CHAPTER XLVI. PRESENT POSITION OF THE CHURCH.

The word “church,” as used in this article, refers chiefly to those close corporations which claim to be regenerated persons, whose depraved nature, transmitted from Adam, has been so far rectified by re‐creation, that they are, more or less, in the practice of true virtue, of which the unregenerate world are supposed to be totally destitute.

In this sense they claim to be “the saints,” “the righteous,” “the elect,” “the children of God,” “the salt of the earth,” “the light of the world,” “a holy nation,” “a peculiar people.”

While the members of these churches do not claim that all who do not come into their organizations are of the opposite class, they do, by their profession and admission to such churches, claim to be of the regenerated class, to whom the above terms of the Bible are to be applied, while the great majority of mankind, not in these organizations, are called by them “the world,” “the unregenerate,” “sinners,” “the wicked,” and by other similar terms.

So long as the great body of the people were guided chiefly by ecclesiastics, and were thus trained to believe that heaven was to be gained by some unintelligible “change of nature,” imparted by priestly agency, or by some supernatural intervention of God’s Spirit, these claims were regarded with mystified fear and doubt.

But the more intelligence and discussion have spread among the people, the more such claims have been questioned and distrusted.

Many things have combined to increase such distrust. Among these may be mentioned the discussions already noticed, conducted by theologians themselves, by which the absurdities and inconsistencies maintained by each, were exposed by all the others.

Another cause of distrust has been the great variety of _tests_ and _signs of regeneration_. One class of religious teachers claim a certain kind of experience as indispensable to admission to the church. A second class reprobate this sign and set up another. A third class depreciate both and insist upon still another. And thus it is made apparent, that theologians do not agree among themselves what the “depraved nature” of man consists in, nor what are the true signs or evidence of its “saving change.”

Another cause of distrust has arisen from attempts to carry out a system of church discipline. Some churches expel persons for interpreting the Bible in a different mode from themselves or their creed. Others expel their members for vending alcoholic drinks, or for dancing, or for holding slaves, or for marrying the sister of a deceased wife. Meantime, the sins of pride, anger, covetousness, avarice, worldliness, evil temper, unfairness in business, hard dealings with the poor, and many other developments of selfishness, often are made no bar to full and honorable communion.

Again, in churches and sects that are most strenuous in attempting to maintain by church discipline a uniformity of interpretation of the Bible conformed to their own, it has come to pass that orthodoxy of interpretation is sometimes _practically_ placed before morality of conduct. Thus, if a member of a church or a minister is suspected of denying the supreme divinity of Christ, or the depravity and need of regeneration of _nature_ in man, a great agitation is produced, and attempts are made, by church discipline, to rectify the evil as very dangerous. In the meantime, a slanderous tongue, or dishonest dealings, or selfish worldliness, excite less concern, and arouse to less effort. The inevitable result is an impression that churches and ministers place conformity of interpretation to their own creeds or opinions before morality, and consequently the feeling is engendered, _that church organizations, founded on the Augustinian theory, tend to immorality_.

This impression as to the immoral tendency of such church organizations, has been increased by the fact that in times of special religious excitement, that class of men in many cases, become most prominent as leaders in prayer meetings and other public ministries whose character for consistency in private life, or in business matters, is low. It is perceived that this fact does not prevent these men from being regarded as religious men, and as superior to others, who, living exemplary lives, are unable or unwilling to take any conspicuous place in religious movements. And when the period of excitement is passed, it is found that these leaders in revival seasons are no better in their private life and business dealings than before.

It is also sometimes the case that men of high character and position, can not be reached by church discipline as are the humbler members, and thus sin is made respectable by its association at once with talents, influence, wealth and church membership.

In addition to this, the fact that so many ministers and churches have taken such an antagonistic course in the public movements to remove intemperance and slavery from our land, has led to open attacks on ministers and churches in the newspapers, in public lectures and in many other ways, in which their inconsistencies have been held up to public ridicule as well as to more serious denunciation.

So long as the “change of nature,” which fits man for heaven, was regarded as a supernatural mystery which no one could understand or explain, while the approved signs of regeneration were submitted only to ministers, deacons, elders and church committees, the matter was exclusively in their keeping.

