PREFACE. THE Lectures herewith presented to the public were delivered in February, 1892, by invitation of the Faculty of the Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, to the students of that institution; and constitute the "L. P. Stone Course" for that year. The limitation imposed by the terms of the L. P. Stone endowment, that the lectures of the course. shall not exceed eight in number, made it impossible to attempt an exhaustive discussion of the question of the origin and growth of religion. Hence it seemed best to confine the course to a brief consideration of those theories regarding this subject, which appear at present to have the most extensive influence among those with whom the students in our theological schools are likely to have most to do; and, in the constructive part of the argument, to present chiefly such facts and considerations as appeared likely to be of most practical service to ministers and intelligent laymen, for the defence and 371514 confirmation of the teachings of Holy Scripture regarding the beginning and subsequent development of the religious life of man. It may properly be remarked that Lectures III. and IV. are based upon articles of the author in review of the theories of Professor Max Müller and Mr. Herbert Spencer, which were published a few years ago in the "Bibliotheca Sacra," Oberlin, Ohio; but have been prepared in the light of and with reference to the most recent published works of the authors reviewed. The Lectures are now published in the hope that they may be helpful to many more than the students for whom they were originally prepared. TORONTO, CANADA, August, 1892. S. H. KELLOGG. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Origin and growth of religion; importance and difficulty of the question-Difficulty of defining religion; must include atheistic faiths - Definitions of Spinoza, Kant, Fichte, Reville, Flint; of Feuerbach, Gruppe — Defini- tions grounding religion in feeling, as of Goethe, Teichmuller, Schleiermacher — Religion not a mere sense of dependence Definitions centring religion in the will, as of Hegel, Caird -- Max Müller's definition criticised Definition assumed in these lectures; re- Naturalistic theories of origin of religion commonly assume - - origin of religion Fetishism and animism defined- PAGES 28-63 LECTURE III. HERBERT SPENCER'S GHOST THEORY. - - Ancestor-worship the earliest form of religion - Belief in - |