// . ^ 7, / h ■^ ^% ^ ti|C SifiMJiastra/ ^ *■«/. '« PRINCETON, N.J. % BR 121 .M372 1867 Marcy, E. E. 1815-1900. Christianity and its conflicts, ancient and •c'j; ^o\| ' ' i9ifi <^. CHRISTIAN lTY^^-~2£!WLir^ AND ITS CONFLICTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN. BY E. E. MAKCY, A. M. NEW YORK: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 443 & 445 BROADWAY, 1867. Entered, according to Act of Cougress, in the ycai* 1S67, by D. APPLETON & Co. In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. PEE FACE. In" offering the present volume to the public, the author has aimed to display Christianity as it was established by Jesi^, as it has been developed and perpetuated by the apos- tles and their successors, and to correct the erroneous impres- sions which so generally exist respecting it. He has also endeavored to exhibit a general outline of the various con- flicting elements which have been arrayed against the Chris- tian system up to the present time. We have written for the sole purpose of vindicating truth, and the religion of Christ. In all instances our standard of comparison has been that Divine Code which was instituted l5y our Saviour in the ISTevf Dispensation. Before this infallible standard we have fearlessly arraigned the anti-Christian speculations and theories of the world, and have thus analyzed and judged them. Such a course is calculated to provoke scA^ere criticisms of the work itself, and denunciations of its author. But if we Bhall succeed in arresting the attention of imj)artial and candid men, in diverting them from error to truth, and in checking, to some extent, the fearful tide of skej^ticism and irreligion which now pervades society, and threatens to sub- IV PREFACE. vert the fundamental principles of religion, our object will be accomjDlished. Our data have been derived from universally accepted authorities like Josephus, Eusebius, Hume, Gibbon, Las Casas, Bossuet, Balmes, Hallam, De Haller, Dollinger, Macaulaj, Guizot, Bancroft, White, Barry, Taylor, Allies, and other standard sources. We have taken special care to procure our facts from these reputable authors in order to avoid all pretexts of cavil or dissent against our premises. In alluding to the opinions and. doctrines of individuals, we have endeavored, as far as possible, to permit each one to express his sentiments in his own language, in order that a better judgment may be formed respecting the justice of our inferences and conclusions. We are aware that many of our ideas are in direct an- tagonism with those of numerous loved and respected friends ; and the expression of them has caused us many pangs. But an earnest and sincere conviction of right and duty has impelled us onward, and finally triumphed over our jorivate feelings and interests. The book has been written in the midst of arduous professional avocations, and has therefore very humble pretensions as a literary effort. The author simply claims that he has written with a view to subserve the cause of truth, justice, and human happiness. CONTEISITS. CHAPTER I.— Condition of tue Wohld at the Time of the Bikth of Christ. The human mind at that period chiefly nndcr the control of pagan idolatry, Pan- theism, and the Epicurean pliilosophy, 1.— Plato and other exponents of these systems, 2. — The ancient philosophers had no true ideas of a supreme personal God, 3. — Their rules of individual conduct formed only with reference to the wants and interests of the present life, 5. — The individual man not respected, 7. — Influence of Christianity in demanding radical reforms in human conduct and governments, 8. — Eoman institutions and religious ideas, 9. — Moral and social condition of the people ; individual rights, 12.— Condition of women, 10. Their degradation, 13. — Moral condition of the Jews, 15. — Influence of Paganism on them, 16. — General influence of Christianity, 17. — The teaching of Christ, 18. — The establishment of His Church, 20. — Its perpetuity, 22. — Its obscurity, 23. — He requires unconditional faith and obedience, 25. — Views of M. Guizot re- specting the early Christian Church, 21.— Answer to M. Guizot, 21-24.— Object of religion, 27.— Form of doctrine, 28.— Influence of the apostles and early fathers, 29. — Human brotherhood, 31. CHAPTER n.— DocTEiNES taught by Jesus Christ. God as manifested under the old and new dispensations ; ancient ideas, 32. — The finite intelligence cannot comprehend the Infinite, 35. — God reveals Himself to men through His wonderful works, 35— and His prophets, 37.— Christ's Incarna- tion, 33.— His divinity, 34.— Jewish ideas of the Supreme Being imperfect, 30. — The prophets, 39-41. — The new dispensation, 43.— God manifest in the flesh, or God in Christ, 44.— Christ truly God in direct communication with mankind, 45. — He is the true object of worship, 46. — He is the embodiment and impersona- tion of the Almighty, 48.— His mission on earth, 49. CHAPTER in.— Doctrines taught bt Jesus Christ. Faith, 51.— Influences arrayed against Christ and His doctrines, 51.— Sensuality of the times, 52.— The Emperor Tiberius, 52.— Absolute and unquestioning/o?Y/i demanded by Jesus, 54.— Obdurate unbelief of the Jews and Pagans, 54.— Mira- cles a means of inspiring faith, 54-(U. — Rewards of faith given to true believers, 55.— Faith the first element of religion, 56.— Objects of faith chiefly miraculous, 56.— Doubts suggested by sensual philosophy, 59. — Doctrine of the Council of Trent, 62.— Apostles' Creed, 03.— Miracles, 04. vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV.— DocTKiNES taught by Jesus Christ. Repentance, Confession, and Eeformation, 66.— Tnie penitence requires both faith and Avorks, 65.— Demanded by both divine and human laws, 67.— Men are natu- rally prone to evil, G7.— Pride and self-will deter men from penance, 07.- Con- servative agencies, GS.— Sacrament of penance, 69.— Objections, 09.— Refutation from the Bible and the Council of Trent, 70.— ITtilily, 73.— Admissions of Prot- estants, 72.— Duties of priests and penitents in the confessional, 73.— Objec- tions to public confessions, 74.— This sacrament established by Christ and prac- tised by the apostles, 76. CHAPTER v.— Doctrines taught bt Jesus Christ. Baptism, 7S.— Baptism instituted by Christ, 78.— Appropriate as iin initiatory ceremony, 78.— Its necessity, 79.— The Saviour and apostles taught that it con- fers grace on the believer, 78.— Several Christian sects aclcnowledge this, 80.— Danger of ignoring it, 81. CHAPTER YI.— Doctrines taught by Jesus Christ. Confirmation, 82.— Evidently of divine origin, 82.— Christ and the apostles prac- tised it, 82.— Apostles at the day of Pentecost, 8-1.— A canon of the Council of Trent on this subject, &1.— Confirmation as a means of grace, 85. CHAPTER yn.— DocTRiKES taught by Jesus Christ. The Eucliarist, 86.— A divine institution, 86.— Effects flowing from it, 87.— The conversion of the elements miraculous, 87.— Teaching of the Council of Trent, 88.— The mass, 88-91.— Its signification, 89.— The miracle represented in the mass only consistent with the Lord's positive promise, 89.— Difference between the Catholic and Protestant Churches respecting this sacrament, 90-97.— Prot- estants object as the unbelieving Jews did, 93.— Faith in Christ the- great want of all Christians, 94. CHAPTER Vm.— Doctrines taught by Jesus Christ. Orders, 99.— Institution of the priesthood of divine origin, 99.— The ministry established by Christ, 100.— Its great importance, 102.— Danger of denying its sacredness, or of assuming to speak lightly of its functions, 100.— Interests of the Church committed to the priesthood, 102 CHAPTER IX.— Doctrines taught by Jesus Christ. i/ai;nmo;iy.— Wisdom and mercy of God manifested in this sacrament, 103.— Its sacredness proved, 104.- Its influence in promoting the religious sentiment and the welfare of society, 105.— Texts showing its sacramental character, 105.— Remarks of Allies on this subject, 105. CHAPTER X.— Doctrines taught by Jesus Christ. Extreme Z7/iC('2on.— Apostolic direction to pray over and anoint the sick, 107.-- Practice of the disciples sent forth by Jesus, 107.— Manifest use of this sacra- ment, 108.— The Lord's love is herein shown to man in his greatest trials, lOS. —Teaching of the fathers of Trent, 109. CHAPTER XI.— Doctrines taught by Jesus Christ. The Ten Commandments, 110.— Revealed by the Almighty on Mount Sinai, 110.— Reasserted by Christ as of perpetual obligation. 111.— The golden rule, 111.— One of the four fundamental divisions of the Catholic Church, 112. COlsTElsTS. Vll CHAPTER Xn.— Doctrines taught by Jesus Cueist. The Lord's Prmjer.— This model prayer the gift of Christ to ukiu, 113.— Ita adaptation to his wants, contrasted with the long prayers of the Pharisees, 114. —The teachings and example of Christ at variance with the opinions, morals, habits, and usages of the most enlightened ancient nations, 115.— Extract from "Eccenomo,"llG. CILVPTER XIII.— The Cnuiicu founded bt Cueist akd the Catholic CnuRcii IDENTICAL, Recapitulation of doctrines, 118.— The Church in obscurity, 120.— Becomes the religion of the empire under Constantino, 120.— Tyrannical emperors, 121.— Per- secution, 121.— The Church protected by Constantine, 122.— Exalted character of Constantine, 122.— Barbarian invasions, 123.— Efforts of the Christian Church to preserve the Scriptures, 124.— Siege of Rome by Attila, 125.— Conduct of the Pope, 126.— Condition of Europe after the incorporation of the barbarians, 12T. -Three distinct elements struggling for the mastery, 12'?. — The Church counter- acts barbarism, preserves the Holy Scriptures and ancient learning tlurough the dark ages, 12T. — Elevation of industry, 128.— Labors of the priesthood; St. Benedict, 128.— Reforms then made within the Church, 129.— Saracens invade Europe, 131.— They were Vnitanans, 131.— Fanatics, 130.— Defeated at Tours, 131.— Feudal oppressions of the people, 132. — The Church resists tyranny, 133. —Charlemagne, 134.— Darkness and ignorance of the ninth and tenth centuries, 134. — The Church everywhere " protests against excesses of mere strength and ^iolence," 1.35.— The Normans in France, 138.— The Crusades against the Mo- hammedans, 13G.— Progi-ess during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, 1-38. —Missions in Eastern Asia, 140.— Sacrifices taade by the missionaries, 141.— St. Francis Xavier and others, 142.— True intei-pretation of the Scriptures, 143.— Advantages of oral teaching, 143.— Traditions of the Church, 144.— Unwritten traditions, 14G, 147.— Teachings of St. Paul, 147.- The ancient fathers, 149.— Innovations of protesters, 152.— Christ and the ancient fathers harmonize, 151. — EvUs of private intci-pretation, loS.— Resume, 180. CHAPTER XTV.- Common Grounds of Religious Faith. Unity of fliith essential to the efficiency of the Church, 163.— Necessity of unity taught by Christ and the apostles, 163. — Evil of divisions and dissensions, 16 1. —Marks of a true church, 165.— Doctrines held in common by Chi-istiaus gener- ally, 160.— The Catholic Church holds all that are essential to salvation, 168.— Points of harmony between Roman, Greek, and Anglican Churches, 169. — Three out of the four grand divisions of essential elements of faith accepted by them all, 171.— Influence of private intei-pretation in dividing and setting Christians at variance, 171. CHAPTER XV.— On the Invocation of Saints, A:^TD on Sacred Images and Pictures. » Errors of Protestant teaching on this subject refuted, 174.— Actual doctrines of the Church, 174. — Christ the object of worship by men and angels, 175. — Scrip- ture proofs that prayers to saints and angels have been answered, 176. — The Catholic Church prohibits divine worship of the Virgin Mary, 177.— Saints passed from earth do not forget those they love, 178.— The prayers of the good in earth or heaven, 179.— Death is only a new birth, ISO.— Teaching of the Council of Trent, 180-18G.— Pictures-only recall to our memories the acts of the persons they represent, 181. — An illustrative incident, 182. — Value of pictures, busts, and statues of our friends, 183.— True use of symbols and representa- tives, but not idol^, 135.— Honor to the martyrs, 187.— Empress Helena, 187.— \IU CONTENTS. Reverence of sepulchres ami relics of beloved persons ancient and universal, 188.— Protestant inconsistencies and want of reverence, 189.— Definition hj St. Jerome, 191. CHAPTER XVI.— Cathedrals, and Foems and Ceremonies of the Chuecu, Grand churches and imposing ceremonies impossible to the first Christians, 192. —Poverty and persecution, 192.— Subjects cheerfully honor their rulers with costly palaces and the paraphernalia of royalty, 193.— Shall the King of kings receive less honor ? Selfishness and coldness characteristic of non-demonstra- tive men, 195. CHAPTER XVn.— Papal Supkemact. Christ selected one of his apostles as head of the visible Church, 201.— Necessity of organization, 203.— Successors of Saint Peter, 204.— Examples and authorities from the apostles and early fathers, 208.— The Bishop of Rome always acknowl- edged as head of the Church, 209.— Authorities, 210. CHAPTER XVni.— Papal Infallibility. What the Church teaches on this point, 215.— Definition of the faith as given by successive popes, 216. — The pope's representative character, 218. — The Church safe from innovations or papal abuse of power, 219.— Authorities, 222. CHAPTER XIX.— Papal Inteefeeence in Secular Affaies. Examples, 226,— These acts justifiable, 227.— Authorities, 228. CHAPTER XX.— Condition of the "Woeld at the Commencement of the Reformation. Three systems of civilization in operation, 233.— Preservation of Christianity to the fifteenth centurj'^ due to the Catholic Church, 23T.— Influence of the Refor- mation, 238. — Great number of books printed before Luther, 240.— The Scrip- tures, 240.— Great achievements of Catholic discoverers and missionaries, 242. —Reformation already going on within the Church, 244. CHAPTER XXI.— Primitive Peotestantism. Ancient protesters ; they reject Christ, 247. — Examples of revolt from the Church in the early centuries, 250.— Tertullian's remarks oh heresies, 253. CHAPTER XXn.— Modern Protestantism. The large number of modem sects, 255. — Influence of Puritanic Protestantism, 256.— Objects of the innovators, 257. — Elements of failure in their scheme, 2G0. —Luther, 262. CHAPTER XXni.— Docteines of the Innovatoes of the Sixteenth Centukt. Rationalism, 265.— Original sin, 206.- Teachings of the loaders, 267.— Of the Catholic Church, 267.— Free-will, 269.— Predestination, 270, 271 .-Justification by faith alone, 273.— Good works condemned, 274.— Luther, Calvin, Zwinglius, 274. Evil consequences of their teachings, 278.— Dissensions, 279.— Fatalistic ten- dencies, 281.— Scriptural evidence against them, 284. CHAPTER XXrV".— Traits of a Few of the Prominent Reformers. Luther : early life of, 287.- His first disafl'ection to the Church, 288.— His visions and fantasies, 289.— Extravagant assertions and conduct, 290, 291.— He tolerated polygamy, 292.— His intolerance and cruelty, 292.— Conferences with the devil, CONTENTS. IX 294.— Lutlicr certainly a monomaniac, 295-299.— Melancthon, 300.— Superstitions, 301. — Private opinions of the Eeformcrs discordant, 302. — General character, 302. — Calvin; mental and physical peculiarities of, 303. — His stern and cruel character, 304.— His doctrines misrepresent the character of the Creator, 304. — The model Puritan, 306.— Minor innovators, 306.— Buccr, 307.— Karlstadt, 308- 311.— Zwinglius, 308.— Farel, 309.— Anabaptists, 309.— John of Leyden, 309.— David George, 310.— Stork, 310.— Tanquelin, 311.— Henry VIH. ; Anne Boleyn, 313.— Divorce of Queen Catharine, 314.— The Anglican Chm*ch, 314.— Queen Elizabeth, 315.— Craumer, 31 4-316.— Bang Henry excommunicated, 316.— Classi- fication of Reformers, 317. CHAPTER XXV.— Fruits of the Refokmation nr Eukope. Influence on religious sentiment, 319.— Disintegration of the Church begun by the Reformers, 320. — Progress of rationalism and materialism, 321. — Marriage a holy sacrament, .321. — Reformers sanction polygamy, 322. — Vows of celibacy broken by their followers, 323. — The ties of morality loosened, 323. — Monas- teries and libraries despoiled, 323.— Churches and nunneries also, 324. — Per- secution by the Reformers in Switzerland, 325.— Calvin and Zwinglius, 325. — Progress of infidelity, 327. — Kantian philosophy of human reason as the only revelation, 327.— Testimony of Macaulay to the faithfulness of the Catholic Church, 328.— Calvin and the Puritanical teachings in France, 329.— Calvinism leads to infidelity or back to Catholicism, 330.— Henry VHI. the spiritual head of the Church in England, 331.— His authority triumphant, 332.— Martyrs, 332. —Statement of M. D'Aubigne, 333.— Answer to this, 334-330.— D'Aubigne's ad- mission, 336. CH.i\PTER XXVI.— Feuits of the Eefobmation in Exjeope. Influence on morals, manners, and society, 338.— Reformers should have attempt- ed to reform erring numbers rather than attack the Church of God itself, 338. — Deterioration of morals caused by the Reformation, 339. — Cruelties, immorali- ties, divorce-mania, 340.— Proofs from various authors, 340-342.— Moral state of Christendom growing worse under the Reformers, 343.— Various authorities, 343.— Calvin, 344.— Melancthon, 345.— The same evils visible in our own times, 340.— Results of Puritanism in other countries, 347.— Religious civil wars, 348. —Diet of Augsburg, 348.— War in Switzerland, 349-351.— War in France, 352.— Huguenots, 353. — Conde, Prince of Orange, Coligny, 353. — St. Bartholomew's, 354.— Puritanism in Sweden ; Gustavus Vasa, 355.— Denmark ; confiscation and robbery of church property, 356.— Iceland, 350.— Scotland, 356.— John Knox, 356.— Tenets and practical tendencies of Puritanism, 357.— Election, total deprav- ity, predestination, 358. — What has Puritanism accomplished ? 360.— Compari- son between Puritanism and paganism, 361. — The primary aim of the Reform- ers, 363. CHAPTER XXVn.— The Puritan System in America. The Bible as the standard of faith and practice, 367. — Materialism ; political econ- omy, 368. — The ascetic and industrial philosophies, 368. — Doctrine of the Ser- mon on the Mount, 369.— The monastic system, 370. — The renovating influence of the Church, 371.— Parallel between Catholic and Protestant coimtries, 371.— Influences of the two religious systems on civilization, 373.— Mexico, 374.— New England, 375.— Puritans at Plymouth Rock, 377.— Fate of the American Indians, 378.— North Carolina, 379.— Sir Walter Raleigh, 380.— Indians of Connecticut and Massachusetts, 381.— King Philip, 381.— Reward for Indian scalps, 382.— Catholic colony of Lord Baltimore in Maryland, 383.— Puritanism exterminating the Indians, 383. X co:n"tents. CHAPTER XX^Tn.— Puritan Ixtoleeance. The Puritans had been themselves persecuted in England, 386.— Their progress and character in America, 3S6.— Persecution by Puritans of Boston and Salem, 387. —Persecution of Catholics in Ireland, 397.— Semi-barbarous character of tha people in the middle ages, 39T.— Toleration by Catholics in Maryland, 398. CHAPTER XXrX.— Missions in Asieeica. Influence of Catholic missionaries in America, 399.— Missions among the Indians ; Father Marquette, 399.— Jesuits in Canada, 399.— The Hurons ; Brebeuf and Daniel, 400.— Martyrdoms, 400.— Difference between Catholic and Protestant missions, 401.— Contrasts, 402.— War of sects, 402.— Converted Indians of South America, 493.— Statistics of the progress of Catholic missions in America, 404. —Asia and Oceanica, 405.— Africa, 406.— Total Catholic converts from heathen- ism, 407. CHAPTER XXX.— HusiAN Slavery in Kew England. Commenced by Puritans in 1837, 409.— Great numbers of slaves taken from Africa, 409.— Slave-trade never sanctioned by the See of Rome, 410, 411.— Puritans en- slaving Indians, 411.— Queen Isabella saves Indians from being sold, 412.— The •svisest Americans contemplated gradual emancipation, 412. CHAPTER XXXI.— Puritanism in the United States. Lijliience on Morals, Ilanners, and Politics.— Vmii^n's, cold and unsocial, 414.— From Calvinism to infidelity is but a short step, 415.— Socialistic and skeptical elements in Puritanism lead to a perverted supernaturalism, 41G.— Their rela- tion to witchcraft and modem Spii'itualism, 415.— Evil results of this doctrine, 416.— Rationalism and skepticism, 417.— Radical Puritans imitating the Norman pirates, 418.— Corruption and fanaticism of American radicals, 419.— Degenera- tion of the Romans at the end of the Republic, 419.— Similar degeneration among Americans at present, 419.— Peculiarities of the Puritans in England, 420.— In England and America, 420.— Northern radicalism ; taxation, 421.— The events of our time compared with those of the French Revolution, 422.— Macau- lay's description of Barrere, 423.— Comparison with other characters of former times and of the present, 425, 426.— Contrast bctv/een the French Revolution of 1789 and that of America in 1S61-'G5.— Jacobin and American spy systems com- pared, 428.— The "rebound" after the French Reign of Terror, 430.— Sectional usurpation of power can be but temporary, 431.— Fanaticism of the South com- pared with that of the North, 432.— Errors of ITorthem philanthropy, 433.— The true Christian standard, 433. CHAPTER XXXn.— Puritanism m the United States. Injluence on the Eeligious Sentiment, 435.— The world advancing in skepticism, 435. —The key to this condition, 436.— The education of Protestants insufficient to arrest the tide of infidelity, 436.— New England, political, religious, and moral theory, 430.- Want of religious unity, 437.— Rationalism, 487.— Fearful moral state of the Christian world, 438.— Spiritualism, 438.— The rapidly increasing numbers of mediums and advocates, 439.— Statistics, 440.— Their anti-Christian doctrines, 441.— Skeptics, rationalists, etc., 4-11.— Causes of decline in religious sentiment, 412.— Unitarians, 443.— Universalists, 443.— Jews, 412.— Summary, 445.— The results of private judgment in matters of faith, 446.— How can these anti-Christian influences be counteracted ? 447.— Cannot religious unity be at- tained? 448.— Sectarian organizations must continue to fail, 449. co:sTENTS. xi CHAPTER XXXm.— Cehtkes of Public Sentiment. Aucieat centres of public opinion, 450.— Luther a chief centre of Protestant senti- ment for his time, 451.— Other centres: the university of Paris, 451.— John Cal- vin in Switzerland, 452.— Gustavus Yasa in Sweden, 453. — Henry VUI. in Eng- land, 452.— Cromwell, 453. — English universities, 453.— John Knox in Scotland, 454. — The priesthood in Ireland, 454.— The Puritans in America, 455.— Puritan- ism a failure, 456.— An example of a radical agitator, fanatical and rationalistic, 457.— Editors as centres of ultra-radical opinion, 458.— Influence of education and personal surroundings, 459.— Appeal to patriots and philanthropists, 4G0.— Rad- ical intolerance, 4G0. — Abuse of liberty of the press, 461.— M. Guizot's opinion of monarchy as a rcfagc from anarchy, 4G2. — Dangers to our country from parti- san agitations, 463.— Influence of religious fanaticism, 463.— The spirit of Puri- tanism revolutionary and sanguinary, 465.— A sample of a Puritan sermon, 4G6. —Wiser statesmen of former years, 4GT. CHAPTER XXXIV.— Pkesent Condition and Prospects or the Catholic CnuriCii. Religious statistics of the vrorld, 4G9.— Statistics of the Catholic Church, 470.— Its rapid progress in heathen and Protestant countries, 470.— Condition of Protest- antism in contrast, 471.— The Catholic Church in the United States, 472.— Just comparison between Catholic and Protestant nations, 473.— France and Eng- land, 473.— Other countries, Belgium and Holland, 475.— Catholics in the United States, 475.— Heathen converts to Catholicism, 476.— Its principles adapted to men of all classes and to all governments, 476.— Its superiority to the sects, 477.— Effects of true religion, 478.— The mission of the Church is a spiritual one, 479.— Summary of the positions assumed in this work, 479.— Conclusion, 480. CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN. -♦^>- CHAPTER I. CONDITION OF THE WORLD AT TUE BIETII OF CHRIST. The idolatry, inliiimanity, licentiousness, tyranny, and persecution of the early centuries of the Christian era, were legitimate offspring of the universally received philosophies of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus. From the time when Zoroaster reformed the order of the Persian Magi, with their worship of fire and the other elements as em- blems of the Deity, until the Christian era. Pantheistic hy- potheses had exercised a dominating influence over the religions, political, moral, and social affairs of the nations of earth. In this world, fire, air, water, earth, etc., were regarded and worshipped as gods who presided over the tem- poral destinies of mankind, and the chief end of life was the pursuit of happiness. The ancient pantheists also be- lieved in a resurrection after death, and another spiritual existence similar to that of this world, but presided over by two demons — one good, Jupiter or Oromasdes, and one evil, Pluto or Ahrimanes. They regarded these gods as beings who had been born. 1 2 CHEISTLAJNITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. From this parent source sprang the various pantheistic sects which afterward extended oyer the world, like the Chal- deans and ancient Greeks, who worshipped the stars ; the Druids of ancient Britain, who worshipped mundane objects, and believed in the transmigration of souls, human sacrifices, and exercised supreme temporal and spiritual jurisdiction over tlieir subjects ; the ancient Egyptians, who regarded the sun and moon as gods — and worshipped them under the names of Osiris and Isis ; the Anaxagorians, who believed that mat- ter was endowed with mind — that originally all things were mixed up together, and then mind came and arranged them all in distinct order ; the Socratic sect, which adoj)ted most of the views of the master of Socrates, Anaxagoras; the Sophists, founded by Thales, Solon, etc. ; the Stoic sect, founded by Zeno ; the Cynic, founded by Antisthenes ; the Epicurean, by Epicurus; the Academic, by Plato; the Peripatetic, by Aristotle ; the Skeptics or Pyrrheic school ; and numerous otlier sects. All of these schools of philosophy were derived from the three great schools of the ancients : the Natural (study of nature), taught by Pythagoras and Thales; the Ethical (study of morals and the things of life), taught by Socrates ; and the Dialectic (argumentative, or polemic sect), taught by Clitomachus. One of tlie best exponents of these ancient philosophies was Plato, the pupil of Socrates. He condensed into a sin- gle philosophical code the principles of Socrates, Pythagoras, and Ilcraclitus, embracing all subjects pertaining to morals, politics, intellectual culture, and society. He imbibed many of the notions of his predecessors, but he also originated many new ideas respecting God, a future state, the lavrs which should govern society, and the duties which men owe to God and to their fellow-creatures. Plato recognized two primary causes or principles of all things : " God and Matter — the former Mind^ and the lat- ter the Causey He suj^posed that this matter originally possessed life, sensation, and motion, but without order or form ; and that when God pervaded it, it then became en- TUE WORLD AT THE BIETII OF CHRIST. 6 do wed with intelligence, as well as life and motion, was governed by definite laws, and assumed distinctive forms and harmonious organizations. The gods of Plato were vague, spiritual manifestations, possessing intelligence and powers superior to those of mortals, and capable of taking possession of material objects, and governing them according to certain natural and uniform laws. He saw gods in the earth, the sun, moon, and stars, in the instincts of animals, in the laws of Nature, and he adored these manifestations of the Infinite rather than the creative Being Himself. !N'ature was his god — a subtle, intelligent, ever-active, and potent spirit, similar, but superior to the human soul. In other words, lie was a Pantheist. He sup])Osed that the gods superintended all of the affaii'S of men, as well as the laws governing the three kingdoms of nature. He also believed in demons. He considered the earth the oldest of all the deities, and that the gods are chiefly composed of fire. Plato regarded the soul as an abstract idea of spirit, dif- fused in all directions, iimnortal, transmigratory, and com- posed of three difierent principles — the reasoning, located in the head; the appetitive, located around the navel and liver ; and the passionate, located around the heart. Although Plato and his master, Socrates, professed to believe in the immortality of the soul, in a future existence after death, and in superior spiritual beings, who pervade and govern all things in heaven and on earth, and wlioni they recognized and worshipped as gods, yet these ideas were vague and material. They possessed no just ideas of the attri- butes of the Infinite Creator, of a future state of rewards and punishments, of the human soul, or of the true relations which exist between God and men. Not one of the old philosophers before Christ — Thales, Pythagoras, Xenoplianes, Democritus, Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, Zeno, Diogenes — believed in one immaterial and personal God. Nearly every one of them believed that the soul perished at death. At the advent of Christ, the civil- ized world entertained no correct ideas of God, tlieir account- 4 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ability to Ilim, or of the immortality of the soul. Their highest conceptions of duty toward God, themselves, their fellow-men, and society, were comprehended in the four moral virtues of "prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice." The Christian virtues of faith, hope, charity, and love to God and man, had no place in their minds or thoughts. Says Allies : " That God created the visible world and the souls of men out of nothing, was an idea never reached by Pythag- oras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, or any Greek or Roman mind before Christ It is in vain to seek for any certain hope of immortal life beyond the grave in Greek or Roman literature There is no distinction made be- tween the souls of birds, beasts, fishes, insects, and men ; none in their origin, none in their destination ; each at its birth catches for itself a tiny sj^ark of the world-soul, passes through its little life, and is resolved into the great Avorld-source again In truth, there are the same ob- jections at the bottom to Marcus Aurelius and to Epictetus. Their religious system is a complete materialism. It recog- nizes only two principles. Matter, and an active Force eter- nally indwelling in matter and forming it. It knows of no incorporeal things, save as our own abstractions. God is the unity of a force embracing the whole universe, penetrating all things, assuming all forms, and as such, a subtle fluid, fire, ether, or spirit, under which the Stoies understood a fifth element, to Avhich the air served as a material basis. In this ethereal fiery force all modes of existence of the world-body animated by it are contained beforehand, and develop them- selves regularly out of it ; it lives and moves itself in every thing, is the common source of all life and all desire. lS[ovi as in this system God and necessity are one, every thing ethical becomes physical. The soul of man is of like sub- stance, and so is a breath or fire like the world-soul, of which it is a portion ; but it manifests itself in man at the same time as the force from wdiich knowledge and action proceed, as intelligence, will, and self-consciousness." * * Formation of Christendom, pp. 80-88,173. THE WORLD AT THE EIRTn OF CnRIST. 5 Daring the four tlioiisand years wliich preceded the Chi-istian era, the philosophies of the world successively grew out of the natural wants and requirements of mankind. Man, as an individual, and in his relations to his family, to society, and to the state, required certain fixed rules of ac- tion, in order to secure the greatest amount of worldly pros- perity and happiness. As an individual, both instinct and experience taught him that truthfulness, honesty, and fair dealing were necessary to command the respect and confi- dence of his fellow-men ; while their oj)posites always created contemj^t, hatred, and an evil reputation. He knew that intemperance in eating, drinking, and sexual pleasures, en- tailed disease, suifering, and an abridgment of life, and he instinctively cultivated temperance and moderation in the gratification of his appetites and j^assions. Intercourse with liis fellows showed him that the practice of gentleness, kind- ness, chai'ity, and mercy, generated in others kindred senti- ments, together with emotions of gratitude and affection ; while selfishness and oppression called forth hatred and curses. He saw that unbecoming pride and pomp excited envy and calumny, and not unfrequently led to poverty and want ; therefore he regarded modesty and economy as praise- worthy virtues. In the management of his family he was governed by the same general principles. Natural afiection prompted him to act for the highest good of wife, children, and other kin- dred. For the sustenance and training of the family, in- dustry and thrift were indispensable. To maintain relations of love, respect, and mutual trust and confidence, it was necessary to inculcate principles of truthfulness, justice, honor, and virtue. In his relations to society and to the general government, the individual found it necessary to obey and to aid in sus- taining the laws and the legally constituted authorities, in order that his own person, property, and rights might bo preserved. Naturally desirous of personal independence and riches, for the sake of the comforts and luxuries which they 6 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. procure, the individual saw that only a \vell-organized so- ciety, upheld by just laws, and a good government, could secure to him these privileges. He was a loyal and law- abiding citizen, because disloyalty and acts of lawlessness would tend to impair the stability of the government, the efficacy of the laws, and endanger his own liberties and property. These ancient philosophers, statesmen, and jurists, in framing their moral, political, and social codes, were gov- erned solely by the natural wants and necessities of men, and not by any abstract principles of right and morality. If they included in their codes certain moral maxims, it was be- cause immorality and vice were certain to cause disease and suffering; if they established the tenure of property on a secure basis, and conferred upon the people the rights of suffrage, and other political privileges, it was because an op- posite course would have led to agrarianism, anarchy, and revolutions. As these men regarded the pursuit of happiness as the chief good and end of life, tliey submitted all practical affairs to the touchstone of experience, instead of moral prin- ciple. If experience had demonstrated that falsehood, theft, and licentiousness would have afforded them the highest de- gree of happiness, they would, with equal facility, have le- galized and j)ractised them. Almost of necessity, all laws derived from simple human reason, and founded on the natu- ral desires and wants of men, and having for their aim and object tem2:>oral pleasure, must be imperfect, and productive of a corrupt and debased society. It is only upon the ex- alted and disinterested principles of Christianity that a stable code of laws, or any beneficent and permanent government can be founded. The ancients formed their political and social codes solely with reference to this world. ISTot a single element having reference to a future state was incorporated into their social organizations. They enacted laws, established customs and habits, and lived in all respects with reference to the present, and vdili the idea that at death existence ceased. In coiitrasting the ancient civilizations with our own THE WORLD AT TUE BIRTH OF CHRIST. 7 witli respect to the individual, Balmes truly observes : " If we profoundly study the question, without suffering our- selves to be led into error and extravagance, by the desire of passing for deep observers; if we call to our aid a just and cool philosophy, supported by the facts of history, we see that the principal difference between the ancient civiliza- tion and our own with respect to the individual is, that raan^ considered as mail, was not properly esteemed. Ancient na- tions did not want either the feeli7ig of personal independ- ence^ or the pleasure of feeling themselves inen ^ the fault was not in the heart, but in the head. What they wanted Avas the comprehension of the dignity of man; the high idea Avhich Christianity has given us of ourselves, while, at the same time, with admirable wisdom, it has shown us our in- firmities. What ancient societies wanted, what all those, where Christianity does not prevail, have Avanted, and will continue to want, is this respect, and the consideration which surrounds every individual, every man^ inasmuch as he is a man. Among the Greeks, the Greeks are every thing ; stran- gers, barbarians, are nothing. In Rome, the title of Iloman citizen makes the man : he Avho wants this is nothing. In Christian countries, the infant who is borri deformed, or de- prived of some member, e?i:cites compassion, and becomes an object of the tenderest solicitude ; it is enough that he is a man, and unfortunate. Among the ancients this human being was regarded as useless and contem23tible •, in certain cities, as, for example, at Lacedajmon, it was forbidden to nourish him, and, by command of the magistrates charged with the regulation of births, horrible to relate! he was thrown into a ditch. He was a human being ; but what matter ? He was a human being Avho would be of no use ; and society, without compassion, did not wish to undertake the charge of his support. If you read Plato and Aristotle, you will see the horrible doctrine which they j)rofessed on the subject of abortion and infanticide; you will see the means which these philosophers imagined, in order to pre- vent the excess of population ; and you will be sensible of 8 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. the immense progress society has made under the influence of Christianity, in all that relates to man. Are not the pub- lic games, those horrible scenes where hundreds of men were slaughtered to amuse an inhuman multitude, an eloquent testimony to the little value attached to man, when he was sacrificed with so much barbarism for reasons so frivolous ? " * The introduction of Christianity created a radical change in the entire organization of society, hj revealing the mo- mentous fact that the true end and object of the present transient life is to prepare for a future one which will be everlasting. Upon this subject Collard observes : " Human societies are bora, live, and die upon the earth ; there they accomplish their destinies. But they contain not the whole man. After his engagement to society there still remains in him the more noble j)art of his nature ; those high faculties by which he elevates himself to God, to a future life, and to the unknown blessings of an invisible world. We, indi- viduals, each with a separate and distinct existence, with an identical person, we, truly beings endowed with immortality, we have a higher destiny than that of states." f M. Guizot thus alludes to this subject : " Where the history of civili- zation ends, when there is no more to be said of the present life, man instinctively demands if all is over — if that is the end of all things ? This, then, is the last problem, and the grand- est, to which the history of civilization can lead us. It is suffi- cient that I have marked its place, and its sublime character."! In common Avith nearly all of the ancient philosophers, Plato supposed that haj^piuess was made up of wisdom in council, good health, a capacity for physical enjoyment, good fortune, noble family, good reputation, and riches. Every act of life was rendered subservient to the attamment of these ends. Laws and statutes were founded, and the entire frame- work of society Avas regulated upon these principles. At the birth of Christ the political, moral, and social codes of the Roman empire were founded upon these pantheistic * Prot. and Cath. Comp., p. 126. f Opin. sur le Proj. de LoJ, etc., pp. 7 and 17. X Hist of Civ., p. 30, THE WORLD AT THE BIBTH OF CHEIST. 0 jjliilosopliies. Obedience to constituted authorities and to existing laws was inculcated ; but the rights, comforts, and liberties of the poor and humble were held subservient to the pride, luxury, and personal gratification of the noble and rich. Abstractly, there was no respect for justice or the natural rights of man. Laws were enacted for the exclusive benefit of the higher classes ; while females, artisans, and slaves were degraded to the level of brutes, and emj^loyed as instruments for the gratification of the passions and pleasures of the wealthy and powerful. AYorshippers of gods but little superior to men, and believing v/ith Epicurus that the chief good and end of life consists in " the pleasures which arise from favors, and those which are derived from amatory pleasures, from music, and from the contemplation of beauty," they had no adequate appreciation of their fellow-creatures as rational and responsible beings of a common Father. A brief glance at the condition of the Roman einj^ire from the foundation of Rome to the birth of Jesus, will enable us to understand better how the untenable theories to which we have alluded, gained such an ascendency over the minds of the people. For more than seven hundred years before the Christian era, there had been a continued succession of strus^o-les be- tween the selfish and corrupt patricians on the one hand, to maintain their ascendency and unjust privileges, and the 02> pressed plebeians on the other, to secure their i^olitical, civil, and social rights. I^early every generation had been cursed with civil wars between these conflicting classes, but unfor- tunately riches and nobility usually predominated over poverty and humble birth. At the foundation of Rome, 753 years b. c. when Romulus divided his subjects into two dis- tinct classes or castes of " Patrons " and " Clients,'^^ conferring upon the former esjoecial rights and privileges, and degrading the other to a condition of dependence and serfdom, he establislied a precedent which exercised a dominating influ-. ence upon the liberties of the plebeian class until the down- fall of the Roman empire. Occasionally a Servius, a Brutus, 1* 10 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. a Valerius, or a Gracchus, would appear and contend manfully for the rights and liberties of the people, and for the moment secure partial justice; but these "friends of the people " were almost invariably removed by the as- sassin's dagger, leaving their friends Avithout advocates or defenders. Not only were the male plebeians deprived of their liber- ties, but their females were degraded to a still lower point in the scale of humanity. They were looked upon as mere ad- juncts to the uses and j^leasures of men — without intellect, moral resj)onsibility, or the dignity or rights which pertain to the other sex. They were valued just in proportion as they were capable of contributing to the comforts or lusts of their male oppressors. Instead of being recognized as the equals and companions of their husbands, fathers, and brothers, and allowed to exercise those elevating moral, intellectual, and social influences which so eminently j^ertain to the sex, they were subordinated in the social scale to the rank of mere painted puppets and playthings. They were well housed, fed, nursed, petted, and taught to sing and dance, so that their persons might afford more sensual gratification to their male companions ; but their minds and their consciences were allowed to remain undeveloped — crushed beneath the selfish- ness and tyranny of men. After years of civil war and turbulence under the direc- tion of the triumviri — Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar — during which the victorious Koman legions had annexed to the imperial territory portions of Asia, Africa, Greece, Italj^, Gaul, Spain, and Britain, the star of Ciesar was in the ascend- ant, and he was created supreme dictator of the Roman empire in 4G b. c. Having consolidated his power by decisive victories over Cato and the sons of Pompey in Africa and Spain, he re- turned to Rome, to rest upon his laurels, and to govern the em- pire. But Brutus, Cassius, and other consj^irators, regarding him as a usurper, a tyrant, and a destroyer of the liberties of the people, surrounded him in the Senate, and stabbed him THE WOELD AT THE EmTII OF CUEIST. 11 to death at the base of Pompcy's statue. A few years after his deatli, the battle of Actium gave to his nephew and heir, Octavius Augustus, the imperial throne, upon which he was still seated at the birth of Christ. In forming an opinion respecting the comparative in- fluence of Christianity upon the civilization of any given nation, it is necessary to take into consideration the period when such nation existed, the philosophies which obtained, the knowledge and religious light possessed, and the political, social, and moral influences in operation. Humboldt, in his " Cosmos," expresses the opinion that the philosophers who lived before Christ were nearly as far advanced in physical knowledge, and in the cultivation of literature, languages, and the fine arts, as Avere the subjects of Augustus at the commencement of the Christian era. But in the midst of this surpassing material prosperity we are forced to acknowl- edge the sad fact " that, in the case of nations as well as in the case of individuals, the highest j^oint of material prosperity and simple human progress and enlightenment may coexist with the lowest degree of moral and religious debasement." * Even in the best periods of Grecian civilization, according to Xenophon, men were selfish, cruel, licentious, and stran- gers to charity, benevolence, and brotherly love. Pride and self-gratification absorbed all of their thoughts and desires. Practically the men of the Augustan age were disciples of Epicurus, They did not regard death as of any consequence, believing that at death existence ceases. In life, they regard- ed sensation as the source of all good and all evil, and that death was only the privation of sensation. God was regarded by nearly all of the ancient philosophers as an impersonal and incorporeal spiritual principle, com- posed chiefly of fire, pervading all substances, presiding over all organizations, over reproduction, germination, growth, life, instinct, and reason. Subdivisions of this god-principle Avere recognized, and as these separate parts took possession * *' Triumph of the Catholic Church," page 40. 12 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. of different objects, whether animate or inanimate, they were esteemed and worshipped as gods and goddesses. On the physical decay of these objects, the spirits which had animated them were supposed to return again to their original spirit fountain, or element, or else to enter into some other being or object as its animating and directing spirit. The soul was supposed to be migratory, at one time inhabiting a Ctesar, at another a slave, or a tiger, or a reptile. With such ideas respecting God and the human soul, it was natural that idolatry, selfishness, licentiousness, and gen- eral corruption should prevail. The laws as Avell as the morals of the Roman empire were founded u^^on these absurd philosophical hyjDotheses. The law^s and customs of nations have always borne the impress of the prevalent philosophies. In proportion as the attributes of God, the rights of man, and the obligations of virtue have been appreciated, so have been civilization and Imman prog- ress. If the morals of the subjects of Augustus Caesar were corrupt, if the laws Avere unjust and des230tic, if humanity was debased, if the rights of the people were ignored, and if the gratification of the senses was the paramount object of life, we may trace the cause to the" fallacious doctrines of the philosophical schools of that era. Another result of the existing philosophies was human slavery with its most repulsive features. Some historians have supposed that more than one-half of the male subjects of the Roman empire under Augustus were slaves. These helpless victims of pagan superstition were regarded and treated in the same manner as a modern jockey regards and treats his stud of horses. The latter slielters, feeds, and carefully grooms his animals, in order that they may the better con- duce to his pride and pleasure ; but when they become old and useless, they are sent away to die of starvation or be shot. So did the polished Roman citizen shelter, feed, and attend his slaves, so long as they were capable of pandering to his enjoyments ; but when tliey became old, and worn out in service, they were sent to the islands of the Tiber to peris^h THE WOELD AT THE BIRTH OF CUEIST. 13 of exposure and starvation. And the Roman la^ws, founded ujion Aristotelian, Platonian, and Epicurean ideas, sanctioned and legalized these atrocities. As too great an increase of population might become troublesome, entail care and expense, and thus curtail the pleasures of life, abortions and infanticide were sanctioned and legalized by the Koman statutes. In these barbarous practices, the Roman citizens were not only sustained by law, but by the precepts of Aristotle. As we have before intimated, the degradation of females to an inferior position in the scale of humanity was another characteristic feature of the civilization of the period to whicli we are alluding. Females were universally regarded as an inferior order of beings, created to gratify the sensual de- sires of men, and to perpetuate the human race. They were therefore mere adjuncts to the Roman household establish- ments, as objects of luxury and utility; but every thing like intellectual companionship and moral dignity were denied them by their husbands and masters. The laws and customs sanctioned these acts of injustice, until eventually the sex became utterly degraded and debased. Doubtless there were rare instances of virtue among the females of pagan Rome, but they cannot be regarded otherwise than as exceptions to the rule. What else could have been expected when we contemplate the corrupt teachings of the accepted philoso- phers and law-makers? *' Who is ignorant," says Balmes, " of the scandalous advice of the sage Solon, with respect to the lending of Avomen for the purpose of improving the race ? Who has not blushed to read what the divine Plato, in his ' Republic,' says of the proprietjPand manner of making wo- men share in the public games ? Let us throw a veil over recollections so dishonorable to human wisdom. When the chief legislators and sages so far forgot the first elements of morality, and the most ordinary inspirations of nature, wliat must have been the case with the vulgar?" * When women of the most noble birth and in the highest positions openly * " Protestantism and Catholicism Compared," page 444. 11 CHRISTIANITY Al^B ITS CONFLICTIS. and voluntarily degraded themselves to the shameless level of courtesans, it was natural that those in less elevated con- ditions should follow the example. Regard the scandalous debaucheries and the disgraceful conduct of Julia, the daugh- ter of Augustus Caesar, and the banishment of herself and her paramours from Home, not for their actual immoralities, but for the shameless public exhibition of them. The conduct of Messalina, the wife of the emperor Claudius, has scarcely a parallel in ancient or modern times. This infamous woman not only indulged her gross licen- tiousness openly with various paramours, but she actu- ally married one of them, Silvius, while the emperor was still living. Her obscene debaucheries were only equalled by her cruel murders of the rich and noble for the sake of seizing their property and squandering it w^ith reckless ex- travagance on her dissolute companions. In point of avarice, ambition, and sanguinary cruelty, her successor, the empress Agrippina, the mother of JSTero, ex- celled her. If she was less licentious than Messalina, she was equally cruel, and more ambitious and avaricious. In order to place her infamous son upon the throne, she induced the court j^hysician to poison her husband Claudius. In the same manner the empress Livia had previously hastened the death of Augustus, by presenting him with j^oisoned figs, in order that her dissolute son Tiberius might sooner enter uj^on his career of despotism and debauchery. Among the courtesans of ISTero was Poppaea Sabina, who, after living with him in open adultery, induced him to put away his wife Octavia, to cause the murder of his mother Agrippina, and then to marry her. Piancina, the abandoned wife of Piso, at the instigation of Tiberius, went to Syria for the express purpose of sedu- cing and debauching his nephew and rival Germanicus. This unfortunate prince was poisoned soou after the arrival of this vile prostitute and murderess. Yv'ith such examples in high places, with public sentiment perverted by the teachers of morality, and with laws and re- THE WOliLD AT THE BIKTU OF CllIUST. 15 ligious riglits which inculcated obscenity and licentiousness as legitimate, it is not surprising that the women of Rome abandoned themselves to the revels of tlic temples of Venus, of the public game?, and of the numerous public brothels. If we examine critically the condition of the people of Christ's own native province of Galilee, we shall find a so- ciety almost as depraved as that of the Latin race. The little town of Nazareth, where the Saviour was born, and resided almost exclusively during the first thirty years of His life, was noted throughout Judea in consequence of the wick- edness and depravity of its inhabitants. The most active portion of the life of Jesus, viz., the three years preceding His crucifi^xion, was passed in Judea, especially in Galilee, Jerusalem, Samaria, and in " the region round about Judea." The people were composed principally of Jews, Greeks, Syrians, Phoenicians, and Arabs. A majority of them w^ere Jews. The population of Jerusalem was made up of Phari- sees, Sadducees, Mystics, Roman officers and soldiers, and a considerable number of Gentiles from other parts of the em- pire. Those who were not actually idolaters were more or less tainted w^ith pantheism. Even the most enlightened of the Jews had lost, to a great extent, nearly all correct ideas of God, of immortality, and of the religion which had been taught by Moses and the prophets. As legitimate descend- ants of Abraham, they believed themselves still to be the chosen people of Israel, endowed and favored by the Al- mighty above all other men. Thej^ were doubtless honest in their convictions that they yet possessed those divine pre- cepts and religious observances which had been held and practised by their forefathers under Moses and other divinely inspired prophets. They were intensely partisan in their feelings ; but, as a subjugated race, they had long been thrown in contact with the Gentile Avorld — w^ith the Latin, Greek, Pli(enician, Syrian, and Arabian subjects of the em- pire— and they had imperceptibly imbibed many of the idolatrous ideas of these men. They were rigid disciplina- rians, but not a few of the peculiar notions and superstitions 16 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. of the Roman subjects of the Caisars had become incor- porated mto their religion. While actually hating the em- peror, and his procurators, and other subordinates, they had been continually and unconsciously influenced by the preva- lent philosophies of the period. If their conclusions varied somewhat from those of the Roman citizens, it is neverthe- less true that a sufiicient number of errors and superstitions became mixed up with their theology to render it displeasing in the sight of the Son of man. The Roman civilization had produced a still more de- moralizing influence upon the Sadducees. They were all of tliem avowed infidels or atheists, and their ideas were more material and mundane than those of the j)agans themselves. The Samaritans could not be regarded as either Jews or pagans ; but they were godless, skeptical, and in the main l^antheistic. Both Galilee and Jerusalem contained larcce numbers of actual pagans, who openly proclaimed their sentiments, and who were especially encouraged and protected by the gov- ernment. The powerful influence exercised by Christianity during the days of Christ and His apostles, upon the civilization of that period, in the improvement of morals, the conversion of unbelievers, the amelioration of the moral and social status of Avomen, and of the general condition of those in bondage, was due in a great measure to the miracles which were wrought, and to the special operations of the Holy Spirit. Without these divine agencies, the Christian religion could not have secured a foothold in a world subjugated to pagan philosophies and idolatry, and to the jDrevalent superstitions of Judaism. Unaided by the marvellous deeds performed by the Saviour and His disciples, Christianity could not have survived the crucifixion of the Son of man. Unassisted by supernatural power from on high, the Church which Christ founded would have been summarily swejDt from the earth by the multitudes of idolaters and perverted Jews who were in the midst of them, and sought their lives. Even with THE WOELD AT THE BERTn OF CHKIST. 17 these supernatural advantages, the earlier generations of Christians were many times apparently upon the brink of extermination. Often were they pursued to mountains, caves, and desolate places to escape massacre at the hands of sanguinary Pharisees, Sadducees, and pagans. These per- secutions were continued until the accession of Constantino, under whose wise reign Christianity was fostered and Chris- tians were protected. The Christian Church has undoubtedly been the most po- tent agent of both ancient and modern civilization. Indeed, during the first 1,500 years of our era it was almost the only agent oi moral civilization. We use the tenu moral in con- tradistinction to that material civilization which pertains to art, science, and literature. It includes those obligations and duties which man owes to his Creator and to his fellow- men, like the love of God, faith in the Christian religion, brotherly love, charity, hope, gentleness, benevolence, chas- tity, and all of those sentiments and feelings which elevate, refine, and Christianize mankind. During the first centuries, as Ave have already observed, the Church existed in the midst of an advanced state of material civilization. Poetry, oratory, philosophy, painting, sculpture, architecture, and whatever was calculated to please the senses, were all in a very high state of development. But, morally and socially, the world was enveloped in the darkness of paganism and Pharisaical superstition. If gorgeous synagogues, j^alaces, temples, and public baths were to be seen on every hand, adorned by the highest genius of the architect, the sculptor, and the painter, with their mute appeals to the lovers of grandeur, beauty, utility, and luxury, let it not be forgotten that idolatry, gross sensuality, contempt for the female sex, indilTerence to all moral, social, and domestic ties, and utter selfishness presided over these marvellous tabernacles. If spacious amphitheatres, arenas, and parks of fabulous cost were everywhere open and free to the Koman citizen, let it be remembered that they were the ofispring of pagan cruelty, pagan intolerance, and of a public sentiment which held man 18 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. in the same estimation as it held the wild beast of the arena. If heaven-born genius wrought from marble or canvas the human form vivified, and perfect in symmetry and grace, let it be acknowledged that the representations, while enchant- ing the eyes, made their chief appeal to the grosser passions. If literature scattered profusely her polished sentences, glit- tering Avith flashes of imagination, wit, fancy, and beautiful and high-wrought descriptions, her efforts were squandered in j^raise of some lascivious heathen goddess, or to arouse ignoble sentiments and emotions. With no appreciation of individual dignity or moral excellence, the dominant object of the j)eople of Jewish and pagan Rome and Greece, during the first three centuries of the Christian era, was to please, to excite, and to gratify their senses. Whatever stood in the way of their sensual gratification was swept aside, and the faculties and lives of women, children, and bondmen were all rendered subservient to the one controlling idea. On one occasion, after a victory, the inhuman spectacles of the amphitheatre and the arena were kej^t up for a period of twenty-three days, and at a cost of more than six thou- sand human lives. If heroic deeds were performed, they were inspired solely by national pride, and a desire to enhance the power and glory of the republic or the empire. Individual dignity and moral rectitude Avere not taken into account. To be able to say, Civis RoinaniLin sum, was the highest and sole ambition. The state was father, master, and the only foun- tain of honor and glory. In place of personal pride, ambi- tion, respect, and honor, individuality Avas absorbed in national poAver and greatness. Actuated and inspired by these general sentiments, the Koman citizen was an object of unmitigated selfishness and unbridled sensuality, unre- strained by any appreciation of the dignity of man, or of simple justice, humanity, or moral rectitude. It was to convert, reform, and save a Avorld composed of such materials, that God became incarnate upon earth. It was in the midst of such pagan and JcAvish wolves that the THE WOKLD AT THE BIIiTII OF CKlilST. VJ Lamb of God first commenced His holy mission ; and as His disciples and their successors struggled on in the heavenly- course during the first three hundred years, they preached and prayed, and adored the living God, in the midst of the most cruel persecutions, and with pagan swords continually at their throats, often sealing their faith with their blood. While Christ and His apostles were preaching brotherly love, charity, mercy, forbearance, and forgiveness, the idolatrous and bloodthirsty tyrant and emperor Tiberius, and his pliant minions, were slaughtering their enemies and the friends of the republic by thousands, to gratify their desire for revenge and bloodshed. While a handful of devoted Christians were inculcating by words and acts the divine precept, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself," the subjects of Tiberius — those lauded men of the " golden age " — held the entire female sex in a condition of beastly degradation, in order to gratify their unhallowed lusts, and retained in servile bondage hundreds of thousands of white sln^ves to minister to their pride, pomp, and luxury. While the servants of Christ respected every creature made in the image of God, and endeavored to ameliorate, elevate, and Christianize every soul, Avhether bond or free, the haughty emperor and his proud Roman citizens ivere daily sacrificing their dependants and slaves to some heathen god, or subjecting them to the deadly contests of the amphitheatre of wild beasts, or the gladiatorial arena, to gratify an inhuman and blood- thirsty mob. The followers of Jesus j^reached and practised morality, chastity, benevolence, brotherly love, and raised aloft those divine principles which dignify and ennoble men and women as individuals. Tiberius and his classical i:)agans advocated and practised the pursuit of pleasure and self- indulgence as the chief objects of life, and made humanity, morality, justice, and even decency subservient to them. Llcas of individual dignity, or of spiritual and moral re- sponsibility, were never dreamed of by these materially culti- vated pagans. The Jews of Jerusalem and Galilee were rather less 20 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. powerful to oppress and persecute Jesus and His discij^les than their Roman rulers, but in their hearts they were equally malignant and vindictive. In such a condition of society, it required the continual presence and influence of the Almighty to introduce and establish the religion of Christ. Opposed as it was to the entire social, moral, and religious system of the age — clash- ing with the prejudices, the selfishness, the licentiousness, and the pride of the peoj^le, it was resisted with deadly hos- tility at every step. Our Saviour, His apostles, and their successors were regarded as personal enemies who had come among them to overthrow their cherished philosophies and the superstitions of Judaism, and to disorganize and change their entire social, moral, and religious condition, and to sub- stitute instead the divine maxims of Jesus of N'azareth. Earnestly believing in the received religions and j)hilosophies, ij^roud of national glory ^ but utterly regardless oiincUvidual honor and dignity, they lived solely for jDcrsonal gratifica- tion, and they rendered every thing in the political, mor- al, and social sphere subservient to this end. It was not strange, therefore, that these men thirsted for the blood of Christ and His followers. It was not strange that the Church was moistened with the blood of Christian martyrs during the first centuries of the Christian era. Mere human agency could not have sustained and preserved the Christian religion' until the conversion of Constantino. The elements of oppo- sition were too numerous, too powerful, too deeply rooted in the perverted and vicious hearts of the people, too deadly and determined to have afforded a hope of the successful in- troduction and establishment of Christianity, unless it had been continually aided by a direct interposition from on high. Tliis same blessed influence has remained with the same Church, and sustained it and blessed it up to the pres- ent moment. While false teachers and false proj^hets have everywhere sprung into existence, blown about by every wind of doctrine, setting up creeds of men in j^lace of the religion of Christ, distracting the world by innumerable, con- THE WOELD AT THE BIETII OF CIIKIST. 21 tradictory, and contending sects, and rendering tlie Chris- tian religion (which is composed of " one Lord, one faitli, and one baptism" ) a mockery and a byword to imbelievers, the Catholic Church has ever remained where Jesus her founder planted her — upon the rock of truth — indestruc- tible, immutable, and permanent. M. Guizot, in his able and usually candid work on the " History of Civilization in Europe," asserts that there was no "Christian Church, with its institutions, its magistrates, its authority," until the fourth century. He supposes that the Church which was founded by Christ before His ascension, with its organization of ecclesiastical " magistrates," endowed with " authority " as pastors and shepherds over the Christian flock, which was under the special protection of the Holy Spirit, and against which the gates of hell should not prevail, had no established princij)les, no discipline, and no authorized ministers during the first three centuries of the Christian era. '^ In its infancy," says M. Guizot, " in its very babyhood, Chris- tian society presents itself before us as a simple association of men possessing the same faith and opinions, the same senti- ments and feelings. The first Christians met to enjoy to- gether their common emotions, their common religious con- victions. At this time we find no settled form of doctrine, no settled rules of discipline, no body of magistrates." * Surely M. Guizot will not deny that when Christ returned to heaven. He left behind Him a visible Church, with regu- larly consecrated ministers, possessing authority not only to teach and preach a " settled form of doctrine " — like faith, repentance, baptism, and obedience to the commandments — but that He actually designated a head " magistrate " to this divinely instituted ecclesiastical organization, in the jDcrson of Peter, who was to preside over the other officers of the Church and see that her " discipline " and her " doctrines " were faithfully obeyed. No one will deny that it was the chief mis- sion of Christ on earth to instruct mankind in a " settled form of doctrine," and to found a visible ecclesiastical organization * Vol. i., p. 49. 22 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. or church, with teachers and ministers to inculcate and per- petuate this doctrine; and no one will assert that our Saviour failed in His object. It would be unreasonable to suppose that God would establish His Church, His bishops and priests, and a settled and positive code of principles and ceremonies, during His sojourn below, and on His departure, peraait this organization to become extinct for three cen- turies ! " As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this He breathed on them, and He said to them : Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven thcin, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." * St. Paul, following the example of Christ, or- dained Timothy and Titus, and sent them away to teach, and to ordain others, charging them as follows : " Stir up the grace of God, which is in thee, by the imposition of My hands."! "And tlie things which thou hast heard of Me by many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, v ho shall be fit to teach others also." J "For Ms cause I left thee in Crete .... that thou shouldst ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee." § From this first quotation it is evident that Christ conse- crated His apostles, endowed them with the Holy Spirit, con- ferred upon them the power of binding and loosing from sin, and then sent them as His special rej)resentatives to teach and practise the doctrines vdiich they had received from Him, and which He had received from the Father. Here, then, was an organized body of men, divinely appointed and ordained to sustain the Church which Christ had established, with its set- tled code of princi2:>les and sacraments. From the declara- tions of St. Paul and other apostles, it is clear that Christ in- structed them and their successors to perpetuate this ecclesi- astical organization, in order that His Church might be ever visible, immutable, and operative. Says St. Paul, " God hath reconciled us to Himself by Christ ; and hath given to us the * John sx. 21, 22, 25. \ 2 Timothy i. 6. X 2 Timothy ii. 2. § Titus i. 5. THE WORLD AT THE BIETII OF CHRIST. 23 ministry of reconciliation For Christ therefore \\q are ambassadors." * In view of the facts that Christ became incarnate for the express purpose of teaching mankind His holy truths, and of preserving and transmitting them to future generations, tlirough a regularly organized Church and ministry, and that His love for this Church was so great that He willingly sut- fered and died for it, the inference is irresistible that the " Christian Church, its institutions, its magistrates, and its authority " has existed uninterruptedly since the days of the apostles. " Christ loved the Church, and delivered Himself up for it ; that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life." f " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit." J On one occasion when Christ was addressing the multi- tude, He distinctly recognized the superior functions of His ecclesiastical magistrates. "And the disciples came, and said unto Him, why speakest Thou unto them in parables ? Ho answered and said unto them. Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them (the multitude) it is not given." § The fact that the first bishops and priests of the Church did not worship in temples, and exercise the authority and functions of tlie priesthood openly and publicly, will account for the hasty inference of M. Guizot, that there existed no ecclesiastical organization and no consecrated priesthood during the first three centuries of the Christian era. What was the condition of these early Christians ? Dvv^elling in the midst of idolatrous pagans, demoralized sects, and athe- ists who hated Christianity because it opposed a barrier to their passions and pleasures, and who persecuted and mur- dered all who professed or practised its beneficent doctrines, these bishops and priests of the first century were obliged to * 2 Corinthians x. 18-20. f Ephesians v. 25, 2G. X John XV. 16. § Matthew xiii. 10, 11. 24= CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. preach, teach, and practise then* religion, to consecrate their ministers, and to preserve the Holy Scriptures and the tradi- tions of the Church in dark catacombs, caves, and secluded forests. For the most part, they were obliged to meet by stealth, and at the imminent risk of their lives. Pagan spies were at every door, watching the outgoings and the in- comings of every suspected Christian, reporting every sus- picious word, thus furnishing abundant victims for the wild beasts of the Colosseum, or for Jewish and pagan crosses. Under such circumstances, was it to be expected that the ecclesiastical " magistrates " to whom M. Guizot alludes — the bishops and priests of the Church who had been succes- sively ordained as her ministers and guardians since the days of Christ — would expose themselves to certain martyrdom by public professions and practices of their religion ? M. Guizot will admit that Christ did found a Church, did designate by name its head officer, and did promise that it should exist forever. Was this Church founded simply in order that a " few of the first Christians might meet together to enjoy their common emotions ? " Did Christ found His Church upon a rock and present to St. Peter the keys, without any " settled form of doctrine, any settled rules of discipline, or any body of magistrates ? " If, in the time of Christ and the apostles, ecclesiastical niagistrates were appointed and consecrated to carry on the Church organization, and to ex- ercise pastoral authority over the faithful, is it probable that these appointments and this organization would cease to exist after the ascension of Christ and the death of the apostles ? Is it probable that the divine Guardian would so soon abandon the sacred heritage which had been so merci- fully bequeathed to mankind ? It is quite true that neither Seneca, nor Tacitus, nor Pliny alludes to any church organ- ization, nor to bishops and j^riests ; but they were men of the world, politicians, lovers of comfort and honor, and whose pleasures were in the senate-house, the lyceum, the academic groves, and in the smiles of the noble and great, not in the Catacombs which harbored the persecuted Christian outlaws. THE WOULD AT THE BIKTH OF CnPJST. 25 The first Christians composed but a small portion of the population, were obscure, poor, despised, and persecuted. Any announcement of Christian faith, or any conversion to it, was punishable with deatli. The very fact that the Church lias survived, retaining- within her bosom the Scriptures and the sacred traditions and observances, notwithstanding the vast powers which were arrayed against her under Tiberius, Nero, Claudius, Caligula, etc., proves not only a continuous ecclesiastical organization, but the ever-sustaining presence of God. In organizing this Church, which " Christ loved and de- livered Himself Kj) for, ^"^ and in ordaining its authorized min- isters for the purpose of announcing and explaining the doc- trines and requirements which He had received from the Father, and Avhicli He had communicated to them, our Saviour intended to establish and perpetuate a " settled form of doctrine " — divine, immutable, and everlasting. He did not design that these sacred truths should be submitted to the people by the apostles and their successors, for discus- sion, for criticism, and for private interpretation, v»'ith liberty to alter and amend, or reject them, as ignorance, prejudice, or caprice might dictate. He did not submit His doctrines to the judgments or criticisms of the Scribes, Pharisees, Saddu- cees, and lawyers of Jerusalem, or to the learned and polished litterateurs of Rome. He never j^retended to sanction what is termed in modern times " freedom of conscience " and "private interpretation," but He demanded unconditional faith and obedience in the teachings of Himself and His in- spired apostles. He announced a fixed code of religious principles and observances, directly opposed to the opinions and practices of the entire civilized world ; and He appointed and consecrated a special class of men as His agents, repre- sentatives, and " ambassadors," to teach, practice, and perpet- uate them. They were to teach, among other things, the necessity of faith in Himself and in all His words and Avorks, however repugnant they might appear to human reason. He did not give to His priesthood any discretion to submit 2 26 CHEISTlAls'ITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. these precejDts to the fallible judgments of their hearers, with permission to receive a part and reject a part ; but they were commanded simply to declare the law and the necessity of receiving it without reservation or discussion. If the doc- trines of Christianity had always been submitted to the capricious interpretations of the illiterate, the depraved, and the skeptical public, during the early and middle centuries, not a vestige of the religion of Christ w^ould novf have re- mained for us, but universal skepticism Avould have cursed the world. This is evident from the actual results of modern Protestantism, as we have elsewhere demonstrated. The mission and declarations of Christ on earth, tlie teach- ings and practices of the apostles, the violent persecutions and the frequent martyrdoms of Christians during the first centuries, afford conclusive evidence that the Church organi- zation, with its officers, its authority, its " settled form of doctrine," and its sacramental observances, has never ceased to exist and to bear fruits since its first foundation. Christ and His apostles v/ere obliged to preach and j^^'J^ctise Chris- tianity in mountains, wildernesses, on the sea-shore, and to be ever on the alert to avoid the persecutions and murderous attacks of their enemies. They were continually driven from place to place, insulted, stoned, whipped, and tormented, until, finally, the Saviour and several of the apostles w^ere actually crucified. During the reigns of the emperors of the line of Cajsar, and onward through generations of malignant and sanguinary persecution, up to the time of Constantine, a similar public sentiment existed against the Christians, ■which rendered open and public declaration, profession, or practice of Christianity entirely impracticable. While Christ and the apostles lived, Christianity did not become suffi- ciently extended and powerful to excite any serious appre- hensions on the part of paganism ; but as the number of converts increased, and became a power of the empire, fear of Christian influence was superadded to existing hatred, and a corresponding increase of persecution and cruelty was the result. These facts fully explain why the Church was so THE WOELD AT THE BIliTH OF CHKIST. 27 little visible during the first throe centuries of the Christian era, and why historians have made so few allusions to the organization and its officers and authority. What is the object of religion ? Let us answer in the vrords of M. Guizot: "It is to govern the human passions, the human will. All religion is a restraint, an authority, a government. It comes in the name of a divine law, to sub- due, to mortify human nature. It is then to himian liberty tliat it directly opposes itself. It is human liberty that re- sists it, and that it wishes to overcome. This is the grand object of religion, its mission, its hope. " But, while it is with human liberty that all religions have to contend, while they aspire to reform the will of man, they have no means by which they can act upon him — they have no moral power over him, but through his own will, his liberty Before religions can really accomplish their task, it is necessary that they should be accepted by the free-will of man : it is necessary that man should submit, but it must be willingly and freely, and that he still pre- serves his liberty in the midst of this submission." * The first paragraph of this quotation is strictly true, while the last is true only to a certain extent. The object of religion is to subjugate and control the perverse desires and propensities of the human heart, and to enforce obe- dience to the divine commandments. The moral power which the Catholic Church has always exercised over man, has been the simple presentation of the settled and immutable truths of Christianity, like faith in Jesus Christ, and obedience to His commandments, under the penalty of everlasting jDunish- ment. To be efiicient, these holy truths must not only be addressed to the intelligence of men, with a view to con- vincing their reason of their justice, but the practice of them must be inculcated by such means as are best calculated to overcome the obstinate and sinful disobedience of believers. The Church always appeals to the reason of men, sets before them the plain precepts which the Father revealed to the * "IligtciT of Civilization," vol. i., p. 1S8. 28 CIIPJSTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. Son, and whicli He revealed to the apostles and tlieir succes- sors, and then demands obedience under the penalties an- nounced in Holy Writ. The reason of man may accept a truth theoretically, while his sinful nature rejects it prac- tically. If at times the Catholic Churcli has enforced strin- gent rules of discipline, they have ever been directed to insure obedience to conceded truths. The great principles of Christianity are presented to the free-will of man, to accept or reject, but not to alter or pervert. He has perfect liberty to receive and profit by them, or to reject them and abide the consequences ; but he has not liberty to misinterpret and change a jot or tittle of the Word of God. There must be some limit to human liberty and to self-will. For example, in a democracy, the people govern; they elect rulers, create laws, and determine governmental policies. But the politi- cal organization limits this liberty and self-will. Thus, an enthusiast demands a division of property, a plurality of ^T.ves, etc., but common-sense and common-law step in and restrict his liberty, curb his free-will, and force him to obey the laws as commonly interpreted. The Church organization acts in the same manner. It offers to all the divine laws, and inculcates obedience to them ; but it places restraints on licentiousness of opinion, and palpable violations of the laws of God. As regards the labors of the first apostles, and the spirit which actuated them, all Christians are in unison. A very casual examination of the great works accomplished by these devoted men, will demonstrate the fact that they were not only a thoroughly organized " body of magistrates," but a very industrious and efficient organization. N^or was there any uncertainty as to the "form of doctrine" they taught. The principles they announced vrere always explicit, compre- hensive, clear, and uniform ; and they were delivered to the multitudes vvdio heard them as articles of absolute and un- questioning faith and practice, not for discussion and private interpretation. The first apostles were more eloquent than other men. THE WORLD AT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. 29 and more potent in their influence only because tlieir hearts were more pervaded by the spirit of their Master; and they ^Yrought out more sublimely that love with which their Lord had imbued them. If their successors, tliough superior in mental strength and human learning, did not all possess that deep faith and that deep love which the first followers of Jesus displayed, still they were illumined in a degree which raised them vastly above any teachers of human wisdom that the world had ever seen. Thus enlightened, they em- ployed the trutlis impressed upon them by their Divine Mas- ter in bringing men from darkness to light ; and, however we may contemplate them as men living in a dark age of the world's history, and estimate their spiritual character and power, and compare them with the pagan philosophers and Jewish priests, these Fathers of the earlij days of the Church gave out a icondrous light. They felt that Christianity was a i)Ower that must revo- lutionize the world. They knew that there was saving health in the life of the Lord. They were heroic in their lives, and in their self sacrifice and devotion to His service. They were not afraid that the episcopal garments they wore Avould be stained by their treading in desolate places ; and they condescended to speak to the ojDpressed man or woman as to a brother or a sister. They were not afraid to stand up and advocate the cause of the oppressed wherever tliey were found. They preached everywhere that man loas man. Again: They were disinterested. — If they differed in vrorldly things among themselves ; if they were men — and whenever men try to settle matters of opinion by employing their intellectual powers, they are liable to fall into errors ; if they found it impossible to settle supernatural problems by their own natural mental powers — still the early Fathers of tlie Church held fiist to the revealed doctrines they had received ; and in them, and in their adherence to them, they found the elements that were needed for the re2:eneration of human society, tliough society was then debased beyond any thing 30 CimiSTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. that we can now realize. They were, in all respects, superior to the best men of the heathen world. First, on the ground of moral purity. — ISTo man, unless he has waded through oceans of the old Koman literature, can form any, even an imperfect idea or conception of the world as it then was, or how corrupt was the best civilized society of that day. We have heard men refer to Paris as the representative of impurity among modern cities. But Paris in its worst days — Paris in the latter days of the reign of Louis X Y. — if Paris liad been extended till it should take in a population of millions, would afibrd but an imperfect illustration of what Rome was in the days of its decline, and through all the days and j^ears in whicli paganism ruled there. And it was in the midst of all this profligacy and wicked- ness that the advocates of Cln-istianity through three hun- dred years of heathen persecution labored for the regenera- tion of human society. It may not be possible for us to realize how much they did accomplish. They organized the family y and the primitive divine idea of a pure household rose u]), a green paradise-island out of the almost universal decay. They raised up marriage, as a divine institution ; they raised woman from her ancient slavery and thrall, and established the everlasting sanctuary of the HOME. They rescued childhood from the hell of ancient tyranny ; they consecrated virginity and hallowed it ; and opened through purified generation the way for the more perfect humanity of the coming time. They were right in another thing also. They broke down the barriers of caste ; and thus tliey y)rcpared the way for the idea of human brotherhood to descend upon men to be gradually understood and received. And while they were thus teaching by precept and example the living truths of the Christian Church, what was Rome, the metropolis of heathenism ? An enormous. Titanic, demonized monster of oppression. A great confederacy of j^agan states, which had nowhere any moral law. And oh, how did the proud im- TUE WOELD AT THE BIRTH OF CUEIST. 31 perial city of the Crcsars tyrannize in brutal barbarism over fallen and suffering men ! She vras the purchaser and the seller, the trader in the bodies and souls of all classes of her subjects ; permittino- ilie noblest of her people to be mur- dered in the amphitheatres by wild beasts, merely to gratify the brutal passions of the populace. This, this was Rome ! The Fathers of the earlier days of Christianity, in labor- ino- for the restoration of human brotherhood, felt, more deeply perhaps than we of this time, the nineteenth century, can feel, that men^ everywhere, were brothers. And they felt more intensely than Christians of later times appear to feel, that when men devoted themselves to the service of the Lord Jesus, they stood in spirit-freedom before Him as tlieir Divine Master. Men have since wondered how the great masses of benighted men could j^ossibly be reached by the preaching of a few plain men who had all the powers of Satan and the v»^orld against them. The reason was this : brotherhood was preached and practised ; and there was a moral power in the preaching and in the example of such men. Again, they were successful, because moral and Christian purity of life was preached and practised. And men be- lieved in the divine mission of the heralds of the Christian faith, because the Divine Man they represented was symbol- ized in those messengers who were seen to be inspired by His Spirit. Again, they were successfiil, because in the visions of the future they unfolded the coming spiritual commonwealth, where those Avho had been baptized most fully in the fiery sea of suffering, who had dared most and suffered most, would be restored to immortal youth and angelic perfection in the home that He who had gone before had promised to prepare for them. CHAPTEE II. DOCTRIXES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. God — Tinder the Old and New Dispensations, At the Ibirtli of Christ, as we have endeayored to show, but few of the subjects of Augustus entertained any just ideas of God, or of the immortality of the soul. Superior spiritual existences were recognized and worshipped, but they were mere properties of matter — the animating and governing spirit of the universe — tliat principle which presides over the three kingdoms of nature, and perpetuates and sustains the natural order and harmony of all created things. A majority had no conception of one Infinite and Omnipotent God, to whom all are accountable, or of a future state of existence where souls exist forever, in happiness or unhappiness, " ac- cording to the deeds done in the body." Their general god was Nature, and they deified men, animals, imaginary per- sons, and various mundane objects. This is a denial of a personal God, and, as Balmes has well observed, " a mate- rialism ending in atheism, wild idealism and fantastic spirit- ualism resulting in pantheism." Equally erroneous ideas were generally entertained re- specting the immortality of the soul. A few adopted the opinion of Pythagoras, that souls are migratory, occupying successively various animated bodies, and losing their iden- GOD. 33 tity at each migration. But the vast majority of the people of Christ's clay believed in the annihilation of both soul and body at death. The legitimate results of these pantheistic views were the universal prevalence of the three concupis- cences which, according to the inspired apostle, govern the world, viz., that of the flesh, of the eyes, and the pride of life. As there Avas nothing to hope for beyond the grave, the sole object of life was the pursuit of worldly pleasure. If their codes contained a few precepts of morality, virtue, and justice, they were incorporated for the protection of person and property against wanton and lawless violence, and not with reference to any abstract sentiments of goodness and right. God became incarnate on earth to change these atheisti- cal and pantheistical opinions, and the moral and social con- dition of the societies founded on them. He came to declare Himself to them, so far as was consistent with their limited faculties ; to solicit their faith, to elevate them from idolatry and Jewish superstition to Christianity, and to instruct them by means of a new disj)ensation respecting God, the human soul, and their duties to God and man. We shall endeavor to present to the reader the fundamental j^rinciples which Christ and His inspired apostles gave to mankind as a divine heritage, capable of rescuing them and their posterity from the spiritual darkness of paganism and materialism, and of be- stowing u2)on them the beneficent lights of the Christian re- ligion. In this chapter we shall briefly allude to some of the attributes of God, and to the objects of the new disj^ensation. Foremost among the doctrines taught by the Saviour was the necessity of faith in one Supreme and Personal God. A true knowledge of the Creator was absolutely essential to the welfare of mankind. It was necessary tliat He should be recognized, not only as a Being of infinite knowledge and power, but of infinite love and justice; that He should be ac- knowledged as the Sovereign Ruler, as well as the Creator of the universe: and the highest duty of men is to have iaith and to obey. For many centuries precedinoj the Chris- 6^ CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. tian era, the human mind had been so thoroughly mate- rialized and absorbed in mundane affairs, that the ideas of a spirit-world and an eternal God were practically ignored. Men adopted the untenable and absurd doctrines of the domi- nant schools of philosophy, or the equally false ideas of the prevalent Judaism, and with these f^alse data entered upon the grand stage of life. It was to drag the world from the moral and social desfradation into which it had fallen, throus-h the influence of these baneful centres and nurseries of public sentiment, that the Almighty deemed it necessary to deliver a nevv^ law, through the medium of the second Person of tlie Holy Trinity. The Infinite Intelligence mercifully deigned to manifest Himself, and to communicate His will to man- kind through a man with a human nature like themselves. That no misunderstanding should occur respecting His divine laws and instructions. He became incarnate, and declared His will in person and with organs like our own, thus adapting Himself to the limited faculties of mortals. This merciful condescension of the Supreme Being in manifesting His will to mankind through a human body, with organs and faculties like our own — with sentiments, emotions, passions, affections, and with keen susceptibilities to painful and pleasurable sensations — has been seized upon by skeptics as an argument against the divinity of Jesus. Because our Saviour was born in the poor town of l^azareth, of humble parentage, and passed thirty years of His life as a poor laboring carpenter, the priesthood of His own day de- nied His divinity, and denounced Him as an impostor. From first to last the Jewish priests were His enemies ; and to- Cai- phas belongs the dreadful sin of having instigated the pro- ceedings and persecutions which terminated in the crucifix- ion. It is quite evident that the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, did not desire to put Jesus to death, but would gladly have spared Him had it not been for the violent clamor of the Jews, headed by their high-priest and his friends in au- thority. The rationalists of the world, whether Pharisee, Sadducee, GOD. 35 Mystic, or Pagan, of His own epoch, or Atheist, Deist, Ration- alist, or other Skejotic of more modern times, liave always regarded Jesus as a mere man, without any right whatever to the appellation of, or the honor pertaining to God. From the simple fact that the Infinite chose to speak to Ilis rebel- lious creatures through the medium of a body like their own — although His words were confirmed by a series of stupen- dous miracles — many men, in all ages, have doubted, cavilled, and finally repudiated every thing pertaining to Jesus Avhich did not coincide with their rationalistic notions. Finite man can form no just concej^tion of the Infinite. Like a leaf of the tree, a blade of grass, or a grain of sand on the sea-shore, man is but an incident in the grand design of the universe. The creation of a world, having relations with innumerable other worlds of various magnitudes and endowments, all operating in perfect harmony, containing living beings possessed of almost innumerable grades of in- telligence and physical conformation, and filled with every conceivable variety of objects pertaining to the animal, vege- table, and mineral kingdoms, and all subjected to fixed and harmonious laws of decomposition and reproduction, Avas the result of a simple fiat of the Infinite will. To the Crea- tor these works of His hands are as nothing when contrasted with His omnipotent power. Had He so willed, He could just as easily have created on our earth a race of beings vastly superior to those who now inhabit it, both mentally and physically. Had He so willed. He could have so organ- ized the special senses of man that the inhabitants of Euro23e could behold at will those of America or China ; or conver- sations could be carried on from continent to continent, and the fragrant spices of Araby or the flowery perfumes of the tropics could be scented by the phlegmatic denizens of the polar regions. With the Almighty, such a creation would have been as simj)le as that of the lily of the field, or the grain of sand on the sea-shore, and to His Infinite comprehen- sion all would be equally insignificant. The only ideas which man can form of God are such as 36 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. pertain to His wonderful works on earth, to the instructions communicated by His holy prophets, and by his blessed Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus we behold and admire a beautiful landscape, and our souls are filled with pleasure and gratitude to the Crea- tor and Giver of so much beauty. We gaze at the thunder, ing and foaming cataract, as its waters madly rush over giant rocks and precipices in search of rest in the bosom of the mother of waters, the ocean ; and we involuntarily revert with devotion to the Author of so sublime a specta- cle. We listen with ecstasy to the beautiful conceptions of the jDoet, or to the ravishing tones of the musician, or to the thrilling words of the orator, or we feast our eyes on works of ancient and modern art, and devoutly thank God for His gifts of heaven-born genius to men — the results of which not only elevate and refine, but afford some faint ideas of the Infinite Fountain of love, wisdom, truth, and good- ness. We behold with awe the wonders of the planetary system, the orderly movements of countless worlds, with their myriads of intelligent creatures, all upheld and regu- lated in the immensity of space by the finger of the Al- mighty ; and we bow in silence and dread before the Majesty of Heaven, and realize how infinitely above the creature is the Creator. In these glorious manifestations of creative power, man can form some slight conceptions of a few of the attributes of the Deity ; and from these ideas and a due appreciation of them, may offer up acceptable worship and adoration ; but his limited faculties cannot attain to a knowledge of the Infinite and all-pervading Fountain of power, knowledge, and wisdom. When the ancient descendants of Abraham worshipped the living God, their conceptions of Him were confined to the visible wonders of creation, to the inspired words of His ])rophets, and to the miracles which were wrought in their l)ehalf. They worshipped a God v*dio had created a world out of chaos, which was to remain until the last day as the GOD. 37 dwellin ""-place of all living creatures, and tlio receptacle of nil created objects — who organized all tilings pertaining to the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms in perfect har- mony, for generation, reproduction, groAvth, decomposition — and who, in creating man after His own image, with reason, sentiment, affection, love, and with curious organs like tlie eye, the ear, the nose, etc., through which the soul manifests itself, displayed to man some idea of His omnipotence. In these visible marvels of the universe they recognized the design and the power of the Supreme Architect ; and instead of worshipping these manifestations of power as the pagans had done, they bowed down before their Creator in faith and adoration. They worshipped a God who through their prophets had given them precepts and laws abounding in wisdom, love, justice, and divine truth. They worshipped a God who had miraculously protected and prospered them in the midst of universal famine and pestilence, and who had finally brought them miraculously out of the land of Egypt and of bondage, and established them triumphantly in the land of Canaan. They worshipped God through His attributes of infinite knowledge, power, love, tiiith, justice, mercy, and goodness. These visible works and these attributes of the Almighty came within the scope of their comprehension, and they adored the Author of these wonderful gifts as their God. God vouchsafed to manifest His divine will to them through His holy prophets. From them w^ere derived the ten commandments, the laws, and tlie tables of stone. From them was derived a knowledge of the duties of man toward his God and his fellow-men. Through them the world received the first intimations of the birth, the mis- sion, the passion, and the death of our Redeemer. By them a fcAVof the mysteries of godliness Avere made known, so that men w^ere able to approach somewhat nearer to the majes- ty of the Omnipotent. But all of these conceptions of God were from a human stand-point, having reference to human wants, human reason, human appreciation, and consequently 88 CIIKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. limited, vague, and imperfect. But the ancient Hebrew could appreciate the divine attributes of power, love, wisdom, mercy, truth, and goodness, and worship the Author and Fountain of these blessings. When he saw the waters of the Red Sea separated by an invisible hand to aiford a safe pas- sage for the persecuted children of Israel, while Pharaoh with his pursuing hosts of Egyptians Avere swallowed up in their angry and retributive waves, he appreciated the miracle and adored its Author. In contemplating the creation of the world from chaos and utter darkness, when the Divine Spirit moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, " Let there be light and there was light ; " when the light was separated from the darkness, and day and night were created ; when the sun, moon, and stars were j^lanted in the firmament of heaven to afford lis^ht and heat to the earth ; when the waters were fixed in their everlasting depths, and the dry lands upon their immovable foundations; when all organized nature sprang forth in perfect order and harmony, beautifying, vivi- fying, and gladdening the universe, the men of the old dis- pensation beheld Avith awe and wonder these marvellous works, and worshipped the omni23otent Being who had brought them forth. And when they reflected that this vast world, with its revolving planetary system, and its countless array of complex organizations, both animate and inanimate, were held in space by the finger of the Almighty, to fulfil their destined functions in accordance with His original design, they were overwhelmed with admiration, and in perfect faith adored and praised the Supreme Architect. In these stupendous manifestations of power, man beheld a single attribute of the Deity, and appreciated his own utter insignificance when contrasted with the omnipotence of God. The love, the goodness, and the mercy of God declare themselves naturally, spontaneously, and continually in the wonderful works of creation. The changing seasons, the light and warmth of the sun, rain and snow, heat and cold, by germinating and developing the fruitful products of the GOD. 39 earth, furnish men and animals with sustenance, maintain life and health, and appeal daily and hourly to the infinite love and goodness of God. The beautiful landscape, the boundless ocean, the rushing cataract, the rugged and tower- ing mountain pointing in mute grandeur, from age to age, toward the infinite source of its creation, are all delightful in the eyes of men, and proclaim the goodness and benevolence of God toward Plis creatures. In worshipping God, therefore, the ancient Hebrew adored His divine attributes of power, love, goodness, benevolence, and mercy, as manifested in the works of creation, and in the blessino's flowino; from them to mankind. He could behold the stui^endous design of the universe, with all its vast ma- chinery working in perfect order and harmony, and evoking at each moment the wonderful phenomena which pertain to the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. He could re- gard at each moment of his existence some marvellous mani- festation of the omnipotence of Jehovah, and humble himself to the earth in wonder and admiration. He could join with his countrymen, David and Job, in praising and adoring the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when they declare : *' God is our Lord, and of grea.t power ; His understanding is injlnite.'