Evolution of Christianity or, Origin, nature, and development of the religion of the Bible

Book 1— CoipghtN"

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.

EVOLUTION OF CHRISTIANITY

or

Origin, Nature, and Development Of the Religion of the Bible

By

F. G. SMITH

Author of "The Revelation Explained"

"Religion's all. Descending from the skies To wretched man, the goddess in her left Holds out this world, And, in her right, the next."

— Young.

Thou shalt guide me with thy council, and afterward !V« me to glory." P«. 73: 24.

Copyright, 1911, by Gospel Trumpet Company.

Preface

Believers in Christianity usually appeal to the Bible as the source of authority for their religion. Such appeal is all that is essential wherever the divine Authorship of the Bible is recognized. In the present work, however, I have dealt with the subject of revealed religion from the standpoint of man's moral and mental necessities, showing his need of divine illumination, and arriving at the conclusion that CHRISTIANITY is the only religion adapted to his requirements and must therefore be the true religion and the only successful religion for the moral elevation and redemption of mankind. Contrasted with all other forms of religion, Christianity, because of its beautiful nature and marvelous success, is in a class by itself, thus clearly demonstrating the fact that it proceeded from a source higher than human.

I have endeavored to show that there has, from the earliest period, been a constant unfolding and developing of the religion of the Bible in accordance with a prearranged plan. That such a revelation from God to man was essential was made clear by a consideration of the natural constitution of man himself. As this revelation increased from age to age, the record of its progress was written by living witnesses, and thus we have our 3

4 PREFACE.

Bible, the Book of Life for the world. So, after all, the authority for the Christian religion lies, not in the Bible itself as a book, but in the source from which the Bible came, "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost/'

The beneficial effect of revealed religion is shown by the mental and the moral elevation of mankind wherever the Bible has gone with its message of mercy. By imposing wholesome restraints upon human pride and selfishness true religion has conserved the natural energies of man and contributed powerfully toward the refining, purifying, and elevating results manifested in the highest type of modern civilization. Let the work of evangelizing the world with the pure religion of Jesus go forward!

*'Tliou whose Almighty word Chaos and darkness heard,

And took their flight, Hear us, wb humbly pray; And, where the gospel day Sheds not its glorious ray,

*Let th«Be bo light!' "

Yours in the interest o£ the Truth,

F. G. Smith.

Introduction

Christianity is a mighty factor in the history of world-progress. Believing her origin to be divine, and fully convinced of the truth and justice of her claims, millions have arrayed themselves under her banner; and every passing year multitudes still join her ranks. Exclusive in her claims and opposed to every principle of human selfishness, she has successfully fought her way against contending rivals and the antagonizing forces of evil men, and today she stands crowned triumphant — the most brilliant example of endurance and of glory in the entire history of religious phenomena. Whence came this wondrous moral force .^ — from heaven, or from men.^* To consider the origin, the nature, and the development of this religion of the Bible is the object of the present work.

Man possesses a religious nature. He intuitively desires to worship something. This has been his uniform experience in all countries and in all ages. It is on account of this universality of religious sentiment that philosophers have applied to man the generic appellation "the religious animal." But his conception of spirit-powers and of divine worship, independent of direct revela- 5 tion, has been crude and ofttimes grotesquely absurd;, varying, in accordance with the state of his intellectual development, from the lowest fetichism to a serr i-etliical anthropomorphic polytheism, with some traces, perhaps, of monotheistic ideas. But wi.ile universal experience establishes the fact that man is by nature religious, universal testimony also acknowledges him to be a sinful being morally accountable to a higher power. However, many nations have preserved traditions of a former period of holiness and happiness. Thus, we read in the Chinese books that "during the period of the first heaven, the whole creation enjoyed a state of happiness: everything was beautiful; everything was good; all beings were perfect in their kind. In this happy age, heaven and earth employed their virtues jointly to embellish nature. There was no jarring in the elements, no inclemency in the air; all things grew without labor, and universal fertility prevailed. The active and the passive virtues conspired together, without any effort or opposition, to produce and perfect the universe."^ The Chaldean traditions of the primeval state — the sacred tree, its guardian cherubs, and flaming sword — strikingly

1 Faber's Horae Mosaicae, p. 146, as quoted by Rawlinson.

resemble the Hebrew account. ^ The story of the faU of man is preserved in Thibetan, Mongolian, and Cingalese traditions, and the account given in some of the Persian books closely resembles the Scriptural narrative.^ But the religious aspirations of man, independent of divine revelation, have ever been merely the longing of the infant crying in the night for its food.

