Flowers of Freethought (Second Series)Foote, G. W. (George William)
Religion
Flowers of Freethought (Second Series)
Foote, G. W. (George William)
Free thought
The diagnosis is in both cases empirical. In a certain sense, however,
Mr. Keir Hardie has touched a truth. Progressive ideas must always
originate in the keen life of cities. But in another sense Mr. Keir
Hardie is mistaken. He seems to regard Atheism as a city malady, like
rickets and anemia. Now this is untrue. It is also absurd. Mr. Keir
Hardie would find a good many of these "afflicted" Atheists able to make
mincemeat of his "humanitarian Christianity of Christ." He would also
find, if he cared to look, a great many of them in the Socialist camp.
It would be rare sport to see Mr. Keir Hardie defending his "new school"
Christianity against the young bloods of the Fabian Society, though it
might necessitate the interference of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty.
But we do not wish to part from Mr. Keir Hardie in a spirit of sarcasm.
If he is a hopeless sentimentalist there is no more to be said; but, if
he is capable of reason in matters of religion, we appeal to him, in
all sincerity, not to press the new wine of Humanitarianism into the
old bottles of Christianity. He will only break the bottles and lose the
wine. We also implore him to cease talking nonsense about Christianity
being "a life, and not a doctrine." It never can be the one without
the other. Finally, we beg him to consider what is the real value of
Christianity if, after all these centuries, it is necessary to put
"humanitarian" in front of it, in order to give it a chance in decent
society.
BLESSED BE YE POOR.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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