can be entertained only as a speculation. Now,
the development of knowledge which makes this the only permissible
idea of God, also changes Immortality from a religious certitude to an
unverifiable supposition. The rectification of the evils of this life
cannot, therefore, be reasonably expected in another; so that man
stands alone, fighting a terrible battle, with no aid save from his own
strength and skill. To believe that Omnipotence is the passive spectator
of this fearful strife, is for many minds altogether too hard. They
prefer to believe that the woes and pangs of sentient life were not
designed; that madness, anguish, and despair, result from the interplay
of unconscious forces. They thus set Theism aside, and unable to
recognise the fatherhood of God, they cling more closely to the
brotherhood of Man.

SALVATIONISM.

(April, 1882.)

There is no new thing under the sun, said the wise king Many a
surprising novelty is only an old thing in a new dress. And this
is especially true in respect to religion. Ever since the feast of
Pentecost, when the Apostles all jabbered like madmen, Christianity has
been marked by periodical fits of insanity. It would occupy too much
space to enumerate these outbursts, which have occurred in every part
of Christendom, but we may mention a few that have happened in our own
country. During the Commonwealth, some of the numerous sects went to the
most ludicrous extremes; preaching rousing sermons, praying through the
nose, assuming Biblical names, and prophesying the immediate reign of
the saints. There was a reaction against the excesses of Puritanism
after the death of Cromwell; and until the time of Whitfield and Wesley
religion continued to be a sober and respectable influence, chiefly
useful to the sovereign and the magistrate. But these two powerful
preachers rekindled the fire of religious enthusiasm in the hearts of
the common people, and Methodism was founded among those whom the Church
had scarcely touched. Not many years ago the Hallelujah Band spread
itself far and wide, and then went out like a straw fire. And now we
have Salvationism, doing just the same kind of work, and employing just
the same kind of means. Will this new movement die away like so many
others? It is difficult to say. Salvationism may be only a flash in
the pan; but, on the other hand, it may provide the only sort of
Christianity possible in an age of science and freethought. The educated