Turning to the Bible, we find not only an account of the primitive fall and man's subsequent sinful condition, but also, during the ages, increasing evidences of a plan for his restoration. Now, that plan must of necessity be divine in order to be successful. Man could not redeem himself; for, having been originally placed under a law that required perfect obedience and love for God with all the heart and soul, he could have no surplus obedience to make reparation for the sins that were past. Therefore works of supererogation were clearly impossible. The broken law of obedience could not be set aside; its infinite dignity and majesty had to be vindicated by the enforcement of its penalties. No created intelligence could secure man's redemption; for the fact of creatureship implies dependence and obliga-

2 See George Smith's Chaldean Account of Genesis, 1876.

3 Kalisch, Comment on Genesis, p. 63.

tion. Even the angels of heaven were under the same law exacting perfect obedience, and hence they could have no surplus righteousness to atone for fallen man. Only a being over whom the law had no jurisdiction was adequate to such a task, and therefore only God could redeem. After predictions by prophets and typical foreshadowing by many of the ceremonies of Moses' law, "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Gal. 4:4, 5.

Although this plan of salvation was perfect and complete in the mind and purpose of God from the beginning, its full revelation to mankind was reserved until the incarnation of Christ. Therefore the apostle Paul refers to it as a "mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God" (Eph. 3:9), "even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made manifest to his saints : to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1 : 26, 27. But looking backward upon the history of God's dealings with his people in olden times, we can now discern clearly that throughout the ages there was a gradual unfolding of the divine purposes which was destined to reach its climax of moral development in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The original promise of victory over the serpent that had been the means of Eve's seduction (Gen. 3:15), given to her in the Garden, is an allusion to a future Redeemer. That God regarded mankind is further shown by the statements that he "had respect unto Abel" (Gen. 4:4), that "Enoch walked with God" (Gen. 5:22), and that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Gen. 6:8. At a later date the divine plan received a marvelous unfolding to Abraham, so that he was able to see not only the great preparatory revelation which was to be given his literal descendants, but also the grand permanent structure of the gospel system, through which all the families of the earth should be blessed. Christ himself declared, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad." John 8:56. To the prophet Isaiah was made known the fact that God himself would effect the salvation of men (Isa. 35:4) and that it would be accomplished by his suffering and vicarious death. Isa. 53. Daniel was assured that the Messiah would come "to finish the transgression^ and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness." Dan. 9:24, 25.

Many of the materials that Christ employed in the formation of the gospel system had been made ready to his hand in the preparatory course of instruction that had been given the Jewish people in order to pave the way for the advent of the Messiah and for the reception of his teachings. C. P. Tiele has said that "every religion coming to the front on the stage of history is rooted in the past, has been fostered, so to speak, by one or more of its predecessors, and can not be maintained without taking up and assimilating the still-living elements of the old faith. "^ This witness is right; but we can only affirm the truth of the statement with reference to its bearing on the establishment of Christianity, for the details are too numerous to be discussed here. However, regarding Christianity as the outgrowth or result of a prearranged plan that had been in process of unfolding through all the ages, I have entitled the present work, which deals with its origin, nature, and development, THE EVOLU- TION OF CHRISTIANITY. Thus, we apply in a sense the later designation of divinely re-

vealed religion to the entire process of its development. Such use of language, however, is not uncommon. We read that General Washington was born in 1732, but the real meaning is that the person who afterwards became the General was born in that year. So, also, when we speak of the transformations of the butterfly, we refer particularly to the process by which it developed into a butterfly — passing from the larval condition into the chrysalid form and thence into the perfect state.

Evolution signifies literally the act of unrolling or unfolding. Le Conte defines the term as "progressive change according to certain laws."^ George Sexton says: "What does the word mean, and whence is it borrowed? It means to unfold from within; and it is taken from the history of the seed or embryo of living natures. And what is the seed but a casket of prearranged futurities, with its whole contents perspective, settled to be what they are by reference to ends still in the distance?"^ While these definitions were given with reference to the doctrine of natural evolution, they nevertheless convey the proper

2 Evolution and its Relation to Religious Thougrht, p. 8.

idea of the meaning of the term — a constant unfolding according to a fixed method.

The norm of the redemption plan was not reached, however, in apostolic times; for the divine system of restoration is still unfolding, and its length, and breadth, and depth, and height will not be fully known until the end of time, *Vhen this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality." 1 Cor. 15:54. The golden age of the Christian lies not in the dim, distant past, but in the future; and already we seem to see the faint glimpse of the roseate dawn which will usher in the bright splendors of that glorious, everlasting day.

