In conclusion, I would wish to add, that I am conscious, from the amount of correspondence which I have had on the subject in hand, that there is not only a wide, but a constantly extending dissatisfaction with the current theology taught by the ministers of all denominations--excepting, as a body, the Unitarians, and such individuals as Bishop Colenso, Bishop Hinds, Mr Voysey, and others. The laity are awaking to the fact that priests are strenuously endeavouring to quench the light of reason in the fogs of faith. Unless the Protestantism, of which Great Britain was once so proud, decides to drift into Papism--the only legitimate harbour for those who reject reason for a guide--it must thoroughly reform itself, and ruthlessly reject, as "necessary to salvation," every article of belief which is not only nonsensical or absurd, but which has unquestionably descended from a grovelling Paganism. To this end we hope that our essays will contribute. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER I. A recapitulation. Destruction of an old edifice precedes the building of another on the same site. Chichester Cathedral. Difficulties of reconstruction. Innovators are regarded as enemies. The Old Testament appraised. The Jews and their pretensions. Hebraic idea of Jehovah. The sun and moon. God and goddess. Importance of sexual perfection in a Hebrew male. Women are prizes given to the faithful Jews. Almost everything Jewish came from Pagan sources, except the Sabbath. Inquiry into the New Testament necessarily follows upon an investigation of the Old. Thoughts upon the history of Christianity. Malignancy of its professors. Life of Jesus, by various authors. The ground preoccupied. The plan proposed. In commencing another volume of a series, and one to a great extent independent of the other two, it is advisable to pause and recapitulate the points advanced, and the positions attained. This is the more necessary when the present inquiry is a natural result of a preceding one, and when an attempt is made to collect and arrange the scattered materials into an harmonious and consistent edifice. Our volumes on the subject of "Ancient Faiths in Ancient Names" were, to a great extent, destructive. They struck heavy blows in all directions, wherever a false idol was to be recognized, and they destroyed many a cherished delusion, which was to many as dear as the apple of their eye. But, throughout the whole process of destruction, the idea of the necessity for a reconstruction was present to the mind of the author.