Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-18
THE LATIN VULGATE.

Bishop Irelaud's Reply to the Late Lecture
of Rev. Mr.. Thomas.
To the Editor of the Globe.
beg leave to make through your col
umns few remarks upon the lecture OF
Rev. Mr.. Thomas delivered two weeks ago
from the pulpit of st. Paul's church in
reference to the Latin vulgate.
believe the remarks will not be unwel-
come to large number of your patrons.
The lecture which propose briefly to re-
view has been read by many with unusual
interest It was taken not without reason
as showing at their best both the lecturer
himself and the cause which he had in
hand, Professionalism. Mr.. Thomas is
spoken of among his fellow ministers as
being deeply versed in scriptural and his
toric lore. The lecture had been in prep
aration for nearly two years. Evidently
it was intended to be exhaustive of its sub
ject.
THE PRoTEsTANTIsM OF REV. NIB. THOMAS.
The purpose of the lecture, as of all
Protestant controversy, is to destroy tho
Catholic position. Professionalism never
offers positive defense of Its
position it is essentially mega
tive in its nature, a protest, As tho name
indicates, and nothing more. Before re-
plying to its auti-Catholic arguments, I
will point out the absolute void in religion
which opens up for Professionalism from the
standpoint adopted by Mr.. Thomas in his
lecture.
Professionalism. as far as definition of
it can be obtained from its universal prac-
tees and official announcements, is sys-
tenn of revealed religion based exclusively
upon the Bible as its supreme and sole
rule of faith. Its vital principles are that
the bible contains all Gods revealed truth
and nothing but his revealed truth, and
that it is the right and privilege of each
Individual to read and interpret il for him
self. This and nothing else is Protestant
ism. Tile sixth of tbs Anglican articles,to
quote but from then, says: "Holy scrip
ture containeth all things necessary to sal
Walton. so that whatsoever is not read there
in, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be
required of any man that it be believed as
an article OF Saith, or be thought necessa-
ry to saivation.'' At this rate if Protes-
tantism is to have any ground whatsoever
upon which to stand, if it is to possess any
value whatsoever for the teaching OF truth,
the essential requisite for it is to have be-
yond all doubtings Bible, to know e1-
actly what books and parts of books
belong to the Bible, What books and parts
of books should be excluded from 1t.
Without this knowledge, certain and deli
mite, no act Of Christian faith is possible
in Professionalism. Yet this essential knowl-
edge the admissions made by Mr.. Thomas
remove from Professionalism.
Certain books which he calls "the Apocry-
pha," must not, he says, be part of the
Old Testament These books, as l will
show further down in my remarks, receive
the same authoritative approval as books
which he includes in the New Testament.
Professionalism is in this manner devoid of
any final rule, whereby it..may test the can
onicity of scripture, except the rule be indi-
vidual opinion. But even the Bible with
out the 'apccrypha," as it has been receiv-
ed during three centuries by Protestants
finds no favor in Mr.. Thomas eyes. Dur
ing three centuries Professionalism has not
had substantially correct Bible. "Unfor-
tunately for the Council Of Trent" he says
the King James version was published
about the same time-i'it was held just at
the beginning CT an era of great discoveries
The time had not come when the church
could say OF any text with reasonable safe
ty, much less with infallibility, This edi-
ton, entire, with all its parts, is sacred and
canonical'" There is no question IN this
assertion, of accidental. minor mistakes In a
version of the Bible, which do not affect
the substance of revealed truths; there IS
question of considerable portions of books.
Thus since it's inception to the present
day, Professionalism has been hugging b :
Gods word. as its sole rule of faith, a Bible
containing serious and misleading
interpretations. Mr.. Thomas gives his
cordial approval to the omissions from the
ereceived sext," made toy tue late rcvisers.
Some of these omissions are most notable
manifestly affecting as they do, doctrine
and morals, for instance the omission OF
the text of l John, v. Z, where the doctrine
of the Trinity is SO clearly stated. He won
ders that should have talked of the BIB
lical clraos." into which Professionalism haf
been thrown by the revisers and thei1 sup
porters. Is not the s'chaos'' patent to the
least observant eye? Where is Protest
antism, aud where is the revision Of itt
sole rule OF faith to stop? Bad enough
that past Professionalism was without com
pass OF chart; at least present Protestant
ism ought to be reliable. But "Chrisi ian
scholarship is the controlling power, ani
sChristian scholarship" outside of the
Catholic church is as restless and uncertain
as the winds that sweep over the ocean
The chance discovery of manuscript on {
forgotten shelf in the Vatican library, ana
of another in a heap of rubbish il
convent OF Mount Sinai has sui
feed t. make the schoo
to which the revisers have pledged ale
glance TO recoil in haste from the tra9i
tional scriptural text, Greek and Latin
which has come down to Us from an an