Table Of Content

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Church and the Census, by James Skinner This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The Church and the Census A Tract for the Times Author: James Skinner Release Date: March 20, 2021 [eBook #64877] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS*** Transcribed from the 1860 Joseph Masters edition by David Price. Many thanks to the British Library for making their copy available. A TRACT FOR THE TIMES. THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS. BY THE REV. JAMES SKINNER, M.A. LONDON: JOSEPH MASTERS, ALDERSGATE STREET, AND NEW BOND STREET. MDCCCLX. LONDON: PRINTED BY JOSEPH MASTERS AND CO., ALDERSGATE STREET. THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS. I desire to say what follows, in all earnestness, to my fellow-countrymen who have been, through God’s goodness, baptized into the Church of England. I shall be thankful, also, if others will patiently consider what is here set down. p. 2 p. 3 There can be no question that, in old times, God was pleased to set up a visible token, whereby the world might be convinced of His power and love. And this token was also a witness to God’s Truth. No one doubts that the Jewish Church and nation were the witnesses of God; and that they were His witnesses by His own express appointment. It is equally allowed, on all hands, that the Jewish Church and nation failed in their witness. They failed—not because the need of witnessing had been taken away; or their authority to witness had been loosened. But they failed, because, having the power of choice free—to stand by God or to desert Him, they chose to desert Him. They failed, because they chose to blind themselves to the need of witnessing. They failed, because they chose to set at nought that authority to witness with which they had been clothed. God’s law of always having His witness did not fail. The very failure of the Jewish Church and nation, in the place of witness, was a witness. The Jewish Church and nation could desert its place of witness. It could prefer its own will to God’s will. It could prefer the will of the people to the will of God. It could prefer the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of Heaven. And it did prefer its own will, and the will of the people, and the kingdom of this world. Look at the prophecy of Hosea, and what is there said of all Israel in the name of Ephraim. Read the seventh chapter. The Prophet is reproving the sins of the princes, and the great men of Israel. “All their kings are fallen.” The flame of civil discord has spread, and dried up the sources of legitimate authority among them. An anarchy of eleven years, after the death of Jeroboam II., has terminated in the assassination of Zachariah and his successors Shallum and Pekahiah. “And yet there is none among them that calleth unto Me,” saith the Lord. And then, he denounces judgment against the people in the mass, for their hypocrisy and unfaithfulness. Whereas, by God’s institution, they were a peculiar people,—witnesses for God, and separate from the world, “they have mixed themselves among the people,”—that is, among the idolaters of the land,—they are “as a cake not turned,” as a cake baked only on one side; serving God by halves, halting between two masters; worshipping God a little, and worshipping idols a little, and worshipping nothing much. And so, as a consequence, what must have followed, did follow. The Syrians, in the time of Jehoahaz, reduced them to great straits. They had but fifty horsemen and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen. [5] They were “made like the dust by threshing.” Shortly after, in the days of Menahem, they became tributaries to Pul, king of Assyria. [6] And at length they were carried away captive bodily by Shalmaneser. Now, all this has a forcible application to a spiritual state of things, and sets forth the condition of the Church in the world, as at other times, so especially at this time in which we live. Ephraim is the witness of God—testifying God’s Truth,—bearing God’s commission—appointed in the world to win and attract the people,—to draw them upward, far above worldly measures of things to the divine measure of things— to the things which shall be in the eternal Future, and to the fixed and unchangeable will of God, on which that eternal Future stands. But “Ephraim hath mixed himself” with the people,—he has “learned their inventions,”—he has adapted his witness to their demands,—he has lowered his standard of God’s appointment to the people’s standard of human construction. So that God’s teaching and man’s teaching have become confused and indifferently accepted, and they who have fallen into grave errors of faith are in no sense differently esteemed from those who have maintained the truth as revealed by God, and as witnessed by the Church in every land, in every age, by every tongue. And so, the spiritual Ephraim, who was set up for a witness to the truth, has become “a cake not turned,” a half- equipped soldier in the fight, with but half a heart to his Master’s service. What is the occasion which now presses? While many of us are praising God in grateful love for His unspeakable mercy in vouchsafing us His Truth—His determinate and fixed Truth—in which alone souls are saved—His Truth, as divinely committed to the Church “the pillar and ground of the Truth,”—and handed down from age to age in every land,—His Truth as mercifully retained and maintained in the Prayer Book of the Church of England,—set forth with categorical precision in the three Creeds of universal Christendom, and expanded and applied in the offices of Holy Baptism and the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ—while we are keeping solemn festival to the Glory of God, and the power of His Truth, the “religious world” is exciting itself with vexing hopes and fears about the decennial Census which the State is about to take of the religious condition of the country. I do not believe that this question excites churchmen, or that they care, except as a matter of political justice, what becomes of it. For themselves they know what they are, and where they stand, and in Whom they trust. And they are “ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.” With no “uncertain sound,” or doubting heart, but with plainness and boldness, as Christian men and women, “standing fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel, and nothing terrified by their adversaries.” [8] But it is a question full of importance, because of the evidence which it draws out of the condition of men’s minds among whom we live, and because of the lesson which that evidence reads to ourselves. I do not enter upon the question whether it is right or wrong for the state to ask people about their religion. My own conviction is that, under the distracting circumstances of religion in this country, it would be better and wiser for the state to abstain. And yet in common sense the state may as well demand information as to my religious profession, as in respect of my age or worldly calling. But the question having been raised, what is this evidence which it has brought to light, and which I say is so grave in its results? There is a vehement, almost a passionate resistance of the proposition, that men should give an account of their faith. p. 4 p. 5 p. 6 p. 7 p. 8 p. 9 It is true that Jesus Christ, the very Saviour and Redeemer of our souls, has said, “Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven; and whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.” [9a] But people on all sides are saying, “not so—not before men,— religion is a private and secret matter between God and me.” It is true that holy David declared that “he would speak even before kings and not be ashamed,” [9b] that S. John Baptist “confessed and denied not, but confessed;” [9c] that S. Paul, for himself, “continued witnessing to small and great,” [10a] and in the name of all Christians laid it down that “we believe and therefore speak,” [10b] and that “every tongue should confess.” [10c] But people on all sides are saying, “Not so—not confess, not witness, not speak,—any other test you please; number us as we sit here or stand there; but do not ask us to speak. We prefer to take our place with the ‘chief rulers who believed, but did not confess;’—we believe, but do not ask us to confess.” And this resistance has two sides—one political, and the other quasi-religious. Political men resist, because they say the Church of England holds them, and yet does not hold them. It holds them politically, gives them, if they demand it, baptism, or communion, or churching, or burial. Yet it does not hold them because they object to her services, and usages, and prefer preachers of their own, and other doctrines than hers. “We are Churchmen,” say these people, “in one sense, though not in another; and therefore we prefer not to define ourselves at all. We go to ‘meeting,’ but we have not parted final company with the Church. And as excommunication can alone sever the bond between us, we are glad that excommunication is now unknown.” Such is one side of the opposition to the notion of defining their faith. How shall they define it? Once perhaps when the Catechism was fresh upon the soft and docile mind of their childhood they might have been able, but now that is a mere reminiscence. They know not to-day what they may believe to-morrow. Meantime they will hold on to the Church as to a secular institution, and do what they can to secularize it. It will become more useful and less mischievous in their opinion, just as men cease to regard it as a “witness” for the glory of God, and a training school for the salvation of souls. The other side of the same opposition has more appearance of religious feeling about it. Men object to define their faith, because really and conscientiously they have no faith which they can define. “False shame,” “procrastination,” “self-distrust in honourable minds,” (as it has been mischievously called, [11]) “consciousness of imperfection,” such are the pleas with which they indulgently flatter themselves. They are not yet ripe for any “visible Church;” so they ignorantly and complacently express it; they mean to wait; they are not unchristian because they dare not make choice of a denomination yet. Surely not. By and by will be time enough. They will make a profession some day though not now. When I hear on every side as I mix with my fellow men, and read in every newspaper, as I strive to note down the voice of the public press as it gains upon the popular mind, such sentiments as these, I am bound to say that if this be not spiritually the reproduction of the picture of Ephraim, as Hosea drew it in the days of Israel’s apostasy, and as such, if it be not the accomplishment among ourselves of a prophetic announcement which spiritually concerned the Church of Christ, I know not where to find a prophecy fulfilled. “Ephraim he hath mixed himself among the people: Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not; yea, grey hairs are here and there upon him; yet he knoweth not.” [12] I will now presume to say something in the presence of this calamity which afflicts the Church of Christ in England. I. First, I will say that as Truth is one and indivisible, so your faith as English Churchmen, with the Cross of Christ upon your foreheads,—and the bond of the “Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship” in your hearts,—and the Prayer Book with its Catholic witness in your hands, is fixed, and easily defined. It is fixed, because otherwise it could not be the Truth. And you possess that which is fixed, because otherwise that which you possess could not be true. The Church of God is “the pillar and ground of the Truth;” [13] and you have the Truth from the Church of God. The Church of God does not create the Truth. The Church of God does not even give force and power to the Truth. But the Church of God is the depositary of the Truth. The Church of God has the Truth to keep, and to maintain, and to hand down. The Church of God is the orb, out of which the glorious light of the Truth shines and overspreads the earth. The Church of God is the candlestick which holds the light. The Church of God is the pillar on which the proclamation of the Truth is written, and held up and heralded through the world. You learn truth from that pillar. And that pillar is the Church of God? What Church of God? The one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of God. The same which delivered the “decrees of the Apostles and elders at Jerusalem:” [14] the same which confounded Arius at Nicæa: the same which overwhelmed Nestorius at Ephesus: the same which silenced Macedonius at Constantinople: the same which vanquished Eutyches at Chalcedon:—the one Holy Church throughout the world. 