Fathers of The Catholic Church. by E.J.Waggoner
Fathers of The Catholic Church. by E.J.Waggoner
Fathers of The Catholic Church. by E.J.Waggoner
FATHERS
OF THE
CATHOLIC
CHURCH.
_________
_________
BY E. J. WAGGONER.
_________
“To the law and to the testimony;
If they speak not according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them” Isa. 8:20.
_________
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING COMPANY,
OAKLAND, CAL.,
SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK.
1888.
www.maranathamedia.com
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________________________________________________
PREFACE.
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
IRENAEUS. .............................................................. 125-145
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
TERTULLIAN............................................................ 184-216
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE GREAT APOSTASY (Continued).—Sun-Worship and
Sunday.......................................................... 304-328
CHAPTER XVIII.
APPENDIX.
C H A P T E R I.
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cureans and the Stoics allowed and defended patosraotia
B"4*gD"FJ\" [sodomy] and incest, numbering these horrid crimes
among the aoiaphora *4Vn@D", things indifferent.”—Comment on
Rom. 1:32.
This was the state of morals, not alone of the lower,
uneducated classes, but of the philosophers,—those who
instructed the youth in “virtue.” That the apostle uses the
term, “without understanding,” with respect to the morals,
and not the intellect, will be readily seen from the
following quotations:—
“From the ignorance and uncertainty, which (we have seen)
prevailed among some of the greatest teachers of antiquity, concerning
those fundamental truths which are the greatest barriers of virtue and
religion, it is evident that the heathens had no perfect scheme of moral
rules for piety and good manners. . . . They accounted revenge to be not
only lawful, but commendable. Pride and the love of popular applause
(the subduing of which is the first principle of true virtue) were
esteemed the best and greatest incentives to virtue and noble actions;
suicide was regarded as the strongest mark of heroism, and the
perpetrators of it, instead of being branded with infamy, were
commended and celebrated as men of noble minds. But the interior acts
of the soul,—the adultery of the eye and the murder of the heart,—were
little regarded. On the contrary, the philosophers countenanced, both by
arguments and example, the most flagitious practices. Thus theft, as is
well known, was permitted in Egypt and in Sparta; Plato taught the
expediency and lawfulness of exposing children in particular cases; and
Aristotle, also, of abortion. The exposure of infants, and the putting to
death of children who were weak or imperfect in form, was allowed at
Sparta by Lycurgus; at Athens, the great seat and nursery of
philosophers, the women were treated and disposed of as slaves, and it
was enacted that ‘infants, which appeared to be maimed, should either
be killed or exposed;’ and [15] that ‘the Athenians might lawfully
invade and enslave any people, who, in their opinion, were fit to be
made slaves.’ The infamous traffic in human blood was permitted to its
utmost extent; and, on certain occasions, the owners of slaves had full
permission to kill them. . . . Customary swearing was commended, if
not by the precepts, yet by the example of the best moralists among the
heathen philosophers, particularly Socrates, Plato, Seneca, and the
Emperor Julian. . . . The gratification of the sensual appetites, and of
the most unnatural lusts, was openly taught and allowed. Aristippus
maintained that it was lawful for a wise man to steal, commit adultery,
and sacrilege, when opportunity offered; for that none of these actions
were naturally evil, setting aside the vulgar opinion, which was
introduced by silly and illiterate people; and that a wise man might
publicly gratify his libidinous propensities.”
“Truth was but of small account among many, even of the best
heathens; for they taught that on many occasions, a lie was to be
preferred to the truth itself! To which we may add, that the unlimited
gratification of their sensual appetites, and the commission of unnatural
crimes, was common even among the most distinguished teachers of
philosophy, and was practiced even by Socrates himself. . . . ‘The most
notorious vices,’ says Quinctilian, speaking of the philosophers of his
time, ‘are screened under that name; and they do not labor to maintain
the character of philosophers by virtue and study, but conceal the most
vicious lives under an austere look and singularity of dress.’”—Horne's
Introduction, vol. 1, chap. 1.
In confirmation of the statement that the philosophers
encouraged lying, Dr. Whitby collected many maxims of
the most eminent heathen sages, from which Dr. Horne
quotes the following:—
“A lie is better than a hurtful truth.”—Menander.
“Good is better than truth.”—Proclus.
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C H A P T E R II.
HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY.
CHAPTER III.
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CHAPTER IV.
THE FATHERS.
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[64]
[70]
[71]
CHAPTER V.
[77]
CHAPTER VI.
[89]
CHAPTER VII.
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[107]
[108]
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“May I enjoy the wild beasts that are prepared for me;
and I pray they may be found eager to rush upon me, which
also I will entice to devour me speedily, and not deal with
me as with some, whom, out of fear, they have not touched.
But if they be unwilling to assail me, I will compel them to
do so. Pardon me (in this): I know what is for my benefit.
Now I begin to be a disciple.”—Epistle to the Romans,
chap. 4, 5.