But as soon as the nature of regeneration began to be explained intelligibly, and men adopted the common‐sense view, that the _true_ church consists of persons who not only believe in Christ intellectually, but believe _practically_, _i.e._, that they are those who _obey_ Christ, the case bore a different aspect. “These are the persons,” they say, “who organize on the assumption that they are regenerated because they obey Christ’s teachings, while so many virtuous persons are shut out as _totally_ and _entirely_ disobedient,—as never feeling or acting truly virtuously in the sight of God in a single instance!”

The more this questionable assumption has become apparent, the more has been the disturbing influence on both the church and the world.

Multitudes of serious, virtuous and conscientious persons, who are really living Christian lives and making it their chief concern to obey the great Master, have refused to join associations that make such dubious claims.

Still more has been the revulsion from those churches which demand as terms to admission professed belief in certain modes of interpreting the Bible contained in a creed. They, holding the Protestant doctrine that every man is to interpret the Bible for himself, responsible to no man or body of men, can not thus resign their religious liberty.

Meantime, the Christian profession has ceased to be a cross in any way, and has rather become honorable. Those who have been taught that a _purpose_ or determination to obey Christ was regeneration, have in many cases formed such a purpose, confessed belief in the needful creeds and joined the church in great numbers, before they had time to ascertain whether they had moral strength to carry out this purpose. They find on trial that they have not, and then discover that though there is an open door to _enter_ the church there is none for exit that is not discreditable, and so they remain.

Others come into the church for worse motives, to secure the confidence, respect and trust that is accorded to that profession. Thus it has come to pass that the class, denominated “the world,” has been growing in Christian character and practical virtue, while, as a body, “the church” has been deteriorating.

The writer, in her very extensive travels and intercourse with the religious world, has had unusual opportunities to notice how surely and how extensively the conviction of this fact has been pressed on the minds of the best class of Christian ministers and laymen. More than twenty years ago, one of the most laborious Episcopal bishops of the western States, in reply to inquiries as to the state of religion in his large diocese replied, “the world is growing better and the church is growing worse.”

More than ten years ago, a distinguished lawyer, who had extensive financial business to transact, himself an honored and exemplary member of the church, stated to the writer that he was decided in the conviction that the better class of worldly men were more honorable and reliable in business matters than the majority of church members. When asked to account for this, the reply was that religious men were chiefly interested to get to heaven, which in their view was to be secured “by faith and not by works,” and so good works became a secondary concern. But the chief concern of worldly men is to succeed in this life, and they have learned that honesty is the best policy in attaining their chief end.

This statement was repeated to another exemplary church member, who, as a bank officer and lawyer of distinguished integrity, was said to transact more business than any other man in the north‐western States. He remarked that the above was exactly his own opinion, and, moreover, he stated that a friend of his, also a church member, who, he said, did more business than any other man in Central New York, had expressed to him the same opinion.

These statements were repeated not long ago to a business man, an exemplary member of an orthodox church in Boston, and he expressed the same opinion. In repeated other instances that need not be enumerated, in various sections of the country, the same opinion has been expressed by intelligent and consistent members of the church, whose prejudices would naturally lead them to the most favorable view of the case.

Such impressions have not been decreased by the recent multiplied defalcations, forgeries, and other business dishonesties that have occurred in the last three years among church members and officers of religious charities in high places of trust.

To all this add the fact, that a large class of men of exemplary private life, who are spending their time, money and influence for the relief of human woes and the redress of social and political wrongs, are at the same time openly attacking the church as the chief bulwark of these wrongs, while all the delinquencies of ministers and churches are freely discussed and denounced by them _before the people_.

The result is, that a large portion of the most exemplary and intelligent part of the church feel themselves to be in a dubious and false position, and are daily querying whether _professing_ to be a _peculiar_ people is not doing more harm than good; and whether it would not be better that the influence of good men should rest on their _unassociated_ individual character, and not on organizations making such high profession where the light of goodness is obscured by associated darkness.

Great doubt and skepticism, both in the church and out of it, have thus arisen also as to _what real religion consists in_, and as to what _are_ the true claims of the church and its ministry.

Multitudes who would enter the church if it was regarded simply as an association of persons to support the ordinances appointed by Jesus Christ, and to aid each other in obeying his Word, turn from its present position and claims with distrust or disgust. At the same time ministers and church members, feeling these difficulties, have more and more relinquished the Augustinian theory as the basis of their organization, and are advancing to an open avowal of the common‐sense ground, _i.e._, that the real invisible church of Christ embraces all those who acknowledge him as their Lord and Master, and make it their chief aim to understand and to obey his teachings, and that a _visible church_ is any association of persons who organize to aid each other in this object, by sustaining a ministry and worship as _they_ understand to be most in agreement with the teachings of Christ.

