The McArthur enquirer. (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1873-1884, 1873-07-23
Orthodox and Heresy.

WrlCCen lOr CnlS.. h0ur.s.. Indeed
if he had written it for the
Living Christian, it could moi
have nbeen more in in place
"Opmions, says the oldphiloso-
pher Constitute the ground.
work of the sects." It is true
The church is divided and or
Eganized in mis- erable fragments
to support opinions-mere opin.
ions. And ones orthodoxy is
tested by his zeal in the advo-
cacy and defense of these opin,
ionsy And dathe very moment a
man undertak es to do his own
thinking, and fails after he has
wrought out a thought for him,
self to label il with some or.
thodox or sectarian title, a
thousand or ten thousand busy
Lands engage to put him down,
and noisy tongues, innumerable
indulge suspicious words of him
and his work. For it is a fact
which at once makes us laugh
and mourn, that if a sectarian
preacher, for instance, happens
Tor moment broadly to appre-
hend Christ in some kindled in
spiration Of his soul, he will be
sure to close his speech by sad
ding some ism on the back OF
Jesus and qualifying him by
some denominational opinion.
Thus you will hear a preacher
warm into white heatabout the
all sulficiency of Jesus, and
suddenly remembering his sect
he will drop his zeal and his
voice too, into an apology for
the different "branches of the
church" and their obstructive
tenets." Oh Christ. thou must
yet be patient!
Read Locke's own brave
words: t
"The great division among
Christians is about opinions.
Every sect has its set of them.
mad that is called Orthodoxy !;
and he that processes his as
sent to them, though with an
implicit faith, is Orthodox and
In the way of salvation. But if
ne examines, and thereupon
questions any one of them, he
is presently suspected of
heresy; and ifhe oppose them
or hold the contrary, he is pre-
sently condemned as in damna-
bic error, and in the sure way
to predition. Of this one may
say, there is nor can be nothing
more wrong. For he that ex-.
amines, and upon fair exam
ination embraces an error for a
truth, has done his duty more
than he who embraces the pro-
fession ofthe truth without hav-
ing examined whether it is true
or not. And he that has done
his duty according to the best
of his ability, is certainly more
in the way to heaven than he
who has done nothing of it. For
if it be our duty to search after
truth, he certainly that has
searched for it, though he has
not found it, in some points has
paid a more acceptable obedi-
ence to the will of his Maker
than he that has not searched at
all, but processes to have found
truth when he has neither
searched for it nor found it.
For he that takes up the opin-
ions of and church in lump
examining them, has
truly neither searched after nor
found truth. but has only found
ruth, and 50 receives what they
say with an implicit faith, and
% opays them the homage which
is due only to God, who cannot
be deceived nor deceive. In
his way the several Churches
lin which, as one may observe,
u . UUH L H.f.H - lIH# ,
opinions are preferred to life,
Ind Orthodoxy is that which
they are concerned for and not
put the terms of saliva
lion on that which the author
of1 ow salvation does not put
5hem on, The believing of a
collection Of certain PROPOSE |
lions which are called and es-
teemed fundamental 8 articles, !
because it has pleased the COM
pliers to put them in their CON
fession of faith, it made condi-
lion of salvation"
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