St. Landry democrat., 1885-02-14

lOE SOLl0 PIOISooIOH " 1c'lGll, ! oolO
to myself.
In the next place I found that
Jesus Christ was considered by Mr..
Chadwick only as a man-an emf
nent man, perhaps, but merely a
man. [ had heard the same thing
before in the pulpit, and was not
greatly startled. At least, I thought
as I read on, he will leave us God.
But soon discovered that in Mr..
Chadwick's theological system God
is SO elusive and unthinkable an un-
reality that it is hardly worth while
for Him to exist at all. Now, a
sermon reader deprived of the BIZ
BILE, compelled to regard Christ as
an imperfect human being, and left
substantially without God in the
world, seems to be pretty well
adrift. However, I kept the vol
ume open, saying Surely this
man believes in Immortality, and, to
enlarge the proverb while there
is life, here or hereafter, there is
hope.
But, finally, Nj. Chadwick pru-
IDENTIFY cautioned his congregation
against rashIy taking for granted
the continued existence of the spirit
after the death Of the body, and
sent them home with the cold COM
fort of a perhaps. I was not sur
prised afterward to learn from the
newspapers that Mr.. Chadwick had
invited an apostate Jew from New
York to show in his pulpit that i'm
mortality was a mockery, a delusion
and a snare.
Nevertheless, Mr.. Chadwick's
name carries the prefix REV. !, he
has a "church'' and a people he
passes the plate" and I believe
goes through a certain form of
ascription and supplication-though,
if my memory serves me, he has
said in this volume OF sermons, or
another, that he has personally got
beyond the necessity for anything in
the shape Of prayer.
Now, twenty years Of this sort Of
thing must become a great weari-
ness to the flesh, to say nothing of
the spirit. Never were hungry
sheep of the church fed with an
emptier east wind of doctrine. But
I am not at present concerned about
the ecclesiastical aspect of the case
What impresses me just now is the
remarkable perversion of the theory
and practice of agnosticism which
is here presented.
A sincere and consistent agnostic
is a highly respectable, even if not
a particularly useful, person. If
one does not or can not believe, it
is more creditable for him to say
50 frankly to himself, instead Of
pretending to believe. It makes
for honesty and truth. But when
one is convinced that he does not
know, why not let it go at that?
Why try to make of his mere mega
ton, or rather his ignorance, a
broad and positive affirmation?
Why rest upon o refusal, or an in
capacity to believe a comprehensive
statement of belief? Why distort
incredulity into a creed? Why
found a faith upon nothing? There
was q time when it would have been
no disgrace to even an intelligent
man to know nothing about the
moon. But this lunar agnostic
would have been regarded as pre-
sumptuous and ridiculous if he had
forthwith set out to build upon his
absence of knowledge of the moon
a complete system of astronomy.
Not the least exasperating form
of pretense is that of the priest of q
church who continues to perform its
sarcedotal functions and to share its
honors and privileges after he has
ceased to accept its doctrines or re-
fused to conform to its order, who
deies his superiors to discipline
him. or presumes upon their techni-
cal inability to displace him. /
have a large respect for the honest
Atheist, or the disinterested though
narrow religious fanatic, as a very
reputable person compared with the
evangelical Tyngs on the one hand
or the rakonalistic Newtons on the