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The author has made a noble attempt through these Lectures to Young Men, which were delivered at the English Presbyterian College, London, and are published in compliance with the custom of the Lectureship in 19th Century. This book presents four of his lectures about Mohammed, Buddha and Christ and the religions they founded, but the book is not a comparative study of the respective practices of the three great religions. In keeping with his position in the United Free Church of Scotland, he forcefully argues for the moral superiority of Christianity. The writer presents two lectures on Islam. Some religious practices of Islam are discussed and praised, like regularity of prayer, almsgiving, and religious holidays. But most of the two lectures is devoted to things that he finds deficient about the religion. He is critical of the concept of Paradise and criticizes polygamy and marriage laws. He also condemns Mohammed`s treatment of women. The second lecture on Islam begins with a brief historical review of the religions of Arabia. He offers the opinions of philosophers like Voltaire and Carlyle and then vigorously disagrees with them. He is more circumspect about Buddhism. He describes the religion as one that is not devoted to a supernatural deity, and devotes several pages to relating the compelling story of Buddha`s life. He praises Buddhists for their charitable natures, which he feels are similar to the ethics of Christians, however, he considers Buddhist philosophies as atheistic and leading to polytheism. The lecture on Christianity is entitled "The Perfect Religion." He sets up his argument by discussing what makes a religion real, true and the product of divine revelation. He concludes that Christianity is the one true religion and ends the book by surmising that the Arabs are too barbaric to properly receive Christian missionaries.These lectures contain arguments that will be shocking to some modern readers, while at the same time, some of his arguments are still debated today.
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ISBN : 9788121221078
Pages : 258
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