The number of man, the climax of civilization

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fU^

THE NUMBER OF MAN

WORKS BY PHILIP MAURO

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THE

NUMBER OF MAN

THE CLIMAX OF CIVILIZATION

PHILIP MAURO

COUNSELLOR-AT-LAW

Author of
'• The World and its God" " Man's Day " "Life in the Word" etc.

' ' Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding
count the number of the beast : for it is THE NUMBER
OF MAN ; and his number is 666" (Rev. xiii. 18)

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PREFACE

THE writer has attempted in this volume to set forth
the chief results of an examination which he has made
of the great religious and economic movements now in
progress throughout the world. Human society the
world over is stirred to-day as it has not been stirred
since the time when it was split up into separate nations,
tongues, and tribes ; and this remarkable and simul-
taneous activity of all sections of the human family is
easily the most notable characteristic of the day. The
present examination has been undertaken for the pur-
pose of ascertaining the direction and probable outcome
of these movements of the modern world.

The inquiry is one of great importance, and of vital
interest to all human beings. It carries us on to the
end of all the struggles, trials, and efforts of mankind.
It looks into the future to see what is to be the con-
summation— the complete numbering or summing up
— not merely of the present era of scientific civilization
and industrial development, — the age of machinery, —
but of the Career of Humanity as a whole. It

1G15G49

vi PREFACE

seeks to ascertain the "NUMBER OF MAN" in its
totality.

The materials available for the conduct of such an
investigation are abundant ; but there be few living in
these days of high-pressure who have the leisure or
ability to pursue it. There are now in progress con-
spicuous movements, which affect great masses of
humanity, and which present characteristics of the
most striking nature. These movements are social,
political, and religious. Their aims are radical, their
strength is great, their speed is accelerating. In each
one of them, when considered by itself, may be found
indications that the affairs of humanity are approaching
a crisis of the first magnitude. Taking them all into
consideration collectively, one cannot fail to be im-
pressed with the solemn conviction that mankind
as a whole is upon the eve of what a competent
observer of current affairs has designated "a great
world-crisis."

But if we come to share this conviction (which has
obtained hold of many of the thoughtful minds of the
day), we shall naturally wish to know all that may
be learned concerning the nature of this crisis, its
proximity or remoteness in time, and the changes in
human society, and in mundane conditions generally,
which it will bring about. To this end it will be
both interesting and profitable to examine the more
prominent of the movements of our day, to note the

PREFACE vii

essential features and aims of each, and to ascertain, so
far as it is possible to do so, the direction they are
severally taking and the destination at which each is
likely to arrive.

In pursuing this inquiry, the only way to exclude
material error and to shut out the writer's own pre-
conceptions, and the only method which will com-
mand the confidence of the reader, will be to give the
essential characteristics and aims of each movement in
the language of some one prominently identified and
in full sympathy therewith, and therefore competent
to speak for it. This method has accordingly been
adopted in the preparation of what follows.

When the writer began his survey of the various
fields of human activity, and the study of the chief
characteristics and tendencies of the prominent move-
ments now progressing therein, he did not in the least
suspect the existence of any connection between those
movements. On the contrary, between some of them,
at least, there appeared to be irreconcilable antagonism.
With that view of the state of modern society, he began
to collect and to study the more significant utterances
of the leaders and historians of these various move-
ments of thought and action, dealing with them as
he has been accustomed to do in making an analysis of
a machine or industrial process ; that is to say, dis-
tinguishing the essential features or principles, from
the non-essential features or details, which could be

viii PREFACE

dispensed with or modified without changing the real
character of the thing under examination.

While engaged in this study, the truth dawned upon
him, with the force of a great surprise, that all these
remarkable movements, however diverse in appearance,
were in reality identical in their fundamental principles,
and furthermore that they were, one and all, con-
verging towards a common goal. He found that,
instead of being engaged in studying a group of
different and conflicting movements, he was in fact
observing various phases of a single movement, — and
that movement one which is world-wide in its influence
and operation. He found that, throughout the whole
world, wherever human societies exist, in Christendom
and Heathendom, in Catholicism, Protestantism,
Judaism, Islamism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and even
in Agnosticism, there has suddenly occurred the simul-
taneous uprising of mysterious forces, under whose
potent influence even communities that have been
stagnant throughout the whole Christian era, are
throwing off their lethargy, are putting themselves
into motion, as under a common impulse, and are
pressing eagerly and enthusiastically in a common
direction.

The scene may be likened to a great scattered en-
campment, whose divisions are composed of different
races, variously attired, and differing widely among
themselves in customs and language, but all sections

PREFACE ix

of which have simultaneously struck their tents and
started forward in a direction which will quickly bring
them to a common destination.

This fact of the essential identity of the several move-
ments of the hour is in itself of sufficient importance
to interest all who are living in these energetic times.
But what mostly concerns them to know is, that the
features which are common to these movements, and
which prove their essential identity, are the very
features which, according to the prophetic Scriptures
of the New Testament, are to characterize the period
of the culmination of the career of humanity in its
self-chosen path of departure from God's ways.

This, however, is an anticipation, and is set forth at
the outset, in order to stimulate the interest of the
reader by giving a hint of the importance of the
matters which are treated, however imperfectly and
inadequately, in this volume. The writer is not careful
to press his own conclusions upon the reader ; but desires
rather to put the latter in a position to compare for
himself the tendencies of these modern movements (as
stated by those who are competent to speak for them),
with the descriptions of the end of this age that are found
in the prophetic Scriptures written more than eighteen
centuries ago. With these materials before him, the
reader of ordinary intelligence, if he be not one of
those who have purposely turned away their ears from
the truth and are turned to fables (2 Tim. iv. 4), can

x PREFACE

be safely left to draw his own conclusions regarding the
significance of these strange and ivholly unprecedented
things which are coming to pass on the earth.

What is taking place is, in a word, the consumma-
tion of all human activities, the very Climax of our
imposing Civilization. There is a limit to what
may be accomplished by the natural powers of man
exerted upon the natural forces and resources of the
physical universe ; and there is a limit to the forbear-
ance of God. The results of human energy and human
ingenuity are reaching their totality and are about to
be summed up. The sum of all Man's efforts has been
nearly reached. God has counted them all in advance ;
and has given us the SUM TOTAL. Not only have man's
days been numbered, and the hairs of his head, but
his doings have also been numbered; and the hand-
writing is upon the wall to be seen by all who have
eyes to see. Here is wisdom. Let him who has
understanding count the number ; for it is the
'* NUMBER OF MAN," — the totality of all his achieve-
ments. It is the end of all things " under the sun."

" Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher,
COUNTING ONE BY ONE TO FIND our THE ACCOUNT :
. . . Lo, this only have I found, that God hath
made man upright ; but they have sought out
many inventions " (Eccl. vii. 27, 29).

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE, v

SECTION 1
HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF THE PRESENT DAY

Knowledge of physical forces and properties
of matter applied to multiplying facilities
for travel and inter - communication —
Many running to and fro, and knowledge
being increased, ..... I

Prophetic descriptions of the " Times of
the End" ; a great System and a great
Leader, ...... 5

The Second Wild-Beast of Revelation xiii. :
The Last World Power, 10

The Great Monopoly: the Religious " Trust," 17

THE TWO MAIN FIELDS OF HUMAN
ENTERPRISE :

Religion and Business — Unprecedented
activity in both fields ; swift movements
and sudden changes, . . . 19

xii CONTENTS

PAGE

THE ECONOMIC FIELD. — Efforts to better
the economic condition of Human Beings.
The " Ills of Humanity " ; what is
their source ? Do they - proceed from
Man's environment, or from Man him-
self ? 22

Human schemes of deliverance based on the
theory that the source of human ills is in
Man's surroundings, . . . .24

Aids to Industrial Development and some of
the results of such development, . . 27

THE RELIGIOUS FIELD. — Great and rapid
changes now taking place. All Religions
and all Religious Denominations affected.
Conditions unprecedented in human
history. A great and world-wide spirit-
ual crisis at hand, 30

The religious and economic movements of
the present day have certain features in
common, ...... 34

(1) Their Common Ideal is the formation of'
a Great Consolidation. The dream of a
" Great Unification." Human interests

of all sorts to be combined, 35

(2) They have for a Common Basis, "Faith in
the Powers of Man" to effect a permanent
betterment of the condition of humanity,

CONTENTS xiii

PAGE

and to establish " Ideal Social Condi-
tions," 41

(3) They embrace a Common Religious
Principle, ' The Divinity of Man."
Humanism and the coming " Church of
Man," 44

Human Science : its relation to the Present-
Day Activities, 48

Two Bodies of Human Beings now in
process of formation : The Body of
Christ, and the Body of Antichrist, . 50

Headless Humanity. Thelacktobe supplied :

God's Method and Satan's, . . 54

Factors which Present- Day Movements
overlook. Sin and the corruption of
human nature not taken into account, and
no provision for dealing with them, . 56

SECTION II

NEW THEOLOGIES

Conditions in " the latter days," . . 62

The New Theology of Old England, . . 65
Mr. Campbell's statement of the new and

popular religious principles of our day, . 65
The Divinity of Humanity. Every man has

xiv CONTENTS

PAGE

" God within," and is hence a discerner

of truth, 66

Proofs — Scriptural and other — no longer
needed. If " in search for truth, trust the
Voice of God within you," ... 67
The "Fall of God," . .68

" No dividing line " between God's being
and man's, ...... 71

Democratic principles incorporated in the
New Theology. Religion must be made
acceptable " to the masses" ... 74
Every man a Saviour. ' ' No stopping-place

between sinner and Saviour," . . 76

New Theology aims at the " Consolidation

of all Human Interests" ... 78
New Theology identified with Socialism.
" The Religious Articulation of the Great
Social Movement," .... 79

" New Theology is the Religion of Science," 81
New Theology in various Religious De-
nominations, ... .82

Mr. Campbell and Mr. Blatchford, . . 85

THE NEW THEOLOGY OF NEW ENG-
LAND, .... .88

Dr. Gordon on " The Collapse of the New
England Theology," .... 88

CONTENTS xv

PAGE

Character of the New England Theology, . 92
Reasons why it "collapsed," ... 97
Beneath the "best religious consciousness"

of the time, 99

The teaching of the Bible " outgrown in

knowledge and in ethical conceptions," . 100
The " collapse " of Bible doctrine in the

times of King Ahab, .... 101
The "collapse " of the doctrine of Christ in

His own day, ..... 102
" Bondage to a book" Unitarian-Trini-

tarianism, . . . . . . 104

NEW THEOLOGY IN NEW ENGLAND : . 105

" Humanism " our " greatest word," . 106

Man's essential " nature" . . . 106
God's character to be learned by study of

" man's world," ..... no
The two voices that speak out of the realm

of the unseen, 113

" Looking for the Genius," . . .114

"MODERNISM" or ADVANCED THEO-
LOGY IN THE CHURCH OF
ROME : A remarkable movement, . 115
" The Programme of Modernism." Its

xvi CONTENTS

PAGE

initial assumption that the old " bases of
faith have proved themselves rotten beyond
cure," 120

" // the Foundations be destroyed, what can
the righteous do ? " (Ps. xi. 3) . . 121

Modernism in relation to " Higher Criti-
cism " and Modern Science, . . .122

Modernism ; its denial of Christ, . .125

Rejects miracles and prophecy because they
offend " the modern mind," . . .126

Positive doctrines of Modernism. Its aim
to establish in the Church of Rome the
Standards and Ideals of the "Modern
World" and to realise the " dream of a
Great Unification" . . . .128

Modernism undertakes to bring the " re-
ligious experience of Christianity into
line with the data of contemporary science
and philosophy ," .... 131

" THE POPE'S ENCYCLICAL ON MO-
DERNISM," 133

A withering denunciation : " The Modernists
are enemies of the Cross of Christ" who
assail the faith " by arts entirely new and
full of deceit," 133

The Pope's description of the methods of the

CONTENTS xvii

PAGE

Modernists. Their " boundless effron-
tery " and " domineering overbearance."
The doctrine of Humanism or " the
identity of man with God." Their
system destructive of " all Religion."
Modernism defined by " Infallible
Authority " as the "Synthesis of all
Heresies," 136

THE "COMING CATHOLICISM": fore-
seen by Rev. Newman Smythe . . . 141

The "Passing of Protestantism" ; signs of
disintegration and " of the passing of the
Protestant Age of History," . . . 143

Dr. C. H. Aked and the " Salvation of
Christianity," 144

Modernism approved and hailed as a
" Mediating " Movement. Its mission
the " Reconciliation of the Church with
Modern Thought," . . . .146

A " World of Titanic Industrial Forces "
demands a religion suited to it, . . 147

" A new religious order " arising, the
" greatest that the world has known,"
drawn from all nations and classes and
from " all Churches," .... 148

The energising principle of this great Move-
b

xviii CONTENTS

PAGE

ment said to be the vitalising and profound
faith that " God is in Man," that the
Divine is present in the thoughts of
men 150

Progressive Catholics " in the same stream "
with other advanced theologians . . 151

The old prophets delivered their messages
in the Name of the Lord. The modern
prophets who discredit the former, give no
authority for their messages nor any reason
why they should be heeded . . .151

7s Modern Civilisation characterised by
" the love of the truth," or by failure to
receive the love of the truth ? . . . 154

Modernism lay ing" New Foundations," . 156

The present Pope a "Parenthesis," . . 157

Characteristics of Mr. Smythes " Coming
Catholicism," 158

The unification of mankind promoted by
" Internationalism " — that is, the
" Federation of Industrial Interests
throughout the World," which calls for a
corresponding Religious Federation, . 159
What the Religion of Humanity has to offer
to the individual man. The contrast with
Christianity, . . . . . .161

A Gigantic Deception, 163

CONTENTS xix

FACE

SPIRITISM: ... .164

Prophecy foretells a rise of Spiritism in
"the latter times," characterised by direct
teachings of evil spirits or demons.
" Forbidding to Marry," . . .165

Remarkable change of attitude on the part
of Physical Science towards Spiritism, . 166

Spiritistic Seances conducted by well-known
men of science, 167

Efforts to communicate with departed spirits
of Messrs. Myers and Hodgson. A re-
markable "Report." Cryptic Messages
from the " Unseen," Scientists de-
ceived, 168

Spiritism is supplying the supernatural
elements required to complete the Religion
of Humanity, ..... 174

Spiritism extending its influence in the
sphere of professing Christianity, . . 175

An alleged communication from John
and Charles Wesley. " New Theology "
taught by the spirits, .... 176

Displaced and Substituted Personality an
experience of Spiritism, and also of Hyp-
notism, " Suggestive Therapeutics," etc., . 178

Displaced Personality in gatherings of
Christians seeking a new " experience," . 180

xx CONTENTS

PACE

Impairing the Authority of the Bible, . . 182
A Strange Fellowship, . . . 183

SECTION III

Human activities in the Economic Field.
Pronounced Characteristics of the existing
Economic Order of Society, . . . 185
Business taking on a religious guise, . 187
Unequal distribution of the rapidly accumu-
lating wealth. Bulk of the increase goes
to the non-producers, .... 190
" Panics" and "Business Depressions," . 192
The Socialistic explanation of these economic

phenomena, 194

The Problem of the Unemployed, . .198
Mankind separating into two classes, one
characterised by having property, and
the other by not having it, . . . 199

SOCIALISM: .... .200

Importance of the Social Problem. Modern
Social conditions from the standpoint of a
moderate Socialist. Economic Contrasts, 201

CONTENTS xxi

PAGE

The Spread of Socialistic Principles, . . 206
Sympathy and Co-operation of the Clergy, . 207
Socialism the combination of the Temporal

and Religious Interests of Mankind.

Fulfils all the main features of the System

of Prophecy, 208

Socialism permeating the professing Church, 210
Mr. Arnold White on the future of Religion ;

a dubious and dismal prospect, . .212

CAPITALISM, PLUTOCRACY IN ITS

FINAL STAGE: .... 214

The trend of Capitalism, like that of Social-
ism, is towards producing a single Vast
Monopoly, ...... 215

" The Trust of Trusts," .... 216

" The Birth of the Superman," . . . 219
Mr. H. G. Wells' Type of Socialism, . . 222
Awaiting the " Intelligent Collective

Mind," ...... 223

Power divorced from Wisdom, . . 228
The " Good Will in Man," . . .228
Mr. A. Graham Bell on the Era of Mono-
poly, 230

The question of the hour, " What shall we do
with the Trusts ?" or " What shall they
do with us ?" . . 231

xxii CONTENTS

PAGE

CAPITALISM, — Its Defensive Measures, . 232
The increasing Complexity of the Industrial
System creates an imperative demand for
" Genius of a New Order" . . . 234
The "Higher Education" devoting itself
to the development of a new type of
genius, to wit, the " Social Economist," . 235
Man's three great problems : the appro-
priation of natural forces ; the organisa-
tion of industry ; the spiritual direction
of human affairs. The last now being
faced, ... -237

THE PREDICTED END OF CAPITAL-
ISM: .238

The heaping up of treasure " in the last

days," 240

The .Plutocratic Class. " Heaping up

Treasure," 241

The Cry of the Labourer, .... 246
Living in pleasure and luxuriating in the

earth, 248

" Be patient, therefore, brethren, till the

Coming of the Lord" .... 250

THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF SOCIAL-
ISM : . 250

CONTENTS xxiii

PAGE

The foundation doctrine of Socialism is
essentially religious in character. Wor-
ship of " Humanity " a necessary ele-
ment of Socialism, . . . .251

The Creed of the " Religion of Humanity," . 253

SOCIALISM AND MARRIAGE : . . 256
" Doctrines of demons, forbidding to

marry," 257

The assault upon the institution of

Marriage, 258

Factors operating at the present time to

overthrow the institution of Marriage, . 258

ZIONISM: 264

The rise and growth of Zionism. The
awakening of the " national " Hebrew
consciousness, ..... 265
The opportunity of Jewish financiers, . . 266
A great Creditor Nation. The Money
Trust. Zionism not a " Religious "
Revival, 269

SECTION IV

LATTER-DAY IDOLS

The " Desolator " who is to come " on the

wing of abominations," . . . 270
Warnings in Scripture against Idolatry, . 271

xxiv CONTENTS

PAGE

The "modern man" an idolater. Idolatry
defined, ....... 272

The imagination of man and his images, . 278

THE METHOD OF IDOL-MAKING : . 279
Man the maker of the gods to which he
looks to do for him what he cannot do for
himself, ...... 281

" THE GODS MANY" OF THE MODERN

MAN: 286

Physical agencies expected to work spiritual
results, 287

"SCIENCE": 291

The theological use made of the abstraction

called " Science," ..... 292
" Science " as a worker of miracles and a

revealer of truth, ..... 294
" Science " incapable of effecting spiritual

results or imparting spiritual information, 297
" Science " as an authority in opposition

to the teachings of Scripture, . . . 299

" Philosophy." The origin of stone-axes, . 303

" Science" and Faith, .... 305

" Science " an imaginary thing, i.e. an Idol, 306

No depository for the teachings of Science, . 307

The Physical Sciences, . . . 308

CONTENTS xxv

PAGE

ASTRONOMY. The sphere of Astronomical
Science. Its principal Achievements,
destitute of spiritual value and signifi-
cance. The uniformity of nature. Stellar
distances and dimensions. The orbit of
an invisible satellite. But no informa-
tion about the " Bright and Morning
Star," 308

CHEMISTRY: . . . . . .312

The atomic theory. Chemical theories
afford no foundations for a New Theology, 313

Chemistry transforms many substances
but cannot change human nature or
cleanse the heart from sin, . . .315

GEOLOGY: 315

A young Science with the frailties of youth, . 316
Nothing among the facts and guesses of
Geology that has a spiritual value. Many
geological evidences of the " power of
death," but no information touching the
resurrection of the dead, . . .317

A QUEST FOR " THE TEACHINGS OF
SCIENCE" BY AN ANXIOUS
SOUL: .... 318

xxvi CONTENTS

PAGE

The " State of Science." Men and Books, . 319
Sir Oliver Lodge on "Faith allied with

Science," ...... 322

" Science " merely a name under which

Man worships himself, .... 323

EVOLUTION . 323

A mighty God with many worshippers.
Evolution and Humanism, . . . 324

Forms of worship under Humanism.
What will they be ? . . . 326

Worship must be addressed to a " Person-
ality," 329

MONEY : 329

The Unrighteous Mammon. The almost
universal tendency to make money a god
in trusting it, and setting the affections
on it, ... . .330

The Image of Gold, 333

ULTIMATE INTELLECTUALISM. The

Tendency of the Higher Education, . 335

The Harvard " Class Poem " : the Refined
Blasphemy of Humanism . . . 338

" No God for a gift God gave us —
MANKIND ALONE must save us."

CONTENTS xxvii

CONCLUSION

PAGE

An appeal to the English-speaking Nations
to recall the blessings they have received
of God, . . 345

The greatest National Apostasy of all
history, ...... 346

" Come out of her, ' My People,' ' . . 350

THE NUMBER OF MAN

SECTION I

HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF THE
PRESENT DAY

THE times in which we live are characterized on the
surface by great activity. Many are running to and
fro, and knowledge is being increased. This is
particularly true of knowledge concerning the pro-
perties of matter and the more subtle of the energies
of Nature. In these directions man's knowledge has
been greatly extended ; and this newly acquired
knowledge has served to stimulate activity, since man
has learned that such knowledge may be turned to
account in various ways which add to the comfort or
minister to the pride and glory of mankind.

This newly acquired knowledge is being applied
mainly to the multiplication of facilities for inter-com-
munication. That which, more than any other feature,
distinguishes the social life of this generation from
that of past generations, is the extraordinary develop-
ment of appliances for the easy and rapid transporta-

2 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

tion of men, merchandise, and messages, from one
part of the earth to another. The prophecy of Daniel,
— " many shall run to and fro " — is having an astonish-
ing fulfilment in the present day. The wireless
telegraph and the flying-machine have at last made
the air a medium of communication ; and beyond this
there is nothing in this direction for human daring to
undertake. It is important to note that the prophet
Daniel gave the above-quoted picture of human de-
velopment as a characteristic of the " time of the end "
(Dan. xii. 4).

Prodigious energies have been developed in recent
years from natural sources, and have been brought to
a certain extent under man's control, to do his bidding.
Nor is there as yet any sign of a slackening of the rate
of the progress of this development. On the contrary,
the achievements of each decade seem to stimulate the
leaders of the world's progress to still greater exertions.

The movement thus far has been characterized by
rapid acceleration, until the state of society in its chief
commercial centres has become one of feverish activity.
Where it will end, is a question which those who are
engaged (voluntarily or otherwise) in the industrial
movement have little time to consider, and which
perhaps could not be answered to their satisfaction.
This, however, is the question to which the writer
proposes to seek an answer. Even though we may
not find a sure answer, we may at least consider the
tendencies and direction of this great activity of our

"WHAT OF THE NIGHT?" 3

day ; for while there is not in all cases a clear and
definite aim in the minds of its leaders, the era of
industrial activity has nevertheless developed pro-
nounced and conspicuous characteristics, whereof even
the casual observer cannot fail to take note.

Have these pronounced characteristics of present-
day activity any special significance ? Do they bear
any special message to us ? The voices of the
twentieth century of the Christian era are many and
discordant ; but do they sound any definite warning ?
If we cry to the watchmen upon the walls of the city
which men have builded, " What of the night ? " will
they be able to discern anything of special import
among the crowd of coming events which are rushing
toward us ? If the ages have indeed been framed by
the word of God (Heb. xi. 3) upon a definite plan
analogous to the design observable in the visible
universe, are we approaching one of those crises which
mark the closing up of the affairs of one age and the
inauguration of another ?

Such questions are common, and are becoming more
so. Whatever one's theory may be as to the nature
and source of the principle of this social restlessness,
there are large and increasing numbers of observant
people who realize that energies have been aroused
which are fast developing beyond the control of exist-
ing moral and governmental restraints. This, of
course, betokens social disruption of some sort ; and as
is inevitable when the restrained energies are gaining

4 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

in force, the postponement of the crisis, as would be
effected by strengthening the existing restraints, does
but tend to increase the violence of the disruption
when it at last takes place.

These pages are written for those who have the
inclination to go aside for a little season from the rush
of these "difficult times," with the special object of
casting a contemplative eye upon the conspicuous
movements now in progress, and of noting the direc-
tion and rate of their advance.

There is an available light, with the aid of which
this situation may be profitably studied. That light
is the word of prophecy made more sure, whereunto
(we are told) we do well if we take heed, as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn
and the Day Star arise (2 Pet. i. 19). Of this light
we will endeavour to avail ourselves, humbly seeking,
in its use, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Who alone
can instruct us therein.

THE GREAT CONSOLIDATION AND
ITS HEAD

THE SYSTEM AND THE MAN

An important part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit,
as announced by the Lord Jesus before His death, was
to be the revealing of coming events. " He will show
you things to come " (John xvi. 13). In fulfilment of
this promise, we find in the New Testament Scriptures
many predictions of events that are to occur on the

THE " GREAT COMBINE " AND ITS HEAD 5

earth. Among these predictions are a number of very
clear statements of events that are to happen, and con-
ditions that are to develop, at the period of the
culmination of the present age and the beginning of
that which is to follow.

Very conspicuous among these coming things,
whereof the Spirit of God speaks in the Scriptures,
are a coming System or Organization, and
a coming Man who is to be the directing head of
that system. In pursuing the object of the present
study, it is needful to ascertain at the outset what has
been written for our admonition about these coining
things. But while we should give the most earnest
heed to what the Spirit has revealed on these important
subjects, lest we miss the very purpose for which they
have been written, we should above all things remember
that believers are not taught to look for a system to
arise out of the earth, but to look for the Saviour to
come out of heaven (Phil. iii. 20). The grace of God
which brought salvation to them, teaches them (believers)
how they should live while " looking for that blessed
Hope" (Titus ii. 13). They have turned to God from
idols, not to wait for "that man of sin the son of
perdition " (2 Thess. ii. 3), but " to serve the living and
true God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven,
Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which
delivered us from the wrath to come " (1 Thess. i. 9,
10). The Son of God is to come to earth again ; and
the wrath of God is also to come. We look for the

6 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

former, not for the^latter ; and if we see the storm-
clouds of the wrath to come gathering on the horizon,
it is not that we may be occupied with them, but that
we may be the more intent in looking for HIM.

Furthermore, the teaching of the prophetic word
appears to be that these last prodigies, in which all the
restless energies of man are to have their consumma-
tion, will not occur until the Church, the body of
Christ, shaU have been caught away from the earth to
meet the Lord in the air, in fulfilment of 1 Thess. iv.
15—17. Not until this great and now imminent event
shall have taken place (at least, such is the writer's
understanding of prophecy) will that "lawless one"
come into public view, whose wonderful career is to be
abruptly cut off by the coming of the Lord with His
saints, whom He has previously taken out of the world.
Then will He consume that lawless one, the son of
perdition, with the breath of His mouth, and destroy
him with the outshining (" epiphany ") of His presence
(2 Thess. ii. 8).

If, therefore, we are able, at the present moment, to
see clear indications that the formation of the last
great human System and the advent of the wonderful
genius, the "superman"" who is to be its masterful
leader, are close at hand, this should have the effect
of arousing us to a state of keen watchfulness for our
Lord's coming ; and of stimulating us to extraordinary
diligence in redeeming the little time that remains for
preaching the gospel of the grace of God. If we may

"ANOTHER SHALL COME" 7

see even now the approach of the wrath to come, then
we may assuredly know thereby that the coming of the
Lord draweth near. He must come first, since He is
to deliver us from the wrath to come.

The subject about to be presented for our considera-
tion may be fittingly introduced by reference to those
Scriptures which speak of a coming man, who shall be
the embodiment of all those qualities that capture
human admiration, and who will attain to the very
pinnacle of human greatness.

John v. 43 : " If ANOTHER shall come in his own
name, him ye will receive." This was spoken by the
Lord Jesus to the Jews, who would not receive
Him. " He came to His own, and His own (people)
received Him not" (John i. 11). Having rejected
their true Messiah, the Jews will accept in His stead
an impostor. Hence the latter is given the designa-
tion, amongst others, of the "Antichrist," signifying
one who is accepted as, or instead of, Christ. Obvi-
ously the man who can so impose upon the Jews
must have abilities of a very remarkable and admir-
able sort.

1 John ii. 18 : " Ye have heard that Antichrist
shall come." There have been many antichrists, as
this passage tells us ; that is to say, many who have
aimed at the religious and commercial ascendency over
men which the Antichrist shall actually exercise.
These, however, are but miniatures of that great

8 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

personage who will be occupying the place of supremacy
over human enterprise at the time of the Lord's visible
return to the earth.

John xiv. 30 : " The prince (ruler) of this world
cometh/'1 Whatever may be the immediate applica-
tion of this statement of the Lord Jesus, we know that
Satan, the prince of this existing world-system, is
coming to it at the end of the age in a special sense ;
for he is to be " cast out into the earth,11 and woe is
pronounced upon the earth-dwellers because the Devil
is come down unto them having great wrath, because
he knoweth that he hath but a short time (Rev. xii.
9, 12). Furthermore, the coming of that Lawless One
is to be "after the ENERGIZING OF SATAN, with
all power and signs, and wonders of falsehood"
(2 Thess. ii. 9). He will be endowed with supernatural
power and intelligence.

Dan. ix. 27 (R.V.): "And upon the wing of
abominaticns shall come ONE THAT MAKETH DESOLATE."
The Lord Jesus refers to this personage in
the prophecy recorded in Matt, xxiv., designat-
ing him (ver. 15) as "the abomination of desolation
spoken of by Daniel the prophet." The culmination
of idolatries or abominations, that is to say, of all
forms of false worship, will occur in the worship of a
man who is to occupy the sanctuary of the restored
temple. We shall speak hereafter of the idolatries of
the present day ; for there never was a more idolatrous
time than the present, and it is upon the wing of

"THE LAWLESS ONE" 9

these idolatries (called in Scripture "abominations'")
that the Desolator is to come.

The well-known passage 2 Thess. ii. 3-10, gives us
an intensely vivid description of the supernatural
manifestations which will attend the advent of this
" Man of Sin,1' or " Lawless One," as he is there called.
The sin of Man has its final outcome and fruition in
the Man of sin. This is to be the sum and consumma-
tion of all the centuries of human development and
culture ; and his coming is to be marked and rendered
illustrious by the working of Satan in all mighty work
and wonders of falsehood, and in every deceit of un-
righteousness in them that perish.

Such an appeal to the admiration of men, who are
even now being well schooled in hero-worship, will be
irresistible to all " whose names are not written in the
Lamb's book of Life " (Rev. xiii. 8).

But the fullest description we have of the advent
of this wonderful personage is found in Rev. xiii. 11-18,
that being the passage which describes the second of
the two wild beasts, the one which the apostle John
saw coming up out of the earth. This portion of
Scripture claims our very careful attention, and will
amply repay it.

" I saw another wild-beast ascending our OF THE
EARTH."

Unbelieving men are confidently looking for deliver-
ance to come up " out of the earth " ; that is to say,
they expect it to arise out of the development of the

10 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

present order of things ; whereas believers are taught
to look for their deliverance to come out of heaven.

THE SECOND WILD-BEAST OF
REVELATION XIII.

Revelation xiii. contains the record of a vision of
two wild-beasts which come successively into view, and
it is needful to distinguish between them.

Chapter xii. tells how the Dragon, who is that old
serpent, the Devil, enraged by the escape of the woman
who gave birth to the manchild, goes to make war
upon the remnant of her seed, who keep the com-
mandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
The Dragon then proceeds to call up out of the sea
an agent to be used in the execution of his design ;
and accordingly he takes his stand upon the sand of
the sea (Rev. xii. 17, xiii. 1, R.V.).1 Then John sees
arising out of the sea a ten-horned beast. This first of
the two beasts is easily identified with the fourth beast
which Daniel forsaw arising out of the sea (Dan. vii.
1-8), and of which the angel, in expounding the vision
to Daniel, said, " The fourth beast shall be the fourth
Kingdom upon the earth." This first beast, therefore,
represents a great political power, or world-ruling
empire, composed of a federation of ten Kingdoms ;
and to it Satan shall give his power, and his throne,
and great authority.

1 It is the Dragon, not the Apostle, who " stood upon
the sand of the sea."

THE LAMB-LIKE POTENTATE 11

The dominion of this ungodly political power is to
be universal, for there is to be given to it " power over
all kindreds and tongues and nations " (ver. 7).

Then (Rev. xiii. 11) the apostle beheld another
beast coming up, not out of the sea, but out of the
earth or land, which is generally taken as signify-
ing a settled and ordered condition of society, as
distinguished from a confused and unsettled condi-
tion of the nations, as signified by the sea (Rev.
xvii. 15).

This second beast is not a political or other system,
but a man. Later on, he is given the title " The False
Prophet," which is in evident contrast to Christ's title
as the True Prophet. Rev. xix. 20 clearly identifies
the false prophet with the second beast of chapter xiii.
Moreover, what is said of him in chapter xiii. shows
that the beast represents a man.

The description of this beast is striking, and should
receive careful attention.

1. " He had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as
a dragon." In these words we have a summary state-
ment of his external appearance and of his real internal
character.

In appearance and manner, that is to say, in all that
meets the eye, he is " like a lamb." His seeming
guilelessness will invite and win confidence from all.
His motives will be apparently pure, disinterested, and
above suspicion. He will be a born leader of men, a
great reformer, whose mission will be to elevate

12 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

humanity, to remove injustices and inequalities, and to
establish ideal social conditions.

This is, of course, Satan's counterfeit of the true Lamb
seen by John in the next recorded vision (chap. xiv. 1).

So much for the external appearance of the coming
man. But speech comes from within, and his true
character is indicated by his speech, which is "as a
dragon." Externally lamb-like, internally dragon-like,
no more fearful combination could be imagined. It is
a marvellous description, far beyond human ability to
furnish, that is given to us in these few quiet words.
Whether consciously to himself or not, this man will
be but the tool of the great Dragon, serving his deep,
cunning, and malignant purposes, and all the better
because they are veiled behind an appearance and
manner which inspire unquestioning confidence.

2. Then there is a reference to the great miracles
which this superman is to perform. " He doeth great
wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth
them that dwell on the earth by the means of those
miracles which he had the power to do."

This corresponds closely with the words of the
prophecy of the Lord Jesus, Who foretold that, at
the period of the great tribulation, there should arise
" false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if possible, they
shall deceive the very elect " (Matt. xxiv. 24). And
He adds, " Behold, I have told you before."

"THE WORKING OF SATAN" 13

Likewise, in full agreement with this is the statement
of 2 Thess. ii. 9, 10 : " Whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power, and signs and lying wonders,
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness."

Each of these passages speaks of extraordinary signs
and wonders, which will have the effect of deceiving
practically the whole world.

3. This coming magnate is to be supported by
the political power of the day, and is also to be
supernaturally endowed by Satan. This is shown by
the above-quoted passage from 2 Thess. ii. It also
appears from Rev. xiii. 12. "And he exerciseth all
the power (or authority) of the first beast before
him."

4. This potentate will exercise supreme control over
the religious worship of the time ; for he " causeth the
earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first
beast," and " that as many as would not worship the
image of the beast should be killed."

It will seem strange to some, and even unbelievable,
that the present tendencies to extreme religious toler-
ance and liberality should culminate in a condition
of such absolute intolerance. But thus it is that
extremes often meet ; and the foregoing prediction
will not seem so incredible to those who have watched
the rapid rise of Socialism. The first beast is the
State, — the supreme political authority, — and the
religion of Socialism is the worship of Humanity,
whose authority according to that ^system is to be

14 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

vested absolutely in the State. This will be unfolded
as we proceed with our inquiry.

5. This great personage will also exercise complete
control over all industrial operations ; for " he causes
all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their fore-
heads ; and that no man might buy or sell save he that
had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name."

The general purport of this is plain enough, although
we must await the progress of events for comprehension
of the details of the system here indicated. This
important passage of Scripture puts clearly before us
the prediction of a world-wide consolidation, syndicate,
or merger, a mammoth monopoly, a titanic " trust,"
which shall absolutely control the marketing of all
commodities; insomuch that no one will be able to
engage in any commercial operation whatever, except
under the sanction of the trade-mark of the beast.

Such a state of things would have seemed the wildest
kind of an improbability a century ago ; but to-day the
ordinary observer is able to discern, without any aid
from prophecy, indications of the speedy arrival of
this gigantic business organization, the "Trust of
Trusts."

6. The description of the vision closes with a verse
upon which much ingenuity has been expended, and to
little purpose. " Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast ; for it

"HIS NUMBER IS 666" 15

is the number of a man ; and his number is six hundred
three score and six."

Undoubtedly much will depend upon the " under-
standing " of this verse by those who shall be on the
earth at the time of the occurrence of these great
events ; and the passage seems to contain the assurance
that those who fear God will be able to count correctly
the number of the beast. But for our present purpose
it suffices to get an outline of the meaning. The
explanation contained in the verse itself is that the
number " is the number of Man " — man's number. In
the light of current events this is quite intelligible,
within limits. " And his number is 666.". Man's
number is 6, the number of weakness and incomplete-
ness, since it just " comes short" of the perfect number
7. Man's two main characteristics as stated in
Romans iii. 23, are that he "has sinned and comes
short." Man was created on the sixth day, and is
thus from the beginning associated with that number.
His work, moreover, is to be done in six days.

But here we have man's number thrice repeated.
There is in this a suggestion of the fulness of develop-
ment of humanity, and of human institutions, — the
ripening, in the last great system over which the
superman will preside, of all the schemes and efforts
and inventive genius of mankind. It is the finality of
"progress," the consummation of "civilization," that
is to say of man's career of self-will following upon his
departure from God at the instigation of the devil. It

16 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

is the sum total, the three dimensions, the length,
breadth, and thickness of human achievements ; and
hi every direction the count is six. It is man's number
carried to its highest coefficient.

And here the vision breaks off, showing that this is
the ultimate condition of that state of things which
constitutes the subject-matter of the vision.

Gathering together the main features of this re-
markable vision, we find that it pictures to us the
outcome of the era of industrial activity, to wit, a
mighty and world-wide monopoly or consolidation,
embracing in its scope both the religious and the
secular affairs of all mankind.

It is this strange blend of things religious and secular,
the combination of church and business, which marks
this system as something unique and extraordinary.
That there should be eventually a great business
combination, a single huge " Trust,"" has been foreseen
since early in the current era of consolidations. And
that this idea of "consolidation"" should, along with
other "business methods" (which are so "highly
esteemed among men "), find its way into the ecclesias-
tical shells of what were once Christ's witnesses to the
world, might also have been foreseen. Certainly this
principle of consolidation is already operating potently
in the religious sphere. This is apparent in many
quarters ; and men are everywhere dreaming a dream
inspired by the world's activities, to wit, the dream of

A RELIGIOUS "TRUST" 17

a great ecclesiastical federation, based upon principles
so accommodating that " all who dwell upon the earth "
can find a congenial place there. Only those " that dwell
in heaven " would find themselves out of place in it.

But what man would ever have dared to predict that
the business federation and the ecclesiastical federation
would coalesce into one system, and that the outcome
of these intense religious and industrial activities would
be a gigantic churchified Trust ?

Yet such is the picture clearly outlined upon the
sacred page of inspiration ; and those who have under-
standing of the oracles of God, and also, like the men
of Issachar, have a knowledge of the times, may plainly
see, amid all the confusion of current events, the
outline of this ecclesiastical monstrosity coming into
view, and gradually taking definite shape.

And one thing more the prophecy clearly and
pointedly indicates, namely, that the central principle
of this system is to be the supremacy of Man — man
exalted to the place of God, enthroned upon the
pinnacle of his own achievements, and saying exultingly,
" What hath Man wrought ! " Count the number, for
it is the number of MAN.

Such, in general at least, will be the nature of the
coming man, the last and greatest of the magnates,
and of the religio-commercial syndicate over which he
shall preside. That these coming things are to arrive

18 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

along the direct line of any one of the movements
of to-day is unlikely. These movements are severally
undergoing great change of form. Some may dis-
integrate and disappear altogether ; some may collide
with and be shattered by opposing forces; and still
others may coalesce ; so that it cannot be said that
this or the other movement will finally prevail. The
precise manner, however, in which the result is to be
reached is a mere matter of detail. The important
things to be noted are (1): that the essential features
and principles of the last great system, which is to
be the outcome of human achievement, are clearly
described in the Word of God ; and (2), that even a
casual scrutiny of the mighty movements of to-day
reveals that the very features and principles described
in Scripture are the dominating ideals of modern
thought. However much change may occur in the
forms and names of the movements now in progress, the
prominent ideals and features which they possess in com-
mon will undoubtedly persist, and will assume ever more
and more definite shapes ; and these will constitute the
basic principles of the new social order which is to sup-
plant that which is now breaking up before our eyes.

It is, therefore, of the very highest importance that
attention be called to the presence, in the great
movements of modern thought and action, of those
peculiar features which, according to the sure word
of prophecy, should characterise the culminating
system of the era of industrialism.

A TANGLE OF INTRICACIES 19

HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND THEIR TWO
MAIN FIELDS OF OPERATION

Having now in mind these prophetic outlines, which
present to our view the chief distinguishing marks of
the coming Man and of the religio-commercial system
of which he will be the directing head, we are in a
position to inquire whether at the present time there
is transpiring in the world of men and affairs anything
which, when examined in the light of Scripture, gives
reason to suppose that the coming of these predicted
things is close at hand.

In seeking an answer to this question, we will first
take a very general survey of the fields of human
activity ; and then proceed to scrutinize more closely
the most conspicuous of the movements taking place
therein. It will be expedient to proceed in this
methodical way, for the reason that very few people, in
these restless days, have either the leisure or the capacity
for taking deliberate notice of, and paying close and
sustained attention to, what is going on around them.
When one for the first time tries to picture to himself
the general state of our complicated social system, with
its commercial, political, economic, religious, pleasure-
supplying, and other aspects, the effect is likely to be
mental bewilderment. The world appears to be an
immense tangle of intricacies, a scene of wild con-
fusion, disorderly, purposeless, futile. One needs,
therefore, to get at the outset a general idea of the

20 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

leading motives and purposes which actuate society, in
order thereby to identify such movements of thought
and action as have apparently a definite character and
direction, and which are attracting the attention and
sympathies of considerable numbers of people.

The first thing which impresses an observer of
modern social conditions is the magnitude of the
industrial forces that are everywhere at work. In
former times the bulk of the world's work was per-
formed by the energies of human beings and beasts of
burden ; but in our era men have learned how to
control, and to harness to the chariot of industrial
progress, some of the great natural forces, such as the
mighty energies stored away centuries ago in the vast
coal-beds of the earth, which are now being released
and utilized in the forms of steam and electricity. In
order to get the significance of this phase of human
enterprise, one must pause to remember that the
utilization of the so-called " forces of nature " is
practically a new thing. It is distinctly a modern
achievement. The rapidity and extent of the develop-
ment of this remarkable phase of commercial activity
may be inferred from the fact that whereas, in 1870,
there were utilized in the manufactories of the United
States about two million horse-power, that amount
increased in the succeeding years to such an extent
that, by the census of 1900, the figures are given as
eleven million horse-power. This represents a gain in

TWO SPHERES OF ACTIVITY 21

thirty years of 550 per cent. Already this new factor
in human affairs has wrought profound social changes ;
and the ultimate developments from this and other
modern conditions are hastening on.

For convenience in pursuing our inquiry, we may
divide the entire sphere of human activities into two
great sections or divisions ; and these may be designated
respectively (1) The Economic Field, and (2) The
Spiritual or Religious Field.

There are two sides to the nature of man, namely,
his material side, and his spiritual side. Everything
that is done or produced with a view to meeting the
manifold material wants and desires of the modern
man belongs to the Economic division of social
activity.

On the other hand, all that tends to minister to the
spiritual side of man, or to respond in any way to
the religious instincts or promptings of his nature,
belongs to the Religious division or field of social
activity.

In each of these fields there are now in progress
movements strong and swift, and which are sufficiently
well defined as to their main features and purposes to
admit of a satisfactory examination.

It should be stated, in order to prevent any possible
misunderstanding, that by " religion " the writer does
not mean " Christianity." To speak of Christianity as
a religion is to invite or suggest a comparison with the
great religions of the world. There can be no such

22 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

comparison. There is nothing but contrast between
them. Christianity is not called a religion in the New
Testament. It is spoken of as "The Way." The
world was full of religion before Christianity came into
it in the Person of the incarnate Son of God ; and it
will be full of religion after Christianity has been
taken out of it. The name "Christianity" may
indeed remain, as even now it is applied to systems
whence every doctrine that is vital to Christianity has
been discarded ; but the substance will have dis-
appeared utterly. "When the Son of Man cometh,
shall He find the faith on the earth?" He will
find much religion there ; but His coming will end it.

THE ECONOMIC FIELD

Notwithstanding the bewildering confusion presented
by the surface of human affairs, it is safe to say that,
in a general way, the great physical energies exerted
or directed by human beings are employed at the
present time mainly in the PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
OF COMMODITIES ; and that the individual aim of those so
engaged is to procure, each for himself, the largest
possible proportion of the commodities (or " wealth ")
produced by the aggregate social effort.

Back of all this tremendous expenditure of energy,
though many are quite unconscious of it, is the effort
of collective humanity to better its condition, and to
overcome the many and mysterious things that are
adverse to its well-being, contentment, and happiness.

A DEEP-ROOTED IDEA 23

In this Economic field should properly be included
all the governmental and political doings of mankind,
since governments now exist for the main purpose
of serving and protecting business interests. The
criterion by which the merit of e~:ery political measure
is tested is the effect it is likely to have on " business.1'
Nothing is more sacred in this day than business,
which is equivalent to saying that business is becoming
a matter of religious concern.

The controlling idea of the hour is that improve-
ment to humanity is to come through increased
material prosperity, and that money (or wealth) is the
real power by means of which mankind is to be
delivered out of all its troubles and miseries. This
idea has become deeply seated in human consciousness,
and along with it has come an abiding confidence in
the inherent ability of man to accomplish eventuaUy
his own deliverance. There is a well-nigh universal
notion pervading all human Society that everybody
would be contented and happy, and that the evils
which beset mankind would be eliminated, if all mei?
were plentifully supplied with things,

Thus it comes to pass that human energies are being
more and more concentrated upon the multiplication,
diversification, and distribution of manufactured articles ;
and thus it comes also that, in aid of this undertak-
ing, human ingenuity has called into existence many and
great machines, to which the forces of nature, so far as
men have been able to master them, have been harnessed.

24 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

THE CAUSE OF THE ILLS OF HUMANITY,
WHERE LOCATED

But at this point there arises a question of funda-
mental importance, namely, What is the location of
the cause of human miseries ? Is it in man's sur-
roundings, or in man himself?

The importance of this question is obvious, since a
mistake in locating the cause of human miseries will
foredoom to failure all measures, however energetic,
that are taken with a view to removing them. Indeed,
such misdirected efforts could only have the effect of
making matters worse. In respect, therefore, to the
permanent betterment of mankind, everything depends
upon accurate knowledge of the source and location
of the evils that beset humanity. The evils themselves
are undeniable ; but there are current among men two
radically different explanations of their source. The
Bible declares that the cause of the ills of humanity is
in man himself, and that all the evils that beset him
are the necessary results of corrupted human nature.
But the firm belief of the natural man is that the
source of those evils is in man's surroundings, and
that if man's surroundings or " environment "" be
improved, man himself will automatically improve.
According to this view of the matter, the ideal environ-
ment, if produced, will spontaneously produce the ideal
humanity. All human schemes of betterment are
based squarely upon this theory ; and if the latter be

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL 25

false, the end of all these great schemes is easily
foretold.

This view of the problem of humanity (and it is the
prevailing view) may be thus stated : Man is the unfor-
tunate victim of his evil environment. Hence he should
devote his energies to the improvement of his environ-
ment, and, when that shall have been accomplished,
the environment will, in turn, improve the man.

Thus mankind is working with all its might upon
the theory that, while man cannot improve his own
nature, he can improve his environment ; and that the
improved environment, which man is undertaking to
produce, will automatically do for him what he cannot
do for himself. Thus it is assumed that man, who did
not make himself, and cannot change his own nature,
is nevertheless able to make gods (whether they be
called "environment" or "Baal" is a mere detail),
which shall have both the will and the power to do
for him what he is powerless to do for himself.

A further element of this popular doctrine is that
the desired environment, which is to abolish the ills
of humanity, is to be attained by the increase of wealth
to such a point, and by its distribution in such just
proportion, that everybody shall be raised and kept
above the level of want and anxiety, and shall be
insured the enjoyment of lifelong happiness and con-
tentment. Thus in the last analysis of this doctrine
it is found that money is to be the real agent of
deliverance.
3

26 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

Stimulated by this faith in himself, and excited to
a state of feverish activity by the marvellous achieve-
ments of " Science," man's inventive genius has brought
into existence an amazing variety of products ; and
the natural forces, which he is now able in some degree
to manage, permit the manufacture of these various
products in practically unlimited quantities. Indeed,
the note of warning, telling that the limit in this
direction has been practically reached, comes with
increasing frequency and insistence in the form of
periods of " OVER-PRODUCTION." This is a very apt and
significant expression, and is charged with solemn but
unheeded warning. Its significance consists in the
information it conveys, that production has already
gone beyond the aggregate power of the community
to consume what is produced, and yet the expected
deliverance from evil is as remote as ever.

Man takes to himself all credit for this prodigious
multiplication of products. He freely appropriates
to his use what he is pleased to call the " materials and
forces of nature," with no thought of Him Who
endowed those materials and forces with their marvel-
lous properties and powers. Indeed, a conspicuous
feature of this delirium and intoxication of industrialism
is the idea that " man " (as we are told) " is coming at
last to the realization of his divinity." Mankind is
" coming to feel that it does not need to be divine by
proxy any longer." l

1 Man the Social Creator, by H. D. Lloyd.

PROBLEMS OF GOVERNMENTS

AIDS TO INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND
SOME OF ITS RESULTS

From every possible source man is borrowing, to
aid his career of industrial development. " Science,"
which once concerned itself mainly with the discovery
and classification of such information as could be
obtained by diligent study of the accessible universe,
has now become intensely " practical." Pure science
is held in little estimation, and its rewards are scanty
indeed. The designation "scientific man" is now
applied less frequently to one who studies natural
substances and operations than to the one who devises
new processes and appliances. The kind of science
that is in demand, and is eagerly sought after, is that
which can be turned into money. It is "applied
science " that is now held in high esteem ; for that
which does not contribute to the increase of wealth, or
to the pleasure or comfort of the man of earth, receives
slight consideration in this intensely practical age.

