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WEV.
■,■.••-■•*
CHARLES WATTS’S WORKS.
The Teachings of Secularism Compared with Orthodox Christianity. Is , by post Is. 2d.
Christianity :
Origin, Nature,
its
Secularism ; Destructive
The Glory
of
Agnosticism
and
and
Influence. 4d., by post 5d.
Constructive.
3d., by post 4d.
Unbelief. 3d., by post 4d.
Christian Theism ; Which is the More Reason
and
able ? 3d., by post 4d.
A Reply to Rather Lambert’s “Tactics
post 7d.
of
Infidels.”
6d., by
Theological Presumption : An Open Letter to the Rev. Dr. R. F.
Burns, of Halifax, N.S. 2d,, by post 2jd.
The Natural and the Supernatural} or, Belief and Knowledge.
3d., by post 4d.
Evolution and Special Creation. 3d., by post 3jd.
Contents :—What is Evolution ?—The Formation of Worlds—The
Beginning of Life upon the Earth—Origin of Man—Diversity of Living
Things—Psychical Powers—The Future of Man on Earth.
Happiness
Science
in
Hell and Misery
in
Heaven, 3d., by post 3jd.
Bible. 4d., by post 5d.
and the
Bible Morality : Its Teachings Shown to be Contradictory and
Defective as an Ethical Code. 3d., by post 3|d.
The Bible Up
Date. 2d., by post 2|d.
to
The Superstition
of the
Christian Sunday.
3d., by post 4d.
Education: True and False. (Dedicated to the London School
Board.) 2d., by post 2jd.
Secularism: Its Relation
to the
Social Problems of the Day.
2d., by post 2Jd.
Christianity : Defective (and Unnecessary.
Watts. 3d., by post 3|d.
Secularism; Is
it
By Mrs. Charles
Founded on Reason, and is it Sufficient
to Meet the Needs of Mankind ?
Debate between the Editor of the “Evening Mail” (Halifax, N.S.) and
Charles Watts. With Prefatory Letters by G. J. Holyoake and Colonel
R. G. Ingersoll, and an Introduction by Helen H. Gardener. Is., by
post Is. 2d.
�HA/T78
CHRISTIANITY
AND
CIVILIZATION:
Why Christianity is Still Professed.
BY
CSS’fMS W®TTg
Author of ‘ ‘ The Teachings of Secularism Compared wit Orthhodox
Christianity," “Secularism: Constructive and Destructive,”
“ Evolution and Special Creation,” “The Glory of Unbelief,”
“Saints and Sinners: Which?” “ Bible Morality,”
“ Christianity: Its Origin, Nature and Influence”
“ Agnosticism and Christian Theism : Which
is the More Reasonable ?” “ Reply to
Father Lambert,” Etc., Etc.
LONDON:
WATTS & CO., 17 JOHNSON’S COURT, FLEET ST., E.C.
PRICE
THREE
PENCE.
�1
�CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION,
It would be difficult to select two other words which are used x
as extensively as “ Christianity ” and “ civilization,” about
which there are such vague and conflicting notions as to their
meaning. If we ask Christians for a definition of their faith,
it will be found that the answers given are as varied as they are
numerous. The reply of a Roman Catholic will differ widely
from that of a Protestant, while the meaning given to Christi
anity by a member of the Church of England would not be the
same as the one furnished by the adherents of the many dis
senting sects. A decided lack of harmony would be perceptible
between the definitions offered by Unitarians and Trinitarians,
by Quakers and Salvationists, by Swedenborgians and Christadelphians. The expounders of what is termed the “higher
criticism ” present a conception of Christianity the very oppo
site to that taught by the school represented by Dr. Talmage
and the late C. H. Spurgeon. The same diversity as to the
nature of the Christian faith obtains among nations. In Spain
it has proved a cruel oppression, in Rome a priestly domination,
in America a commercial commodity, in Scotland a gloomy
nightmare, and in England an emotional pastime. This dis
similitude as to the character of the “ new religion ” appeared
immediately after the alleged death of Christ. According to
the New Testament, Paul preached a system of a philosophical
character compared with that of Jesus. The Christianity of
Paul was widely different from that of his “ divine Master.”
The character of Christ was submissive and servile, that of
Paul defiant and pugnacious. We could no more conceive
Christ fighting with wild beasts at Ephesus, than we could
suppose Paul submitting without protest or resistance to those
�4
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION ;
insults and indignities which are alleged to haye been heaped
upon Christ. Neither could we for one moment imagine Paul
advising his disciples when anyone smote them on one cheek
to offer them the other. Paul introduced by his personal
character a certain amount of boldness and energy into the
Christian propaganda, and by the character of his mind he
largely modified the Christian system. In fact, each successive
age has left its mark and impress upon Christianity. No
system was ever less rigid and more plastic. It has certainly
come up to the injunction of St. Paul “ to be all things to
all men.” Persons of the most contrary dispositions and
of the most opposite natures have been its great illustrators,
expounders, and living representatives. It has found room for
all temperaments ; the ascetic and luxurious enjoyer of life ;
the man of action and the man of contemplation ; the monk
and the king : the philanthropist and the destroyer of his race;
the iconoclastic hater of all ceremonies, and the superstitious
devotee. All these opposites have found refuge within the
pale of Christianity. But this heterogeneous family is by no
means the result of any all-embracing comprehensiveness in
the system of Christ, but rather the effects of a theology
characterized alike by its indefinite, incomplete, and undecisive
principles.
