The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-08-07
PRESIDENT ELIOT'S NEW RELIGION.

The religion of the future lately set forth by
the president emeritus of Harvard, like his FIVE
foot shelf for an upto-date library, is being put
to crucial test Archbishop Ryan of Philadelphia
shows that its logical outcome would be refined pa
ganism. Commenting on the subject so serious
he says:
II have already read of this so-caed re-
ligion of humanitarianism. The mere humanitar-
ian theories of inide philosophy, when tried, melt
ed in the sunshine like the waxen pinlons of the
Athenian artist. France sank into the widest bar
barism in the Reign of Terror This is lesson to
posterity of the essential connection of Christi
anity and true civilization.
But here | may be confronted by some young
orator of progress who would say to me-
81 acknowledge that Christianity did great
things in its day. but that day has passed. 1t helped
humanity III its infancy to rise and walk, but now
it needs such assistance. The church must con,
form herself to the and advanced state of
things, or be pulverized beneath the chariot wheels
of progress. We freely almire and adopt all that
is beautiful in the morality of Christianity. We
admire the Sermon on the Mount and its preacher
We take its morality, but little for its
doctrines for these doctrines only lead to differ
ences of opinion and sectarianism.'
Zone of the most fatal and demoralizing super
stitions of this country is this attempted separa
ton of morality from doctrina teaching Doc
tines are as the granite foundation to the whole
edifice of Christian ethics and with them that edi
fee must stand or crumble into ruins. What un-
dercs the value of holy childhood but the doctrine
that the child has an immortal soul! Abolish this
look at the child only in the light of its utility to
the state and soon infanticide will commence
again and deformed children will be put to death
when men have lost all the tenderness which Chris
tianity has produced and fostered
Most men admire the church's action in re
gard to divorce. They believe that her conserva-
ism in this respect is essential to the preservation
of the family and the sanctity of human love- But
all her action and her sufferngs in maintaining
this principle are founded in doctrine that mar
riage is indissouble and because of this doctrine
the Pope himself and all the Bishops of the world
united with him cannot grant single divorce
look at the great motives of human action
Behold that young contending with fearful
temptation, wrestling with some midday demon.
The pleasure promised is certain and alluring. Re
igion whispers in his ear: Fear God listen to
your conscience; you know that to yield is wrong
Remember the punishment which God has threat
ened. Remember the heaven you renounce if you
YIELD and the hell whose punishment you deserve
Now all this warning is based on doctrine Only
whisper in his ear: There is no hell. God is in
dulgent, or takes cognizance of human action.
Strike down the great truth and you strike down
the great motive.
CULTURE AND PAGANISM
But someone may say that it is utterly impos.
sibe that we should go back to the paganism from
which Christianity has liberated us There is no
danger of going back to the paganism from
which Christianity liberated us. Yet one must
remember that human nature is always the same
and that mere culture will not save us We have no
greater or as great poets as Horace and Virgil no
greater as great orators as Cicero. no greater
moralist outside of Christianity than Seneca. and
yet they could not save society from the civilized
barbarism of paganism
1--WE must remember that, though the new re-
IF thn futir who RI
may not be called paganism, it is paganism undo
another name. We occasionally hear of this re
ligiOn of HUMANITY What is this but paganisu7
which defes all that is true and beautiful and
good with all that is vile in our nature, and calls
these things by various names the dctities of its
religionl
Of anyone whispered to the infdel philosophers
of France who sought the destruction of the Chris
tian religion that the day would come when they
would find themselves worshipping at pagan al
tar, they would have smiled in derision But false
principles soon act themselves out into nstitu
tions. Man is a religious being If he worship not
Gud he will worship himself Deny the doctrines
of faith and you try to kill Christianity and es
tahlish some form of pagansm
"In the name Of our Christian civilization [
a Bishop of the Christian church, lift UP nv voice
to warn you that the popular modern system Of
teaching morality without the doctrines that mo
tive it. whether the system be called Chritian ethics
moral instruction or unsectarian teaching, i
sapping the worry foundation of Christianity ant
Christian civilization"