Governments, moreover, are maintained and ad-
ministered mainly for the promotion and protection of
business interests. The problems of government at the
present time are economic problems. They have to
do with revenue, taxation, the regulation of industrial
operations, transportation, freight-rates, corporate
powers, tariffs, commercial treaties, labour questions,
foreign markets, etc. The vast armaments, which are

28 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

maintained at enormous cost by the several "world-
powers" — that loving "family of nations'" — exist for
the purpose of guarding and keeping open the sacred
" channels of trade," and of protecting and enlarging
the respective national "spheres of influence." The
burden of these increasing armaments, and of the
enormous national debts which they entail, together
with the consequent increase of taxation, are the cause
of protests which are uttered with more and more
vigour by those upon whom those burdens press with
the greatest severity. Every nation on earth is
increasingly feeling this strain.

Thus does the organized pursuit of wealth, whose
supposed mission is to abolish the poverty and distress
of the great mass of humanity, actually tend to
augment those very ills ; and thus, among the products
of industrialism, those that are the most conspicuous are
the agents of its own destruction. For these great
armaments will one day be put to their intended use,
and these thousands of tons of "high explosives" will
some day explode with a great explosion.

It is a strange thing indeed, and a forcible illustra-
tion of the futility of all human enterprises, that, in
our existing scientific civilization, which has united
widely separated communities in a complicated
economic system whose existence depends on the
maintainance of peace, the arts and engines of icar have
progressed farther than all other arts and industries.
Manifestly, if peace is to come to earth through change

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 29

in man's environment, instead of through change in man
himself, it will never come. Even while man speaks
most loudly of peace he prepares most actively for war.
The very first use of the latest of man's achievements,
the air-ship, is a military use. As an agent of destruc-
tion it will undoubtedly make a notable contribution
to the perils of these " perilous times."1

One other conspicuous mark of the era of indus-
trialism has already been referred to incidentally, and
will call for more extended consideration hereafter.
We have in mind those industrial convulsions or
"panics," marked by a sudden and mysterious arrest
of the machinery of production, followed by a pro-
tracted period of "business depression." These
phenomena, which recur with increasing frequency
and violence, and which are a new thing (the earliest
occurrence being less than a century ago), are apparently
an inseparable incident of the existing economic system.
The wise men who advocate and defend that system

1 In a notable address delivered June 5, 1909, before the
Press Conference, Lord Rosebery spoke of the hush pre-
valent in Europe — " a hush in which you might almost hear
a leaf fall to the ground," — and of the entire absence from
the atmosphere of international politics of any of the
questions which ordinarily lead to war. " Yet/' said this
prominent statesman, "combined with this total absence of
all questions of friction, there never rvas in the history of
the world so threatening and so overpowering a preparation
for war."

30 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

are utterly unable to offer any explanation, or any
preventive, of their occurrence. These periods of
business depression, or " hard times " as they are
expressively called, produce fear and anxiety among
all classes of society, and spread unspeakable misery,
suffering, and destitution among the toiling masses.
Owing to these and other incidents the pressure of
business life has become so great, and the strain of its
increasing complexities and surprises so enormous, that
few men can long endure it.

Here again is a conspicuous product of industrialism
that menaces the present career of humanity, and that
serves further to exhibit the great instability of the
present social order, and which, in the opinion of many
judicious observers, must inevitably, and at no distant
day, bring about a catastrophe such as humanity has
never yet experienced.

In view of all these things, it is very pertinent indeed
to inquire as to the direction which the great indus-
trial movement of our day is taking, and to ask
what will be its final outcome. Many are asking
that question, and it is well worth while to seek an
answer to it.

THE RELIGIOUS FIELD, GREAT CHANGES
NOW IN PROGRESS

It has been remarked that man is by nature a
religious animal, and this is a truthful characterization ;

RELIGION NOT CHRISTIANITY 31

that is to say, man as a rule believes in the existence
of unseen powers greater than his own, and in the
existence of some relation between those powers and
himself.

Let it be clearly understood that by " religion " we
do not mean Christianity, and that by a "religious
man " we do not mean a Christian. The difference
between a religious man and a Christian is, that the
religious man is such by his natural birth, whereas the
Christian becomes such by new birth, or re-generation.
There are many religious systems and religious move-
ments at the present day which have the name and form
of Christianity, but which nevertheless deny every
essential item of " the doctrine of Christ " (2 John 9).
With these we have mainly to do in the present
inquiry, since they are properly religious " move-
ments." On the other hand, " the doctrine of Christ,"
that is to say, the body of doctrine given to the
world by Christ and His apostles, and "once for all
delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), has not under-
gone any change during the eighteen centuries since
the last of the apostles passed away. Therefore
Christianity could not be a " movement " in the
sense here used.

In the sphere of religion there are mighty move-
ments in progress at the present time, — movements
which are drawing with them, or are influencing in
some degree, great multitudes of men and women. In
all parts of the world, and among all the great historic

32 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

and ethnic religions, there is, at the present day, unusual
activity and change; and the changes affect, not
merely the surface forms and theological details, but
the very foundations themselves.

Dr. Rodolphe Broda, after a very complete survey
of the entire religious field, published in the Inter-
national for March 1908, an article entitled "A
Review of the World's Progress,11 of which the follow-
ing is the opening paragraph : —

" If we compare the successive periods of human
civilization with a view to discussing the distin-
guishing characteristics of each, we shall find
that one of the most significant features of our
own times is the religious crisis through which
all the civilized races are now simultaneously
passing."

This conclusion is based upon reports, published in
the same periodical, from correspondents in every part
of the civilized world, and also from Japan, China, India,
Turkey, and elsewhere. These reports show astonishing
religious changes, even in countries where religious
conditions have remained practically unchanged for
many centuries. These changes affect not only
Christendom, but also Islamism, Buddhism, Brahminism,
Judaism, and even Agnosticism. " Never before in
the history of mankind,1' says Dr. Broda, "have the
forces of religion suffered so great a convulsion " ; and,
descending to particulars, he declares that " the great
world-crisis is reproduced in many individual souls, and

A GREAT SPIRITUAL CRISIS 33

these the choicest souls of the community." This
observer asks, as any one naturally would ask when
confronted by facts so startling, " What is the mean-
ing of this new phenomenon ? What are the causes
at work behind it ? "

We are not concerned at this point with the
explanations suggested by Dr. Broda. These will be
considered later on ; but it is pertinent here to
note that he thinks " the great changes in the economic
condition of the people have had great influence in this
respect," thus recognizing the influence of industrialism
upon religious thought.

In another important volume of the day,1 the
writers, speaking only of the nominally Christian lands,
say : —

"A great spiritual crisis, which did not begin
to-day, but has to-day reached its culminating
intensity, troubles all the religious bodies of
Europe — Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anglican-
ism."

We reserve the details of these great and world-wide
religious movements for consideration later on, and
would here merely note the undeniable fact that there
are everywhere in progress religious changes of an
unprecedented nature and on an unprecedented scale.
Again we would ask the pertinent question, In what
direction are these great currents of religious opinion
setting, and what will be their final outcome ?
1 The Programme of Modernism.

34 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

THE RELATION BETWEEN ECONOMIC AND
RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS

But at this point another question arises, namely,
Have the industrial movements of the day any relation
to, and anything in common with, the co-temporaneous
religious movements ? Are these movements converg-
ing ? and if so, in what sort of a system or social
order are they likely to eventuate ? This question is
one of thrilling interest and of vital importance to
mankind.

If we were to interrogate those who are prominently
identified with these great movements, they would, for
the most part, assure us that these mighty currents of
thought and action are carrying humanity forward to
conditions vastly better and happier than have ever yet
been experienced during its long voyage across the ocean
of time. The industrial leaders generally assure us of
a coming period of abounding and universal prosperity ;
and the religious leaders and prophets predict the
happiest consequences as sure to result from the fact that
religious men are everywhere laying aside old prejudices
and narrow theological ideas, — ideas which were imposed
upon mankind in the days when the human reason was
shackled and the Bible was held to be Divine and
authoritative, but which are offensive to, and have
been wholly rejected by, the modern mind. To such
persons the meaning of these mighty religious move-

MONOPOLY DISPLACING COMPETITION 35

ments is that mankind, in the exercise of its new-found
intellectual freedom, is sweeping rapidly forward to a
great unification or brotherhood, which shall embrace
and blend all shades of religious opinion into one
harmonious system. This is the vision which many
prophets of the day are beholding with rapt attention,
and are describing with glowing words.

FEATURES COMMON TO THE TWO SETS
OF MOVEMENTS

The industrial movements and the religious move-
ments, when scrutinized closely, are seen to have
certain conspicuous features in common, however
different the movements themselves may be in name
and form. Some of these prominent features are the
following : —

1. A Common Ideal — A Great Consolidation.

In both the economic and religious fields of human
activity the prominent ideal is CONSOLIDATION, and the
controlling impulse is to combine interests and enter-
prises wherever competition has hitherto existed and
its harmful results have been experienced. Under the
transforming influence of this ideal and this impulse,
the era of fierce and wasteful COMPETITION is rapidly
giving way to one of MONOPOLY.

Mr. Alexander Graham Bell, the distinguished
inventor of the electric telephone, says : " We have

36 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

arrived at a critical point in our history. Competition
as an element in business is going out, and monopolies,
which are opposed to competition, are coming in." J

In the economic field the general method whereby
this result is being accomplished is the merging of
several small concerns engaged in the same industry
into a single large one, and the absorption by the
large concerns of smaller ones ; but the failure and
disappearance of small industries, without being either
merged or absorbed, also contributes largely to the
same end. Competition is thus in course of being
eliminated, and human society is advancing rapidly,
in its industrial career, towards the formation of a
single vast system, a gigantic syndicate, a monstrous
merger, monopoly, or "trust,"" which shall be world-
wide in its sphere of operations, and which shall
control the production, distribution, and sale of ALL
commodities.

Whether or not we are prepared to believe that such
a system will ever be established on earth (and most
probably the effort to establish it will encounter great
and perhaps even violent resistance), it is at least an
undeniable fact that the tremendous industrial develop-
ments of our times are heading straight in that direction.
The effort of our captains of industry, in every depart-
ment of the manufacture, transportation, and selling
of merchandise, is to substitute for the many concerns
1 World's Work for March 1909-

CONSOLIDATION A RELIGIOUS IDEAL 37

which at one time competed fiercely and destructively
therein, a single concern or monopoly, which shall
make, transport, or sell without competition, and
which shall hence " control " the particular operation,
or set of operations, in which it is engaged. Indeed,
this consolidation of economic interests does not stop
when it has succeeded in uniting a number of
enterprises once competing in a particular line of
industry ; but it goes on thence to the grouping
together of industries not naturally related. The
existence of such " Industrial Groups " of unrelated
industries is one of the strange phenomena of our
day ; and their significance in relation to the ultimate
formation of an all-embracing industrial system is
very apparent.

This same ideal of Consolidation pervades the
atmosphere of the great religious organizations.
Indeed, the modern world of business has to a large
extent imposed its standards, ideals, and aspirations
upon the professing Church, and this process has
been going on unobtrusively for some time past.
Now, however, it is very conspicuous in its workings.
The " Modernists " speak openly of the " ideals which
govern the activity of THE WORLD to-day, and which
are Christian in substance." Thus, in the very last
place where we would expect to find it (that is, in
the conservative sphere of Romanism), there is in
progress an organized movement whose leaders

38 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

openly avow its purpose to be to master the aspira-
tions, ideals, and language of "the modern world,
and to effect the reconciliation of the old catholic
tradition therewith " ; and who say of their inspiring
motives, "We have come to dream of a GREAT
UNIFICATION.""

Dr. Broda gives it as the conclusion of his own
extensive review of the entire situation, that while
the new religious movements will take different forms
according to the diverse needs of the various peoples,
the latter will, however —

" more and more come to see that their lines
of development run parallel, and be therefore
induced to federate themselves into ever greater
and greater unions, until at last the time must
come when a single world-federation of religion^
the CHURCH OF MAN, will rise out of the ruins
of the ancient faiths, when the great religious
crises of the world will be at an end, and the
strife between the logical necessity of the modern
scientific world-concept and the psychic necessity
of religion will be solved in the ultimate har-
monization of both."

In the religious field we may also clearly see the
operation of the principle of combining or merging
smaller into larger aggregates, although matters have
not advanced so far in this direction in the religious
as in the commercial field. Religious bodies are not

RELIGIOUS CONSOLIDATIONS 39

so easily handled as industrial concerns ; but precisely
for that reason the wide-spread activity of the principle
of confederation among religious societies is the more
significant.

One evidence of the active and effective operation
in the religious field of the principle of consolidation
is found in the frequency with which one encounters
newspaper items like the following : —

" Church Union in Canada. — It is now pretty certain
that every obstacle to the organic union of Congrega-
tional, Presbyterian, and Methodist bodies in Canada
has been removed," etc.

Dr. Broda comments with evident satisfaction upon
the fourth biennial session of the " International
Council of the Unitarians and other Liberal Thinkers
a.nd Workers " lately held at Boston. Of it he
says : —

" This Council must be ranked among the great
undertakings of our day that aim at broadening
the outlook of nations and that tend to bring
about a new fellowship of nations. At this
Boston session were assembled representatives of
Judaism, Christianity, Mohammedanism, and the
Brahma-Somaj ; representatives also of sixteen
different nationalities and members of thirty-
three different denominations, besides fifty-seven
distinct religious associations other than individual
Churches, while nearly sixteen hundred persons

40 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

enrolled themselves as members of this Boston
Conference."

But not only is there at the present time incessant
agitation for the merging of various religious organiza-
tions or sects : a more surprising thing is in progress,
namely, the " Union between Free-thinkers and Liberal
Christians," commented upon by Dr. Broda, and
which his correspondent regards as one of the "first
evolutionary stages of a great religion of love and
progress in which all nations will unite." This
clearly portends the union of all religious forces
opposed to true Christianity.

The reconciliation of such extremes as religion and
"free-thought" is spoken of by other students of
current events. Thus Mr. Paul Sabatier, in his recent
lectures on Modernism (The "Jowett Lectures,
1908 "), says :—

" Having reconciled science and faith, Modern-
ism is now not far from coming to terms with
Free-thought."

Mr. Sabatier says he does not mean this as an
admission of the identity of Modernism with unbelief,
but quite the contrary ; and that he is speaking of
"free-thought in which there is at once thought and
freedom, and not of men or groups of men who con-
found free- thought with anti-religious dogmatism."

Speaking of " free- thought " in this sense, he goes
on to show the extraordinary phenomenon of an

RELIGIOUS FREE-THINKERS 41

awakening of religious sentiments and emotions among
free-thinkers. In this connection he says : —

"Both in Italy and in France some of the
most influential leaders of free-thought have
publicly repudiated all connection with anti-
religious propaganda. . . . These pre-occupations
have even given rise to a new title — 'religious
free-thought.' The movement is no longer a
mere pious wish. It has become a reality, and
all through this winter gatherings have been
held in Paris at which free-thinkers as repre-
sentative as Buisson, Pecaut, and Seailles, and
Christians as well known as Pere Hyacinthe
Loyson, Charles Wagner, and Wilfred Monod,
have met together and spoken in succession."
Thus the tendency of the great religious activity
of our times is declared by sympathetic onlookers to
be the making of such modifications in "religion"
as to render it thoroughly acceptable to representa-
tive " free-thinkers."

These instances will afford sufficient indications, for
preliminary purposes, of the extent to which the
principle of Consolidation is working in both the
economic and the religious departments of human
affairs.

2. A Common Basis — Faith in the Powers of Man.
The faith of the world is based on Man, the
fundamental principle of that faith being that Man
4

42 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

possesses the inherent power to lift himself out of
all evil conditions, and to overcome all existing
hindrances to his progress. On the other hand, a
fundamental proposition of Christian doctrine is that
man is impotent and untrustworthy. " Put not your
trust in princes " (Ps. cxlvi. 3). " Cursed be the man
that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm "
(Jer. xvii. 5). It is impossible to conceive of a
religious system more opposed to Christianity than one
whose main teaching is that man may and must put
his trust in his own inherent power and goodness.
It is, however, a settled article in the creed of the
world, and of the world's religions of whatever name,
that Man is now in process of developing and of putting
into exercise his own inherent powers (which have in
large part been latent hitherto), and is, by means
thereof, progressing rapidly towards ideal social condi-
tions.

Hence the idea that stands out prominently upon
the surface of the thought of to-day is confidence in
Man. This is not individual self-confidence, which
is quite a different thing. It is a collective self-
confidence. The masses are being diligently schooled
by a variety of teachers, and for widely varying
purposes, to think of Humanity as an entity. In
discussing questions of the hour, much is made
of the interests, prospects, welfare, and progress of
"Society" rather than of individuals, of mankind

THE "SOLIDARITY OF MAN'1 43

rather than of men and women. This, of course, is
the natural outgrowth of the idea or principle of
Federation, which has already been mentioned. But
what we wish, at this point, specially to notice is
that people are looking to Man himself, to his own
achievements, his ingenuity and inventive abilities,
his industry and daring, and whatever other powers
he is supposed to possess, whether developed or un-
developed, for the accomplishment of all the good
that is in view for collective humanity.

This confidence in Man, generated in the stirring
activities of the industrial field, has now been raptur-
ously embraced by the leaders of religious thought,
and has, in fact, become the basic principle of all the
current religious movements, as well as of the lesser
religious novelties of the hour. As recently expressed
by a New York clergyman —

" We begin to realize as never before the
great fact of the Solidarity of Man. . . . To
be alive now and witness this mighty movement
of Men, which must eventuate in a sense of real
abiding Brotherhood, is a blessing for which to
be profoundly grateful.1'

The notion that the individual man can elevate
himself by tugging at his boot-straps has long been
thoroughly discredited in the realm of physics. It
has, however, passed over to the domain of religion,
and is to be found at the core of the religious and

44 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

ethical novelties of the day, and in all the popular
schemes for the betterment and " uplift " of humanity.
Man is now throwing tremendous energies into the
absorbing but futile endeavour to elevate himself above
the plane of evil and misery, and is doing it with
immense enthusiasm and unwavering faith in the ulti-
mate success of the attempt.

The propagation of the idea of the "Solidarity
of Man," or the essential identity of the interests
of all mankind, has two consequences which should be
noted. First, it tends to obliterate the important
teaching of Scripture that instead of one united
humanity having a common destiny, there are two great
sections of humanity, one composed of those who have
life through faith in the Son of God, and the other
of those who have not life; — one embracing the
children of God and the other the children of wrath.

Second, it tends to obscure or wholly cover up the
absolute necessity of individual salvation. This it does
by creating the impression that salvation is a collective
or social affair, to be accomplished not for each indi-
vidual man, but for the entire human race as an entity.

From these considerations it is easy to see that the
current doctrines of the brotherhood of man are trace-
able to the " spirit of error," and to see also the deadly
consequences of the propagation of such doctrines.

3. A Common Religious Principle — Worship of Man.

This is, practically, a re-statement of the fact that

there exists at the present time a wide-spread faith in
collective Man. But it is important to have distinctly
before our minds the fact that it is the inevitable
tendency of this trust in Man to take a religious form,
leading on eventually to " Humanism," or the worship
of Man, which, as prophecy foretells, is the ultimate
form which false religion is to assume. Few are aware
of the immense progress that has already been made
towards the establishment of Humanism as a distinctive
religious system. It calls for an exercise of " wisdom "
and for much spiritual " understanding," to count the
number of the beast; but whenever the count is
properly made the number of his name is found to
be " the number of Man."

In many quarters where the name and forms of
Christianity are still retained, the substance of true
Christianity (" the doctrine of Christ ") has been already
displaced by the principles of Humanism ; while in the
great socialistic movement of the day, which is menac-
ing the existing economic order of society, Humanism
is distinctly avowed as the coming universal religion
of mankind.1

1 The phrase "the Religion of Humanity" seems to
have been first used by Thomas Paine, who perceived and
vigorously proclaimed the religious bearing of the doctrine
of Locke that the people are the sole source of power,
the true masters, and that no one may make any law
" except by their consent, or by authority derived from

46 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

Many earnest persons who are to-day advocating
more or less of the industrial principles of Socialism
are at the same time holding on (nominally at least)
to the main doctrines of Christianity. But it will be
readily seen that these persons as Christians are
apathetic, while as Socialists they are full of propagat-
ing zeal. The converts they make are converts to
Socialism, not to Christ; and the places of these
propagandists, when vacant, will be acceptably filled,
and all they are now doing will be just as well done,
by others who make no profession at all of Christianity.
It is quite compatible with much of what is taught in
the churches to-day, to do homage to Man himself as
his own deliverer.

Dr. Broda has stated the logical outcome of the
religious drift of the day in predicting that it will
result in "a single world-federation of religion, the
CHURCH OF MAN." But the Apostle John recorded
the same prediction eighteen centuries ago.

We will speak hereafter, and in some detail, of
the amazing progress which the idea of the divinity of
humanity has already made in modern thought, and
particularly in religious bodies once regarded as
thoroughly orthodox and evangelical.

them." Compte afterwards adopted the expression and
gave it wide currency. Since his day it has been steadily
coming into prominence and public favour. (See " The
Greatest of Pamphleteers/' London Times, June 8, 1909.)

A FASCINATING CONCEPTION 47

All our studies of the important movements of the
present day will tend to confirm the conclusion that
their most striking and prominent characteristic is the
pursuit of the ideal of a Consolidation or Federation
of all human affairs and interests, that is to say, the
formation of a single organization or body ; and that
the ideal of all these different movements is the
same, whether the proposed Unification be called
"Humanity," "Society," "Man," "Democracy," the
" Brotherhood of Man," or by some other name.

The idea of a consolidated humanity is a brilliant
and fascinating conception. It captures the imagina-
tion, and is capable of arousing the enthusiasm
necessary to insure success. To what more worthy
end could man devote his wonderful powers and
faculties than to the banishment of all poverty,
cruelty, selfishness, warfare, and other ills that bring
miseries upon humanity? And all this, and more,
may be accomplished through the unification of human
society, the welding of all human units into one great
brotherhood, wherein the rights of all individuals
will be equally sacred and equally the concern of the
whole system.

This captivating ideal involves not merely industrial
unification, but also the harmonization of all religious
views. Indeed, a universal religion is an absolute
necessity if the ideal is ever to be realized ; for nothing
has given rise to more hatred, antagonism, and blood-

48 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

shed, than conflicting religious views. Religious an-
tagonisms must be totally eliminated. Hence the
strong appeals and efforts that are being made for the
cessation of religious strife, as well as of industrial
strife. The great thought which is throbbing at this
moment in the heart of humanity is nothing less than
the reversal of what took place at Babel, when the
Lord confounded their language and scattered them
abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth.
And when this proposed consolidation of humanity has
been accomplished, the re-united elements of human
society will be free to resume the building of the tower
whose top was to reach unto heaven.

"SCIENCE" AND THE PRESENT-DAY
MOVEMENTS

We have seen that much of the credit for the
industrial progress of humanity is given to what is
miscalled " Science." Human " Science " is also ac-
credited with being a leading factor in the profound
religious changes which are taking place, and is even
referred to as one of the new foundations of the
theologies of to-day. The attitude of the modern
mind toward " Science " is really a religious attitude,
deeply reverential and worshipful. This feature of
modern thought is of great importance, and will be
considered hereafter. For present purposes a few

THE "MODERN SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT" 49

instances will suffice, as showing, in a general way, the
part attributed to "Science" in the religious move-
ments of the present time.

Dr. Broda, in setting forth his view of the causes of
these movements, says : —

"First place must be given to the discoveries
of modern science., which, in demolishing the
legends of the creation of the world and man,
have also uprooted in the educated mind the faith
in the Divine inspiration of the books and tradi-
tions which taught these legends, and which were
the basis of all the accepted religious beliefs."
And again : —

"Thus we see from the stock of all the old
positivist religions (Christianity, Islam, Brahman-
ism and Buddhism) are springing up new sects,
which are cultivating the modern scientific
spirit, modern social and ethical ideas, and
enthusiastically embracing the evolutionary
concept of the universe."

Thus "Science" is set up as the effective cause of
changes more profound and widespread than those
resulting from the life and teachings of Christ Himself.
The Modernists say : —

" We have girt ourselves for the task of bring-
ing the religious experience of Christianity into
line with the data of contemporary science and
philosophy."

50 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

While at the other extreme Mr. R. J. Campbell
declares that —

" The New Theology is the religion of Science.
... It is the recognition that upon the founda-
tions laid by modern science a vaster and nobler
fabric of faith is rising than the world has ever
before known."

There is a marvellous agreement between all these
witnesses as to the potent influence exercised by
"Science" in bringing about the religious upheaval
which is now in progress ; and since it is apparent that
man, in worshipping human "Science," is in reality
worshipping himself, such statements as the foregoing,
with which the religious literature of the day fairly
teems, afford a good indication of the progress of
Humanism.

The facts noted in these extracts show also that the
same force which is back of the industrial changes of
the day, is in like manner affecting the religious
changes which are progressing simultaneously. This is
a very remarkable fact indeed, and one that has an
important bearing upon our main inquiry.

TWO BODIES NOW IN PROCESS OF
FORMATION

It will help in clarifying our view of the confused
state of modern society, and will aid in fixing the main

TWO BODIES NOW FORMING 51

facts in our minds, if we consider that human beings
are at the present time being gathered into two great
Bodies. One is the body of Christ (" the Church which
is His body," Eph. i. 22, 23). The other is the body
of Antichrist.

Two great and antagonistic spiritual forces are
engaged respectively in the formation of these two
bodies ; namely, the Spirit of God, who is forming the
Body of Christ ; and Satan, the " spirit of the world "
(1 Cor. ii. 12), who is forming the body of Antichrist.

The body which is being formed by the Spirit of
God is the Church of the living God ; for " by one
Spirit are we all (that is, all believers) baptized into
ONE BODY, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free " (1 Cor. xii. 13). This body when
completed will be caught out of the earth to be
united to Christ, its living Head, as plainly foretold in
1 Thess. iv. 13-17.

But the " spirit of the world " is likewise forming a
body, by gathering together, federating, or unifying,
the mass of men " who know not God and who obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ " (2 Thess. i. 8).
This is the present enterprise of " the spirit that now
works in the children of disobedience " (Eph. ii. 2).
The teaching of Scripture that there is a mighty spirit
concealed beneath the surface of events, and influenc-
ing all whose thoughts are not brought wholly into
captivity to the obedience of Christ, furnishes an

52 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

adequate explanation of the prominence of the same
ideals and impulses in communities that are remote
and diverse one from another. Otherwise these start-
ling facts are inexplicable.

But Satan cannot work out his plan of forming a
consolidated humanity according to the method em-
ployed by the Spirit of God. The Church of God is
built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, the Son of
the Living God (Matt. xvi. 18), crucified for the sin
of the world, and raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father. God began the formation of the
Church, which is the body of Christ, by raising Him
from among the dead, seating Him at His own right
hand in the heavenlies, putting all things under His
feet, and making Him "the Head over all things to
the church which is His BODY " (Eph. i. 20-23). To
that living Head those who believe through the preach-
ing of the gospel are united in a vital and eternal
union. This is the Divine method by which the true
and lasting Humanity is being formed.

Teaching the same truth under the similitude of a
building, whereof Christ is the Foundation-Stone, the
apostle Peter says : " To whom coming, as unto a
living Stone, disallowed (i.e. rejected) indeed of MEN,
but chosen of God and precious, ye also, as living
stones, are built up a spiritual house " (1 Pet. ii. 4, 5).
And the Apostle Paul likewise teaches that believers,
having been " quickened together with Christ " (thus

ORGANISM VERSUS ORGANIZATION 53

becoming what Peter calls "living stones") "are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in
whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord ; in whom ye also are
builded together for an habitation of God through the
Spirit " (Eph. ii. 5, 19-22).

Thus God is preparing a building for eternity, in
the preparation of which He makes use of living, that
is, imperishable material, Christ Jesus, raised from the
dead, being the Beginning of the new creation of God
(Col. i. 18 ; Rev. iii. 14).

But Satan has to work, not with living but with
dying material ; and he has no living human head to
which he can attach members by living ties. Satan
cannot create an organism ; he can only form an organ-
ization. Hence he is drawing unquickened human
beings together around the unifying idea of "fra-
ternity," or "co-operation," or "society," and is
diligently propagating the belief that, when that great
organization takes shape, the permanent advantage
of all mankind will be secured. When this body is
formed (as it surely will be), then the expected leader
or head will be brought forth, that " man of destiny,"
" whose coming is according to the working of Satan,
with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and
in every deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish "
(2 Thess. ii. 9, 10).

54 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

Such is religious man. When Christ came into the
world, manifesting the mind of God and His purposes
in grace to sinful men, the religious crowd put Him to
the death reserved for slaves and for the meanest
criminals. When Antichrist comes with the display of
his marvellous gifts and supernatural powers, the
religious crowd will put him at the head of all its
consolidated interests, and will render to him implicit
obedience and unstinted admiration.

Since the fall and death of Adam (who was the
natural head of the human family), the race of Adam,
i.e. Humanity, has been headless. God's plan for
humanity was to give it a competent directing
intelligence or head, who should not only have united
all its members in a harmonious family, but also have
maintained co-operative relations between them. But,
through loss of the head of the human race, its members
have been thrown into hopeless disorder and confusion.
The race, instead of maintaining its solidarity and
community of interest (the advantages of which are
obvious), has fallen apart into hostile groups, which
have maintained a perpetual struggle among them-
selves. There has been all along a tacit recognition of
the loss and absence of headship in the many attempts
of individuals and nations to occupy the vacant place.

The governmental expedients of humanity, which
are its substitutes for the lost headship, have already
deteriorated so far that the final stage of DEMOCRACY

THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY 55

has now been reached. Ideal or pure Democracy has
not yet been attained ; but in every part of the world
rapid progress in that direction is being made. In
fact, all the movements which we have in view could
be interpreted as the progress of mankind towards
pure Democracy.

The essence of Democracy is that " the will of the
people" is supreme. The difficulty of applying this
as a working principle is due to the lack of facilities
for obtaining promptly an expression of the will
of the people. For that purpose the people should
have one mind and one voice. Thus the ideal social
state, or pure Democracy, requires a competent
leader or head, who shall express the will of the people ;
and the crowning achievement of "the god of this
world" will be, after having gathered into one vast
federation practically all the scattered members of
Adam's race, to furnish that organization with a leader
or head, endowed with superhuman intelligence, and
supported by superhuman power.

Thus a survey of the entire sphere of human activities
will disclose the important fact that the great move-
ments of our day, whether economic or religious, are
all heading directly and rapidly towards the develop-
ment of a gigantic system, federation, or syndicate
— a great combine — which shall control all human
interests and enterprises, and regulate all human affairs,

56

both secular and religious ; and that the dominant idea
of all these movements is faith in the inherent power
of Man to overcome and abolish all the evils in himself
and in his circumstances.

WHAT THE PRESENT-DAY MOVEMENTS
LOSE SIGHT OF

One other preliminary observation should be made.

The fatal miscalculation of all the great movements
of the day is that none of them takes any account of
sin. This omission, of course, vitiates all conclusions,
and foredooms all these movements to failure. What
has been aptly said of one of these movements is
applicable to them all, namely, that they aim " to get
rid of the consequences of sin in human nature without
getting rid of sin itself." On the other hand, the
method of Christ is to " put away sin " (Heb. ix. 26),
and thus to get rid of its consequences. He came as
the Lamb of God to bear away " the sin of the world "
(John i. 29).

Sin is firmly rooted in human nature. " By one man
sin entered the world, and death by sin " (Rom. v. 12) ;
and any scheme of human betterment which fails to
take account of, and to deal effectively with, that fact,
is utterly futile.

The anti-Christian theory, based upon the evolution-
ary notion taught in the name of modern " science,1'

THE EFFECTS OF PROSPERITY 57

namely, that man's evil nature is due to his evil sur-
roundings, and that if the surroundings be improved
the man will improve, has been already sufficiently
tested in human experience to demonstrate its falsity
to all who care to know the truth in this regard.
In every " civilized " country there are, and for many
generations have been, favoured groups of individuals
who are " surrounded," and have been all their lives,
with all the favouring influences that wealth can pro-
cure. So far, however, from having developed ideal
characters, it is, on the contrary, observable that these
conditions tend to develop, in those who are most fully
exposed to their influence, the traits of selfishness,
extravagance, idleness, immorality, self-indulgence,
excesses, pride, and the like. Surely, if experience
teaches anything, it teaches that prosperity and " easy
circumstances " do not tend to develop — much less do
they automatically produce — ideal characters. As a
means of getting rid of sin and its consequences,
industrial progress is already a demonstrated failure.

It is important, in this connection, to have regard to
the simplest and broadest definition of sin which
Scripture furnishes, namely, " Sin is lawlessness "
(1 John iii. 4, R.V.). Sin is that lawless state or
condition of man consequent upon his departure from
God's plan and his embarkation upon a career of his
own choosing. It is the substitution of another will —
" the will of man," or " the will of the people " — for
5

58 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

that of God, Whose will is " good, acceptable, and
perfect " (Rom. xii. 2). The resulting state is neces-
sarily one of disorder, confusion, uncertainty, ignorance,
and corruption, and an environment abounding in evils,
violence, accidents, disease, and death.

If, for example, the germ theory of disease be
correct, it furnishes an apt illustration of lawlessness.
According to that theory, diseases are caused by living
organisms which, having escaped from the control of
Jaw, have got out of their own proper place, and
have colonized in human bodies. These living things
may be not merely harmless, but even beneficent, in
their proper place; but in a state of sin, that is to
say of lawlessness, they become displaced, and propagate
their own species by the destruction of organisms much
higher in the scale of life.

Our ordinary experience furnishes abundant examples
of things which, in then: proper relations to other
things, are useful and beneficial, but which become
hurtful and destructive when dislocated or mis-
applied.

Nothing, therefore, can be more certain than that
the results of sin, which is lawlessness, and of which the
chief result is death, can not be removed except by the
putting away of sin itself. In no other way can
man and the world be brought back into harmony
with God, or be, as the Bible expresses it, " recon-
ciled to God" (2 Cor. v. 19, Col. i. 20), Who is the

PUTTING AWAY SIN 59

Author of law and order, not of confusion (1 Cor.
xiv. 33).

This work of putting away sin, breaking the power
of death, and reconciling the world — persons and
things — to God, is the work of Christ on the cross
(Heb. ii. 14, 15, ix. 26 ; Rom. v. 10 ; 2 Cor. v. 18, 19 ;
Col. i. 20). " He appeared to PUT AWAY SIN by the
sacrifice of Himself" . . . "that through death He
might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil." Here is the only plan ever proposed for
removing sin and death from God's universe. It is
God's plan, and is therefore effective ; and though it
does not meet the approbation of the advanced theo-
logians and religious leaders of the day, the latter have
not as yet furnished a substitute. God's way of salva-
tion for humanity has at least this to commend it, that
it deals directly and by name with the great enemies,
sin and death, which have exercised dominion over all
the race of Adam. Man's religions, on the other hand,
have nothing to say against these mighty foes, and
disclose no way whereby a single human being can
escape from their grasp.

Scripture teaches that " when we were enemies we
were reconciled to God by the death of His Son"
(Rom. v. 10); so that we have in Scripture a clear
statement of God's plan, which He is now carrying
out, for the deliverance of the world from all lawless-
ness and its consequences, and for bringing men (by

60 HUMAN ACTIVITIES OF PRESENT DAY

nature the enemies of God) into reconciliation with
Himself.

Seeing that this was the purpose for which the Son
of God came into the world, and assumed " the likeness
of sinful flesh v (Rom. viii. 3), it is a very significant fact
that the active religious movements of the day are all in
full agreement among themselves in denying the atone-
ment made by Christ on the cross, and in practically
ignoring the presence of sin and death in the world.

It is also important to note that the expression
"mystery of iniquity " in 2 Thess. ii. 7 is literally "the
mystery of lawlessness " (being the identical word used
in 1 John iii. 4), and that the designation of the coming
leader in verse 8 is "the Lawless One." Therefore
the teaching of this passage is that the mystery, which
was then already working, and which should eventuate
in the advent of the magnate of the end-time, whose
coming is to be according to the working of Satan,
was the MYSTERY OF LAWLESSNESS. This vast, age-long
development is still, and will be to the end, a
" mystery " to all who have " not received the love of
the truth that they might be saved."

The great Consolidation will therefore be the cul-
mination of man's career of sin or lawlessness ; and its
leader will be the consummate product of that career,
the Man of Sin, or lawlessness.

Here, then, is another great difference between God's
plan of deliverance and man's. The former recognizes

DEFICIENCY OF HUMAN REMEDIES 61

the presence of sin, provides a remedy for it, and
begins the great work of deliverance by striking
directly and effectively at the cause of all human ills.
This was the mission to earth of the Son of God. He
is the Lamb of God that beareth away the sin of the
world.

On the other hand, man's plan of deliverance from
evil by the development and systematizing of manu-
facture and commerce, includes no remedy for sin and
death. This conspicuous deficiency in the great
religious and social movements of the day should
suffice to condemn them in the eyes of all who are not
spiritually blinded. For, after all, the utmost that
these reformers, evolutionists, and new theologians
offer is, the vague promise that the world may, in some
far-off day, become a comfortable and agreeable place
for the man of the future to sin and die in. There is
nothing in all their schemes to meet the need of the man
of the present, or to heal the sin-wounds of humanity,
and to get rid of sin and death, at any time, present or
future.

SECTION II

NEW THEOLOGIES

HAVING taken a general survey of the fields of human
activity, and having noted the general characteristics
of the movements progressing therein, we will now
turn our attention to the more important of the
religious movements of the day.

Among the notable products of the activity of
recent years is a crop of " new theologies " and other
religious novelties. The presence of these new move-
ments, and the rapidity with which they are spreading,
testify unmistakably to the fact that the old religious
beliefs and systems are unsuited to the temper and
thought of the present generation of men. Beyond all
question there is something wrong either with the
ancient faith or with the modern man. Where the
latter is the judge and the final authority in such
matters, he decides without qualification that the
trouble is with the ancient faith ; and he will listen to,
and support, only such teachers as make it their study

to confirm him in this judgment.

62

CONDITIONS IN THE LATTER DAYS 63

But our immediate purpose is not so much to decide
the merits of the controversy between the modern man
and the ancient faith, as to note with impartial scrutiny
the leading characteristics of these new movements,
and to compare them with the prophetic Scriptures
cited above. In so doing, our plan will be, not to give
our own appreciation of those movements, for that
(however fairly it might be done) would be open to
question and suspicion ; but to let the leaders and
accredited mouthpieces of the several movements
state, in their own words, the essential features of
each.

While conducting this examination, we are to keep
in mind the substance of the predicted condition of
human affairs at "the time of the end," which is
briefly : —

1. That an era of great industrial expansion was
to come.

2. That this era would culminate in a monstrous
monopoly, or organization of world-wide scope.

3. That this coming system should embrace,
regulate, and control both the secular and the religious
interests of mankind, being at once commercial and
ecclesiastical.

4>. That the basic principle of this new economic and
social order would be the divinity of humanity.

5. That this colossal system should be headed, at
the time of its maximum development, by a man of

64 NEW THEOLOGIES

transcendent genius, endowed with superhuman in-
telligence and abilities, — in short by a "Superman."

We can sufficiently acquaint ourselves with the
main characteristics of the present religious drift by
examining the New Theology of Old England and the
New Theology of New England.

It is a matter of regret that, in pursuing this
inquiry, it becomes necessary to mention the names
of certain men who are prominent in religious circles.
The writer would much prefer to conduct the dis-
cussions in an impersonal manner, for his controversy
is not with individuals, however mischievous their
teachings, but wholly with the teachings themselves.
For the former, his only wish is that God may grant
them " repentance to the acknowledging of the truth ;
and that they may recover themselves out of the snare
of the devil " (2 Tim. ii. 25, 26). But as for their
doctrines, seeing that these are openly and directly
opposed to all that is vital in " the doctrine of Christ "
and in " the gospel of God concerning His Son,'1 the
writer cannot do otherwise than denounce them as
among the greatest of all the dangers that now menace
the welfare of men.

The reader, therefore, is asked to remember that
the names of prominent men are mentioned in these
pages solely because they themselves have publicly
identified their names with the doctrines which we
have undertaken to examine.

EXTRAVAGANCES OF "NEW THEOLOGY" 65

THE NEW THEOLOGY OF OLD ENGLAND

The term " New Theology " has become quite
familiar of late through the very general interest
aroused by a book published under that name, whose
author is Rev. R. J. Campbell, pastor of the London
City Temple. It would seem, however, that much
more attention has been paid to certain extravagant
utterances, found here and there in the book, than to
the leading features of the doctrine set forth therein.
These occasional extravagant utterances appear to me
to be the expression rather of the author's exuberant
disposition, than of his sober thought; and, for that
reason, we should be misled if we were to take them
(as many of his critics have done) as stating material
parts of the doctrine of the New Theology. Very few
religious leaders, teachers, and theologians would care
to associate themselves with the extreme statements in
which Mr. Campbell occasionally indulges.

On the other hand, Mr. Campbell declares, and
truthfully, that while he may have been the first to
formulate the distinctive teachings of the "New
Theology," those teachings did not originate with him,
but. on the contrary, are to be found in, and constitute
the essence of, the forward movements now occurring
in every part of Christendom. He points out, and it
cannot be successfully denied, that the same doctrines
in substance, however named and in whatever terms

66 NEW THEOLOGIES

they may be formulated, are flourishing and spreading
in the Church of Rome, in the Church of England, in
French Protestantism, in Lutheranism, and in the
Congregational and other Evangelical Churches of
England and America. In all these divisions of
Christendom "the same attitude is being taken by
many who are not even aware that the name New
Theology is being applied to it." (p. 13).

First, let it be noted that the New Theology is
accurately described as a " movement." It is not
a systematized body of stable doctrine, but is a
theology in process of jormation, undergoing constant
and rapid change in its forms and details, and hence is
recognizable only by its essential and relatively stable
features. It is not a platform upon which one might
find standing ground for his religious conceptions, but
an inclined plane, down which those who commit them-
selves to it are rapidly sliding to conclusions whereof
the leading characteristics may be easily discerned.

The main feature of the theology propounded by
Mr. Campbell is a special variety of the doctrine of
Divine Immanence. Mr. Campbell labours hard (and
to little purpose) to distinguish his special kind of
Divine Immanence from other varieties of that
doctrine ; but this distinction, if it exists, is of no
real importance. The quotations given below will
show how thoroughly Mr. Campbell identifies God
with man, and man with God, leaving between them

A STRIKING CHARACTERISTIC 67

no difference that is of any real value or practical
importance. The essence, then, of the New Theology
is the Deification of Man. Count the number, and it
will be found " the number of Man."

A striking characteristic of the New Theology, as
presented by Mr. Campbell, is that its doctrines are not
supported by even the semblance of proof ; and indeed,
owing to the peculiar character of the system, they do
not require such support. Those who accept the
doctrines of Christianity do so (and have always done
so) for the reason that those doctrines have the support
of evidence deemed by Christians to be of the highest
grade of proof, namely, the " testimony of God " given
in His Word. But the essence of the New Theology is
that " we know nothing and can know nothing of the
Infinite Cause whence all things proceed, except as we
read Him in His universe and in our own souls." In
other words, we have no Divine revelation. In this
passage the Bible is set aside by implication ; but, as
we will see later on, Mr. Campbell in express terms
repudiates it ; and this, of course, is absolutely necessary
in order to make place for the distinctive doctrines
which are now being introduced through various
channels, including the " New Theology."

" It is," says Mr. Campbell, " the immanent God
with whom we have to do " ; and in lieu of proof of
this fundamental proposition we are told that it is an
"obvious fact" (p. 5). Of course, if the "fact" be

68 NEW THEOLOGIES

" obvious," proof of it would be superfluous. In order
to ascertain, according to Mr. Campbell, whether or
not a statement is true, one is always to appeal — not
to the evidence, but — to the god within him. " Never
mind what the Bible says about this or that, if you
are in search for truth, but trust the voice of God
within you.""

It is important to note that Mr. Campbell makes
many radical doctrinal statements, and makes them
in the most dogmatic fashion, without the slightest
attempt to support them by proof. In this, of course,
he is entirely consistent. It would manifestly be quite
unnecessary to cumber his pages with evidences of
the truth of his doctrines, seeing that, according to
the essential principle of the New Theology, every
human being has within himself the only and infall-
ible source and judge of the truth.

A good illustration of the operation of this funda-
mental principle is furnished by what Mr. Campbell
says of the account of the fall of man contained in
Genesis iii. He tells us that, while the narrative there
given is a myth, "it does contain a truth,11 namely,
that when the "Infinite11 became the finite creation
(for remember that God and the created universe are
one, according to the New Theology) there was " a
coming dozvn from perfection to imperfection,11 and this
coming down of God to become the finite universe
was " of the nature of a fall."" Thus Mr. Campbell

69

sets the author of Genesis right in an important
particular, telling us that the writer of that ancient
document was correct in stating that there had been
a fall, but was in error in saying that it was man who
fell, the fact being (says Mr. Campbell) that it was
God who fell. Man, says Mr. Campbell, is not a
fallen creature, but is, and always has been, a rising
creature — rising steadily to his true level, which is
Deity.

We are not now concerned with the stupendous
blasphemy of this doctrine, but only with the astound-
ing fact that it is presented for acceptance without any
semblance whatever of supporting proof. It is assumed
that man, who professes himself unable to believe his
own fall, — though that event be declared upon the
authority of Scripture, and though it be confirmed by
the manifold evidences of his fallen condition within
and around him, — is bound to accept (or perhaps we
should say is free to accept) unquestioningly the
statement of Mr. Campbell that it was God who fell,
although that stupendous assertion is unsupported by
either authority or evidence.

But such is the logical result of the cardinal doctrine
of the New Theology. If, indeed, man has within
himself the infallible discerner of truth, it necessarily
follows that proof of any proposition becomes wholly
superfluous. But this convenient principle, if fully
carried out, would logically be destructive of the New

70 NEW THEOLOGIES

Theology, as of every other ; for so soon as the intelli-
gent disciple learns that the source and arbiter of
truth is within himself, and that the imaginations of
his own heart possess the highest sanction that is to be
had, he will certainly not be so foolish, so inconsistent,
and so false to his cardinal principle, as to put aside
his own notions, sanctioned by the god within him, for
those of Mr. Campbell or of any one else. The
moment the cardinal principle of this New Theology is
accepted, every one not only may, but must, be the
author of his own " new theology," and must reverently
take all his instruction from, and direct all his worship
to, " the god within." One who adopts the principle,
" never mind what the Bible says about this or that if
you are in search of truth, but trust the voice of god
within you," will certainly understand, as a necessary
corollary, that if he is not to mind what the Bible says,
still less should he mind what Mr. Campbell says,
" about this or that."

Thus the first lesson of the New Theology teaches
its disciples to pay no heed to its other lessons ; and
that this first lesson will be generally heeded can
hardly be doubted, because the time is fully ripe for its
acceptance.

That man should come ultimately to worship
himself was a foregone conclusion from the first trans-
gression whereby sin entered the world and death
through sin. The far-off goal which man started to

THE DEITY OF HUMANITY 71

attain by his own efforts when he departed from his
Creator's purpose in making him (Gen. i. 26-28) was
to become "as God" (Gen. iii. 5, R.V.). And the
great spirit of evil who instigated the present " career
of humanity,11 and who has encouraged and aided it in
all its long and painful progress, is now sedulously
teaching through "his ministers, transformed as the
ministers of righteousness" (2 Cor. xi. 15), that the
last stage of the great journey has been reached, and
that man has actually become " as God."

We quote some other passages from Mr. Campbell
wherein the divinity of humanity is asserted : —

" Where, then, some will say, is the dividing

line between our being and God's ? There is no

dividing line except from our side " (p. 34).

The force of this exception is that human beings

make a dividing line where none really exists. This

they do by failing to recognize their essential oneness

with God, just as the estuary or arm of the sea might

think itself a limited affair, not recognizing its essential

oneness with the mighty ocean. (This is Mr.

Campbell's own illustration of the doctrine.)

" My God is my deeper self, and yours too ;
He is the self of the universe, and knows all about
it. He is never baffled, and cannot be baffled ;
the whole cosmic process is one long incarnation
and uprising of the being of God from itself to
itself "(p. 35).

72 NEW THEOLOGIES

In spite of the obscurity of this utterance its essential
meaning is plain enough, and the impression it may
make upon the reader must depend mainly upon his
apprehension of how " sin in the flesh " appears in the
eyes of the thrice-holy God. By those who have the
faintest apprehension of this, the assertion that sinful
man and the Holy God are essentially one can be
regarded only as shocking blasphemy.

When, therefore, we hear unblushingly proclaimed,
and by one who passes as a Christian minister, this
hideous doctrine of the Diety of humanity, and when
we find that doctrine taking in men's hearts and minds
the place of " the doctrine of Christ," we can in a
measure understand what stirred the heart of the
Apostle when he wrote in the chapter already quoted,
" But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled
Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ"
(2 Cor. xi. 3).

Again Mr. Campbell says : —

" Fundamentally the individual is one with the
whole race and with God " (p. 39).

" Strictly speaking, the human and the Divine
are two categories which shade into and imply
each other. Humanity is Divinity viewed from
below. Divinity is humanity viewed from above "
(P- 73).

"The New Theology regards all mankind as

MAN HIS OWN JUDGE 73

'being of one substance with the Father"
(p. 41).

Of course, it follows from this that there is no
accountability for sins and wickednesses.

If all mankind is of one substance with the Father,
then God cannot be dissociated from the doings of
men, and indeed He has been and is the Participator
with man in all the wicked doings which the Bible
denounces. It is of such as teach and hold such things
that the Lord says : —

" Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an
one as thyself; but I will reprove thee " (Ps. 1. 21).
Indeed, according to New Theology, there is no
punishment; and, in fact, there is no one to punish
the offender, if there were an offender to be punished.
Here are Mr. Campbell's declarations on that subject : —
" There is no such thing as punishment, no far-
off' Judgment Day, no great white throne, and no
Judge external to ourselves *" (p. 213).

"And who, pray, is the judge? Who but
yourself? The deeper self is the judge, the self
who is externally one zvith God " (p. 215).
It is safe to predict, in that event, that the culprit,
if there could be one according to this system, would
escape with a very light sentence ; or more probably
would receive the commendation of the Court.

It is also safe to say that this comfortable teaching
will commend itself highly to the evil-doers of this
6

74 NEW THEOLOGIES

lawless age. Indeed, it is the avowed purpose of the
New Theolegy to furnish a system of doctrine which
shall meet with popular favour. This brings us to the
recognition of the important place in this system which
is held by the principles of Democracy.

