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I am of the opinion that one of the novel features of the religion of To-morrow will be a remarkable blending of the doctrine of empiricism with that of faith. Empiricism holds that an knowledge must be the result of experience; and is usually identified with sensationalism, or the doctrine that all knowledge results from sensations, and that all cognitions, even reflective ideas and so-called intuitions, can be traced back to elementary sensations. This doctrine has always been regarded as diametrically opposed to the theory of innate ideas and of faith. But there has arisen a new school of thinkers who hold that faith itself is based, not upon mere blind belief, but upon actual experience of things usually regarded as transcendental and above experience. It is being earnestly urged that man is developing new faculties— spiritual faculties —through and by means of which he may actually experience the spiritual world . It is held that just as mere sensation was succeeded first by the faculties of feeling, from which in succession evolved the organs and faculties of hearing, taste, smell, and sight, all of which are modifications and improvements upon the original sense of feeling, so in his evolution there is now coming to man the spiritual faculty or sense by means of which he may be able to know those things which are now usually regarded as beyond experience and as merely objects of faith. These thinkers hold that there is evolving a new faith which not only believes , but actually knows . Following this line of thought, it is deemed reasonable to believe that in the course of evolution Man may grow to actually know God, truth, and immortality .

As significant of this line of thought may be instanced Prof. Wm. James’ work entitled “ Varieties of Religious Experience; ” and Dr. Maurice Bucke’s work entitled “ Cosmic Consciousness .” In Professor James’ work are recited numerous instances, ancient and modern, which indicate the existence in man of certain super-conscious faculties which give to him information and experience regarding the transcendental planes of being, thought, and action. The writer of the work argues for the validity of this class of experiences, and indicates his belief in the idea that the race is evolving higher faculties whereby the spiritual planes of life may be perceived and known just as are the things of the material plane. In Dr. Bucke’s work is advanced the idea that man is evolving into a new phase of consciousness termed cosmic consciousness, just as he has previously evolved from sensation to simple consciousness, and from simple consciousness into self-consciousness.

Cosmic consciousness is held to be an awareness of the unity of the cosmos; the oneness of all; the living universe; immortality; and other things usually regarded as belonging to the transcendental plane. Among the truths reported by Dr. Bucke as experienced by those to whom flashes of “cosmic consciousness” come, are the following: The seeing and knowing “that the cosmos is not dead matter but a living presence; that the soul of man is immortal; that the universe is so built and ordered that without any peradventure all things work together for the good of each and all; that the foundation principle of the world is what we call love; and that the happiness of everyone is in the long run absolutely certain.” It will be seen that there is a growing inclination to attach the seal of validity to the higher mystical and religious experiences of the race, instead of regarding them as merely the result of emotional excitement. I believe that this conception will play an important part in the thought of to-morrow, after the grain of higher spiritual experiences is separated from the chaff of the abnormal “psychic” phenomena.

There is almost a certainty that the thought of tomorrow will recognize the value and efficacy of faith in the affairs of everyday life; and that a basis of reality will be found for the apparently miraculous and wonderful experiences of man in the past and present, such as the answer to prayer, faith cures, and much of the phenomena of New Thought, Christian Science, and similar beliefs. It would seem that the race is acquiring methods of becoming “in tune with the Infinite,” and drawing to itself some of the wonderful powers, energies and material from the higher planes of being. It will be seen that the answer to prayer based on faith comes not as a special intervention of a higher being, but rather as the result of the drawing by the individual of the power of the All. The power of faith is dynamic, and, underlying the creeds, beliefs, and theories there is undoubtedly to be found truths regarding the occasional employment of the higher forces of the universe in response to the earnest belief of the individual, no matter upon whom or what this belief is bestowed. It is practically assured that this phenomena will be accepted, investigated and scientifically explained by the thinkers of To-morrow.

It is extremely probable that the problems of Psychic Research will be well threshed out before long; the false discarded and the remnant of truth extracted and used as the basis for further investigation into the “Night-side of Nature.” It is safe to hazard the prediction that this investigation will lift the accepted phenomena from the realm of the supernatural, and will place them in their proper position in the kingdom of the natural.

It is perhaps a daring guess to predict that before long telepathy will be much better understood and that communication between mind and mind without the employment of spoken word or sign will be quite common. It would be interesting to speculate what would be the result on the life of the race were telepathy to become a common possession of all persons. If all persons were able to read the minds of each other, all pretense, hypocrisy, fraud, lying, deception and untruth would vanish as the mist before the rising sun. If each could read the truth in the mind of the other, truth would reign and falsehood disappear—the conventional lies of civilization would fade away; the “Ananias Club” would stand forth self-confessed; and the liar would be shunned as pestilential. If the gift of perfect telepathy were to be given the race overnight, the morning would witness the greatest social and moral revolution of all time. If each could gaze into the soul of every other—if the naked soul of each were perceived by all—then each individual would stand forth as in the legendary “Day of Judgment,” and men and women would then be graded according to their real worth or unworth, rather than by their pretensions, claims, and false reputation. In that day Character , not Reputation , would be the real standard. I do not mean to indicate our belief that the men of tomorrow will possess this degree of development, but merely to show the possibilities in connection with the probabilities of the increasing knowledge on this subject.

I think it extremely likely that to-morrow will possess a scientific knowledge of the underlying principles of Mental Suggestion, and the powers of the mind which form the subject of attention of so many schools, cults and writers to-day. I think that the creative imagination and the dynamic will will be accepted as actual constructive forces. I believe that an entirely new field of scientific research will be opened up through an appreciation of these subjects. I think that just as the other natural forces have been raised from the category of superstition and base credulity, and are now mastered and used in the service of the race, so will the great forces of the mind be raised from the category of superstition, pseudo-science, and absurd theories, and, being understood by science, will be used intelligently for the upbuilding of the race.