inculcates good behavior, and promises as a reward for a well-spent life
an eternity of bliss in the happy hunting ground. Our future is depicted
by our priests as a materialistic future, where we follow the chase,
defeat our enemies and enjoy to our full those things which render us
happy in this world. Personally, I have long since discarded the
teachings of my people, and I am in a state of doubt which seriously
perplexes me. I have read much and widely on this subject. I find that
you white men have not one religion, but many. You are divided into
sects, torn by factions. From the teachings of history I would think
that the multitude of denominations you support was your greatest
safeguard. You know from times past, when a religion becomes too
powerful it becomes also intolerant, and persecutions follow. I am loath
to accept the Christian theory of the origin of man or his probable
destiny. Science teaches us that the human being has existed for
millions of years longer than the churches admit we have existed. The
idolatry practiced by the Catholic church repulses me, and yet its
stability has strongly appealed to me. You will remember what Macaulay,
in reviewing Ranke's History of the Popes, said of this church. After
reviewing its history, its defeats and its triumphs, he added: 'And she
may still exist in undiminished vigor when some traveler from New
Zealand shall in the midst of a vast solitude take his stand on a broken
arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul.' And yet, neither
the age of the church nor its stability is conclusive to my mind of its
divine origin. I am rather convinced from these facts that it has been
governed by a skillful set of men, who were able politicians and
financiers, as well as religious enthusiasts. Certainly no protestant
church can lay claim to divine origin. We know too well that the
Episcopal church was founded by an English King, because the Pope of
Rome refused him a divorce. Luther quarreled with his church and broke
away from its restraints. Wesley founded the Methodist church, Calvin