We have already reminded our readers that the
essence of Democracy is that the will of the people is
the supreme law. The majority must control in every
matter of common interest. From this principle it is
easy to pass to the assumption that the will of the
people is right, and that the test of every doctrine
is its popularity. This assumption will be found
to be inherent in all the new theologies and religious
movements of our day. Whether or not a doctrine
be true is not important ; the important question is,
Does it suit the taste of the multitude ? Will the
people approve and accept it ? Will it get the votes ?
The principles of Democracy are necessarily involved
in the New Theology ; for if humanity is Divine, then
it follows inevitably that whatever humanity may
approve has the Divine sanction. Speaking of this
aspect of the New Theology, Mr. Campbell says : —

"This higher, wider truth which sweeps away
the mischievous accretions which have made
religion distasteful to the masses, is the religious
articulation of the movement towards an ideal
social order " (p. 225).
A moment's reflection on conditions which exist

DOCTRINE MUST PLEASE THE PEOPLE 75

throughout Christendom at the present time will show
us how widely this principle of Democracy prevails,
and how profoundly it affects the thought of the day.
Preaching is largely controlled, not by the consideration
of faithfulness to the message of the Word, but by the
desire to satisfy the wishes of the congregation by whom
the preacher is " supported " ; not by reference to what
men need, but by reference to what they want. To
ascertain the taste of the populace, so as to present that
which is palatable to the masses, many experiments are
being tried, whereby God is dishonoured and His wrath
provoked every day.

No doubt it is very pleasing to the masses to be told
that "all mankind is of one substance with the
Father." On the other hand, what renders the truth
of God " distasteful to the masses " is the repeated and
uncompromising testimony of His Word that man is
by nature a sinner, utterly corrupt, whose imaginations
are evil, whose very righteousnesses are filthy rags,
whose tendencies are to go astray ; that men are, one
and all, from the least to the greatest, wholly lost,
undone, dead in trespasses and sins, under present con-
demnation, in the grasp of death, and destined, unless
saved by the grace and power of God, to eternal
perdition. It is very "distasteful to the masses" to
be informed that man is, not only "ungodly," but
also " without strength " (Rom. v. 6), insomuch that he
is unable to do anything whatsoever to recover himself

76 NEW THEOLOGIES

out of his evil estate. Hence the New Theology openly
declares it to be an important part of its mission to
sweep away everything that is "distasteful to the
masses,11 and to substitute for Truth such a system of
teaching that every man can find in it what is
thoroughly suited to his tastes. That such a system
will commend itself to popular approbation is reason-
ably certain ; and if the people approve it, then,
according to the principles of Democracy, it has
justified itself, and earned a permanent place among
human institutions.

This brings us to the observation that in the New
Theology there is, of course, no "salvation" in the
Scriptural sense of that word. Man needs no Saviour,
for there is nothing to be saved from. Salvation,
therefore, according to New Theology, consists in
attaining to a knowledge of the oneness of the indi-
vidual with God, and with the whole human race.
For this purpose, man is his own saviour. Salvation,
according to Mr. Campbell, consists "in ceasing to
be selfish " (p. 210). He says :—

" Every man who is trying to live so as to make
his life a blessing to the world is being saved him-
self in the process " (p. 210).

"There is no stopping-place between sinner
and Saviour. This is the way in which men like
Robert Blatchford of the Clarion1 are being
1 An avowed opponent of Christianity.

NEW THEOLOGY AND SOCIALISM 77

saved while trying to save. . . . His moral
earnestness is a mark of his Christhood, and his
work a part of the atonement. Not another
Christ than Jesus, mind ! The very same. Mr.
Blatchford may laugh at this,1 and call his moral
aspirations by quite a different name. Well, let
him ; but I know the thing when I see it. This
is Salvation" (p. 211).

We have now seen that, according to the New
Theology, man is essentially divine ; and, in order that
there may be no mistake about the doctrine, we are
assured that even a man who openly derides the Christ
of God is one with Him, and that the dead works of
the infidel and scoffer are " part of the atonement "
made by the Saviour of men. It is thus made perfectly
obvious that the main purpose of that movement is to
put Man in the supreme place.

The New Theology thus clearly discloses that its
aim is to prepare the way for that ultimate condition
of human society in which a man shall oppose and
exalt himself above all that is called God or that is
worshipped (2 Thess. ii. 4). It perfectly fulfils this
prominent feature of the prophecies mentioned above.

We have also seen that the New Theology incor-
porates in itself the essence of pure Democracy, and

1 And, in fact, he does laugh hilariously ; but to those
who believe on the Son of God it will seem that these
statements approach the extreme limits of blasphemy.

78 NEW THEOLOGIES

squarely plants itself upon confidence in the inherent
po wei*s of man.

We now come to consider the important fact that
the tendency of the New Theology is towards the
formation of a system wherein the religious and business
interests of humanity shall be consolidated, thus fulfilling
another striking feature of the prophetic Scriptures.

Mr. Campbell declares that Christianity has, for the
moment, lost its hold upon men ; but he predicts
the recovery of its hold through identifying itself with
the great social movements of the age, which are now
taking place in every civilized country in the world.
These movements, he says, are pressing towards
" universal peace and brotherhood." Here we clearly
perceive the ideal of the great Confederacy.

Mr. Campbell then makes the significant statement
that the great social movement is really the same
movement as that which, in the religious sphere, is
coming to be called the New Theology. " This fact,"
he says, " needs to be realized and brought out."

Here, then, is a clear statement of the fact that the
great social movements, and the great religious move-
ments of our day, though apparently far apart in some
respects, are " really the same movement," and that
all are advancing rapidly towards the formation of one
organization or social system, which shall be both
secular and religious.

NEW THEOLOGY & LABOUR MOVEMENT 79

Here are some pertinent passages from Mr.
CampbelFs book : —

" Assuredly Christianity has for the moment
lost his hold. Can it recover it? I am sure it
can, if only because the moral movements of the
age such as the great Labour Movement, are in
reality the expression of the Christian spirit, and
only need to recognize themselves as such in order
to become irresistible. The wagon of Socialism
needs to be hitched to the star of religious faith."
(p. 8).

"The great Social Movement, which is now
taking place in every country of the civilized world
towards universal peace and brotherhood, and a
better and fairer distribution of wealth, is REALLY
THE SAME MOVEMENT as that which, in the more
distinctively religious sphere, is coming to be
called the New Theology. This fact needs to be
realized and brought out.

" The New Theology is but the religions arti-
culation of the social movement1' (p. 14).

Mr. Campbell points out (pp. 251-254) that the
present conditions of life of the great masses of
humanity are intolerably unjust, and abound in all sorts
of evils and miseries. He calls attention to the exist-
ence of slums and sweat-shops, of paupers and able-
bodied unemployed, of abject poverty and degradation,

80 NEW THEOLOGIES

of over-crowded and disease-breeding tenements. He
argues that the existing Economic System is the cause
of these conditions ; for of course he does not recognize
them as incidents and results of the self-chosen " career
of humanity," suggested by the spirit of evil. He then
refers approvingly to Socialism, which he calls " the
movement towards social regeneration,11 and which he
declares to be " really and truly a spiritual movement."
With this movement he thoroughly identifies the
New Theology, saying : —

" In fact the Labour Party is itself a church,
in the sense in which that word was originally
used ; for it represents the getting together of
those who want to bring about the Kingdom of
God. The New Theology, as I understand it, is
the theology of this movement, whether the move-
ment knows it or not, for it is essentially the
gospel of the Kingdom of God."

"This higher, wider truth, which sweeps away
the mischievous accretions which have made
religion distasteful to the masses, is the religious
articulation of the movement towards an ideal
social order " (p. 255).

Evidently, it is only necessary for Socialism to permit
itself to be styled " Christian " in order to make its
distinctive doctrines acceptable in many quarters
where that name still retains a value, although every-
thing that it once signified has been cast aside. It is

NEW THEOLOGY AND SCIENCE 81

the " ideal social order " which is the real aim of the
New Theology ; and we have already observed that the
essential characteristics of this ideal are the marks of
that great system, described eighteen centuries ago in
the Word of Truth, in which the activities of man, in
his self-chosen lines of progress and civilizations, are to
have their culmination.

On this point Mr. Campbell says : —

" This then is the mission of the New Theology.
It is to brighten and keep burning the flame of
the spiritual ideal in the midst of the mighty
social movement which is now in progress.1'

In this day, when the word " science " is being freely
used by theologians of a certain class to* intimidate
ignorant and thoughtless people, and to furnish a
substitute for the Word of God as the foundation of
religious systems, it is important to note carefully the
position assigned to science in these new movements,
and then (as we propose doing later on) to subject the
claims of this " science " to a rigid examination. On
this point Mr. Campbell says : —

"Again, the New Theology is the religion of
science. ... It is the recognition that, upon
the foundations laid by modern science, a vaster
and nobler fabric of faith is rising than the world
has ever before known" (p. 15).
Those " who profess and call themselves Christians "

82 NEW THEOLOGIES

should mark well the expressions of this sort, with
which current religious literature abounds, and which
are producing a very general impression to the effect
that " science " has, to a greater or less extent, removed
or disturbed the foundations upon which Christian
faith has rested through the centuries. These state-
ments are rapidly preparing the minds of people, in
this day of shallow thinking, to accept any doctrine
brought forth in the name of " science." The Psalmist
anxiously inquires "If the foundations be destroyed
what can the righteous do ? " (Ps. xi. 3). To that
question the New Theology has its answer ready,
namely, " We shall build upon the foundations laid by
modern science a vaster and nobler fabric of faith than
the world has ever before known."

Mr. Campbell further develops the idea of Unifica-
tion, and shows the breadth of the New Theology, by
declaring its practical identity (not only with the social
movements of the day, but also) with the forward
movements in various ecclesiastical systems, such as
" Modernism." He says : —

" In the Church of Rome the movement (i.e.
New Theology) is typified by men like Father
Tyrrell, whose teaching has led to his expulsion
from the Jesuit Order, but not so far from the
priesthood.

" In the Church of England a large and increas-
ing band of men are looking in this direction and

THE KINDRED OF NEW THEOLOGY 83

are making their influence felt. Of these perhaps
the most outspoken is Archdeacon Wilberforce,
but he is by no means alone.

" A movement has begun in the Lutheran
Church. It has existed for a long time in French
Protestantism.

" In the Congregational and other Evangelical
Churches of England and America the same
attitude is being taken by many who are not even
aware that the name ' New Theology ' is being
applied to it " (p. 13).

Here is the plain declaration that, in various com-
panies, under different standards, and along different
but converging roads, the religious crowds are pressing
towards a common goal. That goal has but recently
burst upon their rapturous vision, but it was foreseen
and foretold long ago by the seer of Patmos. Com-
mercialism in a religious garb, an ecclesiastical Trust,
a world-wide Confederacy embracing all human
interests, is now the ideal which arouses the enthusiasm
of mankind and inspires the movements which are
stirring in all the religious bodies of Christendom.

Some little mental effort is required in order to
realize the significance of all this ; and the reader will
do well to ponder these things, and try to grasp the
meaning of the strange and ominous fact that, in
systems so widely different and so long bitterly
antagonistic, there has suddenly sprung up a common

84 NEW THEOLOGIES

ideal, which is of such potency as to start them all
in motion along converging lines towards a common
destination. There has been nothing like it in the
history of mankind ; and it follows necessarily that the
outcome must be something transcending all previous
human experience.

As already stated, Mr. Campbell's New Theology
is not a stable system, but a rapidly shifting movement.
Many of its doctrines are too extravagant and foolish
even for this unthinking and credulous generation.
We are therefore not concerned with its details
(which will quickly disappear), but with its tendencies.
Despite all its vagaries, crudities, and blasphemies, it is
doing the work of spreading the ideals of religious and
industrial Federation on the basis of the Divinity of
Man in quarters where those ideals might not other-
wise find ready acceptance.

New Theology also furnishes one of many indications
that the history of corrupt religion has now entered
upon its final stage. From it we may learn that
Commercialism has now supplied to Religion the funda-
mental principle by which the former is regulated,
namely, that the purveyors of doctrine must be con-
trolled, like the purveyors of all other commodities, by
the universal " law of supply and demand." On every
side we see evidences of the recognition of this " law "
in the conduct of ecclesiastical institutions. What the

CHRISTIAN MINISTER & INFIDEL EDITOR 85

public demands, these "advanced theologians," who
cater to it, give all diligence to supply. Their study
is, not to show themselves " approved unto God, rightly
dividing the Word of truth," but to show themselves
approved unto men, " handling the Word of God
deceitfully," or setting it aside altogether.

But, what is perhaps the most striking thing about
the New Theology is its claim of kinship with Socialism
of the sort represented by Mr. Robert Blatchford of
the London Clarion, who publicly, and even exult-
ingly, avows himself an infidel. We are confronted,
then, in the New Theology, with a religion which,
while retaining the name " Christian," yet is in full
accord in every essential matter with infidel Socialism.
Surely it is but a short step from this to a system in
which all shades of religious opinion shall be blended
harmoniously in subordination to the great principle of
the Solidarity of Mankind, or the Brotherhood and
Divinity of Man.

Mr. Blatchford, in reviewing Mr. Campbell's book,
declares that its main doctrines are but paraphrases of
those advocated in his own book, God and My Neigh-
bour}- He says : —

"Mr. Campbell is a Christian minister, and I
am an infidel editor ; and the difference between
his religion and mine is too small to argue about.
But I sail under the Jolly Roger."

1 See Literary Digest for June 8, 1907.

86 NEW THEOLOGIES

The " New Theology," says Mr. Blatchford, is " God
and My Neighbour with the soft pedal on. It is
Thomas Paine in a white tie ... the Ingersoll fist in
a boxing glove.11

Mr. Blatchford is at pains to point out the full
agreement in matters of substance between his own
teachings and those of the New Theology, saying : —

" Mr. Campbell calls nature God. I call nature
nature.

" Mr. Campbell thinks we ought to have some
form of supernatural religion, and that we ought
to associate with Christ. I prefer a religion of
humanity without idolatry.

*'Mr. Campbell thinks Jesus the most perfect
man that ever lived. I think there have been
many men as good, and some better. But beyond
these differences I think I may venture to say
there is nothing Mr. Campbell believes that I deny,
and nothing I believe that he denies. Beyond
these differences I am as much a Christian as is the
Rev. R. J. Campbell ; and the Rev. R. J. Campbell
is as much an infidel as is the editor of the Clarion.
" Mr. Campbell rejects the doctrines of the fall
and the atonement. He denies the divinity of
Christ, the virgin birth, and the resurrection.
He denies the inspiration and infallibility of the
Bible, and he rejects the idea of divine punishment
and an everlasting hell. So do I.

A STRANGE COMBINATION 87

"Mr. Campbell abandons the orthodox theory
of sin, and says that selfishness is sin, and that
unselfishness is morality and salvation. So do I.

"These are bold assertions, and perhaps Mr.
Campbell may think them too sweeping ; but
the proof is easy. The best proof is a compar-
ison of the 'New Theology1 with my 'infidel'
books."

Here, then, in the course of the progress of "this
present evil age " (Gal. i. 4) we have arrived at a brand
of " Christianity " which differs so little from the most
radical variety of infidel Socialism that the points of
difference are " too small to argue about " ; indeed
they are far less important than many existing differ-
ences between members of the same religious denomina-
tion. It may be fairly inferred from this that we are
not far from a religio-commercial basis upon which all
men who reject the Word of God and the Christ of
God can solidly unite, and unite in such strength as
to assume the complete control and direction of the
religious and secular affairs of a consolidated human
society.

88 NEW THEOLOGIES

THE NEW THEOLOGY OF NEW ENGLAND

We now cast our eyes upon the American continent
in order to take note of the progress which, in this
newer civilization, has been made by the ideals of the
unification of mankind, and the consolidation of all
human interests.

New England was once the home of sound doctrine.
Its rocky soil was originally populated by men who
feared God, implicitly believed and submitted to the
authority of His Word, and rested their hope of
salvation wholly upon the sacrificial death of the Lord
Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Such were the
religious convictions of the men who laid the founda-
tions of the New England commonwealths, and such
have been the convictions likewise of their descendants
for many generations.

One of the oldest and best known churches in this
important section of the American Republic is the
" Old South Church " of Boston ; and its name has
long been associated with sturdy orthodoxy.

The present pastor of that Church, Dr. George
A. Gordon, has lately contributed to the Harvard
Theological Review l (an Unitarian quarterly) a notable
article, significantly entitled " The Collapse of the New
England Theology." A few extracts from this article
will afford a good indication of the present drift of
1 April 1908.

COLLAPSE OF NEW ENGLAND THEOLOGY 89

religious thought in New England, and of the stage of
departure from the old beliefs at which this movement
has now arrived. And what is more pertinent to the
present subject, these extracts will show what head-
way has been made (in what was once the centre of
orthodoxy, and still is perhaps the centre of intelligence
and learning of the American continent) by the move-
ment which aims at the exaltation of Man and the
formation of the great system of the end-times. The
very title of the article is deeply significant ; for whether
one regards what has occurred as a calamity or as a
benefit, in either view of the matter the word " collapse "
indicates that the change which has taken place is one
of the most radical sort.

Dr. Gordon might, more aptly and more honestly,
have entitled his article the " Collapse of the Doctrine
of Christ," for that is what he assumes to be a fact, and
what he undertakes to explain. He does not undertake
to prove the collapse, but assumes it as a fact too palp-
able to require proof. Apparently Dr. Gordon deemed
it expedient to make some concession to the few who
still cling to the old beliefs, and so he has partly veiled
the purport of his article under the title quoted above.

Mr. Huxley adopted a similar expedient when he
gave in America a course of lectures attacking the
Genesis account of Creation. In doing this, he dis-
creetly directed his attack against what he called the
" Miltonic Cosmogony." But though he diplomatically
7

90 NEW THEOLOGIES

gave it this name, the teaching he was opposing was
not that of Milton, but that of the Sacred Scriptures.
In like manner it doubtless seemed to Dr. Gordon that a
" Christian'1 minister, in attacking the doctrine of Christ,
would do well to call that doctrine by another name.
Hence the title "Collapse of the New England Theology.11

Dr. Gordon explains that what he means by the
" New England Theology " is the teaching of Jonathan
Edwards, Samuel Hopkins, Nathaniel W. Taylor, and
other godly preachers, mighty in the Scriptures, men
who received and preached the Bible " not as the word
of man, but as it is in truth the Word of God11
(1 Thess. ii. 13), and who proclaimed forgiveness of
sins and eternal life through faith in the crucified and
risen Son of God. This theology, which is virtually " the
faith once for all delivered unto the saints," has, accord-
ing to Dr. Gordon, undergone a total collapse; and taking
the collapse for granted as an obvious and indisputable
fact, he undertakes to show what brought it about.

In pursuing this subject, we will consider — -first, the
fact of the change which Dr. Gordon calls a " collapse " ;
second, the explanation he gives for the collapse ; and
third, the new system of theology which is supplanting
that which has collapsed.

I. THE "COLLAPSE"

That Dr. Gordon has good reason for assuming his
premises will not, probably, be very seriously disputed.

A GREAT DEPARTURE 91

it being a conspicuous fact that the churches of New
England have, in large and increasing numbers, de-
parted from the preaching of the truths proclaimed
so powerfully and fruitfully by those great preachers
of a bygone day. The people who "support" the
ministers have a perfect right, according to the accepted
standards of the day, to the kind of preaching which
suits them. It would be manifestly unreasonable
to expect them to "pay for1' the kind of preach-
ing they dislike ; and it is quite certain that the
cultured and prosperous classes of to-day will not
endure the doctrines of the old New England
theology.

Still, making full allowance for all this, it may be
questioned whether Dr. Gordon is justified in describing
the great change which has undoubtedly taken place
as a "collapse." Students of Scripture will readily
identify it as " the apostasy " (2 Thess. ii. 3) which is
to take place before the Man of Sin should be revealed.
This condition of Christendom upon which Dr. Gordon
comments, and which the Bible foretells, was to be
characterized, according to Scripture, by intolerance of
sound doctrine on the part of church-goers, and by their
heaping to themselves teachers, instead of receiving the
teachers sent to them from God. " For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine ; but
after their own desires shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn

92 NEW THEOLOGIES

away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables " (2 Tim. iv. 3, 4).

While many would warmly deny that the old New
England preachers proclaimed "the truth," and that
the successors to their pulpits have substituted " fables,""
no one can fairly dispute that the church attendants
of to-day have "turned away their ears'1 from the
doctrines to which their fathers listened, that they
have "given heed" to doctrines which involve the
contradiction of everything formerly held to be essen-
tial ; and further, that they uniformly exercise the right
of " heaping to themselves teachers " who are strictly
held to the duty of teaching the things which their
ears itch to hear.

Dr. Gordon himself fully recognizes, and is in entire
accord with, the principles of Democracy. The " rights
of man " is the great ruling principle of the day (i.e.
of " Man's Day ") ; and unquestionably among the
rights upon which men most stubbornly insist is
the right to have the kind of teaching which is
acceptable to the majority, namely, the teaching which
exalts man, extols his achievements, lauds his progress
and his sciences, and prophesies the glorious outcome of
his heroic endeavours. This popular demand might be
accurately voiced in the words of the prophet Isaiah,
who speaks of "children that will not hear the law
of the Lord ; which say to the seers, See not ; and to
the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak

THE DISCARDED DOCTRINES 93

unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits ; get you out
of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy
One of Israel to cease from before us" (Is. xxx. 9-11).

Here, then, is Dr. Gordon's description of the
theology of the old New England preachers which, he
says, has collapsed : —

"These thinkers without exception held the
Sovereignty of God, whether construed as includ-
ing or not including the fall ; they held to the
innate depravity of mankind; they traced this
universal condition of the race to the sin of the
first man ; . . . they were agreed that without
atonement there was no forgiveness of sin, and
that this necessary atonement had been made by
Jesus Christ ; they were united in the belief that
the Holy Spirit is essential to the conversion
and regeneration of man, that till the Spirit's
influence descends upon him man is helpless in
the presence of his moral obligation ; that when
the divine grace comes it is irresistible ; . . .
and they were unanimous in their conviction that
true believers in Jesus Christ will persevere to the
end and be saved with an everlasting salvation.'"
While Dr. Gordon's definitions here given could
be improved upon, it is nevertheless perfectly clear
that he is attempting to describe the essential
doctrines of the Bible, and that in saying that the
theology whereof the above doctrines were the sub-

94 NEW THEOLOGIES

stance has collapsed, he is, in effect, saying that the
teaching of the Bible has collapsed. In fact, one count
in his indictment of the old New England preachers
of Christ is that they were in bondage to a book.

He thus describes the attitude of these preachers
of the old doctrines : —

"The attitude of indiscriminating reverence
towards the Bible was, on the part of the New
England divines, the inheritance of faith. They
were in bondage to a book ; and while it was
the supreme book to which they were in bondage,
the fact that here, in this greatest sphere of
the free intellect, they had no dream of the
function of the intellect, is another reason why
their domain has passed away.11

"Their ideal of the sphere of reason was a
meagre and restricted ideal."

While the language used by Dr. Gordon is more
guarded than that of Mr. Campbell, and while the
former is more cautious than the latter in advancing
his propositions, it is quite clear that their meaning
is in substance the same. In the sentences just
quoted we have the very clear statement that one
of the mistakes of the old New England preachers
was that they subordinated the human intellect to
the Bible, instead of subordinating the Bible to the
human intellect.

It will be observed that one of the prominent

THE BIBLE REPUDIATED 95

characteristics of all these movements of the day is
a determined effort to discredit the Bible, and to set
aside its claim of authority over mankind. Democracy
implies a state of freedom from all authority except
that which is self-imposed. But this exception is
really not an exception at all, since authority that
is self-imposed is authority in name only. Mankind
has so far carried into practice the theory of "self-
government" (so called) that there is now, in the
progressive countries of the world, no claim of
authority to be reckoned with except that of the
Bible. The voice of this troublesome book cannot
apparently be silenced. Even in this progressive
day its unwelcome demands sound in the ears of
men. Its claim of absolute authority over the acts,
and words, and even thoughts, of men is still heard,
and its demand that they shall render to it implicit
obedience as the unchangeable Word of the living
God, has not yet been disposed of. Although men
conduct theological seminaries equipped with learned
professors, and employ the most gifted minds to
teach and preach "the freedom of the human intel-
lect,'1 and to proclaim the end of the old order of
submission to the Bible, nevertheless the voice of the
latter has not yet been wholly stifled. This voice is
now the chief, if not the only, remaining obstacle in
the way of pure Democracy ; and hence the tremend-
ous efforts which have been, and yet are being, put

96 NEW THEOLOGIES

forth to get rid of it. "That which restrains "
must be first taken out of the way, and then shall
that Lawless One be revealed (2 Thess. ii. 7, 8).

Moreover, the description which the Bible gives
of the present era of confederation, of the great system
in which it is to culminate, and particularly of the
Superman who is to be its head, is so full and
circumstantial, that these characters would be recog-
nized by those who know the Scriptures the moment
they appear upon the scene.

It is therefore essential to the success of Satan's
last and greatest undertaking, that the way for it
should be prepared by discrediting the Bible. This,
doubtless, is the mission of the Higher Criticism,
which, notwithstanding that the emptiness of its
pretensions and worthlessness of its "results" have
been thoroughly exposed, has nevertheless succeeded
in spreading among the masses of church-goers and
others the idea that the doctrine of an inspired and
authoritative Bible has been discarded by all com-
petent scholars; and that the few who cling to
that antiquated notion are either ignorant, feeble-
minded, or fanatical. It is for this purpose that we
see arrayed against the authority of Scripture the
imposing names of Science, Progress, Freedom of
Intellect, Scholarship, and the like. These be the
names of the modern Philistines which defy the
armies of the living God.

WHAT CAUSED THE "COLLAPSE" 97

This work of the Higher Criticism and its allies
has created an atmosphere in which it is possible for
the apostles of the new theologies to proclaim the
emancipation of the human intellect from " bondage
to a book," and boldly to say to those in quest of
the truth, " Never mind what the Bible says about
this or that," thus cutting them off from the only
deposit of Truth to which human beings have access.

In commenting upon the progress of the principles
of Democracy among the nations of the world, it is
worthy of mention that, since the writer began to
put these notes into shape for publication, two events
of great importance have taken place, by which
those principles have been vastly extended. One of
these is the curtailment of the autocratic power of
the German Emperor, and the other is the establish-
ment of popular government in Turkey.

II. THE EXPLANATION OF THE
"COLLAPSE"

Having ascertained what the system is which,
according to Dr. Gordon, has collapsed, we now look
for the reasons advanced by him in explanation of that
collapse. At first we would ask, Where has the change
occurred which is responsible for the collapse ? Not in
the doctrine, of course, for that is changeless. It must
be, then, that the people of the present generation are

98 NEW THEOLOGIES

different, in radical respects, from those who accepted
the old New England Theology. Yes, the change is
in the people. The children are not as were their
forefathers ; and from what Dr. Gordon says about the
freedom of the intellect in these advanced days, it is
evident that the great change which accounts for the
collapse of the New England Theology is one of an
intellectual sort.

How, then, have the people changed intellectually—
for the better or for the worse ? Is it improvement, or
deterioration ? Let Dr. Gordon answer that question.
He says : —

" This age is characterized by a strong aversion
to severe thinking. Immediacy has become a
habit, perhaps a disease.1'

That is to say, the people of the present time are
impatient, restless, excitable, demanding instant results,
shunning all processes of intellectual labour, requiring
that even the news of the day be conveyed to them in
large headlines, which can be taken in at a single
glance of the eye. No one has time to think or to do
anything that requires deliberation. Everybody is in
a hurry to catch a train ; and when they reach their
destination the next question is, " Where shall we go ? "

This is what Mr. Gordon means by "immediacy **;
and he emphatically declares the intellectual state of
the modern man to be such that immediacy is "a
habit," and " perhaps a disease."

INTELLECTUAL DEGENERACY 99

He further says on this point : —

" There was in those days eagerness to attack
and master a difficult subject, a keen interest in
a matter that, in order to be understood, had to
be read a score of times."

" To-day, whatever cannot be understood in the
twinkling of an eye is generally regarded with
aversion. The supreme heresy in thinking is the
call to intellectual toil."

Such being the mental characteristics of this genera-
tion, it might be safely left to any honest and unbiassed
mind to say whether we have not here a full and satis-
factory explanation of the " collapse " of the New Eng-
land Theology. Surely, in this shallowness, superficiality,
and intellectual sloth which characterize the present
day, and in the feverish pursuit of money and pleasure
which absorbs its energies, is to be found an explana-
tion fully adequate to account for the rapid develop-
ment of that apostasy which Dr. Gordon regards as
progress in religious thought.

Yet Dr. Gordon is so illogical, and so blind to
conclusions which follow inevitably from his own
premises, as to attribute the " collapse " of the New
England Theology to its defective character when
tested by the present-day standards of knowledge and
morality. He says : —

" The chief cause of collapse must be found in
the character of the ancient creed.'1''

100 NEW THEOLOGIES

" It fell from power because it was found beneath
the best religious consciousness of the time. It
was found to be outgrown in two fundamental
ways, — it was outgrown in knowledge and in ethical
conceptions.'1

These are very weighty statements, and we will do
well to grasp fully their import. The discarded doc-
trines, says Dr. Gordon, — which, be it remembered, are
the essential Christian verities proclaimed by the Bible,
—have been found to be beneath the best religious
consciousness of the present time. This generation,
having come to a knowledge of itself, has found that the
" ancient creed " had been outgrown in two ways, both
of them " fundamental," namely, (1) in knowledge and
(2) in conceptions of righteousness. More simply
stated, this generation is too learned and too good for
the ancient creed. Therefore they have discarded it,
and are demanding something nearer to their own high
level. The Bible is outgrown by the modern man : in
knowledge and in righteousness ! Who says so ? The
modern man himself says so, and who is there to
gainsay it ?

This explanation demands a careful examination ;
and when examined it will be found to be saturated
with the concentrated essence of the religion of
Humanism. It involves two important assumptions —
namely, Jirst, that the popular taste is the final test of
doctrine ; and second, that man himself is his own saviour

NEW THEOLOGIES IN OLDEN TIMES 101

through the process of evolution. This will more
clearly appear from subsequent quotations ; but at this
point we would notice again the assumption which is
involved in all the utterances of this sort, so often
heard from the pulpits and read in the religious
papers, namely, that the final test of the soundness and
fitness of a doctrine, or system of doctrine, is whether
or not it finds favour with the religious crowd. If it is
popular, it is right ; if not popular, it is by that fact
alone discredited and condemned.

This test is a corollary of the doctrine of "the
survival of the fittest " ; and its general acceptance is
also aided largely by the subtle influence of the
principles of Democracy. No one seems to question
the test, or to ask if acceptability to the mass of people
be really an infallible proof of sound doctrine. That is
simply taken for granted.

Doubtless there have been incidents of a similar
sort in times past. In the progressive days of
King Ahab, for example, opportunity was afforded to
the learned doctors of theology — graduates of the
seminaries patronized so generously by that eminently
devout and religious queen Jezebel — to employ their
gifts and learning in framing explanations accounting
for the collapse of the Israelitish Theology, as ex-
pounded to previous generations by Moses, Joshua, and
Samuel. And we may assume that the exponents of
the new and popular theology of that day improved

102 NEW THEOLOGIES

the opportunity to the entire satisfaction of their
congregations, and that they put forth their learned
explanations with all the garnishment of ponderous
diction and polysyllabic utterance. And we may also
assume that, if the discourses of these eminent theo-
logians had come down to us, we should find, on
examining them, that the substance of their sapient
explanations was that the ancient creed had fallen from
power because it was beneath the best religious con-
sciousness of the times, that those deceased prophets
had been in bondage to the Book of the Law, that they
failed to apprehend the function of the free intellect,
and that their theology had been outgrown in
knowledge and in ethical conceptions.

For, if the will of the people be the true test of
doctrine, that test was just as valid in Samaria, in the
days of those very religious rulers, Ahab and his royal
consort, as in Boston in the days of President
Roosevelt.

The New England Theology " fell from power," says
Dr. Gordon, " because it was found beneath the best
religious consciousness of the time." Did not Christ
then, and His teaching, " fall from power " for the
same reason ? Was not He, by the unanimous voice of
the people, rejected and cast out to the Roman execu-
tioners, and for the reason that His teaching was
displeasing to the religious crowd and their leaders ?
If Dr. Gordon had been living in that day, would he

"AWAY WITH HIM" 103

not have found, in the facts of the life, ministry, and
death of Jesus Christ, all the materials for a profound
discourse upon the " Collapse of the Doctrine of Jesus
Christ ? " And would not that discourse have com-
mended itself to the best religious consciousness of the
time ? Was not the principal charge against Him that
of blasphemy against the Most High ? And does not
Dr. Gordon specifically charge against the old New
England preachers that the doctrines of the sacrificial
death of Jesus Christ, so fervently and unceasingly
preached by them, "are the worst blasphemy ever
offered to the Most High ? "

We see, then, that the written Word of God is being
subjected at the present day to precisely the same
treatment as that to which the Incarnate Word sub-
mitted when among men ; and this is at the hands,
not of the publicans and harlots and sinners — for the
common people still hear Him gladly — but at the
hands of the learned doctors of theology, the accredited
religious leaders, in association with the intellectual
and political authorities, and with the religious crowd
who are subject to their influence. Their cry to-day
is the same as it was nineteen centuries ago, " Away
with Him, Away with Him ! " and " We will not have
this man to reign over us." Were any religious man-
dates ever better established by "the will of the
people" than these? Were any teachings ever so
" distasteful to the masses " as those of Jesus Christ ?

104 NEW THEOLOGIES

The crucifixion answers these questions with an
emphatic " Never."

But this assumption of the infallibility of the popular
taste in matters of doctrine is utterly unfounded.
Against it we need only to say that what is true is not,
and never has been, popular ; and that what is popular
is not, and never has been true.

Further items of the indictment which Dr. Gordon
brings against the New England Theology are — lack of
originality (for being in bondage to a book they had
no freedom to originate doctrine), " the restricted use
of the human reason," and the persistent " refusal to
learn from Unitarianism."

On the latter point Dr. Gordon says : —

" Unitarianism is the complement of Trini-
tarianism no less than its rival ; that is, if the
Trinitarian belief in a social God is to live, it must
be matched with the Unitarian belief in a social
humanity. If with the Trinitarian we say God is
Father, with the Unitarian we must say MAX is
THE INALIENABLE CHILD OF GOD."
This, again, is a highly important statement. Dr.
Gordon avows himself a Trinitarian ; so we see here a
mediation between these two systems, which, through
all the centuries since the days of Arius and the Nicene
Creed, have been supposedly antipodal and irreconcil-
able. But even such differences yield to the potency

UNITARIAN— TRINITARIANISM 105

of the modern idea of Consolidation. Unitarian-
Trinitarianism is therefore to be counted as one of the
products of this productive age.

Then, again, this statement of Dr. Gordon brings
clearly into view the idea of the Solidarity of Man.
This is the meaning of the phrase " social humanity."
As God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit are One God, even so, says Dr. Gordon, all men
are one, there being no distinction between those who
are " sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ " (Gal. iii.
26, John i. 12, 13, 1 John v. 1) and those of whom the
Lord Jesus said " Ye are of your father, the Devil "
(John viii. 44). And this doctrine is dogmatically
asserted (though without the slightest attempt to
support it by proof) in the statement that " man is
the inalienable child of God."

Thus, as Dr. Gordon approaches the subject of that
theology which is at the present time coming into the
room of the discarded and collapsed theology of by-
gone days, we begin to discern the now familiar outlines
of the religion of Humanism, — the exaltation and
worship of Man.

III. THE NEW THEOLOGY

So much for the ancient belief which has "fallen
from power," and for the explanation of its " collapse,"
as given by Dr. Gordon. What chiefly interests us is
8

106 NEW THEOLOGIES

the system which is taking its place in the thoughts of
the men of New England. As to this new religious
system Dr. Gordon has a clear answer. He says : —

" When we come to man, we have a being
whose essential nature is love. If God does not
answer to man here, He falls below the work of
His hands."

" HUMANISM is our greatest word, because it
covers the greatest fact we know, the phenomenal
world of MAN."

Again, we will do well to look carefully into the
countenance of this new theology (which indeed is not
new at all, but as old as Eden) and to listen carefully
to the tones of the voice by which its pleasing doctrines
are proclaimed. Undoubtedly it comes up fully to
the recognized standard of the day in containing nothing
that is in the slightest degree " distasteful to the
masses." Hence there can be no doubt of its almost
universal acceptance.

Then again, it challenges God to punish the rejectors
of Christ, and the despisers of His unspeakable gift, by
telling Him that, if He does so, He will fall below the
work of His own hands. Modern Man is thus set up
as the standard by which God must regulate His own
behaviour.

The chief significance of the statement that man's
essential nature is love, is that it outs man in the place
of God, by assigning to the former the highest definition,

MAN'S "ESSENTIAL NATURE11 107

which God has given us of Himself, " God is Love "
(1 John iv. 8). This blasphemous doctrine most
effectively exalts man to the supreme place, and is
equivalent to asserting his Divinity.

But if man is love, it is pertinent to ask an explana-
tion of the outcries of the oppressed, the suffering, the
needy. Why these courts, and prisons, and police?
Why these demands of labourers, complaining that
their hire is kept back by fraud? And why these
enormous and increasing armaments on land and sea,
under the burden of which governments are becoming
bankrupt, and the people of all the "progressive
nations " are being oppressed by intolerable taxation ?
Against whom are these ingenious and destructive
engines and these devilish explosives being prepared
by beings whose essential nature is love ? Is it an
uprising of the animal kingdom, or an invasion of
demons that is feared ?

Surely a more palpable untruth than Dr. Gordon's
definition of the essential nature of man was never
uttered. But we must not lose sight of the standard
by which modern preaching is governed, namely, that
not what is true, but what is pleasing to man, is to be
proclaimed and taught ; and surely it is quite accept-
able to the unreconciled and unpardoned sinner to be
told that his essential nature is love.

Congregations now sit as judges of the utterances
that proceed from the pulpit. They listen critically,

108 NEW THEOLOGIES

and freely announce their decision, pronouncing the
sermon " good " or " bad " ; and from their decision
there is no appeal. If man's character and achieve-
ments are lauded, and particularly if the divinity of
humanity and the salvation of all men are proclaimed,
the preacher is pretty sure of the coveted approbation.
But if he should declare that human nature is unspeak-
ably corrupt, that all men are by nature children of
wrath, that those who believe not are condemned already,
and that those who know not God and obey not the
gospel of Christ will surely go to endless perdition, the
sermon would be adjudged "bad," and there would
probably ensue a lively agitation for the preacher's
resignation.

Then again, Dr. Gordon's definition of man is a
flagrant and insolent contradiction of the Word of
God; and this will still further commend it to "the
best religious consciousness of the time."

The Bible declares that men are by nature " full of
envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, covenant breakers, without
natural affection, implacable, unmerciful" (Rom. i.
29-31); that "there is none upright among men;
they all lie in wait for blood ; they hunt every man
his brother with a net" (Mic. vii. 2); that their
" mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet
swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their
ways, and the way of peace have they riot known";

" HUMANISM " OUR GREATEST WORD 109

(Rom. iii. 14-17) ; that all, even the regenerate, were
once "living in malice and envy, hateful and hating
one another " (Titus iii. 3) ; being " alienated and
enemies in their minds by wicked works " (Col. i. 21).
And the Lord Jesus summed up the " essential
nature " of the world in three words, " Me it hateth "
(John vii. 7).

Or, if the essential nature of men of these times is
love, it is in the sense stated in 2 Tim. iii. 2-4, namely,
that men are lovers of their own selves, lovers of
money, and lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

The statement that " Humanism is our greatest
word,1' and that " the phenomenal world of man " is
" the greatest fact that we know,11 exalts man and his
world to the highest place. God has magnified His
word above all His Name (Ps. cxxxviii. 2) ; but man
has now a greater word in "Humanism"; and the
work of God in creation, and the mediatorial work of
Christ Jesus in Redemption and Reconciliation by the
Blood of His Cross, must now (if these be facts at all)
take a subordinate place to that which is " the greatest
fact we know," namely, the " world of man."

But against this there are some who, though they
be persons accounted of no importance in the " world of
man," can yet say " the phenomenal world of man " is
not the greatest fact that we know. ' "We know that
the Son of God is come, and hath given US an under-

110 NEW THEOLOGIES

standing, that we may KNOW HIM THAT is TRUEIT
(1 John v. 20).

The " world of man,"" then, comes into the central
place of the New Theology of New England. That
world of gigantic industrial projects and achievements,
which awe the imagination of Man, its creator, and
impel him to the worship of himself as divine ; that
world which is the enemy of God and the hater and
murderer of Christ, becomes the centre of a religious
system, supported and extolled by the preachers it so
liberally patronizes. We thus find ourselves again at
the confluence of the two great currents of Business
and Religion, and see all things preparing for that
prodigy which is to result from this fusion of abomina-
tions.

And Dr. Gordon fittingly concludes his article in
these notable words :

" Let us, so says Humanism, hold to the reality
and worth of man's world, and use it as our surest
instrument in our endeavour to ascertain the
character of the Eternal."

Not so spoke the New England Theology of bygone
days. Knowledge of the Father, according to that
teaching, was to be had only through the Son. The
words of the Lord Jesus Christ were taken to be con-
clusive as to that. " I am the Way. No man cometh
unto the Father, BUT BY ME." " He that hath seen Me

WHOSE VOICE IS THIS? Ill

hath seen the Father." " Believe Me that I am in the
Father and the Father in Me" (John xiv. 6, 9, 11).
" Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and
he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him " (Matt. xi.
27). And concerning " the world of man " to which
the New Theology refers us for knowledge of God,
Christ said, " If the world hate you, ye know that it
hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world,
the world would love his own : but because ye are not
of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you" (John xv, 18, 19).

But the New Theology sets aside the revelation
which God has given of Himself in the Incarnate
Word and in the Written Word, and proclaims that
the surest instrument we have for ascertaining His
character is " man^s world." It calls upon men to
hold fast to that which God has judged, and which He
will utterly destroy. Those who follow this voice are
not the sheep of the Good Shepherd ; " for they know
His voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but
will flee from him : for they know not the voice of
strangers " (John x. 4, 5).

Whose voice then is it ? They who truly know God
through believing His Word will instantly recognize in
this exhortation that other voice to which the mother
of human kind hearkened, and by means of which
man was lured into the path of destruction. With
what infinite subtlety has this masterpiece of deception

NEW THEOLOGIES

been prepared ! Surely we have here the very " depths
of Satan " (Rev. ii. 24). For we must admit that the
character of the workman may be, to some extent at
least, ascertained from the study of his work ; and God
Himself tells us that His invisible things, even His
eternal power and Godhead, are to be clearly seen
from the creation of the world, being understood by
the things that are made (Rom. i. 20). The " pheno-
menal world of man" may, therefore, be indeed
scrutinized for the purpose of ascertaining the character
of the power that is back of it ; but the power back
of it is not the eternal power and Godhead of the
Almighty God, but that of the prince of the power of
the air, who is spoken of in Ephesians ii. 2, where we
read that we all in time past walked "according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air, the Spirit that now works in the
children of disobedience." But unhappily the people
have not been taught the important truth that Satan
is the prince (apyyvv, i.e. ruler or governor) of this world,
and the god of this age. On the contrary, they have
been generally taught that God is the instigator of the
"career of humanity," and that He is aiding and
admiring the progress of man's wonderful civilization.
Thus, in their ignorance of the truth which the Bible
so clearly states, they are exposed to the danger of
heeding and following such an exhortation as that
quoted above. Those who follow that exhortation

A RELIGIOUS UPHEAVAL 113

would indeed be led to the god of this world ; and
it has been the design of that mighty being since
the creation of man to attach the latter to him-
self.

Two voices out of the realm of the unseen speak to
humanity. One voice says, "Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world is not of the Father, but is
of the world. And the world passeth away and the
lust thereof" (1 John ii. 15-17). The other voice says,
" Let us hold to the reality and worth of man's world,
and use it as our surest instrument in our endeavour to
ascertain the character of the Eternal.""

We need only put these sayings side by side in
order to make it clear to all who are not hopelessly
deceived, that if one saying is the voice of God, the
other is that of Satan.

In dwelling at this length upon Dr. Gordon's dis-
course, we have not attached undue importance to it ;
for its significance does not proceed wholly from the
prominence of its author, or the prominence of the
pulpit occupied by him, but mainly from the fact that
it affords a good indication of the profound change
which has taken place in the religious thought, not of
New England merely, but of a much wider area, and
an indication also of the complacency with which that

114 NEW THEOLOGIES

change is viewed by the religious multitude, and by
those from whom the latter take their opinions. It
shows, moreover, that the new theological system, which
has already, to a great extent, replaced the old New
England Theology, corresponds in its essential features
with the Ecclesiastical Commercialism described in
prophecy as the culmination of the unrestrained (I.e.
democratic) activities of mankind.

With all that Dr. Gordon says touching the nature
and extent of the change that has taken place, the
present writer is in substantial accord. Dr. Gordon
has not overstated the magnitude of the event. But
the writer takes issue with Dr. Gordon as to the
character and result of the change. Dr. Gordon calls
it " progress." The writer calls it " apostasy.""

"LOOKING FOR THE GENIUS "

But the great system, religious industrialism, or
" Humanism," of which Dr. Gordon is one of the
heralds, will require a leader capable of grasping its
huge and complicated affairs ; and so it is quite fitting
that another article, in the same periodical from which
we have so extensively quoted, should voice the general
expectancy which exists in many quarters, of the
coming of the great genius, the " Superman." We
should not forget that the world has its hope as the
Christian has his. And the world's hope is well
founded, for Christ not only said, " I will come again,"

LOOKING FOR THE GENIUS 115

but He also said, " Another shall come in his own
name."

We quote the concluding words of this second
article, as follows : —

"And we still wait for THE GENIUS who shall
state our fundamental faith in accordance with
that insight which the modern man has gained."
And they who are waiting for the genius shall not
wait in vain. The genius will surely come, and his
statement of faith will be one to which all that dwell
upon the earth will give heed whose names are not
written in the book of life of the slain Lamb.

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath under-
standing count the number of the beast ; for it is
the number of Man."

" MODERNISM " OR ADVANCED THEOLOGY
IN THE CHURCH OF ROME

Already we have seen phenomena which, if their
significance were fully grasped, would be startling.
We have seen ancient systems, which seemed to have
settled down to a condition of permanent lethargy and
stagnation, suddenly stirring themselves and exchanging
the condition of rest for one of motion. Beholding
these strange events, a judicious and competent observer
(Dr. Broda) declared that " never before in the history
of mankind have the forces of religion suffered so great

116 NEW THEOLOGIES

a convulsion " ; and he speaks of this general uprising
as " the religious crisis through which all the civilized
races are now passing."

But not only is this general stirring a new and
unprecedented thing ; but, stranger still, we have seen
that the moving bodies (so far as we have examined
them) are actuated by a common impulse, impelled by
common ideals, and are advancing towards a common
destination.

Let us look now in quite another section of the great
religious field; namely, to the large and important
domain occupied by Roman Catholicism.

Those who pay any attention at all to current
events (and the number of these is not great) have
become fairly familiar with the headway which
Rationalism (" the leaven of the Sadducees," who were
the rationalists of Christ's day1) has made in the
various Protestant denominations, and as the result
of which a large number of the theological seminaries
have come into the hands of those who deny the
essentials of the Christian faith. But the affairs of the
Church of Rome are managed more discreetly, insomuch
that its dissensions and other domestic troubles are in
large measure guarded from outsiders, and such here-
tical movements as may spring up within it do not
come prominently, if at all, into public notice.

But there is at the present time a movement in
1 Acts xxiii. 8.

A SENSATIONAL MOVEMENT 117

progress within the domain of the Church of Rome, a
movement solely of Romanists who have no thought
whatever of separating from their Church, and which
is so formidable, so portentous, so radical in its aims,
and is gathering strength and boldness at so prodigious
a rate, that its existence cannot be concealed. The
movement, indeed, is one of the sensations of the times,
there having been, in all the long and varied career of
that great ecclesiasticism, nothing in the faintest degree
resembling it.

This movement is such as to have shaken to its very
centre the system in which it is taking place. It seems
not to be possible to expel from the fold those who are
participating in it ; but the movement has called forth
the thunders of the Vatican in the form of an Ency-
clical letter, for which it would be difficult to find an
equal in length, in weightiness of subject-matter, and in
the vehemence and extremity of the denunciatory
language employed in it. Yet the movement is so
strong, self-confident, and defiant, that its leaders dare
to publish the Pope's Encyclical as an " appendix " to
a volume in which they set forth their own principles
and purposes. This movement is called " Modernism,"
and the name is an indication of its character.

If the movement were wholly detached and entirely
unrelated to any other of the current movements, it
would still be of great interest and importance. But
what lends it interest of a surpassing character is the

118 NEW THEOLOGIES

fact that its essential principles and avowed purposes
are identical in substance with those of the other
great movements of the day, with which it has no
apparent connection, and that it is hence a movement
designed to carry the Church of Rome bodily in the
direction of that very commercial ecclesiasticism which
is the subject of our present investigation.

Nor would this result be so difficult of accomplishment
as might at first sight appear. The aim of the Church
of Rome has always been temporal power and authority.
It is already a political ecclesiasticism, aspiring to
primacy in all the affairs, — secular, domestic, and
religious — of all mankind. It has, moreover, a head
to whom unique authority and power are ascribed.
In fact, the form and machinery for the great Con-
solidation of the end-times are already in existence.
What stand chiefly in the way of applying these ex-
ternals to the fulfilment of the dream of " the modern
man," are certain doctrines — remnants or distortions
of the faith once delivered unto the saints — which
are still insisted upon as essential features of the creed
of Romanism. These must be removed before the
Church of Rome is ready for a part in the formation of
the great Religious Syndicate ; and it is precisely for
this, that is to say, for the removal of the obstructing
doctrines, that the movement called " Modernism " has
been inaugurated. This is not a matter of inference
on our part, for the Modernists plainly and definitely

THE ANCIENT SYSTEM SHAKEN 119

state their purpose, as we shall presently see. They
could, of course, go outside the Church of Rome and
be entirely free to hold and preach their doctrines — that
is, the doctrines of "the modern man.'11 But that
would not accomplish their avowed purpose, for which
it is absolutely necessary that they should remain in
"the Church"; so in the Church they propose to
remain.

There is, therefore, nothing transpiring at the
present day which is more significant of the drift of
the times, or which speaks more solemnly and clearly
of the approaching convulsion which is to remove all
the things that can be shaken (Heb. xii. 27), than this
extraordinary movement within the bosom of the Church
of Rome. It is startling indeed to find in that quarter
the new ideas of Democracy, the Supremacy of Human
Reason, the Solidarity of Mankind (embracing those with-
out " the Church " as well as those within) ; to find the
authority of "Science" exalted above the Word of
God ; and to find this group of ideas gathering force to
an extent that threatens to sweep that ancient system
(i.e. Romanism) away from the seemingly secure moor-
ings which have attached it for so many centuries to
scholasticism and the old traditions.

The book from which we will quote in order to show
the nature and purposes of this movement, is entitled
The Programme of' Modernism, written originally in
Italian, and translated into English by " Father "

120 NEW THEOLOGIES

Tyrrell, an English priest, and one of the prominent
leaders of the movement.

