like Conquest or by Such
Motives as might Appeal to the Natural Heart--Christianity Rises
above all Other Systems in the Divine Personality of Christ--The
Contrast in this Respect between Him and the Authors of the
Non-Christian Systems--His Attractions and His Power Acknowledged
by all Classes of Men--The Inferiority of Socrates as Compared with
Christ--Bushnell's Tribute to the Perfection of this Divine
Personality--Its Power Attested in the Life of Paul--The Adaptation
of Christianity to all the Circumstances and Conditions of
Life--Abraham and the Vedic Patriarchs, Moses and Manu, David's Joy
and Gratitude, and the Gloom of Hindu or Buddhist Philosophy--Only
Christianity Brings Man to True Penitence and Humility--The
Recognized Beauty and the Convincing Lesson of the Prodigal
Son--The Contrast between Mohammed's Blasphemous Suras, which
Justify his Lust, and the Deep Contrition of David in the
Fifty-first Psalm--The Moral Purity of the Old and New Testaments
as Contrasted with all Other Sacred Books--The Scriptures Pure
though Written in Ages of Corruption and Surrounded by Immoral
Influences--Christ Belongs to no Land or Age--The Gospel Alone is
Adapted to all Races and all Time as the Universal Religion of
Mankind--Only Christianity Recognizes the True Relation between
Divine Help and Human Effort--It Encourages by Omnipotent
Co-operation--The All-Comprehensive Presentation of the Gospel.

APPENDIX 381

ORIENTAL RELIGIONS AND CHRISTIANITY

LECTURE I.

THE NEED OF UNDERSTANDING THE FALSE RELIGIONS

It is said that the very latest among the sciences is the Science of
Religion. Without pausing to inquire how far it admits of scientific
treatment, certain reasons which may be urged for the study of the
existing religions of the world will be considered in this lecture. It
must be admitted in the outset that those who have been the pioneers in
this field of research have not, as a rule, been advocates of the
Christian faith. The anti-Christian theory that all religions may be
traced to common causes, that common wants and aspirations of mankind
have led to the development of various systems according to environment,
has until recently been the chief spur to this class of studies.
Accordingly, the religions of the world have been submitted to some
preconceived philosophy of language, or ethnology