^'^ . . . . " Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised ; and His greatness is unsearchable.'''' * " Touching the Al- mighty, we cannot find Him out : He is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice AVith God is terrible majesty." f These declarations of the ancient prophets demonstrate the fact that the Almiglity was regarded by them as " infinite in His understanding^'''' " iinsearchahle in His greatness,^'' ''^terrible in majesty^'' and '"'' past finding oiit^ In their acts of worship and adoration, therefore, they addressed them- selves to the visible attributes of God, the only ideas of Him which they could comprehend and appreciate. Thus David, in rendering praises and adoration to his ?>[aker, gives utterance to the following declarations : " The heavens do- * Psalm cxlv. f Job xxxvii. 22, 23. 40 cnUISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. clare the glory of God ; and the firmament showeth His handy work. Day unto day nttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. The law of the Lord is perfect, con- verting the soul : the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart : the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlighten- ing the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for- ever : the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous alto- gether I will speak of the glorious honor of Thy ma- jesty, and of Thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts, and I will declare Thy great- ness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness All Thy Vv'orks shall praise Thee, O Lord, and Thy saints shall bless Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power." * David then calls upon all the angels, all His hosts, the sun, moon, and stars, the heaven of heavens, and the wa- ters that be aboA^e the heavens, upon fire, hail, and stormy winds, the mountains, and all hills, trees, beasts, fish, fowls, upon kings, princes, judges, and all peoples, to praise and adore the name of the Lord ; " for," says the Psalmist, " Lie commanded and they were created." Such were the conceptions of the ancient prophets and of the children of Israel, respecting the infinite and incom- prehensible God. On every side they witnessed and ex- perienced His poAver and goodness, and knew that they were blessed emanations from His inexhaustible foimtain. Conception, birth, life, instinct, reason, sentiment, afiTection, death, the marvellous wonders of creation, the stuiDendous miracles which were wrought in their behalf, the prophecies, the div?ne commandments and laws, were all impenetrable mysteries to them ; but they knew from whence they came and glorified their divine Giver. Occasionally the Almighty * Psalm? cxlv. to cxlviii. GOD. 41 deigned to manifest His divine will to His chosen people in a direct and and more palpable manner. Thus when God, in the midst of dark clouds, thundered His commandments and laws from Mount Sinai to the people of Israel, " they trembled, stood afar off, and said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear ; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." * Again, when Moses and the seventy elders of Israel went up into Mount Sinai to receive from the Lord the " tables of stone, and a law, and a commandment, the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai and the sight of the glory of the Lord Avas like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." f Again, " And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tab- ernacle, the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the JLovd talked with Moses. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend." \ In this instance God assumed the form of a '''' cloudy pillar^'' and thus adapted Himself to the visual or- gans and to the comprehension of Moses. When the Israelites were about to depart from the wil- derness of Sinai, Moses desked the Lord to show him His glory, and manifest Himself to him. " And God said unto Moses, Isl^ presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest " And when Moses said to the Lord, " I beseech Thee show me Thy glory," the Lord said, " I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy ; hut thou canst not see My face ; for there shall no man see Me and live.'''' § From these extracts it is evident that Jehovah manifested Himself to Moses and his people, just so iar as their himian faculties were capable of appreciating Him and no further. These manifestations were sufficiently palpable and suffi- ciently wonderful to establish their perfect faith and confi- * Exod. XX. 19. f Exod. xxiv. IG, 17. X Exod. xxiii. 9-11. § Exod. xxxiii. 14, 19, 20. 42 ' CnKISTIANITY AJS^D ITS CONFLICTS. dence in the Almighty ; and they regarded Him with adora- tion for Ilis mercy and goodness, with awe and wonder for His power and majesty, with hope and confidence for His knowledge, wisdom, trnth, and forbearance, and with grati- tnde and filial afiection for His special interposition in their favor. In the thunders of Sinai they heard His voice ; in the " cloudy pillar " by day, and the " fiery pillar " by night they recognized His presence ; in the miracles which were wrought through their prophets, they ^Derceived His potent influence ; in the laws and commandments written upon the tables of stone they read His divine instructions. These were all tangible facts, which appealed directly to their in- telligence and afibrded them positive proofs of the dii'ect interposition of an overruling Providence in their afiairs. When a loud and mighty voice thundered from the dark clouds and the fires of Mount Sinai the commandments and the laws, they knew that God spoke, and that these com- mands were holy, and must be obeyed. And v/heu the " cloudy pillar" went before them by day, and the "fiery pillar " by night, their human reason told them that the^^res- ence of God was in those pillars, to lead and direct them in their journeyings through the wilderness to the j)romised land. And when the laws of nature were suspended, and the wa- ters of the Red Sea and of the Jordan were separated so that the Israelites could pass over on dry lanci, they knew that the hand of God held these waters from their natural courses in order that they might escape from their pursuing enemies. These and other direct interpositions of the Almighty in their behalf, inspired them with perfect faith, and with some faint ideas of His infinitude. As ages rolled on, and the earth became more populous, i;>3w wants, new desires,- and new vices obtained; so that the inventive faculties of men were brouglit into requisition to supply these new demands. Every thing in science, art, and literature, calculated to conduce to comfort, luxur}^ or pleasure, or to gratify the senses, was gradually brought to that high state of cultivation which gave to the era of tlie GOD. 43 Ciesars the appellation of "golden age." But the philoso- phies of Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus, and the dreadful superstitions of paganism, presided over and gave direction to this material culture. As the serpent in the midst of the flowers and the golden fruits of Eden lured our first parents to sin and moral and physical desolation, so did the dragon of paganism lure the classical people of the " golden era " to a condition of abject moral degradation. The true God was almost entirely unknown. There were no just concep- tions of the Infinite Creator of the universe; but nearly every man selected and worshipped a material god as fancy or caprice dictated. The convivial man worshipped Bacchus ; the licentious man adored Venus; the cruel man chose Mars, the jovial man Monius; the Jew addressed his devotions to a sectarian God, and so on, according to natural tastes and inclinations. Such were the penates of the Koman citizen, and tlie religion of the Jew of the empire. In the midst of this moral desolation, when nearly all the world had forsaken the living God for the superstitious and the degrading rites of paganism and idolatry, the Almighty deigned to confer an inestimable boon upon mankind. In His infinite mercy and condescension, He vouchsafed to speak directly to man through His blessed Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Having sent His precious offspring in hu- man form and with human endowments. He entered into Him, abode in Him, and spoke through Him to man, face to face, and declared to him the holy truths of the new dis- pensation, and his duties toward his God and his fellow- men. Instead of manifesting Himself in the midst of the fires of Sinai, or in the "pillar of cloud by day" and the "pillar of fire by night," as He had done of old, He manifest- ed His presence in the God-Man He had begotten, and thus uttered His holy doctrines and His divine v/ill to a perisli- ing and sinful w^orld. The words of truth and godliness issued from the lips of Jesus ; but the Almiglity God the Fatlier, from within the holy tabernacle which He had be- gotten, sent them forth. 44: CnmSTTANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. N'o man can see the face of the Father Ahuighty and live. No finite being can comprehend the Infinite. The only ideas Aviiich can he formed of the Ahnighty, are those derived fi'om His attributes, from His miraculous communi- cations, from His insjaired prophets, from the works of crea- tion, and from the teachings of our blessed Saviour. In presenting, therefore, to mankind His only-begotten Son as their Redeemer and Saviour, and through Him in communi- cating to them His heavenly decrees and His divine will, our heavenly Father demonstrated Plis boundless love and mercy to His erring creatures. With a perfect ajipreciation of the limited capacities of men. He adapted His presence to their understandings, and through the medium of a being- similar to themselves He addressed them, instructed them, confirmed their faith, and enabled them to prepare for time and eternity.* Hov/, then, can we worship our heavenly Father better than to address our thoughts, our affections, and our prayers to that blessed Son whom He has given to men as their di- vine Instructor and Redeemer, and through whom He com- nnmicates His holy Avill, and manifests His glorious pres- ence? How can we better comprehend the mysteries of Godliness than to receive them from that divine Being whom tlie Father has sent us, and through whom He has vouch- safed to speak of heavenly things, and to make known as much of Himself as is consistent with human faculties and human reason ? There is but one God in essence and spir- it— the infinite and incomprehensible fountain of knowl- edge, love, and goodness ; but there are three Persons, or subdivisions, or manifestations of this one God pre- sented to the children of earth, in order that they may recognize and appreciate, according to their capacities. His divine majesty and will. When Peter was asked by the Sadducees "by what power or by what name "lie had healed the lame man, Peter re2)lied : " By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified. . . . Neither is * See Hebrews i. 1-13. GOD. 45 there salvation in any other ; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."* If, therefore, we would worship God witli the liighest possible degree of intelligence and appreciation, we nuist ajiproacli Ilim through that portion, or person, of ITis Godhead whicli He has especially designed and presented to mankind, because " in Him dwelt all the fulness of the God- head bodily." All of the laws, commandments, statutes, doc- trines, duties, mysteries, and obligations, which the Father has communicated to men through His dearly-beloved Son, are j^ositive and unequivocal ; and it is the imj^erative duty of the creature to bow down in humble adoration and obey. In rendering worship and adoration to the Infinite Father, the conceptions of mortals must necessarily be vague, indefi- nite, and sometimes absurd ; but when they w^orship God through His Son, their conceptions of Him are rational and definite, although limited, and their duties as Christians are clearly defined. The ways of God are not our ways ; because His "under- standing is infinite," His " greatness unsearchable," His " majesty terrible," and Himself " i:>ast finding out ; " but in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, He has adapted Himself to our ways and our understandings, and thus enabled us to approach Him directly and intelligently. From this point of view, is it not evident that, in worshipping Christ, we ne- cessarily worship the Father Almighty, whose Holy Spirit animates Him, directs Him, and speats through Him ? In v/orshipping Christ, do we not actually worship the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — that peculiar manifestation of the one God which was especially designed for the instruction and salvation of men ? When w^e address our prayers to Christ, we appeal directly to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who are all present in the body of our Saviour as the one and true Lord God Almighty. Jehovah was i:)resent in the in- carnate form of Jesus, as He was present in the "cloudy pil- lar by day " and the "fiery pillar by night," when He led * Acts iv. 10-12. 46 CIIIilSTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. the children of Israel in their journeyings; and He spoke from the lips of Jesus, as He sjDoke from the fires of Sinai, that men might believe, obey, and be saved. It is manifest, therefore, that Jesus Christ shonld be the special and chief object of human worship. The Infinite Creator, who does not dwell in temples made with hands, "whose throne is heaven, and whose footstool is earth," cannot be seen or understood by mortals, because " no man can see His face and live," and He is " past finding out ; " but He has presented Himself to His finite creatures in a manner which they can comprv^hend, with commandments and ordinances which they can appreciate, and in the palpa- ble and tangible form of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him, then, should we cling as our Redeemer, our Saviour, our God. To Him should we continually address our prayers for mercy, pardon, protection, and guidance. To Him should Vie look for our ideas and conceptions of God ; and all of His words, teachings, and commandments should be treasured up and obeyed as the true and actual utterances of Jehovah. If Vv^e incline to be skeptical, and presumptuously attempt to pry into the impenetrable mysteries of the Infinite, let us reflect that we are weak creatures of an Omnipotent Creator, and that, in deigning to become incarnate on earth for our in- struction, our guidance, and our salvation. He has displayed His boundless mercy and goodness. " Canst thou by search- ing find out God ? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection ? It is as high as heaven ; what canst thou do ? deeper than hell ; what canst thou know ? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." * Instead of occasional manifestations of His j^resence, as in old- en times, let us ever remember with profound gratitude, that He came among us in a body like our own, taught us His di- vine doctrines, sympathized with us, established His Cluirch upon an immutable and everlasting foundation, suffered and died for us, and finally left this representative of His infinitude as an object of adoration and worship, and as "the only name * Job xi. '7-9. GOD. 47 under hcaveu given amono- men whereby we must be saved" — our Mediator, our Redeemer, our Saviour, our God, Jesus Clirist. Let us never forget that Christ alone stands between the iuliuite Fountain of light and love and men, and that the Divine rays pervade liim and contiinially pass off from Him in the form of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the world. Let us never forget the divine declaration that, through the name of Jesus alone, can salvation be attained. While we should daily humble ourselves in devotion, awe, and prayer, before the infinite and incomprehensible God, " Our Father Avho art in heaven," whose " majesty is terrible," whose "understanding is infinite," whose "greatness is unsearch- able," and whose ways are " past finding out," let us pray always to that blessed Son whom He has sent to us, and wdiose commandments and doctrines must be our perpetual rule of faith and practice. As God spoke through the mouths of Moses and the prophets to the children of Israel, giving them laws and commandments for their rule of faith and guidance, so did God speak through Christ to the men of the new dispensation, declaring to them the laws and com- mandments for their rule of faith and practice. Whatever, therefore, Christ has declared in the New Testament, or to the apostles and their successors, must be received with ab- solute and unquestioning faith as the word of God, however repugnant such declarations may be to our preconceived no- tions or to our human reason. He has written down and transmitted to us His commandments, statutes, and ordi- nances ; He has declared to us all of those things which He has received from the Father in heaven ; He came down to us as our instructor, our exemplar, our mediator, our redeem- er, and our God — through whom, and by whose name alone men must be saved. " All things are delivered unto Me of My Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.''' * That the Divine Sj^irit which actuated our Saviour, and * Matt. xi. 27. 48 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. wbich tauglit and spoke througli Him, was the veritable Spirit of Jehovah — the Great I Am — the Infinite and Eternal Creator of heaven and earth, is quite evident from the entire tenor of the Scriptures. This enibodiment and impersonation of the Almighty in Christ, was undoubtedly the best mode which could be devised by the Infinite Intelligence to com- municate with mortals. This assumption of flesh by the Great Spirit was an act of transcendent mercy and conde- scension, as it enabled men to talk face to face with this per- sonification of God on earth. This Person of the Godhead was adapted to the understandings of men, and they were thus allowed to receive the divine commandments directly through that dearly beloved Son whom He had sent espe- cially to them., whose sacred body Pie inhabited, and through whose lips He uttered His will to men. The following pas- sages of the IS^ew Testament corroborate this view of the subject : "Philip saith unto Him (Jesus), Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then. Show us the Father ? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me ? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself: but the Father, that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me." * Again : " For the Father loveth you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the Avorld." Again, " I leave the world, and go to the Father." f Again, " I have glorified Thee on earth ; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine ov/n Self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." J; Again : " Jesus cried, and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me." 8 Ag-ain : " In * John xiv. 9-11. f John xvi. 27, 28. \ John xvii. 4, 5. § John xii. 44. GOD. 49 the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word (Christ) was with God, and the Word (Christ) was God. The same (Christ) was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him ; and witliout Him was not any thing made that was made He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not And the Word (Christ) was made flesh, and dwelt among us." " I and my Father are one." * From these extracts it is evident that Christ is the actual Father Almighty, and that He has presented us with this second personification of Himself in order that we might clearly understand those laws, duties, and obligations, which are necessary for our temporal and eternal welfare, and that we might worship Him in an appreciable and tangible form. In view of the omnipotence of God, and of His identity with our Redeemer, is it not the first duty of man to believe with unquestioning and absolute faith in all of the teachings and acts of Christ when on earth ? His entire career was characterized by miraculous deeds for the purpose of convert- ing the world from paganism to Christianity, and of confirm- ing the faith of the discijDles. He demanded then as He demands now, as a condition to salvation, simple and implicit faith in Him and His works, however opposed they may be to the philosophies or the logic of man. Whenever, there- fore, we incline to be skeptical, or to pry into the mysteries which God has presented to us through his Son, let us call to mind the fact that God's ways are not our ways, that the finite creature cannot comprehend the Infinite Creator, and that it is wisdom for man to believe and obey. Among the first objects to be accomplished by our Saviour in converting the people of the Roman empire to the Chris- tian religion, was the overthrow of their pantheistic ideas, and the substitution of a knowledge of the true God, and of the immortality of the soul. His declarations upon these subjects were clear and explicit, and in direct antagonism to tlie opinions of the entire pagan and perverted Jewish v.^orld. * John i. 1-20, and John x. 30. 3 60 CHEISTIANITT AND IIS COInTFLICTS. On this account He continually inculcated tlie necessity of faith in all His teachings as another fundamental j^rinciple of Christianity. He contended not only against all of the philosophies and moral and social codes of His epoch, but against the passions, prejudices, and habits of the entire jDCople. But notwithstanding these formidable obstacles to the introduction of the truths of the new dispensation, He made no reservations, no compromises, but required of all His disciples absolute and unreserved /az^A in Him, His doc- trines, and His works, however opposed they might be to natural laAVS, human philosophies, or human reason. In our next chapter we shall make a brief allusion to this Christian doctrine. CIIAPTEE III. DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. FaitJi. Amois'G llie dominant traits of the Latin subjects of Tibe- rius were, pride of nationality, of their material culture and prosperity, of their skill in arms, of their numerous and poYv^- erful military legions, and of their vast conquests. The ruling classes were in the enjoyment of special political and social privileges, riches, and most of those accessories which contrib- ute to the gratification of pride, ambition, and sensual pleas- ure ; while the common people were continually amused, and at the same time perverted and debased, by the exciting spectacles of the amphitheatre and the arena, or in witness- ing or participating in the obscene revels of pagan worship. Philosophy, law, public sentiment, and social custom all sanctioned the grossest licentiousness, and a cultivation of the most brutal passions of the human heart. Elevated sen- timents of morality, virtue, benevolence, brotherly love, and of the true dignity and destiny of man were scoffed at and practically ignored. Their rule of faith was tlie pursuit of pleasure, and the chief object of their lives was self-gratifica- tion. They had no just ideas respecting a future spiritual existence, or of their responsibilities and duties with regard to this spiritual state. The entire vvorld had pinned its fiith upon absurd and untenable philosophies, v/hich had origi- 52 CKEISTIANITY AND ns CONFLICTS. natecl in primitive and semi-barbarous societies, and wbicli were the oiispring of their natural wants and requirements. During the iirst fourteen years of the life of Christ, while Octavius Augustus lived, no serious apprehensions were en- tertained respecting the nature or the extension of His doc- trines. Octavius had been presented to the joeople by the senate, not only with the title of Augustus, but with the ac- tual sovereignty and power of an emperor. Throughout the ciA'iiized world he exercised supreme sway, making and de- posing' kin2:s, and dictatino; terms and conditions to the nations of the world. Human beings were regarded and used as mere instruments to subserve the glory of the state and the pride and gratification of the emperor and his favor- ites. Individual genius and enterprise were merged in the glory of the empire. Philosophers, authors, orators, poets, artists, and men of genius in all departments of art and science were patronized and sustained, but only as chattels and glory-producing agents. Maxims of philosophy were toleratecl, so long as they did not clash with the pleasures of the people, or the stability and glory of the emj^ire. The philosoj^hers of the Augustan age were at liberty to an- nounce broad general principles of philosophy, and vague. and intangible precepts of morality and virtue, but they Avere forbidden to invade those regions Avhich had been marked out by Epicurus as sacred to the appetites, the passions, and tlie worldly desires of men. Mechanics, artisans, and agriculturists were required to to i^ly their energies to pander to the sensual tastes and the luxury of their patrician rulers. The persons, liberties, and lives of females and slaACS were rendered subservient to the tyrannical caprices and the base passions of their wealthy guardians and owners. Such was the general condition of the Roman empire v.hen Tiberius assumed the imperial purple. He was addicted to every vice which a malignant nature and an unbounded indulgence in sensual pleasures could engender. Unendowed with a single virtue, accustomed fi'om childhood to the FAITH. 53 prompt indulgence of every caprice or passion, surrounded by obsequious sycophants and attendants, wlio anticipated and obeyed every wish, liis mind and his natural affections became perverted, and lie lived and reigned as if tlie Avorld had been created solely for his personal benefit and pleasure. In his gorgeous island-palace, fanned by the gentle breezes of the Mediterranean, and surrounded by more than oriental splendors and luxuries, he dispensed, not justice and happi- ness to his subjects, but wrongs, cruelties, and oppressions of all kinds. Distant nations trembled in constant fear lest some imperial blow should strike them, and scatter ruin and disaster throughout their lands. If the followers of Christ were not exterminated by this lumian oppressor, it was because he was too much absorbed in revels and pleasures to appreciate their steady progress and influence. If the teachings of Christ in Judea did not more seriously arouse his suspicions, and alarm him for the fate of paganism and her cherished abominations, it was be- cause he believed himself omnipotent, not only over his em- pire, but over the minds and bodies of his subjects. When Christ announced the true God, the nature of the soul, the necessity of faith, repentance, reformation, baptism, and obedience to His commandments, under penalty of eternal condemnation, Tiberius regarded these declarations as the liarmlcss vaporings of a visionary enthusiast — a humble and ignoj'ant mechanic of the poor province of Galilee — and revelled on in fancied security. If he allowed his subordi- nates to persecute, torture, and even kill those who professed Christianity, it was not from any apprehensions respecting the extension and influence of their doctrines, but from sim- ple wantonness and inherent cruelty. So long as every foi'm of vice had full sway above ground, he cared not what new precepts might be inculcated, or new observances practised in the catacombs and caves below, or in the mountains and hamlets of Galilee. It was at this dark period, and in the midst of these scenes of universal skepticism and wickedness, that St. Paul 64 CnRISTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. made the declaration, that the worhl is governed by three great concupiscences — that of the flesh, that of the eyes, and the pride of life. There have been but few epochs in the world's history to which this observation applies with greater force thau to the one nnder consideration. It was to con- tend against these natural desires and passions of men, to dissipate superstition and error, and to disseminate the be- nelicent truths of Christianity, like godliness, faith, hope, and charity, that God became incarnate in Christ. Throughout His entire career on earth, our Saviour con- tinually inculcated the duty and necessity of faith in Him- self and His doctrines. He required His folloAvers to throw aside all of their preconceived notions, all traditions, and all ideas founded upon their own human intelligence, and to be- lieve unreservedly in every thing He might teach them. He commanded them to discard human philosophy, to become like little children, and to confide in Him as the Son of God, and in His teachings and works as those of the Almighty. His entire mission on earth Avas replete with miracles, and with sayings and doings contrary to the received opin- ions of mankind; yet He demanded implicit and uncondi- tional faith in tliem under penalty of condemnation. How- ever repugnant to the understandings of men His assertions might be, nothing but entire faith in them could secure sal- vation. In the estimation of Jesus, simple and confiding faith^ like that of little children, was the most exalted trib- ute which His disciples could pay to Him. His divine conception and birth were miracles ; yet faith in them is essential to salvation. His instantaneous cures of the blind, dumb, and lame, and His raising of the dead to life, were contrary to human reason ; yet were His followers required to have faith in them. His conversion of water into wine at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and His feed- ing vast multitudes with a few loaves and fishes, were miraculous performances ; yet no true Christian presumes to doubt them. His conversion of bread and wine into His body and blood at the last supper was equally miraculous; FAITH. 55 yet Christians are commanded to believe and to practise this sacrifice in commemoration of Ilim. His resurrection from death, and His glorious ascension to heaven, were supernat- ural ; yet entire faith in them is essential to the true Chris- tian. It is a singular fact that the entire Christian world has fiith in all of these supernatural events except tliat which occurred at the Lord's supper ! Although the miracle there performed, and which Christ positively declared should con- tinue to he performed as often as His followers " should do this same thhig in remembrance of Him," was no more strange or difficult than the others enumerated, yet a large number of protesters have presumed to deny that our Sav- iour actually performed the conversion which He professed and declared that He performed. These Gentile protestants reason as did the Jewish protestants of Christ's day, who asked of our Saviour, '"'' IIoio can this man give usof Hisj^c^A to eat ? " And we know of no better response than that of Jesus to the unbelieving Jews, viz. : " I am the living bread which came down from heaven ; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever : and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Your fithers did eat manna, and are dead ; but whosoever eats of the living bread shall never die." ^' Yerily, verily I say un- to you, except ye eat ihc flesh of the Son of man, and drink His bloody ye have no life in you. . . . He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him." * St. Cyril of Alexandria, in commenting upon this query of the protesting Jews, makes the following observations : "But if, O Jew, thou persistest in uttering this hoic, I also, imitating this thine ignorance, will say to thee, ' IIoio didst tliou go out of Egypt? Tell me hoio the rod of Moses was turned into a serpent, how was his hand made leprous, and again restored, as it is Aviitten ? IIoio was water changed into the nature of blood ? How didst thou pass through the midst of the sea, as through a dry plain? How was the bit- * John vi. 50-57. 66 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ter water of Mamli clianged into sweet by a j^iece of wood ? Hoio was water given thee from the bosom of the rocks ? How was the maima brought down from heaven for thee ? How did the Jordan stand still in its bed ? or liow^ by a mere shout, did the impregnable wall of Jericho fall ? And wilt thou not cease to utter that how f ' " ISTo man can be a real Christian who rejects a single as- sertion or injunction of Jesus Christ. No perversion of lan- guage, no false rendering of Scripture, no protesting sophis- try, can alter the immutable decrees of the Almighty, or ob- viate the necessity of faith in these decrees, and the duty of a scrupulous performance of them. Faith is the foundation-stone of Christianity — tlie first and indispensable element of religion — the alpha and omega of the Christian. He who possesses it in all its purity and comprehensiveness, will not long neglect the practical duties which naturally flow from it. Some have supposed that an unquestioning belief in the mysteries of godliness implies a lack of intellectual power, and have accordingly subjected these mysteries to the critical test of human philosophy and human reason, and from such deductions have formed their religious opinions. But how iDresumptuous in man to pre- sume to measure the infinite intelligence and power of the Almighty with his own ikiite and grovelling comprehension ! What madness to weigh the immutable decrees of the Crea- tor in the puny scales of inductive philosophy ! What folly to reason, Avhen God asserts ! In the days of Christ and tlie apostles, the results of faith were everywhere apparent in the prompt bestowal of boun- teous rewards. When the woman with an issue of blood for twelve years, touched the hem of Jesus' garment, she was instantly cured in consequence of her faith. And when the blind, the dumb, the leprous, and the palsied came to Christ with faith in Him and His i)Ower, they were at once made whole. And even the ruler of the synagogue who had faith that Jesus could restore his dead daughter to life by' FAiTir. 57 simply willing it to be done, Avas rewarded by the consum- mation of this great miracle. When the Jews and Gentiles were filled with unbelief, and even the disciples were wavering in their faith, Jesus asked them, saying : " Whom do men say tliat I, the Son of man am ? And they said, Some say that Thou art John the Baptist ; some, Elias ; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am ? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the livino; God. And Jesus answered and said unto him. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona ; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Fatlicr which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee. That thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build My Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." * What a priceless reward of faith is here presented ! Peter, in the midst of doubting brethren, and assailed by the scoffs and deadly persecutions of myriads of Jewish and pa- gan enemies, had full faith that Clirist was the Son of the living God ; and for this unconditional fiith and confidence, was made the head and rock of Christ's Church, and was presented with the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Among all of the apostles, no one had such absolute and confiding faith as Simon Peter ; and he was therefore selected to pre- side over them and His Church as His nearest and most hon- ored representative. When Peter called the attention of Jesus to the fifj-tree Avhich had been cursed and withered, Jesus answered, " Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea ; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall belicA^e that those things which he saitli shall come to pass ; * Matt. xvi. 1 1-20. 3* 58 CnETSTIANlTT AND ITS CONFLICTS. he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore T say nnto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." * Again, wlien some of the disciples informed Thomas that they had seen Jesus after His resurrection, Thomas said, " Ex- cept I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I vfill not believe. And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them ; then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto you. Tben said He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side ; and be not faithless, but be- lieving. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." f Mankind are naturally skeptical, conceited, carnal. But God in His mercy vouchsafed to make His truths manifest to the vrorld by a seiies of stupendous miracles. Almost every precept inculcated w^as accompanied by some miraculous performance, in order that the most hardened skeptic might become convinced. Christ announced to the world that He was the Son of the living God, that He became incarnate in order to teach mankind tiie will of God, to give a practical example of a holy life, and then to suffer and die as an atonement for their sins. He required faith in all of these things — in Himself and His w^orks ; and He exercised His supernatural power for the purpose of enabling mankind to accomplish this re- quirement. After all the amazing miracles which He per- formed, and the wonderful precepts of. wisdom He has left behind, it is indeed strange that a single skeptic can be found. Have faith in God, said our Saviour to His apostles, and you can command mountains to move away and cast them- selves into the sea, or whatever else you may ask for, and * Mark xi. 22-24. f John xx. 25-30. FAITH. 59 your commands shall be obeyed. " If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye might say nnto this sycamore-tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou jdanted in the sea : and it should obey you. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have tliem." Peter and his disciples had perfect fliith in these things, because they Avere asserted by the Son of God ; and it was in virtue of this faith that they vrcre enabled to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils, raise the dead to life, and at the Lord's supper to partake of the actual body and blood of Christ, so that " lie should abide in them and they in Ilim," as it is written. Peter and his holy companions did not profess to understand the rationale of these things, because they were not of men but of God. He who created the heavens and earth from chaos, gave to them and to the world ceiiiain declarations and assurances, and demanded implicit fluth in them as es- sential to their temporal and eternal welfare. Among these declarations were included many things of a supernatural character pertaining both to the present and the future. We cite a few of these supernatural events which have occurred, or are to occur in the future : The conception, incarnation, birth, miracles, resurrection, and ascension of Christ; the daily conversion of bread and wine into His body and blood since the last supper; the miracles which have been performed by holy m.en since the days of the apostles ; and finally the calamities, the wars, the tribulations, the darkening of the sun and moon, the falling of the stars from heaven, earth- quakes, "and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven ; and then shall all of the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." * Do our protesting friends, who graduate every thing down to their human philosophy, doubt these things ? Because they cannot analyze and explain by natural laws these past occur- rences, and those which are announced in the future, will they * Mutt. xxiv. 30. GO CIIEISTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. still 2:>ersist in perverting the words of Christ, and in declaring that He spoke one thing and meant another ? Bat Protestants assert that these declarations of our Lord were only applicable to the apostles, and to the period in which they lived. In proof of this assertion, they argue that the power of j^erforming miracles was conferred exclusively upon them, and that after their death all of these promises and rewards incident to faith were null. But the proofs are overwhelming that miracles have repeatedly been performed by holy men as a reward of faith since the days of the apos- tles. Nothinoj less remarkable than these miracles could have effected the conversion of the men of that j^eriod. The first great end and aim of Christ was to secure faith in Himself and His teachings ; and He adopted the most direct and effi- cient mode for attaining this end, by continually presenting to the people supernatural manifestations of His power. By nature men are skeptical, and readily influenced by prejudice, passion, ambition, and love of display, power, luxury, and pleasure. The dominant habits of life tend to wed them firmly to these worldly attachments, and to divert them from the more refined and elevating delights of spiritual things. In consequence of these natural instincts and pro- pensities, and the habits resulting from them, our Saviour was obliged to appeal to them in His dual capacity of God and man : as man, in addressing their finite understandings (for God is infinite and incomprehensible) ; and as God, in accomplishing works beyond the j^ower of men. Sent to proclaim to the world the commands of the Father in heaven. He spake as a man, but His works were those of a God. Meek, loving, tender, charitable, compassionate, long-sufl^er- ing, forgiving, merciful, slow to anger, He drew His dis- ciples to Him with the silken cords of love, but confirmed their faith by Godlike achievements. He instructed His dis- ciples to be humble, patient, forbearing, and affectionate, but enabled them through faith to work miracles. Christ did not come into the world for the exclusive FAITH. 61 benefit of the apostles and tbcir contempomries, but to an- nounce to all the nations of that period, and of succeeding ages to the end of the world, the way of salvation. To in- sure foith and a general compliance with His commands, miracles were necessary; and these miraculous deeds have been permitted by the Almighty whenever and wherever they were necessary to secure faith in the gospel and conver- sions to Christianity. In Christian countries marvellous and continual miracles are no longer necessary to insure a belief in the Vv^ords and works of Christ ; but among barbarous and idolatrous nations supernatural manifestations are still permitted by God as auxiliaries to their conversion. The Creator of the universe adapts His means to the end to be attained — forcing faitli and conviction upon those who are dwelling in spiritual dark- ness by supernatural manifestations, but withholding them from those who have a knowledge of the truth. In the days of the apostles the results of faith were more marked than in modern times, because the magnitude of the Avork to be accomplished was far greater then than now. The Jews and Gentiles of that epoch were not only unbe- lievers, but bound hand and foot by traditionary supersti- tions, idolatry, and sin. With such a people the miraculous power of God was requisite to overthrow their deep-rooted prejudices and convert them to the true faith. In modern times the results of faith have been manifested cliiefly in tlie divine graces which have been continually con- ferred upon the faithful. Every sincere Christian who con- sults his own heart will confess that his faith and confidence in God, and his prayers, have all been rewarded by graces and blessings from above, which have sustained him and con- soled him in the midst of the trials and cares of life. If the modern Christian cannot by faitli command the mountain to move from its bed and plant itself in the sea, he can call down from heaven graces which shall bless and exalt him here and hereafter. The most concise and perfect expression of Christian faith 62 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. is that wuicli was composed by the inspired apostles before dispersing tliemselves to preach the gospel. This " Apos- tles' Cj'eed " has ever since constituted an essential part of Christian worshij^. The Fathers of Trent divided this creed into twelve dif- ferent articles, and presented lucid and extensive explanations of each article. In this creed perfect faith is required in one spiritual and personal God, " Avho by His omnipotence created from noth- ing, preserves and governs the heavens and the earth, and all things which they encompass." Man is required to believe unreservedly in this Almighty and Incomprehensible Being, and to raise no question as to the rationale of His existence ; " for Vvdien God commands us to believe. He does not propose to us to search into His divine judgments, or to inquire into their reasons and their causes, but demands an immutable faith, by the efficacy of which tlie mind reposes in the knowl- edge of eternal truth." * The same faith is asserted in Jesus Christ as the only Son of the Father, begotten from eternity, equal in all respects to, and identical in essence and substance v/ith the Father, and distinct only in their peculiar relations : also in His concep- tion, birth, mission, passion, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming, when He shall "judge the living and the dead : " also in the Holy Ghost as the third person of the Trinity, begotten of the Fatlicr and Son from eternity, " equally God with the Father and Son, equally omnipotent, eternal, perfect, the supreme good, infinitely Avise, and of tlic same nature vrith the Father and Son."f Also in the Holy Catholic Church, with all of her w^ritten and traditional doc- trines. As Christ founded this Church, endowed it with all truth, and sent down the Holy Spirit to preside over it to the end of the woi'ld, so tliat the gates of hell siiould not prevail against it, we may rest assured that the design of its Divine Founder has been accomplished, and that the sacred trust lias been faithfully kept : also in " the resurrection of the * Cat. of tlic Council of Trent, p. 22. f Council of Trent, p. 07. FAITH. 63 body," "and the life everlasting," wbicli the Fathers of Trent declare were intended "to convey an important trutli, the immortality of the soul." Nearly all of the Apostles' Creed demands absolute faith in mysteries which are entirely incomprehensible by man. Who can appreciate the infinite power and majesty of the Al- miglity ? Who can understand the mysteries of the Trinity, of the Incarnation, of the Ilesnrrection, and of the Ascension ? Wlio can analyze the nature and capacities of the soul, and define the boundaries of spiritual existence? The very foundation of the Christian religion consists in faith in many things Avhicli are above natural laws, and which cannot be comprehended by mortals. Religion re- quires us to believe the simple assertions of Christ, however repugnant they may appear to reason, or to the ordinary laws of matter. A fundamental principle of the Christian religion is entire faith in the gospel. The essence of ti'ue faith consists in be- lieving imiplicitly, simply, witliout mental reservation, and independently of private judgment, all the teachings of this gospeh No mortal can possess this faith without a due ap- preciation of the fact that the Almighty is infinite, and there- fore incomprehensible ; that His knowledge and jiowcr have no limits ; that His ways are not our ways ; and that Avliat may appear mystenous and improbable to the finite compre- hension, is ahvays clear and simple to the Infinite intelli- i^ence. Man cannot comprehend the rationale of tlie creation of the world. He knows of no natural laws which can explain the formation of the heavens and the earth from chaos in a brief period, nor the mysterious phenomiCnaof vegetal.>le and animal life, nor the wonderful operations of human thought and reason. The soul of man looks out from the windows of the phys- ical body as through some optical instrument, and all its operations are limited to the capacities of the different organs. Through the eyes and ears it can define objects and distin- 64 CUKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. guish sounds from limited distances, and throiigli the other senses it derives certain impressions respecting the nature and properties of substances. By the use of optical, aural, and other instruments, it can distinguish objects and s-ounds from still greater distances, and obtain a better appreciation of the nature and properties of matter. But the infinite in- telligence of Jehovah can span the heavens and the earth in the twinkling of an eye, ever seeing and appreciating all things. It becometh men, then, to accept all of the doctrines of the gospel Avithout cavil, reservation, or doubt. During the sojourn of our Saviour upon earth, great mul- titudes of people heard His divine words and saw His wonder- ful miracles. Many believed in Him and worshipped Him as the Saviour of the world. Even the unbelievinsj Jews wit- nessed and acknowledged His miracles, declaring that He performed them through the aid of Beelzebub ; while they de- nounced Him as a false prophet, and His doctrines as false doctrines. In like manner, the miracles of Peter, John, and other disciples were witnessed by large numbers of people, and therefore readily believed in. These elements of Christian faith appealed directly and overwhelmingly to those who were contemporaneous with Christ and His disci23les, and were in many instances followed' by an immediate, absolute, and abiding faith in what was taught and practised. Both sacred and profane history have handed down to us a record of these momentous occurrences, with a perfect accord as to the facts themselves. They have also handed down to us, with the same coinciding testimony, other miraculous performances. On the strength of these records, all actual Christians have an implicit faith in the doctrines there inculcated, and the miracles there performed. They do not entertain the slightest doubt that Christ and His disciples then raised the dead, cured the lame, the blind, and the deaf; turned water into wine; fed multitudes from a few small loaves and fislies, and at the last supper convei'ted bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus. All of FAITH. G5 these things they believe, because they stand on the im- mutable pages of the Sacred Scriptures, and are corrobo- rated by the profane writings of those who were opposed to the Saviour. All of these events Avere above natural hiAvs, and incomprehensible to human reason, yet the whole Christian world gives entire credence to them. Faith in Jesus Christ and His teachings, as inculcated in the Holy Scriptures and in the traditions of the Church which He established previous to His ascension, is unques- tionably a fundamental element of the Christian religion. The mission of our Saviour on earth was a mission from God to man — a revelation from an Infinite and Incomj^rehensible Creator to His finite, erring, and weak creatures. He came, not to discuss doctrinal points, or to reconcile human philoso- phies, or to render himself subservient to the hypotheses or the reasonings of men, but to teach the will and announce the commands of the Father who sent Him. From begin- ning to end His mission was characterized by supernatural deeds, and the inculcation of precepts and practices opposed to those whicli then universally obtained. From these facts we may understand wdiy our Lord so frequently insisted on faith in Him and His works, and v.hy He promised and be- stowed sucli rich rewards upon those who had faith. But, notwithstanding the importance of faith as an ele- ment of Christianity, it cannot secure salvation unless accom- panied by appropriate works. Faith is an indispensable principle of religion — a foundation-stone of the divine edifice, but it is only a single element among many whicli pertain to the true Christian. It is the alphabet of the religious neo- phyte— a simple mental act, without fruits or profits, until tlie practical duties of Christianity have been appreciated and mastered. In a future chapter we shall make allusion to this subject. CHAPTEE lY. DOCTKINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. Repentance^ Confession^ eind Beforonation. Among the fun clam ental doctrines tanght hj Jesus Christ, Avere repentance, confession, and reformation. The doctrines ah'eady referred to — faith in God, in the Trinity, and in Christ and His mission — require only a simple mental effort and resolution on the part of the faithful; while true penance demands both faith and works. I^o man can be a true Christian who does not feel and express hearty sorroAV and contrition for having violated the commandments of God, and firmly resolve to obey them in future. In accept- ing the title and the duties of a Christian, he incurs a most solemn obligation to obey the divine precepts and command- ments, and to avoid committing any act which might retard the progress of Christ's kingdom on earth. But if, in an unguarded moment, he yields to temptation, and commits a mortal sin, it is an immediate and imperative duty to feel and express sorrow and contrition for having offended his God, and to resolve on amendment. When a son disobeys an earthly father, and brings disor- der, perversion, and disgrace into the family circle, he is just- ly expelled, for violating the peace and honor of the paternal home; and he can be received back again only by express- ing sorrow for his offences, and reforming his life. The har- REPENTANCE, CONEESSION, AND EEFORIMATION. G7 iiioiiY, honor, and welfare of the family require the fulfil- ment of these conditions, before forgiveness and reconcilia- tion can be granted. In like manner do the honor, harmony, and welfare of tlie kingdom of God on earth require the same conditions of repentance, acknowledgment, and reformation, on the ])art of those who disobey the divine commandments. In a worldly point of viev,', it is universally conceded that it is the duty of a prodigal son Vvdio has brought disturbance and scandal upon his house, to repent, reform, and confess his faults, before he can properly hope for pardon. How much more ought he, who sins against God, and brings disorder and disgrace into the Church of Christ, to be penitent, and to confess his offences, before receivimv forsfiveness ! For breaking the commandments of an earthly parent, the erring child is excluded from the comforts of home, and the social enjoyments of the domestic circle; but for violating the com- mandments of the heavenly Parent, he perils his eternal ha|>- piness, and deprives himself forever of the society of saints and angels. Pride and self-love are among the dominant passions of the human heart. Men do not hesitate to labor and to suffer for a lifetime, in order to secure ttie good opinions and the applause of the world. They stand up in deadly strife against those who have presumed to assail their honor. They brave the perils of the battle-field, the ocean, and the savage wilderness, in pursuit of fame and glory. If they are actuated by ignoble sentiments, or if they sin in thouglit and deed, it is because they believe that these degrading se- crets are hidden from the eyes of the world. When sin runs riot within the human breast — pent up, silent, uurepented, and unacknowledged — conscience and truth become dormant and inoperative, and man falls an easy prey to the wiles of the tempter. Ilis pride and self-love receive no shock from exterior influences ; no curious spectator can scan his thoughts, desires, motives, or criticise his secret offences; no ambassador of Christ beholds the record of his offences, 68 cnEiSTiAmTT and its conflicts. and announces to liim the penalties of sin, and the rewards of Cbi'istian virtue, and therefore he persists in bis evil ways. Men are naturally prone to evil. Their natural propensi- ties and inclinations impel them, with almost resistless im- pulse, to licentiousness, luxury, ostentation, display, covet- ousness, and to worldly ambition ; and in the acquisition of means to gratify these desires, they are apt to consult inter- est rather than conscience. Momentarily these propensities beckon their victims on, and tempt them with riches, pomp, luxury, power, pleasure, and every personal gratification. Unaided by the potent restraints of religion, these influences would, as a general rule, gain the mastery over poor human nature. Fortunately for mankind, there are counteracting agencies within the reach of all, equally potent to combat these tendencies to sin, and to rescue them from danger. Chief amomx these conservative aoiencies stand the fear and love of God, and the practice of the sacraments. Among the latter, that of penance and confession holds a high rank. All men involuntarily shrink from acknowledging their faults, their weaknesses, their meannesses, and their viola- tions of the lavrs of God and man. Pride, self-conceit, shame, mortification, all serve to render confession repulsive and distastetuk The idea of being obliged to declare to a fellow-man, whose respect Ave desire, that we have lied, cheated, slandered, stolen, committed adultery, and numer- ous other sins, is so abhorrent to every decent instinct as to constitute a powerful barrier against the commission of these sins. The man wlio does not believe in the necessity of con- fession soon acquires the happy faculty of compromising with his conscience as occasion requires, and of obliterating all memory of, and responsibility for, past sins. Such a man may pass through life with head erect, and every w^ay re- spectable in the eyes of the world ; but at the day of judg- ment, when all hearts will be exposed to view, is there not danger that this self-reliant heart will be found black, and loaded down with unrcpented sins? REPENTANCE, CONFESSION, AND EEFOKMATION. CO Confession also imi^oses upon every one an imperative ne- cessity of frequently reviewing his sins, and of repenting of tliem. It permits no sinner to compromise with his con- science, or to evade his responsibility for a single grievous sin ; but he is in duty bound to acknowledge all to his spiritual adviser, and to repent of all sincerely, before the " ambassador " and agent of Jesus is authorized to grant him God's forgiveness. If he deceives the mortal and finite agent, and confesses his oiFenccs with his lips, but repents not in his heart, tlie Searcher of hearts hears his idle words, and sees his still hardened heart, and adds fourfold to his condemnation in the book of life. lie may deceive his spir- itual father, and receive from him verbal absolution, but he cannot deceive his heavenly Father, nor obtain from Ilim a ratification of the fraudulent transaction. The Church has always declared that confession and absolution, witliout honest repentance, arc invalid, and priests are always in- structed to impress this solemn fact upon their people. Our Saviour has instructed His ministers to preach His gospel to every creature, to invite them to believe in Him, to adore and worship Him, to repent, to confess, to be baptized ; and He has authorized them to grant the Divine forgiveness to all those who obey these commands ; but He has given His temporal agents no power to read the heart, or to detect hypocrisy and deceit. The ultimate issue, therefore, is in the hands of the Almighty, and woe be to him who has con- fessed with his lips, but mocked at the mercy and majesty of Jehovah in his heart ! One of the objections raised against the sacrament of penance and confession is the fact, that priests acquire a knov»dedge of the vices and weaknesses of their penitents, and may make use of them for unworthy j^urposes. This argument is not tenable, because the principle of j^enance and confession is of divine origin, and no act of man can change or impair a law or a command of God. Judas Iscariot acted the part of a hypocrite, and betrayed his Master, but he did not alter or weaken in the sli^'htcst de2;rce the v\-o]-d 70 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. of God. So may a priest betray his trust as confessor, and commit grievous sins against liis people and his Maker, but he cannot alter the Divine ordmances. He may still further corrupt an erring and half-repentant sinner, but he blackens his own soul and risks eternal perdition. The All-seeing eye looks down both upon the confessor and the penitent, and each must render a strict account of his stewardship. Individuals professing to be ambassadors of Christ may violate His sacred laws, but the laws themselves are immutable and eter- nal. Ministers of the gospel may daily break all of the com- mands of the decalogue, but the commandments still remain unaltered — a beacon of light, knov/ledge, and hope to the tempest-tossed sinner. Let us not, then, reproach the laws of God for any wicked act of a professed disciple. Protestants tauntingly accuse Catholics of committing sins w^antonly under the impression that the simple ipse dixit of the priest can absolve them from all blame and from every penalty. We refute these errors by a brief exposition of the actual doctrines of the Church upon this subject, as estab- lished by the Bible, and as taught in the canons and decrees of the Fathers of Trent. Catholics believe in the necessity of Repentance and Con- fession of sins, because our Saviour and His apostles every- where inculcated the importance of these duties. We cite a few passages from the Old and New Testaments to illustrate this assertion. When the apostle was asked what men must do to be saved, he replied as follows: " Confess therefore your si7is 07ie to another, and pray one for another, that you may be saved." * " Do penance," says the Redeemer, " for the king- dom of heaven is at hand."! Again: "There went out to him (St. John) Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about Judea, and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their s^?^s." | In another place our Saviour says, " Unless you do penance, you shall all perish." § Again : * James v. 16. f Matt. iv. 17. X Matt. iii. 1-6. § Luke xiii. 3-5. REPENTANCE. CONFESSION, AND EEFOEMATION. 71 " Many of them that believed . came (to Paul), confessing and declaring their deedsy * These brief extracts from the New Testament include both the positive command of the apostles to Qncdce confession as well as actual acts of con- fession. Again : " If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves ; hut if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity." f Aixain : " For with the heart man believeth unto rio-hteous- ness, GJid with the mouth confession is made unto salva- tionP \ Again : " If the wicked do penance for all his sins, Vv'hich he hath committed, and keep all My commandments, and do judgment and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die. Be converted, and dvO penance for cdl your iniqui- ties, and iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart." § Again : " Say to tlio children of Israel, When a man or woman shall have com- mitted any of all the sins that men are wont to commit, and by negligence shall have transgressed the command- ment of the Lord, and offended ; they shall confess their siny || Again : " He that hideth his sins, shall not prosper ; hut he that shall confess and forsalce them, shall obtain mercy." ^ Again : " For thy soul, be not ashamed to say the truth. For there is a shame that bringetli sin, and there is a shame that bringeth glory and grace .... Be not ashamed to con- fess thy sins / hut suhmit not thyself to every man for sin.''"' ** Again : " I will recount to thee all my years, in the bitter- ness of my soul." \\ We have presented these few extracts from the sacred writings to prove that penance and confession of sins were habitually taught and practised both by the apostles and by the men of the old dispensation. These chosen and inspired men of God vrould never have sanctioned, or advised, * Acts xix. 10, 13. f 1 John i. 8, 9. X Rom. X. 10. § Ezek. viii. 21, 22. II Num. V. 0-7. T[ Prov. xxviii. 18. ** Eccl. iv. 24, 25, 31. f f Isa. xxxviii. 15. 72 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. or p]"actisecl these observances unless they had been divinely instituted, and calculated to promote the cause they advo- cated. All of those tenets and practices of the old dispensa- tion which had become useless, were ignored by the apostles of Christ ; while those which were to be continued in force, like the ten commandments, penance, etc., were reasserted and practically established as fundamental j^rinciples of Christianity. From the fact that Christ gave to His ministers " the keys of the kingdom of heaven," and the power of " binding and loosing from sin," it is evident that He intended that faith, repentance, and confession should precede the exercise of this delegated authority. From whatever point of view we regard this sacrament, whether as a command of God, a precept and practice of the holy apostles and prophets, a dogma of the Church, or as a worldly barrier against sin, and a promoter of virtue, it should meet the approval of every earnest Christian. As the Fathers of Trent truly observed : " Confession contributes powerfully to the preservation of social order. Abolish sacramental confession, and that mo- ment you deluge society with all sorts of secret crimes — crimes too, and others of still greater enormity, which men, once that they have been depraved by vicious habits, will not dread to commit in 5pen day. The salutary shame which attends confession restrains licentiousness, bridles de- sire, and coerces the evil proj^ensities of corrujDt nature." * Many of the leading reformers, like Luther, Calvin, Bucer, and Melanchthon, after they had witnessed the disastrous ef- fects resulting from a repudiation and neglect of this sacra- ment, expressed the most bitter regrets that they had con- nived at this revolution against the Church of God. Says Luther: "The world grows worse and worse, and becomes more wicked every day. Men are now more given to re- venge, more avaricious, more devoid of mercy, less modest, and more incorrigible, in fine, more wicked than in the papacy." f * Council of Trent, p. 191. f Luth. in Pot. Sup. 1 Dan. Ad ; apud Am. Dis., vol. i., let. 2, ap. 2, p. 85. REPENTANCE, CONFESSION, AND REFORMATION. 73 J, VVV^^^JL^^OXWX,, Calvin takes the same A^iew as follows : "Of the thousands Avho renounced popery, how few have amended their lives ! Indeed, what else did the greater part pretend to, than, by shaking off the yoke of superstition, to give themselves more liberty, and to j^lunge into every sort of lascivious- ness ? " * As confession of sins is one of the duties required of the penitent sinner, the discipline of the Church, as well as every principle of reason, fitness, and sound policy have desig- nated the priests and ministers of the Church as the most suitable persons to receive such confession. Not only have the priests been appointed by Christ to hear confessions, but they have been selected to preach and teach Ilis holy truths, to urge sinners to repentance and reformation, and to say to them as agents and servants of Christ, do these things faith- fully and sincerely, and I am authorized by my Master, Christ, to declare to you that your sins are forgiven. The canons of the Church imperatively require all priests to be certain that all persons coming to the confessional shall fully understand the exact nature of the duties and resj^onsibilities pertaining to the sacrament. Every priest knows that he perils his own soul, if he arrogates to himself the supreme and absolute power and authority which belong alone to God, or if he permits an ignorant man to suppose for an instant tliat the inherent and essential power to forgive sins pertains to him- self. It is his sacred duty to inform the applicant tliat he is a humble agent of Christ with a divine power of attorney, to hear confessions, to teach holy truths, to give good advice and information upon spiritual matters, to warn against con- fessing with the lips vrliile the heart is uncontrite and unre- pentant, and to pronounce absolution in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in cases apparently suitable. The Catholic Church has ever taught that though a priest has pronounced absolution to a man who has confessed his sins, and apparently complied with all of the requirements of the confessional, the act is not valid unless the penance and * Calvia, lib. vi., dc ScauJ. ap. Ling. Tracts, p. 235, edit. 1S13. 4 T4: CITEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. the confession have been real and thorough. The priest hears the confession, carefully examines the applicant, and, if satisfied, pronounces absolution as the agent of Christ, provided the YeipentaTice and the confession have been sin- cere. The priest lets the penitent clearly understand that he may deceive the mortal and fallible agent of the Almighty, but that he cannot deceive Him who reads the heart and who numbers the very hairs of the head. Lip confession, with- out contrition, may draw from the priest words of absolu- tion ; but every Catholic knows that these words are only valid in cases where all the conditions of the confessional are complied with. A false confession adds to the guilt of the sinner, and places his soul in imminent peril. Every Catholic, however ignorant or humble, is aware of this fact, and governs himself accordingly. The charge so often made by Protestants that the lower classes do not compre- hend or appreciate this fact, is a gratuitous assertion ; for it is an oblig\atory and sacred duty on the part of all priests to be quite sure that every one who aj^plies for absolution shall fully understand the nature, duties, and responsibilities which pertain to the subject. Aware of the importance which was attached by Christ and His apostles to confession, it is a common custom of Protestants to confess to each other their sins in open meet- ings. We have often heard such confessions made by Pres- byterians, Baptists, and Methodists, at exhortation and other meetings, with general details of the sins committed; but tlie impression has always remained with us, that the most flagrant sins were omitted in the enumeration. Not being regarded as obligatory, or as a sacrament by these sects, they only confess the more triAdal transgressions, while tlie mortal ones remain buried within the silent depths of their own hearts. A general and unsystematic confession must, of necessity, be imperfect ; and when, not regarded as essential to salva- tion, will rarely be performed at all. Confessions made to worldly men, or to sinful or indifferent companions, would EEPEJS'TANCE, CONFESSION, AND EEFORMATIOX. 75 generally be received with sneers, ridicule, or indifference; and as a consequence, the needed advice and encouragement could not be secured. How reasonable, then, that the priests of God should be the recii^ents of these confidential com- munications, so that by their examples and holy counsels they may be able to direct and sustain hesitating penitents in their efforts at repentance and reformation ! Even the Catholic Church does not object to public con- fession ; but, for the reasons indicated, private confessions have been adopted as the general rule of the Church. Upon tliis subject the Canons and Decrees of Trent teach as fol- lows : " As to the manner of confessing secretly to a priest alone, although Christ has not forbidden that a person may — in punishment of his sins, and for his own humiliation, as well as for an example to others, as for the edification of the Church that has been scandalized, confess his sins publicly ; nevertheless, this is not commanded by a divine precej^t ; neither would it be very prudent to enjoin by any human law that sins, especially such as are secret, should be made known by a public confession." * The same canons declare that " the absolution of the priest is the dispensation of aowther''s bounty y f To the last day of his life Luther regretted that he had ever attacked the sacrament of penance. He repeatedly ac- knowledged that wickedness and sin had greatly increased wherever the salutary restraints of the confessional had been annulled. Who presumes to deny that a belief and practice of this sacrament do not exercise a powerful influence in deterring from sin? Who does not know that the confessional lays bare the entire criminal record of the human heart, and that the dark picture is held up \o the gaze of the sinner by the agent of God, with all its dread penalties attached, until his heart softens with repentance and contrition ? But, argues the Protestant, priests abuse their sacred office, and pervert the secrets they derive from the confes- * Canons of Council of Trent, p. 99. f Ibid., p. 100. 76 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. sional to tlieir own private purposes or to the interests of the Church. This is a gratuitous, sweeping, and unfounded assertion ; because every Catholic priest knows tliat he would sacrifice his eternal salvation by violating the obligations of his office. Under such circumstances he must be a very bold, as well as a very wicked man, who would dare stake his soul against temporary worldly interest. Worldly policy would likewise deter him from abuses of this kind, as frequent public exposures, with their consequent scandals, would be in- evitable. We concede that it is possible for bad men to pervert imjDortant truths, and to violate the most sacred laws and precepts. But such acts cannot shake the foundations of truth, virtue, and goodness. Judas betrayed, and Peter de- nied the Saviour ; but these abuses of trust did not impair the importance or integrity of the divine laws and precepts announced to the world. It is possible for a wicked priest to pervert the sacred duties of the confessional, but he is so hedged around with penalties and dangers of every kind, that such an occurrence is scarcely probable or possible. A wicked judge may pervert the most wise and just laws ; may set free the guilty and punish the innocent, and temporarily convert the judiciary into an instrument of oppression and licentious- ness. But the laws themselves are incorruptible, and by their own inherent truth and justice will ever vindicate themselves, and triumph over individual falsehood and injustice. So will the laws of God and of the Church always assert their in- herent truthfulness and beneficent power, and triumph over personal infidelity and wickedness. It has often been truly observed that if the Catholic Church had regarded simply its own aggrandizement, it would have omitted the sacrament of penance. Every in- stinct and impulse of the natural man rebels against the con- fession of his sins and weaknesses. Confession to a fellow- mortal of faults, crimes, and other violations of the divine laws and commands, involves a degree of moral courage and conscientiousness which many men do not possess. The EErENTA^TCE, CONFESSION, AND KEFORMATION. 77 strongest sentiments and passions of men, like pride, love of admiration, conceit, lust, and self-gratification, are all arrayed against auricular confession. So long as sins can be com- mitted, and their dark tracks remain unseen excej^t by the All-seeing eye, the sinner will be apt to continue in liis wicked courses ; but let him be made to believe that his eternal salvation depends upon a truthful confession of his sins to a fellow-man, and he will commit fewer trespasses, and be more obedient to the commandments of God. Had the Catholic Church heeded its knowledge of hu- man nature, rather than its knowledge of the requirements of God, it would have left out from its creed an observance so humiliating to human pride as auricular confession of sins. But as the Church was endowed by Christ with all truth, and as the Holy Spirit has since presided over it as its per- petual guardian amd support, this sacrament has ever re- mained fixed and immutable. CHAPTER Y. DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. Baptism. In all ages of the world it has been customaiy to mangu- rate important events by certain aj^propriate forms, ceremo- nies, or other acts. The joyous festivities at betrothals, marriages, and births, and the mournful sorrowings over the dead, and over local or national calamities, serve to imjDress strongly upon the mind, and to commemorate these events. How much more important that the Christian soldier who enlists under the banner of the Cross, should be initiated with appropriate ceremonies, and in all solemnity ! In taking a step which rescues him from everlasting perdition, and exalts him to a position v/hich secures for him eternal happi- ness, the Christian inaugurates a new era in his life, and should be impressed as much as possible with its importance. The sacrament of baptism accomplishes this object. As water is employed to wash away all impurities from the physical body, our Saviour deemed it a fit emblem to cleanse the spiritual body from its impurities. Christ prac- tically established this sacrament when He was baptized in the Jordan by John ; and He enjoined on us its necessity when He commanded His apostles to " go into the Avhole woiid, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching BAPTISM. T9 them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." * The imperative necessity of a belief in, and a due observ- ance of this sacrament, is demonstrated in the following explicit declaration of our Redeemer: "Unless a man be born again of water, and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."f In the face of this positive as- sertion, certain pretended reformers, j^uffed up with human pride and conceit, have dared to protest also against this in- junction of the Almighty, and to deny that He really in- tended it as a serious declaration ! These impious men, affecting wisdom superior to that of Christ, have presumed to protest against this passage of Scripture as void of signifi- cance, figurative, trifling ; and each one has substituted in its place some new Protestant idea as caprice has dictated. But the Catholic takes Christ at His word, and believes and practises the sacrament precisely as he has been com- manded to do. He holds fast to the doctrine that " he that believes and is baptized shall be saA^ed, but he that believeth not shall be condemned ;" | and he applies to himself prac- tically what St. Peter prescribed to the multitude who asked Him what they should do to be saved. " Do penance and be haptlzed every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." § The following passages of Scripture still further demon- strate the importance of this sacrament : " The Church is cleansed by the laver of water, in the v/ord of life. " \ " There are three persons that give testimony on earth ; the Spirit, the water, and the blood." ^ And John says that the Lord will come, " who will haptlze in the Holy Ghost, and in fire."** • And referring to the one Holy Catholic Church, the apostle declares that there is but " one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.'''' f f * Matt. iii. 15 ; xxviii. 19, 20 f John iii. 5. \ Mark xiv. 14. § Acts ii. 38. \ Ephes. V. 2G. ^\ John v. 8. ** Matt. iii. 2. f f Eph. iv. 6. 80 CHEISTIANrrY AND ITS CONFLICTS. 'Not only is the sacrnraent of baptism positively enjoined on us as essential to salvation, but our SaAdonr, His lioly apos- tles, and the Fathers of the Church have always tanght that it confers grace upon tlie worthy receiver. Through this ceremony we openly enlist into the anny of the King of kings, and promise to subject ourselves to the discipline and the duties prescribed by the divine law ; and to enable us to accomplish these requirements, divine grace is undoubtedly given us at the moment of baptism. During the act of purification by water, we profess re- pentance for our past sins, and humbly promise, wdth the di- vine aid, to abstain from sin in the future. We promise to renounce " the devil with all his works and pomps," and to lead such a life as shall be pleasing in the sight of God. To fulfil this task, so difficult to sinful and carnal man, we re- ceive with the sacrament special blessings from on high. But, respond certain Protestants, this application of water can be of no earthly consequence ; for we can repent, and "renounce the devil and all his works and pomps," per- fectly well without it. It is the heart, the conscience, the intention to be good, and not the mummery of applying water to the person, wdiich is essential ; and therefore the performance of the sacrament may be omitted or not as con- venience shall dictate. But God has said, " Though this world shall pass away, yet not one jot or tittle of My word shall pass aAvay." It will be w^ell for the impious ^^^otester to remember this text when attempting to substitute his personal and human ideas for the explicit commands of Christ. With heart-felt pleasure, however, we record the fact that a very small number of Protestants do regard baptism as a divinely instituted sacrament, which confers special bless- ings upon worthy recipients, which aids them in resisting temptations and sin, and wdiich is essential to their present and future welfare and happiness. All of those who entertain this opinion still stand on the Roman Catholic platform, and avail themselves of one of BAPTISM. 81 the means of grace Avliicli enables the Christian to obey the commands of God. Faith in and the proper performance of the sacrament of baptism accomplishes three important ends, viz. : 1. Obedience to the express commands of our Saviour. 2. It establishes, strengthens, and confirms us in the true faith as taught by Christ, His apostles, and their successors. 3. It endows the Christian Avith special graces from above, which enable him to resist more effectually the temptations which surround him, and keep in subjection those worldly and carnal propensities which would otherw^ise lead him on to final perdition. Woe to those unbelievers who disregard this sacrament ! AYoe to those pretended refoniiers who presume to misinter- pret, alter, and reform the specific and imperative commands of the Redeemer ! Woe to those " false teachers," those " seekers after strange doctrines," who affect to comprehend the intentions and designs of the Almighty, and who, wdth impious temerity, pervert His -plain injunctions, and adapt tliem to the convenience, the caprice, or the philosophy of finite human reason ! To those Protestants who assent to the three divisions of the Catholic religion already alluded to, and who believe in and practise the sacrament of baptism, we tender our congratulations, and assure them that they are almost Cath- olics. A belief in and a practice of a few more grace-con- ferring sacraments instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, and their conversion will be fully accomplished. And the addi- tional means of grace — these Heaven-bestowed auxiliaries of Christian faith and practice, are by no means so diflicult of belief, as other points concerning which they entertain no doubt, like the conception and birth of our Saviour and his miracles. 4* CHAPTER VL DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. Confirtnation. A PEEUSAL of the ISTew Testament will demonstrate the fact that Christ and His apostles regarded the sacrament of confirmation as an essential element of Christianity. By- nature man is weak, worldly, and skeptical. Without aid from above he doubts, he vacillates, he loses courage, he falls. Even the apostles, when the climax of the persecutions of our Saviour was near at hand, doubted, waA^ered, some fled and concealed themselves, and some denied Him openly for the moment ; but the influence of the Holy Spirit soon came upon them at Pentecost, to confirm them and sustain them in the faith and practice of the ministry. Having received this divine gift directly from God Himself, they recognized and appreciated the wonderful influence it exercised over them, and ever afterward called down from above the same heavenly influence upon the professed believers in Christ and His teachings. During the performance of this sacrament, the recipient again reviews his past life, repents of his sins, confirms his faith, and receives through the bishop renewed graces and blessings from Heaven. The Scriptures contain many passages which prove that it was customary with Christ and His apostles to confirm their new converts by calling down upon them the direct influence CONFIEMATIO^^". bo of the Holy Spirit. This divine ceremony strengthened their faith, gave them courage and ability to resist temptation, and to fight manfully the battles of the Cross. Thus, when Peter and John were sent to the people of Samaria, " who had re- ceived the word of God, and had been baptized only, they prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost : for as yet He was fallen upon none of them : only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid the)/ their hands on them^ and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he oifered them money." * Was this ceremony of Peter and John a useless and idle one? Did they pray for these newly-converted and newly- baptized people of Samaria, and then lay their hands upon them simply for display or ostentation, or to call down upon them the Holy Spirit, so that they should be confirmed and strengthened in their faith ? "And Judas and Silas being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, aiid confirmed thetny f Why did these prophets of God confirm these brethren if the ceremony is a useless one? " When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them^ the Holy Ghost came on the7n ; and they spake loith tongues^ and prophesied ^ \ And did St. Paul, too, commit an idle act when he laid his hands upon these people, drew upon them the Holy Ghost, and enabled them to speak in strange tongues and to prophesy ? After His resurrection Christ appeared to His apostles and said to them : " Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent J/e, I also send you. When He had said thi^i, He breathed on them ^ and He said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins ye shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." § * Acts viii. 15-18. f Acts xv. 32. % Acts xix. 5, 6. § John xx. 21-23. 84 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. In this instance Christ called down the Holy Sj)Lrit upon His apostles by the act of breathing upon them ; but, as in the examples of the apostles already alluded to, spe^pial graces and powers were conferred upon the recipients by this spirit- ual infusion. What was the object of our Saviour in thus " breathing upon His apostles ? " Was it not to confirm their faith and to sustain them in their trying duties as His ministers ? At the day of Pentecost why did Christ send down the Holy Sj^irit upon the disciples ? Was it not to confirm their faith, their courage, their resolution, to teach them all truth, and to guide and support them after their Kedeemer and Master had left them ? So when Peter, Paul, John, James, Silas, Judas, and the other disciples prayed over and laid tbeir hands upon the recent converts with whom they came in contact, did they not call down upon them the same Holy Spirit and tlie same blessed influence ? Jesus Christ was their exemplar, as He and they are our exemplars. The sacrament was instituted by Christ Himself, was recognized and practised by all of His apostles, and was transmitted by them to their successors through the Church. Is it probable that Christ, and the ministers of His religion, w^ho had derived their inspiration directly from Himself, would have ]3ractised this sacred observance unless its holiness and efiicacy had been undoubted ? Christ became incarnate on earth to teach His sacred truths, and to demonstrate j^racti- cally in His own Person the perfection of human life. In obeying the commands and in imitating the example and practices of the Saviour, the apostles knew that they were acting rightly. In the same spirit, the Church has ever fol- lowed in the footstej^s of Christ and the apostles, with a per- fect knowledge that a practical recognition and imitation of their doctrines and j^racticcs would secure the welfare of Christ's kingdom on earth. Therefore, in allusion to this ceremony, one of the canons of the Council of Trent says : ^' If any one saith that the confirmation of those who have been baptized is an idle ceremony, and not rather a true and proper sacrament ; or, that of old it was nothing more than a CONFIRMATION. 85 kind of catechism, whereby they who were near adolescence gave an account of their faith in the face of the Church ; let him he anathema." The Catholic Church regards confirmation as an important means of grace. She believes that the Holy Spirit — the Spirit of truth, love, and mercy — still interests Himself in be- half of mortals, and still comes down at the invocation of the bishop to influence and to bless the children of men, as He did in the days of the apostles. As guardian of the Churcli it is supposed that He confers special graces and blessings upon those who obey the commands of Christ, and imitate His examples and those of His apostles. Whatever may be thought of the necessity of confiiTna- tion, surely no reasonable man can object to the prayers of a bishop over the newly-baptized converts, and his invocations of the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit, with a view of confirming their faith and endowing them with strength to wrestle with the enemies of their salvation. K these solemn prayers and petitions for help bring forth no good results, they cannot surely be productive of injury. CHAPTER yil. DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. The Eucharist. ISTeae the termination of Christ's mission of love and mercy on earth, He instituted what is termed the Lord's Sup- per. He had ah-eady informed His disciples that He was about to he betrayed into the hands of His enemies, to be in- sulted, beaten, and crucified; that He should rise again from death, and show Himself to them for a few days, and then ascend into heaven, from whence He had come; that He would send down upon them the Holy Ghost, to teach them all truth, to confirm them in the faith, to support them in the midst of their perilous duties, and to preside forever over the Church He had founded. In order to commemorate His divine mission, His passion and crucifixion, and to leave behind Him a divine token of His love and mercy. He established a perpetual sacrament, at which He promised to be always present iji person under the appearance of bread and wine. He prescribed the form and mode of the sacrament, and, as lie had repeatedly done before, personally performed a miracle before their eyes, by converting the bread and wine into His actual body and blood, thus inaugurating the divine institution. He entered into no exj^lanation as to the rationale of the miracle, but simply asserted the fact that He had accom^^lished it, and demanded, as He had on numerous similar occasions, their THE EUCUAEIST. 87 absolute faith. He also commanded them to perpetuate this sacrament in remembrance of Him. " Do tliis in remembrance of Me ; " and, says the apostle, " as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord until He come;" * and "he that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in Me and I in him ; " f and " he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me ; " J and " the bread that I will give is My flesh, for the life of the Avorld;"§ but they Avho partake unworthily, "not discern- ing the body and blood of the Lord, eat and drink judgments to themselves." || After Christ had blessed and broken the bread, and jDOured and blessed the wine, and declared them to be His actual body and blood, the apostles still saio only hread and icine ; but they knew that God could not lie or deceive, that He was omnipotent, and that He could be present under these apparently unchanged elements as easily as He could be in heaven and earth at the same time, and their faith wavered not. Many of the disciples had seen the Holy Spirit under the forms of doves, forked tongues, and other material shapes, but not one of them doubted that these objects were difierent manifestations of the Holy Ghost. They could not understand how or for what reason He came under these forms ; but the divine declaration was explicit, and they had perfect faith. Moses and the Israelites could not compre- hend how God could be present in the cloudy pillar by day, and the fiery pillar by night, and thus walk before them as their guide in their wanderings from Egypt to the land of Canaan ; but they knew He was there, although they saio only two apparently inanimate pillars. Every one concedes that God is omnipotent — that He pervades all things in heaven and on earth, and that He holds the universe, which He created from chaos, in the palm of His hand, a mere bubble of the illimitable ocean of His infinitude ; and yet, when He professes to manifest His prcs- * 1 Cor. xi. 26. f John vi. 57. % Jolin vi. 58. § John vi. 52. |1 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29. V 88 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ence especially, and for a signal purpose, human reason cavils at the idea. The real presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist is no more wonderful than was the real presence of God in the cloudy pillars, and the fires of Sinai, or the real j^resence of the Holy Ghost in the cloven tongues at the day of Pentecost, or in the bodily shape of a dove at the baptism of Christ. The Council of Trent teaches that " the Eucharist was instituted by our Lord for two great purposes : to be the ce- lestial food of the soul, preserving and sujoporting spiritual life, and to give to the Church a perpetual sacrifice, by which sin may be expiated ; and our heavenly Father, whom our crimes have often grievously offended, may be turned from wrath to mercy, from the severity of just vengeance to the exercise of benignant clemency." " The difference between the Eucharist as a sacrament and sacrifice is very great, and is twofold. As a sacrament, it is perfected by consecration ; as a sacrifice, all its efficacy con- sists in its oblation." * As a sacrament, it brings the worthy partaker into closer relations with God, imparts graces and blessings to the soul, subdues evil propensities, desires, and thoughts, and enables him to resist without difficulty the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. As a sacrifice it renders honor and glory to God, com- memorates the passion and death of our Saviour, recalls con- tinually the obligations due from mortals to a Redeemer, who left his throne of glory to suffer every insult, every in- dignity, and even death itself to atone for the sins of men, and propitiates our heavenly Father, and inclines Him to mercy and forgiveness. This perpetual sacrifice, which is daily offered by the Church, is termed Th^ Mass. When our Lord instituted this sacrament at His last sup- per. He charged the apostles and their successors, " This do * Council of Trent, p. 174. THE EUCHARIST. 89 for a commemoration of Me." * At the same time He declared Himself " a priest forever, according to the order of Melcliise- dech. " f "As often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until He come." I In this positive command of our Lord to perpetuate the eucharistic sacrifice, an inestimable boon was conferred upon mankind. During its celebration Christ Himself is present, and confers priceless graces and blessings upon those who are worthy. He who said, " My delight is to be with the children of men" § — "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also," || does sanctify and bless the sacrifice with His divine presence. In the celebration of mass, the priest rehearses all of the incidents connected with the passion and death of our blessed Redeemer. He depicts vividly His betrayal. His arraign- ment before Pilate and Herod, His conviction, the insults, the blows, and the tortures inflicted on Him, and His cruel death, in order to atone, by this great sacrifice, for the sins of men. And these unbloody sacrifices — these holy com- memorations— sink deeply into the hearts and consciences of those who believe in God ; and bring forth fruits meet for repentance and salvation. As we have already observed, one of the principal objects in the celebration of the mass, is to render homage, honor, and glory to God, by perpetual and devout representations of the pas?ion and crucifixion of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. The true Christian witnesses these solemn ceremo- nies with ever-increasing love and gratitude to Him who gave His life a ransom for us. As the different incidents of the celebration become developed, the minds of the beholders are carried back to Calvary — to the Saviour of the world crowned with thorns, and bending under the weight of the cross, mocked, sj^it upon, and scourged, and finally nailed * Luke xxii. 19. f Ileb. vii. 11. Ts. clx. 4. X 1 Cor. xi. 26. § Trov. viii. 31. | John xiv. 3. 90 CHEISTIAOTTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. with crnel tortures to the bloody cross, between two male- factors. The maa who can witness tliis commemorating sacrifice without deep emotion, and fervent gratitude and thanksgiving to Jesus of Nazareth, must be cold and heart- less indeed. We have often participated in the celebration of the mass, both at home and abroad, and we can sincerely bear witness to the earnest devotion, and the fervent grati- tude, thankfulness, and love, which are almost universally manifested by the faithful during the ceremony. Does any one object to the frequent representation of the passion and death of our Redeemer ? Does any one distrust the influences of these holy and touching reminiscences ? Does any one fear that Christ and His wonderful works can be too often brought before him ? Does any one deprecate the adoration, the praise, and the glory which are daily offered up to God in these sacrifices ? Does any one su2> pose that our Lord will regard with disfavor those who ful- fil the injunction of " This do, in commemoration of Me " ? Can a man do any act which tends to glorify God, without a smile from Heaven ? Catholics believe, furthermore, when they assist reverent- ly and devoutly at these commemorative sacrifices of our Saviour, that graces and blessings from above are imparted to them. They believe that He who left the Godhead, as- sumed mortality, taught, sympathized, suffered, and finally died for mankind, still feels an interest in them, still sympa- thizes with them, still desires them to believe in Him and His mission to earth, and to honor Him as the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world, still desires their temporal and eternal welfare, and that He still comes to them during the celebration of the Eucharist, as He promised to do at the feast of the Passover. Is this idea of the Catholic world injurious in its tenden- cies ? Are men less devout or earnest in their worship, when they suppose that Christ honors the sacrament witli His holy j^resence ? Are they more inclined to sin, and to THE EUCnAEIST. 91 worldly pursuits and pleasures, after assisting at a sacrifice so majestic and so lioly as this ? Probably not one Protestant in a thousand has any just idea of what the mass really consists. It is generally sup- 2:)0sed to be some priestly mummery, delivered in Latin, with a view to befog, mislead, and subjugate the ignorant and superstitious, for the benefit of the Church and her pastors. So far as this country is concerned, we are quite confident, from much personal observation, that this erroneous idea ob- tains almost universally. For the benefit of those misin- formed Protestants who desire to know the actual truth re- specting this habitual Catholic worship of God, we present the following brief outlines of the mass : The first part of the mass consists chiefly in praises and thanksgiving to God for His inestimable blessings to Ilis creatures. While acknowledging the mercy and the power of the Almighty, " we praise Him, we bless Him, we adore Him, we glorify Him, and give thanks to Him." We praise Him with words of love, gratitude, and humility from the heart, and in the soul-inspiring tones of music. We bless and adore the " Holy Trinity, and the undivided Unity," for the infinite mercies He has vouchsafed to us sinners, " for having communicated His Spirit to His holy prophets and apostles, disclosing to them admirable secrets redounding to His glory and our great good," and for "having even vouch- safed to sj^eak to us by His only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, commanding us by a voice from heaven to hear Him." While praising, blessing, adoring, and glorifying God, we humbly acknowledge our absolute and entire de- pendence on Him, and pray " that He will mercifully grant us the grace to profit by His divine and heavenly doctrine;" that He " will be our God and our protector; that He will grant us all those blessings which may in any way contrib- ute to our salvation ; that the Lord will take away from us our iniquities, that we may be worthy to enter with pure minds into the holy of holies, through Christ our Lord ; that 92 CHEISTTANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. our prayers may be beard and answered, and tbat our sins may be forgiven." About one-third of the mass is made up of these acts of praise, devotion, and thanksgiving to God. Much of the worship is uttered in a dead language in order that tlie sig- nification of every word may be preserved in its original purity. As the idioms of colloquial languages are contin- ally changing, and as new definitions are being continually invented by difierent nations and sections, it would be man- ifestly unsafe to trust the sacred truths of God to these ever occurring mutations. Spoken languages may be- come changed and corrupted, false teachers may introduce schisms and dissensions in the Church, and even the world may pass away, but not one jot or tittle of God's holy word shall in any wise pass away. The Latin is a dead language, and therefore fixed and immutable. For this reason the fathers of the Church have adopted it as the medium for per- petuating the truths of Christianity in their original purity, to the end of the Avorld. But every missal — every hand- book of the mass, has its literal translation opposite the Latin text ; so that all who run may read and understand what the priest and the choir are uttering. Does any one object to this praise and glory to God ? Does any one object to this adoration of the Most High, and to these humble acknowledgments and prostrations before His Infinite Majesty ? Does any one doubt that these praises, these adorations, and these tokens of love and devotion justly belong to the Almighty ? We j^ity the arrogant and fool- hardy man who begrudges his Maker this worship. Another portion of the mass is composed of professions of faith in God, in the Trinity, in the incarnation, in tlic atonement, in the crucifixion, in the resurrection, in the as- cension, and in the doctrines and works of our Saviour while on earth. During this part of the mass, the worsliipper again humbly acknowledges his dependence on the Lord, openly proclaims his faith, confesses his sins, and prays for the di- vine grace and pardon. He not only prays for himself, but THE EUCHARIST. 