47. Chapter 43: Controversy Continues in Germany and England

CHAPTER 43 Controversy Continues in Germany and England

1. Doctrinal Differences Disturb the Lutheran Church

Philipp Melanchthon had from the very beginning of the Reforma­tion movement been Luther’s clos­est friend and helper. But he also became acquainted with Zwingli; and with Calvin he formed a warm Friendship. In course of time he came to disagree with Luther on certain points of doctrine. As long as Luther lived he kept these ideas to himself. After Luther’s death, however, he allowed his views to become known, with the result that the first considerable controversy among Lutherans arose.

Many years after Melanchthon’s death the Formula of Concord (1577) was drawn up. This was a statement of agreement on most of the essential doctrines of Luther­anism.

Later there arose another con­troversy. George Calixtus, a pro­fessor in the University of Helm­stadt, was regarded as one of the foremost theologians of his time. During a trip through Germany and neighboring countries he came in close touch with the leading thinkers of the Lutheran, Re­formed, Anglican, and Catholic churches. He himself was a Luther­an; but by this time the spirit among the leaders had become one of harshness and bitterness in de­fending the Lutheran doctrine. Calixtus disapproved of this spirit, and as a result of his many new contacts and a study of the Church Fathers, he came to regard the differences between the Lutherans, the Reformed, and the Catholics of very small importance. He thought the Church should be satis­fied with the Apostles’ Creed and the Bible. This idea of the great theologian Calixtus showed a sur­prising lack of insight. But Calix­tus gained numerous followers. People were weary of doctrinal controversies and the spirit of bit­terness in which they were carried on. They thought that Christian life and Christian activities should be stressed rather than doctrine. At a conference in Thorn in 1645 Calixtus heard his ideas op­posed by Abraham Calovius, a young and brilliant Lutheran who was a professor in Konigsberg. The controversy that began here continued for many years. Both Calixtus and Calovius had loyal followers, and the dispute went on for many years after the death of Calixtus. At last it wore itself out.

2. Modernism Invades the Church and the Universities In the meanwhile Germany was suffering from the results of the Thirty Years’ War (ch. 32, sec. 6). Time and again armies had swept over Germany in every di­rection. Cities and farms alike had been ruined. The population had been massacred. City and country folk were plunged into poverty and immorality. In these unhappy circumstances people became indifferent to doc­trine. Pietism, with its emphasis on Christian life at the expense of doctrine, found fertile soil. The way was now open for Mod­ernism (ch. 41). Nourished by modern philosophy it spread through the Lutheran Church and the universities in Germany. Lu­ther would not have recognized the Church he founded in deep strug­gles of soul. But orthodoxy in the nineteenth century still had very able de­fenders in men like Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg and Theodor Zahn. These were men of tremendous learning, but they had a firm and simple belief in the Bible as the infallible Word of God.

3. Socinianism Undermines the Presbyterian Church in Eng­land For a short time the Presby­terians in England had hopes of winning a supreme position. In the Long Parliament which assem­bled in 1640 they were in the ma­jority (ch. 34, sec. 5). You will re­call that this parliament called to­gether an assembly of clergymen and laymen in Westminster, and that this assembly framed the Presbyterian Westminster Confes­sion and Catechisms, and a Pres­byterian Church Order (ch. 34, sec. 6). The plan of the Presby­terians was to disestablish the Episcopal Church as the State Church of England, and to impose upon England, Scotland, and Ire­land the Presbyterian Church as the State Church. But in the army of Parliament Baptists and Con­gregationalists or Independents were in the majority. This army emerged victorious from the Civil Wars in England (ch. 34, sec. 7), and when it came into control of affairs Parliament was purged of its Presbyterian members. The plan to make Presbyterianism the State religion turned out to be only a passing dream.

Under Cromwell, who now came into power, the Anglican or Epis­copal Church continued to be the State Church of England, but all dissenting bodies — Congregation­alists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and even Quakers were permitted a considerable measure of religious liberty. With the Restoration under Charles II and James II not only did the Episcopal Church continue to be the State Church of Eng­land, but all Dissenters in both England and Scotland were sorely oppressed and persecuted. This persecution came to an end under the reign of William and Mary, and a wide measure of toleration was granted to all Dissenters, ex­cept Catholics and anti-Trinitar­ians. But the Episcopal Church continued as the State Church of England, and has remained so without interruption down to the present day. In the course of the eighteenth century the Trinity-denying So­cinians gained the upper hand in the Presbyterian churches. Those who embraced these Socinian views left the Presbyterian Church and organized Unitarian churches; and Presbyterianism ceased to be an important factor in England.

