lilllilUlliltliiilii! i PROTESTANTISM iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" A. HOB SON BX 4810 .H7 1917 Hobson, Alphonzo Augustus Positive Protestantism I . ' Positive Protestantism Positive Protestantism NOV 16 191 A Concise Statement of the Histort^i^^^.,^ ^^^, Origins^ the Positive Affirmations^ and thi Present Position of Protestantism By A. AUGUSTUS HOBSON, PH. D. Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waltham, Mass. COMPLETE EDITION THE GRIFFITH AND ROWLAND PRESS Philadelphia Boston St. Louis Los Angeles Chicago New York Toronto Copyright 1917 by GUY C. LAMSON. Secretary Published October, 191 7 DEDICATED TO ALL EARNEST INQUIRERS AFTER THE TRUTH PREFACE This book grew out of a series of sermons on '' Protestant Affirmations." The writer had so many requests to suggest a book which would pre- sent the origin, principles, and prospects of Prot- estantism that he made a diligent search for such. Inability to find a book covering this entire field led to the determination to write one. There are many histories, many theologies, many controver- sial works, but so far as he could discover no posi- tive constructive statement treating all the field and showing Protestantism as it is to-day. It is the author's hope that this little book may fill the need. Many pastors may find it a useful book to have ready to give inquirers upon this subject. Much more could have been written upon the various matters treated. The purpose of the author to meet the need of the ordinary reader rather than of experts has guided in the selection of the material. Into the Appendix has been put a considerable amount of valuable evidential material to which many thoughtful readers will wish to refer, but which could not be included in the body of the book without too greatly retarding the movement of thought. The historical statement has been made vii viii Preface especially brief, since if longer statements are de- sired they are readily accessible. Credit should be given to most of the books cited in the Book-list, but the author desires to make special mention of his indebtedness in historical discussion to T. M. Lindsay and to H. C. Vedder. In the discussion of the doctrinal matters great indebtedness to C. A. Von Hase and F. H. Foster should be acknowledged. CONTENTS Chapter Page Introduction xi PART I Historical Origins of Protestantism I. The World Situation Before the Reformation 3 II. The Lutheran Movement 14 III. The Reformed Churches 25 IV. The Anabaptist Movement 38 V. The Counter-Reformation 45 PART II Protestant Affirmations of Christian Truth I. Agreements and Disagreements 57 11. Salvation : By Faith or Law ? 64 III. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? . . 80 ix Contents Chapter Page IV. Protestant Conception of the Func- tion AND Authority of the Church io8 V. Romanist Deformities and Protestant Implications 153 PART III The Present Protestant Situation I. The Nature and Extent of the Divi- sions OF Protestantism 187 II. The Unity and Cooperation of Prot- estantism 219 III. The Prospects of Protestantism 239 Appendix 257 Book-list for Reference and Study . . . 302 Index 3^5 INTRODUCTION The increase in the number and aggressiveness of Roman Catholics in this country has raised anew, especially for the popular mind, the question as to the differences of Romanism and Protestantism. This situation and the apparently growing considera- tion of a reunion of Christendom demands a clear understanding of the two branches of the church. The present statement is to proceed chiefly from the point of view of positive affirmation, and will consequently show how false is the more or less frequent assertion that Protestantism is only nega- tive as the word " Protestant '* implies. The aim will be less at controversy than at exposition, more at making Protestantism clear than at proving Ro- manism wrong, though in the nature of the case the very setting forth of Protestantism in contrast to Romanism involves some refutation. Such an exposition should be presented in view of the fact that Protestantism has developed since its early stages. Accordingly, the principles underlying the actions and teachings of the reformers are to be set forth as they have come to be grasped and applied to-day, rather than as they have been understood in the past. Thus, aiming at a positive modern state- xi xii Introduction ment of Protestantism the discussion will seek to avoid the spirit and terms of academic theology, and to treat the subject in the interest of the ordi- nary man who desires personal light as to the re- ligious significance of Protestantism. The three main considerations requiring exposi- tion are the historical origins of Protestantism, the positive Protestant affirmations of religious truth, and the present status of Protestantism. Parti l)i$toricdl Origins of Protestantistn CHAPTER I THE WORLD SITUATION BEFORE THE REFORMATION With astonishing rapidity the aim of Jesus' last command, which bade the disciples go everywhere with the gospel (Matt. 28 : 19, 20), was achieved in many places throughout the Roman Empire. The apostles and their companions went from place to place, and especially to the great centers of influence and power, with the message of Jesus the Messiah. Those who were led to accept Jesus as the Christ were baptized and gathered in groups to worship and to learn more of " the way " of the gospel. The ideas of the gospel and the church were quite simple. The emphasis lay upon the spiritual and practical as opposed to the external and theoretical sides of religion. Personal faith in Christ, issuing in a life worthy of such faith, was the heart of the gospel. There was little organization. The minis- ters were of two kinds. Each church had pastors, sometimes several, who were called by the inter- changeable titles of " bishop " or " elder," and there were also deacons who relieved the pastors of cer- tain tasks. No particular ritual was universally used. Public worship consisted in prayer, praise, preaching, and the reading of the Old Testament Scriptures, and such books of the New Testament 3 Positive Protestantism as chanced to be possessed. The Lord's Supper was observed, sometimes as often as every week. With this simpHcity in teaching, worship, and organiza- tion the early church spread itself throughout the Roman Empire. The departure from this simplicity came through the influence of ideas which permeated the whole pagan world, and in a great measure had a place in Judaism, in the midst of which and out of which the Christian church was growing. Everywhere sav- ing eflicacy was ascribed to religious ceremonies, and special prerogatives and powers were regarded as inhering in orders of priests. Under the influ- ence of ritualism and priestism, baptism, used at first as the sign of faith and the entrance into the Christian community, came to be regarded as the indispensable means of initiation into the Chris- tian life. Under the same influence the Lord's Supper ceased to be thought of as merely a me- morial meal and developed into a ceremonial vehi- cle of grace. The freedom of early Christian teach- ing suffered a partial eclipse, and all doctrine had to square with the " rule of faith " or accepted church tradition. The office in the church which had been designated by the identical but inter- changeable titles " presbyter " (elder) and " bishop " (pastor) became two distinct offices, of which the bishopric was the superior. The entire body of ministers came to be regarded as a sacerdotal order with the special privileges and powers of a priest- The World Before the Reformation 5 hood. The church itself came to be thought of as a saving ecclesiastical institution, outside of which there was no real communion with God and conse- quently no salvation. One of the elements of the development continued in a most natural way and to astonishing limits. The bishop in his first differentiation from the pres- byter was superior only in his own local church. By a further step a bishop in a great city gradually ac- quired a dominating influence over the bishops of other lesser churches, both in his own city and in surrounding regions. This predominance of influ- ence was after a while recognized as absolute au- thority. A further and similar process of exalting certain of these preeminent bishops followed, until the bishops of such great centers as Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Rome were regarded as having at least moral authority and power over lesser bishops. By the time of the Council of Nice (A. D. 325) the episcopate was quite fully devel- oped, with the four just mentioned above others and on a par with one another. Gradually, after the division of the Roman Em- pire, the bishops of Rome and Constantinople, the seats respectively of the Western and Eastern Em- pires, attained a preeminence over all others because of their location in the centers to which men's minds were accustomed to turn for advice, leadership, and authority. After the fall of Rome (A. D. 476), when the political power which had controlled the Positive Protestantism world for so long came to an end, the bishop of Rome, or the pope as he had come to be called, naturally secured a great increase of veneration as the chief personage in this ancient center of leader- ship and authority. Even the Council of Chalcedon (A. D. 451), conceding equal privileges to Constan- tinople and Rome, recognized the bishop of Rome as having some superiority because he was at Rome. In the absence of a strong political power in the West, the papacy, the one strong social institution, was increasingly looked to for the security of so- ciety. Successive popes tried to increase this aug- mented veneration into an actual authority over the whole church. After centuries of struggle between the popes and temporal rulers of the world, and also between the popes and patriarchs of Constanti- nople, the papacy, claiming to be the successor not only of Peter, but also of the Roman Empire, be- came the supreme ruling power of the West, though the Eastern Church never recognized the universal supremacy and authority of the pope. The height of Rome's power was reached under Gregory VII (1073-1085), and it continued for a long time after without successful opposition. The supremacy of the popes was built up very largely on the basis of certain forged documents^, 1 These were the Pseudo-Clementine Letters and Homilies (second century), the Donation of Constantine (fourth century), and the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals (ninth century). For their admitted snuriousness see the Catholic Encyclopedia and R. J. Miller, p. 168. The full title of Miller's book, as well as of all others referred to hereafter, may be found in the Book-list, pp. 302, 303. The World Before the Reformation 7 which appeared from time to time, and whose spu- riousness is now admitted even by Romanists, though the supremacy built on the spurious founda- tion is still claimed. The arguments from the forged documents were buttressed by taking actual de- crees of small significance and developing gradually their interpretation to the desired support of the papal claims. After long periods these developed interpretations gained acceptance. These legal con- siderations found supplementary support in the trend of popular thinking. Certain tendencies of popular religion grew until " no good Catholic doubted that in spiritual matters the clergy were the divinely appointed superiors of the laity, that this power proceeded from the right of the priests to celebrate the sacraments, that the pope was the real possessor of this power and was far superior to all secular authority." - This popular conception was most important, since the fear of the people com- pelled temporal rulers to yield to the pope's dicta- tions of policy and interference with governments. It was likewise at the foundation of the papacy's control of the entire church. In this situation only one authority raised itself above the pope — the general council. Such a coun- cil was composed of all of the bishops of the world, and was called from time to time to settle disputes which arose in the church. But even the authority of the general council over the pope came to be dis- -Harnack, "History of Dogma," VI, 13211., Eng. translation. Positive Protestantism puted before the Reformation, so that as that period approached the pope was beginning to assert his absolute superiority. This supremacy of the papacy was destined to be undermined by forces which before the time of the Protestant Reformation had been working for several centuries. One set of these forces was political. The actual limits of Christendom had be- come very much confined. The more important part of the jurisdiction of the Eastern Church was overrun by Mohammedans. Constantinople fell be- fore them in 1453. From this time the fear of the Turk played no unimportant part in European af- fairs and later in the Protestant movement. Again, in the countries which were most intimately con- nected with the Reformation, a consciousness of na- tionality, with a consequent tendency to national consolidation, had proceeded quite far in displacing the license, lawlessness, and weakness of the feudal system under which medieval life had so long ex- isted. Already England, Spain, and France had been made nationally compact, and this national con- solidation confronted the papacy with new and strong forces. On the other hand, while in Ger- many and Italy the nationalizing tendency was less markedly developed, yet the influence of many strong principalities and free cities tended away from the absolutism of the papacy. These political developments manifest one side of a new consciousness which was arising in the The World Before the Reformation 9 world. The dawning of this consciousness is called the Renaissance. The ideas and modes of thought of the medieval times were passing over into those of the modern period. True scientific methods be- gan to be applied in the study of nature. Geo- graphical exploration settled the question as to the shape of the earth. Expansion of trade brought a new spirit. The rise of new nations raised the es- timate of the worth of the individual citizen. The fall of Constantinople scattered throughout western Europe some men who sold ancient manuscripts and other classical treasures, and others who taught Greek and Latin, so that an immense impetus was added to the wide-spread awakening of learning. The invention of printing and the development of the manufacture of paper made this learning ac- cessible to a great many. Through the schools and universities the spirit of the Renaissance spread and also had a wide and decided influence upon the masses. The university leaders are known as Humanists. The religious situation naturally claimed their at- tention, and many of them agitated for plainly needed reforms. Such agitation had been going on in many regions a long time before the Reforma- tion. In Italy, the fate of Savonarola, who was hanged and burned !May 23, 1498, served to em- phasize the improbability of any reform coming from within the hierarchy. Yet the Humanists of all lands continued to preach a moral renewal, and 10 Positive Protestantism the application of the existing church laws to the acknowledged ecclesiastical evils and abuses. Co- let in England and Erasmus on the Continent held up to scorn the debased rehgious life of the times, and denounced the Judaism and paganism of the people. The effect of Humanism, though not of itself great enough to bring about reform, was a helpful addition to the impetus toward reforma- tion. Another current of impelling forces inhered in the wide-spread popular unrest. The masses, feel- ing not only the oppressions of the church, but also the burden of their unhappy political and economic situation, were discontented. The social unrest was similar in nature and extent to that of the present time. Then as now there was a great in- crease in the wealth and luxurious living of the privileged classes and of the more prosperous among the middle classes, without any corresponding cessa- tion of the hardships and poverty of the remainder of mankind. Socialistic movements sprang up everywhere during this period. Some of Luther's statements, and the utterances of the most radical Anabaptists, met a ready response because they seemed to express the popular hope for social im- provement. The popular unrest, however, was more religious than social. Several elements of the religious situa- tion helped the spread of the Reformation. The essential characteristic of the religious life was The World Before the Reformation ii simple family piety, and this furnished fertile soil for the seed of such preachers as Luther. Men were also beginning to suspect in a vague way the claim that salvation could be secured through the grace which the church alone could bestow. They felt the heavy burden of the ecclesiastical exploitation of superstitious fears and of meeting ecclesiastical requirements. Pilgrimages, praying to the saints and worshiping them, the cult of Mary by which Jesus' mother became of more importance than Christ himself, the buying of indulgences for sin, and many similar practices were the outstanding features of church life. A simpler way to God, freed of superstitious fears, such as the Reform- ers preached, was a door of hope. In Germany, and in the more remote communities of several countries which had felt the influence of previous attempts at a restoration of New Testament religion, and which were to become the harvest-fields of Ana- baptist successes, there were many people pious at heart yet opposed to the church. The Brethren, who were the Nonconformists of that time, were actu- ally organized in societies of their own, though these were not legally or ecclesiastically recognized as churches. They naturally vv^elcomed the Refor- mation. The impulsion toward the Reformation was aug- mented by the common knowledge of the corrup- tions in the Church, and especially in the Roman Curia. The facts in the case are admitted by 12 Positive Protestantism Romanists.^ The scandalous life of some of the popes was the talk of Europe. Their luxurious and profligate living was naturally copied by many of lesser position. Celibacy had proved a wretched fail- ure and was commonly unobserved by priests. For- malism was the inevitable result of this insincerity and viciousness. Moreover, the financial corruption of the church was all but beyond belief. Aside from the needs of the luxurious manner of Hfe of the papal court, the governing of the papal states * de- manded immense revenues. These were secured from tithes, numerous systems of fees, sales of in- dulgences, special privileges, and ecclesiastical of- fices, which last were often created for the sole pur- pose of being sold. Even the papacy itself was believed to have been bought by the highest bidder in more than one instance. In Luther's day the time was well remembered when three popes were anathe- matizing one another from dififerent ecclesiastical capitals, and all three had to be deposed by a general council. The connection of such a family as the Borgias with a Christian institution is hardly con- ceivable, and the presence of any of them in the papal chair or the college of cardinals, as was the case, seems incredible, since practically every crime on the calendar may be justly charged to one or 3 See Pastor's " Lives of the Popes," a Roman Catholic work exe- cuted under special permission of Leo XIII. * The popes were rulers of certain parts of Italy as local sover- eigns. This local sovereignty was of a nature different from the supremacy claimed by popes over all rulers. The World Before the Reformation 13 another of them. These and numerous similar facts were the basis of the opinion commonly held at the time of the Reformation that the unreforrned papacy was the open sore of Europe, and were also the ground of the execrations of the papacy uttered by almost every contemporary writer.^ It was but natural, therefore, that men's minds were expecting a change, and were only awaiting the leadership which would bring about that change. ^ The Romanist theologian ]Moehler puts the situation thus: "Prot- estantism arose partly out of the opposition to much that was un- deniably bad and defective in the church," (" Symbolism," p. 9.) CHAPTER II THE LUTHERAN MOVEMENT The Reformation was that aspect of a great world movement which focused fermenting force upon the church and rehgion. It was not confined to any one country, nor was it the achievement of any one man. Yet in Germany, and in a measure in all Europe, Luther was the preeminent figure. Luther was born of poor peasant parents in 1483. Through the great sacrifice of his father and mother he was able to study for the legal profession. He graduated with high honors, and in 1505 received the master's degree. Occupied with his education, he could, nevertheless, not escape the most pressing question of his time, " How can I be saved ? " Greatly troubled at the state of his own soul, he suddenly decided in the midst of a fearful thunder- storm that he would enter a monastery and by good works make sure of his personal salvation. A year later he was consecrated a monk. The result was tragic. The most painstaking conformity to the requirements of the Augustinian Order, which he had joined, brought no peace of mind. He continually troubled his superior with his doubts as to his salvation. He became noted for 14 The Lutheran Movement 15 his sincere endeavor to meet every ecclesiastical re- quirement. John Stanpitz, the Vicar-general of the Augustinians, noticed the emaciated frame, the gleaming eye, and the settled look of despair on the face of the earnest young monk, and urged Brother Martin to read the Scriptures. He explained to Luther a truly evangelistic view of how to secure spiritual peace. He declared that, in spite of the contrast between God's righteousness and a sinner's sin, it was wrong not to trust the heavenly Father with a personal faith that would issue in such fel- lowship with God as could not doubt his promises of forgiveness. Luther studied the New Testament, and finally the truth for which he had been seeking broke upon him like a new revelation as he was reading Paul's letter to the Romans. With the words, " The just shall live by faith," spiritual peace came. Luther was now convinced on the basis of the Scripture that salvation comes not through con- formity to ecclesiastical requirements, but through the free grace of God mediated by man's faith or confidence in God as Father. The experience in which this conviction was crystallized came to be the foundation of his subsequent activities and teaching. Not long after Luther had secured spiritual peace he was called by Staupitz to become a teacher in the university recently established at Wittenberg by Frederick, Elector of Saxony. He attracted wide attention, and by the freshness and incisiveness of 1 6 Positive Protestantism his presentation of Christian truth drew to the university a large number of students. Though Luther was still a loyal son of the church, a partial revelation as to the significance of his growing ideas was given him by a journey to Rome. He was deeply shocked by the licentiousness and other wickedness of the papal city, and came to realize, in some measure at least, the futility of some of the practices of the church which were supposed to secure spiritual advantages. His consequent doubt and perplexity unquestionably led him further into the study which resulted in the convictions that were to startle all Europe. It was the announcement by Rome of a new sale of indulgences that led to Luther's public statement against Romanism. The pope was badly in need of funds, and was willing to grant for a payment of money indulgence for past and future sins. Aside from any aspersion upon the principles of Roman- ism, the conducting of this sale was the crudest possible exploiting of the people's superstitious fears. The priest Tetzel, who had charge of the sale in Germany, presented the appeal most grossly, as, for instance. Cardinal Gibbons admits. Luther, himself a man of the people, was enraged that the masses were being deceived in the sacred matter of religion. As Tetzel drew near to the borders of the Elector's domain, from which he had been debarred by Frederick, Luther began to preach against the efficacy of indulgences and to set forth that only The Lutheran Movement 17 personal faith could save men. Finally, on October 31, 1 5 17, he nailed his famous ninety-five theses on the church door at Wittenberg. These theses, formally considered, were merely proposed points for debate, but they nevertheless revealed Luther's positive contentions as to indul- gences, and they constituted a real attack upon the Roman Church, its practices and teachings. The theses attracted at once the eye of the public. They v^^ere printed, and the monk professor was amazed that copies were immediately sold far and wide, and astonished that his popularity extended to all parts of Germany and his fame throughout the world. He had given forceful and clear expression to what multitudes of men had more or less vaguely been feeling and thinking. He had struck the spark which was to fire Christendom. Rome resented the theses and demanded Luther's presence at the papal court. Secure in the protec- tion of the Elector Frederick, who was disposed favorably to his successful university professor, Luther remained at Wittenberg. Rome then chal- lenged him to a public disputation at Leipzig. The ideas of John Wyclif, put forth in England nearly one hundred and fifty years prior to this time, had been elaborated and firmly taught by John Hus in Bohemia. Hus was burned at the stake by the Council of Constance in 141 5, and his heresies were execrated by all Roman Christendom. To connect Luther with Hussism and thus to discredit him Positive Protestantism before Europe as a heretic was the purpose of John Eck, his Romanist antagonist. Eck succeeded in convincing the papal court of this connection, and also in arousing Luther to a realization that his ideas did coincide in some measure with the teach- ings of Hus, and were inherently hostile to certain positions of Rome. Nevertheless, Luther lost little if any prestige among those who already sympa- thized with him. The disputation at Leipzig led Luther to see that he was going beyond a mere criticism of the excres- cences of Romanism. His stimulated study resulted in clearer and stronger convictions, which he set forth, together with their practical implications, in sermons, pamphlets, letters, and treatises. Printed copies of these flooded the land, and were eagerly read by all classes of people in Germany and in other parts of Europe. The strength of the Refor- mation movement accordingly increased. Meanwhile Rome issued a bull excommunicating Luther. In that age such a bull, followed by the ban calling upon all Christian princes to inflict punish- ment, was a thing of power. Luther never quailed, but before an assembled crowd burned the bull at Wittenberg. Thus this monk, a few years before lit- tle known, challenged the mightiest power in the world. At this challenge a thrill ran throughout Chris- tendom. Mighty monarchs had before this burned papal bulls, but never had a poor monk, apparently The Lutheran Movement 19 unsupported save by his own faith, dared such a thing. But Luther received support at once. Ger- man universities refused to pubhsh the bull. The common people and some of the princes were ready to stand by the courageous monk, who now became a national hero. The Elector Frederick resolved to give his university professor protection. Luther was for the time-being safe. The death of Emperor Maximilian changed the situation. King Charles of Spain was elected to the vacancy. He called the diet composed of represen- tatives of the empire to meet at Worms in 1521. On account of the German princes and people, Charles did not dare to proceed summarily against Luther as the papal emissaries desired. Luther was summoned to appear at the diet, and was promised a safe-conduct to and from Worms. His friends, fearing that Charles would be no more faithful to this promise than had Emperor Sigismund to his pledge to Hus a hundred years before, advised the monk to remain safely at Wittenberg. But Luther courageously set out upon his journey, and received a popular ovation along the entire distance. He out- maneuvered the papal legates and the emperor who wished to make him simply recant or admit his guilt, and succeeded in getting a hearing for himself, though not a trial. His concluding words exactly expressed his spirit and have become immortal : " It is impossible for me to recant unless I am proved to be in the wrong by the testimony of Scripture or by 20 Positive Protestantism evident reasoning ; I cannot trust either the decisions of councils or of popes, for it is plain that they have not only erred, but have contradicted each other. My conscience is bound by the word of God, and it is neither safe nor honest to act against one's con- science. I cannot and will not retract.* Here stand I ; I can do no other. God help me ! " ^ By this stand Luther defied the mighty emperor, the pope's champion, as well as the pope himself. Yet Charles, faithful to the pledge of a safe-con- duct, and probably fearing the princes and people of Germany, permitted Luther to leave Worms un- harmed. Then the world was startled by the news that the monk had disappeared. The wildest rumors were rife. In fact, Luther had been seized by the secret order of the Elector Frederick and taken for safe-keeping to the Wartburg Castle. Here Luther remained for nearly a year, clad as a knight and known as Junker Georg. He spent his time translat- ing the Old Testament Scriptures into German, and in preparing publications which greatly helped his cause. Meanwhile the ban of the empire was promul- gated. Luther's books were burned, but this re- sulted in the printing of greater numbers which were carried all over Europe. The edict really fanned the flame of interest in Luther's cause, and in Germany it was openly flouted. In a few years 1 See D'Aubigne, " History of the Reformation," Vol. II, Bk. VII, Chap. VIII. The Lutheran Movement 21 the sweep of the Lutheran movement was so great that it ceased to be identified with the personal for- tunes of Luther, though he remained the preeminent leader until his death. Repeated attempts by both pope and emperor to settle the trouble in Germany having failed, the diet met at Speyer in 1524. Here began the separation between the Protestant and Romanist groups of princes and cities of Germany. The south German princes were held loyal to Rome by certain conces- sions, and by the fear of the " tumult " which they thought the Lutheran movement was arousing. This separation became permanent after the Peas- ants' war, which came about four years after the Diet at Worms as the explosion of the social un- rest. From this time the record of the Reformation is largely the story of the struggle of the Protes- tant princes and the emperor. This contest continued for nearly thirty years. The Protestant princes struggled for recognition of the Protestant contentions, as defined from time to time by the Protestant theologians, and for ac- knowledgment of the right of the Protestant churches as such to exist. Charles would have wel- comed a reformation of the whole church, but could not be reconciled to anything short of a single or- ganization of all Christendom under the absolute authority of the pope. From time to time he was prevented from working his will in Germany by the strength of the Protestant princes, his complica- 22. Positive Protestantism tions with his enemies Hke Francis of France, his wars with the pope and others, and the menace of the Turk. He called meetings of the diet a number of times, expecting to settle the controversy through this agency.^ Later he tried without success to force upon the people compromise creeds. He suc- ceeded finally in having the pope call a general council, which met in 1545,^ but this council, be- cause of its control by the pope, failed to bring a solution. Finally the emperor resorted to war, for he repudiated the authority of the Council of Trent and was at his last resource. For the first few years Charles was completely victorious, and German Protestantism seemed about to be snuffed out. Then the political situation changed. War was re- newed, and Charles was badly defeated. He fled (1552) and barely escaped by a few hours. He had dismally failed in Germany, and a little later handed over affairs there to a regent. In 1555 the diet met at Augsburg, where a permanent peace was arranged such as might have been had at any time within the preceding thirty years had it not been for Charles' obstinacy. By the peace of Augsburg " it was agreed that the Lutheran religion should be legalized within the empire, and that all Lutheran princes should 2 At the meeting at Speyer, in 1529, the Protestant princes brought in a protest against the rescinding of an action taken at a ^former meeting. This protest gave rise to the name " Protestant." The protest was not entirely a religious document, and was far from an adequate statement of Protestantism. But the nickname stuck. 3 The council continued its meetings until 1563. The Lutheran Movement 23 have full security for the practice of their faith ; that the medieval episcopal jurisdiction should cease within their lands, and that they were to retain all ecclesiastical possessions." Romanist rulers were not to be molested, and rulers of neither party were permitted to change their religious affiliation. The people of a given section must follow the religion of their ruler. Accordingly, the then existing status was made permanent, and the south German states were permanently saved to Romanism. The diet recognized the Augsburg Confession, which had been made by Protestant theologians in 1530, as the standard of Lutheran doctrine. This victory does not seem so tremendous, judged by modern and especially American standards. " It may be said with truth that there was less freedom of conscience under the Lutheran territorial system of churches and also under the Roman Catholic Church reorganized under the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent than there had been in the medieval church." The peace of Augsburg confined itself to the adherents of the Augsburg Confession, not including even the Swiss Protestants. But for that age it was a great victory, and it was the first step, if only a short one, to the religious liberty of Europe. It was the first permanently effective blow to the absolutism of the pope. Lutheranism had now extended itself throughout Germany except in the southern provinces, where also it was not without many adherents. It had 24 Positive Protestantism exerted a great influence in practically every land of Western Christendom. Moreover, the Lutheran Reformation had legally established itself in Den- mark, Norway, and Sweden long before Luther's death. The positive ideas contributed by Lutheranism were: (i) That salvation and religious life de- pend essentially upon personal trust in God rather than upon the dispensation of divine grace through the ecclesiastical machinery; (2) that the faith of any individual gives him access to the Father of all immediately, even without the mediation of a spe- cially ordained priesthood; and (3) that the church is not to be controlled as a whole by the pope as ab- solute head, but by believers themselves, nation by nation, though in connection with and under the con- trol of the state. The application of these princi- ples by Lutherans resulted in the change of cer- tain ecclesiastical and religious practices which had a greater hold upon the popular mind than the principles themselves because they were better un- derstood. Among these were the doing away with the medieval bishopric and its privileges, control and oversight of the churches being now lodged in the secular authority; the cessation of pilgrimages and of the use of relics as of saving efficacy; the mar- riage of priests and nuns ; and the extension of the cup of the Lord's Supper to the laity, the sharing of which was limited by Romanism to the priesthood. CHAPTER III THE REFORMED CHURCHES LuTHERANiSM was Only one current of the Refor- mation. The same forces which issued in the Lu- theran movement in Germany were at work in other countries. Even before the time of Luther they had been gathering strength. Leaders sprang up in each land. In Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, Scot- land, the Netherlands, and England men's sympa- thies, hopes, and purposes were touched by Luther's influence as the planted seed is touched by the light and warmth of the sun and brought thereby to fruition. The story of the Reformation outside Lutheran- ism is in a considerable measure the record of the Reformed churches. They differed from Lutheran- ism in many minor points, but the chief differences lay in two directions. Luther had been essentially controlled in his thinking by his great personal ex- perience, and thus emphasized chiefly the central place in religion of experiential faith. Calvinism, the theology of the Reformed Churches, was led, perhaps under the influence of Humanism, to em- phasize as of first importance the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. Secondly, Luther's tempera- ment led him to cling tenaciously to some elements 25 26 Positive Protestantism of medievalism under whose influence he had been reared. The consequent residue of medievaHsm in Lutheranism was in a measure avoided by the Reformed Churches, with two outstanding results. They evolved a more democratic form of church government, and held a view of the Lord's Supper farther removed from that of Romanism. These differences were not lessened by the un- doubted bond of sympathy which existed among all Protestants. Indeed, the strong bonds uniting Re- formed Churches in beliefs, practices, and sympa- thies did not prevent some minor differences. As was to be expected, the life of the church, touched by the forces of the Reformation, unfolded in each country under the influence of each nation's tradi- tions, history, and characteristics. This diverse un- folding may be easily noted in the study of the Reformation in each of the important countries. In Switzerland the Reformation began, almost as soon as in Germany, under the leadership of Huld- reich (Ulrich) Zwingli. Zwingli's personal revolt against Rome took its rise not so much from deep religious emotional experience, as was the case with Luther, but rather from such intellectual considera- tions as Humanists discussed, and from his innate honesty which rebelled against the shams that were involved in the superstitious practices of the medie- val church. He was at first unopposed by Rome, be- cause his movement was a less incisive attack than Luther's upon the m.orals and religion of the papal The Reformed Churches 2y court, and because the popes had for a long time depended upon Switzerland for hired soldiers to fight their numerous battles and therefore must needs treat the Swiss cantons with caution. The break came when Zwingli began to urge that it was wrong for the Swiss to sell themselves as hired sol- diers. Zwingli contended for practically the same things a$ Luther, but went beyond him in denying any bodily presence of Christ in the elements of the Lord's Supper, and in maintaining that these ele- ments were only symbols of Christ's body and blood. Zwingli's influence quickly spread into the various Swiss cantons.^ In Zurich the Great Council had met the difficulties of the controversy over religion by providing public disputation of the matters in- volved. The free discussion of these disputations uniformly profited the Protestant cause, and the further employment of public disputations by various cantons was largely responsible for the spread of the Reformation in Switzerland. By 1528 most of the cantons had become Protestant and formed a league for mutual protection. This league became involved in war with the Romanist cantons, and Zwingli lost his life in battle.- Victory vacillated from one side to the other until Zurich lost the leadership of Protestantism in Switzerland. '^ Switzerland was divided into various independent republics, bound together by an agreement whose spirit and purpose were expressed in the motto, " Each for all, and all for each." 2 For notice of the moral life of the reformers, see Appendix, Note I. 28 Positive Protestant ism This leadership was taken up by Geneva, which was located in the French-speaking part of Switzer- land. Froment and Farel, two French evangelist preachers, had met initial success in establishing here the cause of Protestantism, but were unequal to the task of making it permanent. This task fell to John Calvin who, next to Luther, was the greatest of the Reformers, and as a theologian surpassed all others. His influence abides to-day in the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches. Calvin was born in Noyon, France, of prosperous parents. He was educated for the priesthood and then for the legal profession under strong Humanist and liberal teachers. He passed through a religious experience similar to Luther's, though less soul- stirring. This brought him definitely and com- pletely to Protestant views. Of the keenest intellect, he became one of a brilliant Parisian group of Protestant leaders. He was compelled to flee from France because he published a defense of Protes- tant ideas. In his exile he completed, when still only twenty-six years of age, his famous " Institutes of the Christian Religion," which was by all means the clearest and strongest statement of Protestant beliefs that had appeared up to that time, and be- came the basis of Calvinistic theology. By chance he came to Geneva when he was twenty-seven, and was induced to take up the task of establishing Protestantism there. His deep piety, his enormous learning, and his determined purpose The Reformed Churches 29 soon made him a recognized leader. His rigorous endeavor to make the city a Protestant theocracy met opposition from both Romanists and some Prot- estants. At one time he was exiled from the city, and went gladly, hoping to resume the quiet life of a scholar. But the city could not get along without him and recalled him. Returning with reluctance, he nevertheless was so successful in his efforts that he came to be the dominating person of the city. Calvin did three things at Geneva. He trained a ministry, not only for Geneva but for the entire re- gion in which the Reformed Churches had influence. Men came from England, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and especially France, and received a training which made them most ef- fective in evangelizing the communities to which they returned. Also, by his own preaching and his educational policy he so educated the people of Ge- neva that it was commonly said a Genevan boy could give a reason for his faith as well as any doctor of the Sorbonne of Paris. Finally, he made Geneva the refuge to which persecuted Protestants of all Europe fled for safety. Thus Geneva became the very citadel and center of influence for the Reformed Churches. Calvin was a contribution to the Reformation from France. On the other hand, it was in France that the ideas of Calvin received their most complete realization. Before the fame of Luther reached France, in 15 18, Margaret d'Angouleme, sister of 30 Positive Protestant I sin King Francis and herself Queen of Navarre, had associated herself with a brilliant group of Human- ist scholars who hoped for a reformation of the church. After the agitations occasioned by Luther's influence, this " group of Meaux," so called because its leader was the bishop of Meaux, produced at least two Protestant leaders, Lefevre and Farel. As Protestantism spread through France, King Francis vacillated back and forth from partial sympathy and protection to vigorous persecution, according as for the time-being he was or was not desirous of mak- ing a political alliance with German Protestants against his enemy, Emperor Charles. After Fran- cis' death, in 1547, his successor, Henry II, set about a determined extermination of Protestantism, in which he had the support of the masses of the people, of his all-powerful mistress, of his chief minister, the great soldier Montmorency, and of the Guises, a great family which had risen to immense power in France. But already, in view of the wide contrast between the moral lives of Protestants and Roman Catholics, through the teaching of converted priests, and especially by the work of ardent young Frenchmen, who had been trained at Geneva and who taught people secretly and surreptitiously sold Protestant books along the great roads and waterways, Protestantism had spread into every district of France. In some of these Protestants fairly swarmed. From 1540 on, Calvin, though in Geneva, was the leader of French Protestantism. The Reformed Churches 31 He wrote books, gave advice which was received with deference, persuaded by letter hesitating Ro- manists, inspired courage, and furnished a trained ministry. Thus the French Protestants were en- abled to meet strongly and unitedly the persecu- tions of Henry H and his successors. By 1555 the Reformed Churches had begun their organization, which was advised by Calvin and brought' to perfection under his guidance. Acces- sions from the aristocracy gave new strength to the movement. Then the terrible persecutions led to the religious wars, which proceeded with varying fortunes for either side. The terrible massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day occurred in Paris on August 24 and 25, 1572. It w^as disapproved by the German Romanists, but was hailed in Rome with an illumination of the city. A medal was struck to commemorate the event, and Cardinal Orsini was sent with the congratulations of the pope and col- lege of cardinals to the king and his mother, Cathe- rine de Medici. Later, Henry of Navarre, a Prot- estant, the legal heir to the throne, was permitted to become king only after he had made a public pro- fession of Romanism. Then he brought the entire struggle to an end by the edict of Nantes in 1598. By it liberty of conscience and freedom of worship, as well as legal right, were granted the Protestants, though a large majority of the people of France, as well as the government, remained Roman Catholic. 32 Positive Protestantism The struggle in the Netherlands was as fierce as that in France. The Netherlands included what is now Holland, Belgium, and parts of northern France, and had been inherited by Charles of Spain, who became also Emperor of Germany. Under the influence of the Brethren of the Common Lot and such leaders as John Pupper and John Wessel, who have been called forerunners of the Reformation, the forces w^hich were making toward Protestantism had already progressed quite far before Luther's time. Luther's influence was instantaneous, and was followed later by that of the Reformed Churches. Charles ruled the Netherlands through successive women regents who were members of his family. While their attitude tended to check a lit- tle the fierce persecution of Protestants, it is never- theless alleged that during this period thirty thou- sand people were put to death in this land. Yet the number of Protestants continued to increase, es- pecially through the work of missionaries who had received their training at Geneva. Later the Duke of Alva was sent by Philip, who had succeeded Charles, to govern the Netherlands. This monster ruled without any regard to right or law as one of the most pitiless, unscrupulous, and high-handed tyrants that ever held power. He turned the Netherlands into a sea of blood. Yet he left the northern part at least nearer to freedom and Prot- estantism than when he began his reign of terror. The people had gathered about William of Orange The Reformed Churches 33 as the champion of both poHtical and reHgious Hb- erty. A declaration by the northern provinces es- tabHshing themselves as a Protestant republic led to wars, which continued from time to time until 1609. Victory finally lodged with the Protestants under William's son Maurice. The new Protestant state was predominantly Calvinistic. The Protestants of the Netherlands and France had a great influence in preparing Scotland for the Reformation. There still remained here some of the influence of Wyclif, of the Bohemian martyr Hus, and of the English Lollards, who were in a measure followers of Wyclif a hundred years and more before Luther's time. In spite of persecutions that arose through Romanist influence from France, Protestants increased in numbers in Scotland as elsewhere. When it became necessary to make or- ganized efifort for recognition and legal status, the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland called upon John Knox to return to his native land and lead the way. Knox had been an exile on account of his Protestant views while Romanist influence prevailed in Scotland, and had studied and worked with Calvin at Geneva. He now faced a situation (1559- 1567) most critical, not only for Scotland, but for all Protestantism. If Rom.anist France could main- tain a hold on Scotland, and through this help Mary Queen of Scots to establish her claim to the throne of England, which was now occupied by Elizabeth, not only would the Protestantism of England and 34 Positive Protestantism Scotland be destroyed, but that of the Netherlands, which was just now entering its supreme struggle with Philip of Spain, would be endangered. Thus Germany would be left alone to be crushed by a ubiquitously victorious Romanism. The eyes of all Europe were turned upon Scotland. Knox saw, and Cecil, Elizabeth's chief adviser, also saw, that the only hope lay in an alliance between England and Scotland. Cecil persuaded Elizabeth to make the alliance, and in 1560 dealt such a blow in Scotland that France never regained her lost hold upon that land. Mary Queen of Scots returned to her native land from her sojourn with her husband the King of France, and continued the struggle against Knox, but in the end the stern, determined preacher, sup- ported by the commons of Scotland, was successful, and Protestantism in Scotland and Europe was saved. Meanwhile the Reformation had been at work in England. In the fourteenth century John Wyclif, the Morning Star of the Reformation, had done a far-reaching work of reform whose influence was still felt in England at the time of Luther. The Continental movements of the Reformation inevita- bly affected the forces already at work. The result- ing popular attitude toward the Reformation was the foundation of the success of Henry VIII in throwing off his relationship to the pope, for popu- lar support was essential to this end. The actual break came over the pope's refusal to The Reformed Churches 35 annul the marriage of Henry and Catherine of Aragon. This marriage itself had been consum- mated only after a special dispensation, granted re- luctantly by the pope, and made necessary because it was a mortal sin to marry a brother's widow. Both of the young people had to be persuaded by their elders to give up conscientious scruples before they were willing to be married. It was natural that, for the sake of the legality of his marriage, Henry should stand loyally by the supreme power of the pope whose dispensation made the marriage possible. But later, when it was certain that there would be no male heir to the throne, and when the influences of Henry's Humanist training had ma- tured, it was also natural that he should again turn to his earlier doubts of the validity of his marriage. In view of the very real question as to that validity according to canon law, and also in view of the very real dangers which the lack of a male heir to the throne might bring upon England, Henry had some justification in appealing to the pope for another dispensation to annul what the papal power had questionably brought about. If he had stood on this ground alone and had not permitted his relations to the very questionable Anne Boleyn to enter the situation, he would not have given any opening for the charges which have too often without measure been made against him and his action. But to what- ever extent the passions of Henry influenced him, he certainly had some justice in his position, and 36 Positive Protestantism besides had to act in view of the popular prog- ress which Protestantism had already made in England. The pope might have granted the dispen- sation had he not just then been in the power of Charles, whose aunt Catherine was. Accordingly, sure of popular support, Henry in 1533 married Anne without waiting for the pope. Though the pope had suggested such a course, Henry was ex- communicated. He replied by breaking completely with Rome. Certain laws were passed making the break final. Henry proceeded with reform cautiously. After his death (1547) the changes moved along faster under the leadership of strong men who acted for the boy king. The whole situation then changed when Mary, who was a Roman Catholic, succeeded to the throne. (1553.) The five years of her rule were a complete reaction. All of the antipapal legis- lation of the two preceding reigns was repealed, and so terrible did the persecution of Protestants be- come that the people called their queen " Bloody Mary." But Protestantism was not to be destroyed. Elizabeth succeeded Mary and took up the task of making England permanently Protestant. She had to meet both foreign and domestic opposition, but was finally successful. The resulting Anglican Church already showed strong marks of Calvinistic influence. One party of leaders known as Puritans attempted to make the church entirely Calvinistic in organization and doctrine. The other party The Reformed Churches 37 tenaciously clung to certain features of the medieval church, such as the bishopric. The Puritans failed, and found asylum in America or were absorbed by the Anglican Church and the Independent churches. The English Church has accordingly remained, until to-day, more medieval than most other Prot- estant bodies. The influence of Zwingli and Calvin spread into even other countries than those considered in this chapter. Some of the German churches were of the Reformed type, and accepted as their creedal stand- ard the Confession of Heidelberg. (1563.) Re- formed missioners went even into remote parts of Austria and Hungary, and succeeded in establish- ing churches. In the north of Ireland the same in- fluences gained a foothold and abide till to-day. In America Calvinism, through the Presbyterians and related bodies, has had a very great influence. CHAPTER IV THE ANABAPTIST MOVEMENT There was still a third stream of the Reformation which was even farther removed from Romanism than either Lutheranism or Calvinism. The people involved in this third stream, though divided into various groups, were indiscriminately called Ana- baptists. The name means Rebaptists, and referred to the belief of the bulk of the people of these groups that all persons must be baptized on profession of faith when they entered the brotherhood of Christ, and that if they had been christened in infancy, as was true of most people, they must be rebaptized. Because some of the Anabaptists held to vagaries of mystical, millenarian, and antitrinitarian theological opinions, and because a comparatively few were led, as at Miinster, into extreme social revolutionary ac- tions, all of them were harshly condemned without distinction. The peoples, the governments, and the churches of Europe, without exception, despised and hated the Anabaptists and treated them bitterly and cruelly. It is from the descriptions given by their enemies that we have practically our only information con- cerning these people. Consequently it has been 38 The Anabaptist Movement 39 only after the most thorough and careful investiga- tion that scholars have more or less recently been able to appreciate the real significance of this im- portant movement. Out of this new appreciation has come a clear distinction between the very radical groups of Anabaptists on the one hand, and on the other hand those others who held to the evangelical teaching of the church in general, and yet carried the fundamental principles of Protestantism to a farther application than either Lutheran or Re- formed Churches. The Reformation was, religiously speaking, a fructifying of the piety of the Middle Ages, which came to revolt against the corruptions in the church. At the same time, the Reformation was an emphasis of the New Testament teaching lying at the basis of this piety. As the Reformed Churches went far- ther in this revolt and in the application of these teachings than Lutheranism, so Anabaptists went farther than either. One of the reasons, if not the supreme reason, for this advance was the fact that the Anabaptist movement was not created, though it was greatly stimulated, by the Reformation, but had been developing its conceptions for a long while. Its origin may be traced back to the twelfth century, for it was connected in some measure with those more or less isolated groups of people who were the descendants of former reformation movements. The preachers in these earlier movements contended for views characteristic of the Anabaptists. The 40 Positive Protestantism Anabaptist groups were, consequently, a more or less spontaneous growth from previously tilled soil, and however divergent the several groups were from one another in some respects, all maintained certain fundamental positions, which were in ad- vance of the other Reformation groups. The Anabaptists were great Bible readers and sought to reestablish New Testament Christianity. Their first principle was to go to the Scripture for guidance in all matters of religion. They empha- sized especially the scriptural injunctions as to charity and the scriptural standards of piety. It was also upon the New Testament that they based their other principles. The second of these manifested itself in an opposi- tion to everything that smacked of priestism, with its corollary of the efficacy of the ecclesiastical insti- tution and its ceremonies as indispensable to salva- tion. They believed so firmly that personal faith is the basis of salvation that they objected thoroughly to the constitution and ceremonies of the Roman Church. They insisted that public worship should be conducted in the vernacular and not in Latin. They objected to all church festivals, all blessings of buildings, crosses, and candles; and scoffed at excommunication, indulgences, and dispensations. Holding that salvation depended on faith, they scouted the magical efficacy of baptism, and refused to baptize infants who could have no personal faith. Immersion was practised by a few groups as being The Anabaptist Movement 41 the New Testament form. The Lord's Supper was a memorial meal attended with spiritual blessing for those who had real faith. The elements of the meal were only symbols of Christ's body and blood, sug- gestive of his death.. These ceremonies could be performed by any believer on the authorization of any group of Christians, since ecclesiastical control should ,be democratic. Anabaptists despised a hier- archy. The people, guided by the Scripture and the Holy Spirit, and not ecclesiastical officials, should govern a church. Indeed, in all things the Anabap- tists asserted the value of faith and denied that of priestism and ecclesiasticism. The third great principle of the Anabaptists was an insistence upon the right of every conscience to be free from both ecclesiastical and civil interfer- ence, and the consequent necessity of a separation between Church and State. This principle was not favored by other bodies of Christians, and its ad- vocacy, especially the second half of it, brought upon the Anabaptists the hatred and persecution of every political and ecclesiastical government in Europe without exception. The Anabaptists argued from the absence of connection between the New Testa- ment Church and the State, and also from the inner nature of faith and faith's central place in religion, that neither Church nor State had the right to in- terfere with the individual's conscience or to use the sword against men on account of their religion. The words of the learned Anabaptist Hiibmaier 42 Positive Protestantism express the ideas prevalent among his fellow re- ligionists : " My body and my goods belong to the emperor, but my soul belongs to God." " If a judge commands anything contrary to God's com- mands, then we must obey God rather than man." " I cannot be a heretic, for I am anxious for instruc- tion. Only one has tried to convince me that my views are false, and he wished to call in the hang- man to assist him." In this great principle of re- ligious freedom and of separation of Church and State, Anabaptists made their chief contribution to the world. They had one other principle which they es- poused in spite of most terrible persecutions — the principle of non-resistance. Coupled with this was their refusal to serve as public servants. Anabaptist teachings were carried all over Europe by missionaries of various types. Lay preachers es- pecially made their way everywhere and won great numbers to their cause. Anabaptist groups were to be found as far north as Sweden, as far south as Italy, as far west as England, and as far east as Hungary and Poland. They found their chief fol- lowing among the common people, though they in- cluded in some regions some noblemen and some men of letters. A type of the latter was Hans Denck, who was a member of the " Erasmus Circle " and a man of rare abilities and spirit. Another learned leader was Hubmaier, with whom Zwingli once agreed that infant baptism had no scriptural The Anabaptist Mozvment 43 ground and should not be practised in view of Reformation principles.