New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1846-02-27
80 Rrnwn.on,. Lecture.

Let them do this and all VIII al ias' coiie g
ar Brownson's Lecture.
u, BKowSsoNs LECTURE on the In!alIouity
or the Church delivered last evening al the Tab
ernace. was attended By very numerous au-
dience. embracing many Protestants who were
naturally curious 70 know wns tue speaker would say
in defence Of his doctrne His Lecture was character
ized by commendable cIearness Of statement and q
bold syoyssl Of principles ne aoofed 10 establish
We have pretty fan notes but compelled TO restrict
ourseyes 10 very brief ~ Dopsis Of bis main argument
Mr. B. commenced very naturally with some obse-Ta-
tons Of personal nature Intended 70 show tie process
by which he had been led &c Ms present position as an
advocate Of Catholic faitn He saw the esrth iu OF
evil and onged 10 make 1t better. Progress was DIS
grand idea but be found that man could not reform
himself without supernatural power. He could EN-
body in institutions only thai which was in himself.
few months experience Of Inhdeity was sufficient 20
show that tina, wholly nsdequate to produce inc re-
sui, at which he simed-,hc redemption OF the "ond
from sin and misery. There must DE hehsion' he''
MON renuirnp selfsacrihce and love for an i'm
mortal beipY or there hope for him mere
doc,rDe would not answerit was not enough 10 say 10
-. =. a. pond--Co good'-there must De b moral pow
r suuernatura authority, or ali our tK OF frosress
was mere laoonshne The imperfect could not make
Itself perfect any more Than max couiu m himself up
nv NH. wristbands lie reduced 10 this dilemma
e,brr there was Church endowed with supernatural
mower or there hope icr man \ discrimination
Of the subject tie light oi history had convinced him
,ha, the Roman Catholic Church an institution thus
endowed he mad submitted 10 is authority, though
not perhaps without casting back lingering look upon
theories which had formed an essenila! poTlOn Oh MS
The doctrine Of the nfabiy of the Church resolved
itself into this-Hds blessed Saviour instituted a
Church nth authority tach If this question were
auswered in the affirmative the doctrine of Inia!i
biity would follow necessary consequence since 1t
was not 10 be supposed Christ had given authority
for reaching error Authority teach Involved III Itself
pledge that the teacher qualified for his work and
how could he be- thus qualified uncss ne possessed su-
rernatural power which should preserve him from
enching error This admitted there would be little dif-
fcul,y in deciding what Church is thus endowed Of
COURSE il be Church which had its origin IL the
times Christ his Apostles, ard whose history could
be distinctly traced IL could no: be any one OF the On
nta Churches for the date Of their excelsior from the
Catholic Church was known IL could not be the creek
Church for shat mad chanpedhad taught different doc
nj different periods 1t could not be any oil the
Protestant for the oldest oil these was 100 young
by 1900 yeare Not OF hose Churches claimed au'
,hory 20 teach ia the in which be employed abe
words No, one OF them agreed within itself They
mad no fixed standard OF filth. They had no teaching
tacutythCr organization furnished no means even by
which their belief could be asCerained II he were 10
ask Presbyterian how he could obtain knowledge OF
what his actually believes would ne point to Calvin
20 lopady to Edwards No-he would reply that these
men were nothing him. u he appealed to the Bible
how did he krow that his Interpretation OF The book
false All Protestant secis admitted that they were
silble thereto they mtgh be wrongwrong in their
Interpretation of the Bible aud in every thing else They
variance with each other and each at variance
with itself They often quarreled hercely with each otn-
and there had been tunes when they cut one anoth-
ers throat5 81 tine
Professionalism really stood the ground OF No
Church. 1t up the authority OF man against the au'
thor;y OF God. la proportion was true Pro.
;.stsut. be versed toward No Churchsrn Liberal
Christianity 90 called, was the pureat embodiment OF
he Protestant idea In order 10 understand doctrine
IL be- studied ia us historical Developments. The
Presbyterian. when he attacked the Catholic Church
borrowed the weapons OF his Unitarian brother. The
EpiscOpauu with Liturgy lched from the Catholic
Church Ckurchmau only when his fnce was
towards tho DsScner, when facing ;hc Catholics, he
put himself on No Church grounds.
certain press in this City nuding to his intended
Lecture had said that he would give more Tor shrewd
Yankees guess than TO- the lniahity OF any Church IN
the world Now he would claim to be shrecd
Yankee bur he oas n Yankee and could guess. guess
that the Church inialibe good any other
that the Catholics foundation the nor,t was
good that OF the Protestant the best There
only two in which the historical arguments in IA
OF Catholicism could be subverted II must be shown
thar the Church has taught doctrines contrary TO
that she Is inconsistent with herself This had never
been done-could not be done. She taught doctrines
d5opc reason, contrary il the doctrine OF the
Trinity for example. No had ever been able to put
his hand any principle of which that doctrine
conrnvcned So of the doctrine OF the Real Presence
The Church had contradcted herself all attempts
to prove her guilty of inconsistency in her teachings had
failed.
To oppose Catholicity therefore must plant them
selvcs inhdel groundthere other alternative
close analysis of tho arguments of Professionals show
ed that they rested this basis lndels in Directing
10 Religion taught by Professionals always assailed
those points OF their faith which derived from the
Catholic Church. Wherever the Protest ant departed
from those doctrines the inide made objection 10
his creed This alliance and sympathy between Protest
antism and ndcy might be denied, but the tact was
papa5e Pro,estans be divided into three classes
First there was small number OF earnest and religious
minds who were cinGng to the truths which Protestant
Ism had derived from the Catholic Church, and who
going back TO that Church with considerable rapid
iy. Then there WAS numerous class who were ind
ferent-who believed any thing that their teachers In
culcated and examples Of inertia they might
be thrown out of entirely The third class
was composed OF active and restless spirits the
way to open nfdeity. There was middle ground
between Catho!icity and ntideliy which any man
who dared knew how To reason could stand
Was it said that the Church human coutrivance
Professionals had rested such contrivances for 300
wears. Was not this sufficient The Catholic Church
had stood by grave the old world and the cradle OF
the new and no storms had been able resist her pow
err for she was OF God Would Professionals ask him to
orsake Church against which neither time, men.
nor devils had been able prevail for body falling 20
pieces from its own inherent weaknessi
Il would be easy show the lniaibiy of the Church
other than historical grounds, but time would not al
low him so into the other branches of the argument
Christ had promised be with HE apostles the end
Of the world. he could not have meant that he would
be with them AS individuals, for they Ind long since
gone out of the world. He must have alluded 10 their
representative character organized Church and
his promise TO be with them such the evidence
of their authority and the pledge Of their lnfaliby
Mr. & said that Tor twenty years ne had been in the
condition OF man walking on loose cakes OF ice on the
surface of deep waters When he had found himself
sinking OF cake be had cudcavored 10 save himself
by esping in desperation upon another though he well
knew it was better than the first After this long pc.
riod OF uncertainty and CONFUSION be had at last found
rest Oh the bosom OF the Church.
NEW-Y0RK TOWN ELECTIONS.
rot-N,,y