These different and contradictory views which are entertained
as to what Christianity really is, prove that its truths are not
self-evident, but that they depend, for their interpretation and
manifestation, upon the education and surroundings of their
professors. This deprives the faith of any just claim to infal
libility and to a “ divine origin.” For, if the reason of man
has to decide its meaning, one uniform conception of what it
teaches is impossible, and the criterion by which its claims are
tested is a human one. The term “ Secular Christianity ” we
regard as a misnomer, for the system has no consistent signifi
cation if the notion of what is called the supernatural is ignored.
The inspiration that induced Christ to say and do what is
ascribed to him in the four gospels, was considered to have
�WHY CHRISTIANITY IS STILL PROFESSED.
5
emanated from above. The power that moves and regulates
the whole system of Christianity is designated by its believers
as supernatural. Christ did not teach from purely secular
motives, but through the belief that he was doing the will of
his ‘ Father in heaven.” The leading features of the teachings
of the New Testament are: reliance upon a supernatural
power, faith in Christ, belief in the efficacy of prayer, and in
the immortality of the soul; also that poverty is a virtue, that
submission is a duty, and that love to man should be subordin
ate to love to God. These principles, however consoling they
may be to some, must, from their nature, check the pi ogress of
civilization. The extent of their retarding influence depends
upon the degree of1 veneration in which they are held by their
professors. With some Theists and Unitarians these theologi
cal notions are less dangerous, because such Christians are
less dogmatic and less orthodox.
But with a Wesleyan, a
Baptist, or a member of the Salvation Army, such notions
frequently lead to conduct antagonistic to general improvement.
With these latter Christians, Christ is “all in all,” and they are
ever ready to exclaim :
“No foot of land do I possess,
A stranger in the wilderness,
I all their goods despise.
I trample on their whole delight,
And seek a city out of sight,
A city in the skies.”
For:
” Nothing is worth a thought beneath,
But how I may escape the death
That never, never dies.”
Such is the complex character of the Christian religion,
which its enthusiastic devotees boast has been the cause of
modern civilization. “ See,” they exclaim, “ how it made men
free, established liberty, abolished the corruptions of Rome,
liberated the human mind from heathen darkness, gave peace
to the world, and introduced a new and pure religion.” To
put the matter mildly, all this is pure assumption and nothing
�6
i 1
a
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION:
more, and this we hope to show beyond all possible doubt.
We shall endeavor to prove that Christianity does not contain
the elements which have produced civilization, butthat modern
progress is the result of agencies the very antithesis to New
Testament teachings. Before doing this, however, we ask,
when and where did Christianity cause the changes above
mentioned ? What we call civilization means a condition of
society where movements are in operation that will banish
barbarism, and in its place establish culture and the right of
personal freedom. Now, in what nation has Christianity ac
complished this result ? It is no credit to any faith to have
destroyed Roman learning, and then to have plunged Europe
into a state of mental darkness.. Yet this is what the early
Christians did, as the history of the Middle Ages amply testifies.
The monuments of Christianity are huge buildings erected at
the expense of the blood and muscle of unremunerated laborers.
True, Christianity produced architecture, and so it did monk
ish lying chronicles. It incited Europe to a state of ferment,
and also inspired the Crusaders to wage their unholy wars; it
lighted the fires of Smithfield and Oxford, and it established
the Holy Inquisition and the Star Chamber, wherein human
beings were tortured and cruelly put to death. The adherents
of this “ new religion ” have spread war, strife, and desolation
among nations in their attempt to subdue races who were -no
more savages than were the Christians themselves. This was
the work of the promoters of the “new and pure religion. ’
Christianity was erected upon the ruins of Greek and Roman
philosophy, but it failed to give birth to principles that could
be practically carried out in daily life. All that tends to pro
duce a state of civilization and to supply the needs and ensure
the refinement of a people, does not date its inception from the
introduction of Christianity, for that lacks not only any
scheme of education, but much of its teaching encourages un
thrift and favors despotism.
We are told that the Christian clergy were the scholars of the
nation for a thousand years, although the Christian Mosheim
�WHY CHRISTIANITY IS STILL PROFESSED.
7
says, in his “ Ecclesiastical History,” that “ The bishops in
general were so illiterate, that few of that body were capable of
composing the discourses which they delivered to the people.”
Even the clergy, who were comparatively learned, kept all their
knowledge to themselves, while the general masses were steeped
in ignorance and moral degradation. Christianity has estab
lished churches, but when did it give the artisan any ownership
in them ? For centuries the Christian Church has been the
opponent of all literary, political, and social advancement. It
did not found mechanics’ institutes, free schools, or unsectarian
universities. But it did close the avenues of learning against
those who did not swear by its faith. Its Protestant supporters
argued against giving Roman Catholics and Jews their civil
rights. Henry (afterwards Lord) Brougham, once asked in the
House of Commons how the bishops could condemn perjury,
when they declared before God that they were moved by the
Holy Ghost to accept many thousand pounds a year for preach
ing “Blessed be ye poor ?” The fact is, money is at the root
of religion, as established in England, and we see in every
cathedral pile an emblem of a petrified faith.
