_Question_. How did the Catholic Church select the true books? _Answer_. Councils were called, and votes were taken, very much as we now pass resolutions in political meetings. _Question_. Was the Catholic Church infallible then? _Answer_. It was then, but it is not now. _Question_. If the Catholic Church at that time had thrown out the book of Revelation, would it now be our duty to believe that book to have been inspired? _Answer_. No, I suppose not. _Question_. Is it not true that some of these books were adopted by exceedingly small majorities? _Answer_. It is. _Question_. If the Epistle to the Hebrews and to the Romans, and the book of Revelation had been thrown out, could a man now be saved who honestly believes the rest of the books? _Answer_. This is doubtful. _Question_. Were the men who picked out the in- spired books inspired? 421 _Answer_. We cannot tell, but the probability is that they were. _Question_. Do we know that they picked out the right ones? _Answer_. Well, not exactly, but we believe that they did. _Question_. Are we certain that some of the books that were thrown out were not inspired? _Answer_. Well, the only way to tell is to read them carefully. _Question_. If upon reading these apocryphal books a man concludes that they are not inspired, will he be damned for that reason? _Answer_. No. Certainly not. _Question_. If he concludes that some of them are inspired, and believes them, will he then be damned for that belief? _Answer_. Oh, no! Nobody is ever damned for believing too much. _Question_. Does the fact that the books now com- prising the New Testament were picked out by the Catholic Church prevent their being examined now by an honest man, as they were examined at the time they were picked out? 422 _Answer_. No; not if the man comes to the con- clusion that they are inspired. _Question_. Does the fact that the Catholic Church picked them out and declared them to be inspired, render it a crime to examine them precisely as you would examine the books that the Catholic Church threw out and declared were not inspired? _Answer_. I think it does. _Question_. At the time the council was held in which it was determined which of the books of the New Testament are inspired, a respectable minority voted against some that were finally decided to be inspired. If they were honest in the vote they gave, and died without changing their opinions, are they now in hell? _Answer_. Well, they ought to be. _Question_. If those who voted to leave the book of Revelation out of the canon, and the gospel of Saint John out of the canon, believed honestly that these were not inspired books, how should they have voted? _Answer_. Well, I suppose a man ought to vote as he honestly believes--except in matters of religion. _Question_. If the Catholic Church was not infal- lible, is the question still open as to what books are, and what are not, inspired? 423