The Peculiar People
The only people in England who really believe in God are the Peculiar
People. Perhaps that is why they are called peculiar. See how
belief in an anthropomorphic God divides allegiance and disturbs
civil order as soon as it becomes vital.
Renan
There is an article on him in the Times, April 30, 1883, of the worst
Times kind, and that is saying much. It appears he whines about his
lost faith and professes to wish that he could believe as he believed
when young. No sincere man will regret having attained a truer view
concerning anything which he has ever believed. And then he talks
about the difficulties of coming to disbelieve the Christian miracles
as though it were a great intellectual feat. This is very childish.
I hope no one will say I was sorry when I found out that there was no
reason for believing in heaven and hell. My contempt for Renan has
no limits. (Has he an accent to his name? I despise him too much to
find out.)
The Spiritual Treadmill
The Church of England has something in her liturgy of the spiritual
treadmill. It is a very nice treadmill no doubt, but Sunday after
Sunday we keep step with the same old "We have left undone that which
we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought
not to have done" without making any progress. With the Church of
Rome, I understand that those whose piety is sufficiently approved
are told they may consider themselves as a finished article and that,
except on some few rare festivals, they need no longer keep on going
to church and confessing.
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