第11章

trytogetwithhimandgenerallyfeelhispresence。”

Iletafewothercasesfollowatrandom：——

“Godsurroundsmelikethephysicalatmosphere。Heisclosertomethanmyownbreath。InhimliterallyIliveandmoveandhavemybeing。”——

“TherearetimeswhenIseemtostandinhisverypresence，totalkwithhim。Answerstoprayerhavecome，sometimesdirectandoverwhelmingintheirrevelationofhispresenceandpowers。

TherearetimeswhenGodseemsfaroff，butthisisalwaysmyownfault。”——

“Ihavethesenseofapresence，strong，andatthesametimesoothing，whichhoversoverme。Sometimesitseemstoenwrapmewithsustainingarms。”

Suchisthehumanontologicalimagination，andsuchistheconvincingnessofwhatitbringstobirth。Unpicturablebeingsarerealized，andrealizedwithanintensityalmostlikethatofanhallucination。Theydetermineourvitalattitudeasdecisivelyasthevitalattitudeofloversisdeterminedbythehabitualsense，bywhicheachishaunted，oftheotherbeingintheworld。Aloverhasnotoriouslythissenseofthecontinuousbeingofhisidol，evenwhenhisattentionisaddressedtoothermattersandhenolongerrepresentsherfeatures。Hecannotforgether；sheuninterruptedlyaffectshimthroughandthrough。

Ispokeoftheconvincingnessofthesefeelingsofreality，andI

mustdwellamomentlongeronthatpoint。Theyareasconvincingtothosewhohavethemasanydirectsensibleexperiencescanbe，andtheyare，asarule，muchmoreconvincingthanresultsestablishedbymerelogiceverare。Onemayindeedbeentirelywithoutthem；probablymorethanoneofyouherepresentiswithouttheminanymarkeddegree；butifyoudohavethem，andhavethematallstrongly，theprobabilityisthatyoucannothelpregardingthemasgenuineperceptionsoftruth，asrevelationsofakindofrealitywhichnoadverseargument，howeverunanswerablebyyouinwords，canexpelfromyourbelief。

TheopinionopposedtomysticisminphilosophyissometimesspokenofasRATIONALISM。Rationalisminsiststhatallourbeliefsoughtultimatelytofindforthemselvesarticulategrounds。Suchgrounds，forrationalism，mustconsistoffourthings：(1)definitelystatableabstractprinciples；(2)

definitefactsofsensation；(3)definitehypothesesbasedonsuchfacts；and(4)definiteinferenceslogicallydrawn。Vagueimpressionsofsomethingindefinablehavenoplaceintherationalisticsystem，whichonitspositivesideissurelyasplendidintellectualtendency，fornotonlyareallourphilosophiesfruitsofit，butphysicalscience(amongstothergoodthings)isitsresult。

Nevertheless，ifwelookonman’swholementallifeasitexists，onthelifeofmenthatliesinthemapartfromtheirlearningandscience，andthattheyinwardlyandprivatelyfollow，wehavetoconfessthatthepartofitofwhichrationalismcangiveanaccountisrelativelysuperficial。Itisthepartthathastheprestigeundoubtedly，forithastheloquacity，itcanchallengeyouforproofs，andchoplogic，andputyoudownwithwords。Butitwillfailtoconvinceorconvertyouallthesame，ifyourdumbintuitionsareopposedtoitsconclusions。Ifyouhaveintuitionsatall，theycomefromadeeperlevelofyournaturethantheloquaciouslevelwhichrationalisminhabits。Yourwholesubconsciouslife，yourimpulses，yourfaiths，yourneeds，yourdivinations，havepreparedthepremises，ofwhichyourconsciousnessnowfeelstheweightoftheresult；andsomethinginyouabsolutelyKNOWSthatthatresultmustbetruerthananylogic-choppingrationalistictalk，howeverclever，thatmaycontradictit。Thisinferiorityoftherationalisticlevelinfoundingbeliefisjustasmanifestwhenrationalismarguesforreligionaswhenitarguesagainstit。ThatvastliteratureofproofsofGod’sexistencedrawnfromtheorderofnature，whichacenturyagoseemedsooverwhelminglyconvincing，to-daydoeslittlemorethangatherdustinlibraries，forthesimplereasonthatourgenerationhasceasedtobelieveinthekindofGoditarguedfor。WhateversortofabeingGodmaybe，weKNOWto-daythatheisnevermorethatmereexternalinventorof“contrivances“intendedtomakemanifesthis“glory“inwhichourgreat-grandfatherstooksuchsatisfaction，thoughjusthowweknowthiswecannotpossiblymakeclearbywordseithertoothersortoourselves。IdefyanyofyouherefullytoaccountforyourpersuasionthatifaGodexisthemustbeamorecosmicandtragicpersonagethanthatBeing。

