o be made in religious thought if it should be found that Jesus
was not perfect. If Jesus was in error concerning conditions of his own
time and exhibited no knowledge of our modern problems, his authority
will be lessened. Searchers after the true way of life will not continue
to worship a person whose conception of the physical and spiritual world
was erroneous. If Jesus made mistakes, he is neither the Son of God nor
an infallible man.

So long as people feel compelled to worship what has been proved
imperfect, or to evade important doctrines of their creeds for fear of
losing faith in old traditions, their minds will not be receptive to
changes in social conditions that require abandonment of established
customs. Christians are imbued with a psychology derived from a
completed revelation. The firmer their belief in Jesus, the greater
their resistance to new ideas. Catholics are more reluctant to join
progressive movements than Modernists and Modernists than Evolutionists.
Religious people are apt to be afraid of the new world; they doubt the
possibility of eliminating war, poverty and injustice--customs as deeply
rooted in the social world as belief in Jesus is in the religious world.
If the chief reactionary bulwark of the past is abandoned, there will be
greater possibility of accepting new revelations.

What would happen if Christians should discover that their leader was
not an incomparable guide? Absolutely nothing at first. Those accustomed
to lead a moral life would continue to do so. Members of Christian
churches are the very people who most wish to do what is right. They
will not lose their character because Jesus has lost his fictitious
divinity. On the contrary, they will search for the most elevating
principles to substitute for the personality that has been found
deficient. It is difficult for people to be superior to their gods.
These same church-going individuals, when freed from the fetters of
antiquated supernaturalism, will gradually learn to serve mankind with
the same devotion they now render to a misunderstood God. They will no
longer be limited by the defects of their paragon in their efforts to
make the most of life. They will seek to solve modern problems in a
rational way instead of deciding such matters as birth control, divorce,
war and prohibition by reference to the scriptures, as they do now. For
the first time they will make their decisions according to the best
knowledge obtainable t