RELIGION AND LIFE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18754, 6 January 1923, Page 2

RELIGION AND LIFE.

STUDIES FOR A NEW YEAR. Bt Constant Reader. The beginning of a New Year is always a suitable time lor a fresh approach to the more serious problems of life, the things that matter. In those problems and things religion must ever assume a prominent place. Hence the arresting title “What is there in Religion?’’ attracts attention as essentially a New Year book. The author, Dr is pastor of the Madison Avenue Presbytertan Church in New York City, and is also associate professor in the well-known Union Theological Seminary. He may consequently bo regarded as an exponent of much that is modern and progressive in religious views. The fact that the greater part of the book was originally delivered in the form of lectures at the Ohio Wesleyan University, attests its comparative catholicity. ‘‘May I, a provincial New Yorker,” exclaims Dr Coffin, “crave your indulgence to employ our loved and admired Hudson as a parable, in attempting a fractional answer to the query, ‘What is there in religion?’” The parable is developed along the line that what the Hudson River does for the territory through which it flows, the Christian faith does for those ■whom it roaches:— Trampers climbing Mount Maroy meet the Hudson rising in Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds, and slake their thirst from a cooling brook; so believing people discover refreshment in religion. A little farther on its course the brook provides campers with a bathing pool where they wash themselves, and at its lower end the Hudson receives the filth of New York City from a hundred sewers and sweeps it out into the salt ocean. Thus religion cleanses individuals and communities. Along part of the river’s course mills are built, and the stream supplies them with power. Religion has always been an incalculable reinforcement. Sometimes tho power in the stream is transmitted into electricity and carried to light the streets and homes of towns.' Faith has found illumination in fellowship with God. The entire valley through which the Hudson flows is made more fertile by the presence of this body of watery and religion is a source of fruitfulness in human life. Upon the river’s broader stretches steamers and barges carry freights and passengers: so believers know themselves upheld by their trust. Tho Hudson forms part of New York’s Harbour, affording a quiet anchorage for ships and opening out through tho bay into the vast Atlantic it supplies a passage to the great deen. So religion both furnishes peace to men in search of haven, and an outlet to adventure on the boundless sea. The river beautifies the landscape; and men of faith find life enhanced with loveliness when they are aware of the presence of the living God. The Hudson is a barrier, forming a dividing line between States and sundering those who> dwell on opposite bunks, but it is also a highway upon which ferries ply and steamers make doily connections between cities miles apart. Religion draws boundaries and separates men, whose convictions compel them to take clearly defined positions; but it also is a great unifier) es- ' tablishihg intercourse between those 'who else would be without sense of kinship and unconnected. The Hudson, like all rivers, is constantly changing—flowing away to the ocean; but the stream remains a permanent part of the landscape—the watershed from the Adirondack? to the- Atlantic. -So religion is always in flux, seeming about to pass altogether, hut forever renewed, an abiding element in human life—tho never ceasing outgo of man’s heart towards God, because that heart is continually replenished by inspirations from God. Narrowing the inquiry down to “What is there in tho Christian religion?” and again to “What is there in Christian religion which appeals to people of our day?” Dr Coffin elaborates the successive answers of refreshment, cleansing, power, illumination, fertility, buoyancy, serenity and adventure, beauty, division and unity, and change and permanence. Ho illustrates these themes with a wealth of anecdote' and allusion drawn both from the pages of literature and from the realm of everyday experience, tho result being a series of expositions of a distinctly popular kind, Tho book is one likely to appeal strongly to church-goers because it fortifies them in the position they already occupy. It may be doubted whether it will convince those beyond the pale of the Church, since Dr Coffin does not attempt to face cither tho theological or- practical problems of tho non-church-goer. A passage from the final chapter may servo to show Dr Coffin’s method in dealing with objections and overcoming difficulties: Wc began our discussion with the somewhat impatient and cynical question: “What is there in religion anyhow?” . Wo have used the Hudson River as a parable of the various benefits which tho •stieam of the Spirit of faith renders to believers. Many think that there is nothing but self-hypnosis in religious belief. Men fancy a God, driven to this imagination by their sax impulse, or by some other unsatisfied element in their natures; and then they desire comforts and incentives from the contemplation of this imagined Lover, Father, and' Friend. But does this explanation really account for the facts? One does not need to deny that the religious impulse is closely related with those of sex and hunger. Indeed, it belongs with tho most primitive and strongest impulses in man’s make up; it is an essential component of his being. But