There are many passages similar to the above. They
prove, what we shall later on find from the most
unexceptionable testimony is the case, that the idea very
early began to prevail that a martyr was more sure of
gaining Heaven than one who simply lived a good life, and
died a natural death. The idea was that whatever sins the
individual had upon him were washed away by the
shedding of his own blood. As a consequence many
fanatical people eagerly sought martyrdom, and it came to
be considered as almost a mortal sin to flee in time of
persecution. The idea that the martyrs were cleansed from
sin by their own blood finds its modern counterpart in the
famous “blood atonement” among the Mormons. It is
unnecessary to do more than remind the reader of the
limited views of the atonement of Christ, which must have
been held by such people.
That the “Epistles of Ignatius” were written by someone
who was anxious that the bishops should have a chance to
lord it over God’s heritage, is evident from the following
extracts:—
“Wherefore it is fitting that ye should run together in
accordance with the will of your bishop, which things also
ye do.”
“Let us be careful, then, not to set ourselves in
opposition to the bishop, in order that we may be subject to
God.”
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CHAPTER VIII.
0115
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corresponding to it, nor anything to indicate that it,
rather than some other word, should be supplied. Why,
then, was the word “day” inserted by the translators? We
leave them to answer.
120 paragraph 1 It will be asked, “If you throw out
the term ‘Lord’s day,’ what word or words should be
supplied to make the sense complete?” Read the passage
once more carefully, and you will see. Of what does it
treat? Of the Lord’s Supper, and that alone. The Greek
word for “table” agrees with the adjective kuriaken, and if
supplied makes better sense than does the word “day.” For
while there is reason in saying that those who are at
variance should not approach the Lord’s table until they
become reconciled, there is none in saying that such should
not observe a certain day, or meet together on it.
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122 paragraph 2 “If thou art able to bear all the yoke
of the Lord, thou wilt be perfect; but if thou art not able,
what thou art able that do.”
122 paragraph 3 Which strongly reminds us of the
Quaker’s reputed counsel to his son. Said he: “John, thee
must be honest; but if thee cannot be honest, be as honest
as thee can.”
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CHAPTER IX.
IRENAEUS.
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remembered that they had heard from him how the Lord
taught in regard to those times, and said: ‘The days will
come in which vines shall grow, having each ten thousand
branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in
each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in every one of the
shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the
clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed
will give five-and-twenty metretes of wine. And when any
one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall
cry out, “I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord
through me.” In like manner, (he said) that a grain of wheat
would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear would
have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten
pounds of clear, pure, fine flour.’”—Fragment 4.
127 paragraph 1 It would perhaps be unjust to call
Papias a phenomenal liar, but we can safely say that he
gave unbounded license to his imagination, and took great
liberties with the truth. Such was the character of the man
who assisted to prepare Irenaeus for his position as a Father
of the church. That Irenaeus was a worthy pupil of such a
master, is indicated by the following:—
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traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone (in this), for
there were many still remaining who had received
instructions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement,
no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at
Corinth, the church in Rome dispatched a most powerful
letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing
their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately
received from the apostles, proclaiming the one God,
omnipotent, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of
man, who brought on the deluge, and called Abraham, who
led the people from the land of Egypt, spake with Moses,
set forth the law, sent the prophets, and who has prepared
fire for the devil and his angels. From this document,
whosoever chooses to do so, may learn that he, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, was preached by the churches,
and may also understand the apostolical tradition of the
church, since this epistle is of older date than these men
who are now propagating falsehood, and who conjure into
existence another God beyond the Creator and the Maker of
all existing things. To this Clement there succeeded
Evaristus. Alexander followed Evaristus; then, sixth from
the apostles, Sixtus was appointed; after him, Telephorus,
who was gloriously martyred; then Hyginus; after him,
Pius; then after him, Anicetus. Soter having succeeded
Anicetus, Eleutherius does now, in the twelfth place from
the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate. In this
order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition
from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come
down to us. And this is most abundant proof that there is
one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved
in the church from the apostles until now, and handed down
in truth.”—Id., book 3, chap. 3, paragraphs 2, 3.
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138 paragraph 4 “It was for this reason, too, that the
Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth,
preaching his advent there also, and (declaring) the
remission of sins received by those who believe in him.”—
Id., chap. 27, paragraph 2.
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139 paragraph 1 “If, then, the Lord observed the law
of the dead, that he might become the first-begotten from
the dead, and tarried until the third day ‘in the lower parts
of the earth;’ then afterwards rising in the flesh, so that he
even showed the print of the nails to his disciples, he thus
ascended to the Father;—(if all these things occurred, I
say), how must these men not be put to confusion, who
allege that ‘the lower parts’ refer to this world of ours, but
that their inner man, leaving the body here, ascends into the
super-celestial place? For as the Lord ‘went away in the
midst of the shadow of death,’ where the souls of the dead
were, yet afterwards arose in the body, and after the
resurrection was taken up (into Heaven), it is manifest that
the souls of his disciples also, upon whose account the Lord
underwent these things, shall go away into the invisible
place allotted to them by God, and there remain until the
resurrection, awaiting that event; then receiving their
bodies, and rising in their entirety, that is bodily, just as the
Lord arose, they shall come thus into the presence of God.
