ble?" strikes the Martian as absurd when viewed in the
light of the historical annals of the Church itself. Mr. Belloc's creed
must have considered these very vices as virtues, judging from the
actions of his Church.

In calling the Roman Catholic Church the witness to revelation, the
author continues with, "Yet, that it should suffer from men's hatred and
persecution." If God has divinely ordained this institution as His
Church on earth, and in His omnipotence and omniscience allows this
Church to be hated, then how do the religionists assume that their god
is a god of love? The author tells us that He is a god of hate, such a
god as was conceived of by the barbarians and the Hebrews--cruel,
vengeful, and monstrous. Does not this apologist confuse his god with
his devil? Then again, has it not occurred to this apologist that he is
in all futility attempting to prove something which is a contradiction
within itself? If God is, and is benevolent, is it not logical to assume
(since the theologians assume all sorts of attributes to this deity)
that he would not have constructed the minds of men when He created them
so as to desire to doubt His being; would not have tortured the minds of
men with cruel doubt as to His existence?

If He is omnipotent, it would have been just as easy to instill into the
minds of men only the strongest desire to believe in His reality; and
even that would not be necessary had He so arranged matters that by His
everlasting presence He would reveal Himself or His deeds to man in such
a conclusive manner that even the feeblest of intellects could not
doubt His existence.

If He is omniscient, as the parable asserts, that not a hair falls from
the head of man, not a sparrow dies without His knowledge, it must
therefore be apparent that He created man with the foreknowledge that
man would doubt His existence. This is a contradiction in itself.

The Martian notes that in the entire length of the work not a reference
is made to the time-worn theological defense, "the revelation" which the
Church has always claimed for its scriptures.

Appended as an afterthought, as an apology, as it were, for the
philosophical defense and not the theological, the Jesuit father reminds
the reader of its messiah, Jesus and the New Testament. The Jesuit
states, "The New Testament writings, considered merely as trustworthy
historical documents, inform us that--" but at this point the Martian
interrupted the speaker