Faith and Free Thought; A Second Course of Lectures Delivered at the Request of the Christian Evidence Society - Christian Evidence Society

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1873. Excerpt: ... THE FORCE IMPARTED TO THE EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY, FROM THE MANNER IN WHICH A NUMBER OF DISTINCT LINES OF PROOF CONVERGE IN A COMMON CENTRE. BY BENJAMIN SHAW, Esq., ARR1STER-AT-LAW, M.A., LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. THE FORCE IMPARTED TO THE EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY FROM THE MANNER IN WHICH DISTINCT LINES OF PROOF CONVERGE IN A COMMON CENTRE. IF I had thought that in coming here to-day I slould appear to assume the office of a teacher, I shoild have hesitated long before accepting the invitaton of the committee. But I hope I may rather be allowed to consider that we are simply about to spend an hour in inquiring together into the most important subject that can occupy the attention of responsible beings. Bishop Butler has said "that the speculative difficulties in which the evidence of religion is involved, may male even the principal part of some persons' trial." He explains this by saying that "as the chief temptations of the generality of the world are the ordinary motives to injustice or unrestrained pleasure; or to live in the neglect of religion from that frane of mind which renders many persons almost without feeling as to anything distant, or which is not the object of their senses: so there are other persons without this shallowness of temper, persons of deeper sense as to what is invisible and future, wlo not only see, but have a general practical feeling, trat what is to come will be present, and that things ire not less real for their not being the objects of seise, and who from their external condition may lave small temptations to behave ill, small difficult/ in behaving well, in the common course of life." Hence he considers that "what constitutes, what chiefly and peculiarly constitutes the probation n all senses of some p...