‘For no disciple is above the Master, but everyone that is
perfect shall be as his Master.’ As our Master, therefore,
did not at once depart, taking flight (to Heaven), but
awaited the time of his resurrection prescribed by the
Father, which had been also shown forth through Jonas,
and rising again after three days was taken up (to Heaven),
so ought we also to await the time of our resurrection
prescribed by God and foretold by the prophets, and so,
rising, be taken up, as many as the Lord shall account
worthy of this (privilege).”—Id., book 5, chap. 31,
paragraph 2.
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142 paragraph 1 And Bishop Coxe also adds a note to
the statement that Jesus did not lack much of being fifty
years old when the conversation occurred which is recorded
in the eighth chapter of John. He says:—
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143 paragraph 1 The bishop truly says that nothing
can be made of these words. And the words “sura usser”
betray not much more ignorance on the part of the writer
than does his attempt to handle the Hebrew. Such ignorance
and pedantry on the part of a modern writer would make
him the laughing stock of all who should take the trouble to
read his writings. But Irenaeus is a “Father of the church,”
and so, forsooth, his senseless jargon must be looked upon
with reverence and awe.
143 paragraph 2 It appears, moreover, that Irenaeus
was almost as ignorant of Greek as he was of Hebrew,
although he wrote in Greek. That is, he was an ignorant
scribbler who made great pretensions to knowledge. In
book 2, chapter 35, paragraph 3 of his work “Against
Heresies,” he says:—
143 paragraph 3 “In like manner also, Sabaoth, when
it is spelled by a Greek Omega in the last syllable
(Sabaoth), denotes ‘a voluntary agent;’ but when it is
spelled with a Greek Omicron—as, for instance, Sabaoth—
it expresses ‘the first heaven.’ In the same way, too, the
word Jaoth, when the last syllable is made long and
aspirated, denotes ‘a predetermined measure;’ but when it
is written shortly by the Greek letter Omicron, namely,
Jaoth, it signifies ‘one who puts evils to flight.’”
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by wisdom knew not God.” Those men were so imbued
with the spirit of heathen philosophy, which consisted
simply in a show of learning, to mystify and awe the
simple-minded, that they could not come down to the plain,
common-sense teaching of the Bible. Lot’s drinking wine
must needs be made a type of Christ; the children begotten
by incestuous intercourse with his daughters is taken as a
type of the church proceeding from God; and with the usual
disregard of consistency, the pillar of salt, into which Lot’s
wife was turned, is made to represent the church which
preserves the world, although that did not preserve
anything. And that is a sample of the stuff that was written
against heresies. Such childish trifling with the sacred text
is well adapted to produce heresy and infidelity, and
nothing else. And therefore the same verdict will have to be
pronounced upon Irenaeus as upon the other so-called
Fathers. His intentions may have been good, but whatever
influence his work has had, has been blighting to pure
Christianity and to reverence for “the sincere milk of the
word.” No wonder he is an honored Father in the Catholic
Church.
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CHAPTER X.
JUSTIN MARTYR.
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convenience merely, but it signified that he was a
philosopher still, but with a new idea. It signified that he
could discern no incompatibility between Christianity and
pagan philosophy. This conclusion is sustained by Dr.
Killen, who says:—
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given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by
the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give
what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with
the president, who succors the orphans and widows, and
those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in
want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers
sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who
are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our
common assembly, because it is the first day on which
God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter,
made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same
day rose from the dead. For he was crucified on the day
before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that
of Saturn, which is the day of the sun, having appeared to
his apostles and disciples, he taught them these things,
which we have submitted to you also for your
consideration.”—First Apology, chap. 67.
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them during the whole day, so that they might not hang
down when he got wearied. For if he gave up any part of
this sign, which was an imitation of the cross, the people
were beaten, as is recorded in the writings of Moses; but if
he remained in this form, Amalek was proportionally
defeated, and he who prevailed prevailed by the cross. For
it was not because Moses so prayed that the people were
stronger, but because, while one who bore the name of
Jesus (Joshua) was in the forefront of the battle, he himself
made the sign of the cross. For who of you knows not that
the prayer of one who accompanies it with lamentation and
tears, with the body prostrate, or with bended knees,
propitiates God most of all? But in such a manner neither
he nor any other one, while sitting on a stone, prayed. Nor
even the stone symbolized Christ, as I have shown.’”—
Dialogue with Trypho, chap. 90.
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another,’ is indicative of what is now the fact among all
the nations. For some out of all the nations, through the
power of this mystery, having been so pushed, that is,
pricked in their hearts, have turned from vain idols and
demons to serve God. But the same figure is revealed for
the destruction and condemnation of the unbelievers; even
as Amalek was defeated and Israel victorious when the
people came out of Egypt, by means of the type of the
stretching out of Moses’s hands, and the name of Jesus
(Joshua), by which the son of Nave (Nun) was called.”—
Id., chap. 91.
