第65章

SofarMaurice’steachingwouldcommandthesympathyofallwhocalledthemselvesliberal。ButwhatbecomesofLogic？Canphilosophydispensewithitaltogether？Mauriceprofessedlyappealstotheheart。Theappealismadeoverandoveragaininagreatvarietyofforms：tothe’greathumanheart，’to’bedriddensufferers，’to’peasants，women，andchildren，’(170*)andwearetoldthatitisthe’officeofthetheologian’toappealnottohisownjudgmentorthatoftheages，buttothe’conscience，heart，reasonofmankind。’(171*)Nothingcanbemoretothepurposeifweareconsideringtheefficacyofareligiousbelief；

butwemustaskhowthisappealisrelatedtothequestionofitstruth。Theemotionsarenotreason，thoughtheyareboundtobereasonable。Thepositionisthatofallmysticism。Themysticisonewhovirtuallydethronesreasoninfavouroftheheart。

Thereforemysticismleadstoallthevaryingbeliefswhicharesuggestedbyourunguidedfeelings。WhenMauricewaschargedwithbeinghimselfamysticorneoplatonist，hisreplywasthattheerrorofthemysticisnotinrecognisingan’innerlight，’butinsupposingthathisintuitionissomethingpersonalandprivate，andnotauniversalfacultyofthehumanheart。(172*)Headmits，thatis，thatallreligionimpliesthedirectrecognitionofdivineinfluencesbythehumanheart，thoughitisterriblyapttoconfoundthetrueintuitionwithcertainerroneousdoctrines。Bywhattest，then，arewetoseparatethetruelightfromthemisleadinggleamsofhumanpassionandprejudices？HowcanweknowthatitisthedivineLogoswhichisspeakingtous，andnotsomesophistsubstitutingamerehumantheory？

ThisgivesMaurice’scharacteristicdoctrine，repeatedincountlessformswithmostgenuinefervour，andyetleavingthepainfulimpressionthatwecannevergetadistinctmeaning。Hetellsusagainandagainthatwerequirenotasystembutarevelation；thatwearetobelieveinGod，notinatheoryaboutGod；notin’notions’butinprinciples；thatatheologyisgroundlesswhich’acceptsasatenetwhatisrevealedasatruth，’(173*)andthatweshallbe’driventocreeds’by’wearinessoftenets。’(174*)These，andcountlessvariationsuponthesametheme，involveapuzzlingdistinction。How，precisely，doesthebeliefinGoddifferfromtheacceptanceofatheoryaboutGod？Maurice，Imayperhapssay，takesthebeliefinGodtobeanoperation，notamerebitoflogic；anactoftheman’swholenature，notapurelyintellectualprocesssuchasthedeductionoftheconclusionofasyllogism。Itistheapprehensionofthe’innerlight，’alwaysperceptibleiftheeyebeopened，andwhichisinthesameindissolublemomentnotmerelyenlighteningbutlife-giving。Thevisionisalso’dynamical’：thesubmissionofourselvestoaforceaswellastherecognitionoftheexistenceofcertainoutwardfacts。Itimpliesnotmerelytheadmissionofanewtheoryabouttheuniverse，butthebringingourselvesintoharmonywiththeonecentralforceoftheuniverse——thatiswiththeGodwhoisLoveaswellaspowerandwisdom。Thisisthetruemysticaldoctrine；

andthatdoctrine，ifnotthemostlogical，isthemostunanswerableformofreligiousbelief。Ifamanbelievesthathehasthe’innerlight，’heisinhisowncourtbeyondappeal。Butthedifficultyofmakinghisdecisionsvalidforotherscannotbeevaded，andimpliessomeuseoflogic。Iftheinnerlightimpliesknowledgeaswellasanemotion，itshouldbeexpressibleinformstrueforallmen。Themereformulabyitselfmaybebarren，ormerelysubordinate；butifanydefinitecreedistoemerge，itmustincludetenetscapableoflogicalexpression。Thisis，infact，theproblemroundwhichMauriceisalwaysturning。

TheresultisindicatedinhislittlebookupontheReligionsoftheWorld。(175*)Itembodiesoneofthemostmarkedtendenciesofmodernthought。Nodivinecannowspeakofstrangereligionsassimplydevil-worship，orlimitdivinetruthtohisownatofdogmas。Thesimpleorlogicalrationalisthadinferredthatthetruecreedmustbethatwhichiscommontoallreligions。Buttorejectallspecialdoctrineswastoleaveablankresiduumofmereabstractdeism，ifevendeismcouldsurvive。Itwasbutanotherroadtothe’religionofnature。’Yetthatwasthetendencyofmostliberaldivineswithinthechurch。The’broadchurch’party，asitwascalled，wasgettingridof’dogma’bydeprivingthecreedofallmeaning。Maurice’smethodisthereforedifferent。Theelementoftruthinallreligionsisnotanyseparabledoctrinecommontoall。ItistobefoundbyregardingallcreedsaspartialordistortedexpressionsofthefulltruthrevealedinChrist。OnthisshowingthereforeBuddhismtestifiestothetruthofChristianity，butChristianitydoesnottestifytot