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Show 0Snird) and fbe Bible The Scriptures, Without a Divine Tribunal, Lead j to Infidelity. ( Written for the Intermoutitain Catholic.) Voltaire, after entering on his anti-Christian anti-Christian crusade, declared that there was no more effectual way of disseminating dissemi-nating inildel principles than through the Bible, explained in his own free, easy way. To it Colonel Ingersoll always al-ways appealed, when teaching his creed of unbelief. Its apparent contradictions contradic-tions and supposed inconsistencies were the groundwork of his arguments against revpaled religion, and. true to the teaching of his masters (Voltaire. Rousseau. Renan. Hume and others), he never failed in his public lectures and writings to make the sacred scriptures scrip-tures the basis of all his arguments against Christianity. Many, once revering re-vering the Bible, ha v" hen led away froni religious belief and bcome skeptical skep-tical through his rounded periods, eloquence elo-quence ami sophistry. To be his disciple dis-ciple has become a pari of pmpular fashion, and the youth who were taught to read reverently their old ' Bibles, free avow before attaining their majority, ma-jority, not only their incredulity, but their antagonism to all forms of religion. re-ligion. Like St. Augustine, they have fallen amongst teachers who said that "by pure and simple reason they would lead to God, and deliver from all error those who had the will to listen to them. What else impelled me." he wrote, "about the age of nine years, to reject the religion planted in me by my parents, and to follow and diligently dili-gently listen to these men, but the fact that they declared that we were terrified terri-fied by superstition and ruled by faith, before the use of reason; whereas, they pressed no one to believe until the truth had been discussed and disentangled? Who could be proof against these premises, least of al la boy with his mind thirsting for the truth, as well as proud and talkative, in matters disputed dis-puted amonzst the learned? In such guise they then found me, despising, as it were, old women's tales and longing to hold and exhaust the manifest and open truth which they promised." (D. Utilitate Credende. 1. 2).' Following the rights -of his private judgment in religion, led St. Augustine away in early youth from all religious restraint. beeonrHis one of the- ablest champions of error that ever lived. Liberated Lib-erated from the authority of the Catholic Cath-olic Church, his intense hatred was manifested in all his writings, and was commensurate only with his love, devotion de-votion and zeal for Catholic principles after his conversion. In him were verified veri-fied the words of Edmund Burke that: "They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they j ought to hate." . ! Paradoxical ;is it may appear, yet nevertheless flic, tile scriptures, especially espec-ially toe old Testament. view;., luiilr the light of higher criticism anil th-civilisation th-civilisation ot" the last century, aii'l subject only to private judgment, have been the great source of infidelity, and the books to which infidels at;ieal in defense of their incredulity. Falling back on the fundamental principle nf the Reformat ion, that each one understands-the scriptures as he chooses, and denying the authority of tin- Catholic Cath-olic Church as a living and diviiifly instituted tribunal to settle rHijous controversies, the road whs paved for infidelity," and the results are now evident. evi-dent. The old creeds ar no longer what they were. Oscillating between certainty cer-tainty and doubt, namely, the certainty of' Cod's wonl, and its doubtful- meaning, mean-ing, they have been force 1 to compromise compro-mise their creed by changing its ei-rfential ei-rfential doctrines to meet the exigen- cies of the times anil rapid development of skepticism. These changes have not increased the religious fervor of the masses, hut driven them closer to the station that lies next to Nowhere in the religious work!. "You change." wrote Bossuet, ."ami that which changes is not the truth." The changes that have taken place during the past four centuries are many and varied, but the greatest change cam during the last century, when infidelity sapped religious belief in the very strongholds of the Reformers, Reform-ers, and the worship of Mammon was substituted for that of God. The Catholic Church has been decried, de-cried, denounced and abused because nf her authoritative teaching. Her position posi-tion is like that of civil government in regard to anarchy. Ever the same, unchangeable in her teaching, and uncompromising un-compromising in her doctrines, religious anarchists have risen up against her, fought her with her own weapons, the inspired word, which they twisted an-1 distorted till their descendants refused to accept it as an external authoritative authorita-tive revelation, or a guide to be followed. fol-lowed. Smarting under Us restraints, like anarchists under that of civil authority, author-ity, their greatest zeal was displayed only when fighting the Catholic Church. To them might be applied the words of St. Augustine: "Proudly delirious, carnal car-nal and talkative . . . who, in their unholy un-holy pride falj away and are blinded by the Light; infallible prophets of eclipses of the sun. they had no suspicion sus-picion of the eclipse going on in their own souls." (To Be Continued.) |