The Obsolescent Commandments

New Zealand Tablet, 10 November 1921, Page 37

The Obsolescent Commandments

Mmc If * U he . fall ? f 0 1 UI ' fir st parents when man found himself following the hard road to heaven with great -because the way was dark and rough and was beset with many perils, Almighty God in His mercy built on either side of the narrow path, for the protection of pilgrims of eternity, a firm wall on. which He placed at intervals bright lamps. Consequently, unless those journeying to heaven by that secure road perversely refused to be guided by the lights the Lord God had set up, or deliberately leaped over the wall He had erected, they were sure to reach heaven safely at last. The strong wall and the shining lamps which were meant to be such a !»22£ f rote .f 10 * a s d defence for the Christian traveller, mystical writers tell us, are the Ten Commandments of ™3f r r £ OSe w n always keep them will never miss the Iven S Ti th S Wlll be , far ha PP ier and healthier even in this life, than are those who break them, and journey done, their joyful home-coming will last forBut outside the Catholic Church, as Father Hull well observes m the October 8 issue of the Catholic Mind the W gl ™n ?T tjadition of the past have now largely lost "all absolute weight and authority." iq "Morality - is regarded rather as a group of ideals than as a code of imperative laws. The idea imbedded in the

Ten Commandments' is a thing of the past; and in their place stand certain ethical convictions derived from the human consciousness, elastic and discretionary in their application. Such-and-such is the right line of conduct under norma circumstances. For instance, marriage should generally be regarded as a life-long tie to be faithfully persevered in. But as soon as circumstances became abnormal; as soon as marriage becomes a burden and a misery,/ surely an exception ought to be made. . . . there remains no clear and definite notion of God, the ruler and governor of the world, having the real in' terests of each creature at heart, and loving it and intending well to it even where appearances are all to the contrary. The only ruler of the universe which survives is the law of nature interpreted human-wise; a code of laws which have for their recommendation the benefits which accrue from their observance, and the damage which accrues from their contravention." • But a moral law which has no Divine sanction is a decidedly weak law. " Why should Ibe just, chaste, and truthful, the average "modern man" will ask "if I have succeeded in persuading myself that God does not exist and that nothing but annihilation, therefore, awaits me when I die? As a means to get all I can out of life, I may Serve as far as I think it expedient, those sol called Commandments' of yours that govern my relations with my neighbor. But as I have nothing but very doubtful temporal disadvantages to fear in case I do not wish to keep the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth' Commandments, and if I am ready to take that risk, for the sake of gaming other advantages which I highly value, why shouldn't I do as I please?" The lamentable spectacle that the modern world presents shows that millions of civilised" men who have ceased to believe in God have also ceased in consequence to keep the Commandments. £o that that most imperative reconstruction of society, tor winch the age is yearning, can never be effectively bought to pass until mankind returns to the fundamental beliefs that God exists and that He is the rewarder of all who seek Him. For every nation of atheists is headed for disaster.— - . • - J