158 paragraph 1 The reader is requested to give
special attention to the first part of the above, which
purports to be an exposition of the blessing which Moses
pronounced upon Joseph. (See Duet. 33:17.) No matter
what the prophecy, Justin could see nothing more in it than
some likeness to the form of the material cross. Of the
power of the cross as standing for the atoning sacrifice of
Christ, he seems to have had little if any conception; the
material cross was everything to him, taking the place of
the charms and images of his old heathen days.
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sons of the prophets had gone to cut down trees to build
the house in which they wished to read and study the law
and commandments of God; even as our Christ, by being
crucified on the tree, and by purifying (us) with water, has
redeemed us, though plunged in the direct offenses which
we have committed, and has made (us) a house of prayer
and adoration. Moreover, it was a rod that pointed out
Judah to be the father of Tamar’s sons by a great
mystery.’”—Id., chap. 86.
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human souls, and those who are called among the magi,
Dream-senders and Assistant-spirits (Familiars), and all
that is done by those who are skilled in such matters— let
these persuade you that even after death souls are in a state
of sensation; and those who are seized and cast about by
the spirits of the dead, whom all call demoniacs or
madmen; and what you repute as oracles, both of
Amphilochus, Dodona, Pytho, and as many other such as
exist; and the opinions of your authors, Empedocles and
Pythagoras, Plato and Socrates, and the pit of Homer, and
the descent of Ulysses to inspect these things, and all that
has been uttered of a like kind.”— Id., chap. 18.
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CHAPTER XI
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.
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166 paragraph 1 It was this lack of perception in the
so-called Christian Fathers that filled the church with pagan
ideas, and resulted in the great apostasy. No matter how
honest Clement’s intentions may have been, his pagan
notions certainly made him most unfit to be a teacher in the
Christian church.
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introduce our readers to Clement himself, as he appears
in his own writings.
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and a day of work, and that the real seventh day may be
the sixth, and the true Sabbath, as it really is. That is what
his words mean, if they mean anything, which we greatly
doubt. If anyone, however, thinks that a different meaning
should be attached to these words, we shall not dispute with
him, for it is one of those passages so characteristic of the
Fathers, to which each individual may attach his own
meaning, and all be equally correct.
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those that hear the divine power and voice. For who in
his senses can suppose the souls of the righteous and those
of sinners in the same condemnation, charging Providence
with injustice?
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180 paragraph 1 We have just one more “excellent
piece of knowledge” to present from the writings of
Clement. It is very long, but it is so good an example of the
“false science, and frivolous and fanciful speculation,” of
which the translator rightly says there is a “plenty”
throughout all Clement’s writings, that we give it. If it were
omitted, the reader could not form a correct idea of the
beauty and clearness of Clement’s style, and his value as a
Christian interpreter. It is chapter 11 of book 6 of the
“Stromata,” and is entitled, “The Mystical Meanings in the
Proportions of Numbers, Geometrical Ratios, and
Music:”—
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are the symbol of the Lord’s sign; and fifty, of hope and
of the remission given at Pentecost; and thirty, or as in
some, twelve, they say points out the preaching (of the
gospel); because the Lord preached in his thirtieth year; and
the apostles were twelve. And the structure’s terminating in
a cubit is the symbol of the advancement of the righteous to
oneness and to ‘the unity of the faith.’
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CHAPTER XII.
TERTULLIAN.
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which resulted in “that man of sin, the son of
perdition,”—the antichristian papacy. But first we shall see
how he is regarded even by those who are willing to quote
from him in support of pet theories which cannot be
sustained by the Bible.
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is that he never strayed very far from the Roman
Catholic faith. There are still many Protestants with whom
such a recommendation would have little weight, except in
turning them against him.
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most eminent Fathers of the West, countenanced the
exposition; and though both these writers were lamentably
deficient in critical sagacity, men of inferior standing were
slow to impugn the verdict of such champions of the
faith.”—Ancient Church, period 2, sec. 1, chap. 5,
paragraph 19.
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though it could be proved that Sunday was observed in
Tertullian’s time, that would not connect the day with the
Bible, but only with the custom of a people only half
Christian at best.
195 paragraph 1 In his “Apology” (chap. 16), an
address written to the rulers and magistrates of the empire,
he says:—
195 paragraph 2 “Others, again, certainly with more
information and greater verisimilitude, believe that the sun
is our god. We shall be counted Persians perhaps, though
we do not worship the orb of day painted on a piece of
linen cloth, having himself everywhere in his own disk.
The idea no doubt has originated from our being known to
turn to the east in prayer. But you, many of you, also under
pretense sometimes of worshiping the heavenly bodies,
move your lips in the direction of the sunrise. In the same
way, if we devote Sun-day to rejoicing, from a far different
reason than Sun-worship, we have some resemblance to
those of you who devote the day of Saturn to ease and
luxury, though they too go far away from Jewish ways, of
which indeed they are ignorant.”
