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
Whether hastened or not by the action of the propagandist, the masses,
in these days of universal education, are bound to hear sooner or
later of these grave doubts. The questioners of the Faith are no longer
only the philosophers, scientists, and those who join hands with the
Churches in prescribing a dietary of fairy tales for the preservation
of the moral health of the masses. Many of the working class [24] are
far more thoughtful and intelligent regarding questions of science
as it affects religion than is generally supposed. Hitherto they
have been under two very considerable disadvantages--the costliness
of the books and the want of leisure to read them. The leisure
disability still holds good, though less so now that temperance is
on the increase; but the books are to-day offered at popular prices,
and are also finding their way into public libraries. The Church can,
perhaps, depend for some time to come upon the non-interference and
even active support of the upper classes, however sceptical they
may be; but it is the proletariat which she will in future have to
deal with more and more. She is in a dilemma; her hand is forced. She
realises that discussion will cause the unsettlement of minds hitherto
unclouded by doubt, and yet matters have reached a stage when silence
is impossible. It is doubtful whether she has yet fully realised the
gravity of the task before her. I have explained how she seems to
have been deceived as to the real meaning of the apparent suspension
of hostilities during the past few years. She has also to learn how
impossible it will be for the ordinary mind to accept the unconvincing
and contradictory expositions of the Faith which are now offered to
us under the title of Christian apologetics.
§ 5. Apologetics "Found Wanting."
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account