Revealed Religion

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE ASSENT OF FAITH Definition of Faith. Kant, Hegel, Lux Mundi i Pietists make Faith a purely subjective assent 2 The motive of Catholic Faith objective 3 Belief on the authority of God speaking 4 Faith a supernatural virtue, impossible without grace 5 Non-Catholic proofs of a Revelation only intrinsic 6 Protestants, the Bible only 7 Rationalists, the doctrines as approved by reason 7 Fichte's Pantheistic Christianity 8 Catholics prove Revelation from external evidence 9 As is shown from the Fathers 10 The twofold proof of miracles and prophecy 11 Interior evidence, negative and positive 12 Theology defends and defines doctrine 13 But interior evidence confirmatory, not demonstrative 14 Reality of the proof from miracles 15 The Gospels more credible than any secular history 16 Evidence and certitude contrasted 17 Revelation certain, not evident 18 Doubt possible if a maximum of proof be demanded 19 The precepts of faith and charity 20 The certainty of faith super omnia, subjective 21 Because of the homage of the will to God speaking 22 Co-operation of reason and grace 23 Faith, knowledge, vision 24 CHAPTER I POSSIBILITY OF REVELATION Natural knowledge of God insufficient 27 God illuminates the soul from within 28 Natural inspiration, Mozart 29 Universal belief in Revelation 30 God unchanged by revealing 31 Revelation attested by external signs 32 Faith without knowledge superstition 33 Knowledge without faith scepticism 34 Mysteries in nature 35 Agreement of reason and faith 36 Belief in mystery the beginning of a supernatural life 37 And the principle of all true religion 38 The light of faith explains sacred mysteries 39 And illuminates merely natural truths 40 Corruptions of heathenism 41 Triumphs of faith 42 CHAPTER II NECESSITY OF REVELATION Traditionalism by depreciating reason 44 Leaves no logical defence for religion 45 Fallen human nature, though wounded, still entire 46 Necessity of Revelation relative, not absolute 47 Religions of paganism superstitious and cruel 48 Human sacrifices 49 Contempt of pagans for their gods 50 Truth sought in vain 51 Idolatry maintained for state purposes 52 Scepticism and superstition naturally allied 53 Degrading beliefs and advanced civilisation 54 Heathen sages not teachers 55 Their errors and immoralities 56 Wisdom for the few 57 Contempt of the multitude 58 Failure of reason unaided by grace 59 One teacher only, Christ and His Church 60 Teaches all men all truth 61 And its teaching forms the basis of morality 62 Christianity shows also the nature of sin 63 And for the sacrifices of paganism 64 Substitutes the one atonement in Christ 65 In Him all things are restored 66 In temptation and conflict 67 The Christian conquers through Christ 68 CHAPTER III MIRACLES AND PROPHECY Revelation an external fact, attested by miracles and prophecy 70 A miracle defined 71 Threefold division of miracles 72 Universal practice of prayer shows belief in possibility of miracles 73 This belief is reasonable, and in accordance with the order of God's Providence 74 The miraculous in nature 75 Twofold end of creatures, particular and universal 76 Miracles never denied by Jews or pagans 77 Distinguishing marks of true and false miracles 78 True miracles the seal on Divine truth 79 Objections to miracles 80 They imply no change in God 81 The moral necessity of miracles, as arresting the attention of all 82 And begetting conviction of the truths they attest 83 Modern depreciation of their value, sign of unbelief 84 Hume's objection 85 Rests on two gratuitous assumptions 86 A miracle cognisable with only ordinary knowledge 87 As is shown by several instances 88 Prophecy defined 89 Prophecies, like miracles, true and false 90 Oracles and mediums 91 Marks of a prophet from God 92 The sceptic's demand of a miracle unreal and unreasonable 93 CHAPTER IV CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPELS External evidence of their credibility furnished 95 By the transformation of the world by Christianity 95 Which is inexplicable, unless the Gospel narrative be true 96 The independent