sition-period, and
there is an indication of progress in the present interest in great
questions of theology. For the doctrines of Protestantism we should
substitute a pure, simple Deism; we should substitute philanthropism for
morality. The Bible is not entitled to authority, for it has no trace of
inspiration. There is no such thing as mediation. We must not attach too
much importance to the Messianic idea, for this would imply a special
revelation. The Gospels rest on a very insecure basis. The theses of
Paul betray a continued oscillation between the mystic and Jewish
conceptions. As a whole, the Bible is not divine, and we should at once
discard faith in its authoritative character. The only way by which
Christ now acts upon persons is by the force of his example and ideas,
just as Moses, Mohammed, and Socrates now influence men. Religious faith
is not necessarily faith in Christ. He was not free from sin in a moral
sense; he had a natural sinfulness by virtue of his humanity.[111]

M. Grotz, pastor at Nismes, was once under the influence of A. Monod,
but owing to the withdrawal of Scherer from orthodoxy, he joined the
Rationalists. He holds that revelation is not peculiar to the
Scriptures. There are many kinds of revelation, and we find them
continually in history. Every manifestation of God is a revelation. We
must always examine freely and critically; nowhere does Christ enjoin
the contrary. We need to use our intellectual faculties and conscience.
The greatest revelation is Christ,--not his doctrines, but himself. We
should always keep prophecy and miracles in the background, for they are
minor questions and should occupy an humble position.[112]

Of all the members of the Critical School, Renan is the best known to
the English and American public. He has written a number of works on
various topics,[113] but it is by his _Life of Jesus_ that he has gained
greatest celebrity. God, Providence, and immortality are, with him, dull
words about which philosophy has long played and finally interpreted in
the most refined sense.

There is no reason why a pappoose should be immortal. Religion is a
part of man's nature, and, in return, he is benefited and elevated by
it. God's revelation is in man's innate consciousness. There is no
necessity for miracles; all that we need in this life is the mere result
of the operation of natural forces. The present age is one in which we
should freely criticise whatever comes up fo