86

MORAL WORKERS ACCURSED.

spiritual doing, which he hath not that seeketh righteousness by works. Therefore every doer of the law and every moral worker is accursed; for he walketh in the presumption of his own righteousness against God."*

This doctrine appears, without its Lutheran intensity, yet substantially the same, in the text-book of early Protestantism, the Augsburg Confession. We read there; "works cannot reconcile us to God, or merit remission of sins, grace and justi fication, but we obtain this by faith only." It is added: “Ou divines teach that it is necessary to do good works, not that we may trust by them to merit grace, but in obedience to the will of God." And alluding to the accusations falsely brought against them" of prohibiting good works," they declare that they have "wholesomely taught all the modes and duties of life, what ways of life, what works in any calling, are pleasing to God;" while their adversaries "urged puerile and unnecessary works, such as certain holy days, certain fasts, fraternities, pilgrimages, worship of saints, rosaries, monasticism and the like.” †

* In the English version which I have followed, the words I have italicized are not very strictly rendered; the original being even stronger than the translation, thus: "Ideo maledictus est omnis Legis operator, et moralis Sanctus : " literally "moral Saint." Luther might have been thinking of the morality of monkish austerity; at all events, his translator seems to have been afraid to follow him; seeing that Saint has been often regarded as the equivalent of elect.

† All the above quotations will be found in article 20, part 21, of the Augsburg Confession. I have followed the translation by the Rev. Henry Teal, M.A., London, 1842; who appears to have executed his task with critical care.

Considering that the Lutheran Church of America recently adopted a resolution that "this General Synod maintains the divine obligation of the Christian Sabbath " (Annual Cyclopedia for 1868, p. 443), it is worthy of notice, in connection with the above dictum touching "puerile and unnecessary works," that in the Augsburg Confession (article 7 of part 2) the following plain words occur: "They who judge that, by the authority of the Church, the observing of the Lord's day, instead of the Sabbath day, was ordained as a thing necessary, do dc

SABBATH AND LORD'S DAY.

87

Thus, though the Reformers taught that faith requires no works of us,* they not only inculcated, in their sermons, strict morality, but the chief leaders, as Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Zwingli, illustrated, by their exemplary lives, the morals they taught.t

But it behooves us to bear in mind that a man's upright intention, or his good life, is one thing, and the tendency of the opinions he holds, or the doctrines he teaches, quite another.

greatly err. The Scripture which teaches that the Mosaic ceremonies since the revelation of the Gospel may be omitted, has abrogated the Sabbath. And yet, because it was needful to ordain a certain day, that the people might know when they ought to come together, it appears that the Church appointed the Lord's day,-which day seems to have pleased the more for this cause also, that men might have an example of Christian liberty and know that neither the observance of the Sabbath, nor of any other day, was necessary."-Teal's Translation, pp. 78, 79.

No human institution is more needed or more valuable than the setting apart one day in seven as a time of rest from worldly turmoil and of quiet for spiritual thought. Nevertheless it must be admitted that the views of the Augsburg Confessionists as to the religious obligation in this matter accord with the spirit of Christ's teachings (Mark ii. 27, etc.), and Paul's (Colossians ii. 16). They evince philological accuracy also, seeing that there is no Christian Sabbath. The Italians properly call Saturday, Sabato; while they term Sunday, Domenica, corresponding to our "Lord's Day."

* “Faith requireth no works of us, or that we should give anything unto God, but that we, believing the promise of God, should receive of him.”—Com. on Galatians, chap. iii. v. 12.

† When some one drew, from Zwingli's belief in predestination, the practical inference that the elect could not be harmed, sin as they might, the Swiss Reformer's reply was, that "whoso argues thus furnishes proof that he himself is not among the elect."-See his De Providentia Dei., Opera, vol. iv. p. 140.

In this work (Opera iv. pp. 79, 109, 113), Zwingli inculcates the doctrine of Predestination, running it out to all its logical consequences: asserting, for example, that the sin of Adam was originally included in God's plan; as also the scheme of redemption. This is Calvin's opinion also; he terms the exclusion of the fall of the first man from the divine predestination, a frigidum commentum.-Inst., B. 3, C. 23, § 7.

88

DIDEROT AND D'ALEMBERT.

Diderot taught atheism and openly avowed enmity to all relig ious ideas:* yet the sincerity of his enthusiasm in such tenets is beyond question, his works having been condemned to the flames, and himself to prison for teaching them. The sceptical D'Alembert, Diderot's co-laborer in the Encyclopædie, strongly expressed, in his correspondence with Voltaire, his disbelief in Christianity; yet his benevolence was proverbial and his life without a stain. † But because such writers have upright motives, or lead virtuous lives, are we thence to conclude that the belief in atheism is no injury to mankind, or that the world could do quite as well without religion?

These remarks have strictest application when, in the works of any author how estimable soever, we come upon such a passage as the following: "Thus you find how richly gifted is a Christian and baptized man, who, even if he wills it, cannot forfeit his salvation by how many sins soever, unless he is un

* Diderot était un des ennemis les plus acharnés du Christianisme, et même de toute idée religieuse; il professait ouvertement le matérialisme et l'athéisme, et prêchait ces doctrines désolantes avec une sorte d'enthusiasme et de fanatisme.-BOUILLON: Dictionnaire de Biographie Universelle, art. "Diderot."

