The Churches And Modern Thought - free ebook by Vivian Phelips

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The Churches And Modern Thought

Vivian Phelips

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PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION

What does a man seek when he examines his religious creed? To this question Canon Liddon replies as follows:—“He seeks intellectual satisfaction and moral support. His intellect asks for reliable information upon certain subjects of the most momentous importance. How does he come here? Whither is he going? What is the purpose and drift of the various forms of existence around him? Above all, what is the nature, what are the attributes and dispositions, of that Being to whom the highest yearnings

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PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

The present edition consists of 10,000 copies, bringing the total issue to 31,000. Apart from a few alterations in the chapter dealing with ancient beliefs, the work is unchanged. P. V. April, 1911....

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PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION

PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION

Before entering upon an inquiry into religious unbelief, we need to form a correct estimate of its prevalence. If, as many would have us think, there is nothing unusual in the present situation—if the age of faith is returning, 1 it is hardly worth while to enter upon this inquiry at all. If, on the other hand, the forces hostile to the Christian faith differ essentially from those that stirred up waves of scepticism in the past—if there is overwhelming evidence that belief among educated men is

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§ 1. The Truth of the Matter.

§ 1. The Truth of the Matter.

Let us commence, then, with the sceptical. They are not inclined, for the present at least, to propagate their views. Rightly or wrongly, they still hold the popular opinion that, while they themselves can dispense with belief, the masses cannot. All that is asked of a “cultured” man is that he keep his opinion to himself. He may be an agnostic or—whether he realises it or not—practically an atheist; but he must not think of calling himself by such ugly names. “The uneducated freethinker,” our m

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§ 2. The Attitude of the Laity.

§ 2. The Attitude of the Laity.

In addition to the now fast dwindling band of sincere and thoughtful Christians there are, of course, many professing religionists who do think a little, a very little, on religious subjects; but the bulk of the male element are absolutely indifferent to the question of religion at all. The average subaltern is as good a sample of the latter type as any other. Speak to him about religion, and he is unutterably bored. A certain amount of church-going forms part of his ordinary round of duties. Th

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§ 3. Christianity and Science not Reconciled.

§ 3. Christianity and Science not Reconciled.

So much is said about “scientific doubt” in these days that it is well to remember that doubts as to the truth of the Christian belief are not caused alone by purely scientific difficulties of faith. Carlyle refused to accept Darwin’s theories. His temperament was strongly inclined to a stern Puritanical piety, and his whole nature was antipathetic to science. Yet he did not think it possible that “educated honest men could profess much longer to believe in historical Christianity.” Renan, a pro

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§ 4. The Genesis and Character of the New Outburst.

§ 4. The Genesis and Character of the New Outburst.

The time, then, has arrived when the pastor can no longer ignore or gloze over the thoughts that are stirring the minds of the intelligent portion of his flock. The cheap literature problem cannot be solved by applying disparaging adjectives, such as “shallow,” to writings emanating from the pens of Darwin, Huxley, Tyndall, S. Laing, Matthew Arnold, Sir Leslie Stephen, Renan, Haeckel, etc., easy though it be to excite prejudice by the use of a condemnatory adjective. Books that are still costly

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§ 5. Apologetics “Found Wanting.”

§ 5. Apologetics “Found Wanting.”

The objections of the more conservative to the new interpretations of Christianity are well expressed in the solemn words of a former Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, himself inveighed against, in his day, as somewhat of a freethinker. “Many,” writes Dean Mansell, “who would shrink with horror from the idea of rejecting Christ altogether, will yet speak and act as if they were at liberty to set up for themselves an eclectic Christianity, separating the essential from the superfluous portions of Chr

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§ 6. More Things which Confuse the Issue.

§ 6. More Things which Confuse the Issue.

1 As the Rev. John A. Hutton attempts to show in the Hibbert Journal , July, 1905. 2 In his address at the London Diocesan Conference in April, 1904. 3 When addressing a conference of clergy and church-workers at Blandford on September 7th, 1905. 4 In the course of one of those remarkable orations of his which always command the thoughtful attention of the House. The speech was reported in the newspapers of March 15th, 1904. 5 See Dr. Horton’s letter to the Daily News , August 23rd, 1905. 6 The

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§ 1. Preliminary Remarks.

§ 1. Preliminary Remarks.

