Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/9

proverbs, legends, gospels, etc. These various books are hardly expected to be consistent. Even in the case of the gospels, there are several contradictions. One peculiarity in the life of teachers like Jesus has been that they were not producers of any systematic philosophy, but men with some good ideas, stray and unorganized, which they taught to the people. The Scriptures being so multiform, it was very difficult to follow them with profit. The task of giving the people such rules for guidance as they could understand fell on the Church. The Church and the priesthood had to create rules for guidance, distinctions between right and wrong, and to explain the Scriptures in such a manner that the people may not lose faith. All this created a strong Catholic tradition, and the greater part of this tradition had been valuable. For example monogamy is not insisted on by the Christian religion, but its inclusion in the Christian life is a contribution by Catholicism.

Acceptance of the interpretation of the Church was the best possible thing for any people who believe in religion, and do not have a rival system of philosophy to enable them to decide between good and bad. Dependence on a book like the Bible would not help anybody to lead a good life, when that person is unaided by any philosophy.

It should not be forgotten that the leaders of the schism at this time were not advocates of tolerance and individual interpretation, but advocates of their own interpretations. Some heretics were more intolerant than the orthodoxy itself. Thus when the nations first wanted to assert their independence of the Catholic theophratry, they could ignore neither the idea that Christian religion is the supreme law, nor the doctrine of submission to the authoritative interpretation of the Church. All that they wanted to create was