Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 28 April 1910, Page 649

Current Topics

The Higher Critics Those insidious wreckers of religious faith — higher critics, so called —who talk in large and spacious fashion about the ‘reconstruction of theology ’ and the ‘ elimination of the archaic elements in religious belief,’ always speak and write as if there was only one possible view of the question, and as if all learning and all culture were on their side. They are the people, and when they go, wisdom will die with them. This is, of course, a very one-eyed and lop-sided presentation of the position. As a matter of fact, broadly speaking, the great minds right down the centuries have been on the side of definite faith, as against nebulous unfaith and no Christian paper —and no Christian professor—which has to deal with the subject is acting honestly with its audience if it fails to place fairly and squarely before the public eye the fact that ripe scholarship, wide culture, and deep piety are represented in the fullest measure on the historical conservative side. In this case, as in most others, a suppression of the truth is distinctly a suggestion of the false. * In connection with this aspect of the question, some remarks made by an American secular paperthe Detroit News —are very much to the point. Commenting on criticisms directed against a course announced by Dr. Wesley, a professor in the Ann Arbor University, which was recognised to be antagonistic to the fundamental- ideas of Christianity, the editorial writer in the News says:—‘After all, this matter must turn on the question of dealing fairly with the student. It is not fair to him to allow him to think, to virtually compel him to. think, that all scholarship is on the side of the rehashed destructive temper in which religion is handled in the university. The present course in philosophy would appear to be deliberately planned to take from him'every spiritual support he ever knew, and then leave him alone and unguided in the stony wastes of negation. The very best a multitude of students can do after this treatment is to struggle back to what Carlyle calls “ the centre of indifference,” and drop the matter as nearly as their natures will allow them to drop it. They are not reminded by any circumstance that there is as superb a scholarship in the service of sane faith as there is in that of the destroyers. They are confined to one man’s mood and mind they are not permitted to see that strong minds have grappled with the same big problems and have drawn light and help from them. Until the student is given a fair statement of both sides of the matter by men competent to do it, no university can ever claim the credit of dealing fairly with him.’ Getting their turn It makes all the difference in the world whose ox is gored. So long as the tyrannical and grossly unjust French governmental persecution appeared to be directed exclusively against the Catholic Church, Protestants for the most part viewed it with great equanimity—in some cases, indeed, expressed warm and active approval of it. The President of the New Zealand Methodist Conference, for example, went out of his way to officially congratulate the French Government on ‘ their determined stand against clericalism ’ and expressly endorsed their policy of repression. Now it appears that the same weapons of savage attack and persecution are being turned against the Protestant missionaries in Madagascar, and our Protestant friends do not like it a bit. Madagascar, as everybody knows, is a French possession off the coast of Africa. English Protestant missionaries have been laboring there for some years, but the colonial Government, taking their cue from the home authorities, have lately been riding rough-shod over the conscientious rights of the Protestants, just as in France the officials are oppressing and persecuting Catholics. * The Gongregationalist tells the. story, with loud-voiced protest. It tells us that the militant secularism which has been the outstanding feature of French life at home, has even in an exaggerated and apparently malicious and bigoted form done its best to root out Christianity among the Malagasy people altogether. . , The missionary schools have been broken up, the graduates denied French citizenship, the heathen rites encouraged, Christianity everywhere denounced and repressed,’ We have over and over again pointed —what has long been patent to careful observersthat the French Government’s war against the Catholic Church is a war against all forms of Christianity, and indeed against all forms of religion. The sects in France have hitherto escaped merely because of their insignificance. Referring editoually to the fact

