DENOMINATIONAL JOURNALS.—CONTROVERSY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 27, 1 November 1873, Page 13

DENOMINATIONAL JOURNALS.— CONTROVERSY.

(Contributed.) Maxy; Catholics, I believe, dislike to see any attempt made to establish a Catholic paper. They argue that as these papers provoke religious controversy they must of necessity breed ill will among various religious bodies, and set Protestants against Catholics. Many Protestants argue in the same way. Now, it is quite true that all controversy, whether the subject be religious, historical, political, or even scientific, may become so warm as to breed ill will among those who engage in it. But how is truth in many cases to be established except by controversy ? Like every good thing controversy may be carried to excess and be abused. Is this any fair argument against its use, its fair and temperate use? As regards religion, how are the many unhappy existing divisions among Christians ever to be healed unless the grounds of their various conflicting creeds be thoroughly "examined P Our blessed Lord himself engaged in controversy, so did His apostles and the early fathers of the Christian Church. They did so in a spirit Of meekness and charity. We may and ought to do the same, and not cry down all controversy and all publications which engage in it and encourage it. I hope the New Zeaia.ni) Tablet will engage in controversy, and that while so engaged it will never transgress the great law of charity.