witness of pagan historians 97 Tacitus — Suetonius 98 Official report on Christians of Pliny 99 Josephus 100 The Jewish Talmud 101 The Gospel a witness to its own truth 102 The Gospels as public documents 103 Texts and authorship jealously guarded 104 Patristic evidence to their number and rank 105 Down to close of second century 106 External evidence — The Itala, the Peschito, heretical writers 107 The Church's custody of apostolic tradition 108 And of unity of faith 109 Internal evidence — Their simplicity and directness 110 Competency of the Evangelists as biographers of Christ 111 The character they describe wholly original 112 Forgery impossible 113 Renan's inventions and conjectures 114 Gospel accuracy of detail 115 The records of eye-witnesses 116 Personal qualifications of the Evangelists 117 Special weight of St. Paul's evidence 118 The sceptical-mythical theory 119 If Christianity a popular myth, why then persecuted? 120 Why did it find expression in Christianity alone? 121 The myth, the product of a race in its infancy 122 The Gospel period an age of culture and criticism 123 The Gospels universally accepted 150 A. D. 124 The Gospel discrepancies a proof of their truth 125 Individual representations of one central Figure 126 Agreement of St John and the Synoptics 127 Apocryphal and Canonical Gospels contrasted 128 Vitality of the Gospels 129 CHAPTER V THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST Christ's appeal to His miracles 130 In proof of His Divinity 131 Connection of His words and works 132 Publicity of the miracles 133 Their symbolic character 134 Their effects clearly supernatural 135 Renan's attempted explanation 136 The subjects of His miraculous power 137 The sick and suffering 138 Self-sacrifice of Christ a moral miracle 139 The Resurrection the crowning miracle 140 Proofs of its reality 141 Change in the Apostles 142 Sceptical hypotheses, imaginary visions 143 Their evident improbability 144 Witness of St. Paul 145 The mythical theory 146 Sceptical objections ever the same 147 Conversion of the world without a miracle, itself miraculous 48 CHAPTER VI PROPHECY AND FULFILMENT Israel in itself insignificant 149 Yet most important as the Guardian of Revelation 150 Monothiesm not "a Semitic instinct" 151 For Israel constantly relapses to idolatry 152 But a supernatural gift 153 Office of Israel to lead man to Christ 154 Universal expectation of the Messias, when Christ came 155 The priests and Herod, Zachary 156 Non-inspired writings, Josephus 15 Tacitus, Suetonius, Virgil 158 Inspired prophecy, patriarchs, Psalms 159 Twofold portraiture — glory and shame 160 The weeks of Daniel 161 The Minor Prophets 162 Fulfilment of prophecy in Christ 163 Cause of Israel's apostacy 164 Christ Himself a Prophet 165 The destruction of Jerusalem 166 Its attempted rebuilding 167 The Jews still a witness to Christ 168 Fulfilment of Christ's prophecies in His Church 169 CHAPTER VII CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY Christianity always in conflict, whence its strength? 171 Alleged Christian origins 172 Yet those same causes failed in other systems 173 Christ, His words and works 174 His Passion and death 175 Christ and Socrates 176 Viator and Comprehensor 177 Power of His sacrifice 178 Christ reproduced in His followers 179 Rivals of Christianity 180 Mahomedanism merely naturalism 181 Buddhism essentially atheistic 182 The Church a standing miracle 183 Testimony of St. Cyprian 184 APPENDIX THE TUBINGEN THEORY The date of the Gospels 187 General agreement of orthodox and rationalist critics 188 The difference as to authority and authorship 189 The so-called Petrine and Pauline parties 190 Evidence of St Paul 191 His relations with St. Peter 192 No sign of disunion in the Church 193 St. Ignatius and St. Poly carp 194 Hegesippus 195 Importance of his evidence for East and West 196 Justin Martyr and the Church of Ephesus 197 Irenseus, Gaul, and Asia Minor 198 His reverence for Rome 200 Continued chain of evidence 201 The Tubingen theory an arbitrary hypothesis 202 The Church one in Christ 203 INDEX 205 Digitized by Google.
Includes index