2. Next, I desire to lay down this—that, contrary to what the advocates of a religious census seem to imply—truth and numbers have no relation one to the other, unless it be that truth is with the few. The greatest number of mankind is yet in darkness and error; as S. John says, “the world lieth in wickedness.” p. 10 p. 11 p. 12 p. 13 p. 14 All God’s Word testifies that, compared with the many who forsake the truth, or who never accept it, or who deny it and lose its fruits, those who receive it, and live by it, and enter into its reward, are few. Of all the world at the time of the Flood only eight persons were worthy to be rescued. Among all the guilty families in the cities of the plain, only Lot’s escaped destruction. Of all the six hundred thousand Hebrews delivered out of Egypt, though blessed with the same miracles, conducted by the same Guide, and nourished by the same Manna, two only entered the promised land. In the taking of Jericho, of all the houses in the city only the harlot Rahab’s was spared. Of all the thirty and two thousand soldiers of Gideon, but three hundred were found worthy to contend for the Lord. And so, of all those olive berries and clusters of grapes set forth by the Prophet to describe the called of God,—there shall be saved only “as the shaking of the olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes, when the vintage is done.” [15] Therefore Religion is not for show, but for reality. God is for Truth, and not for numbers. And they who are truly wise must be content, as the Apostles of old were content, to have numbers against them, if so it be, and to pass in turn through good and evil report, in the honest and simple defence of what is true. This facing of the Truth against numbers is a necessity. And if you seek to shun it, you are sure nevertheless to encounter it; and with all the more roughness, for your efforts to escape it. If you side with the multitude, you will probably be magnified by those who are in the wrong. But you will hardly escape being censured by those who are in the right. And their commendation, if it makes less noise, has more value. You must not be dismayed, therefore, because the world is against you. You must not begin a course of action because it is popular; nor must you abandon a course of action because it is decried. Look to what pleases God, not to what will please the multitude. And then you will do what is right. You will be wise for God. And God is over all. 3. Once more. No earnest mind can entertain the thought of what is passing among us, without feeling that these are sifting times. Times of division, when errors abound, are always times of sifting; times in which God is trying what men are made of; whether they are corn or chaff, gold or dross, wheat or tares. Ephraim is “a cake not turned.” But who are guilty? “I will sift the House of Israel,” saith the Lord, “as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” [17a] This is the one comfort in the midst of so much sorrow. Whosoever is true grain, shall not be lost. See to it, then, that each soul among you is true grain. God is sifting your sincerity by the errors which He suffers to compass you about. “I hear there are divisions among you, and I believe it,” says the Apostle, “for there must be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest.” [17b] And your stability He is sifting—whether or not you are as Reuben, “unstable as water,” weak, and soft, and yielding, and inconstant. And your zeal, and your knowledge, and your love,—He is sifting all these, in this your day of probation. You have had great gifts at God’s Hand, unspeakable opportunities of knowing Him and His Truth—the Word of God, the witness of the Church, and the “Spirit leading you into all Truth” through the ordained means of grace—through Sacraments and Prayer. How is it with you? Are you yet “men” in knowledge, with the “full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” [18a] Or are you “children in understanding,” “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive?” [18b] Now is the test of your weakness or of your strength. Now it will be seen who is possessed by that enervated and timid spirit which inspires so many faltering hearts, and directs so many enfeebled wills, in this day of conflict for the Church of God. And, above all, your love is being sifted. Is your hold upon the Church and her teaching “rooted and grounded in love?” God is trying your love—your love to Himself, to Christ, to the Truth. The head is not a casket in which Truth can safely lie enshrined. It is soon stolen from thence. But, if you have lodged it in the heart, and embedded it there in folds of love, men may take out your heart, but out of your heart they cannot take the Truth. It is for want of love that so many men among us are cowards,—that so much is sacrificed to the first appearance of danger,—that so much is offered up to expediency, to popularity, to success. The world is a worshipper of success. But the world has no love for the Truth. The world knows nothing of the blessed joy of undergoing persecution and danger, and making ventures, for the Truth’s sake. And so, as “Ephraim has mixed himself” with the world, he is as “a cake not turned,” and “strangers have devoured his strength,” in this age of concession and falling away. But what says “He Who sitteth upon the throne?” “He that overcometh shall inherit all things.” [19] But the “fearful” or cowardly, (the δειλοὶ,) and the unfaithful or “unbelieving” (the ἄπιστοι,) the deserters who fall off from want of faith and patience, what of them? “they shall have their part with murderers, and whore-mongers, and idolaters, and liars, in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” [20a] And what says the Apostle? When love is perfect [20b] then we have “boldness in the crisis,” or judgment, or trial, of faith; and “love casts out fear.” And fear is the parent of all unlawful concessions. We owe the Truth an external service as well as an internal devotion. And they have no love for the Truth who withhold an external service. The faith of the heart will no more avail without the confession of the mouth, than the confession of the mouth will avail without the faith of the heart. p. 15 p. 16 p. 17 p. 18 p. 19 p. 20 If it be enough for Christ that you know Him, though you confess Him not before men, it will also be enough for you that He knows you, though, at the last, He confess you not before men. It is not enough to say, “I hold the Truth in my heart, but I am silent before the world.” And, therefore, Christ does not say, “he that confesseth Me in his heart;” but Christ says, “he that confesseth Me before men.” They are vital words, these words of Christ. Lay them up in your hearts, and live by them. Hear them at length. “Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father Which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Which is in Heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.” [21] POSTSCRIPT. While these pages are passing through the press, the Government has yielded the point at issue. It has yielded, against its own convictions. It has yielded to pressure,—and to pressure from those whom it considers wrong-headed, and unreasonable, and unjust. The Government believed and declared that it was fair, and right, and just, and necessary “for legislative purposes,” that the people of England should confess the religious profession which they make—each man his own. The Government still believes in the fairness, and justice, and necessity of such a declaration. But, because some persons object to it, on the ground that no man ought to be asked what his religion is, or whether he has any religion at all, and because those persons have political influence, the Government has yielded its convictions to those persons. The Government loves its convictions a little. It loves political influence much. And so, this has come out clear— whatever is just, and fair, and right, and even necessary for “legislative purposes,” has no chance of prevailing in the counsels of Government, unless, first, the political influence of the Government shall be secured. If on the side of injustice, and unfairness, and the entanglement and perversion of legislation, there should be political influence, that will be the side of the Government. Evil consequences in the future are nothing. Present place and present power are everything. I think this ought to be a lesson to Churchmen not to put faith in Governments. The Church can never lose by any measures which are just, and fair, and straightforward, and open. And, therefore, the Church had nothing to lose from the “religious profession” clause of the Census Bill. But as Governments do not bind themselves to keep their faith, and are always ready to sacrifice their convictions of justice to their lust of power, the Church must have no trust in Governments. The object of this tract is not affected by the weak and pitiful conduct of the Government. It never was my object to defend the “religious profession” clause. I have said that, considering the religious distractions of this country, I think it would be wiser for the Government to leave the religious profession of the people alone. And I say so still. Never to have proposed a Census of religious opinions at all would have been wise. But, to have proposed it—to have stoutly maintained the justice of it—to have asserted the necessity of it for equitable legislation,—and then, to have withdrawn it to satisfy an unreasoning handful of Dissenters, who make themselves heard in the House of Commons, is not to be characterized by any negative form of judgment. This is not simply want of wisdom. It is more like that moral imbecility which, in men whom God has burdened with a high trust, is really a crime. The object of this tract remains. And therefore, notwithstanding the course which the Government has taken, I send it forth to effect that object, as opportunity shall be found. I ask my countrymen and countrywomen—Christian men and women—simply to consider, as in the presence of God, these two appalling facts, which the discussion of the Census Bill has forced to the surface, in this day of Crisis for the Truth. 1. That thousands of baptized souls in England are content to believe nothing in particular. 2. That thousands more who protest that they do believe something in particular, protest also that they cannot “confess” that something “before men.” Price 2d., or 10s. per 100 for distribution. JOSEPH MASTERS AND CO., PRINTERS, ALDERSGATE STREET. p. 21 p. 22 p. 23 p. 24 FOOTNOTES. [5] 2 Kings xiii. 7. [6] 2 Kings xv. 19. [8] Phil. i. 27, 28. [9a] S. Matt. x. 32. [9b] Ps. cxix. 46. [9c] S. John i. 20. [10a] Acts xxvi. 22. [10b] 2 Cor. iv. 13. [10c] Phil. ii. 11. [11] See Daily News of May 11, 1860. [12] Hosea vii. 9. [13] 1 Tim. iii. 15. [14] Acts xv. [15] Isa. xxiv. 13. [17a] Amos ix. 9. [17b] 1 Cor. xi. 19. [18a] Col. ii. 2. [18b] Eph. iv. 14. [19] Rev. xxi. 7. [20a] Rev. xxi. 8. [20b] 1 S. John iv. 17, 18. [21] S. Matt. x. 32–39. ***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS*** ***** This file should be named 64877-h.htm or 64877-h.zip****** This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/4/8/7/64877 Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. START: FULL LICENSE THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg-tm License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided that * You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." * You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm works. * You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. * You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact For additional contact information: Dr. Gregory B. Newby Chief Executive and Director

ebook img

The Church and the Census by James Skinner PDF

11 Pages·2021·0.11 MB·English
by  
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Upgrade Premium
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview The Church and the Census by James Skinner

