Martian Visitor II

A MARTIAN EXAMINES CHRISTIANITY by Arthur Levett, Page 4
Chapter II The Martian Inquires As To GOD “ Gentlemen,” said the Martian, addressing the little group, “ I find it difficult to express my appreciation of the opportunity you give me to learn something of religion. That is a word for which we have no equivalent on my planet, and one of my main objects in visiting you is to acquaint myself thoroughly with the subject, for you evidently set great store upon it, and we on Mars are ever alert to learn of anything that makes for the progress of our race.” “ We shall be glad to enlighten you,” answered the Priest, “ but are we to infer that the martians are a godless race, that you do not worship and pray to God, that you have no reverence for Him or for His works? ” “ Worship God? Pray to God? Who is God? ” asked the Martian. “ We on Mars have heard you address someone you call God, and we have observed your ceremonies in which you prostrate yourselves and ask his intervention in the affairs of the world; but we have never been able to understand who God is.” “ God,” answered the Priest, is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, He who sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, to die on the cross for the sins of the world.” “ I deny that,” exclaimed the Rabbi. “ God is the Creator of the universe, but the Messiah has not yet appeared. There is and always has been but one God, and Jehovah is His name.” Page 5 The Priest turned to him: “ Your people deny He has appeared, but we know that He did appear in the form of God’s Son. He not only appeared as Jesus, the Christ, but He frequently appeared in the form of the Holy Ghost, and still comes to us in that form to comfort and sustain us. You are correct in saying there is only one God, because He is always one - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. These three are one.” The Modernist addressed the Martian: “ I trust, sir, you will not permit yourself to be misled by these statements. The anthropomorphic god of the ancient world, to whom my friends refer, is gone. The new conception of God is Law and Order. His laws are eternal and immutable, and we believe that in accordance with those laws Nature has unfolded and developed, and that Man himself has developed from the lower order of beings.” “ He is sinfully wrong,” retorted the Priest. “ God is a Being, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and truth. That is why we worship Him as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and pray to him for guidance.” The Fundamentalist broke in: “ He created the universe out of nothing. He said ‘ Let there be light,’ and there was light. He made the earth and the stars and the firmament and all that exists. He created Man in His own image, and loves us in spite of our sins.” He cast a baleful look at the Modernist as he added: “ And He made us and all living creatures just as we are to-day.” The Priest and the Rabbi nodded assent. “ Absurd,” exclaimed the Modernist; “ ancient folklore which we have long ago outgrown. Let me tell you who God is. God is the Supreme Energy, the Directing Mind, the Power Beyond Authority.” Page 6 “ Humph,” interrupted the Fundamentalist scornfully; “ as usual, in order to pose as Christians when you are not, you Modernists indulge in high-sounding phrases as to God which mean absolutely nothing and which you cannot explain. ‘Power Beyond Authority’ indeed! Will you tell us what that means? ” “ It means,” answered the Modernist, “ That He is the Benevolent Spirit of the universe, pervading the universe and yet transcending our conception of it; the Eternal Love and the Unfailing Mercy.” “ Ah,” said the Priest sarcastically, “ I am sure that is enlightening. The Modernist’s conception of God transcends his conception, and that of everyone else too.” The Martian had listened to the dispute with ever-increasing amazement and bewilderment. He looked from one to the other. It was apparent that he comprehended nothing of the argument. He was visibly embarrassed. “ Gentlemen,” he said, when he had a chance to speak, “ I crave your indulgence. I asked who is God, but I cannot possibly follow you in your conflicting statements. Apparently God is some sort of a supernatural, all-wise, omnipotent being who is benevolent and who loves you. You affirm he is the creator of you and of me. Now I do not know who made us. May I ask how you know this? ” “ In the first place, we are here, are we not? ” asked the Fundamentalist. “ Yes, I can see that,” remarked the Martian dryly. “ Well then, if we can see that we are here and exist, someone must have created us, must he not? “ I am not sure of that,” said the Martian. “ God exists, you say.” Page 7 “ Certainly He exists,” said the Priest. “ Then someone must have created him, must he not? ” “ God always existed,” replied the Priest. No one created Him; He is the beginning.” “ I am unable to follow your reasoning,” said the Martian. “ If you accept the proposition that God always existed, why may you not assume that life also always existed? Why should you not assume that the forces of Nature always existed and contained within them the germ of life which has developed into the various forms now existing? It seems to me just as logical to say that God always existed.” “ Then you deny that God exists,” exclaimed the Fundamentalist, “ the all-wise Heavenly Father who watches over us and directs our destinies and the destinies of all that live? ” “ Not at all,” answered the Martian. “ I will say only that we do not know who is responsible for our being. Won’t you therefore enlighten