... Why do Catholics believe in God?"
He was so much taken aback that for a moment he sat staring.
"Yes," she said tranquilly, "it is a very odd question. But---" she
hesitated. "Well, I will tell you," she said. "The fact is, that I have
a friend who is--is in danger from this new law. I want to be able to
argue with her; and I must know her side. You are the only priest--I
mean who has been a priest--whom I ever knew, except Father Franklin. So
I thought you would not mind telling me."
Her voice was entirely natural; there was not a tremor or a falter in
it. Mr. Francis smiled genially, rubbing his hands softly together.
"Ah!" he said. "Yes, I see.... Well, that is a very large question.
Would not to-morrow, perhaps---?"
"I only want just the shortest answer," she said. "It is really
important for me to know at once. You see, this new law comes into
force---"
He nodded.
"Well--very briefly, I should say this: Catholics say that God can be
perceived by reason; that from the arrangements of the world they can
deduce that there must have been an Arranger--a Mind, you understand.
Then they say that they deduce other things about God--that He is Love,
for example, because of happiness---"
"And the pain?" she interrupted.
He smiled again.
"Yes. That is the point--that is the weak point."
"But what do they say about that?"
"Well, briefly, they say that pain is the result of sin---"
"And sin? You see, I know nothing at all, Mr. Francis."
"Well, sin is the rebellion of man's will against God's."
"What do they mean by that?"
"Well, you see, they say that God wanted to be loved by His creatures,
so He made them free; otherwise they could not really love. But if they
were free, it means that they could if they liked refuse to love and
obey God; and that is what is called Sin. You see what nonsense---"
She jerked her head a little.
"Yes, yes," she said. "But I really want to get at what they think....
Well, then, that is all?"
Mr. Francis pursed his lips.
"Scarcely," he said; "that is hardly more than what they call Natural
Religion. Catholics believe much more than that."
"Well?"
"My dear Mrs. Brand, it is impossible to put it in a few words. But, in
brief, they believe that God became man--that Jesus was God, and that He
did this in order to save them from sin by dying---"
"By bearing pain, you mean?"
"Yes; by dying. Well, what they call the Incarnation is really the
point. Everything else flows from that. And, once a man believes that, I
must confess that all the rest follows--even down to scapulars and holy
water."
"Mr. Francis, I don't understand a word you're saying."
He smiled indulgently.
"Of course not," he said; "it is all incredible nonsense. But, you know,
I did really believe it all once."
"But it's unreasonable," she said.
He made a little demurring sound.
"Yes," he said, "in one sense, of course it is--utterly unreasonable.
But in another sense---"
She leaned forward suddenly, and he could catch the glint of her eyes
beneath her white veil.
"Ah!" she said, almost breathlessly. "That is what I want to hear. Now,
tell me how they justify it."
He paused an instant, considering.
"Well," he said slowly, "as far as I remember, they say that there are
other faculties besides those of reason. They say, for example, that
the heart sometimes finds out things that the reason cannot--intuitions,
you see. For instance, they say that all things such as self-sacrifice
and chivalry and even art--all come from the heart, that Reason comes
with them--in rules of technique, for instance--but that it cannot prove
them; they are quite apart from that."
"I think I see."
"Well, they say that Religion is like that--in other words, they
practically confess that it is merely a matter of emotion." He paused
again, trying to be fair. "Well, perhaps they would not say
that--although it is true. But briefly---"
"Well?"
"Well, they say there is a thing called Faith--a kind of deep conviction
unlike anything else--supernatural--which God is supposed to give to
people who desire it--to people who pray for it, and lead good lives,
and so on---"
"And this Faith?"
"Well, this Faith, acting upon what they call Evidences--this Faith
makes them absolutely certain that there is a God, that He was made man
and so on, with the Church and all the rest of it. They say too that
this is further proved by the effect that their religion has had in the
world, and by the way it explains man's nature to himself. You see, it
is just a case of self-suggestion."
He heard her sigh, and stopped.
"Is that any clearer, Mrs. Brand?"
"Thank you very much," she said, "it certainly is clearer. ... And it is
true that Christians have died for this Faith, whatever it is?"
"Oh! yes. Thousands and thousands. Just as Mohammedans have for theirs."
"The Mohammedans believe in God, too, don't they?"
"Well, they did, and I suppose that a few do now. But very few: the rest
have become esoteric, as they say."
"And--and which would you say were the most highly evolved people--East
or West?"
"Oh! West undoubtedly. The East thinks a good deal, but it doesn't act
much. And that always leads to confusion--even to stagnation of
thought."
"And Christianity certainly has been the Religion of the West up to a
hundred years ago?"
"Oh! yes."
She was silent then, and Mr. Francis had time again to reflect how very
odd all this was. She certainly must be very much attached to this
Christian friend of hers.
Then she stood up, and he rose with her.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Francis.... Then that is the kind of outline?"
"Well, yes; so far as one can put it in a few words."
"Thank you.... I mustn't keep you."
He went with her towards the door. But within a yard of it she stopped.
"And you, Mr. Francis. You were brought up in all this. Does it ever
come back to you?"
He smiled.
"Never," he said, "except as a dream."
"How do you account for that, then? If it is all self-suggestion, you
have had thirty years of it."
She paused; and for a moment he hesitated what to answer.
"How would your old fellow-Catholics account for it?"
"They would say that I bad forfeited light--that Faith was withdrawn."
"And you?"
Again he paused.
"I should say that I had made a stronger self-suggestion the other way."
"I see.... Good-night, Mr. Francis."
Quando foi publicado, em 1907, este era um livro de ficção científica.
