RELIGION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2862, 3 September 1895, Page 2

RELIGION.

On last Sunday evening, in St. Joseph’s Church, Terauka, Rev. Father Lo Menaut Des Chesnais commenced a course of lectures on “ Religion.” There was a very large congregation, and after vespers the rev. gentleman ascended the pulpit and took for his text Psalm 118, verso 31; “ Give me understanding, and I will search Thy law and keep it with my whole heart.” Religion, he proceeded to say, is the golden chain which united men with God. It is a living union effected by our thoughts, desires, words, and actions which we refer to Him with a view to please Him, glorify Him, and obtain Heavenly bliss. Religion is in harmory with the most noble aspirations of our souls. It is not the result of ignorance or prejudice, many of the most eminent men of ancient and modern time having been also the most religious. It is not caused by fear. Wo fear God, it is true, but we love Him also as our creator, benefactor, and most bountiful friend. Reason alone is not sufficient to lead us to our destiny, Plato, the founder of the Academic School; Aristotle, the founder of the Poripathetics; Zeno, founder of the Stoics; Epicure, Pyrrho, and other ancient philosophers, fell into many grievous errors, and encouraged immoral practices. It might bo objected that Darwin, Denton, Prof. Huxley, Ernest Haekel, and many other scientists, horo declared themselves against Revelation. Those gentlemen may be excellent natural philosophers, botanists, geologists, anatomists, pathologists, but their knowledge of Christian antiquity, philosophy, theology may I o very scant indeed, and very little to be relied on. However, later on we shall answer their objections against Revelation. Before we could decide if one religion is as good as another, we must know the different religions of the world. They are : Polytheism, or the plurality of Gods; Mahomedanism, a mixed religion of Paganism, Jewisra, and Christianity; Irauiauism, the religion of Persia, contained in the Zand-avestas. It admits of a good God, who has a body and a soul—- “ Ormuz ” ; a wicked God—Arimaua—represented as the serpent ; Mithra, or the Sun-God. Budhism, invented by Sukiamouni 500 before Christ. It is an ascetic religion. It preaches the transmigration of souls and reabsorption into the nh-wana, or principle of all things. Modern learned Budhists admit the unity of God, reject metempsychosis, but conform externally to the religious customs of the place. The Christian religions are : ho Catholic religion, the Greek, the Reformed Churches. Catholics claim to be the religion established by Jesus Christ. The Greeks differ from Catholics in two things—they deny the procession of the Holy Ghost and the supremacy of the Pope—since their separation. Reformed Churches believe in the Holy Scriptures interpreted by private reason. Now come the questions : Are all these religious alike / Are they all equally true and good 'I They are not all true —on e affirming precisely what the others deny, the others denying what is affirmed by the others. Polytheists affirm the multiplicity of deities; monotheists believe in one God. Mahomet makes Christ a prophet, the Jews an imposter, Christians the Son of God. Thus the various religions contradict each other, and consequently they cannot all bo equally true. The true religion must exclude all error, encourage all vii tu, s, and condemn every crime. A religion that would teach a thousand revealed truths and authorise a single error cannot be the true religion. Truth is one, and cannot contain error. Tf Mahomedism is right Christianity must bo wrong; if Episcopalians arc right Presbyterians must bo wrong ; if the Greeks are right the Catholics must be wrong, and so on. All religions are not good, for some encourage cannibalism, human sacrifices, and ridiculous f.uperslitions, therefore there can bo but one true religion, for the true religion must e>chide all errors and condemn wickedness everywhere The various religions of ti-e world may contain revealed truths, 0! courage several virtues; they are true and good in so far as they" agree with the true religion, and they are false and wrong move or loss in proportion as iliey oissoi.t .roio it, God is infinitely true and holy, and tl;o true religion cannot contain error. The rev. gentleman tuoke for about an hour and a half without over referring to a single note, Iho conception and arrangement of the lecture were excellent, and the diction beautiful. It exhibited wonderful research, and a splendid grasp of the subject. At the close ho announced that on next Sunday evening ho will lecture on “ Is the Bible a iraud ? Is it a fable and a fiction I Or is it the Word of God t ”