93 he implores liis pastor, and the saints and angels in heaven " v»ho rejoice over one sinner that repenteth," to pray for him. In this portion of the service is included the Apos- tles' Creed. Are these open professions of faith objectionable ? Are these confessions of sins, these acts of contrition, and these prayers for forgiveness to be deprecated ? Christ and His disciples ever attached the highest importance to faith, re- pentance, confession, and reformation ; and almost every chaj)ter in the Holy Scripture contains allusions to them. Shall modern Christians be prohibited fi'om doing those very things which Avere expressly commanded by our Saviour ? The last portion of the mass consists in offering up on the altar the body and blood of Christ under the form of bread and wine, in commemoration of His passion and death. This is a mystery quite incomprehensible to mortals, but in ac- cordance with the positive commands and promises of our Lord Jesus Christ at the last supper. "Jesus took bread, and giving thanks to God, blessed and brake, and gave to His disciples, and said. Take ye and eat : this is My body, which shall be delivered for you : this do for the commemo- ration of Me : and taking the chalice after He had sui)ped. He said. This chalice is the New Testament in My blood : this do as often as you shall drink it in commemoration of me.* " "As often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall sIioav the death of the Lord, until He come." f " I am the living bread which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is My ficsli^ which I will give for the life of the world." X To those of our day who protest against this idea, as did the Jews and Gentiles of Capernaum when it was uttered by Christ, saying, " How can this man give us Uisjlesh to eat," we quote the response which Jesus gave to the Jews : " Then Jesus said unto them, Yerily, verily, I say unto you. Except * Malt. xxvi. 2G. Mark xiv. 22. Luke xxii. 19. f 1 Cur. .\i. 20. X John vi. 51. 94 CHFJSTIANITT A>TD ITS CONFLICTS. ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and dnnk His blood, ye have no life in you. "Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life ; and I will raise hira up at the last day. " For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. " He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwell- eth in Me, and I in him. "As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father ; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. " This is that bread which came down from heaven : not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead ; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever." " Many therefore of His disciples, w^hen they had heard tJiis, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it ?" " From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." * Many modern rationalists^ like the ancient Jews of Ca- pernaum, find "this a hard saying," which they "cannot bear," and they turn back to human reason, and " walk no more with Christ." When will the world learn that faith in Christ, and all of His words and works, is the prime element of Christian- ity ? When will men appreciate the fact, that those things which are mysterious and incomprehensible to themselves, are clear and simple to the Almighty? How long shall the clay say to the potter. Why have you made me thus or thus ? How long shall the finite creatures of earth limit the knowledge and power of their Creator to their own puny intelligences ? When Christ blessed and broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples to eat, declaring that He gave them His flesh and blood to eat and drink, was He jesting^ and was this a mere convivial entertainment, or was it really a supper of God — a great commemorative sacrifice — a divine legacy, re- plete with blessings, which He desired to bequeath to the * John vi. 53-GO, 06. THE EUCriAKIST. 95 world as a perpetual memento of His passion and death ? In commemorating the grand consummation of the new dis- pensation, through which the Avhole world was to he con- verted from paganism to Christianity, it is not probable that He would utter idle or doubtful words, or perform a vague and indefinite ceremony, with figurative phrases of doubtful signification. In the natural sciences, how little is known of the nature of the phenomena which are continually occurring before our eyes ! I hold in my hand a piece of iron, and I assert that this ounce of apparently inert metal contains within its substance an enormous quantity of a subtle and imponderable agent of vast power; but under almost all changes and circumstances inappreciable to the senses of man. By rubbing it with an- other piece of magnetized metal, we develop the latent magnetism of the first piece,* and this subtle and powerful spirit may be made to continue its manifestations almost in- definitely. Were this declaration to be made to a multitude of savages, they would reject it as absurd, because it is en- tirely at variance with their reason and their experience. They gauge every thing from their own stand-point of knowl- edge, and thus found their beliefs and disbeliefs. The more cultivated man gauges all things f\'om his more advanced stand-point, and even requires that the designs and the " ways of the Creator, which are past finding out," shall ac- cord with his own human ideas. Let these men contemplate the words of St. Chrysostom, who says, " Let us obey, not contradict God, although what He says may seem contrary to our reason and our sight : His words cannot deceive, our senses are easily deceived." Is there not danger that modern Protestants are actuated by the same spirit of conceit and unbelief as that w^hich prompted the unbelieving Jews to doubt and abandon our Saviour? These Jews subjected the declarations of the Son- * It is generally supposed that the magnetic influence is communicated from the already magnetized iron to the unmagnetizcd bar ; but tliere i.s no proof of this. 98 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. of God to the test of their own finite comprehensions ; and as the test failed, they " went hack, and walked no more with Him." Protestant philosophy employs the same test, i-ejects the literal signification of the plain words of Christ, and manufactures a meaning in accordance with its ideas of what our Saviour should have said. " Do this for a commemoration of Me." * " For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shoio the death of the Lord, until He come." f " Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unw^orthily, shall he guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord, . . . for he that eateth and drink- eth iniworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.^^ \ Can language be more clear and explicit than this? Is there a scholar living who can express a simple fact with more clearness and less ambiguity than the Son of God has expressed the mysterious fact of the conversion of bread and vrine into His body and blood ? Cavillers, who reject this sacrament because they cannot understand how the Almighty accomplishes the sacred mys- tery, assert that our Saviour was uttering a parable ; and that there was some deep and hidden signification in all of these positive declarations ! It is true that Jesus often spoke in parables ; but in all instances He made it apparent that He was thus speaking. For example, when He likens Him- self to a vine, and His disciples to the branches, He tells them that Pie brings forward a parable in order to illustrate His meaning more clearly. So in all other instances where He likens Himself or His disciples to animate or inanimate ob- jects, He renders it apparent that a parable is intended. But in the institution of the Eucharist, our blessed Lord uttered no parable, presented no ambiguous problem, or en- deavored in any way to mystify His apostles. These utter- ances were among His last words on earth — delivered only a few hours before His crucifixion, when He was depressed and * Luke xxii. 19. | 1 Cor. xi. 26. % 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29. THE EUCIIAEIST. 97 sorrowing for those beloved ones Avho had been His associates in spreading His doctrines, and whom He was about to leave alone in an unbelieving world. At such a moment, is it strange that He should do a Godlike act, and leave behind Him an aid so j^otent as this blessed sacrament? Or is it probable that He would express Himself to His chosen minis- ters in doubtful language ? It pleased our Redeemer to leave behind Him a glorious memento of His mission on earth — a gift such as only God Himself could bestow — a miraculous manifestation of Him- self under the form of bread and w^ine, Avhenever the com- memorating sacrament should be offered. At the j^assover, the miraculous conversion of bread and w'ine into body and blood was as real as was the conversion of w^ater into wine at the marriage-feast at Cana of Galilee. Both acts were supernatural, and both were performed to demonstrate the power of our Lord to unbelievers. During the passover Jesus assured His apostles that in the future He would con- tinue to manifest Himself in the same manner whenever the commemorating ceremony should be performed. " Whoso eateth My fleshy and drinketh My bloody hath eternal life, and I will raise liim up at the last day." * The difference between Catholics and other sects respect- ing the Eucharist consists simply in this : the former have entire faith that Christ meant precisely w^liat He uttered, and that He actually produces the mysterious conversion when- ever the sacrifice is offered ; while the latter doubt the power of the Almighty to effect the change, and therefoj-e i^ervert the words of God so as to accord with their human phi- losophy. The apostles had faitli in every thing that Jesus declared or j)erformed, and in repeated instances w^ere commended for it. Unquestioning, confiding, absolute faith in Christ and. His teachings and works was always earnestly incul- cated by our Saviour when on earth, and he promised special blessiuo'S to those who manifested such fliith. He did not ^' Jobii vi. 55. 98 CHEISTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. regard with favor cavillers, protesters, and doubters of His divine mission and of His miraculous powers and deeds. This duty of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in all of His teachings and acts, constitutes a prime element of the Catholic Church, as it did with the chosen twelve. How- ever contrary to naturallaws, or to human reason the subject may appear, the declarations of Christ are the only standard of faith with the Catholic Christian. He cannot compre- hend the mysteries of the concejotion and incarnation of our Saviour, of the Trinity, of the miracles, of the real presence of the Holy Ghost under the forms of a dove and forked tongues, or of the real i^resence of Christ under the form of the consecrated bread and wine, but he has entire faith in them all, because our Lord has declared and decreed them to be so. This is the kind of faith which Avas so highly es- teemed by Jesus, and which leads unerringly to salvation. Again we observe, that the Church instituted by Christ and the Catholic Church are in perfect accord. CHAPTER YIII. DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. Orders. Throughout the New Testament we find frequent allu- sions to the important institution of tbe priesthood. As agents and representatives of Christ on earth, as " ambassa- dors " of the eternal court of heaven to the erring subjects of earth, as the only authorized teachers and dispensers of the laws and ordinances of the gosj^el, the pastors of the Church were ordained and organized by our Saviour and His apostles through the solemn sacrament of " Orders." Exam- ples of tbe performance of this sacrament by Jesus and His disciples are so numerous in the Scriptures, and the absolute necessity for ordained ministers of religion is so aj^parent, that no extended remarks upon the subject are required. In a trust of so much magnitude as that of minister of God, we take it for granted that every right-minded man will appreci- ate the dignity, the sacredness, and the responsibilities of the ofhce, and that he will frown upon those who lightly assume the position, or who in any way detract from its sacredness or its dignity. When temporal rulers are appointed to office, certain solemn and imposing forms and ceremonies are al- ways observed as tokens of respect, and as pledges of faith- fulness in the performance of the trusts reposed in tliem. No one attempts to ridicule or to belittle these secular ordi- 100 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. nations to offices of power and trust, whicli regard the mate- rial welfare of men ; and those who have especial charge of the spiritual and eternal v/elfare of men should not be less honored on their induction into the ministry of the living God. There is no danger of impressing the solemn duties of the priestly office too strongly upon the faithful, or of show- ing too much respect to the representatives and ambassadors of the Most Hiojli, or to their sacred office. We should not begrudge to the officers and servants of the Almighty those marks of respect and honor which we cheerfully bestow upon temporal governors. Christ Himself established the priesthood of the new dis- pensation, after the order of Melchisedec, and from that time to the present the Church has followed in His footsteps. Christ was sent by the Father,'^' the apostles by Christ, f and the disciples since the days of the apostles by their law- ful successors and representatives, " for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and the edification of the body of Christ." | "As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you." § " And the things which thou hast heard of me by many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also." || " For this I left thee in Crete, .... that thou shouldst ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee." % After Paul had ordained Timothy and Ti- tus and directed them to ordain others, he charged Timothy as follows : " Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir u]) the gift of God, which is in tliee by the putting on of my hands." ** The following texts show us how God regards those who unlawfully take upon themselves the sacred responsibilities of the priesthood : " Nor let any one take this honor to him- self, but he that is called by God as Aaron was. " f f " How shall they preach, unless they be sent ? " H " There shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of * John Yiii. 36. f Matt, xxviii. 19. X Ephes. iv. 12. § John XX. 21. II 2 Tim. ii. 2. «}[ Tit. i. 5. ** 2 Tim. i. 6. f f Heb. v. 4. Xt I^oni. x. 15. ORDERS. 101 perdition bringing upon tliemselyes swift destruction." * " They are "blind, and leaders of the blind ; and if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit." f " Beware of false proph- ets, who come to yon in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening w^olves." I Behold the attempts of King Ozias, of Core, Dathan, Abiron, and the numerous other self-con- stituted priests, to offer incense unlav/fiilly, and the terrible punishment which was inflicted upon them and their people by the Lord ! " I sent not the prophets, yet they ran ; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." § " They have not entered into the sheepfold by the door, but have climbed up another way." || " Keglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood." ^ " And He gaA^e some apostles, and other some pastors and doctors; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of tlie ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all meet into the unity of faith. . . that hence- forth we be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every v/ind of doctrine." ** " Remember your pre- lates, who have spoken the word of God to you ; whose faith follow." ft " For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth ; because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts." H " No prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation ;" §§ and " He that heareth you (the ministers and apostles of Christ) heareth Me ;" |{{| and " if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican." %^ " Let every soul be subject to higher powers ; for there is no power but from God ; and those that are, are ordained of God ; and they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation." *** And " Obey your prelates, and be subject to them ; for they watch, as being to render an ac- count of your souls," f f f and " We bemg raany^ are one body in Christ," m and '-There shall be one fold, and one shep- * 2 Pet. ii. 1. I Matt. xvi. 14. % Matt. vii. 15. § Jer. xxiii. 21. || John x. 1. ^ I Tim. iv. 14. -** Eph. iv. 11-14. If Heb. xviii. 7, lY. XX ^'^^- "• '^• §§ 2 Pet. i. 20. II II Luke x. IG. l^f Matt, xviii. 17. *** Rom. xiii. 1, 2. ff f Ileb. xiii. 17. \XX Rom. xU. 5. 102 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. herd," * and " The Holy Ghost hath appointed you bishops to rule the Church of God." f From these extracts it is evident that Christ committed His Church, together with its sacred doctrines and observ- ances, to the special keeping and guardianship of bishops, priests, and pastors. He required that they should watch over and preserve the integrity and unity of the Church, by holding fast to the sacred interpretations of Holy Writ left by the apostles and their successors ; and He enjoined upon lay- men the duty of " receiving knowledge, and the divine laws, from the lips of the priests," assuring them that if they list- ened to them they also listened to Him^ and if they obeyed them they obeyed the angels of the Lord of hosts. These citations from Holy Writ demonstrate conclusively the divine origin of the sacramental institution of the priest- hood, and the high importance which was attached to its legitimate observance. The utility and propriety of the sac- rament is likewise tacitly conceded in the universal custom of mankind to inaugurate and ordain their secular rulers by imposing forms, ceremonies, and oaths of office. As in all other matters pertaining to religion, the Cath- olic Church has followed literally the teachings and prac- tice of Christ and His apostles, respecting the sacrament of orders. The Chui'ch has entire faith that tlie proper per- formance of the sacrament brings down upon the reci23ient the grace of God. Again do we behold the Catholic Church faithful to the precepts and practices of the Divine Master, in perpetuating the sacrament of orders. * John X. 16. f Acts xx. 28. CHAPTEE IX. DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. 3Iatrimony. Probably no measure could have been devised better cal- culated to promote the spiritual and temporal happiness of man than the sacrament of marriage. In whatever liglit we view it, the wisdom and love of our Lord will be apparent. The direct and legitimate tendencies of marriage when re- garded as a sacred and permanent obligation are as follows : 1. It enables us to avoid and to resist the innumerable temptations connected with the passions and lusts of men. By far the greatest and most common incentives to sin are the desires of the flesh ; and we verily believe that a vast majority of those who, at the day of judgment, will- be ranked among the " lost sheep," will owe their fall to unlawful sexual indulgences. In the institution of marriage we have a refuge and safeguard against the dangers of tempestuous passion ; and grace from above, which easily enables us to fulfil all of its obligations and duties. The apostle prescribes marriage for the express purpose of enabling men to resist their licen- tious propensities. Thus, " for fear of fornication let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." And after continence for purposes of prayer and fasting, they are advised " to come together again lest Satan tempt them for their incontinency." * * 1 Cor. vii. 2. 104 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. 2. The tender ties betyreen parents and children, and the instinctive desire of parents to promote the welfare and hap- piness of their children and families by good examples, by achieving distinction, honorable positions, and respectability, operate with tremendous power in favor of morality and virtue. Even when parents are so wicked as to violate their marriage vows, parental affection still prompts them to de- nounce the sin to their children, and to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. To what a deptli of degradation and wretchedness would poor human nature sink were it not for the divine institution of marriage ! What mountains of grievous sin would over- whelm erring mortals, deprived of the checks and the re- straints of matrimony ! How wise and merciful in our blessed Lord to exalt the union of man and wife to the dignity of a sacrament ! 3. This sacrament endows the husband and wife with grace, and thus enables them easily to resist all sensual temptations, and to confide in and love each other until death. The sacramental character of matrimony is proven from the following passages of Scripture : The union of Adam and Eve was effected by God, thus : "' And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone ; I will make him a help meet for him." * " And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept ; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in- stead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said. This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Tlierefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife : and they shall be one flesh." t " Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What *- Gen. ii. 18. f Gen. ii. 21-24. iMATRIMONY. 105 therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asun- der." * " Husbands sliould love then* wives, as their own bodies : he who loveth his wife, loveth himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cberisheth it, even as Christ doth the Church, for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh. This is a great sacrament, but I speak in Christ, and in the Church." f " Whoever shall put away his wife, and shall marry an- other, doth commit adultery, and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery." J " A woman is bound by the law, as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband die, she is at liberty: let her marry whom she v>^ill, only in the Lord To them that arc married, not I, but the Lord commandeth, that the wife de- part not from her husband, and if she depart, that she remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband." § The divine origin of this sacrament is so manifest, as to render any further discussion of the subject unnecessary. The Catholic Church has simply retained and perpetuated it pre- cisely as it was instituted by God the Father in the begin- ning, and confirmed afterward by our Lord Jesus Christ. In alluding to the influence of the sacrament of marriaire in elevating woman to her true position, Allies thus writes : " The state of marriage alone gave to Christian parents an infinitely higher knowledge concerning this [the meaning of life with reference to this life and the world to come], tlian the wisest and best among them [the Romans of the Augus- tan age] possessed. For the mother, however poor and ig- noi-ant she might be, knew that the children she was bring- ing into the world would not only belong by biilh to an earthly state, but were to be made citizens of an eternal kingdom. She possessed, and would communicate a definite knowledge of this, of which Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, had * Matt. xk. 6. f Eph. v. 28. ^ Matt. xix. 9. § 1 Cor. vii. 39. 5* 106 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. not dreamed in their highest flights Even Horace, the most elegant of poets, the bosom friend of Maecenas and Augustus, free from all taint of avarice and meanness, and beloved by his friends, was, in his own words, 'a hog of the herd of Epicurus.' He has bequeathed to posterity his specific disbelief in Providence on God's side, responsibility on man's ; for him the gods ' lie beside their nectar, careless of man- kind.'"* * " The Formation of Christendom," p. 322. CHAPTEE X. DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. Extreme TTnction. *'Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of tlie Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord ; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up ; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him." * Was this injunction of the inspired apostle idle and meaningless? Are we to believe that the "bringing in the priests of the Church" to the sick man, "their prayers over him," and " their anointings with oil," were pedantic displays, and priestly mummeries, unaccompanied by any divine bless- ings ? Was it customary for the chosen apostles of Christ to inculcate or to practise vain ceremonies, and thus to mock the world, instead of presenting themselves as examples for imitation ? Were these holy men inspired by God to preach and practise one thing, while those who came after them were to ignore it, and teach and practise another thing ? When our Saviour dispersed His discijiles among the nations to preach His word, Mark informs us that, " Going forth, they j^reached that all should do penance ; and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many loho were sick, and healed them.''''\ * James v. 14, 15. \ Mark ri. 12, 13. 108 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Was it a useless thing for the disciples to preach repent- ance to these nations, and to anoint their sick with oil in the name of the Lord? Were not all of the commands and ordi- nances of Christ and the apostles intended for our instruction and imitation ? If there is ever a period when a man needs the prayers and consolations of his spiritual adviser, and grace from above, it is when he is dangerously sick, and near to death. However strongly fortified he may be in his religious faith, and from the contemplation of a well-spent life, he instinc- tively regards with more or less awe and dread the approach of dissolution. He knov/s that he is to be severed forever from all of the ties of earth, from those he has loved and cherished in his inmost heart, from associations and attach- ments of a lifetime, and to enter alone an unknown country, and a spiritual existence which is to continue forever. At such a time, with body and mind enfeebled by disease and suffering, the consolations of religion are especially needful. At such a time, doubts, fears, and distractions are apt to take possession of the mind, and to divert it from those holy aspi- rations, and that abiding faith, which every Christian should have in the hour of death. In view of these facts, God in His great mercy has insti- tuted " the sacrament for the dying," and inspired St. James to declare to us the mode of performing it in the passage first quoted. How merciful in the infinite Creator to remem- ber us in our physical and mental weaknesses, and to author- izre " the priests of the Church to be brought in when we are grievously sick, to pray for us, and to anoint us with oil in the name of the Lord " ! That these prayers, these anoint- ings, and these acts of faith and devotion on the part of the piiests are efficacious for the spiritual welfare of the sick, and sometimes also for their physical restoration, who can doubt ? When we reflect upon the numerous marvellous conversions and cures efiected by Jesus and His disciples through faith, prayers, and anointings, we may readily un- derstand how the faith, the prayers, aud the anointings of EXTREME UNCTION. 109 the priests of the Church may still redound to the spiritual and bodily benefit of the sick and dying. The fitliers of Trent teach that in this, as well as in all of the other sacraments, the priests of the Church are merely the representatives and agents of Christ on earth; and in obey- ing these commands, that they bring down the direct and special influences of the Holy Spirit to bless and sustain the true believer. And our own hearts w^ill tell us that the in- fluences thus evoked cannot be otherwise than good. CHAPTER XI. DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. The Ten Commandments, From tlie midst of tlie fires of Sinai God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses and his people. In them He forbids falsehood, slander, avarice, covetoiisness, theft, mur- der, licentiousness, Sabbath-breaking, idolatry, taking God's name in vain, and disrespect to parents, as heinous sins against God and man. By the direct interposition of the Almighty, the Israelites had been rescued from Egyptian bondage, through a series of miracles, like the changing of rods into serpents, rivers into blood, and the other plagues of Egypt. In pillars of cloud and fire, God had conducted them to the Red Sea, pursued by Pharaoh and his inimical hosts, had separated the waters so that they could pass over on dry land, and afterward overwhelmed the pursuing Egyptians. On arriving at the foot of Sinai, where they had been mirac- ulously led, God vouchsafed to speak to them His divine commandments, so that their moral, social, and religious con- dition might be elevated, and themselves rendered better and happier. For a time these positive commands were heeded; but, ere long, superstition and the desires of the flesh turned the peo23le of Israel to strange gods and strange practices. Often did they forget their sacred laws, and lapse THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Ill into idolatry; and repeatedly were they brouglit back again by Moses and other prophets. After the lapse of many cen- turies, at the period of the birth of Christ, there were but few of the descendants of Abraham on the face of the earth, who held and practised the commandments and the laws as they had been delivered to Moses. Nearly the entire civil- ized world had fallen into paganism, materialism, polythe- ism, or absolute skepticism. Under such circumstances, God became incarnate in Christ on earth, in order to give to mankind a new dis- pensation, to show them the true God, the Trinity, the nature and destiny of the human soul, and, among other duties and injunctions, to reassert the perpetual obligation of the Ten Commandments. St. Paul and other apostles like- vase enumerate these commandments as fundamental princi- ples of a Christian life. By themselves, they constitute an excellent moral and social code ; and, in a worldly point of view, are most admirably adapted to the wants and require- ments of society. They inculcate supreme respect and love of God, and a just regard for all the rights of men. To those who obey these commandments, the answer of our Saviour to the questioning Scribe is not inai^propriate: "Thou art not far from the kingdom of heaven." A sublime condensa- tion of these Ten Commandments may be found in the reply of Jesus to the Scribe, who had asked Ilim " Which is the iirst commandment of all?" "The first of all the command- ments is, the Lord our God is one Lord : and thou shalt love tlie Lord thy God with all thy heart, and vv^ith all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is lilce^ namely this. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." * " On these two commandments," He says in Matthew, " hang all the law and the prophets." " Therefore," He says in another i^lace, " all things wdiatsoever ye would that men should do to you, * Mark xii. 30, 31. 112 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. do you even so to them : for tliis is the law and the j^i'oph- ets." * These Ten Commandments constitute one of the four fuu- damental divisions of the Roman Catholic Church, and we call attention to them in this connection as an essential por- tion of the Christian system. * Matt. Tii. 12. CHAPTEE XII. DOCTllINES TAUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. The Lord'' 8 Prayer. AaiONG the blessed gifts bestowed by our Redeemer upon mankind was a model prayer. This is another of the four fundamental divisions of the Catholic Church. For sublimity, comprehensiveness, and pertinence to the spir- itual and social wants of men, this prayer has no paral- lel. It is adapted to all classes and conditions of men, directing them properly with regard to their conceptions of God, their duties toward their fellow-men, and their personal requirements. Such a gift was peculiarly appro- priate ; for everywhere Christ found the high-priests and doctors of the synagogues and temples overwhelmed with superstition and idolatry. Their conceptions of God, and of the soul, were purely ^pantheistic and material ; and their worship consisted of imposing displays, of absurd ceremonies, accompanied by repetitions of vain words, tending to per- vert and debase the minds of those who saw and heard them. He found the higher classes endowed with consider- able literary culture, and more or less proficient in matters of art and science ; but material, sensual, and superstitious. He saw the common pcoj^le ignorant, degraded, and either skeptical, or visionary, or worshippers of false gods. Vast 114 CHPvISTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. numbers had not sufficient knowledofe to enable them to indite and offer up an intelligent prayer to God; and all were so imbued with superstitions, that, without some definite and fixed fi^rm of prayer, pantheislic materialism w^ould, in all probability, have perverted and corrupted the worship of the true God among the newly-converted Chris- tians. To obviate this danger, and to enable these perverted human elements to make their daily addresses properly and understandingly to the throne of the Most High, Christ pre- sented them with a short and comprehensive prayer, through which they could daily recognize and apj)reciate the one ]3er- sonal God the Father, and ask of Him those things which were requisite for their temporal and spiritual welfare. In every act of devotion they aj)pealed to the one Infinite Crea_ tor and Father for guidance and protection, and recognized the duties of charity, forgiveness, and a virtuous life. Like all other acts of Christ on earth, this divine gift to mankind indicated supreme wisdom and beneficence. It is a per2)etual legacy entailed upon the whole Avorld, with a view of holding it to a knowledge of God, and of j^reventing any future lapse into idolatry. It is a daily reassertion by all of the faithful, that our heavenly Father rules over all things in heaven and on earth, and that all blessings are derived only from Him. For eighteen hundred years this prayer has daily and hourly ascended from millions of devout lips, to the Infi- nite Fountain of mercy in heaven, in the same words as Christ first uttered them to His disciples. This is one of the few diA^ine legacies which has escaped sacrilegious desecration at the hands of modern protesters. Christ adapted His teachings to all men and to all gener- ations. He encompasses the entire religious, moral, intel- lectual, and social spheres of life, and displays every thing pertaining to truth, goodness, virtue, love, benevolence, mercy, and happiness. Although He was God, endow^ed with infinite poAver, He came among men clothed with a human form, sharing their dangers, privations, and pains, THE LOKDS PEAYER. 115 aiixl quietly communicated to them His divine rules and in- structions. He gave nothing which was useless or super- fluous, nothing except what was to exist unchanged to the end of the world. Human maxims and human laws are ever subject to change and decay. One generation pulls down and destroys what another has reared ; but the doctrines of Christ are immutable, and perfectly adapted to every mortal want. IS'ot withstanding His omnipotence, Christ was ever con- descending, moderate, merciful, and consistent in the mission He had undertaken. He came not only to teach men their duties, but to afford them a perfect example of what He in- culcated. Therefore we find Him submitting to insults, dangers, privations, and finally tortures and an ignominious death, wlien, by a single effort of His mighty will. He could have surrounded Himself with legions of destroying angels, who could instantly have ground His enemies to powder. But His mission to earth was not for the display of omnipo- tent power, but to present words of eternal truth, an exam- ple of perfect human life, and then to suffer and die as an atonement for the sins of men. The precepts and example of Christ were repugnant to nearly all of the subjects of Augustus and Tiberius Ctesar. They were in direct opi)osition to their philosophies, morals, habits, and customs. They imposed stern prohibitions against their sensual immoralities, idolatry, cruelties, and injustice toward their fellow-creatures. Notwithstanding which, they have victoriously withstood the rude shocks of more than eighteen hundred years. If at times they have been trampled under foot by persecuting emperors like ISTero and Domitian, or invading hordes of Goths, Yandals, Huns, Saracens, and other enemies, they have always risen again with renewed strength and beauty, guarded and preserved by the Holy Spirit. As the Lamb of God, singly and unaided, first made them known to men, so do tliey exist now in His Holy Church. Can we conceive a greater miracle than tliis ? Could any mere human agency have accomplished this ? Tlie folloAving 116 CHRISTIiUiaTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. observations from a recent English work entitled " Ecce Homo," are pertinent to this subject : " This temj^erance in the use of supernatural power is the masterpiece of Christ. It is a moral miracle superinduced uj)on a physical one. This repose in greatness makes Him surely the most sublime image ever offered to the human im- agination. And it is precisely this trait which gave Him His immense and immediate ascendency over men. If the ques- tion be put — Why was Christ so successful? Why did men gather round Him at His call, form themselves into a new so- ciety according to His wish, and accept Him with unbounded devotion as their legislator and judge? some will answer, 'Because of the miracles which attested His divine char- acter;' others, ' Because of the intrinsic beauty and divinity of the great law of love which He propounded.' But mira- cles, as we have seen, have not by themselves this jDersuasivc power. That a man possesses a strange power which I cannot understand is no reason why I should receive his words as divine oracles of truth. The powerful man is not of necessity also wise ; his power may terrify, but not convince. On the other hand, the law of love, however divine, was but a pre- cept. Undoubtedly it deserved that men should accept it for its intrinsic worth, but men are not commonly so eager to receive the words of wise men nor so unbounded in their gratitude to them. It was neither for His miracles nor for the beauty of His doctrines that Christ was worshipped. Nor was it for His winning personal character, nor for the persecutions He endured, nor for His martyrdom. It was for the inimitable unity which all these things made when taken together. In other word?, it was for this, that He whose power and greatness as shown in His miracles were over- whelming, denied Himself the use of His power, treated it as a slight thing, walked among men as though He were one of them, relieved them in distress, taught them to love each other, bore with undisturbed patience a perpetual hailstorm of calumny ; and when His enemies grew fiercer, continued Btill to endure their attacks in silence, until, petrified and be- THE LOKD's PKAYEH. 117 wilclered with astonishment, men saw Him arrested and put to deatli with torture, refusing steadfastly to use in His own behalf the power He conceived He held for the benefit of others. It was the combination of greatness and self-sacrifice which won their hearts, the mighty powers held under a mighty control, the unspeakable condescension, the Cross of Christ. By this, and by nothing else, the enthusiasm of a Paul was kindled. The statement rests on no hypothesis or conjecture ; his epistles bear testimony to it throughout. The trait in Christ which filled his whole mind was His con- descension. The charm of that condescension lay in its being voluntary. The cross of Christ, of which Paul so often speaks as the only thing he found worth glorying in, as that in comparison with which every thing in the world was as diing^ was the voluntary submission to death of One Avho had the j^ower to escape death ; this he says in express words. And what Paul constantly repeats in impassioned language, the other apostles echo. Christ's voluntary surrender of power is their favorite subject, the humiliation implied in His whole life and crowned by His death." * * " Ecce Ilomo," page 55. CHAPTER XIII. THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY CHRIST AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IDENTICAL. A CKiTicAL examination of the Holy Scriptures, and of the autborized doctrines of the Catholic Churcli, will demonstrate conclusively that the latter is a continuation and perjDctuation of the Church established by Jesus Christ. Precisely the same doctrines, the same ordinances, and the same ecclesi- .astical organization which were established by Jesus and His inspired apostles still exist in the Catholic Church. From generation to generation her holy fathers have preserved all of these sacred truths inviolate. As Christ taught the necessity of faith in God, in the Trinity, and in His own teachings, so does the Catholic Church believe and teach. As the Saviour, by His words and examj^le, inculcated the necessity of baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, so does the Catholic Church teach and practise. As Jesus continually dwelt upon the necessity of repent- ance, confession, and reformation, so does the Catholic Church constantly insist upon an observance of the same duties. As Christ confirmed the laith and resolution of His apos- tles by infusing into them the Holy Spirit, through a special ceremony (breathing upon them) ; and as the apostles con- firmed their recent converts by calling down upon t]iem tlie THE CnUKCIl FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 110 same Holy Spirit, througli the laying on of bands, so does the Church confirm her converts by imitating their example. As Jesus instituted a holy commemorative supper, and commanded that it should be perpetuated, promising to be miraculously present whenever the sacrament should be worthily celebrated, the Catholic Church literally believes and obeys this divine commandment. As Christ appointed, ordained, and sanctified His apostles as His organized ministers to preach His holy truths, and to confess, baptize, confirm, minister to, and ordain other faith- ful men, and as the apostles in like manner appointed, or- dained, and organized bishops, priests, and deacons, to teach and practise the same things, directing them to continue on in the same course toward still other faithful men, so does the Catholic Church appoint, ordain, and organize her sacer- dotal ofiicers to perpetuate the same doctrines and ob- servances. As the Kedeemer reo;arded marriao'e as a sacred oblis^a- tion, npon a due recognition of which the welfare of society depends. He conferred upon it the dignity of a sacrament : and the Church has ever acknowledged the sacredness of the institution. As the apostle gave a general command in cases of sick- ness, that " the priests of the Church shall be called in to pray over the sick person, and to anoint him with oil," with a view of calling down upon him especial blessings, so does the Church still call in its priests to the sick, to pray over them, to anoint them, and to invoke the aid of the Holy Spirit at the hour of death. Christ reasserted the ten commandments as an obligatory practical code for all Christians : the Church accepts the divine code and requires obedience to its injunctions. Christ demands of men supreme love of God, and fraternal love of their fellow-creatures : the Church inculcates the same duties as fundamental elements of Cliristianity. Christ presented to mankind a model prayer, and com- manded that it should be employed in their acts of devotion : 120 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. the Churcli has sacredly preserved it, and ever employs it in her worship. When Christ vras on earth He founded His Church — a Church with " one Lord, one faith, and one baptism : " He formed His ajDOStles into an ecclesiastical organization to pre- side over this Church, to preach its doctrines to all nations, and to perpetuate it through their successors to the end of the world. He told them that He sent them as lambs among wolves, and that they should suffer all sorts of persecutions for His sake ; but that the Holy Spirit should go with them to prompt and encourage them in their labors. He assured them that He had established the Church not for a day, or for a generation, but for all time and for all generations, and that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. In due time Christ ascended to heaven, the apostles dispersed them- selves among the nations as they had been commanded, preached the truths they had received from the lips of Christ, baptized, confessed, and confirmed their converts, ordained pastors in many places, and then died. But the Church, with her divinely-endowed precepts and discipline, did not die, for they were encircled by the protecting arms of the Almighty. The successors of the apostles continued to teach and to practise the same precepts and observances which they liad received from the imm.ediate ministers of Christ, which they had received from Christ Himself, and which He had received from the Father in heaven. After three hundred years, when the Emperor Constantine nllowed the Christians to come forth to the light of day, they presented themselves a power in the empire, and the Church emerged from her subterranean sanctuaries a thoroughly en- dowed ecclesiastical organization of ministers, sacraments, and forms of worship. She also brought up in their original })urity and truthfulness the Holy Scriptures and traditions which had been confided to her by Christ and His apostles. During these first three centuries nearly every pope, and multi- tudes of priests and disciples of tlie Church, had been martyred. Chief amono' these Christian heroes were Saints Peter, Paul, THE cnuEcn founded by chkist, etc. 121 Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ignatius, Iren?eus, and EuseMus. In these bloody centuries the Church Avas visible in the per- secutions and martrydoms of her children, by the emissaries of Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Adrian, Aurelius, Coramodus, Severus, Septimus Sevcrus, Maximin, Decius, Valerian, Au- relian, and Diocletian. Of all these persecuting emperors Nero vras the most vindictive against the Christians. In his own person he combined all of the bad traits of his three predecessors. They committed acts of tyranny for purposes of plunder, revenge, sensual gratification, or to please a mis- tress, or a court favorite ; but Nero perpetrated his horrible atrocities from mere wantonness, without cause or pretext. A diabolical spirit appeared to animate him, and to prompt him continually in the performance of those cruel deeds which tilled the world with wretchedness. As his demon-soul re- volted against every thing good, it was natural that his fero- city should have been especially directed toward the recent converts to Christianity. Therefore every effort which ma- levolence and cunning ingenuity could devise, was made to capture, insult, rob, torture, and destroy the unoffending Christians of his dominions. They were pursued to their most secret hiding-places, and when caught were often cast into the amphitlieatre to be mangled and devoured by wild beasts, or into the gladiatorial arena to receive their death- wounds from the trained gladiators and murderers who were employed in these cruel sports. Neither age nor sex escaped the ferocity of this human monster. To hear the screams, and to V, itness the contortions and agonies of delicate Christian females and children wdiile being torn and devoured by the hungry lions and tigers of the amphitheatre, was a pastime for this persecuting pagan. To know that a human being, particularly a Christian, was wretched, was ecstasy to him ; and to see his blood, his writhings of anguish, and to hear liis frantic cries of fear and pain, afforded him extreme pleasure. Such was Nero, and such was the general character of the persecutions to w^hich the early Christians were subjected. In spite of all these persecutions the Church existed, her 6 122 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. organization was secretly kept up, licr discipline was main- tained, and her worship was duly although secretly per- formed. If it be asked, then, where was the Church during the first three centuries of the Christian era? we answer, in her subterranean hiding-places, with her secret ecclesiasti- cal organization, and her secret though regular worship. Where was this Church when Constantine issued his de- crees of toleration, more than three hundred years after the ascension of the Saviour? We find it at the Councils of Aries (a. d. 314), of Nice (a. d. 325), of Sardica (a. d. 347), and at other councils which were convened to watch over and defend the integrity and purity of her divine doctrines and rites. We also find it in the numerous churclies Avhich were everywhere being erected, and in the Catholic worship and discipline which were now publicly establislied. One of the most important events in the history of Christianity was the accession of Constantine to the imi^erial throne, A. t>. 306. He was a great statesman, a great general, and a man of such mental calibre that he was able to discern the truth, and the vast superiority of the Christian religion over the supei'stitions of paganism. Conviction of a truth, implied with him a prompt practical aj)plication of it for the benefit of his people. In reviewing the career of this gi'cat man, and in scrutinizing his opinions, motives, and acts, it is but fiiir that we consider the epoch in which he lived, the prevalent philosophies and religious beliefs, the influence of early example and education, and the moral courage neces- sary to break away from an hereditary and universally re- ceived religious creed, and to adopt a new and unpoj^alar one. Up to the time of this emperor, every Roman ruler had been a pagan, a Platonist, a Stoic, a Sophist, or an Epi- curean ; and nearly every Latin subject of the Roman domin- ions kept his household gods, worshipped in pagan temples, and offered sacrifices to his heathen deities. The spiritual welfare of the peoi^le was confided to the various gods whom their fathers for many generations had taught them to re- gard as supreme arbiters of the destinies of men and nations. THE CnUKCH FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 123 The few scattered converts to Christianit}^ were poor, de- spised, hated, and persecuted. In the cities and towns thousands of their brethren had been martyred, while the more timid fled to the deserts and mountains to escape joerse- cution and death. From the midst of such a people, and such a civilization, Constantine appeared, and boldly raised aloft the sacred banner of the cross, gaye full protection to Christians, destroyed the heathen temples, and erected in their places Christian churches (basilica), and, for the first time since the days of Christ, permitted the Christians to come out from their hiding-places and worship the true God openly and fearlessly. A moral courage like this, which de- fied public opinion, innovated upon the habits and customs of his subjects, rescued from obscurity and concealment the sacred doctrines, and the converts of Christianity, and con- tributed so materially in making the Church of Christ more visible and more universal, marks an era in human progress, and stamps its author with greatness and glory. But/strange as it may seem, men* have lived, and still live, who have dared to brand this great emperor as a hypo- crite, a libertine, a murderei*, a demagogue, a heretic, and a sanguinary heathen at heart ! In order to cast opprobrium upon those enrly Catholic Christians, who have preserved for them the Holy Scriptures, and who j^resided over the only visible Church during tlie early ages, modern innovators pervert the facts of history to blacken the reputation of a Christian benefactor like Constantine ! God help these ca- lumniators, and endoAV them with more truthfulness and charity, y Where was the one Cliurch of Christ in the fifth century, when Europe was successively invaded and devastated by Aharic the Goth, Attila the Hun, and Genseric the Vandal; when cities, towns, churches, mouasteries, libraries, and manuscripts were everywhere consumed, when Christians were hunted down and enslaved, or killed lil:e wild beasts; when Italy, Gaul, Britain, Spain, Greece, and other portions * Gibbon, White, and otbcr histoiians. 124 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. of the Roman einpire were taken possession of by the Goths, Vandals, Huns, Franks, Saxons, Alans, and other barbarous hordes? During these turbulent epochs, where was the priesthood, and where the Holy Scriptures? While the aged, the weak, and the timid fled to the wildernesses, the deserts, the mountains, and the caves of the earth, the Chris- tian priests were ever in the field with their lay-brethren, aiding: in the contest aorainst the barbarian invaders — not with sword, lance, and pike, but with the spiritual weapons of Christian love and truth. The S23iritual contest was ear- nest and persistent, but victory eventually remained with the Christians ; and entire nations of idolaters were perma- nently added to the Church, the nuclei of future powerful kingdoms, and of advanced states of civilization. God, in His providence, permitted these wild hordes of the ISTorth to scourge with fire and sword the degenerate and depraved subjects of the Roman dominions, and to seize uj^on their vast possessions ; but He likewise permitted His holy Church to subjugate the conquerors themselves, and to bring them under the gentle yoke of the Redeemer. After this period, strange-sounding and barbaric names figure among the pre- lates of the Church. The Christian priests of these bloody epochs worshipped God as the apostles and their immediate successors had worshipped Him under the first jDersecuting emperors; and the monks continued to transcribe and trans- mit the Holy Scriptures and traditions of the Church, as they had before done in the catacombs of Rome. During these centuries of barbarian rule, tens of thousands of Catholic priests and monks were scattered over Europe, Asia, and Africa, preaching and practising the doctrines of Christ, copying the holy records, and preserving them as the apples of their eyes. Had there been no Roman Church, with her organized hierarchy, in the midst of these dark ages, to copy, conceal, and transmit the sacred records which Christ gave to man, the world would now have been Avithout a Bible or a Christian religion. Nearly all candid Protestant writers admit that there was but one Church and one ecclesiastical THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 125 corporation, and tlmt one the Catholic, during these first cen- turies. Thus White writes : " AYhile it is absurd, therefore, in those disastrous times of weakness and persecution to talk in pompous terms of the succession of the Bishops of Home, and make out vain catalogues of lordly prelates who sat on the throne of St. Peter, it is incontestable that, from the earliest period, the Christian converts held their meet- ings— by stealth, indeed, and under fear of detection — and obeyed certain canons of their own constitution. These se- cret associations spread their ramifications into every great city of the empire." * We may behold where the Roman Church was when the fierce Hunnish chief, Attila, after having devastated all Eu- rope, had arrived in front of the gates of Rome with his half million of barbarian warriors, and demanded an uncondition- al surrender. Rome had already been once sacked and de- stroyed, and a large portion of Italy had been devastated, by Alaric the Goth. Nearly all of the wild tribes beyond the confines of the Roman empire had united with his army of Goths; all were hostile to Rome, and all were bent on plun- der and territorial possession. Early in this century, Gaul, Britain, and Spain seceded from the Roman empire, and formed themselves into independent sovereignties. Later, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, united to form a single king- dom. These successful secessions served to embolden other disaffected j^rovinccs, and to shake seriously the stability of the empire. There was not a single great statesman or gen- eral in all Rome when, in a. d. 441, the terrible Attila, the " Scourge of God," flushed with numerous victories recently achieved in Asia and Africa, made his irruption into Europe. For long years, the barbarian conqueror and his fierce sol- diers, from their wild steppes and deserts, had cast their eyes in the direction of the mistress of the world and her exhaust- less wealth. In their waking and sleeping dreams, the vi- sion of this great centre of power^'learning, and riches, had been constantly before them. For centuries the Roman * "Eighteen Christian Centuries," p. '77. 126 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. legions had not only held the civilized nations in subjection, but they had kept the wild tribes of the outer world strictly confined within their native forests and fastnesses. Tradi- tion had pictured to these savages the fabulous productions of the Koman territories — the gold, silver, precious stones, and works of art which enriched and adorned her cities, especially Rome herself, the great source and disj^enser of all these magnificent accumulations, and an irrepressible desire of conquest and possession animated them. They were now at the goal of their ambition, with an overwhelming and in- vincible army. Attila, attired in the gorgeousness of orien- tal magnificence, and surrounded by an imposing retinue of barbarian chiefs and men-at-arms, thundered at the gates of the capital, and demanded its surrender. In the background crouched myriads of ferocious-visaged warriors, with lances poised, and sword and battle-axe firmly clinched, ravenous for blood and j^lunder, and panting to spring upon the de- voted city. The most abject barbarism and the liighest civilization of the age stood face to face, the latter at the mercy of the former. In response to the dread summons, the gates of Home were opened wide, her champion walked forth alone, and paused not until he stood before the fierce victor and his hosts. Clothed in the vestments of his sacred office, and carrying upraised before him the holy cross, the venerable Pope Leo confronted Attila. Inspired by the Ho- ly Spirit, the man of God addressed the pagan chief with words of love, charity, fraternity : he spoke of the merciful Father of all mankind; he pointed to tlie sacred emblem with wliich he was armed, recounted the mission and cruci- fixion of Christ for all men, and prayed that God might bless and soften him. The chieftain's heart was touched, and his proud spirit bowed with awe and wonder before the majesty of the earthly representative of the Son of man. Melting with charity and mercy, the victor of a thousand bloody fights knelt before the Aveak old man and craved his bless- ing. Kome was spared, and the venerable pontiff, carrying before him the holy cross, reentered her gates, and reassured THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY CHIIIST, ETC. 127 her trembling citizens ; wliile tlie wild cohorts of the savage Hun were marshalled on other and distant fields. Neither Attila and his invading Huns, nor Alaric and his Goths, nor Genseric and his Vandals, had any difficulty in finding the one Church which Christ had left behind Him, as their attacks against churches, monasteries, libraries, bish- ops, priests, monks, and nuns, amply testify. After this period we behold three distinct elements of civi- lization struggling for the mastery in Europe : the old Roman, the Christian, and the Barbaric. Each presented a religious, moral, and social system, and urged its adoption. Men listened to these conflicting theories, witnessed their practical results, and formed their conclusions. In such a contest is it strange that Christianity was victorious, and "that the gates of hell could not prevail against " the one Catholic Church of God ? Under the emperors all kinds of physical labor fell into the hands of the slaves. As a consequence, the useful arts and sciences gradually languished, and agriculture became almost entirely neglected. Instead of the skilled labor of interested and prosperous artisans and farmers, forced and unintelligent servile toil was universally substituted. Dis- grace attached to the patrician, or to the free Roman citizen who should soil his dainty hands with w^ork. Even litera- ture and public education gradually participated in the gen- eral deterioration. Schools everywhere diminished, and the cultivation of letters everywhere declined, until, with the establishment of feudalism in the early part of the seventh century, general darkness, and material, intellectual, and social decay seemed to brood over the nations. During this dark period, w^as there no counteracting in- fluence, no hand to stay the downward course of all that was ennobling and useful? In the churches, monasteries, and schools of the Catholic Church, and in the labors of her priests and monks, we find these influences. It is indisputa- ble that, during these dark centuries, the unaided efforts of the priesthood rescued from destruction nearly all existing sacred and profane manuscripts, and preserved and transmit- 128 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ted them to posterity; also that literature and agriculture made actual progress under the special direction and patron- age of the Church. Witness the vast humanitarian efforts wliich have constantly been exerted by the order of St. Ben- edict, established in the sixth century ! Up to tlie organiza- tion of this society, manual labor had been considered degra- ding to freemen, but St. Benedict and his monks changed all this. " No person," says St. Benedict, " is ever more useful- ly employed, than Avhen working with his hands or following the i^lough, and providing food for the use of men." And so the monks tilled the soil with their own hands, followed the plough, and gathered in the harvests, while their position gave dignity to Avork. These men were, par excellence^ the agri- culturists of Europe. They selected their lands with judg- ment, and erected their monasteries on them, causing the deserts to blossom like the rose, and creating utility and beauty in places of barrenness and want. "And at last," says White, " something venerable was thought to reside in the act of farming itself. It was so uniformly found an ac- companiment of the priestly character, that it acquired a portion of its sanctity. . . . Their lands became places of sanctuary, as the altar of the Church had been. Freedmen — - that is, persons manumitted from slavery, but not yet en- dowed with property — were everywhere put under the pro- tection of the clergy. . . . The CJiurch was found in all the kingdoms to be so useful as the introducer of agriculture, and the preserver of what learning had survived the Roman overthrow, that the ambitious hierarchy profited by the roy- al and popular favor. They were the most influential, or perhaps it would be more just to say, they were the only order in the state." * These are the sentiments of an ultra Protestant author, and they are true. What was this "only order" — this sole ecclesiastical society which had exerted so potent an influence upon agriculture, learning, and the general civilization and progress of this dark period? Who were these Christian * "Eighteen Christiau Centuries," p. 145. THE CHUJKCII FOUNDED BY CIIRIST, ETC. 120 ministers who were calling forth the admiration and grati- tude of kings and people for the great benefits they were conferring upon their fellow-creatures ? Surely they were not Lutherans, or Calvinists, or Hussites, or Wickliffites, or Wesleyans, or Arians ; but the humble workers of the one holy, Catholic, and visible Church, carrying out practically her natural and legitimate principles of development. They were priests and monks of the only organized and visible Church on earth, obeying the commands of the Pontiff of Itome ; working with their hands to sustain the bodies of their fellow-men, and with their minds and hearts to furnish spiritual food for the needy. Often during the middle cen- turies, when these priestly model farmers of the world have gratuitously sent from their well-stored granaries, cargoes of grain to the distant starving nations, have they been recog- nized, not only as benefactors of their race, but as the special servants and ministers of God ; and yet dissenting innova- tors and rationalists of the nineteenth century sneer at them and their calling as useless. That there have been bad monks in the world we doubt not ; but they may be fairly considered as exceptions to the rule. ISTor will this appear surprising when we remember that for several of the first centuries of the Christian era, the monks were only laymen, without any ecclesiastical authority or functions. Thus we see that the monks of the middle ages by no means confined themselves to the ascetic duties and austerities of their mon- asteries and cells, or to teaching, preaching, worshij^ping, or writing. Wherever God's truths were to be announced, or human suflering to be alleviated, there might be found these self-sacrificing men. Let it not be forgotten that nearly all of the converts of the early and middle ages were made from 2'>aganism. ^ and that after the northern invaders had taken possession of Europe, and established their kingdoms, these future converts were not only idolaters, but rude, unlettered, and savage barbarians. Many of these new converts secured for themselves high positions in the Church. Among them were seen bishops, abbots, priests, and monks. While nearly 6* loO CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. all of them were pious and consistent Christians, a few still retained some of their old pagan notions, and were inclined to deviate from the rules and discij^line of the Church. It was not strange that these men noAV and then lapsed hack into their old ways, and gave to the world bad examples of a Christian life. Let not, then, the holy doctrines of the Church be repudiated because individuals professing her doctrines have violated them, and gone astray. Because wicked men have intrigued themselves into high ecclesiastical positions, and then sinned apace, let not the laws and ordinances of God sufiel- for these personal crimes. During these ages, continual efforts were made by the pontiffs, as well as through reformatory councils and other means, to reform these person- al abuses, and generally w^ith success. But these reformations were always made icltJmi the Church, not by withdrav»"ing from it, breaking its unity, and organizing another and dif" ferent one. Men are prone to judge of the past from the present. They fail to note differences respecting the knowledge, cul- ture, religion, morals, and general civilization of different eras. They contrast the Europe of the early centuries, teem- ing with both cultivate i and savage idolaters, with the en- lightened Europe of the last three centuries, and sneer at the Church because some of her pagan converts have sometimes been corrupt and sinful. Rather let us wonder at the mar- vellous mercy of God, v,^hose divine aid enabled the Church to survive the jDcrsecutions and deadly hostility of a heathen world, amidst the wrecks of empires and kingdoms, and the invasions of savage tribes ! After the death of Mohammed, a. d. 632, the Saracen inva- sions of the seventh and eighth centuries, under Abou Beker, Khaled, Omar, Amru, and Abdel-malek, were organized. The object of the previous invaders had been j^lunder and territorial possessions ; but that of the Mohammedans was of a religious character. Like the early Puritans of New Eng- land in their contests against the Indians, they marched with tlieir religion in one hand, and tlieir cimeters in the other; THE CIIUECII FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 131 and if the first did not find its way to the hearts of their op- ponents, the last were certain to do so. Syria, Persia, Jeru- salem, Ale23po, Antioch, Tyre, Tripoli, fell into the hands of the Saracen, and Constantinople was several times besieged, but the terrible " Greek fire " which was projected upon the heads of the Turkish soldiers, repeatedly drove them back. Later they penetrated into the very heart of Europe with vast armies of fiery fanatics, fully bent on conquering and convertinsc the world to the faith of Islam. Never has the fate of Christianity been so seriously imperilled, as when Omar, with his vast army had arrived at Tours and staked the fate of his campaign on the result of a single battle. Had Omar been successful, all Christendom would have been sub- jected to the Saracen, and darkness would have shrouded the coming centuries. But the Christians appealed to the God of battles, and under Charles Martel and his brave Franks, Burgnndians, and other Christian warriors, cheered on by Pope Boniface who acted in perfect accord with Char- lemagne, by the priests of the Church, and the prayers of the faithful, accepted the dread encounter. The faith and prayers of the Church were not in vain. That Divine Guardian which was to preside over her forever, hovered over the bloody field of Tours until the fierce Saracen and his hosts fled in dismay and disorder back from whence they came be-' yond the Pyrenees. The religion of the Saracen was of a higher order than that of the Romans, or of their barbarian conquerors from the l^orth. They believed in one personal God, Maker and Ruler of heaven and earth, and that Mohammed was his inspired prophet ; but they denied in toto the divinity of Jesus Christ. They were Unitarians^ and regarded theii* prophet in the same light as Arius and his disciples regarded the Saviour. By nature ardent, sanguine, imijulsive, and warlike, all of the fiery energies of their beings were concen- trated upon their religion, and they became fanatics and in- vading j^ropagandists. Their various attacks on Europe were not so much for gain as for proselytism. Their great chiefs 132 CnRISTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. led tlieiii to battle, not for personal fame, or glory, or riches, but for their religion ; they went forth not in the garbs and appointments of oriental splendor, but meanly clad, scantily fed, and sharing all of the privations, dangers, and drudger- ies of the common soldier. They hated the Christian Church because it acknowledged Christ as the Son of God, and re- garded Mohammed as an impostor. For this reason their hostility and their energies were mainly directed against the cathedrals, basilicas, monasteries, abbeys, and the bishops and priests of the Roman Church. For this reason were the soldiers of Islam ordered to execute special vengeance upon whatever pertained to the ecclesiastical society, with the grand view of overthrowing the Roman Catholic Church and of establishing the religion of Mohammed upon the ruins of Christianity. The warriors of the false prophet had no diffi- culty in finding the followers, the edifices, and the manuscripts of the one true Church, as the innumerable slaughters of Christians and the wanton conflagrations of the holy places and holy records of the Church bear witness. In the seventh century, after feudalism had been firmly established in the newly founded western kingdoms, the con- dition of the masses of the people was one of abject degrada- tion. The feudal chiefs and barons claimed and exercised despotic power over the souls and bodies of their retainers. Every thing like human dignity and human rights Avas ig- nored. Labor was degraded, culture repressed, virtue de- rided, and the more base and selfish propensities cultivated. In this condition of popular, moral, and social depravation and degradation, the down-trodden people possessed one, and only one friend — one resource and refuge from their grievous wrongs and burdens — the Roman Catholic Church. In all their troubles and persecutions from emperor, king, baron, count, or chief, they ever found efficient aid and sym- pathy from the Church. As Christ and His apostles advo- cated the cause of the poor, the humble, and the opj^ressed, against the rich and powerful of their epoch, so acted their successors of the seventh century. As White well observes : THE CIIUEGII FOUNDED JiY CHEIST, ETC. 133 *' The Church placed itself at the head of the democracy in oijposition to the overweening pretensions of the chiefs. It opened its ranks to the conquered races, and invested even the converted serf with dignities wliich placed him above the level of thane or count There was one earthly poAver to which the oppressed could look up with the certainty of sup- port. It was this intimate persuasion in the minds of the people which gave such undying vigor to the councils and pretensions of the ecclesiastical power. It was a power sprung from the people, and exercised for the benefit of the people." * How readilv does this Protestant writer recosrnize the beneficial influence- of the only Church of God on earth in this darkest of centuries ; and how clearly does he make it manifest that the Almighty has brought forth and sustained this " ecclesiastical power " to resist tyranny in high places, to ameliorate the condition of the poor, the Imrable, and the enslaved, and to perj^etuate the Christian religion. In the divine epoch, whenever Christ addressed tiio mul- titudes which everywliere followed Him, He always incul- cated the importance of fraternity and kindliness among men. Supreme love to God and brotherly love according to our Saviour, are tlie two great ideas upon which are hinged all of the laws and the prophets. The observance of these pre- cepts renders men chai'itable, benevolent, affectionate, and disposed to perform good acts. In all ages the Church has professed and practised these commandments, and for this reason has ever been the cham2:)ion of the oppressed, the op- j^onent of tyrannical emperors, kings, and nobles, and the bulwark of democracy. During the lifetime of Charlemagne, great progress had been made in extending the Christian religion among the heatlien, and in the arts of civilization. All of these Cln-is- tianizing and humanitarian efforts originated in the Churcli, and were sustained solely by its influence. Being a devoted Catliolic, as well as a great statesman and wai-rior, Charle- * "Eigliteeu Christian Centuries," p. 154. 134 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. magne brought into requisition the vast resources of his temporal power and his siDlenclid intellect, to aid the Church in extending and pei'petuating the religion of Christ on earth. Under the inspiration of the Catholic hierarchy this great monarch founded vast numbers of churches, mon- asteries, institutions of learning, and missions, throughout his extensive dominions, and gave every encouragement to the arts, literature, agriculture, and commerce. After his death, in the early part of the ninth century, the Western empire again crumbled into fragments, which were soon after reorganized to form several new kingdoms. Dark- ness again came over the nations, obscuring the beacon-light of Christianity, and ignorance, selfishness, and sin, every- where abounded. The w^hole of Europe was filled with half- converted barbarians, Franks, Lombards, Goths, Saxons, etc., many of them in forcible possession of the temporalities of the sees. During this deep darkness of the ninth century, we may readily understand wdiy the progress of Christianity Avas of necessity slow, and the cultivation of those graces and virtues w^hich pertain to a more advanced state of knowledge and culture was exceedingly limited. With such conflicts of opinion, Avith a world in arms — I^orseman against Saxon — Saracen against Frank, German, and Italian — now the wor- shippers of Odin and Mohammed in the ascendant, and again the Christian, it is not strange that so little advancement was made in religion and human progress. It is unreason- able to compare these ncAvly made Christians, these recent w^orshippers of heathen gods, with the enlightened Christians of the present day. It is absurd to expect that firm and un- doubting faith and holiness of life in these Christians of the middle ages, which is demanded of the modern Catholic. The tenth century was but little more than a repetition of the ninth, so far as Christianity and civilization Avere con- cerned. In both centuries the Roman Church was the only element Avhich prevented the nations from lapsing into abso- lute barbaiism. WheneA'er kings, nobles, and warrior-chiefs, under the influence of the poAvers of darkness, endeavored to THE CIIUKCII rOU]S^DED BY CHKIST, ETC. 135 subvert Christianity, and to subjugate the souls and bodies of the people to their tyrannical ambition and idolatrous pleasures, the Roman bishops and priests always interjiosed their potent influence in behalf of the people. " The tenth century," remarked White, " is always to be remembered as the darkest and most debased of all the periods of modern his- tory. It was the midnight of the human mind, far out of the reach of the faint evening twilight left by Roman culture, and farther still from the morning brightness of the new and higher civilization." * The author of this extract cannot forego the pleasure of vilifying the Roman Church and pontiff, because they are adjuncts to this dark century. But while flippantly accusing- bishops and priests of forgeries, impostures, and crimes of all kinds, he is forced to admit that, " even in the midst of this corruption and ignorance, there were not wanting some re- deeming qualities which soften our feelings toward the eccle- siastic power. It was at all times, in its theory, a protest against the excesses of mere strength and violence. The doctrines it professed to teach were those of kindness and charity ; and in the great idea of the throned fisherman at Rome, the poorest saw a kingdom which was not of this world, and yet to which all the kingdoms of this world must bow Mysterious reverence still hung round the con- venls, within which such ceaseless prayers were said, and so many relics exposed, and Avhither it was also known that all the learning and scholarship of the land had fled for refuge . . . . The abbot who neglected to' feed the poor was not only an unchristian contemner of the precepts of the faith, but ran counter to the legal obligations of his place." f We have already observed that the Roman Church was the only redeeming element of this, as it had been of the pre- vious centuries. The masses of the people were composed of an amalgamated race of all the barbaric hordes which had settled in Europe, with the effeminate and demoralized * " Eigliteen Christian Centuries," p. 220. f Ibitl., p. 221. 136 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Christians of the old empire; and, as might be expected, they were ignorant, and often corrupt and lawless. Nor is it surprising that some of these ungodly men occasionally secured high ecclesiastical positions upon which they brought disgrace. But, in the main, the priests of this period were holy and charitable, and were the sole agents in transmitting the Holy Scriptures and the doctrines of the Church to sue- ceedino- o-enerations. Their monasteries and other institu- tions were asylums for the oppressed, and food-suppliers for the poor. If the Christians of this period were generally ig- norant, they were for the most part earnest and faithful in their religious duties, and by their example and labors pre- served Europe from universal idolatry. Durino- the tenth century the Norsemen under Rollo in- vaded France, captured Rouen and other towns and prov- inces, and established a permanent settlement in Normandy. On their arrival they were heathen, and Avorshipped Thor, Odin, and Frey ; but through the efforts of the Catholic pas- tors they were speedily Christianized and civilized, Rollo re- ceiving the title of Duke of Normandy and Brittany. Their conquered territory was eventually incorporated as a province of France. The most notable events of the eleventh and twelfth cen- turies Avere the several Christian crusades against the Sara- cens for the purpose of capturing Jerusalem and the . holy places. Several of the bishops of Rome encouraged these religious campaigns, with a tAVofold view of uniting in a common bond the contending Christian nations against the infidel, and of rescuing from their polluting possession the places which had been sanctified by the presence of Jesus* Nearly the Avhole Christian Avorld entered zealously into these holy wars, and all national and sectional animosities Avere laid aside for the better accomplishment of the great enterprise. Under the gloAving inspiration of Peter the her- mit, St. Bernard of Clair vaux, and the leadership of Godfrey, Baldwin, Robert of Normandy, Hugh the Great, Raymond of St. Gillis, Richard Coeur de Lion, Frederick Barbarossa, THE CnUECII FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 137 and Philip Augustus, three successive crusades were under- taken during the twelfth century. In these three crusades more than two millions of men were engaged, and about two millions destroyed by war, famine, pestilence, climate, and excesses. The motives of these Christian invaders were good, and they believed that they were serving the cause of God and of the Christian religion; but their vast efforts were unsuccessful. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries the Church continued to be the only element of true civilization. The crusades had brought all classes into more direct intercourse with each other, and, through the efforts of the priests, the nobles and barons regarded the common people w^ith a higher degree of respect and confidence. The Church has always regarded all men as equals before God and the Church, and all were held responsible for their actions. Like the apostles, nearly all of the popes and higher bishops had sprung from the people, so that from sympathy, as well as from a sense of duty," their efforts have ever been directed toward their elevation and happiness. " True to its origin," says White, " the Church still continued the leader of the people in oppo- sition to the pretensions of the feudal chiefs. It was still a democratic organization for the protection of the weak against the powerful." * The popes and ministers of the Church have always fol- lowed in the footsteps of their divine Master, and in all ages of the Christian era have sustained His doctrines, and been consistent and untiring friends and protectors of the poor and oppressed. Whenever emperors, kings, or nobles have practised injustice toward the people, the Church has always interposed her censures and her authority to procure redress. During these centuries, many institutions of learn- ing, churches, and monasteries, were erected by order of the popes, and great encouragement was given to men of genius and learning. Every thing like immorality and idleness was rebuked continually and sternly by the popes, whether * " Eighteen Christian Couturier;' p. 2V3. 138 CHEISTIAKTTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. occurring in the palace or the hoyel. And chief among the men of learning, science, art, and agriculture, as well as other useful and ornamental pursuits, were the monks, as had always been the case in previous centuries. They were the pioneers and workers in every thing which tended to advance Christianity, civilization, and human happiness. So far as the general progress of civilization and the rights of man were concerned, the general tendencies of the thirteenth century were progressive. The people of every nation continued to derive benefit from the truly religious and democratic influences of the Church. All forms of irre- ligion and of tyrannical oppression were everywhere put down with firmness by ecclesiastical authority, and the smouldering fires of barbaric incredulity and innovation, which here and there manifested themselves, were summa- rily extinguished. In the early part of this century a sect of Protestants sprung into existence, known as Albigenses. These men introduced their innovations in Languedoc, under the patronage of Count Raymond VI. Their object was to set up a new rationalistic creed, in place of the established doctrines of the Church, but were successfully resisted and put down by Pope Innocent III. As might be expected, our opponents have severely censured these acts as uncalled for and unchristian. As a Catholic we are not disposed to defend all of the acts of individual representatives of the Church during the middle ages ; but had we lived in those days of ignorance and darkness, we might have advocated them in all honesty of intention. In this nineteenth century we cannot regard with approval the crusades against the Saracens in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, nor the estab- lishment of the Inquisition ; but these abuses of ecclesiastical power are incidents of semi-barbarous epochs, entirely out- side of the authorized canons and dogmas of the Roman Church, and in no manner connected with the great truths of the Church itself. In this century, as in those which had passed away, the members of the established hierarchy were the only Christian teachers and civilizers among men. THE cnuEcn fouis'ded ey cueist, etc. 139 During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries still more rapid progress was made by the Church in extending the truths of Christianity, and in ameliorating the condition of men. As her precepts became more universally ditfused among the amalgamated races of the Old World, and the suiDcrstitions of paganism and the fallacious philosophies of the schools gave way before the beneficent principles of the Christian religion, the useful arts made rapid progress, liter- ature revived, and especial attention began to be directed to subjects and pursuits pertaining to a higher civilization. Agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and education every- where received new" impulses ; and popular liberty, which had hitherto been repressed by rulers and nobles, began to be difi*used among the masses of the people. The protracted struggles of the priesthood against emperors, kings, and nobles, in favor of the common people, had now culminated in securing for them a greater amount of liberty, equality, prosperity, and haj^piness. Considering the difficulty of acquiring knowledge, and the limited amount possessed by the Christians of these pe- riods, until the discovery of printing in 1452, the progress of Christianity must be regarded as rapid. Ecclesiastical edi- fices and colleges grew up in all directions, and with steadily increasing rapidity, and new converts fi-om paganism and in- fidelity were daily added to the Church. In these centuries, as in previous ones, there were some half-converted Chris- -tians, among them bishops and priests, who did not hesitate to violate their sacred obligations, and bring scandal upon alh connected with them; but the popes and ecclesiastical councils- were always on the alert to reform all such indi- vidual abuses. No eflbrts have ever been wanting: on the part of the high ecclesiastical authorities 'to correct all abuses and corruptions which have, from time to time, been introduced by bad bishops, priests, and emperors. But let it never be forgotten that the authorized doctrines of the Church have always remaitied the same since the days of the apostles. Occasionally individuals \\\\\q tried to alter, per- 140 CHEISTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. vert, or to add to these sacred and immutable truths, and have committed acts derogatory to morals and religion ; but their innovations, and their immoralities, have always been denounced by the popes and by the councils. Nor T/ere the efforts of the Church during these three centuries confined to Europe. Her missionaries not only traversed the most remote parts of Europe, but penetrated into the most wild and inhospitable parts of Asia and Africa. Even as e^arly as the seventh century these devoted men, in imi- tation of their holy predecessors and exemplars, St. Paul, St. Barnabas, and St. Thomas, sought the very centres ot bar- barism to preach Christ crucified. China, Japan, and India T>^ere all blessed by the presence of these servants of God, and their most interior provinces were often enriched by their martyr-blood during these early ages. According to Blum- hardt, " the monumental stone discovered in 1625, near the city of Si-ngan-fou, decisively proves that China was evan- gelized before the seventh century." Gibbon also states that "the Christianity of China between the seventh and thir- teenth centuries is invincibly proved by the consent of Chi- nese, Arabian, Syriac, and Latin evidence. In the thirteenth century there was already an archbishop at Pekin, w^ho had under his jurisdiction four suffragan bishops; and in the fourteenth century. Pope Clement the Fifth appointed the celebrated Franciscan, John de Monte Corvino, as metro- politan." Sir George Staunton estimates the number of Christians in China at the present time as more than a mil- lion. In 1859 there were fifty-one bishops, six hundred and twenty-four priests, and eighteen ecclesiastical colleges. Wherever in the known world there Avere souls to be saved, there might be found these Catholic imitators of the first apostles — always humbly clad, poorly fed and sheltered, purseless, homeless, friendless — among heathen, revilers of the true God, and haters of Christianity and Christians. The Catholic missionaries have ever continued on in the good work, in the midst of stripes, imprisonment, tortures, and death ; until, at the present time, they can count more than THE CIIURCn FOUNDED BY CIIKIST, ETC. 141 a million of native converts in China, twenty-five thousand in Japan, and twelve hundred thousand in British India. Within the last half century, Protestant sectarians have attempted the same thing ; but with all their vast machinery, their enormous expenditures, their extensive distribution of tracts and Testaments, and their v/ell-paid missionaries, who hover around the borders of heathendom, surrounded by commercial settlers and national gunboats, they have accom- plished nothing in the loay of permanent conversions. The Protestant missionary has never deemed it his duty to haz- ard his life by cutting loose from the European settlements, and plunging into the interior, where detection entails mar- tyi'dom. He casts his bread upon tlie waters by distributing cargoes of badly-translated tracts and Testaments to ignorant and unappreciative Chinese, Japanese, or Brahmins, who, ih nearly all instances, employ them as wrapi)ing or waste paper. These facts are amply corroborated by numerous Protestant authorities. The apostles and their fellow-missionaries were accus- tomed to go personally, ^ii^ preach and teach the gospel to the heathen, braving stripes, imprisonment, and death. They never distributed tracts or Testaments, but taught and j^rac- tised their doctrines personally. In all parts of the world their Catholic successors have ever imitated them. They have plunged into the most hostile and pestilent regions, risking all dangers, j^rivations, and martyrdom, in order to teach and preach personally the Christian religion. The re- sults have been thousands of martyrdoms, and millions of converts. Protestants take no risks of this kind. They go only where their persons are safe, distributing, without much discrimination, innumerable proselyting documents, not one in a thousand of which is ever read. Who can contrast the heroism, the privations, the dan- gers, and the martyrdoms of Corvino, Xavier, Eicei, Schaal, Verbiest, Grimaldi, Pereira, Gerbillon, Bouvet, Gabiani, and a host of other Catholic missionaries, who liave laid down their lives in the interior of China, with tl;e well-fed, 142 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. well-clad, well-housed, well-paid, and comfortable Protestant missionaries of the European trading settlements, without acknowledging that the former are the only true agents and representatives of the Church of God? Who can witness the results of each class of laborers — more than a million of Catholic converts, and scarcely a score of Protestant ones — and not know which was of the Church of Christ, and which of the profane sects of men ? What has been said respecting Catholic missions in China, ai-)plies with equal truth to almost every barbarous nation in the world. When St. Paul entered upon his missionary career he became "all things to all men;" for, says he, "If meat scan- dalize my brother, I will never eat flesh ; " and again, " all things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient ; " and again, when he entered Jerusalem to convert the Jews, he shaved his head in accordance with their own custom, in order to adapt himself as much as possible to their ways and harm- less prejudices. Catholic missionaries have always followed in the footsteps of their inspired exemplar, and made it a rule to adapt themselves as much as possible to the customs and habits of those to whom they were sent, provided that they violated no divine precept by so doing. Aware of the imjoossibility of breaking down the thoughts, ideas, tradi- tions, and habits of many generations, and, by a coup de tnain, of substituting a nev/ code of principles and a new mode of life, the apostles of Catholicism have always con- fined their first labors among the heathen to the dissemina- tion of correct views concerning God, the atonement, and spiritual life. If the heathen flock were wild nomads, the missionary also became a nomad, and shared in the dangers and privations of the rude wanderers. Among the Brah- mins of India, who were tenacious of the distinctions and privileges of their high caste, the early missionaries recog- nized and respected these claims, adapted themselves to their harmless social peculiarities, but urged upon them a new and Christian spiritual law. In this manner did Father Francis Xavier, Robert do Nobili, De Britto, and Laynez impress THE CIIUKCn FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 143 the proucT Brahmins, and gradually convert hirge numbers of them to the religion of Christ. By similar means were the natives of Mexico converted by Las Casas, the savage tribes of North America by Briencourt, Biart, AUoez, Mar- quette, Brebeuf, Jogues, and Goupil ; the Chinese and Japan- ese by Ricci, Schaal, Yerbiest, and their associates. How admirably do these missionary enterprises prove the identity of the Catholic Church with that instituted by our Saviour and His apostles ! In a future chapter we shall present some interesting statistics upon this subject. AYe come now to the question respecting the true inter- pretation and meaning of the Scriptures ; and we shall present a few of the leading arguments of the Church in opposition to independent private judgment in explaining the mysteries of Holy AYrit, and to the reasons which have been adduced by Protestants in favor of private inter2:>retation. 1. The Church claims that Christ when on earth, found'^d a Church, with His apostles and their successors as its au- thorized ministers — that He committed to these authorized ministers the custody and perpetuation of the precepts and practices which He had taught by oral words, and that, just before His ascension He appointed St. Peter as the head bishop of this Church, with the power of the keys. These doctrhies were all taught and explained to the apostles orally^ and they were commanded to go into all the world and ex- plain orally to every creature the same doctrines, commit- ting them again to other faithful men, who should continue the work of preaching and teaching orally the same doc- trines. According to St. John, these doctrines of our Saviour were so numerous that it was impossible to commit them to writing, for, says the apostle, " And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." * From this assertion of St. John, the conclusion is inevita- ble that he entertained the oj)inion that a portion of the * John xxi. 25. 14:4: CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. teachings and practices of Christ must necessarily be trans- mitted by the Chnrch and her ministers orally from genera- tion to generation, and that faithful men of the Church, un- der the promised aid and direction of the Spirit of God,mnst continue to the end of the world to preach, teach, and ex- plain all things whatsoever, written and unwritten, which had been committed to them. 2. Nearly every Christian writer, during the first five cen- turies after Christ, gives testimony that the Church was the only recognized depository and interpreter of both the Avrit- ten Scriptures and the unwritten words and deeds of Jesus alluded to by John. In the sacred and God-defended bosom of this Church were contained all of the truths which our blessed Saviour had revealed to man. From apostle to apos- tle, from bishop to bishop, from priest to priest, from disci})le to disciple were the words which Christ uttered, and the deeds which He performed, transmitted within and under the sole direction of the only Church of God then in existence. The sum of these words and deeds, confided only to this Church, guarded and retained only by this Church, constituted the only real and universal religion of God on earth for a period of nearly fifteen hundred years. A part of these words and deeds were the written Scriptures of the apostles and their holy predecessors, and a part the recorded tradi- tions of the successors of the apostles — the only recognized rej^resentatives of Christ on earth. As ages rolled on, here and there a visionary and irresponsible enthusiast would make a suggestion, or attempt an innovation, but for the most part they were too insignificant, or their innova- tions too absurd, to attract serious or general attention. A reference to the scliismatic puerilities of the early centuries will demonstrate their unscriptural and anti-christian char- acter. We desire to impress indelibly upon the minds and consciences of men the great fact, that the divine legacy be- queathed by Christ to men — the sacred Scriptures and tra- ditions of God's visible Church — v/ere written in the records of the Church by the hands of Catholic priests, were passed TJIE CHUECH FOUNDED BY CHEIST, ETC. 145 from generation to generation by Catholics, and that the same Scriptures and same traditions are still in the same Church, while apat^t only of the legacy — the written Scrip- tures— has been appropriated by modern Protestants. In view of this vital fact, it is pertinent to inquire, where would modern Protestantism have been if the Almighty in His prov- idence had, during the first fifteen centuries of the Christian era, extinguished the Roman Catholic Church and its sacred trusts ? Where would have been the Bible ? AYhere would have been the numberless sects, creeds, dissensions, and pri- vate interpretations of Holy Writ which now distract and divide the Christian Avorld ? Where would have been the creed of the Churcli of England, if Henry VHI. had not forced into his service Wolsey, Cranmcr, and other Roman Catholics, and the liturgy of the Catholic Cliurch ? Wliere would have been Lutheranism, Calvinism, and other sects, if these apostate members of the Catholic Church had not pur- loined from the Church of Rome a portion of her sacred records for purposes of sacrilegious perversion and schism ? Where now would have been any Christian religion, if the Roman Catholic Church had been extinguished at any period daring the first fifteen centuries after Christ ? Belief that the Scriptures are the written word of God, intended for the instruction and guidance of men, is, indeed, common to nearly all Christendom; but unfortunately the fruits of this belief are not always beneficent. During the earthly mission of our Saviour, and for many centuries after His ascension, the art of printing was unknown. Necessity and universal custom therefore required that all important civil and religious laws shoukl tje preserved and perpetuated either in written manuscripts copied by scribes, or by un- icritten traditions. From the earliest periods doAvn to the discovery of printing, by far the greater proportion of civil law remained unwritten., and was lianded down orally from generation to generation. These traditional maxims have always been recognized and designated as the '''•common law ;^'' and even at the present time we find the same un- 7 146 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. written " common laAV," both in England and America. In England these laws have existed from time immemorial, and have for the most part been preserved without alteration. The few alterations which appear, have been made in conse- quence of social and political changes, and by competent judicial tribunals or councils. These laws are founded on principles of eternal justice, and have always been regarded as higher legal authority, and more entitled to respect, than loritten statute laws. In like manner many of the laws of God have been ^^re- served and transmitted from generation to generation by un- loritten traditions. Many of the precepts and practices of the ancient Jews were passed orally from one period to another, and this oral transmission has contmued with this peculiar people up to the present time. From repeated declarations of our Saviour, it is evident that He relied chiefly ujDon oral transmission for the preserva- tion and perpetuation of His doctrines. Thus, in liis various charges to His apostles. He repeatedly commands them to preach the gospel to all nations, teaching them orally those things which they have heard from, and been taught by Ilim. Just before His ascension He intimated to His disciples that, although they had heard many things from Him, and been taught many things, yet there were many things which they could not yet hear or understand. But for their consolation He promised to send down upon them, after His arrival in heaven, the Paraclete which should teach them all truth, and which should continue to instruct and sustain them and their, successors in the preservation and perpetuation of the truths of God until the end of the world. Had Christ intended that all of His laws should be handed down to the end of the world in written statutes, He would, doubtless, have signified it in some manner. If such had been His intention, He would not have deemed it requisite at the day of Pentecost to send down His Holy Spirit to lead the disciples into all trnth, to inspire them Avith additional knowledge, courage, and religious devotion, and to continue with the priests of THE CIIUKCH rOIJNDED BY CIIKIST, ETC. 147 the Churcli as their spiritual instructor and guardian until the consummation of days. The following passages of Scripture demonstrate clearly that the written Scriptures contain only a part of Ilis teach- ings, but that many of His truths must be explained and transmitled orally by the authorized bishops and j^riests of the Church : " Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the tradition ye have been taught, whether by icord or our epistle.'''''