Half truths and the truth, lects. on the origin and development of prevailing forms of unbelief, considered in relation to the nature and claims of the Christian system

Hegelianism. The absolute idea. - - A triplicate process. Compared with
Comte's "three states."-Illustrated in history of civilization.- In art.-
Progress and conservatism. The absolute idea in religion. -- Christianity a
form of the absolute idea. — Different views of Hegelianism. — The "right.”
-The "left."-The "centre.". -Strauss. His Life of Jesus. The idea
in religion alone important. The question of historic truth trivial.- Essen-
tial Christianity. - How the idea produced the so-called record. - Criticism
deals with the non-essential. Evidence that Strauss was a pantheist. - His
view of the incarnation. The origin of the Gospels.- Accepts Spinoza's
view of Christ.- Thinks his criticism true to the spirit of the narrative. —
The gospel record a piece of cloud scenery. — Advantage of this pantheistic
position. The Paulists. - Evemerus. His method revived by Lessing in
How used by Paulus. Results of the theory. -
Eichhorn.- - De Wette. - Strauss finds germs of his
Relation to other schools of
Three principles of interpretation. — The
How he makes room for it. - The idea

Wolfenbüttel fragments.
Regarded as a failure.
theory in them. - - Also in Origen and Philo.-
criticism. - Secret of popularity.

position of Strauss.

-The myth.

produces the story. - What follows if the Gospels are post-apostolic. - In-
ternal evidence against Strauss. Also external evidence. - How he would
evade it. The argument against him overwhelming. Baur. Differs from
Strauss. How he accounts for the Gospels. - Traces of a conflict. - Pauline
party favored.- Peter overborne. - Paul triumphs. The reasoning of Baur
not admissible. No special refutation needed. There were parties in the
early church. Baur's treatment unfair. - An argument for inspiration. -
Renan. Requires no special treatment. - Spirit of his criticism pantheistic.
-An irreverent comparison. Free religion. Its peculiarity. - May be

[ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

A feature of modern thought. - Spontaneity. - Authority. — New theory un-
tenable. Relation to pantheism. Goethe. - Why chosen.
in one aspect. Relation to other thinkers of his age. - Ignorance of his
speculative views. — Early scepticism. — Proofs that he was a pantheist.—
Meets with Jacobi. Wished to be known as a Spinozist.
vineness of nature. Free necessity.
Tone of his writings.

Goethes. As a student of nature. Works in which he shows to advantage.
- Shorter poems. - Iphigenia in Tauris. — Egmont.

-False theory of morals. - Popularity of Goetz.- Sorrows of Werther.-

Its influence. - Origin of the work. - Complaints of his friends. Wilhelm

Meister. -The Fair Saint. -Philina. - Mignon. - Other characters. - Elec-

tive affinities. Natalia and Wilhelm. Goethe's theoretical views carried

into his life. - His faults not to be passed over. - Had noble traits. Was

not a patriot. Goethe not consistent with his theory of culture. Would

have been better as a man if more inconsistent. Allowance to be made to

art. - The obligations of the artist. - Christianity teaches the only adequate

theory of human culture.

183-226

LECTURE VI.

PANTHEISM IN THE FORM OF HERO-WORSHIP.

The representative name. — Method of treatment. - Carlyle's position in Eng-

lish literature. -
His style.. Ethical tendency. - A political reformer.

Was he a pantheist? - Not in the dogmatic sense. — I

spirit. His idea of history. Of the individual.

istic.

Proofs of a pantheistic

Views of nature panthe-

His doctrine of necessity. Of space and time. - Religious views.—

Bibles. - Origin of worship. — Sincerity alone essential. - Accepts Goethe's

definition of religion. — Result. How his pantheism affects his political

views. Makes him revolutionary. — French Revolution. - Laws and com-

pacts not the basis of true government. — Function of representative assem-

blies. - Hates democracy as much as constitutional monarchy. — Eulogy of

the Pilgrims.- Mahometanism as good as Puritanism. No love for free

government in any case. - Scorn of moral and social reforms. - Origin of his

contempt for democracies. - Negative side of his political creed. His polit-

ical and social creed positively stated. Hero-worship. This the basis of

primitive governments. - Urged as the only real basis. - Great men a the-

ophany. - Carlyle's ideal of a great man.—Plea for his theory of govern-

ment. -The result of the theory is anarchy. - Hero-worship contrasted with

Christianity.

227-267

LECTURE VII.

PANTHEISM IN THE FORM OF SELF-WORSHIP.

Individualism. - Represented by Emerson.

trasted with Carlyle. His excellent temper. Of purer tone than Goethe.
- Monotony. - Nomenclature. — -"Old Two-Face."- Comprehensive state-

ments of pantheism.

gentleman.

