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meanness and tenacity of superstition that in a wholesale



undiscerning way they glory in saying that they are 〃down〃 on



religion altogether。  Even we who belong to churches do not



exempt other churches than our own from the general condemnation。







But in this course of lectures ecclesiastical institutions hardly



concern us at all。  The religious experience which we are



studying is that which lives itself out within the private



breast。  First…hand individual experience of this kind has always



appeared as a heretical sort of innovation to those who witnessed



its birth。  Naked comes it into the world and lonely; and it has



always; for a time at least; driven him who had it into the



wilderness; often into the literal wilderness out of doors; where



the Buddha; Jesus; Mohammed; St。 Francis; George Fox; and so many



others had to go。  George Fox expresses well this isolation; and



I can do no better at this point than read to you a page from his



Journal; referring to the period of his youth when religion began



to ferment within him seriously。







〃I fasted much;〃 Fox says; 〃walked abroad in solitary places many



days; and often took my Bible; and sat in hollow trees and



lonesome places until night came on; and frequently in the night



walked mournfully about by myself; for I was a man of sorrows in



the time of the first workings of the Lord in me。







〃During all this time I was never joined in profession of



religion with any; but gave up myself to the Lord; having



forsaken all evil company; taking leave of father and mother; and



all other relations; and traveled up and down as a stranger on



the earth; which way the Lord inclined my heart; taking a chamber



to myself in the town where I came; and tarrying sometimes more;



sometimes less in a place:  for I durst not stay long in a place;



being afraid both of professor and profane; lest; being a tender



young man; I should be hurt by conversing much with either。  For



which reason I kept much as a stranger; seeking heavenly wisdom



and getting knowledge from the Lord; and was brought off from



outward things; to rely on the Lord alone。  As I had forsaken the



priests; so I left the separate preachers also; and those called



the most experienced people; for I saw there was none among them



all that could speak to my condition。  And when all my hopes in



them and in all men were gone so that I had nothing outwardly to



help me; nor could tell what to do; then; oh then; I heard a



voice which said; 'There is one; even Jesus Christ; that can



speak to thy condition。'  When I heard it; my heart did leap for



joy。  Then the Lord let me see why there was none upon the earth



that could speak to my condition。 I had not fellowship with any



people; priests; nor professors; nor any sort of separated



people。  I was afraid of all carnal talk and talkers; for I could



see nothing but corruptions。  When I was in the deep; under all



shut up; I could not believe that I should ever overcome; my



troubles; my sorrows; and my temptations were so great that I



often thought I should have despaired; I was so tempted。  But



when Christ opened to me how he was tempted by the same devil;



and had overcome him; and had bruised his head; and that through



him and his power; life; grace; and spirit; I should overcome



also; I had confidence in him。  If I had had a king's diet;



palace; and attendance; all would have been as nothing; for



nothing gave me comfort but the Lord by his power。  I saw



professors; priests; and people were whole and at ease in that



condition which was my misery; and they loved that which I would



have been rid of。  But the Lord did stay my desires upon himself;



and my care was cast upon him alone。〃'198'







'198' George Fox:  Journal; Philadelphia; 1800; pp。 59…61;



abridged。















A genuine first…hand religious experience like this is bound to



be a heterodoxy to its witnesses; the prophet appearing as a mere



lonely madman。  If his doctrine prove contagious enough to spread



to any others; it becomes a definite and labeled heresy。  But if



it then still prove contagious enough to triumph over



persecution; it becomes itself an orthodoxy; and when a religion



has become an orthodoxy; its day of inwardness is over:  the



spring is dry; the faithful live at second hand exclusively and



stone the prophets in their turn。  The new church; in spite of



whatever human goodness it may foster; can be henceforth counted



on as a staunch ally in every attempt to stifle the spontaneous



religious spirit; and to stop all later bubblings of the fountain



from which in purer days it drew its own supply of inspiration。



Unless; indeed; by adopting new movements of the spirit it can



make capital out of them and use them for its selfish corporate



designs! Of protective action of this politic sort; promptly or



tardily decided on; the dealings of the Roman ecclesiasticism



with many individual saints and prophets yield examples enough



for our instruction。







The plain fact is that men's minds are built; as has been often



said; in water…tight compartments。  Religious after a fashion;



they yet have many other things in them beside their religion;



and unholy entanglements and associations inevitably obtain。  The



basenesses so commonly charged to religion's account are thus;



almost all of them; not chargeable at all to religion proper; but



rather to religion's wicked practical partner; the spirit of



corporate dominion。  And the bigotries are most of them in their



turn chargeable to religion's wicked intellectual partner; the



spirit of dogmatic dominion; the passion for laying down the law



in the form of an absolutely closed…in theoretic system。  The



ecclesiastical spirit in general is the sum of these two spirits



of dominion; and I beseech you never to confound the phenomena of



mere tribal or corporate psychology which it presents with those



manifestations of the purely interior life which are the



exclusive object of our study。  The baiting of Jews; the hunting



of Albigenses and Waldenses; the stoning of Quakers and ducking



of Methodists; the murdering of Mormons and the massacring of



Armenians; express much rather that aboriginal human neophobia;



that pugnacity of which we all share the vestiges; and that



inborn hatred of the alien and of eccentric and non…conforming



men as aliens; than they express the positive piety of the



various perpetrators。  Piety is the mask; the inner force is



tribal instinct。  You believe as little as I do; in spite of the



Christian unction with which the German emperor addressed his



troops upon their way to China; that the conduct which he



suggested; and in which other Christian armies went beyond them;



had anything whatever to do with the interior religious life of



those concerned in the performance。







Well; no more for past atrocities than for this atrocity should



we make piety responsible。  At most we may blame piety for not



availing to check our natural passions; and sometimes for



supplying them with hypocritical pretexts。 But hypocrisy also



imposes obligations; and with the pretext usually couples some



restriction; and when the passion gust is over; the piety may



bring a reaction of repentance which the irreligious natural man



would not have shown。







For many of the historic aberrations which have been laid to her



charge; religion as such; then; is not to blame。  Yet of the



charge that over…zealousness or fanaticism is one of her



liabilities we cannot wholly acquit her; so I will next make a



remark upon that point。  But I will preface it by a preliminary



remark which connects itself with much that follows。



 



Our survey of the phenomena of saintliness has unquestionably



produced in your minds an impression of extravagance。 Is it



necessary; some of you have asked; as one example after another



came before us; to be quite so fantastically good as that?  We



who have no vocation for the extremer ranges of sanctity will



surely be let off at the last day if our humility; asceticism;



and devoutness prove of a less convulsive sort。  This practically



amounts to saying that much that it is legitimate to admire in



this field need nevertheless not be imitated; and that religious



phenomena; like all other human phenomena; are subject to the law



of the golden mean。  Political reformers accomplish their



successive tasks in the history of nations by being blind for t
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