The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-08-22

| from which there can be no appeal u Court
To illustrate this we may sunnos.
point. A Catholic and Protestant arano vase IN
meaning of the words spoken by Jesus st Il 70 the
supper, when he took bread. blessed f. ,1e last
'This is my body" The Catholic cl,,,, 9'V said
the bread changed into the bod. and i ARE that
Christ; the Protestant enters str,-... '''1 Of
this teaching. The former grounds Ii 'loest 10
| the teaching of the church AUTHORIZE .'Ua on
| the latter is guided by his own prItat, .eacl;
! judgment If there Is no court endowed ..lon or
thority to settle the question in dspur. ", VA ar
lie at worst in following the teaching af I (atho
which decided the question two thau,.rJ 'unrch
is better off than the Protestant wh. aris VI. ago
depreciation of the former. for I- .,-, ,ne IN
backed by the authority of the rhn... .P9ioR
equals the private opinion of the pra-a--sr IMAM
returning to Rev l.. Mason Clark 3D. hi. Ii gan
at the First Presbyterian church, 'o"s
Where does religious authority re-.r ...,.
~ be round! Nothing can escape the ...as..oN can
men. and religion should not espara IT, 2nlng Of
makes lofty claims should be under -He I'd 'th that
inquiry. Such a spirit Of nquir.- -. 5 Isht Of
longing for purity. ''''atire O.
The learned divine admits the na....,....,
glouS authority, because the human mind Sel'
tuted as 1t IS, requires authority I'm .ira y','tl
III religious matters. This fact. r.Ii. "el as
the necessity OF the principle of aut e.r 'lle
Versal III time, and Is part of fh. I..t, la.-
nations, ancient and modern. The arf.;-+ VI gl
mes God, admits 1t, but places the rrr;I Nv oe'
thorlty III nature instead of God VI au'
Ancient Greece and Rome when. f,.-..-,
the degradation OF paganism. were .7r;loJ L rs
principle of authority Their pofir,reI rl ~ iae
also their religious guides. Their claim. ~ were
and govern III religious matters as we'll as ec'
1alrs, were acknowledged by their subject. IN '
same is true of those who protested sa.,-.. Inc
authority of the Catholic church Tho, - 'P
dispense with the principle of AUTHORITY, sr loI
they deny to the church they claim for tho .. .aa
their own particular sect, or for the i,I::j
mind. In all their fierce battles against tba ua'
thor1ty claimed and exercised bv -Le CaL G r
church, the plth Of the controversy will be forni4
the question propounded by the Rev Nm u
clarke: w here does religious authority bogi1
and how can it be found {" These two clos .isD
1t answered III a common sense reasonable na-
would certainly settle all religious dispute. Bay
Clarke, before answering his own questions NV.
high tribute to the consistency and lnrbaner.
faith produced by the authority of the none. SWe
must not forget" he said ''that througs of noorra
torn by the turmoil of the Protestant church b,v,
turned to the unchanging church of Rome. IF M.
venerable church appeals to thoughtful men and ~
erclses so mighty an effect on the popular mirj
shall we refuse to believe that God speaks to he
great bishop of that church,
30 much, Ell PEASANT, but now comes his answer
answer his first question, where does religious au
thorlty begin" His other answer Is:
The only authority for religious utterance comes
from experience alone. Unless sustain personal
contact with God, cannot understand nor convey
mis- message. The proofs of Gods presence in men is
in the purity of their living. What fearful thing
it would be if only the priest would possess the au,
thority 1t is beautiful when the little child NAV nm.
derstand God well pope or clergy: when the
poor and oppressed may enter Gods presence and
near HIS voice as well as any priest or cardinal
The finding of such authority will make us iude.
pendent of criticism and strangers to fear-iberty
will come to the heart"
There can be question as to where religious
authority begins. St. Paul says there Is no power
unless from God" Subsection to any power that
does not derive its authority from God is slavery
Religious, as we'll state authority, must have
Its credentials from God. who alone can demand
unconditional subsection. The authority Of God Is
absolute and uncircumscribed. Before God in His
commands and exactions there can be no liberty.
Before man there be no subsection The au
thority exercised by the supreme ruler. be he pres
dent, emperor or king, must come from God The
same is true of the parents authority over the
child also divine authority in religion. The right
to command exercised by civil rulers, pastors Of
souls or parents, Is because as Wears of God they
are authorized by Him to rule
Before the advent of the Redeemer. divine au.
thority was lodged in the Sanhedrim. supreme
council and highest ecclesiastical and Judicial TIL
Dundl OIL the jewish nation. During Ine reign VI
the synagogue, ''the only authority for religious Ut
terances did not come from experience alone
Christ, who was the uniting link between the old
and the new dispensation, being God Himself, was
the beginning of religious authority for priest
prince and people "All power is given to me IN
heaven and ON earth" He tells where it Is to be
found Addressing his apostles, he said AS TIE
Father hath sent me, [ also send YOU. Again
''He that heareth you heareth me-" They were all
commanded to 'feed his lambs" but when address
ing Peter personally the command was iced 'N
lambs and sheep"
To simple, ordinary, unprecedented MINDS WI"
accept Christ as the starting point and from WnoI
religious authority springs as do the waters IRON
their source, it should require no deep resear|
to find it now The apostles, chosen by Christ i"
teach aud govern in His name, had their c2nln ~.
sion from God. Their authority HIS autaoHV
The Rev. L. Mason Clarke, in placing the Only az
thority for religious utterauce on experience aopl
forgets that religious authority is not only an PVT
to believe, but it is also authority tor the IaS
professed. He will not find that IN experience
for nearly all Individual experiences dIler' az
to individual experience by 5ucn as l
personal contact with God would be the "O'''
kind of slavery. .h
If Rev. Mr. Clarke is sincere, all he has 70 u
is to trace the Christian religion histoncaIy sh
to its source, and whilst present IN spuH .bs
Christ and His apostles, he cannot fail TO nlu Ills
source and origin of religious authority In,
of history cannot fail to impress .aed
that that same religious authority has been tr
and exercised by the Catholic church tor 5s
.o,,4,,,;o- D,,r;,,c. oil tLoea vaars has DeeH ~