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Show Controversies on Religion Missionary Experience iThe Heart. Not the Head, Should Be Moved Apparent Contradictions. " Editor Intcrmountain Catholic: , 1 have been a close reader of your valuable paper pa-per for the. past six years. .1 have found in its pages ; many useful hints which aided me in my controyersies ' with non-Catholics,, many of whom I found to be sincere and honest in their inquiries after religious ,r truth. ; In the wide range of ray experience I have met. .lawyers, doctors and other professional men of a high moral character, up to date, in the vexed questions which agitate the religious world.. and whose sincere and earnest in: quiries have impressed me that if convinced of the truth they would not hesitate a moment from embracing em-bracing it.' .'"Very recently. in one of my missions I met a man, of .more than ordinary intelligence, who said to pie. "Father, -I' believe in two great truths, viz., the existence of God and the immortality of the soul. I acknowledge God's, dominion over me and his right, as you claim, of delegating his authority to men." This frank and sincere admission I. considered con-sidered sufficient for'one who asked the simple question, ques-tion, "What shall I do to save my soul-f Yet my answer,. which. I considered logicflly unanswerable, failed to convince. I said, "You admit the existence exist-ence of a Supreme. Being and his right to legislate iin'd govern : accprding- to hi,s good pleasure and will." ; He answered "Yes." Here I adopted the old argument derived from the "Method of Authority." Author-ity." and said : .- According to your.-admission (Jod has the right to endow men or angels with authority au-thority to teach, nor do you deny that He has done so, since he-has said; "All power is given to me in heaven and : in earth". Going, therefore, teach all nations. Teaching, them to observe all things whatsoever, what-soever, I have "commanded you: -ipd behold T am with you all days even to the cojiitiianation of the world. ,He,fhat hea'retlv you hearejU'fne and he that heareth 'me,;heareth':'Him. that ttf me.,.. lie that, will hot hearihe church'" let h'vi be afc'j:.'rtlr-rv and. a publican." Xeither do'iyou- deny, that the Catholic church is. identical with the early church which received this solemn commission. Then it follows -with invincible logic that the church, so commissioned by-divine authority, must teach the truth, since God who is truth itself, could not sanc-tion-the teaching of error. As his accredited agent in defining the faith she could not err. To this I received the simple "reply : "Father, I am unable -to reply to your logic; but will say that I am not intellectually 'convinced and that for-the simple reason that your.chu,rch defines as articles of faith certain dogmas jwhich contradict my reason." I have paused long and seriously over this answer an-swer and, come to the conclusion that in religious controversies logical arguments avail very little, "that' if 'the heart is not disposed, no argument, however how-ever conclusive, will convert the intellect. Moral suasion' is more efficacious than logic, for my ex-pf ex-pf iience has been that the great difficulty has been in. the heart ; and not. in .the head. Unless the passions-are subdued theheart reformed religious controversies con-troversies invariably .wind up as thev began. ::::: ::: ; .... . v . . .sacerdos. . . We thank ; our. reverend . correspondent for his very' interesting letter. His missionary experience is. "similar to that of many others who have learned f :0m experience thst religious controversies are s.-kiom efficacious, especially in this age when indifference, in-difference, love, of pleasure and an insatiable desire: de-sire: to ppssess the "goods of this world are substituted substi-tuted for, the serving of , God. Christian, principles, and niortif action, ..Yet we do. not agree with our correspondent; that logical arguments, are entirely useless. Unless the, understanding is enlightened, iheie can be movement of the will. The reply of our e'ccmed correspondent to the man, who asked. "What he i should do to, save, his soul," is unanswerable. unan-swerable. Yet notwithstanding that, this man who wasrwell disposed, could not grasp its full force, the arguments did not convince his intellect, and If- Rives ''the reason, "because the church defines, as artielots of firth, certain dogmas which hl reason could not accept." .The light of his reason points to him certain things which" do not harmonize with certain dogmas and to his mind appears to contradict contra-dict what. he -knows to -be true. The same might happen to a well instructed Catholic. The former is -in search of truth and whilst satisfied with the logical conclusions : of the church, when any one dogma appears to contradict what his reason points o.'il, he will not go against' his reason, because its teaching is to him a logical conclusion. His mind is-i:i the. paradoxical position, of entertaining two logical conclusions' which contradict each other. Ju this dilemma he frankly and honestly says he carinoc make an act' of faith: The latter, under the same circumstances, is -certian that the church, in defining the article 'of faith which' lie is unable to comprehend or -which apparently contradicts his reason, ; was infallible in its definition, therefore that his reason, in pointing a truth that seems to contradict .his faith., must be at fault,, or. foils to understand the full meaning, and extent of the apparent ap-parent contradictory. - His-reason first tells him that God is. that He sent His only begotten "Son to redeem the human race, that He proved his divinity divin-ity by giving life to .his own body on the morning of the resurrection', that he established a church and commissioned her to teach in his name, and promised that her- faith would never fail. - AH this was a guarantee of inerrancy. With this knowledge, knowl-edge, ."when .the, doubt; or apparent contradiction comes to the. mind.1 the habit of faith int'uced into (Continued' on P-'g- i-).' f .i ' .--;".' -- ' ini ." Ljii.'L ". ' -i"n ii'niii umm't. a m" 'nil'mn numm. ' ' " i'-'.sla" RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES. (Continued from Page 1.) ' the soul enables it to brush aside the apparent contradiction con-tradiction or doubt and adhere to the. defined article ar-ticle of faith. Tho mind that can grasp Catholic truths in their unity and universality is seldom worried by doubts or apparent contradiction of any particular doctrine, because it knows that the church embraces all truth, whether Tevealed or known by the light of reaon. The fact that it, was divinely instituted is a guarantee for this).' Defense of particular doctrines is not the living liv-ing i?sue of the day. Theologians devoted their lives and talents in the past to lorg desertations defending particular dogmas dented by heretic. It was so since the Holy Ghost descended on the Apostles on tho day of Penticost. but in our agf the learned and worldly wise never give a passing thought to these particular doctrines, whether baptism bap-tism is necessary for . salvation, or 'whether our Lord is really and truly present in the Blessed Ku-christ. Ku-christ. The gTeat question and living' issue of th day is God as the Creator of all thing. His dominion do-minion over all creatures. His right to command, and man's duty to obey. The reformers in waring against the church ' simply attacked the human side of which they themselves were at-the time a part. In breaking loose from the church they lost the truth in itt unity and universality, and the farther they are removed in time, from the .divine element of the-- the-- church which teaches all truth, the nearer are they .approaching zero in their religious belief. In'th name of religious nrogress evolution or some oth;-er oth;-er humbug every article of the Apostle's Creed ha ben denied, and when all 'truths are -exhausted nothing, remains but death. It would be simply a waste of time to try and refut its many denials of particular doctrines to which learned and scholarly schol-arly minds pay little or no attention. It has, in its workings refuted itself. In society to settle legal contests there must be a court of last appeal, otherwise other-wise anarchy wduld be the logical outcome. So, too. in-religious .controversies where there is no supreme, su-preme, infallible court to interpret the written word i and tell what man must do to save his soul, re-ligious re-ligious anarchy is the last result obtainable. - F. D. |