Conclusion. 171 



as supernatural forces, or to personify them and make 

 of them a Creator endowed with thought like man" 

 then we, too, would certainly prefer the "ignoramus" 

 to such preposterous metaphysical views. However, 

 the rational assumption of a spiritual being of infinite 

 wisdom and power which is the reason of its own nec- 

 essary existence, and must, therefore, be the reason and 

 the first cause of all finite existence, this assumption 

 is entirely different from the anthropomorphic carica- 

 tures of a "personal creator" framed by monistic scien- 

 tists. If modern naturalists did not draw their knowl- 

 edge of theistic views from the writings of such men 

 as Ernest Haeckel, who cannot fancy the God of 

 Christianity other than "a gaseous vertebrate," but 

 from the solid works of Christian philosophers, many 

 prejudices would soon disappear. 