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the east.” Eze. 8:16. Yet Tertullian’s best excuse for this
custom is that it is no worse than what the heathen
themselves did.
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Sabbath-day, whereas in the Bible narrative it is plainly
stated that it was “neither new moon, nor Sabbath.” 2 Kings
4:23. As a general thing the Fathers were either ignorant of
the Scriptures, or else they deliberately falsified to suit their
own purposes.
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this point alone (to name no more, not to delay my own
course), that he suffered persecution at the hands of his
brethren, and was sold into Egypt, on account of the favor
of God; just as Christ was sold by Israel—(and therefore),
‘according to the flesh,’ by his ‘brethren’— when he is
betrayed by Judas. For Joseph is withal blessed by his
father after this form: ‘His glory (is that) of a bull; his
horns, the horns of an unicorn; on them shall he toss
nations alike unto the very extremity of the earth.’ Of
course no one-horned rhinoceros was there pointed to, nor
any two-horned minotaur. But Christ was therein signified:
‘bull,’ by reason of each of his two characters,—to some
fierce, as Judge; to others gentle, as Saviour; whose ‘horns’
were to be the extremities of the cross. For even in a ship’s
yard—which is part of a cross—this is the name by which
the extremities are called; while the central pole of the mast
is a ‘unicorn.’ By this power, in fact, of the cross, and in
this manner horned, he does now, on the one hand, ‘toss’
universal nations through faith, wafting them away from
earth to heaven; and will one day on the other ‘toss’ them
through judgment, casting them down from heaven to
earth.”—Answer to the Jews, chap. 10.
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206 paragraph 1 “Again, the mystery of this ‘tree’ we
read as being celebrated even in the Books of the Reigns.
For when the sons of the prophets were cutting ‘wood’ with
axes on the bank of the river Jordan, the iron flew off and
sank in the stream; and so, on Elisha the prophet’s coming
up, the sons of the prophets beg of him to extract from the
stream the iron which had sunk. And accordingly Elisha,
having taken ‘wood,’ and cast it into that place where the
iron had been submerged, forthwith it rose and swam on
the surface, and the ‘wood’ sank, which the sons of the
prophets recovered. Whence they understood that Elijah’s
spirit was presently conferred upon him. What is more
manifest than the mystery of this ‘wood,’—that the
obduracy of this world had been sunk in the profundity of
error, and is freed in baptism by the ‘wood’ of Christ, that
is, of his passion; in order that what had formerly perished
through the ‘tree’ in Adam, should be restored through the
‘tree’ in Christ? while we, of course, who have succeeded
to, and occupy, the room of the prophets, at the present day
sustain in the world that treatment which the prophets
always suffered on account of divine religion: for some
they stoned, some they banished; more, however, they
delivered to mortal slaughter,—a fact which they cannot
deny.
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209 paragraph 1 Such childish nonsense is seldom
seen under the heading of reason. No one but a Catholic
“theologian” could have been guilty of putting it forth in
sober earnest.
209 paragraph 2 Tertullian is celebrated for his
knowledge of “philosophy,” but the following extract
shows that his knowledge of natural science was fully in
keeping with his superstitious nature and his ignorance of
the real teaching of Scripture:—
209 paragraph 3 “Since, however, everything which is
very attenuated and transparent bears a strong resemblance
to the air, such would be the case with the soul, since in its
material nature it is wind and breath (or spirit); whence it is
that the belief of its corporal quality is endangered, in
consequence of the extreme tenuity and subtility of its
essence. Likewise, as regards the figure of the human soul
from your own conception, you can well imagine that it is
none other than the human form; indeed, none other than
the shape of that body which each individual soul animates
and moves about. This we may at once be induced to admit
from contemplating man’s original formation. For only
carefully consider, after God hath breathed upon the face of
man the breath of life, and man had consequently become a
living soul, surely that breath must have passed through the
face at once into the interior structure, and have spread
itself throughout all the spaces of the body; and as soon as
by the divine inspiration it had become condensed, it must
have impressed itself on each internal feature, which the
condensation had filled in, and so have been, as it were,
congealed in shape (or stereotyped). Hence, by this
densifying process, there arose a fixing of the soul’s
corporeity; and by the impression its figure was formed and
moulded. This is the inner man, different from the outer,
but yet one in the twofold condition. It, too, has eyes and
ears of its own, by means of which Paul must have heard
and seen the Lord; it has, moreover all the other members
of the body by the help of which
0210
0212
the spirit immediately supervenes from the heavens and
rests over the waters, sanctifying them from himself; and
being thus sanctified, they imbibe at the same time the
power of sanctifying.”
0213
when it will be seen that the first false idea prepared the
way for a second, and for a practice that, to say the least,
was not expedient.
0214
0216
0217
CHAPTER XIII.
ORIGEN.
0219
0220
0221
0223
0224
0225
0226
0227
laxity and ascetic extravagance. . . . Origen goes still
further, and propounds quite distinctly the Catholic doctrine
of works of supererogation, works not enjoined indeed in
the gospel, yet recommended, which were supposed to
establish a peculiar merit and secure a higher degree of
blessedness.”—History of Church, period 2, sec. 94.
