rsal Being for which there is no name save that
of the One all-embracing I AM.

The supreme necessity, therefore, for each of us is to realise this
fundamental fact of our own nature, for it is only in proportion as we
do so that we truly live; and, therefore, whatever helps us to this
realisation should be carefully guarded. In so far as any form of
religion contributes to this end in the case of any particular
individual, for him it is true religion. It may be imperfect, but it is
true so far as it goes; and what is wanted is not to destroy the
foundation of a man's faith because it is narrow, but to expand it. And
this expanding will be done by the man himself, for it is a growth from
within and not a construction from without.

Our attitude towards the religious beliefs of others should, therefore,
not be that of iconoclasts, breaking down ruthlessly whatever from _our_
point of view we see to be merely traditionary idols (in Bacon's sense
of the word), but rather the opposite method of fixing upon that in
another's creed which we find to be positive and affirmative, and
gradually leading him to perceive in what its affirmativeness consists;
and then, when once he has got the clue to the element of strength which
exists in his accustomed form of belief, the perception of the contrast
between that and the non-essential accretions will grow up in his mind
spontaneously, thus gradually bringing him out into a wider and freer
atmosphere. In going through such a process as this, he will never have
had his thoughts directed into any channel to suggest separation from
his spiritual root and ground; but he will learn that the rooting and
grounding in the Divine, which he had trusted in at first, were indeed
true, but in a sense far fuller, grander, and larger every way than his
early infantile conception of them.

The question is not how far can another's religious opinions stand the
test of a remorseless logic, but how far do they enable him to realise
his unity with Divine Spirit? That is the living proof of the value of
his opinion to himself, and no change in his opinions can be for the
better that does not lead him to a greater recognition of the livingness
of Divine Spirit in himself. For any change of opinion to indicate a
forward movement, it must proceed from our realising in some measure the
true nature of the life that is already developed in us. When we see
_why_ we are _what_ we are _now_, then we can look ah