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IIL LE LOLI ONL ILD Me a ae SIM LI LOI IIIS Se ane Tait ok Sk ES RE Aa a Na PP OOS ON TT rn on rn E IL PT OO! eles artenae preenenrerarareer ars * Ra oa eA Ee a a a Oo Ce ee OIE SON kaa f ‘ pine ncn asain : - < roars ranted : peeterntepeieterer tet erereerr err ly = / : cr Se ener eames ; eee Sac rrr a AE OLLI LLL LOI ELL LIL OLE OL LL LONI OS IP IIIT PSP IOI SNPS II LT Fo IIL D I PIL LLM eae asa emma a ae eS eee : * eR ipgec areca girth sent terete RRR BE Pa eneterits Sa a LLL LL LMP ELL ELLE LPL, s 3 : =H eres at ee HL ‘ - s ms os o HLL IS MPL EL ELL LIN EN III OS oS We VE OL LS LO eee re nena cbarr mart : TPIT ERI PIT TIT III CR COE a A RD NIE LEH OL LLM IL EID LEI ELL ILE EI ILI LLL IIE LIE LLL LLLP LIL LEI LILLIE I LANAI ILL LILA IAI II LA AAA Ch eA Rn en ep Cr A er EDIT II AIR a PLO AP Pe eS LOS ON OP Ben RO EEE AI PI I III I EG RE lemees o CA AAA a AAA Unig Aoscveororo es oe emeweres ‘ Steen Hee PRN PSP MHIP LI Se PR IRIES a a a RR Sa ae go Mrs ea lectatth arate ~ eae ance na cwatan ott Decnerotototanstatorceataea (otat Spine nar De EEN NOTE ET LN LAS TENA NEATH a AT NIA TE A Re fom aR aR NIIP NA MH PE ID A be PER sarees SEER NS Cems ewe he ONS P LLIN MAIL IT AV LILLY ALS ALI ILIV ELI ALN LLL OLLI EL ILI IIL ELL ILD DID ALLL LE ALAA ALS AAI LEI IIE INL ILL LLL LLL LLLP PII See cand tas nants teten eee a AAR a ae RO CES EERE RESTATE AT TASTES SEN SRT aero PPT PP ILI Sao nacin mene SMAI Reece ercrecee prperreres Peer ton toe osc CONS IATA AST mere ENN OI III AN OIL ED LTE LNT OI IL LL IIS ao rc tanto as tn a IRN RR RE a eee eee LR i Ss cn eccecrene tarmincnanancnsiacennd noneste se tesonas eseceseanesrear at . Seeeaeneeee LPP ILN LENIN EL, rae OLLI LL LLL OO Oe ior gach acne hee peepernnenrearcm ere cee SERRA AROS PE EES LILLY OLE EL LLLP OM, Comic dentenamnneeapane nant nnn ae tetaee katona tmaertate! AA EME ELLIE A IMEEM DS (aie nan awn nns momma om te tate rice, rin aon eaewaotenae nanan NI STO ere cvangmastaeas-besatat.0 errr eerecerneme ett OES, eet aS - >A rie Tan! 4 2 ¥ a saa Hi } 3 THROUGH CREATIVE EVOLUTION TO INCARNATION AND THE GOAL OF HUMANITY WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR ENGLISH RETRACED. A COMPANION TO THE PSALTER. Crown 8vo. 5s. net. MORALS OF SUICIDE. Vols. I and II. Crown 8vo. 5s. net each. THE SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY. 8vo. 7s. 6d. net. INTERPRETATION OF THE SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY. 8vo. 8s. 6d. net. SOME THOUGHTS ON GOD. Crown 8vo. 4s. net, CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY DISCUSSED UNDER THE TOPICS OF ABSOLUTE VALUES, CREATIVE EVOLUTION, AND RELIGION. 8vo. 6s. net. LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. LTD. London, New York, Toronto, Bombay, Calcutta & Madras CeaPrs * 4 "ie THROUGH CREATIVE EVOLUTION TO INCARNATION AND THE GOAL OF HUMANITY ay BY REV. J. “GURNHILL, B.A. OF EMMANUEL COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE MEMBER OF THE ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY, AND CANON OF LINCOLN LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. LTD. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C.4 NEW YORK, TORONTO BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS 1926 Made in Great Britain. All rights reserved PREFACE I can well imagine it may be thought by some that the theory and doctrine of Creative Evolu- tion have been so ably set forth by Professor Bergson in his splendid work on the subject that any further study and investigation are superfluous. I confess I cannot concur in this opinion. For I feel persuaded that the range and signi- ficance of the theory of Evolution, and more especially of the results of its working, both in the realms of physics and metaphysics, of philosophy and religion, have not yet been fully grasped and realized. The subject, in spite of all that has been said or done, needs further study and investigation. And if the question be asked, why I should have ventured to write and publish this treatise, my answer is two-fold. First, because we ourselves are the highest product yet attained of this process of Creative Evolution—a fact which invests the subject with an interest and import- ance which cannot be over-estimated; and, . A 2 vi PREFACE secondly, because I hope my humble effort may be the means of attracting the attention of others, far more able than myself, to discuss it as it deserves. My Arm In WRITING My aim in this volume is to justify the state- ment I have made, and after briefly reviewing the past history of the theory to follow it up, on its practical side, to the consideration of those results, inferences, and multiplications which may fairly be drawn from it. The aim, I admit, may seem an ambitious one, and in attempting it I humbly ask the patient indulgence of my readers. But this L can confidently say, I have bestowed much thought on the task, and availed myself of all the help and information I could procure. And especially I would acknowledge with much grati- tude my indebtedness to the Aristotelian Society, to which I have the honour to belong, for various papers on metaphysical subjects germane to the questions under discussion. It will be found, therefore, that I have not hesitated to make extracts from the works of other students and writers on science and philo- sophy, when [ thought they would help my readers the better to understand the subject- matter in hand. | PREFACE Vil I cannot close my preface without expressing my sincere thanks to my wife and other kind friends for their valuable assistance in preparing my MSS. for the Press. THE Priory, LINCOLN, March 1926. vis ‘Jeeta LIV idee of OS AD «bal ca Bs TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Dr. Thomson on the necessary Laws of human thought and the discovery of Truth and Reality . . . . «6 « « CHAPTER II THE NEED FOR A FIRST CAUSE OR PRIUS The difference between Evolution by Emergence and Creative Evolution—Discovery of the Electron and new theory of Matter—Materialism found wanting . . . . .. . CHAPTER III OUR MATERIALS Section I: Ourselves— Section II: Our Environment. Section I, Ourselves—Man as we know him; his faculties of three kinds: (a) Conative and Acquisitive Faculties ; (6) Cognitive or Knowledge and Mental Faculties; (c) Moral and Spiritual Faculties — Inferences and conclusions. Section II, Our Environment—Definition of the term— Points of correspondence between ourselves and our Environment—Common origin—Adaptation, Response— Nature and Consciousness—The Universe—The Living Body of the Living God—Plato—Dr. Jacks on A Living Universe will be found useful and suggestive oun 1x PAGE x TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER IV CONSCIOUSNESS PAGE Consciousness compared to a ladder—What does it mean ?— Its implications—The constant accompaniment and ex- pression of life—The Universe the school and storehouse of Consciousness—The growth and development of Con- ACIOVIBNORR) | oH /AV 8 gy ilar Wie: ha naa aC el MR eh cate ae CHAPTER V RESPONSE The process of Creative Evolution not played out—Vta hominis Visto Dei—What is Response ?—Dr. E. 8, Russell’s Three Questions, etc.—Addendum .. . ; ogi eae PART II CHAPTER I INTRODUOTION | 0)... 5.0) cee eee CHAPTER II THH FAITHS OF THE WORLD The Supernatural—Three examples: (1) Babylonian; (2) Per- sian and Iranian; (8) Semitic, Hebrew and Jewish— Reasons for selection—Babylonian: (1) Hymns to the gods; (2) Penitential Psalms; (8) Litanies—Perstan: The Parsees—Semitic, Hebrew and Jewish— The Semitic tribes and family of languages. . . . . . « « « 28 TABLE OF CONTENTS xi CHAPTER III. PAGE The Thesis to be maintained—The Bible record of Creation m= PAGE FOLEVAMTONUN 6) eat eh 8) ae, fe bowie BO CHAPTER IV Introduction—The Claims and Teaching of Jesus considered in the following sections: Section I, Jesus on the Prius of Creative Evolution; Section II, On Life and the Universe; Section III, On the Problem of Good and Evil; Section IV, On Truth and Freedom; Section V, On Love; Section VI, On Work; Section VII, On Prayer and Faith; Section VIII, On the Bread of Life; Section IX, On His Second Advent . .... .. =48 CHAPTER V Subjects—‘* The Kingdom of Heaven, Eternal Life, and the Goal of Humanity ’’—Introductory Remarks—The Hvan- gelium fulfilled—Two lessons taught by Creative Evolution in Theory and Practice: (1) How the Human Race has been raised through the successive steps of an ever-in- creasing consciousness to a high degree of physical, moral and spiritual development; (2) How by the Incarnation and work of Christ Jesus mankind has been brought within sight of the Goal of Humanity—The Promises of Jesus, and the condition of their attainment—My closing wish RR aM 8. hash Sy IN yee Ln ail BV iva atone gk (ye) a ew ede ADDENDUM On the doctrine of the Incarnation as held and taught by the Catholic Church of Christ in the Athanasian Creed . 99 REET GE S STALL VA ge ge ae ea atROL Sota pk ae aon LOL THROUGH CREATIVE EVOLUTION TO INCARNATION AND THE GOAL OF HUMANITY PART I THE THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Dr. Thomson on the necessary Laws of human thought and the discovery of Truth and Reality. Maw differs from the rest of the animal world in that he thinks. And what is, or ought to be, the end and object of thinking ? Surely it is the discovery and attainment of Truth and Reality. The late Dr. Thomson, Archbishop of York, in his treatise on Pure and Applied Logic, has given us an outline of the necessary laws of thought. He tells us, that applied logic teaches the appli- cation of the forms of thinking to those objects about which men do think. These objects arrange themselves under three great divisions or categories: Man, the Universe, and Absolute Being. When the view we take of objects is substantially correct ; when our thoughts corre- spond with facts, we are said to be in possession 1 B 2 CREATIVE EVOLUTION of the truth. And thus we obtain a definition of what truth really means. CRITERIA OF TRUTH Dr. Thomson asks, “‘Is a philosophic criterion of Truth possible?” The following is his reply : “The history of science shows how slow has been the advance; and how largely the sand and mud of error have been mixed with the gold grains of Truth. . . . Hence if we have to answer the question, whether a criterion of Truth is possible, we answer that the sole means of establishing the Truth, and therefore the sole standard for testing the truth of any proposition, is to be found in Evidence.”?! But (he adds) that in special cases where other criteria appear to be applied, as in the discussion whether religious truth is to be tried by external testimony or internal conviction ; whether historical evidence or the religious sentiment is the best criterion, the dispute is only as to the kind of evidence that shall take precedence. Two OTHER CRITERIA: CAUSALITY AND EXPERIENCE But, in addition to Hvidence, as perhaps the chief and most general criterion of Truth and Logical Reasoning and Thought, there are two 1 Outlines of the Laws of Thought, pp. 210-213. THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 3 others I should like to mention, which I have found of great value, and shall frequently have occasion to make use of in the course of the present inquiry. They are, first, the principle of Causality, which is usually expressed in the Latin dictum, “ H nthilo nihil fit’, —out of nothing nothing can come. For every effect produced there must be a sufficient cause, if only we can find it. And, secondly, Experience, which is a most reliable test of the truths of our reasoning, our concepts and conclusions. Tue Untry AND SOLIDARITY OF ALL TRUTH There is yet another remark JI should like to make about Dr. Thomson’s Laws of Thought. In speaking of the objects about which men do think, he says, they arrange themselves under three divisions of inquiry: Man, the Universe, and Absolute Being. This is true in the main; but, in addition, is there not a vast,nay a boundless, region of inquiry and knowledge which arises from the correlation and complexities of these three primary objects of thought one with another? And, therefore, the first task of philosophy is to grasp this idea of the solidarity and unity of Truth, which springs from the correlation and co-ordination of the several constituent branches of knowledge and discovery. A CREATIVE EVOLUTION Tur CORRELATION OF ALL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE Man, The Universe, and Absolute Being are not like separate water-tight compartments of knowledge. They are all closely connected and correlated, and it is the part of Philosophy to trace the connection between them and establish the unity and solidarity of that truth which underlies them all. The most perfect knowledge of any one subject, or class of subjects, whether physical or meta- physical, whether psychical, moral, or spiritual, is not enough to satisfy the requirements of Philosophy, unless at the same time it con- tributes to the establishment of Truth in every branch of human knowledge and investigation, and in accordance with the principles of applied logic, which is the science of the necessary laws of human thought. CHAPTER II THE NEED FOR A FIRST CAUSE OR PRIUS The difference between Evolution by Emergence and Creative ' Evolution—Discovery of the Electron and new theory of Matter—Materialism found wanting. EvoLuTION and Creative Evolution are not identical terms, and the distinction between them must not be overlooked, for to do so may lead to serious misconception. Evolution in itself is nothing more than the unrolling or mani- festation of some hidden facts or phenomena, no matter what. But Creative Evolution means far more than this. For, unless we are prepared to deny the truth of the time-honoured dictum, out of nothing nothing can come, we are sure that behind or within the process of Creative Evolution there must be some Creative Energy, call it Prius, or First Cause, or what you will, which sets the Process to work in the first instance, and animates and sustains it throughout the whole course of its development. Evolution, in short, so long as it stands alone is only the method which some Creative Energy has chosen for the increase and perfection of life, but which, apart from that Energy, could produce nothing. 6 - QREATIVE EVOLUTION We are bound, then, to assume that for all the infinite changes which through the cosmic process of Creative Evolution have been effected there must exist some uncaused Cause or Prius, some Self-existent Being, Who is the secret Mainspring, the animating Principle of Evolution, and the Source whence all its vital energy is derived. What may be the nature of that Creative Energy it will be our duty to try and discover, by the use of such assistance as Nature or Science or Philosophy may afford. Will Materialism help us in our search? I do not think so. For what is Matter ? We are told by Professor A. J. Thomson (in his book Outlhne of Science!) and others that, according to the new scientific view of Matter, “‘Every atom of matter of whatever kind throughout the whole universe is built up of electrons in conjunction with ‘a nucleus. From the smallest atom of all—the atom of hydrogen—to a heavy complicated atom of gold, we have only to do with positive and negative units of electricity. The electron and its nucleus are particles of electricity. The atoms of matter combine and form molecules. Atoms and mole- cules are the bricks out of which Nature has built up everything—ourselves, the earth, the stars, the whole universe.”’ + For the primary entity which constitutes Matter itself, see pp. 194 ff. THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 7 Sir Ernest Rutherford discovered that three distinct and different rays were given off by such metals as radium and uranium, which he named the Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays. The Beta rays were found to be the most interesting discovery science has ever made At first, these rays were thought to be a fourth state of Matter ; but this, on further investigation, was found not to be the case. They were in fact a new property of Matter common to all atoms. The Beta rays were later called Electrons. They are particles of disembodied electricity, says Prof. Thomson, here spontaneously liberated from the atoms of Matter (p. 191). They occupy an exceedingly small volume, and their mass in entirely electrical. They are the key to half the mysteries of Matter (p. 192). If, then, as seems probable, Electricity will be shown to be the basis of Matter, how vain to look to Materialism for a solution of the problem of the Prius! To do so would be more futile and hopeless than looking for a needle in a bottle of hay, for it would be looking for that which is not there to be found. Klectricity can do, and has already done, many wonderful things; but it cannot make, or account for, the thinking mind of man, how much less for the Creative Prius, which is the mind of God ! CHAPTER III OUR MATERIALS Section JI.: Ourselves—Section If.: Our Environment. Section I. : Ourselves—Man as we know him; his faculties of three kinds: (a) Conative and Acquisitive Faculties ; (b) Cognitive or Knowledge Faculties; (¢) Moral and Spiritual Faculties—Inferences and conclusions. Section II.: Our Environment—Definition of the Term—Points of correspondence between Ourselves and our Environment —Common origin—Adaptation, Consciousness, Response— Nature and Consciousness—The Universe—The Living Body of the Living God—Plato. See also Dr. Jacks on A Living Universe. LET us now turn our attention to those materials to which we have limited ourselves in our en- deavour to frame a theory of Evolution in accord with the three criteria of Truth and Reality, namely, Hvidence, Causahiy and Haperience. Those materials, the reader will remember, were to be: (1st) Ourselves ; (2nd) Our Environment. SHCTION I.—OURSELVES What does experience and scientific investiga- tion teach us about ourselves ? 8 THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 9 Wuat 1s Man ? That Man, as we know him, is an intelligent, personal, self-conscious creature, endowed with many faculties of body, mind and spirit, by which he is able not only to perceive the phenomena which form his environment, but also to reason upon them and draw inferences and conclusions from them; and thus he is able to live and grow and obtain from his Environment—which is the Universe—the supply of all his wants and all that seems calculated to make his life brighter, happier, and better in every sense of the word. Of these faculties and endowments some appear to be innate, or instinctive, and others acquired. Amongst the former should be specially men- tioned : (a) The Conative and Acquisitive Faculties, such as “ The will to live.” (b) The Cognitive or Knowledge Faculties, including Consciousness, a perception of the difference between Good and Evil, and the power of choice in respect to them. (c) Moral and Spiritual Faculties.—Under the evolutionary process of growth and development Man has become a moral and spiritual agent, capable not only of intellectual, but also of moral and spiritual perceptions which have led to the important discovery of the so-called “* real values ”’ 10 CREATIVE EVOLUTION of life, and the xsthetic appreciation and desire for them. SHCTION II.—OUR ENVIRONMENT We now come to the second class or collection of materials within our reach and at our disposal for framing a theory of Evolution and Creative Evolu- tion, namely, our Environment. But how shall we define it, and what doesit stand for ? Literally it means nothing more than that which surrounds us. But, again, do we know all that does surround us ? Clearly and obviously we do not; and there may be, and doubtlessly there are, many things in our Environment of which we are neither perceptive nor conscious. For example, who ever dreamed, only a very few years ago, of the marvels of radium and radio-activity, of ether and Hertzian waves and telephony? So, again, we must seek a better definition of our Environment, even if a more limited one, and one more in accordance with our capacities of perception and conscious- ness. I would suggest the following: our Environ- ment stands for all that we perceive by our senses in the outer material world, and all that we become conscious of by our mental and spiritual faculties, instincts or intuitions. THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 11 NATURE AND THE UNIVERSE: NATURE Everything in Nature that has life has some degrees of consciousness. This is true in the vegetable as well as in the animal world. More- over, in the evolutionary process the stage of development to which any vital organism has attained may be known and classified by the degree of consciousness it acquired of its environ- ment. Thus consciousness has become the best index and criterion of the life of each individual organism. But consciousness is not the only quality or faculty possessed by every vital organism. THe Witt to LIvE Side by side with consciousness there is also “the will to live,’? which means the desire to increase and grow, to make use of all the means which Nature has provided for gaining the knowledge of what will make its life better and fuller, more beautiful, happy and prosperous. Tor UNIVERSE.! WHAT IS 1T? If I were asked to say in few words what I think about the Universe, I should reply: It is 1 Tt is thus that Plato concludes his discourse on the Universe : ‘We are now at length to say that our discourse about the Universe has reached its conclusion; for, not only containing, but full of mortal and immortal creatures it has thus been formed. a visible Entity (=an animated Being), embracing things visible, a sensible God of the intelligible, the greatest, best and most perfect—this one only-begotten Universe,”’—The Timeus. 12 CREATIVE EVOLUTION the Living Body of the Living God. It is the dwelling-place of that Prius, or Uncreated First Cause, Who, while He is transcendent above all things, is by His Spirit immanent in all things. When I think about the Universe, the eloquent words of the Hebrew Psalmist! involuntarily recur to my mind, and seem to form the fittest expression of my thoughts. ** Whither shall I go from thy spirit ? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there : If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ; Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me,” ete. The concept of the Universe as the Body of God seems both truthful and comforting. For if, as Aristotle held, the Universe is “full of reason,” and reason is really the mind of the Prius who is the uncaused Cause and Architect of the Universe, then, indeed, it may fitly be called the “ Body of God.”’ Then follows the edifying, uplifting thought, that we are also part of this magnificent Cosmos ; nay, that we are the offspring of its Divine Founder. He is our Father, and this mighty Universe is the book and the language in which He is ever teaching His children about Himself, His power, His wisdom and His love.” 1 Psalm cxxxix. 7-12. 2 Let us never forget that as we are one with the Universe, so we shall share its Life and its Destiny. CHAPTER IV CONSCIOUSNESS Consciousness compared to a ladder—What does it mean ?— Its implications—The constant accompaniment and expres- sion of life—The Universe the school and storehouse of Con- sciousness—The growth and development of Consciousness. Consciousness I think may not inaptly be com- pared to a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, by which vital organisms may ascend from one degree of knowledge to another of that Universe which forms their environment. Kach vital organism, from the amceba to the Man, deriving its origin from the uncreated Prius, and placed by Him, with its initial instinct —the will to live and grow and acquire—finds in the Universe the school and storehouse of that knowledge, which goes by the name of Con- sciousness. But what is Consciousness? Literally, Con scientia, from which we derive the word, means “the science of knowing together with another, whether person or thing.” (Ist) It denotes awareness and perception of environment, and some of its contents. (2nd) It is accompanied by a sense, or feeling, 13 14 CREATIVE EVOLUTION of the want of some thing, which the environ- ment is fitted to supply. (8rd) Discrimination and choice between what is good and suitable, and what is the reverse. (4th) Wall and resolution to act in accordance with the foregoing sentiments. (5th) Response between the organism and its environment by the Universe, of which it forms part. ) All these are implied in the nature and con- stitution of Consciousness; and for this reason Consciousness is rightly regarded as the truest index and expression of life. Consciousness, in short, is that form of mental or spiritual activity, which is the constant accom- paniment and expression of life from its earliest dawn, whether in the vegetable or animal king- dom, to its highest development in the soul and spirit of Man. It is like a golden thread, which runs through all creation and forms the common tie, which unites the creature to its Creator. Hach successive increment to our knowledge of the Universe, secured through the sensory or intellectual faculties of the observer, not only increases his stock of knowledge and conscious- ness of his environment, but enables him to gain further, deeper, fuller insights into the marvels and mysteries of Creative Evolution, and thus makes him more conscious of the purpose and perfection of the Almighty. THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 15 It is by such a process of increase in conscious- ness that Man has become the moral and spiritual being we know him to be. And by a continuance of the same process, to which no limit can be assigned, he may still make further advances in all that is good and true and beautiful. NATURE AND THE UNIVERSE REGARDED AS THE SCHOOL AND STOREHOUSE OF CON- SCIOUSNESS For reasons such as those given above, Nature and the Universe may fitly be named the school and storehouse of Consciousness, because in and from them, throughout the whole process of Evolution, every vital organism, and pre- eminently mankind, have ever been learning lessons in consciousness and knowledge of that Infinite Universe which is the Living Body of the Living God. CHAPTER V RESPONSE The process of Creative Evolution not played out—Via hominis Visto Deti—What is Response ?—Dr. E. 8. Russell’s Three Questions, etc.—Addendum. In the Cathedral Close at Lincoln, on the statue erected to the memory of the late Lord Tennyson the following lines of his are inscribed : ** Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies, I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little flower—but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, Il should know what God and Man is.”’ Now, I have quoted these lines for a double purpose. First, because they exhibit a clear and comprehensive insight into the problem of Creative Evolution; and, secondly, because I think they will form a fitting introduction to the study and discussion of Response, which, as Dr. Russell suggests, is one of the fundamental principles of vital activity, on which the whole subject of Creative Evolution depends: ‘* What is the living thing that responds ?”’ 16 THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 17 THE MEANING OF RESPONSE The function of Response in the theory of Creative Evolution is of such great importance, that it should be thoroughly grasped and under- stood. Nor do I think my readers will have much difficulty in doing this, if they will remember those points of correspondence, simi- larity and adaptation between the organism and its environment arising from their community and affinity in respect to their origin. That, which the vital germ-cell requires for its support, growth and development on its first and earliest.emergence on the scale of Life, this the Environment is fitted to supply. Tur UNIVERSE FULL OF REASON For Creative Evolution has taught us, that the vital organism is part of, and one with, its Environment, which is the Infinite Cosmos. And, secondly, that the Universe is not a dead but a living thing; that it is, as Aristotle held, full of reason, which is the expression of the mind of that Creative Spirit or Prius Who dwells in it as His Body. Let us but accept and realize these facts and we shall cease to wonder at Response and begin to understand what it means, from its earliest example in the amceba or the diatom to its highest C 18 CREATIVE EVOLUTION development in the mind of the philosopher or the soul of the saint. WHAT IS RESPONSE ? Response, as it is used to denote one of the activities involved in Creative Evolution, is certainly something more than mere reflex action, whether material, mechanical or electric; for it is an activity which involves consciousness as a result of the interaction between the two correspondents—(1) the living thing or vital organism which is conscious of a want, and (2) environment, which responds in answer to that want. Hence Response involves consciousness, per- ception, adaptation and intelligent action and reaction. And it seems to me that it is this continued and continuous action of Response that constitutes one of the main factors of the process of Creative Evolution. Only let us remember that Nature and the Universe are the united expression of the infinite attributes of the Creative Prius, His Wisdom, Love and Power; for, if we do this, there will be little difficulty in understanding what is meant by Response. We shall see that it is no fiction or flight of the imagination, but is supported both by experience and science; and that that Life, from its lowliest primitive form, as in the ameceba, THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 19 to its highest refinement and perfection, becomes, or will become, possible. For it is by the continuous response of the germ-plasm, or vital organism, to the stimulus and call of its environment in the Universe that the soul or spirit of Man passes upwards through the successive stages of knowledge to the consciousness of God and His attributes of Virtue, Truth and Love. Speaking of Response, Dr. Russell says: * Both structure and function (of the organism) are included and implied in the concept of Response. Function is not the mechanical out- come of structure, as the materialistic interpre- tation implies, nor is it some mysterious influence moulding structure as the Lamarckian doctrine would have us believe.” ! Tort NEED FOR A SELF-DETERMINING MIND But to say that it is the Universe which responds to the vital organism would be useless, unless it could be reasonably inferred, that ‘““Immanent in Nature and the Universe there must be somehow, and somewhere a Self-determin- ing Mind, 1.e. a creative spiritual principle.” ? 1 Still less, I would add, can it be the blind result of chance or necessity, as the Theory of Complexes would imply. 2 Rev. J. R. Cohu, Through Evolution to the Living God, p. 164. 20 CREATIVE EVOLUTION Dr. RUSSELL’S THREE QUESTIONS ABOUT RESPONSE Dr. Russell asks three primary questions: 1. What end is the living thing seeking to achieve ? 2. What individual or hereditary instinct impels it ? 3. What is the sense-world to which it is responding ? These are very pertinent questions, and deserve very careful consideration. But I would say, at the outset, that I believe they are only capable of discussion and elucidation when viewed from the standpoint of Creative Evolution. Take the first question, “'The end the living thing is seeking to attain ? ”’ The answer will vary according to the rank or position the living thing occupies in the scale and process of Evolution. And these will depend on the degree of consciousness acquired by the organism. In the lowest orders of animal or vegetable life it will amount to nothing more than the will and instinct to live. In the highest rank of human life and intelligence, it may seek to conquer the world, or attain to a higher sphere of spiritual life. Second question.—‘‘ What individual or here- ditary instinct impels it ?” THEORY OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 21 Do we know, in the first place, what instinct is ? Is it not something which is inserted, or stung into the vital organism ? ! What that something is can only be known by the way it shows itself, and by the effects it produces. But experience teaches us that Instinct requires two things: first an Instigator, and secondly the instigation ; for without both, there can be no instinct and no response. Third question—* What is the sense-world to which the organism responds ? ”’ In the literal sense, only one answer is possible. The sense-world is the Hnvironment, in which the organism is placed. But this is only a superficial answer, which throws little or no light on the secret of Response. And, indeed, I believe it is only after realizing the secret bond of affinity, which binds together the organism with its environment, that we can understand the inner spiritual meaning of Response. Until we have done this, we are only out- siders. But neither Creative Evolution nor Christian Philosophy will allow us to remain satis- fied with such a position and answer. Moreover, I entertain a good hope that the second part of this work, namely, Creative Evolution in Practice, may throw considerable light on this very question. 