Page Four

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday, October I4, I760

 

Casserley: Revelation And Philosophy 01' History

Ed. Note: The iollowing arti. l
cle includes high points ol‘
the 1960 Gates lecture series.

at 4 x x it
by sraii Reporter

“History has many constants.
said Gates lecturer Rev. J, V.
Langincnol Casscrley, “but the
reality of God is the supreme
constant," Dr. Casscrlcy's leer
ture, “The Concept of Revela-
tion," was the first in the 1960‘
Gates series, “Revelation and‘
the Philosophy of History,"

Dr. Casscrley made this dis-
tinction at the very onset of
his introductory talk: “Revelar
tion," he insisted, “separated i ,
ligion from mere rchgrousity,
and religion from philosophy: in
true religion revelation is the:
key concept of religious llloughtl
. . . The principle of revela-
tion." he went on, quoting from
Temple, “'15 the coinctdence of,
event and interpretation.”

Revelation, as Dr. Casserley 1
.explains it, is a di ineiy !

initiated event plus di inely
guided interpretation. The in-

terpreter perceives the event’s
meaning, and the meaning of

the event is the will, the pup i
pose, the justice and the love
‘ of Almighty God

He indicated that the subjects
at the following lectures would
be the relation of this way of
conceiving revelation to the phi—
Iasophy of history.

“Properly understand," he
said. “the philosophy of history
is a reflection upon historical
activity, an evaluation of its:
status.

an isolation of its pre-i‘
suppositions and a deduction of'
its ultimate implications." Dr
Casserley suggested, then. the
general topics a philosophy of
history has to examine. He list.
ed “historical methodology
historical epistemology and his»
torical ontology."

“A philosophy'ot history,” ac~l
cording to him, J'cannot evade;
great questions of the doiini-‘
tion of eternity and the relation
of eternity to time. for it is
born this relation of the term
poral to the eternal that thei
temporal derives its supreme sig. .
niiicance. God," said Dr. cas-
serley, “reveals Himself not only
in the perceived event but in
its meaning.

“Our philosophy of rcvela-
tion," he said. “implies a cer-
tain kind of philosophy of his-
tory according to which some
events at least have on intrinsic.
objective meaning or their own.
Yet," he added, “it is possible‘
to select trom world history
distinct events. all ot whiclli
oxemplity the same basic pat-l
zen-i, This is a means of show-l

l
i
I

 

‘be called a philosophy of hisA

ltory is not merely the problem
‘ot what man does or has done,
lit is the problem of what man

. Casserley,

‘Iive history which is associated:

 

ing how pcrsistentiy recurrent

land how radically characteristic he went on, "particular cvcnts‘goes
lol the historical process, a par- Chal‘aclm‘md by some one I'E'iare secular history, while thc,be rooted in history and in par-
4 ‘ticular pattern is." Dr. Cassoi-lcylcuri-ont pattern are rcgardcd as boy represents guppy history

‘clted thc Toynbean philosophy typical of each other and of thc‘
,, of history as the chici examplc'othcr as fulfilling the onc.

in the modern,’

of [his method
world.

Dr. Casseriey in his second
taiir, given in Herrick cnnpel ,
Monday night at 3, spoke
about “Types of llistol‘io» .
.grnpliy,"

Dealing with the different zip-i
prooches to histor he diSA
cardcd thc positiy st approach
“A purely positivistic historio—
graphy would take the View,"
lie said, “that every historicall
episode is an entirely singular
event, that no historical episode
logically implies any other , . .,
and so is in violent conilict with
anything which could posSlth’
tory.” i

“In the long run," said Dr.l
Casserley, “the problem of his-

is, and this is hardly the kind
of problem in which a purely;
positivistic method can even be-‘
gin to deal."

Dr. Casserlcy denied a psy-I
chological approach as well. “We
shouldn’t suppose that human:
existence takes place in a psy-
chological vacuum except in
some of the graver psychic
states , . . Psychological events
always take place in inescape
able relation to non—psycholog-
ical events, Thus historical exc
planation,“ according to Dr.
“can never merely
be a matter oi psychology. 31»
though at the same time it can
never leave psychology out."

At this point he turned to the
type of comparative interpreta-.

with Toynbee. “Toynbee, he in-
sisted, "unlike! Spengler, who
critics have wrongly likened to
him, does not attempt to im-l
pose his hypothesis upon his.‘
{my ,

“Rather," said Dr. Carsser- I
Icy. “Tnynhce might be heard
saying to himself, ‘Let history
declare itself! Let “S so can--
Germ-ate on the data of his-
tory that last history itself
speaks and manifests ifs own
character'

Toynbec docs not insist. ac-
cording to Dr. Cassel’ley, that
every event will repeat itself,‘
(“every thing. every event is
unique”) but rather, Toynbee
can see both the particular and
the universal or ”the ultimate
and the basic.”

in Toynbee's in

history as

 

 

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IT'S THE

 

 

, “which

lwhere only because it is used as On because although

Fatrislic Biblical intel’plelaliol’l.‘round and round while the boy

on and on. The wheels
I
“Today it is secular
{which men think goes on alldl
on and sacred history whicllI
goes round and round." Dr,
Casserley pointed out. “They
would say religion plays no part
in the course Bf Ilistol‘v . Ill‘l
citcct, thc two city distinctionE
'llas been abandoned. '
“Modern political, secular
tanaticism," he went on, "is as
lcthal as the earlier religious
ianaticism. it we cannot di
linguish the city of man troinl
lillc city of God, we cannot rcal
ly cvcn distinguish the city o

history i

“This
VIE\V,”

is the some point oi
Dr. Casscrlcy said,
enables thc thcologian
to interpret all human history
as a kind of Bible, and it slip-
plies him with a concept oi his.
toricol thought which is ana-
logous to and continuous with
the kind of Biblical interpreta—
tion on which the classical theo—
logical thought ol the Christian
church is based.”

