The existing creeds， formulated in a previous state of thought， have lost that relative truth they once had and are now， for most of us， not creeds at all， since they are incredible； but creeds of some sort we must have. A creed may， perhaps， be defined as a settled way of thinking about matters which are beyond the reach of positive knowledge， but which the mind must and will think of in some way梟otably， of course， about the larger life and our relation to it. For the majority， who are not metaphysicians， it is mere waste and distraction to struggle unaided with these problems； we need a chart in this sea， a practicable form of thought to live by. That competent men should devise such forms of thought， consistent with the state of knowledge， and that other symbols should grow up about them， is as natural and useful as any other kind of invention.
We need to believe， and we shall believe what we can. John Addington Symonds declared (376) that "health of soul results from possessing a creed，"and his own sufferings in trying to make one out of the scattered materials of his time are typical of those of a great number of sensitive minds， many of whom have been harassed into despair and degradation.[2] Without some regular and common service of the ideal， something in the way of prayer and worship， pessimism and selfishness are almost sure to encroach upon us.
Those who teach truth in its mere abstractness can never take much hold of the general mind， and success awaits a teaching which is intellectually sound (that is， consistent with the clearer thought of the day)， and at the same time able， by a wealth of fit symbols， to make itself at home in all sorts of plain minds. And it is just this that is apt to be destructively wanting in a time of intellectual and social change.
Why is it that the symbol encroaches and persists beyond its function？ Evidently just because it is external， capable of imitation and repetition without fresh thought and life， so that all that is inert and mechanical clings to it. All dull and sensual persons， all dull and sensual moods in any person， see the form and not the substance. The spirit， the idea， the sentiment， is plainly enough the reality when one is awake to see it， but how easily we lose our hold upon it and come to think that the real is the tangible. The symbol is always at command： we can always attend church， go to mass， recite prayers， contribute money， and the like； but kindness， hope， reverence， humility， courage， have no string attached to them； they come and go as the spirit moves； there is no insurance on them.
(377) Just as in the schools we teach facts and formulas rather than meanings， because the former can be received by all and readily tested， so religion becomes external in seeking tn become universal lt is perhaps hardly necessary to recall the application of this to Christianity. Jesus himself had no system： he felt and taught the human sentiments that underly religion and the conduct that expresses them. The Sermon on the Mount appears paradoxical only to sluggish， sensual， formal states of mind and the institutions that embody them. In our times of clearer insight it is good sense and good psychology， expressing that enlargement of the individual to embrace the life of others which takes place at such times. This natural Christianity， however， i； insecure in the best people， and most of us have only a fleeting experience of it；so the teachers who wished to make a popular system， valid for all sorts of persons and moods， were led to vulgarize it by grounding it on miracles and mystic authority and enforcing it by sensual rewards and punishments.
The perennial truth of what Christ taught comes precisely from the fact that it was not a system， but an intuition and expression of higher sentiments the need of which i~ a central and enduring element in our best experience. It is this that has made it possible， in every age， to go back to his life and words and find them still alive and potent， fit to vitalize renewed systems. The system makers did well， too， but their work was transient.
A good system of symbols is one which， on the whole， stands to the group or to the individual for a higher life：
(378) merit in this matter being relative to the particular state of mind that the symbol is to serve. It is quite true that？
"Each age must worship its own thought of God， More or less earthy， clarifying still With subsidence continuous of the dregs."[3]
Crude men must have crude symbols梕ven " rod or candy for child-minded men " [4]梑ut these should be educational， leading up from lower forms of thought to higher. A system that keeps men in sensualism when they are capable of rising above it， or in dogmatism when they are ready to think， is as bad as one that does not reach their minds at all.