The authors refer at the outset (p. 5) to " the ideals
which govern the activity of THE WORLD to-day, and
which are Christian in substance." The Modernists,
therefore, start with a "world" whose controlling
ideals are in substance " Christian." It would seem
that no greater abuse of the word "Christian" were
possible than to apply it to the ideals which govern the
activity of the world to-day, which activity finds its
outlet almost exclusively in the pursuit of wealth and
pleasure. But the significance of this statement lies in
its association of religion and business, which are to be
harmonized and unified in the coming Consolidation of
human interests.

Concerning the old foundations of the Christian
faith the Modernists are very explicit, saying : —

"The pretended bases of faith have proved
themselves rotten beyond cure."

The meaning of this admits of no doubt ; and,
coming from Romanists, it is equivalent to saying that
the Bible and Church tradition (these being the bases
of the faith of Rome) have proved themselves rotten
beyond cure.

The reader will recall that this is the starting-point
of the New Theology, namely, the discovery that the
old foundations are unable to sustain an edifice of
faith adapted to the needs of "the modern man,"

NEW FOUNDATIONS

necessitating a movement away from the old position
to a new basis.

In this connection it is instructive to recall that the
word " apostasy " (which is the original Greek word
translated " a falling away " in 2 Thess. ii. 3, and which
designates the event that is to come first, just preceding
the advent of the Man of Sin) means a moving away
bodily from an original position. What then are we to
anticipate when we see the professing body, Catholic
and Protestant, making a movement which its leaders
themselves describe as an abandonment of the old
foundations, and a transference of the edifice of faith to
foundations entirely new, and laid by the hands of
Man himself?

Again, the question, " If the foundations be destroyed,
what can the righteous do ? " (Ps. xi. 3) comes to mind.
But this event, which would reduce the righteous to
utter helplessness and dismay, causes no more con-
cern to the Modernists than to the New Theology ;
for the former describe their movement as an attempt
to transfer the rational defence of faith from the
" tottering basis " on which it has heretofore rested, to
a more secure foundation (p. 16).

The relation of the Modernists to the Higher Criticism
is likewise clearly stated by themselves. They say, " We
avow ourselves critics pure and simple " (p. 17) ; and
they laud the work of the "illustrious critics" and
accept without qualification " the assured results of

122 NEW THEOLOGIES

criticism." They refer also to "Dr. Charles Briggs,
the illustrious critic, well known for his Catholic
tendencies.11 (Dr. Briggs owes his notoriety to the
circumstances that he was, after trial, expelled from
one large Protestant denomination for heresy, and was
very promptly received and made a minister in another
large Protestant denomination, where he is still dis-
seminating his views.)

The Modernists also pay deference to " Science " as
the real source of light and truth, saying : —

" We Modernists cannot in conscience withdraw
ourselves from the light of truth, and put ourselves
in harsh opposition to science and its leaders"
(p. 33).

But this belongs to the new foundations upon which
the Modernists propose to build, and before considering
these we should first note some of the faults which
they have discovered in the old foundations, particu-
larly the Bible. Of that they say : —

" As the words are not directly from God, so
neither are the ideas, since they often clash one
with another. The whole book, words and ideas
alike, is the work of man, without thereby ceasing
to be wholly, as to both words and ideas — a dis-
tinction which we can set aside as unknown to
antiquity — the work of God " (p. 37).
Concerning the origin of the Old Testament they
say: —

WHAT "CRITICISM" HAS DONE 123

"The children of Israel were on the same
religious level as the other nations" (p. 41).

Jehovah of Hosts was, therefore, no more than
Baal, Molech, Remphan, or Ashtoreth. According to
the Modernists, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and
of Jacob did not choose those patriarchs and their
descendants to be to Himself a peculiar people. He
did not bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt
and give them the fiery law amid the thunders of
Sinai. It is not true that to the Israelites were com-
mitted the oracles of God, and that unto them
pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the
covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service
and the promises, whose are the fathers, and of whom,
as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all
God, blessed for evermore (Rom. ix. 4, 5).

Nor have the Modernists any greater regard for the
New Testament than for the Old. They say : —

" Criticism has done for the Gospels what it has
done for the Pentateuch.1'

They regard the Gospel by John, for example, as
being in the nature of an historical romance written
with a religious purpose. And inasmuch as the writers
of classical fiction deem it perfectly legitimate to put
long speeches into the mouths of their characters, such
as would be presumably appropriate to the personages
and circumstances portrayed, even so the author of this
Gospel invented the discourses it contains. Thus they

124 NEW THEOLOGIES

speak (p. 46) of the words which the Evangelist John
has " put into the mouth of John the Baptist."

Coming to that part of the inspired Word which God
has communicated to men through His servant Paul,
they say that the latter —

" had a very complicated and artificial theology of
his own " (p. 72).

When, therefore, Paul declared that the Gospel
message proclaimed by him was not after man, that he
neither received nor was taught it of men, but by direct
revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal. i. 11, 12) ; and
when he solemnly declared, as he said again and again,
" this we say unto you by the word of the Lord," this
devoted servant of Christ uttered deliberate lies.

It follows that, according to Modernism, the whole
fabric of Christianity has been reared upon the founda-
tion of the grossest, the most gigantic, and the most
inexcusable and inexplicable series of falsehoods that
has ever been fabricated. Indeed, the statements of
the Bible- writers, which the Modernists and " illustrious
critics " characterize as falsehoods, constitute a system
of lies too vast, too complicated, and too void of any-
thing like the motives which govern human conduct,
to have been the work of mere men, particularly as
these men did not work in concert. The premises of
the Modernists lead logically to the conclusion that the
foundations of Christianity were not only not the work
of God, but were the work of a superhuman spirit of

MODERNIST DOCTRINES 125

evil. If they believe their own premises, then they
have stated the case mildly in declaring that the bases
of the old faith are " rotten beyond cure.1'

Coming now to the central doctrine of Scripture, the
Person of the Divine Redeemer, they say : —

"Paul had already speculated as to the pre-
existence of Christ " (p. 83).

And they account for the doctrine of the Incarna-
tion of the Eternal Son of God, by saying that it
originated some centuries after the life of Jesus Christ,
and was the product of the " Messianic notion " of the
Jewish people combined with the " apocalyptic notion "
of One who was to appear in the clouds, which
" notions," when transferred to Greek soil, which had
for centuries been fertilized by the filthy beliefs in
heroes springing from carnal intercourse between gods
and human beings, gave rise to the " notion " of a unique
relation between Christ and the Father. But this is
so incredibly blasphemous that the doctrine must be
given in their own words. They say : —

" The Messianic notion of the Son of David, and
the apocalyptic notion of One who was to appear
in the clouds, . . . when transferred to Greek soil,
where parentage between gods and heroes was a
common belief, opened the road to the notion of
a unique relation between Christ and the Father,
and even of an identity of nature "" (p. 84).
Thus the Modernists set wholly aside the doctrine of

126 NEW THEOLOGIES

a Divine Redeemer, made in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and putting away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,
and they account for the belief of the saints of all
ages in the Incarnation of the Son of God by a theory
so shockingly profane, that it surely seems that to them,
if to any one, apply those terrible words : " who
hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith He
was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done de-
spite to (i.e. insulted) the Spirit of Grace " (Heb.
x. 29).

The Modernists sum up the work of the " illustrious
critics " by saying that —

"Criticism has reconstructed the whole story of
the evolution of Christianity " (p. 90).

That the Modernists, in common with the advanced
theologians of the Protestant sects, regard the human
reason as the seat of final authority in respect of all
matters of doctrine, appears at many points in their
manifesto. For example, they speak of —

" arguments from miracles and prophecies which
offend rather than impress the modern mind"
(p. 98).

Here again we perceive the tacit assumption that the
test of a doctrine is, not whether or not it be true and
sufficiently authenticated, but whether it be regarded
with favour or with disfavour by the " modern mind."

A GREAT SPIRITUAL UPHEAVAL 127

It will also be noted that, according to the Modernists,
the supernatural elements of Scripture — miracles and
prophecies — are offensive to the modern mind, and
hence must be discarded.

The reader will readily perceive how necessary it is
to the carrying out of Satan's programme (which is
virtually the avowed " Programme of Modernism ") that
prophecy should be thoroughly discredited and brought
into contempt. Hence the pains manifested in all the
literature of these cognate movements to inculcate the
idea that the " modern mind " regards prophecy with
contempt and derision. It was thus at the first coming
of Christ ; for then, as now, the religious leaders,
through ignorance and contempt for prophecy, fulfilled
the prophecies which were read by them every Sabbath
day. As it is recorded : " For they that dwell at
Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew
Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets
which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled
them in condemning Him. And though they found
no cause of death in Him, yet desired they Pilate that
He should be slain " (Acts xiii. 27, 28).

The Modernists recognize that their movement is
part of a great spiritual upheaval which is taking place
throughout the Christianized countries of the world
(and which, as we have seen, is not confined to them).
They say : —

" Undoubtedly a crisis has arisen in the very

128 NEW THEOLOGIES

X

centre of Catholic thought " (p. 129). " A great

spiritual crisis, which did not begin to-day, but

has to-day reached its culminating intensity,

troubles all the religious bodies of Europe —

Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism."

The idea of a great crisis, and a general movement

to take up new religious ground, is a very captivating

and stimulating idea; and the terms in which the

advanced (and advancing) theologians refer to it,

indicate the enthusiasm it has the power to arouse. It

is the cry of " Excelsior ! " to which many will respond

who care neither for the things that are behind, nor

the things that are before, but whose blood is stirred,

and whose fleshly zeal is quickened, by the rallying cry

of any forward movement wherein the masses take

part.

We have now heard the reasons which the Modern-
ists give for abandoning the old bases of faith, and
for stigmatizing them as "rotten beyond cure11; and
we look next with deep interest to the results they are
setting out to accomplish.

As to this, the " Programme of Modernism " is very
definite and explicit. The standards they have adopted
for the reformed Catholicism, for which they are
labouring, are those of the MODERN WORLD. Nothing
less, or other, than the complete amalgamation and
unification of the Church and World is the object of

CATCHING SIGHT OF THE VISION 129

their hopes and efforts. Full well do they realize that
a great religious system is to be reared upon the basis
of the divinity of Humanity, and is to control the
" titanic industrial energies " of mankind ; and they
see clearly that, if in this system the Church of Rome
is to occupy the position of authority and power, it
must quickly forsake its antiquated doctrines, and
place itself squarely upon the platform of Humanism.
For this they toil and suffer, being well content, in
such a cause, to incur the frown of the Church
authorities, with all its disagreeable consequences.
They have caught the vision of the great Unification,
and it has fired their hearts with an unquenchable
enthusiasm. That they will press on to its realization,
with ranks constantly augmented by other hosts who
have been aroused by the same vision, cannot be
doubted; for so it is written, and these things must
needs come to pass* The voice of Him who sees the
end from the beginning has said : " Behold, I have told
you before.'1

Speaking of the aspirations, ideals, and language oi
the " modern world," with its great commercial enter-
prises, grounded upon faith in the powers of man, and
ruled by the principle of consolidation, the Modernists
say: —

" We have set to work to master that language,
to grasp those ideals, (in order) to complete the
reconciliation of the old Catholic tradition with

130 NEW THEOLOGIES

the new thought and new social aspirations.
Through a living, and not merely local, contact
with the world in which we dwell, we have come to
dream of a GREAT UNIFICATION " (p. 136).
The great system of the end is now so close at hand,
that men of every nation, class of life, and religious
preconceptions, are catching a view of it, and are filled
with wonder and admiration at the grandeur and
magnificence of the sight. The Modernists under-
stand perfectly the source of this inspiration. It comes,
as they plainly say, from the World in which they
dwell, and they have obtained it by a living" instead
of merely a local contact with it. This thrilling and
inspiring vision is not for those who set their affections
on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand
of God ; it is not for those who have died with Him to
the world and its things, and whose life is hid with
Christ in God (Col. iii. 2, 3). It is for those whose
life is in the world, who boast of a living" contact with
it, and whose affections are set on things below " where
Satan's throne is" (Rev. ii. 13). It is, say the
Modernists, through a living contact with " the world
in which we dwell.'1'' And thus is being fulfilled that
which was written by the seer of Patmos when he
beheld, eighteen centuries ago, the symbolic vision of
the great Unification, and when, in speaking of its
animating spirit, he said : " And all that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him (the beast),

THE "TASK" OF THE MODERNISTS 131

whose names are not written in the book of life
of the slain Lamb." "And he causeth the earth
and them that dwell therein to worship the
first beast." "And he deceiveth them that dwell
on the earth by means of those miracles which he
had power to do " (Rev. xiii. 8, 12, 14).

And furthermore, the Modernists are fully imbued
with the spirit of the age, in that they look to the
power of man himself to bring about this great
unification of the religious and industrial affairs of all
mankind, in identifying themselves with the "demo-
cratic movement," and in proposing to found the new
edifice upon the basis of contemporary science and
philosophy. They say : —

"We have girt ourselves for the task of
bringing the religious experience of Christianity
into line with the data of contemporary science
and philosophy, and of emphasizing the religious
and Christian elements that go to the constitution
of the democratic movement " (p. 136).
Finally, they truly speak of " contemporary civiliza-
tion " as being " saturated with the scientific spirit and
eager with democratic aspirations," and confidently
predict the " inevitable ascendancy of the democracy."
The "great Unification," whatever its name may
be, is indeed inevitable ; and the principles of Demo-
cracy are undoubtedly among the potent factors that
are operating to bring it into existence. Thus,

132 NEW THEOLOGIES

whichever of the great movements of the day we
may follow, it brings us at the end of its course to
the exaltation of Man to the supreme place, and to
the consolidation into one colossal system of all the
interests and affairs of humanity.

Nebuchadnezzar, the great head of the greatest world-
power, had a dream of " a great image, whose brightness
was excellent : and the form thereof was terrible " (Dan.
ii. 31). Probably it was in an attempt to represent
this vision that the king made an image of gold, and
set it up in the plain of Dura, and called upon all them
that dwell upon the earth, of all "peoples, nations,
and languages," to fall down and worship the golden
image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up
(Dan. iii. 1-5).

And now, in the latter days, the Modernists (both
within the Church of Rome and without it) are coming
to dream of a great image whose form is imposing and
awe-inspiring, and whose brightness is excellent. We
cannot doubt that there is a terrible reality corre-
sponding to this dream, and which will surely form a
dominating part of the "religious experience" of all
those who dwell upon the earth ; for they will be com-
pelled to worship the image of the beast. It likewise
will be an image of gold, since money is the form
of the chief idol to which the people of this idolatrous
age are bowing ; and it will in some way greatly surpass
the image set up in the plain of Dura, for, while the

THE POPE VERSUS MODERNISM 133

number of the latter was sixty and six, the number of
its antitype will be six hundred and sixty and six.1

" Here is wisdom. Let him that hath under-
standing count the number of the beast."
Those who fail to count the number accurately, and
to perceive that it is the number of Man, will doubtless
be among the company of those who will worship the
beast and his image, and will have his mark in their
right hands or in their foreheads.

THE POPE'S "ENCYCLICAL" ON
MODERNISM

The purpose of Modernism, and the formidable
character of the movement, can best be learned by
reference to the Encyclical letter which the present
occupant of the Papal chair has issued against it. This
remarkable document occupies more than one hundred
closely printed octavo pages. In perusing the quota-
tions which follow, the reader must remember that
these scorching and blistering words of invective and
denunciation are not directed against heretics or
opponents of the Roman Catholic Church, but against
members of its hierarchy, who are actively ministering
at its altars and preaching to its people. And in

1 " Nebuchadnezzar the King made an IMAGE OF GOLD,
whose height was THREESCORE cubits, and the breadth
thereof six cubits" (Dan. iii. 1).

134 NEW THEOLOGIES

order to measure the defiance and self-confidence of the
Modernists, the reader should also remember that this
Encyclical is published by the Modernists themselves as
an appendix to the " Programme of Modernism," from
which the foregoing quotations have been taken.

Furthermore, the reader will notice that the language
employed by the Pope to characterize the doctrines
and aims of Modernism is not less severe, but rather
more so, than that used by the present writer, who,
therefore, cannot be justly accused of exaggerating
the significance of this new, but powerful, movement.

The Pope, at the beginning of the document, calls
attention to the —

"notable increase in the number of the enemies

of the Cross of Christ, who, by arts entirely new

and full of deceit, are striving to destroy the vital

energy of the Church " ; and who " assail all that

is most sacred in the work of Christ, not sparing

even the Person of the Divine Redeemer, whom,

with sacrilegious audacity, they degrade to the

condition of a simple and ordinary man.""

These, surely, are the terms of indignation which

an Evangelical Christian would use to describe the

purposes of the Modernists.

The Pope, in scathing language, but with singular
lucidity, describes the method employed by the
Modernists, and other schools of Rationalists and
Higher Critics, in arriving at their "assured results."

THE "HIGHER CRITICAL" METHOD 135

Their method is to decide as to the truthfulness of
any statement of Scripture, and particularly of any
act or words attributed therein to the Lord Jesus
Christ, by considering what they themselves would
have been likely to do or say under similar
circumstances.

There is not, and never has been, any evidence to
support the conclusions of the Higher Critics. All they
have to go upon is the text of the sacred writings itself.
It is purely by the exercise of their own intuitive per-
ceptions that they are enabled to split up a book of
Scripture into numerous fragments, to assign various
bits of the dismembered whole to different " sources,"
to say whether a given passage is or is not " genuine,"
to pass upon its authorship, and to give the approxi-
mate date at which it was written. It is, of course,
impossible for an outsider to bring these "results"
to any test, for his inability to recognize their
validity is, according to higher critical standards,
conclusive evidence that he is destitute of the in-
tuitive powers which the critics employ in reaching
them. Moreover, there is no test to which they can
be brought. The evidence on which they rest cannot
be examined, for they do not rest on evidence. Hence
it is at the peril of one's reputation for both scholar-
ship and mental acumen, and of being disapproved as
hopelessly behind the science of the age, that one dares
to question any of these "results." This risk is too

136 NEW THEOLOGIES

great for many of the present generation of theologians
(particularly its younger members) to incur; and in
this way the ranks of the higher critics are recruited.
The Pope thus describes their method : —

"Their method is to put themselves into the
position and person of Christ, and then to
attribute to Him what they would have done
under like circumstances. They proclaim that
Christ was not God, and never did anything
Divine ; and that, as man, He did and said only
what they, judging from the time in which He
lived, consider that He ought to have said and
done "(p. 199).
And the Pope speaks of —

" Their boundless effrontery, by which, if one of
them makes any utterance, the others applaud
him in chorus, proclaiming that science has made
another step forward ; while if an outsider should
desire to inspect the new discovery for himself,
they form a coalition against him. He who
denies is decried as one who is ignorant ; and he
who embraces and defends it has all their praise "
(p. 205).

"The domineering overbearance of those who
teach the errors, and the thoughtless compliance
of the more shallow minds who assent to them,
create a corrupted atmosphere which penetrates
everywhere, and carries infection with it " (p. 205).

MODERNISM AND HUMANISM 137

"They are ready to admit, nay to proclaim,
that Christ Himself manifestly erred in deter-
mining the time when the Kingdom of God was
to take place."

Evidently the Pope classes the Modernists among
those of whom the Apostle Peter spoke in saying :
" Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts (or
inclinations), and saying, Where is the promise of
His coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation " (2 Pet. iii. 3, 4).

The Pope calls particular attention to that pro-
minent doctrine of Modernism which declares that,
in every man, believer and unbeliever alike, is the
germ of the Christ-nature. This, as we have seen,
is the essence of the new Religion which has sprung
up simultaneously in so many different quarters, and
under different names, but which is best described
as " Humanism," — the attribution to man of the
Divine nature. On this point he says : —

"They would show to the non-believer, as
hidden in himself, the very germ which Christ
had in His consciousness, and which He transmitted
to mankind "(p. 211).

We see from this statement that Mr. R. J.
Campbell was fully justified in claiming that Modern-
ism is in substance the same movement in the Church
10

138 NEW THEOLOGIES

of Rome which is, outside that system, known as
the New Theology.

As to what necessarily follows from the teaching
of the Modernists, the Pope says: —

" The rigorous conclusion from this is the iden-
tity of man with God, which means Pantheism."

It would be more accurate to say that the identi-
fication of man with God means Humanism ; although
many (but not all) forms of Humanism do, indeed,
identify the universe also with God, which is
Pantheism.

We thus see, both from our own examination, and
from the Pope's thorough study and lucid description
of the movement known as Modernism, that its
essential principle is identical with that of the new
theologies, and of infidel Socialism.

Thus the attention of the world is being insistently
called to a platform, already in process of construction,
and rapidly nearing completion, whereupon New
Theology, infidel Socialism, Humanism of all varieties,
and Modernised Romanism, may stand shoulder to
shoulder, and may enjoy congenial fellowship, while
striving for that great ideal — the Unification of
Humanity through the exercise of its own inherent
powers.

As to the effect of Modernism, the Pope has this
to say : —

THE "SYNTHESIS OF ALL HERESIES" 139

" Their system means the destruction, not only
of the Catholic religion alone, but of all
religion."

This is undoubtedly true in the sense intended,
for by " religion " the Pope means Christianity ;
but, to be more precise, the effect of the system will
be, not to destroy all religion, but rather to establish
an universal Religion, embracing the secular as well
as the spiritual interests of humanity, and exercising
authority over all human beings and in respect of all
human affairs.

Or, in other words, the Modernists have "girt
themselves for the task " of bringing into existence
precisely that sort of a Consolidation as is pictured
in the 13th chapter of Revelation, in which task
they are being effectively aided by nearly all dis-
cernible human activities, and, most effectively of all,
by the mighty spirit that now energizes in the sons of
disobedience (Eph. ii. 2).

The Pope pronounces his judgment upon the whole
system of Modernism in these notable and weighty
words : —

"And now, with our eyes fixed on the whole
system, no one will be surprised that we should
define it as the SYNTHESIS OF ALL HERESIES."
That is to say, all heresies combined into one
system.

The Protestant reader, having some idea of the

140 NEW THEOLOGIES

power of the Pope over members of the Catholic
hierarchy, and of the doctrine of papal infallibility,
may well ask whether such a scorching blast as this
from the Vatican will not instantly wither Modernism
to its very roots, and scatter its fragments like chaff'
to the four quarters of the earth. The answer is,
that it will have no such effect. This tremendous
papal utterance is treated by the Modernists as a
mere criticism upon their aims and doctrines, and as
a comment so harmless that they can, without pre-
judice to the task for which they have girt themselves,
print and circulate it in various languages. Will
the Encyclical arrest Modernism ? On the contrary,
it will simply test and bring into display the strength
of that movement. It may curb the outward activities
of the Modernists for a season ; but their view of
the matter is that the present Pope is an accident —
"a parenthesis,11 as he has been styled — and when
his little interval of power is ended, then the move-
ment will proceed with increased vigour and accelerated
pace. And, perhaps, the next Pope may be a Modern-
ist himself! Stranger things have happened in Rome.

MR. NEWMAN SMYTHE'S VISION 141

"THE COMING CATHOLICISM"

Once more we change our point of view, in order
to take a look at another movement of thought,
which, after all, is not a different movement, as will
be speedily seen, but merely a phase of the movement
we have been already considering. This phase of the
present drift of things has for its prophet and historian,
Rev. Newman Smythe of New Haven, a Protestant
clergyman.

Mr. Smythe's "Coming Catholicism" is not that
ancient ecclesiastical system known as Roman Catholi-
cism. The latter is not in reality catholic, whereas
the Catholicism which Mr. Smythe's prophetic gaze
has descried is a religious system which shall be really
universal. It will command the assent of all mankind,
and be the religion of a consolidated humanity.

Mr. Smythe discerns unmistakable signs of the
coming of this great ecclesiastical system, and he
gives excellent reasons for the predictions he makes.
The reader will probably be prepared to accept Mr.
Smythe's main conclusion, particularly when he learns
that the " Coming Catholicism " is to be a grand
combination of Business and Religion, that its religious
framework is to be something worthy of "a world of
titanic industrial forces" and that the principle which
stimulates the movement is the exaltation of Man, by
means of his own achievements, to the place of God.

142 NEW THEOLOGIES

The full title of the book from which we will now
present extracts is " Passing Protestantism and Coming
Catholicism"

It will be startling to some readers to find a
Protestant clergyman calmly directing attention to the
"passing of Protestantism," just as it will startle
others to find the Pope of Rome denouncing a strictly
Romanist movement as the " synthesis of all heresies."
But we are living in a day of strange events; and
others yet more strange are coming swiftly.

The author of " Coming Catholicism " first pro-
poses the important questions: "What can Christi-
anity now do in the world?" "What shall be
the religious life of the people ? " What is the
prospect for "a reunited Christianity"? And we
may briefly anticipate his detailed answers to these
questions by saying that Mr. Smythe fully shares the
views of Mr. Campbell, Dr. Gordon, and the
Modernists, to the effect that the prospects of "a
reunited Christianity " are excellent, and that those
prospects are to be realized by the establishment of
a religious system from which Christ Himself shall be
wholly excluded, along with everything which heretofore
has been regarded as distinctively " Christian."

Mr. Smythe calls attention at the outset to the unusual
religious activity which has been observable for some
years past, and which has resulted in the disintegration
of systems that have, for a long time, been fairly

THE "PASSING" OF PROTESTANTISM 143

stable in doctrine and observances. He says that " it
has of late years been the breaking up rather than the
making of creeds"; and he makes the very important
statement that —

" there are to be discerned signs of the passing of
the Protestant age of history " (p. 8).
In this connection the author notes, and very clearly
sets forth, some of the signs which justify the foregoing
statement, such as —

"the relaxation of authority in our Protestant

Churches." "Religion has lost authority in the

family life." He notes "The weakening of

religious restraints among the children of

Protestants " ; whereas " Romanism speaks with

authority to the whole family " (p. 15).

We cannot quote extensively from this part of the

book ; but the foregoing passages will suffice to show

that Mr. Smythe has examined the surface conditions of

our times to good purpose.

The immediate result of this, he thinks, is that people —
" may now seek after new cults, or remain content
with feeling themselves to be religious in general,
with no beliefs in particular."

But such condition could only be a transition stage.
Such a general breaking up of long-existing systems
must be the preparation for a change of some unusual
sort. And Mr. Smythe is evidently impressed with the
very significant fact that this disintegration of ecclesi-

144 NEW THEOLOGIES

astical systems is accompanied by a revolt against the
existing economic system, and also by many and strik-
ing indications of the coming of a NEW SOCIAL ORDER.

Mr. Smythe is only one of many observers who note
the breaking up of existing religious systems, and the
relaxation of the hold of the churches and their
ministers upon the consciences, and even upon the
interest and attention, of the people. The evidences
of this disintegration are so pronounced as to alarm
even the editor of one of the popular American
magazines, who, confounding (as most people do) the
ecclesiastical institutions of this Sardis state of the
Church — which have a name that they live but are
dead (Rev. iii. 1) — with real " Christianity," expresses
the fear that " Christianity is dying, and dying fast."
This editor, in order to aid in averting what he
regards as a threatened calamity, has procured the
assistance of a minister well known on both sides of
the Atlantic, Dr. Charles H. Aked, giving to the latter
a commission to write a series of articles under the signi-
ficant title of " The Salvation of Christianity." These
articles are now^appearing at the rate of one a month.
The most interesting point about them is the fact that
what Dr. Aked, and those who share his views, regard
as "Christianity," is deemed by them to be now in
such a bad case as to require special efforts for its
" Salvation." But, happily, what Dr. Aked regards as
" Christianity " is something quite different from true

A DISMAL PROSPECT 145

Christianity, and is, in fact, not worth saving. If it
were, Dr. Aked's remedy would certainly hasten its
demise, for that remedy consists, so far as disclosed,
mainly in repudiating every important item of Christian
doctrine. This popular preacher declares that "the
old motives and sanctions and prohibitions have lost
their hold : the new are not sufficiently grasped by
preachers nor understood by the people." l

It is true that the old sanctions, etc., have lost their
hold upon many preachers, though not yet upon all. It
must also be conceded that the departure from the old
faith which Dr. Aked, Mr. Campbell, Dr. Gordon, and
other popular leaders so loudly proclaim, and in which
they openly rejoice, has made rapid headway in a very
short time, and seems still to be gathering strength
and speed. But the matter of chief interest to us at
this point is, not what these leaders are leading their
followers away from, or how numerous are the religious
crowds that are following them, but to what are they
leading them ? As to this vital matter Dr. Aked has
nothing definite to tell his hearers. He can only
inform them that " the old " is gone, and that for " the
new," they must " wait the larger prophecy, more
spiritual vision, and virile preaching of the coming days."

This surely is a dubious and cheerless state in which
to be left ; for the blind followers of this blind leader
are not told how long they will have to wait for this
1 Appleton's Magazine, August 1908.

146 NEW THEOLOGIES

" larger prophecy," etc., or whence these misty creatures
are to come, or what they will be like when they arrive.

But to return to Rev. Newman Smythe, whose vision is
decidedly clearer than that of Dr. Aked. The former,
after noting the process of the decadence and dis-
integration of Protestantism, now far advanced, turns
his attention hopefully towards Modernism, and speaks
approvingly of what he calls the Modernists1—

"appeal to the Pope for reform and liberty, and for the
reconciliation of the Church with modern thought."

Mr. Smythe is fully persuaded that the salvation of
the " Church " depends upon such radical modification
of its doctrines and observances as will make it entirely
satisfactory to " the world.11 The latter long ago
recorded its judgment upon Christ, and put that
judgment into bloody execution. Whatever changes
have since that day taken place in the world, there has
been none in respect of its hatred toward Christ and
toward all who are true to Him and to His teaching.
Its settled determination may still find apt expression in
the saying, " We will not have this man to reign over
us " (Luke xix. 14). But the world is quite willing
and even eager to arrange a compromise with a Church
which has abandoned Christ and His doctrine; and
there are many who think that, upon this condition,
the world would even submit to be ruled by a religious
system bearing the name of " Christianity.11 The
writer, however, is not of that opinion, for the

"TITANIC INDUSTRIAL FORCES" 147

Scriptures indicate that the "Coming Catholicism"
will not be Christian even in name.

Mr. Smythe states the case thus : —

" A WORLD of titanic industrial forces is not to
be ruled by a Christianity divided in its own
house against itself" (p. 33).

We call particular attention to these words, because
they very aptly and forcibly set forth the predominat-
ing characteristics of the modern world. Its forces
are "industrial," and their scale is indeed "titanic."
The imperative need, then, is for a Religion which is
adapted to a world given over to industrialism on a
gigantic scale; and the judgment of the best religious
experts, based upon the sure test of experience, is, that
the ecclesiastical systems which have hitherto existed,
Catholic and Protestant, are utterly unsuited to this
imperative requirement. The requirement, therefore,
must be met by means of constructive religious work on
a scale commensurate with the titanic industrial forces
which the genius of man has brought into operation.
We have every reason to believe that a need so pressing
will be met, and that speedily.

Touching the prospect of there being devised a
religious system such as the characteristics of the age
require, Mr. Smythe has much to say. And indeed, when
one considers what Man has done in the industrial field,
there seems no reason to doubt that the " spirit of the
world " (1 Cor. ii. 12) is equal to the evolution of a

148 NEW THEOLOGIES

religious and ecclesiastical system which shall meet
satisfactorily all the requirements of the case.

Mr. Smythe, in this connection, quotes an Oxford
lecturer who describes himself as looking for —

"the rise of a new religious order, the greatest
that the world has known, drawn from all nations
and all classes, and what seems stranger yet, from
all Churclies" (p. 36).

This expectation is well founded. Indeed, one is
struck by the language in which this seer describes his
vision. His language resembles (though he, of course,
was quite unconscious of it) that employed by the seer
of Patmos : " I saw a beast rise up out of the sea."
" And power was given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations ; and all that dwell on the earth
shall worship him, whose names are not written in the
book of life of the slain Lamb " (Rev. xiii. 1, 7, 8).
Mr. Smythe defines the Modernist movement as —
" an endeavour of loyal Catholics to adapt the
Roman Church to the thought and life of the
modern world."

And he says that some Protestant observers who
are in close touch with it believe it is destined to be —
"the greatest religious movement since the time
of the Reformation."

Mr. Smythe is a judicious commentator on current
events. Although greatly impressed with the vital
force of Modernism, he does not expect to see the

MODERNISTS "IN THE STREAM11 149

" Programme of Modernism " fully carried out. Nor is
this needful to the end in view. In a situation where
there are many bodies moving simultaneously along
lines which are, in a general way, converging, there are
likely to be, before the final goal is reached, some
meetings and coalescences between those bodies that
are contiguous to each other ; and such occurrences
would be likely to produce changes in form, mass, and
name. Such a meeting and coalescence of two bodies
might seemingly bring their respective movements to
an end ; but in reality those movements would proceed
under another form, and possibly with even increased
momentum.

Mr. Smythe regards Modernism, not as a finality, but
as a mediating- movement ; and he accordingly divides
his treatment of the entire subject into three parts,
which he, with pleasing alliteration, entitles respectively
" Passing Protestantism," " Mediating Modernism," and
" Coming Catholicism."

Of the origin of Modernism, Mr. Smythe says that it —
" had its early spring in Biblical and historical
criticism " (p. 55).

Springing from such a source, we should know about
what to expect as to the results and ultimate destiny
of the movement.

The Modernists, says Mr. Smythe —

" are in the stream ; they are afloat on the world's
present thought and life."

150 NEW THEOLOGIES

Many such passages emphasize the fact that the
great value of Modernism, in the eyes of this Protestant
observer, is its powerful influence in breaking down
completely the distinction (which has in many quarters
long ceased to be a reality) between the Church and
the world, and in bringing about the thorough identi-
fication of the former with the ideals and aspirations of
the world and its god.

Coming to the heart of Modernism, that which
constitutes the essential doctrine of the Modernists,
Mr. Smythe makes the following important state-
ment : —

" They are influenced by one of the profoundest
and most vitalizing faiths which are now per-
vading and renewing the Protestant world. In
its simplicity this is the belief that GOD is IN MAN ;
that the Divine is present in the thoughts of men,
to be known in the experience of men."
We must perforce yield assent to the statement that
this profound faith (" the depths of Satan ") is indeed
pervading and transforming the Protestant " world."
This profound faith is, in fact, simply the essential
doctrine of Humanism, i.e. the divinity of humanity,
which has now so often come under our notice, and
which will be encountered wherever there is perceived,
in apostate and corrupt Christendom, any manifesta-
tion of real religious activity.
Again, Mr. Smythe says : —

A RADICAL ARTICLE OF FAITH 151

" In this faith in God's manifestation of Himself

in and through human experience, progressive

Catholics are certainly in the same stream that has

vivified and renewed our whole modern theology."

These statements are very explicit. They stand in

no need of explanation. If Mr. Smythe has rightly

observed current events, and has correctly reported

what he has seen, modern theology as a whole has been

renewed and quickened by a single article of faith,

namely, the simple belief that God is in man, and that

the doings of corrupt humanity (" human experience ")

are the manifestations of God.

What is the source of this radical article of faith, and
upon what authority does it rest ? The assertion of
man's divinity is made again and again, by this and other
popular religious writers, and with the utmost assur-
ance ; but never yet has the present author heard of any
evidence, or anything even purporting to be evidence,
being offered in support of it. When the prophets of
old came with instruction for men, they declared that
their message was from God. " This we say unto you
by the word of the Lord," was the sufficient reason
why the saying should be heeded. But the messages
which those men brought — and which, instead of re-
ceiving large salaries for bringing them, they themselves
paid for in persecution, imprisonment, and death —
invariably proclaimed that man, so far from being
divine, was full of corruption and violence, unrighteous,

152 NEW THEOLOGIES

ungodly, under condemnation, had gone out of the
way ; and that the doings of man, so far from mani-
festing God, were unequivocally evil in His sight.
Those messages, purporting to come directly from God
Himself, so far from announcing that " the Divine is
present in the thoughts of man,11 declared explicitly
that " God is not in all his thoughts " (Ps. x. 4). On
the contrary, they expressly declared of man that
" every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually " (Gen. vi. 5).

No one will deny that a cardinal doctrine of
Christianity has always heretofore been that man is by
nature a sinner, separated by his sin an immeasurable
distance from God, who is of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity (Hab. i. 13).
This doctrine rested for its support upon the Book
which has always, until within recent times, been re-
garded among professing Christians as the Word of God.
There thus existed at least a valid and sufficient reason
for the acceptance of the doctrine of the corruption of
human nature. Moreover, it is quite inconceivable
that a doctrine so utterly repugnant to the natural
man could have had a human origin. The natural
disposition of man is to think well of himself and to
find plausible excuses for his shortcomings ; and man's
books always present him and his doings in a favour-
able light. The account which the Bible, in all its
parts, gives of the nature of man, his character, his

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND OPINION 153

deeds, his works, and his doom, is one of the character-
istics which distinguish that book in the clearest way
from all books of human authorship. But what we
wish specially to emphasize is that there was (and yet
remains) a valid and sufficient reason for the doctrine,
taught by holy men of old, and by the Lord Jesus
Christ, that man is by his natural birth ungodly, and
that he needs to be begotten again of the Spirit of
God, in order even to see the Kingdom of God.

On the other hand, the modern doctrine concerning
man, which is just the reverse of the doctrine of the
Bible, is promulgated, and is received in many quarters,
without in any case the faintest semblance of sup-
porting proof, without citation of any authority for it,
and without any account whatever of its origin. It is
easy to see that the apostles of this " profound faith "
rely for its acceptance wholly upon the fact that it is
well-pleasing to man to hear himself proclaimed to be
divine. The era of the freedom of thought and opinion
from all authority has been proclaimed ; and this
is a state wherein man is at liberty to believe exactly
what suits him. And to think of himself " as God "
suits him exactly.

Nevertheless, this "profound faith," which has
"renewed our whole modern theology," did not
originate with man, much less with modern man. Its
origin is directly traceable to that ancient promise,
which has been the spring and inspiration of all human
ii

154 NEW THEOLOGIES

progress and civilization, namely, " Ye shall not surely
die. Ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.""
And the time has now come when that old serpent,
the arch-deceiver, who, by means of this promise, lured
man to his destruction, finds mouthpieces in every
religious denomination through which he may proclaim
to mankind that the promise has at last been fulfilled,
and that man has become " as God.""

Mr. Smythe very plainly teaches that the authority
by which doctrine is to be judged is in man
himself — "in the individual conscience" — and hence
that there is no need of external authority. If a pro-
position commends itself to man's ideas, then he may
(and indeed must) accept it as truth. He says that —
" Divine authority is indeed primarily the truth
as witnessed by the spirit in the individual con-
science " (p. 90) ;

and while Mr. Smythe gives this as the doctrine of the
Modernists, it plainly has his own approval.
Again he says : —

"It is love of truth that inspires those two
factors of modern civilization — science and demo-
cracy."
And he asks : —

" With such allies what cause can fail ? "
(p. 95).

We would direct special attention to this statement,
for it is of fundamental importance. It must depend

"FACTORS OF MODERN CIVILIZATION1' 155

for its acceptance wholly upon the extravagant com-
mendation it bestows on human institutions. Man
prides himself on his modern science and his demo-
cracy. It pleases him well to be told that these are
"two factors of modern civilization," and that with
such allies no cause can fail. Man will, therefore,
demand no proof to support the statement that it is
" love of the truth " which inspires these two factors,
whereby the cause of humanity is to be triumphantly
established. But there is, nevertheless, another view
of the matter, and one which does not depend for its
support upon its acceptability to the natural heart of
man. If there is " the truth " to be loved and sought,
there is also " the lie " to be hated and shunned. The
doctrine of the divinity of man is either one of the
greatest of all truths, or it is one of the greatest of all
lies. It can occupy no middle ground. If the old
doctrine of the corruption of human nature is the truth,
then the modern (and ancient) doctrine that man is
(or should become) " as God " is the lie. The original
text of 2 Thess. ii. 11 speaks, not of a lie, but of the
lie ; and to what can this refer but to that first of all
lies, namely, that man should eventually become,
through the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge, as
God? We are come at last to a time in which men
are, in great masses, accepting this doctrine ; and those
who proclaim it declare that it is "the love of the
truth " which inspires the factors of man's uplift to the

156 NEW THEOLOGIES

Divine plane. But the Bible, while clearly predicting
the time of acceptance of this doctrine, assigns to its
acceptance an explanation which is the reverse of that
given by Mr. Smythe. The Bible says that the accept-
ance of the lie will be because men would not receive
the love of the truth. " Because they received not the
love of the truth that they might be saved," " for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion that they
should believe the lie" (2 Thess. ii. 10, 11).

Here again we have the teaching of the Bible and
that of the popular modern theology in direct opposi-
tion one to the other. All must agree that, if one of
these utterances is " the truth," the other is " the lie " ;
and each must for himself decide which is which.

Mr. Smythe further says : —

" Modernism is not a schism, breaking off at a
single point : it is laying broad foundations of re-
ligion in history, science, and democracy " (p. 109).

We deem it important to note the unanimity of the
modern theologians in regarding the old " foundations "
of faith as having been destroyed, and in speaking of
new foundations for religion being laid in history,
science, and democracy. And it is important to note
further that these foundations are entirely man's work.
History, science, and democracy are purely human
institutions.

All this is but affirming, under another form of
words, the doctrine of the divinity of Man ; for in this

AN IMPOSSIBLE RELIGIOUS BASIS 157

"religion," based on history, science, and democracy, God
has no place at all, except as He is identical with Man.

But the great currency which has been given to
phrases such as that last quoted, shows that modern
man is not only ready to accept, without any proof
whatever, the most radical statements, provided they
be sufficiently flattering to himself, but that he is even
ready to accept, upon the same condition, statements
which are utterly void of sense or meaning. For it is
palpable nonsense to say that any religious faith can
be based on either history, science, or democracy.
History and science give us a mixture of facts
and fables, the former dealing with the doings of
man in the past, and the latter dealing with the
substances and forces of nature. But religious faith
has to do entirely with matters beyond the sphere both
of scientific investigations and of historic inquiries.
And to speak of laying foundations of religion in
democracy is so utterly void of sense or meaning as to
be incapable even of examination. Yet such phrases
as these are entirely satisfactory to the modern man ;
and that being so, they possess the only sanction that
is supposed to be required.

Of the present Pope and his efforts to suppress
Modernism, and to interfere with its programme,
Mr. Smythe says : —

"The present Pope is a parenthesis. Some
parentheses of history have been long-drawn-out ;

158 NEW THEOLOGIES

but always God's sentence goes on to its full
period. The reaction of Pius x. is an interrup-
tion. Modernism runs in the main line of
the thought and intent of Christian civilization "
(p. 118).

Mr. Smythe therefore confidently expects that the
interests of Christian civilization will be promoted by
that movement which the Pope calls the " Synthesis of
all heresies."

The last section of Mr. Smythe's book is prophetic
in form and substance. Its title is " Coming
Catholicism." This universal religion, shortly to be
established in the earth, is, as Mr. Smythe sees it, an
ecclesiastical system so broad, so liberal, and so ac-
commodating, that all phases of religious thought may
find a place in it. Man is to build his own religious
temple, and when completed it is to be greatly to
his credit and entirely to his liking. The author
says : —

"The time, men are saying, seems ripe for
something" (p. 175).

To .this statement all thoughtful observers will
assent ; and they who believe " the sure word of
prophecy " must agree with Mr. Smythe, that there shall
indeed be established on earth a religious system, of
the general character described by him, and which will
be so nearly universal that it may properly be called
the coming " Catholicism." But, on the other hand,

" INTERNATIONALISM * 159

believers in the prophetic Scriptures will vigorously
protest against Mr. Smythe^s reference to this "New
Catholicism " as the " further coming of Christ." They
declare that, on the contrary, it will be the coming of
Antichrist, the advent of that potentate whose coming
shall be after the working of Satan, and whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth and
destroy with the brightness of His appearing. They
have authority for this belief, even the sure word of
prophecy. What authority does Mr. S my the cite for
his ? None whatever.

Mr. Smythe further argues the coming of the great
Unification of Mankind from consideration of —

"the political process through which Interna-
tionalism is taking form and substance " (p. 198).

The process to which the author here refers is one
of the most significant phenomena of the day. The
tendency of industrial interests to override and
disregard national and geographical boundaries is dis-
tinctly a modern development, and this had to come
before there could be any unification of peoples of
different nationalities. This process is aptly called
'* Internationalism." For the purposes of certain
businesses, such as the gigantic steel industry, for
example, national boundaries have already been
practically blotted out ; and it is evident that as
business, i.e. the pursuit of wealth, becomes more and
more the paramount concern of humanity, there will be

160 NEW THEOLOGIES

developed an increasingly powerful motive for inter-
national federation. The fulfilment of prophecy
requires an industrial and religious system which shall
exercise a brief control throughout all lands, and over
all kindreds and tongues and nations ; and Mr. Smythe
rightly says that a political process is even now in
operation which is giving form and substance to such a
system. He adds : —

" A federation of industrial interests throughout
the world, and a peaceful reign of international
law, are now much advocated. These ideas have
entered as a social ferment into the politics of
the world in this century."

" The forerunner of a world's peaceful commerce
and industry calls to the Churches to repent of
their strife "(p. 198).

Here, then, is another observer who, from his watch-
tower, discerns the approach of the great Consolidation,
and who describes to us its main features as being
just those predicted in Rev. xiii. The coming system
which he sees near at hand is " a federation of industrial
interests " ; it is to extend " throughout the world " ; it
calls for a corresponding religious federation ; and
it is the product of ideas which have entered as a
ferment (leaven) into the politics of the -world in this
century.

But this coming system, the monstrous combination
of religion and trade, will not be, as Mr. Smythe calls it,

another Christianity — " the Christianity that is to be."
There cannot be another Christianity. The only
reason why that much-abused name is applied by some
modern prophets to the coming ecclesiasticism, is that
it is possible thereby to deceive many as to the real
nature and source of this system. Such, doubtless, will
be the effect, upon some minds, of the following
passage : —

"The Christianity that now is must give its
baptism to the Christianity that is to be."

" From the baptism of this spirit may proceed,
— perhaps sooner than men may think or dream, —
the age of the one Holy Catholic Church. And
if the age of Protestantism which passeth away
was with glory, much more that which remaineth
is with glory " (p. 208).

It would be instructive to consider this coming
religion, as described by its heralds and apostles, for
the special purpose of comparing what it offers to men
with the offer of that gospel which has been preached
from of old " with the Holy Ghost sent down from
heaven." One who examines the new system for this
purpose will quickly discover that it contains practically
nothing for the individual soul. Beyond the dubious
privilege of holding whatever religious opinions he may
prefer, and of participating to some undefined extent
in the general prosperity which is to be attained in the

162 NEW THEOLOGIES

dim future, the new religion offers nothing to the
individual man. We hear only of vaguely defined
benefits to " humanity," " mankind," " society,"1 " the
race." Mankind as an entity is to triumph, to be
enriched, to enter a state of peace and safety, etc.

On the other hand, the God of the Bible is the God
of the individual — the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and
of Jacob. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and
calls them by name. Instead of vague benefits to the
race, at some indefinite and far-off time, the believer in
Christ has the offer of the immediate remission of his
sins, of personal salvation, of eternal life, of an incor-
ruptible inheritance, and of the gift of the Holy Spirit
as the earnest of that inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession. He has also the assurance
of membership in the body of Christ, a prepared place
in the Father's house, a share in the glory of the Son
of God, and joint heirship with Him Whom the Father
hath appointed the Heir of all things. Instead of
extolling the solidarity of Man, the pardoned sinner
can speak of " the Son of God Who loved me and gave
himself for me " ; (Gal. ii. 20) ; and instead of looking
away to a " unified humanity," which fallible and dying
men tell him is to rise out of the earth long after he
himself shall have gone down into the night of death,
he looks for the Son of God from heaven, Whom He
raised from the dead, even .Jesus Who delivered us
from the wrath to come (1 Thess. i. 10).

A GIGANTIC DECEPTION 163

If, then, man be really free in matters of religion to
choose what he likes, as these new theologies declare,
and if truth in reality be whatever one pleases to
believe, what stupendous folly it would be to exchange
the unsearchable riches of Christ for the emptiness and
utter destitution of the New Theology? And if the
believer be assured, in the name of modern science
and scholarship, that his Christ is a myth, he can well
afford to say that his mythical Christ, and the salvation
wrought and brought by Him, are of far greater value
than all the promises of the new religion, which, in
fact, has no promise at all for the needy and suffering
of this present generation.

The whole system is so empty, so plainly — to all who
have eyes to see — a gigantic deception, a stupendous
fraud, a disordered vision of this night of superstition,
credulity and folly, — that nothing short of supernatural
power could give it any acceptance among men ;
especially in a world which God so loved as to give His
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him
should not perish but have everlasting life (John iii.
16). How great, then, must be the power of deception
exercised by " that old serpent, called the Devil and
Satan, which DECEIVETH THE WHOLE WORLD," and who is
the author of that immensely popular religious system
which has for its cardinal doctrine the assurance that
man should eventually be, and has now at last become,
" as God ! "

164 NEW THEOLOGIES

SPIRITISM

The subject of Spiritism is too large for anything like
a thorough consideration in this volume. But for present
purposes we require only a brief reference to this move-
ment, our object being merely to consider the part
assigned to it in shaping the ultimate ecclesiasticism.

At first glance there would appear to be no relation
whatever between the new rationalistic theologies,
which claim to be highly " scientific," and which make
a point of discrediting all the supernatural elements of
Christianity, and the essentially supernatural cult of
Spiritism. Indeed, there is ostensibly no relation
between these several movements. Nevertheless,
Spiritism is working towards the very same result as the
advanced theologies, and is playing an important part
in accomplishing that result.

In the first place, let it be remembered that the new
theologies and their author have no enmity towards
the supernatural broadly, but only towards the super-
natural elements of Christianity. In the second place,
the new theologians discredit the supernatural simply
because it is (or until very recently was) deemed
necessary for a man to do so in order to enjoy a
reputation for being "scientific." It follows that, as
soon as " Science " shall countenance the supernatural,
the progressive theologians will make haste to put
themselves on the new " foundation."

SCIENTIFIC SPIRITISM 165

Now, the most striking present-day development in
Spiritism is the fact that scientific men, including some
of the first rank, are giving their countenance to it,
and are vouching for the genuineness of its phenomena.
Further reference will be made to this.

Again, the average man does by nature thoroughly
believe in, we might even say recognize, a supernatural
sphere ; though many conceal their real sentiments on
this subject out of deference to the attitude of
"Science." Hence there must needs be provision in
the new religious system for this feature of human
nature.

It must also be remembered that Satan is himself a
spirit (Eph. ii. 2, 1 Cor. ii. 12, 1 John iv. 6), and
his religions have all a predominant supernatural
element.

