THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION (ePub)

The attempt made in this volume to trace the origin of Christianity to the common religious instinct, working under the influence of natural forces and amid historical conditions, is not the first of the kind, which has been made, and probably, or rather certainly, will not be the last. When, in accordance with the demands of modern science, the supernatural element is rejected, a problem is presented to the theologian, which cannot be put aside - which urgently demands attention. For Christianity is there, a great historical fact, in its origin the most epoch-making which the world has seen; a fact, therefore, which must be accounted for, one way or another, by the way of natural development, if not by the way of the supernatural. Attempts in this direction made at a time before the rise of what is called "modern criticism," could only be partial, if at all, successful. The volume, which is here placed before the public, could not possibly have been written until the new criticism had so far done its work, and may be regarded as an outcome of that great movement. In saying this, however, the writer is, of course, aware that the materials for such a work are scattered everywhere in abundance, not only in books devoted to theological criticism but also in the great body of general literature.