All the Gospel writers mention, though incident- ally or prophetically, the liberty and the new strength and courage to will and to do the right which come with trust in Jesus, as well as the new and glad sense of love for both man and God {r,.(j. Mk 123»- 31, Mt IP" 25-"', Lk 6^2 ipi- 22^ jn g^e). One is not merely conscious of his own sincerity ; he can testify that a Father's welcome has been given him, and that Christ has 'manifested' Himself to him (Lk IS^", Jn 14^1). Perhaps the Gospel doctrine most fully developed in the later writings of the NT is that of spiritual unity with Christ, through self-surrender to become one with Him. This doc- trine is found in germ in every Gospel, but comes to coir.plete flower in the profound teachings of St. John. Unity with Christ does not, however, mean identity. The disciple may be perfectly like his Lord, I'ut magnitudes differ. The best experience has in it a good hope of a better experience. Unity with the Divine does not make man a god, but splendidly and fully human. The Ego not only finds peace when it turns to God, but finds itself (Mt 103« 15i«- 25, Lk 15'«- J7). Progress is now poss- ible. The man can now 'win' his own soul (Lk 2V^). Jesus lifts life out of tlie 'tragedy of the commonplace ' by offering to it a perfect ideal and the highest possible impulse to reach it. This
guarantees never - ending development. He who takes the Perfect for his ideal, and strives for an experience to match his vision, must have grace and more grace, life and more life (Jn V^ W).
Literature. — See Biblical Theologies for main discussion. Among best recent books on validity of knowledge given by experience : Bowne, Theory of Knuwledjje, Metaphysics. On content of Christian consciousness : Starbuck, Psychology of Religion ; Coe, Spiritual Life ; Hall, Adolescence (vol. ii.) ; James, Varieties of Religious Experience. On content of con- sciousness of a pious non-Christian : art. by present writer in Meth. Rev., Sixth Series, vol. xxiv. Best popular works on religious experience : Black, Chr. Consciousness ; Newbolt, Gospel of Experience ; Granger, Soul of a Christian ; Forrest, Christ of History and Experience ; Everett, Psychologic Ele- ments of Religious Faith ; Dale, Living Christ ; Clifford, Chr. Certainties ; Hall, Universal Elements of Christian Religion, and Chr. Belief interpreted by Chr. Experience ; Stearns, Evi- dence of Chr. Experience. CAMDEN M. CoBERN.
RENDING OF GARMENTS.— The practice of, signifying grief by tearing the clothes. There were four occasions on which rending of garments was enjoined by the Jewish Law: (1) death; (2) the apostasy of a member of the family ; (3) the destruction, during persecution, of a copy of the Law ; (4) blasphemy. In the case of a member of the family becoming apostate the clothes were rent as for his death, and the mourners sat for one hour on the ground and ate bread and ashes. The nj?np niD^n (Laws of Rending) are very minute, and embrace no fewer than thirty-nine rules. For the dead the rending was to be performed just before the body was finally hid from view, and it was to be done standing. Both sexes were ordered to rend the clothes ' to the heart,' i.e. to the skin, but in supposed obedience to Jl 2^^ \^ .^y^s to be 'no farther than the navel. ' For father or mother all the garments were rent till the breast was exposed, but a woman was enjoined to rend her under garment in private, and to wear it reversed. This was for the sake of decorum, and the outer garment was then rent in public without her skin being exposed. For other relations (brothers and sisters) the outer gar- ment only was rent. For father and mother the rent was over the heart, but in the case of others on the right side. The rent garment was Avorn for thirty days. The rent was ordered to be of the size of a fist (n-jn). It was not to be repaired in the case of mourning for parents till the time of mourning was past, but for others it might be loosely drawn together, leaving a ragged tear, after seven days, and properly repaired after thirty days. A woman, however, might in all cases repair after seven days. The rending of clothes was not to take place on the Sabbath, but if it were done on that day in excess of grief, it was excusable on account of the piety it betokened. No rending of garments was obligatory unless news of the death were re- ceived within thirty days, except in the case of the death of parents.
The action of Caiaphas (Mt 26«5, Mk 14«3) is an instance of the rending of garments for blasphemy. In this case the high priest was enjoined to rend ' both his outer and his inner garments with a rent that could never be repaired. '
Literature. — Edersheim, LT ; Mackie, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands ; Thomson, LB ; art. ' Mourning ' in Hastings'
-D5- W. H. Eankine.
RENUNCIATION.— Ideas of renunciation in the teaching of Jesus may be classed under three heads : (1) renunciation of what is sinful, (2) sur- render of M'orldly possessions, (3) special self- abnegation. It maj' not be possible to draw clear lines of demarcation, but tliese divisions are never- theless distinct. The cares of this world and' the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things (Mk 4^"), that check the life of the soul as weeds choke the growth of the grain, may be said to indicate them in the reverse order.