Man's Quest for God.

JlnJJrlicle in the "TJheosophicalT^evieTV" in

"December, 1897.

MAN has forages fashionedtheoriesabout

God, theoriesrangingfromthefetichof

the savagetothe loftiest dreamof themystic,

the profoundest conception of the philosopher.

Omitting fetichism, we may class the theories

of livinginterest under Monotheismand Pan-

theism,includingunderthe first the"Theism

"

ofmodernthought,andunderthelatterthescien-

tificPolytheismof thegreatEasternreligions.

In the West, of late years, many of the

more thoughtful and highly-educated people-

repelled by the crude Theism of the masses

and bythe unintelligent theories of the divine

Existence presented by popular Christianity-

have taken refuge in agnosticism, a confession

of intellectualdespair. Feelingthat knowledge

aboutGodwasunattainable,that"nothorough-

fare"waswritten aboveeverypathalongwhich

humanitywasgroping after God,thesepeople,

truthful and sincere, thoughtful and candid,

have preferred the modesty of silence to the

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