me further as to God and as to your creation? ” “ I will,” answered the Fundamentalist. “ After God had created the heavens and earth, He made the first man out of the dust of the earth. Having done this, He observed that it was not well for man to be alone, so he made the first woman out of the man’s rib. He planted a beautiful garden and placed them in it. There they lived in the greatest of happiness. They were perfect when He made them, but they fell into sin.” “ You say they were perfect,” interrupted the Martian. “ How then could they commit the error of sinning? ” The Priest answered: “ They were not perfect in their judgement nor in their hearts. They were tempted, and they fell.” Page 8 “ Tempted? ” asked the Martian. “ Tempted by whom? ” “ By Satan,” answered the Fundamentalist. “ And who is Satan? ” “ Satan,” said the Fundamentalist, “ is the Devil. He was originally an angel in Heaven; his name was then Lucifer, and he was beloved of God. In his pride he rebelled against God and was expelled from Heaven. He is the embodiment and the source of all evil, and never ceases in his efforts to lead us from God into the paths of evil. In the form of a serpent he tempted the first woman. She listened to the tempter and fell from grace and the man with her. Through their fall all our suffering and misery have ensued.” “ But why did God permit the tempter to succeed? ” asked the Martian. “ He certainly could have prevented him.” “ You do not understand,” said the Priest. “ God endowed this couple with freedom of will to choose between good and evil. He warned them that if they disobeyed Him they would die. When God came down from Heaven and saw that the man and his wife had chosen to disobey His commands, and to sin, He became angry and punished them by driving them out from their abode of happiness. He sentenced the man to toil and labour, and the woman to be subject to her husband and to bear children in pain and in travail. He further visited the punishment for their sin upon their children and all their descendants. “ You will understand, I hope,” broke in the Modernist, “ that this is not my view in the least. We Modernists believe that God is Benevolence and Justice, the Creative Spirit at the heart of the universe. We have long since discarded as incredible this foolish folk-lore which, in their ignorance of natural science, our ancestors accepted as true.” Page 9 “ I so understand,” remarked the Martian, “ but the tale is curious and interesting and I would like to learn more of it. He turned to the Priest: “ So these first parents died as a result of having committed this sin, as God warned. What became of their children - did God drive them out also? “ Oh,” answered the Priest. “ they had no children then. The parents did not die until a number of years later.” “ We all die sooner or later,” remarked the Martian; “ but do you mean that if this couple had not disobeyed they would have lived for ever? ” “ We believe that is the meaning,” said the Priest. “ Let me see if I understand,” said the Martian. “ The man and the woman disobeyed God, and God not only punished them for their transgression, but continues to punish their children and their countless descendants for the sin of those first parents. Is that it? ” “ That is correct,” said the Fundamentalist. “ But God in His mercy promised that a Redeemer should be born free from the original sin, who would atone for this sin and thus save mankind.” “ How could this original sin descend through all these generations? ” asked the Martian. “ By inheritance,” said the Fundamentalist. “ No one was born that was not tainted by this original sin.” “ I see,” said the Martian. “ It is a biological truth that traits of the parents are transmitted to their children. Now what was this original sin? ” Page 10 “ Disobedience, as we have told you. God had placed the original man and woman in a garden in which many trees were growing; He forbade them to eat the fruit of a certain tree which would have made them wise and enabled them to distinguish between good and evil. They disobeyed Him and ate it. That was the original sin.” The Martian had listened carefully to the Fundamentalist’s exposition. “ God did not want the human race to be wise or to know good from evil? ” he asked? “ He did not want His commands to be disobeyed,” answered the Fundamentalist. “ And who planted the tree? ” “ God planted the tree.” “ He knew when he planted it that they would eat of it? ” “ He gave them the right to choose.” “ But God is omniscient, you say, so he must have known what would happen? ” “ Hmm! Well - - Y-e-s, I - - Yes, He did.” “ And he knew when he told them not to eat that they would disobey him? ” “ Why - - eh - - y-e-s, we suppose that must be true.” “ Then he knew, when he first created them, that he was going to punish them and all their children and descendants? Would you have done that to your children? ” To the Fundamentalist’s evident relief the Martian did not press for an answer, but continued: “ That was the sin, then, that went down through the ages to the descendants of the first pair and for which all these punishments have been visited? ” “ Yes, that was the sin.” “ And did this redeemer, who you say was to atone for this sin and save the world, finally appear? ” Page 11 “ The Redeemer came and He was without sin,” said the Priest. “ I deny that any Redeemer has yet come,” interrupted the Rabbi. “ Oh, you do not agree on this,” said the Martian, turning to the Rabbi. “ I would like to hear the story nevertheless. You say he was without sin. How could that happen? ” “ I will answer,” said the Priest. “ God manifested Himself as a kind, merciful, and loving Father, by giving His only begotten Son to the world so that whosoever should believe in Him would be saved. As you have been informed, no descendant of the original pair could be without sin; but by God’s grace and through a miracle a maiden was immaculately conceived and born without the taint of sin. When she grew up she was visited by God Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit. She conceived Him and bore without loss of virginity a son whose mother was thus an immaculate virgin and whose father was God. He therefore was born without sin. This child grew up and became the Saviour of the world. Although sinless He was put to death as a propitiation, and atoned to God for the sin of our first parents and of their countless descendants.” “ Do I understand,” said the Martian, “ that God refused to forgive the original sin committed by your first ancestors until an innocent man was sacrificed to him, and that up to that time all those descended from the first parents were punished because their first parents’ sin had not been atoned for? ” “ Y-e-s, it must mean that,” admitted the Priest. “ And you say that God is a just being? ” “ We do say so,” answered all the clerics together. Page 12 “ Hmm! ” said the Martian. “ I must again ask your indulgence. I am endeavouring to apprehend your conception of God, and you will not mind, I am sure, if I try to grasp it by comparing him with an ordinary father. We will suppose that your son disobeyed you and you punished him for it; that you also visited the punishment upon his children, and upon all of his descendants until one of them, an entirely innocent man, was offered to you as a sacrifice; that you accepted this sacrifice, killed the innocent man, and thereupon became satisfied that the sin of your own son was atoned for. Do I get the situation? ” “ I do not like the way you put it,” said the Priest. “ The analogy is right,” broke in the Rabbi, “ but I would like to make it clear that all this discussion of eternal punishment and atonement does not apply to my religion. We never believed in eternal punishment, and deny that the Messiah has yet appeared. My religion and the Bible teach that when a nation departs from the ways of its fathers and ceases to walk in the ways of its God evil days will befall; but God does not condemn and individual to torture for his errors.” “ And you must also understand,” added the Modernist, “ that we Modernists see God as the Eternal Love and Unfailing Mercy, and utterly reject these silly tales.” “ I will bear this in mind,” said the Martian. He turned to the Priest: “ This innocent redeemer, you say, was the son of God and of an earthly maiden. He was then a demigod, was he? ” “ He was God Himself,” said the Priest. He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, who was the father, through the Virgin Mary, and the child himself was the father and the child.” “ I beg your pardon! ” exclaimed the Martian in astonishment. “ Did I understand you to say he was the son of God and was the father too? How could that be? Surely he would not have been begotten by himself? ” Page 13 “ But He was,” said the Priest; “ He was begotten by Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit, and was born as the Son. We call them the Holy Trinity - the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but they are only One.” The Martian shook his head. “ I am afraid,” he said, “ it would be useless for me to try to comprehend how three can be one and one can be three.” “ I can appreciate your difficulty,” said the priest, “ for outside of my church no adequate explanation has ever been given. Our theologians alone have been able to explain this apparent enigma, and I can assure you the explanation will satisfy you if you care to have it.” “ A little later on I shall be greatly pleased to hear it, but will you tell me now how this saviour redeemed the world from original sin? ” “ As I have said,” answered the Priest, “ He was put to death as a sacrifice.” “ You say,” asked the Martian, the son was sacrificed to the father, and the son was the father, and the father accepted the sacrifice of himself to himself. Is that it? ” “ No, no,” said the Priest. “ While the three are one, they are at the same time three, so that it was the Son that was sacrificed to the Father. This sacrifice was accepted by the Father as an atonement for the sin of our first parents and their descendants, so that now those who believe in Him do not die but have everlasting life.” The Martian made a hopeless gesture. Then he asked: “ And when did this sacrifice occur? ” “ About two thousand years ago,” said the Priest. “ And many have believed in him? ” “ Countless numbers have believed in Him through the ages, and still believe in Him.” Page 14 “ And they are all alive and will live for ever? ” asked the Martian. “ Oh, not on this earth,” interposed the Fundamentalist. “ Their bodies die and are buried, but their souls are takem to Heaven and have everlasting life there.” “ Their souls. What is the soul? ” “ The soul is the individual, the spirit,” answered the Fundamentalist. “ The body is only material. That returns to the dust from which it was made; but the soul is spiritual and not earthly. The body is merely a temporary dwelling-place for the soul. It leaves the body when the body dies, and returns to the Father. If it has believed in the Redeemer, it is saved and is admitted into Heaven, and has everlasting happiness.” “ And if this soul is not saved what becomes of it? ” asked the Martian. “ If it has not believed in the Redeemer it