Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-20

ism. 1t goes back to the New Tesla
ment. and we max even say to Christ
himself. whose secret and method,
as Matthew Arnold said. we're the
necessity of dying to live and in
wardness. From within, Jesus taught.
come all things that elevate and that
defile a man. And secondly, the name
of modernism has been appropriated
by a school Of Catholic thinkers who.
with the help Of the pragmatist philos-
ophy have defended a kind Of Ca
tholcism which has cut itself loose
from the historical facts on which
Christian dogma is based. Truth Of
faith are said to belong to different
order from truths OF fact, and to he
independent Of them, In an age which
takes scientific research seriously, and
is not likely to take 1t less seriously.
7 cannot think that this doctrine OF
double truth will make Roadway 1t Is
too obviously the desperate expedient
Of mon who have ceased to be Chris
tians. but who desire to remain Cath
olics.
Religion of Spirit.
In spite of differences due to tenn
perament and training. differences
which we should welcome as signs OF
independent and vigorous vitality, the
best religious thought of our age
seems to be converging upon chris
tianity as the religion of the Spirit.
The infallibilities are gone, the fnfal-
lihle church as we'll as the infallible
hook. Nor can we trust to the inner
light quite as the old Quakers did.
They were in da anger of making the
inner light itself external. in their
anxiety to accept it as infalhble. we
do not need these props; Clement
convention of faith satisfies us. AS for
the old proofs from miracle and proph-
ecy. we now see that, even If the facts
could he established. they could not
carry the weight which the old apollo
getics placed upon them. A critic OF
Lord Balfour's Foundations Of Be
lief" remarked: 1T is the popularity
of theological architecture that the
foundations are ingeniously supported
by the superstructure. We are in
fact driven back upon the "Testimon-
ium Spiritus Sancti," the witness of
the spiritual life to itself. And 1t is
enough.
Do T predict that the religion of the
Shirt will have resounding triumph!
No. I do not. l can find nothing in
the GOSPEL to justify the notion that
world at large. when the Son OF
Man cometh, shall he find faith-or.
the faith-on the earth?" IF they
have called the master Of the house
Beelzebub, how much more them of
his household?" eff they have perse
cuted me. they will also prosecute you;
if thew have kept my saying, they will
keen YOURS also Woe unto you
when all men shall speak well of you,
for so did their fathers of the false
prophets" An uphill fight against
heavy odds. or an inward apostasy and
unholy alliances-such Is the alterna-
tive for the Christian societies. now no
less than 1t was eighteen hundred
years ago.
Reds Cut Own Threats.
It is. however, possible to predict
roster political future for Romanism
| Mr.. Hilaire Belloc. in his history Of
| the French revolution. argues that
| the Jacobins made a fatal mistake in
antagonizing the church. The Bolshe-
Wiki have done the same, and in 20
years Russia will probably be the most
devout, superstitious, and conservative
| country in Europe. Bolshevism has
cut it's own throat, and 1t is probable
that the. revolution will before long
see the necessity of a Concordat
with the Black Internationale. That
church can make no terms with COM