Finally, the prophecies we have examined lay much
stress upon the supernatural demonstrations which are
to attend the establishment of the last great religious-
commercial system. " The Spirit speaketh EXPRESSLY,
that in the LATTER TIMES some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines
of demons" (1 Tim. iv. 1, Gr.). One of the end-time
doctrines, to which this passage refers, and which is to
be supernaturally taught, is "forbidding to marry."
We note this in passing, intending to deal with it
later on.

With these prophecies in mind we would naturally

166 NEW THEOLOGIES

look about among the current human activities to
discover where the predicted supernatural elements of
the ultimate religion were to come from ; and there
would be an important factor missing if the source of
these elements were not to be found. But the source
of that important factor is in full view ; and not only
so, but is likewise supplying at the present moment
its special contribution to the religio - commercial
prodigy of the end-times.

A few facts in connection with spiritism will show
that the spirit of evil and his subordinate hosts are
at this very moment actively preparing this important
part of the mystery of iniquity.

Whereas, until within a very recent time spiritism
was generally discredited, its alleged phenomena
scouted and ridiculed (especially in scientific circles),
and its " mediums n denounced as charlatans and
impostors, all this has now changed. Not only are
the phenomena of Spiritism seriously investigated by
sceptical scientific men, whom it is not easy to deceive
as to physical occurrences, but they are vouched for as
having stood every conceivable scientific test. Men of
high repute for intelligence and learning have publicly
given their countenance to spiritism ; but, as we main-
tain, these " scientists " have been the dupes of the

SPIRITISM MADE RESPECTABLE 167

" deceiving spirits " to the extent that the former have
been led to regard the latter as the discarnate spirits of
the human dead. Among the prominent men of science
who have, to this extent, enrolled themselves among
the Spiritists, mention may be made of Sir William
Crookes and Sir Oliver Lodge, who have in recent
years devoted much time to the investigation of this
class of phenomena.

Of course, this puts Spiritism before the public in an
entirely new light ; and with such endorsements, the
former fear of, and contempt for, this dangerous cult
are being rapidly dispelled, and are indeed being
replaced by deference and respect. The way is thus
being prepared for new and ever widening spheres of
demoniacal activity, and for the supply of new and
more efficient human channels, or " mediums,11 through
which the spirits may operate.

Sir Oliver Lodge, in a recent utterance, declared
that the partition between the natural and the
supernatural is "wearing thin in places.11 Such is
indeed the case ; and those who know and believe their
Bibles, regard this as one of the surest indications of
the near coming of Christ.

From this recent and unexpected development of
Spiritism we may learn how readily Satan is able to
supply himself with a new source of authority. It is
obviously in keeping with the doctrine of the divinity
of man to believe that human beings who have " passed

168 NEW THEOLOGIES

beyond" are more enlightened touching the unseen
things than those who are yet in the body.

In harmony with this, Mr. Campbell in his New
Theology teaches that —

" Physical death is not the all-important event
which theologians have usually made it out to be ;
it is only a bend in the road. My own impression
is that when we individually pass through this
crisis we shall find the change to be very slight.
It will mean the dropping of the scales from the
eyes, and that is about all."

This is the teaching of Spiritism ; and such teaching
manifestly opens the door very wide to the promulga-
tion and acceptance by credulous humanity of the
" doctrines of demons.11

We deem it highly important that the readers of
these pages should be fully informed concerning the
strange and ominous alliance which has been recently
effected between Physical Science, represented by the
well-known names already mentioned, and the evil
cult of Spiritism. Great publicity has been given to
this alliance through a "report"" recently published
(January 1909), setting forth the results of certain
elaborate experiments conducted by Sir Oliver Lodge
and other members of the British Society for Psychical
Research. These experiments constituted an attempt
"to carry on definite, unmistakable communications
with the spirits of F. W. H. Myers and Dr. Richard

A "TREMENDOUS COMMOTION" 169

Hodgson." The former was, in his lifetime, the
secretary and active director of the above-named
society, and the latter is spoken of as " a clergyman,
poet, classical scholar, and scientist."

One of the committee to which the management
of the "sittings" was entrusted was Mr. G. W.
Balfour, who is also the president of the society.
Under such auspices the proceedings have a standing
before the public which fully commends them and
their " results " to all but the spiritually enlightened.
An account published in the New York Times says that
"the report has excited a tremendous commotion in
scientific and religious circles in England.'1'' No doubt.
" Science " and " religion " find a community of interest
in Spiritism.

These experiments were conducted pursuant to an
arrangement made by Messrs. Myers and Hodgson
during their lifetime, and were carried on with every
precaution against dishonesty or self-deception on the
part of the mediums.

These mediums or " psychics," through whom the
experiments were carried on, were all women. Their
names, as published, were Mrs. Piper, Mrs. Verrall
(the wife of the noted English scholar), her daughter
Miss Verrall, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Forbes, and Mrs.
Holland (the two latter are assumed names). The
woman was the first " medium " employed by Satan in
communicating with mankind ; and he still manifests a
12

170 NEW THEOLOGIES

strong preference for the female side of humanity.
Experience shows that, for some mysterious reason,
women are more susceptible than men to spiritistic
influence. In view of this fact it behoves all women,
especially Christian women, to be exceedingly careful
in these perilous times, and to suspect every movement
which is attended by abnormal subjective experiences.
It will be observed as an invariable rule that in all
spiritual manifestations of sinister origin (such as the
most recent one, accompanied by an uncouth imitation
of the gift of tongues), and which involve also the
unscriptural phenomenon of substituted personality (the
true personality being displaced by a spirit), the great
majority of those who have this "experience" are
women.

The " psychics " through whom communications were
carried on with the supposed spirits of Myers and
Hodgson, were located in cities far apart (Mrs. Holland
was in Calcutta, India), and messages were received
through them simultaneously. Other precautions were
taken to eliminate collusion, and to bring the experi-
ments under strictly scientific test conditions. For
example, the spirit personating Myers was asked to
give part of a message through one medium, and part
simultaneously through another in a distant city, so that
the two might be compared to see if they matched, and
if they were, when combined, such a message as might
be expected from Myers.

ESTABLISHING PSYCHIC IDENTITY 171

One would suppose that, if the spirits were really
those of departed human beings, and if they controlled
mediums of communication (as in these experiments),
it would be an exceedingly simple matter to establish
their identity to the entire satisfaction of those who
knew them in life ; and particularly should this be an
easy matter where secret pre-arrangements had been
made (as in this case) to facilitate the establishment of
such identity. If, on the other hand, the communica-
tions were from demons (well-acquainted, possibly, with
those they were endeavouring to personate, but yet
necessarily limited in their knowledge of them), we
should expect occasional hitches and discrepancies, and
other indications of imperfect acquaintance with the
life-history of the impersonated individuals. It is
therefore highly significant that the messages received
were frequently (if not generally) of a nonsensical and
bombastic character, like the following : " I stretch my
hand across the vaporous space, the interlunar space —
twixt moon and earth — where the gods of Lucretius
quaff their nectar. Do you not understand ? "

We think one might, indeed, be excused if he failed
to understand this cryptic utterance ; and it requires a
great stretch of credulity to suppose that the spirit of
a departed human being would send such a communi-
cation as this to his friends in the attempt thereby to
establish his identity. But the sapient investigators
were of the opinion that Myers was, in the above

172 NEW THEOLOGIES

message, paraphrasing some lines of Lucretius, — which,
by the way, are exceedingly unlike the supposed
paraphrase. But even if we indulge this rather
violent assumption, it is yet not seen how the com-
munication tends in the slightest degree to establish
the identity of Myers, unless (which nowhere appeal's)
the latter was, in his lifetime, addicted to the very
eccentric habit of framing exceedingly clumsy para-
phrases of the ancient poets.

Here are some other of the reported messages : —

"Look out for Hope, Star, and Browning1'1;
" with laureat wreath his brow serene was
crowned." " No more to-day — await the better
news that brings assurance with a laurel crown,"
etc. etc.

These utterances are such as might be expected
from some of the preposterous characters in Alice in
Wonderland; but our scientists, on due consideration
of them, reached the conclusion that they constituted
parts of a complicated attempt on the part of Myers
and Hodgson to establish their identity beyond all
doubt.

It is further stated, in the accounts which have
reached us, that many poetical communications were
received, "automatically suggesting or elaborating on
the idea of a supernal heavenly calm.'''' No doubt the
awful Being, who has "the power of death, that is
the Devil" (Heb. ii. 14), would be glad to spread the

A BLUNDERING "CONTROL" 173

notion that all and sundry of the dead, even though
out ef Christ, are in a state of "supernal heavenly
calm."

But a further explanation is needed at this point.
It appears that, for some unexplained reason, the spirits
of Myers and Hodgson themselves were not able to
communicate directly through the "psychics." The
latter, it seems, can be possessed only by certain
specially endowed Intelligences, technically called
" Controls." When a message is to be delivered the
control enters the psychic, receives the message, and
causes the psychic to write it out. This is called
"automatic writing," being done by the psychic while
in a trance condition. Thus, Mrs. Piper has two
"controls," who gave their names respectively as
" Imperator " and " Rector." Hence Messrs. Myers
and Hodgson had to entrust their messages to a " con-
trol," and the latter, entering one of the "psychics,"
turned it into words through automatic writing.
The advantage of this arrangement on the part of the
demons is evident. Whenever a mistake, discrepancy,
or other blunder occurs, it may be conveniently attri-
buted to the stupidity of the " control." For example,
one communication contained the word " Evangelical."
This word being unintelligible (and to our mind
grotesquely incongruous), an explanation was de-
manded ; and Myers was reported as explaining that
he had been trying to give through "Rector" the

174 NEW THEOLOGIES

name " Evelyn Hope," and that " Rector " had care-
lessly put it down "Evangelical." This explanation
appears to have been perfectly satisfactory to the
scientists. They conclude their report by saying —

" To sum up : In this concordant episode of
Mrs. Piper's trance and Mrs. Verrall's script, the
controlling influence in both cases claims to be
one and the same personality, namely, Frederic
Myers."

And the report proceeds to give reasons from which
the only inference possible is that, in the opinion of its
writers, the communicator was none other than the
discarnate human spirit of Frederic Myers.

It would be difficult to exaggerate the seriousness to
humanity of this alliance between physical science and
demonism. As the result, we have the machinery pre-
pared, and already in full operation, for the most
gigantic deception over practised upon the educated
classes of society. By means of this new engine of
deception millions upon millions may be lured into the
comfortable belief that they may reject the Christ of
God, and may yet be assured, upon the authority of
" Science," of a continued existence of blissfulness — " a
supernal heavenly calm " — after death.

Here, then, we have the source from which the coming
religion of Humanism is to derive its supernatural
components.

THE SPREAD OF SPIRITISM 175

Humanism, having sprung out of the economic or
industrial conditions of our age, and being primarily
concerned only with the material prosperity of human
beings, has been itself utterly materialistic. Its close
intellectual ally has been the evolutionary concept of
the universe, so widely accepted among the wise of this
world, and itself likewise utterly materialistic. Where
then was the necessary supernatural element to come
from ? We have now the clear answer to that question,
and we see also the Devil's purpose in keeping alive,
until the time was ripe, that once despised and dreaded
cult of Spiritism. This is evidently the source of the
supernatural component of the religion of Humanity,
and which furnishes the last and deadliest element to
that brew of abominations.

II

The spirits are likewise extending their influence in
the sphere of professing Christianity, where but a short
time ago Spiritism was regarded with aversion and
contempt. Of course, so long as the Bible was acknow-
ledged as having authority over professing Christians,
none of these would think of consulting familiar spirits.
But again, with the relaxation of the authority of the
Bible, a great change has taken place, so that the door
is wide open for the reception by professing Christians
of spirit communications.

176 NEW THEOLOGIES

As an indication of this it will suffice to mention a
single incident of recent occurrence as reported in the
daily press.

A meeting was lately held in London to celebrate
the " union " of several Methodist societies which
previously had maintained a separate existence. At
this meeting the Rev. W. B. Lark asked permission to
read one of a number of extraordinary communications
which he had received. The letter, as read and
reported in the public press, was as follows : —

"MANSION No. 4, NEW JERUSALEM,
"1709 to 1907.

"Congratulations on the union of free and
progressive Methodism. We are in hearty sym-
pathy with your best aspirations. Be sure to be
true to the inner light, the larger hope, the higher
criticism and universal redemption, and victory is

assured.

"JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY.

" P,S. — Oh, that the world might taste and see

The riches of His grace !
The arms of love that bind them
Would all mankind embrace.

" Further, the Conference may be glad to know
we have learned a great deal since our translation
to the higher life."

This incident is very instructive. Not only does it
illustrate the encroachment of Spiritism upon professing

"DOCTRINES OF DEMONS" 177

Christian organizations, but it calls attention expressly
to those "doctrines of demons" which the hosts of
wickedness in heavenly places are most desirous of
propagating. The first of these is the doctrine of the
" inner light," i.e, the doctrine of God within, which
New Theology emphasizes, and which is the unifying
article of religious faith around which mankind is to
be consolidated. Then comes the " larger hope," which
is also spoken of as " universal redemption," that is to
say, the doctrine of the salvation of all men. And
finally, we have " the higher criticism," which Satan has
so successfully used in setting aside the authority of the
Bible.

This triad of evil doctrines, in support of which the
respected and beloved names of John and Charles
Wesley are used, brings to mind the vision of the three
unclean spirits, like frogs, which came out of the mouth
of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and
out of the mouth of the false prophet, which were the
spirits of demons going forth unto the kings of the
earth and unto the whole world, to gather them to
the battle of that great day of God Almighty (Rev.
xvi. 13, 14).

It is very evident that the founders of English
Methodism must not only have " learned a great deal "
since their " translation to the higher life," but must
have unlearned a great deal, before they could have
issued such a message as this.

178 NEW THEOLOGIES

It is not to be supposed that this communication
was received by the assemblage to whom it was read
with any degree of favour or credulity. But the
astonishing thing is that it should have been received
and read at all. Such an occurrence would not have
been possible a few years ago.

And finally, the incident shows us what a serviceable
engine of deception has been made available to Satan
through the recognition which Spiritism has recently
received in certain high places. Through this means
the great Deceiver may now promulgate whatever
doctrines best serve his malign purposes, and may gain
credence for such doctrines by forging thereto the
names of men who, in their lifetime, were prominent
and influential teachers of Christian truth.

Ill

The essential characteristic of Spiritism on its
experimental or subjective side, is what may be called

DISPLACED Or SUBSTITUTED PERSONALITY ; that IS to Say,

the personality of the man or woman (in a very large
majority of cases the latter) who is the subject of the
experience, is temporarily dislodged, and is replaced
by that of the spirit or invisible intelligence, who
then exercises a more or less complete control over
the mind and body of such individual. In this con-

SUBSTITUTED PERSONALITY 179

nection the word " control " has acquired a technical
significance.

Closely allied to this experience of substituted
personality are the phenomena classed under the general
names of Hypnotism or Mental Suggestion. In these
phenomena the personality, will, or understanding of
the " subject " is set aside, and his (or her) mind is
subordinated to the " suggestions " of another. The
main difference between these phenomena and those of
Spiritism is that while the "subject"" in both cases
surrenders, wholly or partially, his own volition and the
control of his own thoughts and actions, the control
thereof is exercised, in this case, not by a demon but
by another human being. In both cases, however,
we have the phenomenon of displaced and substituted
personality, either partial or complete, whereby a
person is constrained by the will of another to think
and say and do things he would not otherwise think or
say or do.

The standing which this phenomenon of substituted
personality has secured may be judged from the follow-
ing language of Sir Oliver Lodge : —

" I am going to assume, in fact, that our bodies
can, under certain exceptional circumstances, be
controlled directly, or temporarily possessed, by
another or foreign intelligence, operating either
on the whole or on some limited part of it. The
question lying behind such a hypothesis, and

180 NEW THEOLOGIES

justifying it or negativing it, is the root question
of identity — the identity of the control."

This is indeed the important question ; and herein
lies the danger, even to Christians, of being deceived
and led into error of doctrine and into immoral prac-
tices ; for the " lying spirits " do not scruple to use
sacred formulae, speaking even of the Blood of Christ
and the Coming of the Lord, in order to gain the
coveted " control." This brings us to the next point,
which is highly important.

Perhaps the most serious phase of these allied
movements of Spiritism and Hypnotism is that the
leading phenomena and prominent incidents of spirit-
istic and hypnotic seances are now repeated in certain
gatherings of Christian people, and are, by those who
seek such experiences, attributed to the operation of
the Spirit of God. Especially is the experience of a
substituted personality that which is most eagerly
sought by those who frequent meetings of this kind,
their main object and effort being to part with their
own personality and to come under the "control"
of an unseen personality. These "seekers" are
apparently not to be deterred from agonizing for the
desired experience by the fact that Scripture gives no
instance of a man's personality being displaced by the
Holy Spirit, whereas the phenomenon of substituted
personality is the very essence of demonism. And
as in the case of Spiritism and Hypnotism, it is

"SUGGESTIVE THERAPEUTICS" 181

found that an exceedingly large majority of those who
succeed in coming " under the power " or " control "
are women. It is well to recall in this connection
that it was through the female side of humanity
that Satan originally established his "control" over
the race.

In like manner, the practices and phenomena of
Hypnotism have gained admission, in the form of
methods of healing nervous and kindred disorders, into
gatherings which are, nominally at least, Christian.
A number of reputable physicians have lent their aid
and countenance to these new departures in religious
practice, while others have very strongly opposed and
severely criticized them.

It is not strange that the almost universal departure
of Christian people from faith in Christ as the Healer
of the body, coupled with the conspicuous inadequacy of
" medical science " to furnish effective curative remedies,
should have prepared the way for the acceptance of
methods of healing which, but a short time ago, were
viewed in the same quarters with aversion and even
with horror.

The present results (bad as they are) of these new
inroads of demonism are not so serious as will be the
future conditions for which they are paving the way.
One advantage which the great Deceiver has gained by
means of them is, that people are becoming accustomed
to manifestations and occurrences of a sort which,

182 NEW THEOLOGIES

until now, would have excited suspicion and alarm.
Thus, there is in progress a general breaking down of
the barriers which once safeguarded the mass of the
people from teachings accredited by supernatural mani-
festations. And by this means the way is being rapidly
prepared for the acceptance, as Divine credentials, of
those signs and wonders of falsehood which are to
accompany Satan's great assault upon humanity when
he shall come down in person to the earth, having
great wrath because he knows that his time is short
(Rev. xii. 12).

IV

Finally, these supernatural demonstrations are
working with other evil agencies to weaken the
authority of the Bible. One group of religious leaders
says plainly : " Never mind what the Bible says about
this or that." Another set lauds the intelligence and
progress of the age because it has delivered itself from
" bondage to the Book." Another set concedes that the
Bible writings were inspired, but puts other writings
on the same level with them. And the deceived class
we are now considering claim to have newer and more
timely revelations directly from the Spirit of God.
By all these means the unwary are diverted from the
Word of Truth, from its warnings which are so needed
at the present time, and particularly from those pro-

A STRANGE FELLOWSHIP 183

phecies which clearly predict the activities of the
present day and their outcome. x

1 In the course of revising the proofs of this volume, a
paragraph in the London Daily Telegraph, 5th June 1909,
came to my notice, and I here quote it as a striking con-
firmation of the proposition that the seemingly diverse
and independent religious movements we have been
examining are in reality but different phases of the same
movement, or are, in the language of the newspaper item,
"fundamentally one." The item shows, too, that the
different elements of this great forward movement of
humanity are coming to recognize their kinship, and are
drawing together into co-operative fellowship. Most
significant is it to see the portentous blend of Physical
Science and Spiritism, represented by Sir Oliver Lodge,
in working association with England's foremost Modernist,
" Father " Tyrrell, with the leading exponent of the New
Theology, Rev. R. J. Campbell, with the well-known
higher critic, Dr Cheyne of Oxford, with the Very Rev.
the Dean of Durham, and with other Church dignitaries,
members of Parliament, and prominent laymen. This is
the item : —

" PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGY

" An interesting announcement regarding the
progressive movement in theology is made by the
Christian Commonwealth, a weekly newspaper which
is closely identified with the teachings of the City
Temple, but in the administration and direction of
which, it is now stated, the Rev. R. J. Campbell has
not hitherto taken any part. What has now been
done is to form an editorial board, under the chair-
manship of Mr. Campbell, with the object of giving
expression as far as possible to all phases of the move-

184 NEW THEOLOGIES

ment which, though many-sided, it is claimed is
fundamentally one. ' Modernism in the Church of
Rome, the Liberal movement in the Church of
England, the " New Theology " in Nonconformity,
the new spirit in Unitarianism, the Reform movement
in Judaism, the spirit of modern scientific inquiry as
represented by Sir Oliver Lodge, are,' says the
announcement, ' all more or less akin.'

"The new editorial board is to demonstrate the
essential unity of the movement. Its other members
are as follows : The Rev. K. C. Anderson, D.D.,
Dundee; the Rev. Professor T. K. Cheyne, D.D.,
Oxford; the Rev. Stopford A. Brooke, LL.D., London;
the Rev. Professor Duff, D.D., Bradford; the Rev.
A. W. Hutton, rector of St. Mary-le-Bow, London ;
Professor L. P. Jacks, Oxford ; the Very Rev. G. W.
Kitchin, D.D., Dean of Durham; the Rev. E. W.
Lewis, Clapham ; Mr. Philip Snowdon, M.P. ; Sir
Richard Stapley, London; the Rev. J. M. Lloyd
Thomas, Nottingham ; and the Rev. T. Rhondda
Williams, Brighton. In addition, Sir Oliver Lodge,
Canon Bamett, Father Tyrell, the Rev. A. L. Lilley,
and the Rev. Isidore Harris are named as occasional
contributors."

WE now turn our attention to what we have called
the Economic Field of human activity. It is easier to
trace the movements which are in progress in this
field than those in the religious field ; and moreover,
the majority of reading people are more familiar with
them, for two reasons : first, because they have more
interest in them ; and second, because the economic
events of the times are prominent subjects of dis-
cussion in all the numerous periodicals upon which the
multitude rapaciously feed.

It follows that the main facts which bear upon our
general subject are matters of well-nigh universal
information. Among these facts are the following : —

1. That the energies of mankind — tremendously
augmented by the energies of nature which have been
brought under human control — are being concentrated,
more and more, upon the production and distri-
bution of commodities, insomuch that practically

186 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

all the great problems of the day are economic
problems.

2. That the employment of these energies has pro-
duced an unprecedented increase of wealth.

3. That the distribution of this rapidly accumulating
wealth is very uneven, there being a decided tendency
towards the concentration thereof into the hands of a
small and decreasing number of people; so that the
present social order is characterized by colossal fortunes
of the few and straitened circumstances of the many.

4. That the present economic system is further
characterized by periodic industrial convulsions, which
profoundly affect all classes of society, and whose
consequences are felt most severely by those who are
least able to endure them.

5. That the development of commercialism is
characterized by an increasingly insistent demand for
a radical change of the social conditions, and for the
introduction of an economical order which shall insure
a better and fairer distribution of the wealth produced
by the collective efforts of mankind.

6. That the demand for a better economic system
is not merely a political movement, but is taking
decidedly the form of a religious movement.

Thus, in one great field of human activity (the
religious field) we see the prominent religious move-
ments becoming steadily more practical, and aspiring
to regulate the temporal concerns of men ; while in the

WEALTH AND HUMAN WELFARE 187

other field (the economic) we see social movements
taking on a religious guise, making their appeal to
the religious feelings of mankind, and seeking the
support of religious sanctions.

Whatever be the real relation of wealth to human
welfare, there can be no doubt that men generally
regard the former as the real source of the latter, and
the latter as wholly dependent upon the former.
Society, as now existing, is organized and operates
upon the principle that the possession of wealth is the
highest good, and is the means to every attainable end
that is worth an effort. If this principle were destroyed,
society as now organized would fall to pieces, and the
" titanic industrial energies," which specially character-
ize it, would subside into relative quiescence. Manu-
facture and commerce are not organized and carried on
for the purpose of supplying the actual needs of human
beings. If that were their object they must be regarded
as colossal failures, since the needs of the great masses
of people, no matter how hard they may labour, are
not by any means fully met. Moreover, there is not
the smallest likelihood that, under the present social
system, they ever will be fully met. Business is, on the
contrary, organized and carried on for the sake of profits.
This is the motive which has led to the development of
those gigantic business organizations which are among
the conspicuous features of this era of commercialism.
Without that motive they never would have been

188 DEVELOPMENT'S OF COMMERCIALISM

brought into existence. The ardent pursuit of profits
is the outward expression of the profound and implicit
faith of the modern man in the power of wealth to
procure welfare and happiness. This faith is obviously
a religious faith ; and it is a live faith, if judged by
its works, and upon the principle that faith without
works is dead.

Here, then, we have the real religious faith of the
modern man ; and this faith in the power of wealth to
bless mankind with all blessings which the heart of man
can crave, must of necessity be the core of the ultimate
religious system which man shall evolve for himself.
Business is but man's service of his god ; and business
zeal is but the worshipper's effort to procure the largest
possible share of the favours which his god has to
dispense, and to gain the highest possible place in his
service. Although it may not be usually so regarded,
yet we think it to be obvious upon reflection, that the
fervid devotion of the modern man to his business is
really a religious fervour; and this characteristic of
the man of this day is an important factor in bringing
about that great combination of religion and business
which the voice of prophecy foretells.

All men of the day are not ready to avow that
business is really their religion, or to acknowledge that
money is their god. Yet the lives and actions of
some who are prominent in the affairs of the day
plainly declare their unbounded faith in the power of

A UNIFYING PRINCIPLE 189

wealth, and their firm conviction that the struggle for
its blessings and favours is the only enterprise worthy
of supreme human effort. It is the real, if not always
the formulated, belief of the modern man, that the
elevation of humanity is to be effected through the
development of the resources of nature, and the mastery
of the forces of nature, and through the application
of these resources and forces to the production of
wealth.

Such is the potency of this article of faith, and so
profoundly has it entered into the heart of man, that it
has inspired the most consuming zeal, and called forth
the most tremendous energies, that have been thus far
displayed in the entire history of the human race.

Here, then, at last has been discovered a unifying
principle, capable of drawing together into a common
enterprise " all them that dwell upon the earth," and
of inspiring in them the most sustained and strenuous
religious zeal.

All this is plain enough, and (except for the religious
character of the struggle for wealth, which is generally
overlooked) is the subject of frequent comment. But
our concern is with the tendencies of the industrial
activities of our day. To what will these new con-
ditions, with the great social changes that accompany
them, eventually lead ?

In order to follow this inquiry properly, a little
more detailed attention must be given to certain of

190 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

the prominent characteristics of Industrialism, which
we have briefly noted above.

THE UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTON OF WEALTH

Attention is frequently and loudly called by a
certain class of social reformers to the undeniable fact
that, while the bulk of the wealth of mankind is
growing at an unprecedented rate, the number of the
owners of wealth is rapidly diminishing. It is stated
without denial that one per cent, of the population of
the United States, — the richest and most " progressive "
country in the world, — owns more wealth than the
other ninety -nine per cent, of the population. This con-
dition is a fact of much importance, since it is one which,
in a country that is democratic at least in form, is sure
to lead eventually to radical social and political changes.

THE INCREASE OF WEALTH GOES TO THE
NON-PRODUCERS

Attention is also called to the fact that all accretions
of wealth are due to human labour, which is the only
factor that adds anything to the value of what existed
before. The quantity of raw material in the world
being rigidly fixed, it follows that the only additional
value which can be imparted to materials is that which
human labour supplies.

It is therefore becoming more and more a question
in the minds of the labouring classes, why they,

A DISAPPOINTING STIMULUS 191

who are the actual producers of wealth, should
get but an insignificant part of its benefits, and
why they, being the majority, should permit the
continuance of an economic system which operates so
inequitably. And the answer, which is taking ever
more definite shape in their minds, and in which they
are being diligently schooled by able and zealous teachers,
is to the effect that there is no valid reason, ethical or
otherwise, why an economic system which yields such
manifestly unfair results, should be tolerated. Unless
this unfairness be remedied, a revolution, peaceful or
otherwise, is sure to bring the system eventually to
an end.

This gross disproportion in the distribution of
the products of human effort is not what one would
have expected. The thought which would naturally
stimulate all men to combine and put forth their
best efforts for the increase of commodities would
be that, after the wants of those most favourably
located with reference to the sources of production
were supplied, the surplus stream of products would
automatically flow on to satisfy those less advantage-
ously placed. This expectation might, for a time
at least, keep the latter class diligently working at
the increase of wealth in mass, particularly if that
expectation were kept alive by artfully prepared
" prosperity " reports, and by statistics showing
great improvement in the condition of " the working

192 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

man.11 But there must inevitably come a time when it
will be impossible longer to disguise the fact that the
great surplusage of wealth, which is the boast of the
age, and which results from the labour of the working
man, does not overflow the reservoirs of those who employ
that labour. Those reservoirs are, in fact, capable of
indefinite expansion ; and, moreover, it invariably
happens that, before they could by any possibility
overflow, production receives one of those mysterious
periodical checks which cause an enforced relaxation
of effort on all hands.

FINANCIAL PANICS AND BUSINESS DEPRESSIONS

The phenomena of financial " panics " and industrial
upheavals, followed by periods of "depression," are
another striking characteristic of the existing economic
order. Of the many groups of financiers and students
of economics, the Socialists alone seem to have been
able to furnish anything like a plausible explanation of
these strange events. Whether or not the remedy
proposed by Socialism would correct these evils, or
whether, in correcting them, it would introduce others
as. bad or worse, is not our present concern. But it
is very pertinent to notice the explanation which the
Socialists advance to account for these industrial
phenomena, because this explanation, which is being
more and more widely accepted, argues the downfall
of the present economic system.

A TWO-PART PARADOX 193

It has been observed that the strange phenomenon
called " over-production," whereby the stores, markets,
and warehouses become glutted with surplus products
of labour for which there are no purchasers, invariably
occurs at a time when there is a very large class of
people who are actually suffering for the need of those
very products, and that this needy class includes many
of those whose labour has produced such surplus
commodities. That suffering should be caused in
consequence of the existence of a shortage of the
things upon which life and comfort depend, would be
intelligible. But how does it come about that
destitution and need result from the existence in the
community of too much of these needful things ? By
what strange contradiction of the logic of cause and
effect does it come about that the existence of a
superfluity of the products of labour has the effect of
curtailing the power of the labourers to purchase those
things which they have produced in superabundant
quantity, and for the lack of which they are suffering ?
Apparently the producers of wealth are curtailed as
to their purchasing power as a punishment for their
productivity. Their punishment for having produced
too much is that they get too little for their own
needs. At least this is the idea that is being per-
sistently impressed upon their minds.

That which is to be explained, then, is a paradox,
composed of two elements — namely, first, that the

194 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

wealth-producers periodically deprive themselves of
the power to purchase the things needful for life or
comfort ; and second, that they do this by producing
too great a quantity of those very things.

Now the Socialists say that the cause of this strange
phenomenon is to be found in the existing economic
system, which they call " Capitalism " ; and that the
evil complained of can be removed only by abolishing
that system. It is not the fault, they say, of the
capitalist, but of the system. They insist that the
system is vicious, and that its operation is outrageously
unjust to those whose labour produces the wealth for
which all are striving. The vice of the system, they
say, is that it is organized to produce commodities
solely for the sake of the profits gained by the
numerically small capitalist class ; whereas it should
be organized for the purpose of supplying human needs.
Under the existing system, production ceases when the
things produced can no longer be manufactured " at a
profit " ; whereas under the proposed Socialistic system
(as yet untried), production would, in theory at least,
continue so long as there remained any human wants
unsatisfied. Under the present system the capitalist
class controls all the machinery of production and dis-
tribution— mills, factories, power-plants, raw material,
railroads, steamboats, etc., and the only incentive
which the owners of these appliances have for operating
them is to add to their own gains. When conditions

COLLECTIVE OWNERSHIP 195

occur (as they are bound to do, so long as the existing
system of " Capitalism " remains) wherein the appliances
of production cannot be operated at a profit, then
production is checked, trade sharply declines, factories
are shut down, and on all sides the capitalists
"economize" by discharging hands until "times get
better" for them.

The Socialist therefore proposes to abolish capital
and profits, and to establish a social order wherein
wealth, produced by the joint efforts of all men,
should be for the benefit of all. Unquestionably such
a change, if it were possible to effect it, would be
beneficial to the majority of men, and if desirable
there is no reason whatever why, in a democratic
society, the change should not be made, or at least be
attempted. If the will of the majority be the supreme
law, then the majority may rightfully abolish Capital-
ism and introduce Socialism whenever they will so to do.

But the explanation as thus far given is incomplete.
It yet remains to be explained why "panics'" and
their accompanying miseries are necessary character-
istics of the present economic system. To this
question the Socialist has a ready answer, and one
which, unless a better can be advanced, is bound to
gain an acceptance sufficiently general to produce im-
portant social changes. His answer is substantially as
follows : —

In the first place, the labourer receives in wages an

196 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

amount of money on an average a little less than
half (instead of the whole) of the actual value
imparted by his labour to the material upon which
he works. As this statement is deduced from
United States census reports, it may be accepted as
at least approximately accurate. The other fifty
per cent, (plus) goes as "profits'" to the capitalists.
We may therefore regard the wealth produced in
any given period of time as being divided about
equally between the capitalists and the producers.
These gains, thus equally divided, constitute the
purchasing power of the two classes respectively.
But the purchasing power of the capitalists is shared
among a very few individuals, while that of the
labourers must be divided among a great many, so
that of the latter class each individual's share is
relatively insignificant.

But another point has to be stated, and then the
explanation is easily grasped. Under the present
system of doing business the cost of selling an article
is greater (sometimes much greater) than that of
making it. This selling cost must, of course, be
added to the retail price of the article ; so that,
when the individual labourer comes to use his
gains for making purchases (the only thing they
are really good for), he can get in return for them
manufactured goods to the value of only half (or
less than half) that of their retail purchase price.

THE PURCHASING POWER OF "WAGES" 197

Hence when the worker comes to spend his wages
in buying some of the things which he and other
workers have made, and for which they received wages
to only half the market value of their work, he can
buy with his wages only about half what they should
purchase. Stated in other words, the working man
when considered as a " producer " receives, in the form
of wages, only half the value of what he produces;
and when considered as a " consumer'1 of the pro-
ducts of himself and other labourers, he is able to
purchase with his wages only about half their actual
equivalent in commodities. The net result is that
the purchasing power of the labourers, as a class, is
contracted to about one-fourth of what they produce.

Now, since the labouring class constitutes far the
greater part of the purchasing public, or the " market "
for the things it produces, it is inevitable that,
during times of business activity, production should
gain rapidly on consumption, until a crisis arises.
The very rich few cannot possibly, with all their
wastefulness, consume the surplus products which the
labourers have to deny themselves. The rich few
are unable to consume the products, though able to
purchase them ; whereas the many poor are able to
consume but unable to buy them.

The result is that the "business world," after a
long period of "prosperity," is one day awakened
suddenly, to the fact that there is a glut of com-

198 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

modities on hand; the disappearance of profits
frightens the manufacturers into a sharp curtailment
of output ; the banks, knowing from bitter experience
what is about to happen, refuse to lend money,
since no "interest11 can be paid them by borrowers
unless profits are first earned ; and thus a " panic "
is brought about. Of course, the capitalist must
cease making goods when there is no profit in making
them ; and thereupon, quite naturally, he discharges
workmen and reduces wages, until the surplus stocks
of goods on the market are disposed of in some
manner. This brings about one of the financial and
industrial panics, and the periods (more or less pro-
longed and severe) of business depression which follow
them, and which, hi every manufacturing centre, are
marked by the presence of large numbers of workmen
unable to secure employment, and for whom indeed
there is none.

There is no " civilized " country on earth that
has not, at this present writing, its "unemployed'1
problem ; and it may be remarked that this problem
only arises in those countries where our boasted
modern civilization has made its way.

To what result, then, are these giant industrial
forces tending ? That they are working up to a world-
wide crisis of some sort, is patent to every one who
gives to the situation a moment's serious consideration.
The forces now developing and concentrating into

definite lines of effort are becoming uncontrollable,
and are threatening soon to burst through all exist-
ing governmental, social, and moral restraints. A new
social order of some sort seems inevitable, and that at no
distant day. But the question to which we are seeking
an answer is this : What kind of an economic system is
to take the place of the existing social institutions,
after these shall have been demolished ?

What is happening before our eyes, in this economic
field of human activity, is the separation of mankind
into two classes, and the widening of the gulf between
them. One class owns, and is ever, tightening its hold
upon, the means of production and distribution of that
wealth which is the supreme object of human aspiration
and effort. The other class, which has only its labour
to sell, and can find a market for that only when the
capitalists can use it to their own advantage, is being
ever more rigidly held down to wages which (under the
steadily increasing cost of living) afford but a bare, and
at best precarious, subsistence. Wealth, and the power
it wields, are being concentrated into fewer and fewer
hands. But along with this concentration of wealth is
the fact that the labouring class is constantly gaining
force numerically, as well as gaining power through
the more intelligent comprehension of the unfairness
of existing conditions. Unless a solution of the
growing antagonism between these two classes be found,
a clash between them is inevitable. Such, at least,

200 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

is the openly-expressed opinion of intelligent and
competent observers of social phenomena. Which
side will prevail ? And will the result be the absolute
Despotism of Wealth, or will it be Socialism ?

SOCIALISM

As we look abroad upon the tremendous efforts
which men are making to better their condition through
the manufacture of " things,11 and as we take notice of
the very unequal distribution of the things which result
from these efforts, we would naturally inquire what
remedies are being canvassed for the cure of this
great and manifest evil. The answer to such inquiry
would be that there is at present only one remedy
now before the people for their consideration, and
which offers any hope of escape from this gross
injustice. That proposed remedy is the untried
system called Socialism. Apparently the "sovereign
people11 have only the alternative of continuing with
the present system of " Capitalism,11 or displacing it by
some form of " Socialism.11

This system challenges our closest attention for
various reasons : —

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL PROBLEM

Socialism is the only human system which offers a
new social order to replace that now in existence. It

THE SOCIALIST STANDPOINT 201

thus stands alone in proposing a solution of what is
recognized as the great problem of the age.

It is proper at this point to let a moderate Socialist
speak of the conditions which Socialism proposes to
remedy, in order that our readers may see just how the
social problem is viewed from that standpoint. The
following quotations are from Mr. H. W. Laidler, in
Waylanffs Monthly. Mr. Laidler states the social
or economic problem from the point of view of an
American Socialist.

"Every age presents for solution some
mighty problem. Now the religious, now the
political, now the social question demands un-
divided attention. In the age in which we live
that which is uppermost in the minds of men is
the social or economic question — the question of the
just distribution of the products of mankind.

The reason for this is not far to seek. The
last one hundred years have witnessed the indus-
trial revolution of the ages ; the progress from
individual production to social production, thus
making possible the creation of ten- twenty- one
hundred-fold more wealth with the expenditure of
the same amount of energy. That this increased
productivity has taken place is indisputable, but
that the mass of the nation's workers have been
materially benefited by this industrial revolution
is a matter of serious dispute — and the attempt
14

202 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

of the worker to obtain a larger and juster share
of the product of labour constitutes the modern
Labour Question."

We would call the reader's attention to the state-
ment that the mighty problem of this age is "the
just distribution of the products of mankind."" This
obviously is of the nature of a religious problem as
well as an economic problem, and its very existence
heralds the advent of a system which shall be both
religious and economic.

" It was Henry George who said that if a man
of the eighteenth century — a Priestley or a Frank-
lin— could have seen as in a vision this marvellous
progress in industry, 'his heart would have
leaped, and his nerves would have thrilled, as one
who from a height beholds, just ahead of the
thirst-stricken caravan, the living gleam of rust-
ling woods and the glint of laughing waters. He
would, in the sight of his imagination, have seen
new forces lifting the very poorest above the
possibility of want.'

" And with reason would such high expectation
be aroused; but sadly the present-day facts of
civilization dash them completely to the earth.
For along with this evolution from individual to
social production has come a transfer of ownership
of the tools and machinery of production from the
mass of workers to a few immensely wealthy

THE CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH 203

capitalists. This concentration has proceeded so
rapidly that already six thousand multi-million-
aires and billionaires own one-fourth of the
nation's wealth; one per cent, of our population
possesses more than the other ninety-nine per
cent. And to this one per cent, the whole
industrial, social, political, and even the intellect-
ual and ethical life of the nation is becoming
completely subservient. How true are the state-
ments of Bishop Spaulding upon this question :
' If the present methods continue, a few individ-
uals and trusts will soon control the means of
production and distribution, and this in an era
in which money is the mightiest force of social
influence and dominion. To those few individ-
uals and corporations will belong an authority and
power greater than any history makes known —
an authority and power which are both incom-
patible with political liberty and popular institu-
tions.1"

" But modern civilization presents another
side. Facing the six thousand multi-millionaires,
abounding in luxury and power, are the ten
millions of people suffering the pangs of poverty
— poorly sheltered, under- fed, under - clothed.
Complementary with those who obtain millions
without any productive toil, are the mass of

204 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

unskilled workers whose greatest exertion brings
scarcely enough to keep body and soul together ;
are the two millions of the nation's sons denied
during half the year the opportunity to earn a
livelihood ; are the tens of thousands of mothers in
the heat and grime of sweat-shops and the death-
dealing tenements ' sewing at once with a double
thread a shroud as well as a shirt1; are the
seventeen hundred thousand little children of
school age who are refused the right of an educa-
tion, forced into the dismal, poisonous atmosphere
of factory, shop, and mine, and there compelled
to coin their little lives into glittering gold for
moneyed aristocracy."

"These are the facts. What is their mean-
ing to the rich — what to the poor ? To the rich,
this enormous wealth means magnificent palaces,
gorgeous wardrobes, rare and precious jewellery ;
it means monkey and baboon dinners at which
money flows as freely as water, at which terrapin
is daintily eaten from silver canoes with golden
spoons, and trust stocks are lavishly distributed as
souvenirs of the occasion. It means a life where
real values are lost and where money is God. To
the poor, poverty means foul hovels, reeking — ah,
too often ! — with vermin and disease, filthy rags
as substitutes for clothing, a life of forced

ECONOMIC CONTRASTS 205

ignorance, of stunted body, mind, and soul, an
existence of sickness, crime, and death.

" ' Wealth and poverty, millionaires and beggars,
castles and caves, luxury and squalor, painted
parasites on the boulevard and painted poverty
among the red lights.' This is but a suggestion
of the social abyss — of the social wrongs which
must be righted."

The writer from whom we have just quoted, looks,
of course, to Man himself to bring deliverance out of
these grievous conditions ; and he appeals to " the
college student" to do his part in leading people
onward to the golden age of humanity — the UNIVERSAL
BROTHERHOOD of Men. He says in conclusion : —

"Then in the name of justice, truth, and liberty
— in the name of suffering humanity — in the
name of the Master Servant of the ages, behold-
ing in the full this human inferno, may the
college student do his part in blazing forth to
society the intricate pathway of social progress,
and in leading the people onward toward the
golden age of humanity — the universal brother-
hood of men."

These extracts are fair samples of the statements
and appeals by means of which the principles of
Socialism are being propagated the world over. Our
chief interest in them, for present purposes, lies
in the disclosure they clearly make of the fact that

206 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

this great movement, while aiming at the material
welfare of humanity by a world-wide consolidation
of human beings and human interests, is essentially
religious in character.

II. THE SPREAD OF SOCIALISTIC PRINCIPLES

Socialism is gaining favour rapidly in many quarters,
and its claims are receiving recognition by persons of
influence well able to propagate its doctrines.

There are, of course, many varieties of Socialism,
and there are doctrines necessarily belonging to a
socialistic community (such as that relating to
marriage, of which we will speak later on) which are
wholly repudiated by many who now advocate the
purely economic doctrines of Socialism. We shall
therefore treat "Socialism" generally, as meaning
those prominent principles held and advocated by
nearly all who call themselves "Socialists." As to
those features of Socialism which are obnoxious to
many zealous Socialists of to-day, it is necessary only
to say that the acceptance at the present time of a part
of the programme of Socialism will make it easy for
the rising generation to accept the whole of that
programme.

Socialism is notably gaining favour among the
clergy of various denominations. It is stated that
upwards of two hundred clergymen in the vicinity of

THE SPREAD OF SOCIALISM 207

New York City have signed a paper committing them-
selves to the main principles of Socialism, though not
ready as yet to avow themselves openly as Socialists,
because of a lingering prejudice which still clings to
the name.

At the recent Pan- Anglican Conference in England
(1908) the principles of Socialism were earnestly
advocated, and met with a decidedly sympathetic
reception. Among the Resolutions there introduced
were the following : —

" The Conference recognizes the ideals of
brotherhood which underlie the Democratic
Movement of this century " ; and that

"The social mission and social principles of

Christianity should be given a more prominent

place in the study and teaching of the Church."

This spread of Socialist principles among the clergy

accomplishes several important results. In the first

place, it strongly tends to impart to industrialism a

religious aspect — thus tending towards the fulfilment

of prophecy in making the production and distribution

of wealth a matter of religion. Furthermore, it

furnishes a live principle, tending to unify members of

the different dying denominations of Christendom.

And finally, it furnishes to ministers who do not preach

" the Gospel of God concerning His Son " a theme of

universal interest, which, if ably discussed, is sure to

hold the attention of their congregations.

208 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

A circular lately issued by the " Christian Socialist
Fellowship," quotes the following passage from the last
annual address of Miss Frances E. Willard, founder of
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, showing
the gain of Socialism in that direction : —

" What the Socialist desires is that the corpora-
tion of humanity should control all production.
Beloved comrades, this is the higher way. It
eliminates the motives for a selfish life ; it enacts
into our everyday life the ethics of' Christ's Gospel.
Nothing else can bring the glad day of UNIVERSAL
BROTHERHOOD. It is Christianity applied."
A system which can thus be strongly advocated as
" Christianity applied," while it is at the same time
advocated by the most outspoken enemies of Christ, is
certainly a thing to be seriously reckoned with.

III. SOCIALISM A COMBINATION OF THE TEMPORAL AND
RELIGIOUS INTERESTS OF MANKIND

What chiefly renders Socialism an object of interest
to us at the present time is the fact that it proposes
to bring about that very consolidation of all human
interests, both material and spiritual, which prophecy
leads us to expect as the consummation of all the
prodigious energies and activities of " Man's Day." We
cannot fail to be deeply impressed by the fact that
there is now looming large upon the near horizon, and

SOCIALISM A RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT 209

increasing in size at a very rapid rate, a System, both
religious and economic, presenting exactly those main
features of that Great Consolidation which were
impressed upon the Apostle John, and which he, by
Divine inspiration, wrote down in order that believers
should be enabled to identify it as the masterpiece of
Satan.

Socialism is not merely the creed of a political party
having certain reforms to advocate. Nor is it merely
a school of political economy having certain financial
and economic policies to propose. It is essentially a
religion ; for its basis is the universal brotherhood of
man, and the cardinal feature of its creed is faith in
the inherent power of Consolidated Humanity to rid
itself of all ills and miseries. To this end it proposes
to abolish capitalism, and also the private ownership
of the appliances of production (land, machinery, rail-
roads, etc.), and to consolidate all mankind, and all
human interests, into one vast organization. This
organization will be a Federation, or Society, or
State, wherein all men will be on an absolute
equality, and the interests of one shall be the
interest of all. It proposes to deal comprehensively,
and for the benefit of all alike, with all methods of
production, with all produce of the fields and mines
and products of the factories, with all appliances for
the manufacture and production of commodities of
every sort, and with all inventions and discoveries.

210 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

All this is based upon the sacredness of human rights ;
and the predominant characteristic of the movement
is avowedly religious. It is the very embodiment of
that great rising Religion which has now confronted
us many times in the course of this inquiry, — the
religion of Humanism.

The "Christian Socialist Fellowship," to which
reference has already been made, has the following
for its avowed object : —

"Its object shall be to permeate Churches,
Denominations, and other Religious Institutions
with the Social Message of Jesus ; to show that
Socialism is the Necessary Economic Expression of
the Christian Life; to end the Class Struggle by
establishing Industrial Democracy, and to hasten
the Reign of Justice and Brotherhood upon
Earth."
The body of the circular says : —

" Not one man in a hundred believes that the
teachings of Jesus can be applied in everyday
practice. Socialists do."

And the circular offers the services of " a clergyman "
to any gatherings who wish to hear an address on the
subject of Christian Socialism, naming several prominent
ministers and offering " many others, including all the
leading denominations."

Thus the sacred human Name of the Divine Redeemer
is being used to advance the cause of Socialism, and to

SOCIALISM PERMEATING THE CHURCH

secure an entrance for its principles into Christian
Churches. The Name of Christ, too, is coupled
directly with that of Socialism (in the term " Christian
Socialism") as an effectual means of offsetting the
prejudice which attaches to the latter.

Whatever, therefore, may be the ultimate fate of
Socialism as a system, it is certainly doing great
service in fulfilling prophecy by " permeating the
Churches " with the ideal of a religious system which
makes the distribution of wealth its chief concern, a
system which has no hope to offer of the Kingdom
of God with Christ Jesus reigning in justice and
righteousness on earth; but substitutes therefor the
" Reign of Justice and Brotherhood upon the
Earth."

The rapid spread of Socialism among the clergy has
also resulted in securing for the advocacy of its
principles the immense advantage of a body of men
trained to public speaking, whose utterances are
invested with a certain authority, and who live at the
expense of their congregations. It has also secured
the further advantage of the free use of buildings in
which people are accustomed to gather in the expecta-
tion of hearing what will be conducive to their highest
welfare. Thus the people who are to be converted to
Socialism are made to bear the expense of the campaign
planned and carried on to that end. Surely there is
satanic cleverness in this.

212 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

Mr. Arnold White in The Future of Britain
speaks of the transfer of energy from theology to
politics, which is now going on, and of the part
which the " proletarian movement " (i.e. Socialism) is
performing in effecting this transfer of energy. He
says: —

" The decay of faith that marks the proletarian
movement of Europe is accompanied by a general
transfer of energy from theology to politics. All
forms of Christianity have produced, and still
produce, individual lives of saintly perfection, but
Christianity, in the sense of its Founder, has as
little in common with Europe as with Asia."

" The dry rot of Sacerdotalism becomes daily
more apparent as the Free Church pastors abandon
the spiritual for the political arena"

" The new doctrine of anti-militarism has been
imposed on Christianity by the clerics, who, having
lost their influence as theologians, would fain re-
cover it as politicians.'"

" We must admit that, after nineteen centuries
of Christianity, in Christendom, with its commerce,
competition, and coercion, Christ's followers are few.1
His teachings are impossible except as ideals. If
He were to appear in the flesh, He could not call
Himself a, Christian.'1'1

1 And to them He is now saying, "Will ye also go
away ? " (John vi. 67).

THE "SOULS' THIRST"

Mr. White further says : —

"There is abundant evidence that a spiritual
wave, proceeding from the unrest of the world, is
rolling in upon us."

