other hand Materialism and Agnosticism, in all their forms, have always been based on what are now called empiricism and evolutionism. Their attitude has been, is, and must be face-forward. Primitive Christianity and its present revival, which we call renascent Christianity, being essentially eclectic, is based on the common truths of both sides and of all sides. Hence its attitude was in the beginning, is now, and must be Janus-like-both backward and forward. It avoids extremes, rejects mere speculations (philosophic, scientific, and theologic alike) and combines into one ever-accreting and hence ever-living and ever-growing System, all verifiable facts of human experience and observation. It looks within and without, up and down, backward and forward, yes, and all around (“see that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise") and whatever it sees, and is sure it sees, that it accepts and nothing else. It includes origins and results, the past and the future, the descent of man and the ascent, experience and intuition, evolution and creation, the terminus a quo and the terminus ad quem. The questions of traditional Christianity on the one hand and of Materialism and Agnosticism on the other are important; but primitive Christianity revived (that is renascent Christianity) includes them all-simply because it, and it only, is eclectic. As to methods, the one extreme says: In order to know truth and avoid errors pray. The other extreme says: Prayer is superstitious and useless-think. Eclecticism says: Pray and think-the two great commandments are, first, Thou shalt think and, second, Thou shalt pray ("Watch and pray"); on these two commandments hang all the laws of safety and of salvation; the two must go together; each is a hemisphere, incomplete and worse than useless without the other. Again, one extreme teaches: Avoid the evil in order to attain the good. The other extreme teaches: Seek the good in order to escape the evil. Eclecticism says: "Abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good, prove all things and hold fast that which is good." Error is the only evil and Truth is the only good, abhor that and love this with all thy mind as well as with all thy heart: so shalt thou walk in safety and attain to a present and perpetual experience of Eternal Life. But, take notice; abhorrence of Error and love of Truth is not passionate desire to get the beliefs of others overthrown and my own beliefs confirmed; rather is it passionate desire to get all shams overthrown and all realities confirmed-even should it involve the shattering of all my systems and the establishment of those I now deem heretical or false. Let self be forgotten, let systems be excluded, let nothing be hated but shams and nothing desired but realities; thus, and only thus, canst thou follow Jesus the Christ and attain the experience of his promise "Ye shall know Truth and Truth shall make you free." (b) A second difference is that of liberty as distinguished from slavery to Law on the one hand and slavery to Logic on the other; this is categorical bondage and that dogmatic, this is called Consistency of Thought and that Conformity of Belief. Both alike are enslaving to mind and heart, and the Eclecticism of renascent Christianity breaks off the fetters and exclaims "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Traditional Christianity commands all to believe what has always been believed-" the faith once delivered to the saints." Materialism and Agnosticism alike command all to think what the laws of thought compel-" The Categorical imperative." Eclecticism (which is true Christianity) rejects both the "once delivered" of Dogmatism and the “imperative" of Logic; it commands nothing, but "Be pure in heart" and "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear; " it condemns all yokes of Belief and burdens of Consistency, and commends in their place the yoke of Love and the burden of Duty-"Come unto me all that are weary (with yokes of Traditional Belief) and heavy laden (with Categorical Imperatives) and I will give you rest." In soul-life as in body-life and mind-life fluency is essential to health and happiness. When the respiratory, circulatory or other normal motions of the body are obstructed there result distress and disease. When normal intellectual processes are interrupted there result mental distress and disease. So, and in like manner, spiritual distress and disease result from any obstruction or restraint of the normal investigations or aspirations of the soul. Fluency, in other words freedom, is essential to Soul-life as it is to body-life and mind-life. Hence any authority, creed, or book imposed as infallible and binding upon the Soul throttles and enslaves it-chokes its respiration, impedes its activities and ultimately produces disease and distress. No such impositions were made or permitted by Jesus the Christ, or by Apostolic Christianity:-no forced options, no compelled convictions, but (as the Book of Common Prayer well states it) "perfect freedom." The formulated beliefs of renascent Christianity, like those