Divinity School

Emerson’s, The Divinity School Address, although completely inappropriate for the circumstances, was completely compelling. In all the complicatedness that it was, the view point of Emerson gave me a totally different perspective on what Christianity was, and what it has become. Emerson pointed out that although Jesus is considered the one, the divine, the holiest of them all, our savior, he is just another person in “the true race of prophets” that came before him and came after. He shows that Jesus was just a person who was powerful enough saying that he was God in a man, that everyone fallowed him and believed him. But in truth you yourself could be that if you truly knew how. Another amazing point Emerson had was that these days “the tradition characterizes the preaching of this country: that it comes out of the memory, and not out of the soul.” Christianity is so different than what is used to be, it has no soul. Preachers aren’t preaching from within but from what they are told to preach, which in turn gives what they are preaching very little meaning. To conclude, Emerson points out that we need to try something new, we need to “let the breath of new life be breathed by you through the forms already existing. We need to “ look for the new teacher, that shall follow so far those shining laws, that he shall see them come full circle; shall see their rounding complete grace; shall see the world to be the mirror of the soul; shall see the identity of the law of gravitation with purity of heart; and shall show that the Ought, that Duty, is one thing with Science; with Beauty, and with Joy.” All this will bring us love and joy. And most importantly we will find out soul, and listen to this Teacher preaching from his soul.