Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-12-20


none; il might be true; but as we have no evil
dence Of It's truth, we do not adduce it," But,
no; this would not answer the archdeacon's
purpose, for in truth, his only object, and
Hume's, SO far as regards the two latter FACTS,
was the same, viz. to undermine the evidence
ofcathoicism, by insinuating that Its claim TO
miraculous testimony in its favour, was ouilt
upon unfounded stories
Let any one examine the extraordinary pas
sage of Paey for a moment, With patience
Cardinal de Retz il is stated did not believe the
story Yet the cardinal was a Roman cathollc:-
thus the belief Of the story is not essential Tor
The truth of our religion. But the canons OF
the church would naturally favor the story,
though they knew tito be a lie, and if the ca
mons favoured ii, no person in the city OF Sara
gossa would care to dispute it. II then an en-
tire city oan, in the middle Of the seventeenth
century, in the centre OF a civilized country In
Europe, be found so 5ereft OF all love tor truth,
so careless fevery principle OF religion, so per-
fectly acquiescent to glaring ialsehood, as TO
believe without examination, in the truth OF
stupendous miracle, such as the complete res
toration Of deficient limb; or if they did ex-
anime, 10 acquiesce III teStifying notorious
falsehood: of what value is history? OF what
value is human testimony? Upon what ground,
bilant Of Saragossa with such gross and glazing,
foul and abomipable irreligon? My friends,
did you ever find any Roman catholic writer SO
bereit Of charity, so void Of feeling, SO base as
to make such charge as this, gratultousiy,
upon the whole body Of the protestant inhabi-
tants Of any large and populous. city, and then,
exhibit by inference, this city as specimen OF
all other protestant cities, and this fraud as
correct specimen Of the protestant rellglon!-
Yet Paley is said to be liberal man! God for
bid that all the liberaity of our protestant fel-
iow-citizens should be confined TO the measure
Of such liberality as this! To charge the Ca
tholic clergy with irreligious, with blasphemous
deceit: to charge the catholic laity with pro
found Ignorance, and to exhibit our religion as
a system Of delusion created by the success Of
such vile mposture-and all sratuitously.!--
Yet this book of psley's is put into the hands
of the American youth in their colleges, as the
book from which they are 10 learn the proofs Of
the christian religion. Can you now be asto-
nished at the estimation in which we are held
BY that portion OF our fellow Citizens who have
been taught out Of this book in those colleges?
have dweit long enough upon this very un-
becoming passage Of Paley. | shall, however,
take the liberty OF here making general re-
mark, that so far as regards the oial proofs
of catholicism we may fairly assert in the words
Of the Saviour, "Whosoever is not with US is
against u.s." There is no person who is not a
catholic, that will not endeavor TO destroy the
proofs of catholicism; for that system, in lis ex
elusive truth, can hold no fellow ship with any
error; and hence we find it attacked alike by the
Deist and Atheist, by the 1rnitarlan and the
Unitarian, by the Episcopalian and the PreSby
terrain, whilst in its isolated strength and gran
deur, il stands erect and unin lured, amidst the
assaults of all Thus Hume and Palsy could
agree in their attack upon our church, and
Paley, more ingenious aud more powerful than
Hume could, in his apparent zeal to demolish
the bastions of in6dclity, level his artillery at
the fortress of catholicism, and still, whilst he
poured out his shot, cry that he only sought 10
level the protection Of the unheiever, whilst his
guns were in reality pointed far TO its right, and
destined for different object.
AS TO the second Of those cases, the paltry ar
,ifce which has often been resorted 10 by
party writer's, was beneath the dignity of Paey:
his mind should have scorned TO sloop TO such
trick. He knew that the Jansenists were not
Catholics, and if he did not, White did. Ye.
In this place, lac insinuates that they were mem
bers of the catholic church though opposed by
the Jesuits as party. Thus he would lead his
re aders to believe that the ale2ged miracles at
the tomb of the Able Paris were such as are
relied upon by the catholic church: whereas the
catholic authorities disproved the allegation of
the Jansenisls. rhe catholics denitd and dis
proved the occurrence Of any miracles at the
tomb Hence, neither the case of the man in
Saragossa, nor the occurrences at the tomb Of
the Able Paris, can be aedged against US, and
our answer is very short and very simple
I'VE do not adduce them proofs % The
arc hdeacon then dishonest in his mode Of
stating facts, and he was guilty Of bad reason
ing ir drawing general conclusions from par
ticular premises White ought 10 have seen
both faults, and therefore, if he was converted
by the book of Paley, and tina, the evidence of
miracles ought 10 have made him christian,
the same evidence existed to make him a ca
tholie; and the attempts of Paley to destroy Its
force in the latter case, were wholly ineHectua]
White knowing the facts which proved the last
circumstance, could not by Paley's reasoning
be made christian without being made Ca
tholic. Hence we have good reason 10 believe,
and shall yet shew, that he never became a
consistent ehristan-I shall shew that he did
not believe the doctrines Of the church of Eng
land.
"rhe miracles related to have been wrought
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