The old argument in support of miracles and inspiration was clearly vitiated by its circular nature, for it was to the effect that miracles were true because asserted to be so in the Bible, which was the inspired word of God, and that the Bible was inspired because the miracles proved it to be so. This argument is gradually being dropped, and I have only alluded to it to show how much importance used to be, and, for the matter of that, still is, attached to miracles, as proving the truth of the

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§ 2. Miracle Apologetics.

§ 2. Miracle Apologetics.

Passing on to the miracles of the Old Testament, we often find that those who still maintain that only the first chapters of the Bible are legendary will adopt a variation of the second class of interpretation—they will say that the events were of an ordinary character, but occurred in answer to prayer. Joshua is for them an historical character. However, Joshua x. 12–14 must not be taken literally, but allowance should be made for poetical licence. Joshua, it is explained, never really committe

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§ 3. The Fundamental Miracles.

§ 3. The Fundamental Miracles.

As Mr. Lowes Dickinson pertinently remarks when speaking of “Conversions” in his article on Revelations, in the Independent Review : “The important question is whether the belief of the recipient in the evidential value of the experience is justified; and I think that a little consideration will show that it is not so, for it is noticeable that the truth supposed to be revealed in the moment of conversion is commonly, if not invariably, the reflection of the doctrine or theory with which the sub

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§ 1. Clashing Views on Bible Criticism.

§ 1. Clashing Views on Bible Criticism.

“Each of the Synoptic Gospels describes the scene at the Transfiguration, when Moses and Elias talked with our Lord in the sight of three of His disciples. St. Luke mentions that they talked about His approaching death. In the face of that narrative, those who say that our Lord knew no more of Moses than any Jew of the period are bound to explain how they reconcile the statement with the Evangelists’ account of the Transfiguration. No Jewish scribe of the first century a.d. could pretend to have

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§ 2. A Summary of the Results of Bible Criticism.

§ 2. A Summary of the Results of Bible Criticism.

Book of Exodus Legendary. —The book of Exodus, too, is another composite legend which has long been mistaken for history. Sober history gives no warrant for supposing that the signs and wonders wrought by Moses ever occurred, that the first-born of Egypt were ever slain, or that Pharaoh was ever drowned in the Red Sea. Moses a Legendary Character. —The historical character of Moses has not been established, and it is doubtful whether the name is that of an individual or that of a clan. The alleg

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§ 3. By Whom the “Higher Criticism” is Accepted.

§ 3. By Whom the “Higher Criticism” is Accepted.

I cannot conclude this review of Bible criticism without an allusion to the opinions of those theologians who agree with the “Higher Critics” to an extent far exceeding anything the pious layman suspects. I shall omit, as being too advanced, the views of Dr. Driver, given in his “Genesis,” or of Canon Henson, as expressed in the Contemporary Review and in his book, The Value of the Bible and Other Sermons , or of Archdeacon Wilson, shown in his various interesting books and pamphlets; and will c

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§ 4. Admissions by Orthodox Apologists.

§ 4. Admissions by Orthodox Apologists.

St. Luke is, according to Dr. Robinson, the fellow-traveller of St. Paul, and the date of his Gospel shortly after 70. Regarding St. John’s, we are informed that Dr. Harnack fixes the date between 80 and 110, and thinks that it was written by another person of the same name—John the presbyter, or elder, of Ephesus. Dr. Robinson, however, in a chapter he devotes to the subject of the fourth Gospel, attempts to show its apostolic authorship. Dr. Robinson admits that the authorship of all four Gosp

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§ 5. Some Remaining Difficulties.

§ 5. Some Remaining Difficulties.

That the Bible should be open to criticism at all seems to me inconceivable if it really be God’s gift to mankind. How could God, having determined after æons of time to make a definite revelation of Himself to His human creatures, permit the account of this revelation to be handed down in such a haphazard fashion that future generations cannot be sure that they possess a reliable record? This, too, when a trustworthy record was the more essential on account of the miraculous nature of the narra

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§ 1. The New Theological Theory of a Progressive Revelation.

§ 1. The New Theological Theory of a Progressive Revelation.

These remarks, by a clergyman of the Church of England, will enable the ordinary person, who for the most part knows nothing whatever about these things, to realise the immense importance of the questions raised by Comparative Mythology. Before proceeding any further, it will be advisable to consider some concrete examples of the parallels between the beliefs and teachings of ancient religions and those of the Christian religion. Krishna. —Krishna was a miraculous incarnation of Vishnu in the wo

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§ 2. Parallels in Ancient Religions, and Some Remarks Upon Them.