is doomed and hurled into the fiery pit where it writhes in torture for ever,” replied the Fundamentalist. “ In torture for ever,” repeated the Martian. “ Did I hear you correctly? ” “ For ever,” answered the Fundamentalist. “ He is only partially correct,” said the Priest; “ the punishment need not be for eternity, even though the sin be mortal. God in His mercy is always ready to forgive a sinner if he sincerely repents before he dies. Nor does God admit a sinful soul to Heaven until it has been purged of its earthly sins, however venial they may be. In Purgatory these souls expiate, through suffering and torment, their earthly sins until they have been so cleanses and purified as to be worthy of admittance into the presence of God.” “ And how long do they remain in torment in this Purgatory? ” asked the Martian. Page 15 “ That depends upon how sinful they have been,” answered the Priest, “ But through the prayers of their friends, and particularly through the intercession of the holy fathers of the true Church, their period of torment is lessened.” “ Do I understand,” asked the Martian, “ that if a man of ordinary character should die his ‘soul’ would immediately be placed in torment for an indefinate period, to be purged of such slight sins as he may have committed? ” “ That is correct,” replied the Priest. “ And his loved ones who are still living would for ever be uncertain as to whether he were still writhing in torment? “ True,” said the Priest, “ but they would see that prayers were frequently offered by the Church fathers to lessen the soul’s suffering. “ Yes, by paying cash for them,” interjected the Fundamentalist, spitefully. “ I can see,” said the Martian, “ that one who believed his loved ones’ sufferings could be mitigated through your intervention would starve, wander homeless, and give everything he posesses in order to provide thenecessary means to help them. Do I understand that, although your church fathers have the power to mitigate the sufferings of the departed souls, you withhold your power unless you receive compensation? ” “ Certainly not,” said the Priest. “ That is a wicked calumny directed against us by those who seek to destroy the Holy Church of God. It is, of course, obvious that the Church fathers must be supported, otherwise they could not carry out God’s will; but offerings are always freely made. Furthermore, free prayers are continually offered for souls in Purgatory.” Page 16 “ Purgatory is all nonsense! ” exclaimed the Fundamentalist. “ It was first promulgated as a dogma by the Catholic Church in the fifteenth century in order to secure more revenues to the Church fathers, and the practice of selling indulgences was so abused that it was one of the principal causes for the establishment of the Protestant Church. Purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible, and has no place in the Christian religion. When a sinner dies he, with all unbelievers, is damned at once and will writhe in Hell for ever and ever.” The Martian’s face was a study as he asked: “ And who decides whether this soul is to have everlasting happines or everlasting torture? ” “ The Redeemer,” said the Fundamentalist, “ who on Judgement Day will judge the quick and the dead.” “ Do I understand,” asked the Martian, “ that this heavenly father, whom you call God, condemns his children to torture solely because they do not believe in him? ” “ Yes,” said the Fundamentalist. “ To eternal torture; we are so taught. “ May I again use our analogy to an earthly father? If you had a son and he should refuse to believe you were a loving father who wished to save him, you would put him into your furnace and keep the furnace blazing as long as he lived; and if you both lived for ever you would keep him there all that time? ” “ No, no; of course I would not.” “ And yet you say your God is infinitely better than you. Oh, Earth-Man, what is this tale you are telling me about a loving father, who could give his children happiness but inflicts miseries upon them; who could make them strong and perfect but makes them weak and sinful; who could provide them with all that makes for happiness but inflicts untold miseries upon them during their life on earth; and who finally disposes of them by causing them to endure terrible tortures through all of eternity, for the sole reason that the minds with which he has endowed them cannot accept him as a loving, gentle, and merciful father? Page 17 Where have you gathered the frightening misconception of a creator whom you characterize with such noble words as loving, tender, merciful, benevolent? ” The Modernist tried to conceal a smile; the Rabbi said nothing; but the indignation of the Fundamentalist and the Priest knew no bounds. “ Sir, this is blasphemy; you insult God; we cannot listen further to you.” The Fundamentalist shook with emotion. The Martian waved them to resume their seats. “ My friends,” he said, “ let us talk quietly. You have said God is truth, and no amount of indignation nor injured feeling nor anger can alter truth. You consider me blasphemous in expressing my honest opinion of a being such as you have described. I am merely giving voice to my conception of God as you have described him. It is impossible for me to believe that such a being can exist and be considered good.” “ Nevertheless, God is good, kind, and merciful , and that is why we worship Him and pray to Him,” said the Fundamentalist. “ God is the Ideal Realizing Capacity in the universe,” said the Modernist. “ not the God they have described.” Chapter III The Martian Inquires As To PRAYER Home: Chapter I The Martian Visits The Earth

