externals are open to the
observation even of a stranger. Then there are the man's thoughts,
which may be withheld or revealed at his pleasure; and these can only
be understood by kindred minds, who have been trained to understand
them. Lastly, there are his will and affections, the region of his
motives, the secret chamber in which his real personality resides; and
these are only known to those intimate friends and associates whose
intuition is quickened by the sympathy of love. Now all these stages
are gone through in the formation of a friendship. First we are struck
by a man's appearance, and so led to listen to his conversation, and
thence to make his acquaintance, and at last to become his friend. And
so with the knowledge of God. The man of science, as such, can
discover the uniformities of His action in external nature. The moral
philosopher will further see that these actions 'make for
righteousness' and that there is a moral law. But it is only to the
spiritual yearning of our whole personality that He reveals Himself as
a person. This analogy will make the Christian position intelligible;
but for Christians it is more than an analogy. It is simply a
statement of facts. For, to Christians, the Incarnation is the final
sanction of 'anthropomorphism,' revealing the Eternal Word as strictly
a Person, in the ordinary sense and with all the attributes which we
commonly attach to the name[210].
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account