登陆注册
5237300000153

第153章 Lectures XIV and XV(1)

THE VALUE OF SAINTLINESS

We have now passed in review the more important of the phenomena which are regarded as fruits of genuine religion and characteristics of men who are devout. Today we have to change our attitude from that of description to that of appreciation; we have to ask whether the fruits in question can help us to judge the absolute value of what religion adds to human life. Were I to parody Kant, I should say that a "Critique of pure Saintliness" must be our theme.

If, in turning to this theme, we could descend upon our subject from above like Catholic theologians, with our fixed definitions of man and man's perfection and our positive dogmas about God, we should have an easy time of it. Man's perfection would be the fulfillment of his end; and his end would be union with his Maker. That union could be pursued by him along three paths, active, purgative, and contemplative, respectively; and progress along either path would be a simple matter to measure by the application of a limited number of theological and moral conceptions and definitions. The absolute significance and value of any bit of religious experience we might hear of would thus be given almost mathematically into our hands.

If convenience were everything, we ought now to grieve at finding ourselves cut off from so admirably convenient a method as this.

But we did cut ourselves off from it deliberately in those remarks which you remember we made, in our first lecture, about the empirical method; and it must be confessed that after that act of renunciation we can never hope for clean-cut and scholastic results. WE cannot divide man sharply into an animal and a rational part. WE cannot distinguish natural from supernatural effects; nor among the latter know which are favors of God, and which are counterfeit operations of the demon. WE have merely to collect things together without any special a priori theological system, and out of an aggregate of piecemeal judgments as to the value of this and that experience--judgments in which our general philosophic prejudices, our instincts, and our common sense are our only guides--decide that ON THE WHOLE one type of religion is approved by its fruits, and another type condemned. "On the whole"--I fear we shall never escape complicity with that qualification, so dear to your practical man, so repugnant to your systematizer!

I also fear that as I make this frank confession, I may seem to some of you to throw our compass overboard, and to adopt caprice as our pilot. Skepticism or wayward choice, you may think, can be the only results of such a formless method as I have taken up.

A few remarks in deprecation of such an opinion, and in farther explanation of the empiricist principles which I profess, may therefore appear at this point to be in place.

Abstractly, it would seem illogical to try to measure the worth of a religion's fruits in merely human terms of value. How CAN you measure their worth without considering whether the God really exists who is supposed to inspire them? If he really exists, then all the conduct instituted by men to meet his wants must necessarily be a reasonable fruit of his religion--it would be unreasonable only in case he did not exist. If, for instance, you were to condemn a religion of human or animal sacrifices by virtue of your subjective sentiments, and if all the while a deity were really there demanding such sacrifices, you would be making a theoretical mistake by tacitly assuming that the deity must be non-existent; you would be setting up a theology of your own as much as if you were a scholastic philosopher.

To this extent, to the extent of disbelieving peremptorily in certain types of deity, I frankly confess that we must be theologians. If disbeliefs can be said to constitute a theology, then the prejudices, instincts, and common sense which I chose as our guides make theological partisans of us whenever they make certain beliefs abhorrent.

But such common-sense prejudices and instincts are themselves the fruit of an empirical evolution. Nothing is more striking than the secular alteration that goes on in the moral and religious tone of men, as their insight into nature and their social arrangements progressively develop. After an interval of a few generations the mental climate proves unfavorable to notions of the deity which at an earlier date were perfectly satisfactory: the older gods have fallen below the common secular level, and can no longer be believed in. Today a deity who should require bleeding sacrifices to placate him would be too sanguinary to be taken seriously. Even if powerful historical credentials were put forward in his favor, we would not look at them. Once, on the contrary, his cruel appetites were of themselves credentials.

They positively recommended him to men's imaginations in ages when such coarse signs of power were respected and no others could be understood. Such deities then were worshiped because such fruits were relished.

Doubtless historic accidents always played some later part, but the original factor in fixing the figure of the gods must always have been psychological. The deity to whom the prophets, seers, and devotees who founded the particular cult bore witness was worth something to them personally. They could use him. He guided their imagination, warranted their hopes, and controlled their will--or else they required him as a safeguard against the demon and a curber of other people's crimes. In any case, they chose him for the value of the fruits he seemed to them to yield.

