The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-11-01

brotherhood OF man and the fatherhood
OF God, and laying broad and deep the
foundations OF civil and religious lib
erty, on which has built up the grand
civilizations OF the nineteenth century.
Humanity speaking, no season was
more unpropitious for such a moye-
ment. True, there was spirit OF UNI
rest among the nations, as there al
ways will be when despotlsm rules
with iron hand. In the fall Of Constan-
tinople and the dispersion OF scholars,
the discovery OF America and the WIDEN
ing OF commercial enterprise, the inyen-
ton OF printing and the rise of the new
learning" there had been provldentially
arranged agencies that became potent
in furthering the new movement when
once fairly begun. But each and all
would have In themselves failed to
shake the reignins depotism, or at best
have only modified 1t little in the
clash OF conflict OF changing IDEAS,
All along the history OF the church
there had been earnest protests against
its errors and corruption Cody men
from time to time had raised the
standard Of reform, but only to meet
the dungeon or the stake, Two centu-
ries before Luthers time, Wickliffe had
tried It in England and was only saved
from maytrydom by his powerful friend,
John of Gaunt. Huss and Jerome had
tried 1t In Bohemia, and Savonorola In
Italy, and all went TO the stake for
daring to question papal authority and
will. Had Luther lived In Italy or
France, or even England, where the
sovereign will was absolute and in abb
ject submission to that OF the pope of
Rome, he, too, might have gone TO the
stake, and that In hurry. But provi-
dentially he was German, and In Ger
many the feudal system still fingered,
with Its numerous municipalities, each
independent and acknowledging alle-
glance only to its own chief. The most
powerful OF all these chiefs was Fred
erick of Saxony. 1t was to Frederick
that Charles was mainly indebted for
his election as Emperor OF Germany.
But Bredeick was also the friend OF
Luther. And while Frederick was not
always In accord with the violent Ian
guage and movements or Luther yet
he always interposed for his protection
and held Charles from enforcing the de-
mand Of the pope ,hat Luther be hand
ed over for the punishment due to re-
fractory heretics. which In that day
meant the stake. Thus 1t came to pass
that the revolt against Rome had time
and opportunity to gather long before
the temporal power was prepared to
move effectively to crush It, Thus the
reformation became political as well as
religious. 1t was struggle with ar
bitrary power and despotism both in
church and state and everywhere.
There could be no real reform which did
not assail the foundation on which this
vast political and ecclesiastical despot-
ism rested. The reformation did this,
and this necessarily brought with 1t the
fundamental principles of civil as well
as religious liberty. It's success meant
the building up Of states that should
be independent OF Rome-a denial of
the right of the pope to interfere In
civil government or to demand their aid
in Furnishing so-called heretics. bring
Ing priests and bishops into subsection
| to the civil power 1t meant freedom of
conscience and liberty Of thought-edu-
cation and elevation Of the masses, re-
dress OF wrongs in church and state.
direct challenge of the civil and
| churchly despotism which ruled all Eu-
rope through the pope. 1t was by the
binding and crushing of this great hier-
archial system into powder that the
reformation must win Its way, IL ut all
and that amid fiery trial, bloody bap-
tlsms, desolating wars heroic suffer
lngs and sacrifices.
LUTHER'S ENUNCIATIoN.
Tho principles OF Luther first partial
ly enuncated in the 90 theses which he
nailed to the church door In Witten-
burg, on the 3lst OF October, 1917, and
Eater his book on the liberty OF the
Christian man involved not only the per-
sonal liberty OF the Individual christian
| but also the religions freedom OF the
church.. and the political liberty OF the
| state. Notwithstanding the efforts of
the emperor and the pope 20 crush
| them, they were embraced by many
princes and theologlans and in due
| time found authoritative expression Is
united public manlfestos The first OF
these documents was the celebrated
laprotest of Speyer. delivered to the diet
assembled at that place In April, 1929,
by the Protestant princes and theolo-
CLANS, In which they protested against
| the authority Of the state In matters OF
religion, and exalted that of conscience
above 1t, as well as against the author
| ity OF the decisions Of popes and the
councils in matters Of faith and ex-
allied that of the holy scriptures above
them. 1t was this earnest protest
against the absolutelsm in state and
church that won them the immortal
name OF Professionals
The second OF these public declara-
tons took place at Augsburg, June 20,
1890 In the form OF the Augsburg Con-
fession, in two articles OF which the
relation between the civil and ecclesi-
| astcal governments Is set forth, the
powers their rulers are respectively to
exercise, the obedience which Is to be
| rendered to each, the sphere In which
the exercise of their power ls to be lin
tied, and the specific ends which each
| is to obtain and to which II Is to be re-
strIcted, are discriminatory stated
The rejection, by the emperorof these
principles thus confessed. and the Issue
Of the edict Of Augsburg Of uncondi-
tIonal submission, left five states and
eleven cities to form the League OF
Smalcald in December, 1880, by which
they placed 1900 men under arms TO
resist the enforcement OF the oppression
edict. The kings Of England, Denmark
and France were asked to Join this
league OF defense against oppression
of civil and religious liberty. France re-
fused, but the others favored II. This
league continued IN force to the death
df Luther In 1876 In this way were the
principles OF cvIl and religious liberty
asserted by Luther, and authoritativcly
declared, confessed and defended both
by the Evangelical church and the
state until the time, OF his death,
It Is easy to trace all the religious
freedom enjoyed In modern times by
the church, and all che political liberty
secured by the state, to the principles
of Luther set forth In his book on the
freedom OF the Christian man. and re-
llerated In the protest Mt Speycr mud
the Confession Of Augsburg and de-
Cended and maintained by the League