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Church and the Census, by James Skinner This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The Church and the Census A Tract for the Times Author: James Skinner Release Date: March 20, 2021 [eBook #64877] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS*** Transcribed from the 1860 Joseph Masters edition by David Price. Many thanks to the British Library for making their copy available. A TRACT FOR THE TIMES. THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS. BY THE REV. JAMES SKINNER, M.A. LONDON: JOSEPH MASTERS, ALDERSGATE STREET, AND NEW BOND STREET. MDCCCLX. LONDON: PRINTED BY JOSEPH MASTERS AND CO., ALDERSGATE STREET. THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS. I desire to say what follows, in all earnestness, to my fellow-countrymen who have been, through God’s goodness, baptized into the Church of England. I shall be thankful, also, if others will patiently consider what is here set down. p. 2 p. 3 There can be no question that, in old times, God was pleased to set up a visible token, whereby the world might be convinced of His power and love. And this token was also a witness to God’s Truth. No one doubts that the Jewish Church and nation were the witnesses of God; and that they were His witnesses by His own express appointment. It is equally allowed, on all hands, that the Jewish Church and nation failed in their witness. They failed—not because the need of witnessing had been taken away; or their authority to witness had been loosened. But they failed, because, having the power of choice free—to stand by God or to desert Him, they chose to desert Him. They failed, because they chose to blind themselves to the need of witnessing. They failed, because they chose to set at nought that authority to witness with which they had been clothed. God’s law of always having His witness did not fail. The very failure of the Jewish Church and nation, in the place of witness, was a witness. The Jewish Church and nation could desert its place of witness. It could prefer its own will to God’s will. It could prefer the will of the people to the will of God. It could prefer the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of Heaven. And it did prefer its own will, and the will of the people, and the kingdom of this world. Look at the prophecy of Hosea, and what is there said of all Israel in the name of Ephraim. Read the seventh chapter. The Prophet is reproving the sins of the princes, and the great men of Israel. “All their kings are fallen.” The flame of civil discord has spread, and dried up the sources of legitimate authority among them. An anarchy of eleven years, after the death of Jeroboam II., has terminated in the assassination of Zachariah and his successors Shallum and Pekahiah. “And yet there is none among them that calleth unto Me,” saith the Lord. And then, he denounces judgment against the people in the mass, for their hypocrisy and unfaithfulness. Whereas, by God’s institution, they were a peculiar people,—witnesses for God, and separate from the world, “they have mixed themselves among the people,”—that is, among the idolaters of the land,—they are “as a cake not turned,” as a cake baked only on one side; serving God by halves, halting between two masters; worshipping God a little, and worshipping idols a little, and worshipping nothing much. And so, as a consequence, what must have followed, did follow. The Syrians, in the time of Jehoahaz, reduced them to great straits. They had but fifty horsemen and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen. [5] They were “made like the dust by threshing.” Shortly after, in the days of Menahem, they became tributaries to Pul, king of Assyria. [6] And at length they were carried away captive bodily by Shalmaneser. Now, all this has a forcible application to a spiritual state of things, and sets forth the condition of the Church in the world, as at other times, so especially at this time in which we live. Ephraim is the witness of God—testifying God’s Truth,—bearing God’s commission—appointed in the world to win and attract the people,—to draw them upward, far above worldly measures of things to the divine measure of things— to the things which shall be in the eternal Future, and to the fixed and unchangeable will of God, on which that eternal Future stands. But “Ephraim hath mixed himself” with the people,—he has “learned their inventions,”—he has adapted his witness to their demands,—he has lowered his standard of God’s appointment to the people’s standard of human construction. So that God’s teaching and man’s teaching have become confused and indifferently accepted, and they who have fallen into grave errors of faith are in no sense differently esteemed from those who have maintained the truth as revealed by God, and as witnessed by the Church in every land, in every age, by every tongue. And so, the spiritual Ephraim, who was set up for a witness to the truth, has become “a cake not turned,” a half- equipped soldier in the fight, with but half a heart to his Master’s service. What is the occasion which now presses? While many of us are praising God in grateful love for His unspeakable mercy in vouchsafing us His Truth—His determinate and fixed Truth—in which alone souls are saved—His Truth, as divinely committed to the Church “the pillar and ground of the Truth,”—and handed down from age to age in every land,—His Truth as mercifully retained and maintained in the Prayer Book of the Church of England,—set forth with categorical precision in the three Creeds of universal Christendom, and expanded and applied in the offices of Holy Baptism and the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ—while we are keeping solemn festival to the Glory of God, and the power of His Truth, the “religious world” is exciting itself with vexing hopes and fears about the decennial Census which the State is about to take of the religious condition of the country. I do not believe that this question excites churchmen, or that they care, except as a matter of political justice, what becomes of it. For themselves they know what they are, and where they stand, and in Whom they trust. And they are “ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.” With no “uncertain sound,” or doubting