The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-03-30
THE CATHOLIC BULLETIN, MARCH 80, 1912.

i Z y
ledge by the taxpayers Of the COM
monwealth, processes neutrality in
matters of religion, believing it.
self bound, as it certainly is, to
respect the several creeds Of pa
irons, undermining none, attack
ing none. And now comes the
blasphemer of all Christian creeds,
to tell future leaders of thought
and activity in the Northwest that
the Christian religion as known
and practiced for eighteen hun
dred years is without foundation
in fact or in argument of reason
"a mere name to embody the
dream of abstract righteousness,
the dream to be Of SO many Pro
team forms, as men there are yet
willing to disturb with the dream
of Righteousness their placid,
materialistic slumber. And the
blasphemer is announced to the
inexperienced and impressionable
youths of the University as a
thinker worthy Of a hearing; the
mentors of those youths are on
hand to cloak with their prestige
his anti-Christian vagaries; from
the halls of the University they
will later sally forth poisoned in
mind by those vagaries to repeat
them to others disposed to look up
to University Alumni as scholars
and teachers. Verify, Christian
parents should think twice before
sending their sons and daughters
to our modern universities. Seem
ingly American universities are all
the same in matters of religion, or
fast becoming the same Harvard
long ago declared it's "new theo-
logy" through it's President Emer-
titus, DR.. Eliot; now the University
of Minnesota welcomes to it's plat
form the anti-C Christian teaching
Of Harvard.
What is the message brought by
Professor Moore? It is, he tells us,
"a new Interpretation of Christian
|ity.' Of course, it is Mr.. Moore s
own interpretation-neither more
nor less, and, consequently of
slight value to those, who like
ourselves, prefer to a saying
of professor of Harvard, or, for
all that, to the saying Of any indi-
vidual sciolist, whoever he may be,
the Interpretation given by the
consensus of the Christendom of
nineteen centuries to the teachings
Of it's founder.
The "new interpretation is
"a Christianity that was the soul
of Christianity, revealed in the
language of today" Christ taught
"the soul Of Christianity" the
revelation of the Father in the
rectitude Of his life, in his brood
ing love for his fellows, in his
self-abnegation, and, later. in his
perfect self-sacrifce.' dogma,
ritual and doctrine were addi-
lions made to the religion of
Christ in after years: as such,
they are changeable; and today
must be changed, if we are true
to Christ and true to our age.
Mr.. Moore would abolish dogma
yet he propounds dogma. Chris
tianity, he breaches. consists Gin
the rectitude Of life." But right
here is dogma, that is, principle
principle to be held by the mind,
and acted upon by the will. AS a
matter Of fact, dogma is essential
in any movement, whatever it may
be: and Christianity, as enunci-
4 ated by it's founder, necessarily
had it's dogma. Men are not mere
!; creatures of sense to be moved by
force outside themselves: first the
intellect thinks, and then only
does the will set itself in motion.
So, Christ preached dogma-only
he preached dogma far more ex-
tensively than Mr.. Moore would
be willing to admit. Christ was,
indeed, the life" but he was
| also the truth and as the life
J he communicated to men was to
) fill their whole soul and was obi
gatory upon them, he gave to it a
, wide basis-doctrines that enun-
ciated motives, instituted means
}, by which life was to be begun and
) continued, giving to both motives
! and means agencies through which
I they were to be preached and up
J held until the end of time. Christ
J was "a teacher teacher of
| principles of life, a teacher of dog
J ma. The pages of the Gospels
, scintillate with dogma. Further
; more, the dogma Of the Gospels