§ 2. Parallels in Ancient Religions, and Some Remarks Upon Them.

In the case of Krishna and Buddha it is contended by some Christian writers that the stories must have been borrowed from Christian sources both canonical and apocryphal. This contention, founded on the lateness of the mythical stories in literary form, will be considered in due course; but first let us have clearly before our minds those parallels concerning which there is no such contention, for the simple reason that there is no getting away from the fact that the beliefs existed long before

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§ 3. Parallels in the Beliefs of Primitive Man, and some Remarks Upon Them.

§ 3. Parallels in the Beliefs of Primitive Man, and some Remarks Upon Them.

The Mexican believed in the resurrection of the Man-God. Dr. Frazer relates how “the idea that the God thus slain in the person of his representative comes to life again immediately was graphically represented in the Mexican ritual by skinning the slain man-god, and clothing in his skin a living man, who thus became the new representative of the god-head.” 29 It is civilisation that determines the tone of religion. In Peru, where the civilisation was higher and the priesthood less powerful, the

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§ 4. The Solar Myth.

§ 4. The Solar Myth.

The earliest attempts at a crude science of mythology were efforts to reconcile the legends of the gods and heroes with the religious sentiment which recognised in these beings objects of worship and respect. When the Christians first approached the problem of heathen mythology, they agreed with St. Augustine that the gods were real persons—but diabolical, not divine. “Some later philosophers, especially of the seventeenth century, misled by the resemblance between Biblical narratives and ancien

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§ 5. Concluding Remarks on Christian and Anti-Christian Theories.

§ 5. Concluding Remarks on Christian and Anti-Christian Theories.

This argument is fully developed in Part III. of Mr. J. M. Robertson’s book, Pagan Christs , from which the following are quotations: “Mithraism was in point of range the most nearly universal religion of the Western world in the early centuries of the Christian era. As to this students are agreed. [Here Mr. Robertson gives in a footnote a formidable array of authorities.] To the early Fathers, we shall see. Mithraism was a most serious thorn in the flesh; and the monumental remains of the Roman

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§ 1. Preliminary Remarks.

§ 1. Preliminary Remarks.

To prevent the chance of any misunderstanding, some explanation may be necessary for the benefit of those who are not in touch with scientific thought, and who hear that “Darwinism” is out of date. They should understand that, although the doctrine of Evolution as applied to organic life used to be widely spoken of by the term “Darwinism,” the latter is now only used by scientists in a special sense, to designate the belief in the gradual origin of species by natural selection. There are some wh

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§ 2. “Nature Red in Tooth and Claw.”

§ 2. “Nature Red in Tooth and Claw.”

The Rev. Professor Flint’s book on Theism 15 is much patronised by the Church as an apologetic book of the highest order. The Professor tries to show (p. 204) that, although the process of development involves privation, pain, and conflict, it is subservient to the noblest end, because the final result is, as he alleges, order and beauty. All the perfections of sentient creatures are, he owns, due to this painful process. “Through it the lion has gained its strength, the deer its speed, the dog

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§ 3. The Bible Account of Creation Irreconcilable with Science in Each and Every Respect.

§ 3. The Bible Account of Creation Irreconcilable with Science in Each and Every Respect.

“Mr. Gladstone’s views as to the proper method of dealing with grave and difficult scientific and religious problems had permitted him to base a solemn ‘plea for a revelation of truth from God’ upon an error as to a matter of fact, from which the intelligent perusal of a manual of palæontology would have saved him.... He does, indeed, make a great parade of authorities, and I have the greatest respect for those authorities whom Mr. Gladstone mentions. If he will get them to sign a joint memorial

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§ 4. Proofs of Our Animal Origin.

§ 4. Proofs of Our Animal Origin.

The late Sir Charles Lyell mentions in his Antiquity of Man how Dr. Sumner, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, brought out in strong relief fifty years ago, in his Records of Creation , one essential character separating man from the brute. As the same argument is still being “brought out,” and is, on the face of it, exceedingly plausible, and as the answer to it has to do with the brain, it cannot be passed over. Dr. Sumner said: “It has been sometimes alleged, and may be founded on fact, that

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§ 5. The Overthrow of the Doctrines of the Fall and Original Sin.

§ 5. The Overthrow of the Doctrines of the Fall and Original Sin.

