The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-24

But what about the effects Of the gen
eral acceptance of the fact if it is fact?
This question is full Of interest to Mr..
Howells as it must be to every thoughtful
person.
with what result. in personal charac-
ter he asks, "for it must come to that
in the end, can we accept the belief that
amidst universal death we alone live on
the only planet where man can live? Shall
we each count his fellow man more pre-
cious, more sacred, because there are,
after ALL only a few millions of u.s. Shall
we bow meekly before the mystery by
which we were posted here, in the heart
Of a system existing for US alone? Or shall
we arrOgate to ourselves portentous
consequence, not easily practicable of some
of us on closer acquaintance, or even on
thoro self-knuwledge? Shall we, more
than in the past, conscientiously hold our
selves responsible for what we say and
do? Or shall we go on being greedy, and
silly and vulgar, quite as If there were
myriads Of us on every visible and in
visible sphere in the armament and it did
not matter what we were in our behavior?
1t cannot be that when man
comes to realize that the whole treasure
Of mortal life has been intrusted to him
on earth, he will not rise equal to the
claim upon him, or at least rather more
equal than he has yet shown himself.
"The new notion of mans place in the
universe stirs again the hope, the longing,
which has been eloquent or inarticulate in
every human heart@since the beginning. If
man died, shall he live again? *
It was i'll enough before, when we sup
posed ourselves mere atoms Of sentence
Astounding in all the worlds of the uni
verse; but now when we are required to
live up to the conception Of behaving like
the sole intelligences Of the cosmos, we
cannot extort some response to the eternal
cry of our hearts,
In closing Mr.. Howells suggests that
1.-The acceptance Of this latest doctrine of
mans place in the universe may involve
the removal Of stumbling block in the
way Of many, devoutly doubling minds
which could not answer the grim query:
why out of all Of the worlds Of the uni
verse, was a Savior divinely sent to the
i earth alone?'
In Religions Of Authority and the Re.
ligIon of the Spirit, by M. Sabatier, late
dean Of the Protestant Faculty Of Theology
in the University of Paris, we have what
he regarded as the most important work
of the later years of his life.
The first portion Of the work is tal1er
up with 1.-THE Roman Catholic Dogma Of
Authority" The author sets forth it's be.
ginnings and traces it's development thrr
the centuries until it eliminates in the
PRONUNCIATION of the decree of the papa
linfallibility in 1870 He discusses the
Catholic Notion Of the Church." Trad.
tion,' 1.-THE Episcopate" and. it's ''progres.
sive development" "The Priesthood,
I ..Apostolic Succession and 1.-THE Papacy,'
past and future.
I! The second part Of the book is occupied
with s"rhe Protestant Dogma Of Author
ity.'' In presenting this NJ. Sabatier dis
cusses Primitive Professionalism includ
ing the Reformation" the ''Bible and the
Reformers,'' .'The Subjective Basis O.
Protestantism.'' From this he passes tt
/ 1.-THE Infallibility Of the Bible" discussing
j "Inspiration, etc. Next biblical Criti
cism" claims attention, and, from all, HI
concludes against the infallibility and au
thority Of the Bible. Both the "Catholit
, and Protestant Dognas Of Authority ar,
"cdunbling away unfer the triple protes
, Of history, the reason and the Christian
consciousness"
The third part Of the work is taken III
with the Religion Of the Spirit" II
this the Teachings Of Jesus his relation
to the Old Testament This person, . 1T
authority .,the nature Of the Gospel,
are discussed. What he regards as tn,
, ''Content Of the Religion Of the Spirit +
given. What should be 1.-THE Matter ant
. Method of Scientific Theology and HOY
christian doctrine" should be organized
close the book.
II From a literary point OF view the WOrl
is well done. From the historical ant
critical standpoint it may well be doubted
whether it will be largely acceptable t,
either Catholic or Protestant. It's prin
fault is the tacit assumption of the doc
} trines Of evolution and the conclusions o
the Wellhausen school of critics, as abso
lutte scientific truth; when, for the former
the great masters do not claim it as NOR
than a working hypothesis, and the critic
!, referred to build on it as M. Sabatier him
. self does. He Is pious writer, but not
Z clear and strong, or logical, reasoner. HI
once declared that the object of his lif
was ito reconcile all that is eternal in tn
Christian faith with the most rigid de
mands Of the modern scientific spirit.
! This, he believed, had been accomplishe,
in his last book
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