The Washington herald., 1907-08-05

third generations arranged the evangeli-
cal parallels in their own way, and have
thus been the cause OF the little fruit OF
Chr1stS preaching among the Jews
XIV In several of their recitals, the
evangelists have sought less To conform
TO the truth than to utter what they
thought, although falsely, 10 be more
profitable to their readers.
Nv. The Gospels were continuously
augmented and corrected before they
were constituted a definite canon, and
thus there hardly remain In them snsht
ana uncertain trace Of Christs doctrine:
XVI. The narratives of st. John are not
really history, but mystical contempia-
ton, his discourse in his Gospel and his
theological meditatiOns on the mystery OF
salvation are devoid Of historic truth.
XVII The Fourth Gospel has exagger-
ated the miracles not only for the pur-
traordinary but also for the purpose OF
making them better adapted to character
lie the work and the story of the lncar-
nate Word
John as a Witness.
XVIII. John claims for himself the
character of witness to Christ; in reality.
he is only q distant witness of the Chris
tian life, or OF the life OF Christ In the
Church at the end of the first century
XIX. The heterodoxical exegetes have
better seized the true sense of the Scrip
lures than have the Catholics.
Xxx. Revelation could not be anything
else than the conscience acquired by
man from his communion with God
XXI. The revelation which constitutes
the object matter OF the Catholic faith
was not completed with the Apostles.
XXI, The dogmas which the church
gives as revealed are not truths that came
from Heaven DTf only INTERPRETATION
of certain religious facts which the hu-
man Intelligence by long effort has made
for itself
XIII. There may exist. and in fact
there does exist, an opposition between
the facts as reported in the Holy scrip
lures and the dOgmas Of the church which
are connected with them, and this is such
a sort that all criticism has the right to
refute, as false. the facts which the
church holds to be undoubted.
XIV. The exegete is not reprehensible
who postulates premises from which 1t
follows that dogmas are false, or his
torically- uncertain. provided he does not
directly deny the dogmas themselves.
XIV. The assent OF faith rests In the
last analysis upon combination OF prob
abilities.
XXVI Dogmas need be observed only
according 20 their practical import. that
is TO say, not as a rule OF falth. but as a
preceptiye rule.
XXVII. The proof of the divinity Of
Jesus Christ does not come from the Cos
pels; Il is only a dogma which Christian
conscience has deduced from the notion or
the Messiah
XVIII. Jesus. when He exercised His
ministry, did not speak for the purpose
Of winning recognition as the Messiah
and the miracles had no such purpose as
TO demonstrate such a claim.
History of the Christ.
xxx. We can agree that the Christ
shown by history is much inferior to the
Christ who is the object of faith.
XXX. In all evangelical texts the title
son Of Cod Is equivalent only to that
of Messiah; II does not at all signify
that Christ IS the true and natural Son Of
God
XXXL The doctrine that Paul. John.
and the Councils Of Nice, Ephesus, and or
Chalcedon give Of Christ Is not the one
Jesus taught bat one which the Christian
consciousness OF Jesus made for Itself.
HXXIL We cannot reconcile the nat
ural sense of the Gospel texts with that
which our theoiogians teach Us concern
ing the conscience and the infallible
knowledge Of Jesus Christ.
XNNIII Il is evident 10 whOmeyer is
exempt from prejudice that either Jesus
was mistaken IN speaking of the near
coming Of the Messiah. or that the
tanned IN the synoptical Gospels lacks
authenticity.
XXXIV. Criticism cannot attribute 10
Christ unlimited knowledge except by an
hypothesis which cannot be justified his
torically and which is repugnant TO the
moral sense, in that Christ as man had
the knowledge Of God. and that never
theless He did not want 10 communicate
TO His disciples and to posterity that
knowledge he had OF so many things.
NNXV. Christ had not always con-
sCiOusness Of His Messianic dignity.
XAANl. The Saviour's resurrection is
not a fact properly historical. but Is
fact Of purely supernatural order; and 80
has not been proved, nor is it capable of
being proved; the Christian conscience
had deduCed it little by little from other
facts.
XXXYII Faith in Christ's resurrec-
tion did not originally apply itself so
much 10 the fact itself of the ResUrrec-
tion as TO the immortal life Of Christ in
God
XXXVIIL The doctrine Of the expia-
tory death of Christ is not evangelical,
but only Pauline
xxx. The opinions as 10 the origin
OF the Sacraments with which the Fa-
theirs of the Council of Trent We're i'm
bued and which inCOntestably Influenced
the editing OF their dOgmatic canons are
very different from those which are
justly credited to-day among the his
toriaas Of ChrisJendom.
Origin of Sacrnments.
XL. The saCTamentS were born from
what the Apostles and their successors
interpreted, at the instigation of facts