Study of Religion

“I observe with much satisfaction that two distinguished continental critics approve of the attempt, in Book I of this treatise, to secure the passage from the anthropological history of religious faith to its theological meaning and validity. Professor Van der Wijck of Groningen and Professor Pfleiderer of Berlin are masters in the modern psychological ‘Science of Religion’ and have no disposition to lower its pretensions. Both of them, in reviewing this book confer upon it the honour of placing it side by side with ‘the Philosophy of Religion,’ by the late lamented Professor Rauwenhoff of Leyden, to which, as an exposition of the psychological development of religious humanity, they agree in assigning the highest merit.
Yet both of them confess that, for want of any settled metaphysic principles of knowledge, there is no telling at last what all the evolution, so skillfully traced, amounts to, and whether it is anything better than a dream. And both admit that the only way of sparing the reader this agnostic impression would be, the prefix of such a discussion as that with which this volume opens. If I have done anything to convince two such eminent writers of the theological incompetency of the mere ‘Science of religion,’ I shall ask no better result of my attempt to restore a little light to an antique via that has been gratuitously darkened.” – extract from author’s Preface.