同类推荐
  • 觚剩及续编

    觚剩及续编

    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。
  • 佛说大阿弥陀经

    佛说大阿弥陀经

    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。
  • 知医必辨

    知医必辨

    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。
  • 正一法文经章官品

    正一法文经章官品

    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。
  • 效力篇

    效力篇

    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
  • 娇妻在上:总裁一宠到底

    娇妻在上:总裁一宠到底

    帝都出了大新闻!果断狠辣的‘顾氏财团’总裁顾沉夜要订婚了!未婚妻还是被他一手搞破产的‘沐氏’小女儿沐浅浅!“顾少,据说您的未来岳母是被您逼死的?”顾沉夜脸色阴沉。“顾少,据说您未来岳父是您逼着跳楼的?”顾沉夜搂紧了沐浅浅的腰:“亲爱的,你告诉他们,我们很恩爱。”沐浅浅双目如刀:“顾沉夜,我恨不得杀了你,我就算是死都不会嫁给你!”破产姐妹VS商业巨子VS投行精英!甜虐甜虐的宠文!--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 帮助孩子成长的30个创造发明故事

    帮助孩子成长的30个创造发明故事

    孩子的成长过程,就是性格爱好的形成过程。锤炼性格,培养爱好”是“帮助孩子成长系列”丛书的要旨,本书也禀承情商、智商并举的思路,从古今中外无数历险探谜中,精心翻译编写了30则故事,为方便读者阅读和讲述,特加注了拼音并配彩图。发明创造是人类利用自然规律,制造出前所未有的生产生活用具,改变人类生活方式,造福社会的壮举。《发明创造故事》再现了人类发明创造的艰辛,彰显了发明家们勤于思考,善于动手,百折不挠的创新精神,告诉我们生活并非本来如此,社会是不断进步的,而这得益于无数发明者的智慧和奉献。
  • 北域的炼金师

    北域的炼金师

    当来自失落文明的少年邂逅没落帝国的王女,究竟会发生些什么故事呢?
  • 六星社的少年们:寻星记

    六星社的少年们:寻星记

    在泽帛的帮助下摆脱咒语而从数千年睡梦中醒来的古波斯德西元帅,不远万里前往深圳找到泽帛,却因为打抱不平被关入拘留所,并在那里失踪。泽帛一家焦急地打探德西元帅的下落,不料不明身份的黑衣人破门闯入,泽帛逃脱,父母被挟持。泽帛得到启示,想要找到德西元帅,救出父母,他必须完成一场星际之旅,而且这个旅程具有更大的意义:保护人文明和地球秩序。逃跑途中,他遇到一名叫牛皮唐的少年,这位少年曾在拘留所结识了德西元帅并与元帅成为好友。泽帛和牛皮唐最终找到了德西元帅,拯救了父母,获得六星社的宝物“时问之海”,并成为社内成员,即人类的维护者。然而,黑彗星仍蠢蠢欲动,六星社的另外五件宝物仍下落不明。
  • 特工魔女惊天下

    特工魔女惊天下

    她是一介杀手,却在最巅峰之际被组织背叛。本以为魂归大地,却不料穿越成毫无魔力的废材大小姐。她看似柔弱,实则刚强。她扮猪吃老虎,聪明智慧。他堂堂仙界之子,偏偏看上了她。......丫鬟说:“小姐,你是不是要屈服在这个无所不能的男人身下了?”“哼,我要他跪拜在我脚趾头下。”后来她成功了,仙界皇子追上门,当教主,做女皇震惊天下-----
  • 网游之异界霸主

    网游之异界霸主

    一个身患绝症的女生网游老手玩最后一次游戏却不曾想,在这个看似是古风的游戏中,却似异界的游戏中收获到人生中最精彩的时光收获到最真挚的感情既然生命有限,为何不在游戏里玩出自己的精彩人生?各种精彩,各种离奇,请大家不要错过!!!
  • 骄阳争锋

    骄阳争锋

    在这个天骄并起的时代,在这个武力为尊的世界。林萧不甘于平凡,唯有仗剑前行。骄阳纵横!愿做人间逍遥客,不修天地无情仙!
  • 人生三步:信念·意志·行动

    人生三步:信念·意志·行动

    《人生三步:信念·意志·行动》本书每节都用一到两个小故事,探讨那些中外闻名成功者异于常人的独到之处,以及他们获得成功的方法和经验总结。让您在文字之中学习到人生舞台的真谛。每个人都希望成功,但是却往往只有很少的一部分人能够站在成功的峰顶。想知道成功者的人生智慧和经验吗?想知道成功者都具有怎样的品质和精神吗?想知道每一个成功者都有着怎样的成功方法和路径吗?
  • 北风扬沙录

    北风扬沙录

    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。
  • 开店盈利300问

    开店盈利300问

    开店之前,首先必须确定并做好心理上的准备。第一,在心理上要做好迎接改变的准备。要时刻提醒自己:我的店马上要开张了。这是属于我自己的事业。第二,心理上要对风险有一定的认识。做生意的出发点是为了赚钱,但却是有风险的。风险并不可怕,只要心态保持冷静,做事有依据,未雨绸缪,就可以将风险控制在最小的范围。第三,要有积极的态度。有一句格言说:“一个人的人生态度决定了人生的高度。”态度是一种重要的影响力量。