^ In this passage St. Paul expressly directs the brethren to cling to what they have received in writing^ and have heard from the iiioittlis of their pastors. He does not say that the written Scriptures are the only rule of faith, as do modern Protestants, but he exhorts his disciples to hold fiist also to the tradition which he had spoJcen to them. " The things that thou hast heard of me among many wit- nesses, the same commit thou to those fiithful men who shall be able to teach others also." f When Paul addressed these remarks to Timothy, he did not intend that Timothy should lorite out what he had heard, and send it to the people in manuscript so that each person could make an interpretation as his fancy might dictate, but he ordered him to commit it orcdly to other faithful men who should ^jjreac/i and teach the same to others. " Xow we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw your- selves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us." J Christ com- manded His apostles to go into all the world and ^:;rei?eA the gospel to every creature ; teaching them to repent, confess, and be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all the tilings whatsoever He had commanded them ; and promising to be with them all days, even to the end of the world. Our Saviour did not command them to go and leave with the na- tions written manuscripts concerning the things He had taught them, but to prea.ch and to explain to them orally His truths. The command and the p)romise evidently aj)plied to the suc- * 2 Thess. v. 13. f 2 Tim. ii. 2. :j: 2 Thcss. iii. G. 148 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. cessors of tlie apostles as well as to themselves, since Jesus is to be with them all days^ even to the end of the world. He is to be with them in their preaching and teaching., as well as ill their written Scriptures, always. Here is a dis- tinct avowal that Scripture and tradition go hand in hand, that the successors of the apostles are to act as the custodians and interpreters of both, and that the Almighty, by means of His Holy Spirit, will instruct them and keep them in all truth. As the " common law " of diiferent nations was founded on principles of natural or self-evident justice, for the con- servation of civil and social order, and has been transmitted by oral tradition through many centuries ; so was the tradi- tional or common law of the Church founded on principles of natural, self-evident, and eternal truths, derived from heavenly inspirations, for the spiritual welfare of the human race, and has also been transmitted by oral tradition from the days of the apostles to the present time. As the " com- mon " or unwritten civil laws precede, regulate, explain, and sustain all statute or icritten laws, so do the traditional or unicritten laws of the Church precede, verify, explain, and sustain the icritten Scriptures. As the common and unwritten civil laAvs were in practical operation long before the exist- ence of any icrltten or statute laws, so were the sacred tradi- tions of the Church in practical operation and recognized as the unwritten word of God long before the existence of the written gospels. As St. Ignatius has truly observed, " The religion and the Church of Christ would have been preserved and perpetuated by tradition, if the apostles had never com- mitted their gospels to writing." From these facts it is evident that the traditions of the Church and tlie Scriptures are equally the word of God, and equally authoritative ; and that the former are the only safe guides in the interpretation of the latter, and of the mysteries of religion. The following brief extracts from the writings of the early fathers and martyrs clearly demonstrate the fact that THE CIIDKCn FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 149 the Clmrcli was the only custodian and interpreter of the holy precepts which our Saviour left behind Him as the rule of faith and practice of mankind : In an epistle to the Church of Rome, St. Ignatius, a friend and companion of the apostles, writes as follows : " To the Clmrch .... which presides in the place of the country of the Romans, all-godly, all-gracious, all-blessed, all-praised, all-prospering, all-hallowed, and presiding in love with the name of Christ, with the name of the Father." * " Be sub- ject to your bishops as to Jesus Christ." "Follow your bish- ops as Jesus Christ the Father ; the Presbytery as the apos- tles ; reverence the deacons as the ordinance of God." St. Polycarp, another disciple and friend of the apostles, having some doubts respecting the proper time for observing Easter, " came to Rome," according to Eusebius, " in the time of Anicetus's episcopate, and conferred with him upon the question." The decision of Anicetus was recognized as binding by St. Polycarp. St. Irenaeus, the disciple of St. Polycarp, writes as fol- lows : " We appeal to the faith and traditions of the greatest, and most ancient, and universally-known Church, which was founded and constituted at Rome by Peter and Paul — that tradition which it liolds from the apostles, and that faith which is proclaimed to men through successions of bishops coming down to us ; — and so we confound all those who in any way, whether through depraved selt-will or vainglory, or through blindness and perverse judgment, come to erroneous conclusions. For with this Church, because of its higher original, it is essential that every church should agree — that is, the faithful from all quarters ; and in this Church by the faithful generally apostolic tradition has all along been pre- served." Again, 1. " Tradition must determine controver- sies." 2. " The Catholic Church has kept the traditions de- livered by oil the apostles." 3. " By Roman tradition we confound all heretics." 4. " Rome is the greatest Church — and the most ancient — not literally in time, for that would * Ep. ad Rom. Sup. 150 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. not be true, but in dignity^ because of its higher orignial — because it was the mother of all — that out of which all au- thority springs ; and because of its foundation by the great apostles St. Peter and St. Paul." This is the testimony of a man who was a jDupil of one who had listened to the preaching and received the instruc- tions of St. John the apostle, and who was martyred in the service of Jesus of N^azareth. Is it not presumptuous to pro- test against the testimony of these friends and pupils of the apostles of Christ ? Sozomen, in writing about the consubstantiality of the Holy Ghost, remarks : " This dispute having arisen, and, as was natural, gathering strength from day to day, through men's love of strife, the Bishop of Home, when informed of it, wrote to the churches of the East, that they should ac- knowledge the Trinity, one in substance and in glory, to- gether with the bishops of the West. Whereupon they all acquiesced, the question being once for all decided hy the Church of Rome ^ and the dispute to all appearance was brought to a close." St. Gregory IsTazianzen writes : " The faith of old Rome was right from the beginning, and she continues right, hinding icith holy bonds every nation under the sun^ as well becomes the president of the whole v:o7'UV * St. Ambrose says : " Let the creed of the apostles be be- lieved, which the Moman Church always Jceeps and 2^reserves inviolate^ f St. Augustine observes : " For what could that holy man (St. Innocent) answer to the African councils, unless what from ancient t lines the apostolic see and the Roman Church perseveringly holds ? " J " l7i these words of the apostolic see, so ancient and established, certain and clear is the Catholic faith." § Our limited space only admits of a few extracts from the writings of the early Fathers ; but these are fair samples of * Ex. lib. de vita sua. | Comicil of Milan, iv. 116, B. :j; Ibid. X. £03, G. § Ibid. x. 418, D. THE CIIUECII FOUNDED EY CnPJST, ETC. 151 tlie opinions entertained by nearly every reputable ecclesias- tical writer diirinp^ the first fifteen centuries of the Christian era. First, we have the testimony of the pupils and com- panions of the apostles themselves respecting the divine origin and the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and the supremacy of her bishops, and the interpretation of the Scriptures. Among these arc Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement, and Irenfcus. Next, we have the evidence, to the same pur- port, of the disciples and friends of these pupils of the apos- tles; and so on from period to period down to the present day. Thousands of writers, scattered throughout the whole world, and contemporaneous with every Bishop of Rome, have borne witness that the Catliolic Church is the only true Church of God, designated in Holy Writ ; and that the inter- pretations and decisions of this Church are binding on all Christians as the Heaven-born, Heaven-inspired, and Heaven- protected institution of Christ. The written and unwritten truths of God have always been sacredly preserved within the Catholic Church. But whenever any questions have arisen respecting the proper in- terpretation and significance of any portion of these truths, councils have been convened, composed of the most learned and holy men of different periods, for the purpose of discuss- ing and deciding these mooted points. ISTo private inspira- tion, no dogmatic dictum of an individual, no single judg- ment has ever settled definitely and authoritatively any doubtful question pertaining to the Church ; but vast assem- blies of intellectual, pious, and erudite men, after open dis- cussions and deliberations for weeks, and sometimes months and years, have sifted the wheat from the chaff, and thus preserved the precepts of Christ as they "were delivered to the apostles. All of the councils of the Church have been fiimply reformatory assemblies, called together by different Bishops of Rome, for the express purpose of elucidating and explaining doubtful points of doctrine and discipline, and for correcting errors and abuses which have been accidentally or designedly introduced by theologians. One of the argu- 152 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ments wliicli have been urged against Catliolicism is that some of her bishops and other dignitaries have been wicked men, and have originated and sanctioned sinful and ungodly prac- tices. But neither the words nor the acts of a man or of any number of men, even if they be priests, can change the recorded decrees of the Almighty. As St. Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, remarks : " But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that Avhich we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any onan preach any other gosj)el unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." * In opposition to these Heaven-born and Heaven-preserved records of the Clmrch, and the deliberate decisions of nearly all the holy men and of the ecclesiastical councils of the world up to the sixteenth century, individuals have here and there presented themselves as protesters against the estab- lished doctrines, and set up in their stead creeds of their own, designating them by and dignifying them with their oivn names. Thus, Montanus ^:>ro^e5?ec? " that the Holy Spirit having failed to save mankind by Moses, and afterward by Christ, had enlightened and sanctified him to accomplish this great work." In this way the sect of Jlontanists came into existence. Arian ^^^otested against the Holy Trinity, and taught that Christ was not equal to the Father, but simply a great high-priest and prophet. Thus originated the Protestant sect of Arians. Manicheus protested against all church authority, and taught that every man should rely upon his own private judgment in matters of religion ; that his only rule of faith should be the Bible, and that he should be his own private interpreter of the ScrijDtures. Thus arose the sect oi Manicheans. Donatus, Pelagius, Celestius, Euty- ches, and numerous other protesting individuals, have, at different epochs, spining up, and invented man-creeds and man-sects to glorify themselves, rather than to serve the cause of God. As our observations respecting the more * Gal. i. 8, 9. THE CIIUECir FOUNDED BY CIIKIST, ETC. 158 modern sects of Protestants will be somewhat extended, we refer the reader to a future chapter. We simply allude to the subject here to show the distractions and sectarian divi- sions into which Protestants fill who rely on private judg- ment in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. It is impossible to examine impartially the doctrines and ordinances taught and practised by Jesus and His apostles, and to compare them critically with those which have always been held and practised by the Church of Rome, without recognizing their identity. The circumstances connected with the jDromulgation and perj^etuation of these doctrines and observances fully establish the truth of this identity. Surely no one should presume to assert that this divinely instituted Church has ever ceased to exist, to be operative, and to be visible, when the Spirit of Almighty God has al- ways been its special guardian and preserver. When Christ sent His apostolic organization among the nations to preach the gospel. He told them of the dangers, the hardships, and the opposition they would have to encounter in their mis- sionary oj)erations ; but He urged upon them the necessity of unity of faith and action, and an avoidance of false teachers, false prophets, and false doctrines. Sustained by a special and divine agency, and encouraged by the positive promise of Jesus, it is not probable that these men would become fiilse teachers, or that the Church committed to their guardian- shij) would become corrupted or perverted. Christ and His apostolic organization, as well as the ecclesiastical organizations appointed and ordained by the apostles and their successors, have always taught and preached the doctrines of Christianity personally. They have always visited the heathen in person, instructed them in person, and subjected themselves to all the perils incident to the true missionary career. The first missions of Christ, of St. Paul, St. Barnabas, St. Thomas, and the other apostles, and the subsequent missions of their Catholic successors to all parts of the heathen world, have been conducted on precisely the same principles, and with similar happy results. The 154 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. history of missions, from the days of the apostles to the pres- ent time, demonstrates conclusively the identity of the Catho- lic Church Avith that founded by Christ. After His resurrection Christ appeared to His apostles and saluted them thus: "Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent 3Ie, I also send you. When He had said this, He breathed on them; and He said to them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost ; whose sins ye shall forgive, they are forgiven them ; and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained." * Afterward, Avhen the apostles were assembled together to receive His final instructions, He selected from their number — not Andrew, or Paul, or James, or Barnabas, or Matthew — but Peter, and thus addressed him : " Thou art Peter ; and upon this rock will I build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ; and unto thee, Peter, will I give tlie keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, it shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven," | During the forty days which elapsed from the resurrection to the ascension of the Saviour, He founded His Churcli, organized His apostles into an ecclesiastical socie- ty of ministers and missionaries, with Peter as its head, " opened their under staiidings that they might understand the Scriptures ^^"^ J and then gave them their final instructions as follows: "All things whatsoever I have heard of My Father I have made known to you." § " As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you." || " Going, therefore, teach all nations ; . . . teachins: them to observe all thins^s whatsoever I have commanded you." ^ " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be con- demned."** "He that hcaretli yon, heareth Me;"ff and "If he will nbt hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican." IJ * John XX. 21-23. f Matt. xvi. 18, 19. X Luke xxiv. 45. § John xv. 15. II John XX. 21. ^ Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. ** Mark xvi. 16. ft Luke x. 16. XX Matt, xviii. 11. THE CUUKCII rOU2sDED BY CIIKIST, ETC. 155 Here we have a divinely instituted Church, a divinely appointed ecclesiastical organization, and a definite code of iniStrnetions from Jesus Himself. After the ascension, the inspired apostles and their author- ized disciples assumed the executive control of the Church, gradually extended and i^erfected its organization, and dis- persed themselves among the nations as bishops, priests, missionaries, and teachers. These inspired men fully appre- ciated the importance of the unity of the Church, and of an authorized society of ministers to interpret the Scriptures, teach their doctrines, preserve all the written and unwrit- ten records relating to the mission of Christ, and to act as representatives and pastors of Christ on earth. Alluding to this Church, St, Paul terms it " the Church of the living God, wdiich is the pillar and ground of truth." * That the guardianship of this Church and the integrity of its doc- trines were committed to the ecclesiastical organization, is evident from the following extracts : " ISTo prophecy of Scrip- ture is of private interpretation." f "He that heareth you heareth Me." J " Remember your prelates who have spoken the word of God to you ; to/iose faith folloioP § " For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth ; because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts." H " Obey your 2:)relates, and be subject to them ; for they Avatch, as being to render an account of your souls." ^ "Let every soul be subject to higher powers ; for there is no power but from God ; and those that are, are ordained of God ; and they that resist purchase to themselves damnation." ** " And the things which thou hast heard of me by many wit- nesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also." ft -^"^^ when Paul gave Titus his in- structions, he said to him : " For this cause I left thee in Crete that thou shouldst ordain priests in every city, as I also * 1 Tim. iii. 15. f 2 Pet. i. 20. X Luke X. 16. § Heb. xviii. 7, 17. I Mai. ii. Y. 1 Hcb. xiii. 17. ** Rom. xiii. 1,2. f f 2 Tim. ii. 2. 156 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. appointed tliee." * " For Christ, therefore, we are ambassa- dors, God as it were exhorting by ns." f " The Holy Ghost hath appointed you bishops to rule the Church of God." J St. Ignatius, a personal friend and companion of several of the apostles, enjoined upon the people the following du-r ties: "Be subject to your bishops as to Jesus Christ. Fol- low your bishop as Jesus Christ the Father; the presbytery as the apostles ; reverence the deacons as the ordinance of God." This father was a pupil and intimate friend of St. James the apostle, and had listened to the preaching of sev- eral other apostles. Is it likely that he was mistaken in his ideas* of the Christian priesthood, or in the nature of the sacerdotal office ? St. Cyprian thus writes : " God is one, and Christ is one, and the Church is one, and the choir is one, founded upon Peter by the voice of the Lord. Another altar cannot be erected, or another priesthood established, excej^t this one altar and one priesthood. Whoever gathers elsewhere, scat- ters. It is adulterous, and impious, and sacrilegious, what- ever is set u]3 by human madness to violate the divine insti- tution." § St. Augustine writes: "Whoso is separated from the Catholic Church, however laudably he thinks he is living, by this crime alone, that he is separated from Chrisfs unity ^ he shall not have life, but the wrath of God abideth in him." St. Clement, the third pope from the apostles, says : " We received the gospel from the apostles ; they were sent by Jesus Christ ; Jesus Clirist was sent by God ; and both hap- pened agreeably to the will of God. . . . Our apostles knew, through Jesus Christ, that disputes concerning episcopacy would arise ; vrlierefore they appointed tho^^e of whom I have spoken, and thus establislied the series of future succession, that when they should die, other approved, men might enter on their ministry." || * Tit. 1-5. f 2 Cor. v. 20. X Acts XX. 28. § Ep. xl. 11 Aid of Cath., vol. i., p. 15. THE CnURCII FOUNDED BY CHRIST, ETC. 157 Protestants liave ahvays striven to make improvements in the religion of tlie early fathers, and have preferred to fol- low their own private hypotheses, rather than be guided by the long-established principles of those who received their instructions from Christ and tlie apostles. Upon this subject St. Vincent of Lirins remarks : "But jjeradventure some will say. Shall we then have no advancement of religion in the Church of Christ ? Surely let us have the greatest that may he^ yet in such sort that it may be truly an increase in faith, and not a change.'^'' In committing His Church to the special care of the apos- tles and their successors, Christ also included the custody of the written Scriptures, the unwritten traditions, and all of the divine ordinances and observances. Thus, after His last supper, Jesus said to His apostles, " I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come. He will teach you all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself; because He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it you." '^ " I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide Avith you forever, the Spirit of truth. . . . He shall abide with you, and shall be in you." f From these declarations it is evident that Christ estab- lished a single Church, endowed it Avith all truth, with a single and definite code of principles and observances, and with a priesthood who were to be its special guardians, dis- pensers, and i^erpetuators. As the "written Scriptures were only a part of the divine legacy, a Church and an authorized ecclesiastical corporation were absolutely necessary to secure the preservation and the integrity of the unwritten traditions, and of the "many other things which Jesus did," not to be found in books. In no other manner could all the sacred teachings of Jesus have been preserved and transmitted through so many centuries. And we may be quite certain that the holy records and commandments of God have been preserved within the Church in their original purity, from * John xvi. 12-14. f John xiv. 16, lY. 158 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. tlie fact that " the Spirit of truth has always abided in it and taught it all truth according to the divine promise." This Heavenly influeuce has undoubtedly been ever present in the great ecclesiastical councils of the Church, to aid the faithful ambassadors of Christ in their efforts to exclude error, and to preserve the truth ; and where the Spirit of truth is, error and folsehood fly away. In accordance with these principles, and with a view of preserving the unity of the Church, it has been the universal custom to refer all mooted points of doctrine, and all indi- vidual corruptions and abuses within the Church, to ecclesi- astical councils. These councils have always been composed of large numbers of the most learned, pious, and able bishops and prelates of the world, and their decisions have always been regarded as authoritative. Whenever individuals have endeavored to pervert the true signification of the Scriptures, and to found sects upon these perversions, the pontiffs have been in the habit of convening ecclesiastical councils to ex- amine, discuss, and correct erroneous conclusions, and to de- fine and jDreserve in their canons the Christian truths as they came from Jesus Christ. Thus were the personal innovations of Montanus, Donatus, ISTovatian, Arian, and a host of early Protestants disposed of, and the unity of the Church main- tained. The advocates of private interpretation, and of what has been flippantly termed "freedom of conscience," tell us that every man is competent to interj^ret the mysteries of the gospel ; and, therefore, that each individual, however ignorant or obtuse, should read his Bible, anal^^ze its sacred mysteries, boldly cope with the idiomatic and other peculiarities of an Oriental era, of ideas originally expressed in various languages abounding in figures, parables, and the like, and then form his conclusions, and act in accordance with them. Is such a course calculated to secure unity of faith, harmony among Christians, uniformity and consistency in worship, and con- cert of action among those who desire to build up the Church of the livins: God ? Let the innumei'able and confiictinsf sects THE CUURCU F0UN1>ED BY CHRIST, ETC. 159 of modern Protestantism, their absurd and contradictory- tenets, and the numerous and protracted religious wars among the sectarians of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries answer. The great masses of the Christian workl are endowed with a limited amount of knowledge, and with limited intel- lectual capacities. For tlie most part their energies are ab- sorbed by their ordinary worldly pursuits, so that they have neither the time nor the inclination to become j^rivate tlieolo- gians. Practically, therefore, in Protestant countries, they accept a IIuss, a Wickliffe, a Luther, a Calvin, a Wesley, a Fox, a Henry YIIL, a Voltaire, a Tom Paine, a Strauss, a Penan, a Theodore Parker, a Joe Smith, or a Brigham Young, as their interpreters of Holy Writ, and enroll themselves under the standard of some one of these creed-coiners. In this man- ner they become passive instruments in the hands of these " false teachers," and thus contribute to impair the unity of the faith, to divide and distract Christendom, and to en- courage the various forms of infidelity. Are the private and individual interjn'etations of these leading sectaries, or of their ignorant disciples, to be regarded as authoritative, while the decisions of the great councils, some of them com- posed of as many as five hundred of the wisest and best pre- lates of the world, and holding their sessions for years in succession, are to be ignored and despised ? Surely there can be but few men so lost to all sense of honesty and decency as to claim seriously that an ignorant laborer is as capable of interpreting and understanding the Holy Bible as were the three hundred and eighteen learned fathers of Nice, or the five hundred of Chalcedon, or the three hundred of Trent. What have been the results of this authoritative interpreta- tion of the Scriptures by the councils of the Church ? Unity and uniformity of faith, of ecclesiastical organization, of wor- ship, and in the propagation of the Christian religion. And what have been the results of private inspiration and private interpretation? Innumerable variations of religious belief, a vast multiplication of conflicting sects, a house divided against 160 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. itself, and an entire lack of tliat unity, concord, and concert of action which pertain to the true Church of God. One of many facts in proof of this position consists in the total failure of Protestant missionary enterprises in all parts of the world, and the sad results, in the form of immorality, decep- tion, crime, and general decay, which have almost invariably attended these labors. In worldly affairs Protestants never presume to act without competent advice. They never com- promise their pecuniary interests, or their lives, by becoming their own private interpreters and practitioners of law or medicine. Both the legal and the medical gospels are before them, written by modern authors, in clear and exj)licit lan- guage ; but they have too much practical common-sense to attempt their interpretation, preferring always to employ ex- pert lawyers and doctors, to accept their interpretations, and to act in accordance with their advice. Were an ignorant laborer or artisan to read a book on the theory and practice of medicine, and then assume the medical treatment of typhus or cholera, he would be shut uj) in a mad-house, or indicted for manslaughter. Such an act would excite the indignation and horror of every right-minded man ; but let the same person turn theologian, and, with Bible in hand, interpret the mysteries of godliness, and prescribe for his spiritual being, and his assurance is winked at, and his decisions are esteemed legitimate and worthy of practical adoption, what- ever they may be. ISTo Protestant will presume to Assert that Christ established more than one Church, more than one priesthood, more than one religious code, more than one form and mode of worship. No rational j^orson can believe that Christ gave a general permission to all men indiscriminately to interpret the Scri2)turcs, to retain or to reject certain por- tions, to determine what traditions are true and what false, and upon these private opinions to found new churches, new priesthoods, neio creeds, and 7iew forms of worship. No one can suppose that Christ intended that there should be divisions, wranglings, and distractions in Ilis Church. No one ca.n imagine tliat he is doing God service by aiding in THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY CIIKIST, ETC. IGl the destruction of Churcli unity, in the establishment of new sects, and in presenting to the world the sad spectacle of the house of God distracted, perverted, torn, and arrayed against itself Does any one believe that Christ filled in His solemn promise of being with His one Church, and maintaining it in its purity, through the abiding presence of the Spirit of truth, during the fifteen hundred years preceding the wicked inno- vations of Luther and Calvin ? Did the Almighty postpone the development of His grand plan of redemption imtil the sixteenth century, waiting for Martin Luther to be born, in order to unravel, explain, and bring into practical operation the sacred mysteries which Christ, the apostles, and their successors, had vainly attempted to introduce ? Were the holy apostles, the ancient fathers, the hosts of martyrs, and the Christian missionaries of the past, failures? and was Christ's Clmrch hidden under a bushel until the monk of Erfurth dragged Christianity from her profound sleep of so many ages under the form and designation — not of Christianity, not of the religion of Jesus, not of catholicity — but of Lutheranism? St. Clement, St. Polycarp, and St. Ignatius, were pupils of the apostles, had often conversed with them, and heard them preach. These men recognized the Roman Catholic Church as the only Church of God, the supremacy of tlie Roman bishop, and the divine authority of the ecclesiastical body to act as conservators and inter^jreters of the written and unwritten word of God. Were these friends and disciples of the apostles mistaken; and were their successors through whom these truths were transmitted from generation to generation for so many centuries, like Saints Irenajus, Origen, Cyprian, Cyril, Hilary, Basil, Ambrose, Jerome, Chrysostom, Augustine, Vincent, and a host of other holy fathers — were they all mistaken, and was the light of the true Church latent and unproductive from the days of tlie apostles to the days of the innovators, and was it re- served to a demon-inspired Augustine monk of the sixteenth century to present to mankind the new dispensation which Jesus, His inspired apostles, and their successors had tried, 1G2 cnmsTiANiTY and its conflicts. but failed to make known ? Is it probable tliat the Almighty Father would send His only-begotten Son to earth, to an- nounce a new gospel, and to found a Church, and then to permit an organized hierarchy to set aside this gospel and this Church, and to substitute in their stead a false religion and a false church? When the all-merciful God became in- carnate on earth, and suffered and died to atone for the sins of men, is it probable that He had any special reference to Martin Luther, John Calvin, or John of Leyden, or John Wesley, or Tom Paine, or other modern revolutionist, in the consumma- tion of the grand design ? If so, were Luther's interviews and discussions with the devil at the Castle of Warburg, or his revels at the "Black Eagle Tavern" at Guttenburg, or his violation of the nun, Catherine Bore, or the bloody civil wars he incited in Germany included in the j)rogranime ? Whoever examines thoroughly and fairly the legitimate doctrines of the Catholic Churcli, as inculcated in the de- crees and canons of the great ecclesiastical Councils, from Aries to Trent, and compares them with those taught by Christ and His apostles, must admit their identity in every thing essential to salvation. Such an examination and com- parison, impartially and boldly conducted, would restore thousands of doubting sectarians into the fold of unity and spii'itual peace. CIIAPTEE XIY. COMMOX GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS FAITH. Oisr many occasions Christ and His inspired apostles al- luded to the vital importance of unity of faith and of Chris- tian worship, and to the great dangers which would ensue from divisions in the Church. ,"\Ye cite a^ few quotations in illustration : " And He gave some apostles, and other some pastors and doctors, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all meet into the unity of faith ; that hence- forth we be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine." * " Now I beseech you, brethren, to mark them who cause dissensions, contrary to the doctrines you have learned, and to avoid them." f St. 'Pmil 2^i'0}ioimced cmathema "against any one, even against an angel from heaven, who should attempt to teach any other gospel except that which he had taught." ;|; Christ founded a single Church, with " one Lord, o?ie fliith, ojic baptism ; " § and again, " there- shall be 07ie fold, and ojie Shepherd ; " || and again, " we being many, are one hody in Christ : " ^ and as a warning to innovators, our Saviour asserts that "every kimrdom divided agjainst itself shall be made desolate."** Numerous other extracts might be cited from Holy AYrit *• Eph. iv. 11-14. f Rom. xvi. lY. % Gal. i. 8, 9. § Eph. iv. 5. \ Matt. xii. 25. *}f John x. 15. ** Matt. xii. 25. 164 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS COISTFLICTS. to the same piirioort, but we have presented a sufficient num- ber to demonstrate the necessity of unity of faith, and unity and uniformity of ecclesiastical organization, and of reli- gious worship. The entire spirit and end of Christ's mis- sion was to present mankind Avith a new religious system, and to establish a Christian organization or Church as the perj^etual guardian and dispenser of His sacred truths. In a matter of such vital importance to the welfare of the human race, our Saviour deemed it necessary to dwell upon the importance of unity of faith, to caution His disciples against "false teachers and fjxlse prophets, who are blown about by every wind of doctrine," " who are led away with various and strange doctrines," and the " profane novelties of words," and to define the mode through which the unity and integrity of the Church might be perpetually main- tained. The true Christian will always be solicitous for the honor and glory of the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and clo every thing in his j^ower to maintain the integrity and wel- fare of the universal kino-dom of his DiA'ine Master. He will deprecate dissensions and divisions among the subjects and soldiers of the cross, and frown down the efforts of men who would set themselves and their human doctrines up in the place of Christ and His holy precepts. He will hold fast to the doctrines Avhich the Father gave to our Lord, which He gave to the apostles, and they to their successors and to the Church. In the formation of his religious opinions he will be governed by the teachings of Jesus, His apostles, and those holy saints and martyrs who have devoted their lives to the service of God, and some of whom were personally acquainted with our Lord and the apostles, and had listened to their preachings. He will put far from him all filse teachers, and creed-coiners, who establish new and private religions for the gratification of personal ambition and vanity, and to perpetuate their own names. He will always remem- ber that Christ founded only a single Church, and that the thousand and one creeds invented by the vain and visionary CO:&rMON GEOUNDS OF KELIGIOUS FAITU. 165 crced-coiners of the world are only devices of Satan to dis- tract the faithful and impair its unity and catholicity. These false teachers, and their dupes, who sow their tares amidst the wheat, do nndoubtedly retard, to some extent, the on ward proi^ress of the Church to universal unity and catholicity; but, ere long, their impious efforts will come to naught. How- ever much, therefore, Satanic influences may temporarily dis- turb and divide the Christian world, we may rest assured that in the end all private creeds of man's invention will be extir- pated as virulent excrescences, and the Churcli, founded on the everlasting rock of truth, be permanently and universally established. A loyal subject honors his temporal ruler, loves his na- tionality, and is willing to fight and to die for the integrity, unity, glory, and welfare of his native country. The true subject and soldier of God should be no less anxious and de- voted to the integrity, unity, universality, glory, and welfare of that Church and that spiritual kingdom which was estab- lished by the Redeemer of the world. Bickerings, conten- tions, envies, jealousies, and strifes should not prevail that men may be glorified, and human names and human hypothe- ses be received with honors which belong only to God and His sacred doctrines. But, inquires the doubter, how shall we decide where that Church is, and by what marks can we recognize it amonsc the numerous and discordant churches of the world? To this pertinent query we respond that there are infliUi- ble marks by w^hich it may be recognized : 1. That Church whose tenets and practices are identical with those inculcated by Christ and His apostles must be the true Clmrch. 2. That Church which received its doctrines directly from Christ, His apostles, and the bishops and priests appointed and ordained by them, must of necessity be the true Church. 3. That Cluirch which has maintained uninterruptedly and purely its unity, its catholicity, and its succession of bishops, from St. Peter to the present Bishop of Rome, must b^ the true Cliurch. 4. That Church which alone has existed from the time of its 160 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CO]S^rLICTS. foundatiou by our Lord to the present day — ahvays visible, never latent, never vanquished, never inoperative — must be the true Church. All of these distinguishing marks pertain exclusively to the Catholic Church. Let us all, then, become loyal subjects of the King of kings — Christians in thought, word, and deed — and as such, banish pride, prejudice, error, and the delusive inventions of men, and, becoming as little children, receive the authoritative truths of Christianity with faith and humility. From the common ground upon which all Christians stand, let us seek for unity, universal brotherhood, harmony, identity of doc- trine and faith, and active and efficient cooperation in pro- mulgating the truths of Christianity to the whole world. A belief in one and the same personal God, composed of the Father, of His only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, who was conceived and born of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Holy Ghost emanating from the Father and Son, is almost universal among Christian sects. Although the fact of the unity of the three Persons in one God, identical in spirit and purpose, and equal in power and glory, is a mystery incom- prehensible to mortals, yet there are but few at the present time who entertain the slightest doubt of the great and di- vine truth. How strono; should be the bond of union be- tween those who believe in and worship the same Almighty benefactor, who continually derive blessings from His infinite love, and who hope to enjoy His smiles in the eternal world ! How earnest should be the efforts of such believers to culti- vate unity of sentiment and faith, and to unite the whole world^in one brotherhood of Christians ! The belief is almost universal that Christ came upon the earth, clothed Himself in a human form, preached, taught, ministered, suffered, and was crucified for the redemption of fallen man. This incarnation, or visible manifestation of God on earth in Jesus Christ, was an act of infinite mercy and love ; and its contemplation should always fire the heart of the Christian with ardent devotion toward the infinite COilMON GKOrNDS OF EELIGIOUS FAITH. 167 Fountain of love and goodness. It would be a difficult mat- ter to find a real Christian who has not implicit faith in the atonement. A belief in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures is com- mon to all Christians. The remarkable wisdom of a book written so many centuries ago, and the wonderful purity, truthfulness, beneficence, love, and goodness wliicli beam forth from every page, forever stamped it as the word of God. This divine gospel, in conjunction with the sacred traditions handed down from the apostles, are practically recognized as their rule of faith and practice, by nearly every sect in Christendom. All sects believe in the ten commandments, in the Lord's prayer, and in the necessity of a continual observance of them. They acknowledge that these commandments came directly from God, and were confirmed by Christ in the new dispensation. Not only the divine origin of these sacred injunctions is recognized by the entire Christian world, but the duty of heeding them in order to secure happiness here and hereafter. Founded on principles of love and obedience to God, love to man, and strict justice in all the relations of life, they constitute a moral and social code of surpassing simplicity, power, and comprehensiveness. These precepts require both faith and practice in order to render them effi- cacious ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who violates the least of them. Here, again. Catholics and Protestants stand on common gi'ound. On this ground we find supreme love and devotion to God, reverence for His holy name, re- spect for the Sabbath, for parents, and an avoidance of any injury in thought, word, or deed, toward our fellow-men. Another of the divine injunctions was a 2)erpctual observ- ance of the Lord's prayer. As Christ Himself dictated this prayer to His disciples, no one has yet been sufficiently pre- sumptuous to ptrotest against it, and to substitute a reformed Lutheran or a Calvinistic prayer in its stead. It still re- mains, therefore, as a common ground of faith and practice for Protestants as well as Catholics. 168 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Every sincei'e Christian believes in the necessity of re- pentance for sins committed, and in reformation, in order to secure happiness here and liereafter. The silent voice of conscience continually admonishes all men of these vital and essential truths; and even when human sophistry and skepticism cast their gossamer veils before the never-sleeping eye of conscience, the great fact is still recognized, still ap- preciated. All Christians agree as to the importance of meeting to- gether on the Sabbath, and other appointed days, for the worship of God ; and that it is not only eminently propei*, but obligatory on the part of the finite creature to honor and glorify in every suitable manner the Infinite Creator. Nearly every sect believes in and practises baptism, be- cause Christ has declared that " unless a man be born of water and the Holy Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven ; " and because they have as exemplars the Redeemer, His holy apostles, and their disciples and successors. These common grounds of religious faith include every thing essential to salvation. From the time of the apostles to the present moment, they have been the grand fundamental principles of the Catholic Church. At all periods of tlie Christian era, and among all the nations of the earth, her prelates and missionaries have nailed these divine precej)ts to the cross, and under this blessed symbol have fought the bat- tles of Christianity agains the cultivated pagans of the Roman empire, the barbaric Goths, Vandals, Huns, Lombards, and Saracens of the middle ages, the Brahmins and Pariahs of India and Ceylon, the Buddhists of China and Japan, and the unenlighted natives of North and South America, and the sava2:e islands of the Pacific Ocean. Faith in one Infinite and personal God, in the Trinity, in the incarnation, in the atonement, in baptism, in repentance, confession and reformation of sin, in the ten commandments, in the Lord's prayer, and the Holy Scriptures, have been the w^atchwords and governing princij^les of the Church at all times and un- der all circumstances. Tlirough these immutable doctrines COMMON GROUNDS OF KELIGIOUS FAITH. 169 her unity has ever been maintainecl, and her supernatural triumj^hs in heathen Lands been sustained. Endowed with these divine truths, and always sustained by the Spirit of truth, she has kept steadily on her way toward her destined goal — eternity and heaven. In bygone ages storms and tempests have raged around her, dangers have beset her on every hand, and the powers of darkness have been leagued against lier, but the hand of her Founder has always held her up, and directed her heavenward. On these conceded principles all Christen- dom can consistently stand in unity and harmony ; all can achieve salvation ; all can cooperate in establishing among all nations the true Church in accordance with the design and instructions of the Redeemer. The coincidences between the Roman, Greek, dnd Angli- can Churches are more evident than those which pertain to other sects; and a critical examination of the subject will demonstrate the fact, beyond all question, that the separation of the two latter from the parent Church of Rome was en- tirely due to political causes^ and personal amhition avA self- ishness. Thus, 1. The Roman, Greek, and Anglican believers oc- cupy the same ground, in so far as they have all taken the same views substantially of the Church, its authority, and its unbroken continuity. 2. They all (in contradistinction to the subjective system of Protestantism) uphold a system of priesthood and sacra- ments, because they all think alike respecting the incarnation of the Son of God. 3. They all have an historic past, and make much of his- toric Christianity. 4. The Nicene, or Constantinopolitan creed, is the com- mon symbol of the three communions. 5. The public worship of the three churches is celebrated liturgically. 6. They all, in a greater or less degree, cherish and make much of the aesthetic principle in the public services; c. g.^ by the use of vestments, hghts, incense, flowers, pictures, 170 CnPJSTlANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. images, etc. ; also, by decent and edifying ceremonies, atti- tudes, postures, etc. 7. They all yield a profound deference to the consent of fathers and doctors, and to universal Christian consciousness. 8. They all maintain that the collective voice of the Catholic Church, especially as expressed in general council, is infallible. 9. They all insist on the truth that canonical Scripture not merely contains, but is, the word of God. 10. Objective universal tradition is a governing and swaying authority with them all. 11. They all believe that the finally impenitent — those dying in mortal sin — will be turned into hell, there to under- go everlasting punishment. 12. They all believe Mary, ever virgin, to be the mother of God. Dr. E'ewman specifies the .following fundamentals as com- mon to both the Roman and Anglican systems : " In both systems the same creeds are acknowledged. Besides other points in common, v/e both hold that certain doctrines are necessary to be believed for salvation ; we both believe in the doctrines of the Trinity, incarnation, and atonement; in original sin ; in the necessity of regeneration ; in the super- natural grace of the sacraments; in the apostolic succession; in the obligation of faith and obedience, and in the eternity of future punishment." * The subjects against which all Protestant sects object are : 1. The invocation of saints, and the veneration of relics, sacred images, and pictures. 2. Auricular confession. 3. The supremacy of the pope. 4. The doctrine of purgatory. 5. To the Tridentine definition of the mode of Christ's presence in the sacrament of the altar. 6. The enforced celibacy of the priesthood. * Prof. Office, pp. 55, 56. COMMON GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS FAITU. 171 1. To the use of a dead language in the j^ublic ministra- tions. 8. To the withdrawal of the cup from the laity. 9. To the forms, ceremonies, and festivals of the Church. 10. To indulgences. We shall present, further on, a brief outline of the ac- tual opinions of the Church upon the principal points of doctrine and discij^line, as established by her authorized de- crees and canons, with a view of refuting the gross misre]Dre- sentations of Protestants, and of demonstrating the specious- ncss and triviality of the pretexts urged by ancient and modern innovators for dividing, distracting, and seceding from the Church. Let it never be forgotten that all of the grand councils of the Church, from Nice to Trent, have included all the es- sential elements of the Catholic faith in four divisions, viz., the Apostles Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Seven Sacraments. It is difficult to conceive how any true Christian, who really desires unity, harmony, and efficiency in the Church, and who is solicitous for the spiritual welfare of his fellow-creatures, can refuse bis cordial assent to these four fundamental divisions. We regard the fact that all sects of Cbj-istians entertain similar ojDinions upon these vital points of doctrine as one of momentous import. This similarity of belief is almost en- tirely unknown and unap2)reciatcd by Protestants, in conse- quence of the long-continued and wicked misrepresentations of sectarians respecting the tenets of the Catholic Church. These misrepresentations, and these sectarian perversions, pervade every class of Protestant society. They are taught in schools, in colleges, in churches, in books, in pamphlets, and are propagated by preachers, missionaries, and even legis- lators. It ever has been, and still is, the aim of Protestantism to distract, divide, and set at variance Christians. Any bold and eloquent man, who chooses to regard himself as a preacher of the gospel, no matter what moral or mental per- versities he may possess, may, under Protestant custom, 172 CDEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. draw up Ms own religious articles of faith, establish a new sect, christen it with his own name, surround himself with thousands of deluded disciples, and thus launch on the ocean of life his schismatic craft. It is through this unwarranted and wanton exercise of private judgment and personal am- bition that the Christian world is now distracted, divided, and cursed witli its thousand sects. Instead of recognizing and appreciatmg continually these fundamental princij)les of religion, and of striving to enlist all men as brethren under one holy banner, these men are "led away with various and strange doctrines," * destructive to that Chris- tian unity, fraternity, harmony, and concert of action so es- sential to the j)ropagation and welfare of religion. So far, then, as three out of the four divisions to which we have alluded are concerned, all Christians stand on common ground, and from this stand-point they can sincerely regard each other as brethren and co-workers in the same cause. We come now to the fourth grand division of the fathers of Trent, viz., the seven sacraments. These sacraments were ordained by Christ and His apostles as special means of grace, to enable the Christian to perform the duties enjoined in the first three divisions. These means of grace, these divinely instituted auxiliaries, were established by our Saviour as the mode and the only mode by which His precepts could be ob- served and His commands obeyed. Men are so sinful by nature, so wedded to pride, ambi- tion, licentiousness, covetousness, luxury, pomj?, and worldly applause, that it is impossible for them to keep the command- ments of God in sincerity and truth, except through the agency of these very means of grace. Without the special graces communicated, and the restrai-nts imposed by these sacraments, men cannot and will not curb their passions and their worldly desires ; and it was probably with direct refer- ence to this sinful and perverse nature that they v\^ere given us. So essential were they regarded by our Saviour, to en- able men to work out their own salvation, and to resist the * Heb. xiii. 9. COM]SION GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS FAITH. 173 evil influences of their own natures, and the temptations of the evil one, that He positively commanded their observance by all Christians. If we examine critically the sacraments even from a phil- osophical point of view, we shall not fail to be impressed with their vast importance in aiding men to keep the com- mandments, and to subdue their selfish passions and propen- sities. Without the blessings bestowed, and the restraints imposed by their observance, we verily believe that men would degenerate continually. We have shown that the fundamental and essential ele- ments of Christianity are held by nearly every sect in Chris- tendom, that these princij^les comprise every thing essential to salvation, and that the points which have been protested against and dissented from, were not such as to justify seces- sion from the Church, and attempts to destroy its unity and harmony. Even Luther coincides in this opinion, as may be seen in the following extract from a letter addressed to Miltitz, the legate of Pope Leo X., who was sent to remon- strate with him on his innovations. Luther proclaims the Church of Rome "as honored of God above all others; in her two apostles, forty-six popes, and hundreds of thousands of martyrs who had shed their blood, and made her an especial object of God's regard ; that lohatsoever of evil there might he in hei\ could never justify separation from her^ for God must not be abandoned on account of the devil, neither is there any sin or evil which should destroy charity or break unity." In future chapters we shall prove that the pretexts of all the Protestant innovators of the Christian era have been frivolous. Let us now glance at a few of the observances of tlie Catholic Church to which the sects object, and examine the grounds of objection. CHAPTER XY. ON THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS, AND ON SACRED IMAGES AND PICTURES. One of the most common errors of Protestants consists in the supposition that the Catholic Church sanctions and permits the worship of the Virgin Maiy and other saints in heaven. This error has been so industriously promulgated, that the great mass of the opponents of Catholicism really be- lieve that the same divine worship and adoration which belongs alone to God, is also given to the blessed Virgin. This, like many other popular fallacies, has created unfair and undeserved prejudices and opposition on the jDart of our antagonists. Al- most daily the query is propounded, "How can you worship the Virgin Mary and the saints and angels ? How can you supplicate them for aid, instead of appealing directly to God and to Christ ? How can you invoke them to assist you, and manifest toward them love, gratitude, and respect, when our Saviour has declared that there is only one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ?" We respond to these queries by briefly indicating the actual doctrines and practice of the Poman Church u23on this point. We believe that to God — to the Holy Trinity — to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — alone belong the supreme wor- ship and adoration of mortals. We believe that God alone is the infinite Fountain of knowledge, power, love, truth, and goodness, and that every blessing, every endowment, ON THE INTOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 175 every gift, and every benefit pertaining to all the saints and angels in heaven, and to mortals on earth, are derived exclu- sively and solely from Him. We believe that the only Mediator between God and man is oar Saviour ; because He was sent hj the Father to earth to become incarnate, to teach the sacred truths of religion, to suffer, and to be crucified for the express purpose of making an atonement for the sins of men, and thus of becoming their Mediator. Christ, therefore, is the only Mediator betAvecn God and man; and angels, saints, and mortals, always address Him, adore Him, worship Him, and pray to Him as such. But does this fact preclude the sinner from asking his pastor to pray to Christ for the pardon of his sins ? When the sinner is prostrated physically and mentally by disease, may he not call upon his minister, or upon a Christian friend to pray for him, and may not such prayers be efficacious and acceptable to God ? Do not the Holy Scriptures repeatedly command us to pray for one another ? and do they not de- clare that the "prayers of the righteous availeth much?" When the Protestant pastor prays to God or to Christ for pardon, forgiveness, and a blessing for one of his flock who. may be sick, and weak in mind and bodj'-, he surely does not assume to himself the office of mediator between God and man, but he acts the part of a humble suppliant imploring the Almighty in behalf of a sinful brother. The whole Christian Avorld recognizes the propriety and utility of such prayers, and no one supposes that the pastor or the Christian friend usurps any of the attributes or the preroga- tives of our divine Master. In like manner the Catholic requests his priest to pray for him. But he does not stop here, he even ventures to ask the mother of Jesus herself to pray for him, and also the angels and saints in heaven. If the prayers of a clergyman or a Christian on earth may be acceptable to God, and answered by Him in behalf of au erring brother, why may not the prayers of the angels and saints, and especially of the mother of our Saviour, be accept- 1Y6 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. able in His sight, and responded to by Him ? The following passages from the sacred Scriptures demonstrate that on diverse occasions the prayers of angels and saints in behalf of mortals have been heard and answered by God, viz. : " There shall be joy before the angels of God over one sinner doing penance." '-' " When thou didst pray with tears, and didst leave thy dinner, and didst bury the dead, X offered thy j)rayer to the Lord. . . . For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord." \ The proj^het Jeremias, long after his death, j^rayed for the l^eople ; thus : " This is a lover of his brethren, and of the people of Israel; this is he ^h^X prayetli muck for the people^ and for all the holy city, Jeremias the prophet of God." \ " And the angel of the Lord answered and said : O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah with which Thou hast been angry ? — this is now the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the angel that spoke in me good w^orcls, comfortable words. . . Therefore, thus saith the Lord, I will return to Jerusalem in mercies." § "And I saw seven angels standing in the presence of God. . . . And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints u|)on the golden altar, which is before the throne of God. And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel." || " Jacob prevailed over the angel, and w^as strengthened ; he wept, and 'inade supplicatlo7i to him.'''' ^ To the angel who was going to destroy Sodom, Abraham prayed that " he would not slay the just wdth the wicked." ** In consequence of this prayer. Lot was spared. Lot also prayed the same angel to spare Segor. " And he * Luke XV. 10. f Tobias xii. 12, 15. % 2 Mac. xiv. 14. § Zacb. i. 12, 13, IG. \ Apoc. viii. 2-4. ^ Osee xii, 4. ** Gen. xviii. 23, 25. ON THE m VOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 177 (the angel) said to him, Behold also in this, I have heard thy prayers not to destroy the city for which thou hast spoken." * On his death-bed Jacob prayed thus : " God that fecdeth me from my youth until this day ; the angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless these boys, and let my name be called upon them." f The Scriptures contain many other al- lusions to the influence of angels in human affairs; and a be- lief in them is by no means confined to the Catholics. Thus David says : " He hath given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." J Also Christ as follows : " See that you despise not one of these little ones ; for I say to you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." § " The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them." || "As the Lord liveth. His angel hath been my keeper, both going hence, and abiding there, and returning from thence hither." ^ "Behold I will send My angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey. . . . Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned ; for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned ; and My name is in him." ** The Catholic Church everywhere expressly prohibits every thing like divine worship of the Virgin Mary, or of any saint or angel in heaven, or prayers to them for the pardon of sins. Every Catholic, even the most ignorant, is carefully instructed by his priest that he must worship God alone, and rely upon him solely for grace, for mercy, for pardon. But he is also instructed that he may ask the prayers of the faith- ful on earth, and of the angels and saints in heaven, in his * Gen. xix. 18-22. f Gca. xlviii. 15, 16. % ^^- '^^- l^-^^. § Matt, xviii. 10. \ Ps. xxxiii. 8. ^ Judith xiii. 20. ** Exod. xxiii. 20, 21. 8* 178 CHEISTIANITT AKD ITS CONTLICTS. behalf. How reasonable, how probable, how beautiful the idea that the blessed sj^irits who continually glorify God in heaven, and are filled with love and joy unspeakable, should often revert to those dear ones whom they have left behind on earth, and by their prayers to the Being of infinite love and mercy endeavor to secure for them the Divine aid and blessing ! Is it to be supposed that these blessed spirits, so replete with love and bliss, can forget their earthly brethren, and no longer feel an interest in them ? Does not the sainted mother in heaven still reg-ard her darlino; babes on earth with tender aifection, and pray for them to Him who said, " Sufl:er little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven " ? Catholics do not worship the Virgin, or angels, or saints ; but they do ask them to pray for them, and to use their kindly influences in bringing them nearer and nearer to God. They do not worship these blessed spirits who are so near to God ; but they do love them, reverence them, and rely upon their friendship, and their prayers, and their kindly ofiices in their behalf. While confined in the mortal body, the faculties of the soul and all the operations of the intellect are limited. The powers of the special senses — sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch — are confined to very narrow bounds ; and the results of human thought and reason are exceedingly meagre and unsatisfactory; and yet no thought, no word, no act emana- ting from these finite beings of earth escapes the All-seeing eye of our Father in heaven. When these same souls escape from their mortal habitation — from the trammels of the body — all the faculties are vastly enhanced, and vision, hearing, thought, reason, and understanding are almost unlimited. They can see and appreciate our desires and our wants, although we grope through life chained within the limited confines of our mortal prison-house. It is a universal and beautiful custom of the heads of Chris- tian families to pray for themselves, their wivxs, their chil- dren, their kindred, and their friends. No one doubts the ON THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 170 efficacy of these family intercessions to tlie omnipotent Father of mankind ; nor docs any one suppose that they detract from the mediatorship of our Saviour. Pastoi*s of all sects habitually implore the divine interposition and blessing upon their congregations, their rulers, and their fellow-men. No one questions the utility or the propriety of these prayers of third parties, nor does any one believe that they trench upon the peculiar mediatorship of the Redeemer. Those who are sick or in imminent danger call upon their spiritual advisers and their religious friends to appeal to Jesus for the pardon of their sins, and for His all-powerful aid in rescuing them from their perils. No one accuses these earthly intcrceders of usurping the mediatorial office of the Most High. And when the prayers of holy men on earth ascend to the throne of God, and the Saviour of the world hears them, answers them, and brings repentant sinners to His heavenly fold, the Scriptures teach us that there is rejoicing among the saints and ano-els in heaven. If these saints and anirels are cognizant of these prayers, and " rejoice over one sinner that rej^enteth," it is not unreasonable to suppose that they who surround the throne of grace also join their prayers witli those ascending from earth. Nor will the sainted mother, who has left her helpless babes behind her to the chances and charities of a cold and selfish world, refrain from imploring a blessing on them from the ever-living fountain of Love ! Nor will the Author of their being, who said, " Let little children come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven," refuse to listen lovingly and fovorably to the prayers of this mother! And the glorious company of angels and saints, who continually imbibe love and light from the Deity, will regard with tender interest tlje dear ones of earth, and ask their heavenly Father to bless them! It would be heartless to suppose that the saints in heaven forget that they have husbands, wives, parents, children, brothers, and sisters on earth, and that they have extinguished the affections which God imjilanted witliin them while here below ! 180 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Some writer has aptly designated death as a new hirth. The body dies, and its material parts decay and resolve themselves into their original elements, to be again recom- bined under new forms. A few scores of years hence, and the proud mortal, whose body is now radiant with beauty and grace, may become a component part of some animal, some monster, a tree, a plant, or perchance a flower. As the atoms of the decomposing body fly away, and become diffused, in obedience to the laws of ]N"ature, new affinities obtain, new combinations result, and that which was once a human form, may constitute in part hundreds of new, and dissimilar animals and plants. But the real body — the spiritual body — is born again. It has been delivered from the narrow trammels of the physical organization, the capacities of all its faculties are vastly en- Imnced, and it enters the spirit-world, leaving its earthy clogs and fetters behind. With these enlarged capacities the immortal saint can regard the thoughts and the actions of men, can exercise a certain spiritual influence over us, and can ask our Father who is in heaven to aid us and bless us. How cold and heartless the philosophy which would teach us that our departed relatives and friends have for- gotten us, have lost all earthly ties and affections, and cojv ccrn themselves no more respecting the affairs of this world ! IIovv^ unnatural to suppose that those whom God has united on earth, by the tcnderest sentiments of love and affection, are to become to one another strangers after death ! The following instructions, from the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, are given to all bishops and teachers of the Church. They are commanded to teach " that the saints, v/ho reign together with Christ, offer up their own prayers to God for men; that it is good and useful sup- pliantly to invoke them, and to liave recourse to their prayers, aid, and help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alone our Redeemer and Saviour." * * " Canons and Decree? of the Council of Trent," p. 2M. ON THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 181 As religion consists in a correct knowledge of all the Divine precepts, and in the habitual observance of tliem, the Church maintains that any object or any act capable of inducing m the human mind a devout thought, may be productive of good results. When such objects or acts recall the agony and suiferings of our Saviour upon the crosff, they are especially likely to produce impressions which tend to elevate the heart toward God. When a Catholic beholds a picture of the crucifixion, or a statue of our Saviour upon the cross, his mind instantly reverts to our blessed Saviour in the garden of Gethsemane, crowned with thorns, and led by the minions of Pontius Pilate to the scaffold, amid the jeers, the insults, and the mockery of the multitude, and to His agonies and death upon the cross. The devout Christian boAvs himself Avith reverence, and Aveeps before this symbol, and his heart- is filled with gratitude and love toward the Saviour of mankind. Is it the inanimate canvas or the colors which adorn it that call forth these emotions of gratitude, love, and adoration ? In prostrating himself be- fore it, with tears and humble devotion, does lie worship and adore the picture, or the heavenly personage it represents ? Tlie sight of a picture or a statue of the blessed Virgin naturally calls up, before the meanest as well as the best in- tellect, the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus, His humble abode in the manger after birth, the respect and adoration of the shepherds and of the wise men, the attempt of Herod to destroy Him by the massacre of the innocents. His infantile persecutions by the Jews, His tarrying in the syna- gogue of His enemies, and the tender care and holy affection of the mother for her Divifie Child. Are such representations and such thoughts idolatrous ? Is it not useful to recall, as often as possible, the history, the life, the instructions, and sufferings of the Saviour, and the events connected there- with ? And is it material Avhether we appeal to the mind, by oral or written words, or by representations in marble or on canvas ? It is not the eloquent language, or the classical diction, or the artistic groupings in marble or on the canvas 182 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. which imi^rcss our minds and develop within us sentiments of love, gratitude, and adoration, but the ideas, the scenes, the facts represented. It is immaterial what particular angel, saint, or scene is depicted, provided it calls to mind any interesting event in the life and career of Christ, or tends to draw the heart of man nearer to God. Objections are often urged against the Church by Prot- estants for what they term its ceremonies, forms, displays, and "mummeries." They especially denounce any token of respect to the symbol of our Saviour's crucifixion. Pros- tration and prayer before the cross, and personal signing of the cross, are regarded as particularly odious, undignified, and idolatrous. These self-reliant and self-satisfied Chris- tians prefer to show their manhood, their independence, and their fearlessness, by always passing by these holy symbols with heads and bodies erect, and with haughty and defiant sneers upon their lips. But the Saviour, who once bore this cross, and died uj^on it to atone for the sins of men, beholds him who sneers at and ridicules it, as well as the humble worshipper who prostrates himself in gratitude and devotion before it. In this connection we present an incident. A few years since an emigrant vessel arrived in this port from Liverpool, after a long and tem23estuous voyage. As soon as the ship touched the wharf her passengers hastened away to their dif- ferent destinations. Among them were some thirty or forty Catholic emigrants, poor, ignorant, ragged, friendless, and houseless in a strange land. On stepping on shore, they glanced about for some sacred edifice where they could ex- press their gratitude and tlianks to God for their protection during the voyage, and their safe arrival. The spire of old Trinity Church, bearing upon her front the cross, caught their eyes, and with one accord they rushed to the spot, pros- trated themselves to the earth before it, and blessed God from their hearts for bringing them thus far on their pilgrimage. Did these poor unfortunates express their gratitude and thanks ON THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 183 to old Trinity spire and its cross, or to the merciful Being wlio rules the waves and the tempest, and who had con- ducted them safely to harbor ? And will this merciful Being look down upon these poor emigrants with less approbation than upon the proud mei-chants who departed from the same vessel, and passed by the same sacred edifice and the same sacred emblem of the crucifixion, unheedingly, and per- haps mockingly and defiantly? But these lowly strangers not only prostrated themselves before the temple and the cross of our Lord, but they repeatedly signed themselves with the sacred emblem, in the name of the Fatlier and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, as a token to the whole world of their faith and rmfe on paper ^ descrip- tion of the same sufferings and crucifixion, and presents it to the eyes of tlie faithful with the same result; or the artist carves in marble or paints on canvas a representation of the same subject, and places them before the eyes of the true Christian with a similar effect. All these things are simply symbols in common use in order to express ideas and facts ; and the assertion so often made by Protestants against Catholics, that they do or can worship or idolize any one of these symbols of expression, is in the highest degree absurd. For the most part ideas are absorbed by the mind, and imj^ressions received from spolccn words, from printed or loritten loords, from painted or sculptured characters and ob- jects, from physical signs and from sounds. A signal-fire, or the display of a flag from an elevation, or the sounds of a cannon, a drum, or a trumpet, may address an entire army at the same instant, and order a bloody battle-charge, or the burning and sacking of a city. Some of these appeal to the understanding, some are noisy and discordant, some musical and harmonious, some full of motion and life, and some mute. Some of them, like printed or written words, address tlicmselves directly to the understanding and the reasoning and reflective faculties. Some, like paintings and statuary, appeal to the intelligence, through the beautiful, the sublime, and the emotional. Some strike the senses like an electrical stroke, and rouse into activity the ruder passions and emo- tions of the heart. Of course, no sensible man supposes that any of these sym- bols or modes of expression can be idolized. No intelligent man will accuse his fellow-creature of superstition, image or 186 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. picture worship, and idolatry, for clioosing to receive ideas and facts from all of these modes of expression, instead of from a part of them. If the Christians of the first century did not build costly edifices, and adorn them with pictures, statues, and other representations of their beloved Master and His blessed mother, in gold and jDrecious stones, it was because they were penniless and persecuted. Had it been in their power, they w^ould have built temples reaching the very heavens, and filled them with symbols of Christ and His mission. And God in heaven would have aj^proved of them, as He did in olden times. Yea, God commanded these things in the days of Moses and Solomon. Thus, God said to Moses : " Thou shalt make tvv o cherubim of beaten gold, on the two sides of the oracle." ^^ " And the Lord said to Moses, Make a brazen serpent, and set it tip for a sign." f God also di- rected Solomon to ornament the temple with images and pictures : thus, " He graved cherubim on the Avails He made also in the house of the holy of holies tAvo cherubim of image- Avork ; and he OA'erlaid them with gold." | Ko less pleasing in the sight of God are the beautiful temi^les, and their sacred ornaments, erected in His honor by the children of the new dispensation. The authorized doctrines of the Church upon this subject are expressed in the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent as follows : "Moreover, that the images of Christ, of the virgin mother of God, and of the other saints, are to be had and retained, particularly in temples, and that due honor and veneration are to be given them ; not that any divinity, or virtue, is belicA'ed to be in them, on account of which they are to be worshipped ; or that any thing is to be asked of them ; or that trust is to be reposed in images, as Avas of old done by the Gentiles who placed their hope in idols ; but because the honor Avhich is shoAA^n them is referred to the prototypes Avhich those images represent; in such Avise that by the images which Ave kiss, and before Avhich we uncover the head, * Exodus XXV. 18. f Numbers xxi. 8. ;}: 2 Par. iii. '7-10. ON THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 187 and prostrate ourselves, we adore Christ, and we venerate the saints, whose similitude they bear." * The bishops are also instructed to teach — " that by means of the histories of the mysteries of our redemption, portrayed by paintings or other representations, the people are instructed, and confirmed in the habit of remembering, and continually revolving in mind the articles of faith : . . . . that so they might give God thanks for those things; may order their own lives and manners in imitation of the saints ; and may be excited to adore and love God, and to cultivate piety : f .... and if any abuses have crept in amongst these holy and salutary observances, the holy synod heartily desires tliat they be utterly abolished ; in such wise that no images sug- gestive of false doctrine, and furnishing occasion of danger- ous error to the uneducated, be set up." J The fathers of Trent also taught that " the holy bodies of holy martyrs, and of others now living with Christ — which bodies were the living members of Christ, cmd the tonple of the Holy Ghost^ § and which are by Him to be raised unto eternal life, and to be glorified — are to be venerated by the faithful." II From the earliest period Catholics have honored and venerated the holy places which Christ blessed and sancti- fied with His divine presence when on earth, as well as the relics of His passion and crucifixion. They have also hon- ored and venerated the sepulchres and the relics of the saints and martyrs who have laid down their lives in the service of their divine Master. When Helena, the mother of Constantine, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to witness the places where our Redeemer had preached, suffered, and died, and succeeded in finding and in bringing away a por- tion of the holy cross to which Pie had been nailed, she did a noble and pious act, and the smiles and blessings of Heaven rested uj)on her. When the sepulchre of Jesus and the other * " Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent," page 234. f Ibid., p. 235. X I^^i^M P- 235. § 1 Cor. iii. 6. ll " Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent," page 235. 188 CIIPJSTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. holy places of Jerusalem were held and desecrated by the followers of Mohammed, all Europe rushed to arms, and in several bloody crusades attempted to wrest them from the hands of the infidel, with a view of honoring and glorifying their Saviour. The Lord's tomb, the garden of Gethsemane, and the mount of Olives, were all material and inanimate objects, some of them formed by the hands of men ; but they were honored and venerated for the associations con- nected w^ith them, and the reminiscences they excited, and not for any inherent divinity or virtue which they possessed per se. When holy men have devoted themselves exclusively to God, forsaken all worldly desires, taken their lives in their hands, suffered every conceivable privation and danger, and then been cruelly martyred, their memories, their sepulchres, and their relics have been honored and venerated. Are such tokens of respect and gratitude to the holy dead to be depre- cated ? Is it wrong to possess, or to look with veneration upon objects which recall the acts of these devoted servants and martyrs of Christ ? Nations retain and honor the relics of their great W' arriors and statesmen, and their armor, weapons, and other person :il articles are handed down from generation to generation among the honored archives of the nation. Families pre- serve and respect, in a peculiar manner, mementoes and relics of departed relatives and friends, and the ideas which the sight of til em calls up are in the highest degree precious and instructive. A lock of hair, a letter, a photograph, a marble image, or other memento of a deceased friend, brings up be- fore the mind's eye his face, his good qualities, his acts when living, and rekindles the dormant emotions of love and affec- tion. Is there idolatry/ in all this ? Do we render divine loorsliip to these inanimate objects which we press to our lips and bathe with tears ? Does not every good instinct of our nature approve of the preservation of these mute relics, similitudes, and mementoes of the departed, and of these silent tokens of affection and respect ? If these pictures, ON THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 180 images, and relics, may with propriety occupy positions of honor in the domestic household, why, then, surely the pic- tures, images, and relics of Christ and His saints may occupy similar positions in the houses of God. If the contempla- tion of these objects of the domestic circle excite Avithin us the most tender and refined emotions of the heart, surely a contemplation of similar objects within the walls of the Church should induce kindred emotions of love and rever- ence. If Protestants are sincere in their opposition to the exhibition of sacred pictures and statues in the churches, and if they actually believe that such exhibitions tend to idolatry, . let them first turn to their own homes and commence the work of reformation there. If they would be consistent in their professions, let them turn domestic iconoclasts ; pull down and break in pieces the images and busts of dead parents and relatives ; tear from their walls and trample under foot the portraits of the dear departed ; drag from their bosoms the photographs and the lockets of hair of deceased wives, children, parents, brothers, and sisters, and consign them to the flames. God help the cold-blooded heartlessness of those cavilling: innovators who beorrudoje these tokens of love and honor to departed friends, or to God's elect in heaven ! Modern sectaries are zealous advocates of simplicity in worship, for independence of all ecclesiastical authority, for freedom of conscience, and for an avoidance of all manifesta- tions of deference, submission, and humility toward the Su- preme Being. They scorn to kneel, and turn their backs to the altar when their pastors address the Infinite God ; they toss their heads and erect their bodies defiantly at the name of Jesus ; and were they to presume to invoke the prayers of His blessed mother, they would forsake the house of worship with unconcealed rage and hatred. Their innovating in- structors have taught them to reject every thing which had been held sacred by Catholics ; and as the latter have alwaj^s been in the habit of bending the knee and bowing the head and body in adoration at llie name of the Father, or ilie Son, 190 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ov the Holy Ghost, the followers of the former were taught to scorn and to avoid such tokens of adoration in their wor- ship. These advocates oi simplicity have ever scoffed at the idea of stooping before the name and the majesty of God, or Christ, or the Holy Spirit, or of compromising their dignity or their independence by humbling themselves before God or man. Although the Scriptures teach us that the archangels hide their faces in the presence of God, that Daniel fainted away and retained no strength, even in the presence of an angel, and that every knee should bow at the name of Jesus, modern sectaries are guilty of no such weaknesses. Why should they bow the knee to the living God ? Why should they bend their proud necks Avhen asking a favor of Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter's son ? Why should they lower their dignity, or disarrange their equanimity and simplicity, by humbling themselves before the altar of the Triune God ? According to these men, those poor, deluded people of old, who followed Christ about, touching the hem of His garments, washing His feet with their hair, and prostrating themselves before Him, were bigoted papists — given over to idolatry, ceremonies, and vain superstitions. But Luther and Calvin did not live then, or these idolatrous practices would have been rebuked and reformed, and these relic-worshippers, feet- washers, kneelers, and bowers, would have been kept at a proper distance ! The following incident related by an An- glican clergyman who visited the Holy Sepulchre at Jeru- salem, illustrates the spirit of these reformed Christians. Within the precincts of the Holy Sepulchre, in that spot where angels tread with fear and awe, the English writer observes, that " the only visitors who were not prostrate on their faces were Turks and English Protestants, but that the former were much the more reverent of the two. And this very reverence at the tomb of Christ, before which the holy women watched with heavy hearts, only moves with disdain the disciples of Luther, and Calvin, and Cranmer." "I have never seen any thing so abject," says one of them, " as the conduct of the pilgrims before the altar in the Calvary chaiiel. ON THE INVOCATION OF SAINTS, ETC. 191 You can scarcely recognize them as men." * To lie prostrate, and to weep at the tomb of the Saviour, this gentleman deems abject degradation. St. Jerome comprises in a single paragraph the sentiment Avhich animates the Catholic respecting this subject : " I3ut we worship not, we adore not, I do not say relics only, but not even the sun and moon, not angels, not archangels, not tlie cherubim, not the seraphim . . . lest we serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forevermore. But we honor the relics of martyrs, that we may adore Him whose martyrs they are. We honor the servants, that the lionor given to the servants may redound to the Lord, who says, He that receivetJi you receiveth J/e." * "The Wanderers of Syria," p. 211. CHAPTEE XYI. THE CATHEDKALS, AND THE FORMS AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH. The gorgeous cathedrals and the imjDOsing forms and ceremonies of the Catholic Church are objected to by Prot- estants. They assert that Christ and His disciples wqvq in the habit of preaching and teaching in the open air, in the mountains, by the v/ay-side, in the fields, in the streets of towns and cities, and on ships, and that they were clad in the siraj)le garb of shepherds, fishermen, and publicans. . At the period of Christ's mission upon earth men were enshrouded in sin and false doctrines of all kinds. The Jewish priesthood and potentates were powerful, intolerant, cruel, and jealous of all innovations upon their religious rights, customs, and privileges ; and when the coming of the Son of man was announced, their ingenuity and cunning Avere taxed to thwart His holy mission, and if possible to destroy Him. As a matter of necessity, therefore, Jesus and His followers were obliged to address the people when- ever and wherever they could find an opportunity. Driven from place to place, persecuted at every step, their liberty and their lives in continual j^eril, they had neither the time nor the means to erect temples of worship, or to establish forms and ceremonies in honor of the living God. ]^7ecessity alone compelled our divine Master and His apostles to forego the employment of grand edifices, imposing forms and cere- monies, and many outward tokens of respect which are so THE CATHEDKALS, ETC. 193 einiuently due to the majesty of tlie Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. Could Christ and His disciples have erected a temple of gold and precious stones, whose glittering towers should penetrate the very skies and dazzle the nations by their brilliancy, they would have delighted in the act for the glory of God. Or could they have arrayed themselves in purple and brilliants, and marched through the world with the word of God emblazoned all over them in letters of purest gold and precious stones, as the ministers of the King of kings, they would cheerfully have done so for the honor of Him who sent them. Ordinary propriety and decorum require an earthly monarch to maintain his honor, dignity, and influence by means of his palaces, his throne, his court, his halls of au- dience, and the decorations which pertain to royalty. To all this no reasonable subject takes exception. Shall less honor and less respect be given to the Most High ? Shall we refuse to contribute of our substance for the erection of temples, and the establishment of holy cere- monies which tend to honor and glorify our Creator ? Men build costly houses, and embellish them with splen- did furniture, pictures, statuary, and portraits of friends now in the spirit-world, and surround themselves with ele- gant equipages, liveried servants, rare libraries, and works of art, for their own honor and pleasure. No one objects to these domestic temples, or to these domestic forms, ceremo- nies, and displays, but all regard with favor the man whose enterprise and industry have enabled him thus to honor him- self and his family. Let not man, then, refuse to honor and glorify the living- God by establishing costly temples dedicated to His worship, embellished with works of art inspired by heaven-born genius, and by such poor forms, ceremonies, and other tokens of adoration and devotion as humble mortals may be able to oficr to the infinite majesty of the Almighty. It is undoubtedly true that our heavenly Father will re- gard Avith divine favor, and answer the prayers of the de- 9 194 CnEISTTANITY AND TIB CONFLICTS. voted missionary in the remote wilds of the savage, of the peasant in liis hovel or in his field, or of the mariner on the tempestuous ocean, or of the soldier in the midst of his cam- paign ; but He will not regard with any less favor those who strive to honor and glorify Him by outward tokens of re- spect, love, and veneration, as well as by inward sentiments of adoration and worship. It is the duty of Christians to love, adore, and worship God. It is also their duty to honor and glorify His name, and to disseminate throughout the world the immutable and everlasting truths of His holy Word. It is likewise their duty to love their neighbors as themselves, and to direct them toward truth, righteousness, and true religion. The minds of men are influenced in various ways. Intel- lects of a high order, and of high culture, are impressed by classical discourses, by the subtilties and refinements of logic, by philosophical analyses, comparisons, and deductions. Others can be better impressed by an appeal to their imagi- nations, their sentiments, and their emotional faculties. But by far the greater number are more forcibly influenced by more material, tangible, direct, and unintellectual external manifestations. Present to this last class a pathetic poem, representing an orphan child alone in the world, friendless, penniless, and sufiering for the necessaries of life, and it will be almost un- heeded and unappreciated; but let them meet a similar orphan in the street, and their hearts are at once touched, and they render instant and substantial aid. In order, then, to reach all orders of intellect, and to teach the gospel to every creature, it is necessary to bring into operation all of the means and appliances of the Church. By so doing we honor and glorify God, and subserve His cause on earth. Reasoning from a worldly point of view, it is evident that the tenets of Protestantism, and its mode of worship, tend to harden the heart, to repress the more refined and generous emotions, and to make men cold, selfish, and non- THE CATHEDRALS, ETC. 195 demonstrative. The natural tendency of such a religion is toward skepticism and indifference. Ap23lied to society and to individuals, its influences are detrimental to human hap- piness and prosperity. The non-demonstrative family man is a cold and uninter- esting specimen of humanity, who suj^plies his wife and chil- dren with shelter, raiment, and food, hut denies to them tlie cultivation of those intellectual and emotional faculties whicli a beneficent Creator has planted within them. He consti- tutes himself an ideal of y/hat a man should be, and re- pudiates and repulses all of those sentiments and emotions which proceed from the infinite Fountain of Love. Thus arise indifference, emiui, and not unfrequently actual dislike and unhappiness among members of the same family. In- stead, of the ringing, merry laugh, the close embrace, and the thousand offices of love and aflection, we find grudging civilities, chilling words, cold looks, and repelling actions, with their train of regrets, recriminations, and general mis- eries. Thus much for non-demonstrativeness in the family circle. The influence of this class of men in ordinary social life is less pernicious than in the domestic circle, because they are for the most part unpopular and subordinate. So fiir as their influence extends, however, selfishness, hypocrisy, and heart- lessness mark their course. Ko benevolent enterprise, no charity, no plans for ameliorating the condition of the poor, the ignorant, and the distressed, ever meet with their ap- proval. They regard poverty, ignorance, and suffering as crimes worthy of punishment, and would be shocked to rec- ognize such beings as their equals, or at the idea of becom- ing ruflied at the contemplation of their miseries and suf- erings. They appear to entertain a vague idea that the good God created themselves, but that the evil one created the others. Politically, Machiavelli is a type of this class. From this stand-point their characteristics may be summed up under the general heads of expediency, cunning, duplicity, treach- 196 CIIKISTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. eiy, hypocrisy, and that the end always justifies the means. Such are the statesmen, who serve their rulers and their countries so long as such service accords with their own per- sonal interests. But when their ambition or their interests coincide with the views and projects of some other ruler, then are they, together with their kings and countries, in market, open to the highest bidder. These are the dema- gogues who sow dissensions among nations, citizens, breth- ren, and gloat over strife, bloodshed, and devastation. These are the men who smile Avith grim delight when widows and orphans wail with anguish for the dead. These are the men who peril neither person nor property w^hen war, famine, or pestilence assails their country, but from their secure and snug retreats look out upon the general wretchedness with calm indifference. We now glance at this class from a religious point of view. The non-demonstrative man, when he manifests his char- acteristics against his family, his friends, or his country, only offends and insults his fellow-men ; but when these character- istics are displayed in religion, he sins against and insults his Maker. These men deem it derogatory to their dignity and their self-respect to humble themselves before the living God, or to kneel before the emblems of the crucifixion. When they pass by a symbol of the cross, or a representation of the cruel death of Him who gave His life for our redemp- tion, they walk with heads erect and defiantly, after the manner of the subjects of Pontius Pilate when conducting the Saviour of the world to execution. In order to play his part successfully, the non-demon- strative man is obliged to smother all the better feelings and instincts of his nature. He repudiates religious senti- ment, religious devotion, and emotions of all descriptions, and resiards with studied coldness those who render homasje and adoration to God and His sacred thinrotected Church must of necessity be permanent, unchangeable, infaUible. To doubt this, would be to doubt the sincerity of Christ in giving His apostles His positive promise, or His ability to fulfil it. Certainly no one doubts the infallibility of a Church thus founded, thus endowed, thus guarded. No errors of doctrine, or falsehoods, or abuses can enter into and take possession of a Church over which the Spirit of Truth keeps watch and guard, and with which the Son of God solemnly declared He would remain forever. Had not Jesus Christ the power thus to fulfil His 216 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. j)romise, thus to remain with His Church, thus to maintain its integrity and unity, to the end of the world ? If the response is affirmative, then this Church must be infallible. What constitutes this Church ? Undoubtedly its religious doctrines, both written and unwritten, and its ecclesiastical organization, with its supreme chief, and its subordinate officers and laymen. In founding this Church upon St. Peter, and placing him at the head of it as vicar, by special order, our Saviour constituted the holy See and its occupant as an essential portion of the Church itself. Therefore, it is that Catholics hold that the pope, as a part of the Church, is infal- lible in all matters of faith and morals, except in the exam- ples we have enumerated. The Church cannot err, because the Spirit of Truth ever animates it ; because Christ always remains with it ; and because of the divine promises touching its perpetual integrity and preservation. As divinely consti- tuted and essential elements of the Church, her presiding rulers cannot err in the exercise of their legitimate functions, because they are the legitimate earthly representatives of Christ, and because they are guarded and preserved in the ways of truth by the Founder of Christianity. For these reasons the popes have always been in accord with all the general oecumenical councils which have been held respecting articles of faith and morals. For these reasons all those principles of Christianity which Christ presented to the Church have ever remained immutable and infallible. For these reasons, the one true Church has ever existed, still exists, and vail continue to exist as the mother and mistress of all churches, until the consummation of days. As a man, a theologian, an orator, or an essayist, discon- nected with his legitimate functions as supreme bishop of the Church, the words or the published sentiments of a jDope have no higher authority than those of ordinary bishops and theologians. This fact has repeatedly been acknowledged by the popes themselves, by the councils, and by learned Catholic fathers and theologians of all ages. In his Eireiii- con^ Dr. Pusey does the Catholic Church great injustice by PAPAL INFALLIBILITY. 217 insinuating that all opinions uttered or written by the popes are regarded by Catholics as infallible and binding as ar- ticles of fliith. The popes have never pretended that every opinion they might utter or publish, especially when such opinions are expressed without the characteristic formalities, and without complete and thoroucjh investisration and knowl- edge, should be regarded as oracular. All accusations of this kind are erroneous, and are made thoughtlessly, or with a view of casting odium upon the holy See. The most zeal- ous defenders of the prerogatives of the papacy, teach a doctrine quite the contrary of this. All agree that when the pope speaks or writes as a private doctor, he is not infallible. Thus Benoit XIV., in the preface to his books entitled Be Synodo Diocesana, Avrites ; " AYe willingly subscribe to the doctrine of the excellent writer, Melchior Cano, when he says, ' When the popes publish a work upon any subject, they express their sentiments like other learned men ; but in these writings they are not regarded as judges of faith.' " Pope Gregory XVI. remarks that, " even in a definition where the sovereign pontiif pronounces as supreme judge, he expresses liimself sometimes as a private doctor ; for example, when he seeks to support his definition by proofs and theo- logical reasonings. The pope, then, is only a simple theo- logian, although eminently worthy of respect." * Pope Greg- ory did not regard any papal decree, even when expressed ex cathedra, as a veritable dogmatic decision, or binding as an article of Catholic faith, which did not pertain to a ques- tion of faith, which was not promulgated Avith an entire certainty and confidence of its correctness, which was not regarded as obligatory upon the consciences of the faithful, which was not addressed to the entire Church, and which was not perfected in due form, and for the fulfilment of a definite object. Pope Innocent IV. gave full liberty to other writers to attack, criticise, and refute, if they were able, the opinions * Etudes Relig. Hist., Feb. 18G6, p. 282. 10 218 CnRISTlANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. expressed in any of his works which were written during his pontificate. In the proceedings of the Council of Trent, as well as of those of previous general councils, free and constant inter- course and consultations upon all snhjects before the coun- cils, have been held between the members of the councils and the sovereign pontiffs. Occasionally, when the poj^e has been in doubt respecting a mooted point, he has referred the final decision of it to the council, confirmed it with the pontifical seal, and then announced it as a dogma of the Church. This fact proves clearly that neither the govern- ment of the Church nor the authority of the pope is despotic or arbitrary. As a writer in ^Jtudes Rellg. Hist, et Lit.^ for March, 1866, page 284, well remarks: "ISTeither the popes, nor the oscumenical councils, ever proceed to acts of such high importance (decisions respecting articles of faith) without making thorough preliminary examinations, with a view of ascertaining with precision the present and past teachings of the Church, because it is the assistance, and not the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which has been promised them. Bellarmin exacts these examinations under penalty of nullity in the oecumenical councils ; and because the Council of Constance did not proceed with this maturity in its fourth session, he rejected the decree passed during this session. . . . The intervention of the holy See in the nomination of bishops, in the celebration of councils, and in ecclesiastical proced- ures, is a powerful means of preserving the unity of commu- nion and faith in the Church. If this intervention should cease, it is easy to foresee that rivalries, contentions, and doc- trinal disputes would soon occur. If the primacy of the holy See ought to effect any thing, it is to prevent, or at least to suppress these evils. This is v»^hy this intervention is a nat- ural consequence of the primacy of jurisdiction, and it is, in this respect, truly a divine riglit. If this intervention is sup- pressed, something else must be substituted in its place ; for primacy of jurisdiction, which is the foundation of ecclesiasti- cal unity, ought to be efiicacious and to manifest itself by acts TAPAL INFALLIBILITY. 219 of authority. Its mode of operation ought to vary accord- ing to times, places, and the laws of the Church ; hut the principle always remains the same, and this principle Avhich consists in the fact that the pope stands in the place of Jesus Christ as the good pastor of His sheep and His Hock, is cer- tainly divine." * To insure the stability of governments, certain discre- tionary powers are, by common consent, conferred upon em- perors, kings, and presidents. Politically speaking, they are regarded as the fathers and rulers of their subjects ; and in matters pertaining to the safety and welfare of the national family, private and arbitrary decisions are often rendered, and the affairs of government administered according to these decisions. Without such authority on the part of rulers, there would be no stability or permanency for governments. The rule applies Avith equal force to the government of a church. The father of the universal Church must possess a certain amount of autliority, and certain discretionary povv^- ers in the administration of the government of the Church, in order to secure its uuity and perpetuity. This rule coin- cides with the universal practice of the world in the manage- ment of all important secular organizations whether national, local, or individual. Independently of the divine promises of protection and preservation touching the integrity, unity, and perpetuity of the Church, it is so hedged about by canonical laws and pre- cautionary requisitions and safeguards, that it is not in the power of a pope to introduce into the Church, as an article of faith, any essential error or abuse. Whenever serious dan- gers have threatened the Church, or differences of opinion have arisen respecting essential points of doctrine, it has been the uniform custom of the sovereign pontiffs to convene general councils of bishops and theologians to aid them with their advice, and furnish them with such information and such reliable facts as should enable them to arrive at correct conclusions. As an instance in point, we cite an extract from * Ibid, p. 386. 