0228
to that system of philosophy which he embraced. This
philosophy could not be reconciled with the Scriptures,
except by a resort to allegories; and therefore the Scriptures
must be interpreted allegorically, that they might not
contradict his philosophy.”
0229
and his tears are his bread day and night, and he is not
ashamed to declare his sin to the priest of the Lord, and
seek a cure.”—Antiquities, book 19, chap. 3.
229 paragraph 1 It passes all comprehension how, in
the face of all this testimony, which is perfectly familiar to
every scholar, Professor Worman can say, as he does in
McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia, “Origen may well
be pronounced one of the ablest and worthiest of the church
Fathers— indeed, one of the greatest moral prodigies of the
human race.” It is difficult to retain any respect whatever
for the judgment of a man who can indulge in such gush
over Origen. And the matter is so much the worse because,
in the very same article in which the above language
occurs, Professor Worman brings the identical charges
against Origen, which are made in the quotations from
Mosheim, Farrar, and Schaff. Such lavish and unmerited
praise is an indication that Origen’s influence is by no
means dead, and that the reviving interest in his writings,
and in patristic literature in general, augurs ill for the future
condition of the Christian church. Origen’s writings were
largely instrumental in bringing about the great apostasy
which resulted in the establishment of the papacy; and if
they are taken as the guide of the theologian to-day, they
must necessarily result in another similar apostasy. The
Reformation was a protest against the speculative dogmas
of the schoolmen, and a movement toward relying on the
Bible as the only guide in matters of faith and practice; and
just in proportion as the Fathers are esteemed, the Bible
will be neglected, and the work of the Reformation undone.
229 paragraph 2 Like all the so-called Christian
Fathers, Origen was so intensely “liberal” that he could
without scruple
0230
0231
0232
although unable to unfold methodically and clearly the
results of their spiritual understanding, are nevertheless
most firmly persuaded that neither ought circumcision to be
understood literally, nor the rest of the Sabbath, nor the
pouring out of the blood of an animal, nor that answers
were given by God to Moses on these points.”—De
Principiis, book 2, chap. 7.
0233
0234
0235
0236
0238
0239
0240
this life will remain in some place situated on the earth,
which holy Scripture calls paradise, as in some place of
instruction, and, so to speak, class-room or school of souls,
in which they are to be instructed regarding all the things
which-they had seen on earth, and are to receive also some
information respecting things that are to follow in the
future, as even when in this life they had obtained in some
degree indications of future events, although ‘through a
glass darkly,’ all of which are revealed more clearly and
distinctly to the saints in their proper time and place. If
anyone indeed be pure in heart, and holy in mind, and more
practiced in perception, he will, by making more rapid
progress, quickly ascend to a place in the air, and reach the
kingdom of Heaven, through those mansions, so to speak,
in the various places which the Greeks have termed
spheres, i. e., globes, but which holy Scripture has called
heavens; in each of which he will first see clearly what is
done there, and in the second place, will discover the
reason why things are so done: and thus he will in order
pass through all gradations, following Him who hath
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, who said, ‘I
will that where I am, these may be also.’”—Id., book 2,
chap. 11, sec. 6.
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0242
CHAPTER XIV.
0244
faith,’ and of the martyr, by his sufferings, ‘washing
away his own iniquities.’ We are told that by baptism ‘we
are cleansed from all our sins,’ and ‘regain that Spirit of
God which Adam received at his creation and lost by his
transgression.’ ‘The pertinacious wickedness of the devil,’
says Cyprian, ‘has power up to the saving water, but in
baptism he loses all the poison of his wickedness.’ The
same writer insists upon the necessity of penance, a species
of discipline unknown to the apostolic church, and
denounces, with terrible severity, those who discouraged its
performance. ‘By the deceitfulness of their lies,’ says he,
they interfere, ‘that satisfaction be not given to God in his
anger. . . . All pains are taken that sins be not expiated by
due satisfactions and lamentations, that wounds be not
washed clean by tears.’ It may be said that some of these
expressions are rhetorical, and that those by whom they
were employed did not mean to deny the all-sufficiency of
the great sacrifice; but had these Fathers clearly
apprehended the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ,
they would have recoiled from the use of language so
exceedingly objectionable.”—Ancient Church, period 2,
sec. 2, chap. 5, paragraph 17.
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0247
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0252
0253
0255
0256
0257
0258
0259
0260
anointing the party before the consecration of the water,
says, The bishop begins the unction by thrice signing him
with the sign of the cross, and then commits him to the
priests to be anointed all over the body, whilst he goes and
consecrates the water in the font.”—Id., chap. 9.
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0262
0263
0264
0266
0268
0269
CHAPTER XV.
