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August 7, 1012] THE*
A CRUCIAL TEST OF ROME'S
WEAKNESS.
Part HI.
BY JUAN ORTS GONZALEZ.
At any rate some of my readers may say no
one will question that the Roman Catholic
churches are crowded with people, and that the
Protestant churches become more and more
empty. Yes; but why? Have my readers
laken into account the relation between Romuii
Catholic membership and their churches?
That may explain sufficiently the astonishing
fact.
One of the queerest things found out by the
present "Men and Religion" movement was
that the capacity of the Roman Catholic
churches is not sufficient to seat a third of
their membership and the capacity of the
Protestant churches can accommodate four
times as many members as Protestantism holds
today.
Look everywhere and you will see that
Protestant churches outnumber Catholic
churches ten to one at least. Even in states
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largely outnumber Protestants, you will see
that Protestant churches largely outnumber
Catholic churches. In New York itself, and
in New Orleans, for every Protestant there are
at least four Catholics in the former and eight
in the latter. In these two cities there are at
least four times as many Protestant churches
as Roman Catholic churches. Can you understand
now the explanation for the fact that
Roman Catholic churches are Crowded and
Protestant churches seem empty!
But some one may say that at least we mutt
grant that Catholics go regularly to mass every
Sunday, while Protestants attend their services
very irregularly. It is true, but why?
Catholics are taught that to fail to attend
mass on Sunday is not only a great sin but a
mortal sin; that is, that they are eternally
lost if they willingly omit attendance at mass,
unless they repent, confess this mortal sin to
the priest, promising never again to miss mass
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And will any one call such attendance a willing
attendance? I am not surprised that they
go to mass so regularly. What surprises me
is that they ever miss any Sunday mass when
the penalty is eternal damnation.
Why are there so few who go to the other
daily masses? Because daily mass is a free
service and Sunday mass is a compulsory servif'A
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less than one in a thousand go to daily service.
Such is the case in Spain and I am even
sure that a smaller proportion attend the daily
services. And would you call that religious
willingness? Moreover, here in America, as
everywhere, there are two kinds of mass said.
The Catholics who attend always select the
shortest mass, which can be said in twenty
minutes, and they avoid attending high mass,
which is usually one hour longer, and there is
ordinarily some preaching. The main purpose
is to attend the mass, remaining there as little
time as possible. And is that true devotion?
I feel sure that if th? p.hnrr?h
leave Catholics free to attend mass, or not, as
they choose, less than a tenth of the Catholics
would ever attend religious services. Is that
the case with Protestants? Is it not true that
we go because we like to go? The argument
becomes stronger when we take into consideration
how attractive the Roman Catholic
church makes the service and Protestants do
not care for comfort so much as spiritual benefit.
Everything appeals to the senses in ?the
resbyterian of the so
Liomuu Catholic church and its services. The
building with its beautiful archws aud columns,
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Ihe inner part with its altars, statues, pictures
and artistic effects will capture the attention.
You will see radiant madonnas and lovely
babes; you will see there all the manifestations
of art that will arouse the feelings and
hold captive the attention. The service is also
arranged in such a way that there is no sense
which is not gratified. From the priest who
appears now all dressed in gorgeous white
robes, now in dark ones, today dressed in purple
and gold and tomorrow in silver and
green to the draperies and the flowers and the
candles which decorate the building and the
several altars, everything gratifies very much
the sense of sight. The incense which is so
lavishly burned mixed with even sweeter perfumes
gratifies the sense of smell. The music
which is so much used in high mass will gratify
the sense of hearing. Making so many times
the sign of the cross on their faces and bodies,
kneeling and standing and again turning to
be seated has a pleasing effect on the sense
of touch. Some of my readers may believe that
I give too much importance to these details,
but I am thoroughly convinced from intimate
personal knowledge that they constitute the
main part of the religionism of the Roman
Catholic DeODle. For mAnv indivi^iiolo
lower classes they constitute the whole of religion.
They go to church as they smoke a
cigar, only to experience a gratifying sensation.
I abhor anything that may imply ritualism.
I feel at home only in the churches where the
most evangelical songs are sung, not only
by the choir, but by the congregation.
