forgiveness; and I am a mere earthly
father. Yet Christ, who came direct from God--who _was_ God--to teach
all men God's will, directed us to pray to God for our daily bread, for
forgiveness of our trespasses against Him, and that He would not lead us
into temptation! Imagine a father leading his children into temptation!

What is there so superior or so meritorious in the attitude of a
religious man towards God? This good man prays: for what? He prays that
something be given to him or forgiven to him. He prays for gain or fear.
Is that so lofty and so noble?

But you will say: "It is not all for gain or for fear. He prays for
love: because he loves God." But is not this like sending flowers and
jewels to the king? The king is so rich already: but there are many
poor outside his gates. God is not in need of our love: some of God's
children are in need. Truly, these high ideals are very curious.

Mr. Augustine Birrell, in his _Miscellanies_, quotes a passage from "Lux
Mundi"; and although I cannot find it in that book, it is too good to
lose:

If this be the relation of faith to reason, we see the explanation
of what seems at first sight to the philosopher to be the most
irritating and hypocritical characteristic of faith. It is
always shifting its intellectual defences. It adopts this or
that fashion of philosophical apology, and then, when this is
shattered by some novel scientific generalisation of faith,
probably after a passionate struggle to retain the old position,
suddenly and gaily abandons it, and takes up the new formula,
just as if nothing had happened. It discovers that the new
formula is admirably adapted for its purposes, and is, in fact,
what it always meant, only it has unfortunately omitted to
mention it. So it goes on again and again; and no wonder that
the philosophers growl at those humbugs, the clergy.

That passage has a rather sinister bearing upon the Christian's claim
for spiritual genius.

But, indeed, the claim is not admissible. The Churches have taught many
errors. Those errors have been confuted by scepticism and science. It is
no thanks to spiritual discernment that we stand where we do. It is to
reason we owe our advance; and what a great advance it is! We have
got rid of Hell, we have got rid of the Devil, we have got rid of
the Christian championship of slavery, of witch-murder, of martyrdom,
persecution, and t