Love.

All things are God. - History. - Literature. - God a
Prayer. - What Emerson has to say of personality.-
An ignis fatuus. - God impersonal. But one conclusion possible. — Emer-
son's method. - Consciousness the way to all truth. No mean egotism. -
Definition of man. — The varieties of genius forms of the divine conscious-
ness. Teaches the pantheistic fatalism. -All things subject to fate. - No
one can do otherwise than he does. All life natural. · Emerson's use of
words literal rather than rhetorical. Even fate a mystery. The objective
world in the light of Emerson's philosophy. - History absorbed into the
soul. All literature the biography of each man. - A practical result. - Na-
ture an evolution of the soul. The world man externized. — Knowledge of
nature but self knowledge. Emerson's theory of nature that of every sub-
jective idealist. More specific injunctions. - Duty of self-reverence. -Self-
The moral law wholly subjective. - Duty of

reliance.

Self-assertion.

self-isolation.

ity.

- To be wholly self-absorbed the highest blessedness." Men
descend to meet."- Misanthropy.― Attitude towards the Bible and Christian-
Insinuates that Christ was a pantheist. - Spirit of the two contrasted.
Emerson would unsettle all things. - No philanthropist. - Scorn of the

masses.— No moral distinctions. Better than his theory. - Inconsistency

not to be judged by Emerson.-Christian faith the grand safeguard. 268-316

Theodore Parker. - Disliked to be called an infidel. Did not bow to Christ as

the final authority in religion. — Affirms that Jesus was in error on many

subjects. - Calls Christ and the Bible idols. - Unitarians denounced for

retaining them. - What Parkerism finds in Christ. The Old Testament

long since outgrown. His idea of religious progress. The positive side

of Parkerism. - Terms used to designate it. - Parker less original than he

supposed. Three factors of the absolute religion. The sentiment. — The

idea. -The conception. -The conception alone varies. - Origin of religions.

-Their succession traced. - Parkerism to be superseded. — Theory of reli-

gious progress refuted by history. - Obscures the character of God.- Weak-

ens our basis of hope for man. - The doctrine of redemption rational.—

Parker not simply a theist. -Was he a pantheist? A re-statement of the

alternative of unbelief. — Parker could not be a positivist.- Pantheism may

be mistaken for positivism. - Parker not a materialist. Denies the possi-

bility of atheism.

inadequate. — Acquits Spinoza.

- Admits the thing while disowning the
name. - More positive proofs of pantheism. Held the Kantian philosophy.
- His definition of God does not exclude pantheism. - All men theists.—
Misrepresents pantheists. Identifies God with the world. With God sub-
ject and object are the same. The fault of deism. His view of immor-
tality pantheistic. — God immanent in all things. He is the substantiality
of matter. Men not responsible for the religion they hold. Different
religions a necessity of circumstances. All the same at bottom.- An endless
succession of religions. The pantheistic fatalism.. Absolute toleration.—
No second causes. - Creation and providence the same thing. All action in
nature God's action. - Held to the mathematical method. — God impersonal.
Makes personality the same as anthropomorphism. — God personal only in
a rhetorical sense. - Our conception of God wholly subjective. -God is uni-
versal being. Parker to be judged by his tendency. - The school of theism.
- His real tendency held in check. - Character of his scholarship. -Relation
to the Unitarians. Some of his strongest supporters disowned his theology.
-Early statements of his views most decided. - His most scriptural preach-
ing best liked. The fate of philosophy when bereft of faith in Christ. — The
Rock of Ages..

317-361

LECTURE IX.

THE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF PANTHEISM.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Recapitulation. - Authors excluded from this survey. Refutation of panthe-
ism. This went along with the exposition. The clear statement of error
its best refutation. - Every pantheist has something peculiar to himself.
Wherein they agree. Spinoza's method cannot reach ontology. - Same
fault in Fichte and Emerson. -Function of consciousness mistaken. — Dif-
fers from the faculty of intuition. What is granted for argument's sake.
The infinity of God said to involve pantheism. This argument assumes
what the pantheist has denied. - The essence of personality is free-will. —
God the only perfect person.
The assertion that the mind can act only
where it is. Contradicted by our necessary beliefs. - Whatever else fails
must insist on these. The duty of mental science to these first truths.—
The claim of comprehensiveness. This claim cannot be made good. — Im-
portant truths which pantheism excludes. - Gives precedence to an inferior
faculty. All the faculties of the mind should be recognized. - Precedence
due the moral faculty. The emphasis of the soul demands this. Every
honest nature welcomes it. The doctrine of the divine immanency said to
be a source of power. -Proves too much. The real power not limited to