The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-06-14

GAsI0R 9GsSEIg said
Some of my
Catholic friends declare that l am
more Catholic than Protestant. but
have never acknowledged this. l dc
say, however. that if compelled to
choose between the Protestant thought
that all except the elect. sanity few
will experience eternal torment. and
the Catholic proposition that many
besides the saints will be saved, by
passing through purgatorial expe-
riences. / would sooner believe the
latter. And while | cannot accept the
Catholic Purgatory as Biblical. l do
find certain threads of Bible truth in
the purgatorial theory. l can even fan
cy how those Bible truths gradually be,
came distorted during the many cen.
turtles styled THE Dark Ages"
During that time. not only were the
common people illiterate, but printing
had not been invented. and Bibles were
costly. That was the period dur
ing which Councils of bishops from
time to time met and decided for the
people what should and what should
not be believed. In other words, they
formulated the creeds. We do not
question the sincerity of those spirit
ual leaders of the darker days. but we
do challenge their conclusions and.
comparing them with the Bible now
in the hands Of the masses, we know.
accepting the Bible as true. that we
must necessarily condemn many Of
their conclusions as false. and when
we speak of the Bible. we include the
Catholic as we'll as the Protestant
TRANSACTIONS Of 1t in various languages.
The Voice Of tho Church.
Many, both Catholics and Protest
ants. tell us that we should receive the
message of Councils-the creeds which
they formulated-as Of equal inspira-
ton with the Bible because. say they.
these Councils were composed of bish-
ops of the Church and. under the law
OF Apostolic succession. these bishops
had equal authority with and Divine
inspiration equal to the twelve Apos-
ties. Hence the theory says that if
any conflict exists between the Bible
and the creeds the latter should have
the greater weight in our minds. as
being later production.
From this dissent. and am glad to
note that | am in better accord with
the views of the present Pope. Plus X.
whose recent proclamation urges upon
all Catholics loyalty to the Bible and
its study. If all Christians. Catholics
as well as Protestants. would accept
this suggestion. | believe that the re-
sultant. untrammeled study would soon
bring to Christendom in general the
one unity and harmony which all de-
sire and are striving for.
Whatever the Pope may have once
believed respecting the doctrine Of
Apostolic succession. and the equal in
SEPARATION of the bishops of today with
the twelve Apostles appointed by our
Lord. he sees that the people have not
full confidence that the living bishops
are inspired to the degree of infallibili-
ty. as were the twelve Apostles. And
/ would say that to my understanding
this is the right thought. The Scrip
lures everywhere recognize the twelve
Apostles of the Lamb-nO more. no
less. They recognize the faH of one of
these. and that another took his place
st. Paul. But there were to be no
more additions.
The choice of Matthias by the Apos-
ties. before they themselves received
the Holy Spirit. was invalid and with
out authority. Jesus. in His last mes
sage to the Church, pictured her as
woman" having "a crown Of twelve
stars" And again He symbolically
represents her future glory as the New
Jerusalem with but twelve foundation
stones. and in those the names of the
twelve Apostles of the Lamb-no more
The more thoroughly this Scriptural
fact is diS"ernpd the more surely will
Gods people turn reverentially to the
inspired words and interpretations of
the Dirinely appointed Twelve. re-
speeding whose teachings Jesus said.
Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth
las necessary, obligatory will be the
same that are bound in heaven. And
whatsoever We shall loose on earth las
not necessary shall be the same that
are loOsed in heaven" No other teach
ers in the worlds history were so thor
oughly set apart to be the oracles of
God: and their testimony is one-har-
monious.
Not Present but Future.
We remarked a moment ago that
there is thread of truth in the doc.
trine of purgatory. That thread con-
meets up with our text of today In.
deed, our Catholic friends acknowl-
edge that there is no positive state
ment in the Bible respecting purga
tory; they merely infer it from certain
texts. which do not use the word. and
our text. which says. Saved so us by
fire" This is one of their strong texts
supporting the theory of purgatory. 1t
certainly does imply that fiery expert
enceS of some kind will come to some
of Gods people. and that these will be
designed to have purgng effect.
Nothing In the text, however, gives
single suggestion to the effect that
such purgatoria1s trials are now in op-
Grafton On the contrary. the Apostle
points down to the future saying. The
fire OF that day shall try every mans
work of what sort II is" Those who