A MARTIAN EXAMINES CHRISTIANITY by Arthur Levett, Page 4

Chapter II
The Martian Inquires As To GOD
“ Gentlemen,” said the Martian, addressing the little group, “ I find it difficult to express my appreciation of the opportunity you give me to learn something of religion. That is a word for which we have no equivalent on my planet, and one of my main objects in visiting you is to acquaint myself thoroughly with the subject, for you evidently set great store upon it, and we on Mars are ever alert to learn of anything that makes for the progress of our race.”
“ We shall be glad to enlighten you,” answered the Priest, “ but are we to infer that the martians are a godless race, that you do not worship and pray to God, that you have no reverence for Him or for His works? ”
“ Worship God? Pray to God? Who is God? ” asked the Martian. “ We on Mars have heard you address someone you call God, and we have observed your ceremonies in which you prostrate yourselves and ask his intervention in the affairs of the world; but we have never been able to understand who God is.”
“ God,” answered the Priest, is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, He who sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, to die on the cross for the sins of the world.”
“ I deny that,” exclaimed the Rabbi. “ God is the Creator of the universe, but the Messiah has not yet appeared. There is and always has been but one God, and Jehovah is His name.”

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The Priest turned to him:
“ Your people deny He has appeared, but we know that He did appear in the form of God’s Son. He not only appeared as Jesus, the Christ, but He frequently appeared in the form of the Holy Ghost, and still comes to us in that form to comfort and sustain us. You are correct in saying there is only one God, because He is always one - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. These three are one.”
The Modernist addressed the Martian:
“ I trust, sir, you will not permit yourself to be misled by these statements. The anthropomorphic god of the ancient world, to whom my friends refer, is gone. The new conception of God is Law and Order. His laws are eternal and immutable, and we believe that in accordance with those laws Nature has unfolded and developed, and that Man himself has developed from the lower order of beings.”
“ He is sinfully wrong,” retorted the Priest. “ God is a Being, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and truth. That is why we worship Him as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and pray to him for guidance.”
The Fundamentalist broke in:
“ He created the universe out of nothing. He said ‘ Let there be light,’ and there was light. He made the earth and the stars and the firmament and all that exists. He created Man in His own image, and loves us in spite of our sins.”
He cast a baleful look at the Modernist as he added: “ And He made us and all living creatures just as we are to-day.”
The Priest and the Rabbi nodded assent.
“ Absurd,” exclaimed the Modernist; “ ancient folklore which we have long ago outgrown. Let me tell you who God is. God is the Supreme Energy, the Directing Mind, the Power Beyond Authority.”

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“ Humph,” interrupted the Fundamentalist scornfully; “ as usual, in order to pose as Christians when you are not, you Modernists indulge in high-sounding phrases as to God which mean absolutely nothing and which you cannot explain. ‘Power Beyond Authority’ indeed! Will you tell us what that means? ”
“ It means,” answered the Modernist, “ That He is the Benevolent Spirit of the universe, pervading the universe and yet transcending our conception of it; the Eternal Love and the Unfailing Mercy.”
“ Ah,” said the Priest sarcastically, “ I am sure that is enlightening. The Modernist’s conception of God transcends his conception, and that of everyone else too.”
The Martian had listened to the dispute with ever-increasing amazement and bewilderment. He looked from one to the other. It was apparent that he comprehended nothing of the argument.
He was visibly embarrassed. “ Gentlemen,” he said, when he had a chance to speak, “ I crave your indulgence. I asked who is God, but I cannot possibly follow you in your conflicting statements. Apparently God is some sort of a supernatural, all-wise, omnipotent being who is benevolent and who loves you. You affirm he is the creator of you and of me. Now I do not know who made us. May I ask how you know this? ”
“ In the first place, we are here, are we not? ” asked the Fundamentalist.
“ Yes, I can see that,” remarked the Martian dryly.
“ Well then, if we can see that we are here and exist, someone must have created us, must he not?
“ I am not sure of that,” said the Martian. “ God exists, you say.”

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“ Certainly He exists,” said the Priest.
“ Then someone must have created him, must he not? ”
“ God always existed,” replied the Priest. No one created Him; He is the beginning.”
“ I am unable to follow your reasoning,” said the Martian. “ If you accept the proposition that God always existed, why may you not assume that life also always existed? Why should you not assume that the forces of Nature always existed and contained within them the germ of life which has developed into the various forms now existing? It seems to me just as logical to say that God always existed.”
“ Then you deny that God exists,” exclaimed the Fundamentalist, “ the all-wise Heavenly Father who watches over us and directs our destinies and the destinies of all that live? ”
“ Not at all,” answered the Martian. “ I will say only that we do not know who is responsible for our being. Won’t you therefore enlighten me further as to God and as to your creation? ”
“ I will,” answered the Fundamentalist. “ After God had created the heavens and earth, He made the first man out of the dust of the earth. Having done this, He observed that it was not well for man to be alone, so he made the first woman out of the man’s rib. He planted a beautiful garden and placed them in it. There they lived in the greatest of happiness. They were perfect when He made them, but they fell into sin.”
“ You say they were perfect,” interrupted the Martian. “ How then could they commit the error of sinning? ”
The Priest answered: “ They were not perfect in their judgement nor in their hearts. They were tempted, and they fell.”