Many able expounders of Christianity, failing to recognize the
true causes of civilization, urge that it has produced what they
term “ a change of heart,” and that this change has a more
beneficial effect upon the general conditions of society than
secular agencies have. Now, we fail to discover any proof of
this allegation. Western civilization is the result of the culti
vation of the intellect far more than it is of the fostering of the
emotions. In transforming society from what it was to what
it is, the teachings of science have proved more efficacious than
the preaching of sermons, and the brain power of such master
minds as Galileo, Newton, Watt, and Stephenson has been a
greater civilizing factor than all the emotional force manifes
ted by the host of divines who have contributed to the history
of the Christain faith. We hope to show that the improve
ments of modern life are not the outcome of putting into
practice the injunctions of Christ, but rather the consequence
�8
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION :
of following the truths born of such geniuses as those whose
names we have mentioned. The discovery of coal and of
electricity, the mechanical inventions of the last two hundred
years, the control of the lightning, and the navigation of the
seas, have been the potent agencies in bringing about modern
civilization. But these agencies have been secured through the
medium of cultivated intellects and are not the result of any
Christian “ change of heart.”
Experience amply testifies that if we keep our bodies in a
healthy condition and properly drain our land, the probability
is that if epidemics come upon us they will soon depart, and'
these duties are neglected, it is likely that diseases may not
only visit us, but that they will linger in our midst despite any
“ change of heart ” that might have taken place. If, however,
by this phrase is meant, that men should cease to do evil and
learn to do good, then we do not deny the advantages of such
a change, but we contend that intelligence and secular agencies
are necessary to render such advantages serviceable for all
civilizing purposes. We further assert that before a person’s
character is changed for the better, the conditions which surround
him must be improvedr; for, as Spencer has shown, a moral
character cannot emanate from immotal surroundings. Thus
the very “ change of heart ” spoken of depends upon the
superior environment caused by external influences. Moreover,
we find that this “ change of heart ” has not induced Christians
to seek to remove slavery, religious inequalities, political
z wrongs and social injustice ; neither has it inspired them with a
desire to encourage education or to favor the discovery and
the application of the sciences. In the face of these facts, it
cannot be consistently said that the Christian’s “ change of
heart ” has brought about the civilization of the nineteenth
century.
Persons with unbiased minds, and who are capable of general
izing facts, will doubtless recognize that civilization is not the
result of any one thing, or of the efforts of any one man, and
least of all of those of a person who possibly might have lived
�WHY CHRISTIANITY IS STILL PROFESSED.
9
in Palestine two thousand years ago. The progress of a nation
is to be attributed to efforts of many men of different genera
tions ; and also to a combination of circumstances that have
been in operation during all ages, preparing the way for the
advancement of a higher condition of things. For instance, if
it had not been for the scientific discoveries of a Watt, a Dalton,
and a Black of the last century, the application of the sciences
with which their names are associated would not have been
capable of being so easily applied to the ends of general utility
in this present age. It is equally true that for the freedom
from theological intolerance which we possess to-day, we are
indebted to the persistent and fearless advocacy of the Freethought pioneers of past ages, as well as to the efforts of
Freethinkers of more recent times.
We are aware that many of the most able thinkers entertain
different views from ours as to the cause of human progress,
but the question is, Whose views are supported by historical
facts and by general experience ? If the sources of civilization
are contained in the New Testament, how is it that at the
time when its teachings were observed, more than at any other
period, civilization was comparatively unknown ? It is only
within the present century, when scepticism and reliance on
mundane resources have been and still are so prevalent, that
real progress to any great extent has been accomplished.
Moreover, we know too well that two of the principal civilizing
agencies—science and general knowledge—have been bitterly
opposed and continually retarded by those very persons who
professed to be the exemplars of Christ’s teachings. When
the facts of modern science were first proclaimed, they were
denounced as untrue by Christians who for centuries constantly
condemned them as being antagonistic to the welfare of the
people. New truths that were demonstrated by early scientists
were regarded by believers in Christianity as instances of the
insanity of the discoverers, and every fossil wonder disclosed
was referred by Christians to the limited explanation of the
Noachian deluge. Finding threats and intimidation failed to
�IO
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION:
check the advance of truth, persecution and imprisonment
were the weapons used by Christian hands towards those who
investigated the laws of nature, and who sought to make such
laws known to their fellow creatures. Dr. Ferguson, in. his
work, “The Penalties of Greatness, ” acknowledges that.the
Roman Catholic Church was the first to extinguish the light of
reason. But truth existed in spite of the deadly agencies
which' surrounded it. Not only did this . Christian Church
employ means to prevent the least difference of opinion. on
religious subjects, by the' invention of the most finished instru
ments of torture, but science itself became the object of burning
jealousy and persecution, and men were made to deny the
very laws of nature.
