Calvinism a life-system - pagina 82

CALVINISM AND RELIGION.

78 to

forms of

all

in the congregation

consists

are formed

only

ecclesiastical

in

by and

believers,

if

the church

the churches

of confederation, then the differences

of nation,

mind come

disposition of

of

if

the union of confessors, and are united

way

the

of climate

But

life.

of historical

past,

and of

in to exercise a widely varie-

gating influence, and multiformity in ecclesiastical matters

must be the

A

result.

because

reaching importance, character side

all

of every

by

therefore, of very far-

result, it

annihilates the absolute

Church,

visible

and places them

as differing in degrees of purity, but

side,

always remaining

in

some way or other a manifestation

of one holy and catholic church of Christ in Heaven.

do not say that

I

claimed this

power lurked

desire for ruling heart, it

Calvinistic theologians

have pro-

The

consequence from the beginning.

full

and even apart from

was right and

natural

also at the

this

for

door of their

dangerous disposition

them

theoretically

to

judge each church according to the standard of their

own

ideals.

But

this

does not

in the least detract

from

by regarding

their

the great significance of the fact that

church,

not

a hierarchy or institution, but as the

as

gathering of individual confessors, they started for the life

of the church, as well as for the

and

civil society,

but of liberty.

life

of the state,

from the principle not of compulsion,

For, of course

by

virtue of this starting-

point there was no other church-power superior to the local churches, save only

what the churches themselves

constituted,

by means of

followed of

necessity that the natural

ferences between

men

their confederation.

should

and

Hence

it

historic dif-

also, wedge-like, force their

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