The Hidden Power, and Other Papers upon Mental ScienceTroward, T. (Thomas)
Religion
The Hidden Power, and Other Papers upon Mental Science
Troward, T. (Thomas)
New Thought
Our attitude towards the religious beliefs of others should, therefore,
not be that of iconoclasts, breaking down ruthlessly whatever from _our_
point of view we see to be merely traditionary idols (in Bacon's sense
of the word), but rather the opposite method of fixing upon that in
another's creed which we find to be positive and affirmative, and
gradually leading him to perceive in what its affirmativeness consists;
and then, when once he has got the clue to the element of strength which
exists in his accustomed form of belief, the perception of the contrast
between that and the non-essential accretions will grow up in his mind
spontaneously, thus gradually bringing him out into a wider and freer
atmosphere. In going through such a process as this, he will never have
had his thoughts directed into any channel to suggest separation from
his spiritual root and ground; but he will learn that the rooting and
grounding in the Divine, which he had trusted in at first, were indeed
true, but in a sense far fuller, grander, and larger every way than his
early infantile conception of them.
The question is not how far can another's religious opinions stand the
test of a remorseless logic, but how far do they enable him to realise
his unity with Divine Spirit? That is the living proof of the value of
his opinion to himself, and no change in his opinions can be for the
better that does not lead him to a greater recognition of the livingness
of Divine Spirit in himself. For any change of opinion to indicate a
forward movement, it must proceed from our realising in some measure the
true nature of the life that is already developed in us. When we see
_why_ we are _what_ we are _now_, then we can look ahead and see what
the same life principle that has brought us up to the present point is
capable of doing in the future. We may not see very far ahead, but we
shall see where the next step is to be placed, and that is sufficient to
enable us to move on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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