Primitive religions : being an introduction to the study of religions, with an account of the religious beliefs of uncivilised peoples, Confucianism, Taoism (China), and Shintoism (Japan) / by G.T. Bettany.

  • Bettany, G. T. (George Thomas), 1850-1891.
Date:
1891
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Primitive religions : being an introduction to the study of religions, with an account of the religious beliefs of uncivilised peoples, Confucianism, Taoism (China), and Shintoism (Japan) / by G.T. Bettany. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    probable. The rapt devotion of the mystic, the mortifi- cation of the ascetic, the zealous benevolence of the philanthropist, the ceremonial of the ritualist, the sublimo flights of the theologian, the intense cry of the penitent, and the confident trust of the most abject in a benevolent Ruler of the universe, all declare that in modern times man believes, man trusts, that somehow good shall be the final goal of ill, that there is one Almighty Ruler who also cares for His creatures. Nay, we venture to claim that the doubt of the sceptic, the disbelief of the atheist, the suspense of the agnostic, are in themselves noteworthy signs that the subject is one of great impor- tance, not to be passed over with neglect, and that the human soul feels uneasy about the matter and is not content without some attitude towards the great questions: “ What am I? Whither am I going ? Does any Provi- dence care for me ? ” The more true that it ever is, that man cannot by searching find out God, the more per- sistently does he inquire, saying, “Who will show me any good thing ? ” And so, in the evolution of things, the human heart puts forth all the varieties of thought and feeling of which it is capable, “ varies in every dii-ection,” to use Darwin’s phrase, and beneficent forms are per- petuated. So large a space, so important an influence has the religious attitude of man, that it is safe to say that it constitutes one of the most important factors, perhaps the most important, in his progress. Wo may define religion broadly as man’s attitude to- wards the unseen, and whatever consequences his belief Definitions of oi' attitude produces on his conduct or on his religion, relations to fellow-men. It has been otherwise defined as the outer form and embodiment of an inward devotion, and as a system of doctrine and worship which its adherents regard as having divine authority ; but these are definitions too limited for our purpose. Darwin, in the “ Descent of Man,” Part I., chap, iii., describes the feeling of religious devotion as a highly complex one, consisting of love, complete submission to an exalted and mysterious superior, a strong sense of dependence, fear, reverence, gratitude, hope for the future, and perhaps