Free thought; Modernism (Christian theology) -- Catholic Church; Religion and science; Teaching, Freedom of
We proceed. We shall demonstrate that this freedom is not only not
required, but that it is entirely untenable and ruinous; that it is
especially so because it is urged and demanded in the name of truth and
proper order, in the name of uplift of human intellectual life, and of
progress towards real enlightenment. We shall see that this freedom is not
a liberation from mean fetters, but simply a revolt against the natural
order, an apostasy from God and the supernatural which one shuns. Hence,
not the natural and orderly development of the human individual, but a
principle of negation under the garb of freedom, the severance of man from
the sources of his greatness and strength, the perversion of true science;
not the only admissible scientific method, but an altogether unscientific
method. We shall show that it becomes thereby the principle of mental
pauperization and decay, a principle of mental decadence, which in the
sphere of idealism will reduce mankind to beggary. Thereby public
testimony is given that in the midst of mankind there is needed an
intelligent force that preserves, with conscientious earnestness and
unyielding firmness, the intellectual inheritance of mankind, the ideal
treasures of truth and of morality.
Chapter I. Free From The Yoke Of The Supernatural.
Ignoramus, We Ignore.
The liberal principle of research rests on the basis of the humanitarian
view of the world, which makes man autonomous, and causes him to turn his
eyes from above and downward, and to fix them upon his earthly existence.
To remain true to its own idea, this liberal science will feel the
necessity to sever itself gradually from the restraining powers of the
world beyond, and to shun the thought of God and of His divine influence
and supremacy over the world and human life. It must resent such truths as
a burdensome yoke that oppresses human freedom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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