Dr. Dick, in his work, the “ Philosophy of .Religion,” shows
that the Protestant Church exhibited a similar spirit of perse
cution. The same may be said of Christians in their morerecent treatment of such men as Lyell, Darwin, Huxley, and
Tyndall. Dr. White’s “Warfare of Science ” contains innum
erable facts showing how scientific men have been' denounced
by Protestants and charged with promulgating theories that
were said to be injurious to the welfare of mankind, And yet
the very knowledge that these men endeavored to impart is
now admitted to be among the most potent factor? in sustaining
and improving our civilization. For as Buckle observes,
“ Real knowledge, the knowledge on which, all civilization is
based, solely consists in an acquaintance with the relations
which things and ideas bear to each other and to themselves ;
in other words in an acquaintance with physical and mental
laws.”
No one can seriously question the fact that general education
has played a, most important part in producing and in increasing
civilization, yet it has taken the Christian world nearly eighteen
hundred years to arrive at the conclusion that ,it is - necessary
that the people should have adequate means of instruction at
their command.
Every step taken towards obtaining a
national system of education has been determinedly opposed
�WHY IS CHRISTIANITY STILL PROFESSED.
II
by men who were the leading expounders of the Christian faith.
And the most resolute opponents of our present public schools
areto be found in the Christian ranks. Buckle states that
where Christian governments “have not openly forbidden the
free dissemination of knowledge, they have done all they could
to check it. On all the implements of knowledge and on all
the means by which it is diffused, :such as papers, books,
political journals, and t.he like, they have imposed duties so
heavy that they could hardly have done worse, if they had
been the sworn advocates of popular ignorance. Indeed,
looking at what they have actually accomplished, it may be
emphatically said that they have taxed the human mind.”
Civilization is not an invention, but a growth ; a process
from low animal, conditions to higher physical, moral, .and
intellectual attainments. The real value of civilization consists
in its being the means whereby the community can enjoy-per
sonal comfort and general happiness. Now the elements that
have contributed to such a societarian condition, are those
that Christianity has not concerned itself with, either as
originator or as promoter. The lesson of all history teaches
the fact that the. progress of a people depends upon their
knowledge of, and their obedience to organic and inorganic
laws. This great truth has not been sufficiently recognized by
the expounders of Christianity. On the contrary, following in
this particular the example of their Master, they have
urged that man’s principal attention should be directed to the
alleged supernatural, and to the considerations of a life beyond
the grave. The secular affairs of existence have been deemed,
by the consistent professors of Christianity, as being of only
secondary importance. This disregard of mundane duties is,
no doubt, the logical sequence of believing such teachings of
the New Testament, as : “ He that loveth his life shall lose it;
and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it - until life
eternal” (John 12 : 25). Also, “Everyone that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,'
or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hun-
�12
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION,'
dred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life ” (Matt. 19 : 29),
This is actually offering a premium for neglecting the require
ments of this world, and for ignoring the natural promptings of
humanity.
In any accurate history of the advancement of the human
race, the influence of external forces must be duly considered.
The emotions of our nature have doubtless played an active
part in civilizing processes, but external conditions have also
proved potent factors in all progressive movements. For
instance, the geographical position and climate of nations have
always had a marvellous effect upon the .temperaments and the
beliefs of individuals, thus either marring or improving
the development of civilization. An observant traveller can
readily discern the difference between the temperament of the
inhabitants of the Swiss and of the Italian sides of the Alps,
or between those who reside on the English and on the French
side of the Channel. The Swiss are as solemn as their snow
capped mountains, and the Italians are as lively as the English
larks whose songs accompany the dawn of the summer mcrn.
The mental calibre of the French, as a rule, differs in many
respects from that of the English ; and a faith that may satisfy
an Oriental mind, would probably be found inadequate to
meet the requirements of the Western intellect. This is a
feature in the process of civilization that Christianity has not
taken into account ; for it prescribes the same faith for all
nations and for all people, despite the varied climates and the
different localities in which they are born and trained. Buckle
has shown that man’s progress is the result of his physical
environment; for it has been found to be impossible to establish
a high civilization in certain countries, and under certain
climatic influences. Take, for instance, the people of Asia, and
of Africa ; also the Abyssinians. In spite of all the efforts of
Christian missionaries civilization in those countries is at its
lowest ebb. As a writer aptly remarks; “ If it were the Church
that created civilization, then we should see similar results in
different latitudes, and among different races. But the facts
�WHY CHRISTIANITY IS STILL PROFESSED.
T3
are opposed to this claim. Wherever there is a high civilization,
there is a good soil and a temperate climate.” This fact
proves that it is not to Christianity that we owe civilization,
but rather that it depends for its manifestations upon the
healthy conditions of society and its surroundings.
