The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-02-15

| fTOIGStanIlSlI,
argument that Protestant nations ar,
the most enlightened and advance
portion of mankind. This answer was
vouchsafed to his Catholic brother who
cornered him into an admission thai
the judgment against Protestant sect,
was as five to enc among peoples hold.
ing other Christian beliefs. John Mil
wood directs the next query, which be-
gins this installment of the debate be-
tween the prothers.-Editor Intermoun-
tain CathoIic.l
What is it to be truly enlightened
and advanced"
Those nations are the most enIfght-
ened and advanced that are the most
enlightened and advanced in what is
of the greatest Importance and utility
to man.
And what is that?'
Religion. the one thing needful'"
True religion. or false?"
True religion. of course"
The most enlightened and advanced
nations are, then, those who are the
most enlightened and advanced in the
requirements of true religion?"
They are; and therefore I claim
Protestant nations as the most enlight-
ened and advanced
| And therefore beg the question. If
Professionalism be the true religion, you
are right; if Catholicity be the true
religion, you are wrong. Consequently
you must determine which is the true
religion before you can determine
which are the more enlightened and
advanced nations
But it cannot be denied that Pro-
testant nations are more intelligent,
more industrious, and better instructed
in the science and art of government"
What you SAY may be questioned,
but even conceding it, it amounts to
nothing. Because a man is a good
cobbler it does not follow that he is
a good sculptor. Because a nation is
enlightened in mere earthly matters,
| it does not follow that it is in religious
matters. 1t would be a SoleciSm TO
say the AthenianS were a more en-
lightened and advanced nation than
the Jews, or that a Socrates is better
authority on religion than David, Solo
mon or ISaiaS."
But L have always considered it I'M
deniable that Protestant nations are in
advance of all the others
IF to advance consists in shaking
off Christian civilization and in re-
turning to that which it superseded,
you may have been right, otherwise,
the probability is, that you have been
altogether wrong. You must prove
Professionalism to be true religion, be-
fore you can claim Protestant nations
as the more enlightened and advanced
nations; and till you can so claim
them, and till you can claim their
judgment as the Judgment of mankind
you cannot say the judgment of man
kind has condemned the Church. This
you have not yet done. Consequently,
you cannot say the Church has been
elected from her possession by the |
judgment of mankind. She is as it APP |
pears, from the fact that the over
whelming majority of those who bear
the Christian name continue as they |
have always continued, to adhere to |
her, still in possession. She has lost |
nothing, and you have gained moth |
ing by the lapse of three hundred |
years. The question stands today as |
1t did in 1917, as she plead the OHM |
possideO, as she could then, and with |
even additional force, and you must
set forth in your declaration good and |
valid reasons for eiecting her before
you can compel her to plead any 9TH
er title than that of prescription"
But you forget that the reformers
did set forth such reasons"
II cannot have forgotten what I
never knew. But whateyer reasons
they set forth, the presumption is that
they We're insufficient, for they have
been so regarded by Christendom gem
orally, since the: Church continues in
possession, and the great majority of
all who are called Christians still adj
here to her communion
But they were in reality sufficient,
and ought to have been SO regarded"
THAT is a point to be proved. What
were those reasons"
THE first in order, if not in time,
was that our Lord founded no authori-
tative church such as the Romish
claims to be-"
I'VE have seen she was in possess
sion, and the presumption was in her
favor What you state was an allie
cation which needed to be proved"
1.-The reformers proved it,
by what evidence?"
by the word of God"
Had they the word of God?"
"They had
did the Church concede that they {
lad it?"
"They had the Holy Scriptures, and :
the admitted that they were the word
If God"
"That the mere letter was the word
If God, or the sense in which the Holy
Ghost dictated them?"
1.-The sense. of course, for words are {
lothing without their sense
XIV.
Did she admit that the reformers. t
II having the letter of the Scripture, I
lad it's sense, which is the word of t
iod?" a
She did not" S
WAS, according to her, the Holy I
Scripture the word of God, if under '
stood in any sense different from G
lers?" i
No: she claimed the right to declare t
is sense" v
Did the reformers adduce the words e
# Scripture. in support of their allega- I
ion that our Lord had founded no such t
hurch as she pretended to be, in the u
ense she gave them?' p
They did not; for she explained b
hem in her own favor" n
Then she did not admit that what {
hey adduced in support of their allie l
alton was the word of God Then, as a
he burden of proof was on them, they o
we're bound to prove that it was His n
yord.' IL
"They quoted the Scriptures, and d
hey were the word of God" u
I'm the sense of the Church, not 9TH Z
rwise. The reformers pleaded the q
ord of God in support of their allie e
alton The Church replied by deny II
lg that what they set forth as the j
ord Of God was His word. Her re- p
ly was sufficient, unless they proved u
nat it was His word
But their plea was evident on it's u
ace, for they alleged the very words u
Scripture d
THAT they alleged the very words "
Scripture may be denied, for in point u
f fact there are no words of Scripture u
hich say that our Lord did not found ~
lch church as the Catholic church =.
aimed and claims and the word of -
cd to be: but let that pass for the