The Portland daily press., 1869-04-26
Religious Intelligence.

The discourse preached in the Boston Mu-
sic Hall week or two ago by Rev. Mr.. Heck
er as the champion of Catholicism, still con-
tinues to call out replies, not. only from the
pulpits, but in the principal newspapers. The
lecture of Father Hecker was a repetition of
the one he has pronounced many times in diff
ferent parts of the country, and in which he
seeks to establish about the same PROPOSE lions
as Mr.. Ever in his sermons on the failure of
Professionalism. Father Hecker, however,
takes little higher range and tries to show
that the tendencies OF all religious thinking
make directly for Rome or directly for Inf
deity. TheaRev. James Freeman Clarke in his
reply to the Catholic Father, cuts the ground
from under this position as follows:
] grant that the tendency that takes men
from Romansm to Professionalism is the same
tendency that afterwards takes them on to ra-
tonalism and atheism. 1t is the tendency to
throw off human authority ami to think for
ones self. Out of that tendency came Pro-
testantism; out of that tendency, carried to
extreme, comes atheism. But who says that
logic requires us to carry a principle 80 ex-
tremes? How does it appear that it is reason
able to rush from one extreme to the opposite?
Father Hecker thinks he shows that there is
tendency in Professionalism toward rational
ism and atheism, and concludes from that,
rational tendency. But we do not reason so,
in other things. We usually suppose that the
reasonable view is between two extremes
Then why should we say that if We believe in
God and Christ, we must also logically believe
IN the Roman Church and all its assumptions?
Is there no medium between religion and su-
perstitiOn; between mental freedom and scep-
tcism? When, in all other things, we consd-
| er 1t irrational to 60 from one extreme to an
other, why consider it rational in religion?-
Protestantism, instead of helping the tenden-
| cy OF free thought toward atheism, hinders it,;
1t keeps men from atheism, instead of sending
| them forward into it. In Roman Catholic
countries, as soon as a man begins to doubt
the infallibiity of the church he goes right in
| to atheism. In Protestant countries when a
Roman Catholic doubts, he becomes Protes-
tant, Unitarian, or at least deist. The
greatest outbreak of atheism in modern times
was in France shortly before the French Rev
olution. Now the Protestants had been extir-
pated by Louis XIV; the Huguenots were
driven out OF France and it was left purely
Catholic. In two generations nearly the whole
intellect of the country had gone over into
atheism. DR.. Priestly says almost the only
men OF eminence not atheists were Voltaire
and Rousseau. Rousseau was brought up in
Geneva; Voltaire was great student Of Eng
lish Protestant writers, like Locke, Newton
&c. As soon as free thought broke out of the
Catholic Church it went directly into atheism.
There was no stopping place. Blanco White
testifies the same about Spain Professionalism
| The same thing was true in Italy. Protestant
ism is the safety-valve for free thought The
Roman Church fastens it down and the result
| is an explosion.
The Committee appointed at the session
| of the General Convention in Providence,
September, 1868, "to determine ths time
objects and methods of observing the Centen-
| ary of the Universalst Denomination in the
United States of America" have presented
their report. They designate the first Sunday
in June, 1870 as the time for holding the festi-
| val. They recommend that as a special Me-
| mortal Offering, the sum of two hundred thou
| sand dollars be raised one half to be appropri-
ated for the erection of Memorial Church
the National Capital; and the remaining $780,
600 be known as the Murray Centenary Fand,
and the income used in the aid of theological
students, and in forwarding the general work
| of the denomination.
The first annual session of the New Eng
land Conference of the African NJ. E. Church
will be held in the Mountfort St. church in
this city, commencing June Sd. Bishop
Campbell of Philadelphia will preside.
There is to be Protestant demonstration
| at Berlin in the coming fall as a counterpoise
to the Romish council called by the pope to
meet at Rome in November. A meeting is
to be held soon at Worms Ia very appro-
pirate place) for the purpose of making ar
| rangements for the convocation.
The Sultan has abolished throughout the
Turkish Empire the prohibition, hitherto rigid
| ly enforced, against the admission of Chris
| tians to the mosques 1t is only stipulated
that those not Musselmansl who visit the
mosques shall behave properly while in the
buildings.
The Right Reverend james Duggan, Bish-
op of the Diocese of Chicago has become par
TALLY insane. Though on ordinary matters he
is rational, yet on ecclesiastical matters he is
perfectly mad. A number of the best physi-
clans are attending him, but fear that heycan-
not recover.
-On the morning of Easter Sunday fifty
Spaniards received the Communion according
to the rites of the Protestant religion; and
this is the first time that such ceremony has
been witnessed in Madrid since the cruel days
of Phillip ii.
The New York Herald, sets the number of
conversions by recent revivals in this country
at nearly 5000. OF these 4179 are among the
Methodists, 1850 among the Baptists, 800
among the Congregationalists, 525 among the
United Brethren and 800 among the Presbyte
| rians.