The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-02-04
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
Communicated

If the press reports of Judge Tayler's opening
speech in the Smoot case are correct, the Judge
has made one bad "break" 1t seems to have
passed unnoticed so far, but if the same line of
reasoning be followed when the case is up for final
decision, then we imagine we will "hear things"
This is the proposition to which we allude: "a
conscientious, sincere man who says that the law
of God is superior to the law of man is a traitor
to his country" And then the judge proceeds to
run the gamut of oratorical changes.
In examining this proposition we disclaim en-
phatcally any desire to take sides upon the merits
of the contest Whether Mr. Smoot is proper
person to represent Utah in the senate of the
United States is primarily political question
which III due time will be decided by the highest
political tribunal of the country. Unfortunately,
II has a religious side, and this dictum of Judge
Tayler must be opposed by every truly religious
man and by every sincere and loyal friend of free
dom of conscience. To accept it as the expression
of truism and to apply it i'll practice to
arrest the progress of modern civilization and to
carry us back two thousand ycars--back to pagan
ism and to the era of the persecution of the Chris
tian church.
Christ the God Man. had said to his followers:
hclluef unto Nou lnaC Wlllcu belongs 10 NOu, anu
to Caesar that which is Caesars" This is the
simplest cearest statement Of mans dual obliga-
ton to religion and to the state ever spoken o.
written. As the truth of God is immutabe, does
not change, this precept is as true and binding
today as it was then, and it will be through the
ages to come But Nero, the head OF the pagan
state, said Nay The law of the land is su,
preme in all things. Our man-made gods you
must adore; you must subscribe TO our code of
'morals'i The edict of the emperor must be obeyed
implicitly" The Christians refused to comply.
History records the sequel. Every form of torture
and persecution which human ingenuity could de-
wise was used to break down their passive oppo-
sition. But in vain They did not, however, under
the greatest provocation, rise in revolt and offer
armed resistance to unjust requirements They
serupulously obeyed the injunction of the Master
they worshiped God according to the dictates of
their conscience, and in civil matters gave, true
allegiance to the state. In the end paganism broke
down under the weight of its own corruption;
Christianity triumphed all along the line and ex-
tended its sway over the world. It developed
new civilization founded upon these two great pre-
cepts
Love God with thy whole heart and with thy
whole soul, and with thy whole mind' This is the
greatest and first commandment. And the second
is like to this: Chou shalt love thy neighbor as
myself"
Proclaiming the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of man, it endeavored to substitute
the law of love and of justice for the law of force
1t imposed upon the obligation of the practice
of charity i, e. the practical love of God 1t sub
stituted Christian jurisprudence for the pagan
code.
What is jurisprudence! If a layman were per-
mitted to attempt an answer, we would say that il
is system devised to carry out the law of God and
make it the rule of conduct of men in their civil
relations. For examine judicial procedures as we
may, and from every viewpoint, we are finally
forced to conclude that their foundation is the
Decaugue; that their object is the application of
the Decalogue to purely human affairs The text
of excellence of civil aw-making is-as it will ever
bets conformity with the commandments which
Moses received Mount Sinai. We can. there /
fore, safely say that the civil law must never con
hict with the law of God, truly expoundet We do
not, the other hand, assume that any individual
may formulate that which he is pleased to call !.
religion and that because he labels it religion or
creed that it must be tolerated even if it be sub
versive of our accepted fenets of noraity
and political existence No! The state Has 44be