happened in our subjective experience. That is as if we thought for the sake of convenience of the colour sensation in the mathematical relation of the other movement of the subject.

Therefore, we must not forget that the distinction of the personal and impersonal is made by the hypothetical names of convenience.

Internally, we must harmonize and spiritualize the desires of individuals, externally regulating our own desires harmoniously, and comparing them with the desires of others and so true happiness will be found. In other words, everything must harmonize its own nature with that of others in the relation of union. This is the realization of the Path. Accordingly the fact that science is utilized for war or capitalism is the improper use of science.

V

AWAKENING OF RELIGION

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOME ESSENTIAL THOUGHTS ABOUT CHRISTIANITY

ALL religions in the world have lost the power of spiritual influence except the fact that religions have still influence on many primitive people in a superstitious sense-by primitive people, I mean those who are primitive as regards the conception of reasonable religion. The present world is full of competition for power, which is merely a struggle for existence; for instance, international competition and the like. It is the age when the blind will of the majority is substituted for righteousness. Let us suppose there is a religion in this age which merely teaches simple love, but does not possess any power which leads and awakens social power-such a religion would be a powerless and unnecessary one for the present world as well as for the future world. Or, let us suppose that there is a religion which oppresses the people by sheer power and authority without being charitable. It would be as if that religion was washing blood with blood.

The religion which is needed in these days must be the one which possesses great power and profound charity, and, moreover, a religion which is able to

rationalize and justify itself. In other words, the religion worthy of the name must be the one which can thoroughly unite love, power, and righteousness, and thus lead the people. I do not intend describing the technical aspects such as the origin of religion, or development of religion, etc., as far as present-day conditions are concerned. But certain important problems of the religion of the future will be treated in later chapters.

Setting aside the definitions which are proclaimed by various scholars concerning religion, it is obvious that religion is one of social experiences and reality as a fact of civilization. But the religion of to-day as one of the social experiences and reality is blind to society as far as the present circumstance is concerned. It is nonsense to expect a person who does not acknowledge the necessity of any religion to believe in the necessity of religion, because it is the same as asking a colourblind man to discriminate between colours. But, to those who acknowledge the value of religion it is important and necessary to establish a new religion worthy of the name, exposing the social blindness of the religions of to-day.

Christian preachers as well as Buddhist priests preach the way of God and Buddha to the people, but how do their sermons sound to the people's ears, I wonder? Most people, first of all, satisfy their appetite, then their carnal desire, then material desire, and, having satisfied these yearnings some of them who belong to a rather superior class listen to the preachings of the way of God to stimulate the desire of sleep. They substitute preachings and religious music for lullabies.

It is unreasonable to ask a man to eat a tainted apple, for the mere reason that it is an apple, just as it is unreasonable to ask a colourblind man to distinguish different colours. Religion in the present age is just like this tainted apple, but powerlessness and incompetence of religion are, so to speak, natural consequences of their own. In every book concerning religion the love or the wisdom of God or Buddha is interpreted, and the essential signification of faith, and so forth, is argued. There are plenty of people who read those books, nevertheless religion is powerless to them. What causes this incompetence of religion? I would say that if a religion is contradictory and weak in the sphere of reason, and asserts contradictory love in religious practice, and is indifferent to the experience and actuality of social life, then religion loses its power and significance as a vital civilization.

In order conveniently to illustrate this declaration I will say something about some essential aspects of Christianity. I acknowledge the merit of Christianity, which has cultured numberless people in the past, as a religion of love as well as an ethical religion. I also acknowledge Jesus Christ who is believed as the object of faith, although his existence as one of the greatest characters in history is questionable. I do not doubt his words as being typical deeds of religious expressions. I believe that the teaching which he left to the people is the best medicine for them in some respects, that Christianity is a pure world-religion, though it was a national religion in the beginning, but, at the same time, I, as a student of the subject, believe in the necessity of criticizing Christianity.

It is a careless mistake to think that the essence of

Christianity consists in Christian theology. But it is useless to criticize Christianity transcendentally from the opposite religious point of view, because such criticism has no relation to the substance and right of the existence of Christianity. Therefore, I will point out the three fallacies which are contained in the Bible and the actual actions of Christians, according to the method of immanent critique, a critique unrelated to Christian theology, and any opposite religious point of view.

First, let us examine some fundamental doctrines of Christianity. I have already mentioned that Christianity contains an undeniable contradiction in its very basis concerning the conception of God, that is, the fact of falsehood, evil, and ugliness filling the world, while they are created by God who is Almighty, and in whom truth, good, and beauty are united, is evidently a logical fallacy. Besides, we must not overlook the fact that there is another weak point in the conception of the Christian God, which is that there is no bases for the uniting of monotheism and pantheism in Christianity. Once, von Hartmann pointed out in his Religionsphilosophie that the future religion must be one which unites monotheism and pantheism, just as a house has its foundation in the ground, and is covered by the roof. This view of Hartmann is well worthy of notice. Monotheism is very pure as a religion, it is, however, difficult to maintain in proportion to the rise of philosophy and science as the results of the development of human reason. For instance, the religious thought which appears in the Genetics of the Bible is pure monotheism, but such a thought, as I have already mentioned, becomes difficult to maintain