The New Protestant Criticism of Christianity [pp. 88-101]

Thte New Protestant Criticism of Christianity.
apostatize from the church, but an
apostate cannot remain in her fold;
he miust go from her, because he is
not of her. But in the sects, more
markedly in some of them than in
others, one may do as he pleases,
and believe or disbelieve as he
pleases, and still retain his "connection." Most true is this, in
its most serious sense, of the established Church of England, whose
ministers have only within a few
months been restrained from "playing at Mass," not by their own
superiors but by the edict of a
Parliament composed of Christians,
Jews, and atheists; and who are
still perfectly free to believe and to
preach anything they please without the slightest fear of punishment. The new law-which is
flagrantly disobeyed-forbids certain acts; but a clergyman of
the Establishment may to-morrow
preach Unitarianism, or the denial
of baptismal regeneration, or the
Roman Catholic doctrine of the
sacraments, or sheer infidelity, or
even declare that the pope is rightfully supreme head of the church,
and no one can molest him or
make him afraid. The Protestant
dogma of private judgment has, in
a word, run its full course, and
every one is left free to proclaim
his beliefs or his unbeliefs.
Two prominent English writers
have recently told the world what
they knew about the condition of
religious thought in Christendom.
They both arrived at the same
conclusion-that Faith is on its
death-bed; that Infidelity is the
coming sovereign; and that the
next generation will be one that
shall not know God or fear him.
The devil has done his work well;
and the picture of the present state
of what in unconscious irony these
writers call "religious opinion " is
perhaps not overdrawn, if it be understood that the figures on the
canvas represent only non-Cathlolics. In the Catholic Church we
are not bothered with "opinions"
or "views " regarding matters of
doctrine; whatsoever we believe,
we know God has revealed it by
the unerring authority of the teaclhing church, and we have no more
doubt about it than we have that
water runs down hill. At no period in her long and glorious history have the children of the
church been more completely of
one mind and heart than they now
are, or more firm in their faith.
The spectacle of their unity has
perhaps excited their foes all the
more to rail against them. But Mr.
Froude and Mr. Mallock are not
without reason in their assertions
that the non-Catholic portion of
Christendom has fought almost its
last fight with Satan, and is about
to surrender itself to his undisputed sway. We are not without
hope that many fugitives may escape the danger and ignominy of
the capitulation by seeking refuge
in the church against which the
gates of hell cannot prevail. The
anxiety and agitation concerning
the very basis of the Christian
faith that now pervade the nonCatholic world strengthen this
hope. This remark brings us back
to the point whence we have strayed-the assertion that the minds of
men to-day, instead of being indif ferent and careless about religious
matters, are strangely alert and
anxious respecting these things.
As a proof of this may be adduced
the fact that the press, during the
last twelve months, has brought
forth an unusual, an almost in credible, number of works upon
religious topics. We propose to
pass in reviews a few of these vol
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