Briefly summarized, it appears to us that the principal causes
of modern civilization are : The development of the intellect,
this rules the world to-day; the expansion of mechanical genius,
this provides for the increased needs of the people ; the exten
sion of national commerce, this causesan inter-change of ideas ;
the invention of printing, this provides for the circulation of
newly-discovered facts ; the beneficial influence of climate, this
affects the condition both of body and mind ; the knowledge
and the application of science, these reveal the value and the
power of natural resources; the spread of scepticism, this
provides for the vindication of the right of mental freedom :
the practical recognition of political justice, this forms the
basis of all just governments ; and finally, the establishment of
the social equality of women with men, this secures the eman
cipation of women from that state of domestic servitude and
general inferiorityin which theology had for centuries kept them.
The question here to be considered is, are the causes of civiliza
tion just named, even indicated in the New Testament? We sub
mit they are not, for if the following injunctions were implicitly
obeyed, there would be a complete stagnation of all civilization.
“ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,”
“ For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and
lose his own soul ?” “ Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness and all these things [food, clothes, etc.] shall
be added unto you. Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh
not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple,” “ Take no
thought for your life,” “Resist not evil,” “ Blessed be ye
poor,” “ Labor not for the meat which perisheth,” “ Let every
man abide in the same calling wherein he was called,” “ Submit
yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake,” “ Let
every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no
�*4
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION.
'
power but of God. .... Whosoever therefore resisteth the
power resisteth the ordinance of God-, and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation?’ “ Wives submit your
selves to your own husbands,” “ As the Church‘is subject unto
Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything,”
‘ What therefore God hath joined; together let‘no man put
asunder,” “ Servants be subject to your masters with all fear;
not only to the good and gentle, but also to the frowaird,” " Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,” Give to him that
asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not
thou away,” “ Lend hoping for nothing again,” “ He that taketh
away thy goods ask them not again,” Forgive your brother who
who sins “ until seventy times seven,” “ Whosoever shall not
receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of thaf
city, shake off the dust of your feet,” “ If any man preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed,” “ If any man teach otherwise, an’d consent not to
the wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ
.... he is proud, knowing nothing. ...... from such
withdraw thyself,” “Of whom is• HymenSeus and Alexander,
whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to
blaspheme.”
...
Here are a few passages from the Scriptures, the highest
Christian authority, which enjoin conduct that cannot possibly
promote .civilization, but must necessarily retard it. The
teachings herein set forth are, neglect of the world, personal
indifference to human needs, non-resistance of wrongs, to regard
poverty as a blessing, abject submission to “ the powers that
be,” the subjection of woman, the giving up all for Christ,
reckless lending without any conditions for the return of the
loan, and the encouragement of a bitter spirit of prosecution.
Well may the late John S. Mill exclaim, in his work on Liberty,
“ That not one Christian in a thousand guides or tests his
individual conduct by reference to those [New Testament]
laws.” The reason why those laws cannot be obeyed in the
nineteenth century is because, as Mill further states, the
�WHY CHRISTIANITY IS STILL PROFESSED.
i5
morality of Christ is,, “ in many important points incomplete
and one-sided, and unless ideas and feelings not sanctioned by
it had contributed to the formation of European life and
character, human affairs would have been in a worse condition
than they now are Other ethics than any which can be
evolved from exclusively Christian sources must exist side by
side with Christian ethics to produce the tn oral regeneration of
mankind.”,
f.
.
■
...It.may be asked by. professors pf the Christian faith, .“If
Christianity is so unprogrest?ive in its nature,, and so muchopposed to a high condition of civilization. as.: ypu allege ■ that
it is, how is it that the profession of Christianity is so extensive
to-day?” . .
.
. .
In estimating th,e position that a system occupies in a. com-’
munity, it is necessary to distinguish between its profession
and its practice. It must be evident to.the impartial observer,
that while the name Christianity is still retained in our midst,
its essential principles have become impotent as a factor in
daily, life. As. James Cotter Morison observes in his “Service
of Man”: “There seems to be no exception to:the rule, that
the older religions grow, the; more infirm dodhey become, the
less hold do they, keep on ; the minds, of welhinformed and
thoughtful men. . Their truths, once accepted without question,
are gradually doubted, and i,n the end denied by , increasing
numbers. . . . All the chief dogmas of the Christian. . . . Creeds
have been for several centuries before the* world.. They: were
once, not only believed, but adored. Now .the: numbers who
doubt or dispute .them are increasing every day.- Time has.
not been their friend, but their enemy. , ... Religious truth
begins with undoubting’ acceptance, and after a shorter or.
longer period of supremacy, with the growth of knowledge and
more severe canons of criticism, passes gradually into the cat
egory of questioned and disputed theories, ending at last in
the class of rejected and exploded errors.” The proceedings
at recent Congresses and Conferences, amply justify the truth
of the above statements . At the present time the Churches
�l6
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION .'
are rent by intestine divisions, and assailed on all sides from
without by all that is vigorous, intelligent, liberal, free, and
progressive in our modern civilization. Christianity stands now
as the mythologies of Greece and Rome stood at the period
when it arose. The gods were more numerous than ever
before, the temples more magnificent, the sacrifices and
festivals more splendid, the priesthood more arrogant; but
living faith had deserted them, the intellect of the age despised
them, and its loftiest morality condemned them ; therefore,
despite their wealth, pomp, and power, they were irrevocably
doomed to destruction.
