American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-06-07

they are as lar from the point as the most
vivid imagination can well conceive. They /
are by the diameter Of the heavens farther .
from the point, than those just quoted
Let any intelligent man read chapter xiv.
Of Cballoner's "Catholc Christian" and /
he will rise from it with amazement that /
God could ever leave men 10 the folly Of so |
perverting Scripture; or that even the dey- |
il could permit them SO absurdly to misap-
ply it. Permit me to quote an instance By !
way Of illustration. We are taught in
Matt IL: SO, that we must give an ac-
count for everg idle .arord in the day of |
judgment. Now how does this text prove
a Purgatory? In this wise: "No one can
think that God will condcm a.soul to hell
for every idle word; therefore there must
be purgatory to punish those guilty of
these little transgressions. If you or any
mortal man, think am joking, let him turn
to the chapter. Let me quote the answer
in full to the question, Are not souls in
Purgatory capable of relief in that state?
eyes, they are, but not for any thing that
they can do for themselves, but from the
prayers, aims, and other sgfrageS offered 10
God for them by the faithful upon earth,
which God IN Ills mercy is pleased to accept
of, by reason of that communion which
we have with them, by being fellow mem
bers of the same body of the Church, un-
der the same head. which is Jesus Christ"
Now, sir, if in this answer you substitute
the word "priest" for "God," then We
come to the facts in the case. The ''alms"
and the other "sufrages Of the faithful,
are pocketed by the priest. And purga-
tory was invented for the special purpose
of securing these aims, and other suffrages
of the faithful, to pope, prelates, and
priests.
Now, sir, let me ask You few Ques-
tons. Perhaps | have asked you too
many already; but you will bear with a
fellow -countryman, anxious, not SO much
to embarrass you, as to bring out the truth.
What has the the blood of Christ, which
cleanses from all sin, to do with the venial
sins of those middling Christians who die,
not good enough to go to heaven, nor bad
enough to 90 to hell? What has the blood
of Christ, his attonement, his finished
work, at all to do, on your plan, with the
saving of the sinner? Ifmy child should
die and 90 to purgatory. would thousand
dollars given you at once, have the same
effect as a hundred dollars year for ten
years? How can you tell when enough is
given to get the soul out; or has your purse
no bottom? AS souls are spirits without
bodies, how can you tell one soul from an
other as they issue from the gates of pur-
gatory? In the prayer Hail Mary" we
are made to utter at its conclusion, the
following petition: Holy Mary. NJ other
of God, pray forus sinners, now and at
tile Aour Of our death;" why not solicit her
to pray for us after our death, to get US out
of purgatory? Is it because you are afraid
the good woman would get us out before
the priests had gotten enough of The "alms
and suffrages of the faithful?''
Nv dear sir, the absurdities connected
with your doctrine of purgatory are sick
ening. 1t is based on the love of money.
The bishop OF Air candidly confesses that
it is not revealed in the Scriptures. Ii
came into the church in the seventh cen
tury, it was affirmed in the twelfth;-it
was stercotyped at Trent; and fearful a.
nathemas are hurled at all who deny it,
1t puts away the work of Jesus Christ, and
sends the sinner, not to "the blood OF
sprinkling," but to the fire of purgatory,
in order to secure a meetness for heaven
And why this parody-this caricature oi
the religion of God? Simply to put "the
aims and the suArages of the faithfnl' in
the pockets of your priestsl What an
outrage upon the common sense OF the
world to have men, dressed up in canoni-
Gals, teaching things as true, of which the
beast that Balaam rode might well be
ashamedl
entreat you, my dear sir, to review
this doctrine to your church. You, surely,
: must see its absurdity. Neither in the
word of God, nor in the common reason OF
, man, is there the shadow of an argument
to sustain it, Nor is there class of men
upon the face Of the earth who deserves q
purgatorv from which "the aims and 9th
er suffrages of the faithful would never
release them, as do those who preach up a
} purgatory and its fearful torments, for the
sake of filthy lucre. But, as Father o.
Leary said TO Canning, 81 am afraid many
of them will 60 farther and fare worse
} My high respect for you renders me So
licilous that you should not be of the
, number. Iwish you not to be one the
: dumb herd who hold the truth in unright-
: eousness, and believe lie that they may
be damned.
/ Transubstantiation is another of the pc.
: cuiar doctrines Of your church. BY this
i you teach, that, in the Lords Supper, the
bread and the wine are converted into the
real body and blood of Christ, by the con
? secration of the priest. The thing is ST
: absurd as to confute itself; and as there
fore, to require from me but brief state
, ment. Challoner, Chap. ", thus state
5 the doctrine: The bread and wine arr
changed by the consecration into the bod,
: and blood of Christ" "Is it then the be
: lief of the Church that Jesus Chris
S himself, true God and true man, j
$ truly, really, and substantially presen
y in the blessed sacrament? 1t is, for wher
e the body and blood of Christ are, ther
:, his soul also and his divinity needs be-
And consequently there must be Who'll
S Christ, God and man: there is no takin.