" For good or evil, the Evangelical and Calvin-
istic schools are dying out ; but popular faith is not
replaced by popular science"

What, then, is replacing it ? Mr. White says that —
" In their souls' thirst men seek relief in the
religion of psychical phenomena. The spread of
Christian Science among the comfortable classes
is an advertisement of the indelibility of the
religious instinct."

" Christian Science " (so-called) and " the religion of
psychical phenomena " are forms of Humanism ; but
they are adapted only to what Mr. White calls the
" comfortable classes." The wicomfortable classes, and
those who aspire to lead them, are taking up with that
more practical species of Humanism which is the
religious foundation of the great socialistic move-
ment.

Yet this candid writer confesses that " the ideal of
Christ is the only ideal that has ever satisfied the soul of
man.""

Thus, when we contemplate Socialism, we behold an
economic system founded upon the broad basis of the
welfare of Humanity as a whole, and one which is
gaining favour in many parts of the religious field ;

214 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

and when we look to the end of Socialism, we see
clearly the outlines of a huge, world-wide, all-embracing
Monopoly.

CAPITALISM— PLUTOCRACY IN ITS
FINAL STAGE

It has been remarked that the alternative now
presented to society is either to continue with the
present economic system, " Capitalism," remedying its
obnoxious features so far as possible, or to abolish it
and experiment with Socialism.

But it is appropriate at this point to call attention
to the fact that Capitalism itself is not stationary, but,
on the contrary, is advancing at a rapid rate ; and
particularly is it appropriate to note the important
fact that, if we look to the end towards which the
existing economic system is hastening, we likewise
behold the outlines of a huge, world-wide, all-embracing
Monopoly.

It seems to the writer to be a fact of tremendous
significance that, whichever of the two economic routes
now open to humanity may be chosen, it leads
ultimately to a complete Consolidation, Federation,
or Monopoly.

Socialism is agitating for a Monopoly which shall
be composed of all mankind — " Society " in a word —
and which shall control and operate, for the benefit of

THE GOAL OF CAPITALISM 215

all mankind, the land, natural resources, machinery, and
methods which are used in the making and distribution
of commodities.

Capitalism, meanwhile, is swiftly advancing towards
a complete Monopoly which shall control all business
enterprises ; and, in fact, is accomplishing this advance
by degrees, the process of its accomplishment being the
consolidation of corporations in various lines of business
into Syndicates or Trusts, and these into still larger
Trusts. Notwithstanding reactionary movements of
various kinds, governmental opposition and adverse
legislation, this process of consolidation goes steadily
on ; and its inevitable end, if not interrupted, must
obviously be the formation of a single, all-embracing
Monopoly.

This end of the present tendencies of Capitalism has
been clearly in view for several decades, and has been
frequently pointed out by those who have no know-
ledge whatever of the predictions of Scripture to which
we have referred. As an example of this expectation
a few quotations from a prominent writer on Socialist
themes will be given. The following passage was
published in 1889 (twenty years ago), and is by the
Editor of Wilslwre's Magazine : —

"The process of concentration is irresistible
and inevitable. . . . That this latter process of
concentration is now going on, is exemplified by
the buying up of the Cotton Seed Oil Trust, and

216 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

very recently the White Lead Trust, by the
Rockefeller people.

"It is the big fish eating the little fish, the
survival of the fittest ; and the logical end must
be that every industry in this country will finally
be owned and controlled by ONE HUGE TRUST."
Much has happened since these words were written,
and every pertinent event has tended to confirm the
prediction which they record. The steady advance of
industrialism along the lines of concentration and
merger, in order to eliminate the waste of competition,
has brought mankind very much nearer to the pre-
dicted Monopoly. Other factors besides the elimination
of wasteful competition are operating to secure this
result, though that doubtless supplies the main motive-
power of the movement. The pride and ambition of
man also urge it on ; for those who succeed in getting
" control " of a particular line of industry, and succeed
in organizing it into a vast machine for returning
profits to themselves, are stimulated by that success to
reach out for the control of other industries ; and their
profits furnish the " capital " needed for this purpose.
This has brought into existence certain "groups" of
associated industries, controlled by the same " interests,"
which are well known, and which have names by which
they are identified in financial circles; though for
prudential reasons they have not actually assumed the
form of a single consolidated enterprise.

THE IDEA OF BIGNESS 217

The idea of bigness is another stimulating notion of
the day. For some reason, not easy to define, the
mere fact of bulk in any human work seems to evoke
man's wonder and admiration. The size of steam-vessels,
the height of buildings, the length of railway trains,
and the like, furnish figures which have an abiding
relish for the modern man, who seems to read in them
the dimensions of his own greatness. For this reason
the size of the Steel Trust, and the extent of its
operations, form the theme of admiring comment, to
the extent even of suppressing any undesirable curiosity
on the part of the general public as to how the
interests of the community are affected by the ex-
istence, influence, and sustenance of that gigantic
institution.

Thirteen years after the above-quoted passage, which
predicted that present industrial tendencies must
inevitably lead to the formation of one huge Trust,
the same writer, in commenting upon changes then
taking place in a certain group of leading industries,
said : —

"These industries, owing to the plethora of
capital, are already at the point of crystallization
into monopolies, and the advent of such an un-
precedented flood of money " (as would come, for
example, from the Government purchase of the
railroads) " would not only complete the process,
but would cause the amalgamation of all the trusts

218 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

into one huge organization, THE COMING TRUST OF
TRUSTS."

It may be observed at this point that the process by
which this " Coming Trust of Trusts " is being brought
into existence is, in large measure, automatic ; that is
to say, it proceeds without direct human design or
volition. But it is difficult to suppose that any
orderly sequence of events, indicating purpose and
leading to a definite result, can proceed apart from a
directing Intelligence capable of planning it, and an
operating Power capable of carrying the plan into
effect. It is reasonable, therefore, to assume that
there is a mighty Being back of all these movements in
human affairs. And this is also to be inferred from
the further fact that these movements continue their
progress without interruption, though generation after
generation of human beings pass away without
beholding the end towards which they are steadily
tending. The great inclusive process, whereof these
economic movements are but special phases, may
properly be called a process of " Evolution " ; and this
process is observable everywhere in human affairs, and
nowhere else in the observable universe.1

These considerations seem to leave us no alternative
but to conclude that it is the spirit who is directing
human destinies, "the spirit that now works in the

1 See The World and its God, by the writer, chapters
xvi.-xxiii.

THE "HINGE OF DESTINY1' 219

children of disobedience," who is carrying on the
evolutionary process to an end coveted by himself; and
since we know that Satan's aim is to secure to himself
the worship which belongs to God, it is not surprising
that we should find the intellectual part of modern
society actually attributing Divine power to Evolution.
Further reference will be made to this.

But the Bible, in foretelling the coming of the
" Trust of Trusts," the great Religious and Industrial
Monopoly, speaks also of the coming of a great Leader,
having endowments of such extraordinary kind as
shall enable him to grasp and direct its prodigious
energies and complicated affairs.

Likewise, in the anticipations of present-day society,
we find, in association with the expectation of the great
Syndicate, that of the coming of the great leader, the
" Superman.11 For the advent of this fearful being the
minds of men are being prepared in various ways. We
quote further from Mr. Wilshire, first to show the
expectation that the great sociological change is close
at hand : —

" We are now swinging on the hinge of destiny.
We are in the transition stage of the greatest
sociological event that history has yet recorded.
Let him who runs read.11

But this change is not to be merely industrial and
political, a mere re-arrangement of the distribution of
wealth. It is, in its essence, a religious upheaval.

220 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

Thus, our commentator tells us that the end towards
which the mighty social movements are sweeping
is —

" the greatest the mind of man can conceive, — the
perfect relation of perfected man to a perfected uni-
verse— the birth of the SUPERMAN. The striving for
this is RELIGION. It is the true worship of God."
And again : —

"Man must be united to humanity in an
organization at once perfectly democratic and
perfectly autocratic. With this advent all
humanity will be at one with God, and every man
will be a god"

In describing the coming organization as one in
which all men are united, and as being at once perfectly
democratic and perfectly autocratic, this writer has,
with marvellous precision and conciseness, stated the
prominent identifying characteristics of the system of
Antichrist as given in the prophetic Scriptures. The
features of this system, upon which emphasis is there
laid, are its universal or world-wide extent; its in-
clusion of both the spiritual and material interests of
mankind ; its perfectly democratic character in that the
entire mass of humanity are on the same level ; its
perfectly autocratic character in that it is absolutely
controlled and directed by the Superman, Antichrist ;
and finally, its exaltation of Man to the place of God,
thereby fulfilling the promise which lured the human

THE SWAY OF THE "SUPERMAN" 221

race into its long career, now rapidly nearing an end,
namely, the promise, " Ye shall not surely die : ... ye
shall be as God."

This result is now so close at hand that a mere
observer of current events, laying no claim to any
prophetic gift, can describe its leading features with
clearness and accuracy.

Thus, again we have occasion to remind ourselves
that, whenever we follow one of the present-day move-
ments to its end, we arrive at the same result, namely,
Man exalted by his own achievements to the supreme
place. Whenever we count the number, it is "the
Number of MAN."

Certain it is, then, that mankind is rapidly approach-
ing the great economic change from industrial com-
petition to industrial monopoly. Every active agency
operating at this time in human affairs, whether
religious or commercial, is helping it along. Whether
Society shall capture the Trusts (as the Socialists fondly
anticipate) : or whether the Trusts (consolidated into
the " Trust of Trusts ") shall capture Society : or
whether the antagonistic systems shall collide in a
mutually destructive conflict, or unite in a peaceful
confluence out of which the final System is to emerge :
the result in any case will inevitably be the Religio-
Comrnercial Prodigy, the Churchified Industrial
Monopoly, over which the " Superman " will exercise
his brief but absolute sway.

222 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

MR. WELLS' SOCIALISM. THE " COLLECTIVE
INTELLIGENCE/1 "GOOD WILL IN MAN"

At this point it will be appropriate to cite the testi-
mony of another competent witness, one who "calls
himself a Socialist," who has " gone into it personally,
and has studied the Socialist movement closely and
intimately at first hand." This witness is the well-
known writer, Mr. H. G. Wells, than whom there is,
perhaps, none more competent to discuss social problems
in a broad way. Mr. Wells is, moreover, by reason of
his high intelligence and great candour, entitled to a
respectful hearing. He has given in his book, New
Worlds for Old, an exceedingly lucid, readable, and
non-technical exposition of a very mild type of
Socialism.

The feature of Mr. Wells' book which chiefly
concerns us is his clear recognition and forceful state-
ment of the fact that, in order to the establishment
and maintenance of the " ideal Socialist state," there
must be a competent directing- Head, endowed with
intelligence of' an order such as no human being has ever
yet possessed.

If, then, Mr. Wells is right in this important parti-
cular, it will be necessary, before mankind can enjoy
the blessings of ideal Socialism, first, that the requisite
intellectual genius be developed, and second, that the
affairs of collective humanity be completely subordin-

THE "COLLECTIVE MIND'"

ated to its authority. Moreover, in this view of the
matter, the continuance of Socialism, after it has once
been established, will be possible only upon the
condition that the required, and as yet undeveloped,
directing intelligence be renewed from generation
to generation, and be permanently entrusted with
the responsibilities of government.

Mr. Wells says, without qualification, that what is
needed for the realization of the Socialist's ideals is —

" the collective mind of humanity, the soul and

moral being of mankind " (p. 277).
Again he says : —

" Now it is only under an intelligent collective

mind that any of the dreams of these constructive

professions can attain an effective realization "

(p. 281).

And he shows great discernment in saying of the
" classic Socialism " of Karl Marx, that " it has no
psychology.'" That would be, indeed, a fatal lack in
any economic system that is to command the approval
of the influential sections of the community.

It is not entirely clear just what Mr. Wells means
by the " collective mind of humanity," and perhaps he
does not quite know himself, seeing that the thing
does riot as yet exist, or at least has not yet been
localized. But it is clear enough that Mr. Wells
perceives the need of superhuman intellectual endow-
ments for the proper management of the affairs of a

224 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

consolidated Humanity. Some towering genius must
be at the head of such a system if it is not to fall
immediately to pieces. The " collective responsibility,"
incident to the " collective ownership " of all land and
public utilities, certainly demands a corresponding and
commensurate "collective intelligence." Where, then, is
it to come from ; and, when it arrives, how is it to
secure authority over the affairs of "collective
humanity " ?

Mr. Wells suggests that the needed intelligence is
to be developed by teaching ; and he defines " Human
Nature " as a plastic, " teachable " thing (p. 219). But
this suggestion raises the further questions — What sort
of doctrine is required for the development of the
collective intelligence ? Whence are to come the
teachers who are to instruct the people therein ? And
what force will constrain the "sovereign people'1 to
submit to such instruction until the collective intelli-
gence shall have been developed? The answers to
these questions are by no means obvious.

Mr. Wells is not a Socialist of the ordinary fatalistic
sort — one that regards the coming of Socialism as the
inevitable outworking of a blind and impersonal
evolutionary process. On the contrary, he plainly
discerns and clearly describes some very formidable
obstacles in its path. The first of these has been
already noticed, namely, the lack of the intellectual
ability and capacity required for the management of

PEOPLE AS THEY ARE

the " ideal Socialist State," — that gigantic and complex
political institution that is to own, develop, administer,
and operate all land and industries incident thereto
(mining, agriculture, etc.), and all public utilities, to
supervise the health of the entire community, to
superintend the education of children, etc.

Then again, Mr. Wells is keen enough to see, and
frank enough to say, that one of the chief obstacles in
the way of the organization and proper management of
such a stupendous and complicated institution as the
" Socialistic State," lies in the present constitution of
human nature. As to this he says : —

"With people just as they are now, with their
prejudicies, their ignorances, their misapprehensions,
their unchecked vanities and greeds and jealousies,
their crude and misguided instincts, their irrational
traditions, NO SOCIALIST STATE CAN EXIST, no better
State can exist than the one we now have with
all its squalor and cruelty " (p. 219).
This is a great deal for a Socialist to admit ; and it
is quite enough, we should suppose, to destroy Mr.
Wells' influence with the masses of the "sovereign
people." Moreover, since Mr. Wells so clearly per-
ceives that no better social order than that we now
have is possible so long as human nature remains what
it now is, we should expect him to reach the logical
conclusion that an essential pre-requisite to the attain-
ment of his ideal State is a change of human nature.

226 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

But he quite illogically concludes from his premises that
what is needed by humanity is, not a change of nature,
but a " change of ideas'1'' (p. 219).

What Mr. Wells says in effect is, that " the people "
have the right to the ownership of all land, public
utilities, productive appliances, etc., and have the right
to govern their own affairs, but that they are as yet
unfit to be invested with these rights, because (1) so
long as human nature remains what it now is, no
better State is possible than that which now exists ;
and (2) collective humanity lacks the "collective in-
telligence,'1 which is absolutely needed for the manage-
ment of such a vast and intricate social system as the
Socialists propose. And Mr. Wells knows of no way
of effecting the needed change in human nature, and of
developing the needed " collective intelligence," except
by sound teaching.

Now this manifestly presupposes — first, that teachers
are available and ready to teach just the sound and
fruitful doctrine (whatever it may be, Mr. Wells does
not formulate it) that will effect the desired transfor-
mation of human nature, and that will also develop
the collective intelligence which is the sine qua non of
Socialism ; and, second, that the " Sovereign people "
will be pleased to listen to the teachers of this (as yet
unidentified) doctrine, tuniing a deaf ear to all others,
until such time (how many years or centuries we are
not told) as may be required to accomplish the above

" RIGHTS " OF THE PEOPLE 227

stated results. But it is quite certain that the people,
being " just as they are now, with their prejudices,
their ignorances,1' etc, as described by Mr. Wells, will
not hear of any such delay in the assumption and en-
joyment by them of their " rights," and will not submit
to the schooling of teachers such as Mr. Wells refers
to — if any such there be. One of the "rights" of
which the sovereign people are most jealous, and
which they have learned to exercise most freely, is the
right to just such teaching as pleases their itching
ears.

There is no lack of teachers and teaching of this sort.
Accordingly, the people " heap to themselves teachers "
because they have " itching ears " ; and they teach the
acceptable doctrine that the people have not only the
right to assume the ownership of all property for the
benefit of collective humanity, but that they have also
the wisdom and intelligence needed for the proper
administration of the ideal Socialist state.

Mr. Wells, however, is right; and for that reason
his message will not be heeded. For how may we
expect that they shall do wisely who admittedly lack
•wisdom ? The " collective humanity," as it now exists,
does indeed lack both the character and the intelligence
needed for the maintenance of an ideal social order.
Nevertheless, Mr. Wells allies himself with those who
promulgate the popular doctrine of the "rights of
man," thus using his influence to precipitate the crisis

228 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

wherewith society is now menaced, namely, that of
being subject to force divorced Jrom wisdom — absolute
power without the intelligence needed for its proper
use. Nothing worse could well be imagined.

But we have not yet mentioned the ultimate agency
in which Mr. Wells confides for the accomplishment of
the radical transformation which he rightly deems to
be a necessary preliminary to the introduction of
Socialism ; and here we get a peep at Mr. Wells1
religion. For the performance of this great work he
looks hopefully to what he calls the " Good Will " in
man. It is quite evident that, to this indefinite and
shadowy agency, Mr. Wells, in his soul (which is
plainly not devoid of reverence) attributes the power of
a god, and he therefore reverentially writes its name
with initial capitals. He sees in human conduct and
human history the manifestations of a force that is
" constantly working to make order out of casualty ;
beauty out of confusion ; justice, kindliness, mercy, out
of cruelty and inconsiderate pressure.11 We might
properly join issue with this statement, inasmuch as
the " force " to which Mr. Wells here refers is simply the
influence exerted in human society by Christianity and
the Gospel. But that is, for the moment, beside the
question, for we are just now seeking the agency in-
voked by Mr. Wells to prepare the way for Socialism.
Of this alleged " force " he says : —

"For our present purpose it will be sufficient

PRE-REQUISITES TO SOCIALISM 229

to speak of this force that struggles and tends to
make and do as GOOD WILL " (p. 5).

"There is a secular amelioration of life, and
it is brought about by GOOD WILL working
through the efforts of men " (p. 7).

" There is no untutored naturalness in Socialism,
no uneducated blind force on our side" (then
clearly Mr. Wells' god is not Evolution).
"Socialism is made of struggling GOOD WELL,
made out of a conflict of wills " (p. 219).
And the introduction of Socialism will be a task
demanding all the energies of this deity ; for, says Mr.
Wells—

" if we really contemplate Socialism as our achieve-
ment, to impose guiding ideas and guiding habits,
we have to co-ordinate all the Good Will that is
active or latent in our world in one constructive
plan "(p. 219).

We need not dwell longer upon this. If Socialism
is to await- the transformation of human nature, and
the development of the " collective intelligence," and
if these great achievements are to be accomplished by
the co-ordination of all the Good Will (active or
latent) in our world, in one constructive plan, it will
never come. There is, in that case, no more to be
feared from Mr. Wells1 Socialism than from his
Martians. One is just as much the product of his
fertile imagination as were the others. Unhappily, the

230 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

Socialism which now menaces humanity is that which
is propagated by appealing, not to the good will, but
to the ill will in man. This is an appeal which is sure
of a response. The masses of mankind are easily moved
to envy and hatred of the prosperous classes. So long
as people are "just as they now are, with their
prejudices, their ignorances, and their unchecked
vanities, and greeds, and jealousies," the appeals which
will move them to the extent necessary to bring about
a social revolution are those addressed to their
prejudices, their ignorances, their vanities, greeds, and
jealousies. The Socialism which is propagated by
appeals of this sort is the Socialism that is to be
feared.

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRUSTS.
"THE GREAT PROBLEM OF THE AGE."

i
We quoted above the statement recently made by

Mr. Alexander Graham Bell, that " competition as an
element in business is going out, and monopolies, which
are opposed to competition, are coming in." The
recently-published views of this exceptionally com-
petent observer of human affairs are worthy of further
notice. Mr. Bell says : —

"The destruction of competition by powerful
organizations seems to be inevitable. It is prob-

THE "PROBLEM OF THE AGE" 231

ably the most characteristic feature of the age in
which we live-, and it seems to represent an ad-
vanced position in our civilization, reached by a
gradual process of evolution with which man can-
not cope" l

This is a weighty testimony to the mightiness of that
power which Mr. Bell calls " Evolution," and which
has in hand the development of our scientific civiliza-
tion. That man cannot cope with it, and that the
destruction of competition by means of it seems
inevitable, are propositions to which we must yield our
assent.

Mr. Bell further says : —

"A glance backward over the history of the
struggle will assure us that these great and power-
ful organizations have come to stay."
In view of the great menace to humanity to which
the existence of these powerful organizations gives rise,
Mr. Bell declares that —

" What to do with the Trusts has become the
great problem of the age."

But would it not be more logical to say that
the great problem of the age is, " What are the
Trusts going to do with us ? " If these power-
ful organizations are the creations of that mighty
god " Evolution," " with which man cannot cope," it
would seem idle to ask what puny man is to do with
1 World's Work for March 1909,

232 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

them, and quite futile to formulate measures for
dealing with them. The futility of such proceeding
very clearly appears from consideration of the remedies
which Mr. Bell discusses. There are, he thinks, only
two possible remedies, either (1) to control by legis-
lation the amount of profits the Trusts may be per-
mitted to make ; or (2) to buy them out, and let the
Government run their business. The latter remedy
is considered by Mr. Bell to be impracticable ; and
indeed it is far more probable that the Trusts will buy
out (or capture) the Government and run its business.
Mr. Bell therefore advocates the other remedy; but
if this be the only recourse of society against the
menace of the great monopolies, then there is practi-
cally no remedy at all. It is not possible for a
legislature either to ascertain or to limit the profits of
a corporation ; and, moreover, it is far easier for the
monopolies to control the legislature, than for the
legislature to control the monopolies.

We may, therefore, count Mr. Bell among the
competent witnesses who testify that the coming of
the Great Monopoly is inevitable.

CAPITALISM— ITS DEFENSIVE MEASURES

It may be safely asserted, as a general proposition
to which there are few exceptions, that every man who
is not a " capitalist " would like to be one. The main

ground of objection to capitalism as an economic
system is simply that, under its operation, only a very
few persons can become capitalists, all others being
apparently foredoomed, by iron necessity, to lives of un-
congenial and poorly requited labour, the fruits of which
go to swell the profits of the limited capitalistic class.

But, so long as this system continues to hold sway
in the realm of economics, the enormous power which
wealth confers upon its owners will remain in the hands
of the capitalists ; and it goes without saying that the
instinct of self-preservation will impel them to use that
power in every possible way for the maintenance of the
system upon which depends their welfare, and all that
their hearts may cherish and desire. It does not come
within the scope of this work to discuss all the defensive
measures which are being elaborated and used for the
purpose of protecting the present economic system
against the menace of Socialism, and of establishing
and extending its power and influence. The political
discussions of the day afford sufficient information
regarding the influence of the " vested interests " over
legislatures and other governmental institutions, and re-
garding the manner in which that influence is being used.

But the system is menaced by an internal danger,
namely, the possibility that it may break down by
reason of its very complexity and the extreme delicacy
of its multifarious adjustments. These details are
becoming so numerous and intricate as to be beyond
16

234 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

the grasp of the ordinary human mind. They require
for their mastery men of extraordinary genius, and
genius of a new order. As the scope and intricacies of
our economic system increase, that increase creates the
demand for men of corresponding capacity. If such
men be not developed, the complicated, high-pressure,
industrial machine, whose speed is ever accelerating,
will most assuredly escape from the control of its
managers, and dash itself to pieces.

In view of this tendency, it is highly interesting to
note the remarkable wisdom and foresight displayed
by some of our industrial leaders at this critical time,
in making provision for the training and develop-
ment of a new order of industrial geniuses. It is
a notorious fact that the control of the educational
machinery of the world is passing (if it has not already
passed) into the hands of the capitalists. In fact, the
" higher education " has become a matter so costly as
to be beyond the reach of all but a favoured few.

Thus the "control" of the industrial machinery,
and of the educational machinery, has come into the
same hands; and those who grasp these great forces
are intelligently and systematically planning for the
" uniting of all movements for social progress." l The

1 For evidence of the extent to which the American
Colleges are devoting their energies to the maintenance of
Capitalism, see " Polyglots in Temples of Babel," Cosmo-
politan for June, 1909.

THE "SOCIAL ECONOMIST" 235

friend who called my attention to this important
development of our scientific civilization spoke of it as
a " daring conception of the political economist " ; and
he very pertinently said : " When we consider that
this conception emanates from the executive head of
an organization of national and international influence,
successful for many years in bringing religious and
reform activities into unity ; that this organization
finds its supporters among the greatest capitalists of
our day ; and that the latter definitely plan to bring
such a type of being as the ' Social Economist ' into
existence, one's interest deepens immensely."

This new type of human genius, the "Social
Economist," which it is the purpose of these central-
izing agencies to bring into existence, is to be a man
(or type of man) capable of handling and directing the
newly developed and highly complicated social forces
and instrumentalities. Just as the " Captains of
Industry" have been developed for the purpose of
handling the peculiar problems, and to direct the great
energies, of the corporations and trusts, — such as the
United States Steel Corporation, — so the leaders of
industrial progress perceive that there has now arisen
the need of " Social Economists," who shall be able to
grasp the still more complex affairs, and direct the vaster
energies, of the new Social Order, which the coalescence
of these great corporations is bringing into existence.

The society referred to in the foregoing quotation

236 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

is The Charity Organization of the City of New York ;
and the executive head of that society has lately been
appointed the " Schiff Professor of SOCIAL ECONOMY "
in Columbia University. This is an entirely new depart-
ment of education. It was founded by Mr. Jacob H.
Schiff,, a prominent and wealthy citizen of New York,
and a well-known philanthropist.

The motive which prompted this endowment is
doubtless the sincere conviction that mankind will be
benefited thereby. Many other rich men are making
use of their wealth, in one way and another, for the
supposed advantage of society as a whole, and with
disinterested motives. But these uses of surplus
wealth are simply contributing to the fulfilment of
prophecy in aiding the development of that super-
lative human being who is to control, for a brief but
brilliant period of time, the affairs of Consolidated
Humanity.

Other Universities have (I understand) already
followed this lead in establishing departments of
"Social Economy "; and the results of these wise
measures will soon be apparent.

The scope and aims of this new department of
Social Economy are well stated in the inaugural
address of the first Schiff Professor, Mr. Edward T.
Devine, which address has been published under the
title of "Efficiency and Relief. A Programme of
SOCIAL WORK." One of the opening paragraphs of this

THE « THREE PROBLEMS " OF MAN 237

address will suffice for our present purposes, as it gives
the keynote of the whole : —

" MAN has faced three extraordinary problems.
The first was the simplest : the taking possession
of the physical world, the appropriation of natural
forces. The second was more complex : the
organization of industry, the working out of an
industrial system. The third is the most per-
plexing: THE SPIRITUAL DIRECTION OF HUMAN
AFFAIRS."

In these few words we have a clear statement of the
idea of the consolidation of human affairs, and the
bringing of that consolidation under spiritual direction.
And not only so, but the intimation is plainly given,
that, when this is brought about, Man's task will be
accomplished ; for it is Man who has faced these three
" extraordinary problems " ; and Man is now addressing
himself to the solution of the last and most perplexing
one.

We ask particular attention to the fact that the
system described by this professor of the new branch
of Social Economy is, in every essential particular,
identical with that predicted in Rev. xiii. In this
Programme of Social Work we see the great intellect-
ual energies, which are controlled by the higher
education of the day, directed towards the fulfilment
of that prophecy. The Programme of Social Work
embraces the development of the Social organization,

238 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

the training of Social organizers and Social economists,
the inculcation of the Social spirit, and the diligent
impression upon the public mind of the Social point
of view.

It is noticeable also that, while many of the clergy
are taking up the cause of Socialism (which, though
similar in name, is a radically different system from
the social organization proposed by Prof. Devine),
there are, on the other hand, a number of the largest
and most influential Churches that have passed into
the hands of the capitalists, and are liberally supported
by them. The cause of capitalism has also its doughty
champions among the clergy, such, for example, as Chan-
cellor Day, of Syracuse University, defender of the
Standard Oil Company, and author of The Raid on Pros-
perity, an attack on the policies of President Roosevelt.

But whether men be working in one or the other
of these hostile parties of Social organizers, all are
working towards precisely the same end, namely, the
consolidation of all human affairs, the giving of
" spiritual direction " thereto, and eventually the exalta-
tion of the Superman, the great " Social Economist,"
to the head of that Consolidation.

THE PREDICTED END OF CAPITALISM

The devotion of man to the heaping up of money
is the outcome of three prominent traits of the unre-

DEVOTION TO MONEY-GETTING 239

generate human being, namely, selfishness, unbelief, and
the vain-glory of life.

1. It has been truly said that whenever one man
receives a dollar he has not earned, another man has
earned a dollar he did not receive. Every one of the
colossal fortunes of the day exists because of the
impoverishment of many whose labour has gone to
the production of the wealth that constitutes them.
Business principles are frankly the quintessence of
selfishness ; so that no further argument or proof are
needed to establish the point that devotion to the
accumulation of money proceeds from selfishness.

2. Devotion to the accumulation of wealth is also
an evidence of unbelief and lack of trust in God ; for
those who truly trust Him have the sure promise of
His unfailing providence. Their trust is not "in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, Who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. vi. 17).

3. Finally, the possession of great wealth is a mark
of distinction, giving to the possessor thereof a place
of prominence among men, and making him the object
of attentions that are pleasing to the natural heart.
Thus the vain-glory of life incites to the heaping up of
money in these last days, in which, because of their demo-
cratic character, the honours and distinctions for which
men strove in other days have largely lost their value.

There is no reason whatever to suppose that an
appeal to the very rich, in the name of humanity, and

240 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

for altruistic considerations, to forego the further
accumulation of riches, will be of the slightest avail ;
for there is scarcely a man among " modern men " who,
with the same opportunities, would not use them to
the fullest extent for his own benefit.

Neither will denunciations of the " criminally rich n
and "malefactors of great wealth," though coming
from the highest official station, have the smallest effect
in staying this passion for the heaping up riches in the
last days.

But God is not unmindful of the use which many of
those who possess great riches are making of them, or
of the sufferings caused thereby to millions of human
beings. Jehovah of Hosts has His own plan for dealing
with the evils of Capitalism, and has given His word of
comfort to those of His people who may suffer therefrom.

In James v. 1-8, we have a passage of Scripture
which wonderfully illuminates the present stage of
Industrialism. That this passage relates to the end-
times is certain, because it is specifically addressed to
those who have heaped up treasure " in the last days,"
(this is the literal rendering of ver. 3). Moreover,
the counsel it gives to the " brethren," whose endurance
was to be tested by the accumulation of these fortunes,
is to wait patiently " until the coming of the Lord."
This is a plain intimation that, when the period of
swollen fortunes should arrive, then " the coming of the
Lord draweth nigh" (ver. 8), so near, indeed, that

THE "RICH MEN" 241

they who suffer by reason of these evil conditions need
formulate no plans for their own relief. The Lord's
coming will bring deliverance to them before they
can accomplish anything for themselves.

The prominent features of this passage, which conveys
a message of special importance at the present time,
are the following : —

First. A class of " rich men " is addressed. It is
doubtful if such a class ever existed in the previous
history of mankind. There have been rich men, of
course (though hardly in the modern sense) ; but there
has been no class of people whose common character-
istic was simply that they were "rich." There have
been aristocrats, nobility, upper and lower classes,
educated and uneducated classes, high caste and low
caste, gentry and peasantry, literary groups, musical,
artistic, scientific, political, etc. But in our day there
is a distinct class of "rich men," a financial group,
whose bond is simply that of wealth, its possession, its
use, and particularly its augmentation. These "rich
men" have their own separate and special interests,
their own mode of living, their own " society," pleasures,
entertainments, amusements, etc. What distinguishes
them from other men is nothing more, or less, or other,
than that they are " rich." And it may be remarked
that what would have been regarded as a fortune one
generation back would not to-day admit its possessor
to the much envied class of " rich men."

242 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

Second. The rich men are admonished to weep,
howling for the miseries that are coming upon them.
The precise nature of the miseries which are to
threaten this plutocratic class is not stated, the lan-
guage of verses 2 and 3 being symbolical. But
nothing that could happen would make a plutocrat so
miserable as the threatened loss of his money ; and that
such is the nature of the predicted calamity is plain
enough from the words, " Your riches have rotted." l
The significance of this appears to be that the great
horded piles of wealth have become valueless. Such
would be the case if, for example, a socialistic govern-
ment should declare all railroads, manufactories, etc., in
which the money of the wealthy is invested, to be the
rightful property of the people at large, i.e. of" Society."
The evidences of the riches, i.e. the stocks, bonds, and
other "investment securities" would remain, but the
value thereof would have decayed. The riches would
have " rotted." In like manner, the words " Your gold
and silver has been eaten away ; and the canker of them
shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your
flesh as fire," indicate, not the loss of fortunes in ordinary
ways, but the actual eating out of the value of posses-
sions, and that by a process which will entail poignant
anguish to their owners, comparable to fire gnawing
at their vitals. Moreover, these "miseries" are not

1 The author is using in these comments the literal
renderings given in Bagster's Englishman's Greek N,T,

HEAPING UP TREASURE 243

merely coming upon individual members of the wealthy
class, but upon the entire group of " rich men."
Nothing but a radical change in the social order •, such as
the abolition of private ownership of capital, would
bring about such a result.

Third. The passage indicates a period or era of the
world's history wherein there shall be a very marked
accumulation of wealth — something far beyond the
ordinary fortunes of those previously reputed to be
rich — in a few hands. The specific charge against
these rich men is that they have "heaped treasure
together.11 Here is a heaping up of treasure — the
making of great piles of wealth — and a devotion to
that process as the business of life. Heaping up riches
is the all-absorbing occupation of these men, employing
all their energies, occupying their thoughts, and forming
the topic of their conversation.

The expression " heaps " of treasure aptly indicates
the fabulous accumulations which a few men of this
generation have amassed; and this era of heaping
together of riches in amounts which render their
owners conspicuous, and which separate them into a
special class, began but a few years ago. So rapidly
has this process of accumulation of wealth come about,
and so rapidly is it running its predicted course, that
the culmination of the era which it especially charac-
terises must of necessity be very close at hand.

It is estimated, on the basis of Government Census

244 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

Reports, that the wealth of the United States has been
increased six-fold in the past fifty years. But this
prodigious increase of wealth has not tended to equalize
the economic conditions of the people. On the con-
trary, the treasure has been " heaped together "" into the
hands of a very small and steadily decreasing number
of people ; and the inequality between the very rich and
the very poor is greater than ever before. It is
estimated that the bulk of the wealth of the United
States is in the hands of about 250,000 persons.

Fourth. The prophecy foretells that, along with
this amassing of treasure by a few rich men, there will
be suffering so great as to cause loud outcries ; and that
the cries of the sufferers are so piteous as to evoke the
special assurance that they have not been unheeded
in heaven as on earth, but have " entered into the ears
of the Lord of Hosts.'1

Such suffering exists to-day, and is most acute in
those very centres of human activity where the heaped-
up treasures are procured. Such suffering exists in this
country at a time of abundant harvests, and when
barns and warehouses and stores are filled with the
produce of the field, and with the products of human
industry.

These cries of suffering human beings are a con-
spicuous feature of modern " civilization " ; and, in
the midst of the superabundance which the bounty
of God has provided, they convict man of failure to

HUMAN INCOMPETENCE 245

administer righteousness and justice even in the things
upon which man himself has bestowed no labour. On
this testimony, man is justly adjudged to be utterly
incompetent to manage his own affairs, even to the
extent of relieving destitution, and the suffering it
entails, and that in the midst of super-abundant
wealth. And, therefore, the judgment of God, which
has waited long, draws near. For if the man of
to-day is unable or unwilling to establish a social
system which shall at least be free from the foul
blot of cruel injustice and indifference to the miseries
of the poor, and that shall put at least a limit to the
oppressive power of sordid selfishness, rapacity, and
greed of gain, it is the sublimity of folly to indulge in
the promise and hope that a better condition will be
established by the man of to-morrow. It is presump-
tion and folly for the man of this generation to speak
for the man of the next generation ; and even if he
could certify better things of the latter it would not
relieve himself from condemnation. The man of to-day
has no warrant to speak for, or to promise anything on
behalf of, the man of to-morrow. Yet he not only
does so, but he even seems to think that, by predicting
better and more equitable conditions in some indefinite
future time, he is thereby excusing his own selfish and
unjust use of the opportunities which the existing system
has afforded him.

But already the era of multiplication of wealth has

246 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

proceeded far enough at least to prove beyond all doubt
that increase of prosperity does not tend to improve the
character and condition of man. On the contrary, it
serves only to excite his lust of gain and pleasure, and
to develop a state of society wherein there may exist
at one end criminal indulgence, and at the other
abject misery.

It is a very common practice of the day to solicit
admiration for this glorious era of "progress" and
"prosperity," by parading large figures showing the
great gains which have been made in various directions.
But if our scientific civilization is to be judged by the
statistics of its gains, then it is condemned by its own
figures; for these show that the gains in wealth,
commerce, size of cities, miles of railroads, tonnage of
ships, etc., whereof the age boasts, are equalled or ex-
ceeded by the increases in murders, suicides, divorces,
and insanity. Each of these latter groups is increasing
in the United States at a rate^/ar exceeding the increase
in population. These are the real fruits by which the
character of our wonderful era of progress may be
correctly known.

Fifth. But still more significant is the reference in
the prophecy to the cry of the labourers, protesting
against the system whereby their just reward is kept
back or diverted from them.

The present era of industrialism is characterized, not
only by a class of " rich men," but also by a distinct

THE "CRY" OF THE LABOURERS 247

"labouring class"; and this class, like the other, is
becoming more and more conspicuous. Organized
Labour is one of the chief factors of .the present
economic situation ; and it has a definite " cry " of its
own. Who is there, in these days, that has not heard
the outcry of the labouring class ? That feature of the
era is emphasized in the prophecy : " Behold, the hire
of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which
is of you kept back by fraud, CRIETH." The harvest
which these rich men have gathered into their store-
houses has been the product of human toil ; and the
cry of the reapers is that their hire has been kept back
by fraud or artifice.

It has already been pointed out that the special
complaint of the Socialist labour-leaders, and of those
whom they represent, is that the wage-system is really
a fraudulent device, whereby the capitalist is enabled
to appropriate to himself as " profits " the larger part
of the value of the labourer's work, and whereby the
latter's labour is purchased, not at its actual value as
measured by what it produces, but at the market price
of labour in a competitive labour-market, i.e. in a
market where there are always unemployed workmen
competing for work. The passage is very specific in
speaking of the "hire" of the workmen, thereby
pointing to a state of society wherein the labour is
performed, not by slaves, but by hired labourers.
This feature of the passage is very impressive, and has

248 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

a special claim upon our attention as we see these
identical conditions assuming prominence until they
have become one of the most conspicuous character-
istics of the society of the day.

Sixth. "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth."
Rotherham renders this, " Ye have luxuriated upon the
land " ; and Bagster"s literal version says : " Ye have
lived in indulgence in the earth and in self-gratifica-
tion."

We hear and read tales of unprecedented extrava-
gance on the part of the very rich ; of entertainments
which cost enormous sums ; of dinners and even of
single gowns which cost a fortune ; of displays of
dress, jewellery, and table decorations ; of competition
between members of the wealthy class in the matter
of providing unique, costly, and sometimes amazingly
grotesque features for their respective banquets and
other entertainments. Styles of dress and headgear
are also going to unprecedented extremes of law-
lessness. Luxuriating upon the land, and living {i.e.
spending their lives) in indulgence of all sorts and in
self-gratification, are certainly among the distinctive
characteristics of that class of ultra-rich which the
era of industrialism has brought into existence; and
"for whom judgment of old is not idle, and their
destruction slumbers not " (2 Pet. ii. 3).

God has noted all these things, and has specifically
foretold " miseries " coming upon the rich and self-

"A TERRIBLE ERA" 249

indulgent far greater than those now endured by the
defrauded labourers, at whose expense they luxuriate
on the earth. Just what form this coming calamity
will take, is not definitely stated in the prophecy.
Neither do present conditions admit of a prediction
of its precise form ; but the near approach of some
catastrophe is being freely predicted by not a few of
those who observe and comment upon the existing
state of Society. Indeed, with economic conditions so
badly out of balance — and rapidly becoming more so —
it requires little foresight to predict a speedy and
radical change.

Professor Ely, of Johns Hopkins University, thus
expresses himself upon the present situation : —

"I must frankly say that I believe we are just
beginning to enter a terrible era in the world's
history — an era of domestic warfare such as never
has been seen, and the end of which God only can
see/'

We may supplement Professor Ely's statement by
saying that God has not only seen the end, but has
revealed it. Therefore they who believe His Word will
not be disturbed by these things which are coming
to pass upon the earth. The passage upon which we
have been commenting states clearly that, when the
described condition of things appears, then the Lord's
coming is so near that His people need take no
measures for their own redress, or participate in any

250 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

political schemes of social reform. What they are to
do is specially enjoined in the words, *' Be patient,
therefore, brethren, till the coming of the Lord." He
Himself will bring deliverance to them that look for
Him ; for " unto them that look for Him shall He
appear the second time, apart from sin, unto salva-
tion " (Heb. ix. 28).

He Who alone can set all things right shall surely
take the government upon His shoulder, and He will
do it at the moment when man^s attempts at self-
government have most conspicuously failed.

The purpose, therefore, of this important prophecy,
so clearly descriptive of these " last days,11 is to arouse
the Lord's people, and to exhort them to be in a con-
stant state of watchfulness and readiness for His
coming.

" Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it until
it receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also
patient ; establish your heart : for the coming of the
Lord draweth nigh."

THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF SOCIALISM

Thus far our attention has been directed mainly to
the economic side of Socialism, contrasting it with
the existing order of Capitalism, which it aims to
supplant. But, as has been stated, Socialism does not

RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES OF SOCIALISM 251

propose merely a fairer distribution of the products of
human effort. It also embodies definite religious
principles. The basis of the whole movement is the
profound belief in the " Solidarity and Independence
of Humankind " ; that " each should work for all and
all for each " ; that " the will of the People is the
Supreme Law, and its Voice the Mandate of God,"
etc.1

These are articles of religious faith. They embody,
moreover, the essence of ideal or pure Democracy ; and
from them we may more clearly learn the drift of the
various New Theology movements which give so pro-
minent a place to the principles of Democracy, openly
adopting them as religious principles.

Again, attention has been called to the very
important fact that the doctrines of Socialism are
being espoused and propagated very largely by men
who have been ordained as Christian ministers. This
fact tends to emphasise the religious aspect of Socialism.
Although these " Christian Socialists " do not advocate
all of the religious doctrines of Socialism, their advocacy
of the system itself necessarily aids in establishing it as
a whole.

It is the cardinal doctrine of Socialism that in-
dividual human beings are but members of one
homogeneous body, namely " Society," or the Race, to

1 "The Creed of Collectivism/' as given in a booklet
entitled We-ism, by W. E. P. French.

252 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

which body they owe everything, and from which they
receive everything. This practically means that
Society, or the Race, or Man, is the true god from
whom all benefits flow to each individual, and whom
each individual is bound to serve. Hence it is the
duty of Society to care for, protect, and supply the
needs of all its dependent members and devotees.
But, according to the teachers of Humanism and other
new theologies, Man has so recently, and thus far so
imperfectly, come to the knowledge of his own Divinity,
that he has yet to perfect himself in the discharge of
his Divine duties and responsibilities. The "Evolu-
tion " of Man is therefore as yet incomplete ; but the
progress of that process is so rapid that the complete
Consolidation of Man, and his ability to carry on the
business of a god, may be confidently expected at an
early day.

Mr. H. D. Lloyd, in Man the Social Creator, thus
speaks of the progress that is being made in this
direction : —

" Man is being slowly revealed to himself. The
word the world waits for will come from those
who disclose to Humanity that the perfections it
has been attributing to its gods are sparks struck
out of the goodnesses it feels stirring within itself.
Mankind, struggling up out of the mud, has not
dared to think of itself as the nebulae in which is
contained shining star-stuff. But it is coming to

THE CREED OF COLLECTIVISM 253

feel that it does not need to be Divine by proxy

any longer."

The thought contained in this passage is floating
everywhere in the atmosphere of Socialism, and is, in
fact, of the very essence of that system. Moreover, we
have seen that all the new theologies and progressive
religious movements of the day are charged with it.
Mr. Newman Smith speaks of it as " one of the pro-
foundest and most vitalizing faiths which are now
permeating and renewing the Protestant world," and
as being also the inspiring faith of the Modernists.
From this it may be clearly seen that society as a
whole is not far from that predicted state wherein
Divine honours and worship shall be paid to a man.
That man need only be set up as the representative of
the Race in order to be the realization of the religious
programme of Socialism. In the foregoing passage from
Mr. Lloyd's book we have Man as Creator, and in
other characteristic utterances of the day he is extolled
as his own Saviour.

A few more quotations from Mr. French's book will
be useful in showing how openly the religion of
Humanism exalts Man to the place of God.

" We believe in the Religion of Humanity,

whose God is Love, and in which Love is the

fulfilling of the Law."

"We believe that Capital — the dead inert

material thing — is the Creation of Labour, the

254 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

living God, the co-ordination of Force and Matter,
the marriage of the Head and the Hand. And we
believe that the product, the thing created, is the
inalienable property of the Producer and Creator."

"We believe in a Community of Interest for
the Community."

" We believe in the UNIVERSAL TRUST in which
every Child, Woman, and Man shall hold one, and
only one, non-transferrable share of Common
Stock, and in which there shall be no preferred
stock."

"We believe in the Gospel-of-the-Gift, and
that whoso giveth Life in its highest Effort to the
Service of Humanity, shall live for ever."

" We believe in the Federation of the World, the
Fellowship of Nations, the Motherhood of Nature,
the Sisterhood and Brotherhood of Humankind,
and in * The dear love of Comrades.' "

"Socialism is the religion of Humanity. It
was begotten in Hope, conceived in Charity, and
born in Honour. It was prophesied in the Past,
it is being fulfilled in the Present, and it shall be
the glory of the splendid Future."

" Socialism is the evolution of the human race
from cannibalism and savagery to fraternalism and
philanthropy ; from the infamy of the swine to
the splendour of God."

" Socialism is the Kingdom of Righteousness,

255

wherein little children, emancipated from toil,
ignorance, hunger, and exploitation, shall be raised
by loving care,11 etc. ; " wherein women, absolved
from shame, servitude, and inequality, shall be
enfranchised, owners of themselves; . . . and
wherein men, masterless and free, shall work gladly
for family and home,11 etc.

" Socialism is the extreme of democracy meeting
the extreme of individualism"

" Socialism is the Trinity of Love, Justice, and
Truth.11

" Socialism is the Gospel of the Atonement of
Humanity for ' Man's inhumanity to man.1 "

" Socialism is the second coming of the ELDER
BROTHER."

" Socialism is Faith in the Motherhood of God,
Hope in the Comradehood of Humanity, and
Charity for all the world.11

These definitions should be pondered and their
significance apprehended by all ; and especially do we
commend them to the thoughtful consideration of
" Christian Socialists.11 For these doctrines and
articles of faith are inherent in the system of Socialism.
They spring naturally from its root principle — the
Solidarity or Brotherhood of Man ; and if humanity
should ever commit itself to the desperate experiment
of Socialism, it will speedily find itself subject to the
operation of these principles and doctrines.

256 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

SOCIALISM AND MARRIAGE

There is one feature of the programme and creed
of Socialism which calls for special notice. Socialism
proposes to abolish the family and the institution
of marriage. This is not said to excite prejudice.
Neither in stating it do we lose sight of the fact
that the proposition to abolish marriage and the
family is abhorrent to many who openly espouse the
cause of Socialism. Yet this proposition is inherent
in the system. It is a logical tenet of the creed,
because one of the fundamental principles of Socialism
is that " Society " is responsible for the care and
training of all children from their birth, and is bound
to discharge to every child the obligations which
now rest upon its parents. Thus the family, as an
institution for the nurture, protection, and instruction
of children, will be no longer needed, and, its utility
having ceased, it will be abolished as an outgrown
device.

It also follows that, in the new order of things,
marriage will have become a superfluous institution ;
and not only so, but marriage is already under attack
as an unnecessary restraint upon human liberty.
Why should such a limitation be imposed ? And by
what authority are " free human beings " to be thus
restricted in a matter of personal choice of the very
highest moment ? Certainly this marriage-yoke was not

ABOLISHING THE " MARRIAGE- YOKE " 257

imposed upon humanity by " the will of the people " ;
and inasmuch as the will of the people is the " supreme
law," Society has power and authority to abolish the
bondage and to establish perfect liberty of the sexes.

We have already quoted, as one of the definitions
of Socialism, the declaration that it is a Kingdom in
which " women, absolved Jrom shame, shall be owners
of themselves? The following, from the same book,
is even plainer : —

"We believe in the sacredness of the Family

and the Home, the legitimacy of every child,

and the inalienable right of every woman to-

the absolute possession of Herself.1'

This feature of Socialism (and we repeat that it

is a logical and necessary feature of a true socialistic

order, in which the State is the father of every child,

and all children are treated alike) is what most

plainly marks the system as one embodying the

doctrines of demons and seducing spirits. The Spirit

of God, speaking " expressly," says that " in the latter

times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed

to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons . . .

forbidding to marry." This has been supposed by

some to refer to the celibacy of the clergy ; but

" forbidding to marry " is not a " doctrine " taught the

people by the Church of Rome. Moreover, celibacy

of the clergy has been carried on from very early

times. It is not specially characteristic of "latter

258 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

times." It follows that "forbidding to marry11 must
refer to something else.

We need be no longer at a loss to understand its
meaning, for the productive energies of these active
days have at last brought forth a religious system
which includes among its doctrines "forbidding to
marry11; that is, it teaches the actual abolition of
marriage, — and some are departing from "the faith,"
giving heed to this new religious system.

The matter now under consideration is of the
utmost importance. Marriage was the first institution
which God ordained for human society (Gen. ii. 24).
It is the one and only survival of man^ state of
original innocence. It is, hence, the last Divine
institution to be set aside by man in the exercise
of his unrestrained will. The determined assault on
the institution of marriage, which is now being carried
on, is a striking indication that man is nearing the
very end of his rebellious doings.

The Lord Jesus put the seal of His authority upon
the inviolability of the marriage institution. He
declared that divorce had been permitted by Moses
to the Israelites because of the hardness of their
hearts ; but that " from the beginning it was not
so" (Matt. xix. 8). And He reminded His hearers
that " He which made them at the beginning made
them male and female, and said, "For this cause
shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave

"FORBIDDING TO MARRY11 259

to his wife ; and they twain shall be one flesh "
(Matt. xix. 4, 5).

