THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



based on the reason rather than on the miraculous. 

 They may teach that God has revealed the higher law 

 to a few individuals, now and then, and that Jesus 

 was, in a manner, divine. But they sedulously mini- 

 mize the elements of the miraculous in the lives of the 

 prophets who are to the average person the living 

 symbols of God and religion. They repeat the creeds 

 of the Church, but they place upon them their own in- 

 terpretation which is quite contrary to the simple 

 meaning of the words they use. And their interpreta- 

 tion is acceptable neither to faith nor to reason ; it is 

 neither frankly spiritualistic nor materialistic. 



Distracted by the impossible attempt to reconcile 

 rational progress and moral stability, very many have 

 given up the search for spirituality altogether. Their 

 sole aim is to get from life what pleasure and what 

 success they may. The majority have turned rather 

 to humanitarianism and are hoping to save society 

 by a more equitable distribution of the comforts and 

 ease of life. They fail to see that the prevailing un- 

 rest and dissatisfaction do not come from a lack of the 

 necessities which permit a righteous life, but that 

 they are due to the envy of the luxuries of others. The 

 inevitable inequalities of fortune are increased by the 

 emphasis placed on material welfare and the attempts 

 to increase it. Even the poor are today so surrounded 

 with mechanical contrivances and social aids that 

 their material life compares favourably with that of 

 the rich of former times. Yet we see no contentment 



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