now whence comes our idea of God: it is Christian in its origin.
It proceeds from this source, not only for those who call themselves
Christians, but for all those who, in the bosom of modern society,
believe sincerely and seriously in God. But little study and reflection
is required for the acknowledgment that the doctrines of our deists are
the product of a reason which has been _evangelized_ without their own
knowledge. They have not invented, but have received the thought, which
constitutes the support of their life. A mind of ordinary cultivation is
free henceforward from all danger of falling into the artless error of
J.J. Rousseau, when he pretended that even though he had been born in a
desert island and had never known a human being, he would have been able
to draw up the confession of faith of the _Vicaire Savoyard_. The habit
of historical research has dispelled these illusions. A French writer,
distinguished for solid erudition, wrote not long ago: "The civilized
world has received from Judea the foundations of its faith. It has
learned of it these two things which pagan antiquity never
knew--holiness and charity; for all holiness is derived from belief in a
personal, spiritual God, Creator of the universe; and all charity from
the doctrine of human brotherhood!"[17] Religion, in its most general
sense, is found wherever there are men; but distinct knowledge of the
Heavenly Father is the fruit of that word which comes to us from the
borders of the Jordan,--a word in which all the true elements of ancient
wisdom are found to have mutually drawn together, and strengthened each
other. In the very heart of our civilization, those men of mind who
succeed in freeing themselves in good earnest from the influence of this
word come, oftener than not, to throw off all belief in the real and
true God, if they have strength of mind enough properly to understand
themselves.

How is it that the full idea of the Creator,--an idea which true
philosophers have sought after in all periods of history, and of which
they have had, so to speak, glimpses and presentiments,--how is it that
this idea is a living one only under the influence of the tradition
which, proceeding originally from Abraham and Moses, has been continued
by Jesus Christ? It is not impossible to point out the spiritual causes
of this great historical phenomenon. Faith in God, in order to maintain
itself in presence of the difficulties which rise in our minds, a