The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-02-18


suasively Ofwhat constituted ministerial
power they had before them u living OK.
ample that spoke more forcibly than the
eloquence OF tongue" The UnirHdliSl
Lauder Of Boston remarks Of the lectures
that while they fall short OF most Of the
previous course In brilliance and suggest.
yeness, they are much more statesmanllke
That d, they DO not so much strain after
an ideal state as deal with practical one.
In reading the lectures OF Beecher, Hall,
StoFrs, Brooks, Dale, one Is more impress.
cd with the keenness, vigor and literary
charm Of the speaker. In reading Bishof,
Simpsons he feels at once that he isslttinp
at the feet Of apractical master Of the great
art Of church administration"
Some one has sent to the 1SFEtlloEScER
(marked for the Religious Drift" column)
a long account, from the Baltimore Sun, Of
the conversion Of o Protestant minister Of
that city to the Catholic Church. Such an
event Is not such all uncommon occur.
renee in these days as to justify us in de.
voting whole column Of our space to It.
We quote however as follows from the
conversation that occurred between the
reporter ofthe San aud the minister:
"He said no believed there were no
branches Of the Protestant Church which
could lay claim to the title OF the true
church; that they ali sprang originally
from the Catholic Church, and the latter,
In order 70 preserve the unity which char.
acterized her, was forced 10 ignore them.
The Reformed Church, to which no be.
longed, was the creation OF zwingle dur.
ing the reformation In Switzerland in the
sixteenth century. 1t, OF course, In com.
mon with the other dissenting churches,
denied the doctrine OF authority, thus
opening the way for the right OF private
judgment or the exercise OF indiyid.
ual opinion, and, as a result, hosting
the floodgates and letting in every species
Of belief. On the question Of the
eucharist, which he considered one
Of the distinctive marks Of the Catholic
Church, the Reformed Church made the
Lords Supper only O bald memento
Of Christ's life and death, just as ono
might celebrate Washington's birthday.
Luther, on the other hand, went a step
further, and while not believing In tran.
substantiation, held 10 consubstantiation,
this being the distinction between spir.
itual real presence aud real spiritual
presence,) or aspiritual presence under
an outward form. On this point he was,
therefore, at variance with Protestants.
The next point was as to holiness, doc.
trine which the Protestant churches had
abjured. It was true that many in
the Methodist Episcopal Church held
the doctrine Of perfection, but this
only had reference to individual character,
and had no significance such as attached
TO the doctrine oil the saints. Another
central idea was that OF unity, which could
not be found In the Protestant Churches
Of to-day, amongst which, he said, there
was no Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.
The command to 60 into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature was
not merely radiation from one common
centre which would influence individual
life, but a gathering in Of all the world.
In conjunction with this there was also
command TO teach, and hear the doctrine
OF intallibility asserted itself. True Il was
that Protestants believed in the in.
tallibility OF the Scriptures, but OF what
use was this so long as they placed
their own Interpretation upon them. The
most eminent theologians, amongst them
DR.. Nevin, had argued for the doctrine OF
infallibility, holding that they werevIrtu,
ally useless unless there was power
which could apprehend and interpret
their meaning. As TO the doctrine OF con.
iession, that, he said, was only sacra.
mental penance, differing from repentance
in that while tile one was only sorrow.
ful feeling the other involved restitution.
The celi6acy Of the priesthood was Of
caIrse only TN arrangement. The doctrine
Of purgatory or middle state he believed
in. Purgatory was simply state (uot a
place. where q process Of publication went
on, and could not, any more than Heaven,
be called place so long as soul and body
were disunited. These views, he said,
had been gradually forming in his mind
for the past twonty years. They could be
easily reconciled even with Ills public
teachings during that time. He had al.
ways advocated the presence in the Lords
Supper and preached the gospel, although
keeping the question Of authority in the
background, so that he had nothing to
take back.