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“ Tempted? ” asked the Martian. “ Tempted by whom? ”
“ By Satan,” answered the Fundamentalist.
“ And who is Satan? ”
“ Satan,” said the Fundamentalist, “ is the Devil. He was originally an angel in Heaven; his name was then Lucifer, and he was beloved of God. In his pride he rebelled against God and was expelled from Heaven. He is the embodiment and the source of all evil, and never ceases in his efforts to lead us from God into the paths of evil. In the form of a serpent he tempted the first woman. She listened to the tempter and fell from grace and the man with her. Through their fall all our suffering and misery have ensued.”
“ But why did God permit the tempter to succeed? ” asked the Martian. “ He certainly could have prevented him.”
“ You do not understand,” said the Priest. “ God endowed this couple with freedom of will to choose between good and evil. He warned them that if they disobeyed Him they would die. When God came down from Heaven and saw that the man and his wife had chosen to disobey His commands, and to sin, He became angry and punished them by driving them out from their abode of happiness. He sentenced the man to toil and labour, and the woman to be subject to her husband and to bear children in pain and in travail. He further visited the punishment for their sin upon their children and all their descendants.
“ You will understand, I hope,” broke in the Modernist, “ that this is not my view in the least. We Modernists believe that God is Benevolence and Justice, the Creative Spirit at the heart of the universe. We have long since discarded as incredible this foolish folk-lore which, in their ignorance of natural science, our ancestors accepted as true.”

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“ I so understand,” remarked the Martian, “ but the tale is curious and interesting and I would like to learn more of it.
He turned to the Priest:
“ So these first parents died as a result of having committed this sin, as God warned. What became of their children - did God drive them out also?
“ Oh,” answered the Priest. “ they had no children then. The parents did not die until a number of years later.”
“ We all die sooner or later,” remarked the Martian; “ but do you mean that if this couple had not disobeyed they would have lived for ever? ”
“ We believe that is the meaning,” said the Priest.
“ Let me see if I understand,” said the Martian. “ The man and the woman disobeyed God, and God not only punished them for their transgression, but continues to punish their children and their countless descendants for the sin of those first parents. Is that it? ”
“ That is correct,” said the Fundamentalist. “ But God in His mercy promised that a Redeemer should be born free from the original sin, who would atone for this sin and thus save mankind.”
“ How could this original sin descend through all these generations? ” asked the Martian.
“ By inheritance,” said the Fundamentalist. “ No one was born that was not tainted by this original sin.”
“ I see,” said the Martian. “ It is a biological truth that traits of the parents are transmitted to their children. Now what was this original sin? ”

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“ Disobedience, as we have told you. God had placed the original man and woman in a garden in which many trees were growing; He forbade them to eat the fruit of a certain tree which would have made them wise and enabled them to distinguish between good and evil. They disobeyed Him and ate it. That was the original sin.”
The Martian had listened carefully to the Fundamentalist’s exposition.
“ God did not want the human race to be wise or to know good from evil? ” he asked?
“ He did not want His commands to be disobeyed,” answered the Fundamentalist.
“ And who planted the tree? ”
“ God planted the tree.”
“ He knew when he planted it that they would eat of it? ”
“ He gave them the right to choose.”
“ But God is omniscient, you say, so he must have known what would happen? ”
“ Hmm! Well - - Y-e-s, I - - Yes, He did.”
“ And he knew when he told them not to eat that they would disobey him? ”
“ Why - - eh - - y-e-s, we suppose that must be true.”
“ Then he knew, when he first created them, that he was going to punish them and all their children and descendants? Would you have done that to your children? ”
To the Fundamentalist’s evident relief the Martian did not press for an answer, but continued:
“ That was the sin, then, that went down through the ages to the descendants of the first pair and for which all these punishments have been visited? ”
“ Yes, that was the sin.”
“ And did this redeemer, who you say was to atone for this sin and save the world, finally appear? ”

