I have conversed with many priests; and some were honest men, and some were not, but three things none of them could answer: if their God is all-wise, what does it matter if men are foolish? And if they can imagine and define their God, must he not be smaller than their own imaginations? Furthermore, if their God is omnipotent, why does he need priests and ritual?

And I have asked this of the priests, but though they answered with a multitude of words, their words were emptiness: If it is true that a priest can pacify and coax God, or by meditation can relieve another from the consequences of his own sin, why should anyone be troubled and why do the priests not put an end for ever to all sin and suffering? If they can, and do not, they are criminals. If they cannot, but pretend that they can, they are liars. Nevertheless, there is a middle judgement, and it seems to me that some of them may be mistaken.