The word “church,” as used in this article, refers chiefly to those close
corporations which claim to be regenerated persons, whose depraved nature,
transmitted from Adam, has been so far rectified by re‐creation, that they
are, more or less, in the practice of true virtue, of which the
unregenerate world are supposed to be totally destitute.
In this sense they claim to be “the saints,” “the righteous,” “the elect,”
“the children of God,” “the salt of the earth,” “the light of the world,”
“a holy nation,” “a peculiar people.”
While the members of these churches do not claim that all who do not come
into their organizations are of the opposite class, they do, by their
profession and admission to such churches, claim to be of the regenerated
class, to whom the above terms of the Bible are to be applied, while the
great majority of mankind, not in these organizations, are called by them
“the world,” “the unregenerate,” “sinners,” “the wicked,” and by other
similar terms.
So long as the great body of the people were guided chiefly by
ecclesiastics, and were thus trained to believe that heaven was to be
gained by some unintelligible “change of nature,” imparted by priestly
agency, or by some supernatural intervention of God’s Spirit, these claims
were regarded with mystified fear and doubt.
But the more intelligence and discussion have spread among the people, the
more such claims have been questioned and distrusted.
Many things have combined to increase such distrust. Among these may be
mentioned the discussions already noticed, conducted by theologians
themselves, by which the absurdities and inconsistencies maintained by
each, were exposed by all the others.
Another cause of distrust has been the great variety of _tests_ and _signs
of regeneration_. One class of religious teachers claim a certain kind of
experience as indispensable to admission to the church. A second class
reprobate this sign and set up another. A third class depreciate both and
insist upon still another. And thus it is made apparent, that theologians
do not agree among themselves what the “depraved nature” of man consists
in, nor what are the true signs or evidence of its “saving change.”
Another cause of distrust has arisen from attempts to carry out a system
of church discipline. Some churches expel persons for interpreting the
Bible in a different mode from themselves or their creed. Others expel
their members for vending alcoholic drinks, or for dancing, or for holding
slaves, or for marrying the sister of a deceased wife. Meantime, the sins
of pride, anger, covetousness, avarice, worldliness, evil temper,
unfairness in business, hard dealings with the poor, and many other
developments of selfishness, often are made no bar to full and honorable
communion.
Again, in churches and sects that are most strenuous in attempting to
maintain by church discipline a uniformity of interpretation of the Bible
conformed to their own, it has come to pass that orthodoxy of
interpretation is sometimes _practically_ placed before morality of
conduct. Thus, if a member of a church or a minister is suspected of
denying the supreme divinity of Christ, or the depravity and need of
regeneration of _nature_ in man, a great agitation is produced, and
attempts are made, by church discipline, to rectify the evil as very
dangerous. In the meantime, a slanderous tongue, or dishonest dealings, or
selfish worldliness, excite less concern, and arouse to less effort. The
inevitable result is an impression that churches and ministers place
conformity of interpretation to their own creeds or opinions before
morality, and consequently the feeling is engendered, _that church
organizations, founded on the Augustinian theory, tend to immorality_.
This impression as to the immoral tendency of such church organizations,
has been increased by the fact that in times of special religious
excitement, that class of men in many cases, become most prominent as
leaders in prayer meetings and other public ministries whose character for
consistency in private life, or in business matters, is low. It is
perceived that this fact does not prevent these men from being regarded as
religious men, and as superior to others, who, living exemplary lives, are
unable or unwilling to take any conspicuous place in religious movements.
And when the period of excitement is passed, it is found that these
leaders in revival seasons are no better in their private life and
business dealings than before.
It is also sometimes the case that men of high character and position, can
not be reached by church discipline as are the humbler members, and thus
sin is made respectable by its association at once with talents,
influence, wealth and church membership.
In addition to this, the fact that so many ministers and churches have
taken such an antagonistic course in the public movements to remove
intemperance and slavery from our land, has led to open attacks on
ministers and churches in the newspapers, in public lectures and in many
other ways, in which their inconsistencies have been held up to public
ridicule as well as to more serious denunciation.
So long as the “change of nature,” which fits man for heaven, was regarded
as a supernatural mystery which no one could understand or explain, while
the approved signs of regeneration were submitted only to ministers,
deacons, elders and church committees, the matter was exclusively in their
keeping.
But as soon as the nature of regeneration began to be explained
intelligibly, and men adopted the common‐sense view, that the _true_
church consists of persons who not only believe in Christ intellectually,
but believe _practically_, _i.e._, that they are those who _obey_ Christ,
the case bore a different aspect. “These are the persons,” they say, “who
organize on the assumption that they are regenerated because they obey
Christ’s teachings, while so many virtuous persons are shut out as
_totally_ and _entirely_ disobedient,—as never feeling or acting truly
virtuously in the sight of God in a single instance!”
