Organized Christianity. Is it of man or of God?

CONTENTS.

PAGE

I. The Peimitive and Apostolic Chuech .... 1

II. The Post-Apostolic and Medieval Chuech . 15

III. The Koman Catholic Chuech ....... 24

IV. The Chueches of the Refoemation 29

V. Eemonstbance and Reply 49

VI. The Bible and the Ministey 58

VII. The Peeachbb of the Gospel 76

VIII. The Ministey of the Chuech 92

IX. Peactical Consideeations 115

X. Intellectual Enlaegement 133

XI. Moeal Development 152

XII. Conclusion 176

OEGANIZED CHRISTIANITY.

CHAPTEE I.

THE PRIMITIVE AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH.

M. Guizot, in his able lectures on the " History of Civi-
lization in Europe/' remarks : "In the very earliest
period, the Christian society presents itself as a simple
association of a common creed and common sentiments ;
the first Christians united to enjoy together the same
emotions and the same religious convictions. We find
among them no system of determinate doctrines, no
rules, no discipline, no * body of magistrates."

This statement, although essentially true, probably needs
a little modification. M. Guizot indeed supplies it, when
he observes, a little further on, that " no society, however
newly born, however weakly constituted it may be, exists
without a moral power which animates and directs it. In
the various Christian congregations there were men who
preached, taught, and morally governed the congregation;
but there was no formal magistrate, no recognized disci-
pline: a simple association, caused by a community of
creeds and sentiments, was the primitive condition of the
Christian society."

We shall probably come as near to the exact truth as we
can if we say that these early communities were organized
and governed just to the extent that was absolutely essen-
tial to their existence as societies, hut no further.