^ The movement included also many other learned men, so that the Anabap- tists were not merely the " ignorant scum of Eu- rope " as they have been called. Practically all of the leaders of the movement, save Menno Simons,- were exterminated in the in- tense persecutions inflicted upon Anabaptists every- where they showed their position. Hiibmaier, for example, was imprisoned by Zwingli himself, to whom he had fled for protection, and later suc- cumbed in prison. Great numbers of the rank and file as well as leaders perished. No torture was too terrible to inflict. A contemporaneous account of the persecutions in Moravia says : " Some were torn to pieces on the rack, some were burned to ashes and powder, some were roasted on pillars, some were torn with red-hot tongs, some were shut in houses and burned in masses, some were hanged on trees, some were executed with the sword, some were plunged into the water, many had gags put into their mouths so that they could not speak, and were thus led away to death. Like sheep and lambs crowds of them were led away to be slaughtered and butchered. Others were starved or allowed to rot in noisome prisons. Many had holes burned through their backs and were left in this condition. Like 1 Later Zwingli, for reasons of policy, did not find it profitable to espouse the Anabaptist cause, but publicly opposed it. " The modern Mennonites take their name from this leader, and his followers greatly influenced the beginnings of modern Baptists. 44 Positive Protestantism owls and bitterns they dared not go forth by day, but Hved and crouched in rocks and caverns, in wild forests, in caves and pits. Many were hunted down with hounds and catch-poles." In spite of the extermination of many groups, the Anabaptists persisted, and their great influence has been handed down through a number of denomina- tions to the present. CHAPTER V THE COUNTER-REFORMATION To uncjerstand the full sweep of the Reformation account must be taken of the changes wrought within Romanism itself by the indirect influence of the Reformers. At the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, practically every one outside the immediate Roman Curia felt the need of some reformation of the church. All serious-minded men recognized the unreformed papacy as the running sore of Europe.^ Many felt that religion must be rediscovered for the individual conscience. Statesmen were beginning to see that some way must be found to subordinate the papal interests to secular government, for the absolutism of the pope was irksome, not only in ecclesiastical affairs, but also in many secular matters. In such a situation the agitation of the reformers was bound to affect Romanism itself. The first stage of the movement within the church is known as the Catholic Reformation, because it aimed at reuniting all the branches of Protestant- ism with Romanism in a reformed church. It had its most complete expression in Spain. Cardinal 1 See above, page 13. 45 46 Positive Protestantism Ximenes, a Franciscan and father confessor to the Queen Isabella, was able with the cooperation of Ferdinand and the queen to accomplish considerable. Through visitation of monasteries and the like, and by a system of education, he raised the moral tone of the clergy and reduced their ignorance. Some need of an accurate translation of the Scripture was felt, and a guarded approval to the laity's use of the same was given. The aim was solely the quickening of religious life within the limits of medievaHsm. The movement was augmented by Luther's influ- ence, and some leaders hoped he would prove to be the instrument for reforming the entire church. The idea of the movement appealed to Pope Adrian VI, who was a Dutch Ximenes, and he tried to apply the Spanish idea of a reformation to the entire church. He even saw the validity of the attack upon indulgences, but soon found that the papacy needed the money and that a complete reformation of the church was impossible. But results in Spain were permanent. A little later a further attempt was made through certain liberal Italian churchmen. The peasantry of Italy were grossly superstitious and had little sense of the need of reform. But the people in the towns and cities took the state of the church to heart and rallied around those churchmen who sought im- provement. The work of Savonarola at Florence had been brought to an end by his martyrdom (1498) — a tragedy and horror unmitigated by any The C oimter-Reformation 47 consideration of justice, morals, or religion. De- spite the discouragement which this gave to reform- ers, there were pious groups of people in Italy, in- cluding some of the nobility and high ecclesiastical officials, who formed loosely organized companies that hoped for reform and who met to discuss the whole situation. The Capuchin monks, a branch of the Franciscan order, stirred their entire society to new life, and by their public preaching aroused a new religious vitality among the people. With the accession of Paul III (1534) to the papal chair a new era seemed to be at hand. He at once appointed several liberals as cardinals and gave liberals great prominence in the affairs of the church. A con- ference with Protestant theologians was undertaken by Cardinal Contarini, a liberal Romanist, with the purpose of bringing about a reunion of Protestants and Romanists. The conference failed. Contarini was removed from the center of affairs; other liberal leaders died, and the movement for a Catholic Reformation lapsed. Then came the Counter-Reformation proper, which aimed at a quickening of the Romanist Church alone. This came under the influence largely of the Jesuits, whose society was founded by Igna- tius Loyola. As a young Spanish nobleman, Loyola had been so severely wounded that he had to give up a sol- dier's career. He determined to become a saint, and entered a monastery. In regard to assurance of his Positive Protestantism personal salvation he had an experience similar in the extreme to that of Luther. Unable to find peace of mind by meeting the ecclesiastical requirements, he found a solution of his problem in personal trust in God. From this experience he turned, probably under the influence of the highly emotional tendency of Spanish Christianity, to varied experiences of mysticism. Out of these experiences issued his fa- mous book, " Spiritual Exercises," which became the soul of his movement. He studied also the condi- tions in the church, and after long deliberation picked a few men to start a new order. He estab- lished himself with his companions in Italy, and ob- tained from the pope a bull recognizing the Society of Jesus. (1540.) The order grew enormously, and was organized into a matchless fighting machine with a mystical enthusiasm, possessing a military spirit and law, and governed autocratically by the head of the order. The order at once began its work of quickening the church, and succeeded in greatly reanimating Romanism. By this work and its foreign missions for which it became famous; by its attack on the waste of child life, the curse of beggary, and the social evil ; by its educational projects, which were of great number and were instrumental in creating an educated clergy; and by its crusade against im- morality among the clergy, the order became even in the lifetime of Ignatius the most powerful force within the church. By its power, and in spite of the The Counter-Reformation 49 inherent evils residing in the narrow conception of reHgion held by its founder, the Society of Jesus was potent in carrying through the Counter-Refor- mation. Indeed, this narrow conception of religion as consisting in blind obedience to the authority of the pope was both its strength and its weakness. The astute, ruthless, and worldly political activities of the society which afterward developed are not to be considered here. However much they are to be condemned, they cannot entirely hide from a dispassionate judgment the real service which the Jesuits rendered Romanism at the time of the Reformation. The influence of the Jesuits was strongly felt in the Council of Trent, which was a powerful element in the movement of strengthening Romanism. The leisurely sessions of the council extended periodi- cally from 1545 to 1563. Since its members were of many opinions, the council could not escape the in- fluence of both Humanism and Lutheranism, despite the wish of the majority to avoid it. Yet it went only a very little way in actually reforming the Roman Church. In fact, the Roman Curia emerged from the council with a wider acceptance than be- fore of the comparatively recently claimed su- premacy of the pope over councils. In this result the influence of the Jesuits was plain, as it was also in the four decrees of the council which made any reconciliation with Protestants impossible. The council accepted as Scripture, in addition to the D 50 Positive Protestantism canon of the Hebrew Old Testament, also the books of the Septuagint ^ Apocrypha. This was done, in spite of Saint Jerome's belittling estimate of these apocryphal books, in order to cut from under the scriptural arguments of Protestantism by supplying from these writings passages in support of Roman- ist contentions which have not the slightest basis in the canonical Scriptures. The council also de- clared that it " received with an equal feeling of piety and reverence the traditions . . . preserved in continuous succession within the Catholic Church," and by this declaration asserted that the authority of the Scripture was equaled by that of an infallible ecclesiastical tradition. Two other decrees of the council were that the Vulgate Latin version of the Bible ^ was an authoritative text of the Holy Scrip- ture alongside Greek and Hebrew texts, and that every faithful believer must accept the Church's interpretation of Scripture. From the point of view of these declarations the council codified the medieval theology, but through the unconscious in- fluence of Protestantism neglected and modified some parts of it. The three chief results of the council's actions which greatly strengthened Roman- ism were the furnishing of the church with a com- pact system of doctrine, the proposal of a plan of 2 " Septuagint " is the name given to the Alexandrine Greek trans- lation 9f the Hebrew Old Testament and apocryphal books, excluded by ancient Hebrew scholars from the Scripture canon. 3 Made by Saint Jerome. See article " Bible," in The Interna- tional Encyclopedia. The C oiinter-Reformation 51 reformation for the church, and provision for an educated clergy. Two other features of the Counter-Reformation were the Inquisition and the Index. The purpose of the Inquisition was the punishment of spiritual or ecclesiastical offenses by physical pains and penalties. Such a policy had been used in Europe from time immemorial, and its validity as the method of treating heretics was quite universally accepted. Reformed and Lutheran communities also used it in differing degrees in dealing with Ana- baptist and other heretics. Calvin's consent to the burning of the Antitrinitarian Servetus was in ac- cord with it. Wherever State and Church acted jointly in dealing with heretics in that day, persecu- tion similar to that of the Inquisition was inevitable. The agency of persecution employed by the papacy was " The Apostolic Tribunal for the Suppression of Heresy," and was ordinarily managed by the Dominican and Franciscan orders. The Inquisition had been early introduced Into Spain at the instigation of Torquemada, the queen's confessor, in order to overthrow the power of the Jews. Under this relentless, autocratic man of piti- less zeal, the reluctance of Queen Isabella to intro- duce the Inquisition, which the papal desire had not been able to remove, was overcome. Once permis- sion had been granted by the sovereigns of Spain, the holy office was developed, largely in indepen- dence of papal control, into the most diabolical of 52 Positive Protestantism curses to Spain and to Protestants in the Low Countries. Under this regime no loophole was left for any accused to escape. It is calculated that dur- ing Torquemada's eighteen years alone, 10,220 peo- ple were burned and 97,000 were condemned to per- petual imprisonment or to public penitence. In Italy, as early as 1542, Pope Paul III introduced the Inquisition on the Spanish model. His successors, with even more determination, carried out the plan with the help of the Jesuits. Perhaps because there was less need, the Inquisition in Italy never showed quite the same murderous activities and savagery as in Spain. Perhaps as old as the Inquisition was the method of destroying the seed of heresy by burning books. In the Reformation time this method was applied not only literally, but also in the development of the Index which, after the Council of Trent, was the instrument used by Romanism to destroy the influ- ence of Protestant literature. But this instrument proved as ineffective as the Inquisition. It had a very bad reflex result for the learning of the Roman Church itself, and in the hands of improper men worked Rome a good deal of harm. Nevertheless, the Index has been used down to to-day in an at- tempt to keep Romanists unacquainted with state- ments unwelcome to Rome. But in spite of the ineffectiveness on the whole of these terrible and destroying instruments of Rome, Romanism was reanimated largely by the The Counter-Reformation 53 new spirit of the Jesuits and by their secret yet ef- fective methods of winning adherents to Rome. Thus Romanism came again to be a fighting organi- zation, and won back some of the territory which it had lost to Protestantism. Part 11 Protestant Iff f irmations of £bri$tian Crutb CHAPTER I AGREEMENTS AND DISAGREEMENTS The term " Protestant " may be used with greater or less strictness. Strictly speaking the Protestants were those who had a share in presenting at the Diet of Speyer (1529) the Protest which gave rise to the name. But very quickly the word had a wider use as applying to all of the followers of Luther. It is employed to-day in this country to include all Christians not adherents of the Roman or Oriental Catholic Churches. Such a wide and loose use of the term makes it well-nigh impossible to present what Protestantism teaches. Some limi- tation is absolutely necessary. For the present pur- pose the term is meant to include all communions which naturally would be included on account of their historical origin and are generally regarded as constituting the evangelical denominations. A still further limitation is necessary. It would be possible to define Protestant teaching by an ap- peal to the historic written creeds of various Prot- estant bodies and to the writings of the leading Protestant theologians of the Reformation period, such as Luther, Melancthon, Zwingli, and Calvin, and to such later theological writers as Arminius, 57 58 Positive Protestantism Swedenborg, Jonathan Edwards, and others, who are responsible for new trends of theological think- ing.^ But many things have transpired in the world since the older Protestantism was formulated. New modes of thought and new views of the world have come from a modern spirit and method of in- vestigation which are in part due to the Reforma- tion and in part to other causes. Moreover, great advance has been made in the sciences that concern the Bible, theology, and the history of the church. These facts and forces have had a deep and abid- ing influence on Protestant Christianity. Even a Romanist writing to-day cannot address himself merely to the older Protestantism, but has quite a different situation to confront him, both within his own communion with its ultramontane exaltation of papal authority and its antagonism to Modernism, and also in the changed Protestant world. Conse- quently, any adequate presentation of Protestant teaching must take into account this new atmos- phere. - A development within Protestantism itself has taken place, and has shown a tendency in the di- rection of the principles of the Anabaptists. It is 1 Such is the method of the Romanist theologian Moehler, whose book " Symbolism " is by all means the best Romanist theological discussion of the differences between Protestantism and Rome. But the method reveals its weakness in the fact that a great deal of Moehler's criticism is pointless against present-day Protestantism. 2 The religious and theological literature of the last decade or two will furnish ample corroboration of the present statement as a fairly accurate account of present-day Protestant affirmations of Christian teachings. 'Agreements and Disagreefnenfs 59 not difficult to mark the trend toward non-sacra- mentarian views of the ceremonies of the church, or toward the actual acceptance and even espousal of religious liberty, and the separation of Church and State. The pietistic features of the Anabaptists have also found advocates in later denominational developments. Likewise, the emphasis on a mem- bership determined by real and personal loyalty to Christ, rather than one determined by inclusion in the state or by infant baptism, has come to be the ideal of some denominations, which still practise in- fant baptism or whose European connections still adhere to state churches. The consequent situation in this country is a very different one from that in which the Lutheran and Reformed communions came into being and in which the Anabaptists were regarded and treated with the greatest hatred by all others. Between the modern spirit and Protestantism a certain affinity exists inasmuch as the modern world is in part a result of the Reformation. For exam- ple, the modern denial of the absoluteness of ec- clesiastical authority has left its marks even within Romanism itself through the European modernist movement. The exaltation of the individual and the validity of private judgment in so many of the other affairs of life could not fail to affect religion and benefit Protestantism. Confidence in the inher- ent worth of life and work, issuing in a transfer of emphasis from a future to the present world, would 6o Positive Protestantism be expected to increase the importance of ethical considerations and thus open the door of opportu- nity to the growing tendency of Protestant teaching to appeal to the ethical sense of men. This relation of Protestantism and the modern spirit and point of view requires the Protestant affirmations to be stated, not as they might have been set forth in the days of the Reformation, but according to the pres- ent situation. Now the Protestant affirmations as such do not affect all Christian doctrines. As to many Chris- tian conceptions no wide difference exists between Romanism and Protestantism. Allowing for varie- ties of explanation, Protestantism may be said to accept those ideas which were affirmed by the first four general councils of the early church — ideas summarized perhaps in the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian creeds. Though Protestants do not recognize the infallible or other authority of councils to determine the teachings of the Scrip- ture, they can nevertheless hold to the essential re- ligious ideas of the historic creeds while insisting that their statements must be adjusted to the mod- ern world and its modes of thought. Among the conceptions upon which agreement is to be had, is one of particular importance for this discussion because it leads directly to the considera- tion of differences, namely, the conception that man is in deep need of God, and without him can- not possibly realize the fullest life here and here- Agreements and Disagreements 6i after. Romanist and Protestant theologians have discussed with most minute theological refinements the theories underlying this statement of man's need for God and man's moral and religious impotence without God. But for the purposes of a practical understanding of the Christian gospel it is not necessary to enter into these discussions. Only the matters of main importance need be set forth. These concern the meeting of man's need by God. The fundamental differences are but two, pro- vided that the theological discussion of the relation of justification and sanctificatlon is put aside. It is sufficient for practical religious purposes to state that the points of difference in that discussion have quite entirely to do with the theological definition of terms and the delimiting of psychological relig- ious processes. Since both Romanist and Prot- estant theologians hold that God's true children are both justified and sanctified by him, it is not of the greatest importance whether these terms refer to an identical process or whether justification is to be considered a separate act of God followed by the process of sanctification. The ethical side of the argument as presented by such a Romanist as Moehler ^ would be entirely in accord with modern Protestant views of justification. This fact would of itself be sufficient warrant for setting aside the discussion of the doctrine of justification. And 2 See Moehler's " Symbolism " (translated by J. B. Robertson, London, 1906) in the discussion of Justification. ^2 Positive Protestantism again, since such an argument as Moehler's comes later to rest entirely upon the Romanist view of the sacraments as the source of the grace which justifies and sanctifies, all that is pertinent can be considered in connection with the discussion of one of the main differences between Protestantism and Romanism. One of the two remaining differences concerns the function and authority of the church. The other affects the conception of the method by which God's grace is brought to the saving of men. Even here the difference lies in the realm of the explanation of certain religious facts and phenomena which both Romanists and Protestants recognize; as, for ex- ample, the fact that Jesus Christ is Saviour and Lord through whom men come to God. The im- portance of the differences lies in the fact that these explanations are made regulative of religious life and so become the determining elements of religion. They must, therefore, be thoroughly understood. Historically Luther came first to the question of the method of salvation and only to the other question of the church and its authority after it had been inevitably raised by his earlier statements and activi- ties. The course of thought will follow this order, but will approach one of the questions from two points of view, since the Protestant conception of the method of salvation contrasts with two distinct view-points held by Romanism. One of these is legalism, or the securing of salvation by conform- ing to the requirements of a definitely stated set Agreements and Disagreements 63 of laws. The other is sacramentalism, or salvation mediated through a priestly order possessing spe- cial divine powers and by divinely appointed cere- monies which are the only vehicle of the grace of God that enables men to come unto him and to live a life of which he approves. Each of these contrasts will be discussed in successive chapters. Then will be presented the Protestant conception of the church's function and religious authority in contradistinction to the Romanist ideas. Inevitably Protestant principles lead to a con- demnation of certain elements of Romanism as use- less excrescences. They must also lead to evaluat- ing as valid certain conceptions and applications occasioned by Christianity's contact with civilization as a whole. These condemnations and evaluations will also be noted in a special chapter as negative and positive implications of Protestantism. CHAPTER II salvation: by faith or law? One of the world-old religious questions is that which troubled Luther, *' How can a man be saved ? " Christianity conceives that all men are sinful except so far as they are saved from that condition by God, who not only rescues men from the menacing results of their sins, but also saves them from the very grip of the tendency to sin, that is, makes them capable of resisting evil and accomplishing a Christian life. Men are saved to a life with God and to all that such a life involves, both here and hereafter. Nothing in Protestantism or Romanism disagrees essentially with these state- ments. The important difference arises as to the basis on which God is conceived as proceeding to save men and the means by which he cooperates with them in the achievement of a Christian life. Protestantism teaches that God is willing to for- give sin in view of men's faith and to treat all re- pentant men as a father treats a repentant child. Salvation is a two-sided process in which God acts with the really fundamental power and man acts out of the really necessary and potential motives. The essential attitude of men is their faith, that is, 64 Salvation: By Faith or Law? 65 their devoted reliance on God's readiness to save. A man has only to recognize his sinfulness and need of God, to trust confidently in God and his power and willingness to save, to repudiate sin, and to choose God's standard of life. When such an atti- tude is taken through faith in Jesus the Christ, who revealed God and his gospel, then God is willing to disregard a man's lack of an actually complete righteotis life and to cooperate through personal communion with the man in the achievement of sal- vation. In other words, a man comes into com- munion with God and continues in that relation through his devoted reliance on God. This sharing in God's life here gives assurance of life hereafter. This is plainly the conception which is presented in the New Testament, and directly to the New Tes- tament Protestantism sends every inquirer after the truth. In the parable of the Prodigal Son Jesus presents God's fatherly willingness to forgive sin- ners in contrast to the legalistic conceptions of the Pharisees, for the father in the parable, who is over- joyed to regain a lost son, is a figure of God. Most significant is the omission of reference to any other condition of accepting the son than that of the re- pentant, submissive, and trusting attitude displayed by the prodigal. Indeed, Jesus' constant use of the name " Father " for God is a supreme emphasis on this conception, which contrasted so strongly with the popularly current legalistic and ceremonial ideas of his time. To the plain teaching of this parable 66 Positive Protestantism may be added the implication of Jesus' description of the last great judgment, in which he gives his only definition, intended as such, of the condition of entrance into the heavenly kingdom. In this description the sheep are separated from the goats not on a theological, ceremonial, or legalistic basis, but on the simple ground that the sheep by their daily life in its commonest affairs displayed an atti- tude toward the King which leads him to count them as his own. The central importance of the inner disposition to loyal service of the King is made still plainer in the Sermon on the Mount. Though denying any intention of destroying the law and asserting that he has come to fulfil the law's mean- ing, Jesus contrasts (Matt. 5) his understanding of the law with that of the scribes and Pharisees. He makes the point of the contrast turn precisely upon the idea that the inner motive is what determines in the sight of God the ultimate significance of any acts with which the law deals. The condition upon which God judges men favorably, then, is such an inward attitude as that of the returning prodigal or the giver of a cup of cold water. The case of the woman taken in adultery is also pertinent. Here is one actually caught in open violation of a law of first importance. Yet, because of the very attitude which the woman took in her shame, Jesus said: " Neither do I condemn thee ; go, and sin no more." Forgiveness was granted in view of her shown re- pentance and on condition that she go forth with Salvation: By Faith or Law: the purpose to live better. The inner attitude thus referred to is what Protestantism calls faith. Paul continued Jesus' teaching, and brings faith into even greater contrast with the law as a means of securing salvation. " Yet knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Gal. 2 : 16). This statement is perfectly plain, since Paul means by the word " justified " to indicate that state in which a man is declared or regarded as no longer under condemnation for his lack of actual right- eousness. The same teaching is plainly stated also in the following : " Now apart from the law, a righteousness of God (i. e., a way of righteousness approved by God) hath been manifested, being wit- nessed by the law and the prophets ; even the right- eousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe ; for there is no distinction ; for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory ^ of God ; being justified freely by his grace - through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the pass- ing over of sins done aforetime, in the forbearancCj of God; for the showing, I say, of his righteous- ^ That is, of winning God's approval. * That is, without cost to the man justified. 68 Positive Protestantism ness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3 : 21-26). Certainly nothing fur- ther need be quoted from the many passages in Paul's letters to show that he regarded faith in Jesus as the basis on which God is willing to deal with his sinful children. But this simple and plain teaching of the New Testament is not sufficient for Romanism. It holds that the first step of the estranged man in coming again into right relations with God is the formal intellectual acceptance of the church's dogmatic teachings ; then, that renewal of life comes through the application of the sacraments, especially baptism, which washes away the man's original sin ; and further, that the continuance in and fuller reali- zation of this life is possible only through the sacra- ments and the merit attained by meeting the re- quirements or laws of the church. The contrast of faith and sacraments as means of salvation is to be discussed in the next chapter, that of faith and law "here. But it must be constantly remembered that, though for the sake of clarity we treat Romanist sacramental and legalistic ideas separately, they fre- quently merge in Romanist thought and are often connected with the same religious practices as, for example, the penalties in penance are both legalistic and sacramental. Rome insists that works are meritorious. Ac- cording to this conception certain deeds done be- Salvation: By Faith or Law? 69 cause of the command or advice of the church have a value for salvation. Such deeds are prayers, fasts, gifts for church building and the like, on up to mo- nastic vows and practices.^ These deeds do not de- pend for their value upon the inner Christian dis- position, but possess saving v^orth without it. By performing them one may secure a sort of bank credit of meritoriousness which may be cashed in actual saving merit from the infinite treasury laid up by Christ. The article " Merit " in the Catholic Encyclopedia says : " It is a defined article of the Catholic Faith that man in, before, and after justi- fication derives his whole capability of meriting and satisfying, as well as his actual merits and satisfac- tions, solely from the infinite treasure of merits which Christ gained for us on the cross." This mechanical and, so to speak, commercial conception is carried so far that it is believed men may do more than is required of them and so gain a surplus of merits which may be transferred to some one else in more need of them, whether the person be living or in purgatory. Deeds securing this surplus are works of supererogation. With reference to these ^ The ethical value of Moehler's argument concerning the relation of good works to justification was possible for him chiefly because he distinctly set outside of his discussion all reference to " eccle- siastical ceremonies, external rites, and the like" (p. 157), and con- fined his consideration entirely to the good works required by Chris- tian ethical teachings. He does not in that argument address him- self to that phase of the question which Protestant discussions treat and which was the heart of Luther's controversy in this matter. It is against the saving efficacy of such meritorious works as those excluded by Moehler that the Protestant teaching is directed, and not against the ethical value and necessity of those acts included in a practical Christian life based on faith. 70 Positive Protestantism the article just quoted says : ** The possibiHty of this transferal rests on the fact that the residual punish- ments for sin are in the nature of a debt which may be legitimately paid to the creditor and thereby canceled, not only by the debtor himself, but also by a friend of the debtor." No legalistic concep- tion of the Pharisees was more mechanical than this teaching of Romanism, and none was quite so com- mercial and utterly lacking in ethical foundation.* Protestantism urges against the Romanist legal- istic conception several convincing objections. In view of the New Testament teaching, Protestantism regards it as self-evident that mere external, me- chanical deeds, without the inner disposition to do them, can have no significance for religion and morals. Even if the Scripture is disregarded, it is equally self-evident to a heart and mind of real piety, since morality is based in personal volition, that such a thing as buying indulgences cannot help in a moral matter, even when the buyer has given formal in- tellectual assent to the dogmas of the church. Prot- estantism is willing to rest its case with the appeal to the moral and religious sense of men who have read the New Testament with a desire to find God. The tendency of the practice of meritorious works to issue in superstition is so inherent that the Coun- cil of Trent, after admonishing all bishops to give instruction concerning the veneration and invoca- tion of saints, the honor to be paid relics, and the * See Appendix, Note 2, for Romanist modifications of this idea. Salvation: By Faith or Law? yi use of images, found it necessary to warn against the connected abuses and used with reference to these things such terms as " superstition," " filthy lucre," " lasciviousness," " revelings and drunken- ness," and " luxury and wantonness." As Harnack, the great German historian, says : " Since the end of the second century there has always been a kind of side-religion, a subterranean religion of the sec- ond order, varying according to the differences of the peoples, but everywhere alike in its gross super- stitions, its naive docetism, its dualism and poly- theism. . . It is the worship of angels (demi- gods) and demons, the high valuation of pictures, relics, and amulets, a weaker or stronger enthusiasm for the severest asceticism (whence also dualistic conceptions), and the anxious observance of certain words, signs, rites, ceremonies, places, and times which are regarded as holy." History shows, and the Council of Trent implicitly admits, that the practice of meritorious works inevitably runs off into this side-religion. It is in part on this account that Protestantism rejects the whole conception of meritorious works. Supererogation, a development from the Roman- ist doctrine of good works, is especially offensive to the moral sense. Rome teaches that it is possible to do more than one's required duty to God and thus to win, especially through monastic vows, a surplus of merit which may be transferred to others. This teaching is supposed to be derived from the 72 Positive Protestantism incident of Jesus and the rich young man. (Matt. 19 : 16-23.) But Jesus merely presented here the ideal of positive achievement in contrast to mere negative conformity to the law, and tested the rela- tive devotion of the young man to his riches and to the work of cooperating in Jesus' itinerant evan- gelism in which the care of rich possessions would have been a positive hindrance to the young man's effectiveness. In this incident none but the pos- sessor of such a special interpreting power as Rome claims could ever find the doctrine of works of supererogation. Protestantism is willing to leave the interpretation to ordinary intelligence. But it urges in addition to this lack of real scriptural sup- port that a transfer of moral values is quite outside the realm of real morality, which is the sphere of personal volitions. Moral worth is not a commod- ity to be dispensed on the presentation of a due bill, so to speak, on behalf of some one else. Protestant- ism also maintains that one can never do more than his full duty to God. However nearly men ap- proach perfection, they have only drawn near to full realization of their own duty to God. How, then, can one do more than enough and merit surplus credit? Consequently, Protestantism repudiates meritorious works because of this connected idea of supererogation.^ Even were supererogation valid, there is no intel- ^ For the actual place of supererogatory ideas in the New Testa- ment time and later, see Smith, Burton and Smith, " Biblical Ideas of Atonement," pp. 76-90. Salvation: By Faith or Law? 73 ligent basis for holding that monastic vows of pov- erty, celibacy, and obedience could accomplish a sur- plus of merit with God. Poverty in itself is no virtue, and in the better monastic ideal is simply a means to unhampered religious devotion. In view of the inevitable accumulation of riches on the part of the monasteries, monastic poverty seems a very strange realization of this ideal. Moreover, celibacy is certainly not a higher ideal for human beings than fatherhood and motherhood, unless the sex relation is inherently evil and the task of peopling the world unacceptable to God. Again, how is obedience to an ecclesiastical official an addition to the fulfilling of the whole duty to God? Even if such obedience is regarded as a divinely appointed duty, it cannot for that very reason be conceived as outside of the required duty to God. Accord- ingly, monastic vows offer no opportunity for extra credit with God, and this conclusion strengthens the Protestant contention. But the fundamental reason why Protestants re- ject the teaching concerning good works is that it is of a piece with the legalistic conception of the scribes and Pharisees which both Jesus and Paul attacked so vigorously. The Pharisees conceived that salvation was to be attained by understanding and applying the law — in their case the Old Testa- ment law — according to the authoritative interpre- tations and definitions of the fathers (noted rabbis). If one failed to secure sufficient credit by punctilious 74 Positive Protestantism observance of the law thus interpreted, he could fall back on his Abrahamic descent for a privileged treatment by God. So Romanism conceives that a man must obey the requirements and the advice of the church in accordance with the authoritative tra- dition of the Church Fathers. If one lacks power to achieve sufficient merit, one falls back upon the sacramental grace dispensed by the church. The two systems have the same appeal to an ex- ternal authority and the same subtle hair-splitting refinements of definitions. These two features are both illustrated by the distinction made between venial sins, which are easily pardoned, and mortal sins, which are forgiven with greater difficulty. Another distinction is made in the terms " latria," worship of God, " dulia " (literally service), adora- tion of the saints, and " hyperdulia," superad- oration of Mary. Psychologically and practically such distinctions are impossible, and reflect only a difference in words, not in the actual attitudes of worship. According to Coppens, the first law of the church requires attendance at mass on Sunday. Application of this law necessitates defining what constitutes attendance, and so how late one may arrive at mass and still comply with the law. Coppens declares (p. 321) it to be a mortal sin " to miss the elevation, or communion, or to arrive after the offertory." Again, the Roman Missal refers to the " defects " occurring in the celebration of the mass. A rule given there requires the swallowing Salvation: By Faith or Law? 75 of the wine even if a fly or spider has fallen into it, and another regulation makes it necessary for the priest, who may have vomited the bread and wine, to reswallow the same if the elements can be distin- guished in the vomit. All of this defining is in the spirit of the pharisaic rabbis. The two systems are also alike in the self-righteousness which they en- gender, , for Romanists must believe that they are the privileged of God since salvation comes only through Rome. Jesus' condemnation of such legalism is particu- larly virile and incisive. In the Sermon on the Mount he contrasted his conception of the internal nature of righteousness with pharisaic conformity to the traditional oral law. Elsewhere, immediately after a condemnation of pharisaic interpretative ob- scuring of the law, Jesus said the Pharisees would compass sea and land to make one proselyte and then would make him twofold more a son of hell than they themselves were. (Matt. 23 : 15.) A still more scathing condemnation is given in the utter- ance : " Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo- crites ! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith : but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other un- done " (Matt. 23 : 23). Recognizing the proper function of the law, Jesus put the heart of its ob- servance in the inner attitude of justice, mercy, and faith. In the incident of the Pharisee and the publi- y(i Positive Protestantism can there is also a specially apt condemnation of legalism and the self-righteousness which flows from it. (Luke i8 : 10-14.)® Nothing is plainer in the New Testament than this condemnation by Jesus of Pharisaic legalism which is so similar to that of Roman Catholicism. Paul extensively condemns legalism in his teach- ing that salvation comes apart from the law.*^ Two incidents from the New Testament give this teach- ing special significance for the present discussion. When certain self-appointed guardians of Jewish Christianity came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, where the church included a considerable number of Gentiles, they raised the question of the validity of a Jew's partaking of the Lord's Supper with an uncircumcised man. It was unlawful for a Jew to eat with such. Peter had been at Antioch, and had been following the custom of the church without hesitation. But now, for fear of the Judaizing brethren from Jerusalem, he cowardly refused to eat. But Paul at once opposed Peter to his face, as he tells us, and asserted that obedience to the law was not necessary as an addition to faith as a basis for coming into and maintaining right rela- tions with God. Later, at a friendly conference in Jerusalem, where James and Peter and Paul were present, a compromise was agreed upon whereby * Gjmpare this with the following Romanist statement, " I chastise myself, but I count the strokes and am proud of their number " (Bishop Wittman, quoted by Von Hase, p. 33). "f See above, pp. 67, 68. Salvation: By Faith or Law? yj Paul was to continue his evangelization among the Gentiles while the Jewish regions of the world were to be left to the evangelizing efforts of Peter and those others who more or less desired to perpetuate legalistic ideas and practices. The Judaistic Chris- tianity of these latter disappeared after a short period simply because it was so completely out of harmony with the essential teaching of Christ. Paul's gospel, agreeing with the teaching of Jesus, remained dominant (even Peter was afterward completely won to it) until a new legalism crept into the church through the doctrine of meritorious works. Accordingly, it is plain that Paul con- demned legalism, and that too in spite of Peter, by whom Rome sets so great store. This New Testament condemnation and the other objections urged above are conclusive for the re- jection of Romanist legalism. But Protestantism does not rest in mere rejection, for it proceeds to show the real relation of good works to faith. In order to estimate adequately this relation the nature of faith must be imderstood. A difference in the definition of faith is partly, though not entirely, re- sponsible for the differences between the Protestant and Romanist conceptions. According to Roman- ism, faith is the intellectual acceptance as true of what the church declares to be true.^ Moehler says that *' recognition of the truths revealed in Christ ... is faith in the ordinary Catholic sense " ^ For further statements of Romanists, see Appendix, Note 3, 7^ Positive Protestantism (p. 137). The authoritative teaching of the Roman Church compels such a statement, though the more scriptural conception of faith was not without ex- pression in the medieval times. Protestantism considers faith to be much more than an assent to dogmas. In the usage of the New Testament " faith " has an intellectual element, but the chief feature of it is volitional. Faith involves acting on the basis of what one believes to be true. It is the choice of God's way in view of the truths in which one can believe and on the basis of which he is willing to act, and this choice arises out of confidence in God and in the truth concerning him. This choice and confidence imply love to God and to his children, our fellow men (Gal. 5:6), and so a willingness to turn away from all that is opposed to God according to one's conscience. Faith is the attitude of the whole being toward God which, be- cause of confidence in God and in the revelation of him in Christ, makes men willing to live for him. A man may have such faith and thus be acceptable to God even though his intellectual conception may be only partially true or may differ from that of others who have faith. Of such faith good works, according to Prot- estantism, are both the expression and the test. As the life of the seed develops according to its kind, so unfolds the life of faith. Jesus' word is that we know the tree by its fruits. Thus we know faith by its expression in good deeds, and when we Salvation: By Faith or Law? 79 have the right kind of faith we may be sure of a right kind of life. Good fruit does not make a tree good, but a good tree does make good fruit, and good fruit is always a sign of a good tree. Good works do not make a man good, but good deeds re- veal that a man has the good attitude of life, and a man with real faith will do good works as natu- rally as a good tree produces good fruit. " The good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh " (Matt. 12 : 34f., quoted here with a change of order). Such is the Protestant teaching over against the external, mechanical, and unethical conception of Romanism, that mere acts may have a merit aside from the moral disposition from which they arise. There are thus two main thoughts of Protestant- ism which are fundamental and which constitute its strength and treasure at this point. One is the con- viction that religion is essentially a stedfast temper of soul rooted in childlike trust in God. The other is the conviction that this childlike trust is insepa- rably bound up with the plain, simple principle that the moral life is the true and inevitable expression and test of the trust. These convictions Protestants base on Scripture and reason. CHAPTER III SALVATION : BY FAITH OR SACRAMENT ? The central doctrine of Protestantism, salvation by- faith, comes into contrast with the sacramental as well as the legalistic element of Romanism. Even in the Old Testament the inwardness of the basis of the relation to God was set forth. The new covenant ^ forecasted by Jeremiah is not to be writ- ten on slabs of stone like the tablets of the Mosaic covenant. " I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart I will write it ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jer. 31 : 33). This inwardness of the law is pertinent in regard to the Protestant rejection of legalism, but it has even more significance for the consideration of sacramen- talism. It was simply one element in that general conception of the necessarily internal basis of the religious life which was characteristic of the prophets and led them to reject such ceremonialism as was externally conceived and practised in the Old Testament time. (Micah 6 : 6-8.) Jesus himself condemned ceremonialism in his declaration that religious worth depended on in- ward condition and not on external conformity to 1 The use of the term " new covenant " by Jesus, and the apply- ing of it by him and all Christians to the New Testament gospel, is significan* 80 Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament f 8i required ceremonies. (Matt. 23 : 25; and cf. Luke II : 37-41.) Paul very distinctly repudiated an outward ceremonialism. " For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh ; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God " (Rom. 2 : 28f.). This brief but plain statement may be corroborated by many other passages. Clearly the New Testament teach- ers, as well as the Old Testament prophets, rejected the idea of the saving efficacy of ceremonies.