is it conceivable that from an illusion men and women through many generations have derived refreshment, cleansing, power, illumination, fruitfulness, buoyancy, adventure, beauty, unity, or sense of permanence? It is no imaginary, Hudson which affords corresponding benefits to those who live in its neighbourhood. Why should the stream of religion, conferring these vastly more spiritual benefits, be any move illusory ... If the religious impulse in man be intimately allied with that of sex, why is it not an evidence of an equally objective reality? Do not organisms develop in response to external stimuli—plants evolving chlorophyll in answer to light, bodies the haemoglobin in red corpuscles in answer to oxygen? Is not faith a response in the soul to as real a God?.. As chlbrophyll appropriates the sunshine and builds up the plant, as haemoglobin in bloodcorpuscles appropriates oxygen and aerates tho system, producing combustion and supplying physical energy, faith appropriates the Snirit of God and brings His life to strengthen and energise ours. Why should God be more illusory than tho mate to whom the sex impulse points, or the light to which chlorophyll responds, or the oxygen to which haemoglobin answers? , , . . And were this stream of the bpint, wero the living God. an illusion, would He have retained His permanent place in human trust through all the ages? Would not tho illusion have been found out—as time and again some sceptical thinker has declared tho fraud unmasked —and would not the notion of a companionable God have remained discredited? Had Nature made a mistake when she built up chlorophyll in plants, it would never have become the very common element which it is. Had man made a mistake when his spirit reached faith in trust, religion could not have become the almost universal and enduring component in human nature which it is. Chlorophyll is itself a witness to the existence of sunlight tho sex impulse a witness to the existence of mates, religion a witness to the reality of God. To proceed directly from a perusal of Dr Coffin’s “What is There in Religion? to I’vofessor C. Baudouin s Studies in Psycho-Analysis.” is to exchange the soothing influence of tho blue bath at Rotorua for tho bracing atmosphere of the Pacific surf in the south of tho South Island. Students of iho baffling problems of psychology are already deeply indebted to Professor Baudouin for his. illuminating work on “Suggestion and Auto-Suggestion” and

the present volume comprehends an extension of the same fascinating discussion. It contains an account of 27 concrete cases carefully examined along psychoanalytical lines, the histories being divided into oases of children, instances of the crisis of adolescence, examples of attitude towards the parents and descriptions of the instinct of self-preservation and the instinct for motherhood, together with reference to typical nervous and mental disorders. There follows some account of sublimations, the case histories concluding with “The Search for a Guide.” In all probability the case-histories will appeal largely only to the expert in psycho-analysis, the general reader being attracted to the theoretical exposition which precedes them. The translators — Eden and Cedar Paul —in. a preface stress the view held by Baudouin that psychoanalysis is to be looked upon as a curative method. From Martin Prince’s foreword to Mary Amold-Foster’s “Studies in Dreams,” they quote the sentence: ‘‘The study of abnormal psychology—including its variant produced by artifice —has thrown more light on the, workings of the normal mind than all the centuries of academic study of the latter.” Respecting this they ask. “May we not hope that man, the toolusing animal, is on the eve of learning how to use the most stupendous of all tools —his own mind?” Admittedly the conclusions and deductions of psycho-analysis are the results of investigations of the abnormal; and in studying all the books of this kind, it is well to inquire how far these deductions and conclusions apply to the normal mind Scientists are compelled by the necessities of the case to carry on their researches on the forms of life found among the animals and the plants: but the modern scientist avoids dogmatism when applying ' his. discoveries to mankind. It is the virtue of Baudouin that “less ambitious than Jung, but more ambitious than Freud” he strives to collate the new psychology with the old, but he also reaches out towards the future. Ha insists that the method to which experience has led him, the method whose results are recorded in this volume, is founded on “An unceasing collaboration between auto-suggestion and psycho-analysis.” He also declares that, throughout the book, generally speaking, “more stress is laid on the normal than on the pathological.” A brief extract from the “General Survey” which prefaces the “Theoretical. Exposition” will show exactly where Baudouin stands in this respect: If we take the normal ns our starting point, we are taking a psyoho|9gical outlook instead of a medical outlook, and consequently we are building an additional bridge between psycho-analysis and the classical psychology. For the aim of the classical psychology was to describe the mind of the normal man, of a man so normal that he was. at ■ times stupid. . . . But we must avoid th% opposite extreme, must avoid undue eagerness to study the pathological where classical psychology was unduly inclined to study the normal—though such undue stressing of the pathological—is an almost inevitable characteristic of methods