The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-08-08

days " Luther. Z here is.; however, d
marked difference Il. between Protestant
and Catholics In this respect. ftlileS ths
former usually see the devil, the lattel
content themselves with visions of the
{ Lord or Virgin. Why this is soy u know
not; but, as "a good Protestant the fac
gives me ineffable pain. Some of those
terrible Jesuits are liable to suggest
\ that angels and demons, like men anl
women, usually visit those most in sym:
patty with themselves Another re:
inarkable fact which may we'll give us
pause is that, while the religious costa.
cies Of the Catholics are usually con-
ducive to peace on earth and good will te
men, those of their Protestant brethren
are almost invariably trouble breeders
It does no particular harm for a maid te
get the idea into her head that she has
seen the Virgin Mother; but John of Ley,
den proclaiming himself King of Sion
marrying seventeen wives and authorize
ing most brutal murders is quite another
matter David George asserted that. he
was the Son of God; Hermann urged the
massacre Of all magistrates; Hackett de-
.clared himself to be Christ; Johanna
Southcote issued passports to. heaven,
while scores of others INDUCED vagaries
equally fantastic Or dangerous 1t mus!
be remembered that these were not only
able followings; that many Of them de-
manded and received the worship Of
latria, which the most enthusiastic Cath
Olics have ever withheld from their
popes and saints. True, Luther did not
sanction the fierce fanaticism and eyre
gious folly of the Anabaptists;1 but he
was none the less responsible therefor.
It was the natural sequence of his re-
volt against authority, of the doctrine
which is the basal principle Of Protest
-antisnl--that each individual possesses
an inalienable right to put such inter-
probation upon the Scriptures as he may
please. =
Professionalism has from its inception,
been the unwilling wet nurse Of in11-
deity. Luther did more to propagate it
than did the alleged moral laches of the
worst OF popes, the sacred relics that
have been subjected to SO much ridicule,
the modern miracles, the doctrine OF
Papal infallibility and so-oalled "sale OF
indulgences'' The Catholic church is
based upon authority whether real or
assumed shall not here pretend to say
It insists that it is the chosen salvatory
and divinely ordained exegete Of Chris
tian dogma. We may decline to admit
this claim, but we cannot deny that it
was the sheet anchor of Europe for a
thousand years; the lone rock upon
which Vandal and Visigoth beat in vain;
the rallying point for society other
wise hopelessly wrecked. In politics,
art, science, letters, there was chaos; but
amid it the Roman Catholic Church
stood immutable as a granite mountain.
Suppose that it had paltered; had stop
ped to argue; had declared that. it be-
lieved instead of declaring that it knew;
had implored instead of commanding
Every student of history knows what
would have happened-the Christian re-
ligion would have persisted utterly and
Luther's revolt been against the. lmaum
Of Islam This authority once over
turned throughout a large portion OF
Europe, the widest excuses followed.
Ignorant and violent men became the
founders of sects, whose ridiculous doe
trines and unseemly orgies disguised
thinking men with the very name OF re-
ligion, Atheism and Professionalism de-
veloped side by side, the scholar follow
ing the gonfalon of the first, the igno-
ramus trailing blindly in the wake of the
last. A few learned men of we'll balanced
minds embraced Professionalism in it's in
fancy; but almost without exception
they drifred into the camp Of doubt OF
returned to the Catholic church.
It is impossible to find during the
first century of the Reformation one
master mind which it caught and held.
Even Melanchton, the beloved disciple
of Luther and by all odds the ablest of
the early reformers, declared that he felt
'tlike Daniel in the lions den," and was
tempted to take flight" Nor is this all.
While the Catholic church has ever as
serted it's position and proclaimed its
doctrines as those regarding whose truth
there could be no doubt, the great Prot
estant divines have seldom been willing
to accept the inevitable sequence OF the.
dogmas they were employed to preach.
Processing one thing, they have pro-
claimed another or lodged the issue alto
gether. Beecher's lecture on evolution is
a case in point, being almost as mate
REALISTIC as even Ingersoll could ask. But
1t is not alone in these decadent days
that we find doubt among the Prot
estant divines. Luther himself de-
clared that he did not know whether
he taught the truth Or not, and
freely admitted that he could not prevail
upon others to believe what he taught to
others! (The first Of the foregoing state
ments we have on the authority Of,
Luther himself, the latter on the :testi-.
mony of his eulogist, John Mathei) How
is that for, soi-distant refprmer and
founder of a new ,faith-for one who sep
arared from the Church of Rome be-
cause, as ha assumes it had conniVed at
falsehood? It is somewhat remarkable
that, while admitting his doubts, first to
his intimates, then to the public, Luther
should have declared: ct is certain that
I received my dogmas from heaven. I
will not allow you to Judge of my doc
trine, neither YOU nor the angels OF
heaven Yet, as before stated, ;indWid-4
ual liberty of Interpretation was, the
basic principe of Professionalism!
Is it any wonder, in view Of these In
consistencies-not to say ahsurdities
of the prime mover Of the Reformation,
that Professionalism should be today al
mere tumble of contradictions, which res
pels men of analytical minds and leaves
them to choose between oltcity,s de- |
ism and infidelity. Doubtless there were
atheists, in. the world before the. 4Refor-
nation, before the Inauguration Of the
Christian era. but there were few in Eu-
rope until Luther began to preach tolera-
ton while prosecuting, to demand abject
submission to dogmas which. he Himself
doubted. The Catholic church had to
deal with many schismatics before the