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Show Authority Essential to Religion. i rpHK progress of our age and country I are unparalleled in past history. We justly boast of greater intellectual intel-lectual strides in numberless new discoveries, dis-coveries, and of more fabulous wealth, than any of the old European nations. But these temporal blessings are not real blessings, when man's spiritual nature is taken into consideration. Intellect tual progress, which sacrifices the j knowledge of God, and man's duties to the Creator, cannot be a real blessing. The accumulation of great wealth when concentrated in the hands of a few-persons few-persons does not mean prosperity. Both, instead of building up, and cementing ce-menting a nation's greatness, lead to disintegration and disloyalty. From all quarters we hear the sad warning that faith, if not in God, at least in Christian principles, is on the wane. That a total eclipse of Chris- j tian faith has not yet set in is due to two causes. (1.) Old traditions, or the habits infused by parents cannot be entirely effaced in two or three generations. gen-erations. (2.) Man is naturally religious, relig-ious, and must, in spite of himself, believe be-lieve something. Hence to satisfy this natural craving new creeds are daily invented. These creeeds are becoming broader and broader each day so as to suit the religious instincts of religious doubters. Whilst the religion of the child remained the same as that of i the parent, it was in a certain sense j hereditaiy, but in an age of doubt, when the most sacred things, even the existence of a Supreme Being, are questioned, ques-tioned, the child reaching maturity doubts the mother's pious belief, and as the mother's authority was the ground work of the child's faith, when that is. weakened, either an. entire loss j of faith, or a change, w hich embraces the broadest and most liberal views takes place. This process of disinte-. disinte-. gration has been taking place in the j ranks of evangelical churches during; j the last quarter of a century to an j alarming extent. It. has been the source of many new creeds during the same period. The reason is, because the principle, on which the child's faith Is founded, is wrong. When hereditary bias looses its sting and intolerance, the answer usually given to the questions, ques-tions, "Why do you believe, and how-do how-do you know that your faith is true?" will not satisfy the demands of reason. That answer invariably is, "Because I am convinced that it is true." The reason rea-son is all right whilst the child is under the tutelage of the mother. It will be prolonged after the child passes from the mother to the first teacher who profesbes the same creed, but sooner or later the child will meet with teachers teach-ers who differ widely from his parents' creed. Those latter teachers, or it maybe may-be his companions smile at his simplicity sim-plicity when he points his finger at his heart, saying, as he accounts for his j faith: "Because I am convinced that my faith is true." To survive the I shock, when the mind of the youth is matured, and begins to reason, the only antidote is the affectionate entreaties of a fond mother who appeals to the child's love. But this does not eradicate eradi-cate the doubts already entertained, and what is still worse, the parents' own faith has yielded to the inherent weakness of the Protestant principle of authority, which is the primary and real cause of the disintegration in the ranks of evangelical churches during the last twenty-five years. But it may be said that the faith of Catholics, like that of Protestants is, in great measure, hereditary, that down through the cenftirks it remained unchanged, un-changed, because the child inherited it from his parents. Yes, but the author ity on which the Catholic child receives re-ceives his faith is entirely different. The child, as he passes from his mother to the Catholic teacher learns the same religious teaching without change or contradiction. The teacher, be he bishop, bish-op, priest, Sister of Charity or lay teacher. only gives the cffild what he himself received from a divinely di-vinely recognized authority, namely, the church. All teach the same truths, use the same language, namely, that of the living, visible authority of the church, to which all appeal, and which j is ever the same, one, invariable and divine. They know that true religion j requires an authorized divine teacher, ' one who cannot mislead or teach error, and will continue always in the same course. Thi6 is in harmony with the divine plan. God sent his Son in fulfillment ful-fillment of the promise made in Para- i Tn in i , dise. The Christian religion, or Catholic Cath-olic church which are the Same, was dovetailed, so to speak, into the synagogue, syna-gogue, continued to preach the same doctrines .that were taught from the , beginning of time, and with the prom-ise prom-ise of her divine founder, that they would last till the end of time. Her , commission to teach was divine, "Go ! nd teach all nations.". Hence her di- vine authority, which is entirely different differ-ent from that -which makes her religion re-ligion merely hereditary or dependent j on a parent's belief, is the ground work of the child's faith. The loss of faith, . which stands in evidence against the weakness of the Protestant principle of authority, has indirectly led to the worship of Mammon. This greed for wealth i3 followed by other sympathizing sympa-thizing evils. When concentrated in the hands of a few, our great prosperity belongs to the few. Selfish nature is frozen to the wants of the needy, and as there is very little religious sentiment, it can-njt can-njt be thawed out by the warm glow of Christian charity. Hence an estrangement es-trangement between the employe and employed necessarily follows. There is no bond of union, which religion could make. There is very litttle sympathy for suffering humanity for the principle princi-ple of the rich is "every man for himself." him-self." In London last Sunday 2,000 men held a meeting. They asked for work so that they could buy bread for their I starving families. They were outnumbered outnum-bered by the police and others who lacked sympathy for them. Their demand de-mand was a failure. To preserve an equilibrium between man and man religion re-ligion is needed, but religion, to be efficacious, effi-cacious, must have a divine sanction, authoritively drawing the line between superfluous wealth and indigence, by showing that whilst inequalities will always be found in this mundane sphere, before God all are equal. |
