suppose for a moment that an inhabitant of Mars, if there be
such, were by a "miracle" to be transported to this earth and endowed
with the mental capacity of the average inhabitant of the earth (a thing
which perhaps would not be so flattering to our guest), were to be
approached by a zealot of each one of these faiths, who hoped to convert
this stranger to its ranks. Since the factor of coercion by force of
environment to which each of these earthlings was subject would
naturally be absent, the Martian would be in a position to make a fair
choice. How much would the visitor be impressed by the statements of the
Christian, Mohammedan, or Jew, when advised that unless he embraced
their particular creed, he would be damned to eternal torture in their
particular Hell?

If a Christian were to accost him and endeavor to put the fear of God
into him, and if our visitor, being from Mars, already knew that of the
world's population, only about 27 per cent are Christians, and the other
73 per cent are Non-Christians, is it logical to suppose that he would
ever be convinced that an omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent, Supreme
Being would select only one quarter of his children whom he had created
for redemption, with the infallible knowledge that nearly three-quarters
of them would be confined to Hell for not believing what He could have
made them believe if He were truly omnipotent, omniscient, and
benevolent? Would he not rather reply that on his planet such a "Father"
who would select some of his children for rewards, and maliciously
torture his other children, would not be designated as a God but a
Devil? Were the Martian to be further informed that each one of God's
children was represented in actual figures by hundreds of millions and
that these have been living on the planet Earth for hundreds of
thousands of years, and were the visitor to contemplate the vast
incomprehensible number of souls that have been confined to Hell by such
a father, might he not cut his visit short? He would be apt to repeat
with James Mill, "Think of a being who would make a Hell, who would
create the human race with the infallible foreknowledge and therefore
with the intention that the great majority of them should be consigned
to horrible and everlasting torment." I believe that our guest would
assert that if such a Being actually existed and demanded worship, he
would certainly have revealed his true belief to the first man Adam, and
therefore