THE PRR-REQUISITES OF A CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. 237 



have fowl, cattle, beast, and creeping thing. Again, Genesis i, 27 

 and V, 1, 2, clearly mark out the male as the direct image of God ; 

 and the Apostle Paul teaches the same thing [see i Cor. xi, 3 fF.). 

 The same lesson is taught in Genesis iii, man's weakness and dis- 

 obedience shewing that the likeness to God was not spiritual and 

 moral. That man is a fallen being, Nature tells us ; and Nature tells 

 us also that no degraded race is ever raised without help from out- 

 side. St. Paul, moreover, tells us that this depraved inward nature 

 cannot be changed ; and he, and the doctrine of the immaculate con- 

 ception of our Lord, alike teach us that our depravity comes from 

 our fathers, not from our mothers. Nature tells us, moreover, also 

 that the body can be destroyed. 



As regards humanity, I submit that the Christian Philosophy — in 

 action — consists in the implanting of a new Divine, immortal, and 

 incorruptible spirit of life, affecting his character here, but not 

 entirely replacing the old tainted animal spirit until death, when the 

 latter is destroyed for ever, and the new spirit in fullness, of which 

 an earnest only is given here, joins the body in resurrection and 

 makes it perfect and glorious through eternity. 



I should like to move a vote of thanks to the reader of this paper 

 which I did not discuss in detail, because I thought, the most im- 

 portant thing was a sound basis of Philosophy. 



Dr. SCHOFIELD : On page 230 of the paper there is a remark that 

 to know about God we must know God. We must accept the truth ; 

 and to know about God is to know God. This is not true in every 

 sphere of knowledge; that is to say, to use the word "know" in 

 the Bible sense, in which it is familiar to us. We may know a great 

 deal about any subject or person without being personally acquain- 

 ted with it or him. With regard to page 231, it seems to me that 

 this personal knowledge of God is one w^hich cannot very well be 

 put into words — that it lies at the back of all our thoughts and 

 influences, the whole character and attitude of our minds. This is, 

 I think, profoundly true, and it is known to be true by everyone 

 who has a personal knowledge of God. 



In page 233 the position of Thomas Aquinas seems to be put quite 

 rightly; and I would suggest that, after all, there is a sharp demar- 

 cation between Theism and Christianity, although Theism does not 

 necessarily lead to Christianity. It does not foreshadow the atoning 

 death and resurrection of Christ. Theism in the light of Christianity 



