Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-08
MODERNISM AGAIN
Mankind Ilches 10 Hamper With ! Religious Belief.

make the production of the Spring.
 field Republicans article on Dra New
 man Smyth the text for a few com
 ments. Our up the river neighbor
 would evidently essay the part of the
 apologist against Dr Smyth's obitu-
 ary of Protestantism. It finds it difficult, however, to evade the
 rigorous logic of Dr Smyths declara-
 tions and in this 1t is not as honest
 as is Dr Smyth or the Waterbury
 American, whose editorial of Satur-
 day evening is about the most
 straightforward, sensible and manly
 utterance that have seen
 outside Catholic circles since the
 question of modernism has again
 placed the two great Christian
 churches in juxtaposition. Nor is Dr Smyth alone in his opinion. Non
 Catholic clergymen and laymen have
 within the last decade, made in pub lie and private the same explicit declaration of opinion, and many otE-
 CTS have implicitly assumed it. The
 only difference is that Dr Smyth has
 been less diplomatic and polite about it, but more plain, if, at the same
 time, more bold. The Springfield
 Republican seems to think that the
 crowning achievement of Protestant
 ism is 'the firm esta ablishment of the
 spiritual liberty of the individual"
 To me that seems its crowning blum
 der and the cause of its undoing as
 a religious body. Postulating the ex-
 istence of God as the Sovereign
 Creator and Supreme Being to whom
 all owe the allegiance of mind, will
 and conscience, individual spiritual
 liberty is not possible in harmony
 with the rights of God. For our
 spiritual liberty can have no broader
 horizon than that allowed by the
 sovereign will of one who has the
 inherent right to be absolute master.
 The individual may arrogate to him.
 self wider liberty, but then it is not
 liberty, only unjustifiable license.
 Otherwise we must say farewell to all moral law if the individuals mo- tion of spiritual liberty is to be the final arbiter. In that hypothesis all the theocracy of the old law was un- necessary and tyrannical servitude and an unwarrantable interference on the part of the Almighty with the liberties of his creatures. The mis- sion of Christ, too, apart from its dogmatic teachings, becomes in a measure useless, or at most only suggestively useful. Indeed, it is somewhat difficult to understand why the redemption, the atonement, were necessary or what authoritative value is to be placed upon Christ's teachings if each individual is to be a spiritual law unto himself. And it is this feature of individualism that has inflicted the mortal wound upon Protestantism. Like cancer, 1t has gradually eaten away the vitals until, as Dr Smyth sees it, there is only the corpse left.
 There is much food for reflection in the statement that the Springfield Republican cites from Dr Smyth, that the first phase of Professionalism was the age of protest against the one great church then existing" Why protest against the one church? l may be told that corruption had made it's way into that church. | Granted; but why was the protest levelled against the doctrinal teach ing of that church? Had its doc trines become corrupted? If so, | then Christ was not true to his prom ise to be with you all days even to | the consummation of the world" that "the gates of hell would not | prevail against it (the church)". That which was protested was prior in existence to the protestants, and if Christ q speak with reverencel were not the slickest of liars, the one church then existing must have been the true church in its doctrinal aspect however so much the morals of some of its members might have been far from exemplary or desira- ble. It would seem that the desire Of the what is called the second phase. the age of construction of new and new creeds was about the strongest motive power for the protest. Mankind has ever had an itching to tamper with religion and he history of the world shows that he human race is not long content with a definite form of religion. Ii wants novelties and needs but the pretext for an excuse to gratify its iesires.
 With the rise and progress of the lumanists, the spread of the 'enascent Greek literatures and the imbuing of minds with nore or less of pagan ideas-a sys- em that found champions in men If such indubitable ability as Bras nus. the time was ripe for change md the extenuatIng pretext came in he cause of Luther against TetzeI. md, let the truth be told, in the axity that was characteristic of many churchmen Of that day. And , 'rotestantism arose. the ostensible defender of individual liberty. but in | 'ractiee quite as dogmatic as ever { Fas the papacy. That it has been t; he constructor Of new churches and lew creeds is too painfully evident ! n the history of the last nearly 800 | ears. With the inherent mutability [ ( error it has changed so often that [ Is eoTryphers would hardly recoz- I ize it. In fact it seems in some re- ( poets tO have reversed itself. for [ Thereas with Luther. Calvin. Bezs. .winglius. faith was the all import a nt thing and good works counted z pr nothing. now good works to our c allow men is the essential and faith 6 ] put in the background. and in ' iany cases there is a fat denial of [ se necessity of any creed It Is moi q