The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-03-23
Is CHRISTIANITY A FAII.UREe

THE "cATHoIIsr" cHuacH-s SENTIMENT AND
INTELLECT.
To THE EDITOR THE HERALD
The discussion which the HERALD has opened-Is
Christianity Failure?-is of the important
ever inaugurated. The fact that such discussion
can be had is startling sign OF the ripcness
of the times. We verging a revolution
i'll the interests OF genuine progress; and it may
bc that the HERALD is destined the worlds
pioneer through the crisis 10 the social millennium.
Nearly everything else in the world has undergone
it's al!-sided criticism 1t is meet and right that
Christianity should take its turn; not in the
spirit OF senseless gorihcatioh Oh the one hand.
nor of equally senseless and Understanding OPP
position tae other hand; but i'll that of u just
understanding OF all the aspects of the 1t is
religion but science which is teaching the world
this habit of mind; not that of the partisan
devotee but of the impartial investigator and judge
Religion is other than the embodied expression
of the sentiment of mankind, or. what IL the
thing of the aectional side of common human
ty elevated to its highest and outspread to its ut
most. 1t is. however. sentiment or feeling. still.
and not the sober judgment Judicial mind. This
latter belongs to philosophy and science. which
represent thought. us religion represents feeling.
Christianity other than the topnost Dough of
the great reiigious tree whic mas always Deen grow
ing up in the world 1t il not different III kind
from any OF the other great religions OF the
past, but different more advanced stage
OF growth, accordant with the increasing develop
ment manknd the blossom III it De the final
blossoming) OF this divine tree of the human
ments. The question cnarges, therefore. into
broader one. religion failure? And feeling.
and SO religion. represents the woman side of our
nature it may DC again changed into this fo.n, Is
woman failure? And the answer is, yes clearly so,
apart from her natural relation to Religion,
and SO il failure apart from her natural
and necessary tralsmutaiOn under the growing lnfu-
ence OF reason. Christianity when seeming to die.
when actually dying out or much OF the manifesto
81 han old hapQ 10 INIT urtnrt
live in the higher and better life Ana this will be
SO. even though the very name OF Christianity may
die out OF the earth and the religion of humanity
some other name supersedes it, When woman
marries she surrenders her old name. but she does
not to be herself. Nevertheless, she under
goes marked modification or character, while i'm
pressing equal modification i'll the inverse
upon the character of her husband. So Christianity
is just now bcssomng into msturity; is undergoing
| every day more and more OF the male influence
the rational faculty. and is preparing to become the
loving bride OF the pure intellect II the NEW YORK
| HERALD il to be the priest to join them be it.
Evidently the ccurlship is progressing favoraby;
| is indeed, proceeding most rapidly.
Within the precincts OF Christianism the Catholic
Church represents feeling; that is say, religion
ITSELF in essential nature i'll the major degree;
! and the Protestant Church represents the greater
growth Ut the rational clement. with correspond
ing loss of the merely emotional In the narrower
way, and in subdivision. Protestant is Catholic
what science Is to religion ut large third OF
Chrstiansm is called for and is close at hand. which
Church Is obviously not catholicthat is to say not
| universal-else there would be room for out
| church Of the future will include all. by cath
| olicty broad that to protest Justify
will be merely the exercise OF part OF that univer-
sui religion y cAtholicity broad that it will
brace reconcile all disseners. inhdes. heathens
and atheists. Nothing else than such church
| be truly catholic or universal. All the children
must be cared for or there is true household. A
mother that has to turn some Of her youngings out
OF doors to starve and die has not quite learned
| DO the true mother OF all F..
There already some; there is daily increasing
number. There will soon be an immense army OF
| the members Of the truly universal church-the
| church OF the future-whch will reconcile all the
sects, which will harmonic differences. which will
| embrace everybody. 1t will not be the Catholic
| Church of the past at least not without inodhca
tion into which the hope Is futile that Protestants
and infdels. body, will ever ieturn; it will not
DO the Protestant Church. to which it Is equally fu-
tile to hope that the Catholics of the world, as u
body will be converted. 1t will be the unver-
sal church the future, which, while 1t already be-
gins spontaneously to exist in the world IL hitherto
without name. 1t IL, indeed, met in its
nascen. state. and seemingly baked by an
genealogical difficulty. We in the habit
OF deriving our denominational appellations from
the Greek or the Latin. The Roman Catholics, or
Catholics they prefer to be called have appropr
| sted the Greek word, which means universal-i. c.
! catholc-and small sect OF Professionals. applying
universally to single aspect OF religious belief
have called themselves Universasts Both the Greek
! and the Latin terms therefore preemptcd and
absolute Catholic or Universast Church or the fu
ture--the Cnuich of the coming reconciliation
Observation-Disclosures, though not longer or more
awkward than Congregationalists or Episcopalians
is still objectionable. and comes short of the true
idea which il that or being more catholic than the
catholics" How would it do to coin forma-
tive from the root and to call these universal
regionists of the future Cathoists? Another alter
INTEGRATOR.