CONCLUSION 



WHATEVER ideas readers of the foregoing 

 opinions may have formed, they will con- 

 clude that the quests of the writers for 

 truth, if not for the Absolute, were worthwhile ones; 

 and that, though they may have differed on incidentals 

 they agreed with striking consistency on the essentials. 

 Science does not make conclusive statements, though 

 in view of its methods, apparatus and mental equip- 

 ment it is as well or better qualified to speak with au- 

 thority than religion. That it does not do so is the re- 

 sult of habits of caution long since formed. The mills 

 of research grind slowly, but perhaps in the end they 

 turn out better grist. In other words, while many 

 people accept the statements of religion with mental 

 reservations, they place no such restrictions on the con- 

 clusions of science. When science says, if it ever does, 

 that it has found Ultimate Reality, people will believe 

 it, just as they believe the scientific interpretation of 

 planetary motion, and of the composition of the sun. 

 In brief, orthodox religion does not and cannot speak 

 with authority, though it continues, despite a failing 

 influence, to make ex-cathedra claims. It cannot pre- 

 sent that sort of proof which thoughtful persons to-day 

 require. 



We can only repeat what we said in the Introduc- 

 tion, and which following statements sustained, namely, 

 that religion's chief business is development of charac- 

 ter, a human duty than which there is no greater. 



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