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0272
0274
when the church became paganized, she assumed a form
of Spiritualism; for purgatory, prayers to and for the dead,
and the worship of martyrs, are nothing else. This doctrine
remains in the Catholic Church to-day; but Protestant
denominations have generally repudiated it. Why this
ancient dogma of “the church” should be rejected, while
others no more ancient, and resting on no better authority,
are accepted, we cannot determine. There are some things
for which not even “a reasonable creature” can give a
reason. But it would seem from the following that in the
matter of purgatory, a part, at least, of the ancient church
was even more Catholic than Catholicism itself:—
0275
0276
0277
bishops allowed the members of their flocks to emulate
in their feasts all the profligacy of the heathen; we are
therefore now prepared to believe that no bounds were set
to the corruption that was then overwhelming the church.
We introduce the testimony by the following mild
statement of the case by Killen:—
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0280
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0282
0284
0285
0286
CHAPTER XVI.
THE GREAT APOSTASY (CONTINUED).
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0290
0291
__________________________
*”Confessors” were those who had confessed Christ
before the magistrate, but who for some reason had escaped
being put to death.
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0293
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0296
0297
0298
298 paragraph 1 “Other authors are more particular in
describing the religious service of this day; and so far as
concerns public worship, they make it in all things
conformable to that of the Lord’s day; which is a further
evidence of its being a festival.”—Id., book 20, chap. 3.
0299
0301
0302
0303
0304
CHAPTER XVII.
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0307
0308
the sun, and was worshiped by lascivious rites, Moloch
was the emblem of the destructive heat of the sun, and so
human sacrifices were offered to him. The prohibitions laid
upon the Israelites, against making their children pass
through the fire, were simply injunctions against this cruel
form of sun-worship.
0309
0311
0314
the Romans, and how it affected the Christian church. If
we multiply evidence on any point, it is simply that it may
not be considered as one-sided.
0317
0319
0321
0322
0325
0327
0328
0329
CHAPTER XVIII.
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0334
0335
0336
0337
0338
0339
0340
0342
point out the fact that the union of Church and State was
responsible for this condition of things. As corroborating
the conclusion first stated in this paragraph, we quote the
following:—
342 paragraph 1 “It was supposed, that the error of
the heretics could proceed only from the obstinate temper
of their minds; and that such a temper was a fit object of
censure and punishment. The anathemas of the church were
fortified by a sort of civil excommunication; which
separated them from their fellow-citizens, by a peculiar
brand of infamy; and this declaration of the supreme
magistrate tended to justify, or at least to excuse, the insults
of a fanatic populace. The sectaries were gradually
disqualified for the possession of honorable or lucrative
employments; and Theodosius was satisfied with his own
justice, when he decreed, that, as the Eunomians
distinguished the nature of the Son from that of the Father,
they should be incapable of making their wills, or of
receiving any advantage from testamentary donations. The
guilt of the Manichaean heresy was esteemed of such
magnitude, that it could be expiated only by the death of
the offender; and the same capital punishment was inflicted
on the Audians, or Quartodecimans, who should dare to
perpetrate the atrocious crime of celebrating on an
improper day the festival of Easter. Every Roman might
exercise the right of public accusation; but the office of
Inquisitors of the Faith, a name so deservedly abhorred,
was first instituted under the reign of Theodosius.”—
Decline and Fall, chap. 27, paragraph 10.
342 paragraph 2 And in behalf of the conclusion in
regard to Church and State the following is quoted:—
0343
0344
344 paragraph 1 “Victor Constantine Maximus
Augustus, to the bishops and people.—Since Arius has
imitated wicked and impious persons, it is just that he
should undergo the like ignominy. Wherefore as Porphyry,
that enemy of piety, for having composed licentious
treatises against religion, found a suitable recompense, and
such as thenceforth branded him with infamy,
overwhelming him with deserved reproach, his impious
writings also having been destroyed; so now it seems fit
both that Arius and such as hold his sentiments should be
denominated Porphyrians, that they may take their
appellation from those whose conduct they have imitated.
And in addition to this, if any treatise composed by Arius
should be discovered, let it be consigned to the flames, in
order that not only his depraved doctrine may be
suppressed, but also that no memorial of him may be by
any means left. This therefore I decree, that if anyone shall
be detected in concealing a book compiled by Arius, and
shall not instantly bring it forward and burn it, the penalty
for this offense shall be death; for immediately after
conviction the criminal shall suffer capital punishment.
May God preserve you!”
0345
power; “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that
leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matt.
7:13, 14. True Christianity did not invoke the aid of
temporal power, but made its conquests by the aid alone of
the Spirit, and by its sword, which is the word of God.
Therefore those who wish to walk in the strait and narrow
way marked out by the great Founder of Christianity, will
not go for guidance to the customs of that vast assemblage
of heathen Christians which is called the “church,” but to
the word of God, “which liveth and abideth forever.”
0347
APPENDIX.
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0349
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0351
0353
0354
country” had returned and told the eleven that Jesus was
risen, but their story was not believed Mark 16:12, 13.
Moreover, when Jesus himself appeared unto them, they
were sitting at meat, and he “upbraided them with their
unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not
them which had seen him after he was risen.” Mark 16:14.
