PUBLIC OPINION, SECULARISM AND RATIONALISM.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 12, 11 July 1884, Page 21

PUBLIC OPINION, SECULARISM AND RATIONALISM.

(A Lecture recently delirered at Napier by the Very t Rev, Theoptailus Le Meoant des Onesnais, 8.M.) PABT I.— PUBLIC OPINION AND BBCULA.MBM. IBS object of this lecture is to poiat oat, ia a simple manner, the importance of public opinion, and to show how modern Secularism and Rationalism are the result of the public opinion of the age The magic influence of public opinion can scarcely be mazaided : it is almost irresistible ; with it, like the lever of Archimedes, we can more the world. In this nineteenth century public opinion is decidedly against religion ; many scientists are bitter enemies of Revelation ; onr statesmen, with a few noble exceptions, troubLe themselves nay little about religion ; in several places the Press is thoroughly anti-religious. The wonder is, how, in spite of this antagonism, there can be any faith at all, aad religion can still raise ■WW I***1 *** Very few penons think for themselves-millions of men I*™ 1 fictitious opinion ; what they imagine to be their own personal conviction is, m reality, when seriously analysed, the general opinion of the place they live in, of the books and newspapers they read, of the friends that surround them, of the very atmosphere they breathe. In many places of Persia thousands upon thousand, believe in Zoroaster and his religious system-because^r* public opinion S^h^3«ih Indl KBo'oW^^K 80 ' 0W^^. pcr9Ons fo"o P w the doSe of Buddha and Brahma-because Buddhism and Brahmism A re advocated by public opinion. In China, Confucius is supported by public opinion, and most of the inhabitants of the Chinese Empire firmly believe in him. In Turkey, Mahomet is the man of public opinion ; and this is why th« Arabs and the Turk, believe in the Koran, and cry out every day " Allah t Allah ! Allah! God is God, and Mahomet is h^pJofhetr 1 puWic opinion were mfavour of the Catholic Church ; if it were fashionable to be a Roman Catholic, nine persons out of ten in Europe and in these coloniea would pretena to be very religious indeed, and very much attached to the Church of Christ, and imagine in this to be guided only by their conscientious conviction. Not only our religious pereuawonsare m many cases framed by public opinion, bat also our manners, our literature our laws. The stability of a nation depends upon the stability of its convictions-religious, moral, and political. The Athenians knew this well; this is why, in order to avoid revolutionary changes, when young men took an oath, they S SX^f X^,? SeßodS eßod8 ' and «^Pelled to swear to Sfi £?£ i for their faith their country, and the traditions of their fathers. Everywhere great political coanges have been accompanied by equal changes in public opinion ; the secret of moving a nation is to change its public opinion by way of persuasion. Before the coming o£ our Lord all nations, except the Jews, were Poiytheists, and plunged in all the superstitions of paganism. Our blessed baviour came to change this false opinion of the world. He therefore estabhshed His Church, and sent His apostles to the four corners of the earth to preach his doctrine. Whithersoever they went, by their adrmruble life, their miracles, and their zeal in preaching the Gospel, they changed the opinion of the world, and pagan nations embraced Christianity In the seventh century Mahomet persuaded his followers that he had received from God the rules of the Koran, that the Koran was to be established all over the world by the sword, and that those who would die fighting for it would be admitted into sternal bliss. Millions upon millions of credulous persons believed feth Ifhp T m r r t tIVe v. ly f hort T time Koran was established from the Eber to the Euphrates. In 1453, several learned Greeks, banished from Constantinople, came to Florence, in Italy oi?,l wtf^ lte Pamtinß?P amtin ß? and majestic statues of the deities o"f Greece With the poems and works of the Greek and Latin poets and oratora. They went to the principal cities of Europe aad said • " If you want to make rapid progress in arts and eloquence* aod surpass in civilisation all other nations, B tudy the masterpieces of auuquity." Protected by the rich and noble, they succeeded in changing public opinion in their favour, and what we vtnla £. namanee," was the result of this new public opinion. The statuef of the gods and goddesses of Athens and Rome wore to be seen every where-mythology became a favourite studj. Homer, Pindar. Ovid\ Virgil, Horace, were adopted in every col lege. On the stage Mytholog.cai dramas were represented, and many of the manners of the old pagans revived. La Benaissawe " made a revolution in arts and in literature. In tne sixteenth century Luther succeeded in persuading his followers that •< the Scriptures-interpreted by private judgf?, T7. c . reth . c . 