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Show SERVING GOD MUTUAL LOVE. A Denial of God Is a Denial of an Obligation Obliga-tion Duties Based on the Ownership of God Atheists, as Represented by Anarchists, Opposed to the Authority of the State Influence of Christian Civilization Civil-ization Yet Prevalent Exacts Justice Universal Love It Is a Duty Its Obligation Justice Cannot Restrain the Unbeliever, to Whom the Civil Law Is Tyranny In Christian Communities the Law of Mutual Love Begets Entirely Different Sentiments It Rests on the Ownership of God, Which Is Commensurate Commen-surate With His Claims It Covers All the Relations of Life. (Written for The Intcrmountain Catholic.) In treating the question given in the catechism, "Why God made man,"' and its answer. "That he might know him, love him, and serve him in this life, and be happy with him in the next." we con fined ourselves to the logic of common sense, viz., I that of ownership. The atheist, the social anarchist, anar-chist, or a government without recognizing a Su- -V preme Ruler can impose no obligation on individ- ! uals, provided all individuals are by right of their existence independent, free, and in no sense the property of God or the state. Tn this principle anarchists, an-archists, who deny (rod. and his supreme domin- j ion, resist the state and its claims to man's obedi- enee. The state receives its ower and paiMftnm - from God. The duties of the. citizen to obey are ' f founded on the ownership of God by right of crea- '. tion to all .creatures, man included. The atheist. I anarchist, materialist and agnostic, who deny or I ignore God, assert by inverse reasoning that no person has any claim upon them, except themselves, them-selves, and as every person can dispose of his own. j property as suits him, they are free to dispose of, themselves by suicide or any other way that may I be pleasing to them. In their theory, there being no Supreme Being, they violate no law, and as i they have no duties but to themselves, the civil law which derives its sanction and force from the Supreme Su-preme Lawgiver is null. This is so loaricaDy conclusive con-clusive that even Pagan nations, a a last, resource, re-source, when striving to enforce the law. appealed to the gods. The drift of modern unbelief now so prevalent is in this direction. If restrained or retarded re-tarded it is because the light of Christian civilization civiliza-tion still penetrates and illuminates the darkness of infidelity. It is the salt which still preserves " from entire corruption and utter decay society. It tells man that he is not his own. but that he is the property of God. who has dominion over him, and to whom he belongs body and soul, and therefore bound to serve him. love him and know him. Then if man is not his own. but belongs to God he bas no right to inflict an injury on what belongs to an- other. lie sins against justice when he voluntary impairs his own life because he injures the property prop-erty of his Maker. Love thyself, which is natural instinct, is laudable and praiseworthy if prompted by Christian motives, i. e.. if it has its foundation founda-tion in God, who owns us. and for whose sake we should love not only ourselves but all mankind. Hence St. Peter says. "But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves: for charity covereth a multitude of sins."' This law of love, prescribed for our neighbor, is a real duty. Its fulfillment embraces the entire Christian low, which is embraced in two commands, com-mands, viz.. the love of God. and the love of our neighbor. The latter includes the whole human race. On the observance of these two commandments rest the happiness of the human family, the stability stabil-ity of civil government, and the perpetuation of society. so-ciety. The obligation, which imposes a duty of "mutual love." requires that, each and everyone re- frain from doing an injury to his fellow being either in body and soul, and not only this, but it obliges all to do good to his fellow being, when, an opportunity presents itself. Deny God. and his right of ownership and the principle of Christian ethics-no longer binds, i. e., there is no foundation I for it to rest upon. Man. as an individual and $ apart from God, has no claim on a strangers love : and good offices. With no belief in a hereafter or ; any responsibility to God what more natural than that selfish human nature should direct all its am- bition and energies to' its own personal wants, crav- j ings and gratifications. Xot, however, to the in- ' jury of one's neighbors .say our infidel philosoph- . ers. But the unbeliever, who enriches himself at the expense of another, is simply carrying out tho natural bent of his inclination by making for him- ( self an earthly Paradise here below, and is, after . his theft, or murder, as good a man as he was be- j fore. But he violates the civil law, and will bo punished. If caught and convicted conceded, but if not he is still, in his own eyes there being no I conscience, as good as he was before. Again' denying a Supreme Law giver the civil law in the eyes of unbelievers is a usurpation and tyranny. So the anarchists view it. and if our modern xinbelievers view it otherwise it is because the influence of Christian ethics still hovers over I them. Far different are the feelings and scnti- 1 (Continued on Tage 5.) j. - f ' "."I' SERVING GOD MUTUAL LOVE (Continued from Page 1.) ments in a truly Christian community where the law of mutual loA-e is exacted eA'en between strang- ers not for any personal predeliction, but for God's sake. Hence the obligation of loving and assisting assist-ing is not due to the individual who may be an i enemy, but to God AA'hose property all men are. An injury to another is an injury to God because the injured party is God's property, and whosoeA'er injures or alloAvs to be injured his Master's property prop-erty is guilty directly or by co-operation of injustice. injus-tice. Pressing the question of one's obligation to know, love and serve God still further, it would follow that ni order to fulfill this command one must also love his neighbor, God's claims are commensurate Avith his OAvnership, which is uniA-er-sal, i. e., his jurisdiction, as Creator, covert all the relations between man and man, man and his family, fam-ily, and man and society. Hence the duties which spring from this relationship are obligatory and whosoeAer fails in this universal love cannot, in the Christian sense, knoAV, 1oa-c and serve God. "He who savs that he Ioa-cs God and hates his brother, is a liar." The love of humanity, for God's sake who is Lord and Master of all creation, is included in the knowledge, love and service which he exacts of all. Xor do those, Avho in the name fo universal sympathy sym-pathy for suffering humanity and who perform acts of generosity, and advocate the uplifting and amelioration of the poor, the A-eak, and lowly, comply com-ply with the law of universal love, if they exclude God from their motiAres of action. Their actions may be very laudable and their conduct irreproachable, irreproach-able, but human sentiment, however universal it may be in its sympathy, can never take the place of supernatural 1oa-c What man owes to suffering humanity is due, because they are his property, the children of God. whom Ave all, in common, call "Our Father." The debt is primarily due to "God. When the needy, the maimed, and other unfortunate members of the human race are ns-bisted ns-bisted for- God's sake, the debt is paid, and the good works prompted by faith and We are meritorious, meri-torious, and become a part of knoAvledge, love and service of God. Hence our Lord said that those Avho assisted the distressed, i. e., fed the liuno-rv, gave drink to the thirsty and clothed naked, served' him, for AA-hatsoever a person does for these, even-the even-the lowliest, he did it for him. This charity, which is superantural loA'e, is the badge of the true' Christian. Chris-tian. F. D. |