he history of a philosopher's
thinking is an abstract of the history of philosophy. The same holds
good in the field of religious thought. Without much artificiality,
without forcing the facts, a rational scheme of the Christological
heresies might be drawn up. They might be pictorially represented as
the rungs of a ladder, which the truth-seeking mind scales rung by
rung, pausing at the lower phases of Christological thought, and then
resuming the ascent till the highest truth is attained. The instrument
of thought is much the same in all centuries; the objects of thought
vary very little; so it is intelligible that the products of
speculative and religious thought should remain the same to-day as in
the fifth century.

THE EXISTENCE OF MODERN MONOPHYSITISM

Is there such a thing as modern monophysitism? To this question the
preceding paragraph supplies the answer, "There must be." Heretical
tendencies will be found in the Christian community in every
generation, and the religious thought of individual Christians will
pass through heretical phases. Such heresy is rather an intellectual
than a moral fault; but the possibility of being the heirs, without
knowing it, of the opinions of Nestorius and Eutyches throws on
thinkers to-day the responsibility of examining their Christological
beliefs and of testing them by the canon of orthodoxy. Not a few
leaders of religious thought, in intention orthodox, in fact remain
monophysites, through inability to analyse their beliefs or through a
false sense of security, founded on the opinion that the age of heresy
is past.

It is commonly supposed that belief in the deity of Christ constitutes
Christianity. That supposition is wrong. Arius was not the only
heresiarch. To transcend the Arian standpoint is only the first step
in the long discipline of faith. There are other heresies, other
half-truths scarcely less pernicious than the Arian. The recognition
of Christ as God represents a great intellectual and moral advance, and
is the first essential step in religion; but to rest content with the
taking of that step is to remain on the lowest rung of the ladder of
faith. It is little use to form a lofty conception of Christ, if in
doing so we insulate Him from the world of things and souls. That is
what monophysitism does, and because disguised monophysitism is
prevalent in the church to-day, Christianity's grip is weak and the
fire of devotion low.

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