pettiness of God, and the belief of China in the magic propitiations and
resentments of "Heaven" is at least equally strong.

But the true God as those of the new religion know him is no such God
of luck and intervention. He is not to serve men's ends or the ends of
nations or associations of men; he is careless of our ceremonies
and invocations. He does not lose his temper with our follies and
weaknesses. It is for us to serve Him. He captains us, he does not
coddle us. He has his own ends for which he needs us. . . .



4. GOD IS NOT PROVIDENCE


Closely related to this heresy that God is magic, is the heresy that
calls him Providence, that declares the apparent adequacy of cause and
effect to be a sham, and that all the time, incalculably, he is pulling
about the order of events for our personal advantages.

The idea of Providence was very gaily travested by Daudet in "Tartarin
in the Alps." You will remember how Tartarin's friend assured him that
all Switzerland was one great Trust, intent upon attracting tourists and
far too wise and kind to permit them to venture into real danger,
that all the precipices were netted invisibly, and all the loose rocks
guarded against falling, that avalanches were prearranged spectacles and
the crevasses at their worst slippery ways down into kindly catchment
bags. If the mountaineer tried to get into real danger he was turned
back by specious excuses. Inspired by this persuasion Tartarin behaved
with incredible daring. . . . That is exactly the Providence theory of