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“ The Redeemer came and He was without sin,” said the Priest.
“ I deny that any Redeemer has yet come,” interrupted the Rabbi.
“ Oh, you do not agree on this,” said the Martian, turning to the Rabbi. “ I would like to hear the story nevertheless. You say he was without sin. How could that happen? ”
“ I will answer,” said the Priest. “ God manifested Himself as a kind, merciful, and loving Father, by giving His only begotten Son to the world so that whosoever should believe in Him would be saved. As you have been informed, no descendant of the original pair could be without sin; but by God’s grace and through a miracle a maiden was immaculately conceived and born without the taint of sin. When she grew up she was visited by God Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit. She conceived Him and bore without loss of virginity a son whose mother was thus an immaculate virgin and whose father was God. He therefore was born without sin. This child grew up and became the Saviour of the world. Although sinless He was put to death as a propitiation, and atoned to God for the sin of our first parents and of their countless descendants.”
“ Do I understand,” said the Martian, “ that God refused to forgive the original sin committed by your first ancestors until an innocent man was sacrificed to him, and that up to that time all those descended from the first parents were punished because their first parents’ sin had not been atoned for? ”
“ Y-e-s, it must mean that,” admitted the Priest.
“ And you say that God is a just being? ”
“ We do say so,” answered all the clerics together.

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“ Hmm! ” said the Martian. “ I must again ask your indulgence. I am endeavouring to apprehend your conception of God, and you will not mind, I am sure, if I try to grasp it by comparing him with an ordinary father. We will suppose that your son disobeyed you and you punished him for it; that you also visited the punishment upon his children, and upon all of his descendants until one of them, an entirely innocent man, was offered to you as a sacrifice; that you accepted this sacrifice, killed the innocent man, and thereupon became satisfied that the sin of your own son was atoned for. Do I get the situation? ”
“ I do not like the way you put it,” said the Priest.
“ The analogy is right,” broke in the Rabbi, “ but I would like to make it clear that all this discussion of eternal punishment and atonement does not apply to my religion. We never believed in eternal punishment, and deny that the Messiah has yet appeared. My religion and the Bible teach that when a nation departs from the ways of its fathers and ceases to walk in the ways of its God evil days will befall; but God does not condemn and individual to torture for his errors.”
“ And you must also understand,” added the Modernist, “ that we Modernists see God as the Eternal Love and Unfailing Mercy, and utterly reject these silly tales.”
“ I will bear this in mind,” said the Martian. He turned to the Priest: “ This innocent redeemer, you say, was the son of God and of an earthly maiden. He was then a demigod, was he? ”
“ He was God Himself,” said the Priest. He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, who was the father, through the Virgin Mary, and the child himself was the father and the child.”
“ I beg your pardon! ” exclaimed the Martian in astonishment. “ Did I understand you to say he was the son of God and was the father too? How could that be? Surely he would not have been begotten by himself? ”

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“ But He was,” said the Priest; “ He was begotten by Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit, and was born as the Son. We call them the Holy Trinity - the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but they are only One.”
The Martian shook his head. “ I am afraid,” he said, “ it would be useless for me to try to comprehend how three can be one and one can be three.”
“ I can appreciate your difficulty,” said the priest, “ for outside of my church no adequate explanation has ever been given. Our theologians alone have been able to explain this apparent enigma, and I can assure you the explanation will satisfy you if you care to have it.”
“ A little later on I shall be greatly pleased to hear it, but will you tell me now how this saviour redeemed the world from original sin? ”
“ As I have said,” answered the Priest, “ He was put to death as a sacrifice.”
“ You say,” asked the Martian, the son was sacrificed to the father, and the son was the father, and the father accepted the sacrifice of himself to himself. Is that it? ”
“ No, no,” said the Priest. “ While the three are one, they are at the same time three, so that it was the Son that was sacrificed to the Father. This sacrifice was accepted by the Father as an atonement for the sin of our first parents and their descendants, so that now those who believe in Him do not die but have everlasting life.”
The Martian made a hopeless gesture. Then he asked:
“ And when did this sacrifice occur? ”
“ About two thousand years ago,” said the Priest.
“ And many have believed in him? ”
“ Countless numbers have believed in Him through the ages, and still believe in Him.”