220 CIIKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. the JBiill of Indiction of the Council of Trent^ in which Paul III., after alUicling to the lamentable dissensions and wars which were then distracting Christendom, writes as follows : " Wherefore, having been, as we have said, called upon to guide and govern the bark of Peter, in so great a tempest, and in the midst of so violent an ag-itation of the waves of heresies, dissensions, and wars, and not relying sufficiently on our own strength, we, first of all, cast our cares upon the Lord, * that He might sustain us, and furnish our souls with firmness and strength, our understanding with prudence and wisdom. Then, recalling to mind that our predecessors, men endowed with admirable wisdom and sanctity, had often, in the extremest perils of the Christian commonweal, had re- course to oecumenical councils and general assemblies of bish- ops, as the best and most opportune remedy, we also fixed our mind on holding a general council ; . . . . having an al- most assured hope that, when assembled there in the name of the Lord, He, as He promised, would he in the midst of us, f and, in His goodness and mercy, easily dispel, by the breath of His mouth, all the storms and dangers of the times." Before Pope Pius IX. rendered his definite decision re- specting the immaculate conception, he consulted the bishoj^s of the whole world, obtained the iropinions and advice, and the sentiments of those in their dioceses. He also personally examined with the utmost care the Holy Scriptures, the traditions of the Church, and the writings of the Fathers, be- fore arriving at a definite conclusion. Our opponents aver that there have been wicked and corrupt popes, and therefore that their opinions and acts cannot, and should not, be regarded as authoritative, much less infallible; and that the Church which they represent cannot be the true Church. In response we assert : 1. That we have the positive declaration of Jesus Christ that this Church, with its sacred truths, and its organized priesthood, shoidd exist forever under the divhie protection y' * Ps. liv. 23. f Matt, xviii. 20. PArAL INFALLIBILITY. 221 and that no acts of individuals, whether tlicy be popes, bish- ops, priests, monarchs, or even the powers of darkness, should prevail against it. 2. All the essential doctrines of the Church arc so firmly settled and established by former jiontiffs and oecu- menical councils, and the authority of the holy See is so com- pletely hedged around by precautionary requisitions, that no pope, however bad he might be, could successfully pervert or corrupt the divine precepts and ordinances of the Church. 3. If an unprincipled pope were to violate all the com- mandments of the decalogue daily, and place the papal coro- net upon his brow to aid him in serving the devil, yet he could not invalidate the solemn promise of Christ, he GOidd not prevail against the Church, he coidd not set aside or expel from its sanctuary — the abode of the Spirit of Truth — a single precept or a single jot or tittle of those holy truths which the Father in heaven gave to Christ, and which Christ gave to the apostles and to the Church. Individual rej^resentatives and ministers of God may err, but the immu- table truths of Christianity are written by the finger of Jesus Christ upon the everlasting tablets of the Church, and are there sacredly guarded by God Himself. 4. When on earth Christ had among His immediate rep- resentatives, ministers, friends, and personal appointees, a desperately wicked and corrupt apostle — a liar, a thief, a traitor, and a murderer — Judas Iscariot ; but the crimes of this man did not invalidate the divine teachings, or give cause for the breaking of the unity, harmony, and integrity of the apostolic organization. Neither should the crimes or the defection of a pope impair the unity and the integrity of the same teachings as they have been perpetuated in the Church. K one of the trusted apostles of our Saviour thus proved recreant to his high calling, would it be strange if other corrupt apostles should manifest themselves in the Church during a period of eighteen centuries? Ought we to expect more of the representatives of the Church during its days of trial and persecution in the mediajval ages, than 222 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. existed in the same Cliiircli during the lifetime of its divine Founder? The jurisdiction of the pope is confined solely to matters ap23ertaining to the Church, like articles of faith and morals. As a component part of the Church, when he exercises his authority within the prescribed limits, in due form, and with the characteristic formalities and requisite precautions, or in accordance with the advice and instructions of oecumenical councils, his decisions are infallible. But in all matters out- side of the jurisdiction of the Church, in all oi^inions he may utter or publish, independently of the prescribed and cus- tomary rules, in all expressions or acts which are antagonis- tic to the laws and commandments of God, or to the settled decisions of previous popes and councils upon all questions whatever, where diligent and thorough investigation has not been made, where doubts exist upon the subject, or w^here it is not addressed to the entire Church, he is not infallible^ but is to be regarded as a private doctor and theologian. We shall conclude this chajoter by presenting to the reader the opinions of one of the most eminent and author- itative theologians of the Catholic Church upon papal su- j^remacy, Veron. Upon this subject Veron writes thus : " In fact, it is clear, from Bellarmin himself, that ' it has never been defied by the Church that the pope is infallible when unassisted by a gen- eral council, nor that any doctrine advanced and projjosed by him, is, in consequence of such proposal, an article of Catholic faith.' All divines, consequently, are agreed, as Bellarmin allov/s, that papal infallibility is no doctrine of the Catholic Church." " No Decretals of the Roman pontiffs lohich form the body of Canon Laio — as the six booJcs of Decretals, the Cleme?itines, Extr an ag antes, etc., no bulls issued more recent- ly of these Decretals, by the successors of St. Deter, are of sufficieiit authority to prove any doctrine an article of Cath- olic faith. No doctrine is of faith because it happens to have been taught by the pope in one of the above-mentioned PAPAL INFALLIBILITY. 223 works. The reason is clear. The pope, in whatever char- acter, or however solemnly he may give his opinion, even in scholastic phraseology, ex cathedra, is not the universal Church, and, consequently, Avhatever may be his private opinion, and hov/evcr declared, such opinion is not, on that account, ^^ropounded by the Catholic Church as an article of her belief. And, observe that this is so clearly acknowledged by all theologians, that any one who should presume to ad- vance a contrary opinion would be an innovator, and expose himself to the censures of the Church, as a broacher of new doctrine." * Bellarmin declares, " that the pope, even speaking as the successor of St. Peter, or as pope, may teach heresy, when he takes upon himself to define any thing without the con- currence of a general council ; and even be an actual and formal heretic." f Pope Adrian YI., Bellarmin, Gerson, Almain, De Castro, and many other eminent theologians, according to Veron, " have placed the infallibility of the Church, in matters of faith, not in the pope, but in the universal Church, or rather in a general council." " JVo decision of a provhicial council, tJiough the p02ye X)reside at it personally , or hy his legates, is an article of Catholic faith. In fact, such a council is not the universal Church ; and consequently the doctrine proposed by it is not thereby proposed by the universal Church, and is not, consequently, an article of Catholic faith. It would, however, become such, if the opinion of the Church were clearly shown, from proper sources, to have been pronounced in its favor.";];. . ."However, as the authority, both of the pope and of provincial councils, is very great, their decisions are to be received with a corresponding respect." § " Nor are all practices of the Church, even of the imiver- * " The Rule of Faith," p. 12. \ Bellarmin, lib. iv. dc Pout. Rom., cap. 2, p. 209, torn. i. Colon. Agrip, An. 1628. X " The Rule of Faith," p. 16. § Ibid., p. 17. 224 . CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. sal Church.^ a sufficient ground for an article of Catholic faith. This is clear, since the second condition of the rule of faith is wanting ; these practices do not propose a doc- trine to be believed, but a cnstom to be observed. . . . Hence the Church may make what alterations she pleases in these observances, resting^ as they do, on merely human and prob- able grounds. . . . But decrees of faith are immutable, and, once propounded, cannot possibly be nullified." * " For a doctrine to be of faith," says Bellarmin, " it must have been expressly defined by the general council to be an article of Catholic faith." f Bellarmin and other great Catholic theologians declare that no decree of a pope or a general council is binding as an article of Catholic faith which does not pertain to the_Church, or which is not general, or addressed to the whole Church. IsTor is any opinion expressed, or act performed by a pope or a general council infallible, respecting any subject or individ- ual, unless the above-named conditions are com2)lied witli, and all proper sources of information upon the question have been fully examined. * " The Rule of Faith," pp. 17, IS. f BellarmiD, lib. ii., Dc Con., e. 17, p. 2G7. CHAPTER XIX. PAPAL INTERFERENCE IN SECULAR AEFAIRS. In almost every recorded instance of pontifical interfe- rence with civil rulers, it will be found that the cause of religion, justice, liberty, and humanity has been subserved. Grotius and other writers on the laws of nations hold "that a civilized people may interfere, even by force of arms, to prevent a continuance of savage outrages." " An unjust laAV," says St. Augustine, " does not appear to be a law." And such laws, according to Balmes,* " are not binding in conscience, unless, perhaps, for the avoidance of scandal and trouble." From the writings of St. Tliomas of Aquin, St. Augustine, as well as from Holy "Writ and tra- dition, Balmes deduces the following general rules : " 1. "VTe cannot, under any circumstances, obey the civil power, when its commands are opposed to the divine law. " 2. When laws are unjust, tbcy are not binding in con- science. " 3. It may become necessary to obey these laws from motives of prudence ; that is, in order to avoid scandal and commotion. " 4. Laws are unjust from some one of the following- causes : When they are opposed to the commonweal — Avhen their aim is not the good of the commonweal — when the legislator outsteps the limits of his faculties — when, although in other respects tending to the good of the commonweal, * " Protestantism and Catholicism Compared," p. 351. 10* 226 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. and proceeding from competent authority, tliey do not ob- serve suitable equity ; for instance, when they divide un- equally the public imposts." * RecogniziDg the justice of these general principles which have been established among civilized nations as common laics^ the popes of Rome have occasionally exercised the pon- tifical authority for the purpose of eradicating paganism, establishing Christianity, and of leading mankind from paths of error and cruelty into those of truth and mercy. From the stand-point of the nineteenth century, many able writers have contended that these exercises of pontifical power vrere unjustifiable and unchristian ; but a critical examination of the circumstances attending every act of papal interference in civil and political aflairs during the early and middle ages, will satisfy every true Christian that the cause of God, of civilization, of justice, and of human progress, has, in every instance, been enhanced by them. In many respects these rude eras of the earlier centuries may be compared with the recent and even present condition of certain barbarous peoples, like those of the Sandwich Islands, Madagascar, ISTew Zealand, and portions of Asia, Africa, and America. Whenever the ministers of the Church have inter- fered in the civil, political, and domestic policy of these savage tribes, with a view of arresting human sacrifices, can- nibalism, bloody civil wars, and the like, no Christian has ever dreamed of denouncing the acts of these men as unjusti- fiable and unchristian. Even when they have been instru- mental in deposing their kings and chiefs, and have meted out the severest censures of the Church against these viola- tors of the laws of God and man, no one has ever accused them of political ambition, or of an unjust and unchristian usurpation of power. In most instances, during the early and middle ages of the Church, where the pontifical authority has been invoked, or exercised in civil and political afiliirs, the causes for inter- ference have been as just and self-evident as in the examples * " Protestantism and Catholicism Compared," p. 351. PAPAL INTEKFEKENCE IN SECULAR AFFAIRS. 227 just cuumerated. In no instance can it be proven that the pontifical authority has ever been exercised from motives of personal or political ambition, pecuniary or territorial aggran- dizement, or revenge. In all cases the sole objects have been the suppression of idolatry and gross wickedness, crime and oppression, and tlie establishment and propagation of tlie Christian religion. In illustration of these assertions we select the following examples from the writings of Bish- op Kenrick, * Brownson, Raynald, Bossuet, Balmes, and others : " Wrong, wrong have they been who have complained that kings and emperors were subjected to the spiritual head of Christendom. It was well for man that there was a power over the brutal tyrants called emperors, kings, and barons, who rode rough-shod over the humble peasant and artisan — well that thei-e was a power, even on earth, that could touch their cold and atheistical hearts, and make them tremble as tlie veriest slave. ... It is to the existence and exercise of that power that the people owe their existence, and the doc- trine of man's equality to man its progress." f After the victory of James, king of Aragon, over the jMoors, Pope Clement IV. " congratulated with him, but at the same time he admonished him to subdue his own passions by putting away from him Berengaria, the object of unlaw- ful attachment For you cannot please our crucified Lord, or avenge His wrongs, if you will not abstain from offending Him. Moreover, we wish you to understand, that unless you obey our admonitions, we shall force you, by ecclesiastical censure, to dismiss her." \ The wicked, licentious, and tyrannical Ladislaus, king of Pannonia, after disgracing his kingdom by shameless and brutal licentiousness, and oppressing his subjects past en- durance for a number of years, was several times admonished by Pope Martin IV. ; and finally, when all admonitions had failed to correct his guilty abuses, ho was excommunicated. * " The Primacy," by Rt. Rev. F. P. Kcnrick. f " Boston Quarterly Review," Brownson. \ Raynald. 228 CIIEISTIANITY Al^D ITS CONFLICTS. In several instances, where kings have unjustly put away their wives, the bishops of Rome have interposed the pon- tifical power to punish the ofFenclers, and to vindicate the sanctity of the mamage sacrament. In all of these cases, the apparent material prosperity of the Church has been temporarily impaired ; but the principles taught |.by Jesus have ever been the sole guide of the guardians of the Church from the early centuries, when nearly every pope was mar- tyi'ed for their maintenance, to the heretical persecutions and schisms of ambitious monarchs of more modern times. One of the most notable and pernicious examples on record of a kingly violation of the laws of God and man is that of Henry VIII. of England. When this monarch found that he could not flatter or bribe or threaten Clement VII. into a violation of the laws of God and of the Church, by assenting to a divorce from his excellent queen, Catharine of Aragon, in order that he might marry his concubine, Anne Boleyn, he deliberately staked his immortal soul for the carnal prize. The issues were Christianity, virtue, and salvation on the one hand, and heresy, lust, and eternal perdition on the other. Before the apostasy of Henry, nearly all the people of England were Roman Catholics. The only church, worthy of the name, was the Catholic. Here and there a ranting Puritan would make his appearance, but they were insignifi- cant in talent, influence, and numbers. One of the colossal crimes, therefore, of the sixteenth century — a crime against both God and man — a crime which imj^aired the unity of the Church, perverted her doctrines, and substituted in tlieir place the subtle inventions of man, was due to this licentious monarch. For these flagrant violations of the laws of God and man, Pope Clement, as the representative of Christ on earth, and the spiritual head of Christendom, as the guardian of the unity of the Church, of true faith, of morals, and of the rights of the people, opposed to the sacrilegious monarch the sever- est censures and penalties of the Church. PAPAL INTERFEEENCE IN SECULAK AFFAIRS. 229 When Richard Ca?ur de Lion was arrested and impris- oned, on his retuni from Palestine, by Leopold, duke of Austria, in violation of the agreement existing between tlic crusaders and the Christian kinoes throucrh whose territories they might pass, Celestine lU. procured his release by the tlircat of excommunication. He also exercised the same in- lluence against other rulers who had aided and abetted the arrest of Richard and his friends. In the quarrels of Henry L of England with his brother Robert ; of Andrew, king of Hungary, and Henry IL ; of Henry II. of England and Louis VI. of France ; of James, king of Aragon, and the Count of Montfort; of Louis VIH. of France, and Henry II. of England ; of Philip, king of France, and Alphonsus, king of Castile ; of Edward, king of England, and Philip the Fair, king of France; of Charles tlie Bald, and his brother Louis ; of Henry II. and his son ; of Louis YI. and his rebellions nobles ; of Henry IV., king of Germany, and the Saxons ; of Philip I. and the French bish- ops and people ; of Frederick Barbarossa and his subjects ; of Frederick II. and his subjects, diiferent popes have exer- (;ised their authority to effect just settlements, to put a stop to war and strife, and to restore peace and harmony. These interpositions have saved oceans of bloodshed, tens of thou- sands of human lives, and diverted the minds of wdiole na- tions from passion, hatred, and revenge, to charity, fraternity, and peace. Upon civilization the influence of these inter- ventions has been in the hisfhest deg^ree satisfactorv, at what- ever era of the Church they have occurred. Lothaire I. procured a fraudulent divorce from his wife Theutberge, whom he falsely accused of incest, in order that he might marry his mistress "Waldrade. But Nicholas I., on investigating the case, detected the fraud, and the injury which had been done to the lawful queen, annulled the di- vorce and the unlawful marriasre, and restored Theutbern^e to her conjugal position and rights. Ingelburga, the wife of Philip Augustus, who had been divorced on false pretexts, was reinstated in her rights by 230 CHEISTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. the authority of Innocent III. after a forced and cruel sepa- ration of sixteen years. The Church has always regarded marriage as a divine sacrament; since the Holy Scriptures declare that those whom God has joined together in matrimony, shall not be disjoined again by man. The welfare of society, the cause of morality and virtue, the peace and harmony of families, the proper education and training of children, and every con- sideration of moral and social policy demand that the mar- riage relation shall be maintained intact and inviolate as established by the positive decree of the Almighty. The Roman pontiffs have ever recognized the truth and justice of this divine injunction, and have in numerous instances ex- ercised their authority over monarchs and subjects to enforce obedience to it. The examples adduced by Michaud, in which excommu- nications were issued against Philip Augustus, Louis VII., Philip I., and others, " Avere all in great measure grounded on the violation of the laws of marriage." For the most part the secular influence of the bishops of Rome has been exercised through moral suasion, and always in behalf of religion, virtue, mercy, and human happiness. " Catholic sovereigns," says Bishop Kenrick, " as mem- bers of the Church, are bound by her laws, and subject to the penalties which are attached to their trangression The pope, as head on earth of the Church, exercises by divine right authority over Catholic princes in the things that are of salvation. When by flagrant crimes they cause the name of God to be blasphemed, he may admonish and reprove them, as Nathan reproved David by the divine command ; and, in case of contumacy, he may inflict on them ecclesiastical cen- sures." * We may go even further and assert that, by the ''' com- mon law " of all civilized nations, by the universally con- ceded piinciples of right and justice, and by the general and received customs and practices of the early and middle ages, * " The Primacy," p. 327. PAPAL INTERFERENCE IN SECULAK AFFAIRS. 231 the heads of the Church were right in interposing the pontifi- cal authority for tlie purpose of arresting blasphemy, idolatry, hiunau sacrifices, and heinous crimes against divine and hu- man laws. It matters not whether this authority has been exercised against civilized emperors or kings in the midst of cruel and unjustifiable wars against their weak and unofiend- ing neighbors, and other great crimes against religion and humanity, or against the chiefs and kings of savage tribes of cannibals, and wanton man-slayers and slave-dealers — all will concede that circumstances have fully justified every such act of secular interposition. When Christ overturned the tables of the Jewish money-changers who were profaning the temple of God by secular occupations, and cast them out of the synagogue, He took the law into His own hands, and summarily corrected and. punished the blasphemy. On the same princij^le, His subsequent representatives have some- times adopted a similar policy when the laws and the churches of God have been violated and profaned by wicked rulers. CHAPTEE XX. CONDITION OF THE WOELD AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE KEFORMATION. DuEiNG the entire Christian era antagonistic forces have continually been at work. In most instances these opposing elements have been the Christian system on the one hand, and material and human systems on the other. All have left their imprint, in a greater or less degree, upon nations and epochs. But one of them has survived the mutations and the practical tests of all the ages. This experirnentum cruets in- dicates an inherent truthfulness and vitality in the Christian system, which pertains to no other. At all periods there have been false criteria of true civil- ization. Pliny, Seneca, Martial, Tacitus, and Josephus, from their points of view, instituted comparisons between the old Poman and the early Christian communities, and insisted that the superior civilization, culture, and material prosperity of the former was a conclusive proof of the superiority of the pagan and Jewish religions over the Christian. In the same manner, Macaulay, Guizot, D'Aubigne, Lecky, and others, from their modern stand-points, have instituted comparisons between Protestantism and Catholicism, by adducing wealth and worldly prosperity as the proper tests of Christian civil- ization. As we advance, it will aj)pear that similar ideas and similar antagonistic forces were at the foundation of the religious revolution of the sixteenth century, to those which existed in the days of Christ and the apostles ; and that the CONDITION OF THE WOKLD, ETC. 233 subsequent development of the principles of the Reforma- tion Las reestablished a condition but little in advance of that which existed at the birth of the Saviour. After the successive irruptions of the Goths, Yandals, and Huns, under Alaric, Genseric, and Attila, and when all Europe had been seized and divided among the barbarian chiefs, nearly every remnant of the old Roman civilization was extinQ-uished in a Ions: and dark nioht of barbarism. The only lights which glimmered upon the great pathway of humanity toward eternity, issued from the churches, monasteries, and colleges of the Catholic Church. Tlirce antagonistic systems now struggled for the mastery — the Christian, the remnants of the old Roman, and the Barbarian. Each one had its peculiar elements of strength — the Christian its divine origin, its divine protection, and its inherent truth- fulness ; the Roman, its memories of national glory, grandeur, and high material culture; and the Barbaric, its military prestige, and the influence of actual possession. Each sys- tem, therefore, presented some points of attraction to the rude men of the period ; each one could appeal to some senti- ment of the human heart with a prospect of success. The Christian civilization addressed itself to man's better nature, to his spiritual aspirations, to his humanitarian sentiments, to emotions of love, benevolence, charity. The Roman civil- ization recalled the popular philosophies of many genera- tions, the power and glory of the empire, the luxuries and enjoyments of a rich and sensual people, and roused the pride of nationality. The Barbarian could point to his numerous conquests, to his bravery and prowess, and derive inspiration from the wild and romantic legends of his native fastnesses, from the rude excitements of an unrestrained soldiery, and from pillage and rapine. On through the dark ages, witli ever-varying results, from generation to generation, sped these conflicting agencies of human thought and action — Christian, Roman, Barbarian. Slowly, as time wore on, and the passions of war and conquest subsided, the beneficent truths of Christianity began to make an impression upon the 234 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. hearts of the Barharian conquerors ; and as these changes of sentiment occurred, a corresponding improvement in morals and manners was visible. In this contest of antagonistic principles, material wealth and power were on the side of the rulers, while the only real and true element of civilization was with tlie subjugated Christians. As Goth, Vandal, Hun, Frank, Suabian, and Lombard, gradually absorbed the truths of Christianity, the dark clouds of heathenism very slowly but steadily became dispersed, and the clear light of Catholic truth illuminated their souls. The invaders had gained a permanent victory over the per- sons and the possessions of the subjects of the empire; but in turn, the victors themselves were subjugated with spiritual weaj^ons by their Christian vassals. In this gigantic contest of the Christian Church with barbarism on the one hand, and cultivated joaganism, Judaism, and materialism on the other, the results, under the circumstances, were most extraordinary. In the midst of a world of materialists, opposed by the preju- dices, education, habits, passions, and propensities of the rude men of the period, it is remarkable that Christianity survived, and still more remarkable that she brought per- manently within her fold entire heathen nations, who after- ward became the dominant races of Christian Europe. Let those who are inclined to speak disparagingly of the mediaeval Christians, remember these great facts, and learn to appre- ciate the difficulties and the trials of these pioneer bishops, abbots, priests, and monks. And if, among the myriads of these new converts from barbarism, he occasionally finds a bad Catholic, even in a clerical garb, let him not denounce Christ's truth, or Christ's Church, and clamor for a reforma- tion, a new religion, and a new Church outside of the one v/hich was founded by the Son of man on St. Peter. When contrasting the rapid progress of Christianity and the rapid advancement in civilization since the discovery of printing in 1452, and the revival of literature and commerce in the sixteenth centiuy, with their more slow and unequal progress in the middle ages, let all the facts and circum- CONDITION OF THE WOELD, ETC. 235 stances of each period be taken into account. In the first instance we behold a continent of educated and enlio-litcned Christicms in possession of innumerable printed hooJcs^ and every possible facility for acquiring instruction and knowl- edge; the discovery and opening up to the commerce of Europe new and vast continents, with the attendant im- pulses to navigation, trade, and international communication. In the latter example we behold many nations composed of cultivated pagans, depraved Jews, rude barbarians, and a minority of Christians; no printed books ; all learning and knowledge confined to the clergy ; and continual elements of antagonism brought to bear against the Church. Under such circumstances it is not reasonable to suppose that C'hris- tianity could have made more rapid progress than she did make. It is not just to contrast the civilization of these epochs with that of the last three centuries, to the discredit of the Roman Church, or Jier bishops and priests. During these barbaric periods the Christian Church was tlie only element of civilization, the only influence which could rescue mankind from false philosophies, false religions, false political, moral, and social systems, and permanent human degradation *, and as she strusfoiled on amidst a thousand conflictino- and potent obstacles, she brought with her the Holy Scriptures, the sacred traditions, her ecclesiastical organization, and all her ordinances and observances as they had been received from Christ and the apostles. She also brought with her a steadily accumulating host of Christian converts, until, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, many years before the innovations of Luther, scarcely an individual in Europe remained unconverted. Even as early as the fifteenth century, nearly one hundred years before the commencement of the Reformation, almost all of the obstacles to the progress of Christianity and civili- zation had been removed, and new and most potent agencies of advancement had been presented to tlie world. Pagan and barbarian Europe had become Christian ; the invention of printing had placed a new element of civilization in the hands 236 CnEISTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. of men, and had created a new era in human progress. All knowledge could now be concisely presented to the public eye, and thoughts, iDrincij^les, discoveries, and actions could be examined, and then adopted or rejected as individual judg- ments might dictate. This wonderful art of the ingenious Guttenberg, ojoened a wide door for both good and evil. It could sow good seed, which might yield harvests, rich in divine truths, in morals, and in useful knowledge of all kinds ; or it could plaut tares, which might choke and retard the progress of religion, truth, virtue^ and human happiness. As a consequence of this invention, there was a general revival of literature, commerce, art, science, and agriculture, and all advanced with a rapidity quite unparalleled in the previous history of the world. A new impulse was communicated to the human mind, the ideas and acts of men became more sys- tematized, and more blended for mutual assistance and con- cert of action, and a new and greater j^ower for good and for evil existed in the world. This gigantic power — this vast element of civilization — was conceived, perfected, and pre- sented to mankind by a Roman Catholic. By the enterprise of Roman Catholic monarchs and navigators, the new conti- nent of America and the Indies were discovered, and brought under the sway of civilized Euroi:)e. These great discoveries inaugurated the most important commercial era which the world had ever witnessed. The thirst for new discoveries, conquests, adventures, and ncAV channels of trade and wealth now became ^furore with kings, nobles, and subjects. Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, England, and other countries vied with each other in their efforts to fit out new expeditions to explore other unknown regions, and to open up and de- velop all possible sources of commerce and riches. Be it ever remembered that these vast discoveries, and these new ele- ments of civilization and material and national prosj^erity, Averc all made by Catholics j and be it remembered that wherever a Catholic fleet penetrated, the priests and mission- aries of the Church were always present to teach and j^reach the Word of God to the heathen, and to win them by love CONDITTON OF THE WOliLD, ETC. 237 and charity witliin the Christian fold. As avc proceed, we shall enter into details upon this subject, and endeavor to j^rove that Christianity and civilization made quite as rapid progress from the discovery of printing to the commencement of the so-called licformation, as they have done at any corre- sponding period since. We shall also show that the civiliza- tion of Catholicism has always been more in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ, more humane, more exalted, and better calculated to enhance the welfare of the human race than that of Protestantism. Nearly ev^ry eminent Protestant writer has gracefully acknowledged the fact that the preservation of Christianity up to the sixteenth century was due solely to the Roman Catholic Church. In illustration, we cite a few extracts from two of the best writers of England and France — Macaulay and Guizot. Referrins: to the influence of the Roman Church durino- the middle ages, Macaulay remarks : " The ascendency of the sacerdotal order was long the ascendency which naturally and properly belongs to intellectual sujDcriority. The priests, with all their faults, were by far the wisest portion of socie- ty. It Avas, therefore, on the whole, good that they should be respected and obeyed. The encroachments of the ecclesi- astical power on the province of the civil power produced much more liaj^piness than misery, while the ecclesiastical power was in the hands of the only class that had studied history, philosophy, and public law, and while the civil power was in the hands of savage chiefs who could not read their own grants and edicts." * "The Church has constantly maintained the principle tli at all men, whatever their origin, are equally privileged to enter her ranks, to fill her highest ofiices, to enjoy her proudest dignities. The ecclesiastical career, particularly from the fifth to the twelftli century, was. open to all. The Church was recruited from all ranks of society, from the lower as Avell as the higher, indeed most frequently from the lower. * "History of Eiiglaiul," toI. i., p. 134. 238 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. When all around her fell under the tyranny of privilege, she alone maintained the principles of equality, of competition, and emulation The Church has exercised a vast and important influence apon the moral and intellectual order of Europe ; upon the notions, sentiments, and manners of society So powerful, indeed, has been the authority of the Church in matters of intellect, that even the mathe- matical and physical sciences have been obliged to submit to its doctrines We shall find the same fact held, if we travel through the regions of literature ; the habits, the sen- timents, the language of theology, there shovv^ themselves at every step. This influence, taken all together, has been salu- tary." '^ .... "It was at the very time that the Roman em- pire fell to pieces and disappeared, that the Christian Church rallied, and definitely formed herself. Political unity per- ished, religious duty arose This is a glorious and powerful fact, and one Avhich, from the fifth to the thirteenth century, has rendered immense services to humanity. The mere fact of the unity of tlie Church, maintained some tic between countries and nations that every thing else tended to separate ; under its influence some general notions, some sen- timents of a vast sympathy continued to be developed ; and from the very heart of the most frightful political confusion that the world has ever known, arose perhaps the most extensive and the purest idea that has ever rallied mankind, the idea of spiritual society ; for that is the philosophical name of the Church, the type which she wished to realize." f In order to judge fairly of the influence of the Reforma- tion upon the civilization of Europe, it is necessary to keep constantly in mind the great events of the sixteenth century, XJTecedlng tlie Reformation. Previous to the discovery of printing, knowledge, for the most part, had been commmii- cated only from individual to individuak Written manu- scripts were rare and expensive, and consequently confined almost exclusively to the learned and rich. It is true that the divine principles of Christianity were all within the * " History of CiviliziitioTi," vol. i., pp. 105, 113, ISY. f li^itl, vol. ii., p. 2S9. CONDITION OF THE WORLD, ETC. 239 Clmrch, and that tliey were uttered from the mouths of tl}e clergy in all parts of the world; but this mode of addressing mankind was slow and imperfect. The art of printing aroused the worhl, from a condition of intellectual torpor and igno- rance, to one of great mental activity and intellectual de- velopment. All ideas, all discoveries, all knowledge could be placed upon printed tablets, and presented daily and hourly to the whole civilized Avorld. The tlioughts of the wise, the good, and the great could be seen continually on printed sheets. The minds of men could be brought into immediate and direct contact, opinions and suggestions could be exchanged, new discoveries communicated, and knowledge be imbibed with marvellous rapidity through the new in- vention. Students of history will not fail to observe tliat the bish- ops of Rome have ever been most active in developing the resources of this marvellous discovery, as well as earnest patrons, of learning, and active disseminators of the Holy Scriptures among the nations of the earth. ISTotwithstanding the wars which distracted Italy in the early part of the six- teenth century, the popes and the Church were continually engaged in disseminating knowledge of all kinds through the press. It will greatly astonish those who have been made to believe the fiction that the Roman bishops have ahvays endeavored to suppress and to exclude the Bible from the public gaze, to be made acquainted with the actual facts upon this subject. Tlipse credulous followers of individual sectaries will be indignant, as well as amazed, when they learn that the only Bible-publishers, Bible-preservers, Bible- missionaries, and Bible-distributors of the world, up to the period of the Reformation, were the popes of Rome and the Catholic clergy ! Even after the Bible had been corrupted by the German innovators, and all kinds of false doctrines were beinsj disseminated amono- the io-norant and credulous, the Church still continued to circulate the Holy Scriptures in all parts of the earth as they were delivered to the apos- tles and to the Church by Jesus Christ. It is quite true that 240 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. tlie false translations of the Bible by Luther and other parti- san sectaries, arrested the attention of the bishops of Rome, and required them to shield the unlettered and unwary from the cunning devices of these ambitious religionists, by pre- senting to the world legitimate Bibles, and authorized inter- pretations of them. It is quite true that the art of printing had placed in the hands of bad men a potent instrument of evil, tlirough which they might readily pervert the religious faith of thousands, and blow them about by every wind of false doctrine ; but it is no less true that the popes were equally active in using this powerful agency for good. It was due to these " ambassadors " of God that the Bible was preserved and transmitted to the Reformers themselves ; and it is equally due to them that the same Bible was still held in the Church, immutable and uncorruptecl, notwithstanding the fierce on- slaughts of the promoters of the Reformation. Says Bishop Kenrick : " The books printed in Italy during these ten years (from 1470 to 1480) amount, according to Panzer, to twelve hundred and ninety-seven, of which two hundred and thirty- four are editions of ancient classical authors. Books without date are of course not included, and the list must not be re- garded complete as to others A translation of the Bible by Malerbi, a Venetian, was published in 1471, and two other editions of that, or a different version, the same* year. Eleven editions are enumerated by Panzer in the fifteenth century. .... The books printed at Rome down to 1500 are nine hundred and thirty-five — a far greater number than issued from any other city but Venice, which counted two thousand eight hundred and thirty-five Much more than ten thousand editions of books or pamphlets (a late writer says fifteen thousand) were printed from 1470 to 1500. More than half the number appeared in Italy. The editions of the Vulgate registered in Panzer are ninety-one." * In 1513 the Psalms and a grammar were published at Rome by Potka in the Ethiopic language. In 1540 the New Testa- * Kcnrick's " Primacy," p. 482, and Ilallam's " Literature of Europe, vol. i., c. 14, n. 33, 53, 44, 141. CONDITION OF THE WOELD, ETC. 24:1 ment was published at Rome in tlie same language. During the pontificates of Sixtus Y. and Clement VIII. , beautiful editions of the Vulgate and of the Septuagint were published at Rome, in the Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Arabic lan- guages. John Baptist Raimondi published the entire Bil)le in ten diflercnt languages, under the direction and patronage of the pope, in the sixteenth century, before the Reformation. Twenty printed editions of the Bible were brought out in the German language alone before Luther's appearance ; and among the eminent Catholic commentators on the Bible at this period were Tostatus, Nicholas of Lyra, John Taulcr, and Thomas a Kem2)is. More tlian fifty completely endowed universities were established in all parts of Europe, under the direction and patronage of the Roman pontifis, during the century preceding the Reformation. * But few men have been more active as Bible-publishers and Bible-distrib- utors than Popes Pius IV., Gregory XIII., Sixtus V., Julius II., and Clement VIII. ISTor were the eftbrts of these chief representatives of the Church confined to the publication and dissemination of the Holy Scriptures, and to books per- taining to religious subjects, but a fair proportion of the ele- gant and classical literature of the past, as well as of the present, was rapidly transferred from written manuscripts to printed sheets, and presented to the world in the form of books or pamphlets. The period vdiich elapsed from tlie discovery of printing to the appearance of Luther as a reformer Avas about sixty years. During this interval, as we have seen, the Bible was translated into many languages, and great numbers were published and circulated among the nations of the eartli under the patronage and direction of the Catliolic Clmrch. The art of printing, like any other newly-discovered art, re- quired time for development. Its utility could not be prac- tically manifested in a day, or even in a single generation. Much practice, much experience, and much labor were neces- sary to change all of the previous modes of expression, and * AIzog;, *' nistoire de I'Eglise," p. 231. 11 242 CnEISTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. to substitute universally a novel and untried system of com- municating and of receiving ideas. Whatever may be as- serted of the uses to which this noble art has been subjected up to the present time, it will not be denied that a Catholic invented it, that Catholics developed and perfected it, and that Catholics presented it to the Reformers as a new, potent, and ready instrument, for good or for evil, as the minds of men might determine. We have briefly alluded to a few of the immediate Catholic fruits of this discovery in the form of numerous copies of the Holy Scriptures in many languages, and of large numbers of books on philosophy, poetry, art, science, and classical literature. But still another grand result, which may be fairly traced to this rapid interchange of ideas to which we have before alluded, was the Catholic discovery of America and the Indies. The impulse which had been communicated to the human mind by the new invention awakened all the inven- tive faculties of men, and kindled in their hearts new as- pirations, a spirit of enterprise and emulation, and a burn- ing desire to spread the truths of Christianity and the bless- ings of civilization to the remotest parts of the world. Actuated by such motives. Catholics soon discovered and colonized new and vast continents, and opened up a new era of commerce and navigation in all quarters of the earth. And, w^hile carrying in one hand commerce, agriculture, and the arts of civilization, they always conveyed the divine truths and blessings of Christianity in the other. No one can estimate the vast importance of these great events of Catholic enterprise previous to the Reformation upon the future welfare and happiness of the human race ! No one can contemplate these important eras* in human affairs with- out recognizing the everlasting obligations due to the Roman Catholics who lived during the last half of the fifteenth century. It required many generations after the invention of steam as a motive power, before its vast resources could be fully developed and utilized. It is of comparatively recent date CONDITION OF THE WOULD, ETC. 213 that the learned Dr. Lardner, in a public lecture in New York, pronounced ocean steam-navigation impracticable ; Init time has since developed the powers of the great discovery, until innumerable steamships traverse every sea. During the first years of its employment a few small boats were placed on a few placid rivers, but rather as scientific curiosi- ties than as useful crafts of commerce. As time wore on, constant practice and experience gradually brought forth the dormant capacities of the novel motive power. Ere long its potent breath gave life to the locomotive, as it had already done to the steam-engine, and henceforth it was destined to be a new and world-wide jiower both on land and water. The facts of history will demonstrate that the discovery of the steam-engine was followed by a much more tardy development, and by fewer useful results in proportion to its importance, during the first half century, than were exhibited after the invention of printing. Ample facts warrant the assertion that all new and im- portant inventions must pass through the processes of con- ception, germination, and growth, before arriving at full maturity. In judging, therefore, of the progress of litera- ture, science, and general advancement after the Reformation, let it be ever remembered that the art of printing had reached its full development and maturity when Luther and his fellow-innovators appeared on the stage of life, and that the natural and legitimate fruits of the noble invention were everywhere rapidly manifesting themselves. It is manifestly unjust to attribute the rapid advancement in knowledge and in the arts of civilization which occurred during the sixteenth century to the efforts of the Reformers and their partisans, instead of ascribing it to the marvellous agency whicli brought the minds of men into daily and hourly raiiport. Taking as a standard of com23arison the imi^ortant dis- coveries which have been made since the Reformation, like the steam-engine, the electric telegrapli, vaccination, etc., we infer that no class of men, even those of the present day, could have taken up the art of printing in 1452, and pracli- 244 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. cally developed and utilized its powers with greater rapidity and judgment, than did tlie Roman Catholic Church and her children up to the period of the Keformation. Nor, judging from the history of the past three hundred years, could the same number of Puritans have made more rapid strides in the discovery of new continents, in navigation, in the arts, and in the propagation of the Christian religion, than did the Catholics for sixty years preceding the Reformation. So far as human enterprise, energy, and natural benevo- lence are concerned, all men, whether Catholics or Protest- ants, are very much alike. Climate and temperament exer- cise certain influences upon these natural traits, a,nd thus, to some extent, modify local and even national results. So also the religious training of a people may direct their thoughts and their actions more to their spiritual well-being than to their v>^orldly prosperity, and thus leave them behind in mere material advancement and material civilization ; but it becometh not man to decide as to which of these two classes Christ will look upon with most favor at the great day of reckoning. No one can examine critically the new elements of civili- zation and progress which were presented to the world in the fifteenth century, and the actual advancement which was everywhere manifest, without admitting that Lutlier's pre- texts for a revolt from the Church were unfounded. The in- dividual corruptions against which Luther took exceptions, were such as must of necessity occur in all ' human organiza- tions and communities so long as man retains his sinful nature. These corruptions should have been attacked with- in the Church, so that its unity might have been preserved, and mankind been spared the contentions, the wars, and the desolation v/hich followed the religious revolt which rended Christendom into innumerable hostile and conflicting sects. No more ardent and thorough reformers have lived than were the pontifls and many of the bishops of Luther's day. Even when Luther was a quiet monk in the Augustine con- vent of Erfnrth, I*ope Julius IT., and afterward Leo X., CONDITION OF THE WOKLD, ETC. 245 wore usiug tlicir utmost efforts to reform individual abuses within the Church. At the fifth Lateran Council, a. d. 1512, in his bull of indiction, Julius says : " Nothing for the last eleven years, in which we discharged the office of cardinal, would have been more to our heart than to see celebrated a general council, and the Church of Rome reformed for the better,'''' In opening the same council at its eighth session, Leo observed respecting the bull of reformation which he Was about to issue as follows : " We, successor of his (Julius II.) cares as well as his office, have never, from the first hour of our joontificate, ceased to make it our business, both to continue the council, and to promote peace amongst Chris- tian princes; still more, since it is in our mind to effect a universal reformation^ to support by new measures, and carry out by means of increased deputations, all that had been provided by our predecessor from the first respecting offices. For there is no care that we have more at heart than to pluck up all thorns and briers from the Lord's vine- yard, and take up by the roots and extirpate whatever mili- tates against its perfect culture." When Adrian VI. suc- ceeded to the pontificate, he wrote as foUows : " We there- fore bend our neck to this high post, not for the lust of rul- ing, not for the pui'pose of enriching our nearest of kin, but, in obedience to the will of God,/br the purpose of reforming His spouse, the Catholic Church, that has been defiled ; of as- sisting the oppressed ; of raising and honoring those learned and virtuous men who have for so long been neglected and ignored ; of carrying out all other tilings which it becomes a good pontiff and lawful successor of blessed Peter to do." Nor were many of the most eminent Catholic bishops of Luther's day less active than the popes in their efforts at reformation, as the label's of Simon Begnius, bishop of Mod- rusch, Antonius Piiccius, Stephen, bishop of Torcello, Cardi- nal Contarini, Sadolet, bishop of Carpentras, Carafia, and othero testify. We might cite volumes of facts to the same purport, but our limits will only allow us to present a few examples as types of the general senliment of the Catholic 246 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Church on the subject of individual corruptions preceding the Reformation. Referring to Luther's pretext for revolting from the Church and endeavoring to rend Christendom into in- numerable conflicting sects, viz., the corruptions within the Church — Ffoulkes remarks : " Yet even Luther miojht have taken a much more philosophical view of it all, even then, had he been more of a thinker. He mio-ht have learned from our Lord that Jerusalem had not ceased to be the holy city because Scribes and Pharisees had gotten the upper hand there. He might have learned from Eusebius that even the primitive Church required to be reminded by persecutions of its heavenward aim. He might have learned, by comparing the ninth and tenth centuries with the thirteenth, that the Cliurch had been buried under, had risen up from, and shaken off far greater horrors and enormities than any that he saw around him Li point of fact, things had seen their worst, and were beginning to tnend, when Luther appeared on the stage ; and even among those who opposed him, there were many Avho both acknowledged and mourned over the corruptions which they could not eradicate, as sincerely as he did Li the Church as elsevv^here, reformers have their persecutions to go through, and all real successes are achieved by patience and perseverance, not revolt Had Luther, instead of rending Christendom, withdrawn from it ; had he organized a gigantic emigration, and, grieved and indignant at the corruptions which he saw around him, crossed the ocean, Bible in hand, with twenty thousand followers, men, women, and children, a mixed multitude, and settled in some distant and unoccupied continent — Australia, for in- stance —his descendants might have lived on in perfect good faith there till now, not only without ceasing to be Christians, but without deviating in the slightest degree from the most rigid orthodoxy It was his revolutionary determination that involved Luther and his theory — not necessarily hetero- dox in its origin — in a world of erroi"^ and contradictions respecting sin, free-will, faith, and baptism themselves." * * " Christenclom's Dmsions,'* pp. 125-127. CHAPTER XXL PRIMITIVE PROTESTANTISM. Fkom the days of Christ to the present time, the Christian Church has every now and then been cursed by the factious protests and innovations of restless and fanatical men. The pretexts, motives, and sentiments of these protesting inno- vators have been exceedingly various and contradictory. Their numbers have been very great, but their influence, for the most part, has been limited and transient. We present a few examples as types of several classes, in order that a just estimate may be formed of their general character and influ- ences. Among the earliest protesters of the Christian era was the high-priest Caiaphas, who denied that our Saviour was what He j^rofessed to be, and accused Him of blasphemy, falsehood, and imposition. This man adjured Jesus " to tell him if He were Christ the Son of God." And when Jesus had responded to him, " Thou hast said — " " then the high- priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath sj)oken blasphemy ; what further need have we of witnesses ? Behold, now ye have heard His blasphemy. Wliat think ye ? Tliey answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in His face, and buffeted Him, and others smote Him with the palms of tlieir hands, saying, Proj)hesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote Thee ? " * In this instance the pretext was that Christ was endeavor- * Matt. xxvi. 63-68. 248 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ing to deceive and to impose upon tlie people : the anhnus whicli impelled Caiaphas was jealousy lest the new religion should interfere Avith his priestly emoluments and preroga- tives : and the result, a gross indignity to tlie Son of God. When Christ restored the dumb man to speechi by casting out of him a devil, the Pharisees declared that the miracle was not accomplished througb God, but through tbe prince of devils, thus protesting against the truthfulness and tlie di- vine pretensions of the Redeemer. When the Jews brought to Jesus the woman taken in adultery, for the purpose of entrapping Him, and He had silently reproved them, they asked Him, " Who art Thou ? And Jesus saith unto them. Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. . . . Then answered the Jevv^s, and said unto Him, Say we not well that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?" After explaining to them His divine mission, " Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him ; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple." * These Jewish protesters denied the divinity of Christ, and stoned Him out of the temple for asserting the fact. When Jesus had restored the blind man to sight at the pool of Siloam, the dissenting Pharisees declared against the miracle, saying : " This man is not of God, because He keep- eth not the Sabbath day. Others said. How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?. . . . We know that God spake unto Moses ; as for this fellow, we know not from whence He is." f When the Jews took up stones to throw at Jesus in the temple in Solomon's porch. He answered them : " Many good Avorks have I showed you from My Father, for which of those works do ye stone Me ? The Jews answered Him, say- ing. For a good work Ave stone Thee not ; but for blasphemy, and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God." | * John viii, 25, 28. f John iv. 29. % John x. 31-33. PFvIMITIVE PEOTESTANTISM. 249 When Christ assured the multitude at Capernaum that " He was the living bread which came down from heaven," and that " whoever ate of this bread, ate His flesh," many of His own disciples protested against the declaration, and en- deavored to induce Him to alter His wordvS, in accordance with their own private and rational ideas. When the Saviour reasserted the declaration, in still more explicit language, and demanded their absolute faith, they protested against tlie miracle as being contrary to the laws of nature, and " went away and walked no more with Him " — repudiating both Him and His doctrines. Among the primitive apostles and Protestants, must be ranked Judas Iscariot, who practically protested against Christ and His divine mission, by abandoning His cause, and betraying Him to an ignominious death. ISTaturally, tliis man was deceitful, avaricious, and perverse ; but when he became an apostle and professed personal friend of Jesus Christ, it is probable that the great truths which he had heard from His lips had, for the moment, carried conviction to his heart, overwhelmed his instinctive traits, and inclined him to a life of godliness. In common with the other apos- tles, Judas had listened to the Avords of life from the God- man, had witnessed His astounding miracles, and had beheld the dawn of a reign of universal love, hope, charity, and peace, in place of the existing idolatry and wickedness which then filled the world. In his heart he must have known that Jesus was the Son of God, and that His teachings were true and holy. For a time this knowledge kept down the old Adam within him, restrained his natural instincts, and in- clined him to obey the precepts and observances of his holy Master. But a temptation Avas before him which he could not resist — the purse with its pieces of silver. As the glit- tering coins passed through his itching palms, the demon of avarice took possession of him, faith fled from him, and the way was cleared for deceit, falsehood, and ti'cason. All the Avonderful things Avhich he had seen and heard, now be- came indistinct, and visions of Avorldly riclies and pleasure 11* 250 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. dazzled him. Heretofore lie liad received the scoffs and re- buffs of unbelievers, suffered from trials and privations, and practised in accordance with the divine teachings. But he saw within his reach riches, worldly honors and eclat, and he yielded to his natural promptings in betraying the SaAaour of the world to crucifixion. In the perpetration of this mon- strous crime, Judas practically protested against Christ and His religion. As Satan, when he protested against the in- structions which Adam and Eve had received from God with regard to the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden, was the first Protestant of the old disjDensation, so was Judas, when he denied and betrayed Christ, among the first Protestants of the new dispensation. The prince of darkness commenced operations in propria persona ; but his followers and imi- tators have ever since been prompted and aided by his spirit, as the sequel will prove. The Koman procurator, Pontius Pilate, and his wretched subjects, denied that Jesus was the Son of God, protested against His teachings, and put Him to an ignominious death. Theoretically and practically these men were all Protestants. These cavillers against the personal teachings of the Saviour were mostly impulsive and superstitious Jews, Gen- tiles, Pharisees, and pagans; but the stupendous miracles which Avere continually wrought in their very presence usu- ally served to awe them, and to destroy summarily their power for evil. After the ascension, the duty of combating these heretical dissenters devolved upon the ajDOstles and their successors. As might have been expected, their efforts were less potent than those of their divine Master, and the opponents were more bold, more persevering, and more influ- ential than, before. But in the end relis:ious truth has al- ways triumphed. Among the first Protestants who attempt- ed to create dissensions in the Church, after the departure of Christ from the earth, were a number of Corinthians who protested against certain doctrines which had been delivered to the Church by the Saviour. Pope Clement sent three legates, Claudius Ephebus, Valerius Bito, and Fortunatus, PEIMITIVE PKOTESTANTISM. 251 to remonstrate with the dissenters, to correct their errors, and to arrest their schismatic operations. The mission was successful, and the disturbers abandoned their contentions. About the middle of the second century, Montanus and Maximilla attempted to found a Protestant Church in opi)o- sition to the Catholic Church. These men were enthusiastic, ascetic, and reckless as to principles or consequences. Their Protestantism consisted in denying that the Holy Ghost had succeeded in saving mankind through Moses or Christ, "but had enlightened and sanctified them to accomplish tliis great work." They repudiated all Church authority, advocated private interpretation of Holy Writ, denied the lawfulness of second marriages, the power of forgiving heinous sins, like adultery, etc., and rejected every thing which did not coin- cide with human logic and natural laws. The energy and boldness of these innovators gained them many followers ; but after several years of violent opposition to the authorized Church of Gocl, their factious folly terminated in mental de- rangement, and suicide by hanging, as the apostasy of Judas had done before them. Among the prominent Protestant sects which existed previously to the third century, were the Eucratites, or primi- tive Puritans ; Phrygians, the primitive Spiritualists, Docetes, Cajanists, Valcntinians, Marcionites, Basilidians, Eutychists, Ophians, Simonians, Montanists, and several others of lesser importance. After them came Ebion, who repudiated all the epistles of St. Paul ; Manichoeus, who asserted that no part of the New Testament was written by the apostles, that all Church authority was unnecessary, and that each person should be governed by his own private judgment in religious matters ; Donatus, who believed in " apostolic succession, in the necessity of ecclesiastical unity, and in the efficacy of the sacramental system," but denied the supremacy of the Roman pontiff, and of the Catholic Church, because certain wicked bishops and priests had openly practised and sanctioned abuses and violations of the divine laws; Arius, who denied 252 CUPwISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. the divinity of our Saviour, and rejected the epistle of Paul to tbe Hebrews ; Marcion and Pelagius, who, while professing to be Catholics, protested against several of the dogmas of the Church, and denied the authenticity of certain portions of the Scriptures which were recognized by the Church ; N"ovatian, who denied the Catholic doctrine of sacramental j^enance. The position of the Donatists was similar to that of the Anglicans of the j)resent day, while the Manichseans may be regarded as the ultra Protestants of this early period. Both of these men denounced the Church, and her immutable doc- trines, because of the unbecoming acts of certain clerical individuals. They discarded the divine truths and the laws of the Church, because individuals had violated these truths and these Jaws, and appealed to private judgment in the selection of their creed and their rule of action. As might have been expected, these primitive Reformers were sjoeedily divided into several distinct sects. It would require too much space to present any thing like a comprehensive history of the numerous Protestant sects and innovators of the primitive ages of the Christian era. We have only been able in this work to call attention to a few of these attempted reformations, but they will serve as types of all the others. In all of them, the pretexts, objects, and results have been almost identical. All have subjected the declarations and j^i'ccepts of Christ to the test of private judgment ; all have been influenced more or less by personal ambition, love of notoriety, unwillingness to submit to the restraints of religion, and a spirit of faction; and the results in ail instances have been dissensions among individuals of the same Christian household, more or less disturbance of the unity and harmony of the Church, and the development of skepticism, immorality, and irrcligion. Among them we iind pioneer representatives of nearly every sect of modern times. During the sojourn of Jesus upon the earth, these impious men protested that He was not the Son of God ; that He was possessed of a devil; that He cast out evil spirits, not through any divine power, but through Beelzebub ; that His PKIMITIVE PROTESTANTISM. 253 pretended conversion of bread and wine into His body and blood was a liction ; that He was an impostor, a deceiv^er, a false teacher, and a false prophet. After tlie ascension came others, who protested against the holy Trinity, the Incarna- tion, the sacramental system ; others, wlio denied that Christ ever founded a single visible Church, with an ecclesiastical organization ; others, who have protested against the idea that Christ lias fulfilled His promise of remaining with His Church forever, and of preserving within it His sacred truths, and therefore have thrown to the winds all authorities and all traditions, and have relied upon private inspiration in forming their religious oj^inions ; others, who have distorted and perverted isolated passages of Holy AVrit into articles of faith, and thus given rise to numerous doctrines contrary to tlie spirit of Christ's law. In alluding to the early opjoositions of the Church among Christians, Bossuet truly remarks that the truths diffused by the Holy Spirit are always clear, simple, pure, and uniform ; while the doctrines of dissenters are always inconsistent, contradictory, and changeahle. Thus, "the first confession of faith made by Arius, and presented to his bishop Alex- ander, has since undergone a continual series of variations." * As St. Hilaire observed to one of the earliest protectors of Arius, the Emperor Constance, "Like architects who are dis- pleased with their own works, they are continually building up and tearing down." The history of all dissenters from the time of Christ, illustrates this assertion. " Heretics," says TertuUian, " from their nature, continually vary in their rules, that is, in their confessions of faith. Each one believes that he has a riglit to change and to modify what he has received as his own private inspiration dictates, since the author himself has acted in accordance with his own personal judgment. Heresy always retains its own peculiar nature, in never ceasing to make innovations ; and the progress of the thing is similar to its origin. What has been permitted to Yalentinian is also * Hist. dc3 Yar., p. 113. 254 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. allowed to Valentiuians ; the Marcionites claim the same power that Marcion had ; and the authors of any particular heresy possess no more right to make innovations than their proselytes. All heresies change, and when we examine them thoroughly, we find them continually changing from Avhat they were in the first instance." CIIAPTEE XXII. MODERN PROTESTANTISM. Like its primitive archetype, modern Protestantism is made up of an almost endless variety of opinions, creeds, and sects, which have been conceived and developed by indi- viduals. Hostility to the ancient Church has always been at the foundation of both ancient and modem Protestantism. With no fixed principles, and no definite system of operation, its modern disciples have filled the world with divisions, dis- sensions, and a general condition of religious chaos. But the fundamental doctrines of nearly all of the sects coincide Avith the Puritanical principles inculcated by Calvin and Luther. Notwithstanding the numerous attempts which have been made to repudiate the tenets of Calvinism and Lutheranism, they still adhere in the main to every branch of Protestant- ism. No sectarian subdivisions, no theological subtleties have ever yet been able to remove the dominating influences of the original Puritan system as established by its original inventors. At the present time we have in this country not less than eight different subdivisions of Presbyterianism, viz., the Old and New School, Cumberland, Associate, Associate Reformed, Reformed, United, Covenanters ; and yet all of them retain the most objectionable features of the religion of Calvin. The same fact aj^plies to the subdivisions of the other sects. As we advance avc shall endeavor to show that the parent source of this theological system was corrupt and 256 ClirJSTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. demoralizing, and that, in its innumerable ramifications, its fruits have been antagonistic to the best interests of society. The stern facts of history demonstrate conclusively that the Puritan system ^vhich originated with Luther, Calvin, Zwinglius, Bucer, Melanchthon, and the Anabaptists of Mun- ster and Lcyden, not only retarded the progress of Chris- tianity and true civilization, but that it has been the chief cause of nearly all of the discords, contentions, civil wars, and other national calamities which have occurred during the past three hundred years. "What were the nature, the objects, and the tendencies of this system f Its fundamental principles were undoubtedly revolutionary, fatalistic, world- ly. All the established religious doctrines and Scriptural in- terpretations of the wise and pious men of the precedmg ages were ignored. All the sacred legacies which Christ de- posited in His Church, and which had been transmitted from generation to generation, were cast aside ; and the hasty and fickle inspirations of a few visionary men Avere accepted as Christianity and true religion ! Free-agency was repudiated ; good works were counted as nothing in the j)lan of salvation : God was regarded as the author and creator of evil, of sin, and of human wretchedness and woe ; while man was looked upon as a powerless agent placed uj^on earth without volition or responsibility, and predestined before his creation for a certain fixed and immutable destiny. Such, in brief, was the essence of the Puritan system. Two prime objects were at its foundation, viz., the over- throw of the ancient Church and every thing pertaining to it, except a corrupted version of its Bible, and the establish- ment upon its ruins of a number of nev^^ tlieological hypotheses and new religions which should afford greater scoj^e for the indulgence of human ambition, and the baser emotions of the heart. Depraved j)riests, monks, and nuns, joined the revolu- tionists in order to escaj^e the rigid discipline of the Church, and to marry, wrangle, revel, and indulge in sensual pleas- ures. Rulers and nobles gave in their adhesion, for the pur- pose of enriching themselves by robbing tlio rich churches, MODERN PROTESTANTISM. 257 monasteries, and other possessions of the Churcli. Peasants and artisans accepted the novel theology, in order to save themselves the trouble of worshipping God, of j^erforming their religious and moral duties, and of restraining their evil propensities and passions. It was very convenient for them to shift all responsibility from themselves to tlieir Creator, by simply adopting the doctrine of justification. It was a most comfortable idea that they were not free agents, and there- fore were not responsible for any sins they might commit, because the Almiglity had foreordained and irrevocably pre- arranged all mundane events. In order to accomplish the objects of the Keformation, Luther and his companions cunningly and stealthily departed from the Church, taking with them but 07ie of the many sacred deposits with which her divine Founder had endovred her — a copy of the Latin Vulgate which St. Jerome had translated from the originals, and which had been recognized as authentic by all the ecclesiastical councils, and by the Universal Church since the days of the apostles. Armed with this integral portion of God's holy truths, these religious conspirators commenced operations. How ? By setting up a human standard of religious faith and practice, and then presenting to the world a new and false rendering of the Bible which should coincide with this standard ! In effecting this novel translation, no learned council was invoked, and no consultations Avith wise, holy, and learned men were sought ; but the simple ii^se dixit of a single individual — an indifferent scholar, and a religious enthusiast, was deemed sufficient to set aside in an instant that version of Holy Word wdiich the wisdom and learninc: of fifteen centuries had established as veritable and sacred. Many of the corruptions thus per- petrated were denounced even by the very partisans of the Reformation themselves, and a bitter quarrel occurred be- tween Luther and Zwinglius upon this point. From that period to the present time, each sectary has taken the liberty of distorting the Scriptures in accordance with his own hy- pothetical ideas. Ostensibly taking the Bible as their only 258 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. rule of faith, these men presumed to pervert its sacred trutlis in such a manner as to aiford a pretext to their visionary and absurd tenets. Thus were the beneficent teachings of Jesus Christ made, by forced and false renderings, to sustain the dogmas of the revolutionists. In the first instance, Luther and his fellow-innovators did not jDresume to attack a single article of Catholic faith, or a single princi23le of the Catholic religion ; but from the moulder- ing debris of bygone centuries, and from the frailties and weaknesses of individual men and women, the pretexts and arguments of the Reformation were gathered. If a bishop or priest had violated his religious obligations in ages past and gone, each individual act was carefully noted, and hurled Avith hatred and derision against the holy Church of God. Charity found no abiding-place within their hearts, but hatred, ambition, and a sj)irit of discord, turbulence, and vengeance, dominated over them. Very soon, however, the Puritan system became fully developed, and the real objects to which we have alluded became manifest, in attempts to destroy all the ancient landmarks of Christianity, and to build up the vain creeds of men. One of the pretended ob- jects of the Reformation was the enfranchisement of the minds and consciences of men from the thraldom and the rigid discipline and restraints of the ancient Church ; and yet, in all instances, the innovators denounced and perse- cuted, often to the death, those who dared to diifer with them in articles of faith. Both in Germany and in Switzer- land, the doctrines of Luther and Calvin were enforced upon the ignorant multitude at the point of the bayonet. Faith in God and in Holy Writ, was not suificient ; but faith in Luther and Lutheranism, or in Calvin and Calvinism, was essential to salvation. Moral suasion had no share in the practical develojoment of the Puritan system, as the jjlundered and burning churches, colleges, monasteries, and libraries of the Catholics of Luther's day amply testify. In forming an opinion respecting the influence of the Ref- ormation upon the morals and manners of Europe, it should MODERN PROTESTANTISM. 250 not be forgottcu that the Reformers arrogated to themselves the functions of censors and interpreters of Holy Writ, and of the unwritten traditions, and set themselves up as teach- ers and leaders of the Christian world. Scornfully throwing aside the accumulated knowledge of the past, these men re- jected, altered, and perverted the sacred deposits of Chris- tianity in every conceivable manner. Their denunciations were for the most part against the immoralities of individ- uals; but their actual attacks were directed against the fundamental principles of the Christian religion. In their madness, hatred, and insubordination they became blind op- ponents of every thing pertaining to Catholicity. They de- nounced tlie only visible and universal Church which had existed on earth since the Christian era, as hetercdox, cor- rupt, and false, and its priesthood as a wicked and antichris- tian oro-anization. All their writiuo-s and utterances im- plied that Christ had failed in His promise of leading His Church into all truth, of rendering it visible and operative, and of preserving it in its integrity to the end of the world. Professing to be holier and wiser than other men, they boast- ingly anounced themselves as divinely-chosen regenerators and apostles of primitive Christianity — of the religion of the Prince of Peace and His bumble fishermen and followers. With bitter and boisterous invectives against an institution wliich had preserved and perpetuated Christianity through so many dark and turbulent centuries, and against the myriads of holy men, who, "with their lives in their liauds, had carried and preached the gospel among all nations, they claimed that Christ had permitted the Church which He had founded expressly to teach and to perpetuate the new dis- pensation, to blunder on in error, immorality, and falseliood for fifteen centuries — useless and inoperative, except for evil ! Impiously asserting that this organization had failed in its mission, the Reformers proclaimed themselves the only true representatives of Christianity on earth, and eagerly set themselves to work in the manufacture of man-creeds, man- sects, and man- worship, in the forms of Lutheranism, Calvin- 260 CIIPJSTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ism, and the like. They declared that all wickedness, crime, and false doctrine were to be s^yept away by the new reli- gion, and that a reign of holiness, charity, purity, fraternity, and happiness was to dawn upon the world. The Catholic Antichrist was to be put down, and Lutheran or Calvinistic Puritanism was to be substituted in its stead as the Christian religion ! Morality, virtue, peace, and concord were to take the places of immorality, vice, discord, and wretchedness. The minds and consciences of men were to be enfranchised and developed into models of intelligence and excellence. Each individual, however ignorant and obtuse he might be, vs^as to be his own private theologian and interr)reter of the mysteries of Holy Writ, and to act accordingly. Unity of faith, unity of Church, and unity of v/orship were regarded as popish delusions, and unworthy of recognition under the new theological system. Such Avere a few of the professions and pretensions of the Reformers. Let the sequel show how these promises were fulfilled. In allusion to this subject Ffoulkes makes the follow- ing judicious observations : " Protestantism was victorious enough as long as it had but the old system to attack ; but as soon as ever subjective holiness came in force to the rescue, it was beaten back into corners, with all its naked- ness exposed to viev>^. What man had it to compare for a moment with the saints of the Church, as followers of Christ, as patterns of that angelic life upon earth of which Chris- tians are capable ? Secause Luther wished to see monastic vows abolished, was he absolved from his own ? Melancthon v/as 23ure and amiable, but he Avas infinitely more admired than followed. Calvin attemj^ted to bind his disciples to a system of austere discipline, but it was more than once re- belled against during his lifetime, and rnay be said to have died out with him. Zwinglius, who preceded, and Beza, who succeeded him, had been notorious profligates. Osiander was another whose character did not stand hio'h even amonijc his friends. Cranmer, his nephew, by unlawful means accepted the arcliicpiscopal pall v^dth a lie in his mouth. Laurent MODEKN PROTEST AInTISM. 2G1 Peterson, archbishop of Upsal, bemoaned the licentiousness of his own party, which he coukl not check. ]N'either Bullin- ger nor Bucer, (Ecolampadius, nor Peter Martyr, led lives of more than average respectability. I am not now speaking of them as writers, but as teachers and preachers of tlic gos- pel, which they assumed to be. Yet it is notorious that men did not become better Christians, or even more moral, than they had been previously, nor creeds more simple and intelli- gible than heretofore, under their auspices. There was no burning enthusiasm on their parts to carry the gospel to the heathen, where Christ had never been preached at all. The greater part of then- time was spent in the investigation of negations or contradictions, and their whole force was para- lyzed by seeking to impose new professions of faith upon each other. Isolated, or divided among themselves, their learn- ing, great as it was, offered no efiectual resistance to tlie compact mass of learning, zeal, and piety combined, by which it was assailed. Practice, as usual, was the criterion by which the multitude judged ; and hence no wonder that it should have come to pass, as Lord Macaulay, with the pages of Eanke open before him, has observed pointedly, that, ' though at first the chances seemed to be decidedly in favor of Protestantism, the victory remained with the Church of Rome.' On every point she was successful. If we overleap another half century, we find her victorious and dominant in France, Belgium, Bavaria, Bohemia, Austria, Poland, and Hungary. Protestantism had at first driven back Catholi- cism to the Alj)s and the Pyrenees ; Catholicism had rallied, and had driven back Protestantism even to the German Ocean. Nor has Protestantism, in the course of two hun- dred years, been able to reconquer any portion of wJiat was then lost." * In the first instance, the innovators saw no errors what- ever in the authorized doctrines of the Church, but they sim- ply protested against certain irregular acts of individual * Ffoulkcs, "Christendom's Divisions, and Essay on Ranke," pp. 122, 132. 262 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Catholics. In these protests against the abuses of individual bishops and priests they were justified, and woukl have been sustained by almost the entire Christian world, so long as the opposition was continued within the Church. Thousands, in bygone ages, had made similar protests against similar abuses, and had succeeded in eradicating the evils com- plained of, without endangering the unity of the Church, or creating new and false religions. Notable examples may be found in the lives of St. Bernard, Jerome, and other ancient fathers. Finding that his first protest against the sale of indulgen- ces by a rival Dominican monk, Tetzel, met the approval of a considerable number of materialistic Germans of Witten- berg, and that he was gaining some notoriety, Luther cau- tiously insinuated some doubts respecting the obligation of obedience to the Church and her chief bishop. He followed in the footsteps of Montanus, Donatus, Manichoeus, and No- vatian, of tlie second and third centuries — -advancing the same objections, and proposing, like them, to substitute his own private opinions in place of the established doctrines of the Church. His sensual and naturally skeptical country- men were still with him, still ajoplauded and flattered him. Ere long he began to denounce openly, in pul23it and in print, several of the dogmas of the Church, and the suprem- acy of the sovereign pontifi". Error succeeded error, au- dacity followed audacity, until he had repudiated nearly every vital doctrine of Christianity, and 'established a creed of his ow^n invention, at variance with Scripture, and e\'en common-sense. As Luther advanced in his innovations, his mind became morbidly excited, and his conscience was con- tinually burdened Avith apprehensions and terrors at the con- templation of the terrible responsibility he had assumed. This is evident from his apologetic letters to the pope and his representatives, acknowledging the duty of obedience to the Church and to the pope, and oifering entire submission on certain trifling conditions. But the excitement and dread under which he constantly suflered w^as too much for the MODEEN PROTESTANTISM. 263 sanguine temperament of the nnfortunate o-entleman, and ho unquestionably became a victim to religious monomania. In another place we shall demonstrate this fact. As we have already seen, the first pretexts employed by Luther for his religious revolution were the sale of indulgen- ces for the benefit of the Church by the monk Tetzcl, and the conceded fact that there had been, and then were, wicked priests in the Church. These personal abuses were in no way connected with the authorized doctrines of the Catholic Church, but were in direct opposition to all the teachings, prece23ts, and to the entire spirit of Catholicity. Not a sinojle word can be found in the leoritimate doctrines of the Church, or in the canons and decrees of her ecclesias- tical councils, which authorizes, or in the slightest degree sanctions, the abuses of which Luther first complained. No candid man will claim tliat these specious pretexts warranted a religious revolution outside of the Church, and the estab- lishment of new and sti'ange creeds and sects by disaffected men. No one will claim that such a revolution was likely to subserve the cause of truth. Christian unity, and true religion. At a later period, when a morbid ambition to become the founder and leader of a sect took possession of the Au- gustine innovator, he asserted that the Church had enslaved the human mind and conscience, had imposed upon man- kind a system of priestcraft and superstition, and that it was the duty of every man to abandon it, to make the Bible his only rule of faith, to become his own theologian and in- terpreter, and then — mark the sequel — he a Lutheran ! We have already shown the fallacy of this later pretext, in demonstrating that the doctrines of the Catholic Church are not the works of me/i, but of Jesus Christ, who gave them to the Church, and promised to guard and preserve them there in their purity and integrity forever. The justness of this pretext of Luther cannot be admitted without conceding that the positive promise of our Saviour has been unfulfilled, that He would remain with Ilis Church forever, and that its holy doctrines should be preserved in their original purity. 2Q4: CHEISTIANITT Al>rD ITS COIvrFLICTS. Certain truths, like the laws of gravitation, crystalliza- tion, and chemical combination, are self-evident, fundamen- tal, immutable, and men accept them as permanent, unques- tionable, and unalterable facts. They do not regard this fixed and immutable belief as an enslavement of the human mind, nor do they dream of submitting these abstruse questions to private examinations by an ignorant multitude for explana- tions respecting the nature and rationale of these laws of na- ture. How much less should the great truths of Christianity which the Son of God rev^ealed to man, be dragged from their holy sanctuary by impious hands, and subjected to indiscrim- inate analysis, criticism, and perversion ! CHAPTER XXIII. DOCTRINES OF THE INNOVATORS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. As soon as Luther and his innovating contemporaries had repudiated the ancient religion, they found themselves cen- tres of applauding factions of materialists and skeptics, leaders of new religious parties, and expected authors of new and reformed articles of faith, and of new creeds. They had no choice ; substitutes were demanded in place of the old system — platforms upon which the turbulent and factious men of the period could stand with some little pretence to Christianity, In this euiergency each innovator brought into requisition his inventive faculties, produced a novel creed, and then constituted himself the prophet, the Christ, the principal object of his religion. The watchwords were JJiitJieranism^ Calviiiism^ Anahaptiam^ Socinianisin^ and the like, not CJiristianity. Such portions of the sacred writings as opposed their newly-conceived hypotheses were cither deliberately perverted or summarily rejected. As might have been expected from such a policy, its legitimate results v/ere speedily manifested in the iutroduc- tion of an almost endless variety of theological hyi:)othcse3 and creeds, and a very general prevalence of rationalism and atheism. " The principle of rationalism," says Moehler, " is inhe- rent in the ve^y nature of Protestantism ; it manifested itself in tlie very origin of the Reformation, and has since, to 12 266 CHEISTIAITITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. a greater or less extent, and in every conceivable form, re- vealed its existence in almost every Protestant community. . . . For if the interpretation of the Bible, belong to private judgment, the previous questions as to its authenticity, in- tegrity, and inspiration, without the settlement whereof the right of interpretation becomes nugatory, must be submitted to the decision of individual reason. Thus has the most insidious and dangerous form of infidelity grown naturally^ immediately^ and irresistibly out of tlie very root of Protes- tantism." * The religious revolutionists of the sixteenth century pro- fessed to be Reformers — to banish error^ and to substitute in its 23lace truth — ^to restore to the world a lost Church, lost doctrines, and lost ordinances, as they were first given to the apostles. We propose to describe briefly these newly- discovered doctrines, so that the reader can judge whether they are of divine or of human origin. 1. Original Sin. Luther, Calvin, and their discij)les, maintained that through Adam's fall his entire physical and spiritual being became perverted and corrupted in such a manner, that his whole nature, disposition, propensities, desires, and thoughts, were absolutely and totally evil ; that this sinful nature so thoroughly and cbmpletely pervaded his entire organization, that his capacity for receiving good impressions and influ- ences was utterly extinguished, and that the stains of sin were so thoroughly fixed within him, and necessarily adhered to him in such a manner, that no sorrow or repentance could eradicate them ; that this corrupt nature is entailed upon all his pos- terity, so that no course of action on the part of any indi- vidual can exercise the slightest influence in rescuing him from eternal perdition ; that all free-will, all spiritual powers, and all capacity for good, either in thought or deed, are utterly destroyed. " Man," says Luther, " as he is born of ^ u Symbolism," pp. 25, 29. DOCTEINES OF THE INNOVATORS, ETC. 2G7 his fiither and mother, together witli his whole nature and essence, is not only a sinner, but sin itself." Calvin thought " that the image of God was utterly effaced from the soul of man by the fall, and that man has been so banished from the kingdom of God, that all in him which bears reference to the blessed life of the Lord, is extinct." * Melancthon and Zwing- liiis maintained that God deliberately and intentionally im- planted original sin in Adam, and that He is not only the au- thor of original sin, but of all the sins resulting from this super- induced sinful propensity. In 1525, Melancthon, in his com- mentary on the Epistle to the Romans, writes: "That God wrought all things, evil as well as good ; that He was the au- thor of David's adultery, and the treason of Judas, as well as of Paul's conversion .... and that it is not in the power of man to abstain from Avickedness." In 1530, Zwinglius, in his work on Providence, asserts, " that God is the autJioi\ inovei\ and impeller to sin ; that He also makes the sinner ; that by the instrumentality of the creature He jn'oduces injustice and the like." f Calvin repeatedly says, " that man, at the insti- gation of God, doeth what it is unlawful to do ; by a myste- rious divine inspiration, the heart of man turneth to evil ; man falleth because the providence of God so ordaincth." % After Calvin's death, his successor, and the leader of the sect, Theodore Beza, taught " that God not only incites, im- pels, and urges to evil ; but that the Almighty creates a \)oy- tion of men as His instruments, loitJi the intent of working evil throu2:h them." 8 From this Puritan idea of orio-inal sin originated the dogma of total depravity. It is a source of relief to revert to the doctrine of the Catholic Church upon original sin, after a perusal of the impious sentiments we have just described. While the Catholic Church does not profess to comprehend the rationale of God's designs and works on earth, or to penetrate and explain all the mysteries connected with the creation of man, and his intimate relations with the Creator and the * Calvin's lust., lib. ii., p. 355. f Zwing. de Prov., c. vi., opp. torn, i., f. 365. \ Calv. Inst., lib. iv., c. 18. § Bcza, Aphorism xxii. 268 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. creation, it yet presents us with a Scriptural and a reason- able idea of orisrinal sin. She maintains that God is a Beinir of infinite love; and in placing Adam and Eve in tlie garden of Eden, He endowed them with every capacity for perfect happiness. He gave them a knowledge of good and evil, of right and wrong, and perfect freedom and power to act as they chose, to obey or disobey the instructions He had given them. That there might be no misapprehension. He an- nounced to them His wishes and prohibition respecting the forbidden fruit, and assured them of the penalty which would result from a violation of His commandment. Adam there- fore perfectly understood his duty, possessed the free-will and the power to do it, and was aware of the guilt and the penalty of disobedience. On the one hand, he saw his Cre- ator who had endowed him with every earthly blessing, but had subjected him to a slight discipline in prohibiting tlie forbidden fruit ; on the other hand, he saw Satan, listened to his sophistries, imbibed a spirit of rebellion, and deliberately violated the command of God. In this entire transaction Adam was a perfectly free agent, and acted with a complete knoAvledge of his obligations and duties, and of the dangers of a violation of them. Like so many of his posterity, the Adams who have lived since his day, he saw the straight and narrow road which leads to eternal life, and the broad road which leads to destruction, but he wilfully pursued the latter. At the fifth session of the Tridentine Council, the follow- ing decree concerning original sin was passed : " Adam, by sin, lost his original justice and holiness, drew down on himself, by his disobedience, the displeasure and the judgments of the Almighty, incurred the penalty of death, and thus, in ail his parts, in his body as well as soul, became strangely deteriorated." All his posterity inherit this sinful condi- tion, and he can only be justified before God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, the sole mediator between God and man ; but as man is a free agent, and possesses all the requi- site knowledge and power, he is able to fulfil such conditions DOCTRINES OF THE INNOVATOES, ETC. 2G9 as shall insure liis salvation — both the power of God and his own voluntary acts cooperating in the accomplishment of the work. 2. Free-will Luther maintains " tliat man is devoid of freedom ; that every (pretended) free action is only apparent; that an irre- sistible divine necessity rules all things, and that every human act is at bottom only the act of God." * " The human will," says Luther, " is like a beast of burden. If God mounts it, it wishes and goes as God wills ; if Satan mounts it, it wishes and goes as Satan wills. N'or can it choose the rider it would prefer, or betake itself to him, but it is the riders who contend for the possession." f Calvin, Bucer, Melancthon, and Zwinglius all entertained the same views respecting free-will. Armsdorf, one of Luther's most eminent disciples, thus writes : " By His will and speech, God worketh all things with all creatures. When God w^ills and speaks, stone and wood are carried, hewn and laid, how, when, and where He will. Thus, if God wills and speaks, man becomes converted, pious, and just. For, as stone and v\^ood are, in the hand and power of God, so, in like manner, are the understanding and will of man in the hand and power of God; so that man can absolutely icill and choose nothing^ but what God wills and speaks, cither in grace or in wrath." J This denial of free-will and free-agency in man arose naturally and spontaneously from the peculiar views of the Reformers respecting original sin. If, by the fall, Adam lost all germs of goodness, all spiritual similitude and affinity with the Supreme Intelligence, and all capacity to receive good impressions, in consequence of his totally perverted and corrupt nature, the inference is legitimate that he also was deprived of free-will and power to contribute any thing to his own spiritual elevation and destiny. The innovators * Luth. dc Scrv. Arb. adv. Erasra. Rit. opp. ed. Lat. Jen., torn, iii., f, 170. f De Servo Arbitrio, purs i., sec. 24. \ Plauk's Hist., vol. iv., p. 708. 270 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. claim that Adam was placed in tliis terrible position by the Creator, independently of his own volition, without any power on his own part to alter his fixed destiny — that the act of disobedience was predetermined and prearranged be- fore his creation, and that he was a passive and powerless instrument in the hands of God — a necessary link in the grand design of the creation. Another predestined link in the divine programme, according to Calvin and his disciples, was the election of a certain portion for salvation, and of the other portion for eternal condemnation ; and that these selections are made by God alone, independently of any efforts or works on the part of the creature. To those whom He has elected for salvation, He gives fait/ij and by this gift alone they are justified, and assured of salvation, even if they commit the vilest sins daily; while the condemned victims are already judged, sentenced, and held for eternal punish- ment, though they commit no sin, and act uprightly and justly in all tilings. In all spiritual matters, these innovating theologians deny the existence of every thing like free-will and individual influence. Like clouds which are blown about by the winds, men are regarded as the poAverless pup- pets and playthings of a foreordained, predestinated, and inexorable fate, powerless to change their destmy for good or evil, for heaven or hell. According to the Reformers, God alone possesses free-will ; He alone conceived and created the universe ; He alone planned the laws which preside over the kino-doms of nature ; He alone foreknew all thino;s which should transpire in the world ; and therefore that all things have been ordered and arranged by Divine Providence, in an immutable and inevitable manner, so that men are necessarily creatures of foreordained circumstances, Avithout free agency, or power of changing their predestinated conditions. Hence, they infer that God is the author of sin. Upon this first point, Luther expresses himself thus : " God forms in us evil as well as good ; and the great perfection of faith consists in believ- ing that God is just, although He has predestinated us, from the bcfrinnino: of the world, to be damned. . . . The foreknowl- DOCTRINES OF THE INNOVATOKS, ETC. 271 edge of God renders free-will absolutely impossible .... and God was not less the cause of the treason of Judas Iscariot than of the conversion of St. Paul." Wickliffe, and his dis- ciple, John Huss, entertained many of the opinions which were afterward adopted by Luther and his friends, although they were regarded by Melancthon as men full of errors, sophistry, and chicanery, and that their doctrines were cal- culated to lead men into all sorts of errors and excesses. Wickliffe contended that all things occur from absolute necessity ; that God acts from necessity in all things, and presides over a world of fixed and immutable laws, necessi- ties, and developments, and therefore that He is the author and approver of all sins, crimes, and calamities, as well as of all that is good and merciful. The Council of Constance was right in declaring that, according to his hypothesis, " God is obliged to obey the deviV Wickliffe, however, believed in the invocation of saints, in purgatory, in honoring images, and in many of the essential doctrines of the Church ; but he denied the supremacy of the pope, and several of the discipli- nary canons of the Church. These facts are derived from his principal work, published in 1524, "The Trialogue." No one can scrutinize the doctrines of the Reformers con- cerning original sin, free-will, and predestination, without conceding that they lead directly and necessarily io fatalism. The natural results of such sentiments are either reliixious bigotry and intolerance, or rationalism, atheism, and a gen- eral indifference to all matters pertaining to spiritual life. As we continue, these truths will be verified. > 3. Predestination. The folloAving is Calvin's definition of predestination : " We call predestination that eternal decree of God, whereby He hath determined what the fate of every man shall be. For not to the same destiny are all created : for, to some is allotted eternal life ; to others, eternal damnation. Accord- ing as man is made for one end, or for the other, we call him 272 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. predestinated to life, or to death." * Calvin . declares tliat these 23redestinated decrees of God are determined without any reference to the virtues or the vices of those He has elected for salvation, or condemned to eternal pmiishment. The Reformers maintain that God is the author of all things, good and bad, and that whatsoever comes to pass is from a necessity incident to the origin, design, and creation of the universe. The absolute predestination of the innovators is nothing more or less than Mohammedan fatalism under another name. Mohammedans maintain that God foreknew, foreordained, and prearranged wliatever should transpire from the com- mencement to the end of the world ; and tliat man is only a preorganized constituent of the universe, whose career and destiny had been irrevocably fixed before the creation of the world. So little faith have these fatalists that any personal efforts can alter or modify the fixed decrees of the Almighty, that in thousands of instances, they have refused to take or- dinary measures to shield themselves from impending dan- gers. If it is fated that some calamity is to befall them, they regard all cfibrts or Avoi'ks on their parts as unavailing ; while if the decree has gone forth that they are to be rescued from harm, the inevitable result will be accomplished whether they desire it or not, or whether they exert themselves or not. These are the doctrines of modern predcstinationists. The hypoth.esis of Luther and his co-innovators, uj^on this sub- ject, both theoretically and practically, is identical with that of Islam. " The fundamental principle of the Iweformers was, that, without any human cooperation, the Divine Sj)irit penetrated into the soul of the true Christian, and that the lat- ter, in his relation to the former, is with respect to all religious feeling, thought, and will, perfectly passive." f If the doctrines of the predestinationists are true, and all the thoughts, actions, and destinies of men are governed and directed by the will and power of God alone — ^men being deprived of all cooperation — of what use are the Bible, hu- * Calviu's lust., lib. iii. p. S8Y. f Mcchkr's Symbolism, p. 42,6. DOCTELN^ES OF THE mNOVATOKS, ETC. 273 man creeds, theological discussions, and sects ? If God has predestinated for all men their careers and destinies, inde- pendently of their ONvn wills and efforts, how presumptuous are all human attempts to interfere in these fixed and im- mutable arrangements of the Almighty ! How impious in mortals to manufacture confessions of faitli, to Avrangle and 2>reach on doctrinal points, and to incite nations to hostility, strife, and bloodshed, when God alone has irrevocably or- dered and permanently arranged all things from the begin- ning to the end ! Will it be urged that the Infinite Fountain of love and mercy has deliberately designed and predesti- nated these conflicting tenets of tlie Ileformers, and the conse- quent contentions, wars, and calamities with which they have since afflicted the nations of the earth ? We envy not the hearts and consciences of those v,4io dare impute to God such palpable injustice and wanton cruelty, ratlier than to acknowledge their own inability to comprehend the mys- teries with which He has surrounded the works of His hands. These peculiar views of original sin, free-will, and pre- destination," developed as a logical sequence the dogma of " Election " — one of Calvin's live theological points. 