one, and change is the symptom of progress. We can define life only as a series of constant changes ending in death, the great change to something beyond. Wordsworth defines progress as a movement of the race toward an unattainable perfection. In progress there is always a tendency to reaction. Conversion is a reaction, a putting away of old associations. The progress in science, which seemed to question some religious beliefs, brought about a reaction in the belief in one absolutely true religion.

We must get rid of the numerous theological distinctions and go back to the kernel of truth. This theory seems to kill progress, but it is the theory held by many great reformers, such as Plato and in our later times Theodore Parker. Religion grows by modifying and drawing together contradictions. The doctrine of eternal punishment was formerly preached most vehemently, and a sect arose who contradicted belief flatly. The two doctrines have been modified and many believe there is truth in both. Every religious belief of the last century or so has had a back-ground of reaction.