we have mentioned, the Boston : Herald, under the heading Anti-Christian France,’ remarks:—‘Evidence accumulates that France, in its reaction from a particular form of Christian truth and policy, has gone far on the way toward antireligious views of a particularly secular and virulent form. Its State schools, that once were pledged to neutrality in matters of religion, are now, in many cases, agencies for attack on religion as such; and the secular conception of the State and anti-religious tenor of governmental policy have gone forth into the colonies.’ Even in France itself Protestants are now beginning to feel the pinch. A correspondent, writing to the Catholic Herald on the situation, says : —‘ The effects of the separation of the Church from the State in France are felt very much by the Protestants as well as by the Catholics. During last year the deficit in the incomes of their churches was 160,000 francs, and the prospect in the near future does not look much brighter. It may also be mentioned that the number of students entering upon the study of theology in the two Protestant faculties in Paris and Montaubau is diminishing considerably.’ Now that our Protestant friends are, to some slight extent, companions with us in misfortune, they will probably take a truer and broader view of the position in France. • < y - A Scientist’s Confession of Faith - The shallow talk about the incompatibility of science and faith, and about the ■ difficulty which the scientific mind is alleged to find in ‘ swallowing ’ religious dogma, is for the most part the cackle only of- the very small fry in the scientific world. The really great scientistthe man who is raised by genius above his fellows —is always a humble man, usually a deeply religious man, and at the least and worst is , a man with the bump of reverence well developed. Some interesting and striking illustrations of this truth are supplied in a recent work published by the Fordham University Press, New York, entitled Makers of Electricity, by Brother Potamian, F.S.C., D.Sc., London, Professor of Physics in Manhattan College, New York; and James J. Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., LL.D., Dean and Professor of Nervous Diseases and of the History of Medicine at Fordham University. Dr. Walsh refers to Galvani, the discoverer of animal electricity; Volta, who reduced it to a science; Ampere and Ohm, whose names are perpetuated in electricity’s peculiar measurements; Faraday, the great experimenter, and Maxwell, who gave mathematical precision to its control ; all of whom, giants of earth and air, were humble, gentle, God-fearing men. Of Galvani Dr. Walsh tells how his skill as a surgeon was freely given to the poor, while the rich he refused to treat, saying they could afford to hire other physicians. He was buried in. the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis. Regarding Ampere, whose name will ever be inseparably, linked with the science of electro-dynamics which he founded, we are told that he learned by heart almost the whole of a’Kempis’ Imitation of, Christ. Pasteur, when questioned as to his religious faith, is reported as having replied; The more I know the nearer my faith approaches to that of the Breton peasant—did I know all, it would doubtless be like that of the Breton peasant’s wife.’ A similar spirit had been shown, a century before, by the great Volta— inventor, at the early age of thirty, .of the electric pile which first produced the electric fluid . in an even, easy, controllable stream. According to Dr. Walsh, Volta knew the value of daily Mass, and was known by his neighbors for his devotion to the Rosary and his visits to the Blessed Sacrament. • * When he was at the very zenith of his fame and all Europe was ringing with his praises, it was spread about among the ‘ scholars ’ of France and Italy that so great a scientist could not be, as was said, a religious man. To his lasting honor, Volta put in black and white, for all the world to see and read, a plain and explicit statement of his belief. Volta’s confession of faith ran as follows: — If some of my faults and negligences may have by chance given occasion to some one to suspect me of infidelity, I am ready, as some reparation for this and for any other good purpose, to declare'to such a one, and to every other good person, and on every occasion and under all circumstances, that I have always held, and hold now, the Holy Catholic Religion as the only true and infallible one, thanking without end the good God for having gifted me with such a faith, in which I firmly purpose to live and die, in the lively hope of attaining eternal life. 1 recognise my faith as a gift of God, a supernatural faith. I have not on this account, however, neglected to use all human means that could confirm me more in it and that might drive away any doubt which could arise to tempt me in matters of faith. I have studied my faith with attention as to its foundations, reading for this purpose books of apologetics as well as those written with a contrary purpose,” and trying to appreciate the arguments pro and contra. I have tried to realise from what sources spring the strongest

arguments which render faith most credible to natural reason and such as cannot fail to make every well-balanced mind, which has not been perverted by vice or passion, embrace it and love it. May this protest of mine, which I have deliberately... drawn up, and which I leave to posterity, subscribed with my own hand, and which shows to all and every one that I do not blush at the Gospel may it, as I have said, ’ produce some good fruit. —Signed at Milan, January 6, 1815. —-Alessandro Volta.’ Dr. Walsh says:—‘Volta lived twelve years after writing the above, and was looked up to as one of the great thinkers of Europe and as one of the most important men of Italy of his time.’