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“ And they are all alive and will live for ever? ” asked the Martian.
“ Oh, not on this earth,” interposed the Fundamentalist. “ Their bodies die and are buried, but their souls are takem to Heaven and have everlasting life there.”
“ Their souls. What is the soul? ”
“ The soul is the individual, the spirit,” answered the Fundamentalist. “ The body is only material. That returns to the dust from which it was made; but the soul is spiritual and not earthly. The body is merely a temporary dwelling-place for the soul. It leaves the body when the body dies, and returns to the Father. If it has believed in the Redeemer, it is saved and is admitted into Heaven, and has everlasting happiness.”
“ And if this soul is not saved what becomes of it? ” asked the Martian.
“ If it has not believed in the Redeemer it is doomed and hurled into the fiery pit where it writhes in torture for ever,” replied the Fundamentalist.
“ In torture for ever,” repeated the Martian. “ Did I hear you correctly? ”
“ For ever,” answered the Fundamentalist.
“ He is only partially correct,” said the Priest; “ the punishment need not be for eternity, even though the sin be mortal. God in His mercy is always ready to forgive a sinner if he sincerely repents before he dies. Nor does God admit a sinful soul to Heaven until it has been purged of its earthly sins, however venial they may be. In Purgatory these souls expiate, through suffering and torment, their earthly sins until they have been so cleanses and purified as to be worthy of admittance into the presence of God.”
“ And how long do they remain in torment in this Purgatory? ” asked the Martian.

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“ That depends upon how sinful they have been,” answered the Priest, “ But through the prayers of their friends, and particularly through the intercession of the holy fathers of the true Church, their period of torment is lessened.”
“ Do I understand,” asked the Martian, “ that if a man of ordinary character should die his ‘soul’ would immediately be placed in torment for an indefinate period, to be purged of such slight sins as he may have committed? ”
“ That is correct,” replied the Priest.
“ And his loved ones who are still living would for ever be uncertain as to whether he were still writhing in torment?
“ True,” said the Priest, “ but they would see that prayers were frequently offered by the Church fathers to lessen the soul’s suffering.
“ Yes, by paying cash for them,” interjected the Fundamentalist, spitefully.
“ I can see,” said the Martian, “ that one who believed his loved ones’ sufferings could be mitigated through your intervention would starve, wander homeless, and give everything he posesses in order to provide thenecessary means to help them. Do I understand that, although your church fathers have the power to mitigate the sufferings of the departed souls, you withhold your power unless you receive compensation? ”
“ Certainly not,” said the Priest. “ That is a wicked calumny directed against us by those who seek to destroy the Holy Church of God. It is, of course, obvious that the Church fathers must be supported, otherwise they could not carry out God’s will; but offerings are always freely made. Furthermore, free prayers are continually offered for souls in Purgatory.”

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“ Purgatory is all nonsense! ” exclaimed the Fundamentalist. “ It was first promulgated as a dogma by the Catholic Church in the fifteenth century in order to secure more revenues to the Church fathers, and the practice of selling indulgences was so abused that it was one of the principal causes for the establishment of the Protestant Church. Purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible, and has no place in the Christian religion. When a sinner dies he, with all unbelievers, is damned at once and will writhe in Hell for ever and ever.”
The Martian’s face was a study as he asked:
“ And who decides whether this soul is to have everlasting happines or everlasting torture? ”
“ The Redeemer,” said the Fundamentalist, “ who on Judgement Day will judge the quick and the dead.”
“ Do I understand,” asked the Martian, “ that this heavenly father, whom you call God, condemns his children to torture solely because they do not believe in him? ”
“ Yes,” said the Fundamentalist. “ To eternal torture; we are so taught.
“ May I again use our analogy to an earthly father? If you had a son and he should refuse to believe you were a loving father who wished to save him, you would put him into your furnace and keep the furnace blazing as long as he lived; and if you both lived for ever you would keep him there all that time? ”
“ No, no; of course I would not.”
“ And yet you say your God is infinitely better than you. Oh, Earth-Man, what is this tale you are telling me about a loving father, who could give his children happiness but inflicts miseries upon them; who could make them strong and perfect but makes them weak and sinful; who could provide them with all that makes for happiness but inflicts untold miseries upon them during their life on earth; and who finally disposes of them by causing them to endure terrible tortures through all of eternity, for the sole reason that the minds with which he has endowed them cannot accept him as a loving, gentle, and merciful father?

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Where have you gathered the frightening misconception of a creator whom you characterize with such noble words as loving, tender, merciful, benevolent? ”
The Modernist tried to conceal a smile; the Rabbi said nothing; but the indignation of the Fundamentalist and the Priest knew no bounds.
“ Sir, this is blasphemy; you insult God; we cannot listen further to you.” The Fundamentalist shook with emotion.
The Martian waved them to resume their seats. “ My friends,” he said, “ let us talk quietly. You have said God is truth, and no amount of indignation nor injured feeling nor anger can alter truth. You consider me blasphemous in expressing my honest opinion of a being such as you have described. I am merely giving voice to my conception of God as you have described him. It is impossible for me to believe that such a being can exist and be considered good.”
“ Nevertheless, God is good, kind, and merciful , and that is why we worship Him and pray to Him,” said the Fundamentalist.
“ God is the Ideal Realizing Capacity in the universe,” said the Modernist. “ not the God they have described.”

Chapter III The Martian Inquires As To PRAYER

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