rs and
preachers have striven, by inculcating the principles and precepts of
Christianity, to mould men's character and to improve their conduct; yet
we still have our prisons, our judges, and our wars, and it remains
today, as it has done for two thousand years past, an arguable question
whether men are better or worse than they were before Christianity was
introduced.

WILLIAM PEPPERELL MONTAGUE

If we will for a moment imagine the Bible to have come suddenly to our
attention today, unencumbered by a tradition of divine authority, and
with no more sacredness than a newly discovered writing of ancient China
or Egypt, we can see quite readily that it would occur to nobody who
took the work merely on its merits either to accept it as scientifically
and historically true, or to twist its statements into a far-fetched
allegory of the truth.

Religion will be _outmoded_; and its tidings of escape to another and
better world will ring cold in the ears of those who love this. The new
worldliness that religion must face is based on the faith that there is
not only no _place_ for heaven, but no _need_ for it. Humanity,
adolescent at last, has tasted the first fruits of the victory of
secular intelligence over nature, and dreams grandly of far greater
victories to come.

IRWIN EDMAN

The hope of the world certainly lies in intelligence. Certainly, there
is no hope anywhere else. I cannot look to anything so remotely
definable as God for aid, nor do I ever regret not being able to do so.

WALTER LIPPMANN

Many reasons have been adduced to explain why people do not go to church
as much as they once did. Surely the most important reason is that they
are not so certain that they are going to meet God when they go to
church. If they had that certainty they would go. If they really
believed that they were being watched by a Supreme Being who is more
powerful than all the kings of the earth put together, if they really
believed that not only their actions but their secret thoughts were
known and would be remembered by the creator, and ultimate judge of the
universe, there would be no complaint whatever about church attendance.
The most worldly would be in the front pews, and preachers would not
have to resort so often to their rather desperate expedients to attract
an audience. If the conviction were there that the creed professed was
invincibly true, the modern congregation would not come to church, as
they usually do