they won the hearts of the apostles and
early Christians, confront us from the earliest childhood as the
infallible law of a mighty church, and demand of us an unconditional
submission, which they call faith. Doubts arise sooner or later in the
breast of every one who has the power of thinking and reverence for the
truth; and then even when we are on the right road, to overcome our
faith, the terrors of doubt and unbelief arise and disturb the tranquil
development of the new life."

"I read recently in an English work," she interrupted, "that truth
makes revelation, and not revelation truth. This perfectly expressed
what I found in reading the 'German Theology.' I read the book, and I
felt the power of its truths so overwhelmingly that I was compelled to
submit to it. The truth was revealed to me; or rather, I was revealed
to myself, and I felt for the first time what belief meant. The truth
which had long slumbered in my soul belonged to me, but it was the word
of the unknown teacher which filled me with light, illuminated my inner
vision, and brought out my indistinct presentiments in fuller clearness
before my soul. When I had thus experienced for the first time how the
human soul can believe, I read the Gospels as if they, too, had been
written by an Unknown man, and banished the thought as well as I could
that they were an inspiration from the Holy Ghost to the apostles, in
some wonderful manner; that they had been endorsed by the councils and
proclaimed by the church as the supreme authority of the alone-saving
belief. Then, for the first time, I understood what Christian faith
and revelation were."

"It is wonderful," said I, "that the theologians have not broken down
all religion, and they will succeed yet, if the believers do not
seriously confront them and say: 'Thus far but no farther.' Every
church must have its servants, but there has been as yet no religion
which the Priests, the Brahmins, the Schamins, the Bonzes, the Lamas,
the Pharisees, or the Scribes have not corrupted and perverted. They
wrangle and dispute in a language unintelligible to nine-tenths of
their congregations, and instead of permitting themselves to be
inspired by the apostles, and of inspiring others with their
inspiration, they construct long arguments to show that the Gospels
must be true, because they were written by inspired men. But this is
only a makeshift for their own unbelief. How can they know that these
men were