4. Deism Discredits the Bible

We have seen how Arminianism and also the extreme, anti-Chris­tian ideas of Socinianism spread through the churches of England in the eighteenth century. But the prevailing influence in English re­ligious life during this period was Deism.

Deism had its origin in Eng­land, but it exerted a profound influence in France, the Nether­lands, and Germany. The Deists do believe in the existence of God, and they believe that He made the world. But they think that God’s relation to the world is like that of a watchmaker to a watch. A watchmaker makes a watch and winds it, and then the watch runs by itself. So God made the world, a most marvelous piece of mecha­nism, and now has nothing more to do with it. It runs by itself ac­cording to certain laws, the laws of nature.

Thus Deism denies miracles, the atoning work of Christ, and the regenerating work of the Spirit. Deism discredits the Bible and robs religion of its supernatural char­acter. It is the death of all true religion. The morality, or sense of right and wrong, taught by Deism is of a low order. Over in the English colonies in America Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who were in many ways great men, were Deists. This influence is re­vealed in Franklin’s maxim: "Hon­esty is the best policy," which im­plies that we should be honest be­cause it pays, rather than because it is right and because God com­mands it.

5. The Church of England Has a Low, a High, and a Broad Church Movement

It was in this England under the sway of Arminianism, Socin­ianism, and Deism that the Metho­dist movement arose. The Metho­dist movement was a mighty spiritual and religious revival. This revival shook the life both of the Anglican State Church and of many of the Dissenting churches. It brought about a tremendous change in the religious and moral life of England. Under the fervor of this revival the ice of Deism melted. The frozen waters of Eng­lish religious life again began to flow freely. The Methodist movement had two great leaders: John Wesley and George Whitefield. We have learned something of the life and work of John Wesley (ch. 40). The work of Whitefield is also well worth our attention.

Wesley and Whitefield in many ways resembled each other, but in some important points they dif­fered. Both were Oxford men, and both were ministers in the Estab­lished Anglican Church. Both men were fired with a zeal for saving souls. Neither Wesley nor White-field confined himself to just one parish. Both men sought especially the unchurched, and they preached to them everywhere throughout England in the open air. They both were great preachers, but White-field was the more magnetic of the two.

Wesley was an Arminian. White-field was a Calvinist. Wesley had a genius for organizing. Whitefield lacked all talent for organizing. The outcome was that Wesley left behind him a great church, the Methodist Church. Whitefield pow­erfully influenced thousands of people, but they never formed a church. They remained in the An­glican Church, and there they formed the Low Church or Evan­gelical party. In their views these Evangelicals or Low Church people were mod­erate Calvinists. They were op­posed to elaborate ritual in church services. They were filled with re­ligious zeal, and they lived lives of strict piety. If Whitefield had possessed the organizing genius of Wesley, Calvinism might have been today a far greater power in Eng­land than it is. The trend of events in the Angli­can Church soon became a cause for deep concern. The great Meth­odist revival led by the Wesleys had resulted in the withdrawal of thousands from the Anglican Church. The Low Church party under the leadership of Whitefield was moving away from the tradi­tional Anglican practices. Dissent­ers, Catholics, and the Low Church party were all working for repeal of the laws which gave the Angli­can Church many advantages over the other churches. It began to look as though the Anglican Church might soon cease to be the State Church of England. As a result, many leaders in the Anglican Church became frantic with alarm. A number of them met to consider what could be done to stop this trend. They and their supporters became known as the High Church party. In the first half of the nineteenth century the High Church party represented a movement back in the direction of the Roman Catho­lic Church. The foremost leaders were John Keble, John Henry New­man, and Edward Pusey. Because these men were affiliated with Ox­ford University, the movement came to be known as the Oxford movement. The High Church party empha­sized those features in the Church of England which were a continua­tion of Roman Catholic tradition and practice. They held that their priests had the power to forgive sin. They were distressed that the Church should be under the author­ity of the State. The movement was formally started by Keble when he preached a sermon in Oxford on "The National Apostasy." In the same month the publication of a series of tracts was begun. In all, ninety tracts appeared, most of them writ­ten by John Henry Newman. These tracts gave to the movement an­other name—the Tractarian move­ment. To Newman the Church of Eng­land was the golden mean between Protestantism and Catholicism. But as the series of tracts pro­gressed, the writings became more and more Roman Catholic in the principles they set forth, until finally the Bishop of Oxford or­dered that their publication be stopped. On October 9, 1845, Newman joined the Catholic Church. Thou­sands followed him. But the ma­jority of the High Church party remained in the Church of Eng­land, and there they continued to exercise their influence. The ritual in the church service became more and more elaborate, after the Ro­man fashion. The High Church movement is still a growing force in the Anglican Church. A Broad Church party also arose in the Church of England. It de­veloped under the influence of Ger­man thought. The man who intro­duced the new ideas from Germany into England was the poet Cole­ridge. The Broad Church party strongly believed in having a State Church. Members of this party considered the Church to be a department of the State, like the army and the navy. Believing as they do in a State Church they would like to see every citizen a member of it. In order that this may be possible they wish to see every form of belief tolerated in the State Church. There should be no creeds with binding force. Everyone should be free to believe whatever he pleases. That is why this group is called the Broad Church party. The members of this movement have become more and more liberal in their doctrinal views. They do not realize that truth and error, light and darkness, faith and un­belief cannot exist side by side in the same organization.

