ses and accidents. As for God--either there is no God or he
is an idiot. He is a slobbering idiot. He is like some idiot who pulls
off the wings of flies."

"No," said Mr. Britling.

"There is no progress. Nothing gets better. How can _you_ believe in God
after Hugh? _Do_ you believe in God?"

"Yes," said Mr. Britling after a long pause; "I do believe in God."

"Who lets these things happen!" She raised herself on her arm and thrust
her argument at him with her hand. "Who kills my Teddy and your
Hugh--and millions."

"No," said Mr. Britling.

"But he _must_ let these things happen. Or why do they happen?"

"No," said Mr. Britling. "It is the theologians who must answer that.
They have been extravagant about God. They have had silly absolute
ideas--that He is all powerful. That He's omni-everything. But the
common sense of men knows better. Every real religious thought denies
it. After all, the real God of the Christians is Christ, not God
Almighty; a poor mocked and wounded God nailed on a cross of matter....
Some day He will triumph.... But it is not fair to say that He causes
all things now. It is not fair to make out a case against him. You have
been misled. It is a theologian's folly. God is not absolute; God is
finite.... A finite God who struggles in his great and comprehensive way
as we struggle in our weak and silly way--who is _with_ us--that is the
essence of all real religion.... I agree with you so--Why! if I thought
there was an omnipotent God who looked down on battles and deaths and
all the waste and horror of this war--able to prevent these
things--doing them to amuse Himself--I would spit in his empty face...."

"Any one would...."

"But it's your teachers and catechisms have set you against God.... They
want to make out He owns all Nature. And all sorts of silly claims. Like
the heralds in the Middle Ages who insisted that Christ was certainly a
great gentleman entitled to bear arms. But God is within Nature and
necessity. Necessity is a thing beyond God--beyond good and ill, beyond
space and time, a mystery everlastingly impenetrable. God is nearer than
that. Necessity is the uttermost thing, but God is the innermost thing.
Closer He is than breathing and nearer than hands and feet. He is the
Other Thing than this world. Greater than Nature or Necessity, for he is
a spirit and they are blind, but not controlling them.... Not yet...."

"They always told me He was the maker of Heaven and Eart