Conclusion 387 



or consciousness of the Absolute ? And if this belief is illusory, 

 are we not thrown back upon the full and rich life of the spirit 

 among other spirits as the highest state which man can attain ? 

 Some who have been repelled by the bleak isolation of the mystic's 

 final climb might welcome this conclusion. Dr. Brown emphasises 

 the transcendence of space and time in ecstasy as perhaps an 

 important experience. But in fact much of our higher life is 

 timeless and spaceless ; it is not only in ecstasy that we rise beyond 

 these forms of thought. 



The last essay in the book deals not with religion in general 

 but with Christianity in particular. What is its position among 

 other religions ? Is it, in any real sense, unique ? Can we expect 

 that it will ultimately conquer the world ^. 



These questions cannot be answered without a clearer defini- 

 tion of what we mean by Christianity than Professor Webb's 

 essay contains. The future of Christianity as an institution — the 

 fate of the Churches — is, from the point of view of these essays, 

 not a matter of supreme importance. It is even possible to 

 speculate (though I should not go so far myself) whether the 

 religion of Christ might not be a greater power in the world if its 

 professional custodians were removed. As a great historical institu- 

 tion, Christianity can be characterised only as the religion of the 

 white race. Although it arose on Semitic soil, it had made its 

 choice between Europe and Asia long before the end of the first 

 century. The Jews would have none of it, thus transformed ; 

 the Asiatic Christians made a poor fight against a genuinely 

 Oriental religion, that of Islam. From the second century till 

 the present day, Christianity has been the most European and the 

 least Asiatic of religions. Its great expansion in modern times has 

 been due to the unparalleled expansion of the white race. It has 

 made no triumphs worth boasting of among the brown, black, or 

 yellow peoples. The gospel itself, no doubt, may exercise a wide 

 influence upon Buddhism, Hinduism, and Mohammedanism. 

 There is a cult of Amida in Eastern Asia which is said to be not 

 unlike the Logos-Christology of the early Church. But the 

 European nations, arrogant, domineering, and rapacious, have done 

 little to recommend the name of Christianity in Asia and Africa ; 

 and it is hardly probable that the European Churches, which have 

 formed their customs and forms of government to suit Western 

 conditions, will impose their organisations upon the immemorial 



