Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-09-04
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I. Our Age 300 pormntic,

~ our age NOT DOKmnttCs
OMAHA, Aug SOTO the Editor of The
Bee; In an editorial in The Sunday Bee,
commenting on recent utterance of Will
liam Adams Brown, you declared that this
Is an undogmatic age. Did you not immedi-
ately qualify your statement by saying that
you meant "dogmatism in Christianity"
1t would be one of the easiest things in
the world to controvert you. In no age in
all the worlds history, where men more
dogmatc in the whole sweep of human
opinion than they are today In philosophy,
in science, in history, in politics, in every
thing not barring religion, were men ever
so dogmatic as now. Since. as an abstract
proposition, 1t will be conceded that moth
ing is final perhaps, but concretely the de-
auctions or Prescriptions of philosophy, or
of science, are treated as practical finalites
by the men of the several schools. Take
for example the philosopo-scientfic doc
trine of evolution. Do we not perpetually
hear men declare that to be a final postu-
late of science, as though 1t had been
demonstrated beyond the point of reason
able questions much less denial 1t has not
been, probably never will be, or can be.
1t is yet, at it's best, but bold, vigorous
assumption, or guess. based upon GER
tain sequence of minor facts in biology.
buI we are TeInlnueQ LndI IL IS CIlleIly III
Christianity, that the world of today in
sists that we shall be undogmatIc. Well,
sir. so far as that goes. it is a long time
since read an article more dogmatic than
yours on the Impotence of the present day
world with dogmatism.
You say, this Is a tolerant age, but
not tolerant enough to admit infallibility in
anything short of the infinite" Perhaps so.
You might even go farther, and say that
very many will not even admit that the
infinite is infallible.
But now. sir, suppose we reply that we
do not care one straw what the age admits
or denies, or for what the world does or
says; that we care still less for what Mr..
William Adams Brown says or thinks; or
for what the professors of the Chicago
University say or think; suppose we choose
to remain Christian. instead of apostatizing,
what is the age or the world going to do
about 1t? Suppose we believe with st.
James that 1.-THE friendship OF the world
is enmity with God"
But to pass over abstract, or general
propositions, let us come now to the con-
crete. Where Is undogmatic Christianity?
What is 1t doing for the world today7
Christian missions are found in every land,
among every race under heaven. But how
many of those missions in Africa, in China,
in India, In Korea, in the islands of the
sea, are maintained or carried on by I'M
dogmauc Christianity, whatever that may
be? Those wise, undogmatc professors in
New York, Chicago and elsewhere, are
quietly content to sit in their academic
chairs, to pirate about 1.-The new Christian
ity," and to let the dogmatc Christians
give their lives, or their money or both, in
striving to uplift the black men of Africa,
and the yellow men of the orient, into the
semblance of civilized Christian life. I'm
dogmatio Christianity II there be such a
thing at all, is not new in this land. 1t has
been here for more than a century. Yet,
today, like the comics, 1t is but a feeble
folk. II the world will have that, and only
that why does it not crowd into it's sanct-
uaries and support them7 But the world
does nothing of the sort. 1t walks the
street Indifferent, while the bright, scholarly
man of unity, breaches an undogmatIc re-
ligion. With all their divisions, and petty
narrownesses. 1t is only the dogmatic
churches that arrests the attention of any
part of the world outside OF academic chain
or EDITORIAL whether in Omaha, or in
Africa or in the orient why should Chris
tlans care, then, to become undogmatic?
or yet philosophical7 The world does not
care at all for the undogmatc in religion,
even though 1t may not care much for the
church. And as for philosopy, German and
modern. what can the passionate heart of
the vast multitudes of our common world
life care for It? What could they learn to
know about its weansome postulates even
il they had the time or the heart for il?
No, sir; 1t is dogmatic Christianity. or
none. JOHN WILLIAMS.