blem of the Salvation of Man.
This is sometimes expressed by saying that they are redemptive
religions--religions interested in freeing mankind from some vast and
universal burden, of imperfection, of unreasonableness, of evil, of
misery, of fate, of unworthiness, or of sin. Now, for my present
purposes, this _interest in the salvation of man_ shall be made, in
these lectures, the essential feature of religion in so far as
religion shall here be dealt with. The religious objects, whatever
they otherwise may prove to be, shall be defined as objects such that,
when we know them, and in case we can know them, this knowledge of
them helps to show us the way of salvation. The central and essential
postulate of whatever religion we, in these lectures, are to consider,
is _the postulate that man {9} needs to be saved_. And religious
insight shall for us mean insight into the way of salvation and into
those objects whereof the knowledge conduces to salvation.

This preliminary definition, thus somewhat abruptly stated, will
arouse in the minds of many of you serious doubts and questions. And
only the whole course of our study can serve to furnish such answer to
these doubts and questions as I can hope to supply to you. Yet a
further word or two of purely preliminary explanation may help to
prevent your thoughts, at this point, from being turned in a wrong
direction. I have defined religious insight as insight into the way of
salvation. But what, you may ask, do I mean by the salvation of man or
by man's need of salvation? To this question I still owe you a brief
preliminary answer.

II

The word salvation naturally first suggests to your own mind certain
familiar traditions which have played a great part in the history of
Christianity. I do not mean to make light of those traditions nor yet
of the significance of the historical Christianity to which they
belong. Yet, as I have already told you, these lectures will have no
dogmatic religious system to expound, and, for that very reason, will
not attempt the grave task of any extended discussion of Christianity.
I propose at {10} some future time, not in these lectures, but upon a
wholly different occasion, to attempt an application of some of the
principles that underlie the present lectures to the special problems
which Christianity offers to the student of religion. But these
lectures are not to be directly concerned with this special task of