heart, but with plainness and boldness, as Christian men and women, “standing fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel, and nothing terrified by their adversaries.” [8] But it is a question full of importance, because of the evidence which it draws out of the condition of men’s minds among whom we live, and because of the lesson which that evidence reads to ourselves. I do not enter upon the question whether it is right or wrong for the state to ask people about their religion. My own conviction is that, under the distracting circumstances of religion in this country, it would be better and wiser for the state to abstain. And yet in common sense the state may as well demand information as to my religious profession, as in respect of my age or worldly calling. But the question having been raised, what is this evidence which it has brought to light, and which I say is so grave in its results? There is a vehement, almost a passionate resistance of the proposition, that men should give an account of their faith. p. 4 p. 5 p. 6 p. 7 p. 8 p. 9 It is true that Jesus Christ, the very Saviour and Redeemer of our souls, has said, “Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven; and whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.” [9a] But people on all sides are saying, “not so—not before men,— religion is a private and secret matter between God and me.” It is true that holy David declared that “he would speak even before kings and not be ashamed,” [9b] that S. John Baptist “confessed and denied not, but confessed;” [9c] that S. Paul, for himself, “continued witnessing to small and great,” [10a] and in the name of all Christians laid it down that “we believe and therefore speak,” [10b] and that “every tongue should confess.” [10c] But people on all sides are saying, “Not so—not confess, not witness, not speak,—any other test you please; number us as we sit here or stand there; but do not ask us to speak. We prefer to take our place with the ‘chief rulers who believed, but did not confess;’—we believe, but do not ask us to confess.” And this resistance has two sides—one political, and the other quasi-religious. Political men resist, because they say the Church of England holds them, and yet does not hold them. It holds them politically, gives them, if they demand it, baptism, or communion, or churching, or burial. Yet it does not hold them because they object to her services, and usages, and prefer preachers of their own, and other doctrines than hers. “We are Churchmen,” say these people, “in one sense, though not in another; and therefore we prefer not to define ourselves at all. We go to ‘meeting,’ but we have not parted final company with the Church. And as excommunication can alone sever the bond between us, we are glad that excommunication is now unknown.” Such is one side of the opposition to the notion of defining their faith. How shall they define it? Once perhaps when the Catechism was fresh upon the soft and docile mind of their childhood they might have been able, but now that is a mere reminiscence. They know not to-day what they may believe to-morrow. Meantime they will hold on to the Church as to a secular institution, and do what they can to secularize it. It will become more useful and less mischievous in their opinion, just as men cease to regard it as a “witness” for the glory of God, and a training school for the salvation of souls. The other side of the same opposition has more appearance of religious feeling about it. Men object to define their faith, because really and conscientiously they have no faith which they can define. “False shame,” “procrastination,” “self-distrust in honourable minds,” (as it has been mischievously called, [11]) “consciousness of imperfection,” such are the pleas with which they indulgently flatter themselves. They are not yet ripe for any “visible Church;” so they ignorantly and complacently express it; they mean to wait; they are not unchristian because they dare not make choice of a denomination yet. Surely not. By and by will be time enough. They will make a profession some day though not now. When I hear on every side as I mix with my fellow men, and read in every newspaper, as I strive to note down the voice of the public press as it gains upon the popular mind, such sentiments as these, I am bound to say that if this be not spiritually the reproduction of the picture of Ephraim, as Hosea drew it in the days of Israel’s apostasy, and as such, if it be not the accomplishment among ourselves of a prophetic announcement which spiritually concerned the Church of Christ, I know not where to find a prophecy fulfilled. “Ephraim he hath mixed himself among the people: Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not; yea, grey hairs are here and there upon him; yet he knoweth not.” [12] I will now presume to say something in the presence of this calamity which afflicts the Church of Christ in England. I. First, I will say that as Truth is one and indivisible, so your faith as English Churchmen, with the Cross of Christ upon your foreheads,—and the bond of the “Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship” in your hearts,—and the Prayer Book with its Catholic witness in your hands, is fixed, and easily defined. It is fixed, because otherwise it could not be the Truth. And you possess that which is fixed, because otherwise that which you possess could not be true. The Church of God is “the pillar and ground of the Truth;” [13] and you have the Truth from the Church of God. The Church of God does not create the Truth. The Church of God does not even give force and power to the Truth. But the Church of God is the depositary of the Truth. The Church of God has the Truth to keep, and to maintain, and to hand down. The Church of God is the orb, out of which the glorious light of the Truth shines and overspreads the earth. The Church of God is the candlestick which holds the light. The Church of God is the pillar on which the proclamation of the Truth is written, and held up and heralded through the world. You learn truth from that pillar. And that pillar is the Church of God? What Church of God? The one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of God. The same which delivered the “decrees of the Apostles and elders at Jerusalem:” [14] the same which confounded Arius at Nicæa: the same which overwhelmed Nestorius at Ephesus: the same which silenced Macedonius at Constantinople: the same which vanquished Eutyches at Chalcedon:—the one Holy Church throughout the world. 