Theological rcamli, according to
Dr, Casscrley, is a kind of inc
tcrniediary between philosopl‘ ,_ .
cal and historical reason “Chris- “"“nv m ”’5‘-
tion theology begins as an m-l “In the 201h century. howv
i ever," he continued. “we have

tcrpretation or history and culr, _
ininates in an interpretation of: even become skeptical about

being and page.“ 4 , _ Thcl the doctrine of progress, leav-
theologian's work may scandalizc int: people without any cafes
both." he added, "but if they cry for analyzing history but
are more understanding of thc the psychological mentioned
wholeness oi intcllcctual en.l before.”
deavor, they will see in the‘ Dr Casserley noted that some
theologian ,_ a kind of missing pcoplc try to save the doctrine
h_nk enabllhg each to discover by mentioning technological ade.
his underlying affinity with the games, He added, “Carrying the
“W513 iormcr analogy to the modern
Begin ng his third lecture, ,doctrine, then most things in
“The Philosophy oi llistory Ilfe go round and round, but:
and the Philosophy of Religi- .scicnce goes on and on,” Toyn—‘
on," . Dr. Casscrlcy noted .a bee warns us, Dr. Casscrley said,i
striking similarity between I

that ‘in the last phase of the
Toynbee‘s “study of History" I

Roman empirc there was much
and Augustine’s “City oi God." technological progress which did
To Augustine, history is the

nothing to save it . . . " l
“Tale '0‘ Two Cities" we Coming more to his point, he,
“9‘?“ and ““9 “mid or said, “The basic theme of hue,
spiritual.

man history is a religious theme
Secular history, according to because that, too, is the basic
Dr. Casserley, i.

f

described in a theme of human cxistence. and,
more or less cyclic way a go—iit must be interpreted in thee-i

ling round and round but get-logical and religious categories.

ting nowhere. or at best some»}Religious history goes on and,
toniporall

an instrument of sacred history,sin its substances, it is eternal}
“no,“ this palm of Viewyi hp in its vision. Secular history rec

said. “religious and spiritual de-‘maint incapsulalm 5“ m?” “m"
velopmcnt is the business end parahw- i.
of history, the element of hiSeI Dr. Casserloy went on to crils‘
tory which really counts. Tem— cizc Toynbee as a comparative
poral history, by the same to.]rcligionist, or one who sees a;
ken," continued Dr. Casserley,2basic unity in all Ieachings.l
“is held by time, while sacrco‘which results in the belief in.
history is a subtle blend of religion in general and 110 be-
eternity and time.” LIEf in religion in particular. a
Toynbee, according to Dr. Cas— Point of view different mm

serley, takes the same point oothat 0f the EM?» l
view in his bicycle simile troml It is no cxagcration to say‘
CIV'I‘ZSW" 0“ Trial” HE that Bibical theologians do not
pointed out that Toynbee shows . . . . ,
ireally believe in religion at all,

I resents a

ho said. According to him, “Re»
vealed religion may be said to

ticular historical experience,
whereas religion in general rep-
kind of tlight iroin ,
history to the eternal in the
part of contemplativc and
devout minds Biblical theology,"
he added, “would not call Chris—
tianity religion but the redemp-
tion of rciigion,“

Dr Casscrlcy then indicated
the diticrcncc between what he
callcd a true distinction between
superstitions, mythology and re.
vealed rchgion, rather than the
higher and lower rcligion di
iinction oi the comparative r
ligionists,

He mentioned a sophisticated
form of superstition still alive.
“Religion," he said. ”may be
thought of as a psychological
hygiene, a set ot practices which
induce in men desirable mental
and spiritual attitudes and states»
ot being, i.e., peace of mind.”

Personal and impersonal
were cited by Dr. Casserley as
good distinctions between the
spiritual and non-spiritual.
“In any religion in which per-
sonality is denied the highest
place, the Biblical mind, disc
corns some species of magic.
Genuine spirituality always
puts personality in the high—
est possible placc," ho added.

“Biblical religion," he went
on, “takes a high view of myth
because mythology at least, ina
sists on interpreting reality in
personal terms. Tile Christian
taith differs trom mythological
faith by its insistence that the
unique Christian myth is not a
myth at all, but history. Yet,"
he said, “the ultimate context of
Biblical religion is mythological.

“Nevertheless, he continued,
“from the standpoint of revealed
religion mythology is not
enough, only genuine history
can reveal God who is the lord
of history." The idea that since
religious truth is a kind of
universal vll'ulh, no religious
truth can have any peculiar re-
lationship to a particular event
occupying a particular place in
space and time, is a widespread
modern notion.

“Because the truth about God
is universal truth," said Dr.
GATES LECTURES y
Cont. p. 6, col. 1

 

the course of history like a boy
N t. V

on a bicycle: the wheels go

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