The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-02-06
s. 4 Bit of TheOIOgy.'

Having last week admitted into our col
Journal referring TO the lectures Of the Rev.
p. b. Morgan, and having spoken perhaps
somewhat depreciatngiy Of the ability Of
the editor Of the Journal to cope with Mr..
simply just that we should give the editor
Of the journal hearing in reply especially
as he has construed our remarks into chal-
lange to the combat. We must protest,
however, chailange was i.rthcst from our
thoughts, for there is nothing We doprecate
50 much in our columns as discussion on
some of the tine-spun points Of theology.
We copy from the School JoHraa! Of We'd
uesday.
Oar friend Osman. of the FIRE. Tra1r, in
his Introduction TO "a bit OF theology" as
he j. pleased to term II, reminds US Of
scenes IN oar boyhnoi days, in winch ne
performs the part of third boy, who, desir-
Ius a contest between two others and seeing
no manifest tendency in that direction, in
order 10 bring about the desire OF his heart,
puts a chip upon the shoulder OF one, tno
matter which one,) and darcs the other 10
knock IT oil.
Now it i paIpably evident that there i no
desire manifested ia the article u The HIGH
SCmooL JoUESAL to enter into a controversy
with any one on the subject Of theology
Moreover, the Rev. T. 3. NoEGAN has slated
to Us and repeated it that he did not wish
reply or any controversy, and VIC have no
reason 10 doubt his sincerity.
-. for
controversy, and II Rev. Mr.. Morgan does
not wish it, They are ready to take the field,
uules, ,ye are willing TO acknowledge their
propositions good and sound. Now, my
brothers, that = begging the question. still
we are -eslIy 10 aCh nowicd.e that we might
succeed better IN the schoOruom, teaching
IN ntal arithmetic. Yet We crave tie priv
lcgc OF suggesting, without maHilr-ging Pc
dautry, that we can read. and have spelled
out some hard words even way over in the
Fathers Of the Church" where the contest
seems t. be carried.
Now i; is not strange that there should be
a difference Of opinion about the views oil
the Fathers" for there a,e TeuI5y same
pretty hard tr5rds, and in regard 10 these
matters we know there are others almost in.
tinitely wiser than uUrSe!', aud we would
kindly ask them 10 pronounce ana define one
or two O! these hard words; for instance,
Cbilia-m and Mi.lon2riauIsn. We find
these words in N-ander's Church History
for the first three centuries, and in Muir
docks Moshein, in Knapp, and in Stuart.-
l. j. tue we examined Webster and " or
ccster, who. on ordinary occasions, are con-
: dcTcd pretty good testimony. and they say
" CE5tsGSHs' means the millennium, or
tL9BSdHd gears when Satan i 70 Dc 60ltnt.
Well we were fortunate here in looking
for the definition OF one word 20 find the
meaning OF both; but thousand years, we
said, were temporal, hence a temporal mil
lenuum OF i thousand years. But We were
soon TO be troubled about this definition, for
We were told that the idea of "a temporal
millennium was not known until 1900 years
after Christ Now thar was difficult 10 re-
conciie with our definition, 80 we concluded
we were mistaken in reading II, We refer
red TO Webster and " orcester, and they de-
clare to us that II does mean thousand
wears. Then we concluded We might be
mistaken as to the time when these words
came into existence that is, that they came
into existence in the 18th century. Herce
we went TO the Fathers of the Church,
and they told US plainly that they existed
away back in the ID and Sd century, and
tfat tnSt aDput iitlii, ditt!
trouble AID persecution on account of them.
But we are asked which of the " Fathers of
the Church" talked about tn, Sc things We
will mention few OF the many that might
be given had we space and time. Neander
says, in his first volume, that. with Ire
nieus the millennium kingdom acas only Il
stage oTpTepdrdtioH for the saints who were
thus to be adapted gradually to a higher
1fs Of lx-p tn bn
feet revelation of the Divine glory" 0ren.
5-35) Neand,r makes Origen hold sub
stantially the same views, he SAYS. "Origen
was a peculiarly jealous opponent Of the
sensuous representations of tn: millennium
kingdom" (Neander LIST Vol. page 405.)-
Then they talked it way back there? So it
reads. But did we not misunderstood the
speaker? Instead of saying that the doc
trine of a temporal millennium of thou
sand years was not known until more than
sixteen hundred gears Gfter CHRIST, did he
not say that il was preached more than 1000
years ago. in which case, his expression And
our history Of the Fathers would agree, but
or notes say that the speaker said that the
idea of temporal millennium was not
known more than 1900 years after Christ.
Now we are not a "thorough theologian, ="
hence we do not like to say that the speaker
and the Fathers Of the Church" DO not
agree, but we may be permitted to suggest
to those who differ with us, to go to the
Fathers" and enquire, and they will tell us
plainly, for they arc now disinterested in the
discussion.
But we are told again that the millennium
does not mean thousand years, but that it
means forever and ever. Now that is a good
while, so we go to Leverett & Andrews, au-
thors of Latin lexicons, and they tell us that
it does mean thousand years. Then we go
to Liddcl! & Scott, Greek photographers,
and they tell us that Chiiiasm means thou
sand years. Such are pretty good judges
Moreover, many others of the Fathers of
the Church talked over this same ''idea Of a
temporal millennium of a thousand years"
Some believed in gross sensual millennium,
others had higher and more spiritual view
of the same period, but all held substantial.
iy to the idea of a thousand years; among
these were Papias, Justin Martyr, Nepos,
Borakion, Dionysius, the Bishop of Alexan-
dria, Barnabas, the fellow traveller of St.
Paul, Clement, Bishop Of Rome. the same
whom Paul mentions (Phl. iv. 3D. Ignatius,
Bishop of the Church of Antioch, Poiycarp,
Bishop of Smyrna, Tertulian, Methodius, OF
Tyre, Gregory Thaumaturgus, and host OF
others We have not time to mention.
In regard to those since the Reformation.
their history is before you, read.
In regard to this earth being our eternal
habltation, we Leave that with st. John,