4. Justification by Faith, To those who have adopted tlie hypotheses of the innovators respecting original sin, free-will, predestination, and the in- efficacy of good works as cooperative means of salvation, the following pertinent queries must continually present them- selves. Who are to be saved ? How is salvation to be secured ? Who can be assured of salvation ? We take the liberty of presenting briefly a few of the arguments and in- ferences of the Reformers touching these points. Since the fall of Adam every human being became totally depraved, and incapable of receiving any good impression, or of performing any meritorious act, Luther, Calvin, and other sectaries of their epoch, inferred that no man is a free agent. Who then are to be saved? According to the inno- 12* 274 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. vators, those only whom God has foreordained and predes- tinated to this haj^py destiny before the foundation of the world ; while judgment of eternal condemnation was rendered against the remainder at the same pre-mundane period. How, then, can man be assured of salvation ? The Re- formers assert that this may be known by the actual posses- sion of faith which God forcibly implants within him, whether he desires it or not, or whether he performs good works or not. When this faith once takes possession of him, he is justified and sanctified — he must be saved, with or without sin, with or without good works — and the very fact that lie believes renders it certain that he is one of the elect, This doctrine of justification by faith originated with Luther, and Avas afterward adojDted by Calvin, Melancthon, Zwingiius, Bucer, and their followers. One of the canons of the Synod of Dordrect declares, " that God gives true and vivid faith to all those whom He desires to rescue from damnation, and to those alone/ that this faith is a gift of God; and that all of the elect are assured of their election by certain infallible tests." In illustration' of Luther's tenacity with regard to the doctrine of justification by faith alone without works, D'Aubigne quotes the following observation of Luther : " I see that the devil is continually attacking this fundamental article by means of his doctors, and that in this respect he can never cease or take any repose. Well, then, I, Doctor Martin Luther, unworthy herald of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, confess this article, that faith alone loithout worJcs justifies before God ; and I declare that it shall stand and remain forever in despite the emperor of the Romans, the emperor of the Turks, the emperor of the Tartars, the em- peror of the Persians ; in spite of the j^ope and all the cardi- nals, with the priests, bishops, monks, and nuns ; in sjoite of kings, princes, and nobles; and in spite of all the world, and of the devils themselves; and that, if they endeavor to fight against this truth, they will draw the fires of hell ujDon their heads. This is the true and holy gospel, and the declaration of me. Doctor Lutlier, according to the teaching of the Holy DOCTEINES OF THE INNOVATORS, ETC. 275 Ghost I say it once again, should all the world and all the devils tear each other to pieces and burst with rage, that it is not the less true." * So tenacious of this dogma was Luther, that he actually mistranslated and perverted de- liberately a portion of the Bible, and rejected other portions, in order that his own theological platform might be sustained. For example, St, Peter wrote these words : " Labor that by good works you may make sure of your vocation and elec- tion." Luther thus corrupts the sentence : " Labor that you make sure your vocation and election," omitting the imi^oit- ant words, " by good works." Zwinglius, one of his fellow- innovators, sent bim a letter with the folloAving reproof: " Thou corruptest the word of God, O Luther : thou art seen to be a manifest and common corrupter and perverter of the Holy Scrij^tures ; how much are we ashamed of tbee, who have hitherto esteemed thee beyond all measure, and prove thee to be such a man ! " f Luther at one time also denied the authenticity and inspiration of three of the gospels, de- claring that the Gospel of St. John is the only one which is truly inspired. At one period of his life he likewise rejected the ten commandments, on the ground that they were first written by Moses, and were, therefore, only intended for the men of the old dispensation. " The ten commandments," says Luther, " belong not to Christians Let the ten commandments be altogether rejected, and all heresy will presently cease ; for the ten commandments are, as it were, the fountain from whence all heresies spring." J Whenever the declarations of the apostles clashed with the theological tenets of Luther or Calvin, they impiously rejected these apostolic teachings and substituted their own in their stead. These modern apostles were especially hostile to those sjDCcial favorites of our Saviour, Saints Paul and Peter. Calvin even asserted " that Peter added to the schism of the Church, to the '3 * "History of the Reformation," page '71. \ Zwinglius, t. ii., ad Luth. lib. dc S. J " Scrm. dc Mose." In Carvival. CoUoq. Cit by Auri Cap. de Lege. 276 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. endangering of Christian liberty, and the overthrow of the grace of Christ." Most Protestants claim that all of those who are selected for salvation are endowed from above, not only with faith and an intuitive knowledge that they are among the elect, but with irresistible tendencies to perform good works ; while the condemned are cursed with inherent aud perpetual unbelief, aud a continual and helpless impulse to do evil. " The Protestants of the sixteenth century," says Moehler, " with their doctrine of justification, swore eternal enmity to the heroic virtues of Christianity, and effectually dried up that mighty stream of charity which had fertilized and em- bellished our European soil, and covered it with countless in- stitutions, formed to glorify God, and solace, sustain, and exalt humanity These doctiines of unbelief, taught by the immense majority of the Protestant clergy, penetrated by degrees among all classes of the laity, and led to the gen- eral neglect of divine service, to the j^erversion of youth in the establishments of education, to the desecration of the Sabbath, the fearful multiplication of divorce, and to general demoralization." * Even during the lives of the Reformers every form of infidelity, immorality, and vice, made rapid progress. This has been repeatedly admitted by Luther. Such was the legitimate and inevitable result of throwing ofl^the salutary restraints of the ancient Church, and opening a door to private interpretation of Holy Writ, and to the intellectual and moral idiosyncrasies and projoensities of individuals. In future chapters we shall show that similar results have obtained from the days of Luther to the present time. We shall demonstrate the antichristian and demoral- izing influences of Protestantism wherever it has obtained a foothold, making use of the sacred doctrines of Jesus Christ and His inspired apostles as our standard of comparison. The Reformers could not have conceived of a more efficient mode of making proselytes to tlieir novel religions than through predestination, the inefficacy of good works, and * "Symbolism," page 31, DOCTKINES OF THE INNOVATORS, ETC. 2Y7 justification by faith. They shifted all responsibility from the creature to the Creator. They taught that every thing which has transpired, or will transpire from the beginning to the end of the world, were accomplished facts with the Almighty before the creation, and, therefore, that all co- operative efforts on the part of mortals in the accomplish- ment of regeneration, justification, and sanctification, are not only useless, but wicked and officious interferences with the exclusive prerogative of God. So far has this last idea been pushed by several of the Reformers, that they have actually sanctioned the commission of sin in order that ccrace miijht abound, and that God might receive all the glory of the work of regeneration and salvation. We cite a few extracts from the writings of the innovators upon this subject. Luther maintained, " that no works could possibly be pure and ac- ceptable to the Deity ; that even the best work is a venial sin ; that every so-called good work — that is to say, every act of a believer — is, when considered in itself, a mortal sin, though, by reason of faith, it is remitted to him. Melanc- thon not only expressed full concurrence in this doctrine of his master, but carried it out to an extreme, by asserting that all our works, all our endeavors, are nothing hut sin. Calvin corroborated the assertions of both." -'^ In 1559, Van Amsdorf, the intimate friend and disciple of Luther, pub- lished an elaborate work, entitled " The Proposition of N. Van Amsdorf," in which he attempted to show " that good woi-ks were even hurtful to salvation." Another eminent disciple of Luther, Major, asserts, " that faith alone saves ; by faith alone we are justified witliout works." f " ISTow thou seest," says Luther, " hovr rich is the Christian or the bap- tized man ; for, though he will, he cannot lose his salvation, hoicever great his sins onay he, unless he refuses to helieve.'^^l Again, Luther writes : " Sin lustily, but be yet more lusty in faith, and rejoice in Christ, who is the conqueror of sin, of death, and of the world. Sin we must, so long as we remain * " Symbolism," page 242. \ Solid. Dcclar. iv., page 6'72. X Captiv. Bab., torn, ii., fol. 264. 278 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. here. It suflices, that, through the riches of the glory of God, Ave know the Lamb which taketh away the sins of the world : from Him no sins will sever us, though a million times in a day we should fornicate or commit adultery." * This exhortation of the great innovator to commit sin, this wanton inculcation of its absolute necessity, and his bold assurance of the impunity with which the vilest sins may continually be committed, provided tliat they are acconi- j)anied by faith in Lutheranism^ was a direct appeal to the carnal propensities of mankind. Under the specious pretext of liberating the world from the bigotries, abuses, and re- straints of the Church, these men established a reign of intel- lectual and moral licentiousness which has filled the world with irreligion and immorality, and shaken the very founda- tions of Christianity itself. The human mind is prone to adopt those sentiments which afford the greatest scope to the indulgence of passion and pleasure. To gratify these in- dulgences it is constantly seeking for plausible novelties and philosophies. The fatalistic doctrines of the Reformers far- nished a stand-point for this weak side of human nature. Who can contemplate these reforw^ed ideas of God and His New Law without a shudder of horror and indignation ? Who can seriously believe that a Being of infinite love and mercy would foreordain and predestinate a single one of His helpless creatures to eternal perdition ? Were such an atro- cious doctrine asserted of Satan himself, it would scarcely receive credence. But notwithstanding these supposed pre- determined and irrevocable decrees of God, many of the in- novators have had the inconsistency to urge men on to such mental efforts as shall produce faith, assuring them, when this is once attained, that they may be certain that they are among the elect ! The dangers of this fallacy will be appar- ent to all who examine the j)ositive declarations and com- mands of Christ respecting those things which are essential to salvation, like baptism, penance, and obedience to the Commandments. Many minds are so constituted, so j^rone * Epist. Luth. Job. Aur. Coll., torn, i.j page 545. DOCTRINES OF THE INNOVATOES, ETC. 270 to credulity, and so readily moulded in accordance with any given formulary, tliat only moderate efforts are rcquit>ite to superinduce /t^^Y/i in any hypothesis which may be presented, however absurd and untenable. Faith is one of the most common and easily-developed elements of the human mind. From childhood, onward, it is continually seeking for objects to cling to — for hypotheses, theories, philosophies, and creeds, as means of utility, consolation, or happiness. A sectary coins a new religious creed, abounding in gross perversions of the Scriptures, and the most impious ideas respecting the good- ness and mercy of God, and then solicits faith in this creed as the sole condition of salvation. Were tlicre many thou- sands of these human creeds, all false, and all pernicious in their tendencies, they would all have their followers, firm in faith^ and thorough and consistent in practice. Each sectary coins a religion from his own brain, flanked here and there by isolated and often corrupted jDassages from the Scriptures, and then solicits faith in this human invention as the only condition of eternal happiness in the world to come. Each one professes to possess certain infallible marks, by which the divine origin and truthfulness of his religion is apparent, and each one can point out fatal objections to the religions of his neighbors. The Calvinist, Avho believes that God lias condemned a certain number of His creatures to everlasting punishment, denounces the creed of the UniA'ersalist, wdiich asserts that all mankind are saved. The Trinitarian enter- tains a horror of the creed of the Unitarian. The believer in justification by faith alone regards all cooperative works of men, for the purpose of securing salvation, as useless and insulting to the Deity. Lutherans, Calvinists, Anabaptists, Herrnhuters, Moravians, Methodists, Unitarians, Quakers, Anglicans, Universalists, Millerites, Mormons, Spiritualists, and all of the sects, have perfect faith in their own peculiar interpretations of the Bible, and in their own peculiar reli- gions. y^'Al faith save them all? One sectary interprets the Scri])tures in such a manner as to make God the author and creator of sin, and the eternal punisher and tormentor of 280 CimiSTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. a certain number of helpless victims of His wrath. Will faith in such a doctrine secure salvation ? Another denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, and regards Him only in the light of a prophet. Will such a faith save him ? Another declares that there is no hell, no eternal punishment, no devil. Will faith in this creed rescue the honest believer from the penalties attached to a neglect or violation of the positive laws and commands of God ? Some reject portions of the Holy Scriptures, and accuse the inspired apostles of errors and schismatic teachings because their precepts clash with their own individual and rationalistic hypotheses. AVill ever so strong a faith in such private interpretations of the word of God justify and sanctify ? Others, deriving their inspiration from the Bible, teach that it is right to commit sin, in order that grace may abound. Will faith in such an interpretation lead to heaven ? Many have faith in the utter impotency of mortals in all matters pertaining to their sj^irit- ual welfare, and place the responsibility of all good and bad deeds upon the Almighty. Will such faith carry one safely to the haven of bliss ? Some absolute predestinationists assert that good works always follow of necessity in the train of true faith ; and that this combination of faith and works is a sure indication of the real Christian. This argument falls to the ground when we remember the fact that the most moral, benevolent, and charitable men of the world, and whose lives are blame- less, are to be found among those who deny the divinity of the Saviour, the necessity of baj^tism, the existence of a future state of punishment, and many of the sacred writings. These men have the strongest faith in their own dogmas, worship God in sincerity, and do unto others as they would be done by. Good Avorks accompany their faith. Are they also among the elect ? Are they also justified by faith ? Faith in some kind of religion is an instinctive want of the human mind ; and, in most instances, consistent and aj^pro- priate works accompany this faith. Christians have not firmer faith in the Bible than have the Mohammedans in the DOCTrJNES OF THE INNOVATOES, ETC. 281 Koran ; nor do the former obey the precepts of their religion with more rigidity than do the latter. The same is true of the Hindoo, the Brahmin, the Bhuddist, and tlie savage who worships the Great Spirit. Christians who have rejected the divinely-founded and divinely-endowed Church of Christ, and adopted the novel inventions of men, are often perfectly sincere and earnest in their religious convictions. They have firm faith in some creed, live and practise in accordance with it, and are fruitful in good works. But among the thousand contradictory and conflicting sects, who can decide which is true and Vv'hich false? Among the innumerable Reformed churches, with difierent articles of faith, diflcrent modes of worship), and difierent ideas respectiug the duties and neces- sities of man, how can we find the one Chnrch, one fold, and one Shepherd which Jesus founded, with one Lord, one faith, and one bajHism ? Can we detect it in any one of the numerous reformed confessions of faith, from any special morality and virtue pertaining to some one of the sects ; from a resemblance between the members of some reformed church and the holy apostles ; or from any infalhble marks which indicate that a divine theological Phoenix, which had slum- bered profoundly for fifteen centuries, has again risen, at the bidding of a German monk, from the ashes of the past? Or shall we discover it, by seeking for that Church which has existed and been visible from the days of Christ to the pres- ent moment — which is universal — whose doctrines are un- varying, and vrhose priests and missionaries, ever since the time of the apostles, have visited all of the nations of the earth to preach and teach the word of God, who have braved every danger and hardship, and in almost countless instances Iiave suflTered martyrdom in the cause of Christ ? Justification hy faith ! Faith in v/hat ? In tlie personal inspiration, private Scriptural interpretation, and the creed and religion of some individual reformer ? Faith in Luther- anism, or Calvinism, or Socinianism, or Anabaptism, or Ar- minianism, or Quakerism, or some other sect ? Faith that God is God. and that Luther, or Calvin, or Socinius, or Arminius, 282 CnEISTIANITY A^^D ITS CONFLICTS. or Fox is His prophet ? Faitli not in the one original Church, but in one which was brought into existence by one of the German, or Anglican, or Swiss innovators of tlie sixteenth century ? Faith that Christ's mission was a failure, that His Church was dead and invisible for fifteen hundred years, that millions of human beings perished in ignorance and sin in consequence of the non-fulfilment of the Word of God through the apostles and their successors, until Martin Lu- ther, or Calvin, or some one of the Reformers brought light out of darkness in the form of Lutheranism or Calvinism ? Faith that Christ is the Son of God, and that the Reformers of these latter days are His only true prophets and interpre- ters ? Faith that a simple, naked, mental act, without works, without obedience to the commandments, and without regard to the numerous practical injunctions contained in the Sacred Writings, is the sole practical duty of man toward his Maker, himself, and his fellow-men ? Those who adopt the fatalistic doctrines of the Reformers do not require a Bible, a confession of faith, or even a moral code, since all things — good and evil — must come to pass in precise accordance with the predestinated decrees of God. The Holy Scriptures assert that faith without works is dead ; and the kind of works which are requisite are accurately prescribed in the sacred commandments and ordinances. Faith is, indeed, one of the fundamental elements of Christi- anity, but its signification must not be limited to a simple mental act. The entire tenor of the Sacred Writings teaches us that by the word faith, Christ included not only a belief in all His teachings, but a practical performance of them. The definition which He gave of "love of God," is applicable to faith. " In what consists the love of God ? Love of God consists in obeying the commandments." In like manner faith consists in a belief in Christ and His mission, and in obedience to the commandments. The inculcation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, has been a most fruitful source of evil. A few of its legitimate consequences have been, a practical repudiation DOCTRINES GF THE INNOVATORS. ETC. 283 of tlie laws and commanclmcnts of the Scriptures and of all personal responsibilities and duties in spiritual matters, a par- alyzation of all personal effort and cooperation in the great work of redemption and salvation, and an alarming tendency to rationalism and religious skepticism. No one can examine critically and impartially the inno- vations of the Reformers without arriving at the conclusion that their tendencies are evil and anti-Christian. The gospel teaches that God is a Being of infinite love and mercy: the innovators regard Him as a malignant demon, who has de- liberately created a certain number of helpless creatures for the express purpose of tormenting them forever! Christ in- culcated the necessity of faith in and actual obedience to all His commandments and ordinances, as conditions of salva- tion : the innovators ignore good works, and rely on faith alone as the sole duty of the Christian. The Bible teaclies that man is a free agent, and that he must personally exert himself and actively cooperate with the blessed influences of the Holy Spirit if he would serve God acceptably, and secure his eternal welfare : the Reformers regard man as a passive instrument in the hands of the Supreme Architect, and that any attempts at personal interference, eflbrt, or cooperation in the work of regeneration and sanctification, are wicked and censurable. " In studying the writings of the Reformers," says Moehler, " the thought has often involuntarily occurred to us, that they entertained the opinion that it was some- thing extremely dangerous to be really good ; nay, that the principle of sanctity, so soon as it was on the point of acquir- ing complete dominion over a man, contained the germ of its own destruction, as such a man must needs become arro- gant, fall into vain-glory, liken himself to the Eternal, and contend Avith Him for divine sovereignty. Hence the se- curity of believers seemed to require that they should ever keep witliin themselves a good germ of evil, because in this state we are better off! Accordingly, the matter was so handled, as if real goodness were incompatible with humility, and as if it were in evil only that this virtue flourished ; where- 28tl: CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. as it was not considered that wickedness was in itself tlie con- trary of true humility, and utterly excluded it." * The spirit which pervades the writings of the Reformers, fully warrants the above inferences, and the practical influ- ences of their tenets upon morals, manners, and society have everywhere been demoralizing and unchristian. In proof, we cite a few extracts from the writings of Luther and Cal- vin : " But the gospel preacheth not what we are to do, and not do ; requires nothing of us, but turns round, doth the re- verse, and saith not. Do this, do that, but bids us only hold out our laps, and saith. Dear man, this hath God done for thee — He hath sent His Son into the flesh for thee, He hath let Him be slain for thy sake, and hath redeemed thee from sin, death, the devil, and hell: this believe and hold, and then thou art saved." f " It would not be quite good for us," says Luther, " to do all that God commands, for He Vv^oiild thereby be deprived of His divinity, and would be- come a liar, and could not remain true. The authority of St. Paul, too, would be overturned, for he says in Eomans : * God hath concluded all things under sin, in order that He might have mercy on all men.' " J Calvin says : " Never hath a man, not even one regenerated in the faith in Christ, wrought a .morally good work — a work which, if it were htrictly judged, would not be damnable." It would be difficult to read a single chapter of the New Testament without finding inspired sentiments in direct op- position to these reformed teachings. While we concede that isolated passages may be distorted from their real significa- tions, and made use of by designing men to bolster up an absurd hypotliesis or a profane tlieological innovation, the great fact nevertheless remains that the New Law was given us expressly as a rule of religious faith and a practical work- ing code. The entire spirit of the gospel inculcates the ab- solute necessity of both faith and works. " Faith without works is dead." " Let your light so shine before men, that * "Symbolism," p. 230. f Lutli. Comment, on Ep. to Gall, loc. cit, p. 257. :j:Liitb., "Table-Talk," p. 166. DOCTEINES OF THE ESTNOVATOKS, ETC. 285 they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Avhich is in heaven."* "Marvel not at this: for tlie hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." f " Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." | In this instance Christ not only required faith in Himself and in His divine mission, but He demand- ed the act of giving the water. When the young man came to Christ and asked Him what he should do to have eternal life, " Jesus answered him. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.'''* In this instance the Saviour recognized the free agency of the young man, and the neces- sity of performing good vrorks by keeping the commandments. This obedience to the commandments, conjoined with faith, were all that our Saviour absolutely required ; and when the young man informed Him that he had kept all of these things from his youth up, and again inquired what he yet lacked ; " Jesus said unto him. If thou wilt be perfect, go and eell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and come and follow Me." § In both of these examples, worJcs are demanded — in the first instance, certain definite works, in order to secure salva- tion ; and still other works, more difficult and self-denying, in order to achieve the highest degree of excellence — perfection. As all men are to be rewarded in heaven accordmg to the deeds done in the hody^ the j^erfect Christian will occupy a higher place in heaven than he who simply obeys the com- mandments. In their doctrinal innovations, Luther and liis contemporary Reformers violated at every jDoint the spirit and intent of the Sacred Writins-s. In their efibrts to sustain the hypothesis that faith, in its abstract sense, alone saves, they did not hesitate to corrupt, pervert, and distort the * Matt. V. 16. f John v. 28, 29. X Mark x. 41. § Matt. xix. Ifi, 20, 21. 286 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. plain teachings of Christ and the apostles. " Salvation the Catholic attaches only to the individual interior life of the reofenerated — to faith and love — to the fulfilment of the law, or to the concurrence of the religious and ethical principles : he places both in an equal relation to a future life, for both alike possess an eternal value." * We most earnestly invite the renewed attention of Protes- tants to this imi^ortant subject. Yf e entreat them to cast aside their preconceived notions and prejudices, contemplate seriously the beneficent interpretation which the Church has handed down from the apostles upon this subject, and con- trast this view with the innovations of the Reformers. We beseech them to remember that this, as well as all of the otlier doctrines of the Church, are o^ divine origin. No Cath- olic has ever dared to afiix his name to these sacred truths, with a view of achieving notoriety, or of gratifying an unhal- lowed ambition. No individual has ever j^resumed to come within the sacred enclosure of the Church, and set up his pri- vate opinions against her divinely-endowed and divinely-jDro- tected truths. The innovators have never attempted to enter in at the door to present their complaints, but have climbed up on the outer walls of the great fortress of Christianity and delivered their impotent blows against this impregnable bulwark of truth. This fortress of Christianity still stands immutable, and affords protection, hope, and consolation to more than tv>^o hundred millions of true believers. * " Symbolism," p. 297 CHAPTEE XXIY. TRAITS OF A FEW OF THE TROMINENT INNOVATORS. lAither. One of the most notable circumstances connected with the career of Martin Luther, consists in the marked contrast which we find in his mind, morals, and life, as a Catholic monk and a Protestant Reformer. Every medical man who exam- ines critically the career of this unfortunate gentleman, must come to the conclusion that he suffered, during certain por- tions of his innovating career, from that variety of mental perversion which medical men term religious monomania. So long as he resided within the walls of the Erfurth monas- tery as an Augustine monk, and submitted to the rules and regulations of the order, he was temperate, modest, moral, and faithful to all of his duties. During this entire period he was charitable, patient, tolerant, and just toward all men, firm and unwavering in his religious convictions, and prompt and faithful in their performance. Although his parents were in humble circumstances, he succeeded in securing the aid of able teachers, and his native talent and thirst for knowledge impelled him to such a course of study as enabled him to become a moderately good lin- guist, and passably well acquainted with the theological lit- erature of his day. As an orator, he possessed remarkable powers. His fiow of language, his memory, and his fund of metaphor, raillery, invective, and sarcasm, were inexhaustible. 288 CHEISTIAKITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. As a polemical writer, he also possessed powers of no com- mon order. As soon as lie had fairly detached himself from the Church, all these natural faculties were hrought into action, and became the sport and playthings of a perverted, yea, a deranged intellect. Behold him as a child, a youth, a devoted monk — amiable, conscientious, and eager to per- form his religious duties : then as a Reformer — bokl, intoler- ant, intemperate, reckless, fanatical. In the year 1517 Luther was thirty-three years of age, and had been an Augustinian monk for eleven years. Up to this time he had remained true to the Church in faith and in practice. From the *' History of the Council of Trent " we learn that " Luther's first opposition to the Church originated in Pope Leo's deviation from the previous custom of consign- ing the dispensation of indulgences solely to the Augustin- ians. The object of these spiritual privileges, or indulgences, was the obtaining of alms toward rebuilding the Vatican Church." -^ The promulgation of these indulgences was in- trusted in part to the Dominicans, and in part to the Fran- ciscans. As an Augustinian, Luther resented tbis transfer of patronage, and here we find the original motive of his inno- vations. Li Luther's day, the rivalry between the difierent religious orders in Germany was quite strongly pronounced. It was natural that each should desire to secure and retain as much patronage and infiuence as possible. And this fact readily explains the impulse of Luther and his brethren of the Augustinian order, in their opposition to the transfer of the dispensation of indulgences to their rivals the Domini- cans. Here is the germ of Luther's dejection — a small spark of envy developed in a naturally impulsive and inflammable heart. Here was an insignificant morbid element which y^as destined to contaminate the whole moral and intellectual na- ture of the man, and rouse into activity the fires of passion, ambition, and blind frenzy. Step by step he trampled upon the truths of religion, and madly seized hold of error after error, until finally even his own friends regarded him as a * Council of Trent, p. v. TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PROMINENT INNOVATORS. 289 perverted and ferocious fanatic. At this time Lutlier was a professor of pliilosopliy at the University of Wittenberg. "He had conceived a disrelish for the prevailing philosophy of Aristotle, and the scholastic system of St. Thomas ; and burning alreadj'', it is said, though for what cause does not seem clear, with a fierce hatred against the court of Rome, lie was eager and able to seize on the reputed exaggerations of Tetzel and his compeers, in the matter of indulgences, to vent his bile against a rival order, and through them against the Roman court ; to obtain notoriety for himself; to indulge his humor for novelty ; and to appear in the attractive character of a zealot and a Reformer. Luther's character is impressed on almost every page of his writings, and on the great events of his life. To considerable learning, acquired by patient study under able masters, he united great intrepidity, fer- tility of resource, singular readiness of plain but nervous language and metaphor, fondness of applause, coupled with an unbounded love of self and of authority, which burst forth almost into frenzy against those of his party who dared op- pose him ; and above all a truculent ferocity of abuse, which, throughout his whole career, he heaped, without considera- tion of eminence of rank, or person, or character, upon every foe, or former friend." * When Vergerius, the legate of Paul III., visited Wittenberg, to confer with the elector in 1535 respecting the holding of a general council, Luther was introduced to him by the elector. He writes : " To give my opinion, derived from his countenance, dress, gestures, and words, be he a man of talent or not, he is the very per- sonification of pride, malice, and impudence." During the height of his popularity, he was almost con- tinually under the influence of morbid impressions. His chief hallucinations consisted in imaginary visions of Satan, and of men with horns and tails, with the features of animals, converted into various inanimate objects, clad in all sorts of strange and fantastic garbs, some foaming at the mouth, others roaring and screaming wdth rage. While staying at * Council of Trent, p. vii. 13 290 CHEISTIAIHTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. the castle of Waitburg, tie himself declares " that he had confercDces with the devil ; " he describes the appearance, voice, and manner of his Satanic friend ; holds arguments with him concerning private masses ; acknowledges that the devil gets the best of the argument, and convinces him of his errors; and he decides to follow his advice. He believed that his opponents were all possessed of devils, and when they die, that the devil strangles them. One of his own dis- ciples, and a leading Reformer, (Ecolarapadius, wrote of him as follows : " He is puffed up with pride and arrogance, and is seduced by Satan." The same brother Reformer adds in another place, " that he was possessed not by one, but by a whole troop of devils," * " and that he wrote all his works by the impulse and the dictation of the devil, with whom he had dealings, and who in the struggle seemed to have thrown him by victorious arguments." f " This man," says another contemporaneous Reformer, " is absolutely mad. He never ceases to combat truth against all justice, even against the cry of his own conscience." J It was a favorite saying of his, " that unless we have the devil hanging about our necks we are but pitiful speculative theologians." § His brother Protestants of the Church of Zurich wrote of him as follows: " But how strangely does this fellow let himself be carried away by his devils ! How disgusting is his language, and how full are his words of the devil of hell ! " || One of the most deplorable features of Luther's mental perversion, was his shameless blasphemy against religion, the Church, and even God Himself. It is a mystery how a mind of this order could have led astray so many intelligent and reasoning believers in Christianity. It is a marvel that a man whose daily life demonstrated the fact that his brain was disordered, could have coined a new creed, a new reli- gion, dubbed it with his own name, and then have secured a Beet of believers and followers ! We can only explain the * Audin, p. 188. f Cont. Conf. Luth., p. 61. X Hospinian. § Audin, p. 3GG. I Church of Zurich, Cont. Conf. Luth. TRAITS OF A FEW OF THE PEOMINENT INNOVATOES. 291 phenomenon, upon the theory advanced by Bishop Butler in his " Analogy," " that entire communities, as well as individ- uals, sometimes become insane." We cite a few of Luther's blasphemous observations : "I owe more to my dear Cathe- rine and to Philip than to God Himself." * Again : " God has made many mistakes. I would have given Him good advice had I assisted at the creation. I would have made the sun shine incessantly ; the day would have been without end."f Again: "May the name of the pope be d d; may his reign be abolished ; may his will be restrained. If I thought that God did not hear my prayer, I would address the devil." J In his theological controversy with Emser, he writes as follows : "After a little time I will joray against him ; . . . for it is better that he should perish, than that he should continue to blaspheme Christ. I do not wish you to j)ray for this wretch, pray for us alone." § In addressing his disciples on one occasion, he told them that if they would obey him in all things he would secure to tliem all sorts of "graces and privileges from his majesty. If you disobey me, I declare to you that I will become your enemy, and do all the mischief possible to this city." || Sleidan, a Protestant historian of the time, not only as- serts that Luther was very immoral, but that he often ac- knowledged it. Melancthon asserts " that he (Luther) was so well aware of his immorality, that he wished they would remove him' from the office of preaching." ^ Maimbourg declares that he was often intoxicated at banquets, and on one occasion of this kind thus addressed his friends : " My dear friends, we cannot die till we have caught hold of Luci- fer by the tail. I saw his back yesterday fron^i the castle turrets." ** Alluding to his seduction and marriage of the nun Catherine Bore, Luther remarked soon after the per- * " Table-Talk," p. 124, Ed. Eiselbeu. f Ibid., E. Franlv, part ii., fol. 20. t Ibid., p. 213. § Epis. ad. Nic'b. Ilauseman, April 20, 1520. II *' Tablc-Talk," p. 376. f Sleidan, b. ii., An. 1520. ** Leckendorf, lib. iii. 292 CHPJSTIAOTTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. formance of the ceremony, "that he had made himself so vile and contemjDtible by these nuptials, that he liopes all the angels will laugh, and all the demons weep." * For many years Luther was in the habit of passing his evenings at the " Black Eagle Tavern " of Wittenberg, and of indulging largely, often intemperately, in malt liquors and otlier po- tations. Many of his blasphemous sentiments were uttered wdiile under the influence of these stimulants. ISTot only Luther, but his friends and disciples Melanc- thon and Bucer, openly sanctioned polygamy, as may be seen in the written permission which they gave Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse, to marry a second wife while tlie first one Avas liv in (/and undivorced. Karlstadt w^ent still further, and desired to make polygamy mi obligatory duty, Luther v/as also both intolerant and cruel, as his ferocious persecutions of the Anabaptists and other innovating oppo- nents bear v/itness. In 1536, at the Lutheran Synod of Romberg, Luther, Melancthon, and other prominent innova- tors, voted in favor of putting to death every Anabaptist who persisted in his doctrines, or who should return again after banishment. Li a future chapter we shall see that their Puritan disciples w^ho came to America in the May- flower, enacted similar laws, and inflicted the same penalties on the Quakers and Baptists of Massachusetts Bay in 1659. At this synod the following decree was enacted, at the insti- gation of Luther and his friends : " Whoever rejects infant baptism, or transgresses the orders of the magistrates, or preaches against taxes, or teaches the community of goods, or usurj^s the priesthood, or holds unlawful assemblies, or sins against faith, shall he punished loith death ... As for the simple people who have not preached, or administered baptism, but who were seduced to permit themselves to fre- quent the assemblies of the heretics, if they do not wish to renounce anabaptism, they shall be scourged, punished v\^ith perpetual exile, and even with death^ if they return three times to the j^lace whence they have been expelled." \ Any * Epist. Spalatino. f Catron, p. 224, and Audin, p. 404. TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PEOMINENT INNOVATOKS. 293 one wlio will take the trouble to examine the " Colonial Records of Massachusetts Bay," will observe that the Puri- tans adopted these atrocious decrees almost verhathn in their sanguinary persecutions of opposing sectaries. Further on we shall enter into details upon this subject. In writing to the Landgrave of Hesse respecting another innovator, Luther says : " Drive him away as an apostle of hell ; and if he does not flee, deliver him up as a seditious man to the executioner." * Among the scandalous acts of Luther was his seduction and marriage of Catherine de Bore, a nun of great beauty. At the age of forty-five, in the year 1525, he espoused the victim of his guilty passion. These acts of the self-styled Reformer were deeply deplored by Melancthon, and a major- ity of his more respectable friends, as licentious and disgrace- ful. They also diminished his influence greatly. " As to whether we may have several wives," says Lu- ther, "the authority of the patriarchs leaves us perfectly free. It is a thing neither permitted nor prohibited, and I decide nothing thereupon." Alludino; to these loose sentiments of Luther, Balmes very pertinently inquires: "What would now be the con- dition of Europe, what respect would women now enjo}^, if Luther, the founder of Protestantism, had succeeded in in- spiring society with the indiflerence which he shows on this point in his Commentary on Genesis ? . . . . European nations owe eternal gratitude to Catholicity, which has preserved monogamy for them, one of the causes which undoubtedly have contributed the most to the good organization of the family, and the exaltation of woman." f During his violent quarrel with Erasmus, his arrogance and vindictive malice were so great, that Melancthon was impelled to exclaim : " Would to God that Luther would keep silent ! I had hoped that age would have rendered him more mild ; but I see that he becomes more and more violent * Luth., Comment, in Psal. Ixxi., opp. Jen., torn, v., p. MY, apud Audio. f "Protestantism and Catholicism Compared," p. 188. 294 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONELICTS. every day as he is pressed by his adversaries, and by the dis- putes in which he involves hhnself. .... These things tor- ment me, and if God does not interpose, the end of these dis- putes will be disastrous." Erasmus also " regretted that in his old age, he was obliged, in contending with Luther, to contend with a wild beast and a furious wolf." Melancthon declares that he was occasionally 'beaten by Luther during his ungovernable outbursts of passion. " I tremble," says Melancthon, " when I think of the passions of Luther ; they yield not in violence to the passions of Hercules." * About the year 1532 Luther published his book against j^rivate masses. In this book he declares that he had had several conferences with the devil ; and that the subject of private masses was a special topic of discussion. Up to this period he informs us that he had been a firm believer in these masses, and had devoutly said them during his life. But the arguments of the j)rince of darkness changed his views, and he renounced his former opinions as useless and wicked, and incorporated this additional article of Protestantism in his new religion. When the devil appeared to him, he states that he was much frightened at his tremendous voice, his imperious manner, and his forcible arguments. His heart beat violently, he trembled, he perspired, but nevertheless held a respectable argument with his diabolical opponent. From this exj)erience Luther expresses the opinion that the devil often appears to holy men toward morning, and stran- gles them to death by his tremendous voice and still more tremendous arguments. He attributes the sudden deaths of G5colarapadius and Emser to this cause. Is it not probable that all Luther's inspirations may have been derived from the same source ? As he advanced toward the end of his career, Luther's mental perversions became still more strongly marked. In his writino-s asrainst the doctors of Louvain, and other opponents, as well as against his fellow-reformers, he rails like a lunatic, writes the most indecent calumnies and blas- * Melauc. Epis. ad Thcs. TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PEOMINENT INNOVATORS. 295 phciuies, plays tlie vulgar buffoon, and calls his adversaries by every vile name which can be found in the vocabulary of Billingsgate. On the 18th of February, a. d. 1546, Luther died. On strictly medical grounds, we claim that, up to the year 1517, the mind of Luther was healthy and sound, and that there was nothing morbid or irrational in his intellectual manifestations. It is conceded that he possessed a highly nervous and sanguine temj^erament, and an organization peculiarly sensitive, and therefore prone to become unduly excited and disordered. After 1517 we claim that an entire change occurred in the condition of his brain and of his mental faculties. We claim that his mind became perverted from over-excitement, and that a large part of his intellectual manifestations were the result of a morbidly excited brain — a condition which some writers term moral insanity^ and others religious monomania. As the exciting causes became more numerous and powerful, the cerebral malady increased, and the abnormal mental phenomena were all gradually aug- mented, until his most trusted friends, with deej) sorrow, regarded him as a partially deranged man. A glance at the writings of Melancthon, Bucer, Zwinglius, (Ecolampadius, and Hospinian, will fully corroborate this assertion. In order to aid the reader in forming a just oj^inion respecting the changed mental condition of Luther, during his innovating career, we present here, the following excel- lent definition of insanity by an eminent medical Avriter, Dr. Winslow, and also the more common causes of mental derangement. Pinel, Connolly, Esquirol, Prichard, Brigham, and other standard writers on insanity, have given us similar definitions and similar tests. According to Dr. Winslov*^, " the test of insanity in all cases should be the comparison of the mind of tlie alleged lunatic, at the period of suspected insanity, with its prior, natural, and healthy manifesta- tions." '^'' And among the most common causes of insanity, accordmg to all eminent writers upon the subject, are vio- * Lettsouian Lecture, 1855. 296 CHEISTIANITY iLND ITS CONFLICTS. lent emotions ; religious entlnisiasm ; disappointed ambition ; a vivid and unrestrained imagination ; exclusive and protract- ed tbought uj^on a single subject ; over-exertion of tbe intel- lectual powers ; mental trouble, perplexity, and doubt. If we compare Luther's mental condition prior to 1517, with what it became subsequently, the conclusion will be irresis*tible that he was a victim of religious monomania. Wliile he was tranquilly pursuing his studies as a youth, and during tlie eleven years that he devotedly, and without am- bition, envy, or malice, fulfilled his monastic duties, he had no mental hallucinations, no conferences vfith Satan, he saw no spectres or fantastic ogres in human shape flitting before his brain, he was subject to no frenzied paroxysms of rage and ferocity, he never dreamed of blaspheming his Maker, or of corrupting the Sacred Writings, or of defying the authority of the Church, or of setting up a new human creed and a new man- worshipping religion ; but he was reasonable, moderate, temperate, devout, truthful and faithful in all things. In a word, he loas sane. His brain was healthy, and his intel- lectual faculties were normal. Now let us compare this healthy state of mind — " these natural and healthy mental manifestations" — with those of his subsequent life, and then apply to the two groups of phenomena the standard test of lunacy vdiicli v/e have cited. From an amiable, temperate, chaste, and devout man, he became violent, ferocious, intemperate, licentious, blas2)he- mous, and sanguinary. From a firm, unwavering, and happy believer in the truths of the Church, he became a victim of innumerable doubts, changes, perplexities, and fierce tor- ments. From a condition of mental tranquillity and intellect- ual equilibrium, he lapsed into a state of maniacal excite- ment, with a very great perversion of all his intellectual powers and manifestations. As an innovator he habitually saw spectres, men with tails, horns, claws, features of ani- mals, and v/as pursued and tormented by these morbid fantasies. A volume of these abnormal mental manifesta- tions might be cited in suj^port of our position, but we have TKAIT3 OF A FEW OF THE. TEOMINENT INNOVATORS. 297 presented a sufficient number to enable the impartial reader to form a just conclusion respecting Luther's sanity or insanity. In this nineteenth century, if a man advances opinions which are eccentric, erratic, outre, and subversive of fxcts and doctrines which are universally accepted, he is arraigned before the bar of public opinion, and his innovations and acts are subjected to the tests of reason, science, and logic. Novel ideas, vehement declamation, or the bitterest invective, arc not regarded as truth, argument, or sound philosophy ; but stern facts and demonstrated truths are tlie only admitted witnesses in the intellectual courts of this practical century. Should a modeni Luther appear, with his individual inno- vations against any of the established theories of the day, and claim that, through certain interviews and consultations w^ith the Prince of Darkness, he had ascertained that the world was all wrong, and that he had come to set it right, and to present new articles of belief, the practical men of this day would undoubtedly shut him up in Bloomingdale, or in some similar institution, for medical and moral treat- ment. Such a man would indeed have some followers — for there is no hypothesis, however absurd, if it is novel, and panders to passion and interest, which wdll not attract dis- ciples— but its author would either be consigned to a mad- house, or public opinion w^ould ridicule him into a speedy oblivion. If it be urged as an argument in favor of Luther's sanity during his innovating career, that he often displayed great intellectual powers and great eloquence, we respond that such displays arc not at all uncommon in confirmed luna- tics. In real insanity we often see displays of astonishing intellectual efforts exhibited in a great many different as- pects ; but w^e more frequently see these displays in the ex- * ercise of the imagiyiative than in the reasoning faculties. The dramatic poet Lee wrote the tragedy of lN"ero, and several other plays, in the Bethlehem hospital for lunatics; and was, at times, excited to the fury of the wildest maniac. Q* 298 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. And yet all his plays were acted witli applause before the same people who were only beginnnig to appreciate Shake- speare. Christopher Smart wrote his verses on the walls of his cell. Numerous examples of a similar character might be cited, and almost every insane hospital will afford one or more instances in point. Luther was the originator and the master-spirit of the Reformation, the father of modern Protestantism, the author of the modern innovations against the ancient Church, and the centre around which vast numbers of restless, worldly, and visionary men rallied in opposition to a religion and a Church which had been founded by Christ, and perpetuated from generation to generation up to his day. The hos- tility of these adversaries amounted almost to frenzy : each follower seemed to imbibe some portion of the sj)irit and the reckless extravagance of their insane master ; the poison of mad fanaticism seemed to contaminate the entire sect, en- gendering hatred, thirst for vengeance and blood, and a kind of epidemic religious monomania. The absurdity and wick- edness of Luther's innovations will be readily appreciated when we remember his continual, abrupt, and radical changes of opinion, and that nearly all his first innovations perished before his own death ! His original articles of faith and his original creed, which enticed so many deluded followers from the ancient faith, are now among the things of the past; though their sad fruits may still be observed in the innumerable conflicting sects, in the religious distractions and hatreds, in the wide-spread infidelity, and in the bloody religious wars which have decimated and cursed the world during the past three hundred years. We have already seen that envy was the primary ex- citing cause of Luther's defection from the Church. This evil emotion developed anger, and called forth, in the first instance, words of denunciation against a rival Dominican brother. When the attacked party retorted, new germs of evil sprang up within his breast — liatred, resentment, pride, ambition, love of notoriety. Gradually tlicse evil passions TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PROMINENT ESTNOVATOKS. 299 led him on, at times dominating over him absolutely, again struggling with him, until almost overcome by his better nature, his conscientious convictions, his positive knowledge of the truth. These violent emotions, these conflicting pas- sions, the encouragement and applause of wicked men, and the glittering and carnal temptations of the world, were too much for the inflammable nature of the poor monk, and fiends revelled where angels once had dwelt. Unfortunate gentle- man ! Victim of a terrible mental affliction, the manifesta- tions of which j^andered to the vilest passions of his fellow- creatures, and inculcated the lawfulness of opinions and prac- tices in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ, His apos- tles, and the Church. The corrupt and licentious men of Germany, and of other countries, eagerly adopted the ac- commodating views and religion of this unfortunate lunatic, because it aflbrded them a pretext to continue in their sinful ways. Melancthon truly remarked to his poor mother, when on her death-bed, "that the new religion was a convenient one, if not a secure one." Had the Wittenberg of Luther's day been blessed with one of those beneficent sanitary institutions which may now be found in all parts of Europe and North America, the de- rano-ed mind of the afflicted monk mis-ht have been restored to its original sanity, and the world have been rescued from the schisms, the religious contentions, the distractions, enmi- ties, wars, and divisions which now scandalize the Christian name. Could this poor, brain-stricken, and originally pious and humble Christian, have been placed under the wholesome restraints and the moral and medical treatment of a first- class insane hospital, at the outset of his malady, in all human probability he would have recovered, and again graced the Augustinian monastery as a humble, moral, chaste, temperate, devout, and scrupulous monk. Nearly every one of the prominent contemporary Re- formers, including Bucer, Melancthon, Calvin, Capiton, and Mycon, acknowledged these evil traits of Luther, and depre- cated the sad results which they foresaw must spring from 300 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. them. These more cautious innovators attempted to arrest, or, at least to modify the insane extravagances of their leader, but in vain. Referring to these extravagances and their results, Mycon truly observed, " that princes now order the mode of communion, and magistrates have converted themselves into popes." Melancthon eventually became so disgusted with the ravings and the dictatorial tyrannies of Luther, that, on one occasion, at Munster, he declared, " that there were two popes, one of them at Rome, and the other one Luther, and that the latter was the worst of the two." Zwinglius, Calvin, and others often designated him as "the new pope." I\Ielancthon. Melancthon was naturally truthful, pious, sincere, and earnestly desirous of doing his whole duty to his God and to his fellow-men ; but he was ardent, enthusiastic, credulous, and easily influenced by eloquence, novel sophistries, and by his personal associations and friendships. Having heard Luther in his heyday of popularity and power, having lis- tened to his vehement, but eloquent harangues, his oracular denunciations of Catholicism, and his equally oracular announcement of his innovating theological hypotheses, he was attracted and fascinated by them, and finally became an unwilling victim during his whole life, to these sad allure- ments and devices of the Prince of Evil. Often when the mad ravings, the vulgar revilings, and the impious and obscene vituperations of Luther against all who 02:)posed his despotic will, threatened to consign their author to the con- straints of a prison, the gentle Melancthon trembled with doubts and apprehensions as ,to the source of these furious and vindictive sentiments. And often, during these trying scenes, did his soul rcA^ert to that blessed relio-ion of his child- hood, for consolation and hope. Amid tlie frenzied rhap- sodies and the bitter and calumnious I'ailings of the eloquent protester against a religion which had been the only true light of the world for more than fifteen centuries, did the TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PROMINENT INNOVATORS. 301 candid spirit of Melancthon often reilcct that the devil was one of Lntlier's promi:)ters and counsellors. In Lis letters to his intimate friend, Camerarius, he gave expression to these doubts and fears ; but the explanations and apologies of par- tisan friends prevailed in the end, and kept him until death within the confines of Protestantism, but always doubting, wavering, and trembling, at the terrible responsibility lie liad assumed. Amonc^ those who aided in sustainino: him in the delusions of Luther was Erasmus, who declared that the world had become so obstinate and hardened in its opinions, that a rude, dictatorial, and crazy mind like that of Luther, was necessary, in order to revolutionize the religious opinions of men. What an admission respecting the universality and firmness of the religious fliith of the period ! "What a com- mentary on an innovation which was destined to divide and distract tJie Church, disturb its unity, and fill the world with schismatics, rationalists, and atheists ! Melancthon believed in dreams, visions, astrology, pro- phecies, and that all unusual terrestrial and celestial phe- nomena were solemn warnins-s from Heaven of comins: events, and regulated his life in accordance with this fantastic hypothesis. He often cautioned his friends, Camerarius and Osiandcr, to give heed to these wonderful phenomena which were constantly occurring. The birth of a calf with two heads, or other lusits naturce, or the overflow of the Tiber, in his estimation, were important occurrences, and poilended great changes in the world, especially the down- fall of popeiy and the destruction of Rome. He was in the habit also of consulting the stars with reference to himself, his family, and to the progress of events, and shaped his conduct upon these astrological data. He also believed in and was influenced by the visions and prophecies of otlier visionaiy men. During his last years, Melancthon suffered continually from his own doubts, and from the clashing and ever-chan- ging opinions of the self-styled Reformers. Each one had his own peculiar views upon the various doctrinal points, each 302 CilElSTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. one clifFered from tlie other, so tliat every thing like unity, harmony, and stability of sentiment, was out of the question. Suffering from the terrors and apprehensions which such a mental condition of necessity produced, Melaucthon died in 1560. If Melaucthon had lived at this day, he would have been a Spiritualist, a holder of ghostly " circles," an abetter and defender of " mediums," and an habitual communicator and converser with departed spirits. He would have been a formidable rival of Andrew Jackson Davis in his reformatory enterprises. At the Diet of Augsburg, held in 1530, several innova- tors presented for acceptance their own private articles of faith. Among them were Bucer, Melaucthon, and Zwinglius. Each confession of faith comprised the private views of its author; each one was at variance with the other; and each had its array of zealous advocates. A majority of the diet were in favor of that of Melaucthon, and it Avas accordingly adojDted. This majority of ignorant, fanatical, and materi- alistic Teutons, with marvellous penetration, made the momentous discovery that all the great councils of the Church, with their thousands of the most learned, talented, and holy men which fifteen centuries had produced, had all been mistaken in their interpretations of the Scriptures, and that this Augsburg assembly had been brought into exist- ence to rearrange and reestablish Christianity ! Men like SS. Polycarp, Clement, and Ignatius, who had received their instructions directly from the lips of Christ and His inspired apostles, and the thousands of holy fathers who alone had transmitted the Christian religion through the early and middle ages of the Christian era, were scoffed at and ignored by this handful of dissenting Germans at Augsburg, and a new confession of faith, a new religion by one of their own number, was adopted ! Melaucthon was not insane, but he was a visionary enthu- siast. He was learned, talented, amiable, and conscientious, but he was lacking in judgment, stability, and mental dis- TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PROMINENT INNOVATORS. 303 cipline. He was sincere in his religions convictions, bnt constitntionally and morbidly credulons, visionary, and erratic. If circumstances had made him a man of business instead of a theologian, his visionary tendencies, his credulity^ his love of novelty and change, his speculative turn, and his general instability would liave involved himself and his business connections in certain financial ruin. As a states- man his peculiar qualities would have plunged his adminis- tration and his country into innumerable embarrassments and disasters. As a theologian and an innovator, he Avas always wavering, and changeable, but readily controlled, for good or evil, by those around him. In whatever position he might liave been j^laced, he would have been regarded as an amia- ble and genial man, but he never could have inspired con- fidence in his judgment, his competency, or his reliability. He was true and ardent in his attachments, and was inclined to sympathize deeply, and to assimilate closely with his trusted friends in all things moral, intellectual, religious, and personal. His heart was open, generous, and confiding, and thus he became a victim to the strong will of the insane Luther. Calvin. John Calvin w^as born in Noyon, France, a. d. 1509, and died at Geneva, in Switzerland, in 1564. With many other Frencli refugees, he sought a home in Geneva shortly after Farel and Froment had introduced their new innovations. Judging from the accounts of contemporary historians, Cal- vin must have been a perfect type of the Puritan. He was of medium height, lean, sharp-visaged, cadaverous, thin- lipped ; his eyes were bright, but restless and sinister in their expression ; his head was large, and indicative of un- usual intelligence ; his countenance was cold, stern, and un- sympathetic ; and his religious declamations were character- ized by the canting nasal twang which is peculiar to all Pu- ritans. Every lineament of liis sallow and angular counte- nance, every movement of his skeleton fi-ame, every gesture 304 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. of his bony arms and hands, and every word from his thin, Wue lips left an indescribable and indelible impression upon his auditors. He was learned, eloquent, classical, and pol- ished as a writer, but human sympathy, benevolence, charity, and the finer emotions, had no place in his breast. He could thank his God with as much indifference for damning the predestinated victims of His causeless wrath as for saving the elected favorites of His equally causeless mercy. Like the fatalistic Mohammedan, he regarded men as passive and helpless victims of a fore-ordained and fixed decree of the Almighty. He was heartless, vindictive, cruel, and sangui- nary; as his unrelenting persecutions of his controversial adversaries, and his execution of Servetus and Gruet clearly demonstrate. Another illustration of his sanguinary and cruel disposition may be found in the active part he took in urging forward the bloody civil wars of the period. " Cal- vin," said Bucer, " is a true mad-dog. The man is wicked, and he judges of people according as he loves or hates them." Baudoin declared " that he could not endure Calvin, because he had found him too thirsty for vengeance and blood." In a letter to his friend, the Marquis du Poet, respecting the Anabaptists and other new sectaries, Calvin declares " that such monsters ought to be suffocated, after the manner of Servetus and Graet." Calvin taught that the children of the faithful are born in grace and alliance with God, and that they must be saved, with or without baptism, with or without good acts. He taught that whoever has received the Holy Spirit once is fully justified, and can never lose it, or fall from grace. Once the recipient of grace, the predestinated mortal must of ne- cessity be saved, though all the imps of darkness afterward possess him and govern him through life. Pie was, however, continually changing his arbitrary dogmas. He had one confession of faith for Switzerland, another for Germany, and a still different one for France. In almost every succes- sive communication he expresses dissatisfaction with the views he had previously advanced, and continually suggested TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PKOMINENT ENNOVATOES. 305 alterations and modifications. Ambitious, vain, boastful, and imperious, he did not hesitate to alter and adapt his doctrines to the i^-eculiarities and prejudices of the various nations of Europe. His main object was to secure j^rosc- lytes, and to extend his own reputation, not to serve his God and his fellow-men. His invectives were directed not only against Catholics, but against all who presumed to differ with him. Even Luther and Zwinglius did not escape his bitter taunts and irony. Were an impartial biographer to sum up the characteris- tic traits of the three prominent innovators of the sixteenth century,* Luther, Mclancthon, and Calvin, he would present to us three widely different characters. In Luther he would 2:)ortray a man of fine native talents, and of good natural in- stincts, feelings, and tendencies, a fair scholar, but of strong passions, great ambition, and love of admiration, and a brain and nervous system in the highest degree excitable and sen- sitive. He would trace his modest and blameless career as a monk of the convent of Erfurth, and commend him for his unaffected piety and devotion to his duties. He would fol- low him to his new and strange arena of controversy and strife, analyze his ferocious and obscene tirades against friend and foe, hold him up to the gaze of the world as an habitual believer in and seer of fantastic visions, spectres, and fiends, a debater Avith Satan, as well as with mundane adversaries, a breaker of solemn vows, a wine-bibber, a vindictive and unscrupulous opponent, and an inciter of civil wars and bloodshed. A candid biographer of this era would deplore the manifest transformation whicJi occurred in Luther's mind, and express sympathy for the unfi^rtuuatc lunatic and his relatives and friends. As a reliable relator of fixcts, he would be compelled to depict the sound and healthy mental manifestations of Martin Luther as a happy, amiable, and peaceful Augustinian monk, and to contrast tlieni with tlie abnormal and perverted intellectual and moral traits which pertained to him during the entire period of his continually varying innovations. 306 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. He would represent Melanctlion as a noble, warm-lieartecl, and pious Christian, a ripe scliolar, an ardent friend, but en- thusiastic, credulous, visionary, fond of novelty, and so con- stituted as to be readily blown about by every wind of doc- trine, and dominated over by wicked and designing men. In Calvin he would present us Avith a perfect type of cold-hearted selfishness, cruelty, cunning, and canting hypoc- risy. He would make known to us his thrilling powers of eloquence, his high classical attainments, his polished diction, and his snake-like fascination over his rapt audiences. At the same time he would tell us of his terrible blasphemies against his Maker, and of his atrocious Puritan doctrines. He would bring before us a man who had the impious temer- ity to declare God the author and creator of all the sins, crimes, and calamities of the world, and that men are merely passive and impotent instruments in His hands. He would place before us a heart of stone — cold, unsympathetic, im- passible, Satanic. He would not depict Calvin as an in- sane man, but as one consummately talented, selfish, heart- less, and unscrupulous. He would display to us a perfect type of the Furitan. The theological tenets of this man have exercised a dominant influence over nearly all of the Protestant sects of the world down to the present time. Minor Innovators. Many volumes would be required to present in detail the personal traits and characteristics of the horde of Reformers wdio have appeared since Luther's day. Their name is legion, and they have deluged the world with their novelties, their private creeds, and their individual religions. In the forma- tion and establishment of these strange innovations, nearly all the passions and emotions of the human heart have been evoked, and have exercised their influence. A very cursory ex- amination of the various and conflicting sects will show that the j)ersonal idiosyncrasies and the mental and moral pecu- liarities of each sectarian creed-coiner have been incorporated into the sect which bears his name, or which owes to him its TRAITS OF A FEW OF THE PliOMLNENT INNOVATORS. 307 paternity. Some of these iiniovators have been actuated by ambition and thirst for notoriety, some by self-interest, some by novelty and change, some by hatred of rival sects, some by lust, some by covetousness, some by religious fanaticism, and many by an abnormal condition of the mental faculties. Types of all these d liferent classes may be found even in the sixteenth century — in Zwinglius, Stork, Bucer, Munzer, John of Leyden, Mathias Harlem, Karlstadt, Hermann, David George, Farel, Froment, (Ecolampadius, Knox, Cranmer, Hen- ry VHL, and others. We shall very briefly allude to a few of the creed-mongers who were contemporaneous with Luther and Calvin, and reserve our account of the more modern inno- vators for a future chapter. Among the personal friends and abetters of Luther was Martin Bucer. He abounded in subtleties, novelties, and doctrinal contradictions. He was the author of the Stras- buro^ Confession of Faith. He tausrht that Christ could not be actually present in the eucharist because He is in heaven and can only be in one place at a time. How materialistic and mundane are these ideas of Bucer and the other Reform- ers ! How impious the assertion that the Omnipotent and Almighty God can only be present in one place at the same time ! The idea of limiting the capacities and powers of the Infinite to mundane objects — to time, space, or other appli- ance of this material and momentary work of His hands ! It is througli the influence of such sentiments as those of Bucer and his contemporary innovators, that materialism became de- veloped, and made such progress in the sixteenth and subse- quent centuries. Wherever the doctrines of these men have obtained a foothold, rationalism with all its Protean mani- festations has flourished. WhencA^er and wherever men have attempted to compreliend, circumscribe, bound, and explain the attributes and the omnipotent powers of God, we find innumerable sects founded on rationalism, pantheism, spirit- ualism, and atheism. Bucer was talented, but ambitious, fickle, and devoted to novelties. In conjunction with Luther and Melancthon, he signed the document allowing Philip to 308 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. have two wives at the same time. Bucer himself was mar- ried three times. Karlstadt ranks among the most radical and reckless of the innovators of Luther's day. This bold man, once a priest of the Church, had the temerity to overthrow the sacred em- blems of the churches of Wittenberg, and to prevent, by threats and violence, the celebration of mass and the eleva- tion of the Host. He was one of the first priests who violated his sacred oath by marrying a wife. His arrogance, intem- perance, licentiousness, and blasphemy, so disgusted the people of "Wittenberg that they expelled him from the city. After this he joined the Anabajjtists. But iew men were more active in stirring up discontent, fraternal hatred, and strife among his countrymen than Zwinglius, and but few were as cruel and unrelenting in the pursuit of vengeance. In 1524, according to Menzel,* he caused a number of Anabaptists to be taken, enclosed in sacks, and then cast into the Rhine to be drowned, while his pious disciples looked on, and with jeers and taunts assured them that they were only subjecting them to their own fa- vorite mode of immersion. After the Diet of Augsburg, when the Protestants had formed leagues in order to propa- gate their doctrines, and had resolved to resort to arms to carry their points, Zwinglius was the leading spirit in tbis coercive policy from the first. He not only advocated these sanguinary proceedings in his sermons, harangues, and wri- tings, but he actually entered the bloody battle-field in deadly strife, urging on canton against canton, brother against brother, until he v\^as killed sword in hand. Was such a man a follower and disciple of the Prince of Peace ? Was such a man in reality a Heforyncr? In 1516 Zv/inglius introduced Protestantism into Zurich by force and fraud. Eight years afterward he forced his inno- vations upon the 23eople of Berne. In 1535 he extended his religious conquests to Geneva. In these revolutionary and sanguinary acts he was efiiciently aided by the fanatical and * Menzel's " Hist, of Germany," vol. ii., p. 233. TRAITS OF A FEW OF THE PROMINENT INNOVATORS. 309 cruel Farel. Througli the intrigues of tliis malignant parti- san with the people of Berne, they enrolled themselves into an army, and led on by Zwinglius and Farel, they entered Geneva in 1536 and inculcated their innovations at the point of the bayonet. Soon after, the same j^^oiis army invaded the canton of Vaud, and beat their religion into many of the 230or jieople of this canton. The notorious Froment aided and abetted Zwinglius and Farel in these frightful outrages. The mad pranks of the ferocious Anabaptists of Munster and Leyden, under the leadership of Mathias Harlem and John of Leyden, sliocked all Europe for a time. Tliese men were unquestionably insane, as their absurd doctrines and their actions all demonstrate. The fact that they were able to secure crowds of devoted disciples and followers, and retain them in absolute subjection for more than sixteen months, proves that entire communities as well as individ- uals, may become deranged, and that there is such a malady as epidemic communal insanity. It affords an additional proof of the facility with which pretended Reformers, like Luther, Harlem, and the tailor of Leyden, can procure con- verts and followers, and establish new creeds, new sects, and new religions. These Munster and Leyden Reformers inaugu- rated their pious reformations by sacking Catholic churches, destroying their ornaments and books, seizing upon the prop- erty of the inhabitants for a common fund, and by attempt- ing with a handful of men to exterminate with the sword those who were so presumptuous as to oppose them. The tailor of Leyden " ra7i nalied through the streets of Itfunster,''^ cry- ing, " Behold, the King of Sion coines I " This poor lunatic declared to his infatuated dupes that the Lord had decreed that he should be crowned King of Sion ; and on the 24th of June, 1534, he was actually proclaimed king, and solemnly crowned in the market-place, amidst the fanatical rejoicings of a large crowd of partisans and followers. He made his wife queen, but reserved to himself the holy and patriarchal right of having seventeen additional wives. He did not limit his polygamous views to two wives, as did Philip of Hesse, 310 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. under permission of his spiritual advisers, Luther, Melanc- thon, and Bucer, but he adopted literally tlie theory and practice of the ancient patriarchs. This very progressive Reformer reigned for more than sixteen months, during which the most atrocious crimes of every description were perpe- trated under the direction of himself and his converts. The ruling ideas of this man were to slay all those who opposed him, and to establish himself and his creed over all the world. No man of the present day will deny that John of Leyden was insane. All admit the vast influence which this danger- ous lunatic acquired and held for sixteen months, over great numbers of the people of Munster, Leyden, and the surround- ing country. Do not these astounding facts demonstrate the dangerous character and. tendencies of the innovations of the period, as well as the inflammable and unreliable nature of the material upon which the Reformers acted? David George declared himself the true son of God, that his doctrines alone were perfect, and that the Old and N"ew Testaments were wrong. At this day, a man possessed of such ideas would be confined in a mad-house as an irrespon- sible lunatic. Yet the pretensions of this Reformer were but little more extravagant than those of Luther ; and if David denied the authenticity of all the Sacred Writings, his contem- porary innovator, Martin, had already repudiated a portion of them. At about the same jDcriod there was a counterpart of David in London by the name of Hackett. This person claimed that the Spirit of the Messiah had descended upon himself, and that he was endowed with supernatural j^ow- ers. He likewise had his converts and followers, who under his direction perpetrated the most fanatical and sacrilegious enormities in the streets of London. Like Hermann and John of Leyden, he advocated the massacre of all opj^onents, es- pecially all priests and magistrates. The Anabaptist, Nicholas Stork, another contemporary of Luther, " surrounded himself with twelve apostles and sev- enty-two disciples, and boasted that he received revelations TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE TEOinXENT INNOVATORS. 311 from an angel." * The following is a specimen of one of his sermons : " Behold what I annomice to you. God has sent His angel to me during the night, to tell me that I shall sit on the same throne as the archangel Gabriel. Let the impi- ous tremble, and the just hope. ... It is to me. Stork, that ITeavcn has promised the empire of the world. Would you desire to be visited by God ? Prepare your hearts to receive the Holy Spirit. Let there be no pulpit whence to announce the w^ord of God : no priests, no preachers, no exterior w^or- ship : let your dress be plain ; your food, bread and salt ; and God will descend upon you." f He taught that it was good to commit sin, in order that grace might abound. Another Anabaptist preacher, Munzer, combined the most ultra agrarianism with his religious innovations. Even Karlstadt, the intimate friend and disciple of Lu- ther, was afflicted with a kind of moral insanity, and any medical expert wdio will take the trouble to review his career, w^ill arrive at this conclusion. He was in the habit of run- ning through the streets of Wittenberg, Bible in hand, and stoj^ping the passers-by to inquire of them the signification of difficult passages of the Sacred Book. He claimed that this was an obligatory duty, because it is written " that the voice of truth shall be heard from the lips of infants." J Similar instances of religious insanity and fanaticism have not unfrequently occurred since the days of Christ. A notable example of this kind occurred in the twelfth century. "At the beginning of the tvv^elfth century," says Balmes, " we find the famous Tanch^me, or Tanquelin, teaching the maddest theories and committing the greatest crimes; yet at Antwerp, in Zealand, in the country of Utrecht, and in many other towns in the same countries, he draws after him a numerous crowd. This w^retched man maintained that he was more worthy of supreme w^orship than Jesus Christ Himself, ' for,' said he, ' if Jesus Christ had received the Holy Spirit, he (Tancheme) had received the plenitude of that *Menzcrs "Ilist. of Germany," vol. ii., pp. 232, 233. f Audin, p. 230. I Meshoviu?, p. 4. 312 cnEiSTiAivnTY and its conflicts. Holy Spirit.' He added that the whole Church was confined in his own person and in his disciples. The pontilicate, the e23iscopate, and the priesthood, w^ere, according to him, mere chimeras. His instructions and discourses were particularly addressed to women ; the result of his doctrines and pro- ceedings was the most revolting corruption. Yet the fanati- cism which was excited by this abominable man, went so far that the sick eagerly drank the water in which he bathed, believing it to be the most salutary remedy for body and soul. Women thought themselves happy to have obtained the favor of the monster ; mothers considered it an honor for their dau^^hters to be selected as the victims of his profligacy ; and husbands were offended when their wives were not stained with this disgrace." * On one occasion he touched a picture of the Virgin, and declared that he had con- tracted marriage with the Queen of Heaven, and he command- ed his dupes to fill two boxes which he had brought, with wedding presents. His hearers robbed themselves of their jewels and other valuables to fill these boxes. Finally, he sur- rounded himself with an armed troop of three thousand men, and in regal garments moved from place to place with his body-guard, preaching his atrocious doctrines and robbing the people of their honor and their wealth. This man was either a great knave or a madman. In this same century also lived Eon, who asserted " that he himself was the Judge of the living and the dead ; " likewise Arnaud of Brescia, Bierre cle Bruis, Henri, the Cathari, Vaudois, Paterius of Arras, the Albigenses, and the poor men of Lyons. The fruits of these different fanatical innovations were disastrous in the highest degree. Their presence was everywhere manifested by fire, *• i-apine, and bloodshed. We have alluded to the case of Tanquelin as a type of thousands of similar instances which might be adduced be- fore the sixteenth century. We have not space to present in detail the numerous innovations which were introduced during the early and middle ages ; but an examination of * *' Catholicism cand Protcstiuitism Compared," p. 250. TEAITS OF A FEW OF THE PROMINENT INNOVATOES. 313 tlicra will show that the authors of thorn, as well as the causes, motives, and results, were similar to those of the six- teenth century. Among the innovators out of Germany, who contributed mateiially to sow dissensions among Christians, and to impair the unity of the Church during Luther's day, were Henry VIII. and his subservient archbishop Cranmer. As a king, Henry was imperious, arbitrary, and dictatorial, but earnestly solicitous for the welfare and glory of England. As a man, he was supremely selfish, conceited, vain, ambitious, sensual, irate, and unscrupulous. His doi^inant characteristic Avas gross sensuality, and he rendered every thing else subser- vient to this passion. Honor, principle, and conscience were all trodden under foot when they stood in the way of his sensual gratifications. In his heart of hearts, Henry was a thorough Roman Catholic ; and the facts are conclusive that he lived and died in this faith, although holding it secretly, and notwithstanding his pretended reformations, and his im- pious assumptions of supreme spiritual powers. He doubt- less hoped and e:qoected to bend the Roman pontifi* to his indomitable will, to force from him a dispensation for a divorce from his lawful wife, and to return to the bosom of the Church. But step by step he became more and more involved in the toils of the evil one ; day by day the fever of passion increased, until, with a seared conscience and a volcano of unholy and raging desires, and pangs of remorse within his breast, he V\''as called to the bar of the King of kings, to render a final account of the fearful responsibilities he had taken upon himself. Henry never dreamed of dissenting from or of altering any of the doctrines of the Church until after his lustful in- trigue with Anne Boleyn. He had become weary of Catharine of Aragon, and his beautiful mistress monopolized all of his thoughts, and called into full activity the burning fires with- in him. In Cranmer, Thomas Cromwell, and Anne lierself, he. had willing and not over-scruj^ulous auxiliaries. Each one exercised a potent although a different kind of iniluence 14 314: CHEISTIANITY A^D ITS CONFLICTS. over the susceptible and impetuous monarch, and each one was actuated by base personal motives. Ambition, self-love, pride, resentment, and his dominant sensual propensities were all in turn played upon by the bishop, the lawyer, and the mistress, and their united efforts were successful in diverting an impulsive king from his conscientious convictions of religious truth, and in aiding to impair the unity of the Church of God. Had Pope Clement consented to Henry's divorce with Catharine, or, if Anne Boleyn had never lived, there never would have been an Anglican Church. Whatever may be thought or said of this Church as it now exists, the fact is none the less true that Henry YHI. is its originator and founder, that the impelling motives were those which we have indicated, that its chief manipulator and doctrine-mon- ger was Cranmer, and that its great perpetuator was Queen Elizabeth. To those Anglicans who are disposed to trace the origin of their Church beyond the time of Henry VIII., and to claim for it antiquity, an apostolic succession, or an historical past, we beg to refer them to the folio Vvdng observations of one of their own most distinguished writers and historians. Lord Macaulay. In these few lines the writer condenses the origin and the early progress of the Anglican Church, and demonstrates conclusively that it is of human and not of divine origin. We quote : " Henry VIII. attempted to con- stitute an Ansflican Church differinof from the Roman Catholic Church on the point of the supremacy, and on that point alone. His success in this attempt was extraordinary. The force of his character, the singularly favorable situation in v/hich he stood with respect to foreign powers, the immense wealth which the spoliation of the abbeys placed at his dis- posal, and the support of that class v/hich still halted be- tween two opinions, enabled him to bid defiance to both of the extreme parties, to burn as heretics those who avowed the tenets of the Reformers, and to hang as traitors thgse who owned the authority of the pope. But Henry's system TRAITS OF A FEW OF THE PKOMIN^ENT INNOVATORS. 315 died with him Nor could Elizabeth venture to return to it. It was necessary to make a choice. The government must either submit to Rome, or must obtain the aid of the Protestants. The government and the Protestants had only- one thing in common, hatred of the papal power But, as the government needed the support of the Protestants, so the Protestants needed the 2:)rotection of the government. Much was therefore given up on both sides ; a union was effected ; and the fruit of that union loas the Church of JBmjland. .... The man who took the chief part in settling the conditions of the alliance which 2^'i'oduced the Anglican Churchy was Thomas Cranmer Saintly in his profes- sions, unscrupulous in his dealings, zealous for nothing, bold in speculation, a coward and a time-server in action, a placable enemy and a lukewarm friend, he w^as in every way qualified to arrange the terms of coalition between the reli- gious and the w^orldly enemies of popery. To this day, the constitution, the doctrines, and the services of the Church (of England), retain the visible marks of the compromise from which she sprang." * The licentious propensities of a bold and unscrupulous king, in denying the papal supremacy, and in constituting himself supreme spiritucd as well as temporal head of his dominions, oriscinated the Church of Enojland. Covetousness also had a share in the wdcked innovations, for, as Macaulay truly observes, "the immense wealth which the spoliation of the abbeys placed at his disposal," enabled him to fill his coffers with Catholic gold. Cranmer was undoubtedly Henry's creed-coiner, and the master-spirit of the Anglican Reformation. Although he w^as secretly a Lutheran, as Burnet and other Protestant writers testify, yet he gave direction to the entire Anglican movement, and was the chief prompter of both Henry and Elizabeth. In all things Cranmer pandered to the passions and prejudices of Henry, while hypocritically plotting against the ancient Church, and striving to introduce insidiously and * "History of England," vol. i., pp. 38, 30. 316 CnKISTlAOTTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. gradually Lutlieranism. From the first he was aided and abetted by the lascivious Anne, who was intriguing to be queen, and the Puritanical Lutherans of England. After Cranmer had been sent to Home by Henry, in order to induce Pope Clement YII. to grant the desired divorce, and had failed in accomplishing the object, he went to Ger- many, and while there was compelled to marry the sister of Osiander, whom he had basely seduced. During his sojourn in Germany, in 1633, Henry appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury. He accepted the position, and was consecrated, with professions of submission to the pope, with oaths of fidelity, and other ceremonies customary in the consecration of Roman Catholic bishops. The hypocrisy and treachery of this bad man was thus most sacrilegiously manifested. From this time forward Cranmer was untiring in the accom- plishment of his own ambitious purposes. His intrigues with the Parliament, the people, Henry, and Anne, were un- remitting. Through these machinations of Cranmer, Henry was in- duced to carry his violation of the laws of God and man to such a pitch that the Bishop of Rome was forced to excom- municate him. This act aroused all the bad passions of Henry to the highest point. His principal traits were lust, pride, ambition, and irascibility. Finding himself cut oif from the Church, his anger knew no bounds, and he speedily declared himself " the supreme spiritual head of the Church of England under Jesus Christ." He required his Parliament to pass laws sanctioning this sacrilegious usurpation, and his clergy and people to acknowledge his wicked pretensions, under the most severe penalties. Ancient and extinct feudal laws and statutes, like those of '•'' prcQinimiTe^'^ were dragged from the dust of centuries and set up as the law of the land, for the purpose of coercing the Anglican clergy into submis- sion. On the one hand the unfortunate people of England beheld the dungeon, the rack, confiscation of property, and the fagot or the gibbet, while on the other were apostasy, recognition of an adulterous king as spiritual head of their TKAITS OF A FEW OF THE TEOMLNENT INNOVATOES. 31Y Church, and, perhaps, royal favors. The persecutions and savage punishments by death of Chancellor More, Bishop Fisher, and numerous other faithful men, attest the ferocity with which Henry carried out his infamous designs against the Church of God. There were numerous other innovators, in various parts of Europe, who were contemporaneous witli Luther and Cal- vin, and who exercised more or less influence over the rationalistic and disaffected element, particularly of Ger- many, Switzerland, France, and England, but we have not space to notice them in this work. We have presented the doctrines and personal traits of a sufficient number to enable the candid inquirer to form a judgment respecting the char- acter and tendencies of these doctrines, and the motives which have impelled each one of their originators. Were we to attemj^t a classification of the innovators of the six- teenth century from a iiiedical stand-point, it would be as follows : Victims of Meligious Monomania. Martin Luther, Nicholas Stork, Mathias Harlem, John of Leyden, David George, Hermann, Hackett, Munzer. Victims of Ilorhid Credulity and of Moral Insanity. Melancthon, Karlstadt, Buccr, Zwinglius, QEcolampadius. Innovators who were actuated by Personal Ambition and Heartless Cynicism. Calvin, Cranmer, Froment, Farel. Victims of TInbridled Lust and Self-indidyence. Henry VIH., Ulric Hutten. 318 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. From the most reliable sources, nearly all of them Prot- estant, we have gleaned the characteristic personal traits and the motives of the leading innovators of the sixteenth century, with a view of displaying clearly the primary im- pelling agencies of the so-called Reformation, and the true characters of the men who instigated it. It has been our aim to review these individual traits impartially but fear- lessly, and to subject each innovator to a critical examination respecting his mental and moral condition, and the animus which has directed him. "We have been obliged to place several of these unfortunate gentlemen in the category of monomaniacs ; but in doing this, we have adhered rigidly to the definitions of the most reputable medical authorities upon mental diseases. We regret that we have not space to add to the list of the Reformers of the sixteenth century, in order to show more clearly how rapidly one novelty leads to another, and with how much facility absurdity may follow absurdity, and impiety follow impiety, when the foundations of Christian truth are undermined. We regret still more that we are unable to present even the Jimnes of the innumerable reli- gious novelties and sects which have sprung into existence since the Reformation ; for such an exposition would shock and grieve most deeply all who regard the repeated and sol- emn injunctions of Christ and His apostles with reference to the unity and harmony of His Church. CHAPTER XXY. FRUITS OF THE EEFOrxMATION IN EUROPE. Influence on the Religious Sentiment, Among the first and immediate fruits of the lieformation in Europe, were an alarming increase of religious skepticism and a general deterioration of public morals. These evils were legitimate results of the overthrow of the ancient land- marks of religion, ecclesiastical law and discipline, and the substitution of the theological hypotheses of visionary inno- vatoi-s. Those who were inclined to sensuality, violence, change, and fanaticism, embraced the j^olygamous and revo- lutionary views of Luther, Mathias Harlem, and John of Leyden. Those who were revengeful, quarrelsome, cruel, and sanguinary, allied themselves to Zwinglius, David George, Farel, and Froment, The cynical, selfish, heartlesSj and Puritanical element sided with Calvin. The credulous and Adsionary regarded Melancthon and OEcolampadius as their leadere. The rationalist looked up to Socinus as the only true interpreter and guide ; while the great mass of Germans — materialistic and godless by nature — regarded with complacency all of these numerous and conflicting nov- elties and sects, believing in none of them, but liolding them all up to the gaze of the Avorld as arguments against Chris- tianity itself. Luther and his contemporaries rendered it fash- ionable to ridicule and calumniate the Church ; human pride 320 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. and passion bronglit forth tlie natural sequences in infidelity, immorality, and contempt for sacred things. "The Reformation," says Strauss, "effected the first breach in the solid structure of the faith of the Church. It was the first vital expression of a culture, which had now in the heart of Christendom itself, as formerly in relation to paganism and Judaism, acquired strength and independence sufficient to create a reaction against the soil of its birth, the prevailing religion. This reaction, so long as it was directed against the dominant hierarchy, constituted the sublime (?) but quickly terminated drama of the Reformation. In its later direction against the Bible, it appeared again upon the stage in the barren revolutionary efforts of deism ; and many and various have been the forms it has assumed in its prog- ress down to the present time. " The deists and naturalists of the seventeenth and eigh- teenth centuries renewed the polemic attacks of the pagan adversaries of Christianity in the bosom of the Christian Church ; and gave to the public an irregular and confused mass of criticisms, impugning the authenticity and credibili- ty of the Scriptures, and exposing to contempt the events recorded in the sacred volume." * The efforts of these men to corrupt and debauch the reli- gious and moral sentiment of Europe, were materially en- hanced by inflammatory declamations and unscrupulous calumnies, which were scattered broadcast in the form of books, pamphlets, and journals, throughout Germany and the other kingdoms of Europe. The press was almost en- tirely monopolized by these religious revolutionists, and through this medium mountains of calumny and vulgar rib- aldry were lieaped upon the ancient Church and her faith- ful children. Until the innovating revolution of the sixteenth century, the faith of Christendom had been a unit ; there were no divisions, no dissensions, no false teachers or false doctrines in the Christian household. Men, women, and children * " Life of Jesus," vol. i., p. IS. • FEUrrS OF THE EEFOEMATION IN EUEOPE. 