-

- Idea

Moral Governor; as offended with man Ancestor-

worship not most common among lowest races

of God coexists with ancestor-worship; no proof that the

latter was derived from the former; witness China, India,

Egypt - Mr. Spencer's argument from names for God;

not sustained by facts- His appeal to the Old Testa-

ment Conclusion

PAGES

64-109

LECTURE IV.

PROFESSOR MAX MÜLLER'S THEORY OF THE ORIGIN OF

RELIGION.

Professor Max Müller's attitude toward Christianity and the
Scripture records - Makes religion to beginning with
sense-perception of the infinite-Classification of sense-
percepts; tangible, semi-tangible, intangible; the last-
named the earliest deities - Primitive Indo-Aryan religion

-

Progress from henotheism to monotheism - Origin of

religion explained by the origin of language— His argu-

ment based on erroneous definition of the infinite; on

sensationalist philosophy - Senses cannot give idea of

the infinite — Idea of moral obligation not derivable from

observation of physical order Sense-perception cannot

originate idea of cause; of God as Moral Governor; of

responsibility, sin, and guilt— Argument from history of

Indo-Aryan religion inconclusive — Indo-Aryan religion

not primitive — Order of religious development in India

not as required by his theory - Recognition of a "Heaven-

Father" earliest - Henotheism," the first step in

religious declension - Terminus of Indian development

pantheism Pantheism confounded with monotheism.

Significant Hindoo appreciation of Professor Max

Müller's Lectures on Religion

66

-

-

110-150

-

LECTURE V.

THE TRUE GENESIS OF RELIGION.

-

Two factors in genesis of religion - The Subjective factor:

the constitution of man's nature Man has by nature a

religious faculty-Proof in the universality of religion

- Universal sense of dependence on an invisible Power

Laws of thought compel belief in unconditioned

Being Conscience constrains belief in a moral Power

above man - In all this man contrasted with highest

brutes Objection: Many races without religion - Pre-

sumption against correctness of this assertion; often

based on narrow definition of religion — Religious beliefs

of savages difficult to discover - Assertion of races with-

out religion often disproved after full information —

Objection: Many individual atheists - Exceptions to a

law do not warrant denial of a law - The Objective factor

in genesis of religion: a revelation of God - Proof of

such a revelation — Religious beliefs, spontaneous, univer-

sal, intensely strong, persistent - This not disproved, but

confirmed by history of Buddhism; unaccountable if

no revelation - Denial of revelation logically involves

universal nescience Revelation of God in conscience;

in the mind; in the universe of matter and mind - Ad-

mission of Reville - Recapitulation

-

PAGES

151-181

LECTURE VI.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION. SIN AS A FACTOR.

Development in religion; not inconsistent with super-
naturalism - Primitive religion elementary Reville's
misunderstanding of Christian belief on this point — The

-

elementary not necessarily erroneous - Has monotheism

been the beginning or the terminus of the development?

No❝idle question" - Reville's assertion; "polytheism

original" — Is this true? - Order of development from

beginning not ascertainable historically-The order in

historic times presumably that of prehistoric times

Argument from antecedent probability applied - Signifi-

cance of phenomena of sin - Mistaken assumption that

religious development has been normal; hence religious

progress must have been the law — Reville's assumption

- Sin involves consciousness of the morally abnormal —

This assumed in all religions; a potent factor in their

development; unscientific to ignore this- Sin involves

religious degradation; by dulling conscience; by causing

dread of God; as involving desire of what moral law

forbids- Hence false conceptions of Deity; predisposition

toward atheism, agnosticism, pantheism Influence of

-

PAGES

pantheism; diminishes sinner's fear by denying holiness

of God; His personality and moral government; makes

sin a necessary stage in evolution Influence of polythe-

ism; lowers ideal of God; there with lessens sense of

moral antagonism between man and God No tendency

in sin to self-improvement, but the reverse; hence, that

man, as sinful, should have ever tended by nature to

religious elevation, impossible.
182-202

LECTURE VII.

HISTORIC FACTS REGARDING THE ORDER OF RELIGIOUS

DEVELOPMENT.

Coexistent polytheism and monotheism of ancient Egypt
Monotheism most prevalent at first; testimony of
Rougé and Reville - Egyptian degradation of religion —

-

-

Earliest deities of Indo-Aryans- "Henotheism

Vedic monotheism - Development of pantheism; the

Upanishads; the "Six Systems"; triumph of Vedantic

pantheism Modern Puranic Hindooism - Failure of

attempts at reform — No development of monotheism

in India

Rela-

Hindoo testimony — Zoroastrianism

tion to Vedic nature-worship — Persian dualism not

primitive — The monotheism of the Gàthas-Zoroaster

preached monotheism to idolaters - Development of

Persian dualism - Modern Parseeism — Religion of primi-

tive Babylonians — The “Magical Texts” — The “Peni-

tential Psalms"— Growth of nature-worship — Shemitic

influence - Philosophic speculations-No tendency to

monotheism - Chinese religion — Worship of heaven and

earth; of ancestors — Professor Legge's views — Religious

attitude of Confucius; of Lao Tze- Religious beliefs of

savage peoples - The Santàlìs; the Kolhs; the Aimares;

West African negroes; American Indians - No Indo-

Germanic or Turanian people has ever shown a native

tendency to monotheism — Inference as to primitive form

of religion

-

PAGES

203-247

LECTURE VIII.

origin

-

SHEMITIC MONOTHEISM. CONCLUSION.

----

-

Asserted exception to the law of religious degeneration
The Shemitic race- All existing monotheism of Shemitic
"Monotheistic genius" of Shemites; Renan's
assertion "Did Israel produce the one God, or did the
one God produce Israel?"— Original Shemitic con-
ceptions of God; superior to those of most peoples;
illustrated by names for GodExceptions; the
Egyptians; Bactrians - Religious degeneration of

-

-

Euphrates Shemites - Primitive Arabian Sabeism; later
worship of trees and stones Mohammed's concessions
to Arabian idolatry - Alleged Hebrew evolution of
monotheism Hebrew records affirm a universal tendency
to forsake the one God-Patriarchal times - Israel in

Egypt; in the wilderness; under the judges; under the

kings - Total lapse of the ten tribes - Hebrew monothe-

ism since Babylonian captivity; cannot be explained as a

natural development; was in spite of natural tendencies

- Recapitulation - Facts irreconcilable with supposition

of a gradual evolution of monotheism from some other

form of religious belief — Relation of historical monothe-

ism to supernatural revelation - Conclusion.

PAGES

248-275