678 Causes and Course of Organic Evolution 



Having considered mental phenomena and also morals as 

 the highest expression of mental molecular organization, that 

 causes ever increasing, strengthening, and expansion of the 

 social bond, it seems not only appropriate but claimant that 

 an examination be made of the religious organization. Here 

 the writer desires to state that he would not be true to himself, 

 to his convictions, and to his fellows, did he not state frankly 

 that he was reared amid Protestant Christian influences; that 

 he has labored in many ways for many years in behalf of what 

 he has regarded as pure Christian truth and practice, this also 

 at times and in ways that interfered with other and cherished 

 purposes; that he has spent many years in tracing out and 

 comparing religious systems, in themselves and in the light 

 of evolution, with scientific laws and principles; and that 

 whatever he may now advance in explanation of a scientific 

 religious attitude he does, only after long and careful weigh- 

 ings and earnest efforts after "light, light, more light." He 

 hopes to analyze the religious situation without bias, and to 

 learn its possible trend. 



But, in relation to his fellow-men, the writer would recall 

 that no struggles, feuds, and warfares have been more bitter 

 during written human history than those which directly owed 

 their origin to religious strife. However regrettable in itself, 

 this fact alone proves that religion needs fullest scientific treat- 

 ment, and is an exact scientific outcome of certain organizing 

 phases in human evolution. 



While it is true that selfish and debased characters like 

 Alexander, Jenghiz, and Napoleon depleted countries of their 

 manhood, and saw that manhood slaughtered in order to feed 

 their own selfish egotism, it is equally true that the Iranian 

 wars after the time of Zarathushtra, the wars of Mahomet, of 

 the Crusaders, of the Spanish papacy in America, of the Anti- 

 covenanters, of the German Thirty Years' War period, and 

 many others were at heart fostered as religious wars, even 

 though baser human motives often participated. 



So religious principle, which should, and often is pretended 

 to, promote peace, has undoubtedly been a medium for the 



