globe. Our difficulties and
our ignorance are not in the least dispelled, but on the contrary
complicated and increased, by the adoption of the ancient belief in a
Supernatural Contriver and Maker, who, after existing from eternity in
absolute void and solitude, suddenly proceeded to create the universe
out of nothing or out of himself."[255] The editor thinks "the course to
be taken is to use the term Secularists as indicating general views, and
accept the term Atheist at the point at which Ethics declines alliance
with Theology; always, however, explaining the term Atheist to mean 'not
seeing God,' visually or inferentially; never suffering it to be taken
(as Chalmers, Foster, and many others represent it) for Anti-theism,
that is, hating God, denying God, as _hating_ implies personal knowledge
as the ground of dislike, and _denying_ implies infinite knowledge as
the ground of disproof."[256]

These extracts are sufficient to illustrate the peculiar character of
this popular form of Infidelity. It is not a philosophical system,
although philosophical terms are often employed by its advocates; it
does not even profess to solve, as the theory of Development does, any
of the great problems of Nature. We shall offer a brief statement of its
distinctive peculiarities, as it is developed by Mr. Holyoake, and
suggest some considerations which should be seriously pondered by those
who may be tempted to exchange Christianity for Secularism.

1. The theory of Secularism is a form, not of _dogmatic_, but of
_skeptical_, Atheism; it is dogmatic only in _denying the sufficiency of
the evidence_ for the being and perfections of God. It does not deny, it
only does not believe, His existence. There may be a God
notwithstanding; there may even be sufficient evidence of His being,
although some men cannot, or will not, see it. "They do not deny the
existence of God, but only assert that they have not sufficient proof of
His existence."[257] "The Non-theist takes this ground. He affirms that
natural reason has _not yet_ attained to (evidence of) Supernatural
Being. He does not deny that it _may do so_, because the capacity of
natural reason in the pursuit of evidence of Supernatural Being is not,
so far as he is aware, fixed."--"The power of reason is yet a growth. To
deny its power absolutely would be hazardous; and in the case of a
speculative question, not to admit that the opposite views may in some
sense be tenable, is to assume y