M.D. i. Willink, Allen Vawin, London 10/—
The author has given us here an interesting attempt to trace throughout the Bible and Christian history the more terrible and daunting side of our idea of divinity. From earliest times the consciousness of deity has been something to be feared, something dangerous to approach and this aspest was extended into the religious life of the Jews, so that God became something akin all-consuming and terrible fire, destructive and avenging to all who came near without due preparation and purifeation. This idea of fear was essential to the times. To still primitive race, a code of behaviour based purely on an appeal to respect for the public welfare meant little or nothing. They had to be made to feel that if they offended, it was they who would suffer, not that their misdeeds Would cause suffering to others.
The author sets out to show that this aspect of fear in religion is being largely neglected to-day and that this neglect is one of the causes of the present weakness of our religious life. A parallel ma; be drawn with the power of the law in a civilised state. A man may come to the conclusion that by a certain deed, say a theft, he will unself very greatly with a minimum, of effort. He also knows that by this deed, he will cause dismay and loss to' the man he robs. He realises, too, that having committed the theft he will be seized by a servant of the law and put into prison. Now in all probability it is the latter only of these two items that will prevent him from stealing, and so long as he is only partly developed in civilisation, it is necessary for him to have this fear of a hidden force lurking somewhere in the background. Later he becomes educated to the idea that his proposed actions are contrary to the public good and accepts this, linked up ith the consciousness that there is still something waiting to provide suitable punishment should he fal When he becomes 'a fully rational being he realises that if he can the law without the ance of the ever-waiting then the latter may be as a mere formality dispensed with.
All well having' dispensed with it, he begins to forget th it ever' existed and to wonder if there is any reason why he should not steal since it so obviously will And gone circle according to we have
the writer of this book. We have begun to forget and as a reminder must bring back some of the fet of God as an avenger which a tuated the erly religions and made force in the lives of their followers—r.M.MeB,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.