THE GOSPEL OF LIFE. THE GOSPEL OF LIFE THOUGHTS INTRODUCTORY TO THE STUDY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, D.D., D.C.L., BISHOP OF DURHAM ; FORMERLY REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY, CAMBRIDGE. SECOND EDITION. Honfcon : MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK. 1895 [All Rights reserved.] IMI H O&OC KAI H AAH6EIA KAI H ZOiH. ST JOHN xiv. 6. N AYTCp ZWM6N KAI KINOYM66A KAI 6CM6N. ACTS xvii. 28. First Edition 1892. Second 1895. PAGE CONTENTS . v PREFACE . xvii CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE. General statement of the scope of the inquiry . 1 Three final existences assumed 2 (i) 'Self 4 ' (ii) The world 5 ' ' (iii) GOD 5 The reality of these existences cannot be es- tablished by argument .... 6 Each brings its own difficulties ... 8 ' ' i. Difficulties as to the conception of self (a) Origin 9 (b) Growth. Dependence. Influence of medium ; of mechanical inventions ; of intellectual conceptions . 10 ' ' (c) Independence. Freedom . .13 (d) Complex nature of the individual man : struggles : failure 16 ' (e) Sternness of Nature '. Yet man asserts himself 17 (/) looking to the future in spite of difficulties 18 These are facts 19 ii. Difficulties as to the conception of 'the world' 20 (a) The mystery involved in our belief in the external world : the relation between our impressions and that which excites them 20 2066624 vi Contents. PAGE (6) The idea of a beginning : conclusions from . 21 (a) The dissipation of energy . 22 (/3) The discontinuity of the formulae for conduction of heat . 24 (7) The character of molecules . 2ft The idea of law: rests on Faith . 27 Laws based on assumptions : explain no- thing as to force 29 We have a sense of harmony in creation . 30 At the same time we see a conflict in nature and in man .... 31 We have a natural sympathy with the ex- ternal world. This also is spiritual . 32 We have also a belief in progress . 33 ' ' iii. Difficulties as to the conception of GOD . 34 (a) No proof of the being of GOD possible : alleged proofs are partial illustrations of the idea . 35- (6) The idea of Divine 'Personality' . 36 (c) Prayer 36 (d) The present relation of finite being to GOD 37 The religious history of the world. History of the Jews .37 History of the Gentiles .... 38 The questions which we ask in hope . 39 The effort to answer them not vain . 41 CHAPTER II. THE DUTY AND NECESSITY OF DEALING WITH THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE. The sense of the mysteries of life leads us to seek for some solution of the problems which they suggest 43 Men have in fact always sought for a solution . 44 (i) The problems must be dealt with in some way 45 Contents. vii Action influenced (ii) by opinion .... The moral standard of action .... Conception of GOD as Moral Governor . Belief in a future life .... Facts of Revelation: the Incarnation The Atonement The view of the problems of life has in its broad aspects a great practical importance 54 Further definition of the idea of GOD . 55 of the future life 55 of the Incarnation 56 Moral influence of living dogma ... 57 Dogma is a necessity for us . 58 (iii) It may be said that action will be guided by experience not by theory ... 59 Such a view is subject to serious limitations . 59 And yet more character is to be taken into account 60 The power of character is real if latent . 61 Moral influence of views of creation as to the basis of morality 62 Final importance of what we think ... 64 CHAPTER III. THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE MUST BE SOUGHT. Point reached 65 Dangers from dominant influences .... 66 Different kinds of truths and certainty in respect of assertions regarding (i) self, (ii) the world, (iii) GOD 68 of (i) Truths dependent on the limitations man's present nature (conditions of time and space) ........ 68 viii Contents. PAGE (ii) Truths expressing the results of man's ob- servation of the external world; physical and vital ...... .69 Physical laws correspond with the isolation of the action of particular forces ... 70 Physical truth contrasted with Mathematical . truth . ..*' . 71 The phenomena of life still more complicated 71 Historical truth different from Physical and Mathematical truth 72 The subject of a new Science .... 73 (iii) Truths relating to our knowledge of GOD . 74 We must observe that (a) The facts belonging to each Science are in- dependent 75 (6) The facts included in a complex phenomenon can be severally isolated and examined according to their proper laws . 76 (c) The methods of different Sciences are dis- tinct 77 Application of these observations to Theo- logy '.77 (i) The fundamental facts must be given by GOD 78 This revelation must come through life . 