Why is it so hard to have faith in God?

Rescuers were constantly arriving with some poor unfortunate beings. These they handed over to others who received them kindly, reasoned with them, and urged them to undergo medical treatment.

It was not always easy to persuade them to do this, and several went out of the House of Refuge back to Hell. 

The whole air seemed filled with particles of darkness given off by spirits undergoing magnetic healing. 

We passed through another door into a comparatively small anteroom in which various newcomers were waiting, attended by their rescuers. 

At the further end was a great door. As I approached it, I was aware of a living terror, awful, intangible and real, that lay beyond it. 

As we drew nearer to it, the nameless terror seemed to grip my soul. I would have turned and fled, but my guide urged me to go forward. 

The door was flung open, and a rescuer and his charge sprang in. The terror seemed to flow in with the darkness. I cowered back against my guide. I saw that the fugitives had been pursued up to the very door itself. I heard the wild yell of baffled fury and hate, as the pursuers found themselves kept back by the Wall of Good Thoughts, which they could not penetrate. 

How was it that the pursuers were unable to prevent this man from reaching safety?

Each rescuer carries around him a Wall of Faith and Good Thoughts, which these evil spirits cannot penetrate unless he himself breaches it by giving way to any of the temptations with which they will attempt to lure him back.

If the poor lost soul really desires to progress, he can pass within this wall. If the rescuer refuses, he will be driven out, and fall victim to his pursuers. This often happens, and that is why those who take up this work must be gifted with the greatest patience. It is hard to see the fruits of victory torn from our very grasp after we have striven so hard and risked so much.

Are there any hospitals similar to this in the Realm of Half-belief?

Many who suffered from mind troubles on earth come to that realm. They fall into two divisions―those whose birth defects prevented all development, and those whose minds were suddenly unhinged by some physical accident.

The rescued are patched up in temporary receiving rooms (smaller Houses of Refuge) scattered throughout Hell until they can reach one of these great institutions. 

The sexes do not mix much in these realms.

Men and women are separated almost completely at first, as it is desirable to eliminate the old ideas of sex.

While these ideas are right and necessary on earth, they are no longer needed here, for spiritual progress would be rendered almost impossible by the old carnal feelings.

As the last grains of earthly passion are eliminated, male and female spirits begin to draw together again, for each is the complement of the other spiritually, just as they are physically on earth. 

Life here seems to be very much like life on earth.

Like, yet different, very like earth life at its noblest and best, but there is no sickness―or sin, nor does evil―or pain enter here. These are left behind on the threshold of Hell. There is still some sorrow and repentance for past sins, but sin cannot come to us. Deliberate opposition to God’s will is a thing of the past. Nothing that is ugly―or evil and low―or false can survive here.