0Dl y necessary rule of faith ,— millions of persons followed this opinion. And it is on this principle of private judgment that all tbe^sects have been established, and the most contradictory doctrines preached as divine truths. In 1789, the " ProclaEgalxUU FraterniU II! became the echo of public opinion, and the -consequence was the proclamation of the "Goddess Reason," the of churches and castles, and the wholesale mas>.acre of thousands of holy prietts, saintly nuns, and innocent noblemen. The logic of public opinion is terrible. Private individuals may resist it —the majonty, as a rule, always conform to it.' Whatever is popular and universal is thought to be right, or at any rate it would be useless to oppose it. Woen this popularity is in favour of religion, trutb, and authority — society prospers; but when it 13 opposed to them, impiety and libertinism are in the ascendant, iniquity is triumphant, and it requires a Divine agency to cuange or modify it. There is nothing indifferent in region and politics ; everything has an influence over society, and causes It to progress or to retrograde-because everything is the affirmation of a truth or the propagation of an error— an encouragement to virtue or to vice, a protection of the good or of the wicked. In our days another change ia being effected in public opinion, in favour of what we may call " Csesarism " or <• Seculari 3 m." Ancient nations uni-ver.-aily believed taat Heligiou was the pillar of society, and the most powerful supporter of the State— ministers of religion were highly esteemed ; they were consulted in all matters of importance,

and were entrusted with the education of the young, and many other responsible offices. The Government of the Jews was a Theocracy. The High Priest was looked upon as the visible representative oE the Divinity. His authority, both in religious and civil matters, was almost nnlimited ; nothing was done without his consent; to the college of the priests and Levites not only education but many other branches of the public administration were confided. In Egypt— religion was very much esteemed and venerated— the priest* occupied the first place in the commonwealth ; their land was free of taxes ; the kiog was nominated by the priests, and chosen from the wiiest among them. After his coronation the college of the pontiffs formed, de jure, his council ; ha could do nothing without their sanction. They had even the power to depose him and appoint another in hi 3 place if he did nob govern according to the religious laws of his country. Education was exclusively under the control of pontiffs and priests. The council of the pontiff*, m union with the king, managed all public affairs. The government of Egypt wa* essentially religious. In Greece the council of Amphyctions, composed of deputies of all the principal cities of the Hellenic Republic, took an oath to respact religion and honour the priests. It was death to speak against religion or its ministers; and neither the rank nor the quality of the offender could screen him from the public vengeance. Alcibiades, notwithstanding the services he had rendered to his country, was put to death for having ridiculed the mysteries of Bleusis ; and Socrates was condemned to drink hemlock because of contempt towards the gods. Among the Gauls, the Druids were so powerful that even kings dreaded their authority, and would have been afraid to offend them. Among the Turks, no monarch would have the temerity to displease the " Mufti," or first minister of Islam. His influence is so great that it is almost irresistible. The Romans boasted of being the most religious people in the world. The Supreme Pontiff of pagan Rome nominated consuls, governors, and ambassadors. Ediication was under the control of the priests. Ministers of religion were consulted on all important affairs. Indeed, it was on account of the influence of the Church everywhere that Julius C»3ar, wishing to have absolute authority, united in his person, by a sacrilegious usurpation, the .Imperial and Pontifical dignity, and had himself called, 2>wmus> Ccesar, Summits Pontifex et Imperator," the Divine Cassar, Supreme Pontiff and Emperor. From what we have stated it is manifest that, until recently, men have always believed that religion was the safe-guard of society. Without God's authority, no authority can subsist ; men will not, for a long time, submit to their superiors except they see in them the representatives of God. The great advantage of religion is that it encourages every one to be faithful to his personal and social duties because of God. Common sense is sufficient to perceive this. The legislators of antiquity were not blind to this fact ; instead of despising or persecuting religion, they honoured it, and made use of it to consolidate the social edifice • they made religion the foundation stone, if I may so speak', of the ;u mi i£\° f fc^ 80000 . °f army, and of ail the ramifications of tne btate. I hey made people believe that laws emanated from God. and if we examine it attentively, we shall see that paganism multiplied its gods because of the immense want that men have of God everywhere. When people began to see the falsehood of Polytheism, and embraced Christianity, philosophers attacked the Christian religion, some through prejudice and ignorance, but most of them because the dogmas of the immortality of the soul, of judgment of hell, aad of the infallible authority of the Church imposed too' many restrictions upon their passions, and, wishing to have an absolute freedom of thought, they endeavoured* to turn public opinion against the Church. Among the Romans, the common people generally believed in the plurality of gods; many eminent philosophers