History repeats itself, hence a similar state of the decay that
marked the career of the religions of Greece and Rome, has
characterized the history of Christianity. The truth of this
allegation will be obvious to those who study the variety of
stages through which the faith has passed. True the name
has been retained, but not the faith the name was once sup
posed to represent. People in different nations and different
ages have accepted the term Christianity, and applied it to a
theological and ceremonial system arranged in accordance with
their education and their habits. The Christianity introduced
into this country by Augustine in the sixth century, was not
the Christianity taught in the East. The faith of the Middle
Ages was not the faith that is professed in the nineteenth
century.
Dean Milman, in his “ History of Civilization,” observes :
“ Its (Christianity’s) specific character will almost entirely
depend upon the character of the people who are its votaries . . .
It will darken with the darkness and brighten with the light
of each succeeding century.” Lord Macaulay says with
no less truth than brilliancy : “ Christianity conquered Pagan
ism, but Paganism infected Christianity. The rites of the
Pantheon passed into her worship, and the subtleties of the
Academy into her creed.” Francis William Newman, in his
“ Phases of Faith,” also remarks : “ I at length saw how
untenable is the argument drawn from the inward history of
�.
* '
“if 27::
i.U rf?,'
WHY IS CHRISTIANITY STILL PROFESSED.
17
Christianity in favor of’its superhuman origin. In fact, this
religion cannot pretend to self-sustaining power. Hardly
was it started on its course when it began to be polluted by
the heathenism and false philosophy around it. With the
decline of national genius and civil culture it became more and
more debased. So far from being able to uphold the existing
morality of the best Pagan teachers, it became barbarized itself,
and sank into deep superstition and manifold moral corruption.
From ferocious men it learned ferocity. When civil society
began to coalesce into order, Christianity also turned for the
better, and presently learned to use the wisdom first of Romans,
then of Greeks ; such studies opened men’s eyes to new appre
hensions of the scripture and of its doctrine. By gradual and
human means, Europe, like ancient Greece, grew up towards
better political institutions and Christianity improved with
them.”
Thus, according to these authorities, it will be seen that the
adherence to’ Christian theology which was observable in its
primitive history is no longer perceptible. The aim and
desire of modern reformers are to base morals, politics, and
commerce on the principles of utility. Human instincts are
found to be too strong, the necessities of life too potent, the
exigencies of existence too imperative to allow the standard of
two thousand years ago to regulate the actions of to-day. The
political world is now conductedon secular principles ; scientific
research is unfettered by theology, and is therefore secular ;
and the practical ethics of modern society are utilitarianism
and are therefore secular. Our civilization is indissolubly
connected with these three important facts.
So extensively is the change—produced by the sceptical
tendency of the age—progressing that we are continually
hearing of some avow'al either upon the part of a prelate, a
clergyman, or a learned professor, of a new view of the Chris
tian faith, or of a modification of the once popular theology.
The nature of the new departure depends, of course, upon the
intellectual status and the social position of those, who either
�i8
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION:
give up altogether the profession of their old beliefs, or who so
modify those beliefs that they may be considered more in
harmony with the requirements of the age. But a general
agreement appears to exist amongst the superior intelligent
expounders of Christianity that the ideas that were for centuries
entertained as to the character of their faith, and of its sanc
tions, can no longer be supported in the face of modern criti
cism. It cannot be doubted that many of the new views that
are being promulgated as to what Christianity really is, strike
at the very root of the system as it was taught in former times.
Still, despite this fact, there is such a manifest desire to retain
the name of Christian upon the part of a large section of so
ciety, that it may be useful to inquire what the magic influences
are that impel so many persons to tenaciously cling to a name
that represents no practical principle in the actions that govern
the well-being of the community.
It has been frequently urged by orthodox believers, that if
all the facts of Christianity could be disposed of, Christian ex
perience would still remain, and that it is this which gives the
consolation that no criticism can destroy. Probably this will
explain why a large number of persons continue to adhere to
the profession of Christianity. It, however, reduces the basis
of their faith to the level of fanaticism, for the same reason
could be given with equal force in justification of the mani
festation of the wildest enthusiasm associated with the worst
forms of superstition. It is the old idea that a thing is true
because one feels it to be so. This is an assumption that
assuredly should find no support from thinking persons, inas
much as it could be cited to prove the truth of the greatest
errors that have ever degraded the human mind. The savage,
who worships his idol of wood and stone, derives consolation
from his abject prostration. Why should Christian mission
aries seek to rob him of his source of supreme comfort ? The
answer is, because the poor savage is thought to be mistaken
in his useless and humiliating devotion. For a similar reason
we remind the orthodox professor that the consolation exper
�WHY CHRISTIANITY IS STILL PROFESSED
19
ienced from a faith destitute of any practical value, and which
consigns the majority of the human race to everlasting torture
is unworthy of man, and would be a disgrace to any God.
Besides, the probability that such consolation is based on
fiction is not very complimentary to the power of truth. 1 he
lesson of experience is, that it is more serviceable to the world
to revere what is true than to sacrifice the general results of
reality for the selfish satisfaction of personal consolation.