^ This scriptural repudiation of ceremonialism Protestantism applies to the Romanist conception of the nature and function of the sacraments, though it must be said that the degree of this application has differed in the hands of various Protestant com- munions according to the relative distance of their removal from the medieval ideas of Romanism. Essentially, however, in spite of the differences in denominational explanations of the use of the sac- raments, Protestantism, because of its central em- phasis upon faith and its inwardness, has been com- mitted by logic, if not by creed and practice, to the purely spiritual conception of the Christian cere- monies as distinct from a magical, external, and mechanical view. Gradually the more spiritual idea ^ For the protest against the supposition of intrinsic saving value in sacrifice as displayed in the non-canonical literature before and in the New Testament times, see Smith, Burton and Smith, " Biblical Ideas of Atonement," p. 75. 82 Positive Protestantism has been displacing the residue of medievalism, at least among the bulk of Protestants in this country. The Romanist doctrine as to the sacraments has two elements which the Protestant doctrine as to faith makes impossible to hold as valid. One ele- ment is the idea that the performance of a sacra- mental ceremony in and of itself conveys God's grace without reference to the inner attitude of the worshiper. The Roman Catechism defines sacra- ment as " the visible sign of an invisible grace, in- stituted for our justification." But it is not a mere sign, for, according to the Council of Trent, " grace is given through the sacraments, so far as God's part is concerned, always and to all men," and *' by the sacraments of the new law grace is conferred through the act itself." This is taught by Thomas Aquinas, the greatest of all the Romanist theolo- gians, and also by Duns Scotus, who said : " Grace is conferred from the very fact that the work, namely, the sacrament, is exhibited, unless the ob- stacle of mortal sin prevents ; so that besides the ex- hibition of the sign openly exhibited no good mo- tion of the heart is required in him who receives it." ^ Protestantism rejects this external, mechan- ical, and magical conception. The second objectionable feature of the Romanist doctrine is the proposition that the efficacy of the sacraments depends upon the intention of the priest. 3 Quoted by Von Hase and Foster, See further Cardinal Gib- bons, " Faith of Our Fathers," p. 304. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament f 83 According to this proposition a valid sacrament has been performed only if the priest meant the per- formance to convey grace.* Certainly the Scrip- tures give no hint of authority for the idea that any man can prevent those who seek God from really finding him or can by an unannounced purpose de- stroy the undoubted value of participating sincerely in the Christian ceremonies. Protestantism sees in the doctrine of intention only evidence of the me- chanical magic of the Romanist system. Protestant opposition to sacramentalism is really a positive affirmation of the place which faith has in religion. Protestantism as well as Romanism in- sists that spiritual help is to be secured by partici- pation in religious ceremonies. But Protestant teaching stands on the scriptural position that God's grace can be dispensed only to those who through faith are receptive toward his influences, and con- ceives that faith is the hand with which man re- ceives the blessing of God. Such a view makes plain that there can be no real and saving relation between God and man into which man does not voluntarily enter, and it commends itself at once to a reasonable and pious mind. One other feature of the general Protestant atti- tude toward the sacraments is its refusal to recog- nize the number as seven. No number of divinely approved Christian ceremonies is mentioned in the * See Appendix, Note 4, for official Romanist s-tatement of the doctrine of intention. 84 Positive Protestantism Scripture. The number of sacraments named by Church Fathers has varied from two to twelve. Romanism has fixed arbitrarily on the number seven. Thus it has omitted some ceremonies, such as foot-washing, which has a far better scriptural claim to recognition than several of the Romanist sacraments, and is annually observed at Rome itself as a holy ceremony. Certainly there is no scriptural or other evidence of an institution of all these seven ceremonies by Jesus, and yet, according to Rome, a sacrament to be such must have been instituted by Christ. Only two, baptism and the Lord's Supper, were so instituted in any sense whatsoever. These are accepted as of primary and obligatory impor- tance by Protestants, and have been quite univer- sally adopted by all Christians of every age who have employed any recognized ceremonies.^ Prot- estants employ other ceremonies, but these two are regarded as preeminent and obligatory because of their institution by Christ, because of their universal observance by Christians, and because of their in- herent significance. Though the number of ceremonies instituted and commanded by Christ is thus only two, it is neces- sary, for understanding the differences of Protes- tant and Romanist teaching, not only to present the Protestant view of these two, but also to consider the Protestant position with reference to the other ceremonies regarded by Rome as sacraments. 5 For some evidential facts, see Appendix, Note 5. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 85 The Roman Catechism says baptism is " the sac- rament of regeneration through water in the word." Cardinal Gibbons declares,® " Baptism washes away original sin and also actual sins from the adult who may have contracted them." Hence, baptism is necessary for salvation, although theoretically the purpose to be baptized is sufficient, provided reali- zation is hindered by some absolutely unavoidable obstacle. If the ceremony is performed with " in- tention " and according to the proper formula, its validity is not affected by the performer being a heretic, a woman, a Jew, or a Saracen, or by the goodness or the evil of the administrator, since grace is conveyed by the mere act.'' Protestantism affirms that faith secures forgive- ness of sins and that baptism is merely the outward sign of what faith accomplishes. It insists, there- fore, when true to its fundamental position, that baptism is not necessary to sajvation, but should be observed because of Christ's command and because of the fitness of this ceremony as the symbol of that cleansing from sin and of that union with Christ which faith effects at the beginning of the Christian life. However, there is a difference of conception and practice among Protestants as to the subjects and form of baptism. The relation of the fundamental Protestant prin- s See "Faith of Our Fathers," p. 315. Compare also Coppens, pp. 224f. "^ For Romanists' views as to the necessity of baptism, see Appen- dix, Note 6. 86 Positive Protestantism ciple to infant baptism is stated by the Lutheran scholar Von Hase when he says, " The piece of Catholicism in the heart of the Protestant Church is infant baptism, in accordance with its significance taken over direct from the Catholic Church, as ef- fecting ipso facto regeneration." ^ It is also recog- nized by the Romanist theologian, Moehler, who asks with reference to infant baptism, " If it is only by virtue of faith that sacrament acts, of what value can it be to an unconscious child ? " Some Prot- estant branches have not been able to relate their fundamental conception thus to infant baptism. Even some who see the relation justify the prac- tice, after repudiating the magical efficacy of bap- tism, by regarding it as a ceremony for parental consecration through Christian love of the lives of little ones to God's church. The analogy to cir- cumcision of the Old Testament dispensation is sometimes cited. But the magical conception more or less persistently connects itself with the practice. The Protestants who refuse ^ to baptize infants hold that there is no evidence that the New Testa- ment church knew anything of infant baptism,^^ but that, on the other hand, the only specific cases of baptism mentioned in the New Testament require " For a fuller quotation from Von Hase, see Appendix, Note 7. ^ In view of the history of the opposition to infant baptism on one ground or another, which goes back certainly as far as Tertullian, the remark of Coppens (p. 224) that infant baptism was not assailed until the sixteenth century shows almost an incredible ignorance. See A. H. Newman, " History of Anti-Pedobaptism." 1" Compare Appendix, Note 7. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 87 the supposition that the baptized had personal faith. They also consider that the fundamental teaching of the New Testament as to faith, which Protestant- ism has made its primary teaching, renders absurd the practice of infant baptism, and that the more complete application of the Protestant principle by the rejection of it not only saves Protestantism from inconsistency, but also completely repudiates the magical conception underlying infant baptism which is so essentially characteristic of Romanism. This repudiation is the more significant since, ac- cording to these Antipedobaptists, the change from the New Testament conception and practice was due to the belief that baptism was necessary to salvation, and to the consequent desire of parents to make sure that their children would not be lost if they died before coming to an age when personal faith was possible. Thus the repudiation leads to the re- jection of the inhuman and unchristian idea that unbaptized children will be forever lost, and to the escape from the superstition connected with this idea. But this rejection is not meant to imply that dedication of children to God and Christianity is improper, but only a refusal to use for the purpose of ceremonial dedication the New Testament cere- mony of baptism which was instituted for quite another function, namely, as the sign of the begin- ning, through faith, of the Christian life and of the believer's entrance into the Christian com- munity. Positive Protestantism There is also a difference among Protestants as to the form of baptism. The majority use affusion or sprinkHng, some permit immersion while prefer- ring sprinkling, and others insist that immersion is the only proper form. Those insisting on immersion hold that such was the form in the New Testa- ment time, and the tendency of modern scholar- ship of all denominations is to grant this conten- tion.^^ Emphasis is laid upon the many indications of the early practice of immersion, such as the ex- istence of ancient baptisteries ; upon the fact that the Eastern Church has never used any other form of baptism than immersion; and upon the further fact that the first conciliar decision raising affusion or sprinkling to a place of equahty with immersion was a decree of the Council of Ravenna (1311), and this affected only a single province and not the whole Western Church. From such facts it is concluded that the original custom of the church was immer- sion. It is also believed that the change from im- mersion was occasioned by the fear that such per- sons as the sick, who were unable to be immersed, would be lost, since they must be baptized to be saved. Such clinic baptism gradually led, after a considerable time, through considerations of con- venience, to greater and greater prevalence of sprinkling or affusion. Consequently, insistence on " It is interesting to n9te the statement of the Jesuit Coppens (p. 223): " In fact, immersion was the most usual manner during the first fourteen centuries." See also article " Baptism " in the Inter- national Encyclopedia, and Henry S. Burrage, " The Act of Bap- tism." Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament f 89 immersion is a protest against the change and the magical sacramental view which led to the change. Finally, it is held that immersion alone fitly sym- bolizes that burial with Christ in baptism to which the New Testament refers. (Rom. 6:4.) When the force of these considerations is in any measure granted by those who employ affusion, it is insisted that in a matter of form the New Testament does not need to be followed; but reply is made to this by the contention that it is important to take the New Testament as guide in every possible way and to emphasize by protest the fundamental Protestant conception of the efficacy of faith as against an ec- clesiastical ceremonialism. As in baptism, so in confirmation, the Romanist and Protestant conceptions disagree. Romanism re- gards confirmation as a sacrament which of itself conveys grace. The only use of it consonant with the Protestant principles is that which views the ceremony as the sign of the personal faith in Qirist which the participator possesses. Not all Protes- tants use the ceremony, for those bodies which bap- tize only on profession of faith have no need of it. Confirmation arose only after infant baptism had become general. In the New Testament time bap- tism was the ceremony of professing faith in Christ and of entering the Christian community. Infant baptism changed the significance of baptism, and left the church without a ceremony to mark per- sonal acceptance of Christ and entrance into the 90 Positive Protestantism community of Christians. The need was filled by the creation of the rite of confirmation/- Those Protestant bodies which do not use confirmation and yet practise infant baptism, have their own varied but similar modes of receiving people into church-membership; and all these modes are only substitutes for baptism as this ordinance was em- ployed in the churches of the New Testament time. According to Romanism, while baptism washes away sin, the grace of God conveyed by baptism is lost through every mortal sin and must be restored through the sacrament of penance. This consists in repentance leading to confession, or relating to a priest all one's mortal sins — venial sins may but do not have to be confessed — and receiving absolu- tion from the priest. He acts as a judge, and ab- solves with the expectation of the performance by the sinner of certain deeds, such as almsgiving, prayers, and fasts, which are known as " penances " or " satisfactions." The article on " Penance " in the Catholic Encyclopedia, says : " The absolution given by the priest . . . remits both the guilt and the eternal punishment of mortal sin. There re- mains, however, some indebtedness to Divine jus- tice which must be canceled here or hereafter." Thus God is conceived as only partially forgiving sin and as requiring still some payment to be met by ^" Thus the Episcopalian church historian Allen (" Christian Insti- tutions," pp. 404f.) says that confirmation now serves the purpose for which New Testament baptism was used. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 91 temporal punishment ^^ inflicted in " penances." If this payment is unmet at death, it must be suffered in purgatory. Indulgences may be issued, miti- gating or abolishing these " penances " or substitut- ing lighter penalties, and may even apply to tem- poral punishment to be met hereafter in purgatory. Scriptural ground for these elements of the sac- rament pi penance is claimed by Romanism in the saying of Jesus : " Receive ye the Holy Spirit : whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they shall be retained " (John 20 : 22f.). But in these words or their context there is no institution of a sacrament, no reference to auricular confession, and no indi- cation of a judicial authority to inflict penalties. On the other hand, the right to declare sins forgiven on the basis of God's promises, which this pas- sage gives, is conferred by Jesus on the entire church (Matt. 16 : 19; 18 : 18), and consequently the right is not confined even to the apostles alone, much less to the Roman priesthood.^* Protestantism advocates the New Testament con- ception of and insistence on repentance. ^^ Repen- 13 It would seem from statements of Romanist teachers that " tem- poral punishment " is to be distinguished from " eternal punishment " in being temporary instead of everlasting; in being less grievous than " eternal punishment," though the greater gravity is not de- fined, but is left to the imagination; and in covering only that in- debtedness to God remaining after eternal guilt and punishment have been wiped out by sacramental grace. 11 For the use of the word " penance " in the Douai English Ver- sion of the Bible, which is the approved Catholic version for use in this country, see Appendix, Note 8. 15 The Greek words translated " repentance " and '' repent " have as their literal and essential meaning " a change of mind." See also Appendix, Note 8. 92 Positive Protestantism tance is a prerequisite to the forgiveness of sins. It is a part of the right inner attitude toward God, in view of which God is willing to deal with men. It is that part which includes sorrow for and detesta- tion of sins and such a change of mind toward sin as amounts to a turning away from it. When to repentance is added the abiding confidence in God and his revelation as a Father which faith requires, then men secure forgiveness and the assurance of such without further ado. Such is the abundantly expressed teaching of the New Testament. Protestants believe in confessing sins primarily and directly to God. They appreciate and accept also the Scripture injunction, " Confess therefore your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed." But Protestants object to the compulsion of Romanist confession, for there is no warrant for it in Scripture and no support in church tradition for a thousand years. Confession to God is necessary for one who chooses to serve God and seeks forgiveness, but confession to a Christian minister is optional. Protestant ministers often receive voluntary confessions and give spirit- ual advice relative thereto. But, as Von Hase says, " Out of the good deed of taking counsel for the conscience with an experienced man in whom one can confide, according as an individual's circum- stances have brought about the need of this, there has come to exist in the Roman Church a compul- sion and a snare which oppresses the conscience. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 93 chokes the moral sensibilities, and denies Christian liberty." The possibility of securing forgiveness by con- fessing sins directly to God was clearly implied by Jesus when he taught us to pray, *' Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." He gave no slightest indication that this simple petition would not be answered until the petitioner had confessed to a priest. Indeed, Romanism itself inconsistently admits the possibility of securing forgiveness with- out confession when it teaches that if, after con- scientious self-examination, the confessor has for- gotten some of his mortal sins, these are forgiven along with those actually confessed. If God will forgive some without confession, why not all? Protestantism therefore affirms that any follower of Christ can pray directly to God, confessing his sin, and receive forgiveness through his repentance and faith. Protestants may admit the salutary effect of con- fession in inspiring fear of wrong-doing, but the incidental benefits are outweighed by the evils con- nected with it. The arbitrary distinction between mortal and venial sins, the latter of which do not have to be confessed, can have only a demoralizing effect. The power which knowledge gained in the confessional gives the priesthood is a bulwark of ecclesiasticism, which is fraught with danger and has been misused in the past. In the confessional questions too there is positive evil. If these ques- 94 Positive Protestantism tions do not actually incite to certain kinds of sin, especially in the case of women who learn from them for the first time concerning some immoral practices, they at least create a suggestive atmos- phere most unhealthful for good morals. The un- pleasant situation is plainly revealed in Romanist books of instructions to priests for hearing con- fessions. Because of such connected evils Protes- tantism condemns compulsory auricular confession. Moreover, God either forgives sin or he requires satisfaction for it. He cannot do both, nor partly one and partly the other on any ethical basis. Paul declared, " There is, therefore, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8 : i), and that what the law, ceremonial or other, could not do, faith in Christ by itself accomplishes, full acquittal from sin and a start on the right road. (Cf. Rom. 8 : i with Rom. 3 : 21-30.) Thus God really forgives sins freely without any payment of any kind. Moreover, there is no moral connection between the sins confessed and the penalties pre- scribed. What has the saying of a certain number of prayers, the fasting from certain foods, or the giving of alms to do with the forgiveness of sin? These acts may have value, but as ethical grounds for forgiveness they are beyond ethical comprehen- sion. Or, of what moral value are penances that may be performed by substitutes? The answer is plain. But the case is still worse. Prayer, the high privilege of personal communion with God the Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 95 Father, is, when inflicted as a penance, lowered to a punishment for sin ; fasting, whose spiritual bene- fit as a teacher of self-control depends upon volun- tary exercise, is made a punishment for sin and an externally efficacious act; and almsgiving, which should spring only from Christian unselfishness, be- comes in effect a means of buying with filthy lucre the assurance of God's favor. Surely Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6), clearly enough condemned these very practices when merely ex- ternal, and laid the emphasis on the praying and fasting and almsgiving which are in secret and come from the innermost motives of the heart. He even condemned as heathenish that much repeating of prayers to which penances have since led. Indeed this entire conception of penalties is utterly foreign to the simplicity and piety of the New Testament.^^ But the crown of the sacramental system is not penance, but the eucharist and the mass. Romanism holds that by the words of consecration spoken by the priest the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper are changed into the actual body and blood of Qirist and each is both the body and the blood. " The Catholic doctrine is thus stated in the creed of Pius IV : ' I profess that there is offered to God a true and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and 1' Indulgences constitute another element of the Romanist system of penance, but owing to the relative cessation of the promulgation of general indulgences since the time of the Reformation and the consequently comparatively smaller part they now play in Romanism, this matter will be reserved for a later chapter as will also the con- sideration of the connected thought of purgatory. g6 Positive Protestantism the dead; and that in the most Holy sacrament of the Eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially the Body and the Blood, together with the Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there takes place a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the Body and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood ; which conversion the Catholic Church calls transubstantiation. I also confess that under either kind alone Christ is re- ceived whole and entire and a true Sacrament/ " ^^ Cardinal Gibbons says : " The sacrifice of the Mass is the consecration of the* bread and the wine into the body and blood and the oblation of this body and blood to God by the ministry of the priest, for a perpetual memorial of the Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The sacrifice of the Mass is identical with that of the cross, both having the same victim and High Priest — Jesus Christ." Accordingly this cere- mony is on the one hand the eucharist, participation in which brings sacramental grace, and on the other it is a repetition of the sacrifice of Jesus as an oflfer- ing in behalf of those who worship. The doctrine of transubstantiation is rejected by Protestantism on several grounds. Romanism has no warrant for insisting that Jesus' words, " This is my body," are to be taken literally. Jesus said also, " I am the door" (John lo : 7), but no one thinks of understanding this as a literal statement. Why should we not consider Jesus' language as i'^ Quoted, except last sentence, in Coppens, p. 321. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament f 97 figurative in the passage cited for this doctrine, when it is perfectly plain that the bread is not the body and can be conceived of in this language only if it be taken figuratively? Even according to Ro- manism the " is " is not to be taken to mean iden- tity; for the substance of bread and wine is done away entirely and a new substance is created by a miracle ; so that the meaning of '* is " according to this view turns out to be something more than literal, and the word really signifies " changed into." There is no warrant for such a meaning of " is." There is consequently no scriptural support for the doctrine, and in addition history proves it to have been a development from small beginnings in the early Christian centuries through various stages of growth until it was finally adopted by the ecclesi- astical authority of the Lateran Council (1215). Such poor authority will not with Protestants make up for the lack of Scripture. The repudiation of transubstantiation rests also on the incredibility of the supposed miracle of turn- ing bread and wine, each and both, into the actual body and blood of Jesus with muscles, bones, nerves, and whatsoever appertains to a true body, and also at the same time into Christ's whole soul and di- vinity. By every standard of judgment which in- telligence can apply the elements remain precisely what they were, as a chemical analysis would re- veal, and when eaten and drunk they undoubtedly take the same course of digestion as any other food. G 98 Positive Protestantism Moreover, how is the whole physical body of Christ to be conceived as present at once in the eucharistic elements of many widely separated churches, wholly in each place, and at the same time wholly at the right hand of God? One cannot accept transub- stantiation unless he sets aside all scientific and rea- sonable methods of thought. There is too an objection to this Romanist teaching from the point of view of the religious ef- fect of it. To a piety that springs from the depths of a heart sensitive with reverence for God, it is repulsive to think of eating one's God, and that is what the Romanist teaching involves. It is the ac- tual physical body and blood and also the whole soul and divinity of Christ that one eats in partaking of either the bread or the wine. The Arabian phi- losopher Aver roes could say with justification so far as Romanism and medievalism are concerned, *' The Christians adore what they eat," and he might have said, " They eat what they adore." To be sure, the piety of Romanists is not at all shocked by this con- ception, probably because they do not stop to think of what is involved. But to a thoughtful piety it is repelling. For how can spiritual blessing be con- ceived to depend upon the manducatipn of the phys- ical body and blood of Christ? Agreed unanimously as to the rejection of tran- substantiation, Protestants have had several differ- ent interpretations of the significance of the Lord's Supper. The Lutheran view, least far removed from Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament f 99 the Roman Catholic, held that the body and blood were present in the elements since God is Christ, and therefore Christ, like God, is everywhere. This view can be true only if the physical body of Christ is ubiquitous ; this conception is almost as difficult as transubstantiation. Calvin held that since the presence of a thing was indicated by the presence of its power, Christ's presence in the elements was certain, since his power influenced partakers of the supper. The Anglican, or Episcopalian, view holds that there is a real presence in the elements, much in the same sense as the burning bush was a mani- festation to Moses of the real presence of God. None of these views claims to be specifically taught in the Scriptures, but only to be interpretation of Scripture statements. Each of them insists that Christ is present in the bread and wine. An additional view, however, which best accords, in the view of its variously affiliated advocates, with the whole teaching of the New Testament, which is most harmonious with the fundamental Protestant position, and which best meets the de- mand of a reasonable conception of the spiritual life, is that the bread and wine represent as symbols the body and blood of Christ. According to this view Christ's presence is of the kind he promised when he said, " Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18 : 20). He is in the hearts of the worshipers spiritually, and the only function which loo Positive Protestantism the elements perform is their suggestiveness as symbols, calling to mind the Lord's passion, and as necessary parts of an impressive ceremony, the psychological accompaniments of which are spirit- ually helpful because God through Christ is in the heart to bless it. On the basis of this last view the religious signifi- cance of the Lord's Supper may be made plain. Any one may secure through participation in this ceremony the greatest spiritual blessing, provided only he has faith and takes the proper attitude in the observance. The piety and experience of the Christian centuries, taken in addition to the teach- ings of the New Testament, are sufficient evidence of this. But there are different ways of explaining how the blessing comes. The Romanist says that it comes in virtue of the miracle of changing the bread and wine into the actual body and blood and soul and divinity of Christ. Protestantism says, and most consistently in the view last stated above, that the blessing comes from the presence of God in the worshiper's heart, that is, through the miracle of inner spiritual communion with God. The bread and wine as symbols suggest the body and blood of Christ, and thus through this suggestion lead to that attitude of receptive faith and pious meditation which are the means through which God cooperates with the human spirit. Then too, participation in the common meal adds the sense of Christian fel- lowship. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament f loi Romanism prolongs the Lord's Supper by adding to the eucharist, or sacrament of sharing the bread and wine, the mass. Following the Old Testament conception of the priest, and conceiving that the priestly office must include the sacrificial function, Romanism holds that its priesthood fulfils this func- tion by performing sacrifice in the mass.^^ This sacrifice of Christ is an offering to God on behalf of all present. The mass not only memorializes or calls to mind the sacrifice of Christ, but repeats it. It logically follows that the priest must be conceived as again putting our Lord to death as he was once crucified on behalf of the world. Moreover, in the popular mind at least, and in the idea of masses for the dead, the Romanist notion of sacrifice in the mass runs into that of pagan propitiation; for par- ticipation in the ceremony through inner attitude on the part of those sharing the benefits of the sacrifice is no longer thought of as necessary, and is impos- sible in the case of the dead. Protestantism repudi- ates all such ideas as external, unreasonable, and even as unchristian and pagan. Protestantism urges against the conception of the mass the utter absence of any reference to it in the New Testament. Certainly at the institution of the Lord's Supper there was no idea of repeating the sacrifice of Christ. The teaching of the New Tes- 18 Since comparatively few persons partake of the bread, the only element allowed the laity, the regular church service of the Roman- ist churches has come to be almost entirely this prolonged mass or sacrifice. Mere presence at the elevation of the host secures divine grace. I02 Positive Protestantism tament implies precisely the contrary of the Ro- manist notion, for it states that Christ made a sac- rifice once for all and that his death did away with the need of sacrifices. (For example, Heb. 9 : 12, 25, 26, 28; 10 : 10, 12, 14, 18.) This is a precise denial that Christ's sacrifice has to be repeated. As if the value of Jesus' sacrifice could be increased by a mere priest of any religious body ! The only sac- rifices expected of Christians are those of the spir- itual inner life and what may be thereby practically involved. (Ps. 51 : 17.) The necessary sacrificial spirit is indeed helped by participation in the Lord's Supper, for the memory of the sacrifice of Christ is sanctified to the strengthening of the worshiper's sacrificial spirit by the Spirit of God at work in his heart. The final feature of the Romanist eucharist need- ing notice is the withholding of the cup from the laity. No Scripture warrant for this is claimed, and it is not held that this has been the custom of the church in all times. It is frankly admitted that both the bread and wine were given to the laity in the early church. The first thousand years of the church knew little of any other custom. At least four popes favored or commanded the administer- ing in both kinds, and the decrees of councils have vacillated from one position to the other.^^ This wavering is excused by the Romanists on the plea that the church need not give reasons for its de- 19 For some historical evidence, see Appendix, Note 9. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 103 crees — a strange contention of believers in an in- fallible and unchangeable teaching office. Some very trivial arguments in support of the custom are sometimes put forth, such as that the laity are likely to spill the sacred wine. But the essential reason for maintaining the administering in one kind to the laity is the glorification of the priesthood as alone fully entitled to a place at the Lord's Supper. Prot- estants without exception maintain the custom of the New Testament church. The special privilege of the cup is in keeping with the priestly prerogatives which arise out of the sac- rament of order or ordination. Through the divine grace imparted by this sacrament, according to Ro- manism, is bestowed the power of order, that is, of preaching the word, of administering the sacra- ments, and of jurisdiction, by which is meant au- thority in the church and particularly in the con- fessional. This power is exclusively the prerogative of the ordained. Protestants have ceremonies of ordination, but, except in the case of those who, like the Episco- palians, believe in apostolic succession, they do not conceive that these ceremonies convey any special grace to the minister or make him a different kind or grade of being. These ceremonies are but the formal way of recognizing the call and the fitness of individuals to the special work of the min- istry, whose functions are reserved for the ordained, not on the ground that a sacerdotal order is neces- I04 Positive Protestantism sary for mediation between God and men, but merely for the sake of orderliness in the arrange- ments of the church and for the sake of efficiency in its work. Protestants do not conceive that any special powers inhere in the ministry. The only ground for accepting the Romanist doctrine a§ to " order " is the tradition which the hierarchy has developed and conserved in th.e interests of main- taining and enlarging its own superiority. Romanism regards marriage also as a sacrament, though it was certainly not instituted by Christ as the Romanist definition of sacrament would require. Scriptural warrant is found in Paul's statement, " Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it. . . This is a great sacrament, but I speak in Christ and in the church " (Eph. 5 : 25, 32, Douai English Version). But this translation is false, for the word expressed in Latin as " sacrament " means in Greek '* mys- tery." Besides, as appears from the verses between the two quoted, the mystery is not that of marriage but of the relation of Christ and the church. Paul definitely states, " This mystery is great, but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church" (English Revised Version). The Latin Vulgate, except for the one word which means sacrament, is capable of being rendered in precisely this language. Cajetan, the brilliant opponent of Luther, admitted that this passage could not be used for teaching that mar- riage is a sacrament. Salvation: By Faith or Sacramentf 105 Romanist theologians are far from clearness or agreement either as to the " form " or " matter " of this supposed sacrament.-^ The " form " is either the benediction of the priest or the acceptance of each other by the contracting parties. The signifi- cance of this for practical purposes is shown in the fact that if the '' form " is the benediction of the priest, there are no real Christian marriages except those performed by Romanist priests. The declara- tions of different popes may be appealed to for both views of the '' form.*' Yet most recently the encyc- lical letters (the most weighty authority in the church) of Pius X, widely published in this country a few years ago, decided for the priestly benedic- tion, and consequently the infallible pope has settled it that no one is living in real Christian marriage relations except those married by Romanist priests. Certainly some priests tell the plain people that they are living illicitly if married by another than a Ro- manist priest, and attempts have been made to break up families on this basis. Such declarations, whether cathedratic and infallible or not, have no legal standing or effect in such a country as ours, but they serve to show the actual position and spirit of the Romanist hierarchy. Their very statement has, to the knowledge of the present writer, driven people out of the Roman Church, and the conten- 20 In Romanism " form " is the technical term for the effective formula of a sacrament, and " matter " is the term for the necessary material used, such as water in baptism, bread and wine in the eucharist. io6 Positive Protestantism tion itself obviously does not require refuta- tion.21 Protestantism finds no reason to regard marriage as a sacrament, especially as Protestants repudiate sacramentalism. It does conceive marriage as di- vinely appointed and approved as a social insti- tution.^- The final sacrament of the Roman Church is also the final one for life, extreme unction. Scriptural warrant is claimed in the passages which refer to the common practice in ancient times of dealing with sickness by anointing with oil under religious influences. (James 5 : I4f. ; Mark 6 : 13; 16 : 18.) But this custom looked to the recovery of the sick and not to preparation for dying, and the scriptural injunction is to the lay brethren, not to a special priesthood. There is no great antiquity for the practice of extreme unction as a sacrament. The name itself did not come into use until the eighth century, and then only to indicate a remedy for the sick. Romanism holds that this sacrament conveys 21 Marriages between Protestants and Romanists are an almost inevitable source of family difficulty. Even where it has been agreed beforehand that the Protestant party shall have some freedom per- sonally and some control over the religious training of the children, the agreement is often not lived up to. Even when the Catholic party is willing to abide by his or her agreement, his or her Roman- ist relatives are free to exercise the Romanist duty to bring all into the one true church. Certainly when people of such different re- ligious affiliations and principles as Protestants and Romanists marry, they take into their hand their happiness and the effectiveness of home-making. If Romanists could agree to disagree it might be different, but the position of their church forbids this. Thus re- ligion, which should strengthen and sweeten the home becomes a spring of discord. 22 For a comparison of Romanist and Protestant positions as to divorce, see Appendix, Note lo. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament f 107 the divine grace necessary to remove the guilt of transgressions which may remain to be expiated at the time of death. Protestantism rejects the sacra- ment and the practice of anything Hke it as a re- ligious ceremony. Finally, it is to be reiterated that Protestant views as to the ceremonies of the church are con- trolled, by the fundamental emphasis upon the value of faith. The worth of the rites of the church de- pends upon the faith of the participant, and upon the ceremonies themselves only in so far as they are the appropriate expression of an inner experience and suggestive of those considerations which help faith. God is in the hearts of the worshipers, and blesses them through faith. CHAPTER IV PROTESTANT CONCEPTION OF THE FUNCTION AND AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH More fundamental even than the conceptions dis- cussed in the preceding chapters is the contrast be- tween Protestant and Romanist teaching concern- ing the function of tjie church and the authority of the same in all religious matters. Ultimately the decisions of Romanists concerning the ideas already discussed rest upon their position in regard to the church and its authority. For Protestants like- wise, the question of the source of authority for religious thought and practice is of primary im- portance. In this connection there are four main subjects for consideration: (i) The nature and function of the church; (2) the ministry of the church; (3) the authority of the pope in contrast to private judgment; and (4) the question of whether Romanism is the sole channel of grace or whether religious life and certainty concerning it can be had on the Protestant basis. I. the CHURCH Since for Protestantism faith is the basis and se 108 essence of religious life, the church is conceived of Function and Authority of the Church 109 as the aggregate of those who have faith in God through Christ. It thus includes all Christians of whatever shades of opinion, provided only that they have a living personal faith. This is the ideal church, the true catholic or universal church. The visible church is the church organized on a voluntary basis in many different ways in the vari- ous communions, and as emphasizing the various phases of Christian truth. The visible church is thus not a single organization, but an aggregate of organizations composed of those who have faith in God through Christ. While each group of Prot- estants is loyal to its own opinions and practices, Protestantism holds that the Christian church in- cludes Romanist, Eastern Catholic, and Protestant branches. Churches exist as organizations for the strengthening of Christian life by means of public worship and instruction. Christian fellowship, and Christian service. The churches are also working forces for the evangelization and the Christianiza- tion of the world. In this work the laity as well as the ministers are assigned a very large and legiti- mate part. The local church in Protestantism be- comes also the center of social life of the people, a responsibility for the social life is felt, and a definite effort is made to meet the need. Still further, the Protestant churches are coming to-day to emphasize that the teachings of Jesus must be taken by Christian people, not merely into that in- dividual life which centers about the thought of no Positive Protestantism individual communion with God and individual sal- vation, but also into those applications which will mean the construction of human society on the basis of Christian principles. All of this organized life is thought of as the opportunity and expression of faith. The Romanist view of the church differs from this conception in conceiving the ideal, invisible church as future and as arising from the visible church, and in regarding inclusion in the ideal church as dependent upon right relations with the visible church. According to Protestantism, the church could not exist except for the Christian dis- position in the hearts of those who constitute it. As mutual love leads to marriage, so faith in God and love for him lead to the institution of the church. Romanism, on the other hand, conceives that out of the church arises the disposition of a Christian, as if the existence of the institution of marriage and the performance of the ceremony created the mutual love. Consequently, according to this view, submission to the one true church is essential before there can be any Christian life. This one true church is the visible organization in the world which possesses certain marks: apos- tolicity, catholicity, holiness, and unity. The only church which has these marks' is the Roman Church. Its apostolicity consists in the founding of the church of Rome by the apostles; that is, in the fact, as Romanists claim, that Peter, Function and Authority of the Church iii the head of the apostles, was the first bishop of Rome, to whom Christ handed over authority and power; and, in the transmission of this authority and power by an unbroken succession to the present through the bishops of Rome. Catholicity consists in universal diffusion throughout the world and " identity as to faith and communion in whatever place," The holiness of the church is not the actual achievement of holiness on the part of all its members, but is, according to the Roman Cate- chism, the church's ceremonial and historically con- tinuous consecration to God, its historical union with Christ, the head — that is, through the unbroken apostolic succession, not through ethical identi- fication of the church-members' purposes with Christ's — and its sole possession of the sacrificial cultus and of the sacraments which are the means of effecting true holiness. The Roman Church has unity through its one organization, its oneness of doctrinal belief, and its unchangeability through- out the ages. Therefore, the Roman Church is the only real Christian church, and alone possesses the power of dispensing the divine grace necessary for salvation. Its one chief demand is submissive obedience with all which that obedience involves. Through this obedience Romanism makes relation- ship to Christ depend upon relationship to the church, whereas Protestantism makes relationship to Christ determine relationship to the church. Rome's claims to be the only true church rest 11^ Positive Protestantism essentially upon the claim of apostolicity, which is expressed in the declaration of the Vatican Coun- cil that " the holy and blessed Peter . . . lives, pre- sides^ and judges to this day and always, in his suc- cessors, the bishops of the Holy See of Rome, which was founded by him and consecrated by his blood." There are three elements in this claim: (i) Peter founded the church at Rome; (2) he was its first bishop; (3) he was martyred at Rome. There is no positive evidence that Peter was ever at Rome except the unsupported tradition that he was martyred there and the patristic tradition of his presence in Rome, which is first clearly ex- pressed by Irenaeus about A. D. 176, or more than one hundred years after the supposed event. Quo- tations by Romanists of Church Fathers, who are supposed to give an earlier expression of the tradi- tion, will not bear examination. On the other hand, there is positive evidence that proves the unreliability of the first and second allegations of fact and leaves the third without any force for the Romanist contention. The supposi- tion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome is directly contradicted by the fact plainly manifested in the New Testament that the apostles did not hold local pastorates or bishoprics. Likewise, the New Testament account of Peter's movements renders it impossible to credit the tradition as to Peter's Roman bishopric, since that tradition places him in Rome during the twenty-five years Function and Authority of the Church 113 in which the New Testament speaks of his presence elsewhere. Paul's letter to the Romans implies (Rom. 15 : 20) that he would not have planned to visit or sought to influence the church at Rome had Peter or any other apostle been its founder. Nor, had Peter been bishop when this letter was written, as the twenty-five years of the tradition requires, would, Paul have failed to mention him, especially as he sends salutations to several individuals at Rome. Besides, the claim of Rome is contrary to the very Church Fathers whose statements are sup- posed to favor the Roman contention. Irenseus, the first to give a list of the Roman bishops, specifi- cally says that the bishopric was committed, after the founding of the church, to Linus and, in the list of bishops following this statement, Linus is first, since Eleutherius appears as and is declared to be twelfth. Eusebius, writing about A. D. 324, said distinctly, " Linus was the first to obtain the episcopate of the church at Rome." Thus the evi- dence of the New Testament and of the Fathers, Irenseus and Eusebius, disposes of the supposition that Peter was the founder and first bishop of the church at Rome. The church at Rome probably came into being naturally and spontaneously through the gathering in Rome of Christians from various parts of the empire. It is extremely doubtful that Peter was ever in Rome, as was just said. If Peter did die a martyr in Rome as alleged, that fact had no rela- H 114 Positive Protestantism tion to the Romanist claim to apostolicity, since the claim really depends on the impossible contention that Peter was the founder and first bishop of Rome. Even if all the allegations of fact made by Rome's claims were granted, the Roman contention would not be established, for there is not the slightest trace of evidence that Peter as apostle or as first bishop ever handed over to his supposed successor any prerogatives or powers. Lack of evidence at this point is precisely fatal to the Romanist position. In contrast to Romanism, whatever may be said of the incompleteness in the position of any single branch of Protestantism, Protestants, as a whole, have at least urged the higher ideals as to the char- acteristics of the true church. For Protestantism regards apostolicity as the inheritance of the whole of the Christian heritage and as agreement with the spirit, teachings, and practices of the New Testa- ment, rather than as the possession of special eccle- siastical prerogatives handed down by a succession from Peter, which cannot be given even the sem- blance of probability In view of the evidence. Prot- estants have not, as is sometimes stated, started new religions, but continue New Testament Chris- tianity in new appreciations and developments as much as other branches continue It In medieval and outworn forms. The succession of the inheritance of Christianity and agreement with the New Testa- ment, which do not depend upon the confirming hand Function and Authority of the Church 115 of an ecclesiastical officer, constitute the only apos- tolic succession worth considering. Further, Protestantism defines catholicity or uni- versality in the terms of breadth and charity to recognize as such all Christians who have faith in God through Christ and are loyal to Christ and the teachings of the Bible, and not as mere geograph- ical and external diffusion of one ecclesiastical and creedal type of Christianity. As a matter of fact, Rome has not been the mother of all churches. Jesus' command that preaching should begin at Jerusalem (Luke 24 : 47) and the whole New Tes- tament point to Jerusalem as the first center, and it is plain that Rome was far from being in any such position in the early Christian church. Even when Rome had become the center of Western Christianity, her relationship to the Eastern and Celtic Churches will not bear out her claim. In regard to Rome's motherhood of all modern Chris- tian advance, such a statement as that of Cardinal Gibbons ^ shows a strange and inexcusable ignorance of the history of Protestant missions. But such a claim of priority in introducing the gospel upon this or that continent is beside the mark, for cath- olicity depends on the possession of New Testa- ment saving faith. Wherever men with faith join together to maintain and propagate the Christianity of the New Testament and to practise a life in accord with the same, they are a part of the true 1 •' Faith of Our Fathers," p. 139. Ii6 Positive Protestantism catholic church, whatever may be their theological opinions or their ecclesiastical practices. The whole church is truly catholic only when it includes all who have real faith in Jesus Christ. Similarly, Protestantism defines the holiness of the church, when considered a possession, as real moral achievement, and when held to be a power of impartation, as ability to lead by persuasion and other religious influence to moral achievement, and not as consisting in the sole possession of the sacri- ficial and other cultus through which alone cere- monial holiness can be secured. However much the antiquity of the church may inspire reverence, ulti- mately respect for the church must rest upon the recognition by men that it has been the agency in the hands of God in wielding those influences which have led to and fostered a faith in God through Christ and a life in accord with such faith. Neither the possession of, nor the power to impart, holiness is monopolized by any one branch of the church, as the moral and spiritual achievements of the various groups indicate. As to unity. Protestantism holds that real Chris- tian unity consists in the common possession of the spirit and faith of Jesus and the apostles, and in holding to an ethical purpose and life, such as that for which the Master prayed when he asked of God that his followers might be one as he and his Father were one. Such unity allows cooperation in Chris- tian work, and is possible in spite of divergence of Function and Authority of the Church 117 creedal statements, in spite of a number of distinct church organizations, and in spite of the absence of even a claim to an unchangeable or other authorita- tive tradition. Such unity Protestantism, in a large measure, already possesses. Rome, with all her in- tolerance, has not been able to achieve her own ideal of unity in her own communion, and it is her attitude which renders cooperation between her and other Christians impossible. - The mere statement of these ideals of Protestant- ism, since they so commend themselves to the mod- ern mind, convincingly disposes of the claim of Rome to be the only true catholic church, and this dis- posal is confirmed by Rome's failure either to con- ceive or achieve these ideals. An analogous conclu- sion may be reached also with reference to the idea of the minister and his function. II. THE MINISTRY In the New Testament time ministers were simply those who were set aside for specific services in the church. One will look in vain for anything that smacks of a sacerdotal order. Protestants take as ground for their positive teaching of the priesthood of all believers such passages as Revelation i : 6 and I Peter 2 : 5 (and others of the same purport and of corroborative significance) which refer to the priestly function of all Christians. According to this doctrine, any one who has faith may exercise = For evidence of disunion in Romanism, see Appendix, Note ii. Ii8 Positive Protestantism the functions of priesthood, since faith of itself gives access to God without the mediation of a special order of officials. Communion with God, therefore, does not wait upon sacerdotal preroga- tives, but is possible to the humblest Christian. Protestants conceive, however, that for the sake of orderliness and efficiency in the church's work it is necessary to have specially educated men to whom is assigned the work of ministers. Men who can give evidence of an inward call to such work and who have received sufficient training for it are ordained to be the spiritual leaders and teachers of the church. Their ordination is only the ecclesias- tical recognition of their call and fitness. Protes- tantism does not make its ministers by their ordina- tion into a special order of beings different from other Christians, and possessing divine prerogatives and power to dispense or withhold God's grace as they may see fit. Protestantism thinks of its min- isters only as divinely called and specially trained persons, chosen to perform the functions which any real Christian has the religious right to perform. The Romanist conception of the clergy, as persons who have been set aside as a special class with divine powers by the ecclesiastical institution which constitutes the only channel of God's grace, is clearly stated by the theologian Moehler : '' For the exer- cise of public functions in the Church, for the dis- charge of the office of teaching, and for the admin- istration of the sacraments a divine internal calling Function and Authority of the Church 119 and a higher quaHfication are above all things re- quired. . . As the preservation of the doctrine and institutions of Christ has been entrusted to the Church ... he [the priest] receives through her ex- ternal consecration the inward consecration of God ; or, in other words, he receives through the laying on of hands of the bishop the Holy Ghost " (pp. 304-306). Accordingly, the priest possesses an ex- ternally imparted supernatural power, which, in the popular mind at least, is easily merged into super- stitious regard for a supposed magical control of spiritual matters. Thomas Aquinas said : '' A priest is a sort of middleman and mediator between God and the people, as we read of Moses, and there- fore it belongs to him to deliver the divine decrees to the people; and again, that which comes from the people in the way of prayers and sacrifices and offerings ought to be paid to God through the priests." ^ Except by baptism, divine grace cannot be secured without the priest's activity, and not even in the case of baptism if a priest is accessible. The priest too, by his divine power, can turn bread and wine into the actual flesh and blood and bones and soul and divinity of Jesus. In the mass also the priest has the power of repeating Christ's sacri- ficial death. He holds the power of forgiving sins, the power of absolution, and of administering the sacraments upon which forgiveness depends.