Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-04-15
THE INFALLIBLE CHURCH

A>ASAAOk Il
Last Evening.
The Cathedral was filled again last evening |
by an audience interested in hearing Bishop
heland's continuation of the controversy,
which has of late been in progress betwe en-
the Catholic and Episcopal churches in III
city. After the preliminary services the
Bishop read his text and proceeded as fol-
lows:
Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my
words shall not pass away.-Mark XIII, Y. 81.
l have claimed this season your attention
during an unusual length of time; my just f.
cation beg You to find in the numerous re.
plies which the controversy has elected from
Protestant pulpits, and which my duty to
truth does not permit me to leave unnoticed.
The respected editor of the Pioneer Press
believes that the public is weary of the dis
cussion. The same questions, he tells us, have
been under agitation ever since the days Of
Cranmer and now that each one can go to
Haven by the road he himself chooses, it is
better to let them pass into oblivion. The
public to which the editor alludes, Is the por-
ton of the community who have slight care
for the aQ-important business, the salvation of
their souls. They are still the many, how
ever, who hopefully aspire to q haven of rest
beyond the skies, ard who, knowing that the
Supreme Master grants the reward on his own
CT Ut 49, re alize the necessity OF studylngt tn Sc
conditions. The nineteenth century is noted
for its discoveries; this one, whatever some
may fancy, it has not made-that the creature
Is the superior of the creator, and can dictate
his own terms of alliance. Christ wrought
,tupendous miracles to prove His divine au-
thority. and then putting forth his law before
the world, He demanded compliance with it
nd nv nf damn
lieyeth not shall be condemned" 1t surely is
40 idle task for my hearers to inquire the
meaning Of Christ revelation, and would not
oe faithful minister Of the gospelwere no.
always ready to repeat to them its truths.
| Tie coLt oversy beswee The Ca.hclic church
aud Protes1an i ,m dates back to the days of
C.anmer. It is however, but one form of The
controversy between truth and error, which is
n old even as the world ITSELF A thing most
/ certain religious truth is either with the Cath
bic church or with Protestantism-it is not
With both, and SO long os the two forms Of
christianity subsist, the controversy has its vi
| 5al interest for gel ious-minded men. But at no
| time, might add, since the origin of Protest
| lntism has the occasion been more propitious
tor religious discussion than in our own age.
Protestant SIN for awhile retained large frag-
nents Of Catholic d ,gmas and Catholic disc
oiine, and wore an outward appearance
not SO much unlike the church but hat u super
| icial glance at it might mslead the unthink-
| ing. There was never in it an inward principle
| # life and unity, but time was needed that
This radical defect should show itself in all its
oaneful results. The most potent heresy of
! .ncient ages lasted three centuries-Alianism.
The same fate seems to be awarded to Protest.
.ntism. Its disintegr Ation, at the present
| lime. is most rapid; its divisions are number
| less; the,charts which heretofore have been its
guides, are in shreds; some of it's most devoted
adherents admit that it is failure, and that its
| origin-the religious secession Of the I6:h cen
| 5ury-w a mistake. 1t is the moment, sure
| y, to put before mems minds the everlasting
church, from which the separation was made,
| and which alone possesses within her bosom
;he truths and graces which can save the world
from relapse into paganism.
The mistake men usually make when asked
TO consider the claims of the church to thei1
allegiance, is to persist in viewing her
mere human organization. Hence the difficulty
hey experience IN submitting unleservedly
heir intellect to her teachings il
matters of faith and morals, ane
n understanding the heinous sin Of schisn
md heresy. The church is human in her Wis
BILE elements; in other respects she is divine
,olity. The church is divine in her origin, il
| Ter authority, and in her inner life which i
,othing less than the abiding presence Of tn
Ioly Ghost.
Christ appeared on the earth as the beare
# a revelation, demanding from men the full
sent OF the mind to His words. HE tina
'elieveth not He said, shall be condemned
| lis mission was ito bring into captivity yer
understanding to the obedience of Christi Thi
submission OF the part Of men presupposes in
:allibility in Christ. Were error or deception
possible in His words, the human intellec
could not in justice to truth commit itself I
infallibility, preceded and accompanied hi
preaching. The voice of revelation, neces
,arily, is the voice of infallibility.
, But Christ intended his revelation not onl
Cor his contemporaries, but for men of all ages
until the contamination of the world and
e future :ner stions the words He ha d spoken
? PALESTINE This messenger was the church. I wi
: not pause tonight to prove this statement. It
; ! a fact indisputable. self-evident. The Protes
mt theory that the Bible is Christ's rule {
faith falls at once to the ground, the momer
/ whole century Of Christianity had elapsed b,
fore all the parts of the New Testament wei
? written, and not one word ever fell from OF
Lords lips that could be construed eve
DIS an allusion to it.
!. The church sChrist's own work-essentiall
divine in her origin, and her mission. 20
this rock,' He said, II mill build M church.
, He himself gathered together her social ell,
ments, marked the terms of membership
named her rulers, and invested her with al
thority. The fabric completed when O
Mount Olivet, shortly before the ascension, q
/
doing, teach We all nations. Preac
t the gospel to every creature" The Office Il
assigned to her was to represent Him in til
world, to continue His own mission, to exercis
His own powers. ''As the Father sent Me, 8
, also send you.'' ''All power is given to NJ
We all Nations - ~ He sbat beieVet iea nc
shall be condemned HE that receiveth YOU
receiveth Me. He that despiseth you, despiset
Me-"
Such as He built the church, with oil her al
tributes. with her full social organism, was sh
to endure amid all ages. The duration Of tn
church follows from the purpose for which sh
vas designed-to be the depository of Christ
truths and graces. These truths and graces ar
the conditions of salvation. and as Christ will
ed that all should be saved, so must He hav
preserved the church during time.
| 1t is but right that what man builds-him
self . fral being of a day-should have bu
short existence; his work mirrors his frailty
1t is different with God. What He builds n
power-except His own william destroy. l
, the beginning He poised the heavens in th
midst OF space-has change come over them
5 So with his great work upon earth--the church
3 He built her for the salvation of men, and i
/ mercy name Hr guards her. He built hel
too, as mark of His power in the void, an
to the honor of His majesty, He made her
vinely strong. The stability of His church is
' matter on which, So to speak, He has stake
: His glory, His skill; He defes the very powe,
. Of he'll to injure her. '.On this rock wi
build my chnrch"-behold the solid founds
ton upon which He rests her ''The raj
falls, the wind blows, the flood beats agains
it, but the house stands, for it is built upo
. the rock. On this rock will build my churcl
3 and the gates of hell shall not prevail againi
/ her," 1t is God who speaks-will men say thu
hell has prevailed against the church? A
: authority and protection granted to the fir
, APOSTLES was granted to their successors unit
the end of time. The church was to undergo 4