that are medical in • their origin. By studying the normal aspects where medical psychologists have studied the pathological, we shall be able to integrate the two methods in psychological science. It is a sign of the times that in “A Study of Moral Problems” Mr B- M. Laing, lecturer in Philosophy at Sheffield University, seeks to relate the older classical psychology to the newer psycho analysis. The central problem with which Mr Laing is chiefly concerned is the relation between human action and natural law, involving an apparent conflict between freedom and mechanism' or natural law. which jn theology issues in the seeming contradictions of predestination an-* free will. “That problem,” says Mr Laing. “must be and is here regarded as a fundamental one, because it lies at the basis of all the more specific moral problems like evil, social conflicts, conflicts of values, the instabilityand uncertainty of mbral progress and moral achievement and because its solution will point a way to a solution of these difficulties.” Since Mr Laing’s book resolves itself into, a cleverly reasoned argument extending into some 200 pages, and embracing such subjects as science and reality, values and causes, mind and its conditions, values and the struggle for existence, morality and conditions, desire and desirability, the nature of morality and moral progress, it is impossible to do more than test his conclusions at certain vital points, lie declaims against the tendency to explain what is complex ■by means of one or a very few elements, and he cites the Freudian theory as an instance of an endeavour to explain “by some one instinct or impulse.” He comments; —“To reduce a diversity to a singly element is certainly to simplify, but it is not necessarily to understand the diversity.” Disonssing the psycholgical factor, Mr Laing holds that an ethical theory or a study of human action is not tied by indubitable psychological conclusions. “Evolution,” he writes, “rests on the idea of interaction between organism and environment; and this implies that there is no fundamental cleavage between environment and the nature of man.” In large part Mr Laing is a disciple of Professor M'Dougall, and lie constantly refers to, and quotes from, that authority in his “Introduction to Social Psychology” and his “Group Mind.” Mr" Laing writes: — Hence we are led. to deny that the causes of human action are to be found in instincts, impulses, innate tendencies, desires, or complexes; and to disagree with such a statement as that instincts opd habits which are derived from instincts are the only motive power of thought and action. This must not be taken tp mean a denial of the reality of psychological forces; but it means that their nature and bearing on action must be reinterpreted. Mr Laing insists that intellectual and moral progress refers to objective situations «pd conditions, onrl that the qualities which manifest themselves in human beings depend upon conditions and beliefs concerning these conditions. Any retrogression that Jins been noticeable,” says Mr Laing, "is attributable to motives .brought into play by conditions which man has not been hitherto able to master and direct to what is desirable; and the control of conditions in particular, baseu on scientific knowledge, will liberate the higher qualities of man.” The influence of the psychological trend of thought is plainly seen in Mr Aloe Waugh's treatment of such a subject ns. public school life, in a book which may bo regarded as an apologia for that much-discussed novel, “The Loom of York,” in that to use the author’s phrase, it has for its object “simply the analysis and presentation of public 'school life.” Mr Waugh does but echo a truism, —a truism underlined already by K. L. Stevenson—when ho points out that nothing in a man’s life is of more importance than his profession. “Half of the discontent of modern life,” says Mr Waugh, “the discontent that expresses itself in endless parties, dances, and entertainments, can bo traced to the reactions of men and women engaged in uncongenial employment.” "Can we.” he continues, “call a man educated who has not discovered in what capacity ho is most likely to ho of service to society, or who, having discovered it, has not taken steps to qualify himself for that profession? That in a sentence is the case against the Knglish public schools.” In his statement of that case Mr Waugh calls for “an honest facing of the facts of public school life, ' since “acts are a solid neutral ground on which parents may meet to discuss their ideals and their difficulties.” The hope of this book is “to provide that statement of facts.” Says Mr Waugh It docs not set out as an educational treatise. It accepts the public schools as the system best suited to the material with which it deals. It suggests no new system of teaching. If. does not advocate co-education. It does not advance any plea for Montessor methods. It will contain no discussion of the advantages of Greek over German. There will bo i.o appendix with time-fables and suggested curriculum. For, as things are now, it docs not matter whether Sanscrit is substituted for mathematics; the boy will learn equally little of either. It is intended us a human study of public school lito, as an attempt to break down thas conspiracy of silence, that relationship of evasion and deceit unit exists officially between parents, boys, and masters; and from time to time it will suggest solutions. There is nothing in the New Zealand educational system that corresponds in the slightest degree to the English public schools and the material dealt with is, in either case, entirely different. Nevertheless it may bo concluded that the causes of the existing dissatisfaction with education in the dominion, which are giving rise to increasing and keener discontent, are on all fours with the case against the -English public schools presented by Mr Waugli, although the effects show themselves in somewhat different fashion. An extract or two will prove, the point. Mr Waugh writes:

