From the (ironic) Preface to Hilaire Belloc's book The Battleground :-)

This book needs a brief apology. The writer has not only taken for granted that there is a God, but also design in the Universe and in the story of Mankind. He has affirmed a special design in the story of Syria and especially Israel, reaching a climax at the Crucifixion. He even seems to imply the Divinity of his Saviour.

All this must sound so unusual today that it may be thought an affectation, deliberately assumed to startle and offend. Such a feeling will be enhanced by the discovery that he takes the Gospel of St. John to have been written by St. John and even allows some historical value in the Old Testament.

The sole excuse he offers for his extravagance is that the present Generation is tolerant of novel ideas, and that he therefore may hope for indulgence.