The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-02-26
POPULAR APoLoeETIcs.
Adapted from the German Of Rev
Peter Mikes, S. j., by Rev.
James Watcher.
XXI. The Peace and Rest of
lnfidels.

objection: 1t is often said that in
fidels have no interior peace. AS an
old atheist can assure you that there
is not a trace of remorse and unrest
as so often described by priests and
preachers. Even in the hour of death
of infidels did not notice any unrest
or terror.
Answer: u Voltaire GIFTS, that
arch-infidel and scoffer rolled on his
sick-bed, now lamenting, now bias
pheming the name of God. He writhed
like the trodden worm and lacerated
himself with his finger nails. He
called for Able Gaultier, but his
friends remained unmoved. The last
moment came, ushered in by another
fit of despair: Il feel hand grasp
ing me and dragging me to the judg-
ment seat of Cod" Then he stared
in a certain direction, eXclaiming:
THE devil is there-he wants to
grasp mel see him see hell-oh,
hide it from mel" Thus died Voltaire,
the fallen-away Catholic, the arch
infidel and scoffer. His physician, DR..
Trochin, wrote to his friend Bonnet:
Think of the rawlings of Orestes.
Thus died Voltaire. Tortured by the
Furies, he departed" CIV. Kreiten,
S. j., Voltaire, p. 55l. J..
CD But there are inftde1s who die
peacefully. There is an artificial
peace, a cold pride, which is some
times noticed when criminals go to
the galows. There is a peace of the
grave in which the abused conscience
rests silently and the grace OF God,
so often rejected before, can no longer
work in the soul. There is a lull be-
fore the storm, when God is silent,
and on account of the grace of God
having been rejected so often, an eX-
traordinary grace is not given, though
that would be necessary to awaken
such a sinner.
(3) But this peace and quiet OF
infdels does not amount to much, as
a rule, for such people no sooner see
a priest or speak to a religious person
when they begin to talk about religion,
attack it's teaching and practices;
whereas, believers feel no desire to
attack infidels That frequent mock
cry is nothing else but the promptngs
of a restless conscience.
(4) 1t is possible that for time
they feel no unrest. But before they
came to that they had many a hard
struggle to down and cripple their
conscience; after that it hardly repri-
mands themZthe terrible revenge of
an outraged conscience.
If we follow side track, we notice
in the beginning that we leave the
main track; after a while we lose
sight of the main track and uncon.
cernedly go further away from the
main line.
But that artificial peace does not
last long, as rule: PAX, pax! ct
non est pax" Peace, peace!' they
say, "but there is no peace!" There
is no peace to the wicked, saith the
Lord" (Isaias, 4S:22).
XXXlII. Mysteries Everywhere.
Objection: For the believer there
is the infinite God, mysterious and in
comprehensive. Or can you compre
bend God?-For me, the infdel, the
world is inexplicable and full of mys
teries. We both have mysteries: You
the ineXplcable and mysterious God,
an ineXplicable and mysterious world
Everyone may choose according to his
taste.
Answer: BY your leave, my deal
sir! You have no mystery but con
tradiction. A world without God is
an effect without a cause, which is
u glaring contradiction.
On the contrary, the existence Of
a Creator is neither a contradiction
nor a mystery, but plain truth, the
logical necessity of the law of causa
ton (every effect must have an ade
quate cause).
The existence of God is no mystery
there are mysteries in God; there are
mysteries in every grain of sand, il
every magnet, in every plant; but OF
that account we do not deny the exist
ence of these things. "The fool salt
in his heart: There is no God FPS
sgd: but the wise man says: III
the beginning God created heaven ant
earth" (Gen. I'D.