emn each other's tenets; and in case of
need would, I suppose, take down the old rusty weapons from the
armoury. But each sees with equal clearness that the real stress of
battle lies elsewhere. Each tries, after his own fashion, to give a
better answer than the Socialists to the critical problems of to-day.
We ought so far to congratulate both them and ourselves on the
direction of their energies. Nay, can we not even co-operate, and put
these hopeless controversies aside? Why not agree to differ about the
questions which no one denies to be all but insoluble, and become
allies in promoting morality? Enormous social forces find their natural
channel through the churches; and if the beliefs inculcated by the
church were not, as believers assert, the ultimate cause of progress,
it is at least clear that they were not incompatible with progress. The
church, we all now admit, whether by reason of or in spite of its
dogmatic creed, was for ages one great organ of civilisation, and still
exercises an incalculable influence. Why, then, should we, who cannot
believe in the dogmas, yet fall into line with believers for practical
purposes? Churches insist verbally upon the importance of their dogma:
they are bound to do so by their logical position; but, in reality, for
them, as for us, the dogma has become in many ways a mere
excrescence--a survival of barren formulae which do little harm to
anybody. Carlyle, in his quaint phrase, talked about the exodus from
Houndsditch, but doubted whether it were yet time to cast aside the
Hebrew old clothes. They have become threadbare and antiquated. That
gives a reason to the intelligent for abandoning them; but, also,
perhaps a reason for not quarrelling with those who still care to
masquerade in them. Orthodox people have made a demand that the Board
Schools should teach certain ancient doctrines about the nature of
Christ; and the demand strikes some of us as preposterous if not
hypocritical. But putting aside the audacity of asking unbelievers to
pay for such teaching, one might be tempted to ask, what harm could it
really do? Do you fancy for a moment that you can really teach a child
of ten the true meaning of the Incarnation? Can you give him more than
a string of words as meaningless as magical formulae? I was brought up
at the most orthodox of Anglican seminaries. I learned the Catechism,
and heard lectures upon the Thirty-nine Articles. I never found that
the teaching had ever an