William Robertson Smith Quotes

Quote of the Day Fresh quotes Topics Authors I'm Feeling Lucky Disable ads! 16 quotes by William Robertson Smith William Robertson Smith FRSE (8 November 1846 – 31 March 1894) was a Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Biblica. He is also known for his book Religion of the Semites, which is considered a foundational text in the comparative study of religion. Read full biography of William Robertson Smith → 1 2 Ctrl → But if it not be true, the myth itself requires to be explained, and every principle of philosophy and common sense demand that the explanation be... → 0 The land of a god corresponds with the land of his worshipers. 0 Religion did not exist for the saving of souls but for the preservation and welfare of society, and in all that was necessary to this end every man... → 0 This, it may be said, is no more than a hypothesis... only of that force of precedent which in all times has been so strong to keep alive religious... → 0 The dissolution of the nation destroys the national religion, and dethrones the national deity. 0 Even the highest forms of sacrificial worship present much that is repulsive to modern ideas, and in particular it requires an effort to reconcile... → 0 That the God-man died for his people, and that His death is their life, is an idea which was in some degree foreshadowed by the older mystical... → 0 Thus a man was born into a fixed relation to certain gods as surely as he was born into a relation to his fellow-men; and his religion... was simply... → 0 The myths connected with individual sanctuaries and ceremonies were merely part of the apparatus of the worship; they served to excite the fancy and... → 0 The god can no more exist without his people than the nation without its god. 0 The god, it would appear, was frequently thought of as the physical progenitor or first father of his people. 0 But, strictly speaking, this mythology was no essential part of ancient religion, for it had no sacred sanction and no binding force on the... → 0 In all the antique religions, mythology takes the place of dogma; that is, the sacred lore of priests and people... and these stories afford the only... → 0 1 2 Ctrl → Add a quote!


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16 quotes by William Robertson Smith