321 knew only one Chiircli, one faith, and one form of worship, and were contented and happy in their religious convictions. So universal was this unity, so thoroughly grounded was this faith, and so general was the practical observance of the duties of religion, that skepticism, the novelties of individ- uals, irrcligion, and immorality, were comparatively rare. The Christian Church had been made up of converts from numerous races and nations, and there had been a continual struggle for more than fifteen centuries between the Church on tlie one hand and these elements of ignorance and evil on the other ; but, notwithstanding these fearful obstacles, the Cliurch had finally triumphed, true Christian civilization had fairly gained the ascendency over barbarism, and a univer- sal reign of Christian unity and concord was rapidly dawn- ing over the whole world, when, suddenly, the innovators of Germany broke in upon this unity and harmony, arrested the onward progress of Christianity, and deluged the world with distracting novelties, creeds, and sects. Novel, absurd, and revolutionary sentiments, generally diffused by preach- ers, or through the press, and an almost universal deteriora- tion of morals and manners, were regarded as freedom of thought, liberty of the press, and manly independence. After the religious revolution had become fully estab- lished, and before the expiration of the sixteenth century, rationalism, materialism, and religious indifference had made alarming progress throughout Europe. Nearly all reverence for sacred things, and all love for or faith in religion, seemed to have departed from the minds and hearts of men. Vision- ary enthusiasts made their aj^pearance at every j^oint, ha- ranguing and exhorting the credulous multitude, undei-mi- uing their faith, and deluding them into paths of error and sin. Until the Reformation marriage had always been regard- ed by Christians as a holy sacrament, and a binding and permanent contract. Up to this period no one had presumed to misinterpret or to violate Christ's positive injunctions to cleave to one wife, and to " let no man put asunder what God 11* 322 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. has joined together." The universal Church, those in author- ity, and society recognized the obligatory character of these specific commands, as well as their consummate wisdom and utility in a moral and social point of view. But when, in 1540, Luther, Bucer, and Melancthon, after careful delib- eration, and a full consultation upon the subject, gave their Avritten permission to Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse, to marry Marguerite de Saal, while his first wife, Christine of Saxony, was still living, and with her consent, the religious sentiment of Europe was outraged and debauched. The par- ties interested in the scandalous transaction endeavored to keep the matter secret, but the arch-patron of evil could not afiTord to lose the potent influence of this novel and authori- tative example, and the whole affair was made public. Here was a powerful ruler, the chief patron and defender of the Reformation, the political father of millions of trusting sub- jects, who deliberately violated one of the fundamental prin- ciples of Christianity, and gave an example of disobedience in the highest degree derogatory to the religious sentiment and the morals of his people. In his celebrated letter to his spiritual advisers, in which he presents arguments in favor of polygamy from the Old Testament^ and from the j^ractices of the Mosaic patriarchs, the great civil champion of the Ref- ormation ignores the positive precepts and commands which Christ incorporated in the New Law. With these arguments, and a promise to aid the Reformation by arms in case of compliance, he submitted the question to the three leading Reformers, who, after deliberation, and over their own sig- natures, gave the desired permission, sanctioned the sacrile- gious outrage against the laws of Christ, and set an example which has brought forth evil fruits down to the present mo- ment. What do we see ? The three master-spirits of the Reformation, and their principal convert, patron, and de- fender, all taking issue with Christ concerning a holy sacra- ment, repudiating and disobeying a specific injunction of the New Testament, by which they claimed to be exclusively governed, and setting uj) in its stead the obsolete Mosaic FKUITS OF THE EEFOKMATION IN EUKOrE. 323 theory and practice of polygamy ! And yet these men de- nominated themselves Reformers! No sooner were the facts respecting this plurality of wives made public, than wicked priests and nuns rushed in hot haste to violate their sacred vows of celibacy, and to indulge in worldly pleasures. Many, like Mathias Har- lem, and the tailor of Leyden, were not content with two wives, but took to themselves as many as seventeen at a time. With a greater show of decency, Henry VHI. re- frained from actually possessing more than one wife at a time, for he always had at his command a self-constituted divorce-monger — a sharp axe and an expert executioner, and thus he managed his amorous affairs with kingly decorum. In all Protestant communities, from the Reformation to the present time, the sacred obligations of marriage have con- tinued to become less and less appreciated and respected. The looseness of the laws and statutes concerning divorces in Great Britain and the United States is a scoff and a by- word to every i-eal Christian. In the latter country espe- cially, the most trivial pretext of a licentious husband or wife is admitted as a valid ground for a divorce, and the holy bond is severed by a dozen words from a magistrate. Independently of the pernicious influences which this fruit of the Reformation has exercised ujion morals, the welfare of families, and society, it has contributed materially toward corrupting and degrading the religious sentiment of the world. Trace these influences where you will, and they will always be found associated with immorality, vice, and a de- terioration of morals and manners. After the Reformation had become fully established in Germany, each innovator deemed it necessary to oj)pose every thing pertaining to Catholicism. The divinely-insti- tuted sacraments were sneered at and neglected, the sacred emblems of the cnicifixion, the likenesses and statues of our Saviour, the pictorial and other representations of the scenes and incidents connected with Christ's mission to earth, and even the Catholic churches, monasteries, and libraries were S24: CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. everywhere attacked, mutilated, and often utterly destroyed. Whatever was held sacred by Catholics was systematically denounced and ridiculed, and the Scriptures were perverted and distorted in order to sustain these adverse doctrines. In their sacrilegious desecration of sacred things, preachers themselves not unfrequently led on the riotous mob, and with their own hands aided in insulting and destroying the em- blems of Christianity. These acts of vandalism were perpe- trated under the influence of anger and vindictiveness, and not from any conscientious convictions of duty. Thus, v/hcn Karlstadt entered the Catholic churches of Wittenberg, sup- ported and urged on by a fierce rabble, he made no effort to conceal his brutal ferocity, and his contempt for those things which all Christendom had hitherto regarded as holy. We have before remarked that, in the first instance, the revolu- tionists never dreamed of doubting or of opposing the funda- mental doctrines of the ancient Church. Every faculty of their minds and hearts, every true aspiration of their souls, every instinct of their natures, assured tliem of these eternal truths, and it was only w^ien the baser emotions of hatred, anger, vengeance, lust, and thirst for notoriety gained full possession of them, that they cast aside all the restraints of that religion which had governed the religious world during the Christian era, and gave themselves up to the innovations, novelties, and sacrilegious impieties and immoralities of men. In their frantic efforts to injure the Church, and to secure proselytes, they deemed it necessary to debase and destroy, as far as possible, the religious sentiment of the people, and ail reverence for sacred thinofs. That nothing calculated to impair this religious senti- ment should be omitted, the revolutionists and their followers not only attacked the churches, monasteries, and nunneries with fire and sword, but actually forced the priests, monks, and nuns from altar, cloister, and cell — from their earthly homes, from their devotional lives, from their means of sus- tenance— and with insults, jeers, and stripes drove them through the streets and by-ways, penniless, helpless, and FEUITS OF THE KEFOEMATION IN EUROrE. 325 hungry. In many instances tlicy were murdered in cold blood, amid the scoffs and ribaldry of the reformed converts. And yet these men had the assurance to announce them- selves as disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, the Prince of peace, love, and charity ! In Switzerland a similar depravation of the religious sen- timent occurred under the teachings of Zwinglius, Calvin, and Farel, as had already been accomplished in Germany under the inspiration of Lutlier, Bucer, Melancthon, Karl- stadt, and the mad prophets of Munster and Leyden. But tlie Swiss innovators found it a more difficult task to corrupt the sentiments of the inhabitants of the cantons of Switzer- land than their German brethren had experienced in mis- leading the people of that nation. The fatalistic doctrines of Calvin, altliough presented with all the eloquence and subtle sophistry of Calvin himself, and advocated w4th the fiery zeal and unwearied energy of men like Farel, Froment, and Zwinglius, w^ould never have made progress beyond the limits of Geneva, unless the bayonet and the flxgot had been brought into requisition as proselyting auxiliaries. Time and again were the cantons of Zurich, Berne, and Vaud be- sieged by these teachers of nev/ and strange doctrines with- out success, and it was only when a fanatical army entered their borders, with " military necessity " inscribed upon their innovating banners, that the helpless inhabitants succumbed. Under the spur of the bayonet on tlie one liand, and the temptations of a life of irreligion and self-indulgence on the other, a portion of the people of the invaded districts ab- jured their allegiance to the Church, and embarked upon an ocean of doubt, skepticism, novelty, and change. Every means which ingenuity and hatred of the Church could de- vise were resorted to by the revolutionary radicals of Swit- zerland to degrade, and, if possible, to extinguish the religious sentiment of the people, and to mould them into the Puri- tanical hypotheses of Calvin. What the cunning sophistries, the polished writings, and the remarkable eloquence of the Genevan innovator could not accomjolish, w^as left to the 326 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. bloody swords of his pious auxiliaries. With these united elements, the Reformation made progress in the land of Wil- liam Tell for several generations, and infidelity, fraternal dis- cord, and a general dejDravation of morals and manners ob- tained, where true faith, concord, and morality had before existed. Before Calvin and Zwinglius commenced their in- novations, the people of the thirteen Swiss cantons were united, religious, moral, prosjoerous, j^eaceful, and happy; afterward they became estranged, hostile, revengeful, san- guinary, skeptical, immoral, and distracted by contentions and civil wars. Friends, neighbors, and relatives became enemies, the golden maxims of Christ were ignored, and the theological inventions of ambitious men were adopted as the only rule of faith and action. " The same great features marked the revolutions in both Germany and Switzerland, with this only difference, that the Swiss was more radical and more thorough. Like the German, however, its progress was everywhere signalized by dissensions, civil commotions, rapme, violence, and bloodshed. And, like the German, it was also indebted for its permanent establishment to the in- terposition of the civil authorities." * Until the Reformation, the religious sentiment of France, was uniform and free from doubts and distractions. If now and then an eccentric and visionary man cavilled at some indi- vidual indiscretion, or objected to some point of Church discip- line, his opposition was impotent, and he stood alone, an object of contempt or commiseration. But when the door for licen- tiousness of thought and action was opened wide by the German Reformers, the legitimate fruits were speedily man- ifest in innumerable and diverse creeds, theological specula- tions, and political systems founded upon rationalism, per- sonal ambition, and the interests of civil rulers. The laws of God were perverted or ignored, as individual interest dic- tated. Impoverished and unscrupulous rulers had only to adopt the Puritan system, plant themselves upon a conve- nient theological platform, and then replenish their exhausted * Spaulding, "History of the Protestant Reformation," p. 168. FEUITS OF THE REFORMATION IN EUROPE. 327 coders by robbing the rich possessions of the Chiircli. All history warrants the assertion that nearly all the kings and nobles who joined the Reformation during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries were actuated solely by a desire to seize fraudulently upon these rich possessions. These were the men who upheld by the sword, or by patron- age, the revolutionary sectaries of Europe, and entailed upon the world such a multiplicity of sects. These were the men who aided and abetted the religious revolutionists with the strong arm of civil and military power, to impair the unity and harmony of the Church, and to elevate as teachers and manufacturers of religious sentiment such men as Voltaire, Rousseau, Hume, Gibbon, Kant, and Tom Paine. At the courts of Protestant princes the rankest infidel could always find protection and suj^port. Alluding to the rapid progress of rationalism in the latter half of the eighteenth century, Dollinger observes : " The new philosophic systems, conceived, born, and bred in Prot- estantism, aided and promoted the progress of rationalism. The Kantian philosophy declares the religion of reason to be the only true one. . . . Revealed religion, according to this system, can and ought to be naught else but a mere vehicle for the easier introduction of rational religion. . . . By the side of this Kantian philosophy, the rival system of Jacobi found its partisans among the Protestant divines ; and this 2:>hilos- ophy was no less incompatible with the Christian religion than that of Kant. According to Jacobi, religion, like all philosophic science, depends on a natural, immediate faith — an indemonstrable perception of the true and the spiritual ; and any other revelation besides this inward one doth not exist." * It is a strange thing that such multitudes have been willing to abandon the divine precepts of Christ and His Church, to sacrifice their principles, and to peril their future welfare at the suggestion of an innovating philosopher or theologian, or for the sake of worldly gain. But it is an in- controvertible fact, that when men once discard the princi- * Dollinger " Kirchciigcscbicbtc," pp. 343, 344. 328 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. pies and restraints of religion, become slaves to mere human philosophy, and allow pride and passion to dominate over them, they fall to the level of brutes in point of unreasoning recklessness of opinion, ferocity, and cruelty. When these passions once gain headway, the mad torrent sweeps away and destroys every thing before it — conscience, religion, rea- son, and humanity. Almost every eminent Protestant historian has alluded to the great debt which mankind owes to the ancient Church as the only depository and preserver of learning up to the six- teenth century, and of whatever knowledge had come down from the early and middle ages concerning agriculture and the useful arts. Many of them have appreciated the dangers of innovations upon the established doctrines of this ancient Church, and the substitution in their j^lace of the rationalistic liypotheses of individuals. Alluding to the Albigensian and Lollard heresies, Macaulay writes : " If that Church (Ro- man) had been overthrovfn in the twelfth or even in the four- teenth century, the vacant sjDace would have been occupied by some system more corrupt still. There was then, through the greater part of Europe, very little knowledge, and that little was confined to the clergy. IsTot one man in five hun- dred could have spelled his way through a psalm. Books were few and costly. The art of printing was unknow^n. Copies of the Bible, inferior in beauty and clearness to those which every cottager may now command, sold for prices which many priests could not afford to give. It was obviously im- possible that the laity should search the Scriptures for them- selves. It is probable, therefore, that as soon as they had put off one spiritual yoke, they would have put on another, and that the power lately exercised by the clergy of the Church of Rome Avould have j^assed to a far worse class of teachers. The sixteenth century was comparatively a time of light. Yet even in the sixteenth century a considerable number of those who quitted the old religion, followed the first confi- dent and plausible guide who offered himself, and were soon led into errors far more serious than those which they had FRUITS OF THE EEFOEMATION IN EUEOPE. 329 renounced. Tims Mathias and Knijierdoling, apostles of lust, robbery, and nuirdcr, were able for a time to rule great cit- ies. In a darker age sucli false prophets might have founded empires; and Christianity might have been distorted into a cruel and licentious superstition, more noxious, not only than popery, but even than Islamism." * From an ardent Protestant like Macaulay, these admis- sions, although tinctured with insinuations against Catholi- cism, are significant. The facts are clearly recognized by the learned historian, that nearly all knowledge, the Sacred Wri- tings, and every thing pertaining to Christianity and civiliza- tion were in the exclusive possession of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church jDrevious to the Eeformation ; and that, if this Church " had been overthrown in the twelfth or even in the fourteenth century, the vacant space would have been occupied by some system more corrupt still." As an illustration of this assertion, he cites the sad fruits of a few of the innovators of the sixteenth century. If the graphic pen of Macaulay had traced out all of the disastrous fruits of the Reformation, in the forms of rationalism, atheism, sectarianism, immorality, general wickedness, with discord and civil wars, he would have j^resented us with a startling picture of human credulity, depravity, and vice. Referring to the Reformation in France, D'Aubigne ob- serves "that France, after having been almost reformed, found herself, in the result, Roman Catholic. The sword of her princes, cast into the scale, caused it to inclme in fivor of Rome. Alas ! another sword, that of the Reformers them- selves, insured the failure of the effort for Reformation." f Other causes besides these contributed materially to the ultimate failure of the Reformation in France. In the first instance, the Puritanical teachings of Calvin SAvept like a devastating torrent over the public mind of France, under- mining to a greater or less extent religious faith, instilling doubts concerning the necessity of good works, and inaugu- rating an era of licentiousness of thought, expression, and ac- * " Hist, of England," vol. i., p. 34. f " Hist, of the Rcf." vol. i., p. 86. 330 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. tion similar to that wliicli existed in Rome under Claudius and Nero. But, ere long, the very violence of these excesses brought about a healthful reaction, and, as passion subsided and sober reason again resumed the ascendency, the masses of the people renounced the new doctrines and returned to the religion of their fathers. That the bloody swords of the Reformers contributed something toward this reactionary movement, we concede ; but the general decline of the re- ligious sentiment, and the universal deterioration of morals and manners, exercised by far the greater influence. Many writers, including Bossuet and Balmes, have alluded to the undoubted fact, that Calvinism leads directly either to infi- delity or back to Catholicism. The attempt to reconcile the Calvinistic doctrines with infinite love, mercy, and justice on the part of the Creator, is so repugnant to common sense, that men instinctively rush into religious skepticism, or re- turn to the fold of the Church. This, among other reasons, induced France, " after having been almost reformed," to be- come again Roman Catholic. The introduction of Calvinism into France not only de- based the religious sentiment of the Huguenots themselves, but its demoralizing influences were apparent among those who still clung to the Catholic faith. This decline in reli- gion and morals was especially marked during the seven- teenth century, under the reigns of Henry IV., Louis XHI., Louis XIV., and Louis XV. The printed books and j^am- phlets with which the Huguenots deluged France, were filled with abusive calumnies against the Catholic Church and her priesthood, and ridicule and sarcasm against the most sacred doctrines and observances of Christianity. Fraternal dis- cord and strife were everywhere incited by the j^artisans of Calvin, and, at one period, nearly the whole nation became contaminated with infidelity, immorality, sensuality, and a spirit of dissension. Referring to the influence of the Refor- mation in France, Bishop Spaulding thus writes : " But Prot- estantism obtained sufficient foothold in France to do in- credible mischief for a century and a half; and it sowed FEUITS OF THE KEFOKMATION LN^ EUKOPE. 331 upon her beautiful soil the fatal seeds which, two centuries and a half later, produced the bitter fruits of anarchy, infidel- ity, and bloodshed, during the dreadful reign of terror."* Ere long, the same innovating spirit which had swept over the Continent like a moral sirocco, manifested itself in England. As in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and France, the chief instigators were ambitious, licentious, and grasping rulers on the one hand, and worldly and wicked priests on the other. When Henry VIII. became the supreme spiritual and temporal head of his dominions, he reduced the religious sentiment of England into a mere political formula. He held the conscience and the religious faith of his subjects in the palm of his hand, and he caused his wicked pretensions and assumptions of spiritual power to be ratified by acts of Par- liament. In imitation of the German and Swiss creed-coin- ers, bluff King Hal, aided by his unscrupulous archbishoj^, manufiictured a creed and a religion for his subjects, and constituted them a part and parcel of the organic laws of the land. " The king," says Macaulay, " was to be the pope of his kingdom, the vicar of God, the expositor of Catholic verity, the channel of sacramental graces. He arrogated to himself the right of deciding dogmatically what was orthodox doc- trine and what was heresy, of drawing up and imposing con- fessions of faith, and of giving religious instruction to his people. He proclaimed that all jurisdiction, spiritual as well as temporal, was derived from him alone, and that it was in his power to confer episcopal authority, and to take it away. He actually ordered his seal to be put to commissions, by which bishops were appointed, who were to exercise their functions as his deputies, and during his pleasure. Accord- ing to tliis system, as expounded by Cranmer, the king was the spiritual as well as the temporal chief of the nation." f How sad and humiliating the spectacle ! A great and proud people, ranking high in intelligence and culture among * Spalding's " History of the Protestant Reformation," p. 109. f "History of England," p. 41. 332 cnEiSTiANiTY ain[d its conflicts. the nations of the earth, forced to give up their religious opinions, and to believe and to worship in accordance with a royal formula framed by the king — perhaps while in the arms of his mistress — and his bishoj^, and ratified by parlia- mentary enactment ! Could the religious sentiment of a jDeople have been more debased, or could true religion have received a more vital stab than this ? We cannot look back upon our forefathers of this epoch with any degree of respect, when we remember that they abandoned all of their religious convictions at the dictation of a licentious despot, and blindly accepted a theological sys- tem and a new religion which had been made to order by an unprincij)led and pliant prelate. Such an abject debase- ment of the religious sentiment of the majority of a great nation, must forever remain recorded against it as a stigma upon its principles and its courage. Even the Continental innovators reserved to themselves the privilege of selecting their articles of faith and their mode of worship ; but our English ancestors were forced to pocket their reasons and their consciences, and to adopt as truth and religion what- ever lustful Henry and intriguing Cranmer chose to offer them. It must be difficult for any one of English descent to contemj)late this weakness and religious defection without emotions of shame and humiliation. It is true that Queen Elizabeth altered the original theo- logical code of her father from motives of political expediency, and conformed it somev/hat to the prejudices of her dissent- ing sectaries, with a view of conciliating their friendship and their political support ; but Avith all these modifications, the Anglican faith and the Anglican Church were still of human origin, and were presided over, regulated, and sustained solely by monarcli and Parliament. But amidst this general decline of the religious principle, it must not be forgotten that a considerable number preferred to sufiEer persecution and death rather than renounce their religion. These martyrs must be forever regarded as the only representatives of true Christianity, as well as of manhood and courage, under the FKUITS OF TtlE REFORMATION IN EUROPE. 333 reigns of Henry and Elizabeth. Had tlie servile subjects of these rulers been presented with a Socinian, or a Lutheran, or a Calvinistic, or an Atheistic, or even a IMohammedan system of theology, instead of the one actually given them, we verily believe that either one of them would have been accepted, w^itli perhaps the soothing proviso which Henry condescended to incorporate in the first instance, viz., " that the doctrines accepted should not be in violation of the laws of God." A people that would give up, at short notice, the convictions of their lives and the religion of their fathers at the command of a man, and, without examination or query, adopt a new one, would have accepted any other system witli the same facility. " Popery," says D'Aubigne, " is a lofty barrrier erected by the labor of ages between God and man. If any one de- sires to scale it, he must pay, or he must suffer ; and even then he will not surmount it. " The Reformation is the power that has overthrown this barrier, that has restored Christ to man, and has thus opened a level path by which he may reach his Creator. "Popery interposes the Church between God and man. Primitive Christianity and the Reformation bring God and man face to face. "Popery separates them — the gospel unites them." * If popery has interposed the Church between God and man, as a " lofty barrier which man has been unable to sur- mount," from the time of the apostles until the Reformation, we beg to ask M. D'Aubignc where was the Divine Guardian of this Church during all these ages, and what becomes of the solemn declaration of Jesus Christ just before His ascen- sion, that He would remain xcith it forever ? Docs this innovator suppose that the divine Spirit of Truth would tolerate error or irreligion in a Church over which He pre- sides as special guardian and defender, and Avhich was found- ed by Jehovah Himself? Does this man really believe that Christ's Church was a failure during fifteen hundred * "History of the Reformation," p. IG. 334 CHKISTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. years; that the Holy Spirit was unable to lead it and to kee23 it in all truth ; and that, after so many ages, such men as Luther, Bucer, Calvin, John of Leyden, Cranmer, Henry VHL, and Socinus, extricated the Spirit of God from His false j)osition. His difficulties, and His failures, and placed " primitive Christianity " on its legs again ? How has " the Reformation brought God and man face to face ? " By giving free scope to licentiousness of thought and expression, to pride of opinion, and to human passion, "the Reformation has brought men face to face with God," as Lutherans, Calvinists, Unitarians, Socinians, Arminians, Lifidels, Deists, Atheists, Pantheists, Rationalists, XJniversal- ists, Sjiiritualists, Mormons, Transcendentalists, and in thou- sands of other conflicting and impious modes. The Refor- mation has indeed " brought God and man face to face," but only to deride His holy truths, to repudiate the mission of His Son, and to mock and insult Him with all kinds of infidelity. If " the Reformation is the power that has over- thrown this barrier," it is the power which has opened the flood-gates of rationalism and atheism, and deluged the world with irreligion and all kinds of immorality. " Primi- tive Christianity," to which D'Aubigne likens the Reforma- tion, was comprised within one Church, one fold, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism : the Reformation numbers her churches and her articles of faith by thousands. " Primitive Christianity" was 023posed to fraternal wars, and to sectarian divisions and hatreds ; the history of the Reformation is but a series of bloody civil wars, of sectional and sectarian con- tentions, animosities, and retaliations. " Primitive Chris- tianity " inculcated brotherly love, charity, and disinterested benevolence ; Reformed Christianity preaches and practices hatred, vengeance, cruelt}^, blood. " Primitive Christianity " endeavored to bring man face to face with God, in unity of faith, and in perfect confidence, adoration, and obedience to the divine ]3recepts ; the reformed clergy have always brought men face to face with the Almighty in the form of contradic- tory, wrangling, and very often infidel sects. The primitive FRUITS OF THE EEFOKMATION IN EUKOPE. 335 Cliristians and their loyal successors have always held their own finite judgments subordinate to the divinely instituted precepts of the Church, and have ever recognized the fact that the Spirit of Truth animates and directs this Cliurch ; the Reformers have ignored the promises of Christ, and the divine guardianship over the Church, and have set up certain revolutionary agitators as the only interpreters and custodians of the Sacred Writings. The primitive Cluirch has always exalted the religious sentiment of the world ; the innovating religionists have ever debased it. ITow absurd then, to class the religious revolution of the sixteenth century w^ith " Primi- tive Christianity ! " D'Aubigne asserts " that there can only be three kinds of religion upon earth, according as God, man, or the priest is its author and its head." He declares that " hierarch- ism, or the religion of the priest — Christianity, or the reli- gion of God — rationalism, or the religion of man, are the three doctrines that divide Cliristendom in our days. There is no salvation, either for man or for society, in the first or in the last."* If the ideas of this Calvinistic writer are correct, tlie apostolic hierarchy was a priestly invention ; the o]'dinations of bishops, priests, and deacons in every place, as executive ministers of the New Law, was a priestly device to secure pros- elytes and power ; their exhortations to repentance, confes- sion, ba2:)tism, confirmation, and works meet for repentance, idlo mummeries " invented by the priest for the glory of the priest ; " the missionary enterprises of the " hierarchy " simply priestly organizations to build up and to glorify a " sacerdotal caste," and " there is no salvation, either for man or for society," in the teachings and the labors of the ecclesiastical organization w^hich Jesus Christ established to preside forever over Ilis Church. The Swiss writer assigns the following reason for what he is pleased to term the fall of the Church : " The Church has fallen, because the great doctrine of justification by faith in the Saviour had been * '* History of the Reformation," p. 5. 336 CHEISTIANITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. taken away from her. It was necessary, therefore, before she could rise again, that this doctrine should be restored to her. As soon as this fundamental truth should be reestab- lished in Christendom, all the errors and observances that had taken its place, all that multitude of saints, of works, penances, masses, indulgences, etc., would disappear." * Here we find the animus of D'Aubigne in a nut-shell. Justification by faith alone, without works ; predestination, foreordination, election, total depravity, in a word, thQ fatal- istic tenets of John Calvin, are the stand-points from which he has judged and written respecting the Catholic Church. We need not wonder then that he denies the necessity of an ecclesiastical organization, of a " hierarchy," a " sacerdotal caste," or any other worMng association of Christians. We need not wonder that he repudiates and scoffs at good works, penances, all tokens of respect for Christ, and all commemo- rations of His passion and crucifixion. We need not wonder that he ridicules the devotional observances of the Catholic Church, when he regards man as a helpless being in the hands of the Almighty, living out a prearranged destiny, and then to be eternally damned or saved, as vengeance or mercy may have originally actuated his Creator. But, notwithstanding these Puritanical and sacrilegious ideas of God, and the-gross misrepresentations of the Catho- olic Church and her doctrines ; notwithstanding he has ac- cused her and her children of deifying the Roman pontiffs, of rendering divine worship to departed saints and martyrs, of purchasing salvation with money, of placing obstacles in the way of man's salvation, of refusing to men the privilege of praying to God, or to Christ, or to the Holy Ghost, or of soliciting from them grace, j^ardon, and redemption, this Puritanical writer is forced to make the following admission : "But first let us pay due honor to the Church of the middle ages, which succeeded that of the apostles and of the fathers, and which j^receded that of the Reformers. The Church was etill the Church, although fallen, and daily more and more * "History of the Keformation," p. 29. FKUITS OF THE EEFORMATION IN EUEOPE. 337 enslaved ; that is to say, she was always the greatest friend of man. Her hands, though bound, could still be raised to bless. Eminent servants of Jesus Christ, who were true Protestants as regards the essential doctrines of Christianity, diffused a cheering light during the dark ages, and in the humblest convent, in the remotest parish, might be found poor monks and poor priests to alleviate great sufferings. The Catholic Church was not the papacy. [Nor has it ever been ; the papacy is merely a constituent element of the Church.] The latter was the oppressor, the former the op- pressed. The Reformation, which declared war against the one, came to deliver the other. And it must be confessed that the papacy itself became at times, in the hands of God, who brings good out of evil, a necessary counterpoise to the power and ambition of princes."* The inspired apostle declares " that the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked " by nature. It is conceded that this was the condition of men before as .well as after the Reformation. It is conceded that there were many wicked Catholics, many individual disor- ders and corruptions among the clergy, and many dissensions and wars among Catholic rulers, previous to the religious revolution of the sixteenth century. But whoever will com- pare these epochs, these men, these immoralities, and these contentions and wars, with those of the last three hundred years, regarding the circumstances of each period, will find more to condemn since than before the Reformation. Cath- olics have never laid claim to absolute perfection, or to any peculiar immunities from temptation and sin, through the special grace of God, and a foreordained election to salva- tion. The entire Catholic system recognizes the sad fact of man's natural perversity and proneness to violate the laws of God and man ; and ail her doctrines and observances are designed to correct and prevent these natural tendencies of erring humanity. * "History of tlie Reformation," p. 10. 15 CHAPTEE XXYI. FRUITS OF THE REFORMATION IN" EUROPE. Influence on Morals^ Mcmyiers^ and Society, To a great extent, the religious sentiment of a commu- Jiity governs its morals and manners. Unity of faith, a uni- form mode of worship, and a firm reliance on those great truths which Christ communicated to the apostles and their legitimate successors, are important barriers against immo- rality and sin. Man, though naturally inclined to self-indul- gence, is still a creature of habit and education, and his moral being is formed and fixed by the influences which ha- bitually encompass him. Take from him the restraints which true religion imposes upon him, and deprive him of the po- tent aid of the grace-giving sacraments, and he is like a mari- ner at sea, without chart or compass, at the mercy of treach- erous winds and waves. The fearful error — or rather crime — of the German rev- olutionists consisted in the fact that they abandoned and at- tacked the very Church of God '/^se^, instead of attacking and of attempting to reform the erring members of the Church. They were all brethren and children of a great Christian family, bound together by the most sacred ties, owing allegiance to the same God, subject to the same divine laws, aspiring to the same heaven, and directed to " be careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; one body FRUITS OF THE EEFORMATION IX EUEOPE. 339 and one Spirit, as you are called in one Loj^e of your voca- tion ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism." * It was an evil hour for Christianity when this sacred com- pact was rudely ruptured, and the raging fires of schism were lighted within the Christian household. It was a sad epoch for humanity and real progress when the marvellous labors of so many ages were trampled upon by a handful of rash and fanatical innovators. No arguments are necessary to show the frightful deteri- oration of morals and manners which everywhere followed in the track of the Reformation in Europe. The simple admis- sions of the leading innovators themselves contain the most amjile and conclusive testimony upon this point. Xot one additional word need be uttered in proof of the lamentable consequences of the Reformation upon the entire fabric of European society. Under the pretext of liberating mind and conscience from the rigid discipline of tlie Church — from the tyrannies of the priesthood — a loose rein was given to all the evil propensities and passions of the heart. Under the appellation of " religious freedom," every species of irreligion, licentiousness, and crime, was continually committed. Skep- ticism or Indiflferentism very generally usurped the place of religious faith, and the natural promptings of men dominated over their actions and their lives. All the wholesome re- straints and checks of the church were set aside, and each one arrogated to himself the office of interpreter, censor, and judge of every thing sacred and profane. Nearly all respect for the Christian religion was lost ; Churches Avere repeatedly desecrated and destroyed. The portraits and statues of the Saviour, of His beloved mother, and of His holy apostles, and the symbols of the crucifixion, were rudely torn from their places, scoficd at and burnt. All of those objects and ceremonials winch had been employed by the Church to remind the faithful of the life and marvellous career of Christ in behalf of alien man, were ridiculed, and not unfrequcntly prohil)itcd by force ; and the bishops, priests, monks, and * Ephes. 17., 3. 340 CHEISTIAIOTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. nnns, were driven from their cliurclies and monasteries, forced from place to place at the point of the bayonet, or summarily suspended, and often murdered in cold blood. As time passed on, and these fanatical passions became more and more, developed, counter-sentiments were excited in the breasts of those Avho had remained faithful to their religion. Gradually the powers of evil advanced ; day by day the madness and violence of the innovators increased, until the natural and final culmination was reached in the form of a bloody civil war. !N^umerous facts might be cited from nearly all of the leading Reformers to prove that wherever the Keformation became established, a universal deterioration of morals, and civil wars, have always occurred. Fornication, adultery, avarice, drunkenness, strife, and divorces became so common among the followers of the new religionists, that modesty and virtue were scoffed at as antiquated and po- pish weaknesses, calculated to repress and enslave the tender- er emotions of the heart. The Catholic superstitions of the celibacy of the priesthood, of cleaving to one wife, and of bestowing the aftections upon a single woman, were denounced as priestly devices to enslave the human heart with all its gushing emotions and passions. Luther, Melancthon, Bucer, John of Leyden, Munzer, and Cranmer all practically sanc- tioned a plurality of wives, as the instances already enumer- ated testify. These loose and reformed views of the marriage relation led legitimately and naturally to a wide-spread divorce-mania. Commencing in high places, with Philip, landgrave of Hesse, and Henry VHI., king of England, it soon pervaded all classes of Protestant society, shaking to tlieii' very foundations the fundamental principles of virtue and morality. In allusion to this subject, a writer in the " Dublin Review," for September, 1848, thus observes : " The practice of divorce, too, was in every reformed country an immediate consequence of the Reformation ; and if there were no other evidence of the connection between the intro- duction of the new religion and this frightful deterioration of morals, it would be found in the numberless laws against FEurrs OF THE kefoemation in EUEorE. S4:l adulteiy, fornication, bigamy, etc.. which date from this period, and the frequent and flagrant convictions and sen- tences under these laws in every Protestant j^rovince of Germany." In illustration of the assertions we have made respecting the influence of the Reformation upon morals, manners, and society, we cite the following extracts from the " Dublin Re- view," of September, 1848, Spaulding's " History of the Prot- estant Reformation," Bollinger's " German History," and from authentic works of the Reformers themselves. The facts contained in the " Dublin Review," giving the opinions Of Luther and others resj^ecting the moral results of the Refor- mation, are derived chiefly from the work of Dollinger. Our limits enable us to present only a few of the vast number of facts bearing upon this subject ; but as they are mostly from the mouths of the innovators themselves, their authen- ticity will not be questioned, and they may fairly be regarded as truthful types of many others which might be adduced : " It must not be supposed that the testimonies which we have hitherto alleged, or the great mass of those collected by the author, describe the social condition but of a portion of Germany under the Reformation. There is not a single locality which has not its witness — Saxony, Hesse, Nassau, Brandenburg, Strasburg, Nurenburg, Stralsund, Thorn, Mecklenburg, Westphalia, Pomerania, Friesland, Denmark, Sweden — and all, or almost all, are represented by natives, or at least residents familiar with the true state of society, and if not directly interested in concealing, certainly not liable to the suspicion of any disposition to exaggerate its short-com- ings or its crimes. "Indeed, the connection between the progress of Lutlier- anism and the corruption of public morals could not possibly be put more strikingly than in the words of John Belz, a Protestant minister of AUerstadt, in Thuringia (1566). ' If you would find,' says Belz, * a multitude of brutal, coarse, godless people, among whom every species of sin is every day in full career, go into a city where the holy gospel is taught. 34:2 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. and where the best preachers are to be met, and there you will be sure to find them in abundance. To be pious and upright (for which God praises Job), is nowadays held, if not to be a sin, at least a downright folly; and from many pulpits it is proclaimed that good works are not only unne- cessary, but hurtful to the soul.' " * Menzel has detailed at great length the pernicious influ- ences of the Reformation upon the morals and manners of the princes, nobles, and people of Germany. He acknowledges that rulers, ministers, and subjects, in embracing the inno- vations of the Reformers, rushed into almost every conceiv- able vice and immorality. Erasmus, the intimate friend of Luther and Melancthon thus corroborates the assertions of Menzel : " Those whom I had known to be pure, full of can- dor and simplicity, these same persons have I seen afterward, when they had gone over to the sect (the gospellers) begin to speak of girls, flocked to games of hazard, throw aside j^rayer, give themselves up entirely to their interests ; be- come the most impatient, vindictive, and frivolous ; changed, in fact, from men to vipers. I know well what I say. ... I see many Lutherans, but few evangelicals. Look a little at these people, and say whether luxury, avarice, and lewdness do not prevail still more among them than among those whom they detest. Show me one who by means of this gos- pel is become better. I will show you very many who have become worse. Perhaps it has been my bad fortune ; but I have seen none who have not become worse by their gos- pel." t " Our evangelists," says Luther, " are now sevenfold more wicked than they were before the Reformation. In 23roportion as we hear the gospel, we steal, lie, cheat, gorge, swill, and commit every crime. If one devil has been driven out of us, seven worse ones have taken their place, to judge of the conduct of princes, lords, nobles, burgesses, and peasants — their utterly shameless acts, and their disregard of God * " Dublin Review," of September, 1848. \ Epist. Tractibus GermauiaB infcrioris. FEUITS OF THE EEFOEMATION IN EUEOPE. 343 and His menaces. Under the papacy, men were charitable, and gave freely ; but now, under the gospel, all alms-giving is at an end, every one fleeces his neighbor, and each seeks to have all for himself. And the longer the gospel is preached, the deeper do men sink in avarice, jmde, and ostentation. The peasants, through the influence of the gospel, have become utterly beyond restraint, and think they may do what they please. They no longer fear either hell or purgatory, but con- tent themselves with saying, ' I helieve, therefore I shall be saved ; and they become proud, stiff-necked mammonists, and accursed misers, sucking the very substance of the country and the people." Up to the very last year of his life (1542) Luther continued to write in a similar manner. Writing to a friend in 1542, he assures him "that he had al- most abandoned all hope for Germany, so universal had avarice, usury, tyranny, disunion, and the whole host of un- truth, wickedness, and treachery, as well as disregard of the word of God and the most unheard-of ingratitude, taken possession of the nobility, the courts, the towns, and the vil- lages." In March, 1542, he again writes " that his only hope is in the near approach of the last day — the world has be- come so barbarous, so tired of the word of God, and enter- tains so thorough a disgust for it." In October, 1542, he declares " that he is tired of living in this hideous Sodom ; that all the good which he had hoped to effect has vanished away ; that there remains naught but a deluge of sin and un- holiness, and nothing is left for him but to pray for his dis- charge. . . . Alas," he cried to the Prince of Anhalt, " we live in Babylon and Sodom. Every thing is growing worse and worse each day." Just before his death he wrote to his wife thus : " Let us fly from this Sodom (Wittenberg). I will Avandcr through the w^orld, and beg my bread from door to door, rath- er than to embitter and disturb my poor old last days by this spectacle of the disorder of Wittenberg, and the fruitlessness of my bitter toil in its service. . . . The world," again writes Luther, " grows worse and worse, and becomes more wicked every day. Men are now more given to revenge, more ava- 344: CHEISTIAOTTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ricious, more devoid of mercy, less modest and more Incor- rigible— in fine, more wicked than in the papacy. . . . One thing, no less astonishing than scandalous, is to see that, since the pure doctrine of the gospel has been brought to light, the world daily goes from bad to worse." * " Since the dovvaifall of popery, and the cessation of its excommunications and spiritual penalties, the people have learned to despise the word of God. They care no longer for the churches*, they have ceased to fear and to honor God." f " The noblemen and the peasants," he again declares, " have come to such a pitch that they live as they believe ; they are, and continue to be, swine ; they live like swine and they die like real swine." ^ Bucer wrote as follows : " The greater part of the people seem to have embraced the gospel [the Reformation ?] only in order to shake off the yoke of discipline, and the obligation of fasting, penances, etc., which lay upon them in the time of popery, and to live at their pleasure, enjoying their lust and lawless appetite without control. They therefore lend a willing ear to the doctrine that we are justified by faith alone, and not by good works, having no relish for them." § "Most of the preachers," again v/rites Bucer, "imagine ih?it if they inveigh stoutly against the anti-Christians [papists], and chatter away on a few unimportant, fruitless questions, and then assail their brethren also, they have discharged their duty admirably. Following this example, the people, as soon as they know how to attack our adversaries, and to prate a little about things far from edifying, believe that they are perfect Christians. Meanwhile, there is nowhere to be seen modesty, charity, zeal, or ardor for God's glory; and in consequence of our conduct, God's lioly name is every where subjected to horrible blasphemies." || Calvin thus alludes to his followers : " The pastors, yes, the pastors themselves who mount the pul^^it. . . are at the * Luther in Postilla, sup. Dom. Ad.. See also, " Dublin Ecview," Sept., 1848. f Luther, Werke, Ed. Alt,, torn, iii., p. 519. X " Table-Talk," Sup. i., Ep. Cor., ch. xv. § " Dc Kcguo Christi." U "Dublin Review," Sept., 1848. FnUlTS OF THE EEFOHMATION IN EDEOPE. Si5 present time the most shameful examples of Avaywardiiess and other vices. Hence their sermons obtain neither more credit nor authority than the fictitious tales uttered on the stage by the strolling player. ... I am astonished that the women and children do not cover them with mud and filth." * " In these latter times," writes Melancthon, " the world has taken to itself a boundless license ; very many are so un- bridled as to throio off every bond of discipline^ though at the same tione they pretend that they have faith^ that they invoke God with a truer fervor of heart, and that they are lively and elect members of the Church ; living, meanwhile, in truly Cyclopean indiflerence and barbarism, and in slavish subjec- tion to the devil, who drives them to adulteries, murders, and otlier atrocious crimes. . . . Men receive with avidity the in- flammatory harangues which exaggerate liberty and give loose rein to the passions ; as, for example, the cynical, rather than the Christian principle, which denies the necessity of good works. Posterity will stand amazed that a generation should ever have existed, in which these ravings have been received with applause. i>rever, in the days of our fathers, had there existed such gluttony as exists now, and is daily on the increase. The morals of the people, all that they do, and all that they neglect to do, are becoming every day worse. Gluttony, debauchery, licentiousness, wantonness, are gaining the upper hand more and more among the people, and in one word, every one does just as he pleases." " The children," says Caulman, " are habituated to de- bauchery by their parents, and tlms comes an endless train of diseases, seductions, murders, robberies, and thefts, whicli, unhappily, owing to the state of society, are committed with security. And the worst of all is, that they are not ashamed to palliate their conduct by the examples of Xoah, Lot, David, and others." "Take any class you please," says Dietrich, "high or low, you will find all equally degenerate and corrupt. What is more, tliere is no longer any social honesty to be found * LIv. i., Sur Ics Seamlalc?, p. 128. 15* 34:6 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. among the people. The majority persecute the gospel, and cling to the old idolatry. The rest, who have received God's word and gosj^el, are also lawless, insensible to instruction, hardened in their old sinful life, as is evident from the whore- dom, adultery, usury, avarice, lying, cheating, and manifold wickedness which prevail." Oh, that we had a few modern Luthers, and Melancthons, and Bucers, and Calvins to drag before the public gaze the fearful demoralization of their followers and preachers of the present day ! Could these men again come to earth they might still behold in these United States, among the minis- ters of nearly all the sects, the same hideous vices, the same wicked propensities, the same malignant hatred^ the same de- sire for revenge, the same thirst for jDower, riches, and luxury, and the same disregard for the merciful and fraternal precepts of Jesus, which they so strenuously denounced in their innovating brethren of the sixteenth century. They might everywhere behold pulpits converted into political and partisan tribunes, from whence hatred, discord, and sec- tional bitterness are continually preached under the garb of religion. They might behold thousands of their most gifted ministers, for years in succession, habitually desecrating the Sabbath by preaching political discourses, and implanting in the minds of their deluded hearers sentiments of hate and vengeance against their fellow-men, instead of those of love, charity, and forgiveness. They might also witness the frightful deterioration of morals, the corruptions, and the wide-spread desolations which these diabolical sentiments have conduced to fasten upon our war-stricken people. "There is one branch of this subject," remarks the writer in the Dublin Review already alluded to, " which we do not approach without great repugnance, but which, nevertheless, it Avould be most unhistorical to overlook, because there is none in which the working of the positive teaching of the Reformers is so palpably and unmistakably recognized. We refer to the avowed and undeniable deterioration of public morality — the indifference to the maintenance of chastity, to FEUITS OF THE EEFOEMATION IN EUROPE. 34:7 the observance of the mamagc a^ow, and indeed to the com- monest decencies of life, by Avhich the spread of Lutheranism was uniformly and instantaneously followed. We cannot bring oui-selves to pollute our pages with the hateful and atrocious doctrines of Luther,* of Sarcerius,f Dresser,]; Bu- gcnhagen,§ and many others,|| founded ujDon what they al- lege to be the physical impossibility of observing continence, which results from the original constitution of the sexes as ordained by God ; but we are necessitated to allude to them, in order to establish beyond question the connection of tliese doctrines (which, it must be remembered, Avere enforced by Luther chiefly in his German Tracts and Sermons addressed to the entire people) with the moral consequences which we shall proceed to detail, as briefly and as slightly as circum- stances will permit, in the words of the authorities collected in the pages before us. Nothing can be more revolting tljan the picture of univei'sal and unrestrained depravity which they reveal." For additional facts upon this subject, we refer the reader to the writings of the Reformers themselves, and to to the writers before referred to. We have presented a few of the legitimate results of the Puritan system, as established by the Reformers in Germany. The same sad results have invariably followed these doc- trines wherever they have taken root. In Switzerland, France, Sweden, Denmark, England, and the United States, a general and permanent decline in public morality and vir- tue followed the various and conflicting novelties of the sects. The scope of this work will liot allow us to submit in detail the vast array of facts pertaining to this branch of our sub- ject with reference to the other countries enumerated ; but a simple perusal of the standard histories of each nation will amply corroborate our assertion. As we advance, other re- sults of the Puritan system, no less calamitous in their char- acter than those already alluded to, will become manifest. In the first years of his innovatmg career, Luther depre- '* Deillingcr'S " Hist, of Germany," vol. i., pp. 428, 429. f Ibid., p. 431. X Ibid., p. 432. § Ibid., p. 434. || Ibid., p. 431. 348 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. cated the use of arms in the establishment of his new doc- trines. He confined himself for the most part to violent denunciations of the pope, of the clergy, of all opposing rulers, and of all laws which opposed a barrier to his am- bitious designs. In his work on "Christian Liberty," he urged the populace to be governed solely by their own pri- vate and personal ideas respecting religion, morals, govern- ment, laws, and spiritual and temporal rulers. These inflam- matory appeals to the ignorant multitude incited within them a spirit of insubordination and discontent, not only against the ancient religion, but against the existing govern- ment and their legitimate rulers. Among the first fruits of this incendiary publication was the " War of the Peasants." In the first instance, Luther wrote a letter of encouragement to the forty thousand rustic insurgents, sustaining them in their revolt ; but he afterward wrote another letter to the princes, who had now thoroughly prepared themselves for resistance, to exterminate without mercy these wretched rehels. This first civil war, inaugurated under the influence of the Puritan system, occurred in 1525. " In 15^5-'26 the terrible war of the peasants took place in Germany, and penetrated even into Switzerland. It had certainly grown out of the revolutionary principles broached by the Reformers, and it was headed by Protestant preachers, as Ruchat, himself a preacher, admits in the the following passage : ' Having at their head the preachers of the reform^ they jDillaged, rav- aged, massacred, and burned eveiy thing that fell into their hands.'"* In 1528 the Lutherans, under Philip, the land- grave of Hesse, took up arms to subjugate the Catholic princes who had opposed the extension of their innovations. Their anger Avas especially directed against George, duke of Saxe ; but by means of large sums of money paid to Philij>, the Catholic rulers succeeded in temporarily postponing actual hostilities. After the Diet of Augsburg, in 1531, the Protestants, at the instigation of Luther, Bucer, and Zwinglius, formed thfe * Spaulding's ''History of the Protestant Reformation," p. 186. FRUITS OF THE KEFOEMATION IN EUROPE. 349 league of Smalcalde, and formally resolved to go to war for the extension and support of tlieir doctrines. In Switzer- land the Protestant cantons, under the leadership of Zwing- lius, attacked the Catholic cantons with the utmost ferocity. It was in one of these bloody civil battles that tlie Puritan minister — the Reformer — the so-called follower of the Prince of peace, Zwinglius, fell, sword in hand, in the act of slaughtering his fellow-men and countrymen. Although Luther, in the first instance, had declared that no means but arguments and moral suasion should be employed in the propagation of his novel opinions, yet from this time until his death he gave his authonty and sanction to military co- ercion. These warlike sentiments were opposed by Melanc- thon, but all moderate counsels were set at naught by the violent and sanguinaiy partisans of Luther and Zwinglius. In 1545, one year before his death, Luther again incited his partisans to take up arms against the pope and all who presumed to adhere to the Catholic faith. In his insane violence he denounces the pope as " an enraged wolf, a fero- cious beast, and those who defend him as soldiers of a brigand chief, against whom the whole world ought to take up arms, and pursue to the death." Concerning the Reformation in Switzerland, we cannot present an outline of the facts better than to cite a few ex- tracts from Spaulding's "History of the Protestant Reforma- tion." "The same great features marked both revolutions, with this only difference, that the Swiss were more radical and thorough than the German. Like the Gennan, however, its progress was everywhere signalized by dissensions, civil commotions, rapine, violence, and bloodshed. And, like the German, it was also indebted for its permanent establishment to the interposition of the civil authorities The Ref- ormation found the thirteen Swiss cantons united, and in peace among themselves and with all the world. It sowed dissension among them, and plunged them into a fierce and protracted civil war, which threatened rudely to pluck up 350 CHRISTIANITY AKD ITS CONFLICTS. by the roots the venerable tree of liberty which, centuries before, their Catholic forefathers had planted and watered with their blood ! . . . . The consequences of this attempt to subvert the national faith by violence were most disastrous. The harmony of the old Swiss republic was destroyed, and the angel of peace departed forever from the hills and the valleys of that romantic country. That this picture is not too highly colored the following brief summary of facts will prove : " The four cantons of Zurich, Berne, Schaffhausen, and Basle, which first embraced the Beformation, began very soon thereafter to give evidence of their turbulent spirit. They formed a league against the cantons which still re- solved to adhere to the Catholic faith. One article of their alliance forbade any of the confederates to transport provi- sions to the Catholic cantons. Arms were in consequence taken up on both sides, and a bloody contest ensued. Ul- rich Zwinglius, the father of the Reformation in Switzerland, marched with the troops of the Protestant party, and fell, bravely fighting with them * the battles of the Lord,' on the 11th of October, 1531."* De Haller, a native of Berne, and a standard historian, thus characterizes the progress of the Reformation in Swit- zerland: "During the years 1529, 1530, and 1531, Switzer- land found herself in a frightful condition, and altogether similar to that of which we are now witnesses, three centu- ries later. Nothing was seen everywhere but hatred, broils, and acts of violence ; everywhere reigned discord and divi- sion ; discord between the cantons, discord in the bosom of the governments, discord between sovereigns and subjects, in fine, discord and division even in CA^ery parish and in every family. The defection of Berne, at which the Zurich- ers had labored for six years, had unchained the audacity of all the meddlers and bad men in Switzerland. On all sides new revolutions broke out ; at Basle, at St. Gall, at Brienne, at Thurgovia, at Frauenfeld, at Mellingen, at Bremgarten, * " History of the Protestant Reformation," p. 168. FRUITS OF THE EEFOKMATION IN EUKOPE. 351 even at Gastcr, and in tlic Toggenburg, at Ilerissau, at Wet- tingen, and finally at Scbaffliausen. . . . Thus one party de- clared an implacable war against their fellow-citizens and every thing that is sacred, w^hile the other was condemned to suffer without resistance all manner of injuries, all manner of hostilities ; and this state of triumphant iniquity, and of miserable servitude, Avas qualified by the fine name of peace. Everywhere, except at Schaffhausen, a city which was al- w^ays distinguished for its tranquillity, and the peaceful char- acter of its inhabitants, seditious armed mobs rushed of their own accord to the churches, broke down the altars, burnt the images, destroyed the most magnificent monuments of art, pillaged the sacred vases, as w^ell as other objects of value, and put ujD for public sale at auction the sacred vestments ; by such vandalism, and by such sacrileges, was the religious revolution of the sixteenth century signalized."* For more than twenty years this condition of anarchy and civil war, under the pretext of religion, was kept up by the Puritan radicals of Switzerland. " The intolerance of the Protestant party," says Bishop Spaulding, " was sur- passed only by its utter inconsistency. The glorious j^rivi- leges of priv^ate judgment, of liberty of conscience, and liber- ty of the press, were forever on their lips, and yet they reck- lessly trampled them all under their feet ! Each one w^as to interpret the Bible for himself, and yet he who dared inter- pret it differently from their excellencies, the councilloi-s of Berne, was punished as an enemy of the government ! . . . . Catholics were not the only ones who felt the smart of Prot- estant intolerance in Switzerland. Brother Protestants were also persecuted, if they had the misfortune to believe either more or less than their more enlightened brethren, who hap- pened to be orthodox for the time heing. The Anabaptists, in particular, were hunted down with a ferocity which is almost inconceivable. The favorite mode of punishing them, especially at Berne, was by droioning ! This manner of death was deemed the most appropriate, because it was only * De Hallcr, pp. G2-G4. 352 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. baptizing them in their own way ! " * De Haller asserts that a common mode of pmiishment was to "subject them to perpetual imprisonment on bread and water.'''' N"ot only De Haller, but many eminent Protestant histo- rians, like Kuchat, Mallet, Capito, Sartorius, and Spon, admit that the Puritan system was introduced and established in Switzerland by force of arms. It is true that actual war was usually preceded by insidious agitations, by industrious- ly circulated falsehoods, by low appeals to avaiice, passion, hatred, and the baser emotions of the heart ; but these were only pioneers in the grand revolutionary movement — ^the ad- vance-guards of the bloody demon of Reformation, which secretly crouched in the background, ready to pounce upon its victims with lire and sword. Under the reigns of Francis I., Henry H., Francis H., and Charles IX., the Puritan system, under the direction of Calvin and Farel, with other leaders, gained a foothold in France. During the firm rule of the first two monarchs, the innovators were only able to sow insidiously the seeds of discord, sedition, and civil strife. But under the latter kings the mask was thrown oflT, and the Puritan system, in all its hideous intolerance and cruelty, manifested itself. At the instigation of the violent emissaries of Calvin, who were excited to ferocity by the blood which their brethren had already shed in Germany and Switzerland, civil war com- menced in France. ISTearly all the provinces and cities which were cursed by the presence of these sanguinary agi- tators, were deluged with fraternal blood, and devastated. Every tyranny and oppression which hatred, vengeance, and fanaticism could devise, were heaped nj^on the Catholics by these ferocious fatalists of this branch of the Reformation. As Bossuet remarks : " They not only lighted up war in all the towns and provinces, but they invited strangers from all parts into the midst of France, as to a conquered country, and reduced this flourishing realm to the brink of ruin, with- out ever ceasing to prosecute the war, even after the people * " History of the Protestant Reformation," p. 194. FEUrrS OF THE REFORMATION IN EUROPE. 353 had been subjugated, their defences destroyed, and all ability to resist had ceased." * Who can avoid marking the parallel between these French Puritans and the present Puritans of New England, in tlieir j^olicy and treatment of the subjugated and im- poA'erished Southern people ? Were those Calvinistic drag- ons of the sixteenth century any more vindictive and cruel than are those of this epoch ? Impartial history will respond in the negative. In 1559, under the reign of Francis II., the Puritans had obtained such a foothold in France as to enable them to commence in earnest their revolutionary schemes. Instigated by Calvin and other Swiss Puritans, the Huguenots plotted the well-known conspiracy of Amboise, having for its object the seizure of the government, the degradation of the Duke of Guise, and the accession to his place of some partisan who would promote their religious and political designs. This conspiracy resulted in a civil war under the leadership of Renaudie ; but the traitors were defeated by the forces of the Duke of Guise, and the bloody demon of Puritanism was for the moment silenced. Again, in 1567, the Huguenots, under Conde, attempted treacherously and by force to seize upon the French king and court at Monceaux, but the attempt was thwarted and the king succeeded in escaping to Paris. Condo and his Calvinists pursued him to Paris, resolved to capture him at whatever cost of blood. But the friends of the king, under Montmorency, defeated him at St. Denis, and forced him to make peace in 15G8. Again in 1568 and 1569, Condo and the Prince of Orange united their forces and attacked the Catliolics with the ut- most ferocity. Among the results were the battles of Jar- nac, where Conde fell, and of Montcontour, under Coligny, in both of which enojaGcements the Huscuenots were defeated. x\fter having inflicted upon France the greatest calamities for more than two years, and after almost incredible persccu- * " Histoire des Variations," vol. iv., p. 231. 354 CHPwISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. tions and cruelties against the Catholics who came within their poAver, a third treaty of peace was effected in 1570. But the seeds of hatred, discord, and violence had every- where been sown in France. Catholic and Puritan had alike become demoralized by scenes of violence and bloodshed. Sentiments of vengeance had been kindled in the hearts of men who should have been friends and brothers. Religious fanati- cism and intolerance had accomplished its congenial work, and fraternal hatred and thirst for revenge and blood ruled where love and charity should alone hold s^vay. While the pub- lic sentiment was thus temporarily debauched, and while the ignorant multitude were mad with angry passions which had been roused into activity by so many years of religious civil war, the unprincipled Catherine de Medicis, who had acted alternately with both parties, plotted and instigated the atrocious massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1572. In this base attack, from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred Huguenots were killed, and the authors and abetters of the massacre de- serv^e and will receive the execration of all future ages. It was one of the terrible results arising out of the madness en- gendered by civil war,- and all the blame belongs to the indi- viduals actually concerned. After the occurrence of the tragedy, ex 'parte reports were sent to all the European courts, declaring that the attack had been made to put down a Huguenot conspiracy to destroy the French court, and to usurp the government by force. Among other potentates, this representation was sent to Gregory XIII., w^ho ordered a Te Deumto be chanted at Rome for the supposed suppres- sion of a treasonable revolt to destroy the king and his court. Afterward, when the true facts were received, Gregory rep- robated the whole occurrence. But the Puritans have not failed to take advantaoie of this error to defame the Roman pontiff and the Church. We present a resume of the subject, by citing from Spauld- ing's History the brief summary of the Duke of Burgundy, the favorite disciple of Fenelon : " I do not speak of the calamities produced by the new doctrines in Germany, Eng- FEUITS OF THE KEFOEMATION IN EUKOPE. 355 land, Scotland, Ireland, etc. I speak of France. N'or shall I enumerate one by one the evils of wliich it was the theatre, and which are recorded in so many authentic documents : the secret assemblies ; the leagues formed with foreign enemies ; the attempts against the government ; the seditious threats, open revolts, conspiracies, and bloody wars ; the plundering and sacking of towns; the deliberate massacres and atrocious sacrileges — suffice it to say, that from Francis I. to Louis XIV., during seven successive reigns, all these evils and many others, with more or less violence, desolated the French monarchy. This is a point of history which, although it may be variously related, can neither be denied nor called in question ; and it is from this capital point that we shtill start in the political examination of this grand affair." * The Puritan system was introduced and established in Sweden by the Lutheran king Gustavus Yasa, aided by Olaus and LaAvrence Petri, and other converts to the new doctrines. The means employed in reforming Sweden were not reason and argument, but bayonets in the hands of Ger- man and otlier foreign soldiers, ti general robbery and ap- propriation of the property of the Church, and a long reli- gious reign of terror. In numerous instances the peasantry attempted to resist the gross outrages of the king against the ancient religion, and against their natural rights and privileges, but they were always summarily put down by the foreign mercenaries who served as the body-guard and instrument of the innovating monarch. The same disastrous results accompanied the Reformation in Sweden which had already been witnessed in Germany and Switzerland, viz., a universal deterioration of morals, religious skepticism, and fraternal hatreds, contentions, and civil strifes. The Puritan system was introduced into Denmark in 1522, soon after the accession to the throne of Frederick I. Among the very first acts of this monarch was the entire subjection of the common people to the nobles, and through the latter class the accomplishment of the overtlirow of the old religion, * "Hist, of the Prot. Ref.," p. 390. 356 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. and the establishment of Luther anism in his kingdom. Ava- rice was at the hottom of the Reformation in Denmark, as the universal spoliation and robbery of the possessions of the Church, and of Catholics, for the benefit of king and nobles, abundantly j)rove. The most arbitrary violations of the rights of person and j)i'operty were continually perpetrated under the reign of this partisan king, for the purpose of de- stroying Catholicism, of plundering her advocates, and of building up the new religion. The most sacred rights were set aside under various absurd pretexts, and supreme spiritual and temporal authority was usurped by a regal innovator for momentary wealtli and power. After the death of Frederick in 1533, his son Christian III., also a Lutheran, ascended the throne. This man com- pleted what his father had commenced — the entire robbery of the Church property, the destruction of the rights and privileges of the Catholic clergy, and the absolute subjec- tion of the people to the arbitrary wills of the nobles. In 1536 Norway was annexed to Denmark, by Christian III., by means of an army of Lutheran Danes, and her inhab- itants forced to accept the reformed religion. In the first in- stance, the people resisted these innovations in a body, but the swords of the Danes soon compelled submission to both their religion and their government. Those who refused to renounce allegiance to Norway or to Catholicism were imprisoned, or forced to leave the country. About the middle of the sixteenth century the Danish king sent an army into his Catholic dependency, Iceland, and forced the unfortunate inhabitants to renounce their ancient religion, and to adoj)t the Puritan system, at the peril of their lives. The Scotch Reformation under Knox was inaugurated by riots, the destruction of Catholic churches and monasteries, and wanton abuse of monks and priests. Knox and his Puri- tanical followers traversed all Scotland with the Bible and predestination in one hand and a firebrand in the other. Not only churches and monasteries were ruthlessly destroyed, FKUrrS OF TUE EEFORMATION IN EUKOrE. 357 but thousands of j^recious works of art, pictures and stat- ues, which had been accumulating for centuries, vvx^re in- volved in the common ruin. With the cry of " freedom of conscience, and religious liberty," ever on their lips, these early Calvinists everywhere destroyed the Catholic edifices, and prohibited the Catholic worship, under j^enalties of im- prisonment, confiscation of property, and death. We have already alluded to the demoralizing effects of the religious innovations in England, and to the forcible sub- jection of the souls and bodies of the masses of the people to the arbitrary will of Henry. A notable characteristic of all the Reformations which have occurred from the days of Donatus and Manicheus to the present time, has been a spirit of discord and revolt, and a culmination in civil wars. The Protestant leagues of the sixteenth century were nothing more or less than warlike organizations instituted and perpetuated for the purpose of propagating the doctrines of the Reformation by arms. Every thing was accomplished under the pretext of religion ; while the entire spirit of their proceedings was in direct op- l^osition to the merciful and beneficent precepts of the Prince of peace. It was in this spirit that Luther, Calvin, Zwinglius, Bucer, Karlstadt, John of Leyden, and the other innovators ui-ged on their deluded followers to take up arms, and to pursue all who were opposed to them with fire and sword. It was in this spirit that Luther, in a sanguinary sermon which he preached in 1540, declared "that the pope was an enraged wolf, against whom it was the duty of all men to assemble and fight with arms, as well as against all princes who sus- tained him, not excepting the emperor himself." * Practically the tenets and tendencies of the Puritan sys- tem may be summed up as follows : Do you believe in justi- fication by faith alone, unaccompanied by good works ? If the resjDonse is in the affirmative, then go your way — you are among the elect of God, and you may lie, cheat, steal, bear * Dipeased, the ferocious in- stinct ceases, and the animal reposes in quiet and content- ment. 1^0 instinct of hatred or vengeance now animates him, and he lays no plans for future strife, rapine, and blood. But man fights not alone for sustenance, or in self-defence, but for an idea, for conquest, riches, power, revenge, and thirst for the blood of his fellows. Nor does he confine him- self to the weapons which nature 2:ave him, but he invents and uses horrible implements of destruction, devised to mu- tilate, mangle, agonize, and kill his foes. Even after his an- tagonists are subdued, plundered, and captured, he still wreaks his vengeance by imprisonment, starvation, and pet- ty tortures. With diabolical ingenuity he now torments the minds as well as the bodies of his victims, and crushes out in anguish and despair the souls v/hich a merciful God had giv- en them. The lion, or the tiger, or the hyena, scorns thus to harbor revenge, or to mutilate, torture, and kill in mere Avan- tonness after his hunger is satiated; but the intellectual beast of prey knows no bounds to his hatred, ferocity, or FRUITS OF THE KEFORMATION IN EUEOFE. 3G5 cruelty, when true religion sleeps, and Puritanical fanaticism takes possession of him. "We know of no better illustration of these humiliatinsr facts than tlic relii^ious civil wars whicli have been instigated by the Reformers and their followers from the days of Luther, Calvin, and Zwinglius, to the pres- ent time. No one can contemplate the sanguinary and vengeful religious wars of the sixteenth century, incited and led on by those ancient Puritan " blood-hounds of Zion," the terrible War of the Peasants ; the Seven Years' War ; the Thirty Years' War ; the religious wars of France, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland ; the wars of John Knox in Scot- land, and of Oliver Cromwell in England, in which Europe was deluged in blood, without a deep and permanent con- viction of the truths herein expressed. ISTo one can recall the tierce wars of the sanguinary Puritans of Massachusetts Bay against the simple and almost defenceless Indian tribes, and their final extermination, without shuddering at the dreadful depravity and cruelty of Puritan fanaticism. Xo one can recur to the sanguinary events of the past six years in this country, to the bitter sectional hatreds and wrang- lings, to the ruthless slaughter of so many countrymen and brethren, to the hundreds of Puritan ^nilpits desecrated by the mad ravings of partisan parsons, who have continually clamored for vengeance and for the blood of their erring brctliren of the South, without ascribing to the modern fol- lowers of Luther and Calvin a diabolical spirit. No one can contrast the teachings of these Reformed parsons Avith those of Clirist and His apostles without concluding that the reign of the evil one is now upon us. CHAPTER XXYII. THE PUEITAN SYSTEM m AMERICA. In a previous chapter we liave j)resentecl the theological tenets of the innovators of the sixteenth century, and traced their legitimate fruits throughout the various ramifications of European society. - Wherever these doctrines have been introduced we have shown that there has heen a general de- cline of the religious sentiment, and a universal deterioration of morals and manners. Among their baneful consequences, as we have seen, were the terrible religious wars Avhich per- vaded Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centu- ries. We have demonstrated that a certain clearly defined system, embracing religion, morals, politics, and society, origi- nated directly from these novel dogmas. This system has been justly designated the JPuritan System. We have already observed that the term Puritan originated with Mohammed, who called himself a Ilanyf^ i. e., a Puritan, a Reformer. Luther and Calvin adopted this same title of Puritan, and many of their follov/ers have since retained it. During the first fifty years of its existence this Puritan system exercised a controlling influence in Germany, Switzer- land, Sweden, Denmark, !N"orway, Holland, and Scotland but the sad results to which it gave rise then brought about a general reaction, and many returned to the Catholic Church, while a still larger number became rationalists or atheists. But those who still remained within the Puritan fold were THE PURITAN SYSTEM IN AMERICA. 3G7 energetic, bold, {incl untiring in their partisan efforts, and thus made amends for numerical losses. Since the com- mencement of the eighteenth century Puritanism has shared its influence in the countries enumerated, vv'ith its offspring, Rationalism. If its practical operations have been less per- nicious than during its first years, it is because a more con- servative public sentiment has restrained and circumscribed its natural tendencies. But it is an incontrovertible fact that, in every nation where the Puritan system has had full sway, a low grade of civilization has existed, intolerance and injustice have pre- vailed, and fraternal contentions and bloody civil wars have ultimately occurred. We have described in detail these results in Europe ; and. we now propose to follow this system and its special guardians and perpetuators to the American con- tinent, and examine its influences in this new and rude field, of labor. As our data respecting this influence of Puritanism in Europe have been mostly derived from the writings of the Reformers tliemselves or their immediate friends, so have our facts with regard to its operations in America been taken ex- clusively from standard Protestant authorities. The Puritans have always boastingly professed to make the Bible their sole rule of faith and practice. We shall adopt the doctrines therein inculcated as our standard of comparison, and arraign the policy and the acts of the Pu- ritans of the United States before this divine standard. We shall ever keep prominently in mind those great fundamental principles of our Divine Master — brotherly love, charity, dis- interested benevolence, meekness, forgiveness, j^eace. From this divine stand-point we shall judge the motives and actions of those who, iinder the inspiration of the Puritan system, have thus far Av^orked out the problem of civilization on this continent. We are aware that nearly all the Protestant and ration- alistic writers ignore this divine standard, and regard wealth and material prosperity as the only true criteria of civiliza- 368 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. tion. Not only do eminent Protestant historians and states- men like Macaulay, Guizot, Mill, and Bancroft, but distin- giiisbed skeptical writers like Lecky, Buckle, Renan, Straass, Owen, and Parker regard wealth, industrial prosj)erity, and the social, intellectual, and sensual developments and gratifi- cations to which they give rise, as the only true bases of civilization. Political economy, material prosperity, and wealth are their ideals of power, excellence, and haj^piness. Poverty, self-denial, and an exclusive devotion to God and to suffering humanity, they look upon as degrading and con- temptible. According to these gentlemen, there can be no genuine civilization v/ithout an accumulation of capital. Money, thrift, political economy, a multiplication of desires and wants, and individual gratification, are, according to tbem, the fundamental principles of civilization : while all those ideas and pursuits which are non-producers of capital are deemed unworthy of attention and useless. Puritanism and Rationalism have joined hands, and think and act in unison. They both discard the spiritual and aesthetic prin- ciples, and deify Materialism, Their political economy and their industrial philosophy may be summed up in the terms political exj^ediency and worldly gain. The idea is well illustrated in the following citation from a recent popular and standard work on Rationalism : " What may be termed the ascetic and the industrial philosophies have at all times formed two of the most im- portant divisions of human opinions ; and as each brings with it a A^ast train of moral and intellectual consequences, their history touches almost every branch of intellectual progress. The watchword of the first philosophy is mortification ; the watchword of the second is development. The first seeks to diminish, and the second to multiply desires; the first, acknowledging happiness as a condition of the mind, endeav- ors to obtain it by acting directly on the mind, the second by acting on surrounding circumstances. The first, giving a greater intensity to the emotions, produces the most de- voted men ; the second, regulating the combined action of THE rURITAN SYSTEM IN AMERICA. 369 society, produces the highest social level. Tlie lirst lias proved most congenial to the Asiatic and Egyptian civiliza- tion, and the second to the civilizations of Europe Of this industrial civilization, political economy is the intellect- ual expression ; and it is not too much to say, that it fur- nishes a complete theory of human progress directly opposed to the theory of asceticism. According to its j^oint of view, tlie basis of all intellectual and social development is wealth ; for as long as men are so situated that all are obliged to la- bor for their sustenance, progress is impossible. An accumu- lation of capital is therefore the first step of civilization, and this accumulation dej^ends mainly on the multiplication of wants Hence the dreary, sterile torpor that charac- terized those ages in which the ascetic principle has been su- preme, while the civilizations which have attained the high- est perfection have been those of ancient Greece and modern Europe, which were most opposed to it." * The monastic system is one of numerous Christianizing and civilizing ai^pliances pertaining to the Church. The members of these monastic societies have not indeed adopted the " political economy " or the " industrial philosophies " of " modern Europe," or of " ancient [pagan] Greece and Ivomc ; " nor do they regard " wealth as the basis of all intel- lectual and social develoj^ment ; " but the foundations of their political economy, and of their intellectual, social, and reli- gious philosophy, were laid by Jesus Himself when he indoc- trinated His disciples, in His sermon on the Mount, with the following divine precepts : " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steah " But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. "For where your treasure is, there Avill your heart be also. * Lccky, " RaHonaHsm in Europe," vol. ii., pp. 3 17, 348, 350. IG* 370 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. " No man can serve two masters : for either lie will bate the one, and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one, and desj^ise the other. Ye cannot serve "God and mam- mon." * Pagan Rome and Greece, as w^ell as Judaic Galilee, re- garded wealth and the sensual gratification it commanded, whether intellectual, social, or physical, as tlie highest earthly good, the foundation of human progress and happiness. Lecky, and his fellow-rationalists, as well as the Puritan ele- ment of Europe and the United States, coincide in this pagan idea. Like their ancient prototypes, they value wealth for the new wants and desires it develops and gratifies, and for its general expansion of the area of human enjoyment, by the introduction of objects which appeal to the sensual, intellect- tual, and useful elements of man's nature. The ascetic philosophy, as Mr. Lecky is pleased to term it, is directly opposed to this idea, from the simple fact that its advocates are Christians, and not pagans. The Divine Mas- ter denounced the industrial philosophies of the Greeks, Ro- mans, and Jews, of His day, and presented to the world a more lofty standard of human development and progress. The humble advocates of the monastic system have simply adopted the code of Jesus, rather than that of " ancient Greece or modern Europe." These men did not regard tlie " multiplication of desires and wants " as the true " basis of intellectual and social development," or of the general prog- ress and welfare of mankind. In one sense, the " watchword of their philosophy was mortification;" but in the main, their watchword was " development." Their philosophy morti- fies the unruly passions and desires of the heart, but it de- velops the sentiment of love to God and man, and the elevat- ing emotions, affections, and aspirations which result from this sentiment. It ranks intellectual, moral, and social treas- ures much higher than treasures of gold and silver. It cul- tivates the spiritual more than the physical man. It directs attention more to the future than to the present. * Mattbcw vi. 19-24. THE rUEITAN SYSTEM IN AMERICA. oTi The watchword of the Rationalistic and Puritan philoso- phy is also " development " — but, of what ? Of the peculiar material civilization of pagan Rome and Greece ; the deifica- tion of wealth ; the cultivation and gratification of sensual desires and wants as the ultimate end of life ; the subordina- tion of the spiritual to the physical element. But let it not be forgotten that the monastic system is only one of the many elements of Catholicism. These oro'anizations were founded to enable individuals to devote themselves more completely to the service of Gocl, Their rules inculcate self-abnegation, and a surrender of both mind and body to the cause of religion. The beneficent influences of these organizations have been inestimable; for they have been employed by the Church as vanguards in propagating Christianity, and in difiusing the blessings of civilization among the nations of the world. In this connection, we can- not do better tlian to allow Mr. Lecky to aid us in the refu- tation of some of his own calumnies against the Church, and her ascetic and other organizations. "By consolidating," says Lecky, " the heterogeneous and anarchical elements that succeeded the downfall of the Roman empire, by infusing into Christendom the conception of a bond of unity that is superior to the divisions of nationhood, and of a moral tie that is supe- rior to force, by softening slavery into serfdom, and preparing the way for the ultimate emancipation of labor, Catholicism laid the very foundations of modern civilization. Herself the most admirable of all organizations, there was formed beneath her influence a vast network of organizations, polit- ical, municipal, and social^ which supplied a large proportion of the materials of almost every modern structure." * Adopting this industrial philosophy, nearly all the dis- tinguished authors to Avhom we have alluded have drawn certain comparisons between Catholic and Protestant com- munities, and their conclusions have been in favor of the civilization of the latter. Thus, Macaulay has contrasted the United States and Mexico; Italy and Scotland; Sj^ain and * " Kationalism in Europe," vol. ii., p. 37. 372 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Holland ; Prussia and. Ireland, etc. Candor should have in- duced this eminent author to have made more equal and just comparisons, as France with England; Belgium with Hol- land ; Austria with Prussia ; Sardinia and Spain with Swe- den and Denmark ; Mexico, Peru, and Brazil with the Sand- wich Islands and other recently converted nations. By such a classification he could have brought together for com23ari- son peoples of similar natural and acquired mental capacities, and possessing similar advantages for acquiring knowledge and skill in tlie useful and ornamental arts. How unjust to contrast the Anglo-Saxon of the United States with the recently converted Aztec of Mexico, or with the descendants of the native Indians of Peiii and Brazil ! How unfair to compare the subjugated and oppressed inhabitants of Italy and Ireland w^ith the comparatively free and independent peoples of Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland ! We shall allude to this subject again, and institute some just compari- sons. When Anaxagoras, the master of Socrates, was once ac- cused of not having sufficient love for his country because he did not take an active part in political affairs, the philoso- pher thus replied: " Be silent, my friend, I love my country 'inost dearlyi^'' pointing to heaven. The true Catholic also always looks upward for the goal of his highest aspirations and hopes, and for his permanent abiding-place. If, there- fore, he is sometimes behind his Puritanical and Pationalistic neighbors in the race for wealth and worldly influence, it is because he regards heaven and not earth as his permanent home. No investigator of history will deny the fact that Catholic civilization, w^hen brought to bear upon heathen nations, has always Christianized them, elevated them morally, socially, and physically, and preserved them as nations. It Avill also be conceded, that whenever and wherever Puritan civiliza- tion has been brought to bear upon the heathen, it has either confirmed them in their idolatry, or driven them to atheism ; that it has developed in them evil propensities, evil passions, THE rUEITAN SYSTEM IN AMERICA. 373 new and previously unknown vices, and, finally, either par- t'lally or totally exterminated them from the earth. The his- tory of missions in China, Japan, India, Ceylon, Afiica, Aus- tralia, the islands of the Pacific, and in Nortli and South America, demonstrates these facts conclusively. 'Marshall, in his "Christian Missions," after presenting a vast array of historical facts derived from authentic Protes- tant sources, upon the subject of missions in all parts of tlie world, thus writes : " We have not debated claims or doc- trines which a text may prove or disprove, but we have con- templated the Church and the sects in action. This is the test, complete and decisive, which was indicated by our Lord Himself, and we have seen what it has revealed. Every- where He has manifested, by manifold and persuasive tokens. His unceasing presence with the Church ; everywhere He lias refused so much as to recognize, except in anger, the barren ministry of the sects. In presence of such facts, uni- form in their character and universal in their range, we may not unreasonably ask our Protestant adversaries wliethev they expect us any longer to treat seriously pretensions which history has disposed of, and which God has judged before our eyes."* In the "Works of W. E. Channingj" p. 275, we find the following tribute to the ancient Church : " Her missionaries, who haA^e carried Christianity to the ends of the earth ; her Sisters of Charity, who have carried relief and solace to the most hopeless want and pain ; do not these teach us that in the Romish Church the Spirit of God has found a home ? " In alluding to the influences of the two religious systems upon civilization, we have seen that Protestants boastingly contrast the United States with Mexico. They point to the great emporiums of commerce, to the majestic public and private edifices, to the multitude of manufactories, steam- ships, railroads, and other indications of wealth and pros- perity which are everywhere to be found in the Anglo-Saxon Union, and then to the more modest pretensions of Catholic * Vol. i,, p. 452.. 874- CIIEISTIANITT AND ITS COI^FLICTS. Mexico, ill proof of the superiority of Protestant over Catho- lic civilization. This superficial view involves a monstrous fallacy, and covers over some of the most gigantic national crimes on record. Let us briefly glance at a few of the facts connected with the settlement and the civilization of the two countries. When Mexico was first colonized by the Catholics, and North America by the Puritans, each country was inhabited by many millions of the original owners and natives of the soil. In Mexico the hardy adventurers and pioneers w^ere always accomj^anied by priests and missionaries, who were instructed by the Spanish king and queen, and by the Roman pontiff, to devote their entire energies to the conversion of the natives to Christianity, and to guard them as much as possible from the abuses and wrongs of mercenary adven- turers. History tells how vf ell these works were performed by such devoted men as the Dominican and Franciscan priests and missionaries Las Casas, Zumarraga, Martin de Valencia, Francisco de Soto, Toribio, Motolinia, Peter of Ghent, Domingo de Betanzos, Ortiz, Julian Garces, and numerous others. History informs us that these wild natives were taught the arts of civilized life, were induced to aban- don their ancient and bloody superstitions, to adopt the habits, customs, and mode of life of their new teachers and pastors, and to offer up their 2}rayers daily to the true God. History also teaches us that their descendants still live in the land of their heathen ancestors — a Christianized, civilized, growing, and moderately prosperous nation. Six millious of these Christianized descendants of tlie heathen, idol-wor- shipping Aztecs now own and inhabit the territories of their fathers, are in the enjoyment of all the comforts and ap- pliances of civilized life, and they regard with love and ven- eration the glorious Church and priesthood which rescued them from barbarism, and placed them among the civilized nations of the earth. It is quite true that this Mexican In- dian race is inferior by nature to the Anglo-Saxon or the Frank. It is quite true that the children of those wbo were THE rUEITAN SYSTEM IN AMEKICA. 375 rude savages only a few generations ago have not tlie intelli- gence, or the energy, or the enterprise of the shrewd, money- loving Puritan. It is quite true that the souls of these sini- plc-raiuded children of Montezuma are not wholly absorbed in the love of gain, and of worldly pride and ambition; but, nevertheless, they live, and can look upon the consecrated graves of their fathers back to the days of Cortez; tJiey still live^ and can worship, in spirit and in truth, the God who created them and gave them their country; they still live, and can behold cities, towns, churches, schools, and cul- tivated fields where their fathers only saw dense forests and savage v/ildernesses ; they still live, and bless the Church and the priests who have been their preservers and bene- factors. When New England was first colonized by the Puritans they were likewise accompanied by Calvinistic ministers. In no sense were these men missionaries, or friends of the In- dians. They always resided in the settlements, and never went cut boldly to dwell with the savages — to teach and to convert them, as has ever been the habit of the Catholic missionary at all times and in all parts of the world. Their chief efforts in behalf of the natives consisted in plying them with Calvinistic ideas of predestination, the justification of the elect, and Xew England rum, whenever they came into the settlements, and in threatening them with terrible punish- ments here and hereafter if they refused to accept them. These early Puritans cared not for the souls of the poor aborigines ; but they coveted their lands, and their persons as slaves. We shall presently show how, stej) by step, the Puritans corrupted, perverted, wronged, robbed, enslaved, and finally exterminated the Indians of the Eastern States. ISTot a single descendant of the original Eastern tribes oiow lives to bless the day when the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock. Not a single representative of the confiding and hos- pitable chiefs and warriors who welcomed, fed, and shel- tered tlie wretched pilgrims of the Mayflower, now lives to thank the God of the Cliristian for the inestimable boon of 376 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Christianity and civilization. 'Not a single remnant of a once noble race can now be found to illustrate the beneficent workings of the Puritan system from a Christian or humani- tarian point of view. The pantheistic goddess of riches now presides over the lands which were once the hunting-grounds of the i^oor Indian; and his plundered and exterminated people sleep deeply in the bowels of the earth, their graves unknown and unnoted except by the Great Spirit, who will one day judge the two races, the exterminators and the ex- terminated, face to face. Thus we may readily understand why the United States is more prosperous, in a material point of view, than Mexico. The Puritans of the N'orth have annihilated the Indian race of the Eastern States from off the earthy and have taken pos- session of their vast territories ! Enriched by this plundered soil, and having obliterated even the very graves of the extinct nations, these Puritan civilizers made rapid prog- ress in agriculture, in manufactures, in commerce, and in the arts. The Puritan parson can point with complacency to the wealth and culture of Protestant America ; but can he show us any of the descendants of the millions of human beings from whom this wealth has been wrested ? The rob- ber and the pirate may revel in pomp and luxury, from gold and riches which have been torn from murdered victims ; but retribution comes sooner or later. The Romans of the Au- gustan age could j)oint with pride to their works of art, sci- ence, and literature ; but they were idolaters, libei'tines, and monsters in sin and crime. So may the Puritan of this cen- tury point to what he is pleased to term the advanced civili- zation of the United States ; but this peculiar civilization has been achieved by the wanton destruction and robbery of entire nations of simple and naturally harmless creatures of God. Catholics can refer with pride and a good conscience to the six millions of Mexicans who have been converted from barbarism to Christianity and civilization, as well as to the many millions of converted natives, who, during the j^ast two centuries, have gone in peace to the land of spirits to await THE PUKITAN SYSTEM IN AMERICA. 