, 1879-01-19
POLITICAL EFFECT OF THE DECLINE OF
FAITH

POLITICAL EFFECT OF. THE DECLINE O.
FAITH.
Dr.. J. ". DRAPER, the well-known autho
and scientist, writes in the last number Q
the Princeton Reu;ew Of "The Political Ef
feet OF the Decline OF Faith in Continents
Europe" DR.. DRAPER has decided views 0
the part the Church, and particularly tn
Catholic Church, played in a-resing the de
yclopment Of the human mind in Europ
during the Middle Ages. Those who hav'
read his "History Of the Intellectual Devel
opment of Europe" and his History o.
the Conflict Between Religion and Science
will remember that he laid heavy hand or
a number of venerable ecclesiastical institu
lions. They will remember, too, that h@
did not in all respects deal fairly by tht
Church. He showed the dark side Of it,
work, its attempt to hinder free thought
and to merge individual tastes, capacities
aud feelings into a simple expression of its
own will and power. But he did not ad,
init that the Church had done any good.
! Ho did not give it full credit for
its indirect, and perhaps undes1red, elevation
of the masses at the expense of the mobiles
and the Kings, nor for its early patronage
Of learning, nor for its preservation Of the
materials for culture and enlightenment
These were. it may be said, only incidental
benefits. For all that they were real bene-
fits, and deserved to BE- fairly stated in any
survey Of the work Of the Church. The
Church was reformed from within, not from
without. The principal reformers, WICK
LIFE, LUTHER, ERASMUS, CALVIN, and
Knox, were brought up and educated by the
Church. She put weapons in their hands
with which they afterward cut her asunder.
Who can say that LUTHER would have made
he0dway against the power Of the Church if
he had not been a learned man himself,
able to meet and refute the arguments of
the hierarchy, and to put the Bible into the
vernacular of his own country?
But, if Dr.. DRAPER did not do Justice to
the Church in his previous writings, he has
made some amends in the present article.
Not Intentionally perhaps. He is still bitter
in speaking of the Church Of the Middle
Ages: He declares that GREGORY the Great
was 81 ferocious and superstitious monk;
that Italy was in his time, aud for thou
sand years afterward, hotbea Of ignorance
and vice; and TINT Christendom was
theatre of stupendous miracles, ecclesias-
tical impostures, spiritual appearance" But
one thing, he says, the Church did then
which most of the rulers Of Europe would be
glad to have it do now if it could: it held in
check the passions of men. It substituted
authority, not only for reason, but also for
unreason as exhibited in some of its worst
forms. The instinct of self-preservation
made it dread anything like revolt
against the powers that be, unless
that revolt were directed by still higher
power, namely, the Pope. Hence the
Church in the Middle Ages prevented the
development Of that spirit Of unrest amonp
the lower classes which in Inter times has
taken the shape Of Rihilism, Communism, or !
Socialism, Ms the case may be.
The political effect Of the decline OF fifth
has been, first, to limit the authority of the
Church, and, secondly, to give an impulse to
the formation OF Communistic societies.
The Church may we'll boast that, if she has
gone down in the struggle with free thought.
she has not gone down Alone She has car
led with her some Of the proudest Govern
nents that ever ruled in Europa-notably
hose of France and Spain. Only, unfortu-
lately for her welfare, the Governments that
awe suffered most have been those that she
Sould rather have spared, and their SUFFERING
las been largely due to their devotion to her
DR.. DRAPER does not commit the great mis-
AXE of arguing that the motive force which
los produced Nihi1ism, Communism, and
socialism has been the decline in the au-
horlty OF the Church. He has endeayored
ather to show how, with the diminution of
esistance, the effect has increased. "In
he Middle Ages religion acted as resistance
human passions. Its power has been
and those passions are less re-
trained" The medieval man was tausht
} believe that there would be COM
ensatlon for the aflictions that befell
i'm, and that his wrongs would be
GIFTED, If not in this world, in
la world to come. The modern man has =.
armed to distrust the teachers that hold ont
+~9s tAo'AA+oSos Al4 " Q16DGllGFe In the ,
romises themselves. How closely Com
unism is allied with Atheism we have hera-
fore endeayored to show. The closeness
the alliance is due to double set of
uses, only one Of which has been pointed Z
1t by. DR.. DRAPER. It is true, as he has
id, that the poor and suffering portion of .
ankind, when they come to believe that 0
ey are not likely to find another world bet a
T than this, often think it would be good E
60 to try aud improve this. Their ideas Of r
'provemens are crude. They look at things II
'n personal and selfish point Of view. IL
d If they had their why would do terrible =.
ong to others in endeavoring to better 7,
emselves. If there is no Hereafter. they 1.
7, let us make the most Of tho ii
esent:a. Let us eat and drink, for to-mor- p
" we die. Then comes the second train p
reflection: The things that be are not u
lained of COP; anybody who can has the - ;.
ht to change them it is foolish and stupid | -,
be worse of than your neighbor if, By u