of many religious phenomena on which our ancestors
looked with awe. When we have eliminated the
more heady exaggerations of the psycho-analysts, and
the too-violent simplifications of the behaviourists,
it remains true that many problems have lately been
elucidated in an unexpected, and some in a helpful,
sense. We are learning in particular to see in
true proportion those abnormal states of trance and
ecstasy which were once regarded as the essentials,
but are now recognized as the by-products, of the
mystical life. But a good deal that at first sight
seems startling, and even disturbing to the religious
mind, turns out on investigation to be no more than
the re-labelling of old facts, which behind their
new tickets remain unchanged. Perhaps no generation
has ever been so much at the mercy of such labels
as our own. Thus many people who are inclined
to jibe at the doctrine of original sin welcome it
with open arms when it is reintroduced as the uprush
of primitive instinct. Opportunity of confession
to a psychoanalyst is eagerly sought and gladly paid
for, by troubled spirits who would never resort for
the same purpose to a priest. The formulae of
auto-suggestion are freely used by those who repudiate
vocal prayer and acts of faith with scorn. If,
then, I use for the purpose of exposition some of those
labels which are affected by the newest schools, I
do so without any suggestion that they represent the
only valid way of dealing with the psychic life of
man. Indeed, I regard these labels as little
more than exceedingly clever guesses at truth.
But since they are now generally current and often
suggestive, it is well that we should try to find a
place for spiritual experience within the system which
they represent; thus carrying through the principle
on which we are working, that of interpreting the abiding
facts of the spiritual life, so far as we can, in the
language of the present day.
First, then, I propose to consider the analysis of
mind, and what It has to tell us about the nature
of Sin, of Salvation, of Conversion; what light it
casts on the process of purgation or self-purification
which is demanded by all religions of the Spirit;
what are the respective parts played by reason and
instinct in the process of regeneration; and the importance
for religious experience of the phenomena of apperception.
We need not at this point consider again all that
we mean by the life of the Spirit. We have already
considered it as it appears in history—its
inexhaustible variety, its power, nobility, and grace.
We need only to remind ourselves that what we have
got to find room for in our psychological scheme is
literally, a changed and enhanced life; a life which,
immersed in the stream of history, is yet poised on
the eternal world. This life involves a complete
re-direction of our desires and impulses, a transfiguration
of character; and often, too, a sense of subjugation
to superior guidance, of an access of impersonal strength,