of primitive Christianity, must not be strait-laced, must not divide "heresy" from "orthodoxy" by any sharp-drawn line. "There must be left over and above the proposition to be subscribed, 'ubique, semper, et ab omnibus,' another realm into which the stifled soul may escape from pedantic scruples and indulge its own faith at its own risks.” So taught the Founder of Christianity: "Why, even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? made me a ruler or a divider over you? do I condemn thee. I judge no man.” Man, who So taught also the chief Apostle: "Brethren, ye have Who art thou that judg been called unto liberty. est another man's servant? To his own Master he standeth (c) A third and final difference is the following: Materialism and Agnosticism alike are forever asking the old question of Pilate (half-doubtingly and half-sneeringly) What is Truth? and, because they ask it of empiricism and of evolu tionism alone, no satisfying answer has ever yet come to them. On the other hand Traditionalism (of every sort) 1 has forever asked the same question of intuitionalism and of creationism alone; and, as a consequence, have received nothing but the ancient half-answer (with which none but dormant minds and stagnant souls can be satisfied) "Truth is a deposit long ago and once for all supernaturally made." Eclecticism, in the form of primitive and of renascent Christianity, asks the question of Experience and of Intuition, of Evolution and of Creation; and, from the combined voices, receives the reply: "Truth is God imminent and incarnate both in Nature and in Man-the eternal Logos always selfrevealing." New light ever makes new truth. To believe that any phase of Truth that mankind has yet observed is absolute, final, and unchangeable is "A weakness of our nature from which we should free ourselves as fast as we can. . . . I sincerely believe that this course is the only one we can follow as reflective men, .to be sure we must go on experiencing and thinking over our experiences, for only thus can our opinions grow more true; but to hold any one of them-I absolutely do not care which-as if it never could be reinterpretable or corrigible, I believe to be a tremendously mistaken attitude; and I think that the whole history of philosophy will bear me out." These are recent words of one whom we all revere as our highest living authority in the reverent and broad interpretations of Philosophy and Science from the theistic standpoint-a venerable and venerated Professor in Harvard University. They only confirm what true Eclecticism has always taught, namely:-Truth, though in its substance unchangeable, in its logos or self-revealings is manifold and progressive: its phases are (like itself) infinite and always adapted to the expanding powers of the finite mind and the increasing immaculateness of the human heart. Therefore it must be self-evident that New light ever makes new truth. Also it follows; as a method, that The desire for Truth is what brings its self-revealings. The more eager and persistent the desire, the quicker and more fully will Truth come. Ardent desire is the soul's effective wooing of Truth; she flies to the arms of those who ardently desire her. As Jesus said "Be asking" (ask eagerly and persistently), "be seeking" (in the same way), “be knocking" (in the same way), and "ye shall receive, ye shall find, it shall be opened unto you." For to every one who has ever thus asked, sought, and knocked, Truth has responded with assuring and loving self-revelations. LXII.-TENDENCIES TO REVERT AND TO DEGENERATE HISTORICALLY CONFIRMED. OUT of thousands of historic confirmations of the main theory and warning of this volume, that of the reversions and degenerations of Christianity, we will here notice but one. In 1485, the Pope who is known as Innocent VIII. issued a bull enjoining the persecution of the Waldenses, even to their extermination. He, as the mouthpiece of God, promised absolution for this life and highest seats in Paradise to whatever rogues, sensualists, or outlaws who should profess the Catholic Faith and join to exterminate the heretics. As a result, writes a Vaudois historian: "There is no town in Piedmont where some of our brethren have not been put to death. Jordan Terbano was burnt alive at Susa; Hippolite Rossiero at Turin; Michael Sonato, an octogenarian, at Sarcena; Vilermin Ambrosio hanged on the Col di Meano; Hugo Chiambs of Fenestrelli, had his entrails torn from his living body at Turin; Peter Gaymoroli of Bobbio in like manner had his entrails taken out in Lucerna, and a fierce cat thrust in their place to torture him further; Maria Romano was buried alive in Rocco Patia; Magdalena Teauno underwent the same fate at San Giovanni; Susana Michelini was bound hand and foot, and left to perish of cold and hunger on the snow at Sarcena; Bartholomeo Foche, gashed with sabres, had the wounds filled up with quicklime, and perished thus in agony at Fenilo; Daniel Michelini had his tongue torn out at Robo for having praised God; James Boridari, perished covered with sulphurous matches which had been forced into his |