This proposal to abolish marriage may not be
lightly dismissed, as some are disposed to do, with
the fond notion that the moral sense of the people
will resist it. The moral sense of the people will not
stand in the way of the will of the people. The moral
sense of a community is the product of that standard
of morals which is recognized therein as authoritative.
The moral sense of communities where the Bible has
been revered, is the product of the Bible. But what
is now going on, and what for a large majority of
people in civilized countries has already taken place,
and what all the important movements of the day
are hastening to accomplish, is the transfer of the
recognized seat of authority from the Bible to " the
People." With the authority of the Bible set aside,
and the absolute freedom of man proclaimed as the
establishment of the golden age on earth, there will
exist no reason whatever why men and women should
put themselves under the marriage yoke.

Society as a whole is being rapidly educated to
accept the teaching of Socialism in "forbidding to
marry.1' Among the factors contributing to this result
may be briefly mentioned —

1. The increasing facilities for divorce, and the
largely increasing numbers of those who avail them-
selves of such facilities. The divorce statistics have

forced themselves upon public attention, and have been
made the subject of many warnings by those who
appreciate in some measure the dangers and evils into
which this tendency is leading. But while men and
women who, at the moment, happen not to be meditat-
ing or desiring legal separation from their mates, may
admit the seriousness of the situation, the warnings
certainly are not heeded by those who desire freedom
from the marriage yoke. As is usually the case with
public warnings, they impress only those who have no
need of them.

2. The current "affinity" doctrines and practices
are doing their part to banish from the minds of the
people the idea of the sacredness of marriage. The
"problem11 plays and novels of the day are making
their contribution to the same result.1

1 Since this volume went to the printer the first of a
series of articles, under the striking title, " Blasting at the
Rock of Ages," has made its appearance in a leading
American magazine (The Cosmopolitan). In these articles,
the writer, Mr. Harold Bolce, promises to give the results
of investigations, extending over several years, conducted
by him with the object of ascertaining just what is being
taught in the principal Universities in the United States.
Those articles will doubtless inform the reader, with
approximate accuracy, as to the extent to which the
doctrines of Pantheism (particularly in the form of Human-
ism) have become the accepted religion of the cultured
and educated classes. We have space only to quote
briefly from the editor's note. He says : —

DISRAELI'S PREDICTION 261

3. General laxity and disregard of the marriage
relation is apparently increasing both among those

" Those who are not in close touch with the great
colleges of the country will be astonished to learn the
creeds being fostered by the faculties of our great univer-
sities. In hundreds of classrooms it is being daily taught
that the Decalogue is no more sacred than a syllabus ;
THAT THE HOME AS AN INSTITUTION is nooMEn ; that im-
morality is simply an act in contravention of society's
accepted standards ; . . . that the change from one reli-
gion to another is like getting a new hat ; . . . that wide
stairways are open between social levels, but that, to the
climber, children are encumbrances ; that the sole effect of
prolificacy is to fill tiny graves ; and that there can be and
are HOLIER ALLIANCES WITHOUT THE MARRIAGE BOND THAN
WITHIN. These are some of the revolutionary and sensa-
tional teachings submitted with academic warrant to the
minds of hundreds of thousands of students in the United
States. . . . ' The social question of to-day/ said Disraeli,
' is only a zephyr which rustles the leaves, but will soon
become a hurricane.' It is a dull ear that cannot hear the
mutterings of the coming storm."

According, then, to this witness, the demoniacal doctrine
subversive of marriage is being openly taught at some of
the leading American colleges.

It must be borne constantly in mind that, according to
the principles of democracy, which are firmly established
throughout Christendom, the foregoing, and any other
evil doctrines, become right the moment they are sanctioned
by "the people." And who can question but that such
" liberal " doctrines and practices are much more accept-
able to the taste of the public than the old straitlaced
notions, which were " arbitrarily imposed " upon the
enslaved human intellect in the days when men were
dominated by the now " crumbling creeds " ?

262 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

who are within and those without the marriage state.
In some countries (as Italy, for example), where
facilities for divorce are not so abundant as in the
progressive United States, the opinion is quite com-
monly and openly held among the lower classes of
society, that it is best to dispense with the marriage
ceremony at the beginning of their domestic relations,
and thus ensure against possible inconvenience in case
those relations prove unsatisfactory.

4. There is an esoteric teaching of "Christian
Science" which has an important bearing upon this
subject, and which, therefore, we cannot dismiss
without at least a brief reference. This extraordinary
and unspeakably vile teaching is to the effect that
when women become proficient in " Christian Science "
they will be able to bring children into the world
without natural conception. This is a peculiarly subtle
and dangerous attack upon the sacredness of marriage,
for it is conducted behind the mask of a pretended
lofty spirituality. It is therefore most needful that
the people be plainly warned against it. This has
been very thoroughly done in a book recently published
by Dr. I. M. Haldeman, of New York City, under the
title, Christian Science in the Light of Holy Scripture.
Concerning the seriousness of the doctrine upon which
we are now commenting, Dr. Haldeman well says : —

"Abolish marriage, break down the sacredness
of motherhood, the nobility of fatherhood, and
the unashamed right of childhood, and every

" DOCTRINES OF DEMONS " 263

institution of order and decency would go down

with a crash."

We are surely warranted in regarding this doctrine
as of special significance, in view of the rapid spread of
" Christian Science," and in view of the fact that the
Spirit of God has expressly declared that a feature of
" the latter times " should be a departure from the
faith, and a giving heed to seducing spirits and
doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having
their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to
marry. With this Scripture to guide us, we need be
at no loss to determine the source of that evil system
known as " Christian Science."

5. The looseness and immodesty which characterize
Spiritist movements are likewise operating against
the sacredness of marriage. This matter has forced
itself upon the attention of Christian people of late.
Many of the meetings where unusual experiences
are sought and unusual manifestations given, have
been characterized by a flagrant disregard of the
restraints ordinarily observed between the sexes. In
fact, it may be stated, as a general rule, that the
yielding of one's mind and body to Spiritist " control "
in any of its many current forms, causes deterioration,
physically, mentally, and morally.

This latter phase of current events is supposed by
some students and expositors of Scripture, and not with-
out reason, to be paving the way for the reproduction
of the awful conditions prevailing on earth before the

264 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

flood, and described in Gen. vi. 2-5. When demonism
reaches this stage, the judgments of God cannot be
longer restrained.

But whatever, in all the changes that are taking
place, may be yet involved in uncertainty, and what-
ever room there may be for differences as to the
tendencies and outcome of some phases of the great
socialistic movements of the day, there can be no
doubt at all that their main object is to declare
the absolute freedom of mankind from all external
authority, and to establish a system wherein Society
shall administer all the affairs of a consolidated
Humanity.

ZIONISM

Our review of the great movements of the day would
be incomplete without a reference to Zionism, which
came into existence in 1897 (the first Zionist Congress
being held in Basle, Switzerland, in that year) and which
has developed astonishing vigor during the short inter-
vening period.

Prophecy assigns to the Hebrew nation a prominent
part in the convulsions which are to mark the close of
this age and the beginning of that which is to succeed
it ; and the fulfilment of these prophecies requires that
the Jews should have at that time a recognized national
existence, such as will admit of their entering into treaty
relations with the great powers of the world.

The history of mankind presents no fact more

A JEWISH AWAKENING 265

remarkable, and none which is less susceptible of
explanation to the natural mind, than the fact that
the Jews have been, always and everywhere, prevented
from merging with the peoples where they have dwelt
throughout this long age. And now we behold the
astounding spectacle of an awakening of the Jewish
national consciousness after a sleep of nearly two
thousand years1 duration. After that long period
of denationalization there is seen the beginning and
growth of a world-wide Jewish national movement.

The inspiring sentiment of this movement is the
thought of repossessing the land promised by God to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What appeared to be, a few years ago, insuperable
difficulties in the way of this movement, have been one
by one removed. The overruling hand of the Almighty
has been so shaping the affairs of the nations, that now,
with the late political revolution in Turkey, the last
formidable obstacle seems to have been taken out of
the way.

If we bear in mind the part which the financial
powers are to play in these closing scenes of our age,
and also the fact that these financial powers are very
largely in Jewish hands, we shall the better appreciate
the great significance of the Zionist movement. Up
to this time these tremendous financial interests have
been held by individual Jews, citizens of various
countries, and united by no political bond. What a
mighty factor in human affairs will be brought into
18

266 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALrSM

operation when these several financial interests are
consolidated ! What the " great powers " need in
order to prosecute their rapidly growing military and
naval programmes is MONEY. Commercial rivalry is
intensifying. National existences are being imperilled
by the possibility of losing important channels of
trade. Hence armaments are growing in proportion
to these national fears. Germany unexpectedly
accelerates her naval programme by the seemingly
trifling period of four months, and England is thereby
thrown into a perfect fever of anxiety. So we see on
all hands increasing " distress of nations with perplexity.'1''
Meanwhile the nations will be compelled to negotiate
loans, because the limits of revenue by taxation have
been practically reached.

This situation is what gives the Jewish financiers their
great opportunity. And now that a Jewish national
consciousness has been awakened, what is more natural
and probable than that, as a condition of additional
loans to the great powers, the Jewish financiers should
demand treaties guaranteeing national existence to
the Jews ?

Assuming that events take this likely course, and
that Judea becomes the home of the great creditor-
nation of the world, the next development would be
easy to forecast. But it has been already long ago
foretold. In Daniel ix. 27, we read of a treaty between
the Jews and a great world-power guaranteeing to the
former certain privileges for a period of seven years,

A CREDITOR-NATION 267

which treaty the guarantor breaks in the middle of
that period, thus precipitating the great tribulation,
or " time of Jacob's trouble." Then, in Zechariah xiv.
2-4, we read that all nations shall be gathered against
Jerusalem to battle ; and that the Lord shall then go
forth and fight against those nations ; and that His
feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives.
What should bring all these nations at once against
Jerusalem except the onerous obligations imposed by
the astute money-lenders as conditions for their financial
aid ? The invading powers must have a common cause,
for they are acting together ; and we have in full view
a situation which would furnish such a common casus
belli. The debtor is very obsequious when coming to
borrow, but often fierce and belligerent when the terms
of payment have to be met. This is particularly true
when the borrower feels those terms to be hard,
and we know that the Jew has learned how to take
full advantage of the necessities of those who come to
him for financial aid.

Furthermore, the fires of hatred against the Jew
have not died out. On the contrary, they have, within
recent years, flared up and burned more fiercely than
at any time during the long era of Jewish dispersion
and persecution. Heretofore this strange hatred
(known to-day as "Anti-Semitism") has necessarily
expended itself against individual Jews. But given a
Jewish nation, and one that has gained the galling power
of a creditor over other nations, and it is certain that this

268 DEVELOPMENTS OF COMMERCIALISM

age-long and world-wide hatred would take a national
form, and would break out, on slight provocation, with
all the intensity predicted in the ancient prophecies.

It is evident, moreover, that should the Jews
aggregate their capital and become a great creditor-
nation, with fiscal agencies in all commercial centres
of the world, they would be the suppliers of capital,
not only to Governments, but also to industrial enter-
prises. The pre-eminent commercial aptitude of the
Jew, and his quick apprehension of economic problems,
are recognized on all hands. It is reasonable, therefore,
to suppose that Jewish financiers have long ago realized
the great advantage they would obtain by consolidating
their capital — forming, as it were, a Money Trust ; and
it may also be safely assumed that plans have been
already considered for bringing about so desirable an
arrangement. The establishment of a Jewish State,
with its capital at Jerusalem, would make this very
easy of accomplishment ; and thus the city of David
might quickly become the most important city on earth,
as well as the object of universal jealousy and hatred.

It is evident that, should the money-power ever be
consolidated (and if present commercial tendencies work
out their ultimate result, it is inevitable), that power
will really dominate the politics and industries of the
world. It is further evident that the head of the
Money Trust would be the most potent individual in
the world. He would be virtually the head of the
consolidated human interests. Add to these considera-

A "MONEY-TRUST" 269

tions the fact to which prophecy testifies, namely, that
the Antichrist — the head of the ultimate religio-
commercial system — will be a Jew, with headquarters
at Jerusalem, and we may plainly see that this great
Zionist movement is, like all the other notable move-
ments of our day, heading directly towards the
consolidation of human affairs into a world-wide,
all-embracing System.

And it should be noted in this connection that
Zionism, while intensely national in character, does not
propose to revive the ancient religion of the Jewish
people. This is, to my mind, the strangest feature of
Zionism. Every national revival among the Jews in
their past history has been a religious revival. That
there should ever be a national revival of Judaism
which should be absolutely destitute of the religious
element, and which should make absolutely no appeal
to the religious feelings of the people, would be deemed
an a priori impossibility. And yet it is necessary,
in order for prophecy to be fulfilled, that a large
number of Jews should return to, and should occupy,
Palestine in a condition of' religious apostasy. This event
seems to be now close at hand ; and, in spite of all
opposition, hatred, spoliation, and persecution, the
hated and despised Jews have possessed themselves of
such financial resources, and of such commercial
influence, in every part of the world, as to prepare all
that is needed for the rapid fulfilment of the other
steps of the prophetic programme.

SECTION IV

LATTER-DAY IDOLS

THE Scriptures examined at the beginning of this
volume state very plainly that the great System of the
end-times is to be a gigantic and practically universal
system of Idolatry. The Desolator is to come " upon
the wing of abominations," that is to say, of idolatries.
It is therefore a very important part of our task to
inquire into the idolatries of our day, and particularly
to ascertain whether the tendency to create and pay
homage to idols is, or is not, one of the characteristics
of the "modern man." For this reason, we ask the
reader's patient consideration of what follows.

The Scriptures contain many warnings against
idolatry : but by many readers of Scripture these are
supposed to have no application in our day except
to the heathen. That, however, is a very mistaken
view of the matter. It involves a mistake as to
what constitutes idolatry, and a mistake as to the re-
ligious sentiments of modern society. The fact is,

270

AN IDOLATROUS GENERATION 271

that these are days of gross superstition and flagrant
idolatry.

Here are some of the admonitions of the New Testa-
ment with reference to idolatry : —

"Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee idolatry1'
(1 Cor. x. 14).

" Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away
unto these dumb idols " (1 Cor. xii. 2).

" The works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these . . . idolatry " (Gal. v. 19, 20).

"Nor covetous man, who is an idolater"
(Eph. v. 5).

" Mortify, therefore, your members which are
upon the earth . . . covetousness, which is
idolatry " (Col. iii. 5).

"Little children, keep yourselves from idols1'
(1 John v. 21).

Let it be particularly noted that these admonitions
are addressed, not to the heathen, but to the Lord's
people ; and they are much needed.

Of God's redeemed people of old, it is written, for
our admonition, that they " mingled among the heathen
and learned their works. And they served their idols ;
which were a snare unto them " (Ps. cvi. 35, 36). This
danger is just as great and imminent to-day as it
ever was.

It is not generally supposed that people in the
centres of twentieth century civilization are living in

272 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

the midst of gross idolatry ; yet such is the fact.
Idolatry flourishes vigorously, not in heathen lands
only, but in civilized lands. The difference is one
of form. In one locality we have idolatry adapted to
the degraded and ignorant. In the other, it takes on
forms suitable to the cultivated and refined.

In the scale of civilization the difference between
those human beings who are at the bottom and those
at the top is a difference of degree only. In nature
there is "no difference" (Rom. iii. 22). Culture
changes man outwardly, but not inwardly. It
changes his behaviour, but not his nature. It is God
only Who can work within a man to do " that which
is well pleasing in His sight " (Heb. xiii. 21, Phil. ii.
13). Man looks only on "the outward appearance,11
and is satisfied if the surface be seemingly clean
and respectable. But God sees the inside as well
as the outside; and, judging from His created
works, He is far more particular as to the state of
that which is within than of that which lies on the
surface.

Man, as he becomes more educated, may change his
idols, but he does not turnjrom idolatry until he turns
to God. " Ye turned TO GOD from idols to serve the
living and true God and to wait for His Son from
heaven " (1 Thess. i. 9, 10).

Worship or service directed to another than the
living and true God, or trust reposed in another (person

DANGERS OF THE WILDERNESS 273

or thing) than in Him, is idolatry. God's people of
old, who were delivered by Him out of Egypt, were
constantly falling into idolatry. And God's people of
to-day, who have been delivered out of the moral
Egypt under the blood of Christ, the true Paschal
Lamb, and who have crossed in Him the Red Sea of
His death and resurrection, are not safe from the
snare of idolatry. The repeated warnings of Scripture
clearly show this. The danger to the Israelites was
from the idolatrous practices of the surrounding
nations. So God's people to-day need to be specially
warned regarding the idolatries of "this present evil
world" in which they are sojourning.

The particular example of idolatry, to which our
attention is expressly directed by the New Testament,
is one whose lessons have not become by any means
obsolete. In 1 Cor. x. 7 we read : " Neither be ye
idolaters, as were some of them ; as it is written, The
people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."
How many lives, even of those who profess to be, as to
their earthly experience, in the wilderness with Christ,
would be aptly summarized by this brief description ?
The episode to which the Apostle referred in this
passage occurred while the redeemed people of Jehovah
were journeying with Him through the wilderness ;
and these wilderness experiences have a special applica-
tion to Christians, for whom this world has been made,
by the cross of Christ, a wilderness, through which

274 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

they are passing with Him to the glory which they are
to share when He shall appear. In the same chapter
we are explicitly told that the people of Israel in the
wilderness " did all drink the same spiritual drink, for
they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them :
And that Rock was Christ"" (ver. 4); and it was
subsequent to this that they fell into idolatry. We
also read in that chapter that "all these things
happened unto them for types : and they are written
for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world
(or ages) are come" (ver. 11, marg.).

What, then, is an idol ?

It is safe to say that every man has a god ; and that
most men have more than one. A man's god is that to
which he looks for help, support, deliverance from
trouble ; that in which he trusts for the transformation
or improvement of the world, and the elimination of
its evils ; that which he voluntarily serves, praises, and
glorifies.

All men recognize that humanity as a whole is in
great distress at the present time ; that it is compassed
by invisible dangers, exposed to diseases which strike
their unsuspecting victims out of the air, food, and
water ; that it is struggling onward upon the path in
which it finds itself, and is progressing with difficulty
because weighed down by a great load of misery.
Whatever difference of opinion there may be as to how

THE NEED OF A GOD 275

mankind got into this path, and as to where it will
eventually lead, there can be no question as to its
sorrows and dangers, and as to the nature of the ex-
periences which it furnishes to those who tread it. It is
clear to all that the world, however bright in spots,
abounds with many and great evils and perils.

It is probable, too, that all men cherish a hope of
coming deliverance ; though possibly there may be
some who utterly despair of better things for humanity.
Ignoring such possible exceptions, we may say that all
men put their trust in some thing or things, external
to themselves, to bring about more favourable condi-
tions for humanity. Those who do not trust for this
in the God of the Bible, and in His revealed purposes
in Christ, must necessarily put their trust in idols.
God is "living and true." Idols are non-living and
false. Hence, when it is written of the Thessalonian
converts, that they " turned to God from idols," it was

" TO SERVE THE LIVING AND TRUE GoD."

In whatever part of the earth man may be found,
his state is always such as to make him deeply conscious
of the need of a god ; and since, in the unbelieving
heart, the need usually creates that which answers to
it, man everywhere makes for himself gods. Advance
in civilization does not remove or even diminish the
consciousness of the need of a god. If anything, it
increases that need by enlarging man's horizon of the
attainable. Hence progress in culture does not check

276 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

the creation of idols. It only modifies their character-
istics. There is, therefore, but one escape from the
condition of idolatry, and that is to turn to God, —
the God of Revelation.

An idol, then, has no real existence. " We know
that an idol is nothing in the world " (1 Cor. viii. 4).
It is an imaginary thing, an idea or ideal, as the word
in the original (eidolon) signifies. The idol of the
heathen is not the device of wood or stone which his
fingers have fashioned. That figure is only a repre-
sentation of the idol which his mind has conceived.
The idol is the product, not of man's fingers, but of his
mind. The image which man sets up as his god, is the
product of his imagination. It is in the making of
images — unrealities vested with the garb and qualities of
reality — that the imagination really exercises itself, and
from which that faculty derives its appropriate name.

The faculty of imagination, in its incessant activity,
turns out many products which the consciousness of
man recognizes as unreal, and which serve only for his
entertainment. But the very highest exercise of the
imagination is in first creating imaginary beings,
which become real beings to their creator, and to which
are attributed powers far transcending those of the
individual man ; and in then disposing these imaginary
beings propitiously towards mankind, so that they exert
their powers on its behalf. When man comes to believe
and trust in such beings or images, they are his idols.

IDOLS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIONS 277

The idols in which man trusts may or may not be
represented before his physical eyes by a device or
figure of wood or stone, or by a pictorial representation.
The higher and more fully developed are the man's
mental powers, the less need he has of such a repre-
sentation of his idol. The poor savage, and the man
of low intelligence, require a materialization of their idol
or image to help them to fix their thoughts upon it, and
in order that their fellow-worshippers may have some-
thing tangible around which to gather. But the doctor
of philosophy can pay his reverential service to a mere
abstraction, and needs only a name (preferably a long
one) whereby his idea may be identified, for the purpose
of worshipful communion with others who trust in the
same idol. Yet even such highly civilized idolaters
are in the habit of calling upon the resources of art to
furnish visible representations of the idols which their
own imaginations have called into existence, and to
whose supposed superhuman powers they are trusting,
and teaching others to trust, for the blessing of man-
kind. Illustrations of this form of idolatry, which
are familiar to all intelligent persons, will be given
later on.

The act of setting up an idol, whatever its form or
name, involves the tacit assumption that man, though
unable himself to remove the evils within and around
him, is nevertheless capable of producing something,
or starting some movement, or setting some agencies

278 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

into operation, which can do for him the things that he
cannot do directly for himself. Such thing, movement,
or agency, which is to accomplish results beyond the
power of the man who creates or starts it into opera-
tion, is truly an idol. It has no real existence, being a
mere abstraction, and of course has no power of its own.
Thus it will be seen, upon close scrutiny, that the
various agencies in which the modern man is trust-
ing for the improvement and ultimate salvation of
humanity, and to which he gives various imposing
names of his own choice, are human in their origin.
The power attributed to them, and the results
expected from them, all involve the tacit assumption
that man, if unable to save himself directly, is never-
theless able to create a god and saviour, or as many
gods and saviours as may be needed, to accomplish the
great work of raising mankind into the ideal condition
of peace, righteousness, and universal contentment.

Man, whose strength and energies, both physical and
mental, depend absolutely upon material food and
drink, which must be supplied to him (for he cannot
create them), thus indulges the folly of supposing that,
with the strength derived from these material things, he
can create agencies, or start and carry on movements,
capable of lifting him up and out of the evil moral atmo-
sphere in which he has always existed since the Fall.

Thus, if the chain of cause and effect as it exists in
human thought be traced to its end, it will be found

MAN'S SCHEME OF SALVATION 279

that the desired result for which humanity strives
(which we may call " salvation ") is to be accom-
plished by means of agencies which are the product of
merely human energies, which in turn are the product
of material substances (food and drink) supplied
gratuitously to man out of the storehouse of nature.
Man's scheme of salvation is thus seen to have its
basis in food and drink. Yet this scheme of salvation
commends itself to the "modern man,"" because it is
more " rational " to believe in it than to believe in the
revelation of the God who created man, and who
" caused the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for
the service of man ; that He may bring forth food out
of the earth " (Ps. civ. 14), without which food, man
and all his imaginations would quickly perish. Such
is " rationalism," and such is the nature of the human
reason which, to the modern man, is the final authority
and arbiter of truth.

THE METHOD OF IDOL-MAKING

The method which man pursues in fashioning his
idols next claims attention. That method is Divinely
described in Isaiah xliv., and a brief consideration of
this important chapter will show that, while man has,
during the intervening centuries, changed the forms of
his idols, he has not changed his method of making
them.

280 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

In the first part of the chapter, Jehovah declares
Himself to be the only God and Saviour, and pledges
Himself to bring full redemption and deliverance to
His people. " Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts : I am the first
and I am the last ; and beside Me there is no God ""
(ver. 6).1

But in the very presence of this revelation which
God gives of Himself as Redeemer and Deliverer, and
in the face of His revealed purposes in grace towards
helpless and needy men, the latter give themselves
over to fashioning idols. But "they that fashion a
graven image are all of them vanity, and the things
that they delight in shall not profit " (ver. 9).
And this is how the idol-maker proceeds : —

" The smith maketh an axe and worketh in the
coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and
worketh it with his strong arm ; yea, he is hungry
and his strength faileth ; he drinketh no water,
and is faint " (ver. 12).

The idol-maker himself fabricates the very tools out
of which he makes his idol, and the latter, which is to
do things far beyond the power of its own maker, is
formed by the strength of man's arm. And that
strength is not the puny creature's own. Its con-
tinuance, so long as it lasts, depends upon food, and
for that he is dependent upon God. If he hungers, his
1 The translation is that of the Amer. R.V.

"THE FIGURE OF A MAN1'

strength fails. If he drinks no water, he becomes faint.
Without these supplies he cannot go on with his idol-
making.

" The carpenter stretcheth out a line ; he
marketh it with a pencil ; he shapeth it with
planes, he marketh it out with the compasses, and
shapeth it after the figure of a MAN, according to
the beauty of Man " (ver. 13).

Back of the gods which men make, is always the
figure of Man himself; for the one who makes the
gods is necessarily greater than the gods he makes;
and the maker of the idols naturally serves also as the
model upon which they are fashioned.

" He maketh a god and worshippeth it ; he
maketh it a graven image and falleth down
thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire ;
and with part thereof he eateth flesh ; he roasteth
roast and is satisfied ; yea, he warmeth himself,
and saith, I am warm, I have seen the fire; and
the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his
graven image ; he falleth down unto it, and
worshippeth, and prayeth unto it, and saith,
Deliver me, for thou art my god " (vers. 15-17).
This passage speaks of two kinds of gratification
for which the heart of man seeks, namely (1), warmth,
that is physical comforts, and (2) food, that is the
things which satisfy the natural appetites. The idol-
maker is represented as making his idol of the same
19

LATTER-DAY IDOLS

materials, and by the same processes, employed in
supplying these physical gratifications. We may
safely assert that this description of what constitutes the
essence of idol-making was never more applicable than
at the present day. The boast of the age is the great
progress which man has made, and is making, along
material lines. By his natural powers man has wonder-
fully multiplied methods and appliances for minister-
ing to his physical comforts and conveniences, and for
satisfying his natural appetites. The factors of this
progress are the natural powers of man, exercised in
the making of inventions and in the construction of
mechanical appliances of all sorts; and the chief
results of this progress are — (1) things which minister to
the comforts of man, and (2) things which respond to
the desires and appetites of the natural heart, — "he
burneth part thereof in the fire," thus making himself
comfortable ; " and with part thereof he eateth flesh,"
thus satisfying his desires.

Furthermore, man gains these ends (that is to say,
warmth or comfort, and food or gratification of the
natural desires) by exerting his own natural powers
upon material substances, as wood and metal. By the
very same powers, exerted upon the same substances, he
fashions a god, to which he says, "Deliver me, for
thou art my god." For to what is the modern man
looking for deliverance but to the very progress which
he is himself achieving by the manipulation of the

RATIONALISM OR IRRAT1ONALISM 283

substances he finds in and upon the earth? It is a
true picture.

" And none calleth to mind, neither is there
knowledge or understanding to say, I have burned
part of it in the fire ; yea, also I have baked bread
upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and
eaten it ; and shall I make the residue thereof an
abomination ? Shall I fall down to the stock of a
tree?" (ver. 19).

Is this rationalism or irrationalism ? Shall man
trust for his moral uplift to that which roasts his food
and warms his body ? Shall expedients of man's own
devising be trusted to abolish the evils within and
around him ? Such is certainly the teaching which is
acceptable to the modern man, and which, because it is
acceptable to him, the teachers whom he supports are
zealous to supply.

We should notice also the prominence given in the
foregoing passage of Scripture to man himself as the
agent who does all this. "He maketh a god," "he
maketh it," "he burneth it," "he eateth," "he
roasteth," "he warmeth," "he falleth down." It is
all man's doings , and the grand result is that man
eats and is satisfied ; he warms himself and says, " I am
warm, I have seen the fire." This is, indeed, the
grand result of all of man's progress and civilization. Or
rather it is the result at which they aim, ; for it must
not be forgotten there be as yet but few who enjoy the

284 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

coveted privilege of warming themselves at the fires
which civilization and progress have kindled, and who
have secured possession of the coveted places at the
banqueting tables which these beneficent agencies
have provided. The great majority of human beings
are still shivering and hungry, notwithstanding all
that civilization and progress have done. They are
wondering when these miracle-working agencies are
going to do something for them. They have for a
long time been urged to do homage to modern pro-
gress and civilization, and to join in the anthems of
praise which the modern man is for ever raising to
himself and his doings. But these dissatisfied ones are
now, as we have seen, beginning to clamour and crowd
for seats at the table, and for places near enough to
the fire to feel something of its warmth ; and this
crowding threatens serious disturbance to the arrange-
ments which the leaders of the age have made for their
own comfort and glory.

But our chapter very plainly declares that it is vain
to look to human agencies for help and deliverance.
God will accept no aid whatever from the modern
man, or from his inventions, his sciences, and the other
things wherein he trusts, and whereof he boasts. If it
were otherwise, man would indeed have some ground
for boasting of his own achievements, and flesh would
have whereof to glory in God's presence, saying, " See
what science, invention, and human progress have

" JEHOVAH HATH DONE IT r 285

accomplished ! " Deliverance and a glorious salvation
shall surely come ; but man's ways, his ingenuity and
schemes of betterment, will have no part whatever in
bringing it about. For God says, and this is the
climax of the lesson here taught —

" Sing, O ye heavens, for JEHOVAH HATH DONE
IT." " I am He that stretcheth forth the heavens
ALONE, that spreadeth abroad the earth BY MYSELF ;
that frustrateth the signs of THE BOASTERS ; that
turneth wise men backward, and maketh their
knowledge foolish" (vers. 23-25, marg.).
Yes, the scientific civilization, which has been
spreading itself over the whole earth during the past
century ; which has developed into a vast system so
complicated that nobody understands it, uniting
peoples of different nations in economic relations of the
most intricate sort ; and which has at last aroused the
long-slumbering millions of the East and taught them
modern warfare, the white man's vices, and other
civilized arts, will surely crumble at the appointed
time into utter nothingness ; and there are not want-
ing even now those who, without any help from the
sure word of prophecy, very clearly foresee and plainly
foretell the fast-coming catastrophe.

We would therefore most earnestly exhort God's
people to be wholly detached in heart from the
world-system, and from sharing, in the smallest
degree, in admiration of the doings of this scien-

£86 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

tific age. " Little children, keep yourself from
idols."

THE "GODS MANY1' OF THE MODERN

MAN

What, then, are the gods to which the men of the
day are looking to bring benefits and blessings to
humanity, to elevate mankind, and generally to do for
them what they are unable to do directly for them-
selves? It is desirable that we should have the
clearest information as to this ; and we have not far to
look in order to discover that there are " gods many."
We hear on all sides, and our attention is called in all the
multiform literature of the modern man, to the great
things that are being done for humanity by Science,
Evolution, Invention, Education, Federation, Progress,
Liberty, Fraternity, Democracy, Reason, Commerce,
Manufacture, Civilization, Art, Prosperity, Wealth,
etc.

When the modern man looks back with pride
upon the career and advancement of humanity, he
gives to God no glory for any gain he recognizes,
but says of these creatures of his own imagination,
" These be thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up
out of the land of Egypt" (Ex. xxxii. 4). And to
these he looks to bring him into the land of Canaan,
where humanity shall enjoy peace and plenty for ever.

"GODS MANY'1 287

Men are so blind and foolish as not to see that these
imposing names, the sound of which they so delight to
hear, stand for mere abstractions, creatures of the
imagination, having no real powers, and indeed no
real existence ; — that they are but ideas, ideals, IDOLS.
These are, in the strictest sense, idols, in so far as they
are credited with results that have been accomplished
for man's benefit, or are looked to for further help and
deliverance. It requires but little attention to the
real significance of these names to perceive that they
represent idols created in the manner described in
Isaiah xliv. ; that is to say, they represent the applica-
tion of man's natural powers to the substances and forces
of nature, for the production of things which minister
to man's material welfare. And the energies whereby
these lines of human activity are prosecuted, are
derived wholly from food and drink. They are
purely physical energies, yet with them man assumes
to create spiritual agencies. Neither the natural
powers, nor the substances on which they operate, nor
the energies employed in such operation, are from man
himself. Yet none calleth to mind, neither is there
knowledge nor understanding to say, " I have burned
part of it in the fire, yea, also, I have baked bread upon
the coals thereof."

Neither is there discernment to perceive that all
these abstractions have only a human origin ; that they
cannot rise higher than their source; and that in

288 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

trusting in them and worshipping them, man is really
trusting in and worshipping himself. Count the
number of all these idols wherein the modern man
reposes his confidence, and it will be found that their
number is " the number of Man."

We have said that, in trusting these creatures of
his own imagination (for outside of human thought
they have no existence), and in crediting them with all
the fancied gains of humanity, past and future, man is
really trusting and praising himself. It is highlv
important for Christians to understand this, for their
own safety. Thfe trust in, and glorification of, Man, is
the very essence of the religion of Humanism, which,
as we have seen, is gaining ground in every direction.
Whichever way we have turned our eyes, we have seen
this religion making its appearance and taking definite
form and substance. It is true that the worship of
Man as really Divine is not often openly avowed ; but
frequently men engage in it quite unconsciously of
what they are doing. The natural heart of man
furnishes soil which is thoroughly congenial to the
principles of Humanism, particularly to the idea that
man is, in some measure, the agent of his own salva-
tion. There is probably not a Christian denomination
that is not more or less permeated by the leaven of
legalism, or salvation through man's own works. We
all, therefore, have need of the clearest warning of this
danger.

"THE SOUL OF THE RACE" 289

But while Humanism is really the religion of many
who are not conscious of it, some who understand their
own attitude have already proclaimed its principles
with a distinctness which leaves nothing to be desired
on that score. For example, in the little manual of
the "Religion of Humanity," from which we have
already quoted, the commandments enjoined by this
religion begin with the following paraphrase of Exodus
xx., the main feature of the paraphrase being that in
the place of God the writer has substituted the " Soul
of the Race " :—

"And the Soul of the Race, the great white
sacred Flame which was born of Human Love and
slept through the ages of Injustice, Cruelty, and
Fear, awoke from its Phantom-haunted slumber,
and seeing on high the Shining Star of Hope,
spoke these words, saying —

"I am the Spirit of Altruism, which brought
thee out of the land of Selfishness, out of the
House of Want, and out of the Bondage of the
Mammon of Unrighteousness."

This is the ground that the pioneers of Humanism
have already reached ; and this is the direction in which
the New Theologians, Modernists, Christian Socialists,
and others are leading their followers. Doubtless
many of these advanced (and advancing) theologians
of to-day would say that the foregoing represents
an extreme view, and that they do not countenance

290 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

it. Nevertheless, the position taken by the writer
of the above passage, which represents Humanism as
stripped of all disguises, was not reached at a bound,
but by steps. Those who are as yet a long way from
that extreme position, but are moving towards it, will
surely reach it sooner or later if their progress be not
arrested ; and we have abundant reason for expecting
that many will embrace to-morrow doctrines and
principles which repel them to-day.

The religion of this outspoken Humanist does not
differ in principle from that of many who, without
having so definitely formulated their creed, are just as
truly, in their hearts, giving credit to human genius,
under the names of " Science, Evolution, Progress," and
the like, and who are saying in effect, " These be thy
gods, which brought thee up out of primordial slime,
and out of primitive barbarism ; and which are now
bearing thee triumphantly forward to the golden
age of human development, to the man-made paradise
wherein perfect liberty shall be enjoyed by all humanity,
and where man shall freely eat of every tree of the
garden."

We have said that men of these intellectual and
enlightened days need not to make to themselves
figures in wood or metal, or pictorial devices to
represent their gods. Nevertheless, they often do so ;
for our eyes are frequently greeted with figures of

A TEMPLE OF HUMANISM 291

stalwart and symmetrical females, which, we are told,
represent Science, Art, Justice, Manufacture, Invention,
etc. At the very gateway of this idolatrous land of
America stands a figure — colossal in man's sight — but
oh, how puny and contemptible in the sight of God ! —
representing " Liberty enlightening the World." The
" Goddess of Liberty " surmounts the Capitol at Wash-
ington ; and the most admired building there, the
Congressional Library, is a veritable temple of
Humanism, covered with designs and inscriptions to
the praise and glory of Man.

But it will be profitable to examine more closely
some of these latter-day idols, in order that we may
clearly understand of what they are composed, by whom
they are made, and what claim they have upon our
admiration and confidence.

"SCIENCE"

Here is an idol that has multitudes of worshippers,
including the wise, the intellectual, and the cultivated
of the earth, and whose great achievements are
frequently extolled from prominent pulpits. Science
is proclaimed as a great goddess. She advances
majestically and triumphantly, sweeping away, with
her puissant arm, the obstacles that would bar human
progress. She blesses mankind in many ways, teaches

LATTER-DAY IDOLS

this and that, surprises her devotees daily with fresh
marvels, works mighty miracles, manifests great signs
and wonders, and eventually is to transform the world.

We should recall at this point the part which the
leaders of modern thought assign to " Science " in the
great movements of the day. From what they say
about " Science," it will be seen that we indulge in no
exaggeration in characterizing the latter as one of the
most conspicuous idols of this idolatrous generation.

I wish it to be clearly understood that it is solely
against the theological use (or abuse) which, in our day, is
so freely made of the abstraction called " Science," that
I utter my earnest protest — a use which I unhesitatingly
characterize as sheer idolatry. There is undoubtedly
a strong tendency in the mind of the average man to
exaggerate the physical benefits which have come to
humanity through the better comprehension of the
materials and forces of nature, and in general through
those pursuits which are classed as "scientific.11 But
this exaggeration of physical benefits is a small matter.
When, however, we have spiritual results attributed to
Science, and not only so, but results of a revolutionary
character — nothing less, in fact, than the removal of
the ancient foundations of faith, and the substitution
therefor of other foundations entirely of modern con-
struction and human fabrication — we have to deal with
a matter of the very highest importance. We have no
quarrel whatever with the investigation of the physical

AN IMAGINARY "SCIENCE" 293

universe, nor with those who devote themselves thereto,
though we expect no real gain to mankind from their
efforts. Nothing is worthier of the natural powers of
man than the study of the works of God, which " are
great, and are sought out of all them that have
pleasure therein " (Ps. cxi. 2). I believe that no true
man of Science (and I have enjoyed the acquaintance
of many) will take exception to this protest against the
use which the new theologies are making of an imaginary
" Science," a creature of their own imaginations, having
no real existence.

Thus the Modernists declare their task to be the
bringing of "the religious experience of Christianity
into line with the data of contemporary science and
philosophy"; while at the other extreme, that of
advanced Protestantism, Mr. Campbell declares the
New Theology to be "the religion of Science," "the
recognition that, upon the foundations laid by modern
Science, a vaster and nobler fabric of faith is rising
than the world has ever before known."

Mr. Newman Smith declares that "the two factors
of modern civilization are Science and Democracy," and
that the Modernists are " laying broad foundations in
history, science, and democracy."

In full accord with these utterances are the conclu-
sions stated by Dr. Broda in his article on "The
Future of Religion." He says, for example, that
among all the white races " the historic faith has been

294 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

saturated with new scientific and social ideas1'; that
among the causes of the current revolution in religions
"the first place must be given to the discoveries of
modern science"; that among agnostics there are
tendencies towards " realizing the religious significance
of the new discoveries of science " ; that even among
the semi-civilized nations " are springing up new creeds
which are cultivating the modern scientific spirit " ; and
finally, that " the religion to come will be rooted in the
new concepts of science and the modern social spirit."

Such statements as these, coming from leaders of
movements apparently far apart, and yet in such
striking accord on this point, render it highly important
that we should inquire closely into the exact relation
between " Science " and human welfare. " And this
we will do, if God permit. "

Furthermore, church-goers are often exhorted by the
preachers of our day to consider what untold benefits
Science has bestowed upon mankind. They are
reminded that Science has illumined the pathway of
humanity, dispelling the darkness of past ages, and is
still prosecuting the gigantic undertaking of banishing
ignorance and superstition from the earth. It is Science
that is relieving want, and is blessing humanity by
unlocking the storehouse of nature ; while He who filled
that storehouse is too often forgotten. It is Science
that has stricken off the shackles that once fettered the
human intellect. It is Science that, unwearied by past

u TEACHINGS OF SCIENCE " 295

achievements but rather stimulated thereby, is about to
do yet more startling things, for which the world waits
with breathless expectation.

And not only so, but Science is now put forward as
the great Teacher, to which men are bidden to look for a
sure and progressive revelation of truth. We commonly
hear references, in the most reverential tones, to " the
teachings of Science." As an authority on Truth, and a
revealer of the same, Science is exalted to a place higher
than that accorded to the Word of God ; and people
who have no means of investigating such statements are
repeatedly assured that Science has detected and cor-
rected many errors in the Scriptures. I speak of what is
commonly heard from the pulpits of our churches, and
what nearly all church-goers have heard again and
again. The Lord Jesus said that the Scriptures cannot
be broken. But the occupants of some of our pulpits
take it upon themselves to assure their congregations,
on the authority of Science, that the Scriptures have
been broken, and have been shown to be in many
places exceedingly untrustworthy. It is the word of
Science, which, according to this class of preachers, is
really to be trusted.

It is well for us to understand clearly that the spirit
of " Science " is not friendly to Christianity, but is, on
the contrary, its deadly foe. This ought not to be,
since the study of any part of creation should tend to
reveal to the teachable mind the identity of the God

296 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

of nature with the God of revelation. But since the
spirit of modern science is manifestly " the spirit of the
world" (1 Cor. ii. 12), "the spirit that now works in
the children of disobedience," let us recognize it as an
enemy, suspect all its fair professions, and, when
occasion offers, smite it in the name of the Lord.

When the Ark of the Lord, containing the tables of
the Law of God, was brought into the temple of Dagon,
the image of Dagon fell on his face to the earth before
the Ark. And it was to no purpose that the worship-
pers of Dagon set him in his place again ; for " when
they arose early on the morrow morning, behold,
Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before
the Ark of the Lord ; and the head of Dagon and both
the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold ;
only the stump of Dagon was left to him " (1 Sam. v.
3,4).

So it will be if we bring the Word of the Lord to
bear upon this modern Dagon whom religious men
worship under the name of " Science." It will be seen
to be without head or hands ; — devoid of true wisdom
and knowledge, and impotent to accomplish anything
for the benefit of its worshippers.

Christian people will also do well to remember that
among " the assured results of Science " one of the
most conspicuous is this, that the imaginary Science of
which we are speaking has made infidelity, not only
respectable, but actually a mark of superior learning

A RADICAL STATEMENT 297

and intelligence. Before Science was set up in the
temple of modern civilization, men might disbelieve
and reject the statements of God's Word ; but there
was then no counter-authority to which they could
appeal in support of their unbelief. This lack of a
counter-authority to the Bible, the name of " Science "
has supplied, and thereby the hands of unbelief have
been greatly strengthened.

What truth, then, is there in the statements, such as
we have quoted, concerning the religious bearing and
value of the teachings of Science ? The answer is,
There is in them no truth whatever. The revelations
of Science, whatever else they may have accomplished,
have done absolutely nothing- towards meeting the
spiritual needs of humanity, or enlarging its spiritual
knowledge. This is a radical statement, and since
the matter is of the utmost importance, the writer
feels amply justified in discussing it with care and
thoroughness.

Considering first the subject of "the teachings of
Science," so far as they have any religious or spiritual
bearing at all, it is to be noted that among the various
and often contradictory things that have been taught
in the name of Science, there has never been anything
positive, never anything in the nature of a contribution
to spiritual truth. We shall see presently that Science,
by reason of its obvious and recognized limitations,
could not possibly make any such contributions. But

298 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

it is enough here to note the fact. The use to which
the name of Science has been put in the domain of
religion has been to contradict certain things which
have been held and taught as true on the authority of
Scripture. And the matters so contradicted have
necessarily been of a historic nature and connected with
the physical creation ; such, for example, as the
accuracy of the account of the six days' work recorded
in the first chapter of Genesis, the occurrence of a
universal deluge, and the like. Indeed, these two
topics (the six days1 work and the deluge) practically
exhaust the matters revealed in Scripture upon which
men who assume to speak for Science have ever had
anything definite to say. Even as to such subjects as
the miracles of Old Testament times, and those per-
formed by the Lord Jesus, Science cannot speak. For
these are purely questions oijact, to be believed or not
according to the evidence ; and Science has no evidence
whatever on these subjects, and is incapable of obtaining
any that has the slightest degree of pertinence. As to
these matters of history, and still more so as to all
matters relating to the being of God, the soul of man,
the future state, eternal life and eternal death, and all
that is embraced in the great theme of Redemption,
human beings are absolutely and necessarily dependent
upon Divine revelation for all the information they
have, or ever can have. Upon these matters, or, as
we might broadly say, upon all that comes within the

NO SPIRITUAL HELP IN SCIENCE 299

scope of religious faith, Science does not, and cannot,
throw the faintest ray of light. On all these subjects,
the men of this scientific age have no better and no
other sources of information than those of the ages
that are past.

Let any one who is disposed to question this state-
ment, test it for himself, as he may easily do. Let him
diligently inquire of himself what single fact Science
has revealed to him which has added in the smallest
degree to his spiritual information. Let him then ask
the preachers of Science to mention specifically some
bits of information having a spiritual or religious value
for which mankind is indebted to "the teaching of
Science." The result will surely convince the inquirer
that the fulsome tributes to Science, such as we have
quoted above, and in which current religious literature
of the popular sort abounds, have absolutely nothing
to rest upon. The truth is that modern (or ancient)
Science has contributed nothing whatever to our fund
of spiritual or moral information. Science has brought
to humanity not one thing' whereby the tried and
tempted soul may be helped in his struggles with the
evils of his nature and environment ; not one thing to
aid in solving the problems of life, to strengthen and
encourage the weary pilgrim on life's pathway, or to
shed the feeblest ray of light upon that darkness
through which it leads.

Never has there been a greater imposture practised

300 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

upon the ignorant, easily deceived masses of men, who
are being " destroyed for lack of knowledge," than that
which certain religious teachers systematically carry on,
in arraying Science as a religious authority in opposi-
tion to the Word of God. This idol, a creature of
man's evil imagination, which has done no more for the
spiritual good of man than Baal or Jupiter, is not only
set up as a teacher and revealer of truth on a level
with the Word of God, but even on a higher level;
for the chief religious use to which the name of Science
is put, is to appeal to it as an authority for statements
contradictory to those of the Bible.

And this crime is all the worse in its nature and
consequences because, of the people who look to the
pulpit for their teaching, there are very few who are
able to investigate these statements for themselves. A
scientific education is regarded as if it were a sort of
initiation into the higher mysteries ; and those who
have not enjoyed such privileges are easily persuaded
to accept anything introduced by the conventional
phrase, " Modern Science has taught us."

The writer of these pages is speaking here from an
experience which is surely sufficient to test the truth cf
what he is saying ; and, before making these radical
statements concerning the relation of Science to the
spiritual enlightenment of mankind, he has first
assured himself that, as the result of twenty-five
years1 diligent scientific study and inquiry, he has not

FRUITLESS INVESTIGATIONS 301

gained for himself so much as a single scrap of spiritual
knowledge.

It is but fair to say, in this connection, that men of
science themselves are relatively free from this worship
of "Science." The farther a man advances in
scientific studies, the less likely he is to be tainted with
that particular form of idolatry, so prevalent among
those who desire above all things to be thought
scientific. One of the most prominent workers in the
field of applied science1 lately said that if scientific
discoveries should proceed at the present rate of
progress for a few thousand years, humanity might by
that time have accumulated sufficient data to begin
to draw a few conclusions. This is in accord with the
statement of Scripture, "If any man think that he
knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought
to know " (1 Cor. viii. 2).

Such men know full well that scientific investigations
have brought to light absolutely nothing that could
by any possibility be the basis of religious faith, or
that tends in the slightest degree to reveal the
relations of the soul of man with the Supreme Being,
the Creator of the Universe.

Even as to the origin and nature of physical life, the
results of scientific investigations are utterly inadequate
to explain its simplest phenomena. On this subject,
Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace says : —

1 Mr. Thomas A. Edison.

302 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

" As to the deeper problems of life, and growth
and reproduction, though our physiologists have
learned an infinite amount of curious or instructive
facts, they can give us no intelligible explanation
of them.'"

If Science can give no intelligible explanation of the
phenomena of physical life, which all are able to
observe, what folly it would be to look to that source
for information concerning the phenomena of spiritual
life, which lie in a sphere beyond the reach of the

senses :

Many of those who set up Science as an authority
in opposition to the Bible, fail to distinguish between
Science and Philosophy. The former has solely to do
\v\\hjacts ascertained by examination of the accessible
universe ; and since it is only the physical universe that
is accessible, and but very little of that, it is quite
impossible that Science should bring to light any facts
bearing one way or the other upon matters of spiritual
truth. But Philosophy has to do with the explanation
of the universe, and its contents ; and of philosophies
there have been no end. When one passes from the
consideration of a fact or thing to the explanation of
that fact or thing, he passes from the domain of Science
to that of Philosophy.

For example, the stone axes, stone hammers, and
other stone implements which have been discovered in
various places are facts which cannot be controverted.

PHILOSOPHIC EXPLANATIONS 303

Their discovery is a fact of Science. But the explana-
tion of the origin of these stone axes is a matter
which belongs to Philosophy. Mr. Wallace (in " Man's
Place in the Universe ") quotes a seventeenth century
explanation of the origin of stone axes by Andrianus
Tollius (1649) which will furnish an excellent illustra-
tion of what some people esteem to be highly
scientific : —

" He gives drawings of some ordinary stone
axes and hammers, and tells how naturalists say
that they are generated in the sky by a fulgareous
exhalation conglobed in a cloud by the circumfixed
humour, and are as it were baked by intense heat ;
and the weapon becomes pointed by the damp
mixed with it flying from the dry part, leav-
ing the other denser; but the exhalations press
it so hard that it breaks through the cloud
and makes thunder and lightning. But if this
is really the way they are generated, it is odd
that they are not round, and that they have
holes in them. It is hardly to be believed, he
thinks."

Philosophers are now able to furnish a more probable
explanation of the origin of stone axes ; but when we
come to some of their explanations of even the physical
being of man, of his nature and tendencies to evil, of
the presence of sin and death in the world, we have
verbal formulas which are but little more intelligible

304 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

than the foregoing, and have no more foundation in
fact.1

If, then, it be true, as I have asserted, that the
teachings of Science are destitute of religious significance
and value, what meaning have such statements as that
" upon the foundations laid by modern science a vaster,
nobler fabric of faith is rising than the world has ever
before known"; and that "Science is supplying the
facts which the New Theology is weaving into the
texture of religious experience " ?

