The larger vision; Tower-room talks

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 …most fruitful to the world, is not the soul which is self-deceived, which believes merely what it prefers to believe, or is taught to believe, as so many do; nor is it the ignorant or the credulous soul, the one that is too ready to take the word of others; it is, rather, that soul which listens more keenly, sees farther, feels more sensitively–that soul which is for ever exploring, always questioning, which asks and receives, seeks and therefore finds, knocks and therefore has closed doors opened to it, Tennyson is very right when he “There is more faith in honest doubt, Believe me, than in half the creeds.” For the soul honestly doubting is the soul honestly questioning and asking; and the soul honestly asking is the soul that receives. Oh, I am amazed sometimes at the thing we dare to call faith; a thing pale, blind and stubborn and deaf to reason, hugging to it some old outworn belief, bequeathed to it by others, remaining in one place, never advancing or only so little, so little at a time; never searching, doubting, testing; believing it has found and so never trying to find further. This may be self-deception, credulity, but let us under no circumstances call it faith. Credulity is weakened by exploring; faith is strengthened by it. The more the senses, the mind, and the spirit earnestly search and explore among the wonders of God, the sooner they acquire what we call faith in God, not a faith in a particular kind of God, a God who has this or that way of dealing with men, dealing in one fashion the Buddhists believe; in quite another the Mohammedans or Jews will tell you; for all these things have to do with “faiths,” and it is of faith, rather, that I speak–that profound belief of the soul in a mighty power whose wis…