Popery and Monkery.
1. THE ORIGIN OF POPERY. When, in the course of time, the Christian
church continued to expand, it became necessary for the larger
congregations to engage more than one pastor. An immediate consequence
was that one of them attained to higher eminence and was called the
bishop by preference. Great deference was especially paid to the bishops
of Rome, of Jerusalem, of Alexandria, of Antioch, and of Constantinople.
The smaller congregations frequently sought their advice and requested
their decision in difficult matters. But the power and the authority of
the Roman bishops soon outstripped that of the rest. In consequence of
this they assumed a haughty demeanor, exalted themselves above the other
bishops, and, finally, arrogated to themselves the position of supreme
judges in the Church of God, and grew very indignant if any one dared to
dispute their authority. They now claimed that Peter had founded the
congregation at Rome and had presided over it for some time as its
bishop; that he had been the chief of the apostles, the authorized
viceregent of Christ upon earth, and that his successors, the bishops of
Rome, had inherited these powers from him. Although these arrogant
claims were by no means generally admitted, yet the Roman bishop
succeeded in enforcing his demands. He was pleased to have himself
called "_Papa_," or "Pope." The Western bishops finally submitted and
acknowledged him to be the supreme head of the church. In the East,
however, the bishop of Constantinople was accorded the highest rank.
Both bishops now fought for the supremacy in the church, and as neither
would submit to the other a schism resulted. There arose the Roman
Catholic and the Greek Catholic church, and this division remains to the
present day.
When, in 752, Pipin, the king of the Franks, presented to the Pope a
large territory in Central Italy, the Pope became a temporal prince.
From now on the Popes continually sought to increase their temporal
power and speak the decisive word in the councils of the mighty of this
earth. The man who raised popery to the highest pinnacle of its power
was Pope Gregory VII, formerly a monk called Hildebrand, the son of an
artisan. In 1073 he ascended the papal throne. He forbade the priests to
marry, and demanded that all bishops, who at that time were also
temporal princes, should receive their office and their possessions,
even their temporal power, not from their worldly overlords, but from
his hands. He asserted: "As the moon receives its light from the sun, so
emperors and princes receive their power from the Pope. The Pope is the
viceregent of Christ upon earth, where the mighty of this world owe him
obedience; he alone has the right and the power to appoint them to
office, or to depose them." Gregory died 1085. His successors accepted
his principles. Thus Innocent III demeaned himself as the absolute
spiritual lord and master over all Christian princes and kings, and
forced them to submit to his power. Then the word of Holy Scriptures,
concerning the Roman Popes, came to pass, 2 Thess. 2, 4: "Who opposeth
and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped;
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he
is God."
2. THE FALSE DOCTRINES OF POPERY. Sad, indeed, grew the condition of the
church under the Popes. Many bishops and priests busied themselves more
with worldly affairs than with the Word of God and the welfare of the
church. The people were shamefully neglected. Generally speaking, they
had no schools, no books, and, especially, no Bibles. There was scarcely
any Christian knowledge, for the Word of the Lord was hidden in those
days. In consequence of this the saddest ignorance prevailed everywhere
among the common people. Such being the conditions, it was a small
matter for Satan to sow his tares among the wheat. With increasing
frequency false doctrines appeared in the church and displaced the Word
of God. For some time already mass had been celebrated instead of Holy
Communion. For the superstition had arisen, that Christ was sacrificed
anew by the priest when mass was celebrated on the altar. This false
doctrine was supported by the other superstition that through his
consecration the priest changed the bread and the wine into the real
body and blood of Christ. Because they feared that the blood of Christ
might be spilled they denied the cup to the laity, and thus mutilated
the Lord's Supper.
Early in its history popery invented the doctrine that the departed
souls went to purgatory, where, by intense suffering, they might be
cleansed from the dross of sin. However, it was held that the Pope and
the church had the power to shorten these pangs of purgatory by reading
countless masses. Whoever paid enough money was told that he need not
remain long in purgatory. This proved to be a profitable business for
the Pope. For many rich already in their lifetime set aside large sums
of money to pay for these masses.
Indulgence was another false doctrine. The Popes taught: The church
possesses an inexhaustible treasure in the merits of Christ and of the
saints. On this the Pope can draw at will for the benefit of the living
and of the dead, and with it forgive the sin of those who offer him
therefor sufficient money, or other equivalents. In the stead of
Christ's suffering and merit, which becomes ours alone through faith,
they substituted mere human works. Christ, our true Advocate, was thrust
aside, and the saints were called upon for their protection and
intercessions. The Virgin Mary, especially, became the refuge in time of
need, and this gave rise to the shameful "mariolatry." Nor did idolatry
stop here. Even pictures, statues, and real or supposed relics of the
saints were set up for worship and adoration. Thus was fulfilled the
word of Scriptures, 2 Thess. 2, 10. 11: "Because they received not the
love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie."
3. LIFE IN THE MONASTERIES. Already in the time of the great
persecutions many Christians had fled into the forests, caves, and among
the cliffs in order to spend their lives in pious meditation and
devotion. When, in the time after Constantine, the church grew more and
more worldly, the number of those increased who thought that they could
serve God better in quiet seclusion than amid the noise of a corrupt
world. These were the so-called hermits. As a rule, they led a life of
privations and self-inflicted tortures. In time, numbers of them united
and adopted certain rules and laws by which their communities were
governed. They also lived in their own buildings, called cloisters.
These were generally built in inhospitable regions. Whoever joined the
order had to forsake all his worldly possessions, and vow to lead a life
of celibacy and of absolute obedience to his superiors. These are the
so-called monastic vows.
This monastical life was regarded very highly by the people, and all
kinds of legacies added gradually to the lands and riches of the
cloisters. Their number increased rapidly; and in the twelfth century
there were thousands of them. The monks were the most zealous and the
most faithful tools of Antichrist, and everywhere endeavored to spread
the Pope's heresies. They incited the people to rebellion against their
lawful government and spied out and persecuted those who would no longer
submit to the Pope. But it was above all the halo of false holiness
which it possessed in the eyes of the people that made monkery such a
curse to the church. Men, women, and children ran into the cloister in
order to be sure of eternal life; for the delusive notion prevailed that
man could justify himself before God and be saved by his own works. And,
at that, they regarded the works commanded by God of little account,
esteeming their self-chosen, monkish practices of the highest
importance. Life in the monastery is, therefore, condemned by the words
of Christ: "In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men."