The answer must be that these statements are

1 I have not reviewed in this volume the status and
tendency of Modern Philosophy. The influence exerted
by speculative philosophy upon the social and religious
movements of the day is undoubtedly great, but it is un-
obtrusive. The author has dealt briefly with this subject
in a pamphlet entitled Modern Philosophy : A Menace to Hie
English-Speaking Nations (Morgan & Scott Ltd., London).
For present purposes it will suffice to say that the Bible
account of God, man, and the universe has been discarded
by the leading universities of England and America, and
has been supplanted by a species of Pantheism known in
philosophic parlance as " Monistic Idealism." The funda-
mental doctrine of this philosophy is the same as that of
Humanism, to wit, the identity in substance and being of
God and man. Modern philosophy is, therefore, in line
with the other forces which are urging mankind onward
to the Great Consolidation. The effect of this philosophic
scheme is indicated in the last chapter of this volume, —
" Ultimate Intellectualism."

"GREAT SWELLING WORDS" 305

utterly void, not only of truth, but even of meaning.
Science has never yet furnished, and is utterly incapable
of furnishing, anything which could conceivably be a
basis of faith, or which could, by any possibility
whatever, be woven into the texture of religious
experience. These are " great swelling words," utterly
void of sense ; yet in this careless age they fall upon
the ears of people again and again, without even
stimulating them to inquire whether they have a
meaning or not.

Faith has to do (and necessarily) with unseen things ;
that is to say, things that are beyond the reach of
investigation by man. Faith is the evidence of (or
more literally the conviction concerning) " things not
seen " (Heb. xi. 1). Science, on the contrary, has to
do solely with seen things, that is to say, with the
visible and accessible universe.

" Faith comes by hearing," or " by the report " ; and
the hearing or report comes " by the Word of God."
(Rom. x. 17). That is to say, faith is the result of
receiving and believing the testimony of Scripture.
The only ground where there could possibly be any
conflict between Science and the Bible is in respect to
statements contained in the latter about events said to
have happened in past ages on the earth. In respect to
such matters, human sciences might discover facts which
seem to contradict the statements of the Bible. Thus
Science might afford a limited basis for unbelief; but

306 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

by no possibility could it be the basis of faith. But no
facts contradicting statements of Scripture have ever
been discovered, and the believer knows that none
exist. So much for the teachings of Science, and the
impossibility that it could ever furnish a substitute for
Revelation as the basis of faith. But it should also be
noted that " Science," in the sense in which that name
is used by the advanced theologians of our day, has no
existence. As a counter-authority to the Bible in
matters of spiritual truth, Science is referred to as an
entity — comparable to the Bible — capable of being
consulted like the latter ; and indeed it is regarded as
if it were a being of supernatural powers, living on
from age to age, and guiding successive generations of
human beings in their onward inarch. Surely there
never was a greater delusion than this, or one practised
on so large a scale.

It is, of course, entirely permissible to speak of
Science as an existing entity, in a purely figurative way,
so long as it is kept in mind that we are using a figure
of speech. But the usage of the name " Science " is
such that the figure of speech is wholly lost sight of;
and people are taught that Science has an actual
existence, is giving forth authoritative teachings, and
is accomplishing real results for humanity. Manifestly
the teachings of Scripture cannot be contradicted by a
mere figure of speech.

Furthermore, such statements as we have quoted are

NO MOUTHPIECE FOR SCIENCE 307

exceedingly misleading, in that they disregard the fact
that, even in the figurative sense, there is not one
comprehensive " Science " to which men may look for
instruction. There are a number of distinct and
separate sciences; and such are the limitations of
human capacity that no man can be proficient in more
than one. Hence there does not, and cannot, exist
any mouthpiece through which Science could impart
her instruction, if she had any to impart. And not
only so, but it frequently happens that the deductions
which might reasonably be made from the data of one
science are inconsistent with conclusions deducible from
the data of another science. Thus, there are such
distinct departments of the field of scientific inquiry as
Geology, Physiology, Biology, Astronomy, Physics, etc. ;
and each of them covers so much ground that no man,
however diligent and capable, can be really proficient
in more than one of them. It follows that, assuming a
state of general scientific knowledge (which really does
not exist), no human being is, or ever can be, qualified
to speak for Science, so as to say what is the voice of
Science at any time, on any subject extending over the
whole scientific field.

There is, therefore, no depository of the teachings of
Science to which one may resort when desirous of
learning what that authority has to say on any matter
relating to his spiritual welfare, and there exists no one
who is either qualified or authorized to speak for Science

308 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

on these matters. Since it is utterly impossible for the
people who are taught by theologians of this sort to
test the correctness of their doctrines, the former are
completely at the mercy of the latter, and thus there is
established a religious despotism worse than that of
Rome. On the other hand, those who rest their
doctrines solely upon the authority of Scripture, are
always subject to a ready test of the correctness of
their teaching.

But it is well worth while, in view of the use to
which the name of Science is being put every day,
to go even further into detail, in order that we may
ascertain with certainty whether the discoveries, in any
of the separate departments of scientific research,
possess a spiritual value, or have any bearing upon
spiritual matters. It will be sufficient, for this purpose,
to interrogate three of the sciences which have been
probably the most active and progressive during the
past fifty years, namely, Astronomy, Chemistry, and
Geology.

ASTRONOMY

What new religious conceptions have come to
mankind through the medium of astronomy ? This
important branch of Science has to do with the
heavens ; and surely to it, if to any, we may hopefully
look for something that will enlarge our stock of
religious information.

THE SCIENCE OF THE STARS 309

Moreover, astronomy continues to be, up to this
time, a " pure " Science ; that is to say, it has not
been (perhaps because it cannot well be) debased to
commercial ends. Those who devote themselves to the
study of astronomy must do so from a pure love of
investigation, and not from sordid motives. These
facts commend the results of astronomical research to
our respectful consideration, and so we would earnestly
inquire in what way, if any, those results have inured
to the spiritual benefit of mankind.

The chief modern discoveries in the realm of
astronomy have been made by the aid of the spectro-
scope. By means of this instrument certain interesting
facts have been noted, and from observations thus made,
astronomers have been led to the conclusion that the
star-systems throughout the whole universe are com-
posed of matter of the same sort as that of our solar
system. From this it has been inferred (and not
unreasonably) that the universe is an entity, whose
parts, notwithstanding the immense distances said to
separate them, are all in some manner related.

The oneness of the universe is esteemed to be the
greatest discovery of modern astronomy, and we may
cheerfully admit it to be a discovery of great interest
and astronomical importance. We would ask then,
what is its spiritual value ? In what way does it
touch and help in the solution of the problems of
every-day life on this planet ? What advantage does

310 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

it give in the way of spiritual enlightenment or
spiritual strength to the man of to-day, which was
not enjoyed by those who lived before the spectro-
scope was invented? This is the practical test to
which we must bring the discoveries of modern science
for the purposes of our present inquiry. It is obvious
that, while this greatest of all achievements of modern
astronomy may give the occupants of our pulpits
something about which they may discourse with a
show of learning, it furnishes them with no new
weapon against evil, and with no new means for
comforting and helping needy and perishing humanity.
One cannot go to a soul in distress with the message
that the spectroscope has revealed the uniformity of
nature, or comfort the sorrowing and afflicted with
the assurance that the star-systems are composed of
matter of the same sort as our earth.

Another achievement of modern astronomy is the
alleged determination of the distances and dimensions
of some of the nearer stars. At least, we are assured
that the appalling figures given to us do really re-
present these distances and dimensions with some
approach to accuracy. Conceding the correctness of
these figures, what we wish to know is the effect which
the knowledge of these prodigious strings of numerals
has had upon the religious life of the modern man who
enjoys the benefit of them. How many persons know
the distance in light-years of a single one of the few

ASTRONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS 311

stars whose distances have been computed; and of
those who enjoy that precious information, how many
have found it of practical value in their daily lives ?

One of the very latest achievements of astronomy
has been (or at least we are so informed) the deter-
mination of the orbit of an invisible satellite of the
planet Jupiter. Assuming the existence of the satel-
lite and the correctness of this determination, we
would ask how those who obtain possession of this
information are to weave it into the fabric of their
" religious experience " ?

We need not, however, confine ourselves in this
inquiry to the astronomical discoveries of recent years.
We may go back to what is regarded as the very
beginning of astronomical science, namely to the time
when the Ptolemaic theory of the universe was replaced
by the Copernican - Newtonian theory. If we ask
what spiritual advantage is enjoyed by the man of
to-day over those who regarded the earth as the centre
of the universe, and the heavenly bodies as its attend-
ants, it will be impossible to discover any.

Surely it is needless to consider further the dis-
coveries and teachings of the science of astronomy, in
order to show the emptiness and miserable deceit of
those who seek to turn men aside from the Word of
God by the pretence that upon " the foundations laid
by modern science" they may build a vaster and
nobler fabric of religious faith. The grandest dis-

312 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

coveries of the sublime science of the stars are pitifully
and absurdly inadequate to serve for any such purpose.

Astronomy may indeed reveal something of the
grandeur and magnificence of God's creation ; but it
can tell us nothing of His love and compassion for
sinners. It may trace the course of the Milky Way ;
but it cannot show to perishing souls the way of
eternal life. It may tell men how far the earth is
from the sun ; but it cannot tell the believing sinner
how far God puts his transgressions from him. It
may calculate the orbits of comets and the magnitudes
of the heavenly bodies ; but it cannot explore or reveal
the unsearchable riches of Christ, or tell us aught of
the rising of the Bright and Morning Star.

In view of these things, it is not too much to say that
the annals of heathen superstition and idolatry contain
nothing more egregiously superstitions or more grossly
idolatrous than the modern man's worship of Science as
a religious teacher superior to the Word of the living
God.

CHEMISTRY

Let us turn now to another field of scientific investi-
gation, where great activity has been displayed, and
where many practical and highly interesting discoveries
have been made in recent years; and let us inquire
whether, among all these results of modern chemistry,
there are any contributions to the sum of human

PROGRESS IN CHEMISTRY 313

knowledge of spiritual matters, or any which have a
spiritual value or application. Although we have
failed with the telescope of the astronomer to discover,
in the domain of his science, any spiritual facts, or
anything which men could weave into the fabric of
their religious experience, we may perhaps be more
fortunate with the miscroscope of the physicist.

So diligently and so effectively has chemical research
been pursued during the past fifty years, that, within
that period, its text-books have been entirely rewritten.
This science has, within that period, been put upon an
entirely new basis, under the revolutionary influence
of what is known as the "atomic theory." During
the same period a great mass of facts regarding the
properties of matter, and in particular regarding the
actions of various substances upon each other, has been
accumulated. Many new reactions have been dis-
covered ; and out of all this have come numerous new
and useful commodities and many new industrial
processes.

But if the atomic theory be capable of serving as
the basis of a new chemistry, the very slightest
acquaintance with it will suffice to show that it could
not by any possibility serve as the basis of a new
theology. Indeed, it may be regarded as fortunate
that one's faith has not rested for its support upon
the atomic theory, since that theory seems to have
had its day, and is apparently about to give way to a
21

314 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

brand new theory of " ions " or " electrons." For the
current teaching of advanced chemistry is that the
hypothetical "atom," so far from being the ultimate
particle of matter, as was until now held as the basic
fact of chemical science, is itself composed of a count-
less multitude of " electrons," all of them in excessively
rapid motion.

From this and from similar incidents we may learn
that, if the foundations of a human science be
destroyed, it is no great matter ; for that science may
be built anew upon other foundations, and may stand
with apparent solidity and permanence until these in
turn give way. But if the foundations of faith be
destroyed, there is nothing for the righteous to do.
If Christ be not raised from the dead, their faith is
vain, they are yet in their sins; and, moreover, they
also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
It would be the end of hope as well as the end of faith.
For if in this life only we have hope, if Jesus Christ
be not entered with another life into the holy place,
and if we have not this hope as an anchor of the soul
both sure and stedfast, then are we of all men most
miserable.

Those who are enraptured with the doings of this
scientific era may bestow upon the discoveries of
chemistry all the admiration whereof they deem them
worthy, and to that we should offer no objection.
But when simple-minded people, easily overawed by

WHAT CHEMISTRY CANNOT DO 315

long words and imposing names, and who have no
facilities for investigating the statements made to
them, are told by their religious instructors that the
modern sciences have displaced the old foundations of
faith, and have replaced them with other and more
enduring foundations, upon which is rising a vaster and
nobler fabric of faith than the world has ever before
known, we do most earnestly protest against such utter-
ances as. mischievous and soul-destroying falsehoods.

Modern chemistry may have given us better soap,
but it has discovered no means for cleansing the heart
from sin. It may have transformed the art of tanning
leather, and supplied many new dye-stuffs for our
textile fabrics ; but it can furnish no oil of joy for
mourning, and no garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness. It may produce illuminating devices for
dispelling the darkness of nature, and high explosives
for destroying life and removing mountains; but it
cannot give light to them that sit in darkness and the
shadow of death, or blow up the barrier that sin has
placed between man and a thrice-holy God. It may
even fill men^s bodies with drugs and medicines ; but
it cannot fill their hearts with joy and peace.

GEOLOGY

Very briefly we look at another interesting field of
scientific research. Geology is comparatively an infant

316 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

among the family of sciences, and (like other infants)
it has much to learn. But (and again like other
infants) it has assumed to teach, often with great
positiveness, in regard to matters whereof it is but
just beginning to get hold of the facts. Hence a
supposed conflict which made considerable noise a few
decades ago (but of which we now hear very little)
between the teachings of Geology and those of Genesis,
touching certain events in the long-past history of the
earth.

Geology concerns itself with the study of the earth's
crust ; and the investigations of men in that interesting
field have resulted in the accumulation of much
fragmentary information concerning the constitution
of the upper part of the crust of the earth upon which
we live : but the information thus far accumulated is
relatively meagre. Geology has, in addition to facts
of the nature indicated above, furnished a large and
varied assortment of guesses concerning the method
of formation of the earth's crust, the sequence and
remoteness in time of the several layers whereof it is
composed, the nature of certain catastrophes which
have left their marks upon and under the earth's
surface, the condition of the earth's interior, and the
like. All this is interesting, no doubt, and, in its place,
may be highly important. Furthermore, all studies of
nature are profitable to the reverent mind, which sees
everywhere in nature the evidences of the manifold

DEFICIENCIES OF GEOLOGY 317

wisdom of God. " O Lord, how manifold are Thy
works ! In wisdom hast Thou made them all " (Ps.
civ. 24). " The works of the Lord are great, sought
out of all them that have pleasure therein''1 (Ps.
cxi. 2).

But we shall search in vain among the facts and
theories of geology for anything which is of religious
value, or which has any bearing whatever upon the
relation of the soul of man to the Creator and to
the universe.

Geology may make known to us something of the
riches which God has stored in the mine ; but it cannot
help us to know the riches of the glory of His inherit-
ance in the saints, or the fulness of Him in whom
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. It may
impart some measure of information concerning the for-
mation of the earth's crust during ages past ; but it can
tell nothing of God's eternal purposes which are to be
fulfilled in the ages to come. It can show us, in the
fossiliferous rocks, the graves of once-living creatures,
over which death has established its awful power ; but
it can tell us nothing about the resurrection from the
dead, and the restitution of all things which God has
spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the
world began.

This consideration of the three active sciences of the
day will surely suffice to expose the emptiness and

318 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

deceit of such statements as that " Science is supplying
the facts which the New Theology is weaving into the
texture of religious experience.'1 Yet the frequency
with which one meets such utterances, and the astound-
ing disposition of the mass of people to accept them
without challenge or scrutiny, justifies the most
thorough investigation of this particular form of
idolatry. We have not yet got to the bottom of it,
and so we pursue the subject a little further.

WHAT IS "SCIENCE"? THE QUEST OF AN
ANXIOUS SOUL FOR ITS TEACHINGS.

We are now in a position to ask, Who, or what,
after all, is " Science " ? Where is its shrine ? Who is
its accredited mouthpiece? Suppose that some poor
ignorant stumbler in the darkness of this world has
heard, in an eloquent sermon delivered by some
" eminent divine," that a great goddess called " Science "
has visited the earth charged with the glorious
mission of dispelling its gloom, and releasing the poor
captives who have long been held in the grievous
bondage of ignorance and superstition. He may not
know just what these phrases mean ; but they sound
good, and he does know the burden of his own heart,
and realizes fully that he is in sore trouble and need.
So great, in fact, is his sense of need that he catches
eagerly at any offer of deliverance. So he sets himself

THE QUEST FOR "SCIENCE" 319

to ascertain just what Science has to say about his case,
and to learn what remedy she can furnish to cure the
sickness of his soul, and to bring peace to his troubled
conscience. To whom shall he go for this information,
and for the particular facts which are needful to be
woven into the fabric of his religious experience?
This is the practical test of all the systems of New
Theology, Modernism, and the like ; and its application
at once reveals the fact already stated, that there is no
such thing as Science. It is an abstraction, an idol, a
creature of the human imagination, which men have set
up, and to which they have attributed real existence
and superhuman powers. It has no more to say for
the guidance of the human soul than the crudest idol
to which the most ignorant savages address their
worship.

If the seeker listens to the voices of those who assume
to speak for Science, he hears a perfect Babel of contra-
dictory utterances, no two in agreement on any matter
connected with the mysteries of the soul, and none of
them even assuming to give him the help he needs.

If he continues the search, determined to ascertain
just what reality there is to which the name of
" Science " could be attached, what he shall find is (1) a
few men, mortals and sinners like himself, and just as
much in need of Divine aid, who are devoting part of
their time to the observation, each as best he may and
in the manner he deems most effective, of some tiny

320 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

portion of the visible universe ; and (2) a great many
large books, containing a vast number of statements
and conjectures, for the most part quite unintelligible
to the ordinary reader, and quite unprofitable to the
few who are able to grasp their meaning, a large part
of the contents of these books being devoted to dis-
puting, questioning, or pouring contempt upon, the
assertions of other like books. Such is the " state of
Science " in this enlightened century ; and it is well to
bear in mind what has been already said, that it is not
from true men of science that the statements we are
considering proceed.

It is very important for us to understand that there
is no one who has either the authority or the ability
to speak for Science, and that it is quite impossible to
ascertain what is the authoritative teaching of Science
on any matter of real importance. On the other
hand, those who receive instruction on the authority
of the Bible can readily ascertain whether or not the
teaching be scriptural.

It is also well for all to understand that the matters
regarding the physical universe and the physical life of
creatures therein, which have been definitely settled as
the result of human investigations, are very few in
number, and that among them is nothing that could
furnish any spiritual information or moral aid to a
human being.

We do not stop to consider the contributions which

COMPLEXITIES OF MODERN LIFE

the discoveries of men have made to the physical
comforts and conveniences of life ; for these things do
not lie within the scope of our inquiry. It may be
conceded that the ingenuity and industry of the modern
man have brought into existence, as new social factors,
many devices, machines, engines, processes, and ap-
pliances, which have made the existence of human
beings in the mortal body a very different thing from
what it was a few generations ago, and which incident-
ally have also added much to the complexities, anxieties,
and dangers of life. Whether humanity as a whole is
really any better off' for these things, is a question as to
which there are radical differences of opinion ; but since
that is a question which concerns the world only and those
who are of it, we shall not spend time upon it. What
is important for those who are in the world but not of
it, is to grasp clearly the fact that, in respect of instruc-
tion or light upon spiritual matters, mankind owes
absolutely nothing, and less than nothing, to that
abstraction which is adored under the name of
" Science." On the contrary, this abstraction is the
cover for an enemy, and a formidable one, since it is
being used to blind mankind to the only true Light,
and to divert perishing sinners from the only Way
of life.

If one would learn from an eminent man of science
just what the latter has to offer as a basis of faith, or a
religious support, he could not do better than to read a

322 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

book, lately published, entitled The Substance of' Faith
Allied with Science, by Sir Oliver Lodge, who stands
well to the front among living men of science. This
is a very serious work, written by a man of naturally
reverential mind and religious temperament ; and in it
he attempts (quoting his own words) " to lay a sound
foundation such as can stand scientific scrutiny and
reasonable rationalistic attack." This is probably the
best attempt that has yet been made to put before
men, in the name of Science, something which may be
substituted for the Word of God as the basis of faith.
Yet it is in no spirit of cavilling, or of disrespect for
the eminent author, that the present writer declares
the book to be utterly void of anything that could be
called the " substance of faith." It contains merely a
string of insipidities, inspiring no confidence, imparting
no conviction, containing absolutely no message for
the heart and mind, and leaving even the curiosity
unsatisfied.

It is not in the nature of what is called " Science " to
reveal spiritual certainties or to impart conviction.
The inquiring soul never obtained, as the result of a
scientific quest for spiritual information, however dili-
gently pursued, anything better than a conjecture. No
other result is attainable in that way. Of the sources
of information available to mankind, the WORD OF GOD
is alone capable of imparting absolute conviction to the
human heart and mind. To this end is it given, that the

THE GREATEST OF THE IDOLATRIES 323

believer might know the certainty of those things
wherein he has been instructed (Luke i. 4).

The final conclusion of this branch of our inquiry,
and which brings us to the bottom of the subject, is
that the "Science" of the New Theologies is merely one
of the names under which Man worships himself. This is
the simple and sufficient explanation of the use which
is made of the name " Science " in the new theologies,
and in all systems which are working towards the
establishment of the religion of Humanism, that last
and greatest of all the idolatries of the earth — "the
depths of Satan."

EVOLUTION

Here we have the name of another idol, closely
related to the foregoing, and to which, but a few years
back, all but universal homage was paid by the wise
and learned of the earth. The entire universe, includ-
ing the bodies and souls of men, was confidently
affirmed to be the product of Evolution. It was indeed
conceded by those who fashioned this particular idol,
that their god did not create the original substance out
of which the universe was fashioned, and that probably
he had been supplied from some " unknowable " source
with matter, in a nebulous or undifferentiated condi-
tion, wherewith to begin the business of creation ; but
certainly Evolution (so we were told) fashioned every-

324 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

thing, animate and inanimate, into what it is to-day :
and, what is more, Evolution has produced this infinite
variety of created things out of a single simple kind of
material.

In more recent times there has been a rapidly
growing disposition among scientific men to discredit
the Darwinian theory of origin of species (which is
what many people understand by " Evolution ") ; but,
as the controlling principle of the progressive changes
in the affairs of humanity, Evolution holds its supreme
place in the thought of the learned and wise of the day.

It is with the religious aspect of Evolution that we
have to do, and into this we would thoroughly inquire.
It is no figure of speech to say that this abstraction is
exalted in men's minds to the place of Divinity. Not
only is Evolution credited with directing the progress
of humanity thus far, but it is trusted to carry that
progress on to a triumphant conclusion.

In one of the most prominent pulpits of New York
City, it was recently asserted that Evolution is the
Hope of mankind. How different this from the revela-
tion which the Bible gives of " the Hope which is laid
up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the
word of the truth of the Gospel " (Col. i. 5) ! The
Bible tells also of " the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our
Hope " (1 Tim. i. 1) ; but the aim of those who have
left the old foundations is ever to put something in the
place of Christ. This preacher, and others of his school,

"THE NEW INSPIRATION" 325

bid their congregations look to Evolution, instead of to
Christ, for all the improvement and blessing that is to
come to man and his world.

It is easy to see where this leads. In the manual of
The Religion of Humanity it is asserted that " Socialism
is the Evolution of the human race from cannibalism
and savagery to fraternalism and philanthropy, from
the infamy of the swine to the splendour of God."

In Dr. Broda's article, from which we have quoted,
and in which he discusses comprehensively the religious
movements now in progress throughout the world, it is •
distinctly asserted that —

"not all the theories of modern science are of
equal significance from the point of view of
religious development ; indeed, it is pre-eminently
only one concept which could arouse the necessary
enthusiasm and devotion, and give a basis on
which to construct a new moral ideal, THE THEORY
OF EVOLUTION. This fundamental doctrine, which
entails the belief that progress is the law of being
of all that is in nature, including man himself,
must be the new inspiration."

This clearly states the place which Evolution is to
occupy in the coming religion of Humanism. It is the
only concept to which the apostles of Humanism can
look to supply the necessary enthusiasm and devotion
for religious service. Dr. Broda further says : —

" But more than this, Evolution, in demonstrat-

326 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

ing the Unity of Nature, also proves the Brother-
hood of the World, the solidarity of Creation, and
so gives us the foundation for a new moral idea,
and lifts us out of the utilitarianism which would
make it appear that our best endeavours are only
of benefit to what is sectional and transitory."
Surely Evolution is a mighty power if it does all
this. He continues : —

"And so the Theory of Evolution gives us a
new conception of the universe, a new conception
of the aim of life, and provides a new theory of
ethics, and is thus eminently fitted for becoming
the basis for a new manifestation of the religious
spirit.1"

If again we should ask where Evolution is to
be found, and where and how its favours are to be
secured, we shall inquire in vain ; for this wonder-
working " Theory " is but a creation of man's vain
imagination, of whose existence or operation in nature,
outside of human affairs, no trace has ever been
found.

In studying the features of Humanism, the universal
religion of the future, one is naturally curious to know
by what services and religious exercises its devotees
will conduct their worship. With the advent of a
religion so grand and magnificent as its prophets
describe, and which is worthy to replace all the historic
religions of the world, one would expect a corresponding

THE POVERTY OF HUMANISM 327

improvement upon the formularies, sacred writings,
and devotional practice of Christianity. It is not
to be supposed that the great religion of Human-
ism, gathering its devotees around the inspiring
idea of Evolution, would content itself with a weak
dilution and feeble caricature of the words of the
discarded Book, from whose thraldom humanity shall
have been fully emancipated. Yet this is all that the
writer of The Religion of Humanity has to offer, as
witness the following : —

BENEDICTION

"May the Love of Humanity, which is the
highest, purest, most unselfish love that Human-
kind can know, keep alive in our Souls the Sacred
Fire of High Resolve, nourish our Minds upon the
Manna of generous and uplifting Thought, and
strengthen our Hands to helpful, kindly Service.
And may the Blessings of Liberty, Justice and
Equity, of Peace, Happiness and Prosperity, of
Equality, Co-operation, and Comradeship, be upon
us and upon our Children's Children's Children,
from this Time forth Forevermore.'"1

And this : —

"THE DOXOLOGY OF LOVE"

"Praise Love, who slayeth Hate and Wrong,
Praise Him in Word, and Deed and Song ;

328 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

His Blessing be on Age and Youth,
With Justice, Liberty and Truth.
All Hail the People in their Might !
All Hail the Victory of Right!
The Glory of the Common Good,
Dear Love and Joy of Comradehood ! "

Surely this invocation to the string of idols upon
whom these poor idolaters call, manifests even less
intelligence than was displayed of old by the fervid
religionists who cried, " Baal, hear us ! Baal, hear us ! "
or by those who raised the cry at Ephesus, for a space
of two hours, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Surely
we may feel much pity for those who know no purer or
higher love than that of Humanity, and whose only
vehicles for the expression of their religious worship are
the disfigured and scarcely recognizable husks of
ancient Christian formularies, from which all the
substance has been eliminated.

As to the outward forms of the coming new religion,
Dr. Broda says : —

"The Christian institution of Sunday has

proved itself serviceable, as has the Protestant

order of service, with its congregational singing,

so well adapted towards creating an atmosphere of

brotherhood, enthusiasm, devotion, and piety."

But Dr. Broda does not give a specimen of the

hymns which such a gathering would sing in praise of

the Theory of Evolution. It is difficult to imagine

THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON 329

them singing, for example, " Praise Evolution from
which all blessings flow," even though that would
accurately express the creed of the worshippers.

It is just here that the prophets of the coming era
show a lack of foresight. When men worship, they
must worship a PERSONALITY. The great author
of religions, the spirit of Evil, who is back of all these
religious activities, has his own plans for the worship
of his dupes; and he will assuredly put those plans
into operation when the time comes. The sure word
of prophecy speaks plainly on this point : " And they
worshipped THE DRAGON" (Rev. xiii. 4). "And he
exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,
and causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to
worship the FIRST BEAST whose deadly wound was
healed " (ver. 12).

MONEY

One more of the numerous gods of our day should
be noticed, namely, the unrighteous Mammon ; but the
notice at this place may be brief, for the reason that
the subject has already been touched upon ; and,
furthermore, the idolatry of covetousness needs not to
be specially pointed out, for it is quite flagrant and
undisguised. Every candid and competent observer
of our times will admit that the pursuit of money is
the chief concern of the day, and that money occupies

22

330 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

the first place in the regard of the majority of men and
women in the centres of the civilization of our time.
Money is more and more filling the place of a god in
the thoughts and affections of man. The adoring
tributes paid to Science, Evolution, Liberty, Peace,
Fraternity, etc., are largely sentimental. The devotion
paid to Mammon is heartfelt, practical, and intensely
real. It carries with it the thoughts, hearts, and
energies of its devotees. Into the pursuit of money
the Mammon-worshipper throws himself with an
intensity of passionate devotion ; and in his thoughts
about money he sets practically no limits to its
powers.

God demands the first place in the hearts of His
people. To love God with all the heart and soul and
mind, is the first and great commandment. Money is,
therefore, made a god by all who give it the first place
in their affections. It has, moreover, such a power of
laying hold of the affections and confidence of men,
that the Lord's people need to be searched by the
light of His truth to see whether they love Him more
than their money, and desire Him more than they
covet the money of other people. There is in money
a subtle power to steal away from God the confidence
of His people.

Money is also a god to those who put their trust in
it; and many seek it, not for the sake of procuring
supplies to meet their bodily needs and desires, but

THE POWERS OF WEALTH 331

for the power and influence it confers upon its
possessors.

Furthermore, money is a god in that it bestows
honours, dignities, and rank upon those who serve it
best. The aristocracy of to-day is not so much that
of rank, or of brains, or of culture, as that of wealth.
What separates humanity into distinct classes is the
fact of their having or not having money. Small
wonder is it then that we see the multitudes
zealously and fervently engaged in the service of
Mammon, the financial interest taking the foremost
place in the affairs of the world, and the nomen-
clature of money becoming that part of human
language which is most in use. There are probably
no two substantives that are more frequently used
in the conversations of the day than " money " and
" business."

This idolatry has infected the Lord's people, who
have been often seduced to set their hearts upon, and
put their trust in, uncertain riches rather than in the
living God. When anything is to be done, the first
thought often is, not, " Is this the Lord's mind ? "
(though He will surely supply the need of all His own
work) but, " How much money will it take ? " In
many ways, of which it is not necessary to multiply
instances, the thought is expressed that, if only there
were enough money, this or that result could be accom-
plished for God.

332 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

But the need of the Lord is not for money. His
need is rather for willing hearts and fully consecrated
lives. It is for the lack of these that His work lags,
and the gospel is not carried into " the regions beyond."
God is not straitened in His finances, but in the hearts
of His people. Oh, that they, who have received
His unspeakable gift, might realize that they are
debtors "both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians,
both to the wise and to the unwise " (Rom. i. 14), and
might diligently seek opportunity to discharge that
debt by communicating to those, on whose behalf
they have received the Gospel in trust, the knowledge
of the salvation that is in Christ Jesus !

The service of mammon is utterly incompatible with
the service of God, for the Lord has said, " Ye cannot
serve God and Mammon " (Matt. vi. 24) ; and none
have greater need to understand this than they who
justify in their own eyes the pursuit and love of money
by the vain thought of using it in the Lord's work.
It is to His own people that Christ addresses this
warning.

In Luke xvi. 13-15, there is a most pertinent and
timely message, in which again the principle is stated,
"Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.11 But the
Pharisees, " who were covetous, heard all these things,
and they derided Him. And He said unto them,
Ye are they which justify yourselves before men ; but
God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly

AN IMAGE OF GOLD 333

esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of
God."

The Pharisee was most scrupulous and exact in
giving his tithes, and his conduct in this respect would
pass in the eyes of men as beyond criticism. But it is
not the money, but the heart, that God would possess.
There is nothing, in our day at least, that is more
highly esteemed among men than money, and this is
expressly declared by Christ to be ABOMINATION, that is
to say, an IDOL in the sight of God.

Also, it is pertinent to recall that the image which
was once set up by the world-ruler, Nebuchadnezzar,
for universal worship, was an image of gold. And
when again the world-ruler, who is to exercise
authority over " all kindreds and tongues and nations,"
shall set up an image for universal worship (Rev. xiii.
15), it will be an image of gold, in that it will represent
the great system which man has organized for the
creation of wealth. This is the abomination or idol
that maketh desolate, spoken of by Daniel the prophet.

Against the worship of this idol there is need just
at this time to call out the most urgent and solemn
warnings. Religion, in its last stage of utter corrup-
tion, enters, as we have seen, into a combination 01
intimate association with mammon, thus forming the
great System or Consolidation with its dual aspect,
religious and commercial. This prodigious association
is, I doubt not, the culmination of " Mystery Babylon

334 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

the Great, the Mother of the Harlots and Abomina-
tions of the Earth " (Rev. xvii. 5). In this evil system,
the complete union of religion and mammon wherein
money-getting is made into a religion of universal
scope, we find traffic of every sort, embracing all
kinds of commodities from " gold and silver " to
" slaves and souls (or lives) of men " (Rev. xviii.
12, 13).

And what we desire chiefly to emphasize is the
power, which the vision that men's eyes are now catch-
ing, of this magnificent and imposing system, has of
deceiving all whose eyes have not been fully opened to
recognize that the world, with all its fair appearance,
and in spite of its religious garb and its ornaments of
philanthropy and altruism, is the enemy of God, a pro-
digy of deception and falsehood, with nothing but dis-
appointments for those who trust it; and that it is corrupt
from top to bottom and from centre to circumference.
Nevertheless, many who truly " belong to Christ " are
entangled in this system of Antichrist, and are con-
suming their energies in the futile attempt " to make
the world better." So will it be to the end ; for the
last call of Scripture which God addresses to His people
is given to those who are yet, like Lot in Sodom,
lingering in Great Babylon on the eve of her over-
throw : " Come out of her, MY PEOPLE, that ye be not
partaker of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues " (Rev. xviii. 4).

FINAL STAGE OF INTELLECTUALISM 335

Therefore, we repeat the apostolic injunction :
' Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

ULTIMATE INTELLECTUALISM.— THE
TENDENCY OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION

The tendency of the modern movements of thought
may be accurately determined by noting carefully the
attitude of those who are its leaders. In the first
stages of a movement it is generally impossible to
say in what it will end; but when its course has
become definitely marked out the end may often be
predicted some time before it is reached. We are fully
justified in speaking of " ultimate intellectualism," that
is to say, of the final stage of inteUectual development,
since this development is now rapidly approaching a
condition beyond which it is not possible to progress.
When, through the progress of intellectualism, the
human reason has been exalted to the place of
supreme authority, and man is declared to be
Divine, it is safe to say that the last stage of intel-
lectualism has been reached. Beyond Divinity, it is
not possible for even the imagination of man to
exalt himself.

It needs no long investigation to ascertain that
Humanism, or the exaltation of man to the place of
God, is the real religious principle involved in all
the homage paid to Science, Evolution, Progress, and

336 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

the like. Thus, the word " Science," as used in the
literature, religious parlance, and pulpit utterances
of the day, is simply a name reverentially given to
the collective efforts of men to gather information
concerning the physical universe. Whatever dis-
coveries result from these efforts are not " the revela-
tions of Science" but the discoveries of men; and
hence the tributes paid to Science are in reality
paid to MEN.

Likewise, the word " Civilization " is merely an
imposing and admiring title, bestowed upon that
complicated state of Society which the collective
activities of man have brought into existence, embrac-
ing all the doings and achievements of the modern
man, from peace congresses to submarines, and from
aeroplanes to cigarettes.

The worship of Man as truly Divine, and the spirit
of Man as represented in some transcendent human
genius or "Superman," is therefore the inevitable
outcome of the existing forms of idolatry ; for, when
one stops to consider the matter, it must be evident
that the names Science, Progress, Evolution, and
the like stand for mere abstractions, and that the
real source, creator, and sustainer of them all is
Man.

Heretofore we have considered the manifestations
of the religious principles of Humanism in movements
of the popular sort, and as set forth by those who

COLLEGE IDEALS SAMPLED 337

stand forward as the spokesmen of such movements ;
and have also considered those principles as they are
found in the great economic movement of the day,
that is, Socialism, which is the uprising of the masses
of men who are neither intellectual nor learned. But
now, and finally, we will seek an indication of the
present state and tendency of Intellectualism, and of
the effect of the education now being imparted to those
who have the highest mental endowments, and who
enjoy, at the same time, the best existing facilities for
their cultivation. To obtain such indication we have
only to go to the foremost seat of learning in America.
Probably there is no institution in the United States
which exerts a greater influence upon the formation of
ideas than Harvard University. Some of the best
minds of the country have their ideas formed and their
ideals shaped in the atmosphere of that ancient and
highly respectable seat of learning ; and upon leaving
it they become the propagators of those ideas and
ideals. In doing this they are aided by having, in
addition to their own personal intelligence and culture,
the weight of the influence and authority of the
University. By sampling, therefore, the ideas that
prevail, and are held in esteem at Harvard at the
present time, we may learn what ideas will shortly
become (if they be not already) current among the
intellectual, or so-called "thinking," classes all over
the land.

338 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

Of the complete departure of this great University
from the teaching, encouragement, or recognition
of, anything partaking even remotely of Evangelical
truth (or what Dr. Gordon calls the "New
England * Theology ") it is needless to speak ; for
the facts in this regard are well known. Our present
interest is to ascertain, not so much what Harvard has
drifted from, as what it is drifting (or has drifted) to.1

It is very striking and significant indeed to find (as
we do) the ideals of the solidarity and supremacy of
Man pervading the atmosphere, and saturating the
thoughts, of those who are at the top of the scale of
intelligence and culture, precisely as we found them to
be the inspirations of those who are lower down
in the social scale. From the top to the bottom
these ideals have thoroughly permeated the mass of
humanity.

The spirit of twentieth century intellectualism
manifests itself, with a distinctness leaving nothing to
be desired on that score, in the Harvard Class Poem
for the year 1908. This production was highly com-
mended and widely published, in whole or in part, in
the secular press. We quote below some of the stanzas,
in which Satan's creed of the Deity of Man is stated
with startling distinctness, notwithstanding the

1 See in this connection footnote on page 304 of this
volume ; also the author's pamphlet on Modern Philosophy :
A Menace to the English-Speaking Nations.

AN ANTHEM TO "MAN" 339

obscurity which is one of the chief literary charac-
teristics of the production.

The appropriate title of the poem is " MAN," and
these are the opening verses : —

" Now in the East the morning dies,

The full light of the splendid sun
Strikes downwai'd on our lifted eyes,
And the long journey is begun.
Across the shattered walls
A voice prophetic calls,
With tumult and with laughter
We rise and follow after.

"The modern world, immense and wide,

Awaits us, huger than before,
With new stars swimming in the void
And science broadening evermore.
The sweep of the limitless vast,
The past is dead and past ;
Yet through it all for ever
One voice is silent never."

The reader will note the tribute to the "modern
world," and that to "science broadening evermore";
but he may require some help in order to identify
with certainty the " voice prophetic " which is " silent
never," and which is heard even above the tumult,
and above the laughter, and the noise of the clanging
city. As I gather from the two following stanzas,

340 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

this inextinguishable voice is none other than that of

MAN: —

" 'Mid iron wheels and planets whirled

The clanging city, in the street,
— The machinery of the modern world —
His lips cry loudly and entreat ;
Like one that lifts his head
For a second time from the dead,
— Out of the Church's prison,
The new Christ rearisen !

" O holy spirit — O heart of man !

Will you not listen, turn and bow
To that clear voice, since time began
Loud in your ears, and louder now !
Mankind, the Christ, retried —
Recrowned, recrucified ;
No god for a gift, God gave us,
Mankind alone must save us."

This last verse contains the essence of the poem.
The cardinal points of its doctrine are that Mankind is
the Christ, and that the heart of Man is the Holy
Spirit. As the essence of the gospel of God's Word
is that "He GAVE His ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life,11 so the loftiest note in this Class
Poem of 1908 is struck in the line, " No god for a gift
God gave us," wherein that text is flatly contradicted,
and in the assertion that " Mankind alone must save

"THE TRUTH" AND "THE LIE11 341

us." One of these statements, — that of the Gospel, or
that of the Harvard poet, — is " the Truth," and the
other is "the Lie." One of them proceeds from the
"Spirit of Truth," and the other from the "Spirit
of Error." This must be conceded by all, since the
two statements are in direct contradiction, one of
the other. Which is the Spirit of Truth? the Spirit
who inspired the writer of John's Gospel, or the
spirit who inspired the Harvard Class Poem ? This
is a question of life and death — of everlasting life
and everlasting death ; " because they which received
not the love of THE TRUTH that they might be SAVED,"
are given over to "strong delusion that they should
believe THE LIE ; that they might all BE DAMNED who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in the
unrighteousness " (2 Thess. ii. 10-12).1

The doctrine that mankind is the only saviour of
men is amplified in the next stanza ; and, in the next
succeeding, it is declared that men's gods are within
themselves, and that the new world republican is
heaven reborn in man and woman : —

" O world, grown pitiless and grim !

O world of men, had you but known
Your brother is your Christ, through him
You must be saved and him alone !

1 We have introduced the definite article " the " where
it occurs in the original text.

342 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

Love for his sorrows — love
Alone can lift you above
The pain of your misgiving,
The doom and the horror of living.

" Within ourselves we must find the light,

And in ourselves, our Gods to be,
Not throned beyond the stars of night ;
Here in America we must see
The love of man for man,
The new world republican —
A heaven, not superhuman,
Reborn in man and woman."

We need not quote further, nor is extended comment
necessary. It is clear that what commended this poem,
and procured for it the cordial reception it received, is
not its poetical merit or its literary excellence, for in
these particulars it is mediocre, or worse. But, as an
expression of the blasphemous thought predominant in
the mind of the man of to-day, though not all have the
boldness to declare it so distinctly, these verses are
eminently satisfactory. The lesson they emphasize for
us is that, at the very centre of the culture and in-
tellectuality of America, a stage of religious development
has already been reached wherein all is fully prepared
for the enthusiastic welcome of that man of prophecy
*' who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God or that is worshipped ; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he
is God " (2 Thess. ii. 4).

GATHERING FORCES OF ANTICHRIST 343

Thus it is written, and such must needs be the end
of that " career of humanity " which Satan instigated,
and for which, through his countless subtleties and
deceits, he has continually supplied the incentive and
inspiration. But let us be thankful that it is indeed
the very end. Beyond this it is impossible for pre-
sumptuous man to go. Then " the Lord Jesus shall
be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not
God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ " (2 Thess. i. 7, 8). " Who, in His times He
shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords " (1 Tim. vi. 15).

" Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God
of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed and
also confounded, all of them : they shall go to con-
fusion together that are MAKERS OF IDOLS.

" But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an
everlasting salvation : ye shall not be ashamed nor
confounded, world without end" (Isa. xlv. 15, 17).

And now, people of God, "flee idolatry," and
separate from all those who put their trust in idols.
The enemies of our God are gathering into a massive,
compact body, ignoring minor differences and magni-
fying the great unifying principles of the Solidarity,
Deity, and Imperial Destiny of MAN. The children of
this age are wiser in their generation than the children

344 LATTER-DAY IDOLS

of light. The latter are scattered and sundered by
discords, utterly forgetful of the Oneness of the Body
of Christ, and giving little diligence to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace, that should unite all
brethren. Let us be awake to what is going on, and
to what these current events tell us of the near
approach of our Lord for His waiting people ; and
that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to
awake out of the sleep of listlessness and indifference ;
for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed
(Rom. xiii. 11). Let us seek, in the little time that
remains, to make known to those who are perishing the
Salvation that is in Christ Jesus for all who believe on
Him ; and others save with fear, pulling them out of
the fire (Jude 23).

" Assemble yourselves and come ; draw near to-
gether ye that are escaped of the nations. They
have no knowledge that set up the wood of their
graven image, and pray unto a god that CANNOT SAVE.
" Tell ye, and bring them near ; yea, let them
take counsel together. Who hath declared this
from ancient time ? Who hath told it from that
time ? Have not I, the LORD ? and there is no
God else beside Me, a just God, and a Saviour;
there is none beside Me.

" Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth : for I am God, and there is none
else " (Isa. xlv. 20-22).

CONCLUSION

"And thou shalt speak My Words unto them,
whether they will hear, or whether they will
forbear ; for they are most rebellious " (Ezek. ii. 7)

And now, as a final word, I would make an earnest
appeal to my countrymen of England and America —
the great English-speaking nations — to whom the sub-
jects herein discussed are matters of vital importance.
In these great changes and mighty movements of our
day are involved, as I firmly believe, the destinies of
the noblest empires that have ever risen and flourished
in the earth. Notwithstanding our many and grievous
national sins and shortcomings, God has greatly blessed
and prospered us above all people on earth. Our armies
have been victorious in time of war, and our commercial
enterprises have prospered in time of peace. By the
good hand of our God upon us we have spread to every
quarter of the earth, and have extended our dominion
over more than one-third of its inhabitants. If the
wealth of the world could be rightly computed, doubt-
less much more than half of it would be found to be in
our custody. The whole world has felt, and feels at this
moment more than ever, the influence of our language
23

346 CONCLUSION

and our institutions. To us, chiefly, since the apostasy
of Israel, the custody of the Holy Scriptures seems to
have been entrusted ; and through us the Word of God
has increased, and its message has been carried to all
peoples and languages and tongues and nations. For
our fathers feared God and trembled at His Word.
Above all the nations of this or any age, we have
been the people of the open Bible; and, accordingly,
above all the nations of this or any age, the God of
the Bible has blessed us.

But within a generation all this has changed. This
change, in its magnitude and suddenness, is without
parallel in the history of nations. Mr. White has
good ground for saying that " Christianity in the sense
of its Founder has as little in common with Europe "
(and he might have added America) " as with Asia " ;
and that " if He were to appear in the flesh He could not
call Himself a Christian" The substance of all that
we have been considering is briefly this, that we have
entered the dark shadow of THE GREATEST NATIONAL

APOSTASY IN ALL THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. The Bible

does not occupy the place in England and America which,
until this generation, it has always occupied. Our leaders
once bowed to its authority ; now they reject it. They
have turned away from the God of Revelation, the God
and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have discarded
Christianity for Pantheism, the degrading religion of
the Hindoos. What does this portend, what can it

THE LESSON OF THE OLIVE TREE 347

portend, but the greatest national overthrow, ruin, and
disaster, that the world has ever seen !

" What shall we then say to these things ? " Shall
we forget the lesson of the olive tree? Because of
unbelief the natural branches (Israel) were broken off'.
" Therefore," we Gentiles afe warned (for, says the
apostle, " I speak unto YOU GENTILES "), " Be not
high-minded, but fear: For if God spared not the
natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not
thee. Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of
God" (Rom. xi. 13, 19-22). We have experienced
His goodness, and now have incurred, more than any
other nations, His severity. Let us then not follow
any longer these evil men, who are leading the deceived
masses away from the Source and Giver of all good,
the Author of all our national wealth and greatness.
Whether reverend doctors, or learned professors, or
ecclesiastical reformers, or social economists, or phil-
anthropists, they are leading us into the pit wherein
many nations have fallen, and from which none has
ever risen again. " For the leaders of this people
cause them to err ; and they that are led of them are
destroyed" (Isa. ix. 16). God is giving now a little
space for repentance ere the storm of His well-merited
wrath breaks upon us. This is the meaning of that
strange "hush" which has fallen upon Europe, to
which England's greatest living orator lately called
attention in words that have been read throughout the

348 CONCLUSION

world. But during this period of strange and ominous
stillness there is proceeding a stranger and more
ominous preparation for war, upon a scale hitherto un-
precedented, and that at a time of profound peace. Let
there be no mistake as to the meaning of this. It is
not merely England's national supremacy, but her
national existence that is at stake. And the destiny and
interests of America are so identified with those of the
mother country that the former will also be inevitably
involved in the impending crisis. Moreover, the
daughter has fully shared in the mother's sins, and will
surely participate in the punishment thereof. For in this
" as is the mother, so is her daughter " (Ezek. xvi. 44).

Shall it be in vain that the instruments of God's
righteous anger are being made ready under our very
eyes ? Is it nothing that England's naval supremacy,
upon which the existence of the Empire absolutely
depends, has been definitely challenged by a great and
warlike nation, whose ruler is a God-fearing monarch,
who maintains the "Divine right of Kings"'? Is it
nothing that America's western border is menaced by a
mysterious people, stimulated by conquest, capable of
nurturing revenge for years until the moment comes,
and then of striking a fatal blow ? Is it nothing that
while England and America are busy accumulating
wealth, Germany and Japan are training every male
subject for war ? * Let us then consider our ways ; and

1 Prominent English journals have repeatedly called

AN UNPARALLELED DISASTER 349

let us be not so foolish and so oblivious of the plainest
lessons of history as to suppose that these menacing
evils may be averted by maintaining the " two-power
standard," and by expending vast sums for armament.
There is but one way whereby the English-speaking
nations may escape the unparalleled disaster that
menaces them : and that is, by repenting and forsaking
their sins, and returning to the God Who gave them
wealth and greatness. The prophecies we have been
examining must indeed be fulfilled ; but there are to be
some nations which, as nations, shall be admitted to
blessing when the Son of Man shall come in His glory,
and shall sit upon the throne of His glory. For then
" before Him shall be gathered ALL NATIONS ; and He
shall separate THEM one from another as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats " (Matt. xxv.
31, 32). It may be, therefore, that God will be
entreated for us, that the storm of His wrath may
not overwhelm us, and that we may be hidden in
the day of His fierce anger, " when He ariseth to
shake terribly the earth."

However that may be, there can be no question
that, in a condition so serious as that which now

attention to the significant fact that Germany and Japan
are the only two nations on earth which compel every man to
undergo a military training. The world has two, and only
two, nations of trained warriors. The God of nations has a
great purpose in this.

350 CONCLUSION

exists, there is a special call to God's people, few and
feeble though they be, for an unflinching manifestation
of individual faithfulness to Him, and to His Word :
"For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My
Word, and hast not denied My Name"" (Rev. iii. 8).
There is also a special call to them, at such a time
as this, to separate themselves from that system of
confusion which will soon experience the severity of
His righteous judgments. For that vast system,
religious and commercial, which has been the subject
of our study, is none other than " Babylon the Great,'1
whose destruction has been decreed (Rev. xviii. 1, 2).
But Scripture shows us that on the very eve of her
overthrow there are some of God's people who yet
linger within the dangerous sphere of her showy
allurements. To these there comes "from heaven"
a clear and urgent message: "And I heard another
voice from heaven, saying, COME ODT OF HER, My
People, that ye be uot partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities. . . . She shall be utterly burned with
fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her"
(Rev. xviii. 4, 5, 8).

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