* In * Quoted by Coppens, p. 232. * For a Jesuit estimate of the priest and for the use of the word "priest" in the Douai version, see Appendix, Note 12. I20 Positive Protestantism the absence of any trace of such a priesthood in the New Testament, it is impossible to escape the force and validity of the Protestant conception plainly supported by the New Testament, which holds the ministry to be an office to which is dele- gated for the sake of efficiency and good order the functions and capacities which really belong to any one who has faith. Protestantism differs from Romanism, not only in regard to this general conception of the minis- ter, but also with reference to the necessity and wisdom of a celibate ministry. Rome requires that her priests shall take the vow of celibacy in order that the priest, having only an ecclesiastical con- science, may be freer for the work of the church than a man of family can be, and also, and this is the characteristic ground, because the celibate state is regarded by Romanism, according to pagan ascetic ideas, as a higher moral state than matri- mony. Upon these two arguments of expediency and asceticism Rome must depend, for one will look in vain in the New Testament for any trace of a celibate sacerdotal order. History reveals that the adoption of celibacy, even theoretically, came only after a long struggle, and has never been uni- versal, since in particular the Eastern Catholic Church has never required it. The Romanist argument of expediency is based on a false assumption, for the Protestant minister with his family is no less devoted to his work than Fiifjiction and Authority of the Church 12 1 the Roman priest. The contacts of life with wife and children, the joys of these associations, and even the cares of family responsibilities enrich the character of the minister and give him a knowl- edge of life which enables him to give wise advice and sympathy to married people. Then too, a married minister escapes the temptations to which celibacy subjects men. The effectiveness of Chris- tian ministers must meet the test of their moral integrity in relation to the opposite sex. The his- tory of celibacy is a sad and revolting story and a record of failure.^ The Protestant ministry is relieved of the compulsion of celibacy's hindrance to effectiveness, while at the same time nothing prevents any man practising it if he is of that mind. Consequently the ministry loses nothing through the privilege of marriage, but rather gains in efficiency. The assumption as to the essential impurity of the sex relation is also false. This relation is as much God-given and as legitimately human as any other relation of life. Even if chastity in the sense of celibacy were a holier state than marriage, the mere vow of celibacy and the formal keeping of the same would not really achieve this state. Jesus said, " I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adul- tery with her already in his heart " (Matt. 5 : 28). 'Even Pope Pius II (1458-1464), referring to the failure of celi- bacy, said, " Reasons have been found for denying marriage to the clergy, but perhaps there are still greater to be found for restor- ing it." 122 Positive Protestantism Romanist writers themselves have given us ample descriptions of the internal conflicts of priests who nevertheless maintain their vows outwardly. But chastity is not to be confounded with celibacy. There is no higher chastity than that of a pure, well-regulated marriage. The New Testament shows us that the early ministry was married, yet chaste.^ Accordingly, Protestantism repudiates the ascetic assumption as to celibacy and maintains the socially beneficial institution of the minister's family with its character-developing influence on the min- ister, and with its real contribution to the work of the church. Romanism and Protestantism have also a dif- ferent view as to the grades of the ministry. Speaking generally, the Protestants ^ of this country have only the two ranks of ministry, deacons and pastors (also called bishops or elders), which are known to the New Testament. In congregationally governed bodies men entering the ministry seldom go first through the diaconate, as is the case in other bodies. Some denominations use the title " bishop " without distinguishing a third rank in the ministry. For example, the Methodist Epis- copal Church assigns to certain pastors the duties of general supervision, and then calls them, because of their election to perform these duties, " bishops." •For New Testament evidence, see Appendix, Note 13. ''The Lutheran churches of the Scandinavian countries, the An- glican Church, and its representative in America — the Protestant Episcopal Church — have an additional rank of bishop. Function and Authority of the Church 12^, Moreover, in the last analysis the authority and privileges of the Protestant ministry arise from, and are delegated by, the people of the church, composed of those who have faith in Christ and who are members by personal choice. This ac- cords with the situation described in the New Tes- tament. Romanism has three orders of the clergy. They are deacons who have not yet attained to full priestly powers and prerogatives, priests, and lastly bishops, who alone can confirm and can confer priestly ordination, and who control, as command- ers, the priests of their respective dioceses. The ultimate source of appointment and authority of the priesthood of the three ranks is the pope, so that the priestly authority, powers, and privileges come down from him rather than arise from the people. For a long while the bishops of the early church, after the bishopric as a distinct office had been differentiated from the eldership and raised above it, were elected by the people of their re- spective dioceses. The bishopric of Protestant bodies which retain it preserves a greater measure of the freedom and democracy of this early situa- tion than does Romanism. Therefore, in regard to the ministry as in regard to the nature and function of the church, it is Protestantism, not Romanism, which is in harmony with the New Testament, and whose views are natural and reasonable. 124 Positive Protestantism III. RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY For Protestants, the final authority in religion is the Scriptures, interpreted with the help of God's Spirit present in the heart through faith and by the best intelligence and widest knowledge obtain- able. Such authority is plainly not merely external. Protestants acknowledge the authority of the Scrip- ture because they are convinced of its divine value as the source of religious ideas and inspirations, and because they conceive that it can have value only as men use it from conviction and choice. This conception will be set forth below in greater detail after the Romanist position has been stated and the Protestant estimate of the same has been presented. The first step in this presentation is the Romanist definition of the church's infallibly authoritative teaching ofiice. According to the Jesuit Coppens, " As a body of believers she [the church] cannot believe what is false; as a teaching body — ^and as such we consider her here — she cannot teach what is false" (p. 91). Thus Romanism takes the consciousness which the whole body of Christians have always had of their possession of God's truth in the gospel and turns it into an indefinable super- natural power to avoid error in belief and in teach- ing. The only basis for accepting such a claim of power is Rome's own assertion that she possesses it. Rome claims to exercise this supernatural power Function and Authority of the Church 125 in the use of Scripture. She insists that she rests her position on Scripture. But by virtue of her power in the teaching office she claims that the Scriptures must first be interpreted by her before they are of any value. For this interpretation she uses what she regards as valid tradition — the valid decrees of the general councils as she is willing to accord them validity, and, most important of all, the infallible authority of the pope's ex-cathedra decla- rations. Coppens says in regard to reading dog- matic views into the Scriptures : " A sensible trans- lation is an interpretation or commentary ; and every translator reads his own dogmatic views into the passages interpreted. This is as it should be when the dogmatic views are supported by an infallible authority. But heretics thus make the Bible teach heresy." This implies the introduction of dogmatic views into all interpretation of the Scripture and not alone into translation. Perrone (quoted by Von Hase) even more naively declares: *' Catholics are not very solicitous as to the criticism and interpre- tation of the Holy Scripture. For they themselves, to put the matter in a word, have the fabric already prepared and complete, and stand firm and secure in its possession." Romanists seem entirely ob- livious that such statements show their argument to be proceeding in a circle, for Rome claims to estab- lish her teaching by Scripture, but then establishes the teaching of Scripture by her dogmatic concep- tions. According to this assertion of the power 126 Positive Protestantism of the teaching office, there is absolutely no appeal to Scripture which can possibly be used to refute Romanism because, however clearly by every stand- ard of science and intelligence the writers of the Bible meant something different from Romanist dogmas, they did not mean any such thing, for the church teaches the contrary. Rome's subordination of the Scripture to the teaching office has led to her hostility to the lay use of the Bible. Excepting the statements of the earliest popes, the official attitude of Rome has been per- sistently against such use.^ In a country such as ours Rome grants more readily than elsewhere per- mission to read a version in the common tongue. Dens, a Romanist writer, says that the sale of the Douai Bible in Romanist bookstores is a relaxation of the rule of the church permitted in Protestant countries.^ This relaxation is possibly due to the fear that without it intelligent laymen will make use of the easily accessible versions in English which are scholarly rather than Romanist; for, if the Bible is to be read, it had better be read in a ver- sion which conserves the interests of Romanism as far as possible. As late as January 26, 1914, a public ecclesiastical burning of the Scriptures took place in the PhiHppine Islands.^^ Without running fatal dangers to her whole position, Rome cannot 8 For evidence as to their hostility, see Appendix, Note 14. ^Quoted by McKim, p. 176. 1' See R. J. Miller, " Fundamentals of Protestantism." Function and Authority of the Church 127 permit the general use of the Scriptures except under the control and interpretation of her teach- ing office. The teaching office is regarded as having its em- bodiment in tradition. Historically this was the first conception of the agency of the teaching power of the church. According to Moehler (p. 279) tradition " is the living word perpetuated in the heart of believers." In other words, it is the con- sensus of Christian opinion. During the first two or three centuries at least, this opinion was formu- lated necessarily by individual Fathers. Thus more objectively, tradition is the definite deposit of propo- sitions which are infallible and unchangeable. These are to be found in the accounts of martyrs, in liturgies, in the writings of the Church Fathers and of the schoolmen, and in inscriptions. The stand- ard of infallibility is that any given proposition should have been accepted everywhere, always, and by all. But this standard is an impossible one, for tradition is full of most incredible material. Con- sequently, in spite of the requirement of this stand- ard by the creed of Pius IV and by the Council of Trent, Romanism does not now ascribe infallibility to all tradition, but only to that which the church selects as infallible. Perrone naively says, " The belief that prevails at present is the surest criterion by which to recognize what has been the belief of the church in each century." Thus the teaching office subordinates its own embodiment to itself, and 128 Positive Protestantism again argues in a circle by claiming tradition as an authoritative basis, but refusing any tradition that does not suit its purposes. The attitude of Protestantism toward tradition is intelligible and intelligent. It insists that what con- stitutes tradition must be determined by scientific study as any historical facts are determined, not by arbitrary selection of alleged historical situations to serve a special purpose. When secured, tradition is to be estimated according to the New Testament. Jesus upbraided the Pharisees for making void the word of God by their traditions. (Mark 7 : 5-13.) Paul gave warning in more than one letter against following the traditions of men in contrast to his own spoken and written words of gospel in- struction. (Col. 2 : 8 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 4 ; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6.) On the foundation of this scriptural atti- tude toward tradition, Protestantism refuses to allow tradition to interpret the Scripture contrary to its plain meaning, to set aside or supplant any scriptural teaching, or in any way to alter the Scripture. Protestantism is willing to see in tradi- tion, where scientific study warrants it, an unfolding and a corroboration of Scripture, but not an orig- inal source of Christianity equal or superior to the Scripture. It holds that the proper source of Christian truth and authority is to be found in the Bible, and especially in Jesus' life and words, to- gether with their interpretation at the hands of the apostles who have contributed to the New Tes- Function and Authority of the Church 129 tament. The Protestant attitude toward tradition is consequently reasonable and convincing. The church early came to feel that tradition or the consensus of Christian opinion was too elusive. This feehng resulted in the calling of councils, com- posed of all the bishops of the church, wherever located, to determine the important mooted points. From the fourth to the seventh century these gen- eral or ecumenical councils were the supreme eccle- siastical authority. Rome to-day recognizes the au- thority of those councils which she regards as truly ecumenical, ^^ The creed of Pius IV requires this declaration, " I likewise undoubtedly receive and profess all other things delivered, defined, and de- clared by the Sacred Canons and General Coun- cils and particularly by the Holy Council of Trent." Yet Rome now proceeds very cautiously in claim- ing infallible authority for councils. For one rea- son, councils have sometimes been called and held under very trying pressure from the secular power, and their representative character both as to ex- tent and quality of representation may often be justly questioned. Besides, even those which fully meet the external requirements of the definition of ecumenical councils have disagreed among them- selves from time to time.^^ Consequently, in any '^ For a brief summary of act<; of councils recognized by Rome as ecumenical, see R. J. Miller, " The Fundamentals of Protestantism," pp. i74f. Also see the International Encyclopedia, article " Councils." ^2 Of many instances of such disagreement the following example is sufficient. The fifth Council of Constantinople (A. D. 553) set aside the decision of the Council of Chalcedon as to the heresy of two Eastern bishops. See also Appendix, Note 9. I 130 Positive Protestantism given case the one council or the other was clearly fallible. The fallibility of councils was manifest fairly early in the medieval times, especially to some popes who began to argue for the supremacy of the popes over councils. In spite of this papal propaganda, the general council was still supreme at the time of the Reformation, for, just a hun- dred years before, the Council of Constance (1414- 1418) settled the Great Schism by unseating three popes and electing another on the declared ground that the general council was superior to the pope. The papal succession since has depended upon this action. Yet from that time the struggle for the ex- altation of the pope above the council went on until the Vatican Council (1870) decreed that the pope was not only supreme, but infallible. Thus Rome has subjected the general council, which was the second historically developed agent of the teach- ing office of the church, to the teaching office as embodied in the infallible pope. Protestantism points to the absence from the New Testament of anything like a general council or its authority, and refuses, therefore, to grant that de- crees of councils are determinative. Any differ- ences between such decrees and scientifically ascer- tained teachings of the Scriptures must be settled by an appeal to the Scripture alone, for there is no sound reason for allowing authority to mutually disagreeing and therefore fallible councils. How- ever, Protestants hold that councils often inter- Function and Authority of the Church 131 preted Christian truth with essential correctness, but such respect as they are wiUing to pay to decrees of councils is due not to the authority of the council, but to that of the Scriptures which the council in a given instance correctly interpreted. Final authority for Romanism now rests with the pope, both in matters of teaching and administration, though infallibility is claimed only for the teachmg function. Coppens, in referring to the decree of the Vatican Council, describes the pope's infallibility thus : " It is to be observed that the decree ex- plains ex-cathedra utterances to be teachings or definitions, not acts of government, still less of personal conduct; and only those teachings which regard faith and morals, and which the pope ad- dresses to the whole church in the exercise of his supreme apostolic authority. If there is room to doubt whether any particular utterance fulfils these conditions, the doubt is dissolved by considering the circumstances of the pronouncement. If doubt still remains, the utterance is not known for certain to be infallible." This definition certainly reveals infallibility to be sufficiently elusive to serve any purpose of the hierarchy. Though Rome claims there has been no develop- ment,^^ the decree of the Vatican Council is the cul- mination of Rome's long search for an external in- fallible authority. The claim of an unchangeable and infallible authority of the pope is the logical 13 See Appendix, Note is- 132 Positive Protestantism and absolutely necessary issue of the Romanist sys- tem. Without this claim Rome could not find any ground for her dogmas; for her rejection, for the sake of her own dogmatic interests, of scientifically reasonable interpretations of the Scriptures, of tradition, and of decrees of councils; for her ex- communication of those who refuse to submit to her arbitrary authority and teachings; or for her position that the Roman Church is the sole chan- nel of grace. Consequently the claim of universal, infallible authority is the heart of Romanism, upon which all else depends. As scriptural ground for the universal bishopric of the pope, Romanism claims the famous " rock and keys " passage. (Matt. 16 : i8f.) It holds that the word " rock " refers to Peter, whose name means rock, and consequently that Jesus here de- clares that Peter was to be the foundation of the church. This contention is maintained in spite of various conflicting interpretations of this passage by the Church Fathers, though Romanist theory demands the unanimous consent of the Fathers for its authoritative teaching. But taking the position that the word " rock " refers to Peter himself, the passage does not warrant any such conclusion as Rome makes from it. Jesus merely recognized the leadership which Peter, by his natural personal abilities, had already exercised and was likely to continue to exercise, such a leadership as was mani- fest in the incident which gave occasion for the Function and Authority of the Church 133 Master's words. Any just interpretation of the nature of this leadership thus stated by Jesus must consider the rebuke which the Master adminis- tered immediately afterward because of Peter's lack of appreciation of the spiritual nature of Jesus' Messiahship; the denial of Christ by Peter and its inevitable effect upon his standing and influence with the other apostles; Peter's later inability to realize the universal nature of the gospel (Acts 15; Gal. 2 : 1 1 -21); and the position which the New Testament reveals Peter had in the primitive church — a position far from supremacy over others. These considerations make it impossible to infer from the word " rock " the conferring upon Peter of any superior rank or powers. Nor can the Romanist position be maintained by emphasizing the power of the " keys," for this same power of excommunication and declaring on the basis of the gospel the forgiveness of sins was conferred upon all the disciples (John 20 : 22 f.) and was indeed recognized as belonging to the whole body of Jesus' followers, the church. (Matt. 18 : 15-20.) There is, therefore, no ground for the contention of Rome that the words " rock " and " keys " in the passage under discussion teach that Peter alone was given a special divine authority and power.^* The New Testament definitely contradicts the supposed supremacy of Peter. A number of Jesus' 1* For two additional passages urged by Romanists, see Appendix, Note 16. 134 Positive Protestantism utterances ^^ teach such humility and equality of fel- lowship and service as are absolutely incompatible with the supposition that he appointed any dis- ciple as the head of all the others with an absolute authority which was to be handed down by him through some particular group of Christ's follow- ers. Many facts also plainly show that Peter did not actually occupy a place of supremacy in the New Testament church. James, who was not even one of the original twelve, was more than Peter preeminently the leader at Jerusalem in the Jewish Christian church. (Acts 15.) Church tradition cor- roborates the New Testament evidence as to James' position. Among the Gentile Christians Paul was the great and recognized leader. In asserting his apostolic authority Paul declared, " I am not one whit behind the very chief est apostles " (2 Cor. II : 5). Moreover, when certain Judaizers from Jerusalem caused trouble in the church at Antioch, Peter played a subordinate and rather unenviable part. If the contention of Rome were valid, the matter in controversy at this time would have been immediately referred to the supreme Peter, pos- sessor of the infaUible teaching faculty. Instead, Paul rebuked Peter to his face. (Gal. 2 : 11-21.) Later, Paul and others went up to Jerusalem, not to Rome, to have the matter discussed by the brethren there in a friendly Christian conference. In this 15 See Mark 9 : 36f.; 10 : 42-45; John 13 : 1-20; Matt. 20 : 27; 23 : 8, 12. Function and Authority of the Church 135 conference Peter set forth his view like any other member of the church, with no show of authority. (Acts 15 : 7-1 1.) James and Paul were the domi- nant figures. James, not Peter, suggested the com- promise which was agreed upon and according to which Paul was to work among Gentiles while James and Peter were to confine their efforts to Jewish regions. This agreement was set forth, not in the name and on the authority of Peter, but in the name of '' the apostles, the elders (pastors or bishops), and the brethren." ^^ In view of these facts given in the New Testament, it is impossible to suppose that the primitive church knew anything of the primacy of Peter or of his possession of any special, not to say universal, authority over the church. Even if it were granted that the New Testament implies that Peter personally was given some special position and authority, there is no shred of evi- dence in the New Testament or elsewhere that Peter ever conferred, or was instructed to confer, or had the power to confer, universal authority over the church upon the Roman church or the bishop of Rome. Consequently, one must conclude that there is no foundation in the teaching or the facts of the New Testament for Rome's claim that the pope is 1" This agreement was not even in the natu'-e of a decree of a general council. No call to all the bishops or pastors was made, and there is no evidence that such were present except, as they were connected either with the Jerusalem or the Antioch church. Again, it is clear that the laymen had a voice in the agreement, since it is put forth in their name as well as in that of the apostles and elders. 136 Positive Protestantism the universal bishop of the Christian church ap- pointed by God with universal authority. The Romanist claim also lacks any positive his- torical support.^^ On the other hand, certain facts ^^ positively disprove the validity of Rome's claim. Many times attempts of the bishop of Rome to assert authority were resisted and the authority denied. Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) rebuked John, patriarch of Constantinople, for assuming the title of '* universal bishop," and utterly repudiated any one's claim to such a title or authority. Many facts also concerning the calling of general councils, the presiding over them by emperors rather than by popes, and the confirmation of their decrees by the emperor further illustrate the real situation in the early church as lacking recognition of the pope as universal bishop. The persistent refusal of the Celtic and Eastern churches to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome is another indication. Con- sequently it is impossible to suppose that the pope has always and universally been recognized as the bishop of the church with supreme authority. The lack of any ground, scriptural, historical, or reasonable, for the belief in the universal authority of the pope undermines of itself the foundation for the claim of infallibility. But even were we to suppose that the pope possesses universal au- " For the Romanist method of arguing from historical data on this point, see Appendix, Note 17. ^^ For the evidence for this and other conclusions of this para- graph, see Appendix, Note 15. Function and Authority of the Church 137 thority as bishop over all Christendom, it would still be necessary for Romanism to prove that this authority is infallible. Here too, scriptural and historical evidence is lacking. During the first thousand years of Christianity there is no sug- gestion of such infallibility, and the facts just considered indicate clearly that conviction as to infallibility was entirely wanting. Had such a con- viction and recognition existed during that thou- sand years, history would not tell its story of bitter doctrinal conflicts, for all controversies would have been settled very simply by an appeal to the infalli- ble pope. But actually the church took no such method for settling its difficulties, but rather de- pended for a long while merely upon the consensus of Christian opinion and then upon the decrees of general councils. Indeed, there is no ground upon which Romanism can support its dogma of infalli- bility save the mere decree of the Vatican Council (A. D. 1870), which by its virtual annulling of the declaration of the Council of Constance as to the supremacy of the general council over popes in- validates the papal succession since A. D. 141 5. The case of infallibility might be left here in utter collapse for want of evidence, but rejection of it is further warranted by the facts which show the fallibility of the teaching office whether em- bodied in tradition, the general council, or the pope. In so far as the claim of infallibility rests upon the assumption of the unchangeability of the church's 138 Positive Protestantism traditional practice and dogmas, it is invalidated by the very development of the bishopric and papacy itself briefly outlined above and the development of the conception of the proper embodiment of the teaching office itself. This conclusion is strength- ened by recalling such a well-known fact as the vacillation of the church with reference to per- mitting the laity the privilege of the cup of the Lord's Supper. Both as a matter of doctrine and of administration the church has maintained both sides of the controversy. The fallibility of general councils referred to above/^ as shown by the mutual disagreements of councils, is put beyond question by the circum- stances of the Great Schism, which began in A. D. 1378 with a dispute as to which of two rivals was the valid pope and continued with mutually anathe- matizing popes ^^ until the Council of Constance (1414-1418). In 1409 the Council of Pisa deposed both popes then reigning and elected a third, but since the two contestants would not abdicate, there were now three popes anathematizing and excom- municating one another. The Council of Constance in 1415 deposed all three — one of whom, however, maintained his contention till his death — and elected a fourth. To validate this action it was necessary for the church to accept the decree of a general 19 See footnote on p. 129; also Appendix, Note 9. ^^ The Great Schism does not give us the first example of rival popes, for the boy Pope Benedict X was set up in 1058 in opposition to Pope Stephen IX. Function and Authority of the Church 139 council as superior to the authority of the pope. The council, therefore, declared the supremacy of the council. Upon this declaration and action has depended the papal succession since. Yet the Vati- can Council, by its own supreme authority as a general council, decreed the supremacy of the pope and his infallible teaching power as a dogma of the church. This reversal and circular argument make it impossible to believe that the general coun- cils have acted unchangeably or infallibly. The sub- ordinating of the decrees of councils to the pope's authority, and also to the selecting function of the teaching office are conclusive admissions that gen- eral councils have been fallible. Likewise, abundant evidence shows popes to have been fallible even in statements plainly meant to be ex cathedrar'^ Popes have disagreed as to the interpretation of Scripture, as, for example, Gregory the Great and Leo XIII in reference to the famous '" rock " passage, upon which so much depends for Romanism. Gregory held the word to refer to Peter's confession, which cuts the ground entirely from under the Romanist claim based on this pas- sage. Leo held to the reference to Peter himself. IMoreover, popes have been officially declared here- tics as to doctrines which they had put forth under their papal authority.^^ In addition, popes have 21 See Appendix, Note i8. 22 For a somewhat detailed statement of the evidence, see Appen- dix, Note 18. 140 Positive Protestantism themselves declared that popes are fallible. Bene- dict XIV laughingly once said, " If it is true that all justice and all truth is hidden in the shrine of my breast, yet I have never been able to find the key to it." It is quite impossible, therefore, to accept the doctrine of the infallibility of the pope. This unscriptural, unhistorical, and unreasonable dogma of infallibility rests solely on the decree of the Vatican Council. An understanding of how this decree was secured strengthens the ground for re- jecting it. There was no demand in the Roman Church at large for a pronouncement upon this mat- ter. When, about two generations before the Vati- can Council, the reestablished and rehabilitated order of the Jesuits undertook the patronage of this conception, it was merely a pious opinion held by some, but not compulsory for all Romanists. But the Roman Curia was determined to raise this opinion to a dogma of the church, and though there was strong opposition to this exaltation when the Vatican Council gathered, the result was a fore- gone conclusion. For a while unanimous consent could not be had because of the presence of many strong, able, and active opponents of the pronounce- ment. However, the voting opposition gradually melted away, for many thought it more prudent to go home than to stay, vote against the decree, and take the consequences. Thus was achieved the declaration of that dogma which is the foundation of Romanism and which every Romanist must be- Function and Authority of the Church 141 lieve on pain of eternal damnation. Protestantism repudiates it, not only because it is an unsupported and unwarranted assumption, but also because the application of such a universal and absolute author- ity by the papacy would, if anything like the appli- cation of the past, be too terrible to contemplate were Rqme ever again to control the secular force necessary to compel the working of her will. Protestantism insists on freedom from this ex- ternal authority of tradition, councils, and papal declarations, or indeed of any ecclesiastical author- ity which sets aside or overrules the Scripture. Modern Protestantism affirms with the utmost con- fidence that authority in religion arises out of the conviction of faith which is the individual soul's response under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to Scripture teaching. For Protestantism, therefore, Scripture -^ is the basis of all religious authority for Christian thinking and life. In contrast with Rome's insistence on the necessity of an infallible teaching organ to interpret Scripture, Protestantism asserts that any one of ordinary intelligence can read the Bible and understand it with sufficient exactness to be led to a saving faith and to a life in accordance with that faith. Yet Protestantism does not teach, as some Romanists seem so often to imply, that each person is to interpret the Scripture as he pleases. Rather each is to interpret as he conscien- 23 For the differences in the canon of Scripture recognized by Protestants and Romanists, see Appendix, Note 19. 142 Positive Protestantism tiously sees the evidence. For this interpretation the reader will have the aid of the Holy Spirit, who has been promised to all who have faith. (John 16 : 13; Rom. 8 : 14.) Moreover, the best avail- able results of scientific scholarship are to be used in reaching a conclusion, but no learned views are compulsory as against conscientious and indepen- dent private judgment well based iipon evidence. For such use of the Scriptures no infallible inter- pretative organ is necessary. The teachings of the New Testament lead us to expect, and the experi- ence of multitudes of Christians of all ages proves, that such use of the Scriptures as Protestantism contends for leads to real Christian life. Besides, Protestantism has no fear of losing its case by leaving the Bible open to all or by turning people loose to read and interpret freely as best they can. Indeed, it urges that very process, confident of the outcome. The Protestant use of Scripture does not lead, as Romanists so often contend, to a confusion which makes Protestant churches ineffectual in meeting the religious needs of people. To be sure, there are differences of interpretation among Protestants just as there are among Romanists and have always been among Christians. Difference of interpreta- tion leads inevitably to difference of theological con- ception, but the differences existing among Protes- tants are not greater than may be illustrated from the history of the whole church, for there have been Function and Authority of the Church 143 many controversies and many changes in doctrine and practice. It is as difficult to make a systematic statement of Romanism by studying tradition,- de- crees of councils, declarations of popes, and opin- ions of theologians, and crystallizing the Romanist positions, as it is to get a similar presentation of Protestant teaching. This is true in spite of Rome's claimed power to settle all matters infallibly. But even if there were greater confusion among Prot- estant theologians, it would not be of such great moment as any difference at all in Romanism is to the Romanist system, for Protestantism does not require an absolutely uniform statement of doc- trine. The Protestant conception of faith, as more volitional than intellectual, allows differences of opinion, while it strives for a unity in the spirit of Christ which brings men into living relationship with God. Earnest, conscientious Scripture reading will help bring this unity and general attainment of Christian life. As a matter of fact, Protestant freedom, instead of leading to endless confusion on account of igno- rance, has resulted in a great advance for theological learning. Not only have the greatest theological scholars of the last four hundred years been Prot- estants, it has been Protestant scholars who have created and carried forward many of the modern theological and biblical sciences.^* Protestant schol- ars can seek for the truth unhampered by any con- 2* See Appendix, Note 20. 144 Positive Protestantism trolling ecclesiastical authority, whether they search in the theological and biblical fields or in those of other spheres of knowledge. Romanists are ever subject to the control of the teaching office of the church, and can only find as true what the church approves as such. The contrast between the spirit of Romanist bondage and Protestant freedom in questions of authority is to be seen in the respective attitudes of Fenelon and Luther. Fenelon, a great seventeenth century leader in France, wrote an edifying book. Through Bossuet, a rival leader, the book was put upon the Index, and a letter of condemnation was sent to Fenelon. The letter arrived just as Fenelon was ascending the pulpit. He at once changed his sermon, and declared the necessity of submitting to the pope, though he was not yet informed as to why his book was condemned. He forbade any one to read the book, and had burned such copies as he could secure. All of this he did without hav- ing presented to his own mind any reasons for changing the statements of his book save the com- mand of the pope. What a contrast to Luther at Worms ! There the humble Wittenberg monk stood true to his conscientious convictions in spite of the presence of the great personages of the empire and church, including the emperor himself, and in spite of the fact that the pope had already excommuni- cated him. He made no recantation as was de- manded, and when he declared, "Here stand I; I Function and Authority of the Church 145 can do nought else, God help me," he gave an im- mortal epitome of Protestant freedom in contrast to Romanist compulsion and restriction of con- science. And, after all, Romanism is in the end forced to the same place practically as Protestantism. Even in order to yield to the authority of Rome, unless one acts blindly one must first be convinced by the use of his private, individual judgment of the justice of Rome's claims to power. Else, why do Roman- ists make any argument at all. If private D'udg- ment and freedom is valid for accepting Romanism, so is it for rejecting it in part or in whole. Thus the entire question boils down to this, whether in reaching out for God and his life one must come to Rome and take what she says just because she says it, or, on the other hand, shall go to the Scrip- ture for guidance and use all other corroborating evidence which is available, and then in a reasonable way reach a conclusion. Protestantism with the modern world accepts the latter method, and Rome herself cannot escape the necessity of employing it in presentation of appeal for acceptance of her claims. The acceptance of the Protestant conception of the seat of religious authority necessarily leads to the scrutiny of Rome's claim that she should be given universal recognition as the sole channel of divine grace. What are the facts as to this claim, and what may be said in reply ? K 146 Positive Protestantism IV. THE SOLE CHANNEL In contrast to Romanism, Protestants teach a broad inclusiveness of the Christian church, as has al- ready been stated. Many Roman CathoHcs, includ- ing some recognized teachers, admit, as do all intel- ligent persons, the reprehensibility of bigotry, and entertain the broader view that Protestants who are faithful to their convictions may be saved. In this opinion they are broader and more charitable than their church. Nothing can be clearer in Ro- manist teaching than the authoritative declarations as to Rome's sole possession of the channel of grace.^^ " As the Fourth Lateran Council puts it, ' Out of the church no man is saved.' " ^^ The Syllabus of Er- rors (1864) condemns the error that "we may en- tertain at least a well-founded hope for the eternal salvation of all those who are in no manner in the true church of Christ." These and many other authoritative statements show what the Romanist position is. No refutation of such a position is necessary for a modern mind, but it is worth while calling attention to the invalidity of the appeal of the Romanist argu- ment to certain passages of Scripture. These pas- sages refer to the exclusion of some members by the New Testament church. They certainly imply that there are just grounds for excluding church- -^ See Appendix, Note 21. 2^ Quoted by Coppens, p. 69. Function and Authority of the Church 147 members. But there is not the sHghtest hint that mere difference of theological opinions, which in themselves are not incompatible with loyalty to Christ, and God, are such grounds, and, least of all, is there any support for supposing that difference from the Roman Church is ground for excluding men from communion with God. If any one supposes that this position of Rome is only an old one, no longer really held, let him re- call the claim of Rome to unchangeability.^^ Let him estimate the significance also of the following Romanist statements. Cardinal Gibbons says, " The Catholic Church alone teaches doctrines which are in all respects identical with those of the first teach- ers of the gospel." Such bigotry is for Romanists only faithfulness to their convictions, as Coppens states : " Those who teach that in religious matters every one should judge for himself are irrational and bigoted when they condemn the belief of others ; but whoever believes in ' one fold and one shepherd ' must look upon schism and heresy as most deplor- able evils; and the commissioned guardian of the ' one faith ' must denounce all who assail its unity." Accordingly, the bigots are those who, while holding and stating strong convictions, nevertheless are suf- ficiently broad to be charitable toward those who differ from them in religious matters, while the un- bigoted attitude is that of denunciation of all who differ. Romanists seem entirely oblivious of the " See Appendix, Note 21. 148 Positive Protestantism fact that their own statement makes their consis- tency the most bigoted position possible. Coppens also says : " Though many of their mem- bers [Protestant sects] no doubt lead good lives ac- cording to their imperfect lights, few claim heroism or miracles, and their doctrines of faith or justifica- tion do not tend to holiness. Of course the ex- ceptional virtue of a few would not be a mark of the holiness of their sect." This statement is made apparently in all seriousness in a work which is intended to be a text-book on Romanist teaching for the use of Romanist young people. A similar absurdity is the statement of Perrone : " The more innocent the life of a Catholic is, the more clearly he adheres to his church ; while his attachment be- comes looser in proportion as he surrenders him- self to depraved habits. On the other hand, a Prot- estant, the more depraved his heart and unre- strained his life, clings so much the closer to his sect; whereas the more distinguished he is for blamelessness of morals the more doubtful he be- comes as to the truth of his sect, and so comes over to the Catholic religion.'" All of this is non- sense, and reveals that Romanists who formally set out Romanist ideas are as ignorant of Protes- tants and Protestantism as some irresponsible Prot- estants are with reference to Romanists and Roman- ism. Even a Romanist could address the Vatican Council thus : " The Saviour practised in word and deed gentleness, meekness, forgiveness. What do Function and Authority of the Church 149 we do as opposed to this? What is demanded of us ? We condemn ; we put on the Index ; we shriek, ' Heresy, Schism ! ' " Such a remonstrance shows that narrowness persists in Romanism and official Romanists down to the present. How much more in keeping with the spirit of the Ne'w Testament and with the modern mind is the broad view of Protestantism! This view not only appeals by its breadth, but it also assures by the certainty which it gives as to spiritual life. Thus Protestantism reaches the goal which Roman- ism with its entire conception of the church and its authority does not. The crowning consideration of Rome is that only in the one true Catholic Church, with her divinely ordained priesthood and apostolic succession and with its infallible authority, can religious certainty be had. But in view of such a claim, what shall we say of the fact that Luther, while still a most sincere, devout, earnest, and loyal son of the church, could find no certainty in all the Romanist system to satisfy the need of his soul? What shall we say of the similar experience of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, who could find no spiritual satisfac- tion until, like Luther, he had personally surren- dered to God through faith? What shall we say too, of the declaration of Romanists that no one can be sure of his personal salvation? What shall we say of the teaching that the very infallibility of the pope eludes us unless we can be certain that 150 Positive Protestantism the pope intended an utterance as infallible, whether he stated his intention or not? How shall the ordinary Christian be without doubt when, for ex- ample. Cardinal Manning declares that the " syl- labus of 1864 was part of the supreme and infalli- ble teaching of the Church," but Cardinal Newman was of the opinion that it was of " no dogmatic force " ? What shall we say of the fact that, despite claimed infallible power to teach, no full and com- prehensive codification of the teachings of Roman- ism has ever been put forth by the infallible teach- ing magisterium, but all, in and out of the church, are left to gather the church's teaching from the various authoritative sources ? Why has the Roman Curia with its infallible power studiously avoided, so far as can be judged, pronouncements upon mat- ters in dispute between various orders, such as the Dominicans and Franciscans? Or, what shall we say of the doctrine of intention? If the grace of the sacraments is conveyed only when the priest so intended, as Romanism holds, how can the recipient be sure of the unannounced intention of the priest, and how, then, can he be sure that he has received this grace without which he must be lost and for the certainty of whose reception the entire Romanist system exists? And, further, how does this doc- trine of intention affect the certainty of the entire Romanist structure, since, at some vital point or points of the transmission of apostolic succession, a bishop may not have intended to convey grace? Function and Authority of the Church 151 Perrone answers this question, as in the end every Romanist must answer all questions of certainty, when he says we " must trust Providence." But in such an answer Romanism comes over to the Protestant ground of certainty, namely, faith in God. Thus the boasted certainty of the infallible system of Romanism turns out to be a slippery, elusive thing and ends in a confession of the worth of the Protestant basis of surety in religion. Protestant teaching affirms that when men take toward God the attitude of faith, there comes a fel- lowship with God which in itself begets religious certainty. There is no surer certainty than that which arises out of one's ovvm experience. So Paul's statement, '' The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God " (Rom. 8 : 16), becomes in part the scriptural ground of that certainty which every possessor of faith in God may attain in his own personal experience. Among other passages which base certainty in faith is Jesus' utterance, " He that heareth my words, and believeth (hath faith in) him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life" (John 5 : 24). The simple fact which the history of Christianity, and particularly of the Protestant churches, reveals is that millions of men have out of their simple faith in God as their Father come to a certainty of their relationship to him controlling for life. What better certainty is needed? Surely no other 152 Positive Protestantism kind can issue in more practical Christian living than has been manifested in Protestant character and church work. Romanism fails utterly to secure certainty in any sense, while Protestantism at least has found the way to certainty sufficient for Chris- tian living. It is this kind of certainty that the New Testament gives and the world needs. CHAPTER V ROMANIST DEFORMITIES AND PROTESTANT IMPLICATIONS For the sake of leaving undisturbed the progress of the main lines of thought in the preceding chap- ters, some matters have been left to be considered here which are really connected with various pre- ceding discussions. One of these is the Protestant estimate of monasticism and its vows. Monasticism is not of Christian origin, but has existed in paganism before and after Christ. It connects very directly with the doctrine of salva- tion by meritorious works. Alonastic vows are works of supererogation, and the many religious activities advised and required by the Church are additional meritorious works for which the monk has more time than others. Chateaubriand, the French author and statesman, once said, " I have not reached the goal ; I have not put on the monk's cowl." The Romanist ideal of piety is the piety of " the religious " in the cloister, and those outside must be contented with a lesser piety than is pos- sible for these. Undoubtedly monks and the like have always pos- sessed more time than others for the activities 153 154 Positive Protestantism which Romanism has regarded as pious. But Prot- estantism does not regard these activities highly for the reasons stated above in the chapter on legal- ism. In medieval times monastic orders were, to be sure, of real value to agriculture in the reclama- tion of land and in the development of agricultural knowledge ; to literature, in preserving and copying manuscripts; to art, in a number of ways; to Chris- tian missions, and to education. These, however, were not the main but the incidental reasons for the existence of the orders. Moreover, the orders invariably became rich, and their riches corrupted them; thus was the vow of poverty brought to nought. Also, these institutions which were in- tended to take the sex relation out of the physical realm and make of it a spiritual and etherealized, beautiful thing, came to be, because of inherent tendencies, the center of moral corruption which had in the Reformation time gone beyond descrip- tion and modern belief. Thus was celibacy nega- tived in the monastery's most prosperous period. In one order at least, that of the Jesuits, which now seems to dominate Romanism, the vow of obedience worked out to such an impossible moral code and to such vicious activities that even Rome itself could not abide the order.^ Clement XIV, in 1773, dissolved it, and it did not secure restoration until 1814. In addition to these failures of monas- 1 The Jesuits have been expelled from time to time from nearly every Roman Catholic country in the world, and from all of the European lands. Romanist Deformities 155 ticism in its essential aims, the monasteries have been the seats of the grossest superstitious ideas and practices. Surely the balance between the good and the evil of them weighs heavily toward evil. But the main objection of Protestantism to mo- nasticism is that the monastic ideal is against nature and contrary to the example of Jesus and the apos- tles who hved strongly in the common walks of life. If an ideal is really such, it ought to bear universal application; but thus to apply one ele- ment of monasticism, namely, celibacy, would de- populate the world. The truest and highest type of Christian life is achieved, not in the shelter of the cloister, but in the hot struggle of every-day living. Furthermore, Protestantism holds as im- moral the taking of irrevocable vows at a young, tender, and unsophisticated age,^ for this puts the future In fetters. At such an age, or indeed at what age, is such a relinquishment of life and its opportunities for developing character by struggle in the world justifiable? A real morality will give men certain fundamental and guiding principles as a basis of life, yet will leave them free to meet the changing exigencies of human existence. The ideal of the Christian in the world, freely fighting the battle of life with God's help on the basis of Jesus' actual teaching and in his spirit of faith in God, Protestantism urges over against the monastic ideal of Romanism. - Rome names sixteen for boys and twelve for girls. 