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Show TACTICS OF UNBELIEF Effects of Christianity War Waged on I Religion Propagation of Unbelief- False Siancarri for Judging No Logical Log-ical Arguments. (Written for the Intermountain Catholic.) Christianity born in poverty, nursed in persecution persecu-tion and baptized in the blood of its founder and ; early martyrs, conquered the world. The challenge i of its founder, "which of you will convince me of ; sine.!:" is as applicable today as when first uttered. War on Cod and religion is waged on all sides. Men are filled with their own importance to such a degree, and puffed up with so much intellectual I pride, that they hold themselves, if not infallable, certainly unimpeachable when they decry religion, i Charges are made under the mask of civilization. I j enlightenment, progress or some such captious I term, but no proofs are adduced to substantiate the charges. As a substitute for logical proofs mere . opinion, witticism or sophistary is offered to lessen vt religious influence. It is true that the memory of Christ is yet rev- rred; that the sanctity of His life, together with th0. sublime code of morality which he taught, ex-! ex-! ercises a healthy influence over society, but His V teachings practically hold no sway over the minds 1 and lives of men. The sermon on the mount. ' whilst considered one of the grandest teaching ever given to man. is practically ignored, and its maxims max-ims supplanted by those of worldly wisdom. It is no longer "Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the meek," but blessed are those who abound in wealth and are highly esteemed. Christ said: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." The spirit of the age reverses this maxim i by practically placing no strain on the human pas- " sions. Mourning for comfort would be stigmatized as a superstition. Those virtues, to which, is promised.the possession posses-sion of God's kingdom, are, under the light and practical training of the twentieth century, lost virtues so far as molding the character or influ- encing men's lives, and whilst the masses are supposedly sup-posedly raised and educated under Christian, influence, influ-ence, they are at least unbelievers, because instead r of "seeking first the kingdom of God and His jus- lice," they seek first, last and all the time for world ly fame, honors, riches and the pleasures of life, j It may be true that as yet only a few have the boldness and temerity to blaspheme in public the holy name of God, and say all manner of unpleasant unpleas-ant things about religion, yet the minds of the i rising generation have been so educated as to listen with approval to what is said hostile to the sacred cause of religious belief. In our universities they drink deep of the irreligious doctrine and infidel spirit which are taught and practiced by the professors pro-fessors of these institutions. There is a craving for anti-Christian notoriety and to satisfy the public pub-lic demand and gain popularity o.ur literature is tained and prominent lecturers appeal to the morbid mor-bid passions. Those who are held or hold themselves them-selves as great leaders in the world of thought and 1a re using their intellectual powers and talents to ? ' undermine Christian principles, exercise a potent influence over the masses who use not, their reason, 4 tf but blindly follow their masters who never fail to preach a doctrine that will please most and give T greatest scope to the passions. They do not take time to think. Charges are made against God and religion. . A very learned person said so. That is sufficient. But it should not be enough. Charges were made against Christ in his day. He was called seditious, j ,a disturber of the peace and was accused of being " in league with the devil. He silently listened to all these calumnies luring the three years of his pub- lic life. He saw His best workers in behalf of suffering suf-fering humanity derided and scoffed, and His purest motives in acts of charity impugned, yet patiently pa-tiently suffers it to be so. Finally seeing that His mission was nearly finished and the last tragic act in His mortal career would be soon accomplished he quietly and dispassionately turns upon the incredulous in-credulous mob and said: "Which of you will convince con-vince me of sin V That is, convict me of the charges which you have so often made and are now making? That same challenge, made by Christ twenty cnturies ago, is as applicable in this age as it was then. To those who make charges against religion it may be said: "Which of you will prove that the charges you make have been done with the approval appro-val and sanction of religion?" You, dear reader, ask yourself the question. Have all those things I hear, those charges that are being made and so often repeated, been done in the name of and with the sanction of religion? That is, true religion which cannot be held responsible for what is done j " in the name of false religion ? ? V All are not actuated by wrong motives who wage war on revealed religion. But their standard ' ''J for judging is wrong, because they condemn with- out investigating and pronounce judgment without a hearing. To condemn a certain form of religion ' because they are unworthy members would be like rowleroning a certain form of government because there are criminal citizens who refuse to obey the Laws enacted for the peace and prosperity of the nation. No valid objection can be raised against a rhuivh from the actions or conduct of unworthy members who disobey her laws. A church is responsible re-sponsible only for the conduct of those who submit to her direction, obey her laws and observe her precepts. But, waiving all this, the important question is that propounded by Christ. "If I say the truth to ' you. why do you not believe me?" Truth is, or should be, the object of all knowledge. Towards its Attainment man's mind, in search of knowledge, is always directed, and to attain it men make, not infrequently, great sacrifices. Theories never sat- : ; t .., ...J.HJ i.,j.MH isfy the human mind. How many theories have been advanced regarding the north and south poles, and as yet none has satised man. Hence, periodically periodical-ly explorers set out on a perilous journey to the frozen north to obtain, if possible, a true knowledge know-ledge of the state of things there. Such thirst or ambition for knowledge is commendable. Why not show the same zeal in regard to religion? Why lend a deaf ear to the challenge: "If I say the truth, why do you not believe ine?" His life was blameless, blame-less, his enemies, actuated by the deepest malice, could find nothing against him, could not, when challenged, convict Him of any wrong. Herod declared de-clared Him innocent. His teaching contains the grandest code of laws ever given to man. By His charity he blends together the whole human race as members of one family. He exacts justice, purity, puri-ty, temperance and honesty. Peace takes the place of discontent. Sorrow trials and poverty are swallowed swal-lowed up in the hope of future happiness. ' F. D. |
