Personal Idealism And Mysticism

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In these engaging lectures, William Ralph Inge shares his views on religion, and the philosophy with which he approached belief. Inge was popular in the USA for his novel approach and serene discussions of religious topics. He was a Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University, and worked as a priest in the Anglican church. These lectures are a good introduction to his views: that spiritual experience and an emotional connection to God and to Christ are more important than an authoritative presence. Inge sought to emphasize how the personality of Biblical figures, both in the Old and New Testament, offered a way for readers to relate to the narratives of the scriptures. Several of Inge's ideas are related to neo-Platonism, which itself is an evolution of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato's views. The author is also well-acquainted with modern philosophy, which he energetically reconciles with the principles of the Christian believer. The final essay concerns the problems of sin; how sinfulness is treated both historically and in modern Christianity is discussed at length, and its interplay with moral values and shifting attitudes.

Excerpt from Personal Idealism and Mysticism: The Paddock Lectures for 1906, Delivered at the General Seminary, New York Visit to America, during which I made many friends, and experienced the wonderful hospi tality and kindness which Americans, above all other nations, know how to show to visitors. The month which I spent in the United States will always be one of my happiest recollections. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

These lectures display again the qualities which we have before had occasion to admire in their author. The two in which Professor Inge gives an account of the sources and growth of the Logos-doctrine in Greek thought, and of the development and the permanent value of Logos-Christology within the Church, are those which we should select as the most valuable. They show true insight, and they are convincing. The other lectures abound in illuminating passages; but in them we sometimes find ourselves unable to understand the writer's meaning, and sometimes, when we think we do, we are not able to agree with him. The opening lecture states the theory of spiritual knowledge which Dr Inge defends as against the anti-intellectualism of to-day. It is practically the Neoplatonic 'scale of perfection." Fortunately we may embrace this without accepting Plotinus' ontology, with which the lecturer closely connects it. This access to God, we are further told, is not the only approach. There are also the paths of the Beautiful and the True. That God is not a purely ethical Being, Prof. Inge regards as a statement requiring some courage to proclaim. Writers on morals and religion, he says, frequently suffer from an "ethical obsession, ' causing them to look upon truth and beauty as merely means, unworthy of God as ends in themselves. We should have thought the former of these statements a commonplace, and the latter an exaggeration. Everyone- we will say almost everyone-surely considers that God cannot be indifferent to Truth and Beauty. A problem could only emerge if we had to contemplate the possibility of a conflict of these ideals with that of the Good, in the mind of God. We are, however, disappointed here in our expectation of some fresh contribution to theodicy: the outcome is no more than the controverting of Tyrrell's Lea Orandi. - The Cambridge Review, Vol. 28

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.