ACCEPTING THE UNIVERSE 



ii 

 The demand of our day is for a scientific religion — 

 an attitude of mind toward creation begotten by 

 knowledge, in which fear, personal hopes, individual 

 good, and the so-called "other world," play little 

 part. Virtuous actions, upright conduct, heroic 

 character, the practice of the Golden Rule, are seen 

 to be their own reward, and the security of the 

 future is in well-doing and well-being in the present. 

 This is not religion in the old ecclesiastical sense, 

 but in the new scientific sense; a religion that moves 

 us to fight vice, crime, war, intemperance, for self- 

 preservation and in brotherly love, and not in obedi- 

 ence to theological dogma or the command of a God; 

 a religion that opens our eyes to the wonder and 

 beauty of the world, and that makes us at home in 

 this world. The old religion is a tree that has borne 

 its fruit. It is dying at the top; it is feeble at the 

 root. It no longer touches men's lives as of old. The 

 great things that are done to-day are not done in 

 the name of religion, but in the name of science, of 

 humanity, of civilization. The brotherhood that has 

 force and meaning is no longer a sectarian brother- 

 hood; it is larger than all the churches combined. 



The naturist must see all things in the light of his 

 experiences in this world. He experiences no mira- 

 cles; he sees the cosmic energy as no respecter of per- 

 sons; he sees the rains falling alike upon the just and 



314 



