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


remains, as to the meaning Of what the oracle
a1d say. We requirelight before our own eyes,
desert of life.
Christ established the church with mission
20 teach, requiring from us the same assent to
her teachings, as to His own. OF himself, He
has said: He that belicveth not in the Son
OF Man. is already Judged OF the apostles
until the end Of time-He said: HE that |
believeth not shall be damned" Immediate |
assent to the church's voice is commanded. |
God cannot command assent, where error is |
possible. Revelation requires infallibility in |
Him who first gives it to the world, and, no !
less, in her who is the messenger to bear it to |
me. For, if this messenger could fail. l could |
make no act of faith in its truth no more than
if the first oracle of this revelation could HIM
self have been fallible.
The church takes Christ's place upon earth;
she is His ambassador, His living tribunal.
''As the Father sent Me. 80 also / send you.
He that heareth not the church, let him be to
thee heather and publican" legisla-
with lerning and wisdom. So must Christ
have done with His church. Human legisla-
tors bestow upon their tribunals judicial infal-
ibility; it is all they can do. In the contem-
p!ation of our constitution the Supreme Court
cannot err; there is no legal power authorized
it might err; still the very life of the nation
demands that there should be somewhere
final power of decision, even if an occasional
erroneous judgment is possible, and the court
remains judicially infallible. The church is
Christ's tribunal. He has but to speak and
she shall have actual infallibility. He owes
it to Himself that it should tie SO. His works
must show more wisdom than those of men.
The Church speaks in His name; her errors. ii
any, would fall back upon Himself. She is
His plenipotentiary to men; what sovereign
who does not strive that his ambassadors
%t~v ~Cr2 f~.1
speaking in Gods name, invested with Gods
authority, cannot be the victim of mistakes:
God for His own honor guards it.
Listen now to the direct promsises which
Christ made to the Church: 1.-The gates o!
hell shall not prevail against her. If the
obliged to obey her, would abe not have fail
ed-would not the gates of hell have triumphed
over her? Her mission is 10 teach truth, to re-
peat Christ's revelation; once fallen into error
or superstition, her mission is at an end, she Ii
more than useless in the world she is dead.
The Lord begins, as follows His charge to the
apostles to teach all nations: ''All power l.
given to me in heaven and in EARTH It is as
if He said, what bid you dc, is not possible tc
men; My divine power is needed to enabl.
you to obey My command. '.All power i.
given to Me. Going, therefore, teach. Anc
consummation of the world
In scripture, when God assigns
to persons duty of peculiar difficulty, He i
| won't to add. Il am with YOU to assure them
of success. II am with YOU says Christ tc
the apostles; the full accomplishment of thei,
tea Oh all cations, teaching them all thing
whatsoever He has said "Going, teach We.
and behold am with you.'' Is not the prom.
! Use most plain, most explicit. Can the apostle.
fail in their teaching? Can infallibility eve,
| depart from their successors! II am with you
| ALWAYS, even unto the consummation of the
world.
Il will ask the Father, and he will Sgivc you
another Paraclete that he may abide with you
| forever,-the spirit of truth-he viii teaci
you all truth" The spirit of truth will abid,
with the teachers of the church all days
for the purpose of teaching them truth; i
the apostles fail to repeat truth, the Paracle1
| has failed in his mission.
Freighted with her divine truth Christ
promises shielding her, the CHI urch Logan he
career over eighteen centuries ago. The diff
culties that have beset her way, need no
tell-imperial prosecutions, barbarian inva
sions, heresles and schisms, tyranny of kings
perfdy and crime amid false disciples, a q
philosophy-what could I name that has 40
tried its force against the church? Has sh
failed in her mission, taught error? I answer
has Christ been faithful to his promises?
In a previous lecture l have told you that tn
proofs of the church are tHs clear, positiv
witnesses, the evangelists. have no,
placed before you these words. How differen
1t is for the theories Of Professionalism. Nc
one word can be quoted, establishing tn
Bible the rule OF faith; not one word, tina
would prove to us the inspiration of the Ne,
Testament.
Then, in the church. we have living messeI
ger to teach us, to bridge over for us the age
that separate us from Christ, to repeat to us Iii
words. In Professionalism. we have silen
book, which will be interpreted according I
the bias of each ones mlnd and which wi
never contradict Misrepresentation of il
meaning. We're ever things SO.
the least perfect Of human politics
| The last exposition of Protestantisl
given by Mr.. Ten Brock is peculiar, and ma
be appropriately noticed at tuis point q
my discourse. say-the last exposition
for he had previously given Others. At first, /
! confessed that supreme court is needed to int
pref q constitutions; reason was his supren
2 court. After some arguments of mine, he a
serted that this reason was common sens
-sensus communists" I then asked him [
state. who is the authoritative exponent
: this sensus communists or to confess tnat it i
! after all, but private reason. A direct answt
to my question would have brought us near
conclusion of the controversy; but the O,
swer was not given. His church, according I
himself, is Protean, hard to be grasped; so,
true Episcopalian, he presented new theory
and the supreme tribunal. Where was thel
ever q written constitution without a tribuna
a living, speaking authority to interpret it
What citizen will say that written code is
once the constitution and the supreme court {
Minnesota? There was some meaning in M
) Ten Brock first theory, that '.reason" is th
supreme court: his last theory. l do not under
stand. Modern Chistian wisdom he says, ''ha
delegated to written instrument the functio
OF maintaining the rights of the people.
How will written instrument maintai
the rights Of a people, withou
q court to declare it's meaning. and an execu
tive to enforce this meaning?
, MIR. Ten Brock, l must add, is not onl
without court, but even without a constitr
ton. The scripture, he will say, is our const
tuition. But, although often invited, he wi
!, never prove to U.s. OH Protestant ground, tn
inspiration of the new testament; he will neve
bring forward a fact to show that the bible
Christ's rule of faith.
The constitution of the church is the word c
Christ, which she herself received from hi
lips, and which her ministry was commits
stoned to int rpret and to repeat to men of a
; ages. The fact that the church interpret
Gods word, does not, as AIR. Ten Broeck's car
insinuates, place her above his word, no MOI
than the messenger of monarch is made til
superior of the message contided to his guart
ianship. She acknowledges, too, as much
MIR. Ten Brock could desire her to do, that he
decisions must be in conformity with Christ
words. But che herself, as supreme court,
i the proper judge of this conformity. g
: court" he says, which does not recognize tt
i constitution as tribunal superior to itself,
despotism and is liable to impeachment
what polity, could ask, is the supreme cou1
, liable to impeachment? The allusion
t Furthermore entirely out of place, when tt
church is referred to, for she is infallible, an
| We are assured beforehand by Christ tn;
t he~ decisions shall surely be right.
The Jewish dispensation, which is not a sui
} jecC OF much dispute between Catholics an