6. Three New Movements Arise among the Non-Conformists

Step by step during the nine­teenth century the Non-Conformist or Dissenting bodies in England achieved more nearly a status of equality with the Episcopal or Anglican Church. The number of Non-Conformists has grown stead­ily until at the present time they make up at least half of the popu­lation of England. They are found mostly among the middle class. These churches possess many great preachers and a number of schol­ars; however, in scholarship and in work among the unchurched they do not equal the Anglican State Church.

Among the Non-Conformists in England during the past century three new movements of varying importance arose. The first of these movements began when Edward Irving, a Presbyterian minister, began to preach that the gifts of the apostolic age (speaking in tongues, prophesying, and healing the sick) would be restored if people only had enough faith. He soon came to believe that some of the members of his church had re­ceived these "gifts." He was de­posed as a Presbyterian minister but continued his preaching. After some time, twelve members of his church were designated as "apos­tles." The "apostles" were believed to be organs of the Holy Spirit. The people who held the views of Edward Irving took the name of the Catholic Apostolic Church and adopted an elaborate ritual. This Church expected the speedy return of the Lord. The last apostle died in 1901 but the Apostolic Church carries on to this day. A second movement arose as a reaction against the lack of spiritu­ality and warmth in the Angli­can Church. Groups of Brethren sprang up in Ireland and western England. They claimed faith and Christian love to be their only bond of union. The great increase in the num­ber of Brethren was due to the labors of John Nelson Darby, who had been a minister in the neigh­borhood of Plymouth, England. Be­cause of him the Brethren received the name of Darbyites or Plymouth Brethren. Darby worked hard to spread his ideas. He organized churches of the Brethren in Swit­zerland, France, Germany, Canada, and the United States.

Because the Bible teaches that all believers are priests the Breth­ren do not believe in ordained ministers. They are against creeds. They hold that the Holy Spirit guides all true believers, and unites them in faith and worship after the apostolic model. They claim to re­ject all denominationalism. But early in their history they were compelled to adopt certain acts of discipline. Today they are divided into six groups.

One of the outstanding members of the early Brethren group in England was George Muller of Bristol. Inspired by the example of August Francke (ch. 39, sec. 5) , he established an orphanage which became famous as a work of faith. A third movement, the Salvation Army, was founded by William Booth, a former Methodist minis­ter. He first carried on a success­ful revival in Cardiff, Wales. Later he began a similar work in London. Out of this there developed (in 1878) an organization in military form which soon received the name of the Salvation Army. It is found today in all English speaking coun­tries and in countries of continen­tal Europe and the Orient. The Salvation Army engages in street preaching and in works of mercy. It is not a church. In al­most every city it maintains a service center, where the lonely and homeless can find help and where evangelistic services are regularly held.