79 Such 'signs' in life are the basis of Christian Theology 80 They establish a connexion between the seen and the unseen 81 is (ii) The verification of these signs up to a certain point historical .... 82 But they are confirmed also by a spiritual judgment ....... 83 Such a power corresponds with what has been recognised before 84 The proof primarily personal, but capable of wider extension ...... 85 Analogous to proofs in other cases ... 85 Contents. IX PAGE How it gains a universal force ... 85 The final test in life 85 (iii) In dealing with the facts of Theology we must take account of all the underlying Sciences 86 Hence Theology advances through the advance of these . 88 No one Science has peculiar access to Truth . 89 The results of each Science are distinct in kind 90 Usurpations 90 The danger greater if the method of a sub- ordinate Science is applied to a higher . 91 The method of Physics cannot rightly deal with Theology 92 CHAPTER IV. THE WORK OF THE PRJE-CHRISTIAN NATIONS TOWARDS THE SOLUTION OF THE PRO- BLEMS OF LIFE. Tentative prae-Christian solutions of the problems of life 93 The character of the solution required ... 94 The solution must be religious 94 The idea of religion 96 This idea must be traced in the history of humanity 98 The history of religion parallel in part to the history of language 100 Correspondence between groups of languages and re- ligions 102 Illustrations from the use of sex-terminations in nouns 102 from Divine Names 103 from formation of words ..... 104 But languages reveal and do not create religious ten- dencies 106 x Contents. PAGE Thus Gentile religions are a fragmentary revelation of man's nature and needs 107 In what sense there is a historical science of religion 1081 Two groups of facts to be distinguished . 110 The work of Persia and Greece for Judaism . 112 The religious work of the nations recognised in the history and teaching of the Bible . 114 The witness of Justin Martyr 116 of Clement of Alexandria 117 CHAPTER V. PR&-CHRISTIAN SOLUTIONS OF THE PROBLEMS OF BEING. The value of the prse-Christian Book-religions to the Christian student 121 . 124 (i) THE EELIGIONS OF CHINA ... 125 (a) The primitive religion ..... Imperial worship, and worship of ancestors 127 (b) Taouism 129 Conception of Tao 130 Corruption of Taouism. 131 . 132 (c) Confucianism Basis of Confucianism . 134 Filial piety 135 Relation to old religion .... 136 Eetribution on earth . 138 Strength and weakness of Confucianism . 139 Importance of the primitive religion of China 141 142 (ii) RELIGIONS OF INDIA 143 (a) Hinduism Earliest Vedic teaching 144 Brahmanism expresses the thoughts of ema- nation and dependence .... 146 Contents. xi PAGE The conception of Caste ... 148 Sacrifice : Penance 150 Transmigration 152 Different aspects of the Divine power . 153 Multiplication of specialised Divinities. 155 Krishna . ...... .156 (b) Buddhism . 157 A reformed Brahmanism . .158 The experiences of Gautama . 158 Contrast of Brahmanism .... 159 and Buddhism 160 ' ' The four sublime truths of Buddhism . 162 The continuity and solidarity of being . 164 Nirvana 166 ' ' Alleged atheism of Buddhism . 167 The corruption of Buddhism . .168 ' (iii) ZOBOASTBIANISM . 169 Contrasts of Brahmanism and Zoroastrianism 170 The origin of Zoroastrianism . 172 The conceptions of Ahura Mazda . 174 Transition from Monotheism to Dualism . 176 Doctrine of the world and man . 178 Praise of agriculture 180 Doctrine of last things 181 CHAPTER VI. PRESUPPOSITIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN SOLUTION. Three assumptions in the Bible 183 Difficulties recognised . ... 184 How the are presented . 185 assumptions ( The fitness of the form .187 as to God 188 (i) The assumption .... Consequent view of creation .... 189 W. G. L. b xii Contents. PAGE (ii) The assumption as to man, the crown of the visible creation, in the Divine idea . 191 Limitations of the assumption . 193 (iii) The assumption as to man's Fall . 194 Silence as to the Fall in the later Books of the 0. T. ... 195 General review of the record . 196 The use of these postulates in the N. T. 199 The postulates justified by experience . 202 GOD unknowable in the sense in which men and the world are unknowable . 204 CHAPTER VII. "SIGNS" AS A VEHICLE OF REVELATION. ' The idea of a sign,' a miracle 206 A miracle assumes the existence of the spiritual power to which it is referred 208 The action of the spiritual power one of possible modes of explanation of the phenomenon .... 208 The moral character of the phenomenon an element in the interpretation 210 Testimony of the Pentateuch 212 of the Prophets ....... 213 of the Gospel . 213 of St Paul 214 of the Apocalypse 215 The Bible recognises in man a power for discerning moral Truth which nothing external can override . 215 Miracles correspond with Divine modes of working .