admitted only one Supreme Being, but left the people in their ignorance and conformed externally to the religious rites of the place. Magistrates thought Polytheism was a powerful aid to the State, and encouraged it. Little by little, however, indifferentism became almost universal; religion was despised and personal enjoyment was thought to be the highest aim of man's destiny. Now it is certain that the downfall of the Roman Empire began with that of religion— for even a false religion is better than none, and an erroueous conception of the Deity is far preferable t> Materialism or Atneism. When religion ceased to flourish arnon' the Komans, it was replaced for a while by Cseaarism and terrorism*, ttut Ues&nsm and terrorism could not resist the progress of immorality and licentiousness. Men ceasing to fear Divine justice could no longer be constrained. From the time of Tiberius the corruption and general depravity were such that we can scarcely iorm an idea of it. A few noble characters appear still here and there as fading stars amidst a stormy sea, but they gradually vanish out ot sight. Paganism is no more; Cassarism is dead ; people do not know what to do. Jesus Christ came and saved the world from 25E.7& n ?* htly dlr i ctin f J> üblic OP*™*. Bat how was the change effected? It was effected by God's almighty power, by the wonderful life and miracles of Christ and of His Apostle, by the sublimity and sanctity of the Christian Doctrine, by the testimony of million of martyrs, by the writings of the doctors of the Church, by the addition to the Church of valiant captains, eminent scientists and philosophers, magistrates of well-known probity, and, above all by the self-abnegation, chanty and zeal of the early Christians, particu. larjy of the clergy, and of persons- consecrated to God. Early Christian bishops and priests we're held in such veneration, that people stood up to salute them when they passed through the streets,-they kissed the hem of their garments, nay, the very ground they had trodden upon, and humbly knelt down to receive their blessing; When any quarrel arose amongst them, they referred the matter to their bishop or priest, and abided by his decision.* When Constantly wa 3 converted, instead of diminishing the influence of the clergy, he SfJ lfc 5 f or . ae kQew ""it a fundamental dogma of Chr.stianity it to honour and obey civil rulers as the repres entatives of God, and »? w°K 6 ? e °& c , WOuld i? ye and fear God » the more submissive they would be to-the laws. He gave to bishops and priests the same powe las to judges and magistrates. Ho admitted, them into hiabouao

and was guided by their prudent advice. The emperors Justinian and Theodosiufl still increased the privileges of the Church. Bishops and priests were appointed governors, ambassadors, and placed in. other posts of trust, and they had no reason to be sorry for it, for with very few exceptions, they were eminent satatesmen, and promoted the happiness of the people. People loved their country and their civil rulers because of God ; the Church and State worked in harmony together, and assisted each other. For the last three hundred years gradual -efforts havej been made to destroy this harmony ;—now the separation of the State and Church is already an accomplished fact in many parts of Europe, and secularists are doing their utmost to turn Public Opinion in their favor, and revive Caesarism and terrorism. In many countries, statesmen ignore the Church altogether • ministers of religion are considered as unfit to fill any public post of importance. It is asserted that religion has nothing to do with politics, laws are framed (such as the law of divorce) entirely antagonistic to the teaching of Christ, the State assumes the control of education, and encourages secular education, compulsory and free. Enemies of religiou and persons of a doubtful morality, are appointed to the highest offices;; the Press, in most cases, servilely advocates the opinion of legislators and secularists. Most of our periodicals are for secularism, and very few only hare the courage, from time to time, to say a few words in favour of religion. Men who have a great name in the scientific world such as Huxley, Darwin, Tyndall, Haeekel, Colenso, Kenan, Denton, etc., have declared against Christianity.* People, seeing all this, give way to unbelief. The remedy is : Firstly, to make Christianity known, the proofs of Christianity are so luminous that, when examined without prejudice, they banish every doubt, and when people believe in the divinity of Christianity, they are easily persuaded to live according to its teaching. Secondly, let us lead exemplary lives that, edified by oar virtues, people may be moved to imitate us, and join our holy religion. Thirdly, let us inspire our children, with a great respect for our Lord Jesus Christ, for His Church, and His ministers, and for all those in authority in general. Fourthly, let us exercise our influence in favour of Christianity, by our writings, our words, and all the means at our command. Last of all, not least, let us pray that unbelievers may open their eyes, and submit to the authority of Christ, and of His Holy Church. Then the public opinion will once more be in favour of Christianity, religion will flourish and society prosper. (Concluded in our next.')