PREFACE. THE following work is an attempt to prove a conclusion, which has long since occurred to the author, and which is not in itself at all novel-namely, that the Religion which Jesus taught is not the Christianity of to-day. Having the usual familiarity with the doctrines of modern orthodox theology, I, for a long time, never thought of comparing them with the texts on which they are based. After due consideration, it occurred to me, however, that a fair argument against the authenticity of modern dogma might be based upon many extracts from Christ's own utterances, without regard to the weapons of human reason which have been urged against it so ably by other and more competent writers than myself, in scores of bulky volumes. The plan here adopted has been to analyse the contents of the original record itself, and by judicious classification to show how much authority there is in favour of the view of Christianity expounded in the following pages, and how much-or, rather, how little-there is in favour of the Christianity taught in Churches. The result of that comparison the reader will find in the following pages; and I think the conviction it will make upon his mind will be, that there is marvellously little foundation for the doctrines which our Churches point to as the vital elements of Christian A |