1 feel uncomfortable when 1 hear in church
solos or duets, no matter how exquisite the
voice of the singer may be, nor how beautiful
the harmony of song. I reioice onlv in he*r
ing plain Gospel sermons and passages selected
from the Holy Scriptures read.
Nevertheless, 1 often surprise myself, even
now, by the mechanical tendency to make the
sign of the cross and to kneel as a sign of
reverence upon entering the church and to
enter into a great many other ceremonies because
they used to be for me the most essential
part of the worship.
This powerful appeal to the senses in the
Roman Catholic church has overwhelmed and
obscured so much the true religious sense of
Roman Catholic people that one of the greatest
difficulties in converting a Catholic is to
lind some means of convincing him that there
is a true worshiD of God without. *11 thno* *??? _
ward ceremonies. I have received more than
a hundred Catholies into the Protestant church
and in many cases I have to explain to them
again and again that to read the Word of
God and ponder it in their hearts, to go themselves
in prayer directly to God, as their
heavenly Father, to worship Christ their Saviour
and not through the mediation of the
church is not only worship in the truest and
purest sense of the word, but it is the way
most acceptable in the sight of God.
I read not long ago in a prominent western
rrotestant magazine that the great masses of
Catholics in America can only be attracted,
touched and converted if Protestants in their
worship make a direct appeal to the senses, becoming
somewhat ritualistic after the likeness
of the Roman Catholic church. I do not agree
with such a mislfiadincr ~"T
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of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I
do agree with the magazine in asserting that
a peasant feels the need of ceremonies to be
convinced that he is worshiping God until
0 T H (913) 3
some training is given and new religious habits
are formed which can take the place of the
old ones.
And now I ask frankly, can any true and
honest Christian call all these outward and
visible manifestations not only the practice
of religion, but the practice of a religion more
intense in devotion and consecration than the
worship of God as performed by Protestants!
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xi. x euiBwer i.or inysen, l can honestly say
that, after having been for years a priest and
friar, after having said low and high mass
by thousands, after having attended religious
services on the most solemn occasions and in
the most splendid cathedrals, after having witnessed
religious services in the Vatican church
at Rome, wherein 1 often saw more than 70,000
people worshiping together, more than
2,000 friars, bishops, archbishops and cardinals
and in the midst thereof sitting upon his
throne Pope Leo XIII, after so many splendorous
and magnificient religious ceremonies, I
feel more at peace with God and enjoy His
blessed presence more as a living force in
my life, and the comfort, of nnmnilininn wUV
him becomes to me more real in a little chapel,
with my little old Bible and the beautiful
evangelical songs and plain Qospel preaching
than in all those showy manifestations. The simplest
Protestant worship is not only enough
for me but it is the only one that satisfies the
needs of my longing soul. This is what I wish
to offer with Gods' help and guidance to my
brethren, the Roman Catholics.
PARTIAL OBEDIENCE.
There are religious people who put great emphasis
upon the keeping of God's commandments,
especially certain ones. They say that
those who do not obey those commandments
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of these people go so far as to say that if one
refuses to obey a certain commandment, he
will not receive salvation. But these people
seem to overlook the fact that there are other
equally important commandments, and many
of them. There is nothing in the Bible which
indicates that any of God's commandments
are unimportant. It is not intimated that one
should be very particular to obey a certain
commandment, and be indifferent about obeying
certain other ones. No one has the right to
choose the commandments which he would like
to obey and be disobedient in respect to some
others, which he does not wish to obey. Some
people who are great sticklers in favor of obedience
to God's commands are frequently violating
the command to forgive those who trespass
against them. And there is a command
which says, "Defraud not one another."
There is a command against lying. Every
one is bidden to speak the truth to his neighbor;
indeed, to all men.
Still another command is that one should
have no fellowship with he unfruiful works of
darkness. It is also commanded that one shall
not give God-speed to those who are teaching
doctrines, which are against the Gospel of
Christ. Are those who are insisting on strict
obedience to the commands of God, obeying the
commands which I have referred tot I have
mentioned only a few of the many hat are
found in the Bible; and they are not placed
there to merely fill up space, or to remain as
dead letters. The command to be honest and
truthful is just as obligatory and just as vital
as ih any command m the Bible. I am not disparaging
obedience in respect to any of God's
commands; I am magnifying obedience. I am
also trying to show the inconsistency of partial
obedience.?C. H. "Wetherbe.