The gravity of the situation and the divergence of the new from the old teaching are summed up by the Church Times in the following pertinent remarks:—“It is impossible for Christians to affect nonchalance as to the result of the controversy between anthropologists like Lubbock, Lyell, Huxley, Haeckel, and Fiske, who assert the human race to have continuously (with whatever relapses) progressed out of brutish and squalid barbarism, and those who, like the late Duke of Argyll, Lang, Tylor, Hartma

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§ 1. Preliminary Remarks.

§ 1. Preliminary Remarks.

The hypothesis of modern science is that everything as it now exists in the universe is the result of an infinite series of causes and effects; everything that happens is the result of something else that happened previously, and so on backwards to all eternity. The agnostic scientist says that we know nothing about this Infinite Cause, and that the idea of a First Cause is absurd. The Theist affirms that there is an Eternal Infinite Being who is the First Cause. He says that it is absurd not to

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§ 2. The Existence of a First Cause—An Uncaused Cause.5

§ 2. The Existence of a First Cause—An Uncaused Cause.5

The argument from design is one which appeals perhaps more than any other to the average man. As he looks around and reflects, he feels that there must be design, and, therefore, a Designer. He feels also that God must be constantly present directing the carrying out of His design. He is in accord with the Theist who maintains that purpose and plan are manifest throughout the cosmos, and that, although it might be conceded that every step of the process has been achieved by the forces of Evoluti

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§ 3. The First Cause an Intelligence.

§ 3. The First Cause an Intelligence.

If the evidence for a directing Mind has to be given up, the difficulties of a Theist are certainly increased. There would be difficulties, for instance, regarding the utility of prayer. Still, he could think with Father Waggett that “the interaction of forces inherent in the whole produces the infinite variety of living beauty which we see.” 10 And he can still join with Dr. Flint in exclaiming: “Every atom, every molecule, must, even in what is ultimate in it, bear the impress of a Supernatura

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§ 4. The First Cause a Beneficent Intelligence.

§ 4. The First Cause a Beneficent Intelligence.

In another place, 24 when speaking again of the doctrine of the Trinity, he says: “Men forget that it supports and is supported by the whole weight of a fact in history, with which nothing else in the wide world can even for a moment be compared. That fact is the age-long empire of Jesus Christ over the hearts of men.” This, then, is the final argument in support of the Christian dogmas, including this the most incomprehensible of them all. Why should not the Buddhist claim the same authority fo

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§ 5. Religious Experience.

§ 5. Religious Experience.

Professor James is not the only person having the curious notion that an abnormal state of mind admits the nearer presence of God. To take a people possessing a marvellous self-control over their emotions, and, therefore, the last among whom you would expect to find such ideas, I may mention that the more ignorant and superstitious among the Japanese throw themselves into hypnotic trances, and then fondly imagine that a god is present in their body, and is making use of them as a mouthpiece. 44

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§ 6. The Inevitable Conclusion.

§ 6. The Inevitable Conclusion.

From his examination of the evolution of philosophy Dr. Topinard draws, by way of résumé , the following conclusions:— a. Philosophy, like religion, is the outcome of the belief in the supernatural held by man in his more or less primitive state. b. The philosophic spirit and the spirit which created the arts and letters have as common characters their subjectivity, their need of imagining and of constructing, and their firm belief in the reality of their conceptions. c. Philosophy is opposed to

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§ 1. Preliminary Remarks. The Power of Christianity for Good.

§ 1. Preliminary Remarks. The Power of Christianity for Good.

Let us now leave generalisation, and investigate in some detail an important Christian argument which has the contention of Christianity’s power for good as its source. It forms a striking illustration of the way fallacies may arise from a hard-and-fast adhesion to convictions that are justified rather by the heart than by history. The majority of women still remain true believers. There appear to be numerous reasons, psychological and educational, for their attitude. Woman is more imaginative,

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§ 2. Christianity Woman’s Best Friend.1

§ 2. Christianity Woman’s Best Friend.1

Look on these pictures, one of 2000 B.C. and the other of A.D. 1850:— Picture I. —Two thousand years before the Christian era “woman was more free and more honoured in Egypt than she is in any country of the world to-day. She was the mistress of the house. 7 ... She inherited equally with her brothers, and had full control of her property. She could go where she liked, or speak with whom she liked. She was ‘juridically the equal of man,’ says M. Paturet, ‘having the same rights and being treated

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§ 3. The Overthrow of Christianity would Endanger Society and the Nation.

