The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-01-18
A CURIOUS CONVERSION.
Mohammedan Shows a Protestant
His Errors.

truth in every particular.J
Some time ago ] had the great pleas
ure of reading in your valuable paper
an account of a curious conversation,
which reminds me that my own was
probably as curious, since, through
Gods infinite mercy, it was occasioned
by a Mohammedan as follows:
We sat on the foFecastle of an ocean
liner and / may admit here that with
out any better reason that my own
conceit I regarded the Mohammedan
as know-nothing, whilst / posed as
the enlightened Christian, etc We
discussed religious schisms and isms,
when 1 casually remarked that in the
light of history Mohammed was not
verified as that for which his followers
so earnestly accepted him." The Mo-
hammedan inquired:
Are you Christian?"
YES"
Are you a Catholic?".
NO
But your forefathers were"
1 presume they were, at least before
the Reformation"
'Ah, The Reformation" he ex-
claimed. 1t was then that a man
named Luther, holding in his hand your
holy Bible, in which was written. AS
My Father sent Me. so / send YOU; he
that heareth you, heareth Me: and |
am with you always even to the end;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against My Church; He who heareth
not the Church, let him be as the
heathen and the publican. this man
Ia Il
saying that the original was fallen
into gross error, and called on man |
KIND to hear and follow him. which |
millions of you did. thereby branding |
the Church, her Founder and your holy |
Blble as failures and frauds. Now. |
those who crucified the DroDhet of |
Nazareth had power over His BODY |
only. Was there any way under heav- |
en- in which Luther could more effect
ualiy scQrn, deny and cruelty his Mes
sian IN spirit than to assert his ability
70 be or found a church where the
messiah had failed? Is not the soldier
guilty of mutinous conduct expelled
from the ranks and degraded?- R,,t
your christian soldier Luther said. I
am the minister of war. the generals |
The colonels. the captains. I am tbe
army. Kick over the hundred or two !
hlllons who have gone astray and fol-
low me. And you answered. Halle
IuJah. Amen Can you. sir, point to
@I9 lHiHg IN Mohammedanism SO su-
premely ridiculous as tbis2 Vba+
would be thought of or done to fbo
Il !huINldual day laborer who. Daradino
IN 'front.' Of the parliament or naIace
Snould loudly repudiate all the existiner
-o1"s ana enactments of his govern |
IHeht and king, crying: I am vou,.
.1lns ana your government: throw |
nose pretenders out and follow me.o
'9nonid we think him possessedo I
men came royal Henry VIII who !
saiu 10 a 1aWning courtier: I am in =
sau .a ilN' me Church will not grant even |
.Ie, royal Henry. divorcer True !
. ,ouI majesty. But my courtier. OBJ
serve What Luther has done ovor {
mere. 1 observe, your majesty WIN +
not start up a church of our own -, i
w ny not, indeed, your majestv?' r 5
lll ordaln you Bishop. an Archbisb- t
~ ana you grant me a divorce. {
amen, your majesty 1t was done, I
ahu a.Ihu again Wavering battalion of the
ross and the Crucified threw dnU-,, f
helr arms and followed-what? Then d
anne Wesley, Knox, Calvin. Joe Smith {
orlgham Young, Booth and a thousand s
'Ihers, all Nieing with each other to b
idli thelr lies ike banners to the cross: n
y y IlDel your prophet, his Church and v
estament. These men Haunted before X
our eyes an open book which itsplf t
Utterly condemned every pretension to v
nact laws or to dignity their personal a
plnlons with the name of Church. Yet g
heH obtained goodly following. A
our history shows clearly that we 0
,eIleNe that this is the Church which 2
he Prophet Of Nazareth founded and
ndowed with authority to teach and
onunue to the end. You acknowledge
nat his mission on earth was to estab- P
sh a Church and offer himself as
acritlce for all mankind. That Church
ans now, as ever, to be heard and :.
peyed by all Christendom. Take The \
edm from your own eye, as her book a
els you then you may see how TO take cC
ne mote from mine. We may pity. IN
ut we have no room to scorn the nj
atholc, since his Church believes. pro- W
7SSeS ana practices the doctrines as set ol
'rth IN the Christian testament Our OF
nilinching Yet Withal gallant foe. she al
as ever remained to her first love and n,
aith true. fact to which we. number "
lg one-third of the earth's population. OF
ear true and sorrowful witness: as. d,
ad she once relinquished her first pro-
assions. we could easily have defeated oi
er with the pen where the scimitar ST
lpremacy was at least sincere; we II
led with all our might to obliterate o'
er on many Il CORY plain. Centuries g;
elore the atheistical salary grasping of
ects Of yesterday had found a name of
G were unequal TO the task. As the ff
Get in truth remarks ST
And still the crescent paler waved ra
Before the hallow'd sign. ia
'hich flew in triumph Ger thy fields le
oh. sacred Palestine. III
And wonderful but true. we found t'
lat i'm victory she cHTessed the hand te
hiCh had struck at her life Wonder ln
u, although we are as well aware that IN
sr book says love thy enemies as we ca
~ that she existed ere the book was NJ
ritten. And today she commands even a.
lr profound respect while you who - -.
'orn and deride the Prophet of Naza- =, -
I'll and the Prophet Of Mecca, alike 20 &c
ith him who sent them-the deity az
hom you worship Gf any) must be ~ ~
ross conception of your own vain
nagining. which aff1icts you first with -
le scourge of the higher criticisln;' ~
'condly, With the curse Of agnosti- ~
SIN, and. finally. with the inherited -;
lrse of infidelity. You, sir. may travel of
IT. yet viii you fail to find one Mo of
preaching and teaching his ~.
Nn condemnation and glorying in it" Pi
Needless to say this unexpected lee ca,
Ire started train of thought which 90
about six months resulted i'm nv be- no.
y enrolled a member of the one t1TIe wi
nurch, and / am no longer one of the sal