Calvinism a life-system - pagina 134

CALVINISM AND POLITICS.

130

Then we must

question must be put quite differently.

and acknowledge that

see

this

system of bringing

differ-

religious matters under the criminal jurisdiction

ences in

of the government, resulted directly from the conviction

Church of Christ on earth could express

that the

only

form and

one

in

one

as

This

institution.

church Christ,

and everything,

in

which differed from her, was

looked upon as inimical to

weigh or to decide for

The

one true church.

this

government, therefore, was not called upon

There

itself.

of Christ on earth, and

Church

one

the Middle ages, was the Church of

alone,

to

itself

it

to judge, or

ziMs only

one

was the task of the

Magistrate to protect that church from schisms, heresies

and

sects.

But break that one Church into fragments, admit that

Church of Christ can reveal

the in

nay

countries;

different

;

thing which was deduced from

be denied

variety itself,

and that

church,

of the

of

then

Calvinistic

all it

retained

of the

new and

fresh,

in

the

if

it

cannot

a rich

in

what,

for

a

time,

it

has

old system, but rather in that, which,

has sprung up from

shown

South

CathoHc church

therefore,

has ruptured the unity

in Calvinistic countries

that,

centuries, in all distinctively

even

unity of the visible

manner of church-formations revealed follows that we must not seek the true

characteristic

Results have

itself

forms,

and immediately everythis

And

sight.

Calvinism

that

many

same country,

even in the

in a multiplicity of institutions

church drops out of

itself in

is

even

its

own

root.

after the lapse of three

Roman

Catholic countries,

American Republics, the Roman

and remains the State-church, precisely

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