156 Positive Protestantism One of the practices of the monks and other Romanists has been veneration and invocation of the saints. This practice began quite early in the history of the church after the fate of martyrs came to impress deeply the minds of Christians. Later the achievement of any special virtue was enough to raise a prominent person to a kind of veneration. When canonization of saints came under regulation, other marks, such as the working of at least two miracles, were required. In later times political influences and payments of money had their part in the final decision as to canonization which rested with the pope. Some Romanists con- ceive that the pope is merely guided to declare the exaltation to sainthood which heaven has already decreed. Others consider that the pope's decision exalts, so that through the authority to canonize the pope controls the blessings of heaven as through the power of indulgences he controls the torments of purgatory. Canonized saints are to be venerated and their intercession with God on behalf of the supplicators is to be invoked because deemed valu- able just as a friend's prayers in this world are worthful; only the influence of the saints with God is much greater than an earthly friend's can be. Veneration and invocation of the saints are not com- pulsory, yet, because of the authoritative statements of the church, every Romanist must believe in these practices though not following them, and If any one renounces them he incurs Rome's displeasure. Romanist Deformities 157 Protestantism rejects veneration and invocation of the saints in the first place because there is no scriptural ground for it. Leaving aside the one apocryphal passage (2 Mace. 12 : 43f.), which Prot- estantism does not accept as Scripture since it is not a part of the Scripture canon,^ Cardinal Gib- bons' asserted wealth of quoted Scripture is almost entirely instances of men in this world praying for one another, and the rest is so far beside the mark that it does not need discussion. Protestant- ism, moreover, urges that no one knows whether those who have gone to the other world can hear and comply with the requests made of them by those in this world. Cajetan, the frank and great debater against Luther on behalf of Rome, said, " We have no certain knowledge as to whether the saints are aware of our prayers, although we piously believe it." Protestantism also avers that this practice seems to arise out of a misconception of God which appears to be characteristic of Romanism, namely, that like an Oriental monarch God is difficult of approach and is to be reached by his children only through some mediating favorites. In truth God will gladly hear any of his children. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is made the only mediator between God and men, and the significance of this mediatorship is a very different one from that of the saints advocated by Romanism. But it is against the inevitable development of the 3 See Appendix, Note ig. 158 Positive Protestantism simpler Romanist veneration and invocation into an actual worship and a real polytheism that Prot- estantism most strongly objects. It is very difficult to keep in mind the distinction, nicely drawn by Romanist thinkers, between venerating the saints and venerating the Christ reflected in them. The common man really venerates and invokes the saint. Nor can he maintain the distinction of the theo- logians in holding that " latria " is worship of God, " dulia " veneration of the saints, and '' hyper- dulia " the intermediate veneration given to Mary. These distinctions in the attitudes of worship inevi- tably fade in practice. Veneration and invocation of the saints thus becomes an actual worship of saints which cannot be distinguished practically from wor- ship of God. At least the prayers to the saints are often such as might be directed to God himself,* for they are petitions to be answered directly by the saints and not by God at the intercession of the saints. Thus saint-worship degenerates into a kind of polytheism in which the saints are supposed to have good and evil influences over the various af- fairs of men. In consequence all but incredible superstition has inevitably followed.^ On account of this degeneration Protestantism rightly repu- diates veneration and invocation of the saints. But Protestants were not the first to oppose such superstition and idolatry. Peter refused to allow * For examples, see Appendix, Note 22. ° See Von Hase's " Handbook." Romanist Deformities 159 Cornelius to fall down and worship him. (Acts 10 : 25.) The men of Lystra attempted to make sacrifices to Barnabas and Paul, but were rebuked. (Acts 14 : 12-15.) Paul says (Col. 2 : 18), "Let no man rob you of your prize by worshiping of the angels." According to the book of Revelation (19 : 10 and 22 : Si.), John himself is represented as being rebuked for attempting to worship an angel. Tertullian and Augustine spoke out against this practice, and through the centuries there has been considerable additional opposition, even among Ro- manists. Protestants therefore have for their re- jection of veneration and invocation of the saints most excellent warrant in the scriptural writers and the Church Fathers. The climax of saint-worship is the cult of Mary, which is open to precisely the same objection as all other saint-worship and in an increased degree be- cause of the exaggerated titles applied to her and the wide range of requests which she is asked to answer.^ But this is not the entire indictment of Protestantism against the worship of Mary. The complete dogma concerning Mary, which is a pecu- liarly Romanist conception unacceptable to all the rest of Christendom, holds that Mary was immacu- lately conceived, that is, without original sin with which all other human beings save Jesus have been born; that she was sinless herself; that she re- mained perpetually a virgin; that she possesses « For examples of titles and prayers, see Appendix, Note 23. i6o Positive Protestantism attributes well-nigh, if not completely, divine; and that she is an intercessor with God and her son Jesus on behalf of her worshipers. Of Mary's sin- lessness there is no hint in the New Testament, though Jesus is so depicted. The suppbsition that Mary remained perpetually a virgin is in direct con- tradiction of the passages in the New Testament which refer to Jesus' natural brothers and sisters. (Matt. 12 : 46; Mark 3 : 31; 6 : 3; Luke 8 : 19; John 2 : 12; 7 : 3, 5.) The New Testament gives no trace of Mary's immaculate conception. Yet Heinrich,'^ while admitting candidly the lack of scriptural support for the dogma concerning Mary, actually asserts on the claim of the unrestricted power of the church that the dogma is stronger because there is no scriptural evidence. He says: *' Ecclesiastical science stands under the direction of the infallible teaching office of the Church. . . We are at this point in a better case than we are when by means of purely exegetical helps we arrive, more or less immediately, at an article of faith as the contents of any text of Holy Scripture." Nor is there any positively historical support for the dogma. On the other hand, it is positively opposed by such great Fathers as Saint Augustine, Saint Bernard, and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Conse- quently, unless one is willing to accept the mere assertion of the Roman Curia, there is absolutely no reason for assenting to this doctrine. * Quoted by Foster. Romanist beforiiiitics ^6l The manner of promulgating the dogma dis- credits it. The Franciscans and Dominicans had quarreled over its validity for centuries, and no council had passed upon its truth. The Council of Trent was discreetly silent. But Pius IX, v^ithout any wide-spread demand in the church for a pro- nouncement upon the subject, proclaimed the dogma by his own infallible power which he was then as- serting. Apparently the promulgation of this dogma was made as a test as to whether his authority, un- supported by the decree of a general council, w^ould be accepted. Later the Vatican Council, in decree- ing the infaUibility of the pope, affirmed as a con- sequence this pronouncement. To-day a loyal Ro- manist must believe it, not because it can be proved to be true, but because the pope has declared it is true. In rejecting ^ this unsupported and incredible doctrine, Protestants wonder at the credulity of Romanists. Analogous to saint- worship is the veneration of images of Christ, Mary, and the saints. This is not to be confused with actual worship. Virtue is at- tributed, not to the images, but only to those who are represented. But here again the common prac- tice of the people cannot maintain the theoretical distinction. The tendency to venerate the concrete image is inevitable and is furthered by the formula of presentation by the priest, " Come, let us adore." Such a practice ought to have been prevented by 8 The doctrine is also rejected by the Eastern Catholic Church. L 1 62 Positive Protestantism the use of the second of the Ten Commandments, especially as the English Douai Version renders this commandment thus : " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing. . . Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them" (Exod. 20 : 4-6). Some Romanist writers feel the difficulty, for their editions of the Ten Commandments are numbered differently from those used by Protestants in order to make up for their omission of the entire second command- ment just quoted.^ Not only the Scriptures, but also the early Fathers from Justin Martyr to Origen abhorred image-worship. In later years and cen- turies a struggle against their use took place/*^ Yet the Council of Trent, which expressly set up the standard of the unanimous consent of the Fathers, approved veneration of images. Protestantism re- jects this practice both because of the teaching of Scripture and also because of the superstition which always results from it. Another piece of Romanist externality is con- nected with the doctrine concerning penance, name- ly, indulgences. Since the church is supposed to have in penance the power of inflicting penalties for and so meeting temporal punishment ^^ of sin, she is also held to have the power of removing these penalties and of pardoning temporal punishment it- » See an edition widely used in the British Isles and one in " The Catholic Faith — A Compendium, authorized by Pius IX," p. 43. These are referred to by R. J. Miller, p. 147. *•> See, for conciliar action, Appendix, Note 9. " For a definition of temporal punishment, see p. 91 fn. Romanist Deformities 163 self. Cardinal Gibbons says, "An indulgence is sim- ply a remission in whole or in part, through the superabundant merits of Jesus Christ and his saints, of the temporal punishment due to God on ac- count of sin, after the guilt and eternal punishment have been remitted." For example, by the gift of alms to the poor or by a gift of money to the church, a certified check, so to speak, is obtained on the treasury of merits laid up by Christ and by the supererogatory works of the saints. This credit is sufficient to remit by virtue of an indul- gence temporal punishment in this world and in purgatory. In view of the great trouble stirred up in the past on account of indulgences,^- promulga- tions and sales on a large scale have for a long time been avoided by Rome. Yet indulgences are still granted. For example, by the indulgence set forth by the Holy League of the Sacred Heart of Jesus an adulterer will secure, by merely wearing a pre- scribed badge upon the lapel of his coat at mass on Sunday morning, as great merit as under the very ancient system of voluntary penitential acts such a one could secure by seven years and seven times forty days of most rigorous practices, such as stand- ing among the weepers outside the church door clothed in penitential garments. According to papal indulgences the climbing of the holy staircase in Rome in Holy Week earns nine years' indulgence ^2 It 13 to be recalled that John Hus in Bohemia, and one hundred years later Martin Luther in Germany, broke with Rome over this matter. 164 Positive Protestantism for each step climbed; or, the mere act of kissing the cross in the Colosseum earns one hundred days'" indulgence. Such trifling with sacred ideas is al- most unbeHevable on the part of sensible people. Much less would one suppose that the members of the hierarchy, which claims to have a monopoly on salvation and religious knowledge, would be guilty of such absurdities. The Scriptures have absolutely no support for the doctrine of indulgences. Saint Thomas Aquinas, the greatest of the medieval Romanist theologians, makes various explanations of their validity, but finally comforts himself with the assertion that it would be conceded by all that indulgences were worth something, seeing that it would be impious to say that the church does anything in vain. That is about as much as the doctrine has to build on. Protestants condemn indulgences for their lack of basis in Scripture or reason, for their unethical ex- ternality and triviality, and for their inevitable con- nection with the commercialism and abuses which have always marked their promulgation and sale on a large scale. Consideration of indulgences naturally suggests purgatory, which is the state of existeoice after death in which the soul is prepared for heaven by a process of purging from the guilt that may still adhere to one at death. Cardinal Gibbons and the Catholic Encyclopedia give examples of arguments which seek to base the conception of purgatory Romanist Deformities 165 on Scripture. But this same encyclopedia very frankly sets such arguments aside in this declara- tion : " We would appeal to those general principles of Scripture rather than to particular texts often alleged in proof of purgatory. We doubt if they contain an explicit and direct reference to it." This ought to be sufficient even for the Romanists to see that there is no definite scriptural ground for belief in purgatory. Absence of Scripture is not the only objection to the idea of purgatory. The assumption that penalties remain to be met after sin is forgiven is a narrowing of God's willingness to forgive, where- as the Scripture teaches that peace of mind and assurance of forgiveness come through faith. More- over, the doctrine is self-contradictory. Romanist theologians argue that purgatory is a real blessing, since it is an opportunity for preparing for heaven by purificatory suffering. But if purgatorial suffer- ing is a blessing, why should it be arbitrarily short- ened? Purgatory cannot be at the same time a blessing to be desired and a curse to be shunned, to avoid whose punishments masses must be said and indulgences granted. If a surgical operation is a real blessing, it would be foolish to pay the surgeon to shorten arbitrarily the process with- out whose completion the benefit could not be wrought, and instead have him declare that the blessing had been effected. Yet precisely similar is the idea of shortening purgatorial purifying by the 1 66 Positive Protestantism arbitrary introduction of ecclesiastical decrees and the like. Unscriptural and inconsistent, the doctrine as to purgatory is also very uncertain. In spite of Rome's great claims to religious knowledge and certainty in general, nothing is more uncertain than hopes concerning purgatory. No one can tell who is there, how long they will stay, nor how many masses, prayers, and indulgences will get them out. The one certain thing is that the believer may keep on paying for masses and prayers as long as he will. This uncertainty has been the prolific cause of the evils due to the doctrine of purgatory. These are scandals connected with prayers for the dead: the commercialized exploitation of the grief of people in order to get them to pay for prayers; the con- sequent deadening of the moral and religious sen- sibilities of the priests who devote most of their time to this; the mechanical weighing of so many masses for so much money over against so much purgatorial suffering; the extortions which have been practised; the fears which have been played upon in order to yield a rich revenue for avaricious ecclesiastics and for a needy hierarchy; and the superstitions which have been promoted by the fear of purgatory. The idea of purgatory and all that accompanies it seems to Protestants to be a part of that superstitious side-religion which was mentioned above, and which is an inevitable concomitant of a system that nurses ignorance among the masses of Romanist Deformities 167 its adherents by substituting mere dicta of a priest- hood in place of encouragement to obey the truth/^ Another element of Romanism akin to purgatory and indulgences is the estimate of pilgrimages as meritorious acts by which indulgences applying to purgatory and other supposed advantages may be gained. Undoubtedly some places in the world, because of their association with great men or great experiences, may well be worth a visit. Indeed, it is readily conceivable that such a visit, accom- panied by real piety and the religious meditations aroused by a particular set of associations, may issue in real religious aid. Any spiritual value, how- ever, arises quite entirely from the inner attitude and thought of the pilgrim. Pilgrimages merely as such have no merit, and they have in the past too easily given occasion for superstitious ideas and practices where the presence of God or of some saint, especially Mary, has been localized for the purpose of attracting people, or some image or statue has been all but deified, and where magical power has been attributed to tombs and other spe- cial places. Protestantism, therefore, affirms that pilgrimages have no saving merit, since faith, not external action, is the basis of God's forgiveness. 13 In view of the real situation Cardinal Gibbons' statement is both astounding and absurd in implying ignorance on the part of Protes- tants who reject purgatory: " Now the same motive which you have for rejecting the opinion of an ignorant politician, and embracing that of eminent jurists on a constitutional question, impels you to cast aside the novelties of religious innovators, and to follow the unani- mous sentiments of the Fathers in reference to the subject of purga- tory." 1 68 Positive Protestantism The situation is very similar with reference to relics, the honor paid them, and the expectations of help from them. Mementoes are interesting in proportion to the importance of the person or place to whom or to which the memento is attached. But when supernatural power which is no other than magical is attributed to various relics, and when revenue is thus secured, it is out of the question to avoid fraud as to identity of the relic and as to its alleged characteristics and powers.^* The frauds and superstitions connected with relics, as Von Hase points out, have been possible only with the con- nivance of priests and nuns, and indeed the pope himself has taken a hand in encouraging the use of relics. The Council of Trent gave specific command for bishops with due regard for validity to instruct the faithful in honoring them. As long as any given relics have attracted people and have yielded a revenue, their use has been permitted in spite of very uncertain, not to say false, identity. Prot- estantism from the beginning, chiefly because it bases religion in faith and not in performing cer- tain external, supposedly meritorious acts, but also because of the frauds and superstitions connected with the use of relics has refused to allow that honoring them or in any way using them constitutes a religious act. " Von Hase's account of frauds and superstitions connected with honoring of relics makes interesting reading in the field of legerde- main and human credulity and gullibility. The present writer knows of the selling, in recent years, of charms and arnulets by a priest. Protestant Implications 169 Some further implications of Protestantism may be seen in a comparison of Romanist and Protestant worship. PubHc worship in a Romanist church ^^ is chiefly the mass which, together with the com- munion, is really a prolonged observance of the Lord's Supper. Incense is used. As the mass is said in the Latin language, the people can only follow the actions of the priest and acolytes, and at the designated moment adore the elevation of the " host." So far from the ceremony, except at the moment of the elevation, are the minds of the worshipers that it is not uncommon to see them telling their beads during the mass, depending ap- parently upon its supposed divine effect without any reference to their entering consciously into the cere- mony. Thus they kill tw^o birds with one stone. Sermons are preached, but not always, and occupy relatively a very much less important and effective place than in Protestant churches. Romanist wor- ship appeals to those who must worship through the outward and sensuous covered with a more or less thin veil of estheticism. It is this, perhaps, which explains its hold upon the masses of people who tend in the direction of externals rather than of the inwardly spiritual. Protestant worship has no mass, and regards in- cense as pagan. It is in most branches of Protes- tantism less ornate than in Romanism, though to-day " The communion is participated in by only a comparatively few at any one time, so that for most people the mass is thf whole of the service. I/O Positive Protestantism many Protestant churches show a marked tendency to give larger place to ritualistic impressiveness in public worship. If Protestant worship is less spectacularly impressive, the lack of ornateness is more than compensated for by those features which are given more effective use by Protestants or are entirely lacking in Romanism. The sermon is perhaps the outstanding feature of Protestant ser- vices, and through it a larger place is given to the intellectual interest and to direct moral appeal than in Romanist worship. Elements of Protestant wor- ship entirely lacking in Romanism are congrega- tional singing; public Scripture reading by the min- ister and by the people either responsively or in unison ; and the impromptu public prayer, character- istic of most Protestant churches, in which the Prot- estant minister fulfils the true priestly function of lifting up the people to God by expressing for them their innermost aspirations, their faith, and their spirit of sacrifice. Besides the regular church ser- vices, Protestants also have public worship in the Bible school in public prayer, in Bible reading, and in congregational singing. The prayer-meeting, which is conducted by most Protestant churches, includes the elements of worship already mentioned and two others for which Romanism has no counter- part, namely, the worship through social fellowship and interchange of Christian experiences, and the practice of the priesthood of all believers in the public praying and speaking of laymen. Finally, Protestant Implications 171 Protestant worship, in its effort to express and arouse individual faith, rests on the fundamental Protestant emphasis of faith and upon the democ- racy of religious experience, while Romanist wor- ship rests upon the assumption of a divinely ap- pointed ecclesiastical institution which is the sole channel of divine grace. It is not surprising, therefore, that Protestantism and Romanism differ in their views of the neces- sity of church attendance. Romanism requires, as absolutely necessary, attendance upon mass at least once a year. Coppens declares that the first com- mandment of the church is " to hear Mass on Sun- days and holy days of obligation." He argues in a legalistic way that this commandment takes the place of that one of the Ten Commandments of the Mosaic code which says, " Remember the sab- bath day to keep it holy." The Romanist goes to church, therefore, first of all because it is legally required by the church and not voluntarily for the purpose of personal, inner communion with God and of deepening faith and fellowship with God the Father. Mere attendance on the mass, with or without an Inner attitude of faith or seeking of God, secures divine grace for the removal of guilt and eternal punishment of sin and for strengthening the moral life. Protestants also think of church attendance as a duty and a privilege, but without the legalism and externalism of Romanism. One v/ho has real faith 172 Positive Protestantism will recognize the duty of maintaining public wor- ship and the whole work of the church, which is the institution under God's guidance to give re- ligious and moral instruction, to inspire Christian life, and to bring in the kingdom of God. True faith will also feel the need of the public worship which nourishes individual Christian life. A man cannot be as good a Christian without as with the aid which the church alone can give. But one's relations to the church in all its functions must be voluntary. The good received depends upon the responsive faith of each one who associates himself with the church. A true Protestant will believe that the religious help received by Romanists by their attendance upon church depends likewise on the inner attitude of the attendants. As to alleged smaller attendance of Protestants, it would be possible to reply that Romanist atten- dance is so much due to the desire to meet the mere external demand of the legal requirement that it does not amount to so much spiritually as the more voluntary attendance upon Protestant churches, which is based on the impulsion of inner faith. Besides, the favorable estimate as to Romanist at- tendance is based upon the surface consideration of the comparatively crowded condition of the Roman- ist churches on Sundays. This consideration does not take into account the difference in policy fol- lowed by Protestant and Romanist churches in re- gard to the supplying of seating capacity. Accord- Protestant Ini plications 173 ing to the United States Census of 1906, the last of its kind to date, Protestant churches have over twice as many seats as communicants, while Romanist churches have nearly three times as many com- municants as seats. Consequently, for Protestant churches to be as crowded as Romanist churches, it would be necessary for Protestants to be 6.39 times as numerous as they are now. Thus it may be shown that Protestants can have nearly five and one-half seats empty to one filled and still have relatively as many people coming to church at any one time as the Romanists. This consideration is quite sufificient to explain the seeming disparity be- tween the church attendance of Protestants and Romanists. However, though the disparagement of Protestant loyalty in this discussion makes necessary such a statement as the foregoing, it is regrettable, if brotherliness between Protestants and Romanists is to be cultivated, that such innuendoes, aimed at the sincerity of people in either communion, should be made. No group of Christians has a monopoly of goodness and loyalty to Christ and none is free from the shallow, ignorant, half-hearted examples of people of little faith. It is only ignorance or bigoted prejudice that attempts to cast aspersions upon the sincerity of the bulk of the people or to underestimate the piety and religious accomplish- ments in either communion. It would be well for our land if Protestants and Romanists, while loyal 174 Positive Protestantism respectively to their own convictions and teaching them freely, would nevertheless attempt to under- stand their essential differences and common beliefs, agree to disagree about the things upon which agree- ment is impossible, and live together in peace and mutual respect. The very principles of Protestants require them to take this attitude, to allow their cause to stand or fall on its merits, and to have no fear of the outcome. Whether this is possible for Romanism with its exclusive system Protestants will have to leave to Romanists and their teachers and to the judgment of the unbiased. The attitude just referred to is the fruit of Prot- estant freedom, which has had several important issues. One of these is religious liberty, which is so characteristic of American Christianity and which has constituted a marked contribution of the United States to the world. Against religious liberty the authoritative teaching of Romanism is unequivocal, though some Romanists in this country seem re- luctant to accept this teaching. Gregory XVI, in his pastoral letter of 1832, exhorts to the conflict with indifference, and designates as such the idea that salvation can be had outside of a right relation to the pope : " From this unclean spring of indiffer- ence there flows that idea, or rather that madness, that every one is to be accorded liberty of con- science. This destructive illusion is the result of that profitless freedom of ideas, which extends its ravages in all directions to the ruin of the State and Protestant Implications 175 the Church, while some have the shamelessness to say that some benefit results from it to religion. . . For it is a familiar fact in the experience of all nations that the most flourishing states have come to ruin through this one evil, through the im- moderate freedom of ideas, through the license ac- corded to public utterances, through the inordinate desire for novelties. To this also appertains what cannot be sufficiently reprobated, the freedom of the press, which some venture to demand." Pius IX went even further in his denunciations of religious liberty, demanding that freedom of worship, of conscience and thought be done away, that the church be allowed to control individuals in these spheres, and that all matters of marriage be turned over to the church. He was artless enough to ex- pect that the world would turn back to such doc- trine. Leo XIII, in his encyclical letter of June 20, 1888, said, " It is in no wise permitted to de- mand, defend, or grant liberty of thought, or of the press, or of teaching, or of religion." It is therefore clear what Rome officially teaches con- cerning religious liberty. ^^ In view of the Romanist teaching, therefore, and also in view of the actual facts in the case, it is almost unbelievable that Cardinal Gibbons has claimed that the Roman Catholic colony of Mary- land was the first to establish religious liberty and ^^ For Cardinal Gibbons' attitude tcwa'-d religious liberty, see Ap- pendix, Note 24. Positive Protestantism thus implied that we owe this precious possession to Rome/^ The true state of the case as to the estabHshment of reHgious Hberty in this country is set forth by L. W. Bacon, a CongregationaHst. He says : ^^ " In the establishment of the American prin- ciple of the non-interference of the state with re- ligion, and the equality of all religious communions before the law, much was due, no doubt, to the mutual jealousies of the sects, no one or two of v/hich were strong enough to maintain exceptional pretensions over the rest. . . So far as this work was a work of intelligent conviction and religious faith, the chief honor must be given to the Baptists. Other sects, notably the Presbyterians, had been energetic and efficient in demanding their own liber- ties; the Friends and Baptists agreed in demanding liberty of conscience and worship, and equality be- fore the law, for all alike. But the active labor in this cause was mainly done by the Baptists. It is to their consistency and constancy in the war- fare against the privileges of the powerful * Stand- ing Order ' of New England, and of the moribund establishments of the South, that we are chiefly indebted for the final triumph, in this country, of that principle of the separation of Church and State which is one of the largest contributions of the New World to civilization and to the church universal." As the historian Bancroft has said, Roger Williams, ^" See, for a brief statement of the situation, Appendix, Note 24. ^^ " Historj'' of American Christianity," p. 221. Protestant Implications 177 a Baptist, " was the first person in Christendom to establish civil government on the doctrine of liberty of conscience." In this view Bancroft is followed by practically all accredited historians. From the foregoing it is easy to surmise that Protestantism has not in all its branches been in accord with full religious liberty and the accom- panying necessity of separation of Church and State. In the earliest developments, Lutheranism and the Reformed churches apparently could not conceive of any relation between Church and State except that of union, and they would not allow liberty of conscience. But in this country to-day practically all Protestants would advocate religious liberty and separation of Church and State. From America the influence of this position has gone to establish a measure of religious liberty, if not to disestab- lish state churches among Protestants and others throughout the world. ^^ American Protestantism has thus presented the world with its finest spir- itual treasure, religious liberty. The spirit of freedom in Protestantism has also manifested itself in Protestant democracy. This has affected the form of government employed by eccle- siastical organizations. The voice of the people is eflFective in a very large measure in most Protestant denominations. Many have strictly congregational forms of government in which the voice of the people is the final appeal. " Compare Troeltsch, " Protestantism and Progress," M 178 Positive Protestantism This is in direct contrast to the Roman hierarchy. It is an absolute monarchy, with the final authority inhering in the pope, from whom it comes down to the humblest subject, from whom is demanded abso- lute submission. The pope is elected by the col- lege of cardinals, who have previously been ap- pointed by popes. He is in no sense answerable to the people, nor are any of the other members of the hierarchy. The fact that priests are usually re- cruited from the ranks of the common people does not make the Roman Church a democracy as is sometimes claimed, for they are not elected, selected, or rejected by the people. That some Romanists de- scribe their church as precisely similar to our free, democratic republic would seem impossible. The people can control our country, but in Romanism they have no control or appreciable influence over the hierarchy. This hierarchy could not possibly be farther from a democratic form of government. Moreover, Rome is not only an ecclesiastical abso- lute monarchy. It claims also to be a political gov- ernment, requiring a temporal kingdom,^^ and also exercising supreme authority over all other political governments. For this latter conception the famous bull of Boniface VIII (Unam Sanctam) is au- thority: "Therefore, if the earthly power deviates from the way, it shall be judged by the spiritual 20 It is claimed thnt the pope should be a trmporal ruler and actual king. The papal states have now been finally taken from him by a united Italy. The pope remains a voluntary prisoner in the Vatican because the Roman Curia holds that he must not come out until his kingdom is restored to him. Protestant Implications 179 power; if the inferior spiritual power, by its supe- rior spiritual power. . . Whoever resists this power, thus ordained by God, resists the ordination of God. . . Then, to be subject to the Roman pontiff we declare, say, define, and pronounce to be abso- lutely ' necessary to every human creature to sal- vation." This ancient dogma has been confirmed in modern times by the Syllabus of Errors of Pius IX, which not only condemned religious liberty, but declared the ecclesiastical law to be supreme over civil law. The Romanist ideal is that the pope should control the world through the officials of various states who must be subject to him. Coppens says (p. 106) : *' The two societies, the Church and the State, can help each other by their corporate action. If their views should differ, the higher and wider society should prevail. Besides, Cath- olic governors owe deference to the church whose members they are." It is only because the papacy lacks the physical forces and because it cannot suc- cessfully appeal to peoples against their respective governments to do the will of the hierarchy, that the papal ideal of spiritual supremacy over the various governments of the world fails of its real- ization. Plainly this ideal is significant for understanding the relation of Romanism to political democracy. Inevitably the absolutism of the Romanist hier- archy, just because of its constitution, is antago- nistic to the sovereignty of the people and their i8o Positive Protestantism democratic aspirations in any sphere, though some Romanists who have come under the influence of modern democracy do not seem able to see this.^^ The success of the Protestant Reformation made possible the struggle for religious liberty, and greatly augmented the already advanced tendency to political liberty and the breaking down of the political supremacy of the papacy. The two-sided struggle has since gone on hand in hand, and with reference to it Rome has ever been against the liberties of the people, as is plainly shown by the papal declarations quoted above, which condemn so completely the principles and rights of freedom. On the other hand, the principles of Protestantism have ever been harmonious with freedom, and it is a notable fact that Protestantism has had con- siderable to do with the development of modern states. Just as plain as this situation in regard to political democracy are the respective positions of Protes- tantism and Romanism toward freedom in two other spheres. One of these is the sphere of the freedom of speech and the press. Already the quotations of papal declarations made above, which are strongly corroborated by the existence of the Index, have shown how completely official Rome is against these two liberties which are twin children and at the same time twin conservers of freedom. Protestant advocates of religious liberty, not to 21 For Rome's past attitude to democracy, see Appendix, Note 25. Protestant Implications i8i speak of political freedom, have consistently pleaded for these twins, and that is exactly what the logic of the Protestant principles requires just as the essential contentions of Romanism compel the ad- herents of the papal system to oppose a free press and free speech. Also in the sphere of learning, research, and education Rome stands in the way of freedom. Biblical scholarship, theological science, and non- theological science in all matters affecting Roman teaching must submit to the teaching office of the church.^^ The Congregation of the Index is always ready to exercise its function of condemning pub- lications which set forth unwelcome positions, and bishops everywhere have the authority to forbid the reading of anti-Romanist books not important enough to send to the Congregation. It is a strange and strik- ing fact illustrative of Rome's intolerance of free scientific research that from A. D. 1616 onward the writings of Copernicus (and Galileo) were on the Index, " since Copernicus' system of the universe is altogether contradictory to the Sacred Writings and destructive of Catholic truth." The embarrassment which such an attitude brings to an unchangeable church is illustrated in the fact that from the im- pression of the Index issued in 1835 these prohibi- tions silently disappeared and have not since been included, very ostensibly because no well-informed person any longer has doubted the truth of the 22 See Appendix, Note 20. 1 82 Positive Protestantism Copernican theory, also espoused by Galileo. The attack made so recently by Pius X upon " Modern- ism " is a clear indication of where Rome stands as to freedom of research and learning. The con- trasted attitude of Protestantism, which has made freedom possible and which has in no small measure cultivated it, needs no elaboration. The attitude of Rome toward freedom in educa- tion is well known. Rome cannot escape the im- plications as to her lack of interest in educating the common people which lie in the conditions of illiteracy of those countries where her hierarchy has had full sway for a long time. But it is not to this situation chiefly that we now refer, but rather to her attitude toward free education in this country, and especially her hostility to the public school in all its divisions from primary school to university. Coppens says, '' It is distinctly taught in the syllabus of Pius IX that Catholics cannot approve of a system of education which is severed from the Catholic faith and from the power of the church, and which regards only or primarily natural knowledge and social life." Thus Roman- ism is declared to be inherently and inevitably op- posed to our free-school system, and it is not sur- prising that her priests use ecclesiastical pressure to overcome the preference of Romanist parents for the public school which has meant already so much for the liberties and prosperity of our nation. What is surprising is that sensible people should Protestant Implications 183 yield their judgment as to the better education for their children and choose to send them else- where than to this thoroughly American institution simply because of the decree of an ecclesiastical powe,r, and that too a power whose central location is on foreign territory and whose control is in the hands of men of a foreign nation who cannot pos- sibly sympathize with our institutions, even if they could by diligent inquiry really understand them. This attitude of Romanism has led Romanists to strive to secure from public funds appropriations for their educational institutions, not to mention the situation with reference to other kinds of activity. This effort, which has not only been proposed, but actually carried out in demands for legislative ac- tion, as, for example, in Rhode Island, is logical enough for Romanists, but absolutely opposed to the established American principle of separation of Church and State, and consequently reveals how inherently antagonistic Romanism is to American ideals of freedom and democracy. Protestants, though maintaining at their own expense, and in larger and more effective measure than Romanism, their own schools for higher education, stand with- out exception for the free-school system. If Protestantism had contributed no more than these various elements of modern freedom which can justly be accredited to it, its superiority to Romanism and its permanent worth to the world would be proved. Part TTT Cbe Present Protestant Situation CHAPTER I THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE DIVISIONS OF PROTESTANTISM It is a most difficult task to set forth adequately the significance of the several Protestant denominations. When members of the same denomination differ among themselves as to the significance of their body, it is inevitable that the statements of an out- sider will be liable to the charge of inadequacy, if not of inaccuracy. A brief general statement such as this must leave out many modifying considera- tions, and so will be open to the charge of in- completeness. Yet it is possible to make a statement with reference to the nature and extent of the divi- sions of Protestantism which will be sufficiently ac- curate and adequate for a broad view and for under- standing why it is that the divisions have come to exist. It is primary and fundamental in understanding Protestant denominationalism to recognize that de- nominational division is not so overwhelmingly sig- nificant to Protestants as division must be to Ro- manism. The breadth of the foundation principles of Protestantism is so great that a single creed or a single ecclesiastical organization is not a necessity. 187 Positive Protestantism The question, therefore, is not so pressing as that of the factions of Romanism is for Romanists. But even so, why are there so many divisions of Protestantism? According to the United States Census Report of 1906, there were in this country one hundred and eighty-eight different rehgious or- ganizations. But the mere statement of this fact does the gravest injustice to the real situation if the impHcation is drawn from it that each of these dif- ferent organizations is of entirely separate and an- tagonistic religious significance. It is also a mis- take to suppose that all of these are Protestant bodies. Among those not Protestant are the several Cath- olic bodies. The Roman Catholic Church is included in the number mentioned, as are also two compara- tively recent schismatic offshoots of Romanism, namely, the Reformed Catholic Church and the Polish National Church. There are also several bodies representing the Oriental Catholic Churches of Russia, Greece, Serbia, Syria, and Armenia. In addition to the Catholic bodies, but far removed from them in significance, are the groups popularly known as Mormons, who can scarcely be regarded as Protestants, and of whom there are two bodies, one of which is by profession at least Christian. Other non-Protestant groups are the Spiritualists and Christian Scientists. Outside of Christianity altogether are the Chinese and Japanese temples, the Jews, the Theosophists, the Bahais, the Vedanta So- Divisions of Protestantism ciety, and the Ethical Culturists, all of which groups receive separate count in the census report. Thus the number of organizations referred to must be considerably reduced before the Protestants are reached at all. A still further reduction is necessary to do justice to the actual significance of Protestantism. Inter- related groups form single families of denomina- tions. These families have internal agreement among their several members in the most essential significance of the group. In each, one or two branches have nearly all the numerical strength, and are surrounded by a number of small bodies that are only faint eddies in the family current which, with other such currents, goes to make up the stream of Protestantism. The family members are sometimes related as parent and offshoot, and some- times are bound by common principles and practices though springing from different or common parent- age. A common name is sometimes evidence of mem- bership in a family, but in certain instances family connection is closer without a common title. For example, there is less difference in essential sig- nificance between Disciples of Christ and Baptists than between the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Protestant Church; and the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, in spite of their name, are more nearly Presbyterian than Methodist and tend to fraternize with Presbyterian bodies. The best basis on which to relate the several denominations 190 Positive Protesianti ism is that of historical origin and essential significance. On this basis in some instances relation may be established in more than one direction, but upon it at least a general view of the most significant cur- rents of Protestantism can be secured. Nearly all of the Protestant denominations can be related directly or indirectly to the three great divisions of the Protestant Reformation movement. Naturally, Lutherans are considered first. There are in this country twenty-four different Lutheran organizations.^ All of these, however, have quite the same general Protestant significance, and there is no reason for counting some of the divisions separately in any sense. All agree in the cardinal teaching of justification by faith. The sacraments of the church are channels of grace, but transubstantiation is repudiated. Infant bap- tism is practised. With reference to the sacra- ments, Lutherans are nearer to Romanism than other Protestants and, excepting in a measure some less rigid branches, tend more to accord with medieval religion. Indications of the tendency are to be seen in the liturgy and in the observance of church festivals. As to church government, ^ See United States Census Report for 1906, which is the source of the statistics and much other information given. Compare also H. K. Carroll and Chas. S. MacFarland. The membership is given in order to convey in a general way the relative numerical strength of the various denominations. For such a relative showing the census report is the latest and most reliable source, though it is to be re- membered that in the last eleven years each of the denominations has grown, yet not so as to affect their mutual relations in any con- siderable dcRree. Mention of some of the smaller divisions in the several groups is omitted because they lack any essential significance for our purpose. Divisions of Protestantism 191 Lutherans in this country have been theoretically congregational, but in the application of the theory they have developed in some of their organizations what is nearly, if not quite, a presbyterian form of government, and in some others have drifted into the recognition practically, if not ecclesiastically, of a bishopric- Organized divisions among Lutherans are due to several causes, namely, the difference in church government just referred to; the opposition of con- servative and liberal forces; the difterence of lan- guage and national affiliations due to the various sources of Lutheran immigration to this country; and the sectional questions connected with the Civil War. The General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States of America (membership 270,221) is the most liberal of all branches, excepting one small body, and most easily fraternizes with other Protestant denominations. It allows ministers of other denominations on occa- sion to occupy its pulpits and grants members of other denominations the privilege of participation in the Lord's Supper. The General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (membership 462,177) was formed by the with- drawal of large numbers from the General Synod because of the latter's liberality. " Lutheran pulpits are for Lutheran ministers only, and Lutheran altars 2 See H. K. Carroll, " The Religious Forces of the United States," pp. 4Sf. 192 Positive Protestantism are for Lutheran communicants only, and excep- tions to the rule belong to the sphere of privilege not of right " was the final position of the General Council, which also took an attitude strongly op- posed to secret societies. This body is less Angli- cized than the General Synod and less German than the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference (membership 648,529), which is the most conserva- tive and adheres most rigidly to the historic Lutheran confessions of faith. These three include two-thirds of the Lutherans in this country. The other third is scattered among a number of smaller bodies, a few of which have considerable numerical strength, and these maintain separate organizations chiefly on national and geographical grounds.^ Besides the bodies which bear the name of Luther, there are three others directly connected with Lutherans : the German Evangelical Synod of North America (membership 293,197), which represents the state church resulting from a union of Lutheran and German Reformed churches in Prussia ; and two small bodies representing a revival movement in Sweden, where the state church is Lutheran, the Swedish Evangelical IMission Covenant (member- ship 20,760) and the Swedish Evangelical Free Mis- sion (membership 6,952).* The Reformed movement, the second great stream 2 See United States Census Report. * According to the above grouping, including unmentioned smaller bodies, the Lutheran family had a membership in 1906 of 2,359,277. Divisions of Protestantism 193 of the Reformation, is represented in this country most directly by four bodies whose names include the word " Reformed " and by the Presbyterians. All of these are Calvinistic in theology, and give the charaeteristic emphasis of that system to the doc- trines of the sovereignty of God and his decrees concerning the salvation of men. All likewise have practically the same presbyterian form of church government. The [Dutch] Reformed Church in America (membership 124,938) represents the Reformed Church of Holland, adheres to the Heidelberg Catechism, and is composed chiefly of the Dutch and their descendants. The [German] Reformed Church in the United States (membership 292,654) uses the same catechism and has the same form of government, but is composed of Germans and their descendants. The Christian Reformed Church (membership 26,669) represents a body of the same name in Holland and holds a modified form of Calvinism. The Hungarian Reformed Church (membership 5,253) is like the others except in point of nationality, and in that it is connected officially with the national church of Hungary. The Presbyterians are the most numerous and perhaps the most influential representatives in this country of the Reformed movement. They came hither originally from Scotland, England, and Ire- land. There are twelve divisions. The chief strength is in one body, the Presbyterian Church in N 194 Positive Protestantism the United States of America (membership 1,179,- 566), which, like all other Presbyterian groups, holds to the Westminster Confession and the pres- byterian form of church government. The Cum- berland Presbyterians (membership 195,770) came into separate existence in the early part of the last century, after a great religious revival in Tennessee and Kentucky, as the result of a controversy con- cerning the licensing of preachers to take care of the new converts, though these preachers had not been as fully educated as the high standards of Presbyterians required. The Presbyterian Church in the United States (membership 266,345) is the conservative Southern body which separated on ac- count of the Civil War. It includes most of the Presbyterians who live in the South, though the Northern Presbyterians have some churches there, especially among the Negroes. The Welsh Cal- vinistic Methodists (membership 13,280) originated from the work in Wales of Wesley and Whitefield, the latter of whom was a Calvinist, and are really presbyterian in belief and church government. The United Presbyterians (membership 130,342) differ from the others chiefly in their opposition to secret societies, in forbidding the privilege of communion to those who do not agree with their church's posi- tion, and in insisting that only psalms, and no hymns written by uninspired writers, shall be sung in the church services. Four distinct, but very small bodies of Reformed Presbyterians (aggregate mem- Divisions of Protestantism 195 bership 10,199) agree with other Presbyterians as to the Westminster Confession and the form of church government, with the United Presbyterians in their opposition to secret societies and the use of hymns, and with one another as to the unrighteous- ness of instrumental music in the church and as to opposition to any poHtical government which does not recognize Christ as head ; and they differ among themselves as to the practical measures to take in securing the recognition -of Christ by the govern- ment, some of them refusing to vote. All Pres- byterians baptize infants and use affusion or sprin- kling as the mode. They have always laid a strong emphasis on doctrinal matters, yet among them to-day are some of the strongest advocates of cooperation among various Protestant bodies. Still another representative of the Reformed movement is the Congregational denomination (membership 700,480). Toward the end of the six- teenth century a small body of Calvinists in England became an independent church, emphasizing in con- trast to the Anglican Church, from which it broke away, the principle of democratic church govern- ment which had been advocated by the Anabaptists. This body had to fiee to Holland, and thence came to this country as the Pilgrims in 1620. Later, when the Puritans or extreme Calvinist party in the Church of England failed to overturn the An- glican polity and were forced out of the church, some were absorbed by various independent 196 Positive Protestantism churches in England, and some came to this country. In New England the Puritans and Pilgrims estab- lished the church which has become the Congre- gational denomination. The relations between this body and the Presbyterians have been fairly close, and at one time in the early part of the last cen- tury there was a working agreement as to terri- torial division. The Congregationalists have been especially responsive to modern liberal Protestant conceptions, and have largely ceased to be the ex- ponents of any theological system such as Calvin- ism. Sprinkling and infant baptism are practised. The one preeminently distinguishing mark of the body is its form of church government, according to which the local church is free to act in all its concerns without interference from ecclesiastical authority.