29 JUNE 1929, Page 18

IN DEFENCE OF THE FAITH

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

Sur,—I have read your series of articles " In Defence of the Faith," and it appears to me that nearly all of them have been founded on a wrong basis. They all seem to have been written on the presumption of the existence of " original sin "—namely, that all mankind is sinful, and requiring regeneration and redemption.

To my mind, the progress of mankind has been an upward one, both physically, mentally, and morally, progressing from its elementary origin§ to its present state, and I believe that it will progress eternally to higher and higher conditions. Each lower state of development as compared with a higher involves an inferiority—and any stage compared withthe divine standard shows an infinite state of inferiority, but this is not sin.

Sin can only be the love of an inferior condition when the individual knows, and is capable of, a higher one. Differen- tiation and progress is the divine scheme in the material and spiritual universe. It is surely a mistake _to separate the two, or religion from nature. The love of God permeates all the universe and all the stages of existence, and the manifes- tation of the divine in the person of Christ is part of the divine system of eternal progress. The whole system of nature is the manifestation and working out of the Spirit of God. To aim at perfection, and not redemption from sin, should be the object of religion. The suggestion that the loving God organized a system whereby mankind should be born into sin surely is a libel on the Creator.

Existing religions appear to be trying to justify their theologically created systems to meet modern objections. The sense of sin may have been useful to stimulate some minds to a greater effort after perfection, but the idea has caused great misery to many over-sensitive minds. What is wanted is surely a simple, natural religion, based on a belief in the divine system of the universe, and a natural spiritual growth in the sunshine of God's love.—I am, Sir, &c.,

Z.