The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-03-22

mack delivered sixteen lectures at the
University of Berlin on the Essence
of Christianity ("Das Wesen des
christentums" translated (190D:
''What is christianity'D, in which he
makes clear "the essence of Christian
ity" and eliminates everything that
does not agree with modern thought.
Essential are only these two parts:
"God as the Father, and the human
itself with Him and does so unite"
That is the kernel of Christianity, all
the rest is shell.
Answer: l. Even this kernel is not
solid. The God" Of Harnack and of
the whole school Of Ritschl (T1S89. He
excluded from religion all metaphys-
les and dogmas and looked only to the
practical side Of life, which is the
common tendency among PrOtestants
OF our day. is a queer something,
whose existence cannot be grasped
with reason, but can be only OWNED,
felt, and wished for, an undefnable
demand Of the feeling, d lOVe-Will
(father) above this world, just as the
heart wishes Him. The ''uniOn-life
with this lovcwin," kind Of God
feeling with few vague moral pre-
cepts, is, according to Harnack, the
kernel Of Christianity.
No Trinity, no Incarnation OF the
Son of God, no divinity Of Jesus Christ
in the real sense. 10 real resurrec-
ton of Christ, no Church, no dogmas,
no Sacramento, no cult (divine serV-
ices), no asceticism (penance, etc.!
All this was considered by Christ as
very essential; for Harnack it is I'M
important, unessential.
According to Harnack not even
Christ belongs in the Gospels. mot
the Son, but only the Father belongs
in the Gospel. as Jesus announced it"
(Wesen des Christentums, p. Sd. This
claim is certainly not lacking in dar-
ing so much as in truth. Christ says:
Il am the resurrection and the life;
! am the way, the truth and the life.
I and the Father are one But Har-
mack maintains: Christ does not be-
long in the Gospel" Christ says:
The son of Man has power to forgive
sins fhenoe a divine prerogative); all
power is given to me in heaven and on
earth; you will see the Son Of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven with
great power and majesty, he will send
out His angels and they will gather to-
gether His elect Harnack writes:
"It. was outside the sphere of Jesus,
independent of His Gospel, to give
doctrine about His person and dig
nifty" Qbid. D. 800
Christ says: Come to me all =.
and I will refresh you. Who beleveth
in me, will not die; I will raise him
up on the last day" Harnack finds
only the Father in the Gospel. ST.
Peter says (and Christ approves OF
his saying): "Thou are Christ, the
whom shall we 60" Harnack thinks:
Not to Christ as the object of our
veneration and alteration, but only to
the Father" Christ says: who low
eth father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me-" Harnack, however,
finds that Christ does not demand any
attachment to His person, but only the
observance of the Fathers commands.
Up. .SO.) And even if Christ claims to
be the Son of God before Caiphas
and dies for this testimony, it does not
help Him anything before the tribunal
of Harnack This Sonship signifies
only a better knowledge of the Father.
(p. 81. Therefore, according to Har-
mack, Christ is not essential to Chris
tianity.
The new evangelist on the Spree"
knows better what belongs to Chris
tianity than Christ, the Apostles, the
Evangelists, the Apostolic Fathers, the
Bishops and Doctors of the Church;
these indeed have introduced Chris.
tianity into the world. but they did
not know anything about it's essence.
This essence is very simple, for "the
Gospel is according to Harnack)
something so simple that one
cannot easily miss it." And still all
have missed it till the time OF Har-
mack. How ashamed all the great
minds must feel in their intellectual
nafrOWneSS, D61CTG the BERTH ptUleS-
sorl
The martyrs imprudently died for
something unessential. Had they had
the good fortune to hear or read Har
nack's lectures they could have an
sWered their heather judges to every
question about their faith, their cult
their alteration of Christ, ETC.:
Judge, that is not essential
All Christianity for nearly two
thousand years was blind, Luther and
Calvin not excepted; also David
Strauss, as Harnack points out, die
not see correctly. At last the true
Seer comes, and brings us for the first
time the truth about the essence OF
Christianity, which was not even I'm
derstood by its Founder. And 10 an6
behold-he sees nothing!
For this essence of Christianity
of Harnack is a nothing, only al
empty shell. After thoroughly re
moving all vital dogmas (the Trinity
the Goldman, Jesus Christ, the .resuf
rection from the dead, miracles; thu
Creed, the Sacraments, the Chnrch)
one has, be satisfied with the shell
and a very tasteless shell at that.
(Cf. P. Christian Pesch, s. j., il
Simmer aus Maria-Laach, vol. go, Pr
1852, 154-169).