377 their final judgment ; but where are the descendants of the six millions of the North American Indians who once owned and inliabited the United States ? Upon the souls of the Puri- tans must forever rest the deliberate, lieartless, damning crime of exterminating these millions of fellow-men whom they might have converted, civilized, saved. Xo pretext, no sophistry, can ever palliate in the slightest degree this crime of crimes. While the Catholic priests and missionaries of Mexico were converting its pagan inhabitants to Christianity, and teaching them agriculture and. the useful arts, the Puritan parsons of 'Nevi England were aiding and abetting their flocks to destroy the Mohcgans, the Narragansets, Pequods, Abenakis, and other neighboring tribes, Avith fire and sword, as we shall soon show. The practical fruits of the two civilizations are as follows : In Mexico, a living nation of Christianized and civilized natives of the soil ; and in the United States, a new and thrifty race of foreign plunderers who stalk and riot proudly over the crumbling bones of those whom their peculiar civil- ization has annihilated in their heathenism and idolatry. The natives of both countries were naturally inferior to the European strangers who landed on their shores, and this very inferiority placed them in the power of the latter, to serve, elevate, and Christianize them, or to betray, rob, and destroy them. Let the impartial reader contemplate tlie past and present situation of the two countries, and judge betAveen them. In order to demonstrate clearly our j-tosition respecting the influence of Puritan civilization upon the aborigines of the Eastern States, we present a summary of facts, derived chiefly from the " Colonial Pecords of Massachusetts Bay," Barry's " History," Bancroft's " History," and other standard Protestant sources. It is now nearly two hundred and fifty years since the Puritans landed at Plymouth Pock. They found themselves strangers upon a vast continent, owned and populated by mil- 378 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. lions of ignorant and simple-minded red men. These prinii- tive natives and proprietors of tlie continent worshipped the only God they had ever heard or thought of, in simplicity and in truth. Their laws were simple, practical, and admir- ably adopted to their limited wants and desires. With but few acquired and artificial tastes, and no ambition beyond excelling in war or the chase, these red men of nature lived and acted in accordance with the knowledge and experience which their Creator had given them. The white man of civilized Europe worshipped the Triune God with the lights of Christianity and civilization before him, but daily and hourly violated to a greater or less extent the divine com- mandments. The untutored Indian adored the Great Spirit who had created him, reasoned and acted in accordance with the intelligence he had received, and, with but few vices and few faults, accomplished his earthly destiny. If the civilized white man possessed knowledge and was skilled in the arts and sciences, he was also selfish, mercenary, and self-indul- gent. The red man was ignorant, rude, and primitive in all things, but he was hospitable, truthful, brave, and for the most part unselfish. In every instance where the aborigines had not come in contact with the white man, and was ignorant of his vices, he was confiding, hospitable, docile, and easily subjected to Christianizing and civilizing influences. In most cases he regarded the wliite strangers as superior beings — children of the sun, and possessing supernatural powers. Every senti- ment of his nature prompted him, therefore, to cultivate the closest relations of amity and trust with his powerful guests. The native savage was not naturally vicious or selfish. His religious, moral, and social principles might all have been comprised within a short paragraph, and yet he fully recog- nized the sujoerintending power of the Great Spirit, and the mutual rights and obligations pertaining to individuals and communities. If he gave way to anger and vengeance, it was always tlie result of a supposed insult or wrong. This sensitiveness to injury and wrong, a belief in the stern neces- THE PUEITAN SYSTEM IN AltlERICA. 379 sity of redressing tlicm by bloodshed, were sentiments over deeply rooted in the Indian breast. To excel in war and in the chase, and to wreak vengeance upon his enemies, were three cardinal virtues of the North American savage, and he would shrink from no danger, no exposure, no suffering in the accomplishment of his purposes. But the duties of hospitality and the private and public weal of those with whom he was at peace, were scrupulously respected. It is commonly asserted that the Indian is naturally cruel and bloodthirsty ; but history does not confirm this assertion. In making up an estimate of the Indian character, let it not be forgotten that all our records and data are ex parte ^ and from the stand-point of the white man. Could some native historian 2)ortray the monstrous wrongs and cruelties which were perpetrated upon his confiding and simple people, when the first white adventurers landed upon different portions of the continent, he would rouse the horror and uidignation of the whole civilized world. If the Indian has become savage and revengeful, the treachery and outrages of the white man luive made him so. If undying hatred rankles in the breasts of the now powerless remnant of the red man, the cause lies at the doors of their white oppressors. In illustration of the accuracy of the statements here ad- vanced, we cite the following historical facts ; In 1492 Columbus discovered America. Wherever he landed he found the natives confiding, kindly disposed, and hospitable. They regarded the white stranger as superior beings who had came among them for their good, and they welcomed them wdth rude tokens of affection and fraternity. Soon after the discovery of Columbus, according to Ban- croft, " a throng of adventurers eagerly engaged in voyages to exj^lore the New World, or to plunder its inhabitants." In 1524, when John Verazzani landed on the coast of North Carolina, the natives, dressed in skins, received hiui with pleasure and hospitality, " as they had not yet learned to fear the white man. The savages were more humane than their guests. A young sailor, who had nearly been drowned. 380 cimiSTiAmTT amd its conflicts. was revived by the courtesy of the natives ; while the voy- agers robbed a mother of her child, and attempted to kidnap a young woman." * ISTumerous facts might be adduced to the same purport. Among the natural traits of the native Indian, were simplici- ty, truthfulness, frankness, hospitality, sentiments of friend- ship and gratitude, and ambition to be a great hunter and warrior. Had these natural traits been properly cultivated and developed by the first colonizers of America, the Indian would have been Christianized, civilized, and elevated in the scale of humanity. Had Christian love and simple justice been brought to bear, instead of plunder, deception, and out- raore, an entire continent of God's creatures mis^ht have been reclaimed to Christianity, civilization, and happiness, and a noble race been perpetuated. When the Huguenots, under the auspices of Coligny and Laudonniere, established themselves in Carolina in 1564, their intercourse with the natives was characterized by continual acts of cruelty, oppression, injustice, theft, and murder. Sir Walter Raleigh sent his colony to the New World in 1584. "After they had landed on the island of Roanoke," says Bancroft, " they Avere entertained by Granganimeo, the mother of the king ; and the people were most gentle, loving, and faithful, void of all guile and treason, and such as lived after the manner of the golden age." Two years after the landing of this colony, an act of unparalleled atrocity was per- petrated upon the unoffending Indians by the English. Ban- croft relates the facts of the case as follows : " Ralj^h Lane, one of Raleigh's agents in Carolina, on one occasion invited Wingina, a powerful native king, and his followers, to a con- ference with himself and his English friends. The Indians quietly and peacefully granted the request, and presented themselves at the appointed time. No sooner had they as- sembled, than a signal was given by Lane, and the unhaj^py king and his principal followers were put to death without mercy." f * Bancroft's " Hist, of United States," vol. i., p. 16. f Ibid., vol. i., p. 100. THE PUKITAN SYSTEiSI IN AMEKiCA. 381 In 1637 the Pequod tribe, numbering more tlian seven^ hundred warriors, besides many women and children, and in- babitiilg the banks of the Mystic River in Connecticut, were stealthily attacked by the Puritan Christians under John Mason, and by fire and sword were nearly exterminated. The few hundreds who survived the carnage wei^e made slaves by their civilized conquerors. How wonderful the progress of Puritan civilization in these early days of the nation ! A favorite mode of these ancient "blood-hounds of Zion," of ridding the territory of their v>'ild neighbors, was to incite one tribe against another, in order that they might destroy each other. lS[ot unfrequently they would ally themselves temporarily with a particular band, and aid them in the work of extermination. Thus the Puritans of Massachusetts and Connecticut incited the Mohegans against the Narragansets in 1G43, to the serious injury of both tribes, and by treacher- ously delivering up the great chief of the latter, Miantono- moh, to Uncas, for execution, destroyed their power as a tribe. Massasoit, the great chief of the Narragansets, first v\^el- comed the Pilgrims to New England, and gave them food, shelter, and protection in their dire necessities. Had they been brothers instead of strangers, the noble monarch of the forest could not have displayed more friendship, sympatliy, and kindness than he spontaneously tendered to the starving immigrants. As a Christian reciprocation of this savage aflfection and hospitality, the Puritans, in 1676, having now become powerful, attacked King Philip, son of their early benefactor, and then chief of the JSTarragansets, and killed him with nearly all his tribe. Another characteristic in- stance of Puritan civilization and gratitude. Bancroft details the circumstances of another atrocious crime committed by the Dutch Calvinists of New York in 1643, at the instigation of their infamous director-general, Kieft. " In the stillness of a dark winter's night, the soldiers at Fort Orange, joined by freebooters from Dutch privateers, and led by a guide who knew every by-path and nook wliere 382 CnKISTIATs'ITT AND ITS CONFLICTS. the savages nestled, crossed the Hudson, for the purpose of destruction. The naked and unsuspecting tribes could offer little resistance ; the noise of musketry mingled with the yell of the victims. Nearly a hundred perished in the carnage. Daybreak did not end its horrors ; men might be seen man- gled and helpless, suffering from cold and hunger ; children were tossed into the stream, and as their parents plunged to their rescue, the soldiers prevented their landing, that both child and parent might drown." * From this, and many other examples which might be ad- duced, it will be observed that the baneful influences of Cal- vinistic colonization are not confined to any particular na- tionality or location. The government of ISTew England treacherously seized a number of the chiefs of the Abenakis in 1721, and held them arbitrarily as hostages. A ransom v/as paid for them by their brethren, and a solemn promise was made to deliver them up, but they were nevertheless retained by the faithless whites. This A^olation of faith excited sentiments of indig- nation among the Indians, and a war was the result. In 1722 the same government publicly offered a bounty of one hundred pounds for every Indian scalp delivered to them. In 1724 New England Christians made an attack upon the Indians at Old Town, and, among other atrocities, murdered and mutilated Sebastian Rasles, a venerable mis- sionary, aged sixty-seven years. Father Rasles had been a faithful and devoted missionary among the savages for more than thirty-seven years ; but he was a Catholic, which was a deadly sin in the eyes of the Puritans. From these extracts it will be observed that elements of distrust were generally infused into the minds of the Indians by the earliest Puritan discoverers and colonizers. Contact with the strangers always revealed selfishness, avarice, injus- tice, cruelty. The hunting-grounds, the lakes, and the rivers which had been given them by the Great Spirit for their sus- tenance and pleasure, and which they had enjoyed without * " History of the United States," vol. ii., p. 290. THE PUEITAN SYSTEM IN AMEEICA. 383 interruption from time immemorial, were successively wrest- ed from them by the new-comers at the point of the bayonet, while they were steadily driven back to seek new hunting- grounds, and perhaps to iDerish from exposure and hunger. An exception, however, to this rule of oppression and out- rage may be found in the Catholic colony of Mary land, under the auspices of Lord Baltimore, and his brother. Sir John Cnlvert. Instead of the religious intolerance and persecution which characterized the Puritan colony already established in Virginia, the settlers of Maryland cordially invited men of all religious and jDolitical sects to take up their abode with them, guaranteeing them by laws and statutes entire reli- gious toleration, and equal rights with themselves. Toward the neighboring tribes of Indians they were ever just, kind, and disinterested. Instead of oppressing, plundering, and alienating them, as their Virginia neighbors had done, they won them to peace and fraternity, by words of love and deeds of charity. Such was the condition of many of the tribes of the Atlantic coast at this early period. The steps of Puritan civilization have ever been marked by intolerance, injustice, and bloodshed. Under the Phari- saical cloak of superior morality and religion, these men have always been energetic in discharging simultaneously bigoted sermons from their mouths, and bullets from their rifles, at the poor Indians; and history teaches that the latter have done nearly all the execution. Steadily has the white man tramj)led upon the rights of the aborigines. Day by day have their people and their lands diminished, until they scarcely have a foothold ujjon the continent. Even now the few poverty-stricken and scattered remnants of the original and real owners of the country are robbed of their annual pittances, and massacred in cold blood, by the rapacious agents of the Puritanical rule and civilization of 18G7. A reference to recent official developments of the Indian l>u- reau respecting the Western Indians, and to the general sys- tem of robbery by Indian agents, will verify our assertion. So far as the red man is concerned, what has the boasted 384 CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. civilization of Puritanism in ISTortli America accomplished ? Has the religious, social, moral, or physical condition of these millions of the original natives and owners of the soil been ameliorated by the presence and practical operation of this thrifty civilization ? Have the Indians increased and multiplied, have their sj^ears and tomahawks been converted into implements of husbandry, their rude superstitions and practices changed for Christian maxims and Christian love and fraternity, and themselves, as a race, elevated in the scale of humanity ? Let the handful of haggard, demoral- ized, and inebriate red men, scattered here and there through- out our vast continent, and the score or two of graves of their nearly extinct race, answer. And let the white man of the United States blush with shame when he prates of Christian civilization and human progress. CHAPTER XXYIII. PURITAN INTOLERANCE. The Pilgrims and their desceuclants have always declared that the Calvinists were forced to leave England and seek a home in the New World in consequence of the persecutions of the AngKcan Church, and their irrepressible yearning after " freedom of mind," " freedom of conscience," and " re- li<}-ious toleration." That the minds of men mio-ht become enfranchised from the tyrannies of Church and State, these innocent Calvinistic lambs were willing to sunder the tender ties of home and kindred, and to brave the perils of the sea, of the wilderness, and of the savage. Under the pretence of a simple and earnest desire to worshi]) God, and to practise and promulgate the beneficent doctrines of Jesus of Nazareth among the wild children of a wild continent, these religious pioneers abandoned the comforts and security of the Old World for the privations and dangers of the New one. What a field for Christianity, for philanthropy, and the arts of civil- ization ! What a glorious opportunity to " preacli the gos- pel to every creature," to teach and j^ractise the heavenly virtues of universal love, charity, justice, and fraternity, and by words and deeds of sympathy and mercy to win the rude natives of a vast continent into the fold of Christian brother- hood and peace ! These men had personally experienced the trials and in- conveniences of Anglican intolerance, and could thcrefoi-e 17 386 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. fully appreciate the blessings of religions liberty in tlieir new home. They had been persecuted by a dominant sect for opinion's sake, and it was to be presumed that they wouM carry with them to America principles of religious toleration, and equal and exact justice to all men. With such large professions of Christian zeal and moral purity, it was natural to suppose that the divine precepts of Christ and His apos- tles would govern them in the foundation and establishment of their colony. Professing perfect faith in the Holy Scrip- tures, advocates of private interpretation, and recognizing their sacred teachings as the only true rule of faith and prac- tice, it was a legitimate inference that these persecuted exiles would carry with them principles and practices more conso- nant with liberty, progress, and happiness. The ostensible motives of the Pilgrims for leaving Eng- land and seekinGi: a new home in a distant wilderness were highly commendable. Subjects of a monarch who claimed and exercised absolute temporal and spiritual power within his dominions, freedom of conscience violated by stern penal enactments, and the observance of religious duties punished by imprisonment or death, it was praiseworthy in the Cal- vinists of England to abandon their native land, and to seek a new continent, where religious tolerance and universal jus- tice might obtain. It was heroic as well as commendable to sunder all ties of nationality, kindred, and friendship, and to encounter the perils of a long voyage and an unknown wil- derness for opinion's sake. It was philanthropic to wish and to intend to carry to the savages of North America the Christian religion, and to elevate them from barbarism to Christianity and civilization. Were these excellent ideas and intentions consummated? Was the golden rule of Christ — " Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you" — the rule of faith and action with these early colonizers of America ? Let the facts of history answer ! During the first quarter of a century after the Pilgrims of the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts, on the 11th of December, 1G20, the progress of the colony was slow, and PUrJTAN ES'TOLEKANCE. 387 productive of but few important results. The dangers and difficulties of the enterprise, the numerical inferiority of tlie whites compared with the savage tribes in their vicinity, and the almost entire lack of remunerative productions, served to restrain their ambition and their natural instincts within reasonable bounds during the first tln'ee decades of their settlement. At the expiration of ten years the colony contained only about three hundred souls; and for many subsequent years but few immigrants arrived. During the first thirty years of this pioneer life the Pilgrims vented their exuberant zeal in adding to their territorial possessions, in establishing new plantations in various colonies, and in thanking God that they were not like other men. Up to this period no one had expressed a doubt respecting a single article of the Calvinistic creed; no one had presumed to ex- tend his thoughts beyond the " five points " of Calvin ; no one had dreamed that he was not included among the " pre- destinated and elect of God." Thus far religious intolerance had nothing to feed on. As yet there were no Quakers, no Baptists, no Catholics, no Anglicans, no Independents, no Unitarians, no witches in the colony. In 1629 the reign of Puritanical intolerance commenced. It appears that two brothers, John and Samuel Browne, made their appearance at Salem, who supported the liturgy of the Anglican Church, and refused to conform to tiie Cal- vinistic tenets, which the Puritan pastors, Skelton and Ilig- ginson, had imposed upon the churches as their rule of faith and practice. For this freedom of opinion they w^ere de- nounced as traitors, their worship prohibited as mutinous, and themselves banished to England. They were the " cop- perheads" of 1629 — " disunionists " and "disloyalists" — be- cause opposed to the intolerance and radicalism of the early Puritans. In 1631 a law was enacted, by the Puritans of Boston and Salem, that no one should be allowed to exercise the rights of citizenship, to vote, to hold office, or have any voice in political matters, who was not a member of one of 388 CHRISTIANITY AKD ITS CONFLICTS. the Calvinistic churches. These original iutolerants of Mas- sachusetts not only insisted that every man in their midst should believe in their peculiar religious doctrines, but that every one should contribute to sustain them, and attend regularly at public worship. No outside ideas and no cere- monies were permitted. A token of respect to the Saviour, or a memento of His passion and crucifixion, would have consigned the unfortunate non-conformist to a prison or to banishment. In 1631 Roger Williams, the friend and pupil of Sir Ed- ward Coke, landed in Boston. He was an advocate of entire liberty of thought and of free speech. With such sentiments, he refused to conform to the tenets of the Puritans, and per- sisted in announcing his own opinions. Several times he was invited to act as pastor in Boston and Salem, but through the efforts of the Puritan pastors he was prohibited from ac- cepting the invitations ; and finally, in 1636, after great perse- cutions and personal annoyances, he was banished from the province by these early men of " great moral ideas." , For a similar advocacy of freedom of religious opinion Anne Hutchinson and her followers were exiled from Massa- chusetts in 1637, as persons seditious and dangerous to the state. With the intuitive perceptions of an enthusiastic and philosophical mind, Anne Hutchinson perceived the dangers and denounced the influence of the bigoted Puritanism which had already established itself in Massachusetts. A Protes- tant herself, tliis female reformer simj)ly desired that liberty of opinion, and of private judgment, should be allowed to develop their natural and legitimate results, whether they eventuated in Calvinism, Islamism, Paganism, Atheism, or Socialism. But the Puritans'set around their j^rovince an ecclesiastical corral, embracing only the fatalistic dogmas of Calvin, and no spiritual sustenance was to be taken outside of this narrow enclosure ; while the more advanced female reformer and her Quaker associates recognized no boun- daries, no limits to any mind or any capacity in deciding upon the mysterious and difiicult questions of theology. Within PUEITAN INTOLEEANCE. 389 the circumscribed limits of Massachusetts, the pastors Iiad affixed their ecclesiastical seal upon theological doctrine, and woe be to him or them, however learned or gifted, who should presume to alter or doubt a single oracular decree of these expounders of the mysteries of godliness ! If they were thus intolerant against individuals of their own sect, who can picture the horror they would have entertained and the atrocities they would have committed against an intruding Anglican or Catholic ? Two Baptists, Clarke and Holmes, commenced preaching their doctrines to the i^eople of Lynn in 1651, but were speedily arrested, fined, and severely whipped for their temerity. The persecutions and cruelties of the Puritans were never more active than at this period. Every form of worship but the established one was punishable as a civil ofience. Imprisonment, strij^es, cropping ofiT ears, perforating the tongue with red-hot irons, exile, and even death Avere usual penalties against Anabaptists, Quakers, and other dis- senting sects. Thus, in 1G59, William Robinson, Marma- duke Stephenson, Nicholas Davis, William Leddra, AYenlock Christison, and Mary Dyer were hung by these Puritan civilizers for preaching Quakerism in Massachusetts.* Men like Cotton Mather, Skelton, Higginson, and Parris con- stituted themselves censors of the public conscience, and, with despotic cruelty, sought to bend the necks of all the people under their Puritanical yoke. Nor did they confine themselves strictly to religious matters ; politics, morals, and irre2:ularities of all kinds came under their dictatorial in- fluences. Of Cotton Mather, Bancroft remarks : " Was Cotton Mather honestly credulous ? Ever ready to dupe himself, he limited his credulity only by the probable credulity of others. He changes, or omits to repeat his statements, with- out acknowlcdo'inrr error, and with a clear intention of con- veying false impressions. He is an examj^le of how far selfishness, under the form of vanity and ambition, can blind * See " Colonial Records," and Bancroft's " Ili^torj." Q 90 CHEISTIANITY ANT> IT3 COiMFLICTS. the higher faculties, stupefy the judgment, and dupe con- sciousness itself. His self-righteousness was complete, until he was resisted." * Cotton Mather not only declared that "there is both r. God, and a devil, and witchcraft ; but that all who denied the fact, were guilty of ignorance, incivility, and dishonest impudence." As the Bible makes allusions to witchcraft and witches in the olden time, these Biblical Solons of Salem and Boston inferred that they ought to exist in modern times. There was the witch of Endor ; why should there not be the witch of Salem, or Boston, or Plymouth ? Careful inquiry in 1688 revealed to these modern prophets an excellent subject, in the person of a poor, ignorant Irishwoman named Glover. This poor creature was accused of having bewitched the daughter of one Goodwin, an hysterical girl of thirteen years, and finally, after divers persecutions and a mock trial, they put her to death by hanging! One of the most infamous and active agents in these witchcraft persecutions was a Puritan minister of Salem, by the name of Samuel Parris. Aided and abetted by Mather, Stoughton, Phipps, and other sectarian radicals, he insti- tuted proceedings against hundreds of innocent persons of his town, selecting those against whom he had some hostility cr prejudice, and caused twenty to be hung for witchcraft, fifty-five to be " tortured or terrified into false confessions," and hundreds to be confined in prison. In nearly all cases these sanguinary accnsers were actuated by motives of per- sonal hatred and revengje a2:ainst those who were accused. With liypocritical prayers upon their lips, and assumptions of superior piety and virtue, these clerical murderers and their vile accomplices in persecution and crime perpetrated these deeds of wickedness and blood, l^o efibrts were spared by tiiese cunning malignants to suborn witnesses, and in every way to manufacture testimony against their enemies, in order to torture them, and, when possible, to hang them. Another beautiful result of Puritan civilization and Christian charity. * "History of the United States," vol. iii., p. 97. PURITAN INTOLEKANCE. 391 In 1661 an additional law was enacted against the " in- trusions of blasphemous, accursed, heretical, and vagabond Quakers, who, like rouges and vagabonds, sneak and wander about to spread their absurd and blasphemous doctrine ; " "^^ directing any magistrate who may be able to catch them, " to strip them naked from the middle upwards, tje them to a carts tayle, and whip thro^ the toune," f and so on from town to town until they shall have been scourged out of the colony. Should the Quaker return a second time he or she is to be " severely whipped and branded with the letter R on the left shoulder," t and then whipped out of town as before. Banishment or death, at the option of the court, were the penalties for a third return to the colony, or for an obstinate persistence in remaining in the colony. It is difficult to believe that a class of people as benevo- lent, moral, exemplary, and industrious as the Quakers have always been, and so admira,bly calculated to enhance the prosperity and welfare of a state, could have been so wan- tonly and cruelly treated by men claiming to be Cliristians. But the facts herein enumerated, respecting the treatment of the Quakers by the Puritans, are chiefly derived from tlie early " Colonial Records of Massachusetts Bay," edited by Dr. Shurtleff, of Boston, and may therefore be relied upon as authentic. Nor were the penalties confined to the Quakers them- selves. Every man harboring, concealing, or importing a Quaker, or who should have in his possession, or read any of their vva*itings, was subjected to heavy fines and imprison- ment ; and if the offence Avas persisted in, to banishment under penalty of death. How sadly were these excellent people mistaken in trusting to the much vaunted professions of the Puritans respecting religious toleration ! At a general court held at Boston, October 14, 1657, an additional law was enacted " in reference to the comino* or bringing in any of the cursed sect of Quakers into this juris- diction, and it is further ordered, that whosoever shall, from * " Colonial Records of Massachusetts Bay." f Ibid. :}: Ibid. 392 CHEISTIANITY AlTO rrS CONFLICTS. henceforth, bring, or cause to be brought, directly or indi- rectly, any knowne Quaker or Quakers, or other blasphemous heretiks, into this jurisdiction, euery such person shall forfeite the some of one hundred pounds to y® countrje, and by war- rant from any magistrate, be comitted to prison." * And for harboring, concealing, or entertaining any such Quaker or Quakers, a fine of forty shillings and imprisonment were the penalties. "And it is further ordered, that if any Qua- ker or Quakers shall j)resume, after they haue once suffered what the lavv'e requireth, to come into this jurisdiction, euery such male Quaker shall, for the first offenc, haue one of his eares cutt off, and be kept in the house of correction at worke till he cann be sent away at his oune charge, and for the second offenc shall haue his other eare cutt off, &c., and kept at the house of correction, as aforesaid . , . and for euery Qua- ker, he or she, that shall a third tjme heerein again e offend, they shall haue theire toungues bored through w*^ a hot iron, and kept at the house of correction, close to worke, till they be sent away at their oune charge." f For a first offence by female Quakers, severe whipping and imprisonment were the penalties. In 1658 another law was enacted, "that euery person or persons of the cursed sect of the Quakers, who is not an inhab- itant off, but found w*Hu this jurisdiction," shall be taken to prison, without bail, and, on conviction, banished upon pain of death. Or any Quaker preaching or teaching his doc- trines, or "drauing from our Church assembljs," or "pub- lishing or defending the horrid opinions of the Quakers, shall be sentenced to banishment vpon pajne of death." J If tlie influence of Catholicism and Puritanism upon the civilization of North America be contrasted, the former will lose nothing by the comparison. In every thing pertaining to the welfare of the aborigines, to civil liberty, to religious toleration, and to the material, moral, and social progress of society, Catholics have ever been far in advance of their op- ponents. * " Colonial Records of Massachusetts Bay." f Ibid. X Ibid. PUEITAN INTOLEKANCE. 393 To a Itomaii Catholic, as we have already observed, be- longs the credit of having first secured liberty of conscience and religious toleration on the American continent. Sir George Calvert, brotlier of Lord Baltimore, according to Bun- croft, " deserves to be ranked among the most wise and benev- olent lawgivei-s of all ages. He was the first in the history of the Christian world to seek for religious security and peace by the i:)ractice of justice, and not by the exercise of power ; to plan the establishment of popular institutions with the enjoy- ment of liberty of conscience ; to advance the career of civiliza- tion by recognizing the rightful equality of all Christian sects. The asylum of papists was the spot where, in a remote cor- ner of the world, on the banks of rivers which as yet had hardly been explored, the mild forbearance of a proprietary adopted' religious freedom as the basis of the state." * On the 27th day of March, 1634, the Catholics under Cal- vert took quiet possession of a little Indian village on the banks of St. Mary's River, and " religious liberty obtained a home, its only home in the v/ide vrorld. Every other country in the world had persecuting laws ; but, through the benign administration of the government of that i^rovince [Mary- land], no person professing to believe in Jesus Christ was permitted to be molested on account of religion. . . . And there, too, Protestants were sheltered against Protestant in- tolerance. . . . The disfranchised friends of prelacy from Mas- sachusetts, and the Puritans from Virginia, were welcomed to equal liberty of conscience and political rights in the Ro- man Catholic province of Maryland." f How great was the contrast between this religious and civil toleration in this Maryland colony of Lord Baltimore, and in those of Massachusetts and Virginia, Avliere special stat- utes had been enacted to exclude Catholics and non-conform- ists from all political, religious, or social rights ! Li the treatment of the savages of Maryland, the Catli- olics of Lord Baltimore's colony were always governed by the most exalted principles of Cln-istianity and philanthroj^y. * " Hist, of the Uuitcd States," vol. i., p. 244. | Ibid., vol. i., pp. 218-257, 17* 394 CnEISTlANlTY AND ITS CONFLICTS. The territorial and personal rights of the natives were scru- pulously respected, and earnest and persistent efforts made to teach them religious truths, and the arts and practices of civilized life. Their lands were not taken from them by force, or without their consent, but by honorable negotiation and purchase. Instead of offering bounties for their scalps, the Catholics offered them words and acts of love and mercy. This condition of affairs continued uninterruptedly until 1654, when Clayborne and his Puritan followers wrested by force the government of Maryland from the hands of Stone, the agent and representative of Lord Baltimore. After disfranchising all the Catholics of the colony, these men passed an act " concerning religion, confirming freedom of consciencQ, provided the liberty were not extended to popery, prelacy, or licentiousness of opinion." Many of these acts of intolerance were perpetrated during the dictatorship of Cromwell ; and, although fully aware of them, he never took any measures to correct them. 'Nor were the Purit^ins the only persecutors of the Mary- land Catholics ; for when, in 1702, episcopacy was established by the colonial legislature of Maryland, tolerance was grant- ed to all sects except the Catholic. Says Bancroft : " The Ro- man Catholics alone were left without an ally, exposed to English bigotry and colonial injustice. They alone were disfranchised on the soil which, long before Locke pleaded for toleration, or Penn for religious freedom, they had chosen, not as their own asylum only, but, Avith Catholic liberality, as the asylum of every persecuted sect. In the land which Catholics had oj^ened to Protestants, the Catholic inhabitant was the sole victim to Anglican intolerance. Mass might not be said publicly. No Catholic priest or bishop might utter his faith in a voice of persuasion. No Catholic might teach the young. If the Avayward child of a papist would but become an apostate, the law wrested for him from his parents a share of their property. The disfranchisement of the proprietary related to his creed, not to his family. Sucli were the methods adopted to prevent the growth of popery ; rURITAN INTOLEKANCE. 395 but the persecution uevcr crushed tlic faith of the humble colonists." * This Puritan policy toward the Catholics of Maryland was only a continuation of that which was being pursued by the English toAvard the Catholics of Ireland. The govern- ment and people of England had been schooled in the practices of intolerance and oppression against their subjugated Irish dependency for hundreds of years. Toward the close of the thirteenth century, when Henry II. was king of England, Ireland was attacked and subjugat- ed by bands of English adventurers under a number of impov- erished and ambitious barons. The object of these men was plunder and the acquisition of lands. Notwithstanding the invaders were Catholics, they did not hesitate to strip their Celtic brethren of nearly all their acres, and to divide them among a few English families. The native inhabitants were deprived of nearly every civil, military, and social priv- ilege enjoyed by their insolent rulers; and this condition of affairs continued until the Reformation, when all the Prot- estant elements of the kingdom were brought into requisition aocainst the down-trodden Irish Catholics. On the accession of Elizabeth to the English throne, she established the Prot- estant Episcopal Church in Ireland, and rigidly excluded the Catholic population from all political and religious rights. English influence now reigned supreme, and the people were plundered and outraged without mercy and with perfect impunity. No amelioration resulted from the accession of James I. ; but repeated violations of faith and atrocious persecutions of all kinds finally drove the Celts and the Norman-Irish, who had now fraternized with them for mutual protection, to arms in 1641. Arrayed against them were the king, the Puritan Parliament, the Scotch Presbyterians, and the bigoted and ferocious Oliver Cromwell. Unable to cope successfully with these powerful enemies, they struggled on amidst every conceivable outrage and suffering until 1660, v\dicn all power of resistance ceased. * Bancroft's " History of tho United States," vol. iii., p. 32. 396 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Under Charles II. and James 11. , no material relief was experienced; for the native Irish were still regarded and treated as aliens and enemies. After the revolution of 1688, the condition of the Irish Catholics was hopeless in the extreme. Subjugated by a people who liated them with fanatical ferocity, and power- less to offer resistance, their rights and privileges were every- where trampled upon. A reference to the penal codes enacted by William and Anne for the " prevention of the growth of popery," will en- able the reader to form some idea of the spirit of the Eng- lish Protestants toward their Catholic subjects. In 1763 no Catholic could marry a Protestant, no Catho- lic could vote, hold office, possess lands, teach or be taught, at home or abroad, j)reach or practise his religion, own or keep arms or weapons of any kind, or exercise paternal au- thority in Ireland, under penalty of imprisonment, trans- portation, and death by hanging, drawing, and quartering. All priests, monks, and teachers were registered, and retained within limited districts like prisoners. They were forbidden to teach, preach, or to exercise their holy offices in any man- ner, under penalty of outlawry or death. Under such a weight of tyranny and persecution, is it strange that the priesthood of Ireland should have been lacking in literary culture, or that the emigrants who have come to this country have been, for the most part, ignorant ? Six-sevenths of all the lands of Ireland had been confis- cated and divided among the radical Protestants of England, and every Catholic was disfranchised, prohibited from owning lands, or procuring leases for over thirty-one years ; and then all profits over one-third the amount of the rent were to be delivered up to his landlord or some government agent. Bribes and ^preferments were offered to those who would be- come recreant to their religion and their friends ; but every man, however poor or ignorant, remained true to his princi- ples, preferring to suffer all the pangs of poverty, injustice, and cruel persecution, rather than to peril the welfare of his soul. PUKITAN mTOLERANCE. 397 The history of the world does not present a higher degree of Christian forbearance and moral elevation than was pre- sented by the Irish Catholics during their days of crashing oppression and wrong after tlie Reformation. To judge fairly between tlie conduct of different nations or sects, it is necessary to take into account the precise period of the Christian era, the intelligence of the people interested, the race of men, and the influence of existing circumstances. Since the Reformation, we may justly compare the treatment of England and her American colonies toward the Catholics of Ireland, and the non-conformists of New England, Mary- laud, and Virginia, with the course pursued by the Catholic colony of Lord Baltimore toward those who came among them as residents. Tlie spirit of the former was intoler- ance, hatred, and persecution ; of the latter, entire freedom of conscience, equal rights, and cordial fraternity. If it be urged that the Church of Rome, during the mid- dle ages, likewise exercised a general system of religions intolerance, and not unfrequently enforced her vievfs by acts of persecution and cruelty against her opponents, let it be remembered that the people, the circumstances, anl^ tlie in- telligence of these dark ages were entirely different from those which have existed since the Reformation. The con- verts to Christianity during the early and middle centuries were from paganism and idolatry. The converted Christians of these epochs were ignorant, semi-barbarous, material. Their hereditary traits were selfishness and love of pleasure ; and an element of their moral code had been " an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." Under such circumstances, it is not strange that these converted pagans should now and then have forgotten the beneficent doctrines of tlie Church, and have lapsed into their original habits of intolerance and persecution. Born and reared in the midst of such a dark period, it is unreasonable to expect in them, as converts to Christianity, that strict adhesion to the precepts and prac- tices of religion which might justly be demanded of modern Christendom. During the past three centuries, the sum of 398 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. human knowledge and intelligence lias been vastly greater than during the middle ages, when all Europe was so often convulsed and demoralized by barbarian irruptions and bar- barian conquests. The enormous advances in art, science, philosophy, and literature have created an entire revolution in luiman thought, sentiment, and conduct. The clear light of a strictly Christian epoch, and a high state of intellectual development, have rendered the course of the modern Chris- tian luminous and certain. The Christian converts of the middle ages were hedged about by hereditary prejudices and customs, false philosophies, and the baneful influences of barbarian conquerors and oj^pressors — suspended midway between Christian civilization and barbarism ; and if they were not uniformly perfect models of Christianity, but some- times intolerant, superstitious, and cruel, let us remember the darkness, the doubts, and the materialism of the ages in which they lived, and cast over them the mantle of Christian charity. Let us be just, and judge of nations with reference to the knov/lcdge possessed, and the eras in which they have existed. Let us not require of the pagan convert that de- gree of excellence, or that j^crsistency in religious faith and practice which is demanded of the more modern Christian believer. North America was colonized by men of the same race, the same habits, the same mental and physical qualities, and at the same epoch. A portion of these colonizers were Prot- estant, and a portion Catholic. Subjects of the same gov- ernment, surrounded by similar conditions, and with a full scope for the development of their several modes of civiliza- tion, a fair comparison may here be instituted between them, and a just judgment rendered. No Catholic need blush in arraying the colonial records of Lord Baltimore's colony in Maryland against those of Massachusetts or Virginia. CIIAPTEE XXIX. MISSIONS IN AMERICA. Another test of the comparative influence of Protestant and Catliolic civilization in N'orth America may be found in the results of the missionary enterprises of the several parties. As early as 1611 Catholic missionaries Avere in communi- cation with many of the wild tribes of the North and West. Under Fathers De Briencourt and Biart, they explored the coast as far as the Kennebec, and ascended that river. They visited the Algonquins, the Abenakis, the Canibas, and other tribes between the Penobscot and the Kennebec. Tlicir kindness and disinterested benevolence won the confidence and respectful attention of these Indians, and induced them to listen with interest and profit to the doctrines of Cliris- tianit3% Catholic priests were among the earliest and most suc- cessful pioneers and discoverers in the northern and w^estern parts of the continent. The discovery of the Mississippi Piver, its course, and its outlet in the Gulf of Mexico, was due to the suggestions and actual j^ersonal efibrts of Father Mar- quette and his euterprising companion, Joliet. Many otlicr rivers and new territories were discovered by these men dur- ing their daring voyages as missionaries. In 1G33 there were about twenty Jesuit priests in Cana- da ; and their labors and discoveries as pioneers and found- ers of towns were of incalculable importance to the early 400 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. coloDizers. Their influence over the wild tribes of the wil- derness was likewise beneficial in the highest degree. As Bancroft truly observes, " The history of their labors is con- nected with the origin of every celebrated town in the annals of French America : not a cape was turned, nor a river en- tered, but a Jesuit led the way." The trials and hardships of Fathers Brebeuf, Daniel, and Lallemand, who visited the Hurons in 1633, the rude chapels which they erected in the midst of their wilderness home, and the unwearied assiduity with which they struggled to convert their wild friends to Christianity, are noted with ad- miration by many historians of this period. Within twelve years from the time Brebeuf and his companions first entered Canada, more than fifty Catholic missionaries had followed them to the haunts of the savages, risking every thing in their noble cause. ISTearly all of these men were martyred ; but they had deliberately ofiered themselves as Avilling sacri- fices in the great work, as humble soldiers of the cross, with- out a hope of reward on earth, guided by the everlasting light of heaven, and sustained by the consoling influences of their religion. Many of these early missionaries attached themselves to migratory tribes, adopting many of their habits, their mode of life, acquiescing in their simple and primitive customs and sports when not contrary to religion, sympathizing with them in their griefs, and rejoicing with them in their joys, sharing their privations and hardships, and wandering Avith them from place to place. Such disinterestedness commend- ed itself to the Indian, and roused his admiration and grati- tude. He saw these devoted men come to them without arms, without guile, covethig nothing, and intent only on showing them divine truths, and doing them good. Occa- sionally they were attacked by hostile savages, and put to death ; but their places were immediately filled by others. Such were the fates of Fathers Jogues, Goupil, Daniel, Bre- beuf, Lallemand, Gareau, Mesnarcl, and others who preferred the ci'own of martyrdom to earthly comfort and glory. MISSIONS IN AMERICA. 401 The Puritan missionaries aiiproachecT tlie aborigines with sermons, Puritanical statutes, rum, and bullets. 'I'hey may be regarded as missionary footpads, who were in the habit of waylaying the savage with both spiritual and physical arms, and demanclino; his conversion or his life. When heav- enly weapons were not promptly successful, mundane ones were brought into requisition ; and it must be confessed that in nearly every instance the latter were the weapons which brought the poor Indian down. It has ahvays been customary for the Catholic missionary to respect the innocent and harmless prejudices, superstitions, and customs of the savages, and to adapt himself as far as possible to their peculiarities and mode of life. In this man- ner they were gradually enabled to indoctrinate tlicm with the fundamental truths of the Christian religion. But the Puritan missionary saw nothing good, nothing permissible, .outside the five points of Calvin, and the discipline of the Calvinistic churches of Boston, Plymouth, and Salem. They recognized no other mode of converting their wild neighbors than military coercion. Can it be wondered at that the mis- sionary efibrts of the Puritans of New England should have been unsuccessful, and that the native tribes were almost continually at war with the wdntes, until they were finally exterminated ? When we contemplate the intolerance and cruelty of these early colonizers toward every human being who was not within the pale of Calvinistic theology and dis- cipline, we may understand why Quakers, Baptists, and re- puted witches, were persecuted, tortured, and i^ut to death, and why the poor Indian was robbed of his possessions, his nationality, and eventually of his very life's blood ; and Ave may understand why the public sentiment of Massacluisetts, during the first century of her colonial existence, was forced to succumb to the private malignancy and vengeance of the Mathers, the Skeltons, the Parrises, and the Iligginsons of that period ; and why the infiuences of Puritanism tended toward pngan rather than Christian civilization and ad- vancement. 402 CIIFwISTlANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. Within the first century after the Catholic missionaries commenced their labors in South America, more than 1,500,- 000 Indians were converted from idolatry and demon-wor- ship to Catholicism, and to a knowledge and practice of many of the arts of civilization. In Australia, under the influence of Protestant civiliza- tion and Protestant missionary enterprise, the natives have been nearly exterminated. " Another ten years," says Mr. Byrne, " and an aboriginal native will be as great a curiosity in Sydney, or within the boundaries of the colony, as he is at present in Europe." The same thing is true of Yan Diemen's Land, the new colony of Victoria, and of IsTew Zealand. According to an ofiicial document published at Auckland in 1859, by order of the colonial government, the native popu- lation of ISTew Zealand had become reduced to 56,409, seven- eighths having disappeared. The opinion is almost universal that the entire race will be exterminated in two or three generations more, as have been nearly all the aboriginal na- tives of the United States under similar influences.. Marshall, in his " Christian Missions," thus alludes to the pernicious effects of sectarian missions in Kew Zealand : " The war of sects, the license of crude and shifting opinion, the strife of texts, and endless discord of opposing creeds — it was necessary that ISTew Zealand should joossess them all. Fatal gift ! against which even pagans would have lifted up the cry of fear and supplication if they had known Avhat it would bring in its train. But this is the final chastise- ment which ages of impenitence have brought upon the hea- then world in these last days, and which not even apostles — though they were as wise as St. Paul, as mighty as St. Greg- ory Thauraaturgus, or as fervent as St. Francis Xavier — could now avert from them. Protestantism is the last scourge of heathenism." " The spirit of controversy," says Dr. Selwyn, " is everywhere found to prevail, in many cases to the entire exclusion of all simplicity of faith." And in 1850 Mr. Bonner writes : " Though in some places there are only six or seven natives, yet they have separate places of worshi]) MISSIONS IN A3IEEICA. 403 — Church of England, and Weslcyan— and are always quar- relling about religion." And the Rev. Elijah Iloole says, "that contention, animosity, distrust, and intolerance are hut the mere outlines of that state of feeling which at pres- ent exists among our divided people. The spirit of Christi- anity is lost'in the form, and the very form itself has become the subject of incessant and angry dispute."* According to the most reliable Protestant authorities, like Dr. Thompson, Mr. Wakefield, Mr. Paul, Mr. Brown, Rev. Mr. Turton, and other gentlemen of the highest character and positions, these schismatic differences have separated thousands of natives into hostile sects, who make war upon each other with more virulence and ferocity than when they fought each other in their primitive heathenism. " In 1856," says Thomas Ewbank, an American Protestant, " there were ei2:ht hundred thousand domesticated Indian converts to Catholicism in Brazil. In New Granada, a single Catholic missionary. Father Claver, who died in 1654, con- verted and baptized four hundred thousand native pagans and imported slaves. In Paraguay, and other neighboring South American countries, more than one million of converts were made to the Church before the commencement of the nineteenth century. In Oceanica, and in the South Sea Islands, where Catholicism is in the ascendant the masses of the natives have been converted and partially civilized." If we extend our inquiries into all parts of the American continent, and examine critically the past and j^reseut fruits of all Protestant missionary enterprises, we shall invariably find one or more of the following results : 1. A continual and rapid decrease of population. 2. A general corruption of morals and habits. 3. A substitution of the vices and the diseases of civilization for those of heathenism. A simple reference to the early missions of Ncav England and Canada, and the more recent missions and present condition of the western portions of the United States, of the Sandwich Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Van Dieraen's Land, and * Marshall's " Christian Missions," vol. ii., p. 144. 404 CHEISTIANITY. AND ITS CONFLICTS. other Protestant fields of labor, will render these facts apparent. Among all the native races of this continent, it is doubt- ftd whether Protestantism can claim twenty thousand con- verts ! The great field of missionary labor on this continent has always been equally open to Protestants and Catholics. The gospel of both demanded that its doctrines should be preached to all nations. Who have best fulfilled the com- mandment? A tabular statement of the results of the Protestant missions in America would reveal such an insig- nificant number of converts, when compared with those of the Catholics, that we refrain from making the sad exhibition. Instead of instituting a comparison, as might readily be done, Ave shall content ourselves with submitting the glorious results of Catholic missions among the heathen nations of America, and leave the intelligent reader to decide as to who are the actual Christian civilizers. To those who desire to enter into more minute details respecting the labors of Catholic missionaries, we refer them to the missions of Fathers Louis Cancer, Diego de Peiialosa, Gregory de Beteta, and Andrew de Olmas, in Florida and Texas (1544) ; Mark of Nice, Sarria, and Fortuni, in California (1539-1838) ; John de Padilla, and John of the Cross, in New Mexico (1539) ; Allouez, Marquette, Kibourde, Gravier, Rale, Du Poisson, and Soual, in the Southern and Western States, in (1669) ; the splendid results of the labors of De Smet, in Oregon and other Western States, since 1831. Also to Marshall's Christian missions ; Shea's, Strickland's, and other histories of missions. The followino; statistical tables will enable the reader to form some idea of the enormous labors of Catholic mission- aries in America, in the conversion of the heathen, and of thpir wonderful results : 1. Native Converts in America. Mexico 6,000,000 Paraguay 1,200,000 New Granada 2,000,000 MISSIONS IN AMERICA. 405 Venezuela 1,200,000 Brazil 4,500,000 Guatemala 800,000 San Salvador 500,000 Honduras 250,000 Nicaragua 350,000 Ecuador , . . . 1,200,000 Bolivia 1,500,000 Peru 1,200,000 Chili 1 ,500,000 Other portions of South America 1,000,000 Total 23,200,000 Tlie entire Catholic population of America amounts to 40,970,000. Of this number more than one-half were origin- ally idolatrous natives who have been converted by Catholic missionaries ; for this tabulated, estimate does not include the native conversions in the United States or in the British pos- sessions. We earnestly entreat Protestants to contemplate seriously these wonderful results, these great practical facts of Christi- anity, and* then ask themselves if tliese things are not the work of God, and. if the missionary enterprises of the sects are not the works of men. And let it be understood that the labors of the Catholics have been equally successful in the other heathen lands of the earth. In all parts of Asia and Africa her missionaries have been as devoted and as success- ful as in America. We take the liberty of digressing for a moment, in order to present the following statistics : 2. Catholic Popidation of Asia and Oceanica. Asiatic Turkey 000,000 Moldavia and Wallachia 130,000 Asiatic Russia 100,000 British India 1,100,000 Netherland India 25,000 406 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. French India 1 70,000 Portuguese India, Islands, and Macao .... 546,000 Spanish India and Philippine Islands. . . . 4,750,000 Persia 120,000 Anam 600,000 Siam 25,000 China 1,000,000 New Holland 300,000 Tasmania 40,000 E'ew Zealand 60,000 New Caledonia and adjoining Islands 70,000 Sandwich Islands 30,000 Total 0,666,000 Of this number, it is estimated that there are not less than 5,000,000 of native converts who have been brought into the Christian fold by Catholic missionaries. 3. Catholic JPojyulation of Africa. Egypt 172,000 Abyssinia 2,000,000 Tripoli, Tunis, and Morocco 30,000 Spanish possessions 25,000 Canaries 260,000 Portuguese possessions 690,000 Madeira and Islands 260,000 Continental French possessions 250,000 Peunion and other Islands 180,000 Continental British possessions 30,000 Mauritius and other Islands 150,000 • Liberia 4,000 Madagascar 10,000 Gallas 10,000 'r Total 4,071,000 MISSIONS i:^ AMERICA. 407 If we fix the number of native converts at 3,000,000, we sliall probably be under the actual estimate. These statistics are derived chiefly from the " Civilta Cattolica " and Marshall's " Christian Missions." In order that our estimate of the number of converts from heathenism should not be overstated, we have doubtless erred on the other side. As to several of the South American countries, our data arc accurate; while we have been obliged to ap- proximate, as nearly as we are able, as to the relative propor- tions in other countries. Our figures stand thus : Entire Catholic Population. America 46,970,000 Asia and Oceanica 9,GGG,000 Africa 4,071,000 Total Catholic population in Amer- ica, Asia, and Africa 00,707,000 Converts frotn Heathenism. America 23,200,000 Asia and Oceanica 5,000,000 Africa 3,000,000 Total number of converts from idolatry 31,200,000 Nearly all these converts have been made within the past three hundred years — since the Reformation — since humanity has been primitively Christianized, civilized, enfranchised, and redeemed from popery by Puritanism ! What accessions has Protestantism made to Christianity from the benighted nations of Asia and Africa ? According to their own most authentic sources, the results of their exten- sive missionary organizations, and their vast expenditures, liave been utterly insignificant. We do not believe that tliey 408 CHKISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. can justly claim fifty thousand real heathen converts in all the world. No candid man can regard this small number by the side of the tJiirty-oyie millions of Catholic converts with- out a conviction that the special blessings of Providence are with the Catholics. CIIAPTEE XXX. HUMAN SLAVERY IX NEW ENGLAND. AccoEDrN"G to the " Colonial Records of Massachusetts," " two members of the Church of Boston," James Smith and Thomas Keyser, first imported negro slaves into New Eng- land in 1637. These men brought these slaves from Provi- dence Isle in tlie Salem ship " Desire ; " so that we may trace the origin of negro slavery in IsTew England to members of a Puritan church of Boston. It has been estimated that not less than four millions of slaves have been taken from Africa by the Protestants of Eng^land and her' colonics since the commencement of the so- called Reformation. Between the years 1700 and 1750, Ban- croft supposes that a million and a half of slaves were im- ported from Africa, by English and American Protestants, in English and colonial ships, fitted out in English or colo- nial" ports, with the consent of rulers. Parliaments, and peo- ple. Of this number, one-eighth died during the passage. "When the innovators of the sixteenth century commenced their agitations, human slavery had been abolished by the persistent efforts of the Catholic Church throughout Conti- nental Europe. But it was revived by the sectaries of Eng- land and America under circumstances of appalling cruelty, and for many generations it was sustained and encouraged by legal enactments. 18 410 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. The efforts of the Catholic priesthood commenced in the days of Jesus and the apostles, and continued steadfastly through centuries, until eventually all the slaves of Conti- nental Europe were emancipated, and almost imperceptibly incorporated into the great public body. This beneficent work was eftected by a process of gradual emancipation which slowdy elevated tlie slave in the scale of humanity, and prepared him for his changed condition. An abrupt enfran- chisement would have resulted in the demoralization and destruction of the liberated race. During the past three cen- turies, while Puritanism has often been the advocate and de- fender of human bondage and of the slave-trade, and been the means of reducing to perpetual servitude many millions of men, the Chui'ch of Rome has uniformly and earnestly op- posed human bondage and slave-traffic, and endeavored to elevate and Christianize the bondmen of all nations, and in- struct them in their duties and responsibilities toward God and man. For more than one hundred and fifty years after the first settlement of Massachusetts Bay, the Puritans of America were in no respect in advance of the slaveholders of the golden age. These New England men abolished slavery when it ceased to be profitable, and not until then; thus squaring their philanthropy with pounds, shillings, and pence. Their rule has always been, principles, when they cost nothing, and subserve their own opinions and prejudi- ces ; but when principles and pockets are in opposite scales, the latter have generally preponderated. " The slave-trade between Africa and America," says Bancroft, " was never sanctioned by the See of Rome. The spirit of the Roman Church was against it. . . . Leo X. de- clared that not the Christian religion only, but Nature her- self, cries out against the state of slavery. And Paul III., in two separate briefs, inprecated a curse on the Europeans who should enslave Indians, or any other class of men. It even became usual for Spanish vessels, when they sailed on a voy- age of discovery, to be attended by a priest, whose benevo- HUMAN SLAVERY IN NEW ENGLAND. 411 lent duty it was to preA'ent the kidnaj^ping of the abori- gmes." * How wide the contrast between these humane sentiments of Pope Leo, and his Catholic children, and those of the early Puritans Avho enslaved the remnant of the Pequod tribe of Indians which had survived the caraage of Mason and his Puritan soldiers ! The only son of King Philip, whose father had fed, sheltered, and defended the first colonists in their time of need, Tvas kidnapped, sent to Bermuda in 1676, and sold as a slave. These are but a few of the instances which might be cited to illustrate the influence of Puritan civiliza- tion npon human slavery, and to mark the contrast l)etween the efforts of Catholic and Protestant Christianity in this di- rection. Let us ao-ain revert for a moment to the influence of Catholic civilization in Mexico in the seventeenth century, and compare it with that of Puritan civilization in North America at the same period. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain accepted the dominion of Mexico with the humane in- tention and solemn promise to the Bishoj) of Rome that they would hold this barbarous nation in trust for the purjDOse of Christianizing and civilizing its inhabitants. They dis- claimed all mercenary views, or any expectation of territorial aggrandizement in their acquisition. That these benevolent intentions might be fulfilled, priests accompanied every ex- pedition to Mexico, and always exercised their influence to restrain the adventurous soldiers of Spain from committing abuses upon the natives. From the first, slaver^^ was sternly denounced by the Church and her agents ; and although ava- ricious laymen have not unfrequently violated these humane injunctions, the efforts of the Catholic clergy, directed and controlled by the indomitable energy and the boundless be- nevolence of the glorious Las Casas, speedily effected the total abolition of Indian slavery throughout Mexico. That this pol- icy was sanctioned by Ferdinand and Isabella, is evident from the following fiict : The first voyages of Columbus were not remunerative ; and, as a consequence, many Spaniards * " History of the United States," vol. i., p. 172. 412 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. wlio Lad made heavy investments in his enter^^rise were dis- satisfied with the results. With a view to meet the appro- bation of these capitalists, Columbus during one of his voy- ages to Mexico, captured and carried to Spain a cargo of Indian slaves. These slaves were landed, taken to Sala- manca, and advertised to be sold at auction; but the intelli- gence reached the ears of Isabella, who at once put a stoj) to the sale, and sent them back in peace to their own country, declaring that these poor people had been intrusted to her by the holy father, for the purpose of Christianizing and civilizing them, and not to enslave them or to make money out of them. Long after Indian slavery had been abolished in Mexico, through the agency of Las Casas and his fellow-missionaries, Puritan Massachusetts was daily killing and enslaving the unfortunate Indians who dwelt in her vicinity. And while these Puritan civilizers were torturino; and hansfing: witches in Salem, the priests of the Catholic Church in Mexico had put a stoj) to all Aztec persecutions for witchcraft, and swept the dreadful superstition from the land. In 1'7'72 and '73, before the Revolution, before intolerant radicals of N'ew Engjland had commenced their insolent acci- tations and interference with the domestic affairs of the Southern States, and when calm reason alone influenced the people of all the slave sections, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Mason, all owners of slaves, earnestly advised Virginia to cease the existing traffic, and enter upon a process of gradual emancipation. Had ISlew England fanaticism never have existed, slavery would long since have been abolished in all the border States, by the spontane- ous action of the slave-owners themselves. We were in- formed by an aged and eminent judge of Kentucky, who had made " wills " his business specialty during the first thirty years of his professional career, that nearly every man who made a will at that early period, manumitted a part, and in many instances all of his slaves ; and he expressed the opin- ion, that if the spontaneous operations of the natural laws HUMAN SLAVERY IN NEW ENGLAND. 413 of humanity and justice had continued for thirty years longer, uninterrupted by the interference of New England agitators, slavery would have ceased to exist. Similar opinions have often been expressed by eminent men of the other border States. CHAPTEE XXXI. PURITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. Influence on Morals^ Manners^ and Politics. Foe more tlian one hundred years after the first settle- ment of New England, morality consisted in an adhesion to the dogmas of Calvinism, and a regular attendance at one of the orthodox churches on Sundays and festal days. Tow- ard each other these sectaries were not remarkably unjust or oppressive ; but toward all of different opinions, Avhether civilized or savage, they were intolerant, cruel, and in the liighest degree immoral, as we have shown in the last chapter. Socially these early men of the nation were cold, selfish, and unsympathetic. The affections and the emotions rarely found an abiding-place in their families. Pastimes, plays, spectacular representations, wit, humor, and mirth, were re- garded as sinful ; while a lugubrious face, a nasal articula- tion, and an assuri^ption of stern asceticism were j^assports to public favor. Bigotry and sullen moroseness Avere im- pressed upon every feature and every act of the Puritans, re- pelling frankness, geniality, and the more refined sentiments and emotions of the heart. In their estimation, a solemn expression and groans were indications of godliness ; while mirth and laughter were regarded as indices of ungodliness. These traits exercised a predominant influence over their descendants for nearly one hundred and fifty years, thus flooding the colonies with intolerant sectaries. But by this time many new immigrants had arrived from various j)arts of PURITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 415 Europe, bringing with them a variety of religious and social opinions. Gradually these new views were presented to tlie minds of the rising generations of Puritans, and their faith in Calvinistic fatalism was often rudely shaken. Their heredi- tary faith was indeed frequently disturbed ; but, unfortunately, instead of adopting a better religion, they generally rushed blindly into irreligion and atheism. When an outlet was once made for their pent-up bigotry, tlie raging current too often carried away every vestige of conscience and true re- ligion, leaving in their places rationalism, skepticism, deism, and atheism. From Calvinism to infidelity is but a short step. As the New England of the seventeenth and eighteenth centu- ries interpreted these dogmas, man was not a free agent, but a passive and helpless object. Instead of regarding their Maker as a Being of infinite love and mercy, their doctrines forced them to see in Him elements of partiality, injustice, and wanton cruelty ; and these perverted and sacrilegious ideas of the Infinite Fountain of love and goodness have ex- ercised a baneful influence upon the civilization of North America during the past two and a half centuries. This in- fluence may be witnessed at the present day, in the policy and conduct of the radicals of the United States. Intolerance and partisan persecution characterize all their exjn'cssions and actions. Not a single element of charity, benevolence, mag- nanimity, or justice enters into their composition. Under impulses of questionable patriotism and morality they have converted the halls of Congress into political gambling-houses, where the liberties and rights of the people are daily staked and imperilled in desperate struggles for jDartisan and sec- tional power. Nearly the entire socialistic and skeptical element of the nation is found in the ranks of radicalism. Their most active exponents belong to this class ot* men. A careful investiga- tion will demonstrate the instructive fact, that nearly every one of these individuals is either a native of New England or a direct descendant of the Puritans. A general belief in 416 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. tlie supernatural was a direct offsj^riug of Massachusetts Puritanism, as is evident from the colonial laws and penalties against witchcraft, and the horrible torturings and hangings of hundreds of innocent men, women, and children for reputed witchcraft during the height of Puritan power and influence. After Charles 11. laid his strong hand upon the bloodthirsty parsons of Salem and Boston, and their aiders and abetters, and prohibited them by a royal edict from any further perse- cutions of the unfortunate victims of their superstition or hatred, the dreadful phantom temporarily disappeared within the dark recesses of their hearts, where it remained latent for several generations. But in this nineteenth century, among the descendants and blood-relations of the same Puritans, the fiend has again made his appearance, and now holds his sway over millions of deluded individuals. The organizations and churches of these disorganizers extend all over the Northern, Middle, and Western States, and they can hail their adher- ents in Cabinet, Congress, press, pulpit, court, club, and every Avalk of life. Oj^posed to the Christian religion, de- nying the divine mission of Christ, and ever seeking to sub- vert the existing condition of morals and social order, these men have naturally attached themselves to the radical faction, as affording them the best opportunity of carrying out their innovating designs. In their ranks are many men of talent and literary culture, and their system of proselyting is in the highest degree insidious and Machiavellian. They will pre- sent you with profound maxims of philosophy, with beautiful o-ems from the classics, with rare and curious treasures from ancient lore, and pander to all your preconceived notions and prejudices but one. Unfortunately for the credulous victim, this one point of difference consists in his belief in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and the divinity of Christ. Every argument which ingenuity can devise is brought to bear to throw discredit upon the Bible, and to substitute for its sacred doctrines and commandments, the rationalistic ideas and practices of modern spiritualism. Other legitimate offspring of the Puritan system are, a rUBITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 417 great increase of tlie various forms of open and avowed rationalism and skepticism. The number of adherents and supporters of these various sects or classes in the United States has been estimated Vii five jnillions. In common with the spiritualists, nearly all these persons deny the divinity of Christ, and regard Ilis teachings as of less consequence tlian the maxims of Plato or Aristotle. Their elastic doc- trines are so framed that they can adapt themselves to every conceivable prejudice of the human mind, as well as to any given political or social condition. Tliese men are constantly indulging in Utopian schemes of progress. Measuring every thing in accordance with their own ideas of fitness, fancying defects in all existing arrangements, they are natu- rally innovators and disorganizers ; and, had they power, would reverse the laws of nature, overthrow all political, moral, and social order, and reorganize a world after a new and more radical pattern. So far as the Christian religion squares with their standards and their rational hypotheses, they tolerate and patronize it ; but in all cases where it fails to coincide with the " great moral ideas of Radicalism," it is sneered at and practically repudiated. "No candid man can contemplate the conduct of these rationalistic leaders and their allies, the radical parsons of the North, during the past six years, without instincti^'ely ranking them as "false teachers," "false prophets," and, practically, infidels. No one can call to mind the partisan frenzy of these eloquent lecturers, writers, and pulpit poli- ticians during the past few years, without shuddering at the demoralization and depravity of classes of men professing to be teachers of great moral ideas, and pastors of the Prince of Peace. During the very darkest period of the mediaeval ages, in the middle of the tenth century, when Normandy was attacked and subjugated by the heathen Norsemen under Polio, the vanquished Christians of France were treated by these wor- shippers of Thor and Odin with greater magnanimity and forbearance than the vanquished people of the Southern 18* 41 S CHRISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. States are treated by the radical Christians of this nineteenth century. The rude pirates from Denmark and Korway, after they had taken forcible possession of Rouen, Bayeux, and other cities and provinces of Normandy, and disarmed the native inhabitants, scorned to pursue with vengeance and oppression the unresisting Normans beyond simple sub- jugation and submission. They scorned to hold their pros- trate victims by the throat after war had ceased, under the pretext that they still harbored sentiments of hostility, and might not obey in all respects their conquerors. But the radical Christians of the present day entertain no such scru- ples respecting mercy, humanity, and forgiveness. Happy would it be for the subjugated South, as well as for the sta- bility of the Republic, could they exchange their ferocious and tyrannical conquerors of 1867 for Rollo and his barbarian hosts of 945. They would meet with more mercy at the hands of the heathen priests of Thor and Odin than from the pseudo-Christian ministers and legislators of modern radicalism. There would be some hope in the midst of our waning liberties, and steady decay of democratic and republican in- stitutions, were it not for the almost universal licentiousness and depravation of the people of the North. As in imperial Rome, after the downfall of the republic, the public senti- ment of this disunited nation has become corrupted and de- bauched. By means of a mercenary praetorian guard, the Cossars of the first two centuries of the Christian era were able to manipulate the debased Roman senates as tyranny dictated; while the unarmed and powerless Roman citizens were amused with the exciting displays of the Colosseum, the race-courses, and the temples of heathen worship and bac- chanalian revels. Here a corrupt and fanatical Congress, Avith the army at its back, rules both President and peoj)le, and, by unconstitutional and partisan enactments, they have firmly bound him and the nation in radical chains. Among the results which have already accrued from this partisan legislation are, the destruction of more than half a PUEITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 419 million of ignorant and helpless blacks by war, pestilence, and famine, and the probable extermination of the balance in a few generations. The red men of the United States are practically exterminated; and the black men will ere long meet the same fate. This is termed philanthropy and Christian civilization ; but impartial history will designate these acts as barbarous. As the degenerate Romans advanced toward their down- fall, laws were multiplied, and existing statutes altered and amended at the instigation of ambitious demagogues, until scarcely a trace of the original constitution of the republic could be recognized. Thus all respect for established laws gradually ceased, and the arbitrary will of the emperors, promulgated by subservient senates, was the only acknowl- edged law. The history of all nations demonstrates that the unnecessary multiplication of laws and official bureaux, with their attendant expenditures, invariably leads to na- tional corruption and ultimate decay. Similar events are now transpiring in the disrupted Re- public of North America. The great statesmen and patriots are all dead, and demagogues rule the destinies of the na- tion. The glorious Constitution, and the wise laws of the eminent statesmen and fxthers of the Republic have been so mutilated and perverted by the political Goths and Yandals at Washington, as scarcely to be recognized as the offspring of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Webster. The organic statutes which have presided over the Republic for nearly a century, and have conduced so highly to the general prosperity and happiness, are now being daily dese- crated and torn in fragments by political pigmies in the halls of Congress. Woe be to the nation when such men stand in the places of the departed statesmen and patriots of the past ! Woe be to those sections which have been subjugated and enslaved by these vindictive Congressional Neros ! God grant that a Clay or a Webster may soon appear, who will grapple with the political charlatans of a sectional Congress, and arrest the progress of fanaticism and national decay. 420 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS COHTLICTS. In some resj^ects the condition of America at the pres- ent time is similar to that which cursed England under Cromwell and the Long Parliament. In 1649 Puritanical radicalism reached its climax in England. The people clam- ored for a change of government, of laws, and of the consti- tution, as well as for the blood of the king and his friends. They sent Charles I. to the block, tampered with all the ancient landmarks of order, and public and private security, and altered and amended eveiy law, statute, and even the constitution itself, until the liberties of the people were anni- hilated. Efforts were made to restrict the very laws of na- ture by legal enactments, and the exuberant health and spir- its of the happy Englishman were barred up within their mortal enclosures, lest their escape should diffuse geniality and haj^piness. But Englishmen could not long submit to the Pharisaical si^irit and domination of these early radicals. In alluding to them Macaulay thus writes : " The fine arts were all but proscribed. The solemn peal of the organ was superstitious. The light music of Ben Jonson's masques was dissolute. Half the fine j^aintings in England Avere idola- trous, and the other half indecent. The extreme Puritan was at once known from other men by his gait, his garb, his lank hair, the sour solemnity of his face, the upturned white of his eyes, the nasal twang with which he spoke, and, above all, his peculiar dialect." * This canting " nasal t1\rang " is still a characteristic of Puritanism throughout New England, and among their de- scendants in all parts of the world. As in the days of Crom- well and his Roundheads, the Puritans are still "lank-haired," " nasal-tongued," Judas-visaged, and canting. In England a few years sufiiced to disgust the people with the mad fanat- icism of Cromwell and his partisan fixction, and to incline them to return to a reign of law, order, and justice. It was a happy day for England when her much-abused children repudiated the policy of Cromwell and his Long Parlia- *- " History of England," vol. i., p. 61. PUEITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 421 mciit, and restored to the throne their lawful sovereign, Charles H. These images are written in April, 1867, w^hen Nortliern radicalism is in the ascendant, while their reckless Congres- sional resolutions and amendments are subverting the exist- ing Constitution and laws, and while millions of treasure are being squandered in keeping up a Freedmen's Bureau, a large partisan army, and other useless organizations for the perpet- uation of the ruling party. But w^e venture a prediction. Ere long the apparent prosperity and the high values will prove to be fictitious, because founded on a monstrous and abnormal expansion of paper currency. The burdens of tax- ation are bearing heavily upon all classes, and the mountain of public debt rises higher and higher daily. The toiling laborer finds himself taxed for all the necessaries of life. jSTearly one-half his life's blood and his vitality arc forever pledged to pay taxes on an unjustly large national debt. While tens of thousands of farmers, mechanics, and day-la- borers are painfully toiling for bread for themselves and fam- ilies, deprived of most of the comforts and luxuries to which they were formerly accustomed, the first avails of their labors are seized by tax-gatherers to feed, clothe, and educate four millions of indolent blacks, and to sustain the expensive po- litical machinery of partisan radicalism. Paj^er expansion has unduly augmented every branch of trade and manufac- ture, until markets are overstocked and business has serious- ly declined. Financial troubles are imj^ending, and must ere long culnunate in a general suspension or diminution of commercial and industrial enterprises, and the legitimate consequences of want of employment, and distress and sutFer- ing among the laboring classes. Then will come the crash, riots, struggles for shelter, bread, and other necessaries of existence. Then will a deceived and injured j^eople be driven by hunger, want, and sufferings of all kinds, to seek out and grapple with the fimatical authors of their calamities. Then will a just retribution fall upon these political IsTeros who have robbed the Republic of her treasures and her liberties. 422 cnpjSTiANiTY AND rrs conflicts. The Frcucli Revolution, with its " reign of terror," was a simple and direct result of over-taxation. The expensive wars which Louis XIY. had waged with England and other countries had raised a large national debt ; and the corrup- tions of subsequent rulers only served to increase it until its burdens became intolerable to the workingmen of the king- dom. This excessive taxation, with its consequent suffer- ings, was the direct cause of the Revolution of 1789. The same cause and the same consequences may lead to a similar reaction in this country within the next few years. As the Romans of the emj^ire centralized their power in Rome, and held the surrounding nations Avhich their legions had conquered in slavish subjection as vassals, so have the American radicals of the present day centralized their power in Washington ; and they now hold in vassalage the van- quished people of the Southern States. After the present partisan madness shall have passed away, and reason again shall resume sway, the world will contemplate with amazement the acts which have been per- petrated in this pseudo-Republic by the dominant party during the past six years. The simple fiat of any one of the special tools of radicalism has been able at any time to oblit- erate practically the Constitution of "Washington and the fathers, and to substitute in its stead his own arbitrary and vindictive will. American citizens — men and women — have been torn from their families without cause, without process of law, and without accusation, and consigned to damp and deadly dungeons for months and years in blind obedience to the caprices or personal malice of individuals. Some of these victims have perished in prison, some are still in confinement, and others have been liberated with impaired constitutions — ■ innocent, unaccused, and impoverished. At the instigation of these partisans, all important elections have been held under military dictation, and the elective franchise has been converted into a bitter mockery. Entire regiments, crews of men-of-war, and communities have been forced, imder military coercion, to cast their votes at the dictation of radical ofiicers PURITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 423 and detectives. Every species of corruption, fj-aud, and intimidation has been brought to bear by tliese men, to pre- vent a free and fair expression of opinion at the ballot-box. Acts liave been committed by these politicians which no monarch of England could have perpetrated within the past five hundred years without the loss of his crown and his head.* The following graphic portraiture, by Lord Macaulay, of one of the monsters of the French Revolution of 1789, Ber- trand Barrere, applies so admirably to at least one of these radical partisans, that we quote it in this connection as a sin- gvJar phenomenon that two human beings so utterly depraved could exist within the space of a single centurJ^ The world will be at a loss in the attempt to decide as to which of tliese two creatures deserves the lowest degree of contempt and execration. As the scales of infamy are so evenly bal- anced between them, we shall express no opinion, but submit a brief delineation of the prominent traits of each individual, and refer the decision to the reader. After deliberate investigation of all the facts respecting Barrere, as presented in the " Memoires de Bertrand Barrere," published by M. Hippolyte Carnot, in Paris, 1843, Macau- lay thus writes : " Our opinion, then, is this : that Barrere approached nearer than any person mentioned in history or fiction, whether man or devil, to the idea of consummate and universal depravity. In him the qualities which are the proper objects of hatred, and the qualities which are the proper objects of contcmj^t, preserve an exquisite and absolute harmony. In almost every particular sort of wickedness he has had rivals There have been many men as cowardly as he, some as cruel, a few as mean, a few as impudent. There may also have been as great liars, though we never met with them or read of them. But when we put every thing together — sensuality, poltroonery, baseness, effrontery, * As an example of these tyrannical and fraudulent proceedings, we refer the reader to the arrest, imprisonment, and mock trial of Colonel Samuel North, Levi Cohn, and Marvin M. Jones, in the Presidential election of 1864. 424 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. mendacity, barbarity — the result is something which in a novel we should condemn as caricature, and to which, we venture to say, no parallel can be found in history. " It v\^ould be grossly unjust, we acknowledge, to try a man situated as Barrere was, by a severe standard. Nor have we done so. We have formed our opinion of him by comparing him, not with politicians of stainless character, not with Chancellor D'Aguesseau, or General Washington, or Mr. Wilberforce, or Earl Grey, but with his own colleagues of the Mountain. That party included a considerable num- ber of the worst men that ever lived ; but we see in it nothing like Barrere. Compared with him, Fouche seems honest; Billaud seems humane; Hebert seems to rise into dignity. * Every other chief of a party,' says M. Hippolyte Carnot, ' has found apologists ; one set of men exalts the Girondists ; another set justifies Danton ; a third deifies Robespierre ; but Barrere has remained without a defender.' We venture to suggest a very simple solution of this phenomenon. All of the other chiefs of parties had some good qualities, and Barrere had none. . . . This weakest and most servile of human beings found himself on a sudden an actor in a revolution which convulsed the whole civilized world. At first, he fell under the influence of humane and moderate men, and talked the language of humanity and moderation. But he soon found himself surrounded by fierce and resolute spirits, scared by no danger and restrained by no scruple. He had to choose whether lie v/ould be their victim or their accomplice. His choice Avas soon made. He tasted blood, and felt no loathing; he tasted it again, and liked it well. Cruelty be- came with him first a habit, then a passion, at last a madness. So complete and rapid was the degeneracy of his nature, that Vvathin a very few months after the time when he had passed for a good-natured man, he had brought himself to look on the despair and misery of his fellow-creatures with a glee resembling that of the fiends whom Dante saw watching the pool of seething pitch in Malebolge. Pie had many associates in guilt ; but lie distinguished himself from them all by the PUEITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 425 bacchanalian exultation which he seemed to feel in the work of death. He was drunk with innocent and noble blood, laughed and shouted as he butchered, and howled strange songs and reeled in strange dances amidst the carnage Having appalled the whole world by great crimes perpetrated under the pretence of zeal for liberty, he became the meanest of all the tools of despotism "Whatsoever things arc fiilse, whatsoever things are dishonest, whatsoever things are unjust, whatsoever things are impure, whatsoever things are hateful, whatsoever things are of evil report, if there be any vice, and if there be any infamy, all these things, we knew , were blended in Barrere Something more we had to say about him, but let him go ; we did not seek him out, and will not keep him longer. If those who call themselves his friends had not forced him on our notice, we should never have vouchsafed to him more than a passing word of scorn and abhorrence, such as we mii^ht flinor at his brethren Hebert and Fouquier Tinville, and Carrier and Lebon. We have no pleasure in seeing human nature thus degraded. We turn with disgust from the filthy and spiteful Yahoos of the fiction ; and the filthiest and most spiteful Yahoo of the fiction was a noble creature vfhen compared with the Barrere of history. But what is no pleasure M. Hippolyte Carnot has made a duty By attempting to enshrine this Jacobin carrion, he has forced us to gibbet it ; and v/e venture to say that from the eminence of infamy on which we have placed it, he Avill not easily take it down." * Thousands of persecuted and bereaved men, women, and children of the United States can rise up to-day, and in their impoverishment and wretchedness brand the radical tyrants of our epoch with the damning characters which the great English historian has so indelibly affixed to Barrere. All respectable individuals throughout the civilized Avorld, regard these modern American embodiments of the French Jacobin Committee of Public Safety — the Barreres, the Bobespierrcs, the St. Justs, the Couthons, the Collots, the Billauds of the * The "Works of Lord Macaulay, vol. viL, pp. 124, 203. 426 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. revolutionary tribunal of 1789 — with undisguised abhor- rence and execration. From their thrones emperors and kings can contemplate with contemptuous mockery an entire nation subjected to the despotic will and the crushing tyrannies of cowardly, treacherous, mendacious, and sangui- nary officials for years in succession. With infinite compla- cency they can contrast the innumerable arbitrary arrests and imprisonments which have occurred in this country dur- ing the past five years, with their own more just and merciful laws. They can hurl back upon us with justice, as well as with scorn the terms despotism, tyranny, usurpation, op" pression. In every one of the radical Jacobins of the French Revo- lution exce^Dt Barrere, Macaulay could find some redeeming trait, some germ of the better emotions of humanity. In like manner may be found some redeeming point in each of the sanguinary radicals of the American Revolution of 1861, except one. These two men will stand alone on the highest roll of infamy in the future pages of history. When Lord Macaulay sketched this portraiture of Barrere, he fully belicA^ed that he was the most infamous man of the world. But he was mistaken. One man had lived be- fore the French Revolution, and one has lived since, who are his peers in the characteristics enumerated by" the English writer. Every one will instinctively acknowledge this fact when he calls to mind the betrayer of the Saviour, and the radical Barrere of America. If any exception can be taken to this classification, it must be in favor of Judas, who had the grace to go and hang himself rather than survive his mon- strous iniquities. Robespierre, Marat, St. Just, Ilebert, Tinville, Danton, and even Barrere, all had their defenders among the radicals of the Mountain, during the French reign of terror; but Avhen the madness of the hour had passed away, the entire civilized world regarded them with execration and abhor- rence. So had Iscariot his defenders among the Pharisees of Caiaphas, for a single generation ; but since that j^eriod he rUlilTANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 427 lias been despised and detested by every Christian, Jew, Pagan, and Turk, in the universe. Nor is it impossible that even the Barrere of the j)resent day may have his defenders among tlie most shameless radical fanatics of tliis American reign of terror and despotism ; but wlien the present parti- san frenzy shall have subsided, and reason and justice again resume sway, he will be remembered by all mankind witli loathing, curses, and shuddering horror. We have drawn a pen-and-ink sketch. We leave it for tlie reader to find the original. At all events, when the present hideous despotism is ended, and the masses of the people shall have awakened from their j^olitical debauch, public opinion will trace on the world's tablet of crime tlie name of this monster in letters of blood. No one can peruse the history of the French reign of terror — its Committee of Public Safety, its Revolutionary Tri- bunal, its Bureau of Justice, its spy-system, audits Bastiles — without recognizing a perfect prototype in the recent radical reign of terror in the United States. The same desperate class of men were in possession of both governments, and sim- ilar acts of wanton atrocity and A'^indictiveness characterized both parties. If Jacobin France had her " Committee of Pub- lic Safety," presided over by such monsters as Robespierre, Barrere, St. Just, Couthon,Billaud, and Collot, radical Amer- ica also had her committee of public safety in the Committee on the Conduct of the War. When the verdict of posterity shall be rendered as to the comparative depravity and infamy of the two committees, humanity will shudder in awe and in silence on the rendition of the decision, but the imps of dark- ness will award the palm to the more modern one Avith acclamation. Under both of these reigns of terror, every citizen who presumed to dissent from the fanatical and san- guinary policy of the French Jacobins, or the American rad- icals— the party of the " Mountain," or the fiction of the "Rump" — was vililied, denounced, and mercilessly crushed by the mad fiends in power. The most exalted abilities, the most perfect competency, the highest personal excellence, 428 CHEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. were no protection against their malignant attacks. The most noble, talented, and pure were special objects of both Jacobin and radical vengeance. Contrast the Jacobin bureau of military justice, under the auspices of Marat, Danton, and Tinville, with the American radical bureau of military justice. Both were organized for purposes of jDartisan and personal vengeance, both were con- trolled by the vilest leaders of the several factions, both were manipulated by the mercenary and unscrupulous agents of the desperate leaders, both were bitter mockeries of justice, honor, and the very decencies of society. Both attempted to palliate their atrocious acts under the plea of extreme public danger, and the necessity of prompt and summary measures. Both perpetrated their judicial enormities in the name of liberty. Both had their public accusers and judge-advocates, and botli were organized to convict. If we examine the laws of evidence which were adopted by both the French Jacobin and the American radical revolutionary tribunals, we shall find that the latter was almost an exact copy of the former. Lord Macaulay thus sums up the prominent parts of this novel legal code : " The substantive law was simply this, that whatever the tribunal should think pernicious to the republic was a capital crime. The law of evidence was simply this, that what satisfied the jurors was sufficient proof. The law of procedure was of a piece With every thing else. There was to be an advocate against the prisoner, and no advocate for him. It was ex- pressly declared that if tlie jurors were in any manner con- vinced of the guilt of the prisoner, they might convict him without hearing a single witness." * If we turn to the Jacobin spy-system under the control of the infamous Fouclie, an organization established by Ro- bespierre and his Committee of Public Safety, for the exj^ress purjDose of dogging the steps of personal enemies, and, under the pretext of military necessity, of arresting them arbitrarily, and sliutting them up in French prisons, or sending them to * The "Works of Lord Macaulay, vol. vii., p. 174. PUEITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 429 the giullotinc, we shall also find its counterpavt in the late American revolution. It was not easy to find in America a man with the peculiar qualities requisite to manage this dia- bolical institution. But in time an individual floated to the surface, and the hideous engine was placed in working or- der. To enumerate the many crimes, the suppression of Democratic presses, the arbitrary arrests, the persecutions, llie torturings, the imprisonments, and the destruction of pri- vate fortunes, health, and life, which have occurred under this atrocious spy-system, would sicken and disgust every true American. The records of these inhumanities will forever stand as a monument for the curses and execration of future ages ; and the names of the cowardly miscreants who insti- gated them, in common with those of their Jacobin j^roto- types of the French reign of terror, will be shuddered at by all future readers of history. Now, after the radical reign of terror is partially over, after untold miseries have been wrought upon thousands of innocent victims, the supreme judicial tribunal of the nation has pronounced the entire pro- ceedings unconstitutional and arbitrary. But the personal and partisan vengeance of half a score of radical malignants, has been glutted to satiety ; they can gloat over the wrecks, the ruin, the wretchedness which they have caused, and still hold up their heads in mockery and defiance, because a hu- miliated and depraved people has not yet dared to subject them to the infamy and the penalties Avhich are their due. But, ere long, the crisis of Thermidor will come ; the legiti- mate fruits of radical misrule will manifest themselves in financial and commercial disasters, in the paralyzation of in- dustry, and in sufferings of all kinds. Then will a reaction occur, and the authors of these calamities will be dragged forth by a starving and enraged populace to receive their reward. For, let it not be supposed that the evils of the tyrannical usurpation to which we have alluded will termi- nate with the revolution itself. Thes^ evils are not yet fully developed ; a sufficient time has not yet elapsed to allow the festering gangrene of Northern radicalism to pervade all the 4:30 CIIEISTIANITY AND ITS CONFLICTS. ramifications of society. The reaction from the great revo- lutionary fever is not yet strongly pronounced; but signs of weakness are everywhere apparent — signs which point to eventual prostration and possible decay. The evils which Macaulay has attributed to the French Revolution may with equal justice be applied to our own : " We could, we think, also show that the evils produced by the Jacobin administration did not terminate when it fell; that it bequeathed a long series of calamities to France and to Euroj^e ; that public opinion, which had during two gen- erations been continually becoming more and more favorable to civil and religious freedom, underwent, during the days of terror, a change of which the traces are still to be distinctly perceived. It was natural that there should be such a change, when men saw that those who called themselves the cham- pions of popular rights had compressed into the space of twelve months more crimes than the kings of France — Merovingian, Carlovingian, and Capetian — had perpetrated in twelve cen- turies And so, in politics, it is the same law that every excess shall generate its opposite ; nor does he deserve the name of a statesman who strikes a great blow without fully calculating the effect of the rebound." * What was the result of this " rebound " after the Jacobin revolution ? A universal clamor for a monarchy, for a strong and consolidated government, for a restraint upon the un- bridled passions of individuals. What was the result of the rebound after the revolution of Cromwell and his Round- heads in England ? An overwhelming demand for Charles II. and the monarchical system. In self-defence, for security of person and property, to obtain order, tranquillity, justice, and 2^ros])erity, the j^eople with one accord denounced the revolutionary agitators, and flew from the destructive ex- periments of political visionaries and fanatics to kings and monarchies. What has been thus far the effect of the re- bound after our own revolution ? A subversion of the Con- stitution, an overthrow of the executive and judicial branches * The Works of Lord Macaulay, vol. vii., pp. 199, 200. PDEITANISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 431 of the government, and a consolidation of power in the liands of a sectional faction and a sectional Con