312 LECTURES AND ESSAYS [1874- 



the closest study of the whole history of religion, especially 

 of the religion of Christ. The battle with unbelief which 

 in last century was fought on broad general grounds and 

 with arguments addressed to the general intelligence, is 

 now resolving itself into a series of detailed contests, 

 intelligible for the most part only to men specially 

 trained, and extending over every theological discipline. 

 True, this new phase in the contest between Christianity 

 and infidelity has not yet been adequately realised by 

 either side. Nor can a time ever come when those cruder 

 forms of unbelief, which have their strength in passion 

 and prejudice, shall cease to advance the old objections 

 and call forth the old replies. But ever since the publica 

 tion of Strauss s first Life of Jesus, the new conditions 

 of the battle have been growing more and more visible. 

 The more sober and cultivated opponents of our faith 

 have ceased to regard theological studies as unworthy of 

 their attention. Theology, it is admitted, can be over 

 thrown only by theologians. Unlike those superstitions 

 that vanish at once before the light of superior truth, 

 Christianity can be subverted only by the most refined 

 process of criticism operating against the detailed de 

 velopments of Christian belief. This new wager of 

 battle has not been refused by the defending camp. The 

 critical study of Christianity has been taken up both by 

 friend and foe, with an energy which indicates con 

 siderable revival of interest in exact theological research ; 

 and the conception of theology as a science, which in this 

 country had very much dropped out of sight, is again 

 impressed upon men s minds. 



At first sight, the stimulus which has thus been given 

 to theological inquiry seems very valuable. But before 

 we give ourselves up to the unreserved self-congratulation 

 which we hear around us, it is well that we should ask 

 whether it is a wholesome thing that all theological 

 interest is at present so exclusively supported by apolo- 

 getical and polemical motives. We should ask whether 