The Episcopal church, both in Great Britain and in this country, although as strictly Augustinian in its articles as any other, has taken the lead of all others in practically renouncing that system. Any man can more readily secure all the privileges of membership in that church without any confession of faith or public profession of a “change of nature,” than in any of the other Augustinian denominations, and this is probably one great reason of its prosperity in this country.

Any sensible man of good moral character, who should state in a respectful and candid spirit, that he could not conscientiously submit to acknowledging in any form, the rights of any man or body of men to decide for him in regard to the interpretation of the Bible; that according to his understanding of its teachings, he was bound to acknowledge Jesus Christ as his Lord and Master in all matters of faith and practice, and to associate himself with other avowed followers of Christ by some form of open acknowledgment; that as he understands the New Testament, the rites of baptism and the Lord’s Supper were instituted as forms of such acknowledgment and communion, and that he wished thus to connect himself with the Episcopal church without any creed, confession or acknowledgment; it is believed, that in such a case, there are few ministers and still fewer laymen who would not think it right to gratify such a desire. It is believed that there are many, also, of the highest standing for intellect, piety and position in the Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Congregational churches, who have so far thrown aside the system of Augustine, that they also would receive such a man to their communion on these terms.

In this state of feeling among laymen the developments of sectarianism, which, as has been shown, all relate to matters of rites and forms, resulting from the Augustinian theory, have become more and more suspicious and offensive. Especially is this the case in the newer States, where union and harmony among good men are most needed.

In the volume, of _Common Sense Applied to Religion_, page 342, statistics are introduced from the reports of three of the largest sects of this country, the Old and New school Presbyterian and the Congregational churches, showing that, owing to their sectarian divisions, _nearly one third_ of their churches are without ministers, and _nearly one half_ of these churches have not over fifty members, the majority of these being women, while the _relative_ amount of ministers to churches is constantly decreasing. Not only in the large, but the smaller towns, the struggle to build churches and support ministers among the various sects, that differ only as to rites and forms, is most mournful, making a taxation both on the East and West for their support which is incredible.

Each denomination is trained to regard itself as “the church of God” and to labor for its increase as a service to God’s cause, while the extension of other sects is not so regarded. Although few intelligent Protestants now believe that any forms or rites are indispensable to salvation, each sect regards its own peculiarity as of very great importance. And as all the large sects are divided only on modes of baptism or of church organization there is a constant tendency to magnify these points of difference. Were it not for this, in small places and in new settlements, all would unite in one large, harmonious church, that could not only support its own ordinances, but send of its surplus to supply the destitute. Instead of this, the feuds, envies, jealousies and bickerings between small and struggling churches, of from four to twenty diverse sects, are an occasion of reproach and contempt to the world, and of mortification to all honorable and pious minds.

So in regard to education, each sect is now acting _as a sect_, in starting new colleges and seminaries, or in endowing those already started, and this often with little reference to the supply provided by other sects. For example, in Ohio there are _twenty‐six_ endowed colleges, in Indiana there are _eleven_, and thus at the same rate in other new States.

Besides endowments to support professors, vast sums have been spent in buildings, many of them unused for want of pupils. After each sect has thus gained its colleges, it must struggle to find pupils, and thus multitudes of young boys are pressed into a Latin and Greek course, not at all demanded in their future pursuits, and often forsaken before the college is ever reached. The waste of educational benefactions in these ways is enormous.

These expenditures are all to be met by the laity, and the more the nature of these sectarian divisions is understood, the more distrustful are the people in regard to these profuse expenditures to keep up such divisions. Multitudes of intelligent laymen contribute simply because their clergymen urge it, and entirely without intelligent approval of these things. To their own view, Christianity, as exhibited by contending sects, is a source of more evil feeling, contention and needless expense than of compensating benefits, and distrust and misgiving increase and abound.

In such a position of the organized church, one of the most remarkable indications to be noted is the occurrence of a “revival” among all sects, in which _the __ people_ take the lead, and theologians and pastors willingly resign their wonted place. All badges of sect are dropped, and the dogmas of Augustine, from which they originated, are thrown aside. The system of common sense is recognized, and its intelligent and harmonizing influence secures, for the first time, the respectful attention of worldly men toward religious developments, which in all past time have been regarded by them with suspicion or scorn.