tinuance.

The principal religions of the world have their origin in the teachings of some reformer, a man of larger intellect and greater force of character than his fellows, who saw the accumulating evils of his day, and set himself to lessen or remove them. Like-minded men soon joined themselves to him as their leader, and if the men were capable, and the circumstances favourable, a new society more or less speedily came into being. So long as the founder and his immediate disciples survived, all went well with the new creed. The members remained true to his teachings and to themselves, especially if they formed the weak party in the state, and were knit together by opposition and persecution. But by-andby the original enthusiasm got exhausted; 'offences must needs come,' heresy sprang up, causing discussions and schisms; simple rites, originally social, were raised into ceremonial observances, and made articles of faith; these demanded special officers for their

fit celebration; and if the society was soon the ruling one, as in the case of Islamism, or if it was taken up by the state and became the ruling power, as did Christianity after the days of Constantine, a fixed and immutable standard of laws and dogmas was laid down, and a new hierarchy was established. This in the case of Christianity gave great stability to it as an institution; but it got into a position that could not have been anticipated by Jesus-' My kingdom is not of this world'-nor by his early followers, who looked for the immediate return of their Lord, and the establishment of his kingdom upon earth. 'This generation shall not pass till all these things be done' (Mark xiii. 30; Luke xxi. 32). When years went on, and some of the faithful passed away, the brethren were told that these would suffer no loss: 'We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep' (1 Thess. iv. 15). Then, when still

earth. This

there was delay, they were told that ‘One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' 'The Lord is not slack concerning His promise' (2 Peter iii. 8, 9). It is clear, therefore, that Jesus could not have anticipated and provided for such a position for his church as existed three hundred years later, and that its development into a state institution, with fixed and privileged officers, can never have had his sanction; and yet a cherished object with many of the clergy to this day has been to attach themselves to a chain of men in authority, claiming to have come down from the first apostles. It should be noted here, that what has been said refers to the clergy and office-bearers of the whole Christian Church in the widest sense of the word.

If Christ were to come again—a favourite phrase in these days-might he not have occasion to repeat what he said to the priests and Pharisees of old? Recently,

mostly in our own country, there have been in some of the churches attempts at union, in order to face a common enemy; but, as a general rule, here, and over the whole of Christendom, there is but little harmony amongst the churches. If the clergy of any one church were to be judged by those of any of the others, their shrift (ecclesiastically) would be short and sharp, and the outside heathen might again say, 'See how these Christians love one another,' but with what a different meaning! The teachings—or, rather, the supposed teachings of Jesus have not brought 'peace on earth,' even among his own followers.

CHAPTER VII

PROGRESS IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: DIFFICULTIES IN APPRECIATING THIS

In the foregoing pages the argument has necessarily had a destructive tendency. With most of us this would be considered fit and proper, were all the religions of the world except our own affected. All, indeed, would probably agree to the destruction of the rest of the creeds of the world, and to the adoption of their own as the creed of all, and thus uniformity might at last be found. The mere statement of this idea is enough to condemn it as Utopian and absurd; and the question comes to be, has the Deity left mankind in ignorance as to His nature and actings, and must man work out his salvation by his own efforts, and with no