2. Next, I desire to lay down this—that, contrary to what the advocates of a religious census seem to imply—truth and numbers have no relation one to the other, unless it be that truth is with the few. The greatest number of mankind is yet in darkness and error; as S. John says, “the world lieth in wickedness.” p. 10 p. 11 p. 12 p. 13 p. 14 All God’s Word testifies that, compared with the many who forsake the truth, or who never accept it, or who deny it and lose its fruits, those who receive it, and live by it, and enter into its reward, are few. Of all the world at the time of the Flood only eight persons were worthy to be rescued. Among all the guilty families in the cities of the plain, only Lot’s escaped destruction. Of all the six hundred thousand Hebrews delivered out of Egypt, though blessed with the same miracles, conducted by the same Guide, and nourished by the same Manna, two only entered the promised land. In the taking of Jericho, of all the houses in the city only the harlot Rahab’s was spared. Of all the thirty and two thousand soldiers of Gideon, but three hundred were found worthy to contend for the Lord. And so, of all those olive berries and clusters of grapes set forth by the Prophet to describe the called of God,—there shall be saved only “as the shaking of the olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes, when the vintage is done.” [15] Therefore Religion is not for show, but for reality. God is for Truth, and not for numbers. And they who are truly wise must be content, as the Apostles of old were content, to have numbers against them, if so it be, and to pass in turn through good and evil report, in the honest and simple defence of what is true. This facing of the Truth against numbers is a necessity. And if you seek to shun it, you are sure nevertheless to encounter it; and with all the more roughness, for your efforts to escape it. If you side with the multitude, you will probably be magnified by those who are in the wrong. But you will hardly escape being censured by those who are in the right. And their commendation, if it makes less noise, has more value. You must not be dismayed, therefore, because the world is against you. You must not begin a course of action because it is popular; nor must you abandon a course of action because it is decried. Look to what pleases God, not to what will please the multitude. And then you will do what is right. You will be wise for God. And God is over all. 3. Once more. No earnest mind can entertain the thought of what is passing among us, without feeling that these are sifting times. Times of division, when errors abound, are always times of sifting; times in which God is trying what men are made of; whether they are corn or chaff, gold or dross, wheat or tares. Ephraim is “a cake not turned.” But who are guilty? “I will sift the House of Israel,” saith the Lord, “as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” [17a] This is the one comfort in the midst of so much sorrow. Whosoever is true grain, shall not be lost. See to it, then, that each soul among you is true grain. God is sifting your sincerity by the errors which He suffers to compass you about. “I hear there are divisions among you, and I believe it,” says the Apostle, “for there must be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest.” [17b] And your stability He is sifting—whether or not you are as Reuben, “unstable as water,” weak, and soft, and yielding, and inconstant. And your zeal, and your knowledge, and your love,—He is sifting all these, in this your day of probation. You have had great gifts at God’s Hand, unspeakable opportunities of knowing Him and His Truth—the Word of God, the witness of the Church, and the “Spirit leading you into all Truth” through the ordained means of grace—through Sacraments and Prayer. How is it with you? Are you yet “men” in knowledge, with the “full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” [18a] Or are you “children in understanding,” “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive?” [18b] Now is the test of your weakness or of your strength. Now it will be seen who is possessed by that enervated and timid spirit which inspires so many faltering hearts, and directs so many enfeebled wills, in this day of conflict for the Church of God. And, above all, your love is being sifted. Is your hold upon the Church and her teaching “rooted and grounded in love?” God is trying your love—your love to Himself, to Christ, to the Truth. The head is not a casket in which Truth can safely lie enshrined. It is soon stolen from thence. But, if you have lodged it in the heart, and embedded it there in folds of love, men may take out your heart, but out of your heart they cannot take the Truth. It is for want of love that so many men among us are cowards,—that so much is sacrificed to the first appearance of danger,—that so much is offered up to expediency, to popularity, to success. The world is a worshipper of success. But the world has no love for the Truth. The world knows nothing of the blessed joy of undergoing persecution and danger, and making ventures, for the Truth’s sake. And so, as “Ephraim has mixed himself” with the world, he is as “a cake not turned,” and “strangers have devoured his strength,” in this age of concession and falling away. But what says “He Who sitteth upon the throne?” “He that overcometh shall inherit all things.” [19] But the “fearful” or cowardly, (the δειλοὶ,) and the unfaithful or “unbelieving” (the ἄπιστοι,) the deserters who fall off from want of faith and patience, what of them? “they shall have their part with murderers, and whore-mongers, and idolaters, and liars, in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” [20a] And what says the Apostle? When love is perfect [20b] then we have “boldness in the crisis,” or judgment, or trial, of faith; and “love casts out fear.” And fear is the parent of all unlawful concessions. We owe