The Catholic World, Vol. 11, April, 1870 to September, 1870Various
Religion
The Catholic World, Vol. 11, April, 1870 to September, 1870
Various
Catholic Church -- Periodicals
"'Strange destiny, that of theology, to be condemned to be for
ever attaching itself to those systems which are crumbling
away,' writes M. Maury; 'to be essentially hostile to all
science that is novel, and to all progress!'"
We shall only remark that, were religion to spend her time in pinning
her faith to all the "novel," "scientific," "progressive" systems
that spring up every day and straightway begin to crumble, even
while these learned "sciologists" are tossing high their caps in air
and shouting out in impressive chorus, "Where now is theology?"--it
would, we think, be even stranger still.
We have devoted this much space to showing up some of the falsehoods
in this book because it is not all false nor all stupid; it is a
philosophic and, to some extent, a learned work; it is written in
a brilliant and attractive style. This class of works dazzle; but
when written by non-Catholics, they are not to be trusted. _The only
deep, and, at the same time, sound scholarship in the world is in
the Catholic Church._ Those who protest against her protest against
the truth; even the most learned among them, on many most essential
matters, are surprisingly ignorant; but what they want in knowledge
they make up generally in flash rhetoric and humbug novelty, and that
suits this enlightened age just as well.
Too many persons, however, when they see much that is true in a book,
are inclined to believe it all true; and so with a considerable
amount of food they will swallow a great deal of poison. This is a
mistake. No author is ever wholly wrong. The falsest say many things
that are true.
To show how error and truth may be found side by side in the same
work, we will give some quotations from our author in which his ideas
are sufficiently, or even strikingly, correct.
He thus speaks of asceticism:
"From whatever motive an ascetic life is undertaken, the result
is accumulation of force. The ascetic cuts himself off, as much
as possible, from all means of liberating force. His voluntary
celibacy and abstinence from active work place at his disposal
all that force which would be discharged by a man in the world
in muscular action and in domestic affection.... Withdrawal
from society intensifies his individuality, and, unless the
ideas formed in his brain be such as can excite his emotion,
he becomes completely self-centred. But if the object of his
contemplation be one which is calculated to draw out his
affections, the result is a coördinate accumulation of mental
and affectional power." (P. 348.)
"Luther, a man of coarse and vigorous animalism, was no ascetic." (P.
350.)
The doctrine of Zwinglius, he tells us, was simply pantheism, and
that of Calvin he considers undeserving the name of Christianity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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