§ 3. The Overthrow of Christianity would Endanger Society and the Nation.

“What, then,” asks the Rev. Prebendary W. A. Whitworth, 17 “was the original gospel of power which overran the world with such astonishing success?” The spread of Christianity is thought by nearly all good Christians to have been marvellous. Was it? That is the question we have next to consider. In the first place, let us see what we are told on this point by recognised theologians. In his book, The Bible in the Church , we are reminded by the learned Dr. Westcott, the late Bishop of Durham, tha

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§ 4. The Spread of Christianity a Proof of its Truth.

§ 4. The Spread of Christianity a Proof of its Truth.

There was yet another, and possibly the chief, cause for the ultimate spread of Christianity. In the chapter on comparative mythology I have described and commented upon the various rationalistic theories concerning the origins of Christian beliefs and ceremonies. As a matter of fact, Mithraism spread just as much, or more, until Christianity obtained the necessary political power to suppress it. Not only from these anti-Christian theories, but also from the admissions of apologists concerning t

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§ 5. The Noble Army of Martyrs.

§ 5. The Noble Army of Martyrs.

The fact that a large proportion of the human race, including some of the greatest 34 in thought and action, continue, or appear to continue, to believe in God and immortality, is considered by many to furnish the best proof for the truth of the belief. The Church naturally encourages this opinion, and proceeds to strengthen it further by asserting that the religious instinct is, and always has been, universal. This assertion must now be examined, and, to avoid any misconceptions, it will be adv

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§ 6. The Universality of the Religious Instinct.

§ 6. The Universality of the Religious Instinct.

At the outset of the inquiry we at once experience a difficulty. It is not at all clear what the apologist includes under the category of religious beliefs. If it be taken as an axiom that the grossest superstition, the mere belief in the supernatural, is the germ of a religious belief, and therefore that all ignorant or superstitious persons have the religious instinct, then the proposition will be true for practically the whole of mankind in the remote past, and for a very large proportion in

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§ 1. A Summary.

§ 1. A Summary.

Chapter IV.: Comparative Mythology. —The similarity of beliefs, customs, and teachings in ancient religions with those in the Christian religion are as numerous as they are remarkable. These parallels deprive Christianity of any claim to originality, and furnish an explanation of its origin which completely destroys our belief in its truth. The theory of a progressive revelation is the outcome of dire necessity, for the survival of Christianity depends upon its acceptance. This theory is for man

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§ 2. Why Lead a Moral Life?

§ 2. Why Lead a Moral Life?

But, it may be objected, the average man will not be deterred from wrong-doing by the fear of vague consequences; he is only concerned to snatch the immediate pleasure (or what seems to him to be a pleasure), to satisfy a momentary lust, to secure the gratification of his senses on the “bird-in-the-hand” principle. That is all very true, of course, and incidentally it accounts for the failure of Christianity or any other belief that relies for its ethical effect on a system of vague threats and

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§ 3. Should the Truth be Told?

§ 3. Should the Truth be Told?

Anxiety with regard to the effect on morality, private and public, chiefly accounts, no doubt, for the present conspiracy of silence. I have already gone into this question in some detail, 39 and we have seen that belief and morality are not necessarily Siamese twins, and that, when the belief is false, and still more, of course, when it is suspected or known to be false, it is no longer of any possible ethical value, but quite the reverse. Should you demur, I have a question to ask, which is th

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§ 4. The Outlook.

§ 4. The Outlook.

Social Problems. —Broad-minded divines are now exalting the service of man as it has never before been exalted. “Serve men,” they say, “and you will find God. Help men, and Christ is here.” 53 “The test of Christianity is,” Canon Wilson informs us, “the resolve and the power of Christians to solve social problems. If the Bible inspires Christians with the zeal and the wisdom and the love needed for this task, no one will dispute its claims to be verily ‘the Word of God.’” 54 This inspiration to

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§ 5. Concluding Remarks.

§ 5. Concluding Remarks.

By all means let those who can, continue to cherish the “larger hope”—why should they not, while all is unknown?—and let the metaphysicians continue to translate their wishes and aspirations into philosophical language; but the guiding spirit in human affairs should be, and one day will be, a scientific humanitarianism working on rational principles for the peace and happiness of all mankind. “Ring out the grief that saps the mind For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and

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Chapter I.

Chapter I.