It is, however, impossible to argue profitably with people
who do not use their mental faculties, and hence the greatest
delusions that take possession of the human mind often remain
unchecked and irremovable. On the other hand, when the
intellect is brought into play, the result is the growth of new
ideas. The attempts made by any of the clergy to explain
away theobjectionablefeaturesof certain doctrines are prompted,
possibly, by their desire to retain their position in the Church,
which is their only means of obtaining the necessaries of
life. Those who have qualified themselves only for the
theological profession know the difficulties that beset them
when doubts enter their minds as to the truth of the creeds
they profess. They may preach “ Blessed be ye poor,” but
personally they dread poverty, and they do their best to avoid
sharing its “ blessings.” They may advise their congre
gations, in the words of Jesus, to “Take no thought for your
life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your
body, what ye shall put on. Behold the fowls of the air : for
they sow not neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet
your heavenly Father feedeth them.” So far, however, as the
clergy themselves are concerned, they find it necessary to be at
times exceedingly anxious for the morrow, and, rather than
having faith that their “ heavenly Father ” will feed and clothe
them, their concern is how to get cash to purchase food, drink,
and clothes. It is not surprising, therefore, that clergymen
and ministers with more than “a living wage” hesitate to give
up the name by which they live. A change would perhaps mean
ruin, and self-preservation is the first law of nature even among
�20
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION.
clericals, where personal and family interests are concerned.
Besides, every man has not the courage to sever his connec
tions with old institutions, old friends, and the comforts oflife.
Thus a second reason is discovered why many persons remain
professors of Christianity. They see no chance of providing
for their daily bread outside of the Christian body, and con
sequently they prefer to bear the ills they have—in clinging to
an empty name—than fly to others they know not of.
In some cases men remain Christians in name because they
persuade themselves that they can harmonize their new depar
ture with modern discoveries. It has been so with astronomy
and geology. At first these sciences were denounced as being
heretical, now they are accepted as agreeing with Christian
teachings. It was the same with that terribly destructive agent
Evolution, which to theology meant revolution The only
way a man could remain in the Christian ranks, and agree
with Darwin’s theory, was to contend that it agreed with the
Bible, and, as a sort of final indication of friendship for the
distinguished sceptic, they buried him in Westminster Abbey.
It is remarkable how. easy some people find it to rest under
false convictions, particularly when such convictions are backed
by pecuniary gain and found to be in accordance with fashion
able opinions. Then people become like Goldsmith’s vicar in
his “ Deserted Village,”
‘ ‘ Remote from towns he ran his godly race,
Nor e’er had changed, nor wished to change his place ”
The tendency at the present time within the Churches is to
raise new theological ghosts as fast as the old ones are laid. We
are now face to face with a fresh enemy to the long cherished
notions of the Christian profession. It is a movement that
commenced years ago outside the pulpit, and it bears the high
and dignified name of “The Higher Criticism.” Looking at
the results already achieved by this destructive criticism, the
question again arises, Why do men remain professors of
Christianity ? The answers that we have already given explain
why some of the clergy continue in the fold, but what are the
�WHY CHRISTIANITY IS STILL PROFESSED.
21
reasons that so many of the laity linger therein ? The reply is
in the first place because they are too intellectually indolent,
and they find it more convenient to accept things as they are
than to examine and study the value or otherwise of what they
are asked to believe. If we look at the attendance at an
ordinary church or chapel, who do we discover occupying the
pews ? Mostly women and children, who do not concern
themselves about criticism, either higher or lower. In fact
the indifferent section of believers constitute the large majority
of professors of Christianity. Such persons never doubt and
never inquire. Changes of opinion are the result of causes
that seldom affect the intellectually lazy. With them it is not
a question of mental honesty, hut a case of inactivity of mind,
which results in a deep slumber, that only ignorance induces.
To excite the general mass of mankind to any perceptible
degree of serious thought, a volcanic eruption in the intellectual
world would be required. So long as persons are contented
to “ shut their eyesand open their mouths,”or while they are too
idle to use their faculties in thinking for themselves, they will
probably remain Christians in name. Orthodox folks are too
prone to rely upon others as to what they shall believe ; it saves
a degree of mental exercise for which the many have but
little taste or inclination. This seems to account for the
persistence of belief in all ages and in all countries, whether
Christian or not. Hence millions of our fellow-mortals remain
in the faith and follow the customs of their fathers, having no
desire for, or conception of change. In all the great religious
communities of the world we find that men adopt a faith ; it is
not really a belief at all, for the road to intelligent belief is
through the portals of doubt and investigation, in the absence
of which true belief is not formed
As a further illustration that indifference is a prominent
' cause of the name of Christianity being perpetuated, we may
mention the case of shopkeepers and commercial men, whose
indifference is intensified by self-interest. They attend church
either to please their customers or to gain some relief from
�22
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION.
the anxieties pertaining to their weekly labors. They listen to
the sermons, but they pay little or no heed to what they hear.
