The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-12-29

upon different ideas. In explaining this deolar-
alton we know nothing more to the point than
the statement of Ltton in his able work on The
| Church of Christ, TO which we have already, in
previous article, referred Coming as it does
from devoted Episcopahan whose writings are
Of standard value it is striking confirmation OF
what we have affirmed If our space allowed the
insertion of three or four pages, the whole would
be instructive; but few extracts must suffice He
says
"While Luther was compelled to appeal both
from the Papal divines and the fathers to Scrip
tire alone our reformers, while repudiatlng the
Romish doctrine of tradition, announced ii as Their
formal principle that Scripture as to be understood
according to the patylStie Interpretation OF a and
that to restore the Church to tohdt she t0GS le the
Sd and 4h centuries, lodS the end to be AIMED at ls
all attempts at reformation. To the adoption OF
this line of argument they were led by the advan-
tage which they possessed Of being able to point
to an identity of form between the primitive pOlty
of the Church, and that which they succeeded in
establishing in England. The Church Of the 4th
century was Episcopal, and it had no formal Pope
this also was the form which the Church OF Eng
land had assumed: hence the temptation was pre-
sented to our divines, when assaied by Rome, to
fall back upon pdtriStic instead of OriginGt-thdt
the controversy upon the GScertdaed doctrines and
practices of the early Church. PIP. 1856
1t is true Mr.. Litton says these Reformers were
at heart thoroughly Protestant and that they
"have indeliby impressed their convictions on the
articles of the English Church" But he is free
to add" Nevertheless the formal enunciation of
the principle alluded to has proved of serious in
jury to the cause of Apostolic Christianity amongst
u.s. In the first place it enabled the divines of a
subsequent age whose sympathies were far more
with the Patristc teaching than with that of the
Protestant reformation, to obtain footing in the
Church of England, which they have ever since
held" This is pointed language which we COM
mend to the attention OF our Episcopal brethren
But what are we to think of the addition Mr. Lit
ton makes" and from which no one can now wish
to dislOdge them?" We suppose, that like so
many others in England and this country, he
comes to the conclusion that they have about as
good right to be there as he has. Still he can
didly makes this admission in the same sentence :
land thus has been introduced amongst US type
of doctrine, which, az essential points, is more
Ronsish than Rrotestaath Yes, verify; and that
same type has been in that Church, both there
and here, ever since, and will plague it with its
Romanism till the men in it, good and true, pluck
it out by the roots.
The conclusion to which we come is that the
rule Of faith as indicated in the Liturgy of the
Episcopal Church is essentially Romish The Rom
| ish doctrine is that when we would know what we
must believe concerning God, and what duty he
requires of US, we are to find it out by Scripture
and tradition as interpreted by them. The Ltur-
gy of the Episcopal Church introduces this modi-
fcation, that it is Scripture, together with Z" an
cieat authors" and ancient canoaS" Or as, Mr..
Liton puts it" Scripture is to be understood ac-
cording to the Interpretation of it, that is as it was
understood Gin the 3rd and 4th centuries" But
inasmuch as plain man, laundering among the
everlasting jargon and contradictions Of the thirty.
fee folio UOlumeS in which the opinions of these
fathers are to be found, might be tempted to con-
cude it would be quite as easy to go at once to the
grand fathers in his Bible; that he is quite as likely
! to understand what God his Heavenly Father, and
Christ his Saviour has said to him, through "holy
men of old who spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost" as the teachings of men not In
spired, here comes in an answer to relieve his trou.
ble-"I If you are unable to wade through an.
Gent authors and ancient canons, just take
the Church's Interpretation of these fathers, for
as Bishop BrOwnell so happily expresses, the
result is fully embodied in our Book of Common
Prayer" The truth is that, in point of principle
the difference between this and the Romish Rule
of Faith, is no more than between twice two and
four
DR.. Jarvis, of Connecticut, tells us that the in
tention of the Reformers was hindered from be-
ing fully carried out" &c. st remains for us
(the Episcopal Church, with tranquility and pa
thence to pursue the great true principles of the
English Reformation These, he says, are re
dueibe to three heads: lst To recouer the origi-
nal customs and privileges of the British Church.
Ind To restore the doctrines, &c. 3rd To bring
back the government, discipline and ritual, to the
general analogy Of practice at the time of the 4th
general council, or middle of the 5th century -
So we see that while the Bible by itself will not an
swer, and something else must be added to it, they
are altogether at loss whether to stop with the
fathers of the 2nd 3rd, 4th, or 9Th centuries Lit
ton, Isaac Taylor, and Goode, and others say, and
truly, that all those centuries are full of every es-
sential principle of Romanism. So it has been
found; for when so many Episcopaians have turned
to these times, they have not found what they
wanted, and many have FASTENED on to Rome
Others have only fallen back to hating ground
Just as unsafe as tradition or the fathers" cit is
hopeful sign" says Goode, one of the ablest
Episcopal writer's against Puseyism and its afini-
ties-"that we have at last got to the second stage
of the controversy when our opponents are quitting
the Fathers, and making the best of their way, in
various direction after the Church" "The next
question will no doubt be- How are we to get in
troduced to the Church? Whether by the Pope
himself or whether the good offices of any indi-
vidual priest will do? And if by the Pope, wheth-
er by the Pope in the chair, or whether the Pope
out of the chair will do? or whether it must be
Pope and General Council, &C., &c. The con-
test is betloeen Reformation truth and Reformation
principles on the one hand, and Romish truth and
Romisk principles on the other"
In fact It's not hard to perceive that as soon as
man is prepared to say he accepts the Prayer Book
as substitute for the teachings of antiquity or as
Bishop Brownel says containing its ''resub,"
there is no reason why he should stop there King
James IL told Bishop Burnet that the reason he
turned Papist was that he had heard so much from
the English dyines about ''the authority of the
Church, and of the traditions in support of Epis-
copaey he considered that other traditions might
be taken on the word of the Catholic Church, and |
he therefore thought it reasonable to go over to
the Church of Rome" 1t was, upon the prem
ises one of the most natural conclusions.
From the considerations now presented let the
reader judge whether upon that primary question
the very foundation of nnr hone of the Church