PART I
THE ERRORS OF THE MODERNISTS
CHAPTER I
THE RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY OF THE MODERNISTS
I. AGNOSTICISM
II. VITAL IMMANENCE
III. ORIGIN OF RELIGION IN GENERAL
IV. NOTION OF REVELATION
V. TRANSFIGURATION AND DISFIGURATION OF PHENOMENA THROUGH FAITH
VI. ORIGIN OF PARTICULAR RELIGIONS
VII. ACTION OF THE INTELLECT IN FAITH
VIII. DOGMA
Q. We have now reached dogma and is not this one of the most important points for the Modernist?
A. Yes. ‘One of the principal points in the* Modernists’ system (is) ‘the origin and the nature of dogma.’
Q. In what do they place the origin of dogma?
A. They place the origin of dogma in those primitive and simple formulas which, under a certain aspect, are necessary to faith; for revelation, to be truly such,
requires the clear knowledge of God in the consciousness. But dogma itself, they apparently hold, strictly consists in the secondary formulas.
Q. And now, how shall we ascertain what, according to the Modernists, is the nature of dogma?
A. To ascertain the nature of dogma, we must first find the relation which exists between the religious formulas and the religious sense.
Q. How shall we ascertain this relation?
A. This will be readily perceived by anyone who holds that these formulas have no other purpose than to furnish the believer with a means of giving to himself
an account of his faith.
Q. What do these formulas constitute as between the believer and his faith?
A. These formulas stand midway between the believer and his faith: in their relation to the faith they are the inadequate expression of its object, and
are usually called symbols; in their relation to the believer they are mere instruments
Q. What may one conclude from this with regard to the truth contained in these formulas?
A. That it is quite impossible to maintain that they absolutely contain the truth.
Q. According to the Modernists, what are formulas, considered as symbols?
A. In so far as they are symbols, they are the images of truth, and so must be adapted to the religious sense in its relation to man.
Q. What are they, considered as instruments ?
A. As instruments, they are the vehicles of truth, and must therefore in their turn be adapted to man in his relation to the religious sense.