17. THE DEITY OF HUMANITY

attain by his own efforts when he departed from his Creator's purpose in making him (Gen. i. 26-28) was to become "as God" (Gen. iii. 5, R.V.). And the great spirit of evil who instigated the present "career of humanity," and who has encouraged and aided it in all its long and painful progress, is now sedulously teaching through "his ministers, transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Cor. xi. 15), that the last stage of the great journey has been reached, and that man has actually become "as God." We quote some other passages from Mr. Campbell wherein the divinity of humanity is asserted:—

"Where, then, some will say, is the dividing line between our being and God's? There is no dividing line except from our side" (p. 34).

The force of this exception is that human beings make a dividing line where none really exists. This they do by failing to recognize their essential oneness with God, just as the estuary or arm of the sea might think itself a limited affair, not recognizing its essential oneness with the mighty ocean. (This is Mr. Campbell's own illustration of the doctrine.)

"My God is my deeper self, and yours too; He is the self of the universe, and knows all about it. He is never baffled, and cannot be baffled; the whole cosmic process is one long incarnation and uprising of the being of God from itself to itself" (p. 35).

In spite of the obscurity of this utterance its essential meaning is plain enough, and the impression it may make upon the reader must depend mainly upon his apprehension of how "sin in the flesh" appears in the eyes of the thrice-holy God. By those who have the faintest apprehension of this, the assertion that sinful man and the Holy God are essentially one can be regarded only as shocking blasphemy. When, therefore, we hear unblushingly proclaimed, and by one who passes as a Christian minister, this hideous doctrine of the Diety of humanity, and when we find that doctrine taking in men's hearts and minds the place of "the doctrine of Christ," we can in a measure understand what stirred the heart of the Apostle when he wrote in the chapter already quoted, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. xi. 3). Again Mr. Campbell says:—

"Fundamentally the individual is one with the whole race and with God" (p. 39).

"Strictly speaking, the human and the Divine are two categories which shade into and imply each other. Humanity is Divinity viewed from below. Divinity is humanity viewed from above" (p. 73).

"The New Theology regards all mankind as

MAN HIS OWN JUDGE

'being of one substance with the Father'"

(p. 41).

Of course, it follows from this that there is no accountability for sins and wickednesses.

If all mankind is of one substance with the Father, then God cannot be dissociated from the doings of men, and indeed He has been and is the Participator with man in all the wicked doings which the Bible denounces. It is of such as teach and hold such things that the Lord says:—

"Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee" (Ps. l. 21).

Indeed, according to New Theology, there is no punishment; and, in fact, there is no one to punish the offender, if there were an offender to be punished.

Here are Mr. Campbell's declarations on that subject:—

"There is no such thing as punishment, no faroff Judgment Day, no great white throne, and no

Judge external to ourselves" (p. 213).

"And who, pray, is the judge? Who but yourself? The deeper self is the judge, the self who is externally one with God" (p. 215).

It is safe to predict, in that event, that the culprit, if there could be one according to this system, would escape with a very light sentence; or more probably would receive the commendation of the Court.

It is also safe to say that this comfortable teaching will commend itself highly to the evil-doers of this lawless age. Indeed, it is the avowed purpose of the New Theology to furnish a system of doctrine which shall meet with popular favour. This brings us to the recognition of the important place in this system which is held by the principles of Democracy.

We have already reminded our readers that the essence of Democracy is that the will of the people is the supreme law. The majority must control in every matter of common interest. From this principle it is easy to pass to the assumption that the will of the people is right, and that the test of every doctrine is its popularity. This assumption will be found to be inherent in all the new theologies and religious movements of our day. Whether or not a doctrine be true is not important; the important question is, Does it suit the taste of the multitude? Will the people approve and accept it? Will it get the votes? The principles of Democracy are necessarily involved in the New Theology; for if humanity is Divine, then it follows inevitably that whatever humanity may approve has the Divine sanction. Speaking of this aspect of the New Theology, Mr. Campbell says:—

"This higher, wider truth which sweeps away the mischievous accretions which have made religion distasteful to the masses, is the religious articulation of the movement towards an ideal social order" (p. 225).

