Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-09-01
LIBERALISM.

Liberalism is the parasite of religion. II
is the great moral fungus. When it grows,
it only spreads wider its destructive blight
upon the trunk of Christian society. 1t is
not growth from within, concrete, indie
pendent self-supporting. It's very life
principle is drawn from the body which it is
striving TO destroy. 1t can not mature, for
it has no vitality of its own. Its sole energy
is parasitical. This fact may be easily seen
from brief ghlncc at the methods of growth
| of liberalism. 1t las its great leaders and its
honest supporters, no doubt, but the manner
in which it asserts itself, and attempts to
carry on its supposed reforms, shows its lack
of vitality and perEancnce. In the first
place, it has no distinctive and positive basis
There is no ultimate ground to which it can
retire, and defy the onslaughts of unfavor-
| able criticism Its only basis is a negative
one denial of the truths of religion and of
the existence of n Divine Being. That upon
which it Pounds itself, and attempts to build
of an existence greater than its own. 1t
strives 10 construct a world upon world. a
creed upon creed, falschood upon truth.
Like the ancients, these modern geogra pliers
in another department of knowledge, would
found their world upon series of previous
creatures, degrading-a as their predecessors
did the moving and underlying force to a
vast amphibian cropping his painless way
upon nothingncss. Such is the basis upon
which liberalism plants tself-religion mis-,
represented, caricatured, distorted-but still
religion.
Without distinctive and fundamental
basis, liberalism also lacks consistency and
character in its growth. 1t is more like q
Babel than a tower Of strength There can
never be anything very positive or pcrma.
nent in mere system of denial, and such is
ing against a creed or n principle which is
neither understood nor regarded by its foes
there must he more less discord. Liberalism
Is a system of chaos. 1t avails, not by rea
son. or truth, or force of its own, but by the
bewilderment of its confusion, and the nat
ural perversity OF the human heart.
A series of resolutions, which display the
parasitical and inconsistent character OF
liberalism, were adopted by recent conven
ton of Free Thinkers at Watkins Glen, N
V, and published in the telegraphic col
umus of this journal Instead of launching
out into the enumeration of some great prnci
pie or truth underlying the rcsolu-
tons which are about to be offer
ed, the convention satisfies itself with ,
preliminary series of bitter and irreverent de
nunciations of the clergy and the Bible. Ont
might think, from the nature Of the accuse
tions brought against the clergy OF to-day
, that we were living in the midst of the hor
rors of the mquistion or the religious gloon
of the Dark Ages. "The only men in tn
world" says the Free Thinker, "who cal
not rejoice in the freedom Of thought are tn
clergy, who oppose it and its advocates, he
/, cause the spirit of untrammeled research il
the field of criticism threatens to destroy tn
, claim they make In behalf of the Bible that
= was salvation from heaven plainly and nfal
libby inspired, and they are the divinely com
= missioned and only authoritative expounder
/, of its contents" Was there ever such pei
a versity of moral blindness produced simpl
by the green goggles of envious prejudice
q The Protestant clergy of to-day are the me
n who encourage true freedom of thought, VIII
. invite to candid discussion of the claims G
K the Divine Scriptures, who disclaim an
"a prestly or inspired authority in the eXpound
ing of the Word Of God, and recommend t
every man the honest, earnest and candid CT
animation and study for himself Of the truth
8 which they are only permitted to bring be
J. fore the mind in such clearer light as come
" from patient and lifelong study ,prayerful dill
a gence, and the exercise of the best and highes
faculties which have been granted to the hu