RELIGIOUS CAPACITY. A MONGST the differences in natural endowment which distinguish
one person from another, there is one that has not perhaps been sufficiently considered,—the gift for religion. If the range of that capacity were confined within narrow limits, and the differences in this respect between one man or woman and another were but slight, we might hardly notice that there was any special gift at all. But the scale of difference being a wide one, the extreme cases at either end bring it before our view. Whereas some may be said to have a natural genius for religion, so we may say of others in a similar sense to that in which we should speak of intel- lectual inferiority, that they are " deficient " or " wanting " within that sphere. That the spiritual life is the work of a Power without as well as within us, no one who believes in Revelation would deny. But it is the inborn capacity of a response within, a gift from above like every other good gift, with which we are now concerned. The consideration of this faculty is no easy task ; for our human nature is so complex in its structure, made up of so many parts and elements all acting and reacting on one another, that it is difficult to consider any one separately in its distinct essence. What we are trying to regard now, is the natural in- born instinct for piety, drawing the mind beyond the visible and material, even while it often uses the visible and material as its medium and exponent; giving it power to enter into the realm of spiritual truth, and a singular width of range within that realm. This faculty we believe to differ both in kind and in degree in different individuals, as much as intellectual and artistic powers ; there being gifts, for instance, of spiritual insight of varying calibre, as truly as of intellectual perception; and of spiritual imagination as of poetic,—kindling enthusiasm and carrying a man into regions as attractive to him as the world of romance to a poet.
Let us now try to clear away some of the qualities with which this faculty might be confounded, as one might remove the creepers that had clung round a tree and well-nigh hidden it from view. In the first place, it is not the same as faith. It is rather its organ or instrument. Faith may be strong or weak in itself, whatever the natural capacity of the instru- ment it employs ; just as a musical performer may be powerful or feeble, efficient or inefficient, whether the instrument on which he plays be a mighty organ of large volume and many stops, or a simple shepherd's-pipe. Most people could reckon amongst their acquaintance, persons whose faith is as strong and unswerving as that of children, who live by it and would die in it, and yet whose religious range and capacity is as limited as a child's,—nay, more so than that of some children. Secondly, it is distinct from mere intellect. For the religious faculty, as we shall see presently, something more than this is required. We may meet persons of little mental power who astonish us by the depth of their insight in the sphere of
religion. And there are men of great intellectual power, and of keen interest in the topics dealt with by religion, in whom we must yet perceive that their natural capacity for it is but small. Of Lord Macaulay it is said in his biography : " He had a strong and enduring capacity for religious speculation and controversy, and was widely and profoundly read in ecclesiastical history." But he appears to have approached the subject more from the intellectual than from any other side, and good man though be was, and apparently free from sceptical tendencies, we cannot but read between the lines of his "Life and Letters," that his natural capacity for religion was far from large. Darwin's case was similar in some respects. Brought up from childhood to turn his mind towards religious subjects, admitting that " religion is the deepest subject that can fill a man's mind," and for two or three years of his life being led to think specially about it, he yet says plainly of himself : " I do not think the religious sentiment was ever strongly developed in me." Thirdly, the religious faculty is not identical with goodness. True, it may act on the conscience and affect the conduct, but it is neither goodness itself, nor does it necessarily lead to it. We may find two children of one family, brought up in the same surroundings, and from the earliest days,—one will show this capacity, all the outward signs and tokens under which religion is presented to him, attracting him, all that he is taught of God and of Heaven arousing his thoughts, his reverence, his questioning wonder ; while the other will listen, as in duty bound, while he is being taught, but will dismiss the subject quickly from his mind, while his thoughts delight to range in other regions. Yet for all this, the more earthly child may be more good, more obedient, more dutiful than his brother. No one will question the singular religious capacity of Seneca, whose realisation of a Sacred Spirit dwelling within us, and of a God who was the centre of all life and being, sometimes approaches the highest of all teaching. Yet passages in his life show how far removed his conduct often was from even a low standard of morality. " I am very fond of reading sermons," a friend of the writer once remarked, a man of decided religious capacity. " I cannot help reading them. It has nothing to do with goodness. I believe if I were the most depraved, wicked man, I should like to read them all the same." This was a strong statement; but it was the testimony of the speaker to his belief that the religious faculty which was strong in him, was quite distinct from goodness itself. Having tried to separate the capacity for religion from those qualities which of ten blend with and might be mistaken for it, let us look at its positive and far more important side, and inquire into its essence, and some of its characteristics and modes of working.