''Is there evil but on earth,

Or pain in every peopled sphere? Well, be grateful for the sounding watchword, Evolution here.*'

— Tennyson.

But natural evolution, morally speaking, has usually been evolution downwards; and it has devolved upon Christianity to supply that power of righteousness which exalteth the nations. Wherever the gospel of Christ has been preached, its principles have been gradually diffused, like leaven, throughout the whole mass of society, and they have been the most potent factor in elevating mankind and producing the highest state of civilization.

This progressive feature of the gospel was recognized in a beautiful comparison which a certain minister recently used while in conversation with the writer^ given in about the following words: "Christianity is not, as many suppose, a polished diamond let down from heaven to earth, which shines brilliantly and undimmed in any part of the world; but it is a seed which requires planting and good soil." In other words, the moral principles of righteousness implanted in the heart, like seed, have a gradual development. And this feature of Christianity is full of beauty and wisdom; for it is thus applicable to men in all conditions of life and in every stage of intellectual development.

Contents

Preface 3

MAN'S MENTAL AND MORAL CONSTITUTION.

CHAPTBE I.

Chapter I. The Religious Nature

A system of revelation or of religion purporting to be of divine origin can be established only by the proof of its adaptation to the needs and the requirements of the human race. Every religion of man claims authority of some kind for its propagation; but if it is deficient in ethics, if it entertains unphilosophical or groveling ideas of the supernatural, or if it stands committed to a false cosmogony, it is sure to be left behind in the progress of intellectual development. A divine revelation must therefore accord with the needs of humanity in all ages of the world. Without discussing here the matter of the giving of such a revelation, we will proceed to consider the subject of MAN'S MENTAL AND MORAL CONSTITUTION, as a necessary basis for the future consideration of the divine plan brought to light in the Bible.

Man is by nature a religious being. This is shown, in the first place, by the universality of religious phenomena. Winchell defines religion 19 as "the feeling of the existence of the All Cause, and of his inevitable grasp upon us, and paternal interest in us."^ And Dr. Cocker styles it, "A mode of thought, of feeling, and of action determined by the consciousness of our relations to God."2 It is certain that the entire human family has experienced "the feeling of the existence of the All Cause," as a result of which men have devised modes "of thought, of feeling, and of action" for his worship in accordance with their intellectual state. This belief in a grand First Cause, or Deity, has led mankind in all ages to form many systems of worship; and these religions bear in common the ideas of man's sinfulness, of his moral accountability to a higher power, of future rewards and punishments, of supplication, of a revelation either in visible external things or in a body of sacred writings, and of a priesthood whose duty it is to administer the ceremonies of their religion, and who are regarded as possessing superior authority. James Freeman Clarke's celebrated work, "Ten Great Religions of the World," impresses the mind with the prevalence of religious belief; while Alexander Winchell enumerates twelve great systems which, he

1 Reconciliation of Science and Religrion, p. 327.

2 Theistic Conception of the World, p. 345.

affirms^ have dominated over nine-tenths of the population of the globe.^

But we are not to suppose that the remaining tenth of the world's population are without religion; they have their own forms of worship independent of the major systems referred to. It is true that in a few cases travelers have reported certain tribes of savages to be without any religion; but subsequent investigation has generally corrected the first statement,, by showing that the tribes had customs and observances which could be traced directly to religious sentiments, but which, because of their peculiar nature or extreme repulsiveness to the enlightened missionary or traveler, were regarded as the negation of all religion, on account of their utter non-conformity to all our ideals of true worship. The author last quoted says that he has carefully investigated the condition of every tribe reported to be without religion, and he asserts that there are but three tribes known to him that can be fairly represented as destitute of religious sentiments — "the Andamaners, the Gran Chacos of South America, and the Arafuras of Vorkay.*'^ This insignificant mi-

1 Reconciliation of Science and Religion, pp. 185- 18 I.

nority, however, does not represent the normal state of humanity.

Whence originated this living principle of faith which has actuated all mankind? Can it be accounted for on the ground asserted by Burton and Euhemerus — that it is a feeling of veneration for ancestors and for the wise and good, that has come down to us ? No. Will the explanation given by certain of the ancients, Pyrrho, Critias, and others — that faith was originated by such men as those who peopled Olympus with divinities in order to enforce the laws of the state and of society — be suffiicent.^ By no means. Such theories can hardly account for the universal prevalence of religious belief, and they utterly fail to furnish a rational explanation of the powerful hold religion has on the minds and the hearts of all men. No other thing has exercised such a controlling influence over the race, the lowest savages being entirely subject to its lordly sway, and the proudest and loftiest philosophers not exempted from its power. It is humanity longing for God. Well has Richard Trench said, "No one but God can satisfy the longings of an immortal soul; that as the heart was made for him, so be only can fill it."

