登陆注册
4614800000012

第12章

Mr. Landseer Mackenzie discourses not only upon these anticipatory condemnations but also upon the relations of the weather to this war. He is convinced quite simply and honestly that God has been persistently rigging the weather against the Germans. He points out that the absence of mist on the North Sea was of great help to the British in the autumn of 1914, and declares that it was the wet state of the country that really held up the Germans in Flanders in the winter of 1914-15. He ignores the part played by the weather in delaying the relief of Kut-el-Amara, and he has not thought of the difficult question why the Deity, having once decided upon intervention, did not, instead of this comparatively trivial meteorological assistance, adopt the more effective course of, for example, exploding or spoiling the German stores of ammunition by some simple atomic miracle, or misdirecting their gunfire by a sudden local modification of the laws of refraction or gravitation.

Since these views of God come from Anglican vicarages I can only conclude that this kind of belief is quite orthodox and permissible in the established church, and that I am charging orthodox Christianity here with nothing that has ever been officially repudiated. I find indeed the essential assumptions of Mr. Landseer Mackenzie repeated in endless official Christian utterances on the part of German and British and Russian divines. The Bishop of Chelmsford, for example, has recently ascribed our difficulties in the war to our impatience with long sermons--among other similar causes. Such Christians are manifestly convinced that God can be invoked by ritual--for example by special days of national prayer or an increased observance of Sunday--or made malignant by neglect or levity. It is almost fundamental in their idea of him. The ordinary Mohammedan seems as confident of this magic pettiness of God, and the belief of China in the magic propitiations and resentments of "Heaven" is at least equally strong.

But the true God as those of the new religion know him is no such God of luck and intervention. He is not to serve men's ends or the ends of nations or associations of men; he is careless of our ceremonies and invocations. He does not lose his temper with our follies and weaknesses. It is for us to serve Him. He captains us, he does not coddle us. He has his own ends for which he needs us. . . .

4. GOD IS NOT PROVIDENCE

Closely related to this heresy that God is magic, is the heresy that calls him Providence, that declares the apparent adequacy of cause and effect to be a sham, and that all the time, incalculably, he is pulling about the order of events for our personal advantages.

The idea of Providence was very gaily travested by Daudet in "Tartarin in the Alps." You will remember how Tartarin's friend assured him that all Switzerland was one great Trust, intent upon attracting tourists and far too wise and kind to permit them to venture into real danger, that all the precipices were netted invisibly, and all the loose rocks guarded against falling, that avalanches were prearranged spectacles and the crevasses at their worst slippery ways down into kindly catchment bags. If the mountaineer tried to get into real danger he was turned back by specious excuses. Inspired by this persuasion Tartarin behaved with incredible daring. . . . That is exactly the Providence theory of the whole world. There can be no doubt that it does enable many a timid soul to get through life with a certain recklessness. And provided there is no slip into a crevasse, the Providence theory works well. It would work altogether well if there were no crevasses.

Tartarin was reckless because of his faith in Providence, and escaped. But what would have happened to him if he had fallen into a crevasse?

There exists a very touching and remarkable book by Sir Francis Younghusband called "Within." [Williams and Norgate, 1912.] It is the confession of a man who lived with a complete confidence in Providence until he was already well advanced in years. He went through battles and campaigns, he filled positions of great honour and responsibility, he saw much of the life of men, without altogether losing his faith. The loss of a child, an Indian famine, could shake it but not overthrow it. Then coming back one day from some races in France, he was knocked down by an automobile and hurt very cruelly. He suffered terribly in body and mind. His sufferings caused much suffering to others. He did his utmost to see the hand of a loving Providence in his and their disaster and the torment it inflicted, and being a man of sterling honesty and a fine essential simplicity of mind, he confessed at last that he could not do so. His confidence in the benevolent intervention of God was altogether destroyed. His book tells of this shattering, and how labouriously he reconstructed his religion upon less confident lines. It is a book typical of an age and of a very English sort of mind, a book well worth reading.

That he came to a full sense of the true God cannot be asserted, but how near he came to God, let one quotation witness.

