ETHICS AND RELIGION. 737 



principles of the gospel. It is true that there is a spirit in the 

 New Testament which is antagonistic to the enslaving of human 

 beings. But it is also true that Paul saw no incompatibility be- 

 tween slavery and Christianity, and it is only recently that the 

 Christian world has come to a definite conclusion on this point. 

 It is not long since devout men in England, Russia, Brazil, and 

 the United States defended slavery on biblical and moral grounds ; 

 and the present condemnation of it is to be regarded as a product 

 of the modern social movement toward the recognition of all 

 human rights. 



The relation of divine standards to human experience is illus- 

 trated in our own times by the discussions on various points of 

 social morals. The Catholic Church, following what it supposed 

 to be the New Testament teaching, affirmed the perpetuity of the 

 marriage relation and the impossibility of divorce. There is a 

 difference of opinion among biblical expositors as to the meaning 

 of the passage in which the Founder of Christianity has ex- 

 pressed his opinion on this point (Matt, v, 32) ; some hold that 

 there is one scriptural ground of divorce, others that there is 

 none. Modern legislators and social philosophers, however, 

 proceed without reference to the biblical rule. The old church 

 law has been abandoned in most countries, and in the discussions 

 which take place in private circles the arguments on the sub- 

 ject are based not on scriptural grounds but on considerations 

 supposed to connect themselves with the well-being of society. 

 There are many questions for the decision of which there is no 

 specific religious authority; they have arisen from distinctly 

 modern conditions of life, of which the older religious books, of 

 course, take no note. Such questions may often, perhaps always, 

 be brought under general ethical principles announced in the 

 Bible. But the particular application of these principles, the 

 practical decision of present questions of duty, is determined by 

 existing social conditions. Whether capital punishment should 

 be abolished, how far the use of alcoholic drinks should be 

 allowed or prohibited by the state, whether parks and museums 

 should be thrown open to the public on Sundays, whether the 

 theatre should be favored or opposed these questions are all dis- 

 cussed on modern social grounds. 



Has religion contributed any idea to ethics ? It might seem 

 at first view that this question must be answered in the affirma- 

 tive. The Church has at various times imposed laws on the 

 world. The ethical life of Europe has been deeply affected by the 

 church law of divorce. The celibacy of the clergy, a purely eccle- 

 siastical enactment, has had far-reaching moral consequences. 

 In all times and countries the ministers of religion have had more 

 or less to do with the establishment of customs and laws relating 



vol. xxxvi. 47 



