The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-12-14
Christianity's Present Evolution.

There will be many a responsive
amen" to that sentence in Archbishop
Ryan's address, last Wednesday even
ing in Philadelphia, in which he eX-
claimed: 1T is pity that the Chris
tian denominations do not think more
about the points they have in common
and less about those on which they
differ" Possibly If there We're, through
out the country, more frequent examples
of the tolerance which, upon the occa-
sion of which we write, brought this
Catholic archbishop upon the same pro-
gramme with Bishops Foss and Tanner,
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
many eminent representatives of other
Protestant denominations, just as that
same tolerance once in this city
brought him-an unprecedented guest
into brilliant company of at least his
toiically Puritanic New Englanders,
Christian unity of purpose, if not Chris
tian Unity in name, would be nightly
furthered in this land.
L lN 'NNocAOii III iuS1oeipii was " iNN'Ni
for THE benefit of the Antietam monu-
ment fund of the Philadelphia brigade,
1t is not our purpose to follow the elo-
quent archbishop in his mastery ad-
dress. The text of 1t, in the Philadel-
phia papers next day, occupied three
columns, rich in learning, wit and pol
ish. Speaking nominally of "Agnosti
cism," and its destructive influences
upon society, the lecturer directed much
of his argument to that more subtle
type of what practically is even more
hurtful to real Christianity than is ag-
nosticism-that sublimated sectarian
egotism which, in the Christian
churches, assumes that one sects
formula alone is right while all the
other formulae, albeit sufficient for the
faith of millions of trusting souls dur
ing all the centuries of differing rituals
and creeds, are utterly deceptive and
wrong This is indeed a good time for
this thought to be brought out good
time for all liberal-minded men, wheth-
er Catholic archbishops or only Protest
ant laymen, to speak plain words of
censure for our present-day bigotry,
whatever its name, or form or phase.
No comment upon this question would
be just that did not acknowledge the
great progress which is everywhere
making toward a broader and a higher
Christian fellowship. AS never before.
creeds, like tools, are merely means
toward grand results; and not things
vital or venerable in themselves. The
general acceptance of this truth is the
one fact mare conspicuous than all else
in the theology of this period. 1t is the
fact which, day by day, is robbing the
intidel of his taunts and the agnOstic Of
his courage So long as Christians
wrangled boy-llke among themselves, it
required no great fund of philosophy
for the unbeliever to profess indiffer-
ence to Christian opinion. Not so, when
scots shall exist but as conveniences
while the whole body of Christianity
shall, in its essential principles and pro-
| fessions, be united and harmonious.
Then it will take much self-assurance
in the in1del to say: "All Christians are
mistaken; /, alone, am wise"
The new era in our theology which Is
bringing Protestants and Catholics into
nearer agreement does not mean death
to faith nor paralysis of conscience, 1t
means, rather, sanity, knowledge and
charity, of which the greatest, rarest
and best is Christian charity.