The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-12-02
ACOMM0N ERROR
Ably Rsfutsd by Rev. Father
Lambert.
The Relation Of Reason and
Revelation.

Non-Catholic controversalists fire.
Quently make use Of the fact tina
Catholics accept the authority of thu
shurch regarding revealed doctrines
IS an argument against the Church
The authority Of the Church is assail-
ID by them because they do not I'M
lerstand its meaning, and they accuse
Catholics of surrendering their rea-
son, when in reality it is they them
selves who are illogical. Catholics
know that their position is the only
reasonable one, but they are some
times at loss for clear answer tc
the sophism.
Father Lambert, in the last number
Of the Freemans Journal, gives such
an answer in reply to correspondent
who had found fault with the state
ment that reason and conscience
cannot penetrate and see and verify
the intrinsic verify as to things SUPER
natural; which leads to rationalism,
pure and simple, and all faith must
be rejected, for faith is belief on au-
thority."
"On what authority" he asks, must
not the intelligent persons reason
and conscience act? Yea, is it not a
necessity for 1t to act in order to ac-
cept even the invitation of the
'Church? Does not the command of
Jesus to his disciples, to go into all
the world and preach His Gospel, ne
cessitate the compliance of both rea-
son and conscience, in order to act
or accept the truth?"
Father Lambert replies:
Friend, you are evidently going on
a misrepresentation of our position.
We entirely agree with you that rea-
son must act before 1t can, or ought
to, accept any truth, whether of the
natural or Of the supernatural order.
The action Of reason in acquiring
truth is not point of difference be-
tween you and us, for we both agree
that reason must act before our as
sent to truth can be a reasonable as
sent.
God endowed the human mind or
soul with the faculty Of reason and
willed that it should be exercised in
relation to truth, which is its object.
Hence any system of philosophy or
theology which requires the dethrone-
ment and remuneration Of reason is
from that fact false system. He
who reasons to discredit reason dis
credits his own reasoning. He who
strives to destroy reason strives to
commit intellectual suicide. Think
ing thus, as we do, you will see how
greatly you have misunderstood our
attitude. And while thus misunder-
standing us, we are not surprised that
you think we are wrong. In fact, we
would not be surprised, and would not
blame you If you thought us an out
and-out imbecile or lunatic, though
you have been polite enough not to
say it.
"The difference then, between us Is
not as to the action Of reason, the ne
cessity OF which, in intelligently Gre
ated beings, we hold as firmly as you
do, but as to it's nature and as to its
limitations.
Reason is that faculty or power OF
the human mind or soul which acts
in the quest after and in the investi-
cation of truth. Concretely, reason is
the soul reasoning, as will is the soul
willing and memory is the soul re-
Numbering. Reason is personal, and
If considered without reference to a
person whose act it is, that is, consid-
cred as mere abstraction, it is moth
ing, has no real existence; just as
memory without some one who re-
members is nothing, and will without
someone who wills nothing.
1.-The act of illaton, or inference
is the act Of the faculty of reason
Its sole function is to perform this act
of illation, or inference. Whatever
else the mind does in its search after
truth is done by some other of its
faculties. Hence reason may be called
the faculty of the Therefore.
I'm considering the above two syl-
logisms you will see that reason can
not perform its act, it's every act OF
inference If the reasoning mind be
not in possession Of at least two
truths. These truths must be giver
o it, and it ds for this reason the,
re called data which means things
given. If the mind did not know thai
A equals B, and equals A, it's rea.
soning faculty could draw no conclu.
sion whatever concerning A, B and C;
no more than a pair Of scales could
weigh an ounce Of gold without the
gold.
you will observe then that the ma
terials, the truths, on which reason
acts, and from which it infers OF
therefores, must be supplied to it.
"The necessary materials or truth.
can come into possession Of the mint
from only two sources, namely thu
natural order and the supernatural or.
der. The natural order, in which the
mind itself is, ahlrms itself to the
mind through the report Of the senses
But the supernatural order cannot b,