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enigma is as comforting as wine and open as an English fireside；
that this thing that bewilders the intellect utterly quiets the heart：
but out of the desert； from the dry places and the dreadful suns；
come the cruel children of the lonely God； the real Unitarians who
with scimitar in hand have laid waste the world。 For it is not well
for God to be alone。
Again； the same is true of that difficult matter of the danger
of the soul； which has unsettled so many just minds。 To hope
for all souls is imperative； and it is quite tenable that their
salvation is inevitable。 It is tenable； but it is not specially
favourable to activity or progress。 Our fighting and creative society
ought rather to insist on the danger of everybody； on the fact
that every man is hanging by a thread or clinging to a precipice。
To say that all will be well anyhow is a comprehensible remark：
but it cannot be called the blast of a trumpet。 Europe ought rather
to emphasize possible perdition； and Europe always has emphasized it。
Here its highest religion is at one with all its cheapest romances。
To the Buddhist or the eastern fatalist existence is a science
or a plan； which must end up in a certain way。 But to a Christian
existence is a STORY； which may end up in any way。 In a thrilling
novel （that purely Christian product） the hero is not eaten
by cannibals； but it is essential to the existence of the thrill
that he MIGHT be eaten by cannibals。 The hero must （so to speak）
be an eatable hero。 So Christian morals have always said to the man；
not that he would lose his soul； but that he must take care that he
didn't。 In Christian morals； in short； it is wicked to call a man
〃damned〃： but it is strictly religious and philosophic to call
him damnable。
All Christianity concentrates on the man at the cross…roads。
The vast and shallow philosophies； the huge syntheses of humbug；
all talk about ages and evolution and ultimate developments。
The true philosophy is concerned with the instant。 Will a man
take this road or that？that is the only thing to think about；
if you enjoy thinking。 The aeons are easy enough to think about；
any one can think about them。 The instant is really awful：
and it is because our religion has intensely felt the instant；
that it has in literature dealt much with battle and in theology
dealt much with hell。 It is full of DANGER； like a boy's book：
it is at an immortal crisis。 There is a great deal of real similarity
between popular fiction and the religion of the western people。
If you say that popular fiction is vulgar and tawdry； you only say
what the dreary and well…informed say also about the images in the
Catholic churches。 Life （according to the faith） is very like a
serial story in a magazine： life ends with the promise （or menace）
〃to be continued in our next。〃 Also； with a noble vulgarity；
life imitates the serial and leaves off at the exciting moment。
For death is distinctly an exciting moment。
But the point is that a story is exciting because it has in it
so strong an element of will； of what theology calls free…will。
You cannot finish a sum how you like。 But you can finish a story
how you like。 When somebody discovered the Differential Calculus
there was only one Differential Calculus he could discover。
But when Shakespeare killed Romeo he might have married him to
Juliet's old nurse if he had felt inclined。 And Christendom has
excelled in the narrative romance exactly because it has insisted
on the theological free…will。 It is a large matter and too much
to one side of the road to be discussed adequately here； but this
is the real objection to that torrent of modern talk about treating
crime as disease； about making a prison merely a hygienic environment
like a hospital； of healing sin by slow scientific methods。
The fallacy of the whole thing is that evil is a matter of active
choice whereas disease is not。 If you say that you are going to cure
a profligate as you cure an asthmatic； my cheap and obvious answer is；
〃Produce the people who want to be asthmatics as many people want
to be profligates。〃 A man may lie still and be cured of a malady。
But he must not lie still if he wants to be cured of a sin；
on the contrary； he must get up and jump about violently。
The whole point indeed is perfectly expressed in the very word
which we use for a man in hospital； 〃patient〃 is in the passive mood；
〃sinner〃 is in the active。 If a man is to be saved from influenza；
he may be a patient。 But if he is to be saved from forging；
he must be not a patient but an IMPATIENT。 He must be personally
impatient with forgery。 All moral reform must start in the active
not the passive will。
Here again we reach the same substantial conclusion。 In so far
as we desire the definite reconstructions and the dangerous revolutions
which have distinguished European civilization； we shall not discourage
the thought of possible ruin； we shall rather encourage it。
If we want； like the Eastern saints； merely to contemplate how right
things are； of course we shall only say that they must go right。
But if we particularly want to MAKE them go right； we must insist
that they may go wrong。
Lastly； this truth is yet again true in the case of the common
modern attempts to diminish or to explain away the divinity of Christ。
The thing may be true or not； that I shall deal with before I end。
But if the divinity is true it is certainly terribly revolutionary。
That a good man may have his back to the wall is no more than we
knew already； but that God could have his back to the wall is a boast
for all insurgents for ever。 Christianity is the only religion
on earth that has felt that omnipotence made God incomplete。
Christianity alone has felt that God； to be wholly God；
must have been a rebel as well as a king。 Alone of all creeds；
Christianity has added courage to the virtues of the Creator。
For the only courage worth calling courage must necessarily mean
that the soul passes a breaking pointand does not break。
In this indeed I approach a matter more dark and awful than it
is easy to discuss； and I apologise in advance if any of my
phrases fall wrong or seem irreverent touching a matter which the
greatest saints and thinkers have justly feared to approach。
But in that terrific tale of the Passion there is a distinct emotional
suggestion that the author of all things （in some unthinkable way）
went not only through agony； but through doubt。 It is written；
〃Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God。〃 No； but the Lord thy God may
tempt Himself； and it seems as if this was what happened in Gethsemane。
In a garden Satan tempted man： and in a garden God tempted God。
He passed in some superhuman manner through our human horror
of pessimism。 When the world shook and the sun was wiped out of heaven；
it was not at the crucifixion； but at the cry from the cross：
the cry which confessed that God was forsaken of God。 And now let
the revolutionists choose a creed from all the creeds and a god from all
the gods of the world； carefully weighing all the gods of inevitable
recurrence and of unalterable power。 They will not find another god
who has himself been in revolt。 Nay； （the matter grows too difficult
for human speech；） but let the atheists themselves choose a god。
They will find only one divinity who ever uttered their isolation；
only one religion in which God seemed for an instant to be
an atheist。
These can be called the essentials of the old orthodoxy；
of which the chief merit is that it is the natural fountain of
revolution and reform； and of which the chief defect is that it
is obviously only an abstract assertion。 Its main advantage
is that it is the most adventurous and manly of all theologies。
Its chief disadvantage is simply that it is a theology。 It can always
be urged against it that it is in its nature arbitrary and in the air。
But it is not so high in the air but that great archers spend their
whole lives in shooting arrows at ityes； and their last arrows；
there are men who will ruin themselves and ruin their civilization
if they may ruin also this old fantastic tale。 This is the last
and most astounding fact about this faith； that its enemies will
use any weapon against it； the swords that cut their own fingers；
and the firebrands that burn their own homes