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Show l RELIGION m LIBERTY i Peace Congress Different Contests Requiring Re-quiring Peace Present Contest Religious Re-ligious indifference Liberty and Equality the Offspring of Christianity : The Essentials of True Liberty The Apostles and Early Martyrs Espoused True Liberty. (Writun fo: tlic Inlermountain Catholic ) I lie peace congros of The Hague has uggestod to thinking people a Christian peace congress which ii'.jplil adopt sonic means f uniting all Christians 1 join llicir forces to battle against infidelity and indifference to religion so prevalent in this age. I'i-hop odhiiston of West Texas, a protestanr. has written m Pope Pius X.. the father of Christendom, Christen-dom, a loiter imploring him to take ihe initiative in invoking a Christian congress to effect, if not a union of Christian doctrine, at least of Christian rction in lighting infidelity. The-h'ttor is couched j in the most respectful and conciliatory ton-.'. The Dishop writes : "Can on not rise to the occasion and call a congre-s. not a ecuucil. of all Christians. 10 discuss, dis-cuss, with a view to future action, the neees.-arv steps to rcore to Christianity thai: splendid :.n-liuencr- it once exerted upon humanity, but winch it i in danger of being deprived of by 'our unhappy divi;-:ciis.' which now paralyze its power, and. but for the promise of its perpetuity, would threaten its very existence i "When ihe world powers, including heathen nations, na-tions, ;;re preparina" to meet at The Hague, to endeavor en-deavor to sc-nre the peace of the world, it is not an ' unspcak.'d le shine lliat all Christians cannot hold a -imilar inooi ir to secure the peace of the church J And as thi conference owes its existence to ihe .7rLnpor.iI head (f the eastern branch of the church. . """ ''how eminently fitting would it be that the congr'-ss I propose should be celled by the spiritual head of tlr' largest branch of the woteru church." The question of universal peace, however desir-pblr, desir-pblr, among the followers of Christ, judging from "' p.- st history, would seem to be Utopian. Christ ( ;:mu as a peacemaker. He was the prince of peace, j ; When tliere i- a peacemaker there must be contour, j ' 'II at strife has always existed. It was before hi I " 1inie. has continued since and will last till the end ' i of time. It may be asked. What is the nature of I liiis strife? It is that, which exists between good ! pud evil, truth and error, virtue and sin. between kV I law and lawlessness, between Cod's law and man's ? unruly passions. This continuous war is waged. I subjectively, and objectively, subjectively, because I of man's dual nature carnal and spiritual, ohjee- ji lively, because ihero are two world, one for the I children of find, the other for ihe children of 1he j a-e. It is not the same in every age. During the life time of Christ, who was the great peacemaker. religious persecution was the warfare. This lasted for three centuries. This was followed by a con-lost con-lost between truth and error. Heresy proclaimed itself. lis spread was stayed by the great Fathers of ilic church. The Augustines. the (iregories, the P.asil. the Chryso-Toms and oihers defended the Christian truths lhat were assailed and were victorious vic-torious in 1 ! i contest. We have next the liberty which Christ guaranteed to his followers. '"The truth diall make yon free,"' endangered. It was .in age of licentiousness, hut this license to sin. obtained ob-tained ihrough imperial supremacy, and applicable to European princes, meant slavery for the common com-mon people. In our own country ihe coniesl is religious Indifference. Tlnujrh it does not assume any hos-lile hos-lile attitude, its influence is none the less fatal to Christian 1 ruths and morality. Dishonesty is wide spread, immorality is unchecked, the Christian law is ignored, and conscience dead regarding consequences. conse-quences. People, it is true, profess a certain respect re-spect for religion, so much so that the cry of another an-other Voltaire "Let us eruh the infamous one" , would not be tolerated, but the inroads made ihrough indifference are none the less fatal. These evil effects are visible in our divorce courts, criminal crim-inal courts, and courts of ju.-tioe. Yet we are some- I limes told that our age and country are not alto- eeihor incredulous, thai the people profess a profound pro-found repect for religion, but owing to certain prejudice will not embrace il. What are these j prejudices which keep men's souls away from God? j There are many reasons assigned, but the most pop- j ular one. because it appeals to ihe masses, is that j religion is opposed to liberty, and favors despotism. Is this charge true? The Catholic church, follow- i hill the footsteps of her divine founder, tells her tin inhere that they must "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's." Put who is Caesar t The intimate established authority, no matter what ihe f..nn of government may be. Disrespect for or disobedience to civil authority is anarchy, hence the Catholic church commands submission to and respect for all forms of government. True religion ihe foe of liberty! Impossible. P.efore ihe advent of Christ, who proclaimed, truth the foundation of liberty, men will search in vain for liberty. In ancient Rome, the home of ihe Caesars, there was no liberty. The Roman nobles no-bles were noted for their tyranny and oppression of the plebs. and their cruelty and inhumanity I against slaves. In ancient Greece, with its refinement refine-ment and cull ure, liberty meant ostricism. When Christ came on earth, slavery and oppression existed exist-ed everywhere. Who severed those galling chains? Il was .lesus, and as a divine founder the religion (Continued on Page 5.) L A I , ,., , mJk.m RELIGION AND LIBERTY. j (Continued from Page 1.) which he proclaimed to the pagan world,- became the sponsor of true liberty. He proclaimed liberty and equality to the whole world. "You have but one Master and one Father, who i God. You are all equal in God's sight, because you are all his sons." What he pi cached he practiced. To his teaching and example the world is indebted for real liberty, i. e.. liberty of the scul, which is the very essence of the Christian religion, and which it will have at any cost, even that of death. The Apostles died in defense of this liberty. When forbidden to preach their cry -Was, "Better to obey God than man." St. Paul in prison, for liberty lib-erty of conscience, made the pro consul tremble, and appealed to Caesar for his rights as a Roman citizen. They pffered him restricted liberty, but he answered the gaoler, "My judges are' they who should free me." Animated with the desire of establishing es-tablishing this soul-loving liberty, the martyrs of the first three centuries sacrificed their very lives, which excited the admiration and elicited the applause ap-plause of their persecutors. "Never, never have, I seen the like of such men," exclaimed one of their proconsuls. The body may be enslaved, but the soul of the true Christian is ever free." The Christian religion, then, instead of being inimical to liberty, is its custodian and safeguard. Guizot, the distinguished French historian and statesman, wrote: "That when man 116 longer believes, be-lieves, the love of liberty declines; it is no longer sincerely loved. When in msn we see only matter, he must submit to" the laws of force." St. Augustine Augus-tine said: "Liberty is beautiful and great, but the foundation of liberty is the liberty of the soul." When and where the soul is not free, individuals, the family and society are slaves. The age is turn-in turn-in trnway from the great peacemaker, his teachings are ignored, and his example despised. The dominant dom-inant spirit of the age is ante-Christian. Those, whom he pronounced "blessed," are now the accursed. ac-cursed. Yet there are hopeful signs when a pro-testant pro-testant bishop appeals to the Holy Father, whose motto is, "Let u3 go back to Christ." There man shall find true liberty and equality. "If ye remain in my word," ho said, "ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." F. D. |
