The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-08-08
INFIDsLlrY vs. taE OHURCa.


signifies want of faith or belief a with
holding of conf fence; disbelief of the in
SEPARATION of the Scriptures or the divine orr.
gin of Christianity" Evangelism is defined
as preaching or PRONUNCIATION of the Cos
pei" Evsngelists affirm; infidels deny.
What Churches build, infidels seek TO de-
stroy. II Is a war of ideas, conflict of
opinions. The struggle has been going On
since the day when the Church
formulated its first dogma and
Illuminated its first DEGREES. Those
who give their time to patient and protracted
investigation of bjects bearing directly or re-
motely upon infidelity and the Churh are at
once confronted by conditions which they find
exceedingly difficult of explanation. If they
start out with the proposition that the Gospel
proclaims peace and good WILL justice and
fraternity, equality and elevation. they are
bound by every consideration of honesty to
declare that the Church which claims to be
the heayen-deHgnated custodian of the Cos
pei, has. to an extent which defies exaggera-
ton. betrayed its trust. Reference is not
made to any particular denomination or
country but TO the Church az a whole, and to
all Christendom. Ii it be said that the
Church in Americs is the handmade of
progress and of all that is ennobling aud dig
nifying in civilization, what may be said of
the Church in .sia, Austria, Spain and
other countries which ay the banner of the
Gross and claim TO be in a special manner
governed By the precepts Of the Gospel? At
every step in the investigation Difficult.
ties and contradictions multiply and become
more and more formidable. To remove
the distractions is equivalent to displacing
mountains, and to reconcile clashiDg opiu-
ions and practices is tantsmount to harmon
izing fire and water, or light and darkness.
In one country the Church liberates, in an
other it enslaves. In Russia it is the recog-
nized aid of despotism. the advocate of au-
tocrscy and aristooracy. In the United States
il champions the cause of popular sovereign
ty, the will OF the people, in matters of Gov
eminent. Under such circumstances it is
not surprising that infidelity, with
out a search warrant, finds ample
excuse for attacking the Church.
1t confronts the Church with the
declaration that il is divided; that its prac-
tees are not only contradictory but that
they belle its professions, and in the presence
of the facts the Church is driven to the neces-
slty of explanations Il is to be expected
that infidelity will av4il itself of such condi-
tons to lombard the Church, and since the
Church claims to be governed in all things
by the Bible, inliieli'y finds in the practices
OF the Church what il conceives to be Just
reasons for Giscarding the Christians Bible,
and just here the inquiry forces itself
upon the attention of thoughtful people,
Is the Church in any degree responsible for
infdelity? From this question springs a
brood OF interrogslories, doubts and perpiex-
tiles, which earnest aud h ,nest men find to
their dismey can not be exercised. They
viii not down st tie bidding of argument or
prayer, pains or penalties, DEGREES or anath-
emss. 1t may not be agreeable for the Church
to explain the reason why inidelity is rife,
since an honest exposition would disclose the
fact that its own mistakes would be found
fruitful of disbelief Take, for instance,
the tact that the Protestant Church ceaselessIy
wars against the Roman Catholic Church
and rice rersa. Again, if investigation is
a scene of wrengling. OF division, Of antsgc-
nism is presented. Everything is discordant
and belligerent. Ao,tilities develop into
hates, mercy gives place to mslignity,
amenities are discsIdsd .or animosities, and
these sad conditions are the outgrowth of
radical differences IN the Interpretation of
the Bible. Is il 10 be thought anomalous
that under such conditions infidelity makes
its appearance in the arena, and with defiant
voice proclaims It's relentless sDtagonism?
What more natural than that a dispassionate
spectator should come 10 the conclusion that
faith is fiction, and profession the progenitor
of confusion. Manifestly. the Church has
the right to declaim against infdelity, but,
may il not be said with equal ingenuousness
that infidelity may point to the Church and
declare that from around its sacred affairs
have gone forth influences productive of doubt
and disbelief for. since the Church itself, is
made up of hostile fragments, which no
amount of faith and grace has been
able to bring into harmony. a legiti-
mate result is reached, when look
ers on declare that in the midst
of such csaseless internal warfare, the Church
is lily equipped to discover the truth or
guide the world IL is quite possible that
the Church is unjass in it's estimates of IN.
fidelity; that it magnities the injuries unbe-
lief has Inflicted and dwarfs the blessings it
has conferred upon the world. That the
Church should be harsh IN it's judgments is
all the more sbuornisl Is a mind develop
ment. since il claims for itselithe high pre-
roestive of belief and disbelief, rs oc-
casion may require the exercise