New Britain herald., 1923-02-12
'DR. GRANT, REPLYING TO CRITICS,
 DENIES BELIEF IN VIRGIN BIRTH

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 eussions have unlhsd liberaiists as nothing has done in a long time, They are getting together, They are going to he bunch of sticks very difienll to break, and then there eers Iainiy Is great appreciation Of free dom and a greater knowledge 0f what luslifies in a clergyman of experience and teaching very wide freedom of eK- pTessien.
 Nov the real difference between the tFaditionalisis and myself is some thing like this They regard religion and especially the Christian religion as transaction, l regard it as a process, They are satisfied to have a theory Of the world which involves the fall of man, stern judge, a re- deeming son, whose death on the cross has yieaFious value for them, so We are saved by believing in His name,
 Standing by the Miracles.
 Now that theology has been or. ganized into all the parts Of the Cath ollie church. with its doctrine Of the mass and doctrine of penanee. con. fession, absolutien and so forth, In order 10 justify their belief in God and man, they stand by the miracle as authority. That is an they care about the miracle. IL enables them to say the thing is right, If you say How do you know this is so?' they say, because the miracle said Jesus has this power. 1 care about The miracle as a possible equipment for man. The care for the miracles only as testing the authority they demand for such a scheme Of things. govern ment, transactions as have just de- scribed.
 Now. I care nothing about the miracles as authority. because the laws Of the soul are their own author ity They are laws that can carry themselves without your help, or my help. The laws of the soul, in that phrase have quoted from Milton, are laws that can enforce themselves. The authority of today has got to he that Kind ot anthority-an authority from within that can enforce itself.
 Everything you know comes into everything you are thinking about re- iision, or 1t ought 10. So these good | people who consider religion trans | action think they must therefore fall | into that particular organization and | be part Of that transaction; that is an 1 Old Testament idea, part Of the sac l rifcial idea that the pagans formulat- ad. God promised 10 do certain things If you do certain things you promise, and If you don't do what you promise, why, then, God doesn't do what he says, and If you'd do certain things 'ou get punished for those things That to me is absolutely unethcal as we'll as unscientifc. Religion to me is process of expansion, enlightenment ind joy of the spirit of mankind, and oday we are understanding as never before we are able to so proceed and 'bey these laws.
 The Virgin Birth.
 T get letters saying: You are un- lermining Christianity. You are deny Eg the Lord, aud so forth. What a ( rude misunderstanding of me to say r 'ecause l don't believe that Christ was 'orn of virgin that I am destroying . What has the Virgin firth to do with Christianity? The { volution of the profound spirit con ent of life as we get it in the Ser lon on the Mount or wherever Christ I poke or acted. C That is what I am trying to do, is fasten attention on that and not | litter away by misunderstanding the q ,eds of Christianity generally now resented, the biographic, the histori- q and the spiritual, seeing these are 4 ping to be changed as relationships o 1ange, but the spiritual is more clear I Iore impressive, more helpful and e ore wonderful every day we live a 'e cannot get away from it, and l a m trying to show this so it is piece ith modern psychology and by our c ience and by Jesus Christ's revela- a on of life to us. So we will be lt ronger and purer and merriar than s -er we have been in our experience sfore. Ii T possess one particular sort of Il Certain aspects Of truth l e dear to me and I necessarily lay c eat emphasis on these aspects which " eet my own needs more than others; sl It recognize very fully that human fl lture is not cast into a single mold:
 I am not helped by what may be D lied the Catholic point of view, u ost gladly acknowledge that there " e other kinds of people whose re- u ,ious life becomes most real through ti oh an outlook. And I rejoice that u e Episcopal church is large enough st
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