ead thoughtfully an examination of so old a
subject as Theism, and it is to those that these pages are addressed.
One cannot hope to say anything that is strikingly new on so well worn a
subject as the existence of God, but there are many who will read an old
subject when presented in a new work, and even then there is also the
possibility of presenting an old topic in a slightly new form. And I
think these will find the main lines of the defence set up by the
Goddite dealt with in a manner that should at least make the point at
issue clear.

Finally, it is one aim of this book to press home the point that the
logical issue is between Theism and Atheism. That there is no logical
halting place between the two, and that any attempt to call a halt is
little more than a concession to a desire for mental or social
convenience, seems to me as clear as anything can well be. And there is
really nothing gained, ultimately, by the halt. Disinclination on the
part of the non-Theist to push the issue to its logical conclusion is
treated by the Theist as inability to do so, and is used as an argument
in support of his own belief. In matters of the intellect, compromise is
almost always a dangerous policy. It heartens one's enemies and
disheartens one's friends. And there is really no adequate reason why
those who have given up belief in deity should continue to treat this
master superstition of the ages as though it were one of our most
valuable inheritances, to be surrendered with lowered heads and sinking
hearts. We who know both sides know that in giving up the belief in
deity we have lost nothing of value, nothing that need cause us a single
regret. And on that point we certainly can speak with authority; for we
have been where the Theist is, he has not been where we are. Many of us
know quite well all that is meant by the fear and trembling with which
the believer looks upon a world without God. And we know how idle the
fear is--as idle as a child's fear of the dark. What the world is like
_with_ God, there is all the experience of history to inform us; and it
would indeed be strange if love and brotherhood, armed with the weapons
that science has given us, could not produce a better human society than
has ever existed under the dominion of the Gods.

Part I.

AN EXAMINATION OF THEISM.

CHAPTER I.

WHAT IS GOD?

Soon after that famous Atheist, Charles Bradlaugh, entered the House of
Commons, it is said tha