More * Fablegrams ’ Of late there have been frequent complaints on the part of even secular papers regarding the onesidedness and biassed nature of the ‘ news ’political and otherwise—transmitted by the cable agents. If the patrons of the dailies in question had suffered one-tenth as often or as much as Catholics have from the same cause, they would have good reason to be restive. Here is the latest sample of the ‘ crammer’s ’ penchant for anti-Catholic canards. A recent Reuter’s telegram to the Home papers reads as follows : —‘ The Imparcial, in a leading article, implies that difficulties have arisen between the Vatican and the Government (supported by the Crown) with regard to the modification of the Concordat proposed by the latter. The Vatican, according to this story, at first gave a flat non possumus to the suggestions put forward by the Spanish Government. After the reply of the Spanish Government that if such was the attitude of the Vatican, they would present Bill to the Cortes reforming the Concordat as they deemed fit, without preliminary negotiations with Rome, the Pope addressed himself through the intermediary of the Nuncio to King Alfonso, with a view to preventing the status of the relations between Spain and the Vatican being in any way assailed. The King considered the refusal of the Vatican to enter into negotiations with his Government, which, he said, enjoyed his entire confidence, to he unjustified. He remarked, while protesting his submission to the Church, that a modification of the Concordat was possible now, as it had been at other times, and that he, as a recognised Constitutional monarch, had to bow to the wishes of his people, expressed by his Government.’ * At the most the condition of things described is only implied in the Imparcial article but of course the cable agent did not feel under any obligation either to himself investigate the truth of the story, or to wait until its accuracy had been otherwise established. As a matter of fact, the yarn is, purely and simply, a fabrication of the anti-clericals._ The Correspondance de Home positively denies that the Vatican has at all addressed King Alfonso, either directly or indirectly, and recalls the fact that, since the time of the Maura Cabinet, there exists at Madrid a Commission formed by the representative of the Holy See and the Spanish Government to study the possible modifications of the Concordat. The official Osservatore Romanos publishes, in addition, the following denial:—‘We are authorised to oppose to the biassed information of the Imparcial a most emphatic denial. The Holy See has never refused to enter into amicable negotiations with the Spanish Government about the Concordat or other disputed points in conformity with Article 45 of that Concordat.’ It is ’not in the least likely that Reuter’s representative troubled to transmit a word of the express and explicit refutation of the he which he had been in such a hurry to put into circulation. * During the week two similarly fishy-looking stories have appeared in the cable columns of the daily press. They read as follows;-‘Rome, April 20.—M. Jansen, a Belgian priest stationed in Italy, is said to have been ordered to resign his Vatican offices and to retire to a monastery for tJnee months because he spontaneously wrote thanking Mr. Roosevelt for his services to Catholics in America. It is also unofficially reported in Rome that the Nuncio at Vienna has been recalled for visiting Mr. Roosevelt when the exPresident was in that city.’ Here again the story has no better foundation than the gossipy ‘ it is said ’ or < IS unofficially reported’; yet the faWe agent rushes to blazon it to the ends of the earth. It is comfort?™ +? reflect that by the time the Rev. Dr Cleary returns a beginning, at least, will have been made towards the establishment of a Catholic News Agency, which will enable us to very Li S ch harm ardS “ bef ° re they have time to do

Germany has grown at such an alarming proportion that the Church authorities, synods, and conferences are seriously discussing this burning problem. ‘ln Berlin alone,’ says the Independent, ‘ the daily average of those breaking away from the Church is 300, and in the Cultus Ministerium five extra clerks had to be engaged to attend to this new business alone.’ The stream of defections appears to be most marked in connection with the working classes. There has all along, for some thirty years, been a small contingent, ranging from 1000 to 2000 annually, who broke away from the State churches. ‘ But in 1906,’ says the same authority, ‘ there was a sudden jump all at once to 12,007 in Prussia alone, although the year before it had been 9158, and 8802 in 1904. It is principally the working men who are affected by this away-from-the-Church agitation, and in Berlin alone, during the past three years, more than 17,000 working people have left the Church for good. At the present rate the losses to the Protestant churches are at least 30,000 per year.’ •A Apparently the causes of this wholesale exodus are not very easy to define. ‘ The Social Democratic hostility to the Church,’ continues the Independent, ‘is only in part the cause of the trouble. . . The reason assigned by most applicants is that they want to be freed from paying further Church taxes {Kirche listener), which they can do through such a declaration, and which is the only tax which the German can in any way escape. Conservative papers express their surprise that the number who sever their connection with the Church is not larger, as those who do, it is claimed, are only dead branches of the Church at any rate, and had not internally been members for years.’ If that be so, the proportion of dead branches — per yearis surely tremendously large. £ Many hesitate because, by making such a declaration, they forego all claims on the Church, such as the services of a minister at baptisms, marriages, and funerals, pastoral visits for the sick and dying, participation in Communion, and the like. As in recent years the payment of the Church taxes has been obligatory on not a few who before this had been excused because of their small incomes, it is thought that the sudden increase of these Church insurgents is attributable to this cause. Both religious and social conditions combine to produce this agitation. Radical religious thought . . . and the failure of the Protestant Church to do justice to the social problem, especially among the working men, are all factors in the trouble.’ Although the Conservative papers profess to regard the defaulting members,as ‘dead branches,’ they are nevertheless seriously concerned at the position. Some Protestant periodicals profess to be fairly pleased with this insurgent propaganda on the ground that it rids the Church of undesirable members; but it is very evident that they nevertheless are worried, and ask, What next? So far at least the crusade has not brought forth any disestablishment project, and Church and State seem to be more closely united than ever in trying to stem the tide of an inner break-up of some of the Protestant State churches of the Fatherland. Liberal theologians, as well as conservatives, are trying to stem the tide.’ As far as the facts are available, it would appear that the great majority of the defections are due to monetary considerations—the gaining of exemption from particular taxes— than to any question of principle or religious conviction. At the same time, it is evident that an exceedingly large number of Protestant Church members in Germany must hold their religious beliefs very lightly. It is an outrageous thing that the Government system of taxation should be so arranged as to offer what -is practically a bribe to poor people to give up their Church, and it is matter for regret that Protestant Church membership should be depleted from such a cause. The loss to Protestantism is a gain only to the ranks of unbelief. Catholics have suffered too much from ‘ Souperism both official and individualnot to be able to sympathise with others who are similarly victimised.

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