What is the essence of the religions faculty ? We believe it to be this,—a sympathy with the Divine, which is the result of our divine origin. Because, as the heathen poet sang, " we are God's offspring," and as the Christian poet centuries afterwards echoes back again, our souls come "from God who is our home," therefore there is within us a power of sympathy with and response to all that is divine. And this very faculty of responsive sympathy, like human sympathy of which we often rightly speak as a gift, is bestowed upon us by him in different measure, according to his will. It is true that we all have the same origin, and are made in his image ; but this gives us no more right to expect an equal gift of the power of response to the Divine, than the fact that through our common descent we are all brethren, gives us a right to expect an equal gift for human sympathy to all. We know that in some men human sympathy is narrow, limited, and shallow; while in others it is so large and liberal, that they are able to enter into fellowship with a variety of men of all nations, classes, opinions, minds, and characters. And so it is with this higher sympathy. Some have little power of perceiving and responding to the Divine, and can only recognise it in some of its manifestations. Others are so permeated with it, that with them deep for ever calls to deep. As water rises to its level, so do their souls rise to all that is of God. All the goodness, beauty, and truth of which he is the centre, and that are reflected in Nature and in human character, appeal to them, and at once they spring forth to meet them. These are the men of religions genius. But will this gift of sympathetic response explain the variety of powers that are contained in religious genius ? Yes, most fully. For, taking again the gift of human sympathy of which we have so many means of judging, as our guide, we find that it is the very nature of sympathy to increase and multiply our powers. Human sympathy so kindles imagina- tion, quickens the apprehension, and enlightens the under- standing with regard to our fellow-creatures, that it has even been said that sympathy is a sort of genius. And the gift of sympathy for the Divine has similar powers. It gives the faculty of insight into the spiritual mean- ings of outward forms, it wings the imagination to take flight into wider realms of truth, it directs the reason to draw right conclusions from what is to what may be known,—a spiritual insight, imagination, and reason similar in character to those of the intellect, yet belonging to a higher part of our nature. It was this inherent quality of religious genius that drew St. John the apostle to our Lord, making him realise the divinity hidden from the many, giving him his eagle gaze into truth. It was this that gave St. Bernard and St. Francis of Assisi the power of receiving God's revelation in Nature, so that St. Bernard says of him. self that "beeches and oaks had ever been his best teachers in the Word of God." It was this that gave Dean Church his elevation of soul, his strong realisation of spiritual realities, so that they were to him, we might almost say, visible, tangible things, in comparison with which, earthly objects of ambition were as of little account as the toys of children. These are striking and rare instances. More often, as in human sym- pathy, we see but a poor instrument, small in range, narrow in capacity. And the responsibility varies according to the measure of the gift. But though this gift differs so widely in one person and another, is it nevertheless universal, or are any totally devoid of it, as some are born without the faculty of sight or hearing? We believe, in virtue of our divine heredity, that it is universal. And if it be, as was said before, the organ and instrument of faith, faith cannot act without its organ ; and if faith be an impossibility, there is no moral responsibility for its absence. Difficult of attainment as it may be to some, we cannot believe in so bold a statement as that there are people to whom it is an utter impossibility. Can the religious capacity be increased by exercise ? Yes ; experience shows that, like other gifts, it loses power by disuse, and is deepened and enlarged by practice. Can it be increased indefinitely, so that one man may attain it in as high a degree as another P No more than a man with a mediocre gift for poetry could ever become a Shakespeare or a Milton. Do we find that, as with the gifts for music, poetry, painting, it is distributed and bestowed in a way we cannot account for, so that where we should most expect it, it is often most meagre, while we may find it in its highest and widest extent in utterly un- expected and adverse surroundings ? Yes, most undoubtedly. There are many whose very business in life forces them into the realm of religion, yet their range within it is bounded by the narrowest limitations. To return to the musical illustra- tion, it is their business to play, and they may be good players on the instrument given to them, but it is an instrument of few notes and little power,—while, on the other hand, those who have mixed with the poorest and most ignorant, tell us that they often find among them men and women with the strongest affinity for the spiritual, and with a capacity for it so wide, that they may be said to have a talent for religion. For this gift has no respect of persons. We find it in all places and amongst all people,—in heathen philosophers, such as Plato, Epictetus, Socrates, Marcus Aurelius ; and in the dark-skinned natives of distant regions, who have never heard of Christianity. But it is needless to say that it shines out brightest in Christian history, giving us such noble examples as Thomas h Kempis, St. Bernard, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Louis of France, Fra Angelico, St. Theresa, St. Catharine, Fenelon, Sir Thomas More, Sir Thomas Browne, George Herbert, St. Francis of Sales, Henry Martyn,—merely to mention a few instances that at once occur to the mind, out of a countless number. And if there is pleasure in the em- ployment of the gifts of even the humblest part of our nature, how much more in those which belong to the highest ! For to exercise them is to leave the valley, with its narrow bounds and enclosures, and ascend to heights whence we may have glimpses into a land of promise beyond the limits of space and time. What gifts could so enlarge a man's view, elevate his character, and fill him with hope and delight, as these,— to which, in their most signal instances and fullest develop- ment, we may give the name of Religious Genius P
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