The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-09-30
WHAT is PANTHEIsM?
question Answered by Rev. John
PrIee in Pittsburs Observer.
w hat is nantboi.,,,,,,

A.. bdllllelSnl? ~
As the name Indicate, .
s9phlc system which teaclas a., piii no
LING Is God and God is eyervtl1ina,
H9iuS consequently that there is hnt
% substance really existing cod
Aei il.lielsln is the base of all Central
of ~ IeHSlQns, the doctrine of MANY
a,,5 -; creek philosophic schools Of old
baS ba me preaching of the Gospel.
peeil held by the enostics and
lis9platonians. It has been refurbisbed
1lu made fashionable in modern times
Hegel 80 iiee' Socnelilhg ana
mere is, however. much diversit,,9op
DBiplon and great confusion among its
+,ioI eilCS. whist there is common
+E'-7g tlenI III affirming that all is God.
lney divide in their solutions as In how,
81 lhlhgS are God. Thus. some say that
Oue worlds Of matter and of spirit with
tnelr varied phenomena and MANIFESTO
IONS are only forms. determinations
anu ATTRIBUTES of the divine sole sub
Slahce. Others hold that these mani
ieSIdJlOnS are empty and illusorv the
mere playthings and fancies of thought
'1Q nave no reality behind them
Hence we discern two features char
aeterlzlng all these explanations: 1.
Ghlty OF substance, and the exclusion
OF the idea of creation properly speak
ING; :, a radical antagonsm to the
ADMIT creation allege that il consists
solely in notifications of the divine
SuDSJapce. not a free act but a neces-
s3ry concomitant Of the absolute Being.
lie cannot help but create. and being
absolute must draw things out of his
own substance. He creates by virtue OF
his creative power. creates the world
not from nothing. but from himself He
cannot escape from action, and, there
lore. creation is necessary. continuous
ineshaustible
As system it is false in its princi-
pie contrary to reason. opposed to the
most cherished sentiments of the hui
man heart and subversive of all law
and of all society
!. Pantheism is. false in its principle
Its principle is that all substance is one
and identical. Whether we call it idea
or being with Hegel, or the absolute
with Schelling, or the l with Fichte. or
the Infinite with Spinoza, the difference
is merely nominal God" says Cousin.
lis one and many, eternity and time
essence and life, beginning middle and
end, at the top of being and at its low
est degree, infinite and finite together,
triple in fine, God, nature and human
ity: if God is not all then He is Moth
ing. Now mans Utmost sense con-
dennis this principle. 81 know says
Bergier that 1 am myself. not anoth-
y
other, q real individual, not modifica-
ton; that my thoughts, wills, sensa-
tons affections are my own, not an
others, and that the others are not
mine" That there is a distinction of
things is understandable, and the claim
that man in this matter is the victim Of
illusion viii never prevail over common
sense.
2-Pantheism is repugnant to reason.
What sort of God would there be if
he were composed Of all the beings in
the world, which. in the pantheistic by
pothesis, are only simple phenomena
and deceiving appearances? Can oneiI
conceive a single immutable substanceH
made up of such contradictory ones as Y
extension and thought? How can one
believe that a professor of open impiety
and even Of atheism and agnosticism is
God himself. or Gods attribute, OF
modification? a pantheist must hold
that the clay one scrapes from his
boots. the blades of grass, the savage
beasts. the miasms that carry death,
are each and all God. What could be
more absurd than to claim the adulter-
lis. murders, treacheries and detestable /
crimes of man as acts of God?
at is a system of war with all our
best and noblest sentiments for 1t
blasts hope and robs The soul "e all
peace and prospect of happiness How
could one love a vague, indeterminate
substance imDersOnal and blind to all
the interests of the heart? How could
one adore mere force manifesting itself
in mirages? Hence pantheism destroys
moral liberty and the idea of future
life. According to it, we exist without
purpose and end unadvised as to how
we should live or finish, and are borne
we know not whittier nor to what fate.
Il sows doubt, by denial of the most
palpable things, mocks our affection,
suppresses our devotion to lofty ends
and surrounds our whole existence IN !
impenetrable darkness.
A-Pantheism is contrary to faith; for |
faith teaches US that there is God
who is distinct and above all the works |
of his power. 1t contradicts the SYM |
bol of the apostles, which says: be-
1ieve i'm God the Father AlmigntS. c~e-
afor of heaven and of earth and the |
Nicene creed: Il believe in one tiod |
maker of heaven and earth, and of All |
things visible and invisible As Pan /
1i3aism confounds God with the uni
verse il is plainly subversive of faith /
Il renlaces the God of Moses-"I am
who am''-by the modern God Of He
eel Il am who is beginning to be. 4
5.-Pantheism subVerts all law ana
ali social existence. If man is God, |
then IL Is over Will calA lilS A~Ae'1'D''N0
5stinp between authority and depend |
er7ce: and religion, which is based upon
these relations, is only dream 1t fol-
lows too. that there are no laws TO De |
obay-ed i'm the moral order, for there is
mo vice. nor virtue, nor good, nor eyh.
If the universe be God. then all IS de-
velonment divine evolution; 1t IS the
al1-C.od who forcibly acts agitates aud I
PRODUCES things Moral ideas crumble'
fl,e bonds of friendship and of parent
age are broken, obedience, tenderness,
1,ene1-olence are empty sounds, as are
the names applied to the indulgences
Of the worst passions. Is not a system
MAT leads to such conclusions neces-
s.l,,.iI,- s,1bversive of all social sound
ness? Is it not an apology for crime?
TO refuse 10 attribute to God personal ma
nv and individuality is to destroy MN:
~ ,til1ie,,, ie only q hidden system of
; tbeism. couched in barbarous jargon.
Norwegians PiOus People
To a French exchange Mgr. F s.3,llta