Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-06-24
NUMBER n-ruE CHURCH.

At first the church did wonders IN rails
ing the people to a better idea VI God and
Of themselves. 1t asked. for honesty,
truth. purity, justice aud benesolence. 1t
gave NO counteuauce 10 that worIdliness
that ihaated ca that. ia any way, led to
pride, Heace II was e%utirelY opposed to
the exiravagsnce which is the concomit.
aut Of those vabities 1t insisted on free.
dom from debt. Its reforms were toward
Industry, frugality aud economy 1t asked
for fairness. in all business tran sactious.
OF course j, led TO the lettering Of indi-
vidual condition and to the elevation of
society, Aud ms inprovideuce and idle
ness led to crime against the laws, evil
practices diminished under its influence,
aud every habit of vice declined. So salu.
tary,you society. were the workings of n
pure christian church.
but, as id an earlier age a Pharaoh
arose who knew not joseph, so church
leaders came. by degrees, to slight the au-
tnority Of The divine word. This word
was designed to be the guide. for all time
to come to the church of Jesus Christ.
The departure from it was fatal, as time
proved to those virtues of which | have
spoken Error after error crept INTO the
church until, at last, was consumated that
great apo>tacy that saw a preaching min
istry Converted inte a priesthood. The
one was 10 preach jesus Christ US offered
for sinners On Calvary, he other was to
create oui of a -four wafer, Jesus Christ,
and offer him constantly on the altar for
the sins Of the congregation. AS the min
istry was ihus changed into a priesthood,
So, TO cor lespond, the Lords Supper vas
changed into the . obiation offthe Mass
Evil was the day that witnessed this
change! No preaching thence forward,
worthy Of the name. engaged the Thoughts
Of this lsaoerriotal class. d To such a copdl'
ton did this 10 time, reduce the clergy,
that, with here and there the exception
of a secular priest and a monk from the
9 blister, the preached gospel fell into des'
uetude. So true, and SO long continued,
and SO general was this, that, when it be-
came necessary in after ages to overthrow
the heretical Alblgenses, an order of fri
ars had to be founded to go and meet the
preaching '.here;ics." This order was
distinguished from the general clergy by
the titie--preqchiay 6iars.' Indeed the
very idea Of preaching was SO Oh.
scured thai the great body of the priest.
hood had almost wholly lost all knowledge
Of the Latin language.
As preaching the pure gospel was the
main agent in raising the nations from
idoary, so, after it fell in'o disuse, idola-
try revived. Thus it was that, in the
multiplied ages following the a %ostaoy,
every kind OF superstition set in. Here
was a Christ made, literally, Of wheat
-four, that was the object Of the Supreme
Worship. Here were iuualnerable advo.
Gates from the "Mother Of God down to
the latest martyr. Here, too, were the inl'
ages of the dead, the relics Of wood and
human bones. So engrossed did the pco'
pie Of those ages become with these vanl'
ties, that nothing less than the awful
scourge Of M~ahcmctlsn could bring them
back 10 a remembrance of the true OF God
This need not seem Incredible, and vii
npt When it is remembered that, OF The
churches in Asia. Minor, North Africa aud
Eastern Europe, the members, generally,
had been gathered from the Pagan com
munities, and, by consequence, when tha'
instruments, by which they were induces
to abandon their ito atry, was Withdrawn
they reIspsed into their idolatry again
As the deepening Of moral and social deg
relation, during what is now called TIT
: darh ayes" went on, efforts, III grea'
numbers. were put forth 10 save the PEG
pie from the sad deterioration hat, IN
stead of conducting to the END aimed al
they only supplemented the general de
basement. Arong these, ceiit'acy OF tn
! Priesthood, arricular confession, penance
Indulgence, aud splendid ritual may b'
named. Had the real preaching OF thu
! gospel been restored III the pulpi's' ant
the altar dispensed with, the divine Ke
%lligion would, at once, have ~re-appeared
So correct is this, that when u good monl
} Xix Btrnard, and after him, a priest lis
: Huss, went into the work ofyospel preach
ing, the genuine WORK OF chrisllani'.
showed itself at opce. Here is the key II
the Chief good Top 3 by the Monk, Luth
CIR, and his 60 ~adjutors. But, to this, tn
Papal Court has been ever unwilling I
|, return, The superstilious that have bee'
made to oyerlay christianity since . sacri
fcipg priesthood supplantsd . preachinI
ministry would, tas they actually hay'