Nor can the phenomenon of general religious sentiments be satisfactorily explained on the single ground that it is a deduction of the universal reason; for it bears no quantitative or qualitative relation to human experience or to the intelligence, being as strong in the primitive uncivilized man as it is in the man of highest intellectual attainments. And, filially, I wish to deny that it grows out of a superstitious fear of invisible powers, as expressed in the poem of Lucretius, and maintained by Dupuis, Conte, Hobbes, Buchner, and others. It is possible that such superstition might be an incentive to some form of worship in order to appease the wrath of the imaginary gods; but if religion had no other foundation, it would be impossible for it long to survive the combined assaults of the baser passions of men, which most religions seek in some degree at least to check, and of the developing intellect. In the development of the perceptive and reflective powers the phenomena of nature impress the mind with the fact that the Governor of the universe is not capricious and revengeful in the administration of her laws, for everywhere order, symmetry, beauty, design, and beneficence are manifest; and this knowledge invariably relieves the mind of that "superstitious fear" which characterizes the lower classes of society. But if the basis of religion is no more than such a primitive superstition, then the advance of human knowledge will certainly undermine the foundation; and we can therefore determine the distance of our removal from the savage state by measuring the intensity of the religious sentiment we still possess. Universal experience at the present day, however, testifies conclusively that the necessity of religion is still upon us, and throughout all the ages the greatest intellects and profoundest thinkers have felt constrained to yield to the mandates of this higher controlling influence. Again the question comes. Whence does this power proceed.^

We take the affirmative and maintain that the universal prevalence of religious sentiments and of systems of worship is due to the facts that man possesses a religious nature, that he intuitively feels the divine presence, and that, therefore, these lofty aspirations and longings after God arise spontaneously in the human soul. Do we hold that a principle of morality inheres in human nature? Most assuredly, the general answer comes. And the ground for this assertion is the fact that all men are conscious of some standard of right and wrong, and that they ought to conform to the right. Do we maintain that man possesses an intellectual nature.^ The evidence for our affirmative assertion lies in the fact that it is clearly proved to be a general characteristic of humanity. Now, religion is clearly shown to be a characteristic of the entire race; and therefore this universal belief, experience, and consciousness of mankind testifies unmistakably to an innate religious nature.

The heart-touching story related by Casalis, the African traveler, illustrates beautifully this universal longing of humanity for God. Arbrousset the missionary had been explaining the gospel message to one of the savage Kafirs. He replied: "Your tidings are what I want; and I was seeking before I knew you, as you shall hear and judge for yourselves. Twelve years ago I went to feed my flocks. The weather was hazy. I sat down upon a rock and asked myself sorrowful questions; yes, sorrowful, because I was unable to answer them. 'Who has touched the stars with his hands? On what pillars do they rest?' I asked myself. 'The waters are never weary; they know no other law but to flow, without ceasing, from morning till night, and from night till morning; but where do they stop? and who makes them flow thus? The clouds, also, come and go, and burst in water over the earth. Whence come they? The diviners certainly do not give us rain, for how could they do it? and why do I not see them with mine eyes, when they go up to heaven to fetch it? I can not see the wind; but what is it? Who brings it, makes it blow, and roar, and terrify us? Do I know how the corn sprouts? Yesterday there was not a blade in my field; today I returned to the field and found some. Who can have given to the earth the wisdom and the power to produce it?' Then I buried my face in both my hands."

We must not overlook the unimpeachable character of fundamental intuitions. The chief effort of philosophers during the ages has been to reduce truth to the basis of primitive ideas; and beyond that foundation we can not pass, unless, indeed, we follow the example of Fitche and deny all possibility of obtaining any knowledge whatever and float out into an airy nothingness, a confused realm of fantastic images. But every sane thinker is conscious that there are reliable ideas of a fundamental nature which neither require nor are capable of proof, as they constitute the very foundation of all knowledge and truth. It is said of Archimedes, the Grecian mathematician, that he required only one fixed point, and he would be able to move the world. So, also, Descartes, the great French philosopher, desirous of finding one unquestionable principle from which to start, discovered it in the fact of self-existence. That was a principle which to him neither required nor was capable of proof — for it was primitive — and still it could not be doubted. Whatever else might be surrounded with doubts, he could not doubt that he himself existed. That fundamental truth he must accept as a reality?-

In considering the subject of intuitions, however, we must be careful to determine which are really primitive. The usual rule to govern our decision is universality and necessity. If it can be shown that an idea is coextensive with the race or that it is absolutely necessary by all the known laws governing human thought, then we may accept it as an innate concept corresponding to a reality, and its validity can not rightly be questioned.

