, 1874-10-25

| no striker Or brawter. and would look upon the
| strikc,s and brawlers Of the household Of faith
With apprehension for that household, IT he were
capable OF the adequatementa e1ertion. His ina
bity to reallze the peril comes OF his incap1cty
to comprehend the cause Of it.
In fact, the average Christian may be said to
BE- in a state OF chronic torpor. And this tor
pidi:y acts both bencicially md perrciously
upon the Church. His apathy toward both the
dogmas and the opposition to dogmas has the
effect, curiously enough. of aiding both. He
regards schiams, for tbs most part, Is mere
criticisms, turning upon phraseology in liturgy.
or confession, which is just as susceptible OF
the right as the wrong Interpretation. And,
generally, there are az many Of such ills to fly to
in going out as there are to endure by staying in
the sect. Besides, secession puts you in more
trying attitude than acquiescence. since parade
OF superior light draws criticism and increases
responsibility. The public il e1acting when the
individual is pretentious. Then, to secede is
to become positive, to remain is 70 be passive,
and psaBivty is Indispensable to the average
Christian. This is how it comes that ho is
the strongest. although unconscious, ally Of Ill
the do9matlsts and controvereialists, and per-
socutors and prosecutors. These thrive less on
the positive attitude OF their adherents than on
the torpidity Of all the rest, who comprise the
great majority.
II the average Christian is accused Of sub
scribiug to pyramid Of dogmas which no intel
lect can scale, lie will pooh-pooh your pyramid
With the remark that you and he had better
leave those things to be understood by the
"chair" endowed for that purpose. To the
question whether man should remain in a sect
or even swallow. lie replies, either that be was
never asked to assent to it, OF that his assent
WAS given when he was too young to know what
be WAS about. and nob7dy expected him to know
the sermon does not even go into one e1r and
out tho other; it does not 60 into the ear at all.
II ho u Catholic ho does not lose nights
sleep or mess because the Jesuits carried the
dogma Of papal ipfalhbility. He reads Of tho
event In his newspaper over his rolls and coffee
with all The indifference with which he reads in
the Bame paper OF the dispute over who was the
author OF Shakspeares plays. He cares no
more about the PRONUNCIATION OF doemas At
Rome than be does about the remuneration Of
them At Munich. Antonelli has no more to do
With his peace OF mind than Doinger, and the
ultramontane opinions Of one arc ~ immaterial
10 him a. the Old Catholic notions Of the other.
II ho il Protestant hs is equally unaffected BY
The latitudinariana the Lutudinarans, and the
p1atitudinariAns.
Thus We zee what : powerful conservative
combination The average Christians make in the
great denominations. They restrain rash
schianatics, and encourage By their apathy
tbs mischievous hrresy-hunters. II the
average Christians should como out Of
their dosmitories and take n active
interest in the affairs Of the Church, prosecu-
tors as we'll as prosecutors would come to m end
Tho history Of tho Church would be very differ
emit from what it II but for the tozpor OF the
average Christian. Ha had no hand In the
Of st. Bartholomew, bus neither did he
lift band to prevent it. he hss probably had
very little to do with the persecution Of Protest
ants by Catholics, or Catholics by Protestants.
Of Puritans BY Episcopsliana or OF Quakers by
Pnrtans. but, BY ralaing no voice against it, he
shares in the responsibility for it. And to this
day he continues to look With mixture Of stolidty
Ind dumb wonder upon all the Marys and Eliza- |
beths. ths Jameses and Georges the Cromnells |
4nd Cal7ins, and cares very little whather tho |
Church Of England refuses buria to unbaptized |
oabes, or tho Presbyterian Church opans the |
ates Of Heaven only to elect infants.
Admiral Polo's denial Of the New York Free