They could not have celebrated his resurrection, when they
did not believe that he had risen. A comparison of Acts
1:13 with Mark 16:14, and Luke 24:36-43, is sufficient to
show that when Jesus met with his disciples on the evening
of the day of his resurrection, they were simply eating their
supper at home, and did not believe that he had risen.
0355
week. We note first that it was in the night, for “there
were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were
gathered together” (verse 8); and Paul preached until
midnight (verse 7), and then, after a brief intermission, until
break of day, when he departed. Verse 11. But every day,
according to the Bible method of reckoning time, ends at
the setting of the sun. (See Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; Lev.
23:32; Mark 1:32.) Therefore, since this meeting at Troas
was in the dark part of the first day of the week, it could not
have been at the close of that day, but must have been at the
beginning, corresponding to what is popularly designated
as “Saturday night.”
0357
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.
0359
359 paragraph 1 John Karl Ludwig Gieseler was born
at Petershagen near Minden, Prussia, March 3, 1793; he
died at Gottingen, July 8, 1854. He was appointed director
of the gymnasium of Cleve, in 1818, and professor of
theology in Bonn University, in 1819. In 1831 he accepted
a call to the University of Gottingen, where he spent the
remainder of his life. His reputation rests chiefly on his
“Church History.” The “Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia” says
that this work is in its kind “one of the most remarkable
productions of German learning, distinguished by its
immense erudition, accuracy, and careful selection of
passages.” And “McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia”
declares it to be “beyond question, the most learned,
faithful, and impartial compendium of church history that
has ever appeared.”
0360
0361
0362
0364
APPENDIX B.
BAPTISM IN THE EARLY CHURCH.
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0366
some of them evidently intended to represent the
baptism of Christ. The author has inserted these pictures in
order to counteract as much as possible the testimony
which truth compelled him to give concerning baptism; for
in none of them is the candidate represented as being
immersed. In some of them, the candidate is represented as
just coming out of the water, so that it is impossible to tell
whether the rite that had evidently just been performed was
immersion or pouring. In others, however, the administrator
is represented as laying his hand on the candidate’s head, or
e’se pouring water upon it from a vessel. From these cuts
the author finds authority enough to warrant the
substitution of sprinkling or pouring for immersion. This is
what might be termed pictorial theology.
367 paragraph 2
TEXT. PAGE.
GENESIS.
6:2 17
8:21 42
2:1-3 350
1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 355
EXODUS.
20:8-11 347, 348, 349
19:12, 23 351
LEVITICUS.
23:32 355
DEUTERONOMY.
18:10 50
33:17 158
22:5 311
JOSHUA.
20:7 351
1 KINGS.
12:26-31 313
2 KINGS.
4:23 200
10:29 313
21:1-7 313
23:4-14 313
PSALMS.
14:1 10
19:1 10
119:105 56
116:10 234
111:7, 8 352
ECCLESIASTES.
10:1 68
ISAIAH.
8:20 52
JEREMIAH.
17:9 42
10:3 251
EZEKIEL.
14:14 153
8:16 195, 305
8:6 304
JOEL.
1:14 351
MATTHEW.
15:19, 20 42
7:21-23 54
13:47 54
18:17 54
23:10 55
28:19, 20 57
28:1 352
MARK.
16:1 348
16:1, 2 352
16:9 353
16:12, 13, 14 354
1:32 355
LUKE.
9:51-56 47
24:1 348, 353
23:54-56 348
16:17 352
24:36-43 354
JOHN.
3:5 53
15:4, 5 53
20:1 353
20:19 353
ACTS.
14:17 10
17:21 37
15:36-41 47
20:28-30 48
19:24 156
1:13 354
20:7 354
20:7, 8, 11 355
ROMANS.
1:21 9
1:19 10
1:22-32 10, 28
1:18-32 11
1:29-31 13
1:22-24 36
8:7 42
8:9 53
16:14 84
0370
1 CORINTHIANS.
5:1, 2 26
1:11-13 49
5:1, 2 49
6:6-8 49
11:17-22 49
12:12, 13 53
12:13 255
16:2 356
2 CORINTHIANS.
4:5 57
4:13 234
9:5 356
GALATIANS.
5:10-21 42, 43
2:11-14 47
4:8-11 50
3:27 53
1:8 57
6:11 105
EPHESIANS.
5:12 12
2:1-3 42
1:20-23 52
4:30 53
COLOSSIANS.
2:8 41
1:18 52
2 THESSALONIANS.
2:3-7 49
2:1-3 104
2:5 104
3:17, 18 105
2:3, 4, 7, 8 242
2:4 337
2 TIMOTHY.
2:16-18 50
HEBREWS.
10:29 53
2 PETER.
1:1-3 48
1 JOHN.
2:6 53
2 JOHN.
7 50
3 JOHN.
9, 10 51
JUDE.
4, 10 51
16 52
6 239
REVELATION.
17:5 124
0371
INDEX OF AUTHORS QUOTED.
371 paragraph 1
INDEX.
Page