7.

[123] See Baring-Gould's _Study of St. Paul_, pp. 450-1.

[124] See Hepworth Dixon's curious work, _Spiritual Wives_, 1888, 2
vols.

[125] _Study of St. Paul_, p. 458.

[126] _History of European Morals_, i. p. 417.

[127] Cutten, _Psychological Christianity_, p. 157.

[128] Sanger, _History of Prostitution_, p. 116.

[129] See Blunt's _Dictionary of Sects_, art. "Manichaeans."

[130] _De Civitate Dei_, ii. 4.

[131] Mosheim, _Cent. 2_, chap. v. sec. 4.

[132] _Dictionary of Sects_, p. 13.

[133] Lea, _Hist. of Sacerdotal Celibacy_, 1884, p. 42.

[134] Cited by Michelet, _Priests, Women, and Families_, p. 130.

[135] _Spiritual Wives_, ii. pp. 55-6.

[136] _Spiritual Wives_, pp. 176-7, 181.

[137] _Ibid._, pp. 84-6.

[138] _The Russian Church and Russian Dissent_, p. 201.

[139] Lea, _Hist. of Sacerdotal Celibacy_, p. 40.

[140] _Visit to the Russian Empire_, i. p. 254. Merejkowski, in his
historical novel, _Peter and Alexis_, gives a more detailed account of
the sexual ceremonies of this sect. See also Heard's description,
_Russian Church_, p. 258.

[141] _Russian Church and Russian Dissent_, p. 262.

CHAPTER SEVEN

CONVERSION

From what has been already said, it should be clear that a complete
understanding of religious phenomena--whether legitimately or wrongly so
called--involves acquaintance with a number of factors that are not
usually called religious. Man's religious beliefs are usually a very
composite product; they are built up from a number of states of feeling
and mental convictions, some of which have only an accidental connection
with the religious idea itself. Unfortunately, the training given to
professional religious teachers rarely equips them for dealing with
religion from the scientific point of view. Their training gives them a
knowledge of several ancient languages, makes them acquainted with the
rise and fall of certain doctrines, the nature of Church ritual and the
like, all of which, while interesting enough in themselves, give little
more genuine enlightenment than a knowledge of the dates of English
monarchs provides of the character of genuine historic processes. One
writer pertinently asks:--

"What does the ordinary seminary graduate know of the histology,
anatomy, and physiology of the soul? Absolutely nothing. He must stumble
along through years of trying experience and look back over countless
mistakes before he understands these things even in