ox view of the doctrine of the
Atonement is pressed to say just what he supposes the death of Jesus to
have effected in the mind of God so as to free humanity from its curse,
he usually takes refuge in phrases about the "mystery of the cross,"
and so on. He does not say in plain language exactly what he means,
for the truth is he does not know; he only believes what he has been
told, and has persuaded himself that it is of the utmost value to
Christian experience, which it is not and never was. The doctrine as
popularly held is not only not true but it ought not to be true; it is
a serious hindrance to spiritual religion. Why in the world should God
require such a sacrifice before feeling Himself free to forgive His
erring children? And why should it be regarded as in any real sense a
substitute for what is due from us or any equivalent for what we should
otherwise have to bear? Once more, perhaps, the dogmatic theologian
will pull me up sharply and say that I am misrepresenting him, but I
think I am on fairly safe ground in declaring that this is what the
ordinary man in the pew as well as the man in the street understands by
the saving work of Jesus, and he does so because of the language of the
pulpit backed by the theological college preceptor. If this is the
Atonement, there is little wonder that thoughtful minds will have
nothing to say to it and that so many good people are puzzled to know
what to think about it.

+The human causes of the crucifixion of Jesus.+--If the death of Jesus
took place under similar circumstances to-day, we should be in no doubt
as to what to call it. It was a barbarous and wicked murder instigated
by base and unscrupulous men who wanted to get rid of a dangerous
teacher. We do not need to search far in order to find reasons for the
tragedy. There were reasons enough in the antagonism which had long
existed between Jesus and the ecclesiastical rulers of Judea. Jesus
held and taught a certain ideal concerning human life and its relation
to God. At the beginning of His brief public ministry He seems to have
thought that His invitation to men to realise their divine sonship
would meet with a ready response, and that therefore the kingdom of God
would without great difficulty be established upon earth through the
working of the spirit of love in human hearts. At first He gained an
extensive hearing because the Jewish people were willing and ready to
listen to any teacher who woul