He permitted his hand to drop upon hers, and she made no motion of
displeasure.
"You merely express clearly what thousands feel without the moral
courage to utter it. The saddest part of it all is, the deeper we
delve the less we are satisfied in our intellectual natures. We merely
succeed in learning that we are the veriest pygmies. Men like Mr.
Wynkoop are simply driven back upon faith as a last resort, absolutely
baffled by an inpenetrable wall, against which they batter mentally in
vain. They have striven with mystery, only to meet with ignominious
defeat. Faith alone remains, and I dare not deny that such faith is
above all knowledge. The pity of it is, there are some minds to whom
this refuge is impossible. They are forever doomed to be hungry and
remain unfed; thirsty, yet unable to quench their thirst."
"Are you a church member?"
"Yes."
"Do you believe those things you do not understand?"
He drew a deep breath, scarcely knowing at that moment how best to
answer, yet sincerely anxious to lead this girl toward the light.
"The majority of men do not talk much about such matters. They hold
them sacred. Yet I will speak frankly with you. I could not state in
words my faith so that it would be clearly apprehended by the mind of
another. I am in the church because I believe its efforts are toward
righteousness, because I believe the teachings of Christ are perfect.
His life the highest possible type of living, and because through Him
we receive all the information regarding a future existence which we
possess. That my mind rests satisfied I do not say; I simply accept
what is given, preferring a little light to total darkness."
"But here they refuse to accept any one like that. They say I am not
yet in a fit state of mind."
"Such a judgment would seem to me narrow. I was fortunate in coming
under the influence of a broad-minded religious teacher. To my
statement of doubts he simply said: 'Believe what you can; live the
very best you can, and keep your mind open toward the light.' It seems
to me now this is all that anyone can do whose nature will not permit
of blind, unquestioning faith. To require more of ordinary human
beings is unreasonable, for God gave us mind and ability to think."
There was a pause, so breathless they could hear the rustle of the
leaves in the almost motionless air, while the strains of gay music
floating from the open windows sounded loud and strident.