It was her conviction that nothing of the real meaning and power of religion escaped by the transformation she made in its spiritual contents.  She believed that she had dropped only its speculative teachings, while all that had ever made it of value was retained.  That she was entirely mistaken in this opinion scarcely needs to be said; or that her speculative interpretation, if generally accepted, would destroy for most persons even those elements of religion which she accepted.  A large rich mind, gifted with genius and possessed of wide culture, as was hers, could doubtless find satisfaction in that attenuated substitute for piety and worship which she accepted.  There certainly could be no Mr. Tryan, no Dinah Morris, no Savonarola, no Mordecai, if her theories were the common ones; and it would be even less possible for a Dorothea, a Felix Holt, a Daniel Deronda, or a Romola to develop in such an atmosphere.  What her intellectual speculations would accomplish when accepted as the motives of life, is seen all too well in the case of those many radical thinkers whom this century has produced.  Only the most highly cultivated, and those of an artistic or poetic temperament, could accept her substitute for the old religion.  The motives she presents could affect but a few persons; only here and there are to be found those to whom altruism would be a motive large enough to become a religion.  To march in the great human army towards a higher destiny for humanity may have a strong fascination for some, and is coming to affect and inspire a larger number with every century; but it is not enough to know that the race is growing better.  What is the end of human progress? we have a right to ask.  Does that progress go on in accordance with some universal purpose, which includes the whole universe?  We must look not only for a perfect destiny for man, but for a perfect destiny for all worlds and beings throughout the infinitude of God’s creative influence.  A progressive, intellectual religion such as will answer to the larger needs of modern life, must give belief in a universal providence, and it must teach man to trust in the spiritual capacities of his own soul.  Unless the universe means something which is intelligible, and unless it has a purpose and destiny progressive and eternal, it is impossible that religion will continue to inspire men.  That is, only a philosophy which gives such an interpretation to the universe can be the basis of an enduring and progressive religion.

If religion is to continue, it is also necessary that man should be able to believe in the soul as something more than the product of environment and heredity.  It is not merely the belief in immortality which has inspired the greatest minds, but the inward impulse of creative activity, resting on the conviction that they were working with God for enduring results.  Absorption into the life of humanity can be but a feeble motive compared with that which grows out of faith in the soul’s spiritual eternity in co-operation with God.