New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-11-11

! time OF Professionalism was III 4''o' NV -
| doctrine seems to have no YitailtJ, ana cannot
preserve itsslf from the assaults OF the most
| obscure prophet Of error DR.. II. pToceedea
20 speak Of the missionary works Oh tiie
! Pedestrians Millions OF money, not 10 EneAtloH
/ thousands Of lives have been spent II various
! efforts bat Will say boldly al, al nave 3aeu'
| He referred to the Sandwich Islands, where there
seemed to be a present ad Vantage bat be thought
The result there would be failure. as much 80 as
the effort OF the PuritaE5 to convert the Indians
whom they drove from New England Ihese are
evidences OF the decline OF Protestantism. ana
| then there are tie various species o! ninety
which have grown out of Professionalism. ali to IT'S
DISADVANTAGE and all showing the decline OF the
system DR. H. spoke of the secesslons from tne
| Protestant system 10 the Catholic, especinlly III
/ the German Universities He SAID that these
/ well educated men could not ablda the midd4e
ground, could they agree IN the positive Prili-
ciple OF authority, nor yet submit to the mega
tive OF Church authority.
If then Professionalism has declined, Is declining
and is destined to decline, it may not be unseen,
| IL to INQUIRE into the causes that has produced
such resut-what causes have prevented FRO
testantism with all the advantages oil Its TRIUMPH
ant from taking that spread andeX
ercising that influence 0verthe human race, WhIcha
system having its authority from God! Tie causes
are many. but the primary cause OF which all the
others are consequences is to be found IN the very
element of Protestant Itself tor conceive that
| God has given to man but Two principles iot us
Guidance one Of which is his authority and the
other his reason If it be said that We, because
we admit authority, do not exercise our reason
we have an answer which ought to be satlstacto.
rv 1t is this That if you ask our reason Tor sub
hitting to authorty.lt Is because III the exercise
of it we have arrived at the conclusion that dod
has made revelation, and that he has MADE
| his Church its depository to the end OF time
! This is our argument. But on the other mana
the Protestant system from the beginning
casts off all authority 1t is very difficult to say
what were the motives for asserting this Prih-
| ciple Whether It was asserted upon Vic iho
| neut of impulse, or simply central point IN
! tbe new system il is dittinut to say, but one
| thing very obvious is that the first principle OF
Frotestantism was to pull down, and a more EN-,
! cicnt principle for pulling down what dd exist
conIJ never have been devised by the ingenuity oi
mar, Than that which set all authority at defiance.
! This priDcple3 has followed Professionalism INTO
| every department in the human system. ltsprlngs
from very heart so as to create elements OF Vl-
| sion throughout the whole community Hence
the number OF sects INTO when 1t IS dlYlded' ana
which are justified by the principle OF the assOCla-
ton to which they belong, and which has called
then INTO being 1t has accordingly lost all power
over the masses of mankind and that capacity to
preserve any doctrine of its own. tits powerless
and sDcechless; it has lost all central force. You
will observe that IN every instance 1t lllheua'elE
attaches itself to the civil State and thus be
comes its master and extends It's power over
tissaid that it emancipated nations. What
it did it was at the expense OF Its own liberty
and Professionalism al this day wherever 1t Is es-
taJljshed SO far as it is reiglon,Is but depart
mcnt ofthe State This is the case ineyery coun-
trv. with the exception of the United states
Nou may speak of its minister's It's cOnslstOreS,ts
nresbvteries. but you will find them without
tongue to define its doctrines except what tne
Minister of State or the Sovereign puts IN their
IL find 11t Int
ether day. dispute arising between pres6yter
and bishop. about the Sacrament OF bapt'sm-a
tonic decided by the voice of Catholic Chnstendom
for eighteen hundred years-the latter had no
right of Judgment over the former The archbishop
and all the protested doctors OF Theology could
not define the doctrines OF their church with regard
to baptism and the question was finally settled
by civil officer They speak ofreedom in view
oil the fact that the very religion of which they
the ministers is looked upon by the sovereign and
government as department OF that government
through which the civil law speaks TO the minister
as il would to the officers OF the army and the
navy; .,...,cou, :,
this regard The consequence has been the same
which has produced the many divisions that have
weakened whatever power existed in the FRO
testant religion. How is to be expected that the
savage who is to be converted to Christianity by
the Missionaries of the Protestant Church VIII
hearken to those who contradict ach other How
could he believe that the Son OF God would SEND
men with contradictory messages. How could
he pat faith in those Missionaries who tell INN
that they were sent to preach to all men HIS saw
inc truths yet who disagree among themselves
He naturally SAYS | shall remain as ! am. Even
where this is not the case they have also further
coniounded the simple Judgment OF the Pagan by
the fact that being Protestants they must COM
mence the history of their religion by saying that
Christ established Church for the purpose OF
uropagating his doctrines and principles, but
that after fifteen hundred years it became cor
r,Ipt and required reformation. How quickly WIZ
he perceive and say, that II the Author Of Chris
tianitv failed in his great design lie cannot place
any confidence in the religion which they would
have him embrace Thus on every side that IN
herent defect, that principle OF which have
spoken and which is so selfdestructige has iol-
lowed it in every one OF It's attempt to convert
countries so that at the present day 1t does not
exist as system. There is no body, no unity no
comprehensive system by which men can be
brought into ali association Of az individual char
acter- one with the other, all having one common
belief
The Protestant Religion still numbers fifty NIL
lions of human beings-an immense nnmper II
must be confessed and among these may be reck-
oned many men Of the most enlightened charac-
ter and eminent genius and abilities IN the word
Yet under the unhappy auspices OF the tlrst prh-
cple of Professionalism, if God would make known
to us what was the specific creed OF each ihdlNId-
ual of that fifty millions 1t IS probable that not
ten out OF the whole number would be found 10
profess the same belief In ever particular On
the other hand, the Catholic Church has its two
hundred millions and we run no risk IN stating
flat there could not be found ten in whose lnmost
soul there IS the slightest difference OF faith
We have therefore III all this conception OF
the decline Of Professionalism and the cause OF It.
There are many other causes to which time VIII
| not permit me To refer.
u TIE future condition of Professionalism in every
lard Is that Of decline 1t is used as have shown
asa State engine by Government Here where It
from time 10 time the fansticism into which 1t
runs You have in the north western portion OF
+bis co,,ntry every species of fanaticism and inf
= -. .I-,r.,c1. tEara IShn LaYa thor