A BLOW FOR ANGLICANS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVIII, Issue 5, 30 May 1890, Page 19

A BLOW FOR ANGLICANS.

Sir G. G. Stokes, an eminent man in the scientific world, whose voice has been heard pretty often at Church Congresses and Church Defence meetings, delivered a most remarkable lecture in London last Sunday. Not only did he declare that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul was not, in his opiinon, a part of the Christian faith, but he also gave it a 9 his opinion that the doctrine of <-he resurrection of the body was " extravagant and incredible," and one with which it would bo " very wrong indeed "to encumber the Christian religion. Bt. Paul, he observed, had denied the latter dogma 1 Tbis is tolerably plain speaking for a chimpion of the Church of England ; but, what 13 vastly more loiporUnt, Sir G. G. Stokes sail that he had letters from three Bishops of the Establishment who agived with him that the dccirine |of the immortality of the soul was act 'a thing to be necessarily believed. One of tDese prelates added that he had ventilated his opinions from the pulpit before he became a Bishop. It seems that the Episcopal cjnsecration has at least imparted to this dignitary the virtje of prudence. But the point to which we wish to call the attention of our Anglican friends is this— Who is to decide the question ? They will doubtless agree with us that this is a most dangeroup, a practically dangerous, heresy ; yet, on their theory, trmikind mast wut un ll the Komaa, Greek, aud Anglican Churches shall have sett'ed their .differences and held a General Council, before a really au> liDiita'ive sentence can be pronounced a^ain^t it. In fact, ihur theory plainly reduces the Church to absolute impotence, and leaves mankind to believe anything they choose, exactly aa if the Church had never been founded at all.— Liverpool Catholic Tlnus.

The Florence G'wnw of a recent date publishes the retraction of Dom Eduardo Terzi, formerly a Capuchin Father, who some time ago became a Piottstant. Father Terzi has done public penance, and been reconciled to the Chuicb.