Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 69, No. 427, May, 1851Various
General
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 69, No. 427, May, 1851
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
From the moment the Bishop of Rome usurped this sovereignty, then
commenced the necessity of maintaining it, _per fas et nefas_. To
abrogate one iota of his power was to abrogate the whole. He took
upon himself and his successors a contention that can never cease,
but with a universal submission. The whole history of the Papacy,
from the day of its assumption, proves this. It does not come within
the scope of our object to enter into the details of that history.
They are well known: the remembrance of many and sore atrocities has
been too deeply engraven on the minds of the people of England to be
easily obliterated. When they hear of the Papal Aggression, they ask,
When was the Papacy not an aggression? Neither are we very desirous
to treat minutely of the Romish corruptions and apostacies, excepting
where they evolve principles that will not amalgamate with any civil
polity, or the laws and governments of nations. It is possible there
may be religions that, being tolerated, would in practice not only
destroy every other, but the very name of liberty. Even Thuggism
professes to be a religion, and secret murder its duty. Would it be
religious liberty to tolerate the Suttees and Juggernauts of India?
We do not mean to make offensive comparisons: we only put the case
strongly, to show how obvious it is that toleration must have its
limits; if not, toleration may become a domination, and the thing be
lost in the name. There must be in every state some agreement between
religion and its social laws. The Mahometan may have his mosque in
a Christian country, but could he be allowed to set at defiance the
decency of Christian morals, on the plea of his religious liberty?
We have "Latter-day Saints," believers in Joe Smith, and interfere
not with them. We trust that they do not infringe the laws, nor break
their civil obligations, or at least we do not know that they do so.
We know nothing of mischief in their history, have no record of former
doings, that should lead us to dread their principles. But to return
to the Papacy: it stands apart from every religion, in its abhorrence,
intolerance, and persecution of all that is not of itself. It will
never cease to strive openly if it can, if not secretly, to subvert
every other--to set up its own absolute authority. Persecution is its
law, its creed, its necessity. Where it is quiet, it is undermining;
where it is visibly active, it sows dissensions and rebellions, because
they promote its own supremacy; where it has the smallest chance of
success, it moves onwards. Besides, it has organisations wondrously
adapted to its work. There is not only a large submission to the Pope
throughout territories and kingdoms that are not his, but there is
that especial order of obedience, the Jesuits, who bind themselves to
have no will but that of their "Holy Father;" whose first religion it
is to do his will, whatever it be--to have no conscience, with regard
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