Page:Philosophical Review Volume 3.djvu/630

614 The progress of industrialism, and especially of invention, by constantly bearing witness to natural law, is destroying faith in supernatural intervention. All theology, on his view, is concerned to uphold, not only sacred ideals, but also a certain body of propositions, the sole warrant for which is to be found in an inscrutable authority. This view, of fundamental importance to the argument, will be rejected by a large number of thoughtful and unprejudiced people. On it is founded the conclusion that liberal theology is less tenable than thoroughgoing dogmatism, since liberalism, while professing to subject everything to scientific examination, inconsistently reserves for a portion of its creed the sanction of authority. Science must by its very nature annihilate authority. Mr. Bonham believes that it must also destroy sacred ideals, since ideals interfere with the candid pursuit of truth. In this more than in any other respect the author allows his antipathy to religion to carry him to extremes. To his mind, the man who is actuated by ideals is really not competent to judge of truth.

The chapters on the ethics of secularism are somewhat disappointing. Instead of being constructive, they are chiefly devoted to a criticism of what is styled the theologic theory of ethics. This theory is construed to hold that the precepts of ethics form a sacred code which originated from a supernatural authoritative source and does not change. Great care is taken to show that the characteristic precepts of Christianity, such as that of non-resistance to oppression, are neither practicable nor commendable. Going farther than Mr. Mill, the author even denies that the Golden Rule is good ethics. It seems a mistake, however, to assume that theology is concerned to defend as an unchangeable code every formulation of moral precepts found in the gospels. On this account not many progressive theologians will feel themselves hard hit by the strictures of these chapters. The best results of the science of ethics may be appropriated quite as well by them as by the secularist. The same cannot be said of the most straitly orthodox, and to them Mr. Bonham's book will furnish food for reflection. The morals of secularism do not differ appreciably from the general results of ethical science. This outcome is the more strange when we remember that the most important factor in determining the mental attitude of the secular masses is the unintellectual influence of impersonal surroundings. One would expect the Philistinism which such influences generally produce, to make itself manifest in the ethics of secularism. The writer does not require any