The more this questionable assumption has become apparent, the more has
been the disturbing influence on both the church and the world.
Multitudes of serious, virtuous and conscientious persons, who are really
living Christian lives and making it their chief concern to obey the great
Master, have refused to join associations that make such dubious claims.
Still more has been the revulsion from those churches which demand as
terms to admission professed belief in certain modes of interpreting the
Bible contained in a creed. They, holding the Protestant doctrine that
every man is to interpret the Bible for himself, responsible to no man or
body of men, can not thus resign their religious liberty.
Meantime, the Christian profession has ceased to be a cross in any way,
and has rather become honorable. Those who have been taught that a
_purpose_ or determination to obey Christ was regeneration, have in many
cases formed such a purpose, confessed belief in the needful creeds and
joined the church in great numbers, before they had time to ascertain
whether they had moral strength to carry out this purpose. They find on
trial that they have not, and then discover that though there is an open
door to _enter_ the church there is none for exit that is not
discreditable, and so they remain.
Others come into the church for worse motives, to secure the confidence,
respect and trust that is accorded to that profession. Thus it has come to
pass that the class, denominated “the world,” has been growing in
Christian character and practical virtue, while, as a body, “the church”
has been deteriorating.
The writer, in her very extensive travels and intercourse with the
religious world, has had unusual opportunities to notice how surely and
how extensively the conviction of this fact has been pressed on the minds
of the best class of Christian ministers and laymen. More than twenty
years ago, one of the most laborious Episcopal bishops of the western
States, in reply to inquiries as to the state of religion in his large
diocese replied, “the world is growing better and the church is growing
worse.”
More than ten years ago, a distinguished lawyer, who had extensive
financial business to transact, himself an honored and exemplary member of
the church, stated to the writer that he was decided in the conviction
that the better class of worldly men were more honorable and reliable in
business matters than the majority of church members. When asked to
account for this, the reply was that religious men were chiefly interested
to get to heaven, which in their view was to be secured “by faith and not
by works,” and so good works became a secondary concern. But the chief
concern of worldly men is to succeed in this life, and they have learned
that honesty is the best policy in attaining their chief end.
This statement was repeated to another exemplary church member, who, as a
bank officer and lawyer of distinguished integrity, was said to transact
more business than any other man in the north‐western States. He remarked
that the above was exactly his own opinion, and, moreover, he stated that
a friend of his, also a church member, who, he said, did more business
than any other man in Central New York, had expressed to him the same
opinion.
These statements were repeated not long ago to a business man, an
exemplary member of an orthodox church in Boston, and he expressed the
same opinion. In repeated other instances that need not be enumerated, in
various sections of the country, the same opinion has been expressed by
intelligent and consistent members of the church, whose prejudices would
naturally lead them to the most favorable view of the case.
Such impressions have not been decreased by the recent multiplied
defalcations, forgeries, and other business dishonesties that have
occurred in the last three years among church members and officers of
religious charities in high places of trust.
To all this add the fact, that a large class of men of exemplary private
life, who are spending their time, money and influence for the relief of
human woes and the redress of social and political wrongs, are at the same
time openly attacking the church as the chief bulwark of these wrongs,
while all the delinquencies of ministers and churches are freely discussed
and denounced by them _before the people_.
The result is, that a large portion of the most exemplary and intelligent
part of the church feel themselves to be in a dubious and false position,
and are daily querying whether _professing_ to be a _peculiar_ people is
not doing more harm than good; and whether it would not be better that the
influence of good men should rest on their _unassociated_ individual
character, and not on organizations making such high profession where the
light of goodness is obscured by associated darkness.
Great doubt and skepticism, both in the church and out of it, have thus
arisen also as to _what real religion consists in_, and as to what _are_
the true claims of the church and its ministry.
Multitudes who would enter the church if it was regarded simply as an
association of persons to support the ordinances appointed by Jesus
Christ, and to aid each other in obeying his Word, turn from its present
position and claims with distrust or disgust. At the same time ministers
and church members, feeling these difficulties, have more and more
relinquished the Augustinian theory as the basis of their organization,
and are advancing to an open avowal of the common‐sense ground, _i.e._,
that the real invisible church of Christ embraces all those who
acknowledge him as their Lord and Master, and make it their chief aim to
understand and to obey his teachings, and that a _visible church_ is any
association of persons who organize to aid each other in this object, by
sustaining a ministry and worship as _they_ understand to be most in
agreement with the teachings of Christ.