A moment's reflection on conditions which exist

DOCTRINE MUST PLEASE THE PEOPLE throughout Christendom at the present time will show us how widely this principle of Democracy prevails, and how profoundly it affects the thought of the day. Preaching is largely controlled, not by the consideration of faithfulness to the message of the Word, but by the desire to satisfy the wishes of the congregation by whom the preacher is "supported"; not by reference to what men need, but by reference to what they want. To ascertain the taste of the populace, so as to present that which is palatable to the masses, many experiments are being tried, whereby God is dishonoured and His wrath provoked every day. No doubt it is very pleasing to the masses to be told that "all mankind is of one substance with the Father." On the other hand, what renders the truth of God "distasteful to the masses" is the repeated and uncompromising testimony of His Word that man is by nature a sinner, utterly corrupt, whose imaginations are evil, whose very righteousnesses are filthy rags, whose tendencies are to go astray; that men are, one and all, from the least to the greatest, wholly lost, undone, dead in trespasses and sins, under present condemnation, in the grasp of death, and destined, unless saved by the grace and power of God, to eternal perdition. It is very "distasteful to the masses" to be informed that man is, not only "ungodly," but also "without strength" (Rom. v. 6), insomuch that he is unable to do anything whatsoever to recover himself out of his evil estate. Hence the New Theology openly declares it to be an important part of its mission to sweep away everything that is "distasteful to the masses," and to substitute for Truth such a system of teaching that every man can find in it what is thoroughly suited to his tastes. That such a system will commend itself to popular approbation is reasonably certain; and if the people approve it, then, according to the principles of Democracy, it has justified itself, and earned a permanent place among human institutions. This brings us to the observation that in the New Theology there is, of course, no "salvation" in the Scriptural sense of that word. Man needs no Saviour, for there is nothing to be saved from. Salvation, therefore, according to New Theology, consists in attaining to a knowledge of the oneness of the individual with God, and with the whole human race. For this purpose, man is his own saviour. Salvation, according to Mr. Campbell, consists "in ceasing to be selfish" (p. 210). He says:— "Every man who is trying to live so as to make his life a blessing to the world is being saved himself in the process" (p. 210).

"There is no stopping-place between sinner and Saviour. This is the way in which men like Robert Blatchford of the Clarion¹ are being

¹ An avowed opponent of Christianity.

NEW THEOLOGY AND SOCIALISM saved while trying to save. . . . His moral earnestness is a mark of his Christhood, and his work a part of the atonement. Not another Christ than Jesus, mind! The very same. Mr. Blatchford may laugh at this,¹ and call his moral aspirations by quite a different name. Well, let him; but I know the thing when I see it. This is Salvation" (p. 211).

We have now seen that, according to the New Theology, man is essentially divine; and, in order that there may be no mistake about the doctrine, we are assured that even a man who openly derides the Christ of God is one with Him, and that the dead works of the infidel and scoffer are "part of the atonement" made by the Saviour of men. It is thus made perfectly obvious that the main purpose of that movement is to put Man in the supreme place. The New Theology thus clearly discloses that its aim is to prepare the way for that ultimate condition of human society in which a man shall oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped (2 Thess. ii. 4). It perfectly fulfils this prominent feature of the prophecies mentioned above.

We have also seen that the New Theology incorporates in itself the essence of pure Democracy, and

¹ And, in fact, he does laugh hilariously; but to those who believe on the Son of God it will seem that these statements approach the extreme limits of blasphemy.

squarely plants itself upon confidence in the inherent powers of man.

We now come to consider the important fact that the tendency of the New Theology is towards the formation of a system wherein the religious and business interests of humanity shall be consolidated, thus fulfilling another striking feature of the prophetic Scriptures.

Mr. Campbell declares that Christianity has, for the moment, lost its hold upon men; but he predicts the recovery of its hold through identifying itself with the great social movements of the age, which are now taking place in every civilized country in the world. These movements, he says, are pressing towards "universal peace and brotherhood." Here we clearly perceive the ideal of the great Confederacy. Mr. Campbell then makes the significant statement that the great social movement is really the same movement as that which, in the religious sphere, is coming to be called the New Theology. "This fact," he says, "needs to be realized and brought out."

Here, then, is a clear statement of the fact that the great social movements, and the great religious movements of our day, though apparently far apart in some respects, are "really the same movement," and that all are advancing rapidly towards the formation of one organization or social system, which shall be both secular and religious.

