It was not hard to trace our human imagery of the Divine Force up through successive stages of bloodthirsty, sensual, proud, and cruel gods of early times to the conception of a Common Father with its corollary of a Common Brotherhood.
This pleased her very much, and when I expatiated on the Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and so on, of our God, and of the loving kindness taught by his Son, she was much impressed.
The story of the Virgin birth naturally did not astonish her, but she was greatly puzzled by the Sacrifice, and still more by the Devil, and the theory of Damnation.
When in an inadvertent moment I said that certain sects had believed in infant damnation--and explained it--she sat very still indeed.
"They believed that God was Love--and Wisdom--and Power ?" "Yes--all of that." Her eyes grew large, her face ghastly pale.
"And yet that such a God could put little new babies to burn--for eternity ?" She fell into a sudden shuddering and left me, running swiftly to the nearest temple.
Every smallest village had its temple, and in those gracious retreats sat wise and noble women, quietly busy at some work of their own until they were wanted, always ready to give comfort, light, or help, to any applicant.
Ellador told me afterward how easily this grief of hers was assuaged, and seemed ashamed of not having helped herself out of it.
"You see, we are not accustomed to horrible ideas," she said, coming back to me rather apologetically.

"We haven't any.

And when we get a thing like that into our minds it's like--oh, like red pepper in your eyes.

So I just ran to her, blinded and almost screaming, and she took it out so quickly--so easily!" "How ?" I asked, very curious.
"'Why, you blessed child,' she said, 'you've got the wrong idea altogether.

You do not have to think that there ever was such a God--for there wasn't.