“And you declare them as facts?”
“I don’t myself touch on them at all. I confine myself to the cardinal principles about which you have enquired.”
“And those?” enquired Mr. Jones, in his turn.
“The fatherhood of God, the majesty, the wisdom, the sanctity of His laws, and—the brotherhood of man.”
Mr. Jones shook his hand sadly. “That is merely Natural Religion,” he commented. “Men will find it but a broken reed in the hour of temptation and the time of sorrow.”
“It suffices,” said Tom “for some of the wisest, the best-living, the most benevolent of men.”
“Aye?” questioned Mr. Jones.
“The Jews,” said Tom quietly. “Contrast the life of the average Jew with that of the average Christian. Will you find the difference always in favour of the Christian?”
“Surely, yes,” said Mr. Jones. “An unbeliever can never have the impregnable assurance that we find in the crucified Christ.”
“Not in the loving-kindness of the Father,” said Tom. “You exalt the Son at the expense of the Father?”