1 Root Lat. in and stinguere=to prick in, or goad on. 22 CREATIVE EVOLUTION ADDENDUM TO PART I Another theory of Evolution which has recently been propounded by Professor Alexander, and supported by Mr. Wells and some others, is what may perhaps be called, to give it a name, the Emergent or Complexional Theory. A notice of this theory by Dr. W. R. Matthews, Dean of King’s College, has appeared in The Guardian of December 24, 1925, also in The Church of England Newspaper. All I wish to say about the theory, at the present time, is this: that, after careful con- sideration, I do not see how such a theory can ever be brought into accord either with Creative Evolution or the doctrines and conclusions of Christian Philosophy. On the contrary, I share Dr. Matthews’ apprehensions. For, as far as I understand the theory, it appears to be an inversion of the first Necessary Law of Human Thought; that Cause must precede Effect ; for it makes God the creature but not the Cause of His works, or, to make use of a more familiar comparison, “‘ [t puts the cart before the horse.” PART II THE RESULTS OF PRACTICAL WORKING OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Havine devoted the first Part of this treatise to the theory of Creative Evolution, we come now to consider in the second Part some of the practical results of the theory. The reader will not fail to have observed, that the leading characteristic which pervades the whole process of Creative Evolution is that of Conscious- ness. But this is true not only of Creative Evolu- tion in theory, but also inits practical and working results. Increase in consciousness of our environment cannot fail to influence our behaviour as denizens of that environment, upon which the happiness and success of life mainly depends, My readers will also remember, that in endea- vouring to discover and frame a true theory of Evolution, I took nothing for granted; but made the two empirical facts of Ourselves and our En- vironment as the basis and groundwork on and from 23 24. CREATIVE EVOLUTION which to build up my theory. Logic and reason as- sured me of the truth of the Law of Causation ; and that, as out of nothing nothing can come, we are com- pelled to believe in the existence of a Prius or First Cause, Eternal, Uncreated and Supreme. And if logic and necessity, and experience assure us of His existence, so our faculties of observation and reason enable us to form conclusions as to His nature and attributes. Only in this case we have to remember, that both we ourselves, such as we are, and our environment are the product and work of the process of Creative Evolution, which has been going forward for countless eons to which neither date nor limit can be assigned, but which, without doubt, go back many millions of years before the appearance of Man on the earth. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CREATIVE EVOLU- TION AND INCARNATION But though Creative Evolution and Incarna- tion both proceed from the same Source, and are manifestations of the same Divine Will and Energy, they have not the same plane and sphere of operation ; nor is it difficult to detect the tie, or bond, which unites them together. Had there been no process of Evolution, or similar process of Creation, to call into being creatures capable of receiving further and fuller expressions of the Divine influence, there would RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 25 have been no room for the Incarnation. It would have been simply impossible. So that it may be said with truth, that Evolu- tion was ancillary to, and a preparation for, that higher life of Spiritual union and communion between God and man, which through the Incarnation has been made possible with such blessed results for humanity ; and, further, that as the Source from which life and vital energy take their rise is of the moral and spiritual order, so Creative Evolution in the higher plane and sphere of its activity must be of the same order. THEORY OF MATERIALISM REJECTED No theory of Materialism will suffice to account for, or explain, the facts which are disclosed by Creative Evolution. Any such theory, therefore, must be discarded. But what is Infe? Tagree with Prof. Bergson that it cannot be better conceived of, or described, than as a form of consciousness, for Consciousness is the clue which runs through all the orders and organisms of life, from the lowliest lichen which clings to the rock, to the intelligent, aspiring soul of the philosopher or the saint; and Evolution is the method, or process, chosen by the Creator for revealing Himself to His creatures and leading them onward and upward by the steps of a gradual increase of consciousness to perfection. 26 CREATIVE EVOLUTION Toe Wes or LIFE ‘* A general survey of the Animal Kingdom will bring us finally to Evolution—the great process in which the present is the child of the past and the parent of the future. ‘“* One of the ideas, that has worked like leaven in Natural History, is Darwin’s idea of The Web of Iife. The great Naturalist meant by this, that the circle of every creature’s life intersects other circles. Nothing lives or dies to itself. The threads of different lives are woven together, and sometimes knotted.” ! And, again, in his latest book on Evolution in the Inght of Modern Knowledge, Prof. Thomson writes: ‘“‘ Science and Religion move in different planes which do not intersect; and they cannot be thought to contradict each other, except by a confusion of thinking.” This is perfectly true. But if my theory of Creative Evolution be sound and correct, it is not enough to say there is no opposition between Science and Religion. Christian Philosophy and Creative Evolution bid us take a further step, and say “they support and confirm each other.” For Science means the discovery of the laws which govern Nature and the Universe; and the essen- tial character and claim of Creative Evolution is that it is the work of a Divine and Omnipotent 1 From The Web of Life, Chap. I. in Prof. J. A. Thomson’s New Natural History, p. 5. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 27 Creator; and the Laws of Nature are the Laws of God. SoME ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION There are certain features and characteristics of the process of Creative Evolution to which I should like to call special attention, and which should never be ignored. They are— (Ist) ts Continuity It would be a great mistake to suppose it was played out, and no longer in operation. It is still in active opera- tion, but in ever-ascending modes and planes of manifestation. The physical leads on to, and prepares the way for, the metaphysical ; the mental and moral for the spiritual and religious. (2nd) lis Solidarity—By which I mean the unity and harmony which bind all things together in their multiplicity and variety. (3rd) Lis Objectivity. Namely, the design and ultimate purpose of the creative Prius for the happiness and perfection of mankind in union and communion with their Creator, which is the final Goal of Humanity. Finally.—I am convinced that Creative Evo- lution, rightly understood, will furnish us with the key to unlock many of the problems connected with the origin, development and object of human life. | CHAPTER II THE FAITHS OF THE WORLD The Supernatural—Three Examples: Babylonian, Persian, and Semitic—Reason for selection—Babylonian sacred liturgy: (1) Hymns to the gods; (2) Penitential Psalms ; (3) Litanies—The Parsees—The Semitic, Hebrew and Jewish forms. THERE is scarcely a race of men or a nation which does not possess some form of religious instinct, belief and worship, however primitive and imper- fect. And the whole subject of the faiths of the world is of great interest and importance in relation to the evolution of the religious con- Sclousness. Moreover, amongst these people, nations and languages to whom the message of salvation through the Incarnation of Christ had never come, it is astonishing to find in several instances how near an approach was made to a conception and worship of the one true God.! * Baron von Hiigel in his Philosophy of Religion, p. 134, makes the following remark: “The Unincarnate God had thus a wider range—that is in the Faiths of the world—though a less deep message than the Incarnate God; yet these two Gods are but “One and the same God, Who mysteriously ... ex- presses and otherwise aids Himself in each way by the other way. ”’ 28 RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 29 Tur SUPERNATURAL It seems probable that the perception and idea of the supernatural, awakened by the sight of the wonderful phenomena of Nature, which the beholder could neither understand nor explain, formed the first stepping-stone by which our primitive ancestors commenced their ascent from the lower stage of animal instinct and propensity, into the upper range of moral and _ spiritual realities and a consciousness of the Divine Being. Men began to realize the fact that above the natural there must be a supernatural, and above the earthly a heavenly sphere of existence, the habitation of a supreme Deity, Who was the author of the wonderful works they beheld and Who was therefore the fitting object of their worship and belief. But at the same time the subject is one so vast and various, that neither time nor space will permit me to discuss it in detail. As to the forms of faith themselves, their name is legion, and the differences which they present are corre- spondingly great; out of these, therefore, I must select two or three of the more important, namely, the Babylonian, the Parsees and the Semitic or Hebrew. My reasons for making this selection are as follows: 1. The Babylonian, as embracing the Accadian 30 CREATIVE EVOLUTION and Sumerian and Chaldee tribes of Mesopo- tamia, and also as affording some excellent examples of the evolution and development of the religious sentiment amongst these nations even before they had received any Divine revela- tion from above. 2. The Parsees. My reason for selecting the Parsees is because they afford us an interesting specimen of the natural growth of the religious sentiment and faith which sprang up amongst our Aryan ancestors, who dwelt in Iran, the region not far from Persia. They were mono- theists and adored and worshipped one Supreme Being whom they invested with the highest known honours and qualities, and to whom they gave such various names as Varana Ouranos, the Encircling One; or Dyaus and Zeus, the Shining One, whence of course we have derived our more familiar form of Deus. 3. My reasons for selecting the Hebrew and Jewish forms of faith are: first, because they represent the great Semitic family of language and religion, which the Almighty seems to have specially chosen for making known His will and revelations to mankind. And, secondly, because we must regard the Semitic family and their religious faith as the parent stock from and through whom we have received our Christian faith and worship, and of the Catholic Religion of the Incarnation. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 31 It is hardly possible to doubt, that the sacred literature of the Babylonian tribes of Mesopotamia exercised no small influence on the formation of the Hebrew Liturgy and sacred historical records ; and consequently on parts of the Old Testament Scriptures of the Bible.! SUMERIAN AND BABYLONIAN SACRED WRITINGS The following extracts, drawn from the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian Liturgy and forms of worship, used in the great Temple of Nannar, the Sun-god, at Ur of the Chaldees, are of great interest, as showing how at that early date, between three and four thousand years B.c., the worshippers had risen to a consciousness of the Divine Prius and some of His more important attributes—His Supremacy and Truth. The interest for us Christians is enhanced because it was here where Abram was born, and he too may have been amongst the worshippers before he received his call from God. The city of Ur was famous for many years as the chief centre of the worship of the Moon- god, in which Father Nannar was the presiding Deity. 1 It is thought probable by some critics that some of the psalms and hymns which are found in our English Psalter, whose authorship is unknown, if not direct importations, were at least framed by Jewish psalmists and musicians on the models set them by these ancient composers. 32 CREATIVE EVOLUTION Extensive excavations are now going forward at Ur, and some very interesting discoveries have been made, to be followed doubtless by others equally, or still more interesting. Amongst the former are the remains of a temple used by the priests of the Persian period. Whether they were Parsees or not I cannot say. SUMERIAN, ACCADIAN AND BABYLONIAN RECORDS These sacred writings are of three kinds or classes: (1) Hymns to the gods; (2) Penitential Psalms, and (3) Litanies. I give a specimen of each. (1) Hymns to the Gods The hymns to the gods disclose generally a state of religious polytheism—of gods many and lords many—but with a tendency to monotheism and the consciousness of a Divine immanence in Nature and the Universe, and the Fatherhood of God, as in the hymn to Father Nannar. The following extracts from the Accadian Hymn to Father Nannar are interesting and important for the light they throw on the nature of the worship of the Moon-god, practised at Ur of the Chaldees, the city where Abram was born and lived for many years, and where a ritual was performed similar to that carried on in honour of Merodach at Babylon.! + The hymn is quoted by Sayce, pp. 160-162. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 33 HYMN TO FATHER NANNAR “Lord, and Prince of the gods, who in heaven and earth is supreme ? Father Nannar, Lord of Ur, Prince of the gods, Father Nannar, Lord of the Temple of the Mighty Light, Prince of the gods, Father, begotten of the Universe, Dluminator of living beings, Lord, the Ordainer of the laws of heaven and earth, Whose command may not be broken. As for Thee, Thy will hath created law and justice, so that mankind has established law. Merciful One, begotten of the Universe, Who founds His illustrious seat among living creatures, Father, long-suffering, and full of forgiveness, Whose hand upholds the life of all mankind, Lord, Thy divinity, like the far-off, fills the wide sea with fear ; As for Thee, Thy will is made known in heaven, and the angels bow their faces ; As for Thee, Thy will is made known upon earth, and the spirits kiss the ground ; As for Thee, Thy will is done on the earth, and the herb grows green. Look with favour on Ur, Let the high-born dame ask rest of Thee, O Lord, Let the free-born man ask rest of Thee, O Lord, Let the spirits of heaven and earth ask rest of Thee, O Lord.” 1 HYMN TO MERODACH “ © King of the land, Lord of the world, King of Babylon, heaven and earth are thine ; 1 The reader can scarcely fail to be struck with the many marks of resemblance contained in this magnificent hymn with the Benedicite omnia opera and some of the nature psalms in our own English psalter. D 34. CREATIVE EVOLUTION All round heaven and earth is Thine, The spell that giveth life is Thine, The holy writing of the mouth of the deep is Thine ; Mankind, even the black-headed men, The living creatures, as many as pronounce a name, and exist in the earth, The angels of the hosts of heaven and earth, whatever be their number,” etc.1 (2) Penitential Psalms The Penitent : ** Ever look upon me, and accept my prayer. Say ‘How long shall my heart be wroth ?’ and let Thy liver 2 be quieted, When, O my mistress, shall thy countenance be turned to pardon ? Like a dove, I mourn; on sighs do I feast myself.” Priest : ‘** From woe and lamentation is his liver rested, He weeps tears, he utters a cry.” “OQ my mistress, from the day when I was little, am I yoked unto evil. Food I have not eaten ; weeping has been my veil. Water I have not drunk; tears have been my drink, My heart has rejoiced not ; my liver has not been enlight- ened. My trangressions are many ; Absolve my sin, lift up my countenance.” 