It is the fashion to attend “ a place of worship,” and they
consider that their business success depends upon their going
with the multitude, at least outwardly. The clergyman or
minister is too shrewd to talk to such persons about the grave
discussions going on in popular reviews, or new books of here
tical tendency. And if the preacher does allude to the subject,
it is for the purpose of showing that if his hearers have heard
that anything has gone wrong with the faith or the Church,
they need not be alarmed, it is only the spite of “ infidelity,”
and he will see to the matter and put all things right. Sup
posing the educated, reading young men of his con
gregation express any doubts, the minister may deliver a
course of sermons, not allowing any discussion, in which he
boldly asserts that the Bible and the Church still rest on an
impregnable rock, against which many sceptics have been
dashed to pieces in trying to blast it with “infidel ” powder.
He concludes by urging that the faith of Jesus has its hold
upon the human heart, satisfying al) its desires and longings,
and that to yield up this faith would be followed by conse
quences appalling to contemplate. These appeals to ignorance
and uncontrolled emotion succeed, for a time, in suppressing
doubt, stopping inquiry, and securing a profession of a faith in
the acceptance of which reason and investigation have had no
part.
In addition to those who remain professing Christians from
interested motives, from aversion to change, or through inherit
ing the belief of their parents, there are others who have what
they term “ intelligent convictions ” of the truth of the faith
they avow'. They believe in Jesus as an historical character,
whose life is truly recorded in the gospels. Conflicting texts
may be found in the scriptures, doubts may be expressed by
Bible critics as to the genuineness of the gospels, it may be
found difficult to explain many events described in the New'
Testament. Nevertheless, the professors of Christianity from
�WHY IS CHRlSTlANrTY STILL PROFESSED ?
23
“conviction” accept the declaration that “God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Believers of this class are easily made professors of Christianity,
and are as easily kept so, for they feel sure that their belief
secures for them safety in “ the world to come.” The doctrine
of rewards and punishments has always been a powerful factor
in the promulgation of the orthodox faith. The Devil has
been the clergyman’s best friend, and now that it is acknowledged that the belief in the existence of such a being was a
delusion, and that hell was a fiction, Christianity is losing its
former influence over the human mind—the faith has to be
reconstructed to suit requirements of this sceptical age. Of
course those who believe “ in Christ and him crucified,” have
only an ideal founded upon an imaginary Christ. They ignore.
the elementary facts of nature, for in the constitution of man
and of nature in general there is going on a perpetual struggle
for existence, which does not harmonize with the alleged love,
of God for the world. It may be said that the existence of
so much suffering and misery in the world is a mystery, but if
this is so, it does not dispose of the fact that such drawbacks
to man’s happiness are here, and no God of love is apparently
disposed to remove them. Besides, it is difficult to believe
that “ God so loved the world,” that he sent his son to be
tortured on the cross to achieve a purpose which God, if he.
were all-powerful, could have accomplished without this
exhibition of cruelty and injustice. Those persons who remain
’Christians because of their desire to believe that Christ was.
really their crucified Savior, can never full}' recognize the.
horrible nature of “ the agony and bloody sweat,” the sufferings;
endured by the man of sorrow and grief,, and the sadness
experienced by him when abandoned by his,God: at the hour
of death. They also ignore, in the person of Christ, the
scientific fact , that death is the terminatiQn of life, for he is
supposed to have performed more wonderful things after his
death than he did before.
�24
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION.
Briefly stated, it may be said that the thoughtless multitude
adhere to the profession of Christianity because they are either
too indifferent to oppose it, or they cling to the belief through
tear of punishment hereafter; or still further, they adhere to
the old faith in consequence of their inability to understand
what-is to replace the orthodox belief. Among persons of
intellectual ability there are two considerations that principally
induce them to favour the continuation of the profession of
the Christian name. They suppose that it is to their interest
to be thought in accord with the fashionable belief of the day,
and they are impressed with the idea that the masses are kept
in check by believing that the doctrine of hell-fire is a true one.
Thus the profession of Christianity is perpetuated through
mental laziness, lack of intellectual capacity, consideration of
self-interest, or through the notion that fear, even if based on
fiction, is necessary to keep the uninformed in order and sub
jection. While the triumphs of political and scientific inquiry,
in dismissing from men’s minds despotic and erroneous views,
have been numerous, theology is still making desperate
struggles to cling to its old positions. It will require, probably,
more than one generation of educated persons to eliminate
from the human mind the ideas that cause men and women to
remain professors of Christianity. Although we may believe,
with Shelley, that the evil faith will not last for ever, it dies
hard nevertheless. In the persistent warfare with this evil,
supported as it has been by so many varying interests, many
brave reformers have exhausted their energies, while other
toilers have had to give up the battle. The magnitude of the
undertaking to reform the religious world reminds us of Butler’s
lines :—
Reforming schemes arc none of mine,
To mend the world’s vast design ;
Like little men in a little boat,
Trying to pull to them the ship afloat.
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Christianity and civilization: why Christianity is still professed
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Watts, Charles [1836-1906]
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 24 p. ; 19 cm.
Notes: Part of the NSS pamphlet collection. Date of publication from Cooke, Bill. The blasphemy depot.
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Watts & Co.
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[1894]
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RA1578
N661
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Christianity
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<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work (Christianity and civilization: why Christianity is still professed), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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Text
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English
Christianity
Civilisation
NSS