Thetruthisthatinthemetaphysicalandreligioussphere，articulatereasonsarecogentforusonlywhenourinarticulatefeelingsofrealityhavealreadybeenimpressedinfavorofthesameconclusion。Then，indeed，ourintuitionsandourreasonworktogether，andgreatworld-rulingsystems，likethatoftheBuddhistoroftheCatholicphilosophy，maygrowup。Ourimpulsivebeliefisherealwayswhatsetsuptheoriginalbodyoftruth，andourarticulatelyverbalizedphilosophyisbutitsshowytranslationintoformulas。Theunreasonedandimmediateassuranceisthedeepthinginus，thereasonedargumentisbutasurfaceexhibition。Instinctleads，intelligencedoesbutfollow。IfapersonfeelsthepresenceofalivingGodafterthefashionshownbymyquotations，yourcriticalarguments，betheyneversosuperior，willvainlysetthemselvestochangehisfaith。

Pleaseobserve，however，thatIdonotyetsaythatitisBETTER

thatthesubconsciousandnon-rationalshouldthusholdprimacyinthereligiousrealm。Iconfinemyselftosimplypointingoutthattheydosoholditasamatteroffact。

Somuchforoursenseoftherealityofthereligiousobjects。

Letmenowsayabriefwordmoreabouttheattitudestheycharacteristicallyawaken。

WehavealreadyagreedthattheyareSOLEMN；andwehaveseenreasontothinkthatthemostdistinctiveofthemisthesortofjoywhichmayresultinextremecasesfromabsoluteself-surrender。Thesenseofthekindofobjecttowhichthesurrenderismadehasmuchtodowithdeterminingtheprecisecomplexionofthejoy；andthewholephenomenonismorecomplexthananysimpleformulaallows。Intheliteratureofthesubject，sadnessandgladnesshaveeachbeenemphasizedinturn。

TheancientsayingthatthefirstmakeroftheGodswasfearreceivesvoluminouscorroborationfromeveryageofreligioushistory；butnonethelessdoesreligioushistoryshowthepartwhichjoyhasevermoretendedtoplay。Sometimesthejoyhasbeenprimary；sometimessecondary，beingthegladnessofdeliverancefromthefear。Thislatterstateofthings，beingthemorecomplex，isalsothemorecomplete；andasweproceed，I

thinkweshallhaveabundantreasonforrefusingtoleaveouteitherthesadnessorthegladness，ifwelookatreligionwiththebreadthofviewwhichitdemands。Statedinthecompletestpossibleterms，aman’sreligioninvolvesbothmoodsofcontractionandmoodsofexpansionofhisbeing。Butthequantitativemixtureandorderofthesemoodsvarysomuchfromoneageoftheworld，fromonesystemofthought，andfromoneindividualtoanother，thatyoumayinsisteitheronthedreadandthesubmission，oronthepeaceandthefreedomastheessenceofthematter，andstillremainmateriallywithinthelimitsofthetruth。Theconstitutionallysombreandtheconstitutionallysanguineonlookerareboundtoemphasizeoppositeaspectsofwhatliesbeforetheireyes。

Theconstitutionallysombrereligiouspersonmakesevenofhisreligiouspeaceaverysoberthing。Dangerstillhoversintheairaboutit。Flexionandcontractionarenotwhollychecked。

Itweresparrowlikeandchildishafterourdeliverancetoexplodeintotwitteringlaughterandcaper-cutting，andutterlytoforgettheimminenthawkonbough。Lielow，rather，lielow；foryouareinthehandsofalivingGod。IntheBookofJob，forexample，theimpotenceofmanandtheomnipotenceofGodistheexclusiveburdenofitsauthor’smind。“Itisashighasheaven；

whatcanstthoudo？——deeperthanhell；whatcanstthouknow？”

Thereisanastringentrelishaboutthetruthofthisconvictionwhichsomemencanfeel，andwhichforthemisasnearanapproachascanbemadetothefeelingofreligiousjoy。