3 (3) The Litanies These are specially noteworthy, because they are expressions on the part of the worshipper of 1 P. 502, Sayce. 2 The liver seems to have been used as the bodily seat of the religious and spiritual emotions, where we should say the heart. 5 P, 522, Sayce. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 35 a deep consciousness and abhorrence of sin, as an offence in the sight of a Holy God, which deserves punishment ; and, secondly, of an earnest desire for pardon and reconciliation. LITANIES TO THE Gops ! LITANY No. 1 “May Thy life make my life like a crystal, may it grant mercy ; O my God, and my goddess, Who judge me, may my land be blessed like gold in the mouth of men, Like a seal may my troubles be sent far away. “In Thy sight may my name and my double be guided aright ; May the medicines and the rites which are established before Thee put away all that is harmful.” LITANY No. 2 ** May the bondage of wickedness and sin explain to the man the curse, May the lifting up of the hand and the invocation of the great gods, In Thy sight, O strong one, ask for the command ; Like the heavens may I be pure when enchantments befall me ; Like the earth may I be bright in the time of evil witch- craft Like the midst of heaven may I shine, may I make the multitude of my evils to fear.” THE PARSEES Another typical and conspicuous example of the natural growth and development—if I may 1 Sayce’s Hibbert Lectures, 1887, p. 558. 36 CREATIVE EVOLUTION use the term ‘‘natural”’ in this sense—in mankind of religious consciousness is afforded by the religious history of the Parsees of India. They came origin- ally from Persia and settled in India.! Because it is part of their religious ritual to keep a fire burning continually in their places of worship, they have been called Fire-worshippers. But the name is a misnomer; for they do not worship Fire, but only use it as the most appropriate and expressive symbol of the one Supreme Being whom they call Ahura Mazda—the all-pervading Spirit of the Universe. Zoroaster was his prophet, who taught his disciples that the world is in a state of conflict between the powers of Good and Evil; between the Good which will exalt and save them, and the Evil which will debase and drag them down to destruction and death. In his writings and doctrine Zoroaster lays stress on six of the Divine attributes of the Supreme Being: the Spirit of Goodwill, the Good Mind, Truth and Right, Holy Sovereignty, Benevolent Devotion, Love, Perfection. One can scarcely read the above brief descrip- tion of the Zoroastrian religion without being struck with its resemblance in some important respects to the Biblical story of Creation, recorded in the early chapters of Genesis, especially that relating 1 And, as we learn now from recent explorations, even at Ur of the Chaldees. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 37 to the struggle between the powers of Good and Kvil.! THe SEmMITIC FAMILY The form of religious faith and worship as developed amongst the Hebrews and Jews, as representing the great Semitic family of nations. The Semitic family of languages has three main languages, the Arabic—which may be neglected for our present purpose—the Aramaic and Hebrew. The Aramaic includes the languages and tribes of Aram (Syria)—the Highlands with its dialects Syriac, Chaldee and Assyrian. On the other hand, of the Hebrew of the early religious history of the Hebrews, and by what successive steps they and their form of faith and worship attained the position of pre-eminence above all other forms, we are in comparative ignorance. Suffice it to say that it did so; and for this reason it would seem probable that the Almighty selected these people as the medium through whom to make known His will and intentions concerning mankind. Whether this be so or not, the fact remains— and a fact it is of the utmost significance to the whole human race—that to these same Hebrews 1 For some of the above information about the Parsees and their religion, I am indebted to the work of D. IJ. Irani, entitled The Divine Songs of Zarathustra. Rabindranath Tagore has written the Introduction. 38 CREATIVE EVOLUTION and Jews and their more highly developed form of faith and worship we are indebted for the most important and purest form of truth the world has ever seen or ever can see—the Faith of Christendom. CHAPTER III THE SEMITIC TRIBES—HEBREW AND JEWISH THe THESIS THROUGH Creative Evolution to Incarnation and the Goal of Humanity. Such is the thesis I have to maintain in this and the subsequent chapters of this Treatise. We have seen what was apparently the work and purpose accomplished by Creative Evolution. It was the method chosen by the Almighty for so developing and preparing the human race, that they might be capable of receiving a further and fuller manifestation of the Divine purpose and will concerning mankind by the Incarnation of His Son Jesus Christ. It is this preparation to which I desire now to invite the earnest study and attention of my readers, and which led up to the Revelation of God in Christ as received by the Catholic Church and held and taught by the Apostles themselves ; on them and the witness they afford I am content 39 40 CREATIVE EVOLUTION to take my stand without further inquiry at this point. What men want to know is the nature and meaning of the Incarnation. And I think the truest estimate of the person and work of Jesus will be gained by the examination and careful study of three traits in His character. Tur Brste Recorp or CREATION The Bible story of Creative Evolution, con- - tained in the three first chapters of Genesis, tells us how God, when He had created our first parents Adam and Eve, placed them in the beautiful garden of Eden, in which were planted two trees— one the Tree of Life, the other the Tree of Know- ledge of Good and Evil. He treated them as already fully developed, intelligent, responsible _ creatures; and gave them at the same time a commandment and a warning (Gen. ii. 15-17). “ Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”’ But, through the subtilty and malice of the Serpent, Eve was tempted to eat of the forbidden tree; she gave to her husband and he did eat: and so they both incurred the displeasure of the Almighty, Who, as a punishment, expelled them from Eden and pronounced His judgment on RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 41 each of the three offenders—the Serpent, Eve and Adam. The judgment pronounced on the Serpent, the chief offender, is for mankind by far the most important, because it contains the following significant promise, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head; and thou shalt bruise his heel ”’ (Gen. iii. 15). Such in briefest outline is the Bible story of the temptation and fall of man through the diabolic agency of the archspirit of Evil. The language and the form in which the story was couched was, indeed, of a highly figurative, allegorical and anthropomorphic description, and cannot be literally interpreted and understood. THe BisLE RECORD AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE But, when it has been divested of its earthly and anthropomorphic and humanistic setting, it becomes easy to perceive and appreciate the moral and spiritual truths and lessons the story was intended to teach. Tur PrincrepaAL Lessons TAUGHT - These lessons I venture to suggest may be briefly summarized as follows : (1) The moral responsibility of mankind with regard to the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the choice to be made between them. 42 CREATIVE EVOLUTION (2) The existence of a personal spirit or principle of evil, in constant opposition to God, and ever seeking to tempt mankind, and thwart God’s loving purpose concerning them. (3) The stern reality of the conflict between the powers of Good and Evil, in which the whole race of mankind is involved, and the issues of which are fraught with such momentous conse- quences for all. THE PROTEVANGELIUM (4) The promise in Gen. iii. 15, that “the Seed of the woman should bruise the Serpent’s head,’ has ever been regarded as the Protevan- gelium or first announcement of the Gospel of Peace and Salvation; an announcement which we Christians believe and trust has been, and will be, fulfilled through the Incarnation of Christ Jesus. CHAPTER IV THE CLAIMS AND TEACHING OF JESUS Section I.: On the Prius—Section II.: Life and the Universe— Section IIT. : Good and Evil—Section IV. : Truth and Free- dom—Section V.: Love—Section VI. : Work—Section VII. Prayer and Faith—Section VIII.: Jesus on the Bread of Life—Section IX.: On His Second Advent. INTRODUCTION “LEARN of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt. xi. 29). Herein is a great claim and a great promise. And who so fitted as Jesus to make the former and fulfil the latter ? For think only how much He has to tell us that we should like to know, and which He alone can reveal. For example, about— 1. Ourselves, our life, and our environment in the Universe of which we form part. 2. The Prius of Creative Evolution. 3. The Problem of Good and Evil. 4, Those real values which constitute the true worth of human life, such as Love and Truth and Beauty. 5. Socialism and the Goal of Humanity. 43 44. CREATIVE EVOLUTION On all these subjects and claims Jesus has much to teach us; either directly or by inference. And His first and most important claim,. which implies compliance with all His other claims, is that He is the Teacher sent by God with a message of health and salvation for all mankind. As such Jesus stands before us in a double capacity. By His eternal generation from His heavenly Father He is the Son of God; and by His Incarnation He has also become the Son of Man, and our human Brother. It is this twofold nature and personality of Jesus—perfect God and perfect Man—which imparts to His claims and teaching their unique value of authority, permanence and comfort. SECTION I.—ON THE PRIUS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION In the 17th chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we find the record of a remarkable prayer, attributed by the beloved Apostle to our Lord Jesus Christ, which has a very close and im- portant bearing on the subject we are now considering, namely, the Prius of Creative Evolution. In that Prayer, drawing upon the eons of His own Divine experience and remembrance, which preceded the commencement of the process of Creative Evolution, He makes the following requests to His Heavenly Father. And never RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 45 surely ascend from earth to heaven requests more full of earnest sincerity and truth. They run as follows : The first is : V. 5.—“ And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee, before the world was.” The second is ; V. 24.—“ Father, I will that they whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.”’ The third is: V. 26.—*“‘ And I have declared unto them Thy Name... that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them and I in them.” What, then, are the special conclusions or inferences we may draw from these passages with regard to the Prius, assuming they were the genuine, truthful utterance of Jesus Christ, Whom St. John calls the Word and Who he tells was ‘‘in the beginning with God, and was God.” That Prius, of Whose nature we knew nothing when framing a theory of Evolution, but Whose existence logic and necessity compelled us to assume as the self-existent uncaused Cause of all things—the great Causa causarum—we can now in some measure understand. 46 CREATIVE EVOLUTION | If such be indeed the Prius of Creative Evolu- tion, we cease any longer to wonder at the marvels it has wrought in every branch of human dis- covery and progress. All the achievements of human intelligence and intuition—the ideal mysticism of Plato, the reason and metaphysics of Aristotle, those two great pioneers in the field of Christian Philosophy and Religion; the dis- coveries of Newton in astronomy and cosmology ; the spiritual intuition of St. Augustine or Thomas Aquinas ; and even, though unacknowledged, the Elan Vital of Bergson—all these, when viewed under the light thrown upon them by the claim of Christ Jesus in regard to the Prius of Creative Evolution, cease to surprise us, because it reveals the Divine Source whence all the inspiration was derived, the holy, blessed and glorious Trinity. SECTION II.—JESUS ON LIFE AND THE UNIVERSE The claims and teaching of Jesus on the subject of Life are of such a wonderful and transcendent nature that I think they cannot fail to create the impression of the Divine character of the Speaker. Take, for example, the following : “fT am the way, the truth, and the life.” ““T am the resurrection and the life. He that liveth and believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die.” | RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 47 “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” “Tam the Bread of Life, and the bread which I shall give is My flesh. . . . For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” Some observations on the claims and teaching of Jesus on Life and The Universe. Let us take those on Life first. Life is the best and most responsible gift of God the Creator to Man His creature and ofispring. “For what doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life ?’’ (Mark viii. 36, 37). Tort WONDERFUL CONCEPT AND TEACHING OF JESUS ON LIFE Many and important are the sayings and teachings of Jesus on the subject of Life. To my mind the one that stands out pre-eminent amongst the rest is that recorded by St. John (x. 10) which reads thus: ““T came that they may have Life and may have it abundantly.”’ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (St. John iu. 16). I think so because Jesus as the Apostle of — 48 CREATIVE EVOLUTION God, and charged with His message of love, states therein definitely what was the main, great purpose and object of His Incarnation and Advent to this earth. And I confess I can attach no other meaning to His words than this—that His object was to teach mankind how they may make their lives bright and useful and happy and perfect, by learning of Him and copying His example, and so fitting themselves for the life eternal. But when Jesus spoke of Life His concept of it was of an existence far transcending that earthly life of time and space, which we share in common with the rest of the animal world. It was of an eternal existence, embracing both body and soul, mind and spirit ; a life, begun here indeed on earth, but to be continued and further developed in a far higher sphere of existence; a life to be realized in its fulness and perfection only by becoming partakers of the Divine Nature ; and therefore a life of union with God Himself. JESUS ON THE SOURCE AND ORIGIN OF LIFE There is one thing we can say with certainty about Life: it is something which Materialism alone can neither produce nor explain. It is something which the psycho-biologist must deal with; something which Bergson’s ‘‘current of life’’ carries along with it, and to which he has given the name of the Hlan Vital—the push or RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 49 leap of life; something which Prof. Wildon-Carr terms Mind Energy, the Source and Origin of Life. And if we would go further in seeking for its source and origin, I see not how we can regard it as anything less than a Divine afflatus proceeding from the Eternal Spirit Who is the Author and Giver of Life. BERGSON The following extracts from Prof. Bergson’s Creative Evolution will be interesting as showing that his own views were not very far removed from the above suggested solution. TRANSFORMATION Writing on the Cause of Transformism, he offers two theories, either (1) a plan of Vital Organization, immanent in matter; or (2) some unknown Cause of Life which develops its effects as though they generated one another. THE CURRENT OF LIFE “At a certain moment in certain points of space, a visible current has taken rise, which traversing the bodies it has organized one after another, passing from generation to generation, has become divided amongst species and distri- buted amongst individuals without losing any- thing of its force (élan), but rather intensifying in proportion to its advance ”’ (p. 27). E 50 CREATIVE EVOLUTION “At every instant, then, the results of the evolutionary process must admit of a psychological interpretation, which is the best interpretation ”’ (p. 54). ‘ On flows the current, through human genera- tions, subdividing itself into individuals. This subdivision was vaguely indicated in it, but could not have been made clear without matter. Thus souls are continually being created which never- theless in a certain sense pre-existed.! “They are nothing else than the little rills into which the great river of life divides itself, flowing through the body of Humanity ” (p. 284). “The movement of the stream is distinct from the river-bed, although it must adopt its winding course. Consciousness is distinct from the organ- ism it animates, although it must undergo its vicissitudes.”’ So, again, on page 285: ‘As the smallest grain of dust is bound up with our entire solar system . 80 all organized beings, from the humblest to the highest, from the first origins of life to the time in which we are: and in all places, as in all times, do but evidence a single impulsion, the inverse of the movement of matter, and in itself indivisible. All the living hold together, and all yield to the same tremendous push. The animal takes its stand on the plant, man _bestrides 1 Cp.: “God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life (the Spirit of God),”’ etc. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 51 animality, and the whole of humanity in space and in time is one immense army, galloping, beside and before each of us, in an overwhelm- ing charge, able to beat down every resistance and clear the most formidable obstacles, perhaps even death.”’ ! THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE UNIVERSE This may be said to have been imparted partly by way of inference to be drawn from our ex- perience of our environment, and partly from His definite or inferential claims. Some of the sayings of Jesus which have a close bearing on this subject: ‘** Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father: but the very hairs of your head are all numbered ”’ (Matt. x. 29, 30). ‘‘He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. v. 45). Yet there is one lesson of paramount importance He was never tired of 1 This paragraph gives us a tolerable idea of what Bergson means by the Hlan Vital. The late Baron von Hiigel in his Study on Hternal Infe, p. 396, wrote as follows: ‘“‘ Religion in its fullest development teaches and requires not an Eternal Life already achieved here below, nor one that isto be begun and known solely in ‘the beyond.’ But an Eternal Life already begun and truly known in part here, though fully achieved and completely understood hereafter, corresponds to the deepest longings of man’s spirit as touched by the prevenient Spirit of God.” 52 CREATIVE EVOLUTION impressing on His disciples: the duty, namely, to recognize in the physical and material Universe the energy and handiwork of the Great Artificer, our heavenly Father. OvuR KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE This knowledge is derived from two main SOUICES : (lst) Our own experience and the discoveries of Science, together with the inferences drawn therefrom by Aristotle and other philosophers. (2nd) The claims and teaching of Jesus Christ. It is only with the latter I propose to deal in this section. The following extracts from Dr. L. P. Jacks’ A living Universe are so apposite, and accord so completely with my own views, that I cannot forbear to quote them. EXTRACTS FROM Dr. Jacks’ A Living Universe Dr. Jacks, Principal of Manchester College, Oxford, in his recent publication, A Living Universe, expresses his firm belief (1) that the Universe is essentially alive, and not dead—a living Being and not a lifeless thing; and (2) that the life of this Universe expresses a moral order, and that its evolution, as we call it, is the working out of that order into fuller manifestation and _ reality (p. 116). And again: “If, then, there is any sense in which I am one with that Universe, any sense in which I am a sharer in its life, then, too, I become a sharer in its RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 53 immortality. Life and immortality, not death and mechanism, are the keywords of the real Universe, and so far as you and I are true sons of the Universe, so far as we reproduce its nature in ourselves, life and immor- tality are the keywords to our reality also ”’ (p. 118). “TI was recently hearing a distinguished man of science describing the wonders in the nebula of Andromeda— that faint mist of light in the depths of the firmament, which the naked eye can sometimes detect—magnitudes so vast, forces so stupendous, operations so immense, and yet so minute, that thought simply staggers in the presence of them. What a nebula! the particles of it, the apparent dust of it, composed of enormous bodies, many times the diameter of the sun, burning with incon- ceivable heat and swinging in beautiful orbits with inconceivable velocity.... As I listened to that astronomer, a question forced itself upon me which you, too, often have asked, when looking at the starry firma- ment above and at the moral law within—the two things, you will remember, which Kant says struck him dumb, ‘Ts all that,’ I asked myself, ‘ alive or dead 2?’ “The moral law within, that I know is alive, more intensely alive than anything else that I know of. But is its life a mere accident, a trivial by-product of the universal industries, while all the rest is stone dead 2 Or is it part of a larger and longer life, which embraces the starry firmament above, and links me in a spiritual unity with these amazing activities in the nebula of Andromeda? Of two things, one. Either the whole is alive together, moral law and starry firmament dancing to the same immortal melody ! or else the life that I have, moral law and all, is not worth very much. ‘For myself, I cannot but believe that it is all alive, not as a vegetable is alive, but as I am alive myself. “T think there is a soul in it just as there is a soul in me. 54 CREATIVE EVOLUTION ‘I cannot think of all that as dead—while you and I, and the rest of us on this insignificant planet are alive as solitary exceptions.” I should like to thank Dr. Jacks for his interest- ing volume, and tell him I cordially assent to the doctrine of a Living Universe for which he contends. I do so because it seems to me to be the logical, legitimate, and even necessary conclusion to which we are led by Bergson’s doctrine of Create Hvolution and the Hlan Vital. Without a Universe that is in some true sense alive, I do not see how the Hlan Vital could accomplish the marvellous results, which we know it does. We must remember that Bergson’s Hlan Vital represents, and is the active expression of that divine and omnipotent Energy which creates and sustains the whole process of Creative Evolution and course of Nature, of which the creature Man, personal, moral and spiritual, is the highest and last example known to us at present. If this be so, then the Hlan Vital becomes another name for the Divine Energy inherent in God and the Universe. And, again, if for every effect there must be an adequate cause, and the Hlan Vital has given birth to the personal spirit of man the creature, then the Spirit of God the Creator cannot be less, and the whole Universe becomes instinct with God. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 55 SHCTION III.—THE CLAIMS AND TEACHING OF JESUS ON GOOD AND EVIL, RIGHT AND WRONG TEXTS * Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil” (Matt. iv. 1). The following are His replies to the insidious temptations of Satan. And in every case it will be observed that the weapon used by the great Captain of our Salvation was none other than the word of the Spirit which is the Word of God. (Ist) “If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”’ ‘**Not so,” was Jesus’ reply, for ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God ”’ (v. 4). (2nd) “If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down. For it is written,” etc. (v. 6). Again came the response: “ Itis written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”’ (v. 7). (3rd) “* All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me” (v. 9). Not so. For again came the response: “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God ; and Him only shalt thou serve”’ (v. 10).! 1 The late Bishop Ellicott makes the following comment on this passage: “‘ We are brought at the outset of the narrative face to face with the problem of the existence and personality of the Power of Evil. Here, that Power and Personality are placed before us in the most distinct language.” 56 CREATIVE EVOLUTION “The Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me” (John xiv. 30). ‘The Prince of this world hath been judged” (John xvi. 11). “ T beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven ”’ (Luke x. 18). Just as the World was used to denote the principle of sin and evil in the world, so “the Prince of this world ’’ became the usual Rabbinic name for Satan. JESUS, THE INCARNATE SON OF GOD, OUR TEACHER IN RESPECT TO THE PROBLEM OF GooD AND EVIL Some of the lessons which Jesus came to teach mankind on this subject: 1. The stern reality of the conflict between the powers of Good and Evil; and the momentous consequences which are entailed for good or evil by the final issue of the conflict. 2. The power and personality of the Spirit of Kvil whose object is to thwart the loving purpose of the Creator of man, by tempting Him to sin and disobedience. 3. There are some who would deny the existence of a personal agent of Evil, that is the Devil. But did Jesus ever sanction such a view ? T think it may be confidently affirmed that He did not. When His disciples came to Him with the RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 57 request, “‘ Lord, teach us to pray,’’ He gave them the Lord’s Prayer, in which we find two petitions with special reference to the dangers of temptation by the Spirit of Evil: ‘‘ Lead us nat into temptation ; but deliver us from evil (or the Evil One).” On another occasion He called this personal Spirit of Evil, “‘ the Prince of this world who hath nothing in Me.” What else was the meaning of those forty days’ fasting in the wilderness, those night-long vigils on the mountain side or in the garden, spent in prayer and holy meditation? It was thus Jesus prepared Himself for temptation by the Evil One; and thus that He became both the Teacher and the Pattern for His disciples to follow. “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak ’’ (Matt. xxvi. 41). What claim could Jesus have made more full of comfort and encouragement than this ? One of the most beautiful and attractive features in His life and character was His never-failing sympathy with every phase of joy or sorrow. So He rejoiced at the marriage feast at Cana, and wept with the mourners at the tomb of Lazarus. And now He had been telling His disciples He must leave them and go away, and they were filled with grief; so, to comfort them, He adds: “But be of good cheer; for I have overcome 58 CREATIVE EVOLUTION the world,’’ which is the cause of all your tribula- tion. And why should this assurance give them comfort, and cheer their hearts ? Because His victory over the world would be the surest earnest and pledge of their own. JESUS’ DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVIL It was thus Jesus described His adversary Satan to the unbelieving Jews: ““Why do ye not understand My speech? Even because ye cannot hear My word,” and ‘‘ Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father thereof ”’ (John viii. 43, 44). It would be difficult to imagine anything more plain and emphatic. THE QUESTION OF RIGHT AND WRrRoNG This question of right and wrong is closely connected with the problem of Good and Evil. Indeed, it is the practical aspect which the great antinomy assumes when it comes before us in the shape of duty or conduct. It is a: question, therefore, which must be decided in every case by the same arguments, and especially the same claims and teaching of Jesus RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 59 which guided us in discussing the-problem of Good and Evil. Take, for example, the question put to Jesus, about giving tribute to Cesar, by the Pharisees and Herodians, “‘ Shall we give, or shall we not give ?”’ and our Lord’s memorable reply: ‘‘ Whose is this image and superscription? They said unto Him, Ceesar’s. And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Cesar the things that are Cesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Mark xu. 13-17). KANT ON THE PROBLEM OF GOOD AND EVIL The question of the existence of good and evil as it is brought before us in the Biblical record of Creation is, I feel convinced, a subject which we have not the means nor the intelligence to solve. I agree with Kant in thinking that we must regard it as one of the unexplained mysteries of the Divine Being. One thing, at any rate, is perfectly clear, that the figure of the two trees planted in Eden is to show mankind that they are conscious of the difference between good and evil: that they are responsible agents for the choice they make between them. That there is evil in the world as well as good is an obvious fact, however it may be explained. God plainly warned mankind that it was there, 60 CREATIVE EVOLUTION and the fact must be regarded as a warning against the evil and a stimulus to the good. The plain lesson is that which St. Paul teaches : ‘““Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” On no subject had Jesus more important lessons to teach mankind, and more deserving of their serious attention, than that of the antagonism and strife between the powers of Good and Kvil ; for in this struggle we ourselves must be involved and take our part. The struggle is known by the name of the Great Antinomy, and the issue of it cannot fail to have the most intimate bearing on the life and destiny of the human race.! REMARKS (1) Itis perhaps needless to remark that there are some points of difference between the Bible 1 TJ have already discussed this problem of Good and Evil in my book on The Interpretation of the Spiritual Philosophy, Part II, Chapters I and II, pp. 91-110, and to that discussion I must refer my readers, with the exception of the following para- graph, which I venture to reproduce ; ‘*The Scriptural doctrine of the antagonism and struggle between the Powers of Good and Evil, and that the Good is only to be secured through the victory over the Evil, is supported and confirmed by the doctrine of Creative Evolution. For that doctrine teaches us that man has become what he is, a moral, spiritual and religious creature, not as it were per saltum, by a leap, but by gradual and successive increments of consciousness, first in the physical and animal stage, then in the psychological, moral and spiritual stage’’ (Interpretation of Spiritual Philosophy, p. 103). RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 61 story of Creation, as contained in Gen. i.-til. and the views now generally accepted under the light of Creative Evolution, Modern Science, and the Higher Criticism. I think, however, it may be said with truth that these points of difference are of minor importance compared with the facts that by both systems Creation is attributed to one and the same Divine and Supreme Agency of God and both have the same object to conserve and attain, namely, the glory of God by the salvation of mankind. (2) However we may interpret the highly figurative and anthropomorphic language in which the Creation Story is couched in Gen. ii. and iii., several facts seem to emerge with absolute certainty. 1. The existence of two opposing principles of Good and Evil. 2. That there are three gifts or faculties of which mankind have become possessed through the operation of Creative Evolution : (a) Critical and esthetic perception of the difference between Good and Evil. (6b) Free-will. (c) Power of Choice and Selection. 3. The possession of these three gifts or facul- ties renders Man a responsible being ; responsible alike to himself and the Creator Who endowed him with them. 62 CREATIVE EVOLUTION SHCTION IV—TRUTH AND FREEDOM CLAIMS AND TEACHING OF JESUS ON TRUTH AND FREEDOM ‘* For this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth ’’ (John xiii. 37). ** Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free... . If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed”’ (John vill. 32, 36). ““T am the way, the truth, and the life” (John xiv. 6). “Tf ye abide in My word, then are ye truly My disciples” (John viii. 31). “Every one that committeth sin is the bond- servant of sin’’ (John viii. 34). In the foregoing passages, Jesus makes sundry claims of paramount interest and importance. 