The Churches and Modern Thought: An inquiry into the grounds of unbelief and an appeal for candourPhelips, Vivian
Religion
The Churches and Modern Thought: An inquiry into the grounds of unbelief and an appeal for candour
Phelips, Vivian
Rationalism
So much is said about "scientific doubt" in these days that it
is well to remember that doubts as to the truth of the Christian
belief are not caused alone by purely scientific difficulties of
faith. Carlyle refused to accept Darwin's theories. His temperament was
strongly inclined to a stern Puritanical piety, and his whole nature
was antipathetic to science. Yet he did not think it possible that
"educated honest men could profess much longer to believe in historical
Christianity." Renan, a profound scholar in Oriental languages, shows,
in his famous work, The Life of Jesus, that, while keenly appreciative
of all that was beautiful in the life and teaching of Jesus, he
was forced, by his study of the Scriptures [19] in the original,
to the conclusion that the miraculous part of the narrative had no
historical foundation. Leo Tolstoi, the helper of the helpless, whose
voice is ever raised in the cause of universal love and peace, vainly
sought an answer to religious doubts, and finally renounced Christian
dogmas, building up a religion of his own. Numerous instances could be
given showing that well-known and pious-minded thinkers have rejected
Christianity on grounds other than scientific. And this diversity in
the reasons for negation further tends to strengthen those suspicions
regarding our faith which it is now the apologist's task to dispel.
A significant circumstance is the far more tolerant attitude of the
better-informed clergy towards the unbeliever. There still remain
persons of the Dr. Torrey and the Rev. J. Morgan Gibbon [20] type,
ready to vilify the agnostic; but their number is rapidly on the
decrease. The clergy, as a whole, are more tolerant now than many of
the pious laity. Why is this? Is it not because they are beginning
to appreciate the perplexities of faith, and to learn that agnostics
as a body can be, and are, good men? Under certain conditions they
themselves have severe wrestlings with the dictates of reason, and
it is only by prayer [21] and occupying their minds in their work
that they are able to dispel dark doubts. They will tell you that
a faith such as theirs, and such as they hope you will attain after
emergence from doubt, is a real faith, with which the faith of the
ordinary person, accepting everything on trust, is not to be compared.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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