NEW THEOLOGY & LABOUR MOVEMENT

Here are some pertinent passages from Mr. Campbell's book :—

"Assuredly Christianity has for the moment lost his hold. Can it recover it? I am sure it can, if only because the moral movements of the age such as the great Labour Movement, are in reality the expression of the Christian spirit, and only need to recognize themselves as such in order to become irresistible. The wagon of Socialism needs to be hitched to the star of religious faith." (p. 8). "The great Social Movement, which is now taking place in every country of the civilized world towards universal peace and brotherhood, and a better and fairer distribution of wealth, is REALLY THE SAME MOVEMENT as that which, in the more distinctively religious sphere, is coming to be called the New Theology. This fact needs to be realized and brought out.

"The New Theology is but the religious articulation of the social movement" (p. 14).

Mr. Campbell points out (pp. 251-254) that the present conditions of life of the great masses of humanity are intolerably unjust, and abound in all sorts of evils and miseries. He calls attention to the existence of slums and sweat-shops, of paupers and able-bodied unemployed, of abject poverty and degradation, of over-crowded and disease-breeding tenements. He argues that the existing Economic System is the cause of these conditions; for of course he does not recognize them as incidents and results of the self-chosen "career of humanity," suggested by the spirit of evil. He then refers approvingly to Socialism, which he calls "the movement towards social regeneration," and which he declares to be "really and truly a spiritual movement." With this movement he thoroughly identifies the New Theology, saying:—

"In fact the Labour Party is itself a church, in the sense in which that word was originally used; for it represents the getting together of those who want to bring about the Kingdom of God. The New Theology, as I understand it, is the theology of this movement, whether the movement knows it or not, for it is essentially the gospel of the Kingdom of God."

"This higher, wider truth, which sweeps away the mischievous accretions which have made religion distasteful to the masses, is the religious articulation of the movement towards an ideal social order" (p. 255).

Evidently, it is only necessary for Socialism to permit itself to be styled "Christian" in order to make its distinctive doctrines acceptable in many quarters where that name still retains a value, although everything that it once signified has been cast aside. It is

NEW THEOLOGY AND SCIENCE the "ideal social order" which is the real aim of the New Theology; and we have already observed that the essential characteristics of this ideal are the marks of that great system, described eighteen centuries ago in the Word of Truth, in which the activities of man, in his self-chosen lines of progress and civilizations, are to have their culmination.

On this point Mr. Campbell says :—

"This then is the mission of the New Theology. It is to brighten and keep burning the flame of the spiritual ideal in the midst of the mighty social movement which is now in progress."

In this day, when the word "science" is being freely used by theologians of a certain class to intimidate ignorant and thoughtless people, and to furnish a substitute for the Word of God as the foundation of religious systems, it is important to note carefully the position assigned to science in these new movements, and then (as we propose doing later on) to subject the claims of this "science" to a rigid examination. On this point Mr. Campbell says :— "Again, the New Theology is the religion of science. . . . It is the recognition that, upon the foundations laid by modern science, a vaster and nobler fabric of faith is rising than the world has ever before known" (p. 15).

Those "who profess and call themselves Christians"

should mark well the expressions of this sort, with which current religious literature abounds, and which are producing a very general impression to the effect that "science" has, to a greater or less extent, removed or disturbed the foundations upon which Christian faith has rested through the centuries. These statements are rapidly preparing the minds of people, in this day of shallow thinking, to accept any doctrine brought forth in the name of "science." The Psalmist anxiously inquires "If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do?" (Ps. xi. 3). To that question the New Theology has its answer ready, namely, "We shall build upon the foundations laid by modern science a vaster and nobler fabric of faith than the world has ever before known." Mr. Campbell further develops the idea of Unification, and shows the breadth of the New Theology, by declaring its practical identity (not only with the social movements of the day, but also) with the forward movements in various ecclesiastical systems, such as "Modernism." He says:—

"In the Church of Rome the movement (i.e. New Theology) is typified by men like Father Tyrrell, whose teaching has led to his expulsion from the Jesuit Order, but not so far from the priesthood.

"In the Church of England a large and increasing band of men are looking in this direction and