同类推荐
  • 略法华三昧补助仪

    略法华三昧补助仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 品藻

    品藻

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Faraday As A Discoverer

    Faraday As A Discoverer

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Helen

    Helen

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 宝镜三昧原宗辨谬说

    宝镜三昧原宗辨谬说

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 万千邪域

    万千邪域

    没有显赫的家世,没有神秘的女友,也没有绝世强者附体指导,有的只是无尽的坎坷、苦楚与挣扎。看万千邪域,悟世态炎凉。
  • 新世相专栏

    新世相专栏

    新世相,覆盖千万文艺生活家的自媒体组织"文艺连萌"发起者。提倡品味、审美和有物质基础的精神生活。“4小时逃离北上广”“丢书大作战”“新世相图书馆”等年度刷屏事件策划者。“保持镇静、不被生活吞没,我们终将改变潮水的方向”,他们尝试用文艺解决人间烦恼的样本。
  • 你我曾挚爱

    你我曾挚爱

    他是赫赫有名的容家少爷,更是容老爷钦定的继承人,没想到回丹都的第一天就被一个女人缠上,还硬说他是她五年前死去的挚爱!?从此女人闯入他世界,将他的生活搅的一塌糊涂。容毓发誓:一定要让这个狂妄放肆的女人付出代价,让她知道什么叫真正心痛的滋味!各种纠缠各种作,最终女人败阵!只是……在她转身投入别人怀抱的时候,为什么‘哗啦’的碎裂声是从他胸腔传出来的?婚礼现场!他疯了一样突破各种重围来到她身边,得到的是她一句:“我现在是野赫的老婆,请不要拉我的手!”
  • 难耐狂兽总裁

    难耐狂兽总裁

    穆易尘撑起身子来,居高临下的俯视她,嘴角又是她熟悉的轻蔑的笑。“真他妈贱!”他狠狠地从薄唇中突出这几个字,猛地将她推开。等她反应过来的时候,穆易尘已经翻身下床开始穿衣服。苏晴依旧不反驳,他今晚有点失常,跟他呛起来,无疑是找死。再说了,顾客是上帝,她哪能得罪上帝?她跟那些小姐唯一的差别,可能只是伺候的人固定。她默默地闭着眼睛,不断地听到间断的开门,关门声;直到外面传来汽车发动的……
  • 尊上

    尊上

    新书《我的师兄绝世无双》已发布上古终结之时,诸天浩劫降临,天道开始审判世间一切罪恶威震三千大世界的一代传奇霸主古清风,因其一身罪恶,遭天道审判当古清风在自己的陵园苏醒,他名字早已成为上古时代那些传奇故事中的传说。
  • 王爷妃要翻身

    王爷妃要翻身

    【邪魅出品】她,本性天真,只为了打破诅咒。而后的一次次漩涡令她身陷囫囵,一场不明所以的背离令她愤然挥袖离去。十年后,一袭艳红名震天下,绝色容颜却带着嗜血的狠戾,朱唇噙起一抹蔑视天下的笑容。她凤眸轻扫,傲然骄嚣:“宁我负天下,不允天下负我。”一场谁与争锋的角逐,一次惊心动魄的对峙,问鼎天下的赌博中,谁才是最后的赢家?曰是:天畔星降,生死两难,非正非邪,问鼎天下。
  • 爱河之源(张石山散文随笔选辑)

    爱河之源(张石山散文随笔选辑)

    最早可能成为一名北大的学生,该在1966年。那年我高中毕业。我读中学的太原三中是省内重点中学,我是学校的高材生。我在全省统考曾获总分第二名;我认为自己考取中国任何一所名牌学府都易如反掌;我的首选目标是北大。我在毕业前夕已填好了报考志愿表;我的第一志愿以及第二志愿都是北大;我选了天体物理系以及飞行器系。考北京大学,要讲北京话怎么办?从高一起,我就学了一口太原“京腔”;袜子破了又怎么办?从高二起我开始学习做针线、打补丁。连补袜子这样的细节都考虑过了,有备无患,万无一失。
  • 混沌神逍遥行

    混沌神逍遥行

    一个在洪荒时期被放逐的神,回归的时候发现时代已经完全变了......睁开眼看到的是刀光剑影,江湖豪侠......十步杀一人,千里不留行。再睁眼,看到的是36D萌妹子......到处都是漂亮的小姐姐。于是他就想,我要怎么样做好一条咸鱼呢?(没有强硬的主线要求,轻松爽文,不虐,没有复仇,没有天才陨落,没有打怪升级,没有系统任务,无毒,请放心食用)
  • 爆笑穿越:草包傻王妃

    爆笑穿越:草包傻王妃

    她可真是大胆,嫁不成太子就想嫁给他?哼,觉得他这个王爷配不起她吗?要知道他堂堂七王爷,从小到大都不是好欺负的主,他有的是时间陪她玩,就看她是不是玩得起!
  • 破晓默示录

    破晓默示录

    骑士的荣耀不允许在异魔面前低头,哪怕战死也要拼尽全力。他拥有着这个世界上最强大的力量。他手中握有主宰世界之剑,身穿皇帝珍藏的战甲。他是破晓者……