^ Associations and councils are advisory only. The Anglican Church was connected historically with the Calvinistic movement, yet finally remained distinct from it.^ Its counterpart in this country is the Protestant Episcopal Church (membership 886,942), whose emphasis upon medieval ecclesi- astical piety is greater than that of any other body affected by the Reformed movement, and whose church government is more exclusive and 8 In view of the present emphasis of the Congregationalists, and since thev have ceased to be distinctly Calvinistic it might be logical to classify them with the Anabaptist group. If they are retained, the whole number of members in the Reformed family is 2,976,753? « See p. 37- Divisions of Protestantism 197 medieval than even that of the Lutherans. While this body includes some of the most liberal theo- logical scholars, the canons of the church are very exclusive, ecclesiastically speaking, and the High Church Party seeks to dominate the church with the strictest sacramentarian medievalism. The Epis- copal Church is undoubtedly among Protestants the church of reverence for historical continuity in re- ligious practices, of ecclesiasticism in religion, and of ritualism in worship. Like the medieval church, it has three orders of ministers — deacons, priests, and bishops. It claims historical apostolic suc- cession, which it admits is also possessed by the Roman and Oriental Catholic Churches, but by no others. No ministers are really such unless or- dained by a bishop in this succession, so that no minister of any other communion is allowed to speak in an Episcopalian pulpit without special per- mission from the bishop of the diocese in which the pulpit is located. Even this permission has been canonically legal only in recent years. A quite famous Baptist minister was recently refused per- mission to address from an Episcopalian pulpit a meeting to be held in the interest of church union, because he did not believe in infant baptism, and another meeting-place had to be secured which was under less restricted ecclesiastical affiliations.^ '''In 1873 the Protestant Episcopal Church split over the question of communing with members of other denominations, and the seceding body is known as the Reformed Episcopal Church (membership 9:683), and has espoused the more evangelical positions of Protes- tants. 198 Positive Protestantism In grouping the modern representatives of the Anabaptist movement and its pre-Reformation forerunners, three distinct kinds of connection are to be pointed out. Several bodies may be traced by direct historical continuity to the Anabaptists. Others have sprung directly or indirectly from these desccndent groups. Still others have had an independent origin, but are to be connected here because they emphasize some one or more of the Anabaptist tenets. The two oldest of the denominations in this family, in our country, are the Moravian Brethren (membership 17,155) and the Evangelical Union of Bohemian and Moravian Brethren (membership 771), w^hose history in both cases can be traced back five hundred years to the influence of John Hus, the Bohemian martyr. Their beliefs and practices before the Reformation w^ere distinctly Anabaptist.^ To-day they have principles some- w^hat like those of the Mennonites and modern Baptists, but practices more like those of other denominations. The Moravians are noted for their missionary activities. A second group to be traced directly to the Ana- baptists are the Mennonites. After the fierce per- secutions of the Anabaptists of Holland and ad- jacent regions had begun to abate, INIenno Simons, an Anabaptist leader, traveled from place to place, greatly heartening the scattered members of the s See A, H. Newman, " A History of Anti-Pedobapti&m," pp. 49-54- Divisions of Pfotestantism 199 despised sect. The denomination which was thus sohdified took its name from his, and holds prac- tically all of the tenets which were supported by the bulk of the Anabaptists. The Mennonites do not baptize infants. They use affusion or sprin- kling as the mode of baptism, though some branches in this country employ immersion. There are two chief and twelve smaller organizations of them. The membership (aggregate 54,798) is composed chiefly of immigrants, descendants of immigrants, and converts made especially among German-speak- ing people. The separate existence of the several divisions is due in part to differences of nationality, but more especially to the relative rigidity em- ployed in the respective bodies in executing church discipline with reference to various matters. By far the most numerous, influential, and im- portant group which can be traced directly to the Anabaptists is that of the modern Baptists. They arose in England probably through the activities of Anabaptist missionaries who were refugees from continental persecutions. The first known advo- cate of Anabaptist principles in America was Roger Williams, who came to this land as a clergyman of the Church of England, but whose advocacy of Ana- baptist principles led to his banishment from Alassa- chusetts and his founding of Rhode Island, the first organized government known to man to be estab- lished on the foundation of religious liberty. Others of similar beHefs came from abroad, and some in 200 Positive Protestantism the various colonies in this country were convinced of the validity of the Anabaptist contentions. Thus the Baptists grew slowly. But during the last cen- tury they increased three times as fast as the popu- lation and came to be one of the numerically great denominations. The chief emphasis of the Baptists has been double. It has been put upon loyalty to the Scrip- ture and upon the necessity of carrying the funda- mental position of Protestantism toward faith to an application beyond that of other denominations. This application has concerned church government, the relation of the Church to the State, and the ceremonies of the church. Since individual faith is the determining element of religious life, every in- dividual Christian is of such worth that he deserves a voice and vote in the administering of the local church. Also the conscience must be free from in- terference either by ecclesiastical authority of bishop or legislative council or by civil authority. Con- sequently each local church is free of outside con- trol and the Church and the State must be separate. Similarly, the Baptist contention in regard to infant baptism and immersion ^ and their view of the Lord's Supper ^^ emphasize the central place of faith. At the same time Baptists hold that the New Testament teaching and practice bear out their positions. ^ See above, pp. 86-90. 10 See above, pp. 98-103. Divisions of Protestantism 201 Most Baptists in this country and Canada hold to what is called " restricted " communion ; not, how- ever, on the basis of some bodies who believe that they have the one and only way to God, but simply because Baptists think that baptism should precede participation in the Lord's Supper — so far all Chris- tians agree — and since the immersion of believers is the only proper Christian baptism, persons not thus baptized should not partake of the Lord's Supper. But both in this country and in other lands there are many Baptist individuals and Baptist churches which do not thus hold. Adherence to " restricted " communion is not universally made a test of de- nominational fellowship. There is a noticeable ten- dency in this country, especially among the Baptists of the Northern half, away from the " restricted " view. There are also a few Baptist churches in this country v/hich have in their membership a few unimmersed persons received by letter from churches of other denominations. There are several bodies of Baptists, of which by far the most numerous are the Regular Bap- tists (membership 5,323,183) so called to distin- guish them from other groups. The classification by H. K. Carroll, and to a less degree, the United States Census, implies that the Regular Baptists are subdivided into several distinct bodies. The white churches are organized for united efforts in two conventions, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Northern Baptist Convention, and the Negro 202 Positive Protestantism Baptists have several organizations. But these or- ganizations are separated only for purposes of ef- ficiency and not because they are in any sense sepa- rate denominations. Before the formation of the Northern Baptist Convention the united endeavors of the constituent churches were carried on by numerous Societies, one of which, the Publication Society, served churches both North and South, and all of which are now in affiliation with the Northern Baptist Convention. There is to-day no such divi- sion between the Baptists of the North and South as exists between the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church South, which have rival churches in the same communities. There is not even a clear mark of distinction between white and colored Baptists, for there are many Negro members of white Baptist churches, and there are churches composed entirely of Negroes which are affiliated with district associations com- posed almost entirely of white churches. Such Negroes are counted in the statistics of the North- ern Convention. At the same time some of these same Negro churches are also connected with the general national organizations whose members are exclusively Negroes. It is plain, therefore, that the Regular Baptists are a single denomination, though they are variously and perhaps, to an out- sider, confusedly organized. Baptists themselves think only of the unity of all Baptists, North, South, white, and colored. Divisions of Protestantism 203 There are several smaller distinct bodies of Bap- tists. Free Baptists now are as completely amal- gamated with Regular Baptists as any two such democratic bodies can be. The Free Baptists (mem- bership 81,359) should therefore really be counted with Regular Baptists, through whose agencies they now carry on their chief denominational work. They send representatives to the Northern Baptist Convention and other Regular Baptist organiza- tions. Quite distinct are the " Primitive," or " Old- school," or " Antimissionary " Baptists, sometimes nicknamed "Hard-shell" Baptists (membership 102,311). They are rigidly and extremely Cal- vinistic in theology, and are opposed to Sunday Schools and missionary and Bible societies. They are found chiefly in the South, where they have a considerable measure of success. The remaining seven small bodies aggregate about the same num- bers as the Antimissionary Baptists. It is plain therefore that about ninety-seven per cent of the Baptists are Regular. The Moravians, Alennonites, and Baptists are direct descendants of the Anabaptists. Outside of these are certain bodies which stand for almost the same thing as Baptists. Quite markedly related to Baptists are those people who forwarded dur- ing the nineteenth century several movements for church union by urging a return to the New Tes- tament standard of church life. The body known as Disciples of Christ (membership 982,701) re- 204 Positive Protestantism suited from a movement led by Thomas and Alexander Campbell. These men had been Pres- byterian, became Baptist, and then later drew a number of Baptist churches, on the basis of church union and the legal necessity of baptism for the remission of sins, into a new denomination which, however, refuses to regard itself as a denomination. A similar movement had started in another part of the country partly under Baptist leadership, and these people called their churches " Christian." Some of these churches joined in with the Dis- ciples' movement, but those not so joining are known as the Christian Connection (membership 110,117). The titles used by these churches are further con- fused by the fact that some churches originally wholly identified with the Disciples' movement, but which now are not so closely allied, call themselves the Churches of Christ (membership 159,658). They are opposed to missionary and publication organizations of the Disciples. The Churches of God in North America (membership 24,356) orig- inated with the German Reformed people of ]\Iary- land, but stand for practically the same positions as Disciples, except that they have a presbyterian form of government. All of these groups are very similar to the Baptists, except that they make a special point of church union on their peculiar platform. Disciples have sometimes been called " Campbel- lite " Baptists. Almost as close to the Baptists as Disciples are Dii'isions of Protestantism 205 the Adventists. In the Reformation period not a few Anabaptists beHeved in the immediate or early coming of Christ and wandered about amid the pos- sible vagaries connected with speculation upon this subject. The Adventists sprang up under Baptist leadership, and have taken a considerable part of their numerical strength from Baptist churches. The group arose in this country with the Miller ite movement of the early part of the last century. The failure of Christ to appear at the times pre- dicted has not prevented the continued existence of the Adventist groups, which may fairly be re- garded as Baptist with a millenarian emphasis. There are several bodies, all of which immerse and refuse to baptize infants. The two chief divisions are the Seventh Day Adventists (membership 62,211) and the Advent Christians (membership 26,799). The former of these legalistically insists on the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and practises foot-washing in connection with the Lord's Supper, while the latter believes in conditional im- mortality. There are also four extremely smiall bodies which give especial emphasis to a number of different elements of the Old Testament religion.^^ The third class of denominations belonging in a sense to the Anabaptist stream are neither directly descended from the Anabaptists of the Reforma- tion period nor from any of the direct descendants. "The numerical strength of the Baptistic group is great: direct descendants, 5,676,106; related to Baptists, Disciples, and allies, 1,276,832; and Adventists, 92,735; total, 7,048,673. 2o6 Positive Protestantism But they have all espoused some one or more of the Anabaptist practices or teachings. The " Dunkers," or " Dunkards," or '* German Baptist Brethren," are an example of the third type. Originating among Lutherans as a result of the pietistic movement in the German churches, which came about as a protest against the dead spirit of Protestant orthodoxy in Germany in the seven- teenth century, the denomination developed its doc- trinal conceptions, its church polity, and its prac- tices along Anabaptist lines similar to those of the Mennonites, Quakers, and other '' plain peoples." They have no written creeds, but hold to the Scrip- tures as sufficient. They baptize by trine immer- sion; that is, they submerge three times in suc- cession after the manner of the Oriental Catholic Church; they practise foot-washing; and they re- fuse to baptize infants. Great emphasis is laid upon unworldliness ; and plain dressing of a set fashion without further adornment is insisted on. Women are expected to wear a prayer-covering, or veil, during prayer. The form of church government is similar to the Presbyterian, but ministers do not for the most part receive any salaries. These peo- ple came at an early date to our country, but have kept themselves socially isolated, and have largely retained their original customs and spirit. They are almost entirely of German extraction. There are four divisions, the main one of which includes nearly four-fifths of all Dunkers. The entire group Divisions of Protestantism 207 (membership 97,144) is more like the modern Men- nonites than the modern Baptists and, hke the former, has its spirit from European sources. Another body of Christians arising after the Reformation and espousing Anabaptist positions is that of the Friends, commonly known as Quak- ers. They sprang up in England from much the same soil as the Baptists. The quaint costume which became the badge of Quakers was borrowed from the Baptists of the seventeenth century. The Quakers took up the Anabaptist principle of the '' inner light," or the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit of God as the supreme authority for each Christian life. So far did they carry the emphasis of the internal side of Christian life that they denied the necessity or the usefulness of the church ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Two other Anabaptist principles taken up by the Quak- ers were the refusal to take oaths and to hold public office and the refusal to fight, with the consequent emphasis upon peace. From the Orthodox body (membership 91,161) have separated two groups, the Hicksite Friends (membership 18,560), who are Unitarian in doctrine, and the Wilburite Friends (membership 3,380), who insist on ''the waiting worship " being maintained. Somewhat later than the origin of the Quakers the Wesleyan movement arose in England. The religious life of England had settled down into a dead formalism. John Wesley, a minister of the 2o8 Positive F'rotestantisrn Church of England, began even in his university days an attempt at the revival of real piety and spirituality in that church. He was forced out of the church, and as a result we have the bodies which are Wesleyan, or Methodist. The name " Method- ist " arose as a nickname of reproach. Methodists early came to this country, where they have had a remarkable growth. The Methodists are Arminian in theology, which means that they have always emphasized the part which man through his will plays in his own religious life more than the part of God, which is the point of especial emphasis in Calvinism. The Methodist type of religious thinking has greatly affected most evangelical Prot- estant bodies in this country. The Methodists have emphasized, perhaps as no other body except the Baptists, the necessity of a really converted church-membership, though they have not agreed with Baptists in making the rejec- tion of infant baptism and the insistence on im- mersion a means of urging this necessity. Most Methodists practise infant baptism and usually sprinkling, but some use immersion, and all groups, at least theoretically, permit it. The Lord's Supper is observed as a memorial meal with spiritual, but not strictly speaking, sacramental blessing, though the name " sacrament " is used. The relation to Anabaptists is far less direct than that of the other groups thus far mentioned, but is nevertheless dis- tinct. Wesley himself came directly under the in- Divisions of Protestantism 209 fluence of the Moravian teaching and spirit, and his subsequent teaching and reUgious life showed the influence of the contact. If this contact did not originate, it at least greatly increased, the em- phasis of Methodists on the Anabaptist and pre- Reformation idea of the " inner light." This un- doubtedly affected the characteristically Methodist doctrine of '' sanctification," according to which it is possible through the presence of the Holy Spirit to attain to " a freedom from sin, from evil desires and tempers, and from pride." The Methodist bodies have perhaps more than other Protestants undertaken formally to keep the people to a stricter conformity in avoidance of certain amusements and so-called worldly things, but recently there has been a tendency to greater leniency in the applica- tion of church discipline in such matters. The government of the church has been chiefly in the hands of the ministers except in groups like the Methodist Protestants. To meet the criticism of this situation, the laity, in recent years, have been given a somewhat larger place than before in the general church organizations of the largest body of Methodists. The ministry has but two orders, deacons and elders, though the name " bishop " is used for the office of the general superintendent, who is, nevertheless, of the same ministerial order as all other elders. The Methodist Episcopal Church (membership 2,986,154) has its local churches chiefly, though not o 2IO Positive Protestantism entirely, in the Northern States and quite wholly among white people. Early in the last century the Negro folk felt they were not being treated justly, and withdrew from the main body. Four distinct bodies have resulted. ^^ The Methodist Protestant Church (membership 178,544) agrees in doctrine with the main body, but has no bishops and gives laymen equal representation with the ministers in the conferences. The Methodist Episcopal Church South (membership 1,638,480) broke from the main body over the questions involved in the Civil War. Its positions now are practically those of the main body, but it has some differences in lay representa- tion in government. It maintains its churches even in the same community with churches of the main body. The Free Methodists (membership 32,838) came into being to protest against membership in secret societies, pew-rents, and the abuse of ex- ecutive power and ecclesiastical authority. This body is like other Methodists, except that it em- phasizes entire sanctification and insists on a most rigid application of church discipline and a most rigorous view of the hereafter.^^ The separating differences of the several divisions of Methodists ^ These are the Union American Methodist Episcopal Church (membership 4,347), the African Methodist Episcopal Church (mem- bership 494,777). the African Union Methodist Protestant Church (membership 5.592), and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (membership 184,542). An additional division in the South, which came about by mutual agreement, produced the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (membership 172,996). 13 There are several small additional Methodist bodies, some white and some colored, some with the name Methodist, and some with other titles, as for example the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. Divisions of Protestantism 211 have not as a rule had their origin in matters of doctrine, but have rather had to do with church government and discipline. Closely connected with the Methodists in origin and significance are the United Brethren in Christ. The influence of the Methodist movement in the eighteenth century, of German pietism upon Ger- man-speaking congregations in this country, and of the Mennonites who contributed some minis- ters and people, resulted in the formation of this denomination. It is altogether probable that the body would have united with the Methodist Epis- copal Church more than a century ago if at that time that church had encouraged the use of German in the church services of this group. The doctrinal positions are almost identical with those of Meth- odists, and the form of church government is practi- cally the same. There are two bodies, of which the larger is now known as the United Brethren in Christ (membership 274,659), and the more con- servative seceding group (membership 21,401) as the Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution). The Evangelical Association (membership 104,- 898) was also the result of work done in the Meth- odist spirit followed by the refusal of the Methodist Episcopal Church to minister in German to the German people of "Pennsylvania. This body is quite Methodist in belief and practice. Likewise is the United Evangelical Church (membership 212 Positive Protestantism 69,882) which also makes a point of emphasizing the fellowship of all Christians. P'rom the Methodists in England sprang the Sal- vation Army (membership in this country 22,908), which has become such an evangelistic and philan- thropic force in so many places. The general theo- logical opinions underlying the work of the Army are in general very similar to those of the Meth- odists. Two smaller similar bodies are the Amer- ican Salvation Army (membership 436) and the Volunteers of America (membership 2,194). The Volunteers and the Salvation Army do not expect their converts to remain with them, but rather en- courage their joining some church, though the Vol- unteers, more than the Army, insist on this policy. Methodists ^"^ have had a great influence upon modern Protestantism. The Methodist and Bap- tist families have been the dominant representa- tives of that type of religious thought and life which in the time of the Reformation was seeking expression in manifold variations through the Ana- baptists. The Baptists have run truer to type, but both families have found their followers chiefly among the masses of the people. Outside of the representatives of the three great channels of the Reformation and subsequent Prot- estant growth there are some lesser currents. One 1* The Methodist family, including those bodies springing- from Methodists, but not bearing the name or being identical with them, numbers in all 6,244,209. This number and those of the Dunkards, Quakers, and the Baptist family (7,048673) make a total of 13,693,- 372 for the Anabaptist group, and with Congregationalists, 14,393,862. Divisions of Protestantism 213 of these is the tendency to rationalism. Ever since the New Testament days themselves attempts have been made to square the conceptions concerning Christ and his person to the philosophies prevail- ing at any given time. One result has been the Unitarian interpretation of Christ. Though in the fourth century the Council of Nice declared against the teachings of Arius, a Unitarian, and though the church seemed to settle down to this decision, nevertheless advocates of Unitarian doctrine arose from time to time. In the Reformation period rationalistic Humanism created some Unitarian groups which influenced a few of the Anabaptists. Other advocates have continued to set forth their Unitarian contentions since the Reformation. In our country advocates of a Unitarian conception of God and Christ separated about a century ago chiefly from the Congregational churches of New England. The resulting Unitarian denomination (membership 70,542) has no creed, and refuses no one church fellowship on doctrinal grounds. It ad- heres to the congregational form of church govern- ment. Unitarianism has undoubtedly affected the religious thinking of the last century. ^^ The Universalists (membership 64,158) em- phasize chiefly the doctrine that ultimately in the hereafter God will save all, after men have suffered 1^ The rationalizing tendencv has found expression among the Ger- man people in the Ge^'man Evangelical Protestant Ministers' Asso- ciation (membership 23.518) and the German Evangelical Ministers' Conference (membership 11,186). The former especially is Unita- rian. 214 Positive Protestanti. ism retribution for sin. But they are chiefly Unitarian in doctrine also, though many among them hold Trinitarian views. Another tendency marking the Christian cen- turies is seen in the formation of small groups to restore the simplicity of New Testament Christian- ity. It found repeated expression before the Refor- mation, and has since issued in a number of bodies. In this country, where no ecclesiastical power can coerce, these sporadic attempts at setting up New Testament conditions have had full sway and have been too numerous to detail- The existence of these numerous small groups without strength or influence leads some to think that Protestantism tends to break up into many divisions. They are really only slight eddies thrown off from the great currents of Protestantism and are similar to the small groups which have always from time to time sprung up during the Christian centuries. The followers of Swedenborg, the Scandinavian mystic and mathematician, are organized in two bodies, the General Convention of the New Jeru- salem in the United States of America (member- ship 6,612) and the General Church of the New Jerusalem (m.embership 635). The small number is a fair measure of the influence Swedenborg has had in Protestantism after a century or more of the propagation of his teachings. In addition to any special denominational groups of churches there are, according to the census of Divisions of Profestantism 215 1906, 1,065 independent church organizations, with an aggregate membership of 73,673. Some are Baptist, some Congregational, some Lutheran, some Methodist, some Presbyterian, some Reformed, and some others have various denominational names, but none of these are affiliated with any denom- ination. They are unrelated among themselves, and have no significance for the full sweep of the Prot- estant movement. To summarize, it is clear that the large number of separate ecclesiastical names of various groups which are used in statistical tables are not really indicative of nearly so many significant divisions of Protestants. The different denominations fall into the three groups of the Reformation time. The Lutheran family is fairly unified in significance, and its smaller bodies are hardly to be regarded as rivals of the two main bodies which have the chief strength. The same may be said of the Presby- terians, who are the chief representatives of the Reformed movement and who have been closely associated with the Congregationalists, the second in importance among Reformed bodies. The Epis- copalians have been influenced by the Reformed movement and connected with it, but should prob- ably be regarded as distinct and outside this group. The third division, the Anabaptist, is the largest. The Moravian and Bohemian Brethren, the Mennonites and their satellites trace their history far back and maintain old and partially 2i6 Positive Protestantism national traditions, but do not possess much sig- nificance as rivals of the larger denominations. The Baptists of various kinds, with the denominations which have been historically associated with them, such as the Disciples, Dunkers, and Adventists, form a very large and influential group who have played a large part in the molding of the religious life of this country. Among the members of this group there is a great deal of mutual respect and sym- pathy, and even some cooperation. The Quakers are quite distinct, carrying to a most radical issue some of the Anabaptist principles. The ]\Iethodists, with the strong denominations growing out of their influence, are essentially one family. Outside the three streams of the Reformation developments are the smaller groups showing the rationalizing tendency, the very small and numerous bodies at- tempting in a more or less uninformed and fanatical way a restoration of New Testament conditions, and the quite large number of independent churches. It is plain, therefore, that instead of one hundred and fifty different denominations in this countr}^, each v/ith its separate way to God, there are really less than ten important divisions with distinctive and numerical significance, and even these are closely related in three or four streams determined by the course of development at the time of the Reformation. The charge of sectarianism and consequent in- stability made against Protestantism is often, if not Divisions of Protestantisin 21^ always, based on the supposition that the cause of division is creedal and due to the absence of an absolute teaching authority. Intellectual or creedal differences have figured, but it is not chiefly these which have made the greatest number of divi- sions among Protestants in this country or which keep denominations apart. Far more frequent and powerful have been the differences as to church government. This is not the trivial matter which some affect to believe it. The world is still en- gaged in the great struggle to escape political autoc- racy and to establish democratic forms of govern- ment. This same struggle proceeds in the sphere of religious institutions and is not unimportant. In the struggle many undoubtedly trivial matters have received too great emphasis, but time alone will tell as to what is important and what unimportant to establish democracy in church government. Also, national affiliations of various immigrant groups and their descendants rather than differences of theological creeds have operated to perpetuate separate religious bodies even within the same de- nominational family. The immigrants naturally foster the types of Christianity to which they have been accustomed and which are associated with natural feelings for the fatherland. Germans and Scandinavians especially have been tenacious of national language and traditions. The racial asso- ciations of Negroes and the prejudices against them explain still further various separate bodies. It 2jS Positive Protestantism is altogether likely that differences arising from European distinctions will tend to disappear as the people maintaining them become more completely absorbed into the American people. Other non-intellectual influences which explain especially the divisions of some of the smaller bodies, are the power of a strong personality pos- sessed with the importance of some idea or conten- tion, and the raising of some moral question like slavery or of some disciplinary question like wear- ing jewelry or belonging to a secret society. It will take time for the sentiments aroused by these in- fluences so to fall away that they will cease to be a part of the lesser dividing forces of Protestants. Whether it is possible to overcome these causes of division and in what measure already Protestant bodies have been brought to cooperate will be shown in the next chapter. CHAPTER II THE UNITY AND COOPERATION OF PROTESTANTISM In such an upheaval as the Reformation unanimity was naturally lacking. Just as naturally differences continued and also developed. When some leader or some group found what they regarded as a new view of truth, forthwith, without looking the field over to find v/hether this particular view was al- ready advocated, a new group was formed. What could have been more natural than that immigrants to this country should join with their respective fellow countrymen in religious activities and that thus nationalistic associations should become so fixed and dear that they would stand in the way of merging organizations? Disparateness among Christians has existed throughout the centuries in some degree and in all branches of the church, Oriental, Roman, and Protestant. It is the dis- parateness which is inevitable in the development of life. Life has always been manifold and must be so in religion. As a tree unfolds into its branches and leaves, so has Christianity into various bodies of Christians. Protestantism is distinct from other branches of the church in that its essential spirit has not been to prevent entirely this disparateness, 219 220 Positive Protestantism but rather to encourage the fullest and most mani- fold development of life, holding only to those restrictions placed by Christ himself and by the Scripture. Protestantism has benefited the world in that through one of its streams has come the world's greatest spiritual treasure — religious liberty. The disparateness of Protestantism is, therefore, in line with its essential spirit and great contribution, and is not without value. Its very naturalness helps us to understand it, and its connection with freedom may help us to value it. This conclusion proves even more satisfactory as one comes to realize that this disparateness is not necessarily incompatible with a real unity, a unity that means effective cooperation. In spite of the apparent mutuality of antagonisms among Protes- tants, the consciousness of oneness when relations to Romanism are considered has almost always been strong. More than that, for a long time the consciousness of unity has been gaining headway. For a hundred years in this country there have been movements and agitations for union. These move- ments have not succeeded, but nevertheless the cause of unity has made progress. The old-time bitterness of denominational controversy is largely passed. A spirit of comity is possessed by some people in practically all of the denominations. Vari- ous lines of activity which are to be described in a moment are further evidence of this growing con- sciousness. A number of proposals for unifying Cooperation of Protestantism 22t different sections of the same general groups of Christians have been made, and some have been adopted. The merging of the Baptists and Free Baptists, now quite an accomphshed fact, is an ex- ample. Still more ambitious projects have been launched looking to the uniting of all Protestants. Consequently, it may be said that one of the chief characteristics of Protestantism to-day is this growing sense of oneness and the practical mani- festation of the same in actual cooperation. From the developments thus far several things seem clear. One is that no existing body of Chris- tians can absorb all the rest, and no new body can be formed with a platform of beliefs and ecclesias- tical practices acceptable to all Protestants. Re- ligious conceptions weighted with associations of a historic group, and specific ecclesiastical practices sanctified by long usage, are so deep-seated among various divisions of Christians that it is hopeless to try to get Protestants to do to-day what has never for any length of time or over any wide extent of the world been done by Christians during the entire history of Christianity.^ The temperamen- tal differences of people alone are strong enough to- day as they have always been to make divisions in the church. Absolute uniformity is impossible, and, if achieved, would soon be broken up again. It is 1 Undoubtedly the World Conference on Faith and Order, in which many denominaf'ons are now participatine, will do good by revealing the fundamental conceptions which great groups conscientiously hold to be worthful. But this Conference will hardly find a platform upon which all will be willing to stand. 222 Positive Protestantism quite useless, therefore, to expect an organic union of all Christians which involves entire elimination of differences. Quite another conclusion has been reached by actual experience in attempting union of religious bodies. It is certain that unless various organ- izations which possess in the aggregate huge trust funds are ready to jeopardize their possessions by merging different religious corporations, organic union is out of the question. For example, when the Baptists a few years ago were in the process of organizing the Northern Baptist Convention, and the question arose of merging some of the different denominational Societies, it was found impossible to arrange such mergers because of the jeopardizing of funds. If this is the situation in regard to the uniting of organizations within the same denomina- tion, how much more difficult will be the attempt to overcome the legal obstacles to the organic union of two distinct denominations. It is wholly improbable that the various religious bodies of this country will ever run the risk of alienating the vast endowments for educational, philanthropic, missionary, and other purposes in order to have one single ecclesiastical organization which will absorb all others. Perhaps the various bodies would be willing to give up these endowments if a sufficiently great ad- vantage was to be gained by the formation of a single organization of Christians. But quite aside from the difficulties of such mergers, there is some Cooperation of Protestantism 223 positive benefit in denominationalism. For one thing, the internal disparateness of Protestantism is both a symbol and a bulwark of religious liberty. Without liberty the various denominations could never have lived. Without denominations, it is at least conceivable that liberty might disappear, for it was achieved in part by denominational struggle. Moreover, the varied emphasis of the several Prot- estant divisions keeps alive an adequate appreciation of the many-sidedness of Christian truth and pre- vents any of the important aspects of Christian teaching from falling into obscurity. It was pre- cisely in that period of the history of Christianity w^hen one great section of the church had made the nearest approach to the uniformity which many seem to desire, that the most precious conceptions of the New Testament w^ere entirely obscured and over- laid with ideas quite out of harmony with scrip- tural Christianity. It took the revolution of the Reformation and all of the subsequent development to win back those spiritual treasures. Can we be so sure that these various aspects which need to be emphasized as long as the world lasts are so firmly held that they have no need of the propagating agencies w^hich rescued them from oblivion and reestablished them in Christendom ? We may rather conclude that the development of Protestantism and of the movement toward unity makes clear that denominationalism has its value for maintaining re- ligious liberty and the fulness of Christian teaching. 224 Positive PrGtcstantism We might add that the friendly rivalry among vari- ous groups is also capable of yielding real worth. To what then may we hope the growing con- sciousness of unity will lead? It has already led to the conviction that it is possible for the widest di- vergence of theological opinions and even of eccle- siastical practices to obtain along with a thorough sense of the essential oneness of Protestantism. For any further development of unity this convic- tion is absolutely essential and primary. Various Protestant organizations have found that coopera- tion in practical activities is possible on the basis of the validity of this conviction. In this discovery Protestantism has entered a new road, the road that leads to efficient unity of action with the greatest freedom of belief and ecclesiastical prac- tice. Cooperation in common tasks with utter free- dom in personal and denominational convictions and with mutual respect for denominational loyalties unlocks the door to effectual Protestant unity. Actual realizations of working unity have pro- ceeded either consciously or unconsciously upon the basis of this conviction. These are, broadly speak- ing, of two kinds. The one consists of activities either among local churches, am.ong denominational organizations, or among individual members of vari- ous denominations which have grown up to meet definite practical problems, but which have not been concerned, primarily at least, with promoting unity as such. The other kind consists of the activities Cooperation of Protestantism of organizations whose purpose is to promote unity and to amalgamate the activities of separate groups. Thus distinguished, these two kinds of cooperation have been mutually helpful to each other. A brief description ©f them in their various distinct and mutual aspects will go far to show that Protestant- ism has already achieved a considerable degree of practical unity, and is fast making progress to a complete cooperation in practical affairs. Education is a sphere in which denominations have long cooperated. The International Sunday School Association has been a potent force in building up the Sunday School as the educational arm of the church. In prosecuting its primary work it has incidentally given impetus to the growth of unity. The American Sunday School Union has also labored in this sphere. With a somewhat different purpose the Sunday School Council of the Evangelical Denominations works in the educational field. Related in a general way to these organiza- tions are the interdenominational movements of adult classes and brotherhoods. The interdenom- inational activities of the Christian Endeavor So- ciety are too familiar to need description. Older and just as well known are the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. A newer organization, the Religious Education Association,- is trying to do for religious 2 This organization is composed of individuals as such rather than of representatives of churches, and is not, strictly speaking, solely Protestant, though consisting chiefly of Protestant educational lead- ers. 226 Positive Protestantism education what the National Education Society is doing for secular education. The mere mention of these different bodies indicates somewhat the wide extent of the cooperation of Protestantism in the field of religious education. Another sphere in which cooperation has been in a large measure achieved is that of missionary endeavors. In the field of home missions, that is, missions in our own country, there are two unifying organ- izations. The Home Missions Council represents the general organizations of the various constituent denominations, while the Council of Women for Home Missions is the interdenominational organ- ization of the women's societies of the several groups. A description of one will be sufficient. The annual report of the Home Missions Council for 191 5 gives the constituency as thirty-four denom- inational societies, representing thirteen different denominations. The Council meets at least once annually, and considers the problems which are common to home mission work in all bodies. One practical achievement illustrates the nature of the work and is of special interest here. A study of a certain Western State revealed that only 11.2 per cent of the money spent there by various mission boards went to communities where there was any denominational overlapping. Thus it was shown that the main problem upon such mission fields was " overlooking " the many communities where there Cooperation of Prote stantism 227 are no religious services rather than " overlapping " by several churches in a community. Plans of comity are developing whereby the fields of work will be so divided that future overlapping will be reduced to a minimum, at least until all territory is well occupied. Through cooperation with city mis- sion societies the Home Missions Council and^ its constituent bodies have helped these local organ- izations to cooperate interdenominationally in their respective communities. In more than one place, plans such as that which has been employed in Cleveland, Ohio, have been worked out whereby new churches are started only after interdenomina- tional consideration and agreement. What has been accomplished promises still further adjustment in the future. Here then is a kind of unity that effects practical ends without eliminating denomina- tions. The cooperation in the field of so-called foreign missions is even more marked. Most outstanding and most comprehensive in its constituency of the various organizations thus unifying missionary work is the international and interdenominational move- ment which had its culmination, after half a cen- tury of periodical conferences, in the Ecumenical Missionary Conference which met in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1910.^ The endeavors of the Con- ference are being carried out in a measure by the 3 A brief account of this movement may be found in " Christian Unity at Work," pp. 82f., published by the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. 228 Positive Protestantism Continuation Committee, which aims to make per- manent contributions to the collective activities of foreign mission boards. One of the practical re- sults of this Conference has been the organization of national boards of missionary education in this country and England, which are planning for the better training of missionaries. Another result has been the holding at Panama in 191 6 of the con- ference to consider religious and moral conditions in South America. The efforts of this world organization are sup- plemented by those of interdenominational agen- cies in our own land. The Foreign Missions Con- ference of North America is a combination of representatives of foreign mission boards similar to the Home Missions Council and with a similar purpose for its own field. According to the annual report for 1914 there were included forty-eight societies or boards belonging to twenty different denominations, and, in addition to these, seven- teen other societies with various affiliations, making in all sixty-five cooperating organizations. Still further related to this Conference, but extending also into the field of home missions, are three other movements. The Laymen's Missionary Movement started as a plea for foreign missions, but has now broadened so as to cover the whole field of mis- sionary interest, and has the cooperation of prac- tically all denominations interested in missionary work. The Missionary Education Movement is Cooperation of Protestantism 229 endeavoring to give the people of the various de- nominations adequate information about mission- ary activities and to enlarge missionary interest. The Student Volunteer Movement has for quite a long' time been securing pledges from the young men and v^omen in colleges to devote their lives to specific missionary service/ The cooperation in the v^rork of foreign missions extends beyond the societies and boards of the homeland to the mission fields themselves. The tendency of churches composed of natives on the foreign fields to unite is already manifest. Indeed, in South India the churches have organized the South India United Church, whose object is " to bind the churches together in one body with a view to developing a self-supporting, self-governing, and self -propagating Indian Church, which shall pre- sent a united living testimony to Christ, and worthily represent to the world the Christian ideal." The same tendency is to be marked in China. In India, China, Korea, Japan, and the Philippine Islands the churches have been brought together in interdenom- inational organizations while still maintaining their denominational affiliations. The spirit of unity is also manifest in the organizations and conferences of the missionaries themselves ; in union educational efforts, such as " theological schools, medical schools, colleges, normal schools, schools for missionaries' * It is of interest to note here also that societies similar to that of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America have also been organized in Great Britain and Ireland and in Germany. 230 Positive Protestantism children, and, in fact, educational institutions, above the primary and intermediate grade, of every char- acter " ; and in interdenominational publication of hymn-books, Sunday School literature, and other religious periodicals. These varied and extensive cooperative endeavors, excepting actual organic union, are supported in a large measure by the sympathetic attitude of the churches and missionary societies in the homeland. The report for 1912 of the Commission on Foreign Missions of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America says : '' There has never been a time since the German Reformation when the vari- ous denominations were so closely engaged in co- operative measures for promoting the kingdom of Jesus Christ among the nations. There has never been a period since the beginning of modern mis- sions when denominational differences were so mini- mized and the great fundamental truths of our blessed religion were so universally emphasized, and we advance together for the conquest of the world for Christ." This is a fair conclusion from the facts, and is even more justified now than when it was made. To these cooperative activities in missionary con- cerns we may add those of evangelism. For many years now it has been possible to secure hearty co- operation from various denominations for evangel- istic campaigns. These have had different forms. Most frequently they have been of the strictly Cooperation of Protestantism 231 revivalistic type, such as those of WilHam Sunday, which have been attracting such great attention. At other times there have been campaigns of simul- taneous meetings under a general plan. A willing cooperation has characterized most of them. This cooperation has been sometimes that of an entire community and sometimes that of a section of some great city. In all such efforts Protestants have exemplified the willingness to unite in a definite piece of practical Christian work without any ques- tion of denominational aloofness or of the lack of denominational loyalty. A still more striking indication of the ability of the adherents of different denominations to work together is cooperation in the same local church. Some real progress has been made in meeting the difficulties confronting small communities unable to support several churches of various denomina- tions. At least four solutions have been tried with varying success. In some places it has been possible to persuade the people to give up their denomina- tional connections and to join a church of the de- nomination of the strongest following. A different arrangement is that of the interdenominational church, wherein members retain their denomina- tional affiliations, but unite in the single organiza- tion of their community. In such cases membership in the old home churches is maintained. Different from both of these is the "union church." Its members give up all denominational connection, 232 Positive Protestantism and the church itself is unattached. In the multi- denominational or federated church two or more churches unite in using the same building as one congregation with one minister and act as a unit in all local affairs as a single church. Yet each of the constituent churches keeps its own organization within the composite church, and these separate and distinct organizations maintain their own de- nominational affiliations and activities. By this ar- rangement the advantages of cooperation are gained without losing denominational sympathy and help. This form of cooperation has been carried out in a number of places, perhaps most successfully in Massachusetts. Of quite a different character is the cooperation in the field of philanthropy and social service. In some such organizations churches are constituent parts, but in most Protestant individuals act as such, though in their action they often have the feeling that they are representing the churches. Practically all such organizations make appeals to the churches for support. Cooperation here has existed not only in local philanthropies, but also in some having wider spheres of activity. The close cooperation of Protestant people and churches has been more marked in some of the movements of public reform, local. State, and na- tional. Among numerous concerns in this field the abolition of the liquor traffic has commanded per- haps the greatest attention and unanimity of action. Cooperation of Protestantism 233 The Anti-Saloon League has induded representa- tives of various temperance organizations, but has worked a very great deal with and through the churches. There are other similar organizations. One of these is the International Bureau of Reform. The cooperation thus far described has in every instance come into being primarily to take care of practical situations, and the emphasis on the prin- ciple of unity has been secondary if present at all. In the city, village, county, and State federations of churches we come to the second kind of Protestant cooperation. These federations seek to promote unity as well as to prosecute some of the joint tasks of the constituent churches. The federations of California and Massachusetts are typical of State federations. The Federation of Massachusetts claimed, in 19 14, to represent eighty-three per cent of the 448,682 Protestant church-members of Massa- chusetts. Good examples of city federations are those of New York, Cleveland, and Indianapolis. Gradually the movement is spreading, and it is not too much to predict that in no distant time Prot- estants in most, if not all, communities will be or- ganized to do the work which requires the ac- tivities of their combined resources. But the greatest organization working directly for church unity as such is the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. On January I, 191 5, the constituent bodies sending representa- tives tg this Council were thirty, with a combined 234 Positive Protestantisni membership of 17,436,650 communicants, which is considerably more than the claimed number of Romanist communicants in this country. The Coun- cil is doing its work through commissions and com- mittees whose activities cover quite completely the vast field of church interests.