I can never quite see why so many people refuse to believe that a schoolboy’s conversation is punctuated with “damna” and “bloodys.” We employ the idioms of our surroundings. A boy does not swear at home; at school ho does. And there is no particular reason why he should not. An oath means little to him. He knows that some indecency is implied. But the meaning of the word is not defined by his' use of it. He rarely employs it appropriately. • He recommends the most contradictory performances. A powerful expression is needed. He wishes the world to know that he has been moved powerfully either to anger or to delight. That is all. Any word that would have this effect would suit him. , Cricket or football are what count. A boy must Have u_ religion of sorts. He must have some ideal to which the demands of his own temperament may become subservient. On this worship of games is based the scale of social values. The etnics of cribbing, for example, are based solely on the 'assumption that a. success in ’ form is of inconsiderable importance ; it is permissible for a boy to crib in order to save his energies for worthier causes. Schoolmasters prefer to deal with straight issues. They dislike the subtleties of action and character which are of such charm to the psychologist, ihey liko to say, ‘‘This is an offence.” Finer shades of meaning trouble them. At least that is their official attitude. And so it has come to he generally accepted that public school morality resolves itself into one main issue—that is, the corruption of a smalt boy by a big’ one. It is generally assumed for the purposes ,of dialectic that there are two classes of persons—the normal and the abnormal, and that all normal people follow the same process of development from birth .to death,’ - To disprove Havelock Hills 'collected at the end of certain volumes of his psychology authenticated histories of men whose development .he ’ claimed to be normal but whoso histories were s>s * ifferenl from on© another ns apples are irbm plums. In the face of such evidence it is dangerous to dogmatise on the gradual discovery of the sexual impulse bv public school boys during adolescence. The most one can say is that the majority of them come to a public school innocent and ignorant and that they leave it certainly not ignorant and with a relative degree of innocence. . . . ■ The public school system is unnatural. Through unffatural channels, therefore, a natural impulse has to flow inlo a natural course. The chapter on “Morality and the Romantic Friendship” is one calculated to excite controversy, but the whole of Mr Waugh’s book is worth reading as giving a faithful picture of public school life hitherto only glanced at in the pages of certain schoolboy novels. ‘‘Nothing can be done, ’ ho concludes, “till the conspiracy of silence, the policy of evasion and self-deception, the diplomacy of the merchant and his goods is broken down, till, that is to say, parents and schoolmasters meet on the common ground of co-operation, till they can look each other in the face and say: Things are so, and it is for us to find a remedy.” “Fragments of Life,” by Margaret Wynne Nevinson. puts into short ‘story form much of the philosophy and many of the ideas expounded in the four previous books. The author of “Workhouse ’Characters” has in this instance selected a larger canvas and with humour and sympathy, mingled with a blend of mysticism, she has contrived some capital sketches of English life in town and country which well repay perusal. „ In “Regeneration and Reconstruction the Rev. S. B. John pictures a world situation summed up in the pregnant phrase “Christ or Chaos.” The veteran Mr John Clifford, in a. brief foreword, certifies that Mr John “utters the truth for all time, but specially for the needs of our world civilisation at this hour.” The scope of this treatise, which in worded in earnest languace, covers not only the collapse of civilisation but also its divine basis and points to Spiritual Regeneration, the necessity, the nature, and the fruits of which are eloquently enfarged upon, as the only remedy. A final chapter on “Methods” concludes with these words: The hour of the Church has oome. A new world-order lies in its lap. the venture of faith alone is needed for realisation. Possibly such a crusade would entail suffering, but the suffering would be short-lived, the blood of the martyr would bo not only the seed of the Church but of the new world also. For this cause the Church is called in these days; like Luther, it can do no other; its success depends upon its obedience to the heavenly vision. A new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness and peace are within our roach, “the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God.” The reconstruction the world waits for reconstructed personalities. And reconstructed personalities wait for the Church to rise in the might of its Evangel and in the world-wide vision of Redeeming Love to consecrate itself to the task of making the Kingdoms of the world the Kingdom of our God and His Christ.