Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-04-28
Anxious 10 Anglicus.
My DEAR SIR.

New Testament, that certain things |
in the church of England resulting
from its connections with the State |
are in accordance with the state of |
things in the first century. Now
you and | both know that the evils
from this connection are peculiar TO
modern times and therefore their
accordance with the early church is no
more capable Of proof from the New
Testament than events eighteen hun
dred years hence are possible to be
proven facts of that future from the
history of this present. These evils
| deprecate. What contend for in
the divine origin of the threefold
ministry Of the church of Christ.
This thing in the church Of England
/ do not deprecate, for from that
branch OF Christ's church we our
selves in these United States have
received their threshold ministry,
to prove which to have come from
Christ we can without being guilty
ofan absurdity, confine our search
for this proof to the writing of the
first, second and third centuries
And go you demand this proof to be
as clear and positive as that of
Christ's resurrection from the dead
Out of respect TO your learning
shall suppose that you believe orr
Lord established in His church
ministry Of some kind that you hold
to this kind because it is capable of
the same clear positive proof, which
you demand from US for the three
fold ministry. Out Of respect to
your usual fairness ! mus. suppose
that you can furnish us for the mis-
istry you uphold the same proof
from the Scriptures which we have
therein for that great central. miracle
of our religion. For YOU surely do
not require of me more proof for
Episcopacy than You can give for
parity? Therefore IA a matter OF
| course you can give Us this proof, or
think you can. Now hold that
the burden Of the disproof of Epis.
copacy rests upon you, and for this
reason. Suppose you. kind of minis
try were at this time the only one
ever heard of in the church, and
some one, say Robert Brown, should
come TO vou, or rather TO your church
as q body corporate, and say that
the ministry ofyour church was not
that established by Christ that an
other kind, of three-fold order, was
| tIot &c III v,vha. TAh
died that he believed so because he
could give the same proof of your
church being in error in this respect
as we have for the resurrection of
Christ. Wouldn't the burden of the
diSproof rest upon this Mr.. Robert
Brown The unbroken continuance
Of your ministry from St. Johns
time the abundance Of proof at the
command of Mr.. Robert Brown his
announcement never having been
made to the church before--these
things certainly would throw upon
Mr.. Brown the burden of disproving
your ministry to have come from
Christ by proving the divine origin
of his own. Now sir, you must
know that you, being follower o.
Mr.. Robert Brown, or of some one
who first taught a similar doctrine
sometime in the 10th century, stanc
toward the church of England, OF
the Episcopal church in this country
just as we have supposed Mr. Brown
to stand toward you. And as you
would justly require Mr.. Brown tc
bring forward his disproof, so you
will surely acknowledge that like
requirement. of you from mo is .
just one. For you know that from
st. Johns time up say to the middle
of the 10th century there was no 9th
err ministry adopted but the threefold
or Episcopacy. You accuse early
church history with being corrupl
source OF information with regard to
the ministry. You go to the same
source for information concerning
the genuineneSs and authenticity OF
the books OF the Bible, in all fairness
You should not reject the testimony
of the same early writer's of the
church when with one voice they
proclaim Episcopacy to have come
from Christ.
Your argument for the temporary
stay Of Timothy and Titus in their
respective places founded upon the
words abide still at Ephcsus," and
!" left +" in Crete, may appear alto
gether too conjectural in It's charac
ter from the fact that ST. Paul wrote
these epistles to Timothy and Titus
only about two years before his mar
tyrdom at Rome, in his old age and
knowing his death to be thus near at
hand (my departure is at hand says
he to Timothy like St. Peter, en-
deavor that the church have these
things ol,0ays in remembrance, by
placing over them, az permanent
esidents, those who had been fellow
laborers with the apostles. For be-
ing no longer under the apostles
guidance, permanent residence of
the chief men IN the ministry seems
necessary that each might discharge
the duties of his office without com
Christ is God Of order IN His church.
The transaction recorded in Acts
XIII 1-3 you produce as the single
instance | ask for Paul's ordina,
ton to the ministry you say here
took place According to the chro :
nology Of st. Paul's life this event
was II years after the time when he
was made he says can apostle not
of men, neither By man, but by Jesus
Christ and God the Fat her" During
all this time what was st. Paul do
ing? The Acts tell Us. Just after
his conversion we read that straight
way he preached Christ in the syna>
gogues." And after this we find him
at Jerusalem preaching boldly in
the name of the Lord Jesus" and en-
dangering his life by so doing be-
cause of the Grecians, the brethren
send him to Tarsus. The persecu,
ton following upon Stephens death
scattered some disciples to Antioch,