^ Each of these com- missions is seeking to coordinate the corresponding activities of denominational and interdenominational organizations and also to adjust itself to the same. Some of the commissions are going beyond adjust- ment and are making new proposals of cooperative work. One of the newer fields into which the Council is pushing is that of social service. Already existing denominational agencies in this field are cooperat- ing through the commission of the Council. In public morals too, the Council has exercised effec- tive influence, as for example in connection with the moral conditions attending the San Francisco Exposition. In such public concerns as was repre- sented in the Kenyon-Sheppard Interstate Liquor Shipment Bill the Council exerts its influence, and maintains at Washington an office through which it ' These are the Commission on Evangelism, Commission on the Church and Social Service, Commission on Peace and Arbitration, Commission on_ Christian Education, Commission on Foreign Mis- sions, Commission on Home INIissions, Commission on Temperance, Commission on Family Life, Commission on Sunday; Observance, Commission on the Church and Country Life, Comnrssion on Feder- ated Movements, Commission on State and Local Federations. In addition are several special committees dealing with matters of im- portance. These were, according to the report of 1915, Joint Com- mission on Theological Seminaries, Committee of One Hundred on the Panama-Pacific Exposition, American Church Committee on Peace Centenary, Committee on Relations with Japan, and Committee on Special Interest of the Colored Denominations. Cooperation of Protestantism 235 may quickly act. The Federal Council, along with the Home Missions Council, was instrumental in securing, after a ten years' campaign, the passage of a law which increased to an adequate number the chaplains of the national navy. Furthermore, " ar- rangements have been made with the Associated Press and the United Press by which " the Council " is securing larger publicity regarding the united work of the churches, and also for the general re- ligious matters which are of common interest." These varied activities are but a suggestion of what the Council may do in unifying the Christian work of our land.^ The Council goes still further. It does not con- fine itself to the internal affairs. It has taken ef- fective action in the field of international relations. In the controversy over the atrocities perpetrated in the Congo it used its influence. At the time of the presentation by President Taft of the arbi- tration treaty to Great Britain, the Council spoke wisely the opinion of the leaders of Protestantism in this country. Wide publicity was given to the statement. Two representatives of the Council were sent to Japan to study the Japanese situation and to give the Japanese people a correct impression of the attitude of Protestant America toward their nation. The results of this embassy have been gratifying. In « An additional contribution of the Council has been the creation and collection of literature bearing on Christian unity. See Annual Reports of the Executive Committee for 191 3 (pp. 44f-) and f'^r 1914 (pp. 64-67), and also C. S. MacFarland, " The Churches of the Federal Council," pp. 264-266. 236 Positive Protestantism the movement for permanent international peace the Council is working with other peace agencies. Some correspondence with leaders in other countries has been had with reference to international cooperation in religious affairs. The American section of the Evangelical Alliance ^ has asked the Council to take charge in the future of the arrangements for the Week of Prayer. A definite proposal is now under consideration for the calling of a World Congress of the Churches which will aim to do for the entire church work what the Ecumenical Conference of Edinburgh did for missions. It is thus to be seen that whereas the accomplishments in unity made by the Federal Council are already considerable, the possibilities for further development are still greater.^ The editor of one of the most influential and widely circulated journals of our country once said: " The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America has supplanted no denomination, it has drawn no new creed, it has substituted for the pres- ent church organizations no new organization, nor has it caused one organization to absorb another. It has simply done for the Protestant churches of America what the Confederation did for the Amer- ''The Evangelical Alliance, a voluntary organization, is composed of individuals from various denominatinns, and has sections in dif- ferent countries. It is another manifestation of cooperation of Prot- estants. 8 On May 8 and 9, 1917, the Council, assembled in special session at Washington, sent out to the churches a message concerning the duty of the church in the hour of grave national need, in view of the entrance of the United States into the war. Cooperation of Protestantism 237 ican colonies — it has bound them together, it has enabled them to work in union. . . The American States, when they were first federated, were as truly a nation as they are to-day. The Federal Council demonstrates the fact, not only that union is practicable, but also that it has been achieved." In view of even this abbreviated presentation of the present cooperation among Protestants, it is amazing to hear uninformed people talk of the lack of solidarity and efficiency of Protestantism as com- pared with Romanism. In view of the statements of Romanist officials that they would now have thirty million more people than they now claim if they had kept all of their folks who have come to this country, it is futile to talk about the effective- ness of Romanist solidarity and organization. For certain ecclesiastical expressions of absolute author- ity Rome undoubtedly exceeds the solidarity of Protestantism. But in accomplishing the tasks of the kingdom, Romanism is a loose-jointed institution as compared with such a denominational organiza- tion as the Methodist Episcopal Church or the de- nominational missionary boards and societies, or some of the cooperative agencies discussed in this chapter. Perhaps the weakness of Romanism here is its failure to enlist the services of the laymen, a failure inherently connected with the belittling of laymen as compared with priests and with the ab- sence of any controlling or even influential voice of the whole people in the affairs of the church. 238 Positive Protestantism The efficiency of Protestant cooperation hardly needs an apology. Protestantism does not possess and does not desire, but really opposes, the kind of solidarity which Rome possesses. In order to co- operate it does not need a uniformity of creed and ecclesiastical practice, which is at any rate unat- tainable for any branch of the church. The statis- tics of the really important denominations which, without great increases by immigration, have grown faster than the population, and the reports of mis- sionary and publication organizations reveal the real efficiency of the several denominational organiza- tions. The presentation in this chapter suggests the efficiency already attained in cooperation. The or- ganized cooperation of Protestants in this country is not perfect nor complete, but it is effective and is constantly increasing in effectiveness. CHAPTER III THE PROSPECTS OF PROTESTANTISM The final question with reference to Protestantism as a positive religious force concerns its prospects for future permanency. Are the achievements of Protestantism to date a permanent contribution to Christianity? Is Protestantism to be absorbed or displaced ? Cardinal Gibbons, in " The Faith of Our Fathers," makes a comparison of the prospects of Protestantism with what he regards as the out- come of the Arian movement. He refers to the fact that Arianism once had a large following, and included among its advocates and protectors some of the world's great men. In spite of this, the movement disappeared after enjoying a period of prosperity, and the one and only church came again into its own. Likewise, he thinks. Protestantism will disappear, and the Roman Church will be the only Christian church. However, this prophecy overlooks the facts that Arianism never was as deeply rooted in great world tendencies as Protes- tantism is, and that it has never really disappeared, for its doctrines have not been without their ad- vocates from time to time during the centuries, and are still maintained by some sects. A prophecy 239 240 Positive Protcstantisfn entirely opposite to that of Cardinal Gibbons is war- ranted by the strength of Protestantism and its long successful history. Undoubtedly the church of Christ will go on as long as the world shall last, but the Romanist stamp will not be upon it. Prot- estantism has made a contribution which will not be lost, however much the Christian church may in the future be modified. Two sources of increase in numbers in this coun- try seem to convince some Romanists of a final triumph of Romanism. One of these is immigra- tion. But in spite of the undoubted increases from this source, there is little ground for comfort for militant Romanists in considering immigration to this country. The immense losses admitted by Ro- manist officials must be very disquieting to them.^ Nor can this immigration continue forever, since economic forces will tend sooner or later to a greater or less diminution of it, and the working of these forces may be greatly quickened by the re- sults of the world war. Besides, the constant stream of Romanists coming to this country means numer- ical weakening to Romanism in Europe, and in the process absolute losses are sustained here. When these considerations are compared with such a fact as that Baptists, without the help of immigration, increased in this country during the last century 1 Protestants of the right temper can only regret that multitudes of immigrants are drifting, or have drifted already, entirely away from every type of Christian church. It is in part this regret which convinces Protestants that they are obligated to engage in religious ministry to these multitudes. Prospects of Protestantism 241 three times as fast as the population, the statistical situation favors Protestantism rather than Rome. Nor does the supposedly relative larger size of Romanist families give any real assurance of numer- ical preponderance. In the absence of any conclu- sive evidence that would settle whether Romanist or Protestant families in this country are the larger, it may be noted that the birth-rate of Romanist France is notoriously low, and that as Romanists in this country become prosperous and educated their families tend to diminish in size, as is the case with people of other religious affiliations. The situation is certain to be further affected by the birth-control agitations. There ar^ no known cir- cumstances that point in the direction of the dis- appearance of Protestantism or even of the probable relative lessening of their numerical strength. The external stability of Protestantism is shown clearly in its possession of vast material resources. Thomas Nixon Carver's book, " The Religion Worth While," argues that the very inculcation of Prot- estant ideas of frugality, industry, and individual- ism has led to the superior prosperity of Protes- tants. At least a measure of truth seems to inhere in this position. If it be held that this superiority has been the result of racial characteristics, it is then plain that Protestantism has been especially adequate as the religion of people who prosper. Possibly race and religion have been mutually in- fluential. The fact of superiority remains. The Q 242 Positive Protestantism statistics as to church property emphasize this as to Protestant possessions. According to the Census of 1906 the value of church property owned by Protestants was $46.14 per capita, while that of Romanists was only $22.22 per capita. Not only do Protestants own more church property per person, but they pay better for what they do own. The in- debtedness on Protestant church property was only $2.13 per capita as against $4.09 per capita on Ro- manist property, and was only 5.7 per cent of the entire value of the church property as against the Romanist 16.9 per cent of the entire value. More- over, the great bulk of the industries of this coun- try are owned and controlled by Protestants. So far, then, as material resources mean strength for ecclesiastical work, the Protestants have the greater strength, and there is little indication of their diminution. Protestants are in possession too, of the most influential institutions which make for the mold- ing of future thought and life in this country, espe- cially educational institutions. The greater number and most influential of these are either Protestant or non-Romanist. In the West and middle West education tends to come predominantly into the hands of the States, and so to be officially without religious affiliations. Again, Roman Catholic stu- dents do not always avail themselves of their own institutions' privileges, but elect to attend non-Ro- manist schools and universities. The efl"ect of this Prospects of Protestantism 243 situation will be inevitable in view of the fact that the greater contribution to the scientific and intel- lectual world of the last three centuries has been made by Protestant minds, and has been in closer harmbny with Protestant than with Romanist prin- ciples. Not only does the control of the higher edu- cation by Protestants promise permanency for Prot- estant ideas among the leaders of this country, but it seems to indicate that not a few Romanist young men and women will in some measure imbibe these ideas with results that may be easily imagined and which may already be noted after a little acquain- tance with such people. At the basis of these possessions has been the power of Protestants to achieve. No one should desire to deny the part which Romanists have undoubtedly had in the development of this country. But Prot- estants have shown indubitably a superior accom- plishing power. At one time in the past " it looked as if this continent was to be held and developed for Rome. Two great Romanist empires were pro- jected with the most ambitious ends. In the south and southwest the Spanish Empire was endeavor- ing to build up a vast civilization in the name of Rome and to the advantage of Romanists. In the north and northwest another Romanist power, France, was endeavoring with the most brilliant imagination and forecast to implant a new French empire, which was also to be Romanist. No greater 2 See L. W. Bacon, '* History of American Christianity." 244 Positive Protestantism political powers than these two European empires existed in the world at that time. All seemed pro- pitious for the vast undertakings. But these dreams of empire went glimmering before the power of England and her colonists, and before some other Protestant folk in this land. Certainly no such op- portunity as then existed for the settlement and de- velopment and control of this vast continent is now possessed by adherents of Rome. So far as one can see no such opportunity will ever return. The failure of Romanism in the past argues no surer success in the future. The innate power of Prot- estantism to maintain itself and to move on in achieving progress shows no alarming signs of abatement. Rather, it gives assurance of the per- manency of Protestantism. This conclusion is strengthened by a quite addi- tional and even more significant set of considera- tions. These pertain to the mutual agreement be- tween Protestant and modern conceptions and forces. One of these conceptions is that of free- dom. It is the very essence of Rome's genius, which runs always to an absolute external authority that must be unquestioningly accepted in all matters, to be opposed to freedom. In contrast, it is of the very essence of Protestantism to demand freedom and to promote it. In this it agrees without doubt with the characteristic drift of modern life and institutions. Freedom is the breath of life for the modern world. By this freedom the advance in Prospects of Protestantism 245 modern times has been made possible. Unless the world is to turn backward the hands of progress, freedom will continue. In that case the form of Christianity, whose very essence is of freedom, will prosper and abide. Closely connected with freedom, democracy has made steady advance in the modern world. For the time being the European war may seem to give pause to the rule of the people. Yet some elements of th€ situation point strongly to an increase in democracy after the war. It will be difficult at any rate to convince the people of this country that democracy is only a passing phase of human de- velopment. Here at least democracy is certainly dominant and will remain so. Nor can it be con- fined to political institutions and life. It will find expression in the sphere of religion and church government in the future as in the past. In the Roman Church the people have no voice or vote, and the priests and officials are in no way an- swerable to the people and removable by them. Pius X only recently declared that a pernicious doc- trine which would make the laity a factor in the progress of the church.^ Consequently, if democ- racy is really one of the permanent trends of human development which is to affect not only political, but also religious institutions, Protestant- ism, with its democracy of spirit and church govern- ment, has the better prospects of permanency. 'See Newman Smyth, "Passing Protestantism," p. 51. 246 Positive Protestantism A similar conclusion is to be drawn from the mutual relationship existing between Protestantism and the development of modern science. Scientific methods of thought dominate the modern intellec- tual world. It is as likely that the sun will cease to shine as that the contribution of science to the ways of men's thinking will be utterly given up by the world. This development of science has been in part a development of itself, and yet Prot- estantism has had some share in it. Science could never have possessed the freedom to work unre- strictedly without the accomplishment of religious freedom by Protestantism, since at one time all learning was in the control of the church. Suf- ficient was said above of the relation of Rome to free research and thought to show how essentially antagonistic Romanism and free study and formu- lation of truth are. The spirit of Romanism and the spirit of modern science are utterly incompatible. The surreptitious manner of the dropping from the Index of the strictures upon the Copernican theory is an indication of the true spirit of Rome in dealing with science which does not please her, but which she can no longer profitably oppose. But as in the case of modern freedom and democracy so in that of modern science, Protestantism is close to the heart of the development of humanity, and conse- quently possesses real ground for permanency. Turning from the harmony of Protestantism with the modern Western world to its contact with the Prospects of Protestantism 2^y heathen peoples, strong reason for assurance still abides. Protestantism has the larger prospect for influencing the whole world. Her missionary enter- prises are the stronger. Measured by the funds specifically given for these enterprises, by the rate of increase of communicants in recent decades, by the general influence in various countries which, unlike Rome's, is non-political and thus recognized as disinterested, by the educational service rendered, and by their medical and other social ministry, Protestant missions are in the lead. Protestantism has abundantly demonstrated its power to propa- gate itself among non-Christian peoples. The Western world is greatly influencing with its civilization the whole earth. The Orient may make its contribution to the West, but the East has al- ready, as for example Japan, been absorbing the Western way of thinking and life, and the whole world will undoubtedly be profoundly affected by Occidental civilization. In the certain develop- ment it is inevitable that the free, democratic, scien- tific modernism of the \\'estern world will be an outstanding feature of future Oriental civilization. These elements are altogether likely to be accepted universally earlier than any type of Christianity. After these features have been more or less widely accepted, the type of Christianity which will appeal and satisfy is the type which is in closest harmony with the institutions and methods of thought of free, democratic, scientific modernism. In such a 248 Positive Protestantism situation Protestantism without any question is in a better position than Romanism. It may be con- cluded that Protestantism has excellent prospects of being ultimately the type of Christianity most acceptable to the heathen world and of establish- ing itself permanently in non-Christian lands. In contrast to Protestantism as it faces with assurance the modern world, is Romanism with its many defections. It is not necessary to point out again the great losses among immigrants who come to this country. There are also many native-born people now members of Protestant churches who were once Romanists. In each of the several churches which the present writer has served as pastor some former Romanists were members. He has himself baptized some converted Romanists. Probably few Protestant churches lack some con- verts from Romanism, and consequently the entire number of such converts is large. There are also native-born Romanists who have dropped out of Romanism, but have joined no other church. These defections in this country are more than paralleled in Europe, whence cornes the chief increase to the Roman Church in America. For some time an exodus from the Roman Church has been pro- ceeding, and many of the seceders have become Protestants.* The same general drift is shown in * For some examples see Appendix, Note 26. For a full statement ot the Eviropean situation, at least as it was before the war, see Loeppert, " Modernism and the Vatican." and Bain, " The New Reformation." Prospects of Protestantism 249 this country in those Protestant churches which are made up of non-Enghsh-spcaking people who came to this country as Romanists, as, for example, the Italian Baptist churches. These defections cer- tainly do not show a decline of Protestantism, but rather a decline of Romanism. This is not the whole of the situation nor the more hopeful part of it. Not only has Rome suf- fered from defections, but there are some internal movements of reform. Sooner or later modern science and thought were bound to influence the multitudes of honest, serious priests. The inevitably resulting movement within the church has been designated by Pope Pius himself as '' Modernism." As rapidly as the books of the Modernists are pro- hibited others are written and published. The simi- larities between the views of Modernists and Prot- estants are marked. Newman Smyth describes the Modernists in a summarized way thus : ^ " When we put together from their various writings their objects which from their several points of view they desire to see accomplished, the list of their aims reaches considerable proportions. The transformation and purification of the government and administration of the Church; reduction of the number of Italian cardinals, and an increase of foreign cardinals in the government at Rome ; decentralizing the pontifi- cal power, changing the papacy from a too monar- chical into a more constitutional rule ; abandonment ^ See "Passing Protestantism," pp. io6f. ; also Loeppert. 250 Positive Protestantism of its bad systems of coercion; restoration of the autonomy of the Episcopate ; pubHcity of trials, re- sponsibility for decisions; reforms in the studies in the seminaries, and education of the clergy to meet modern demands; participation of the laity in the government of the Church ; changes in the Congre- gation of the Index and other councils of the Vati- can ; decrease in the external devotions, and a spir- itual renovation of the ceremonials; removal of corruptions ; a priesthood better trained in modern ideas and fitted for social service; and to some ex- tent the modifying of enforced celibacy; these, and other measures of renovation and progress in re- sponse to the needs of modern life, besides their demands for liberty to pursue critical, historical, and scientific studies within the Church, and the right to remake theological interpretations of the facts and faiths of Christianity, constitute a suf- ficiently extensive prospect of innovation to justify the apparent panic of the Encyclical." This encyclical is the letter of Pope Pius X at- tacking " Modernism." It attempted to stop honest thinking and was supplemented by a requirement for every priest and teacher to take the oath against " Modernism." The result of this attempt has been far from successful from a Romanist point of view. Many priests in France took the oath under duress, and then wrote their bishops anonymously that they had no intention of keeping it.^ In Germany teach- ^ See Loeppert. Prospects of Protestantism 251 ers in Romanist institutions could not be compelled to take the oath against their own desire, because the German government controlled their pay, and would not countenance any coercion. Men outside of Romanism hope that the Modernists will stay within the church in order gradually to effect a change. Modernism has not yet had much effect in this country, perhaps because the priests here have been too much occupied with the practical affairs of the church to pay a great deal of attention to intellectual questions. But if Modernism is not yet strong, " Americanism " is. This is a term applied to the spirit and utterances and aims of certain American prelates whose position has shown the inevitable influence of modern Am.erican ideas. These ideas are markedly the possession of many of the laity. The opposition of many laymen in this country to the parochial school and their preference for the public school, the insistence of many people upon obtaining a voice in the government of the church, the friendly recognition by Romanists of Protestants and their churches as Christian in spite of the of- ficial teaching of Romanism, and the appreciation and espousal of American ideals and principles by great numbers of Romanists are some of the indica- tions of how far Romanist priests and laymen in this country have grown from medieval Romanism."^ ■^ For the effect of liberal studies upon a priest of open mind, see Appendix, Note 27. 252 Positive Protestantism In view of these facts, it is plain that Rome's hope for permanency hes in strengthening the ten- dencies of modern thinking. If the number of Modernists becomes sufficiently great, a result far from impossible, Rome may find it necessary to change as she has done in the past. From one point of view the doctrine of the infallibility of the pope may seem a barrier, but it may turn out to be the very agency which will facilitate the necessary changes to save Romanism from extinction or rele- gation to the realm of the ignorant. It is incon- ceivable that Romanism will abide just as it is. The adjustment to modern life is bound to be forced in some way and bound to come in some measure. Human life develops, and in the long run the development cannot be stopped. Institu- tions which get in the way of the progress perish. Rome will not be willing to perish. She will be more willing to change in spite of her claim to un- changeability. In view of the nature of the modern world and of the relation thereto of Protestantism, we must conclude that the change will come in the direction which modern progressive Protestantism has taken.^ Some people are discussing the possibility of a drawing together of Protestantism and Romanism and the point of contact in such a rapprochement. 8 It is a striking fact that Pius X's attack on Modernism acknowl- edges and emphasizes the fact that Modernist scholars, who profess to be loyal Roman Catholics, are in close agreement with the schol- ars of the Protestant world. Prospects of Protestantism 253 The only platform upon which there can ever be harmony between these two branches of the church is the platform upon which Protestants among them- selves are now cooperating, the platform of free- dom of theological opinion and ecclesiastical prac- tices with cooperation in practical endeavors. In the realm of social service cooperation has already been secured in some instances and in some mea- sure. A larger cooperation is possible except where Romanism by its official commands prevents. So long as Rome regards herself as the only Christian church and refuses to look upon or treat other Christian bodies and people as Christian, there can, of course, be no cooperation. Not all of the bitterness and bigotry are on one side, but it is a simple fact that Romanist priests and Roman- ist people are prevented by ecclesiastical authority from cooperation with Protestants, and especially if by any stretch of the imagination the cooperation can be connected with religious or ecclesiastical recognition. If the Roman hierarchy would show any fraternal attitude toward Protestantism, it would find a warm response on the part of a great many Protestant ministers and people. A beginning could be made in matters of social ser- vice, and it is safe to say that if cooperation can be had here, the mere cooperation with its attendant mingling and fellowship will be bound to develop closer relationship and mutual regard. Protestant- ism does not fear the loss of its influence or 254 Positive Protestantism permanency by following such a suggestion. Can Romanism come to the same point of view? Protestants can afford to cherish fraternity even though Romanism does not now reciprocate. To be sure, if official Romanism becomes aggressive, as some things in this country seem to indicate is the present tendency, Protestantism will be aroused to a correspondingly aggressive propaganda. If of- ficial Romanism or individual Romanists set out to secure control of this country in the name of Ro- manism or seem to attack any of the social or polit- ical institutions connected with freedom, especially religious freedom, even though the attack is only a short step toward encroachment, Protestantism will be aroused to protect itself and its institutions and to secure for every one the blessing of rehgious liberty. Nor will it be deterred by the cry of those who first raise an agitation by their own aggressive- ness, and then when that has begotten a like aggres- siveness on the part of Protestants, declare that they are being persecuted for their religion. Prot- estants may hope, just as Romanists may hope, that the better leadership and the better spirit in both wings of the church will dominate and avoid any undue aggressiveness on either side. Meanwhile Protestants have good ground for resting assured in their convictions and for going about their tasks with vigor and consecration. The permanency of Protestantism is not really menaced even were it verbally threatened as is sometimes reported. Prospects of Protestantism 255 Protestants need have no fear as they face the future. They may be assured of the worth and scrip turahiess of those principles for which Protes- tantism stands. They may be certain that their principles are in accord with the developments of the modern world and with what the world seems about to become. Their past achievements have been great. They already possess great numbers, resources, and strength; they have learned in a large measure how to cooperate among themselves ; and they seem to be growing stronger persistently both in this and non-Christian lands. In view of the signs of decaying medieval Romanism, they do not need to be concerned for the permanence of Protestantism. They may hope for such a modern- ization of Romanism as will make possible at least some kind of Christian cooperation such as now characterizes the relations of the several Protestant bodies. Jlppenaix APPENDIX NOTE I. PERSONAL MORALS OF THE REFORMERS Zwingli's personal moral life was not nearly so pure as that of Luther and Calvin. His marriage was solemnized by a ceremony only after he had lived with his wife for some time. This, of course, cannot be justified on any Christian moral grounds, but it can perhaps be better understood when it is remembered how completely celibacy of the priest- hood had failed of realization in that day, and that consequently many pure-hearted and high-purposed men sympathized with those who were the victims of an impossible system, and were looking for some way out of the muddle. Of course, no marriage ceremony could be performed until a part of the church had broken with Rome. It is extremely un- fortunate that even one prominent Reformer per- mitted his radical ideas to lead him to take a less conventional stand than that of the others. The sweeping charge of Cardinal Gibbons that Luther and the other Reformers were men of evil life is outrageously untrue to the facts, and is entirely out- side the limits of a fair, judicial, and earnest con- sideration of the relations of Romanism and Protes- tantism. 259 26o Positive Protestantisui Note 2 NOTE 2. ROMANISTS MODIFICATIONS OF LEGALISM Some Romanists take refuge from the unchris- tianlike quality of the idea of good works in the state- ments of those Romanist theologians who seem to modify the teaching as above presented (p. 68). For example, Moehler makes a declaration which on its face seems to square with the Protestant teach- ing. He says, " It is only on works consummated in a real vital communion with Christ that the church bestows the predicate * good ' " (** Symbol- ism," pp. i57f.). How little this actually does agree with Protestantism is seen in Moehler's position that vital communion with Christ cannot be had without justification ; and according to him, " Justification is by the means of the sacraments either originally infused into us or subsequently increased, or, when lost, is again restored" ("Symbolism," p. 202). Thus the conception is back again on mechanical, unethical ground, since communion with Christ is not a matter of faith and inner spiritual experience, but depends upon the performance of ceremonies. Moreover, while Moehler may be correct in saying that the church does not bestow the predicate " good " on external deeds, it regards them as meri- torious, which is the point for consideration. But, after all, the opinions of individual Romanist theo- logians cannot afford any relief, for they must yield to the authoritative teaching of the church. Nor would such opinions change the popular understand- Note 4 Appendix 261 ing, distortions, and applications of the church's teaching. NOTE 3. ADDITIONAL ROMANIST DEFINITIONS OF FAITH Bellarmine says, " The CathoHcs say that faith has its seat in the intellect." " The Vatican Council says, ' Faith is a supernatural virtue through which, by the influence and with the aid of the grace of God, we believe things which are revealed as true.' " The Roman Catechism says, " The word ' faith ' signifies not so much the act of thinking or opining, but it has a sense of obligation (contracted in virtue of a free act of submission) whereby the mind de- cisively and permanently assents to the mysteries revealed by God" (quoted by Coppens, p. no). Note that, according to this Roman view, even the act of believing is dependent upon the grace which comes throu2:h the sacraments. NOTE 4. OFFICIAL DECLARATIONS AS TO " INTENTION " For a long time there was opposition to the doc- trine of intention because of the uncertainty which it introduced into the Romanist system. The Coun- cil of Trent defined intention thus : *' There is re- quired in ministers, when they efifect and confer the sacraments, the intention at least of doing what the church does." An ex-cathedra authority of the in- 262 Positive Protestantism Note 6 fallible pope was put upon this doctrine of Trent by Alexander VIII when he denied and condemned the following proposition : " The baptism performed by a minister wdio observes every external rite and the form of baptism, but within, in his heart, resolves with himself, ' I do not intend to do what the church does,' is valid." Thus the denial of this proposition makes Romanist baptism, and by implication other sacraments, invalid unless the priest has intended the ceremony to convey grace. NOTE 5. THE NUMBER OF SACRAMENTS As late as the year 750, John of Damascus betrays knowledge of no other ceremonies to equal baptism and the Lord's Supper. Peter Lombard (iioo- II 64) was the first to fix upon the number seven, and the Council of Florence (1429) was the first authoritative body to settle upon this number. The statement of these facts is sufficient to show the justification of Protestantism in its rejection of the seven sacraments and in clinging to the two chief and primary ceremonies of Christianity. NOTE 6. THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM On the basis of the exceptions noted above (p. 85) it is sometimes stated popularly, as well as by such a theologian as Moehler, that Romanism does not regard baptism as necessary for salvation. But such a statement is contrary to the utterances quoted Note 6 Appendix 263 above which require baptism for the forgiveness of sins; is rendered of no practical rehgious impor- tance since the number of cases in which the sacra- ment cannot be had is so small that almost no per- sons come under the definition; and is entirely out of harmony with the conception which prevails 'among Roman Catholics themselves in view of the constant reiteration by priests of the necessity of the rite. The grief of mothers over the eternally lost condition of their babes who have died without baptism, and the fear that grips parents' hearts that their children may die without baptism, is sufficient evidence of what Roman Catholics have been taught as to the necessity of baptism for salvation. Those who make the statement referred to do not seem to realize that it involves Romanism in an inevitable and fatal inconsistency by making it assert, on the one hand, the absolute necessity of the visible church with its sacraments and its authority as the basis of all valid Christianity, and on the other, that the only true church may be dispensed with in the case of baptism. Were Romanism officially and authori- tatively to declare as its teaching that the sacraments are not necessary for salvation, a long step toward bringing Protestants and Romanists together would have been taken. But the authoritative conceptions of Rome imply most directly that baptism is neces- sary for salvation. A striking illustration of the contrasted positions of Romanism and Protestant- ism at this point is to be found upon the foreign 264 Positive Protestantism Note 7 mission fields, where the Romanist missionaries baptize as many heathen as possible, even secretly, while Protestants baptize only after long instruction and probation. The reason underlying these prac- tices is obvious. NOTE 7. A LUTHERAN S STATEMENT AS TO INFANT BAPTISM Von Hase, the German Lutheran historian, out- lines the case for infant baptism thus : " The piece of Catholicism in the heart of the Protestant Church is infant baptism, in accordance with its significance, taken over direct from the Catholic Church, as ef- fecting ipso facto regeneration. Luther in the Cate- chism used the decisive expression, ' Baptism with- out faith remains a bare ineffectual sign.' But how can this faith be said to be possible in an infant? The Reformers one after another took up the dif- ferent Catholic methods of helping out the Catholic view, that of the faith of others, whether the god- parents, or of the whole church, as reckoned to the immature candidate, or that of a mysterious opera- tion of the Holy Spirit which it is proposed to term the faith of the children themselves. It was, how- ever clear that the great conception of faith on the part of the Reformers must be surrendered. . . Luther long felt that here lies something out of harmony, and foreign to his principle. But in the presence of the Anabaptists, those radicals both in Note 8 Appendix 265 Church and State, he could not possibly surrender a tradition which, although, it is true, not adequately confirmed by Holy Scripture, and possessed of only an individual and provincial authority in the early church until the time of Saint Augustine, yet since that time was based on the profound affections of Christian families and of the church at large, and fraught with blessing. On the other hand, it must be candidly admitted that the baptism of children as the sacrament ipso facto of regeneration apart from faith is an opus operatum} " Mohler on this point had justice on his side in saying that the baptism of children on the part of Protestants is an incomprehensible act, ' If it is only by virtue of faith that sacrament acts, of what value can it be to an unconscious child ? ' Just for this reason Protestantism was driven to a higher con- ception of infant baptism. . . According to this the baptism of children is their consecration and their dedication to Christianity which is not consummated until faith is added, . . for by that time the influ- ence of the Holy Dove has come to be not a magical one but moral and religious.'' NOTE 8. USE OF THE WORD " PENANCE " IN THE DOUAI VERSION The reader of the Douai version would be likely to think from the use of the word " penance " that 1 A completed act in itself sufficient and effective. 266 Positive Protestantism Note 8 there was scriptural ground for the Romanist doc- trine as to the sacrament of penance. This version has the expressions " do penance " and " penance " where other English versions have " repent " and '' repentance " ( i Kings ^ 8 : 47 ; Job 42 : 6 ; Ezek. 18 : 30; Matt. 3 : 2; 4 : 17; Mark 6 : 12; Luke 13 : 3; 16 : 30; 17 : 3; Acts 2 : 38; 8 : 22; 17 : 30; 26 : 20; Rev. 2 : 5, 16,21; 3 : 3, 19; Luke 15 : 7 having '' do penance " for " repent " ; Mark 1:4; Matt. 3 : 8; Luke 3 • 3. 8; Acts 13 : 24; 19 : 4; Luke 15 : 7; 24 : 47; Acts 20 : 21 ; 26 : 20; Rom. 2 : 4; 2 Cor. 7 : 9, 10; Heb. 6 : i, 6; 2 Peter 3 : 9 having "penance" for ''repentance"). Without a knowledge of Greek, which in itself would be de- cisive, one need perceive nothing beyond the incon- sistencies of the Douai version itself to be convinced that the usual English versions which Protestants employ have the correct translation. When the word " repent " or " repentance " is used of God, the Romanist translators, unable to conceive of God's doing penance or giving penance, had to keep the real meaning of the Greek (Ps. no : 4, Douai 109 : 4; Jer. 4 : 28; 18 : 10; 26 : 3, 13; Acts 11 : 18; Rom. II : 29; 2 Tim. 2 : 25 ; Heb. 7 : 21), and likewise of Christ (Acts 5 : 31). In other cases the idea of God's repentance is modified and expressed in other terms (Exod. 32 : 12; Num. 23 : 19; Deut. 32 : 36; Jonah 3 : 9; Ps. 90 : 13, Douai 89 : 13; - The Douai version calls i and 2 Samuel i and 2 Kings, so that our I and 2 Kings are the Romanis'^s' 3 and 4 Kings, respectively. Note Q Appendix 267 Ps. 135 : 14, Douai 134 : 14; Ezek. 24 : 14; Joel 2 : 14).^ In one case the word "repentance" is retained in referring to Esau. (Heb. 12 : 17.) But the Romanist inconsistencies are most convincingly indicated in the following: In Mark i : 15 the Ro- manist translators render the Greek word by the English " repent," but in the parallel passage in Matthew 4 : 17 they translate the identical word by " do penance." In Luke 17:3 the expression is " do penance," while in the very next sentence, Luke 17 : 4, the same Greek word is translated " repent." Thus, almost in spite of themselves, and in places perhaps inadvertently, the Romanist translators have revealed what a translation true to the Greek should be. When the Bible is read in the original languages or when such a translation is read, as for example the Authorized or Revised English ver- sions, now ordinarily used by Americans, it is per- fectly plain that the support which the Douai ver- sion apparently gives the Romanist contention in regard to a scriptural basis for penance is entirely lacking. The Scriptures know nothing of doing penance. NOTE 9. VACILLATION OF COUNCILS The decision of four popes and a general council permitting communion in both kinds is contradicted by the action of the Council of Constance, which in 3 Some differences, like the omissions of Ezek. 14:6 and Matt. 9 : 13, are probably due to defects in the Vulgate text. V 268 Positive Protestantism Note lo its struggle with Hussism decreed against lay use of the cup, declaring that priests administering both kinds should be regarded, if unrepentant, as here- tics. (Liitzow, " Life and Times of John Hus," p. 267.) A council at Constantinople (A. D. 754) condemned the use of images, another at Nice (A. D. ySy) approved, another at Frankfort (A. D. 794) condemned, and still another at Trent (1545- 1563) approved. The second Council of Constanti- nople (A. D. 553) set aside the Council of Chalce- don as to the heresy of two Eastern bishops. There are many other instances of such disagreement. NOTE 10. ROMANIST AND PROTESTANT ATTITUDES TOWARD DIVORCE In regard to divorce and marriage laws and dis- pensations, Romanism again shows its legalistic character. Taking the records of Jesus' words con- demning divorce and remarriage in their short form, which leaves out the clause excepting adultery, the Romanist church forbids divorce which allows re- marriage. But there are plenty of grounds on which Romanism may nullify marriage, and separa- tion is possible on grounds that seem far from weighty. For example, Gregory II pronounced the bad health of the woman a sufficient ground for divorce and for the remarriage of the man. The definition by Rome of these grounds and also of the laws concerning the impediments to marriage by Note 10 Appendix 269 reason of kinship, including even relationship of godparents, has issued in the past in direful results in real life. So also has the regulation that non- Romanist marriages may be dissolved if either party thereto is converted to Rome, introduced a most un- just and immoral policy in some countries. It is fortunate for sensible people that these ecclesiastical regulations have no standing in the courts of our country. Rome has always found sufficient justifi- cation for dispensations setting aside her legalistic marriage regulations when it suited her purposes. Mixed marriages have been allowed, as Von Hase points out and so fully illustrates, and are permitted to-day but with some severe restrictions, especially with reference to the rearing of children as Roman Catholics. Coppens says (p. 337) : " Before grant- ing to any of her children a dispensation to marry a non-Catholic, the church requires as an indispensa- ble condition a solemn promise that the Catholic party shall have the free exercise of religion and shall endeavor to lead the other party by conviction to the true faith ; also that all children to issue from this marriage shall be educated as Catholics." All of this is of a piece with Romanist legalism, exclu- sivism, and hierarchical arrogance as a whole. Protestantism, on the other hand, takes Jesus' utterances concerning marriage as ideal. Un- doubtedly he conceived that the ideal marriage was of one man to one woman, and was to be indissolu- ble because motived in its beginning and in its main- 270 Positive Protestantism Note ii tenance by righteous and loving purposes in accord- ance with God's aim for the relation of the sexes. But Jesus himself pointed out that Moses' law had been given because men could not keep up with this ideal. On this account, and particularly in view of Jesus' method of giving principles rather than laws, we must hold that this ideal is to be applied, like all of his principles, with common sense and with rea- sonable consideration of the main purpose to main- tain the best possible sex relations. Accordingly, Protestantism has a more liberal attitude toward divorce than Romanism. The innocent party in the case of adultery is quite universally regarded by Protestants as free to remarry. In most denomina- tions other grounds in keeping with Jesus' main ideal are also allowed, and each minister follows his own conscience as to the proper course in each case. But, as a whole, Protestantism has no sympathy with the laxity of divorce laws as administered in this country, and its desire is to make divorce more diffi- cult and remarriage less frequent. NOTE II. Rome's failure to attain unity Rome has never attained for Christendom the unity which she sets as her goal. During the first three centuries of the church there was a perfect maze of sects, each claiming truth. Through the centuries there never has been complete uniformity of creed, of organization, or of tradition. A sem- Note II Appendix 271 blance of this was attempted by Romanism, but its assumptions of authority, instead of eliminating the tendencies to difference, only proved the occasion of schism. Thus Rome has herself been the great schism-maker of the centuries. She assumed to ex- communicate the entire Eastern Church in 1054, under Pope Leo IX, after a century of controversy, because the Eastern Church would not acknowledge the supremacy of Rome to which the East had never completely submitted. Rome was herself internally torn, especially during the Great Schism, when first two, then three popes were anathematizing each other, and had to be dethroned, and a fourth elected. She assumed to resist the rising tide of reform and intellectual awakening which preceded the Refor- mation, and to excommunicate all Protestants and those having any connection with Protestants. Even within her organization, where she has for several centuries maintained a semblance of outward unity, Rome has not been able to prevent differ- ences. She has not yet, after centuries, stamped out the differences which exist among such orders as the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits. The con- troversies between Dominicans and Franciscans have been waged with recurrent waves of bitterness. Clement XIV embodied the hostility to the Jesuits, which existed within Romanism, in the decree which abolished the Society of Jesus on the ground that " so long as the order existed it was impossible that the church could attain a lasting peace." Pius VII 2^2 Positive Protestantism Note 12 recognized the party favoring the Jesuits by rein- stating them. Since before the Reformation liberal and ultramontane parties have existed in the church and struggled, the one against the other. To-day the ultramontanes are in control. The Vatican Council revealed the lack of unity in Romanism by its mutually hostile camps. In Romanist circles '* Americanism " and " Modernism " are terms which indicate liberal movements, trends, or points of view among Romanists which the dominant party deplores and zealously resists. These facts are suf- ficient to show that Romanism has not attained a real uniformity even among those who acknowledge her authority. Rome has caused divisions in Chris- tianity because she has known no unity that is spirit- ual and ethical, but only that which is tested by formal assent to creed and by obedience to ecclesias- tical authority. Rome has failed, therefore, both in her conception of unity and in the accomplishment of the ideal which she has cherished. NOTE 12. A JESUIT S ESTIMATE OF A PRIEST AND THE WORD " PRIEST " Romanist custom and thought has so exalted the priestly office that the Jesuit Weissenbach can speak in such terms as the following : '' Pardon us, an- gelic spirits; we know your greatness. But have you even the keys of heaven like the priesthood? Can you produce the true God at your command? Note 13 Appendix 2-]-^ Pardon us, even thou, O Queen of Heaven ! Thou canst by thy intercession procure forgiveness for even the greatest sins, but of thine own power thou canst forgive none, as our priests do. Once, but once only hast thou borne the incarnate God, even this only in the state of misery and poverty. But our priests surpass thee at the very point where thou surpassest all. They can when, where, and so often as they will, call down the divine Son from the bosom of his glory, from the right hand of the al- mighty Father, upon earth and in a certain and real and genuine sense for our purpose bear him into the world." The statement seems crass, even sacrile- gious, but is quite a legitimate deduction from the authoritatively stated teaching of the Roman Church. The Douai version uses the word " priest " to translate the Greek word which means " elder." The Greek word meaning " priest " is never used in the New Testament with reference to those who were ministerial officers in the New Testament church. Its use is confined to passages referring to the priestly character of Christ's work or in which all Christians are said to be priests unto God, and to references to Jewish and heathen priests. NOTE 13. EVIDENCE OF A MARRIED MINISTRY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT TIME Jesus' use of the term " Father " to express his conception of God is enough by itself to raise the s 274 Positive Protestantism Note 14 relations of fatherhood to the highest possible plane. Paul said, " the rest of the apostles, and the breth- ren of the Lord, and Cephas" (which is another name for Peter) led about wives, and asserted his own right to lead about '* a wife that is a .J)eliever " (i Cor. 9:5). Paul also said, "The bishop (or pastor) therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife " (i Tim. 3:2). Another of his statements is, " Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well" (i Tim. 3 : 12); and he wrote to Titus (Titus I : 5, 6) to " appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge; if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe." Such declarations of the New Testament dispose completely of the Roman contention, and this con- clusion is strengthened when one reads from the Douai version the passage just quoted from the Epistle to Titus, which runs thus : " I left thee in Crete that thou . . . shouldst ordain priests in every city as I appointed thee: If any man be without crime, the husband of one wife, having faithful children." NOTE 14. ROME S HOSTILITY TO THE LAY USE OF THE SCRIPTURES Early popes indorsed the sayings of those Fathers which urged the laity to read the Scriptures be- cause of their helpfulness, for example, Clement L Note 14 Appendix 2ys But a later pope, Clement XIV, forbade this lay reading, and attempted with all his power to pre- vent it. The Index of Prohibited Books, approved by Pius IV, says : " Since it is manifest by experi- ence that if the Holy Bible in the vulgar tongue be suffered to be read everywhere without distinction, more evil than good arises, let the judgment of the bishop or inquisitor be abided by in this re- spect; so that . . . they may grant permission to read translations of the Scriptures made by Catholic writers, to those whom they understand to be able to receive no harm . . . from such reading. But who- soever shall presume to read these Bibles or have them in possession without such faculty, shall not be capable of receiving absolution of their sins un- less they have first given up their Bibles to the Or- dinary." (Quoted by McKim, p. 117.) The theolo- gian Moehler reflects the same idea when he says (pp. 22yi.), "The sacred Scriptures are not neces- sary for our acquisition of their general contents in view of the church's instructions." This assumption of Rome's, thus put by Aloehler, ignores the fact that every movement to place the Bible in the hands of the people has started because the people had not been instructed in the Bible's teachings. In dealing with the Waldensians, the Hussites, the Wyclifites, and the Reformers, the Roman Curia opposed the reading of the Scriptures by the common people and destroyed large numbers of copies. The opposition was not because of the incorrectness of these trans- 2^6 Positive Protestantism Note 13 lations, for those of Wycllf and Luther have since proved their quality by the judgment of the most learned scholars and by their long use. Besides, if incorrectness had been the basis of Rome's opposi- tion, she v^ould have made better translations, but she was unwilling that the people should have any. The opposition has persisted in spite of increasing learning and scholarship. Von Hase's " Handbook " gives many modern instances of Rome's hostility to lay use of the Scriptures. Bible societies have been regarded by Rome as enemies of the faith. NOTE 15. THE CLAIM OF PERSISTENCE OF RECOGNITION OF INFALLIBILITY Leo XIII says in his encyclical letter of June 29, 1906, " that in the decree of the Vatican Council as to the nature and authority of the Roman pontiff no newly conceived idea is set forth, but the venerable and constant belief of all ages." Such a claim is im- possible in the light of history. The famous quarrel of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, with the Bishop of Rome reveals the actual situation in the early church. Cyprian declared the pope to be " in error in en- deavoring by his contention in the quarrel to main- tain the cause of heretics against Christians and against the church." (Cyprian's " Epistles," 73 : i.) This is certainly not an expression of submission on the part of the African bishop, but rather proof that the pope's authority was not recognized as Note I J Appendix 2^/ universal. Again, Pope Gregory the Great (590- 604) vigorously rebuked John, Patriarch of Con- stantinople, for assuming on his part the title of '' universal bishop," and for claiming authority out- side the jurisdiction of his diocese. (" Epistles" of Gregory, Bk. 5, Epistle 18.) Nor was Gregory by this rebuke claiming the title or authority of uni- versal bishop for himself, for he said on another occasion, " I confidently say that whosoever calls himself ' universal bishop ' or desires so to be called, does in his elation forerun Antichrist because he proudly places himself above others." (See R. J. Miller, " The Fundamentals of Protestantism," p. 158.) The history of the interpretation of the " rock " passage is further striking evidence. Archbishop Kendrick set forth the situation exactly when he pointed out* that Romanists cannot establish the Petrine privilege from Scripture because the Church Fathers do not agree unanimously concerning the interpretation of this passage as the Romanist standard requires, but rather put forth five different interpretations, and in the greatest numbers favor referring the word " rock " to Peter's faith, not to Peter himself. Pope Gregory the Great accepted this interpretation. (See McKim, p. 51.) Many facts connected with the history of general * This he did in a speech which was prepared for the Vatican Council of which he was a member, but never actually delivered. The speech was later published at Naples. 