1. That He is the Truth. 2. That He came to reveal the Truth. 3. That through the knowledge of the Truth which He will teach mankind, they may become free. It is needless to say, that in this claim several questions are raised. First of all comes the question of Pilate, ‘“* What is Truth ?”’ Secondly, How is Jesus the Truth ? Thirdly, In what sense will the knowledge of RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 63 the Truth as revealed in and by Jesus make men free ? To answer these questions fully would far exceed my limits of time and space, and therefore my remarks must be few and brief. What did Jesus mean when He called Himself the Truth ? | Truth in the abstract is just reality; which means “ the thing as it really is.’?! But it was something far more than this that Jesus meant. He Himself gives us the clue to His meaning. “If ye abide in My word” (John viii. 31). The knowledge of the Truth to which Jesus referred was nothing else, or less, than the mystical and spiritual union of the disciple with Jesus as “‘ The Truth,” or, as St. Paul expresses it in Eph. iv. 21: “ Ye were taught in Him as the truth ts in Jesus.” For nothing less than this would suffice to effect the promised freedom, which implies so much, “ And the truth shall make you free.” | FREEDOM THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH For beings like ourselves, whose lot is cast in a mixed environment of good and evil, there are no gifts of greater value than Knowledge and Freedom. First to know what is really good or evil; 1 Note on Truth: The Teutonic type is trewa from a base trau, to believe, which still survives in our English verb fo trow =to believe, and the substantive truth, that which one troweth or believeth. 64 CREATIVE EVOLUTION secondly, freedom to choose the good and refuse the evil. Both these two gifts Jesus claims the power to bestow on those who become His disciples by abiding in His word. Truth means far more than the mere contrast and opposite of falsehood, and error, and illusion. It means in a word the knowledge of Reality, and of those virtues and graces which constitute the real values of the Christ-like life and character.! He came to be the light of the world; that is, to show us the reality of things in which mankind ought to believe about the Fatherhood of God, and the Universe, about ourselves and our fellow- men, and about the real object and goal of life. THE CLAIMS OF JESUS ON FREEDOM Similarly with the promise of Freedom. It does not mean freedom from all restraint or freedom to think and act as you please, but such freedom as may be enjoyed by those who accept the yoke of Christ. Again, St. Paul in Romans vi. 20-22, throws much valuable light on the nature of the freedom which Jesus promises.* 1 Of these real values St. Paul writes: ‘“‘ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there be any virtue, or any praise, think on these things”’ (Phil. iv. 8). 2 “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. .. . But now being made free from sin, and become the servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life.”’ RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 65 Freedom, then, is used in a double sense. Firstly, freedom from that which is evil, from the bond and bias of sinful habit or lustful excess, and the snares and temptations of the Devil. Secondly, it means freedom to engage in the service of God, to listen to the monitions of His Holy Spirit, and bring forth the fruits of righteous- ness. When Jesus spoke to the Jews about being made free they resented the imputation that they were in bondage to any man, and asked, ‘“How sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free?” And He had to explain: “Know ye not he who committeth sin is the bondservant of sin? . .. If, therefore, the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed ”’ (John viii. 33, 36). SHOCTION V.—JESUS ON LOVE ‘“* A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another. . . even as [ have loved you, that ye also love one another’ (John xiii. 34). “‘ By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples if ye have love one to another ” (John xiii. 35). REMARKS Of all the claims which Jesus made, as the Teacher of mankind, both by His example and precept, there is none which is more far-reaching and fruitful in the blessings it has conferred on F 66 CREATIVE EVOLUTION humanity than that of Love. There is no lesson which by His Incarnation He came to teach us more valuable and appropriate for every depart- ment and experience of life than that of Love. It is the moral and spiritual panacea for a thousand ailments which afflict mankind. And how numerous those ailments are, and how embittered and devastating in their effects they may become, it is needless to point out, for we know them well enough ; and though they seem so different and proceed from such different causes, whether racial or national or international! ; whether social, civil or political; whether domestic or personal; there is not one of these ailments which afflict society for which the panacea of Jesus does not present the surest remedy or alleviation. For such reasons as these, Love may truly be regarded as one of the chief of those real, or absolute, values claimed by Jesus for all who will become His true disciples. It was love which formed the bond of union from all eternity between the heavenly Father and His Divine and only begotten Son, and was the glory of their union, “‘ For Thou lovedst Me before the founda- tion of the world’”’ (John xvii. 24). It was the love of the Creative Prius, the Maker of all things in heaven and earth, Who so loved the world He had made, that He sent His 1 An alleviation of which has been sought in the League of Nations and the Peace of Locarno. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 67 only begotten Son to become Incarnate and the Teacher and Redeemer of Mankind. And such in briefest outline is the message of love which Jesus commissioned His followers to go into all the world and preach to every creature. THe GOSPEL OF LOVE THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROTEVANGELIUM The Protevangelium, announced to our first parents Adam and Eve in Gen. iil. 15, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, was afterwards repeated in yet more definite and comprehensive terms to Abram on his call to depart out of Haran. ‘** In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed ”’ (Gen. xii. 3). And again to Jacob, in his dream at Bethel (Gen. xxviii. 14). See also Isaiah Ixvi. 23, and Ps. xxii. 11-17. A great and glorious promise indeed! But as yet far from being realized. The problem and mystery of the struggle between the powers of Good and Evil still remains unsolved. But one fact there is, which admits of no question: that however the antinomy and struggle between the powers of Good and Evil may be explained, Jesus, by making Love the fundamental and supreme principle of His religion, 68 CREATIVE EVOLUTION and the test of true discipleship, employed the best and surest means of reconciling all differences, and securing the final triumph of Good over Evil in the world. CONCLUDING REMARKS Thus we see, that as it was from Love as the primeval source of Creative Evolution that all intelligent, self-conscious life proceeded; so by the continued exercise of the same divine principle of Love, leading to Incarnation and Redemption, the means have been provided for the reunion of the souls of mankind with the heavenly Father, Whose offspring and children they are. If to teach the nature of Truth and Reality, and so to free mankind from the tyranny of sin, was the first object for which the Son of God came to teach and bear witness, we may well believe He would have accorded the second place to Love. And so He did in making Love the test of true discipleship. When a young lawyer came to Jesus with the question, ‘‘ Which. is the first and great command- ment of the Law ?”’ Jesus referred him to the very Law of which he was supposed to be an expositor. And when the answer came: “‘ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,” etc. ‘‘ Yes,”’ replied Jesus, “ this is the first and great command- ment. And the second is like unto it. ‘ Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ On these RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 69 two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Thus Love is the one foundation stone on which both the Law and the Gospel are based and built up. A SeconpD TEstT But even Love is not the one and only test of true discipleship mentioned by Jesus. There is another, which must by no means be forgotten. It is that of self-sacrifice. ‘‘ And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple ”’ (Luke xiv. 27). Jesus not only required His disciples to take His yoke upon them, but He added: “‘ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”’ THe SECRET OF A Happy Homez Love is the true bond of ‘union in marriage. Many a home would become bright and happy where there is nothing but discord and strife, if husbands and wives would remember and carry out their marriage vow, “to love and to cherish till death us do part.”’ SECTION VI.—JESUS ON WORK Many and various were the objects for which the Son of God became Incarnate. But there is one description or category which will embrace them all, which Jesus gave us Himself in His own 70 CREATIVE EVOLUTION words. ‘‘I came not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” And that will was the salvation of mankind. Therefore He added, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day.’”’ So Jesus became by His Incarnation a working-man in the truest, highest sense of the word. He came not only to work Himself, but to set His disciples to work, and show them how by copying His example they might make their lives bright and beautiful and happy, pleasing to God and useful to mankind. The parallelism between Christ and His followers is both striking and instructive, and serves to unite the two still more closely together. As Christ was the Divine Son of His heavenly Father, so the disciples of Jesus are the children and offspring of the same Father. As Christ was sent by the Father to do His will in working for the salvation of mankind, so Jesus gives to His followers a similar commission and duty: “ As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.” ““Go ye into all the world; and preach the Gospel to every creature.” What a blessed thing is work, if it be of the right sort ! By His Example ‘*T must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work ”’ (John ix. 4). RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 71 “The works that I do in My Father’s Name they bear witness of Me” (John x. 25). “My meat is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to accomplish His work ”’ (John iv. 34). “Not My will, but Thine be done” (Luke li. 42). By PRECEPT “Son, go work to-day in My vineyard” (Matt. xxi. 28). Compare the Parable of the Householder, who went out early to hire labourers into his vineyard (Matt. xx. 1). “Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive ”’ (Matt. xx. 7). One of the most important and valuable lessons which Jesus came to teach mankind, arising from His Divine consciousness, was that on the subject of Work. Whether He ever wrought in the carpenter’s shop of His reputed father at Nazareth, we do not know for certain. Most probably He did. But this we know, that when, at the age of thirty, He began His ministerial career it was with a very clear conception of the work He had to do. He came not to do His own will, but the will of His Father Who had sent Him. And what a programme of work that was! Let us briefly recall it to mind, and, as far as possible, in His own words. 1. “The Son of Man is come to seek and to 72 CREATIVE EVOLUTION save that which was lost’’—“‘ to give His life a ransom for many.” 2. To destroy the works of the Devil. 3. To bear witness to the Truth. “ For this ’ end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the Truth.” 4, As the great Teacher of mankind, to show them how, by copying His example and obeying His precepts, they might make the best of their lives, both in this world and that to come. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Such were some of the main features in the life, the character and the work of Jesus. They might be briefly summarized in the trilogy of Truth and Love and Self-denial. And besides all this, there is another class of evidence which is sometimes overlooked, but which perhaps affords the most complete index and key to His wonderful personality; I refer to the conscious- ness and wonderful concepts of Jesus, and to this class of evidence I invite my readers’ attention. First, about God. He claims Him as His Father with Whom He is One. “I and the Father are One.”’ Secondly, about the Universe. Not only that it was the work of the transcendent Prius or Creator of all things, but that it was a living Universe, as we cannot fail to gather when He said, RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 73 ‘* Consider the lilies of the field how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” And again, “‘ Not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father.’’ Therefore the Universe has not inaptly been called “‘a God-saturated Cosmos.” Thirdly, the concept of Jesus about Himself and His work. Its two-fold nature: (a) Divine, as the Son of God; (b) human, as the Son of Man, by His incarnation in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As is so well expressed in one of the Creeds of the Catholic Church: * Perfect God and perfect man. ... Equal to the Father as touching His Godhood and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood ”’; sent by the Father as His Apostle to become the Redeemer of mankind. In the first message, God spake by means of figure and allegory of the Tree of Life; but in the second message of the Incarnation God has spoken to mankind as man to man in language which he who runs may read: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’’ By disobedience our first parents fell and forfeited the fruit of the Tree of Life, but Jesus came to make up the loss by giving us the true Bread from heaven. “ And the bread which I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 74 CREATIVE EVOLUTION SOME OF THE LEADING FEATURES IN THE LIFE, CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS Let us take first the consciousness of Jesus. What had He to say of Himself as to His work and personality ? He claimed to have been sent by God, Whom He called His Father. He was sent to give life to mankind. | The claims of Jesus were so remarkable that Christians may be fairly excused for asking, “What were the credentials of Jesus to sub- stantiate claims so remarkable?’’ They are many and various. ‘The miracles that He wrought; the words that He uttered—‘* Never man spake like this Man”; His altruistic life of love. ; 1. In these claims the Incarnate Son of God stands before us in the double capacity of Example and Teacher. And He was well qualified for the task. For He Himself had been a working-man. For many years He had worked at Nazareth before He began the higher work of His sacred ministry. And He came to teach men some valuable lessons about work: that work is blessed if only it is of the right kind, z.e. to do the will of God and accomplish His work. 2. In studying the claim and example of Jesus, one can scarcely fail to be struck with the RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 75 resemblance and correspondence He institutes between Himself and His followers—between the Teacher and those He came to teach, in regard to work. PoINTs OF RESEMBLANCE OR CORRESPONDENCE (a) As Jesus was the only begotten Son of the heavenly Father, are not we also the children and offspring of the same Father ?