Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-05-05
Anelicus 70 Amic-s.

paoie u ASKING you out OF any Cap
tiousness ofdisposition, for proof as
clear and positive as that for the res
direction of the Lord, that The AM
gican order of Bishops. Priests and
Deacons is that of the n. L. The as
symptoms you have made, are of
such character, and the consequen.
ces involved are so great, that my
demand for N T. proof, not of an
t'yerenttdl but of an indisputable
character, is most reasonable one.
The second and third centuries, must
be wholiy excluded. The proof is
there in the n. L. or it is not. If it
Is IN the n L. produceit, and viii
ct once bow to it. 1t seems incredi,
bic. that the Holy Spirit, should be
SO minute in all its instructions on
so many matters ofvery subordinate
moment, but on this point say moth
ing. OF course | do not mean, that
the Holy Spirit has said nothing
about Bishops and Deacons or
6 ministry of any kind, | mean, it
has said nothing of the " Anglican
Order" You ask me tor proof of
the kind of ministry | hold !" of the
same clear and indisputable charac ;
ter ! demand from you! Your ask
ing for this from me, is confession
on your part that you cannot furnish
such proof moreover, it is asking
me to prove 8 negative, thing
which you have no right to do. Yet
! will not hesitate to give you the
proof sought before | conclude this
letter.
q The points, or rather a few of
them assumed by you are as follows ::
First, The anglican communion, is
the identical church . of Christ.
Second, That it's ministry is the very
same that the Lord and His apostles
established. Third. That in it is
found /" Episcopacy and the apostoi-
ic succession" And Fourth, That
this anglican communion, is the
only hope of the world" Other
things are assumed besides these, but
these are enough. These assump-
tons, if granted, are fatal to the
claims of all other Protestant denom-
nations. They in fact declare, that
they are not churches Of Christ, and
they are wholly destitute of scrip
turally ordained ministry. That /
am not misrepresenting this matter
will be seen by the following utter
auce of the Rev. DR.. Dix, the gentle>
man so mixed up in the persecution
of DIR. Tying: He says " In the
Episcopal church a priest coming
from the Roman Catholic church is
never re-ordained, but minitters com
ing from the Presbyterians and Con
gregatjonalists, are at,cays ,re-ordatned
without.exception y Here. then, al
other Protestant communities are de
| MED either Scriptural standing OF
an ordained ministry. But to Ro-
manism there is accorded the envia-
bic position of All apostolic church
and apostolic ministry. Surely then
SIR. am abundantly justified in de-
handing from you, proof from the
N. T. alone for your assumptions
clear as that for the resurrection
of the Lord" The second and thirc
| centuries have no business in this in
vestigation whatever. Give yot
| these, and you can prove fifty other
priestly pretensions as easily.
Your supposed case of Mr.. Roberl
Brown is not in point at all. 1t il
| not the" ministry" as | hold it, but
as uou hold it, that proof is asked for
Nevertheless I will now furnish i
briefly.
! And first : the Bishops. A Bish.
Cd in the anglican communion is one
who has oversight or jurisdiction
over MANI churches called a "Dio-
cese." In the n. T. there is not ;
trace OF any such office or officer
Acts Xxx 1920, And from Miletus
he sent to Ephesus and called the Ell,
ders ("preslenterUi'') of the church
!" Take heed ther efore unto your
| selves, and to all the flock, over
which the Holy Ghost hath made you
ooerseers.' ("EpiScopoi", the same
| word translated Bishops Phil l |
Tim. III 2, Titus Z, / Pet. II.25
1t is thus as clear as sunlight that
the church IN Ephesus instead of be-
ing one of the many churches under
the jurisdiction of one Bishop, had
several Bishops of its own. A bare
plurality does not satisfy the demands
of the whole context for in verses
So and 81, 1T is said Of these same FL
ders, Bishops, or Overseers Paul
prayed with them all and they all
| wept sore" There is no example Of
one church having but one Elder, OF
Bishop, neither is there, of one Bish,
op having jurisdiction over many
| churches. All this belongs to the
apostacy.
Second. The DeaconS, Acts vi, 1>6
This shows US second class of min
listers, they who served at the tables
their business was to look after the
poor and to see that they lacked
nothing. (See also / Tim. III. 2. Phil.
LII
Third. Euangelists Eph. ". IL.
"And he gave some, EvangelIsts."
The Evangelist was one who made
known the glad tidings of salvation.
His business was to preach the Cos.
pei and plant churches, and also to
teach others who in turn should
teach others also. Acts XXl-8, 2 Tin.
Tvs, 2 Tim. ILL.,, Acts VIII LIZ.
Fourth. Teachers. Eph. wi.
" And he gave some, T. teachers" l
Cor. XII,28. And God hath set
some in the church, teachers. ="
Teaching. although common to the
offices of Bishop, Deacon and Evan
gelist, WAS yet distinct function al
80. This is an order of ministry, al>
so utterly unknown in the anglican
communion. This ministry, was
as wide as the Brotherhood. "Ye
may sll prophecy one by one" | Cor.
XVIII Yet only " as the oracles
of God !" Pet. Iv-11; and Z" ac>
cording to the proportion Cor analo
gy) of faith, Rom. kills. The very
fact that annronriatalv IN the mod