the Truth an external service as well as an internal devotion. And they have no love for the Truth who withhold an external service. The faith of the heart will no more avail without the confession of the mouth, than the confession of the mouth will avail without the faith of the heart. p. 15 p. 16 p. 17 p. 18 p. 19 p. 20 If it be enough for Christ that you know Him, though you confess Him not before men, it will also be enough for you that He knows you, though, at the last, He confess you not before men. It is not enough to say, “I hold the Truth in my heart, but I am silent before the world.” And, therefore, Christ does not say, “he that confesseth Me in his heart;” but Christ says, “he that confesseth Me before men.” They are vital words, these words of Christ. Lay them up in your hearts, and live by them. Hear them at length. “Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father Which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Which is in Heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.” [21] POSTSCRIPT. While these pages are passing through the press, the Government has yielded the point at issue. It has yielded, against its own convictions. It has yielded to pressure,—and to pressure from those whom it considers wrong-headed, and unreasonable, and unjust. The Government believed and declared that it was fair, and right, and just, and necessary “for legislative purposes,” that the people of England should confess the religious profession which they make—each man his own. The Government still believes in the fairness, and justice, and necessity of such a declaration. But, because some persons object to it, on the ground that no man ought to be asked what his religion is, or whether he has any religion at all, and because those persons have political influence, the Government has yielded its convictions to those persons. The Government loves its convictions a little. It loves political influence much. And so, this has come out clear— whatever is just, and fair, and right, and even necessary for “legislative purposes,” has no chance of prevailing in the counsels of Government, unless, first, the political influence of the Government shall be secured. If on the side of injustice, and unfairness, and the entanglement and perversion of legislation, there should be political influence, that will be the side of the Government. Evil consequences in the future are nothing. Present place and present power are everything. I think this ought to be a lesson to Churchmen not to put faith in Governments. The Church can never lose by any measures which are just, and fair, and straightforward, and open. And, therefore, the Church had nothing to lose from the “religious profession” clause of the Census Bill. But as Governments do not bind themselves to keep their faith, and are always ready to sacrifice their convictions of justice to their lust of power, the Church must have no trust in Governments. The object of this tract is not affected by the weak and pitiful conduct of the Government. It never was my object to defend the “religious profession” clause. I have said that, considering the religious distractions of this country, I think it would be wiser for the Government to leave the religious profession of the people alone. And I say so still. Never to have proposed a Census of religious opinions at all would have been wise. But, to have proposed it—to have stoutly maintained the justice of it—to have asserted the necessity of it for equitable legislation,—and then, to have withdrawn it to satisfy an unreasoning handful of Dissenters, who make themselves heard in the House of Commons, is not to be characterized by any negative form of judgment. This is not simply want of wisdom. It is more like that moral imbecility which, in men whom God has burdened with a high trust, is really a crime. The object of this tract remains. And therefore, notwithstanding the course which the Government has taken, I send it forth to effect that object, as opportunity shall be found. I ask my countrymen and countrywomen—Christian men and women—simply to consider, as in the presence of God, these two appalling facts, which the discussion of the Census Bill has forced to the surface, in this day of Crisis for the Truth. 1. That thousands of baptized souls in England are content to believe nothing in particular. 2. That thousands more who protest that they do believe something in particular, protest also that they cannot “confess” that something “before men.” Price 2d., or 10s. per 100 for distribution. JOSEPH MASTERS AND CO., PRINTERS, ALDERSGATE STREET. p. 21 p. 22 p. 23 p. 24 FOOTNOTES. [5] 2 Kings xiii. 7. [6] 2 Kings xv. 19. [8] Phil. i. 27, 28. [9a] S. Matt. x. 32. [9b] Ps. cxix. 46. [9c] S. John i. 20. [10a] Acts xxvi. 22. [10b] 2 Cor. iv. 13. [10c] Phil. ii. 11. [11] See Daily News of May 11, 1860. [12] Hosea vii. 9. [13] 1 Tim. iii. 15. [14] Acts xv. [15] Isa. xxiv. 13. [17a] Amos ix. 9. [17b] 1 Cor. xi. 19. [18a] Col. ii. 2. [18b] Eph. iv. 14. [19] Rev. xxi. 7. [20a] Rev. xxi. 8. [20b] 1 S. John iv. 17, 18. [21] S. Matt. x. 32–39. ***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHURCH AND THE CENSUS*** ***** This file should be named 64877-h.htm or 64877-h.zip****** This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/4/8/7/64877 Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. START: FULL LICENSE THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg-tm License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided that * You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." * You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm works. * You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. * You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact For additional contact information: Dr. Gregory B. Newby Chief Executive and Director

See more

The list of books you might like

Upgrade Premium
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.
DMCA & Copyright: Dear all, most of the website is community built, users are uploading hundred of books everyday, which makes really hard for us to identify copyrighted material, please contact us if you want any material removed.
Copyright @ PDFdrive.to, 2022 | We love our users