The record-union., 1894-02-03

constantly IN tQolf mlnu tue WdTIlHS vi
st. Paul that 'perilous times shall come
when men shall be false accusers.' II
such traitors there are, they must be
known individually: they must be IL
some ecclesiastical jurisdiction; they can
be put upon their trial, and II convicted
they can, and most unquestionably ought
to be, excluded from the ministry
''But what is church unity?" asks the
National Baptist of Philadelphia. 1T
would seem to involve the union of all
churches into a single body. Such a
union might be based upon a surrender
by such denomination of everything dis
tinctive; all would unite upon the basis
of what they hold in common, which
would be, of course, only few general
and rudimentary principles OF Chris
tianity; but would there be anything
practical IN this? The Baptist would be
expected to recognize as Scriptural an
ordinance which he believes TO be un-
scriptural as to its form and its subject;
unless, on the other hand, other believers
should relinquish what they hold as
Scriptural and important How can
church unity exist between those who be-
Iieve in the independence Of each church,
of each believer, and those who hold to
Presbyterian or Episcopal Church gov
erment? Suppose that all such obstacles
were united in a single denomination.
They would naturally form affiliations
within the denomination, and there would
be church on one corner holding and
practicing one thing, and another church
upon another corner holding and practiS-
ing the opposite. while yet all would be
within one denomination. Would there
be any real unity?"
Commenting upon the letters from Ro-
man Catholic Bishops on the school
question, published in the New York
Independent, the Boston JV0tchmdn
(Bapt.) observes "These letters also
make it indubitably clear that the lead
ers of the Roman Catholic Church in the
United States have little sympathy with
our cardinal constitutional principles of
the separation OF Church and State. The
notion that the State is responsible for
the religious education Of children, and
that the church may rightfully use the
forces of the State TO compass Its own
ends, underlies most OF these letters. In
Italy the Roman Church is working to-
ward q resumption tits temporal power,
and throughout the world it aims to
strengthen itself by the skillful manipu-
lation of the resources of the State.
Protestant denominations may withdraw
their Indian schools from Government
patronage in accordance with the princi-
pie of the separation of Church and State,
the Roman Catholic Church has no no.
ton of doing anything Of the kind. 1t is
after all the public money it can get; it
aims to control legislation in its own in
terests; it has no scruple against the Sec
tartan employment of civil forces. 1t is
on this question that the fate of free in
stitutions in the United States turns. The
record of only one of the Protestant
churches is clear as to this vital issue.
Every other denomination except our
own has had to be converted TO the doc
trine of the separation of Church and
State. The leaven, however, has been at
work, and in America a united Protest
antisln stands for this great principle
which Roman Catholicism denies and
antagOniZeS."
ga symposium of Catholic prelates ap-
pears in the Independent" says the Inte-
riOr (Pres.) of Chicago. Almost with
out exception they protest that they are
not hostile to the public free school sys-
tenn. Nevertheless. they nearly all de-
sire religious teaching-by which they
mean the dOgmatic system of the Catholic
Church-so much of it as children may
learn. But that would destroy the free
school system. 1t is impossible to con-
ceive of the two co-existing in this coun-
try. The Catholic prelates withdraw the
children because their catechism is not
taught. How many would remain if it
were taught? We would insist upon our
withdraw if we had our way, and so all
around. 1t is preposterous for a man to
say that he is not hostile to the free school
system so long as he makes demands
which he and every one else knows are
destructive"