X PREFACE. 



intended rather for the deniers and doubters of 

 religious truth. And this was all the more possible 

 that on the whole the discussion dealt with subjects 

 upon which religious tradition was silent, or dis- 

 cussed them on planes so different that their re- 

 spective assertions could hardly come into contact. 

 Nevertheless, whenever the conclusions arrived at 

 coincided with those of religion, this has been 

 frankly admitted. But in no case has this coinci- 

 dence been quoted as an authority, or taken the 

 place of independent argument. Neither, on the 

 other hand, has the author concealed his disagree- 

 ment with certain widely prevalent religious views, 

 such as, e,g., that as to the infinity of the Deity. 

 But he has been at pains to point out that the views 

 he combats have not been unambiguously asserted by 

 the Christian Church, and that they are incompat- 

 ible with the spirit of all religion. He trusts, there- 

 fore, that rather than impugn the orthodoxy of a 

 philosophy which contains no doctrine inconsistent 

 with the principles of religion, theologians will 

 find it possible to put such an interpretation upon 

 the dogmas in question as will at length reconcile 

 faith with reason. 



Instead of hastily condemning verbal divergencies 

 from the wording of the Athanasian Creed, let them 

 reflect rather whether it is not wiser to meet in .a 

 conciliatory spirit the well-meant efforts of a philo- 

 sophical theory which may sincerely claim that its 

 metaphysics enable it to grant to religion the 

 substance, though not the shadow of its demands, 

 and which challenges careful consideration of the 

 question whether all the alternative systems do not 

 do just the reverse, and sacrifice the substance to 

 the shadow. Certainly religion can still less afford 



