The new Christian religion, like the old one, demands its saints and its martyrs, if not the reincarnation of Christ. "The only way to regain the earthly paradise is by the old, hard road to Calvary--through persecution, through poverty, through temptation, by the agony and bloody sweat, by the crown of thorns, by the agonising death, and then the resurrection to the New Humanity--purified by suffering, triumphant through Sacrifice."[91]
The new Christ also has his forerunner and herald. "Mr. Keir Hardie, M.P., the leader of the Labour Party, resembles John the Baptist,"[92] and the Socialist leaders will do even greater things than did Christ. We are told: "When Christ told His disciples that it was possible for them to do greater things than they had seen Him do they must have been fairly staggered. Just think for a moment of the nature of the works He had done, most of them in their very presence. Those who are striving to obtain a better social order and provide a fairer distribution of the good gifts of God among the sons of men, these men I say, in so far as their efforts are successful, are doing greater things than Christ did when He performed the miracle of feeding the hungry."[93]
"Man is only irresistible when he acts from passion. The masses of men are never moved except by passions feelings, interests. It is of course to the discontented wage-earners that the Socialist can appeal with the greatest chance of success."[94] All Socialists agree in depicting to the workers life in present society as hell incarnate and in giving a picture of life in the Socialist State of the future which resembles the descriptions found in the "Arabian Nights" tales. They only disagree in this: that some promise him heaven, whilst those possessed of less enthusiasm promise him only an earthly paradise.
[36] Gronlund, _The Co-operative Commonwealth_, p. 187.
[39] Neil, _Songs of the Social Revolution_, p. 22.
[40] Bax, _Outlooks from the New Standpoint_, p. 140.
[41] Fisher, _The Babies' Tribute_, p. 6.
[42] Glyde, _The Misfortune of being a Working Man_, p. 1.
[44] Neil, _Songs of the Social Revolution_, p. 1.
[45] Snowden, _The Individual under Socialism_, pp. 4-5.
[46] Washington, _A Corner in Flesh and Blood_, p. 15.