New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-02
IN DEFENCE OF CHRISTIANITY
Correspondent Finds 1t Better Than
Buddhism.
Editor Of The Tribune.

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: In reply 10 Mr.. Siegfried Jacobs
sohn's letter of the 23d inst. would
say: Ny authority for the charge of
forgery against Haeckel is the Amer
lea" Vol. " or V. 1910 or 1911.
For the gentleman's further enlight-
eminent I would say that the Inquisi-
ton was a legally constituted civil tri-
bunal. not Church affair. This tribu
nails business was to t-y and TO punish
Offenders against the law Of the land.
Ilcresy and blasphemy were crimes
against the state. Now. when state
Furnishes crime, it is not persecution.
England, until a few years ago, pun
isned blasphemy. We New Workers
still punish obscenity and proven muir
der. Are we prosecutors?
Relative to chose thousands OF mill
ions who never heard o. Christianity"
would say that they do not live upon
this earth. unless there is an undis-
covered inhabited continent. My OPP
ponent stultifcs himself when ne cites
the Japanese among those thousands
Of millions Has he never read or
heard of st. Francis Xavier baptizing
forty thousand Of those people? Is he
not aware that the bloodiest persecu-
ton of Christianity was inflicted by
these same Japanese? Does he not
know that the Christian nations inter
fered. that even the United States dis
patched a gunboat to japanese waters ?
Buddhism has a higher concept Of
life than Christianity" The contrary
is true. Buddhism teaches nothing
about a personal God o. primal
cause. II makes no essential distinc-
t0n between man and the brute. Its
idea OF mans destiny IS annihilation
or something very similar. II permits
polygamy and polyandry. 1t is not al
truistic. but extremely individualistlc.
Its dominant note is selishness. So
much for Buddhism.
II the gentleman will not call dog
mas religious truths" hos will he
diiIcrentiate these from scientific DIS
covcries? | assure the gentleman that
there arc three kinds of truth: Truth
Of Things. truth Of thought about
things and truth of expression of our
thought about things. In other words,
ontoIocical, logical and moral truth.
Or. again. objective. subjective and
verbal truth. hope the gentleman can
grasp these distinctions. Any work on
logic will bear me out. Now. since the
are contradictory, some OF them must
wise is to deny he principle OF con-
tradiction. TO talk about one man
having the truth and another one hold
ing contradictory opinion also nav
ing the truth is to talk nonsense.
Take the doctrine Of hell, for instance.
II I Say there is a hell and You say
Il r ha
Both Of Us cannot be right. II may be
good fellowship 10 say that all re-
ligious are right; but il is unsound
logic.
The statement. ",hcre is TO morality
without dogma is not unfounded nor
ar apDeal 10 ignorance. Greed explains
conduct Right living is The result of
right thinking. A false religion can
not teach sound morality.
Mr.. Jacobssohn has read history in
correctly when he says that The old
Athcnian's or Romans standard Of
morals was "a high as the Christians
standard. | will cite some o. the bast
Of his old Romans and Athenians.
Aristotle writes: Eve put deformcd
children to death" Among the Romans
the same practice obtained. Seneca
writes: ave drown children who are
deformed or weak" The Roman father
could sell his children and Stay his
wife He could also sell his wife when
he found himself short of cash.
Listen TO what some OF these noble
Romans did. the best of them at that.
Cato sold his wife Marcia TO the rich
IIortensius. When Hortensius died
and left Marcia rich widow, Cato
took her back. That Is high morality.
indeed.
Another noble Roman. Cicero, finding
himself pressed by his creditors, d.