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Show I SURVIVAL OF Mi (Bill I ! l Pagan Philosophers Defend Christianity. j Solution of True Christian Church, j ; Christ's Commission Excludes Error in ;; Doctrine. Fallible Church Not Com- petent to Teach Direct Succession j With Apostolic Church, Not the Greek 1 : Schismatic Church. (1) Changed Its j Doctrine, (2) United With Latin Church -i j Till Time of Schism. jj ! .... p ' , (Written for The Intermouutain Catholic.) j: i J'!'' 1 of 'he faith, hy the early Christian U .-ii;;:vh, would necessarily mean a failure in the li ' i . i ?-1. 1' Christ to fulfill His divine mission and the U I kMT.iiyr ':'ut of t,K; Promi made to His apostles ft ; 1m ;. re Jlis ascension into heaven, namely, that 3 '"'"' p;nvs "f hell would not prevail against Jlis a, (inc h.' Jt ha hcen proven historically that dur- Mi.- the ten general persecutions purposely gotten ? ,!!' t" destroy Christianity that the church founded I -iy Christ gained in strength au.l that her ablest i' tinders wor converted pagan philosophers, : ? ;i!i;i:iy ..f whom laid down their lives in defense of I ttiie faith. I Having; established the existence of Christiau- 1 !i:y a- an historical fact, the real issue or point of j Idis.-u-sioii between all claiming to be. true follow- (I - "f Christ is. did Christ establish a church with 'fiuth'Tity to teach.' And. if so. which is the true ; .:Miyhf or the one established by Him with au-i au-i ili ihy to teach; The authority to teach, by di-' di-' ; ':'iP ri.cht, when once established, forecloses all j .;d b;sto as to the particular doctrines which may 1 incorporated in the tenets of any church, be- t-;:use a divine sanction precludes the possibility of 1 j ) irm-. j I V lion our Lord said to His accredited repre- 1 j t i latives. "He that heareth you heard h Me, and I 5 .' ;L' wlio despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that J "-pi'Th me despiseth lli'ui that sent Me," He 1 j ii' Id Himself responsible for what they taught. On 1 j .V-o supposition that error was possible and ac- j tu: iiy crept into the teaching of the church, then f ! . '. who commissioned the church to go and teach all nations.' would be responsible for lho Ti-r. which is not only absurd, but a comradic-i comradic-i ti tii. since God is truth itself, and could not de- c m or be deceived. The divine sanction coupled with the divine commission given by Christ to His - ipe-tle.- nut st of necessity carry with it a divine i :i:ro of immunity from error. Both reason and o -nunou sense revolt at the idea that God would f c .niiiisston a church to teach, utter condemnation i.iinst all who refuse to listen to her teaching "he that will not hear the church, let him be to tiiee as a heathen and publican' and not make iev competent to teach, But a fallible church, : vnirli is subject to doubt, may deceive or be de-i de-i i. ived. may mistake error for truth and. teach as I (i'Ms word what is not the word of Cod, is not ' ('inpcteiit to teach. An incompetent teacher in j nil;- branch of science, much less in religion, is dis- tvdod by the common consent of mankind, i '.needing that (iod established a church with ; ! i i-1 1 v to teach, the disputed question, "Which ; ;i-!io chiirch founded by Christ.'' is easily estab-; estab-; ()utsile the Catholic church there is, in f i.'.ct. ii,, denomination which can. with any rea-i'le rea-i'le in tense, claim to 1iave revived from authority to teach, and as St. Paul ex- I it, "How can they preach unless they be i j -'!;' Kvery ambassador must, present his cre- s ort's before he is admitted as a representative . '" government, and after presenting his cre-; cre-; j ia!. to discredit him would be equivalent - to j' ' i--ere.litiug the government lie represented. The I j . but more forcibly. apdies to religion. ; W 'mi church received the commission? "Go i '' tea.-li all natifns.' and is historically linked '":"h 'i '- Jipostolie church? Apart from the schis-f schis-f i Cp-ck church, all the Oriental sects are out I ' ' !: quelion. They have not a shadow of ' i i. J: could not be the schismatic ("reek church ! i .use ii has, down through the centuries, f i creed in some ossein ail points. A : ..; in essentials is rof jiositive of error, be- ;. - it taught differently at one time from what I j '. -I ' at another. Teaching error at any time ; ot' necessity, exclude a divine sanction and ' ' ' ' .-mthorit.v; otherwise (iod would he respon- ' . 'or i he error or deception which is not only : ; r-! i ii-i ion but a blasphemy. I ; . ; i : . l he (ire-k chun-h was uj) to the time of ; - ihe nimh century in formal commu- ; i' M -.-ith the Ifoman Caiholie church fonn-, fonn-, ' coi-iorat ion villi it. The Catholic church i the i rue representative of the apostolic ' .!. or ii was imi. On tlic sup)osition lhat it - : Greek schismatic church is false any- v l-e.-.njs.. ii comniuned with a church that was f - r. Hut mi the supposition, and following '..iii's- ot' the Catholic church that she was the i ' ' ' '' "unded by ur divine Ixrd. the separation ' ii - Greek church from the center of unity " - t; , j;,-i iiiable. In se)arating from her com-1 com-1 "i: -he Ixcanie iho protectant. View it as 1'roin an inijartial standpoint, the Greek "'''. e.'iiiiiot trace her ministry back to apos-' apos-' ' t inn s unless ih rough the Roman Catholic ; . v.iili which she communed up to the time i i !...! ius. I' S, iiat he Catholic church was the ' ' - ' i,; pty, that is. she separated from the ' ' "' :; htirch. Ili-tory roves the contrarj-. Up 1 1 '!: lime of the final separation the Greek ' !, ' bolcived as did the "Roman Catholic church. I admitted the supremacy of the Pope and the I 1 - Continued on Page 5. SURVIVAL OF EARLY CHURCH. (Continued from Page 1.) Precession of the Holy Ghost, two doctrines which they afterwards denied. The denial served as a pretext to withdraw from communion with Rome. Then it was the Greek church, in denying what it once admitted, that separated. The Catholic church believed the same before and after the separation, sep-aration, and believes so stilL Some urge the separation was necessary as the Catholic church had corrupted the faith. But this charge does not help the Greek church, because she would have participated in those corruptions up to the time. of the separation and be equally guilty. Supposing the church to be indefectible, and that Christ meant whta he said, "that the gates of hell could not prevail against her" (His church), then the Greek church, in communion vn'th a church that corrupted the faith, and sharing shar-ing in its guilt, must unite with a church that had the faith pure and undefiled. On the assumption that Christ was God, established a church, guaranteed guar-anteed that the faith entrusted to the church would not fail, there must be some such church, and to that church the Greek church should become be-come united. There could be no possible justification justifica-tion for the separation unices it meant union with the true church supposed to exist somewhere. But the Greek church did not unite with, any church. Therefore, as a logical conclusion from the premises, prem-ises, which are undeniable, if Christianity be divine, di-vine, the Greek church is not the church founded bj Christ. Ever since it separated from the Church oY", Rome there has been no general council, because .there' is no head to invoke same. All arguments against the Greek church being apostolic, apply to a greater force to all the claims of Protestant sects who lean on a broken reed. F. D. |