"D'Alembert possédait des qualités qui l'ont fait aimer et estimer de tous ses contemporains; au plus vif amour pour la science, il joignait la bienfaisance et le désintéressement. Il entretint

avec Voltaire une correspondance suivie qui a été publiée après leur mort: tous deux y exhalent leur haine contre la religion chrétienne." BOUILLON: Dictionnaire de Biographie Universelle, art. "D'Alembert.” "When D'Alembert's income amounted to 8,200 francs, he gave away one half. The Bishop of Limoges said of him, during his life, 'His manners are simple and his conduct without a stain.' was the first mathematician of his day, and La Harpe says of him: 'I know D'Alembert well enough to be able to say that he was sceptical in everything except mathematics. Himself tolerating all opin

. . He

ions, what he censured in the atheists was their intolerant arrogance. Had it not been for his correspondence with Voltaire, the world would not have known except by implication what his opinions

were.

His published writings contain no expression offensive to relig ion."--Penny Cyclopædia, art. "D'Alembert.”

HUMAN WILL AS A BEAST OF BURDEN.

89

willing to believe. For no sins have power to damn him save only the sin of incredulity."*

Finally, the evil tendency of such opinions is aggravated, in Luther's case, by his fatalist doctrines, pushed even to a distinct denial of man's free agency. Think of the practical effect -how deadening and discouraging to all virtuous effort-of such a passage as this: "The human will is placed between two, even as a beast of burden. If God mounts it, it wishes and goes as God wills. If Satan mounts it, it wishes and goes as Satan wills. Nor is it free to run toward, or select, either rider: it is the riders themselves who contend which shall obtain and hold possession." †

Those who are familiar with the original documents will bear me witness that the foregoing brief synopsis of Protestant opinions in the sixteenth century, while it omits, for brevity's sake, many details, neither exaggerates nor extenuates the founda

* This passage occurs in Luther's Treatise: De Captivitate Babylonica, 1520; the original reading thus: "Ita vides quam dives sit homo Christianus et baptisatus, qui etiam volens non potest perdere salutem suam quantiscunque peccatis, nisi nolet credere. Nulla enim peccata eum possunt damnare nisi sola incredulitas."

There are other passages of similar purport in Luther's works even more offensively expressed. In a letter to Melancthon (1521), quoted and excused by Archbishop Hare, occurs a well-known sentence: "Sufficit quod agnovimus per divitias gloriæ Dei Agnum, qui tollit peccata mundi; ab hoc non avellet nos peccatum, etiamsi millies, millies uno die fornicamur aut occidamus."

By an opponent of Luther the words " uno die" have been translated, incorrectly of course, every day: " but even as it stands (however pure may have been the writer's intention) it would be a lack of candor to deny that it supplies, to evil-minded men, plausible apology for murder and incontinence.

+ "Sic humana voluntas in medio posita est, ceu jumentum. Si insedcrit Deus, vult et vadit quo vult Deus, ut Psalmus dicit: 'Factus sum sicut jumentum et ego semper tecum.' Si insederit Satan, vult et vadit quo vult Satan. Nec est in ejus arbitrio ad utrum sessorem currere aut eum quærere, sed ipsi sessores certant ob ipsum obtinendum et possid endum.”—LUTHER: De Servo Arbitrio, part I. sec. 24.

90

SHALL THE FIGHT OF FAITH BE

tion-doctrines on which rested the theological system put forth by the Leaders of the Reformation; to wit, the atonement, including justification by faith alone; the fall, the utter deprav ity of man, and predestination.

Such a synopsis was indispensable in treating the great historical problem to which I now revert.

§ 9. WHAT LESSON DOES THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION

TEACH?

"Revealed religion is not in the nature of a progressive science. We have no security for the future against the prevalence of any theological error that has ever prevailed in time past among Christian men."-MACAULAY.*

Is that the lesson taught? Guardians of the Protestant faith, is that the Protestant reply?

If not, bestow, I pray you, dispassionate attention on the historical and statistical facts; and give your version of the explanation.

Three hundred years, observe!—from 1570 to 1870-and still, from a Protestant stand-point, retrogression, retrogression! At the beginning of that term, an overwhelming Protestant majority in Europe; at the end of the three hundred years, two Catholics there for every one Protestant. Among ourselves, at the present day, Protestants and Roman Catholics both increasing, indeed; but at a ratio of increase so different, in each sect respectively, that if it continues for a third of a

* Already quoted, with context, at page 44. Men, in the orthodox ranks, who have probably bestowed more thought on this subject than Macaulay, have reached conclusions similar to his.

"The same impediment which prevents the formation of Theology as a science, is also manifestly fatal to the theory which assert its progressive development."-MANSEL: Limits of Religious Thought, 4th Ed. London, 1859. (Bampton Lectures.) The italics are in the original.