The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-01-18


rather than aggravate it, John Mill
wood said: ALLOW me to suggest that
you define Professionalism to be what
all who assert the sufficiency of the
Scriptures and maintain them to be
the sole and sufficient rule of faith and
practice. agree to accept as clearly and
manifestly revealed. This would make
agreement the test of clear and mani
fest revelation, and then you can say
the word is that which is clearly and
manifestly revealed, and which nobody
disputes. which never has been dis
puted, and is not likely to be disput-
ed" The reply of the Presbyterian
brother begins this installment.-(Ed-
itor Intermountain Catholic)
There is. undoubtedly. tendency
among those commonly regarded as
orthodox Protestants to say this, and
several distinguished actors in the re-
cent movement against Rome have
proposed that we should say this and
make it the basis of our alliance. 1t
has 1 own, some FEASIBILITY and one
would naturally say what Is disputed
cannot, while what is not disputed,
must be clear and manifest. But
Though | am far from being a bigot,
and would encourage the largest liber-
ty compatible with essentially reli-
gious faith, I cannot accept your sug-
gestion. 1t is the Socinian ground
and would place all sects who profess
to be Christians on the same level.
The Unitarian, who denies the Holy
Trinity and Incarnation, would be an
orthodox as he who believes them;
he ie+ FIJI
ture rewards and punishments, would
be as sound in the faith as they who
believe the righteous will enter into
life eternal, but the wicked will go
away into everlasting punishment.
Nor is this ALL l am unable to find
any distinctively Christian doctrines
which all. who would in such a case
be rallied under the Protestant banner,
really agree in accepting; for l am not
aware of single one which some pro-
feSsed Protestant has not controVert-
ed. So, were we to adopt the Sugges-
ton. there would be no revealed truth
which would not be abandoned as nom
essential and nothing above mere ma
tural religion to be held to be essen
tial.
SO the various Protestant sects,
taken altogether, have denied the
whole Gospel and left nothing but mere
natural religion undisputed.'
Not even that, in fact, for German
and American transcendentalists ques-
ton essential portions of even natural
religion.
1T is hard case, brother, and 1 do
not see that 1 can help you"
Professionals contrOversialists are we'll
hit off in Lessing's Fable of the Poodle
and Greyhound" How our race is
degenerated in this country said one
day a far travelled poodle to his friend.
the greyhound. In those distant re-
gions which men call the Indies, there
is still the genuine breed of hounds
hounds, my brother, (you will not be-
lieve it, and yet l have seen it with my
own eyes,, who do not fear to attack
the lion and grapple with him. Do
they overcome him?' asked the pru-
dent greyhound. Overcome him! Why,
as to that l cannot exactly say: but
only think, a lion attacked But
continued the greyhound, if these
boosted hounds of yours do not over
come the lion when they attack him,
they are no better than we, but a great
deal more stupid. " Only think, the
attacked! Attack her boldly,
with or without success, and you are
sure of the admira ton of all-the poo
dies.
When the infamous Danton was
asked by what means the pitiable mi
nority he headed were able to main
tain their reign of terror and paralyze
the millions opposed to him. he an
swered: by audacity, audacity au
dacity." Protestant leaders under
stand very well the advantages of
and that, if one, is only bold
and unprincipled enough to throw out
grave charges against the purest and
noblest cause which ever existed, he
will not fail of multitudes to credit
him. Groundless objections, if not
of an easy or a popular
are as much to their pur-
pose as any. They serve to attack the
ion, to put Catholics on their defense,
and that is the same as a victory. A
child may start an objection which the
ablest and most learned divine cannot
the child. A very ordinary
man may urge an objection to some ar
-icle of faith which will demand, in
him who is to receive the answer, as
we'll as in him who is to give it, for
is REPUTATION, the most rare and eX-
.ensive eruditiOn, and familiarity with
.inctions of scholastic theology and
No small part of the OBJ
ections urged against the sacred mys-
cries of the Trinity, the Incarnation.
he Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Real
Presence and Transubstantiation, are
objections which an ordinary mind may
but which it is impossible
@ answer to the general reader-espe-
tally if the general reader be a Prot
,stant Such objections are exactly to
he purpose of the Protestant contro-
and gain them the applause
,f-the poodles.
Those contTOversialists it is not to
De presumed, are ignorant that all the
objections of past and present times to
he church have been refuted and I'M
refuted; but, from the ma
ure of the case, they have, in numer-
,us instances, been refuted only to the
reader. The nature of the
objection, though itself popular, pre-
,luded a popular reply. In all such
.ases, Protestant controversialistS have
,nly to deny that any reply has been
,iven, or TO assert that the one given
S inconcluSive, and they come off tri-
lmphant. This is their common prac-
ice. Nothing is more common than to
meet in Protestant controversial works
objections which have been refuted
hundred times, reiterated without a
lint that any reply has ever been even
attempted, and urged in a tone of con-
idence as if Catholics themselves con-
eded them to be unanswerable. The
mpudence of Protestant pOlemics in
his respect is notorious and undeni-
BILE.
That this method of conducting a
controversy on matters in which no one
las any real interest in being deceived
IT in deceiving, is fair, honorable, or