THE EVOLUTION OF RELIGION 139 



its bitterest enemies ; its protector to-day, and its slayer and 

 destroyer to-morrow. So we find that evolution is devoted at 

 this time to constant contests for supremacy between Religions 

 and Governments for the right to rule mankind. But the 

 reader must not forget that behind the throne there is a higher 

 power, Fate, the instrument of God's prerogative to rule man- 

 kind and all His creations, which is above the greatest powers 

 of man, religions or governments. For man has only a limited 

 power of control over his actions. God alone has power to will 

 and to perform ; Man can only will and do the best he is able 

 to perform, the result of which is that God for ever intends 

 to retain absolute control of Creation that He may be able to 

 reward man's control of his actions by the hand of Fate. 



At this period of evolution Fate decrees that to evolve 

 Religions and Governments to their perfection, each shall in its 

 turn become corrupt and degenerate and practically die, to be 

 reborn and rejuvenated in accordance with the laws he has laid 

 down for the rest of evolution, so that each life of religion or 

 government may be an improvement on the one that has pre- 

 ceded it, just as in life, youth is followed by old age, so that 

 out of the decay of one religion shall rise a more perfect form 

 of Government and that the growth and decay of Governments 

 shall evolve more perfect forms of religion moulded on the 

 skeletons of their defunct corpses, and so adapt themselves to 

 the progressive growth of man's mind. And out of these 

 struggles for their existence and supremacy are to arise Know- 

 ledge, Experience and Commerce, and subsequently Science 

 and Invention. So now we find that fate decrees that each and 

 every form of religion is in turn doomed to be lost in the mists 

 of Idolatry and superstition till it shall be beyond all recogni- 

 tion and shall be so perverted by man's desire to make it the 

 tool of rebellions and reformations of government as to be- 

 come degenerate, after which it will again be replaced by a 

 more advanced form of religious reformation. For these rea- 

 sons God continually wipes out nearly all the details of past 

 religious beliefs and only leaves just enough of their teachings 

 to be sufficient to evolve the next form that evolution requires, 

 which He has also done with all forms of past evolution, leav- 

 ing us only a broken chain. Nevertheless, he leaves sufficient 

 links for us to see that it is the same chain, the reason of 

 which is that He does not intend past convictions to override 



