The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1876-11-30

Ibid Lula Il
these expressions would allow II never
ceases TO exalt the cot science, but il always
does il that it may exalt the chu.ch still
more, by announcing It's greater superiority
to even that grand power. Freedom il. re-
Lion, said one OF the great zen Of the
church, is freedom to profess the true re-
ligioD, which is Catholic; and freedom Of
conscience is freedom to exercise such a
conscience as the church approves. But
in spite of its practice, the fundamental
teaching of tae church makes conscience
supreme. Thomas Carlyle, speaking Of the
church snd individual duty, eaid, "Obedi-
ence THAT is to the church is good and in
dispenable, but If it be obedience to what
is wrong and false: good heavens. There
is no name for such depth of human cow
ardice and calamity, spurned everlastingly
by the Gods" John Weiss, asking the ques-
ton, "How can q man distinguish the
divine from the common and unclean ?"
says: Every man il provided With his own
test The peri.hable senses can detect the
refuse among the true ore, cannot the i'm
mortal conscience be as Trustworthy as
they" james Martineau, in his criticism
OF Whewell's systematic morality, sums all
up in this simple statement Of the consci-
ence. every action il right which in the
presence of a lower principle, follows
higher. Every action is wrong which in
the presence of higher principle follows =
lower" And Martineau is one of the best
philosophical writers Of our day. Among
the ancient philosophers, Aristotle, Plato,
the Stoics, and others, there was no fine
detailed statement Of what constituted
morality, but the most prominent teaching
always was. obey your own soul. Fichte,
the German philosopher, said: II ought
to act only when conscious that some thing
is duty, and ought to discharge that duty
for its own sake. The formal condition
Of the morality Of our actions il, act
always according to the best convic-
tions of thy duty, or act always according
to thy conscience" Hegel, who has given
methods of the best philosophical thought
of to-day, said plainly, ''the moral stand
point is the standpoint of the conscience.
1t is the right Of free decision In con-
sidering morality. the question is at once
spring Of the will" All these men are
buIIOuhOCu ou CvCAy oAuC Wy
the great men of the past who in all the
divisions of the Protestant Church, have
preached the liberty of the conscience and
the duty of obeying conscience, whenever
their great enemy, the Roman Catholic
Church has asserted its authority over the
human soul. It il in obedience to con.
science that men have shaken of the chains
of slavery physical and mental, and lifted,
their eyes to the light without an obstacle
between. 1t is in obedience to conscience
that man has left behind him errors older
than the hills, and climbed up to new
truths which hold for them the
inspiration of progress. it was
an outward authority, that men are able to-
day to preach what they call the gospel, in
a free land and for = Presbyterian sect.
Without that obedience to COINCIDENCE there
would never have been . Presbyterian sect.
1t is the fidelity to conscience by the foun-
ders that has has made the glory of every
sect of the Protestant church to-day. How
came the great supremacy OF Christianity
itself but through the simple faithfulness OF
the early Christians, clinging to their con-
science against the world? Why, every
phase of freedom that man posseeees now, in
religious or civil life, every beauty that
adorns the untrammelled mind, every glory
that overspreads the lands of liberty, every
advance in science. art, industry and
thought, is the fruit Of . fidelity to con-
science, an obedience to conviction, . per-
Torrance of the SOULS duty against the
whole power of external authority. And
the most hideous pages of the worlds his
tory, the most shameful and repulsive
deeds of men, the most hateful inhumani-
ties and crimes, were the reeult of obedi-
ence to external authority in opposition to
conscience. In taking the Pope, or councils,
for the infallible guide and ignoring the con-
science, the world was forced to look upon
the massacre of st. Bartholomew, and the
eighty years war against the free Dutch
men Of the Netherlands. 1t was obliged
10 see the most industrius and scientific
people of the globe exterminated with
sword and fire, and lands where peace and
plenty dwelt become the home Of want and
war, anarchy and hate. 1t was forced to
sit still while the brain of every investiga-
tor was chained, and the mouth of every
new prophet of God closed. In obedience
to external authority, men made the world
a wilderness, and called il q peace. 1t Was
Just the same with the Bible as the infalli
BILE guide. 1t has been a war of sect with
sect, and of all sec;s against those of no
sect. Any infallible guide, will muster its
armies and gather Its accoutrements for
war. That which is absolutely true, will
brook no opposition. 1t will concede to no
diversity. 1t must crush all that is
not on its side, for all that is
against it is fatal error, that
is the logic of an infallible au-
whether it be in man, book, or
a church. Its result is persecution, slavery,
decay, and finally barbarism.
To sum up then: by the standard
duty is immoral, and the teaching of it i'm
moral teaching, come of the best MOBILES, and
ablest philosophers, thinkers, and writers OF
the world. many of the martyrs and heroes
of the past, all the scientific and investiga-
tind minds of all time, have been and are
Nay, the very progress of the
world, from barbaric heathenism, and even
the existence of every christian sect, which |
was the result of obedince to conviction, and
opposed to authority, Is immoral.
By that standard, all the crimes which |
have been committed in support of external
all the woes which mankind has
suffered in subsection to some infallible |
guide, all are sacred, divine, moral, holy.
In contrast to this, let me quote
.hese words from vigorous
writer in the contemporary review recently.
The man who acts in obedience to some exter
nal authority, is, in our eyes, not yet moral.
His morality rest on an immoral founda-
ion. Morality finds its great authority
md sanction in the Gospel written long be-
ore all others-the Gospel Of the con-
cience.'
All philosophy, reassn and common sense
leclare that morality lies in ones own
oul, and not in a theory. nor in any
guide.