2/8 Positive Protestantism Note 15 councils further illustrate the real situation in the early church. These councils, accomplishing as they did the doctrinal legislation of the church, and recognized for centuries as the seat of supreme ecclesiastical authority, were neither called together nor presided over by the pope. Excepting the fourth and sixth, they were almost unaffected by papal influence. One council, that of Chalcedon (A. D. 451), was called in the face of the pope's protest. (See McKim.) The decrees of the Council of Nicsea (A. D. 325) were promulgated without waiting for their acceptance by the pope, which, for the sake of formality, was usually asked of him as of all absent bishops. The Council of Constanti- nople (A. D. 381) asked the emperor, not the pope, for confirmation of its decrees. The action of the Council of Constance in deposing three popes and declaring the supremacy of the general council will certainly be regarded by any impartial student of the situation as decidedly conclusive. The situation is further revealed by the relations of Rome to the Eastern and Celtic Churches. When the Roman bishops began to urge their claims to supremacy over all Christendom, a fierce opposi- tion arose in the Eastern Church, which after several centuries of quarreling finally broke off completely fraternal relations with Rome, and the break con- tinues until to-day. The Celtic Church for a long time knew nothing of the supremacy of Rome. Christianity was established in the British Isles long Note 1 6 Appendix 279 before Rome sent her emissaries thither, and cer- tainly long before Roman bishops were recognized as in any measure universal bishops. British bishops attended councils at Aries (A. D. 314) and Sardica (A. D. 347), while it was not until A. D. 596 that a pope sent a monk to Britain to demand conformity to the rites (notice, not to the authority) of Rome. The British resisted even this demand, and maintained their independence for a considera- ble period. In Ireland, Saint Patrick (373?-463?) brought Christianity to firm establishment, but the supremacy of Rome, which he did not accept, was not fully recognized until A. D. 1172.^ These facts add strength to the conclusion that the pope has never been universally recognized as universal bishop, and that even in those regions of the world which have later come to acknowledge papal au- thority the validity of such authority has not always been admitted. NOTE 16. ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE PASSAGES ALLEGED AS SUPPORT FOR PAPAL CLAIMS Two Other passages are regularly used by Ro- manists to substantiate their claims. Both citations are unfortunate for their contentions. One of these (Luke 22 : 32) is supposed to show Peter's exalta- tion to the teaching office over all the church. But in the light of the context the passage can justly •See R. J. Miller, p. 159. 28o Positive Protestantism Note i6 be construed only as an assurance of Peter's future usefulness in spite of his great weakness, and not as an appointment to supreme authority. Jesus' in- tention seems to have been to arouse a deeper sense of loyalty and a deeper faithfulness on Peter's part, which would lead to the fruition of his natural ap- titude for leadership. Appeal to this passage by Rome is a strange procedure, and it is no wonder that during the first seven centuries of the church no single writer leaves any evidence that this pas- sage was interpreted as conferring special rank or authority on Peter. (See McKim, p. 85.) The second passage contains the words addressed by Jesus to Peter, " Feed my lambs " (John 21 : 15-17). Since these words are not addressed to any other disciple, it is claimed they conferred on Peter the authority of the universal teaching office. But an examination of the passage shows that these words are chiefly significant as a recognition of Peter and a restoration of that disciple to favor after his denial of the Master. This charge was given, ac- cording to the Gospel of John, on the occasion of the first meeting of Jesus and Peter subsequent to the denial. By the charge Jesus simply gives Peter, as a reassuring renewal of relationship, a commission to work as his disciple. This passage, therefore, as well as those in Matthew and Luke, fails to supply the Romanist contention with any support. Rome's claim for universal authority of the pope is there- fore quite entirely without scriptural foundation. Note ly Appendix 281 NOTE 17. METHOD OF ROMANISTS IN USING HISTORICAL EVIDENCE The Romanist argument that the assumed au- thority of the papacy has always been recognized lacks any real basis of historical fact. It is impos- sible here to enter into all the details of this his- torical argument, and it is unnecessary, since the contentions of Romanists have so often been re- futed, and since a single example of their argument will show their method of reading into quotations the very conception which they wish to find. Ter- tullian, who wrote toward the end of the second century, is for example quoted thus : '' Come now, you who would indulge a better curiosity, if you would apply it to the business of your salvation, run over the apostolic churches in which the very thrones of the apostles are still preeminent in their places, in which their own authentic writings are read, uttering the voice and representing the face of each of them severally. Is Greece nearest you ? You have Corinth. If you are not far from Mace- donia, you have Philippi, you have the Thessalo- nians. If you are able to go to Asia, you have Ephesus. But if you are near Italy, you have Rome, whence also our [that is, the members of African churches] status is drawn. How happy is its church, etc. . . See what she has learned, what taught, what fellowship has had with even (our) churches in Africa." Heinrich's argument deduced 282 Positive Protestantism Note 17 from this passage is this : '' The proposition of Ter- tuUian's, that agreement with the apostoHc original and mother church is the criterion of true faith, speaks with double weight for the necessity of agreement with the Roman Church, which is not only the mother for the most of the churches of the West, and especially Africa, because they sprung from her, hut ivh'ich possesses also the primacy over all of the churches of the zuorld." Yet the last itali- cized part of the argument, which is the very thing to be proved, is precisely the thing which Ter- tullian does not say, but which is read into the con- clusion by the presupposition of the Romanist argu- ment. Tertullian really puts Rome alongside other apostolic churches, which he names as having spe- cial influences arising from the personal presence of apostles once residing with them, and also, and this is of primary importance, from possessing the actual letters which the apostles wrote to these sev- eral churches named — especially those churches which had received Pauline letters — and which came to be parts of the New Testament Scriptures. Such twisting of the meaning of quotations as this from Tertullian is characteristic of Romanist treatment of historical data. Just as characteristic is the re- liance upon quotations into which interpolations have crept in the later texts, but which are, nev- ertheless, used as if they were authentic texts of the fathers. For example, interpolated quotations from Cyprian are so used in Romanist arguments. Note i8 Appendix 283 Again, it is a notorious fact that the papal power was built in part by the use of the forged decretals whose lack of authenticity is admitted even by Romanists, who, nevertheless, maintain as histori- cally validated the authority which was established by these forgeries. From such considerations, and from the openly avowed use of the teaching office to correct historical data, we may be sure, without any further examination of the alleged historical evidence, that Rome's contention as to the universal authority of the Bishop of Rome and its universal acceptance in all times has no real historical foun- dation on which to find support. NOTE 18. EVIDENCE AS TO FALLIBILITY OF POPES Popes have contradicted each other. For exam- ple, Gregory the Great taught that the word " rock " in the famous passage already discussed referred to Peter's confession, for he said : " Make firm your life on the rock of the church ; that is, on the confes- sion of Peter the chief of the apostles." Leo XIII, in his encyclical letter on Unity of the Church (see McKim, p. 51), follows the usual position of Rome to-day, and makes the word refer to Peter himself. This is a disagreement of ex-cathedra statements, for we can scarcely suppose that Gregory would have made a false interpretation of so important a position under any circumstances if he were infalli- ble, and Leo's interpretation is given in a general 284 Positive Protestantism Note 18 letter, which according to Cardinal Gibbons " is the most weighty authority in the church " (" Faith of Our Fathers," p. 115). Therefore, either Gregory or Leo was fallible. Some popes have been heretics either by official declaration or according to charges brought against their teachings. Pope Liberius, when the Emperor Constantine brought the Arian church into power, wearied of proscription and signed a heterodox con- fession of faith, thus abandoning Athanasius, who had advocated the doctrine of the Trinity over against Arius. Pope Vigilius in A. D. 547 con- sented to the condemnation of two Eastern teachers, and later (A. D. 553) reversed himself in order to honor the decree of the Council of Chalcedon (A. D. 451), which a century before had taken the ortho- dox view of the matter in question. Thus for a time Vigilius was on the heretical side of the controversy. A still clearer case of a papal heretic is Honorius I. The third Council of Constantinople, in A. D. 681, pronounced Honorius a heretic and anathematized him for teaching heresy. Pope Leo II confirmed this anathema, and the imprecations on the dead Pope Honorius were repeated by general councils in A. D. 787 and 869. Honorius was speaking ex cathedra, for he was definitely trying to decide a dis- puted question and thus to settle a controversy which had been referred to him. Thus he set forth ex cathedra a heretical doctrine. Again, John XXII was charged with heresy by the chiefs of the Francis- Note i8 Appendix 285 can Order. The University of Paris was thoroughly aroused, and he was threatened by the King of France with burning for heresy. His reputation in the minds of posterity was saved from an unmiti- gated imputation of heresy only by the publication at the hands of his successor of a death-bed recan- tation. Which was infallible, John XXIFs state- ment in his original teachings, or that of his recan- tation? Whichever the answer, he was fallible in the one case or the other. The facts of history prove conclusively that popes have not been infallible even in the restricted area of ex-cathedra teachings con- cerning faith and morals. Moreover, popes themselves have declared popes to be fallible as to matters of faith.^ Innocent III, the most powerful of all popes, admitted that he could sin against the faith, and Pius IV allowed disregard of the command of a pope if the command involved heresy. Adrian VI gave it as his judg- ment that, " If under the Roman Church is under- stood its head, the pope, it is certain that he can err, even in that which relates to the faith." Urban VIII (when confronted with the decisions of pre- vious popes), declared, " The decision of one living pope is worth more than that of a hundred dead ones." Such statements by these popes, especially when added to the various other considerations de- lineated above, raise an insuperable obstacle to the * For a fuller statement at this point, see Von Hase's " Hand- book." 286 Positive Protestantism Note 19 acceptance of the doctrine of the infalHbllity of the pope."^ NOTE 19. DIFFERENCES IN CANON RECOGNIZED BY PROTESTANTS AND ROMANISTS Romanism includes as Scripture the books of the Old Testament Apocrypha which Protestantism re- jects. These books were not included in the He- brew canon of the Old Testament, but appear in the Greek versions of the Old Testament. Other ver- sions, including the Latin Vulgate, which were in- fluenced by the Greek versions, thus came to in- clude these books, though with no acceptance of them as of equal worth with the canonical books of the Old Testament. Saint Jerome (about A. D. 340- 420), who made the Vulgate version, expresses the attitude of Christian scholars of all ages when he speaks of these books as worthy " for the edification of the people, not for confirming the authority of church dogmas" (quoted in article "Apocrypha," Hastings Dictionary of the Bible). But the Council of Trent (A. D. 1546), in spite of this attitude, made these books of equal authority with Scripture. This would probably never have been done except to op- pose Luther and to use one passage (2 Mace. 12 : 43f.) to support the doctrine of purgatory which is unsupported by Scripture, and another (Tobit 12 : ' A striking, succinct, yet comprehensive argument against papal claims may be found in the alleged speech of Bishop Strossmayer, which is quoted by McKim, pp. 150-160. Note 20 Appendix 287 8f.) to corroborate the doctrine of justification by 2:ood works. In view of this situation the use of the apocryphal books as Scripture must be regarded as without significance. NOTE 20. Rome's attitude tow^ard biblical and OTHER SCHOLARSHIP The Protestant emphasis upon the value of the Scripture has led to the great accomplishments of modern biblical scholarship, for it has stimulated in- terest in the Bible. The Romanist attitude inevitably hinders such scholarship. By its claim to sole pos- session of the teaching office Romanism denies to Protestant scholars the ability to determine by scientific methods what the Bible means, and also any help from God's Holy Spirit, however godly these men may be, however intimately they may commune with God, and however much sympathy with Christian teaching they may feel. Thus in effect, if not in words,^ it denies the existence of those very abilities of Protestant scholars which have produced the modern sciences in biblical, his- torical, and theological spheres. To illustrate, in its search for the most reliable biblical text, Protes- 8 Such Romanist writers as Cardinal Gibbons and Moehler make more or less frequent reference to the ignorance of the Reformers and of Protestant theologians and historians. If those referred to, as for example Melancthon and Calvin, are not to be counted^ among the world's learned, then there have never been any of this class in the world. In this connection it is useful to recall the shame to which Romanist disputants were uniformly put in the time of the Reformation. 288 Positive Protestantism Note 20 tantism has employed the three most ancient and valuable manuscripts of the Bible, whose evidence for the text has been discovered since the Council of Trent, as well as much other new material, and has created the science of textual criticism by which the value of texts can be ascertained. In contrast, Romanism, in accepting the decrees of the Council of Trent, has closed the door to any further investi- gation or conclusion, for that council decreed that the Latin Vulgate translation was of equal authority with Greek and Hebrew texts (the original lan- guages of the Bible). On points now mooted be- tween Protestants and Romanists, the latter use the Vulgate text as if it were superior to the texts in the original languages. This Latin version was made by Saint Jerome in the fourth century A. D., and was itself execrated by various Fathers far and wide as unworthy of acceptance. It came into pre- vailing use only gradually and after a long period. The exaltation of this version is absurd, but the consequent closing of the door to any further study and improvement of the biblical text by increased in- formation is stultifying to the human intellect. In matters other than the text of Scripture, Rome's position as to authority closes the door to scientific investigation, for the infallible teaching office must necessarily rule out of court, to begin with, those scientific conclusions of both Protestant and Roman- ist scholars, of whom there have been not a few whose convictions have incurred the condemnation Note 21 Appendix 289 of the Roman Curia. Such a result of Romanist authority inevitably leads to the condemnation of Romanism, whereas the position of Protestantism, with its freedom and desire for increase of knowl- edge, just as inevitably wins commendation. NOTE 21. EVIDENCE OF OFFICIAL TEACHING OF ROME AS TO SOLE CHANNEL OF GRACE The noted bull of Boniface VIII, Vnam Sanctmn (A. D. 1302), has this to say: The Holy Roman Church " firmly believes, professes, and preaches that none who are not found within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but not even Jews or heretics and schismatics, can become partakers of eternal life, but shall go into eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels, except they shall have been gathered to the same before the end of life ; and that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is of so much importance that only to those who remain in it are the ecclesiastical sacraments and fasts profitable, the alms and other offices of piety and exercises of Christian service productive of eternal rewards, and that no one, however great alms he shall have done, even if he shall shed his blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, except he shall have remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church." (Quoted by Foster, pp. y6i.) This was a cathedratic statement and so infallibly authoritative. Even more pronouncedly cathe- T 290 Positive Protestantism Note 21 dratic is the following from the same bull : *' More- over we declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is altogether necessary to the salvation of every hu- man creature to be subject to the Roman pontiff." While originally this last declaration referred es- pecially to the pope's claim to power over the state, its further application to all kinds of relations with the pope is inevitable. Pope Honorius III published (1216) a bull approving the extermination of here- tics ; Innocent IV put forth a bull to the same effect ; Alexander IV issued (1524) a bull for the appoint- ment of officers to prosecute the Inquisition; and all of these acts were based essentially on the con- ception that Rome was the sole channel of salvation. Again, the bull Pastor Aeternus ( 15 16) says : " Obe- dience [that is, to the Roman See] is the sole mother and guard of all the virtues, alone possessing the merit of faith, without which any one is convicted of being an infidel, even though he may seem to be a believer.'* (Quoted by Foster, p. 78.) The Council of Trent does not pronounce upon this point, but its decree uses the expression, " our Catholic faith without which it is impossible to please God." A Catholic dictionary quoted by Foster (p. 78) says, " In pronouncing anathema against wilful heretics, the Church does but declare that they are excluded from her communion, and that they must, if they continue obstinate, perish eternally." Ac- cordingly, archbishops and bishops make the Tri- dentine profession of faith as follows : " I profess Note 21 Appendix 291 this true Catholic faith [that is, the system of doctrine determined by the Council of Trent and now confirmed by the Vatican Council] without which no one can be saved." In the spirit of these teachings the bull In Coena Domini (1610, 1627) excommunicated and anathematized " on the part of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, by the authority of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own [that is, the authority of the pope issuing the bull] all Hussites, Wyclifites, Lutherans, Zwinglians, Calvinists, Huguenots, Ana- baptists, Trinitarians, and apostates from the Chris- tian faith, and all and every other heretic, by what- soever name they are called; . . also schismatics and those who pertinaciously withdraw from obe- dience of Us and the Roman pontiff at the time ex- isting." Pius IX (December 17, 1847), in his Allo- cution, says : " Let therefore those who wish to be saved come to this pillar and ground of truth, which is the Church. . . We . . . shall spare no cares and labors to lead by the grace of Christ those who are ignorant and err to this sole way of truth." The Vatican Council which declared the pope infal- lible hung its anathema over all who '' presume to contradict this our definition." Even Moehler, who is usually liberal-minded, says, " Connection with Christ is also always at the same time connection with the church." Leo XIII, though reputed to be a liberal, in an encyclical letter of 1896, made clear who are outside of Romanism when he said. 2^2 Positive Protestantism Note 23 " The fathers of the church are unanimous in con- sidering as outside the CathoHc communion any one who in the least degree deviates from one point of the doctrine proposed by the authoritative magis- terium of the church." Consequently, in view of these many statements it is impossible to escape the conclusion that Rome really teaches that she is the sole channel of God's grace. The broader view of some Romanists may seek support in the statement made by Pope Pius IX that " those who labor under ignorance of the true religion, if that is invincible, are not laden with sin on this account before the eyes of God " (Allocution of December 9, 1854.) But Pius IX does not say how the *' ignorant " are to escape that sin, which is such without reference to obedience or disobedience to the one true church, nor does he make clear how to distinguish *' invincible ignorance " from any other kind. (See Foster, pp. 83-85.) Moreover, Pius IX's declaration, even if cathedratic, is only one against many contrary authoritative declara- tions. This conception is absolutely incompatible with loyalty to the whole teaching of Romanism. NOTE 22. EXAMPLES OF PRAYERS TO SAINTS A few examples which have been specially indul- genced by the pope are : " Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation " ; " Michael, glorious prince, chief and companion of the heavenly host, . . vouchsafe to Note 2^ Appendix 293 free us all from every evil " ; " Benign Joseph, our Guide, protect us and the holy Church " ; " Guardian of virgins, and holy father Joseph, to whose faith- ful keeping Christ Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, were committed, I pray and be-, seech thee by those two dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, that being preserved from all uncleanness, I may with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, ever most chastely serve Jesus and Mary. Amen." (Quoted by Foster, pp. 207f.) NOTE 23. TITLES APPLIED AND A PRAYER ADDRESSED TO MARY Extravagant titles are applied to Mary in the " Litany of the Blessed Virgin." They are such as these: "Holy Mary," "Holy Mother of God," " Virgin of Virgins," " Mother of Divine Grace," " Mirror of Justice," " Seat of Wisdom," " Cause of our Joy," " Spiritual Vessel," " Vessel of honor," " Vessel of singular devotion," " Mystical Rose," " Tower of David," " Tower of Ivory," " House of Gold," " Ark of the Covenant," " Gate of Heaven," " IMorning Star," " Health of the Weak," " Refuge of the sinners," " Comfortress of the afflicted," " Help of Christians," " Queen of virgins," " Queen of confessors," " Queen of saints." Could any more extravagant title be used of God? The following prayer (quoted by R. J. Miller), which was given a few years ago to visitors at the 294 Positive Protestantism Note 24 Antwerp Cathedral, is a sufficient illustration of the kind of prayers which are addressed to Mary : " O Mary, remember the solemn moment when Jesus, your divine Son, dying on the cross, com- mitted us to your care. You are our Mother, and we desire always to belong to you. Faithful to the commendation of Jesus who died for us, we place in your hands our persons, our families, our chil- dren, and all our interests, spiritual and temporal. Make us sensible of your powerful intercession with Jesus Christ. Glorify your name in this city of Ant- werp, which was consecrated to you, and above all in this cathedral, which was dedicated to you by the piety of our ancestors. Preserve for us inviolate the purity of our faith. Keep the hearts of our children from the spirit of evil ; give success to their education ; make them true Christians. Give health to our sick ; comfort our poor afflicted ones ; convert our unhappy evil-doers; forget not our dear de- parted ones. Make us to belong to you and your divine Son in life, in death, and for all eternity. Amen." With Mary answering all such petitions as these, what is left for God to do? Mariolatry thus displaces God and becomes idolatry. NOTE 24. ROMANISM AND CARDINAL GIBBONS ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY As recently as August 25, 1910, Pius X, in his en- cyclical letter, declared that there can be no worthy Note 24. Appendix 295 civilization which is not wholly controlled by the church. He also (see McKim, p. 270) warmly and officially commended a book which holds that " public heretics deserve not merely to be excommu- nicated but to be killed," and that the church toler- ates heretics now because it is not prudent to kill them. Pius X in recent years likewise condemned all liberalism, and required of all priests and teach- ers the famous oath against " Modernism," which was taken under compulsion by European priests with rebellious mental reservations. (See Loeppert, " Modernism and The Vatican.") Accordingly, Cardinal Gibbons shows the gift of a skilful, if not an entirely candid mind, in his defi- nition of religious liberty, in which he claims to believe. His statement, in the face of the papal declarations just quoted, is a daring one, since Gib- bons himself declares that a general letter of a pope is the weightiest authority in the church, and especially if he expects to convince people that Ro- manism truly sympathizes with, and even teaches, religious liberty. He says : " A man enjoys religious hberty when he possesses the free right of worship- ing God according to a right conscience, and of practising a form of religion most in accordance with his duties to God." That sounds fair until one inquires who is to determine what a " right " con- science is, and what is " a form of religion most in accordance with duties to God." Only Rome, ac- cording to her own claim, can answer such ques- 296 Positive Protestantism Note 24. tions through her infallible teaching office. Thus one sees where are left all who cannot accept Rome's authority and her definitions of right conscience and right religion. Gibbons' statement shows only how impossible it is even for a man reared in a liberty- loving nation like ours to break from the Roman system, which inevitably by its very genius of ab- solutism is opposed to any freedom which crosses the will of the hierarchy. Rome's history is a con- tinuous illustration of this inherent and inevitable opposition to true religious liberty. The desire of Romanists to claim, as does Cardi- nal Gibbons, that religious liberty began in Mary- land, speaks well for their Americanism, but very poorly for their adherence to the official teaching of their church and their knowledge of historical facts. An edict of toleration was enacted into law in Mary- land in 1649. But this scarcely granted religious liberty, for under it denial of the divinity of Christ or of the doctrine of the Trinity was to be punished by confiscation of property and by death, and re- proachful words concerning the Virgin Mary in- volved the penalties of fine, public whipping, and imprisonment. On the other hand, two years be- fore, in 1647, Roger Williams secured a charter for the colony which he had founded eleven years pre- viously on the foundation of religious liberty. It was here that religious liberty was legally born, though it had been long advocated by the Anabap- tists, their predecessors and successors. Note 24 Appendix 297 Moreover, credit for the Maryland edict of tolera- tion cannot be claimed by Romanists. The colony was not Roman Catholic, though Lord Baltimore, its owner and head, was. This is to be necessarily deduced from the statement of Father White, the Jesuit colonist of Lord Baltimore, who says, '' For in leading the colony to Maryland, by far the greater part were heretics." Furthermore, the very legisla- ture which passed the edict was two-thirds Protes- tant, and the principles of this act were objected to in the following year by the four Roman Catholic members of the legislature as contrary to their re- ligion. The fact of the matter is that, while Lord Baltimore deserves personally some of the credit for the edict, he was forced thereto by circumstances and not led by any conviction of his as to the validity of that which his church has consistently condemned. The very charter of his colony required that the Church of England worship should be maintained there. The financial straits of the proprietor, the needs of the colonists, and the religious affiliations of those already in the colony made it imperative that others than the Roman minority should have some rights of worship. Thus it was the expediency of his own private prosperity which led Lord Balti- more to appoint a Protestant governor and to agree to the position of the Protestant legislature. Be- sides, England was at this time in the grip of Crom- well, and Lord Baltimore would not have dared to take a position which would have brought upon 298 Positive Protestantism Note 2^ himself the displeasure of the dominant power or to have thus given color to the rumors which were floating about England that Maryland was *' a hot- bed of popery." ^ NOTE 25. ATTITUDE OF ROME TOWARD DEMOCRACY IN THE PAST It is claimed that in the distant past Rome was sometimes on the side of the people against their kings. But this position of Rome was not in the interest of the people, but of Rome. The right of the people to oppose their governments was recog- nized when it suited the purposes of the hierarchy to thwart the said governments, but the sovereign will of the people against and over the authority of Rome was never granted directly or indirectly. It is significant of the inherent antagonism between Romanism and democracy that the supremacy of the medieval papacy over kings, emperors, and peoples was broken by the rise of nationalism in the respec- tive nations of Europe. This is illustrated by the situation in France, where the king appealed to the people, and by that in England, where the demand of the commons and nobility for Magna Charta was effective though declared null and void by the pope. In regard both to political and religious liberty, which are such emphatic American principles, it is ^ A fuller treatment of the evidence concerning this claim of Gibbons and others is to be found in R. H. McKim, " Romanism in the Light of History," pp. 245-271. Note 26 Appendix 299 sometimes urged by Romanists that the teachings of their Church cannot be against American institu- tions, because so many Romanist individuals have rendeired conspicuous service in the interests of hberty and America. Cardinal Gibbons has recently so argued. No one should wish to take away any due credit from Roman Catholic fellow citizens of the past or the present, but the attitude of these in no way diminishes the force of Rome's historic positions as to political and religious liberty, the necessity of union of Church and State with the Church in control, the denial of the freedom of speech, of the press, and of education, and her own absolutist government. America has undoubtedly put her spirit into the patriotic hearts of many Ro- manists, but they themselves should realize how much Romanism must change her past utterances, still unchangeably asserted, if Romanism in Amer- ica is to be in harmony with the freedom and democ- racy of American institutions. NOTE 26. FACTS AS TO THE DECLINE OF ROMANISM IN EUROPE In Germany, from 1890 to 1900, inclusive, there were 46,600 conversions from Romanism to Prot- estantism, while there were only 6,820 going the other way. (Bain, p. 100.) In 1902 there were cele- brated in Wurtemberg 677 mixed marriages ac- cording to Protestant rites, and only 246 according 300 Positive Protestantism Note 2/ to Romanism; and in 1901 the numbers were 700 and 248 respectively. The resultant losses to Ro- manism are a subject of complaint among Roman- ists. In Austria the '' Los von Rom " (" Away from Rome ") movement has resulted in astounding de- fections. In the sixteen states of Austria there were in 1912, according to the census, 539,256 se- ceders from Rome to Protestantism. (See John Clif- ford's speech reported in '' The Standard " [Chi- cago] August 16, 1913.) "Of Protestants there were in Austria in 1857, 292,127; in 1900, 497,502; in 1912, 674,000." In other words, the increase from 1857 to 1900, forty-three years, was only 205,- 375, while in the twelve years from 1900 to 1912 the increase was 181,490, a little over seven-eighths as many. It is to be hoped that these great numbers of seceders will still abide within some branch of the Christian church and not fall away entirely. NOTE 2y. EFFECT OF LIBERAL STUDIES UPON AN OPEN-MINDED PRIEST In " The Independent " for September 6, 1906, there appeared an article described as by " Very Rev. J. R. Slattery, Founder and Superior of Saint Joseph's Society for Negro Missions in Baltimore, Md. He is the representative of a distinguished Catholic family in this city, which has given large support to Catholic charities. For several years he has lived mostly in Europe, devoted to historical Note 2'j Appendix 301 studies, and has a very large acquaintance with dis- tinguished Catholics here and abroad." This arti- cle will repay reading for its revelation of the effect of honest study by an honest mind according to modern scientific methods, even though the mind is that of an ardent Romanist. One quotation will be suggestive : '' In almost every case of a contested point between Catholics and Protestants, the latter are right and the former wrong." BOOK-LIST FOR REFERENCE AND STUDY GENERAL In addition to general encjxlopedias and general church histories, these works should be consulted for further study : The Catholic Encyclopedia. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowl- edge. PART I Bacon, L. W. : " History of American Christianity." Cavanagh, Wm. Henry: "The Word Protestant in Litera- ture, History, and Legislation." Gale, Frank H. : " The Story of Protestantism." Hatch, Edwin: "The Organization of the Early Christian Church." Lindsay, Thomas M. : " History of the Reformation." 2 vols. Lindsay, Thomas M. : " Martin Luther." Newman, A. H. : " History of Anti-Pedobaptism." Vedder, Henry C. : "A Short History of the Baptists." Vedder, Henry C. : " The Reformation in Germany." PART II Bousset, Wm. : " The Faith of a Modern Protestant." Coppens, Charles, S. J. : "A Systematic Study of the Catholic Religion." Second Edition. Domer, Isaac A. : " History of the Protestant Theology." 2 vols. Foster, Frank Hugh: "The Fundamental Ideas of the Roman Catholic Church." Book-list for Reference and Study 303 Gibbons, James (Cardinal) : " The Faith of Our Fathers." Grounds of the CathoUc Doctrine, Confession of Faith, published by Pope Pius IV. Von Hase, Carl A. : " Handbook to the Controversy with Rome." Hill,' U. P. : " The Catholic's Ready Answer." McGiffert, A. C. : " Protestant Thought Before Kant." McKim, R. H. : " Romanism in the Light of History." Miller, Robert J. : " The Fundamentals of Protestantism." Moehler, John Adam : " Symbolism of Doctrinal Differ- ences Between Catholics and Protestants." Translated by James Burton Robertson. Pfleiderer, Otto : " The Development of Theology in Ger- many since Kant." PART HI Annual Reports of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915. Annual Report of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America, 1914. Annual Report of the Home Missions Council, 1915. Ashworth, R. A. : " The Union of Christian Forces." Carroll, H. K. : " The Religious Forces of the U. S." Bain, John A. : " The New Reformation." Harnack, Adolph : " Thoughts on the Present Position of Protestantism." Loeppert, Wm. : " Modernism and the Vatican." MacFarland, Charles S. : " Christian Unity at Work." MacFarland, C. S. : " The Churches of the Federal Council." Smyth, Newman : " Passing Protestantism and Coming Catholicism." Troeltsch, Ernest : " Protestantism and Progress." U. S. Census, Special Report : " Religious Bodies," 1906, Parts I and H. Usher, Edward P. : ** Protestantism, A Study in the Direc- tion of Religious Truth and Christian Unity." Tndex INDEX Adrian VI, Pope, 285. Adventists, 204, 205. Alexander IV, Pope, 290. Alexander VIII, Pope, 262. Alva, Duke of, 32. Americanism, 251, 2T2. American Sunday School Union, 225. Anabaptists, 10, 39; beliefs of, 4off. ; bodies of, 198-212; per- secutions of, 38, 41, 42, 43, 51. Anti-Saloon League, 233. Apocrypha, 50, 157, 286. Apostolicity, 110-115. Apostolic succession, 103, iiof., inf., 149. Aquinas, St. Thomas, 160, 164. Arianism, 239. Arius, 284. Athanasius, 284. Attendance on church, 171-174. Augsburg Confession, 23. Augsburg: Diet of, 22, 23; Peace of, 22, 23. Augustine, St., 159, 160. Authority of Scripture, 141-143. Bancroft, 176. Baptism: mentioned and dis- cussed, 4, 68, 84, 85-89, 119, 207, 262; infant (see " Infant baptism ") ; necessity of, 2(i2- 264. Baptist beliefs, 200. Baptist organizations, 201-203. Baptists: described, 176, 199, 216, 221, 222, 240; Camp- bellite, 204; Hard-shell, 203. Benedict X, Pope, 138. Benedict XIV, Pope, 140. Bernard, St., 160. Bigotry, 146, 147, 148, 173. Bishop, 3, 4, 5, 24, 37, 112, 122, 123, 138; universal, 132-136. Bohemian Brethren, 198. Boniface VIII, Pope, 178, 289. Borgia, 12. Bull: papal, 18; In Coena Do- mini, 291; Pastor Aetcrnus, 290; Unam Sanctam, 289, 290. Cajetan, Cardinal, 104, 137. Calvin, John, 28-31, 37, 51. Calvinism and Lutheranism com- pared, 25, 26. Campbellite Baptists, 204. Campbell, Thomas and Alexan- der, 204. Canonization of Saints, 156. Cardinals, 178. (Also see indi- vidual names.) Catholicity, 115. Celibacy, 12, 120-122, 273, 274. Celtic Church, 136, 278. ^07 3o8 Inde: Certainty, religious, 149-152. Charles, Emperor, 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 36. Chastity, 12 if. Christian Connection, the, 204. Christian Science, 188. Church attendance, 171-174. Churches of Christ, 204. Churches of God in North Amer- ica, 204. Church, New Testament, 3f. Church Union, 203, 204. Clement I, Pope, 274. Clement XIV, Pope, 271, 275. Close communion, i9if'> i94» 201. Confession, 90, 92-95- Confessional, the, 93f. Confirmation, 89. Congregationalists, 195, 196, 212 fn., 215, Conquest of America, 243, 244, 254. Continuation Committee, 227f. Cooperation of Protestants and Romanists, 253. Copernican theory, 246. Corruption of the church, 11, 12, 16. Council: Chalcedon, 6, 268, 278, 284; Constance, 17, 130, 138, 267, 278; First Constantinople, 278, Second, 268, Third, 284, Fifth, 268; Florence, 262; Frankfort, 268; Fourth Later- an, 146; Nicsea, 5, 213, 278; Pisa, 138; Trent, 22, 49f., 127, 161, 162, 261, 268, 286, 288, 290, 291; Vatican, 130, 137, 140, 148, 161, 233-237, 272, 276, 291. Councils, General, 7, 60, 129-131, 135 fn-i 136, 161, 267, 268, 278. Cyprian, 276, 282. D Decretals, false, 6 fn. Democracy: mentioned, 245, 298, 299; ecclesiastical, 123, 171, 177-179, 200, 217; political, 179, 180. Denck, Hans, 42. Denominational families, 189, 190, 192 and fn., 196 fn., 205 fn., 212 fn. Denominationalism, benefit of, 222-224. Diet: of Augsburg, 22; of Worms, 19, 21. Disciples of Christ, the, 203. Disparateness of Protestants, 2i9f., 221. Disputations in Switzerland, 27. Divisiveness: of Protestantism, 219-222; of Romanism, 270-272. (See also " Schism.") Divisions of Protestantism: causes of, 216-218; importance of, 187, 188; number of, 215, 216. Divorce, 268-270. Dominicans, 51, 150, 271. Douai Version, 104, 126, 162, 265-267, 273, 274. Duke of Alva, 32. Dunkards, 206, 207. Eastern Catholic Church, 109, 120, 136, 161 fn., 188, 206, 278. Eck, John, 18. Education: freedom of, 182, 183; missionary, 228f.; religious, 225f. Elder, 3, 4. Elizabeth, 33, 34, 36. Index 309 Episcopalians, 196, 197. Eternal punishment, 9 if., 164. Ethical Culturists, 189. Eucharist, the, 95-103. (See also *' Lord's Supper.") Eusebius, 113. Evangelical Alliance, 236 fn. Evangelical Association, 211. Evangelical bodies, 192. Exclusivism, 174, 253. (See also " Sole channel of grace.") Extreme unction, 106, 107. Frederick, Elector of Saxony, IS, 16, 17, 19, 20. Freedom: discussed, 174-183, 244, 245, 254; achieved by German Reformation, 23; early Chris- tian, 4; of Anabaptists, 41; of education, 182, 183; of French Calvinism, 31; of learning, 143-145, 181, 182; of the press, 174, i75i 180, 181; of speech, 174, 175, 180, 181. Free schools, 182, 183. Friends, the, 176, 207. Froment, 28. Factions, i87f. Faith: mentioned and discussed, 80, 81, 83, 8s, 89, 107, 108- 110, iisf., 116, 118, 141, 143, 151, 165, 171, i72f., 200; Protestant view of, 65-67, 78, 79; Romanist view of, 77, 78, 261. Fallibility: mentioned, 138; of general councils, 130, 138, 139; of popes, 139, 140, 283-286; of tradition, 127, 129. Families, denominational, 189, 190, 192 and fn., 196 fn., 205 fn., 212 fn. Families, relative size of, 241. Farel, 28, 30. Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, 233-237. Federated church, the, 232. Federations of churches, 233. Fenelon, I44f. Footwashing, 84, 205, 206. Foreign Missions Conference of North America, 228f. Forgiveness, 91-95, i65f. " Form," the term, 105 and fn. Franciscans, 47, 50, 51, 271. Fraternity of Protestants and Romanists, 252-254. General Councils, (See "Coun- cils.") German Baptist Brethren, 206. Gibbons, Cardinal, 16, 82, 85, 96, 147, 157, 164, 167, 175, 239. 259, 283, 287 fn., 294ff., 299. Grades of the ministry, 122, 123. Great Schism, 130, 138. Gregory I, the Great, Pope, 136, 139, 277, 283. Gregory II, Pope, 268. Gregory VII, Pope, 6. Gregory XVI, Pope, 174. H Hard-shell Baptists, 203. Heathen responsiveness, 247f. Henry VIII, 34f. Heretical popes, 284, 285. Holiness, 116. Home Missions Councils, 226f. Honorius I, Pope, 284. Honorius III, Pope, 290. Hiibmaier, 42, 43. Humanism, 9f., 30, 35, 49. Hus, John, 17, 19, 163 fn. 3IO Index Images, i6i, 162. Immaculate Conception, 159, 160. Immersion: baptism by, 41, 89, 200; trine, 206. Immigration, 237, 240. Incense, 169, Independent churches, 214, 215. Index, the, 51, 52, 149, 180, 181, 246. Indulgences, 11, 16, 91, 95 fn., 156, 162-164. Infallibility: importance of, i3if.,' of the pope, 131, 136- 138, 149, 276-279; of the teaching office, 124, 160. Infant baptism, 59, 86, 87, 89, 90, 200, 206, 264, 265. Influence of Protestantism and Romanism, relative, 242, 243. Innocent III, Pope, 285. Innocent IV, Pope, 290. Inquisition, the, 51, 52. Intention, doctrine of, 82, 150, 261. Interdenominational church, the, 231. International Reform Bureau, 233. Irenaeus, 112, 113. Jerome, St., 50, 286, 288. Jesuits, 47-51, 52, 140, 153, 154 fn., 271, 272. Jesus' teaching: on ceremonial- ism, 80; on chastity, 121; on faith, 65-67; on legalism, 75; on monasticism, 155; on relig- ious certainty, 151; on pen- ance, 91; on satisfactions, 95; on supererogation, 72. Jews, 85, 188. John, the apostle, 159. John XXII, Pope, 284. Justification, 61. Justin Martyr, 162. " Keys," the, 133. Knox, John, 33, 34. Legalism, pharisaic and Roman- ist, 73-75. Leipzig, Disputation of, 17. Leo II, Pope, 284. Leo IX, Pope, 271. Leo XIII, Pope, 139, 175, 276, 283, 291. Liberius, Pope, 284. Liberty, religious, 174-177, 198, 199, 220, 223, 246, 254, 294- 298, 299. Lombard, Peter, 262. Lord's Supper, the: discussed, 4, 24, 26, 27, 41, 84, 95-103, 200, 2o5» 207, 262; in one kind, 102, 103; Protestant views of, 98-100. Losses of Romanism, 237, 24of., 248, 249, 299, 300. Loyola, Ignatius, 47f., 149. Luther, Martin: referred to, 10, 14-21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32, 49, 62, 144, 149, 163 fn., 259; on infant baptism 264f. Lutheran bodies, 191, 192. Lutheranism: Protestant signifi- cance of, i9of.; compared with Calvinism, 25, 26, Index 311 M O Manning, Cardinal, 150. Mariolatry, 11, 159-161. Marks: of the church, 1 10-11 7; of saints, 156. Marriage: Romanist view of, 104-106; and divorce, 268-270; mixed, 105, 106 fn.; of min- isters and priests, 24, 120-122. Mary: cult of, 159-161, i6y, prayers to, 292-294; titles of, 293. Mar}% Queen, 36. Mass, the: discussed, 101, 102, 119, 163, 166, 169 and fn.; attendance on, 177. "Matter," the term, 105 fn. Menno Simons, 43, 198. Mennonites, 198. Merit, 68-70. Methodist: beliefs, 208, 209; bodies, 209. Methodists, 207-212. Millerite Movement, 205. Minister, the, 117-123. Missionary education, 228f. Missions, Protestant and Roman- ist, 246, 247, 263f. Modernism, 58, 59, 183, 247f., 249-252, 252 fn., 272, 295. Moehler, 13 fn., 58 fn., 61, 77, 127, 260, 262, 275, 287 fn., 291. Monasticism, 153-155. Monastic vows, 7Z, 153. I55- Moravian Brethren, 198. Mormons, 188. N Nantes, Edict of, 31. Newman, Cardinal, 150. Nonconformists, 11. Non-Protestant bodies, 188, 189. Order, sacrament of, 103. Orders, monastic. (See " Domini- cans," " Franciscans," and " Jesuits.") Ordination, I03f., 118. Organic church union, 203, 204, 221-224, 229, 230. Origen, 162. Patrick, St., 279. Paul, the apostle, teachings of: on authority, 134; on cere- monialism, 81; on faith, 67; on forgiveness, 94; on legal- ism, 76; on religious certainty, 151; on saint worship, 159. Paul III, Pope, 47. Peace, 207. Penance, 90-95, 265; the term, see Appendix, note 8. Persecutions: in England, 36; in the Netherlands, 32, 51, 52; of Anabaptists, 38, 41, 42, 43, 51. Peter, the apostle, 76, 112, 113, 114, i58f., 279, 280. Pilgrimages, 11, 24, 167. Pius IV, Pope, 127, 275, 285: Pius VII, Pope, 271. Pius IX, Pope, 161, 17s, 182, 291, 292. Pius X, Pope, 105, 181, 245, 249, 250, 252 fn., 294, 295. Polish National Church, the, 188. Pope: authority of the, 6 (and see "Infallibility"); suprem- acy of, 6f., 49; temporal power of, 12, i78flf. and fn. Popes, heretical, 284, 285. Power, relative, 243, 244. 312 Index Prayers: to Mary, 292-294; to saints, 158, 292. Presbyterians, 176, 193-196. Priest, the, 1 18-120, 272, 273. Priesthood: the, 4f.; of all be- lievers, 117, 170. Private judgment, 141-143, 145. Property, relative possession, 241, 242. Protest, the, 57. " Protestant," the term, 57. Public schools, 182, 183. Punishment: eternal, 91 fn., 164; temporal, 91 fn., 163. Purgatory, 91, 95 fn., 156, 163, 164-167, 286. Puritans, 37. Quakers, 207. R Reformation, the: in England, 34-37; in France, 29-31; in Germany, 14-24; in the Neth- erlands, 32, 33; in Scotland, 33; in Switzerland, 26-29. Reformation, the Catholic, 45- 47; the Italian, 46; the Span- ish, 45, 46. Reformed bodies, the, 192-196. Reformed Catholic Church, the, 188. Relics, 168. Religious liberty, 174-177, 198, 199, 220, 223, 246, 254, 294- 298, 299. Renaissance, the, 9. Repentance, 92, 266. Restricted Communion, 191 f., 194, 201. " Rock," the, 32, 133, 277, 283. Sacraments: definitions, 82 (and see separate names, " Bap- tism," " Confirmation," " Eu- charist," " Extreme unction," " Marriage," " Order," " Pen- ance ") ; number of, 83, 84. Saint Bartholomew's Day, 31. Saints: canonization of, 156; veneration and worship of, 11, 156-161. Salvation Army, 212. Satisfactions, 90, 94. Savonarola, 9, 46. Schism: in the church, 149, i87f., 271; the Great, 130, 138. Schools: free and public, 182, 183; Protestant, 242, 243. Science, 246. Scriptures: authority of, 125, 141-143; canon of, 49, 50, 286, 287; lay use of, i26f., ^42, 143, 274-276; Romanist, 286, 287 (and see also " Douai ") ; sub- ordination of, to the teaching ofiice, 124-126. Separation of the Church and State, 41, 42, 59, 176, 177, 179, 183, 200. Septuagint, the, 50 and fn. Servetus, 51. Sigismund, Emperor, 19. Socialistic tendencies, 10. Social service, 232, 234, 253. Sole channel of grace, 146-152, 164, 171, 289. Spiritualists, 188. Staupitz, John, 15. Stephen IX, Pope, 138. Student Volunteer Movement, 229. Succession: apostolic, 103, iiof., inf., 149; papal, 112-114, 132- 136, 139. Index 313 Sunday School Association, 225. Supererogation, 71-73. Superstition, 11, 16, 70, 71, 15s, 158, 162, 166, 167, 168. Swedenborgians, 214. Universalists, 213. Urban VIII, Pope, 285. Temporal power of the Pope, 12, i78ff. and fn. Temporal punishment, 91 fn., 163. Ten Commandments, 162. Tertullian, 159, 281. Tetzel, 16. Theosophists, 188. Theses, ninety-five, of Martin Luther, 17. Torquemada, 51. Tradition, 4, 50, 127-129. Transubstantiation, 95-98. U Unchangeability, 252, 276-279. Union Church, the, 231, 232. Union, organic, 203, 204, 221- 224, 229, 230. Unitarianisra, 213, 214, 239. United Brethren in Christ, the, 211. Unity: definition of Protestant, 117, 224; growing conscious- ness of Protestant, 23of.; Protestant, in education, 22$i., 22g{.; in evangelism, 230, 231; in missions, 226-230; in re- form, 232f., in small com- munities, 231, 232; in social service, 232; Romanist, 270- 272. Vedanta Society, 188. Veneration of saints, 156-159. Vigilius, Pope, 284. Visible Church, the, 109. Vows, Monastic, 73, 153, 155. Vulgate Version, 50, 286, 288. W Wesley, John, 207. William of Orange, 32f. Williams, Roger, i76f., 199. Wittenberg: Church at, 17; Uni- versity of, 15. Works, meritorious, 68-77. World Conference on Faith and Order, the, 221 fn. Worms, Diet of, 19, 21. Worship: Romanist and Protes- tant compared, 169-171; early Christian, 3; of saints, 156- 161. Wyclif, John, 17, 33, 34. X Ximenes, Cardinal, 46. Zwingli, Huldreich (Ulrich), 26, 27, 37. 42, 43, 259- Date Due ; r' -' -^ •■;%?- 1 ^ i ncelon Theological Semmary-Speer Library 1 1012 01011 2326