This argument from "common consent" is no new one. Alexander of Aphrodisias, we are told, "ascribed great authority to widely prevalent beliefs," "since," he asserts, "mankind generally do not greatly err from the truth." Cicero affirms that "in any matter whatever the consent of all nations is to be reckoned a law of nature."^ This

1 Ueberweg-'s History of Philosophy, Vol. II, p. 41. 1 Tuscul, I 18.

idea is sustained by the ablest writers of all ages, among whom may be mentioned Socrates, Plato, Paul, Augustine, Descartes, Leibnitz, Barrow, Butler, Calderwood, and Spencer.

Now, in order that the reader may better understand the binding character of these primitive beliefs which bear the consent of all men without proof being required, we will refer to a few. In the case of Descartes, already referred to, the idea of the real existence of self was presented with all the force and convincing authority of a native belief. But while every individual is intuitively conscious of self, he is also conscious of something that is not self, something that is spontaneously conceived to be real substantial existence ; and therefore the idea of externality, being a universal and necessary concept of the human mind, may be set down as a fundamental intuition whose authority can not be questioned. So certain is every man of the existence of an external world that all his thoughts and actions are predicated upon its reality. Time and again his developing intellect may force him to acknowledge that he has been mistaken in regard to many things in the visible world; that the operations of nature are not just what he has supposed them to be. So he devises another explanation for the manifestation of material phenomena, which in turn may require revision at a later date. But amid all the changes one idea is unquestionable, is abiding, is fundamental — there is a real external world. Such axioms as the following are universal, primitive beliefs; hence they require no proof: "The whole must be equal to the sum of all its parts." "It is impossible for a thing to exist and yet not exist at the same time." Space and time are also primitive concepts. "The ground of a primary belief," says Alexander Winchell, "is neither testimony, nor authority, nor sensuous observation, nor inductive inference, nor deductive consequence. It is a ground more unassailable than any of these. It is a directness and a singleness of intuition of one transcendental and eternal truth."!

Cicero long ago declared that "there is no people so wild and savage as not to have believed in a God, even if they have been unacquainted with his nature." We have already shown the universality of religious practises founded upon that primitive belief arising spontaneously in the human soul — the belief in a higher power to which man is morally accountable.

Now, applying the well-established principle of

1 Reconciliation of Science and Religion, p. 307.

so EVOLUTION OF

the authority of fundamental intuitions to this subject of religious phenomena, what results do we obtain? Does this native belief in a God answer to a living reality? And is this universal longing of humanity for association with the Most High a lie stamped on the nature of every rational soul? or does it possess its counterpart in a beneficent all-powerful Father who has thus constituted mankind with a religious nature in order that they might "seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him"? There is not in all nature one known correlate without the existence of its companion, for all the parts are nicely adjusted for the mutual benefit and harmony of the whole. The reflection of the man in the water is sufficient evidence of the existence of the man himself. The echo implies the real voice. The shadows seen in the subterranean cave by the captives described in "Plato's Republic" were cast by a real light behind them. If mankind has been groping for ages among the indistinct shadows of inferior religious faiths, those very shadows proclaim unmistakably the existence of a light somewhere, the "true light which" — in some degree at least — "lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

The innate character of the religious sentiment being established, we must accept it as the voice of God, as a divine utterance, however much it may be misunderstood or misinterpreted.

We wish to notice one more of the fundamental intuitions, because of the bearing it has on our knowledge of the being of God, knowledge which is absolutely necessary as the basis of the revelation to be considered in future chapters. I refer to the principle of causality. Of all the beliefs of humanity nothing is accepted as more certain than this: Every effect must have an efficient cause. By this innate idea the mind of man intuitively mounts, as it were by leaps and bounds, to the conception of a grand self-existent, all-sufficient First Cause as the Author of all material phenomena. Bishop Butler in his "Analogy of Revealed Religion" and Dr. Paley in his writings have clearly and philosophically proved that nature impresses upon us this conception. And even Draper says, "The face of creation testifies that there has been a Creator."^ With this agree the words of Scripture: "That which may be known of God is manifest to them . . . for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that

1 Conflict, p. 58.

are made, even his eternal power and Godhead."