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The Theology of the Early Christian Church
The Theology of the Early Christian Church Author:James Bennett Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: his aim is so pure that his spirit is excellent, and the tendency of his exhortation is to promote the peace, and holiness, and prosperity, of the church. He, un... more »like Ignatius, keeps himself out of sight, assuming no priestly airs, but claiming authority for the Word of God alone, and exhibiting Christ as the Redeemer, example, and sovereign Lord. The fear of God ever before his eyes, and the love of the brethren burning in his breast, often raise him above his numerous disadvantages, and exert over the conscience of the reader an authority which far superior learning, reason, or eloquence, could never rival. The importance of this epistle, in various points of view, it would be difficult to overrate. This is the link of connexion between the inspired and uninspired writings of the Christian church. Here centres almost the whole of the real value of the testimony of the fathers, and the sincere lover of them should deposit this letter in his bosom as a jewel. For, if Clement was the first pastor of the church at Bome, and especially if he was the man eulogized by Paul, he the more clearly shows what was apostolical; but if he was the third in succession, then it is demonstrated, that, even so low down in the descending scale towards the divinely predicted apostasy, the Christian church was still at antipodes from the hierarchy of modern times. This letter from the church at Rome shows that the body of the faithful lost their liberties, not merely by the ambition of pastors, but by popular turbulence ; for Clement, though an humble man, fearlessly declares, that the presbyters whom the Corinthians had displaced were made the innocent victims of three or four factious men. This naturally induced the more modest and devout Christians to yield to the pastors the sole government of t...« less