The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-10-05

have addressed all Catholics in these words: line
faithful should be excited to the reading of the
Holy Scriptures" This being the expressed wish
of the church, only at the expense of their intel
ligence those claiming to be enlightened
charge the Catholic with being opposed to the
reading of the Scriptures. (2) As to the cause of
religious discussions and contradictions they come
from the Rule of Faith adopted by Protestants.
We have the same law, the Bible, but like lawyers
contesting case all claim to have the law on their
side, and if there tribunal for interpreting
and enforcing the law, the lawyers would never
agree, each would interpret it in favor of his
client. To give the law force and make it oper-
tive the government very wisely ordained that there
should be judges appointed elected to settle all
disputes, put the machinery of the law in force by
deciding in whose favor the law stands When the
final decision is given that is, when the supreme
court speaks we have as far as human power can
give an nfallible decision from which there is no
appeal.
We step from the natural to the supernatural
the rule, in the application of the divine law,
holds good All Christians have the same inspired
book the Bible; but have all rule to guide tell
them what the faith, contained in the Scriptures,
isl Here comes the dividing line between the
Catholic and all Protestant churches.
DR.. Hodge, an eminent Presbyterian divine and
professor at one time in the theological seminary
of Princeton writes regarding the Protestant rule
of faith: "All Protestants agree in teaching that
the word of God, as contained in the Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments is the only infallible
rule of faith and practice" But against the Cath
Ollie church he asserts the right to private judg
ment The rule then would be the Bible interpreted
by private judgment without any public or univer
sal authority. This could not be a rule of faith
because it gives no rule or standard to which pri-
vate judgment must conform. It is simply private
opinion, The Bible is the book where the faith is
found, but it is not the rule and private judgment
is simply individual opinion.
Private judgment without rule or restraint
is prepared for any emergency, from a denial of
God to the last article of the Apostles creed. This
may seem a sweeping assertion but it is neverthe-
less true. We have in Salt Lake a Christian
preacher CD who denies the inspiration of the
Scriptures, yet breaches from the Bible to sup
gersol Voltaire, Renan, Paine Huxley and host
of others who decred religion.
As rejoinder to this latitude we will be told,
InaI III is only the fegeneraUe, thoSe VINO pray Tor
and receive the assistance of the Holy Ghost that
can interpret the Bible Alright. Who are the re-
generate? Who are the parties assisted by the
Spirit of Truth? The Scriptures tell that "no
one knows whether he is worthy of love or hatred"
ST. John tells that eve are not to believe every
spirit, but to try the spirits for there are many
false prophets gone out into the world" The
preacher, who announces his creed on the sidewalk
claims the indewilling of the spirit. What, then,
is the objective test or touch stone by which one
can tell whether the spirit, who Eliminates these
different denominations, who preach contradictory
be the spirit of truth of error There
is none. All Protestants know this, and whilst
asserting the right of unrestricted private judg
ment, it is simply to show their opposition to the
Catholic rule of faith they do so. Private judg-
ment is no rule, at least no adequate rule. We
have ample proof of this every day where eminent
professors and leading church men were I'M
churched for following their private Judgment
which happened to conflict with the churchs teach
ing. To this subject, so important, we may again
refer.