The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-04-12

WV sS aeE
POPULAR APOLOGEI|CS
ADAPTED FROM THE GERMAN OF
REV. PETER Mikes, S. j., BY
REV. JAMES WATCHER.
IT. The Essence of Christianity.
(Concluded.)
81 There is heavy stone in the
way of Harnack which impedes his
progress. 1t is the indissoluble riddle
how Christ, without being weak-mind-
ed or insane, could claim to be the
Son of God. Harnack feels this puz-
zle when he writes: How He
Christi came to this consciousness of
His unique relation of Son, that is His
secret, and no psychologist will ever
penetrate this secret. Here all
Investigations must cease (Ib. p. 81
But is that sufficient? Harnack To-
cutus, causa finita-Harnackh has spok-
en-, does that settle the question?
Jesus once said: Sun, stand still!'
Harnack says: Investigation, stand
still. Stand still just at the most i'm
portant point, the testimony of Jesus
concerning HIMSELF" But Harnack
has looked into the heart of Jesus and
tells us the secret: whatever re-
mains dark and mysterious to reason
in this question the testimony of
Jesus concerning HIMSELF, that
should, according to the intention of
Jesus, remain So (p. 49, Now we
know it; in such an important point,
from which depends the divinity of
Christ, Harnack has, to all appear
ances, received a private revelation
about Jesus intentions, and this Sc
cret we have to accept on the author
ity of Harnack without prejudice and
criticism. Here all investigation has
to cease
The reason for this prohibition Of
Harnack is easy to see. For if sound
reason goes only a step further and
takes Christ's words in their natural
sense, the divinity of Christ is proved
at once. But this result Harnack does
not want in his "unprejudiced' calcu-
lation: hence reason and investigation
must cease.
But all this depends on Harnack's
assumptions. In his whole theology,
without any further proof, he presup-
poses that miracles are impossible.
He presuppOses in history that the
Resurrection of Christ is impossible.
He presupposes that Christ could not
be God, that in the strict supernatural
order there is no supernatural order.
All this is firmly presupposed.
Whatever does not fit these SUPPOSE
tons must vanish, G. g., the whole
Gospel of st. John, and any text prov
ing the divinity of Christ.
With this logic | could prove that
London is not on the Thames. | only
presuppose that it is on the NIissis-
sippi. But the Mississippi is in the
United States, therefore London cam
not be on the Thames.
a. Harnack undertakes to set up
new views about early Christianity,
but cannot form a correct view about
Catholic Christianity of the present
day. He attributes great value to the
certain and historically trained eye
which can at once distinguish from
given facts between the permanent
truth and its historical appearance OF
embodiment.
Of what value his own historically
| trained eye is we can see from the
| curiosities which he produces about
| certain Catholic doctrines and prac
tees. He has wrong ideas about the
| religious orders. He confuses perfec
ton with the means to it, perfection
and the state of perfection, and he
| claims positively that it is Catholic
doctrine that ''the following of Christ
| is possible only for monks" which
! sentence was expressly condemned by
| Pope John XXI The fact is that the
| Catholic Church has saints, who
| therefore, attained Christian perfec
| ton, in all states of life, not only in
| the religious state. He has no clear
| idea of Catholic asceticism, hence has
wrong. ideas about fleeing the world
! Christian perfection, ascetic exercises
monastic vows, and mendicant orders
| How can we trust a man in his
I Judgment about early Christianity and
it's very nature and essence, who blum
| ders about things of his own times
about which he could easily inform
himself by consulting Catholic books
and his Catholic contemporaries? That
historically trained eye which can
/ not see near things, can certainly MOI
LAY claim to infallibility about things
at a distance.
Father Christian Peseh, S. j., asks
lin the Simmer aus Maria-Laach:
y NON. 4 -