Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-09-15
For Sunday Reading.
: Al Sorts Of Opinions. .

"our Present Position

.
"Our Present Position"
Goodwin Smith,
Professor Smith. endeavoring not to
be destructive or iryeverent, has closed
his letters with a final summing up OF
"Our Present Position" Moved by
the gravity of the crisis, social as we'll
as POLITICAL he says that he has been
attempting to define the position,
drawing the line between that which
left, trying to guard against the pro-
clivities of the hour apd pleading for
perfect freedom of inquiry The pres
ent position he defines
From highly educated and perfect
ly open minds the belief in the Bible
as an inspired volume on which the
Christian world had been resting seems
to have departed. We are left with the
collected body of Hebrew literature,
profoundly interesting. profoundly i'm
portant. forming on the whole an up
ward step in the movement of human
ity, but varying with the different au-
thorships in elevation as we'll as in lit :
erary character, and marred in parts
by tribalism and by the primitive NOR
ality of early times, which, being TAX
en- for the divine morality, has wrought
much evil.
Few now deny that Genesis Is my
thical. The dogmatic part of Chris
tianity must apparently share its fate.
II there was no fall of man, thers
could be no occasion for an atonemert
no room for an incarnation. The EVIL
49,, ~I
tably the resurrection, has given way
under critical examination. But there
still remain to us the character Of
Jesus and His teachings, with the rec
ord of the effect Of these teachings, so
far as they have been allowed free
play, on human character and prog
ress The barrier between Christen-
dom and heathendom is falling. The lib
eral theism of the Christian begins to
Join hands with the liberal theism Of
the Hindu.
THE belief seems to be gaining
ground that life beyond the grave is a
fond Illusion. at best platonic specu-
lation: that man at the last lies down
and dies like the dog; that death con-
seuuently cancels all moral diStinc-
tons, and levels the greatest bene-
factor with the worst enemy of his
kind. The old arguments in favor OF
the, doctrine of Immortality such as
were used by Bishop Butler, physiolo-
gy, it must be owned, has swept away.
There remains to us the testimony Of
conscience, telling us that as we do
we'll or Ill. in this life it will be we'll or
i'll for us I'm the end No more, in fact,
was told us by the Founder of Chris
tendon, whose words concerning a fu-
ture state notably the story of Dives
and Lazarus, are homily and Imagery,
not revelation. But the voice of con-
science has not yet been explained
away From the fear of the Dantean
hell and the hideous idea of God as
an eternal torturer, which it involves.
the world has been set free. There Is
40 use in paltering with facts or con-
cealing difficulties. Nor is there any
way of salvation for us but unwaver-
ing and untrammelled pursuit OF
truth"
Separation of Church and State.
France has cast aside what she. felt
to be her religious shackles, and It
NAV be natural that the movement In
France should be followed by similar
movements in other Catholic countries,
as. for example, in Italy. In fact,
Ricciotto Canudo tells US, in the Ga
zette de Geneve, that the demand for
a separation between the Italian
chruch and state is growing constant
ly louder, and that crisis may be
expected soon. Mr.. Canudo says:
"When the venerable Bishop of Gre
mona, Father Bonomelli issued his
pastoral letter on the Separation of
Church and State a short time ago, he
gave the Catholic world a shock that it
is likely to feel for some time to come.
Indeed, the church in Italy has been
shaken to it's foundations by the ultra
liberal ideas expressed by one of it's
greatest prelates, and there is little
doubt that these ideas will lead to a
crisis that in the very nature of things
had to come. The appearance of the
PASTORAL letter was also noteworthy in
that it was issued Immediately after a
papal encyclical and because it dis
tinctly opposed the view of the Vati-
can. Naturally the contrast of views
was the cause for violent strife in the
Catholic ranks; and the question of
separat ton, which heretofore has been
merely whispered, is now shouted
loudly in the religious market
places"