—His by creation and redemption ? (6) As He was sent and came to do the will of God, have not we also been sent—‘“‘ as My Father hath sent Me, even so have I sent you”? ? (c) And for the same purpose—to preach the Gospel of Peace and Salvation to mankind. I do not wish to sermonize, but I should be glad to offer a few practical remarks, if I may, by way of impressing on my readers the value and importance of our Saviour’s teaching on the subject of Work. 1. If He had made no other claim, this alone would have been enough to call forth our admira- tion and acceptance. For did not Jesus come to teach mankind how to make the best of their lives, both in this world and in that to come ? —hbright and beautiful and happy, pleasing to God and useful to their fellow-men ? 2. To this end they must work. For life without work is an aimless, profitless thing, like a ship without a rudder or a compass; and for 76 CREATIVE EVOLUTION an able-bodied man or woman to live on doles is not work, but something far worse; for it is destructive of his moral fibre and self-reliance, and makes a parasite of him and a useless member of society. Panem et circenses! was the demand which ruined Rome, and will ruin every country which adopts it. 3. But not only did Jesus come to teach us the blessedness of work, if of the right sort; He had a higher lesson for us still to learn from His example. ‘I came not to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.”’ It is the lesson of the consecration and dedica- tion of our will and motive to the will and service of God. The great Apostle passes on to each of His true followers the self-same message of love—the great Protevangelium for them to help to fulfil and realize it. And, as He gives it to each one, He says, “Son, go work to-day in My vineyard. . .. As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.” “Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.” It is just that which Jesus came to teach mankind both by precept and example. It is a man’s work which makes his life noble or base, and forms the true criterion of his character. So Jesus not only said, ‘‘I must work, to do the will of the Father Who sent Me,” but He provides the means whereby that work and RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 77 will could be carried on after His departure. And so He laid the foundations of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, and said to His apostles, *“ Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Here, then, is work for all, even the humblest of the followers of Jesus; and He gave us His promise, * Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” | SECTION VII.—_JESUS ON PRAYER AND FAITH ** Men ought always to pray, and not to faint ”’ (Luke xviii. 1). ** Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” ** And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name that will I do”’ (John xiv. 138, 14). JESUS ON PRAYER I. Jesus our Teacher by Precept. Many and valuable are the lessons which He has to teach His followers on the subjects of Prayer and Faith; and that not only as our Teacher, but still further as our Pattern and Example. For He Himself, as the Son of Man, was a man of prayer. We read of Him retiring alone to the mountain side and spending the whole night in devotion and prayer to His Heavenly Father. 78 CREATIVE EVOLUTION Some of these lessons I will endeavour very briefly to point out. 1. When His disciples came to Him with the request, ‘‘ Lord, teach us to pray,” He gave them at once that beautiful prayer which has ever since been the universal prayer of the Christian Church, ‘Our Father,” etc. 2. The need of faith for effectual prayer. ‘“When ye pray, believe that ye obtain the things ye ask for, and ye shall receive them.” Even Jesus Himself seems to have required faith on the part of the sick man or his friends before the healing power could go forth. And on one occasion we read that even He “could not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.’ In all this we may surely see a strong argument in support of Faith healing. II. Jesus our Teacher by His Example. There are several instances recorded in the Gospels when Jesus Himself had recourse to prayer to God as His Heavenly Father. Such are the following : ** Now is My soul troubled: and what shall I say ? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy Name” (John xii. 27, 28). His thrice-repeated prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane will be familiar to most of my readers: ‘“O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 79 pass from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. Thy will be done” (Matt. xxvi. 29, 32, 44). His prayer for His murderers uttered as He hung on the cross: ‘“ Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke xxiii. 34). “That they, My disciples whom Thou hast given Me, may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me; for Thou lovedst Me before the founda- tion of the world” (John xvii.). Such is the claim which Christ Jesus made in this sublime prayer. Let us examine it more closely in order to ascertain its true bearing on the subject before us. 1. We note in the first place that the Prayer, in which the claim occurs and of which it forms part, was offered by Christ Jesus to His Heavenly Father in His nature and capacity as the Incarnate and only begotten Son of the Father. 2. But we observe, in the second place, that the claim relates to a period, and to events and experiences which took place before Creation began, and in which, therefore, the human nature or element in the Incarnation could have had no part—‘‘ the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” Bearing all this in mind we seem justified in drawing the following conclusions : (a) First, that the claim of Christ relates to the period and events anterior to the commence- 80 CREATIVE EVOLUTION ment of Creation, in which the human element of the Incarnation could have had no part. (b) Secondly, that that Prius as then existing consisted of the Persons of the Father, and His only begotten Son, together with the Person of the Holy Spirit proceeding from both. (c) Such, then, was the constitution of the Prius which existed previous to the creation of heaven and earth, and such is the teaching of the Athanasian Creed. The lesson contained in each of these examples is obvious, and needs no comment of mine. But the sublimest prayer that ever ascended from earth to heaven, even from the lips of the Incarnate Son of God, is that for the preservation of which we are indebted to the beloved disciple and apostle, St. John—I mean that recorded in the seventeenth chapter of his Gospel.! I offer a brief analysis of this sublime supplica- tion, which we can only regard, I think, as an expression of His own Divine Self-consciousness. Taking it as a whole, it is a prayer on behalf of two classes of persons: (1) those whom the Father had given to His Son; (2) those who 1 Theologians and Bible students may wonder, as they have wondered, how it came to pass that this Fourth Gospel should differ so widely in many respects from the other three. I venture to suggest that the reason is to be found in the fact that John was the Beloved disciple of Jesus, and that as such he may have had many opportunities of learning from the lips of his Master much information, and a deeper insight into the Divine mysteries than the rest of the apostolic band. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 81 should hereafter believe on Jesus through their word. This Prayer of Jesus recorded by St. John (chap. xvii.) is evidently addressed by Him to His Heavenly Father in the capacity of His only begotten Son; begotten “ before the foundation of the world ”’ (see verses 5 and 25). It is evident, therefore, that parts of the Prayer will not be suited as our examples in prayer. But, besides these, there are several points admirably fitted for our instruction and imitation: notably the petition of verse 17, “‘Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth”; and the oft- repeated request for the unity of all Christians with the Father and Himself. ANALYSIS OF THE PRAYER After a few introductory and descriptive remarks, the petitions proper begin with verse 5. V. 5. “ And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” In verses 6-11 we have the commencement of the prayer on behalf of those whom the Father had already given Him out of the world. V. 11. “Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name them whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are.” V. 15. He prays not that they should be taken out of the world, but kept from the evil. G 82 CREATIVE EVOLUTION V. 17. For their “ sanctification through Thy truth: Thy word is Truth.” Second class for whom Jesus prayed : V. 20. ‘‘ Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also who shall believe on Me through their word.”’ V. 21. “ That they all may be one: as Thou Father art in Me, and I in Thee: that they also may be one in us.”’ V. 23. “I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one.”’ At this point the prayer of Jesus becomes one which embraces by anticipation the whole Catholic Church of Christ even to the end of time. What a strong argument does verse 21 afford in favour of unity amongst all Christian denomina- tions, and the reunion of Christendom ! V. 24. “ Father, I will that they whom Thou hast given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foun- dation of the world.” V. 26. “ And I have declared unto them Thy Name, that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me, may be in them and I in them.” Observations on verses 24 and 26. 1. The special requests in verses 24 and 26 should be considered together, as they form parts of the same petition, the real and ultimate object RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 83 of which is to be found in verse 26. ‘Thus regarded, they form a climax and most fitting conclusion to the rest of the prayer. 2. The two-fold petition in these two verses is of such a nature that we can only regard it as a convincing expression and result of the Divine self-consciousness of Jesus. The Divine Son addresses His Divine Father and prays that His followers might behold the glory which the love of His Father had bestowed upon Him, and which He had enjoyed “‘ before the foundation of the world.” 3. Many are the wonderful recorded utter- ances of Jesus; but surely none more wonderful than this. Here was no request for self-glorifica- tion, but still as ever (as we learn from verse 26), that “the love of God’ enjoyed by His Divine Son before the foundation of the world might be extended to the followers of Jesus, and that thus in union with Christ they might all be one. 4, But even this does not exhaust the full and far-reaching character of this request. It takes us back to the period when as yet the Prius had not commenced His work of Creative Evolution. And more than this: it tells what even the Evolutionist dared not name or define who this Prius was and is—the Uncreated Cause of all things, the One Sole Causa Causarum. 84 CREATIVE EVOLUTION SECTION VIII.—JESUS ON HIS CLAIM TO BE THE BREAD OF LIFE There is another claim of Jesus which has not yet been specified, namely, that in which He called Himself the Bread of Life, and for the pro- vision of which to the end of time He instituted the Sacred Ordinance of the Blessed Sacrament of His precious Body and Blood. THe Hoty EUCHARIST ‘“‘T am the Living Bread, which came down out of Heaven: if any man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever. Yea, and the Bread which I will give is My flesh for the life of the world’”’ (John vi. 51-55). Cf. also verses 53-58: ‘‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have not life in yourselves.” Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist as the one perpetual Ordinance of His Catholic Church, whereby His claim to be the Bread of Life, and the Giver of spiritual food for the souls of mankind is to be fulfilled and substantiated to the end of time. Nothing could be more explicit than the language and terms in which this claim of Jesus to be the Bread of Life is expressed. But the question still remains, In what sense are those RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 85 terms to be understood ? And the answer will at once be given, not in their material and physical sense, but as conveying a spiritual and mystical meaning and reality. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life”? (John vi. 63). Archdeacon Wilberforce, in his treatise on the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist, makes the following remarks : ‘“‘Christ’s Presence in the Holy Eucharist is supernatural, not natural; it is sacramental and not sensible. This is shown by the claims of Jesus in John vi. to be— “(a) Supernatural (t.e. spiritual). For the Spirit of Our Lord’s Divine Nature gives its efficacy to His Flesh and Blood. “(b) It 1s Real. For His Body and Blood are said to be the Medium of His benefits. ““(c) It is Sacramental. For the statement of those benefits which the res sacramenti, or thing signified, is fitted to bestow, implies the efficacy of consecration ’’ (pp. 155-159). The doctrine of the Real but mystical and spiritual Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, as held and taught by the English branch of the Catholic Church, could not, I imagine, be set forth and explained in language at once more concise and scriptural, than it has 86 CREATIVE EVOLUTION been in that most valuable manual of religious instruction, the Church Catechism. EXTRACT FROM THE ENGLISH CHURCH CATECHISM ON THE LORD’S SUPPER Question : What is the outward part or sign of the Lord’s Supper ? Answer: Bread and wine, which the Lord hath com- manded to be received. Question : What is the inward part, or thing signified ? Answer: The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord’s Supper. Question : What are the benefits ? Answer: The strengthening and refreshing of our souls, by the Body and Blood of Christ, as our bodies are by the bread and wine. The institution of the Holy Eucharist is re- corded in each of the three Synoptic Gospels in similar though slightly differing forms. And if no such record is found in the Gospel of St. John, it must be remembered that when St. John wrote his Gospel he had for half a century been celebrat- ing the Kucharist every week, if not every day, of his life for fifty years. If he did not, therefore, repeat the story of the institution it was because he could add nothing to what was already known and accepted. TEXTS OF THE INSTITUTION ‘* And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed and brake; and He gave it to the disciples and said, T'ake, eat ; this is My Body. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 87 ‘And He took a cup, and gave thanks and gave to them saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the Covenant, which is shed for many unto remission of sins” (Matt. xxvi. 26, 27). The record of St. Mark xiv. 22-24 is almost identical. St. Luke xxii. 19, 20, adds to the first clause, “This is My Body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me” (or for My memorial). And to the second clause: “ This cup is the new covenant in My blood: even that which is poured out for you.”’ Such is the sacred rite appointed by Christ for giving effect to His claim to be the Bread of Life; and for imparting to His faithful followers the fruits of His Holy Incarnation and Passion. Many and great indeed beyond expression are the claims which Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, made during the course of His Incarnate life on earth, but there is one which for mankind is surpassed by none other in importance. It is that in which He calls Himself the Bread of Life, 1.€. the Giver of spiritual food and sustenance for the souls of men. ‘““T am the Bread of Life. He that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst’ (John vi. 35). ““It was not Moses who gave you bread out of heaven; but My Father giveth you the true 88 CREATIVE EVOLUTION Bread out of heaven. For the Bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world”’ (verses 32, 33). ‘‘ For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed ”’ (verse 55). *“'This is the bread which came down out of heaven ... he that eateth this bread shall live for ever.” ‘As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me”’ (verses 57, 58). There are other claims and teachings of Jesus which I should like to have included in this volume, had time and space permitted; as, for example, “On Beauty and Perfection,” “ Social- ism, Secular and Christian.’’ These, however, I hope to bring under review on a future occasion, if health and strength will allow. Throughout the whole course of His ministry His main object seems to have been to explain, to illustrate and commend His Kingdom to His disciples and the multitudes who came to listen to His instruction. ‘For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the Scribes.” Even His enemies were bound to confess, ‘‘ Never man spake like this Man.” RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 89 SECTION [X.—THE CLAIMS AND TEACHING OF JESUS ON THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND ON HIS SECOND COMING What a wealth of type and parable and metaphor and simile Jesus always had at His command! and how often these items of instruc- tion began with the significant words, ‘ The Kingdom of Heaven is luke unto,” etc. ! Thus His method of teaching was at once simple and profound; so simple that even a child or a wayfaring man could not fail to perceive the lesson taught; yet so profound that a philo- sopher could not exhaust its meaning. Take, for example, the parable of the Prodigal Son, or the Ten Virgins. Take another parable: that of the house- holder who went out early to hire labourers for his vineyard. What could be more easy to understand and yet more full of meaning on its moral and spiritual side ? ** And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, * Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world ? ‘“ And He said unto them, Take good heed that no man lead you astray. For many shall come in My Name, saying, I am the Christ, and 90 CREATIVE EVOLUTION shall lead many astray’ (Matt. xxiv. 3-5; see also verse 14). ‘“* Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away until all these things be accom- plished.” “But of that day or that hour knoweth no man, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. ** Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is’”’ (Mark xiii. 30, 32, 33). ** And being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God cometh, He answered them and said, The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation ; neither shall they say, Lo! here, or there! For, lo, the Kingdom of God 1s within you’ (Luke xvii. 20, 21). PEMARKS 1. Jesus openly disclaimed any knowledge as to the time and place of His second coming. And not only so, but He strongly discouraged all attempts on the part of His followers to claim any such knowledge and to predict His second advent. 2. Such knowledge is given to no man. Neither will the Kingdom of Heaven come by observation, for the Kingdom of God or of Heaven is within. 3. It will come, but not before the message of the Gospel has been preached in all the world. RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 91 And there shall be a great falling away and great distress and tribulation, and the faith of many shall wax cold.! 4. Therefore the only wise and safe course for the true followers of Jesus will be to take heed to His teaching; to watch and pray, and spread the Gospel throughout the world ; for in this way we may hasten the second coming of Christ and the Goal of Humanity. CONCLUDING REMARKS There are other claims which Jesus made beside those specified and considered in the fore- going sections. But these, I think, may be re- garded as amongst the most significant. Taken together, they form that message of love which Christ Jesus the Incarnate Son and Apostle of God, His heavenly Father, came down from heaven to make known to mankind for their health, their happiness and salvation. Let me ask, by way of drawing this chapter to a close, Does it not behove every professing Christian to ask, How do I stand with regard to these claims of Jesus ? To know the will of God and not to do it will avail us little. So with regard to the claims and teaching of Jesus. ‘Am I prepared to accept them as the rule of my life, the guide of my 1 Cf. 2 Thess. 11. 5-12. 92 CREATIVE EVOLUTION conduct, and the hope of my soul?” To do this in earnest will be “‘ to be born again.’ And what did Jesus tell Nicodemus about that? ‘ Marvel not that I said unto you, Ye must be born again.”’ But for such a change of heart and life more than human will and strength are needed. So He made not only a demand, but He gave a promise. ** And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth. ... For He abideth with you, and shall be in you”’ (John xiv. 16, 17). “He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you”’ (John xvi. 14). “ Jesu, of Thee shall be my song, To Thee my heart and soul belong ; All that I have, or am, is Thine; And Thou, blest Saviour, Thou art mine. Jesu, my Lord, I Thee adore ; O make me love Thee more and more.” One of the saddening and serious signs of the present time, to my mind, is the increase of suicide. If amongst my readers there should be any who feel ‘weary and heavy laden’’ under the weight of some sorrow or distress which seems too heavy to be borne, and are tempted to seek relief in self-destruction, let me offer them a RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 93 few friendly words of earnest sympathy, remon- strance and advice. Remember, dear Brother or Sister: 1. That your life is God your Heavenly Father’s precious gift, to be used in His service, for your own welfare and that of your fellow- men; and that to Him you must give an account. 2. That the loving invitation and promise of Jesus are addressed and offered to all who are willing to learn of Him, whatever be the cause of their distress. 3. Go to Jesus. Open to Him your grief, and learn of Him; and He will give you rest. CHAPTER V ETERNAL LIFE AND THE GOAL OF HUMANITY INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Tue task which I set before myself on com- mencing has by no means been completed. For the subjects which have been necessarily brought under consideration have proved not only more numerous, but also more impressive and more important than I expected. But I must not now add much to what I have written, for fear of overloading my pages. I hope and trust, however, to supply what now seems to me to be wanting at some future time, and probably in the form of an Appendix. The Goal of Humanity, which forms the second member and objective purpose of our Thesis, should be regarded, I think, not as the final issue of the process of Creative Evolution, but only as the continuation and further develop- ment of it so far as mankind are concerned, for further progress in a still higher sphere of spiritual existence and intelligence. We have seen what Creative Evolution has already done, and we have seen now what has 94 RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 95 been effected by the Incarnation. But what has been the result and outcome of all these pur- posive efforts of God on behalf of mankind ? Are we still making progress, whether by Evo- lution or Incarnation, towards that goal which we believe is in store for humanity ? What was effected by Creative Evolution ? To express it in the briefest terms possible, it has raised mankind to the topmost pinnacle of in- tellectual, moral, social and spiritual development ; it has given the human race the supremacy over all other orders of terrestrial life. Regarded from this point of view, it is the expression of the love of our heavenly Father, Who so loved the beautiful world He had made that He spared not His only begotten Son, but sent Him as His Apostle to take our nature upon Him that He might reveal to us the Will of God, and show us the way that leadeth to everlasting life and happiness. And we believe, if we are true disciples of Jesus, and have been taught by Him, that all this has been done. Tue PRomMIsE OF THE EVANGELIUM FULFILLED The Incarnation, promised and predicted so many centuries ago, by which all the families of the earth are to be blessed, has taken place. Jesus has come. And when He came, He told His hearers . 96 CREATIVE EVOLUTION plainly Who He claimed to be—“I and the Father are One’’—and what was the object of His coming: to reveal to men the will and nature of God, and teach them both by precept and example the way that leadeth to the Kingdom of Heaven and everlasting life. And, lastly, He came to make known the means by which, and the conditions on which, the promise and the hope will be fulfilled, and the goal at last attained. But to be in sight of the goal is not to have reached it. The Christian has still many diffi- culties to face, many enemies to overcome. Let it not be said that Jesus before He went away left His followers in the dark as to what they might expect and hope for by this expression, ** The Goal of Humanity.” THE PROMISES OF JESUS * Fear not, little flock. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” “In My Father’s House are many mansions (abiding places). I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go away I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” And in that sublime prayer of His, recorded in the 17th chapter of St. John’s Gospel, the most devout and ardent petition that ever as- cended to heaven, even from the lips of Jesus, He prayed (verses 21, 23): “‘ That they may all RESULTS OF CREATIVE EVOLUTION 97 be one; as Thou Father art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us... .I1in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in One.” The Apostle Paul, in 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, writes thus: ‘‘ Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man ; whatsoever God prepared for them that love Him ; unto us God hath revealed them through the Spirit.”’ *‘ All things are yours; and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” THE CONDITION OF ATTAINMENT But for the fulfilment and realization of the hopes and promises which Jesus makes to His followers, there is one all-embracing condition with which they must comply. It is this: “ Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; and I will give you rest.”” Which means, I take it, that the image, mind and character of Jesus must be formed in each of His disciples; and this en- ables us the better to understand another saying of Jesus, which, at first, sounds strange: “‘ The Kingdom of God is within you ”’ (Luke xvii. 21). And, again, St. Paul in the last chapter of his letter to the Philippian Church gives us a very comprehensive and beautiful summary of the mind of Christ. ‘‘ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honourable, pure, lovely, if there H 98 CREATIVE EVOLUTION be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things ”’ (Phil. iv. 8). Therefore the Christian must gird himself “ to contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered unto the Saints.’’ For never, as it seems to me, was the antagonism and strife between the powers of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and error, faith and unbelief, more keen and pro- nounced than it is at the present time. And never, therefore, was the warning and teaching of Jesus more necessary for the Christian’s careful observance: “‘ Watch, pray and work for God.” My Ciostnea WISH AND PRAYER I pray God we may all find grace to accept the condition, and submit to the easy yoke and light burthen of Christ, that so at length we may attain to that blessed Goal of Humanity which through His Incarnation He has revealed and brought within our reach. ADDENDUM On the doctrine of the Incarnation, as held and taught by the Catholic Church, and set forth in the Athanasian Creed. 1. That our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man. 2. God of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds, and Man of the Substance of His Mother, born in the world. 3. Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reason- able soul and human flesh, subsisting. 4. Equal to the Father as touching His God- hood, and inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood. 5. Who, although He is God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ. 6. One, not by conversion of the Godhood into flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God. 7. One, not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. 8. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ. | 99 o/ 5 Pt y s - * ’ 2 * i J t L } Tass ’ ha slat caw i . \ Beet 5 ey > ee, tne peg } A | ; tA had Ee ies { ' d , \ INDEX A Addendum to Part I, 22 Addendum to Part II, 99 Advent, Second, of Christ, 90 Aristotle on the Universe, full of reason, 12 B Babylonian Sacred Records: 32 (1) Hymns to the Gods, 32 (2) Penitential Psalms, 34 (3) Litanies, 35 Hymns to Father Nannar and Merodach, 35 Bergson on Transformation and the Current of Life, 49 Bread of Life, Jesus on the, 84 C Claims and Teaching of Jesus considered in the following nine sections: 43 I. On the Prius, 44 Il. Life and the Universe, 46 III. Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, 55 IV. Truth and Freedom, 62 V. Jesus on Love, 65 VI. Jesus on Work, 69 VII. On Prayer and Faith, 77 VIII. On the Bread of Life, 84 IX. On the Kingdom of Heaven and His Second Advent, 89 Comforter, The gift of the Holy Spirit, 92 Concluding wish and prayer, 98 Consciousness, What is it ? 138-15 Correlation of all Knowledge and Experience, 4 Creation, Bible record of, 40—42 Creative Evolution and Incarna- tion, connection between them, 24, 25 Creative Evolution, Theory of, 11 E Electricity has done much and will do more in the realm of Science, but it cannot account for and explain the mental and _ spiritual phenomena of the mind and soul of man, 6, 7 Electron, The, and new theory of Matter, 5 Dr. A. J. Thomson, 6 Emergence, Theory of essential difference between that and Creative Evolution, 5 Environment, Section II, 10 F Faiths of the world: three ex- amples—Babylonian, Per- sian and Semitic—Reasons for Selection, 29 Fatherhood of God, 78 Freedom, Jesus on, 64 101 102 G Goal of Humanity, The, Chapter V, Part II, and Condition of Attainment, 97 Good and Evil, Problem of, Jesus on, Chap. IV, Part II, Section ITT, 55 I Incarnation, The doctrine of, 24. See also Addendum _ to Part II. Index, 100 Introduction to Part II, Chap. I, 23 J Jacks, Dr., on a Living Universe, 52 K Kant, on Problem of Good and Kyil, Chap. IV, Part IT, 59 Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus on, 89 L Life, What is it ? 25 Life, The web of, 26 Love, Jesus on, 65 Prof. Bergson, M Man, What is he? 9 Materialism found wanting, 5 Materialism unable to account for the phenomena of Con- science and Consciousness, 25 INDEX N Nature and the Universe, The school and store-house of Consciousness, 15 Nature eloquent of God: Laws of Nature are the laws of God, 21 O Ourselves, Section I, Part I; Our Faculties of three kinds—(a) Conative and Acquisitive; (6b) Cognitive or Knowledge Faculties, including Consciousness ; (c) Moral and Spiritual, including the Aisthetic Faculties, 8, 9 P | Parsees, The, 35 Plato, The Timzus, note 1, 11 Prayer and Faith, Jesus on, Section VII, Part II, 77 Preface and Table of Contents, vV-xi Prius of Creative Evolution, and the need for it, 5 Protevangelium, 42 R Radium and Uranium, dis- coveries by Sir Ernest Rutherford on new property of matter, 6, 7 Reality, the test of Truth, 64 Remembrancer, The, of Jesus, 92 Response, What is it? meaning of it, 17, 18 Russell, Dr. E. 8., and his three questions, 19-21 The INDEX S Sacred writings of Sumerian, Accadian and Babylonian Tribes, 32 Semitic Tribes, Jewish, 39 Suicide, On, a word of sympathy and. advice, 92, 93 Supernatural, The, 29 Hebrew and 4h Thesis, The, 39 Thomson, Dr., on necessary Laws of human thought and dis- covery of Truth and Reality, 1 Trinity, The Holy, 80 Truth—Criteria of Unity and Solidarity, 2, 3 Truth and Freedom, 62 U Universe, The, What is it? and note (1), 11, 12 103 Hebrew concept of Psalm cxxxix, vv. 7-12, 12 Universe, The, Aristotle on, 17 WwW Will to live, The, 11 Work, Jesus on, Part IT, 69 Jesus’ concept of the work He came to do, His concept and teaching about (71, 72): (a) God; (6) The Universe ; (c) Himself, 72, 73 Work, a blessed thing if of the right kind. Jesus’. our Teacher both by His precept and example, 70 Section VI, Z Zarathustra, Divine Songs of, note (1), 37 Zoroaster, The Prophet of Ahura Mazda, whom the Parsees worshipped as the All-per- vading Spirit of the Universe, 36 THE END PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY WM. CLOWES AND SONS, LTD., BEOCLES. aes, Se ro sy, ay y ee Pea wee rinceton es A EEA REA ED AAR A AEE ME EST Ses Nee ane e aod nna eee er ene rn een AAA ALAA LAA AERA ERE EAA AE Ak ah a Ae ARES SNS SSR AR Rs Sn Se en pe Nn eee on! 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