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#002 The Worlds Columbian Exposition Scrapbook, 370
244 THE ARENA.
the most able, theologians of the hour wrote me, not long ago,
that he felt, the time was ripe for such a study, and that here
the great battle of Christian apologetics would be fought dur-
ing the next score of years. One does not need to be even a
son of a prophet to see that this struggle must necessarily be
almost infinitely more intense than that opened by Darwin's
"Origin of Species" in 1859, the echoes of which are but just
now dying away. This new sphere of investigation, known
as the scientific study of religious thought, or comparative
religion, as it is often called, is yet but in its infancy. More
crude is it to-day, in comparison with what it is destined very
soon to be, than was Ptolemy's notions of the planets or Lin-
naeus' classification of the flowers. The method hitherto
mostly used in the study of the world's faiths, has been to
start with some preconceived notion of what pure and undefiled
religion really was, and classify world's beliefs as they
came up to this a priori ideal. But such methods have had
their day, and are now relegated to the scientific garret, to-
gether with the "old" psychology, a Siamese twin. It is
just because the other religions have been mainly studied
thus, that most of the works thereon have been shelved by
the best scholars on both sides the sea. The method from
its very nature is unscientific, hence unnatural, and liable to
leave covered up some of the richest mind and heart truths,
simply because no croppings have come to the surface of our
own heart lives.
The aim of this paper will be to set forth very briefly some
of the fundamental facts now being most carefully noted in
all comparative study of the world's religious faiths.
It seems hardly necessary to say here that the foundation
for all successful study of the world's faiths lies in the firm
conviction that there is a vast mass of facts in human nature
recognized as religious, and that "Whether we descend into
the lowest roots of our intellectual nature, or ascend to the
loftiest heights of modern speculation, everywhere we find
religion a power that conquers even those who think they
have conquered it." Starting with this firm belief, the
problem is, What are the fundamental truths or principles to
be ever recognized in the study of the world of heart facts?
The first great fact to be studied is that of environ-
ment. It is the one modifying element that everywhere
must be examined most carefully. Of course we must guard
Object Description
| Title | World's Columbian Exposition 002 |
| Subject LOC |
World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) World's Parliament of Religions (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) World's Congress of Representative Women (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) Chicago (Ill.)--1890-1900 |
| Subject IDA |
Religion Papers |
| Description | This is a collection of documents from the World's Columbian Exposition and the World Parliament of Religions, which was held in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893. |
| Date Original | 1893 |
| Searchable Date | 1890s (1890-1899) |
| Identifier | WCE 002 |
| Coverage Geographic | Chicago (Ill.) |
| Coverage Temporal | 1890s (1890-1900) |
| Type | Text |
| Collection Publisher | Meadville Lombard Theological School |
| Rights | These documents can be read, downloaded, and the transcripts printed for educationalpurposes. |
| Language | en |
| Contributing Institution | Meadville Lombard Theological School |
| Collection Name | Jenkin Lloyd Jones World’s Columbian Exposition Collection |
Description
| Title | 0370 |
| Subject LOC |
World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) World's Parliament of Religions (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) World's Congress of Representative Women (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) Chicago (Ill.)--1890-1900 |
| Subject IDA |
Religion Papers |
| Description | This is a collection of documents from the World's Columbian Exposition and the World Parliament of Religions, which was held in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893. |
| Date Original | 1893 |
| Searchable Date | 1890s (1890-1899) |
| Coverage Geographic | Chicago (Ill.) |
| Coverage Temporal | 1890s (1890-1900) |
| Type | Text |
| Collection Publisher | Meadville Lombard Theological School |
| Rights | These documents can be read, downloaded, and the transcripts printed for educationalpurposes. |
| Language | en |
| Contributing Institution | Meadville Lombard Theological School |
| Collection Name | Jenkin Lloyd Jones World’s Columbian Exposition Collection |
| Transcript | #002 The Worlds Columbian Exposition Scrapbook, 370 244 THE ARENA. the most able, theologians of the hour wrote me, not long ago, that he felt, the time was ripe for such a study, and that here the great battle of Christian apologetics would be fought dur- ing the next score of years. One does not need to be even a son of a prophet to see that this struggle must necessarily be almost infinitely more intense than that opened by Darwin's "Origin of Species" in 1859, the echoes of which are but just now dying away. This new sphere of investigation, known as the scientific study of religious thought, or comparative religion, as it is often called, is yet but in its infancy. More crude is it to-day, in comparison with what it is destined very soon to be, than was Ptolemy's notions of the planets or Lin- naeus' classification of the flowers. The method hitherto mostly used in the study of the world's faiths, has been to start with some preconceived notion of what pure and undefiled religion really was, and classify world's beliefs as they came up to this a priori ideal. But such methods have had their day, and are now relegated to the scientific garret, to- gether with the "old" psychology, a Siamese twin. It is just because the other religions have been mainly studied thus, that most of the works thereon have been shelved by the best scholars on both sides the sea. The method from its very nature is unscientific, hence unnatural, and liable to leave covered up some of the richest mind and heart truths, simply because no croppings have come to the surface of our own heart lives. The aim of this paper will be to set forth very briefly some of the fundamental facts now being most carefully noted in all comparative study of the world's religious faiths. It seems hardly necessary to say here that the foundation for all successful study of the world's faiths lies in the firm conviction that there is a vast mass of facts in human nature recognized as religious, and that "Whether we descend into the lowest roots of our intellectual nature, or ascend to the loftiest heights of modern speculation, everywhere we find religion a power that conquers even those who think they have conquered it." Starting with this firm belief, the problem is, What are the fundamental truths or principles to be ever recognized in the study of the world of heart facts? The first great fact to be studied is that of environ- ment. It is the one modifying element that everywhere must be examined most carefully. Of course we must guard |