“InJob。”saysthatcoldlytruthfulwriter，theauthorofMarkRutherford，“Godremindsusthatmanisnotthemeasureofhiscreation。Theworldisimmense，constructedonnoplanortheorywhichtheintellectofmancangrasp。ItisTRANSCENDENT

everywhere。Thisistheburdenofeveryverse，andisthesecretiftherebeone，ofthepoem。Sufficientorinsufficient，thereisnothingmore……Godisgreat，weknownothisways。Hetakesfromusallwehave，butyetifwepossessoursoulsinpatience，weMAYpassthevalleyoftheshadow，andcomeoutinsunlightagain。Wemayorwemaynot！……WhatmorehavewetosaynowthanGodsaidfromthewhirlwindovertwothousandfivehundredyearsago？”[29]

[29]MarkRutherford’sDeliverance，London，1885，pp。196，198。

Ifweturntothesanguineonlooker，ontheotherhand，wefindthatdeliveranceisfeltasincompleteunlesstheburdenbealtogetherovercomeandthedangerforgotten。Suchonlookersgiveusdefinitionsthatseemtothesombremindsofwhomwehavejustbeenspeakingtoleaveoutallthesolemnitythatmakesreligiouspeacesodifferentfrommerelyanimaljoys。Intheopinionofsomewritersanattitudemightbecalledreligious，thoughnotouchwereleftinitofsacrificeorsubmission，notendencytoflexion，nobowingofthehead。Any“habitualandregulatedadmiration。”saysProfessorJ。R。Seeley，[30]“isworthytobecalledareligion“；andaccordinglyhethinksthatourMusic，ourScience，andourso-called“Civilization。”asthesethingsarenoworganizedandadmiringlybelievedin，formthemoregenuinereligionsofourtime。Certainlytheunhesitatingandunreasoningwayinwhichwefeelthatwemustinflictourcivilizationupon“lower“races，bymeansofHotchkissguns，etc。，remindsoneofnothingsomuchasoftheearlyspiritofIslamspreadingitsreligionbythesword。

[30]Inhisbook(toolittleread，Ifear)，NaturalReligion，3dedition，Boston，1886，pp。91，122。

InmylastlectureIquotedtoyoutheultra-radicalopinionofMr。HavelockEllis，thatlaughterofanysortmaybeconsideredareligiousexercise，foritbearswitnesstothesoul’semancipation。Iquotedthisopinioninordertodenyitsadequacy。Butwemustnowsettleourscoresmorecarefullywiththiswholeoptimisticwayofthinking。Itisfartoocomplextobedecidedoff-hand。Iproposeaccordinglythatwemakeofreligiousoptimismthethemeofthenexttwolectures。

Thelastlecturewasapainfulone，dealingasitdidwithevilasapervasiveelementoftheworldwelivein。Atthecloseofitwewerebroughtintofullviewofthecontrastbetweenthetwowaysoflookingatlifewhicharecharacteristicrespectivelyofwhatwecalledthehealthy-minded，whoneedtobebornonlyonce，andofthesicksouls，whomustbetwice-borninordertobehappy。Theresultistwodifferentconceptionsoftheuniverseofourexperience。Inthereligionoftheonce-borntheworldisasortofrectilinearorone-storiedaffair，whoseaccountsarekeptinonedenomination，whosepartshavejustthevalueswhichnaturallytheyappeartohave，andofwhichasimplealgebraicsumofplusesandminuseswillgivethetotalworth。Happinessandreligiouspeaceconsistinlivingontheplussideoftheaccount。Inthereligionofthetwice-born，ontheotherhand，theworldisadouble-storiedmystery。Peacecannotbereachedbythesimpleadditionofplusesandeliminationofminusesfromlife。Naturalgoodisnotsimplyinsufficientinamountandtransient，therelurksafalsityinitsverybeing。Cancelledasitallisbydeathifnotbyearlierenemies，itgivesnofinalbalance，andcanneverbethethingintendedforourlastingworship。Itkeepsusfromourrealgood，rather；andrenunciationanddespairofitareourfirststepinthedirectionofthetruth。Therearetwolives，thenaturalandthespiritual，andwemustlosetheonebeforewecanparticipateintheother。

Intheirextremeforms，ofpurenaturalismandpuresalvationism，thetwotypesareviolentlycontrasted；thoughhereasinmostothercurrentclassifications，theradicalextremesaresomewhatidealabstractions，andtheconcretehumanbeingswhomweoftenestmeetareintermediatevarietiesandmixtures。

Practically，however，youallrecognizethedifference：youunderstand，forexample，thedisdainofthemethodistconvertforthemeresky-bluehealthy-mindedmoralist；andyoulikewiseenterintotheaversionofthelattertowhatseemstohimthediseasedsubjectivismoftheMethodist，dyingtolive，ashecallsit，andmakingofparadoxandtheinversionofnaturalappearancestheessenceofGod’struth。[86]