Page:The Collected Works of Theodore Parker volume 3.djvu/132

Rh perience. He has no right to foreclose his mind against truth from any source.

In dealing with theological ideas his work will be two-fold; first, Negative and militant, destroying a false theology; next, Positive and constructant, building up a true theology. Look a moment at each.

1. Of the Negative and destructive work of theology. Here the teacher will have much to do— both general and special work.

For the popular theology, common to all Christendom, logically rests on this supposition: It is wholly impossible for man, by himself, to ascertain any moral or religous truth; he cannot know that the soul is immortal, that there is a God, that it is right to love men, and wrong to hate; he may have "opinions," but they will be "only whims," belief in immortality, "one guess among many;" there can be no knowledge of justice, no practice of charity and forgiveness. But God has made a miraculous communication of doctrines on matters pertaining to religion; these are complete, containing all the truth that man will ever need to know on religion; and perfect, having no error at all: man must accept these as ultimate authority in all that pertains to religion—to religous sentiments, ideas, and actions. The sum of these miraculous doctrines is called the " supernatural revelation;" it is the peculiar heritage of Christians, though part of it was designed originally for the Jews, and previously delivered to them, who were once the " peculiar people," "the Lord's own," but now in consequence of their refusing the new revelation, which repeals the old, are "cast off and rejected." The Catholic maintains that the Roman Church is the exclusive depository of this miraculous revelation, and the Protestant limits it to the Bible; but both, and all their manifold sects, claim to rest on this foundation—the Word of God, supernatural, miraculous, exclusive, and infallible. Hence their ministers profess to derive the "power to bind and loose," and claim to teach with an authority superior to reason, conscience, the heart and soul of man. Hence they call their doctrine "divine;" all else is only "human teaching," "founded in reason, but with no authority." Hence the-