r he mumbled hesitatingly, without authority of manner
or point to his words, but the phrase, "the fundamental defect of the
Christian religion" caused even the Unitarian to gasp over his glass of
mineral water. His green eyes glittered pleasantly upon Bernal from his
dark face with its scraggly beard.

"That's it, Mr. Linford--tell us that--we need to know that--do we not,
gentlemen?"

"Speak for yourself, Whittaker," snapped the aggressive little Baptist,
"but doubtless Mr. Linford has something to say."

Bernal remained unperturbed by this. Very earnestly he continued:
"Christianity is defective, judged even by poor human standards; untrue
by the plain facts of human consciousness."

"Ah! Now we shall learn!" Father Riley turned his most gracious smile
upon the speaker.

"Your churches are losing their hold upon men because your religion is
one of separation, here and hereafter--while the one great tendency of
the age is toward brotherhood--oneness. Primitive man had individual
pride--family pride, city pride, state pride, national pride
followed--but we are coming now to the only permissible pride, a world
pride--in which the race feels its oneness. We are nearly there; even
now the spirit that denies this actual brotherhood is confined to the
churches. The people outside more generally than you dream know that God
does not discriminate among religions--that he has a scheme of a dignity
so true that it can no more permit the loss of one black
devil-worshipper than that of the most magnificent of archbishops."

He stopped, looking inquiringly--almost wistfully, at them.

Various polite exclamations assured him of their interest.

"Continue, by all means," urged Whittaker. "I feel that you will have
even Father Riley edified in a moment."

"The most cynical chap--even for a Unitarian," purled that good man.

Bernal resumed.

"Your God is a tribal God who performed his wonders to show that he had
set a difference between Israel and Egypt. Your Saviour continues to set
the same difference: Israel being those who believed his claim to
Godship; Egypt those who find his evidence insufficient. But we humans
daily practise better than this preaching of retaliation. The Church is
losing power because your creeds are fixed while man, never ceasing to
grow, has inevitably gone beyond them--even beyond the teachings of your
Saviour who threatened to separate father from son and mother from
daughter--who would distin