But Christianity, with its roots in Judaism, is, as I have said, _par
excellence_ the religion of sorrow, because it reaches to truer and
deeper levels of our spiritual nature, and therefore has capabilities
both of sorrow and joy which are presumably non-existent except in
civilized man. I mean the sorrows and the joys of a fully evolved
spiritual life--such as were attained wonderfully early, historically
speaking, in the case of the Jews, and are now universally diffused
throughout Christendom. In short, the sorrows and the joys in question
are those which arise from the fully developed consciousness of sin
against a God of Love, as distinguished from propitiation of malignant
spirits. These joys and sorrows are wholly spiritual, not merely
physical, and culminate in the cry,'Thou desirest no sacrifice.... The
sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit[68].'
I agree with Pascal[69] that there is virtually nothing to be gained by
being a theist as distinguished from a Christian. Unitarianism is only
an affair of the reason--a merely abstract theory of the mind, having
nothing to do with the heart, or the real needs of mankind. It is only
when it takes the New Testament, tears out a few of its leaves relating
to the divinity of Christ, and appropriates all the rest, that its
system becomes in any degree possible as a basis for personal religion.
If there is a Deity it seems to be in some indefinite degree more
probable that He should impart a Revelation than that He should not.
Women, as a class, are in all countries much more disposed to
Christianity than men. I think the scientific explanation of this is to
be found in the causes assigned in my essay on _Mental differences
between Men and Women_[70]. But, if Christianity be supposed true, there
would, of course, be a more ultimate explanation of a religious
kind--as in all other cases where causation is concerned. And, in that
case I have no doubt that the largest part of the explanation would
consist in the passions of women being less ardent than those of men,
and also much more kept under restraint by social conditions of life.
This applies not only to purity, but likewise to most of the other
psychological _differentiae_ between the sexes, such as ambition,
selfishness, pride of power, and so forth. In short, the whole ideal of
Christian ethics is of a feminine as distinguished from a masculine
type[71]. Now nothing is so inimical to Christian belief as un-Christian
conduct. This is especially the case as regards impurity; for whether
the fact be explained on religious or non-religious grounds, it has more
to do with unbelief than has the speculative reason. Consequently, woman
is, for all these reasons, the 'fitter' type for receiving and retaining
Christian belief.
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