He has now done so. In an article entitled “First Principles of Faith,” appearing in the Hibbert Journal for July, 1906, he has drawn up a new formula of faith, which commences: “I believe in one Infinite and Eternal Being, a guiding and loving Father, in whom all things consist.” He continues: “I believe that the Divine Nature is specially revealed to man through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lived and taught and suffered in Palestine 1,900 years ago, and has since been worshipped by the Christian

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Chapter II.

Chapter II.

Thus, in the introduction to Pastor Hsi (a book of which 24,000 copies were printed between 1903 and 1905), the Rev. D. E. Hoste, General Director of the China Inland Mission, not only expresses this belief, but seeks to explain why devil-possession should now be chiefly confined to heathen lands. “Careful observation and study of the subject have,” he says, “led many to conclude that, although in lands where Christianity has long held sway the special manifestations we are now considering are c

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Chapter III.

Chapter III.

The Rev. T. Witton Davies, B.A., Ph.D., Professor of Old Testament Literature, North Wales Baptist College, Bangor; Lecturer in Semitic Languages, University College. The Rev. William E. Addis, M.A., Lecturer in Old Testament Criticism, Manchester College, Oxford. The Rev. William Henry Bennett, Litt.D., D.D., Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature, Hackney College, London, and Professor of Old Testament Exegesis, New College, London. The Rev. William Sanday, D.D., LL.D., Lady Margaret P

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Chapter IV.

Chapter IV.

Maya dreams that she is carried by archangels to heaven, and that there the future Buddha enters her right side in the form of a superb white elephant. Rhys Davids relates this legend on p. 183 of his Buddhism , and in a footnote he says: “Csoma Korösi refers in a distant way to a belief of the later Mongol Buddhists that Maya was a virgin (As. Res. xx. 299); but this has not been confirmed. St. Jerome says ( Adversus Jovin. , bk. 1): ‘It is handed down as a tradition among the Gymnosophists of

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Chapter V.

Chapter V.

P. 208 , lines 14–18.— Enough has been said, I hope, to convince the reader that ... there is overpowering evidence against separate acts of creation, and in favour of an animal origin of the human race. This Family Tree of Life will enable him to form a brain-picture of the various steps in the evolutionary process:— [ Note. —It is now generally admitted that man goes back at least 200,000 years.] Protoplasm plus Chlorophyll This diagram of development is taken from Edwards Clodd’s work, The St

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Chapter VI.

Chapter VI.

With regard to phenomena at present popularly known as spiritualistic, but for which scientists have now adopted the term “metapsychical,” the following declaration by Professor Lombroso (appearing in the review La Lettura , November, 1906) is of considerable interest. “As the result,” he writes, “of our researches, I have been bound to admit the conviction that these phenomena are of colossal importance, and that it is the plain duty of science to direct attention towards them without delay.” N

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Chapter VII.

Chapter VII.

“Eternity is at best but an artificial idea; in reality, it is no true idea at all, since we cannot conceive it; it is only the negation of an idea, being, in fact, the negation of that which passes away. When we begin discussing eternity we see that, from the point of view of natural science, nothing is eternal except the ultimate particles of matter and their forces; for no one of the thousandfold phenomena and combinations under which matter and force present themselves to us can be eternal”

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Chapter VIII.

Chapter VIII.

The following are some of the facts about the matter which should be clearly understood and widely made known:— (1) “The object of all hypnotic treatment ought to be the development of the patient’s control of his own organism” (see p. 436 of Hypnotism: Its History, Practice, and Theory ). (2) The hypnotic control may be obtained without any effort on the part of the operator, the effort formerly supposed to be required being purely imaginary, and the hypnotic state being, in fact, obtained with

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SELECTIONS FROM A FEW (OF MANY) PRESS OPINIONS ON EARLIER EDITIONS.

SELECTIONS FROM A FEW (OF MANY) PRESS OPINIONS ON EARLIER EDITIONS.

“I am glad to see a second and revised edition.”— T. P.’s Weekly. “Mr. Vivian’s excellent book.”— Observer. “Deserves attentive consideration.”— John Bull. “A careful and thorough perusal of this book has led us to admire the industry, carefulness, and lucidity of the writer.”— London Argus. “All we can do is to commend this book to the serious attention of all who have the welfare of Christianity—not mere dogma—at heart.”— Public Opinion. “A clever and lucid statement of Rationalism.”— Review o

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