The Labor enquirer., 1886-01-02
TIE MIlI1Elas.
zelc Takes q LiberaI View
4 Their Position on
Socialism.
The Tsrror Formerly Inspired
,y the Word is Pass
ing Away.

He As! ses With ssThe Enqairer'' Ths
Tier Need be Ne Conflict Bstwsen
lhristians and Socialists.
Editor abor ENQUIRER
Soch llsm is attracting tho attention Q
the wo ld,s thinkers. preashers of tn
gospel ncInded. The terror of the word
resent hne that fslt It tie mention q .
small p * or cholera, is somehow passin,
away,s i'd the real meaning of Socialism
is comf 1g to the front the result of con
stsnt ounding kept up by Socialist,
against the prejudices which PERSISTENT,
distorte d the science. If SPECIALISTS have
felt enr ,ity toward Christians, it is no,
becaus they see any Important diff
ferenC between Socialism and CHRISTI
anity, E5ut because Christians have ig
noted heir own doctrine. and become
the VI rld's oppressors instead of its
savior
We lhould be glad to sci, this changed
We vi leone the minister, to our fold
and rsnkly concede the Importance O
their osition.as leaders OF large bodies
of peo ,le. Who can tell the result of .
great lovement against social and in.
dustri i wrongs, by the churches in the
lead 8 their ministers? While we can,
not, ii intellectual honesty, indorse dog
mas VI aieh appear to us untrue. yet they
are Of such nature that they may not
interf ire with the work cfsocial reform.
We " 40 insist upon mensal liberty can
ignorethe creeds of Others, taught them
from Infancy. Certain systems of philos-
ophy and q use for everything. That
ofAuguste Comte makes theology nee
essarY step in the worlds growth. 1t
names three stages, the theological, the
criticd and the positive or scientific.
No one can be blamed for being in any
VI tucoo 6ta&cn. II SuIl6tidu1 Afo otAH AH
the theological stage, We may not yet be
out Of The critical. The only thing that
the Christian will be asked to excuse
is, thet we regard him as still remaining
in thu first, or theological stage.
IHll quote the words of Van Buren,
Denr ow, in his review Of Comte "The
-eh:e4 1s.ss sfca. srsss
was, that it enabled man to retain the
dfaptRY of worship, which it had put on
durifg the theological stage, until it
coule be worn in its true and final use,
the porship of Humanity"
Let us be candid with our Christian
co-wprkersy we have, many of us in the
critical or metaphgsical stage, come to
regard "the drapery of worship" with
considerable contemptsyet we may be
as willing to donit again when we reach
the positive or scientific stage as the
Christian is to lay aside his theological
garments. II g..
H re let me again quote Denslow:
'tIngt gtead of hating a. rcligionist of any
class, the positivist looks upon his state
as y. srelY marking certain type of ad-
vaneement toward the scientific. AS he
wot d not quarrel with the tadpole be-
caus } it had accomplished SO few of the
STEP in the chain of ascent toward man,
30 b would not quarrel with the fetch
wor. ;hiper because he was not a posi-
tiyitt."
II Christian NAV embrace the whole
of s cialism and still find support in
pre- epts from holy wriE; if he refuses he
vioI ltes the words ofhls Master. The
tho4ghtful Christian will be a Socialist,
bee use he has before aim the fact that
his religion has failed 20 raise the world
out If misery, It's most faithful adyo-
cats are starving. and under their trials
are growing skeptics,l Christianity
murt, therefore, attempt something prac-
ticsl in self defense.
s5eialism will come. Some Christians
will oppose, and some will assist it; but
thi social growth will not stop.
.smay be wrong to find fault with
sermon showing such an earnest spirit
as 1ne lately publishedi in The ENQUIRER.
BJtwe are likely to feel regret that
&C ID reasoner regards arbitration as the
bo tom remedy. The Socialist would
alb ,lish the wage system instead of pro-
VII tlng for its emergencies or help it
th ough the difficulties created by itself.
Is gree that two wrongs do not make
ri ,ht. When the lani was first entailed
b. a few to the exclusion of future gem
esations, wrong was done. If we say
it,is wrong now to return the land to the
eople, we assert in effect that age
eaanges a wrong lntoa right. 1t will
wrong no one to make land COM
mon property, because the present
twners will then have equal access to
twith all others. Their speculative
privileges alone will be DESTROYED and
that we now regard IS all of the wrong.
The worst enemies to Christianity are
ae enemies to Socialism. Those who
INIT their work TO exposing foolish
reeds are not our friends, R. g. Ineer.
oil wrote:
aIn this country, few seem to under
3tand Communism. While here, it may
be regarded as vicious ldleness armed
with the assassin's knife and the incen.
diary's torch, in Europe 1t is different