The Episcopal church, both in Great Britain and in this country, although
as strictly Augustinian in its articles as any other, has taken the lead
of all others in practically renouncing that system. Any man can more
readily secure all the privileges of membership in that church without any
confession of faith or public profession of a “change of nature,” than in
any of the other Augustinian denominations, and this is probably one great
reason of its prosperity in this country.
Any sensible man of good moral character, who should state in a respectful
and candid spirit, that he could not conscientiously submit to
acknowledging in any form, the rights of any man or body of men to decide
for him in regard to the interpretation of the Bible; that according to
his understanding of its teachings, he was bound to acknowledge Jesus
Christ as his Lord and Master in all matters of faith and practice, and to
associate himself with other avowed followers of Christ by some form of
open acknowledgment; that as he understands the New Testament, the rites
of baptism and the Lord’s Supper were instituted as forms of such
acknowledgment and communion, and that he wished thus to connect himself
with the Episcopal church without any creed, confession or acknowledgment;
it is believed, that in such a case, there are few ministers and still
fewer laymen who would not think it right to gratify such a desire. It is
believed that there are many, also, of the highest standing for intellect,
piety and position in the Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and
Congregational churches, who have so far thrown aside the system of
Augustine, that they also would receive such a man to their communion on
these terms.
In this state of feeling among laymen the developments of sectarianism,
which, as has been shown, all relate to matters of rites and forms,
resulting from the Augustinian theory, have become more and more
suspicious and offensive. Especially is this the case in the newer States,
where union and harmony among good men are most needed.
In the volume, of _Common Sense Applied to Religion_, page 342, statistics
are introduced from the reports of three of the largest sects of this
country, the Old and New school Presbyterian and the Congregational
churches, showing that, owing to their sectarian divisions, _nearly one
third_ of their churches are without ministers, and _nearly one half_ of
these churches have not over fifty members, the majority of these being
women, while the _relative_ amount of ministers to churches is constantly
decreasing. Not only in the large, but the smaller towns, the struggle to
build churches and support ministers among the various sects, that differ
only as to rites and forms, is most mournful, making a taxation both on
the East and West for their support which is incredible.
Each denomination is trained to regard itself as “the church of God” and
to labor for its increase as a service to God’s cause, while the extension
of other sects is not so regarded. Although few intelligent Protestants
now believe that any forms or rites are indispensable to salvation, each
sect regards its own peculiarity as of very great importance. And as all
the large sects are divided only on modes of baptism or of church
organization there is a constant tendency to magnify these points of
difference. Were it not for this, in small places and in new settlements,
all would unite in one large, harmonious church, that could not only
support its own ordinances, but send of its surplus to supply the
destitute. Instead of this, the feuds, envies, jealousies and bickerings
between small and struggling churches, of from four to twenty diverse
sects, are an occasion of reproach and contempt to the world, and of
mortification to all honorable and pious minds.
So in regard to education, each sect is now acting _as a sect_, in
starting new colleges and seminaries, or in endowing those already
started, and this often with little reference to the supply provided by
other sects. For example, in Ohio there are _twenty‐six_ endowed colleges,
in Indiana there are _eleven_, and thus at the same rate in other new
States.
Besides endowments to support professors, vast sums have been spent in
buildings, many of them unused for want of pupils. After each sect has
thus gained its colleges, it must struggle to find pupils, and thus
multitudes of young boys are pressed into a Latin and Greek course, not at
all demanded in their future pursuits, and often forsaken before the
college is ever reached. The waste of educational benefactions in these
ways is enormous.
These expenditures are all to be met by the laity, and the more the nature
of these sectarian divisions is understood, the more distrustful are the
people in regard to these profuse expenditures to keep up such divisions.
Multitudes of intelligent laymen contribute simply because their clergymen
urge it, and entirely without intelligent approval of these things. To
their own view, Christianity, as exhibited by contending sects, is a
source of more evil feeling, contention and needless expense than of
compensating benefits, and distrust and misgiving increase and abound.
In such a position of the organized church, one of the most remarkable
indications to be noted is the occurrence of a “revival” among all sects,
in which _the __ people_ take the lead, and theologians and pastors
willingly resign their wonted place. All badges of sect are dropped, and
the dogmas of Augustine, from which they originated, are thrown aside. The
system of common sense is recognized, and its intelligent and harmonizing
influence secures, for the first time, the respectful attention of worldly
men toward religious developments, which in all past time have been
regarded by them with suspicion or scorn.