288 THE EVOLUTION OF THEOLOGY vm 



do ; and, so far as it may be possible, I shall 

 avoid the expression of any opinion as to the 

 objective truth or falsehood of the systems of 

 theological speculation of which I may find 

 occasion to speak. From my present point of 

 view, theology is regarded as a natural product 

 of the operations of the human mind, under the 

 conditions of its existence, just as any other branch 

 of science, or the arts of architecture, or music/ 

 or painting are such products. Like them, 

 theology has a history. Like them also, it is 

 to be met with in certain simple and rudimentary 

 forms ; and these can be connected by a multitude 

 of gradations, which exist or have existed, among 

 people of various ages and races, with the most 

 highly developed theologies of past and present 

 times. It is not my object to interfere, even 

 in the slightest degree, with beliefs which 

 anybody holds sacred ; or to alter the conviction 

 of any one who is of opinion that, in dealing 

 with theology, we ought to be guided by con- 

 siderations different from those which would be 

 thought appropriate if the problem lay in the 

 province of chemistry or of mineralogy. And if 

 people of these ways of thinking choose to read 

 beyond the present paragraph, the responsibility 

 for meeting with anything they may dislike rests 

 with them and not with me. 



We are all likely to be more familiar with the 



