《lectures14+15》

下载本书

添加书签

lectures14+15- 第13部分


按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!



mix it with some worldly temper。 It has always found good men who



could follow most of its impulses; but who stopped short when it



came to non…resistance。  Christ himself was fierce upon occasion。 



Cromwells; Stonewall Jacksons; Gordons; show that Christians can



be strong men also。







'223' We all know DAFT saints; and they inspire a queer kind of



aversion。 But in comparing saints with strong men we must choose



individuals on the same intellectual level。  The under…witted



strong man homologous in his sphere with the under…witted saint;



is the bully of the slums; the hooligan or rowdy。  Surely on this



level also the saint preserves a certain superiority。















How is success to be absolutely measured when there are so many



environments and so many ways of looking at the adaptation?  It



cannot be measured absolutely; the verdict will vary according to



the point of view adopted。  From the biological point of view



Saint Paul was a failure; because he was beheaded。  Yet he was



magnificently adapted to the larger environment of history; and



so far as any saint's example is a leaven of righteousness in the



world; and draws it in the direction of more prevalent habits of



saintliness; he is a success; no matter what his immediate bad



fortune may be。  The greatest saints; the spiritual heroes whom



every one acknowledges; the Francises; Bernards; Luthers;



Loyolas; Wesleys; Channings; Moodys; Gratrys; the Phillips



Brookses; the Agnes Joneses; Margaret Hallahans; and Dora



Pattisons; are successes from the outset。  They show themselves;



and there is no question; every one perceives their strength and



stature。  Their sense of mystery in things; their passion; their



goodness; irradiate about them and enlarge their outlines while



they soften them。  They are like pictures with an atmosphere and



background; and; placed alongside of them; the strong men of this



world and no other seem as dry as sticks; as hard and crude as



blocks of stone or brick…bats。







In a general way; then; and 〃on the whole;〃'224' our abandonment



of theological criteria; and our testing of religion by practical



common sense and the empirical method; leave it in possession of



its towering place in history。  Economically; the saintly group



of qualities is indispensable to the world's welfare。  The great



saints are immediate successes; the smaller ones are at least



heralds and harbingers; and they may be leavens also; of a better



mundane order。  Let us be saints; then; if we can; whether or not



we succeed visibly and temporally。  But in our Father's house are



many mansions; and each of us must discover for himself the kind



of religion and the amount of saintship which best comports with



what he believes to be his powers and feels to be his truest



mission and vocation。  There are no successes to be guaranteed



and no set orders to be given to individuals; so long as we



follow the methods of empirical philosophy。







'224' See above; p。 321。















This is my conclusion so far。  I know that on some of your minds



it leaves a feeling of wonder that such a method should have been



applied to such a subject; and this in spite of all those remarks



about empiricism which I made at the beginning of Lecture



XIII。'225' How; you say; can religion; which believes in two



worlds and an invisible order; be estimated by the adaptation of



its fruits to this world's order alone?  It is its truth; not its



utility; you insist; upon which our verdict ought to depend。  If



religion is true; its fruits are good fruits; even though in this



world they should prove uniformly ill adapted and full of naught



but pathos。  It goes back; then; after all; to the question of



the truth of theology。 The plot inevitably thickens upon us; we



cannot escape theoretical considerations。  I propose; then; that



to some degree we face the responsibility。  Religious persons



have often; though not uniformly; professed to see truth in a



special manner。  That manner is known as mysticism。  I will



consequently now proceed to treat at some length of mystical



phenomena; and after that; though more briefly; I will consider



religious philosophy。







'225' Above; pp。 321…327





小提示:按 回车 [Enter] 键 返回书目,按 ← 键 返回上一页, 按 → 键 进入下一页。 赞一下 添加书签加入书架