The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-11

word Christian was doubtless first employed
| by the heathens. the word Christ being mis-
takenly understood by them not as n title but
as proper name. The invention Of the word.
| II IL was due to the heather. implies that the
Christians had already become more or less
| sharply distinguished from the Jews, and that
they were recognized as a separate, II not
wholly independent. religious sect. That
this should have been the case ut an early Jay
In Antioch is what we should expect il 1ukc's
report OF GENTLE conversions there he accepted.
Such unrjrcumcsel Gontilc Christians could
not become a part of the Jewish Church. 1t
was. therefore. inevitable. as their numbers in
creased that they should constitute either
alone or in company with such Jewish Chris
tians as had thrown OF the restraints Of tho
Mosaic law. community Of their own. which
had its religious life not within but without the
Jewish synagogue. SO soon az this state of
affairs existed. the conditions were present
which made the rise OF tho special name
christian possible. and II can hardly have
been very long before the name was coined
What did Paul do for Christianity? In his
answer to this question Prof McGifrcrt takes Il
middle ground between those who would OK
aggcratc and those who would cirrumscribe
the Importance OF Paul's work. Just what he
accomplished is thus defined: Paul was not the
founder Of Christianity: he was only It's great
est missionary. The Gentle Church. the
Church OF the world at large. owes its existence
and its rapid strength very largely to him: but
1t was by no means n Pauline Church: it was
Christian Church. and there was room in it. as
the event proved. for many other conceptions OF
the Gospel than the particular conception which
Paul himself preached. Outside Of Ebionitc
circles his name was always held in high honor.
but the Christianity OF the world-church Of
the second and subsequent centuries has little
likeness to the Christianity Of the eristles to
the Galatians. Corinthians and Romans. This
does not mean that the teachings Of Paul were
entirely neglected misunderstood Some
Of those teachings are reproduced in many
post-Pauline writings Yet even where they
are thus found they appear in nearly every
case in proportions and in relations different
from those in which they were originally
uttered. and combined NTH other ideas entire
ly foreign to laus Thought. Now one element.
now another. Of his teaching is seized upon by
this or that Christian and to it is given prom
inent or even n controlling place in his system.
but PauIs conception Of Christianity is lost.
Almost no one looks upon the Gospel precisely
rs Paul looked, or reprodu"rs his interpr"ta-
tlon OF II in its original PROPORTIONS.
This remarkable lack Of a genuine Paulinsm
in the writings OF tho early Christians is
attributed 10y Prof. McGiflert in some
measure to the fact that Paul's teachings.
which were largely the fruit of his own exrc-
rience, were too profound to be appreciated by
the mass of his converts. who possessed no
such religious nature as he was endowed with.
and who had passed through no such spiritual
crisis as had preceded his conversion to the
Christian faith. The absence OF n true pnulin-
ism is ascribcd more largely to the fact that
Paul was not tho only missionary of the kind
and that multitudes OF Gentle Christians re-
ceivcd the Gospel from other lips than
his. This was true OF the Christians
Of Alexandria. a city which he never visited.
and OF Rome. where he spent the closing
years OF his life. 1t was true. also OF many
provinces lying both east and west OF his mis-
slonary field. and even OF many communities
within the territory which he partially covered
Thus Pontus and Bthynia on the east. Gaul.
Spain and North Africa on the west. were never
visited by him. and even in the province of
Asia. where he labored so long. Colossal. Lao
dicea and Hierapolis. had not seen his face. II
even those who owed their conversion directly
to him proved commonly unable to npprehcnd
the full nature and Significance OF his teach
ings. much less was it to he expected that
those who knew him only by reputation, or
those who heard him only after their own con-
ceptions OF Christianity were already formed
and crvstalized. should understand his Cos
pei and make it their own. Still less was this
to be look ed for when tho Gospel which they had
received from others was commonly far more
In line with their own previous thought and
experience. and thus far more easily compre-
hended and accepted.
The Gospel which was brought to tho Gentle
world by other missionaries than Paul il il
pronounced impossible to reconstruct In ell its
details for the sources uron which we have to
depend for our knowledge Of it are very limit
ed. Prot. McGifTert believes. however that the
main substance Of it can be reproduced with
some degree OF confidence. Upon one capital
roint all OF he mssionar es to the Gentiles were
in agreement. both with each other and with
Paul Paul believed that the Gentle Christian
is free from the obligation to observe the Jcw-
ish law All the men that carried tho Gospel
to the heather world were commonly agreed,
moreover. that the Jewish Christian. as
well as his Gentle brother. is free
from such obligation. This principle needed
more time than did the other TO secure
general recognition. In Jerusalem. long after
the freedom Of Gentle Christians had been adj
mitted, the disciples Of Jewish birth continued
to observe their ancestral law in all its strict
ness and to insist upon the duty of all their
Christian compatriots to do the same There
can he no doubt that there were at that time
many jewish Christians outside OF Palestine
who followed the same course. But there
were many. also. and probably far more who
believed In the abrogaton o! the national code
for Jewish as well as Gentle disciples. Even
b'I'lc iuuI tUlpTeu upon MS missionary
career there werc those who held this opinion
and acted upon it in Antioch and elsewhere
quite independently OF him As time passed
and Christianity spread rather more widely in
the Roman world and the Gentle contingent
grew ever larger and more influential. the
number OF such jewish liberals must have in
creased with great rapdity. 1t was inevitable,
indeed. that those who still chung to the old
forms and refused to meet their Gentle breth-
rem on equal terms should find Themselves in
an ever more hopeless minority. and that the
Church at large should go its way without se-
riously concerning themselves about them
Prof. McGitfert deems It mistake to think
that tho question remained n burning one for
any length OF time. All the writings Of tho
first century bear witness to the contrary
1t will not do to explain the lnck OF references
to tho controversy touching the Mosaic law
in the non-Pauline literature Of that CEN
fury by assuming n desire on the part OF the