The Book of Religions Part 4

"Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of bread and wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but it is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthrowing the nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superst.i.tions.

"The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean, whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is faith.

"The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or wors.h.i.+pped.

"ART. XXIX. _Of the Wicked, which eat not of the Body of Christ in the Use of the Lord's Supper._-The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as Saint Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ; yet in nowise are they partakers of Christ; but rather, to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing.

"ART. x.x.x. _Of Both Kinds._-The Cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people; for both the parts of the Lord's Sacrament, by Christ's ordinance and commandment, ought to be ministered to all Christian men alike.

"ART. x.x.xI. _Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross._-The offering of Christ once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone.

Wherefore the sacrifice of ma.s.ses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.

"ART. x.x.xII. _Of the Marriage of Priests._-Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, are not commanded by G.o.d's law either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage: therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve better to G.o.dliness.

"ART. x.x.xIII. _Of excommunicate Persons, how they are to be avoided._-That person which, by open denunciation of the Church, is rightly cut off from the unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be taken, of the whole mult.i.tude of the faithful, as a heathen and publican, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a judge that hath authority thereunto.

"ART. x.x.xIV. _Of the Traditions of the Church._-It is not necessary that traditions and ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly like; for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained against G.o.d's Word. Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of G.o.d, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, (that other may fear to do the like,) as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of the weak brethren.

"Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying.

"ART. x.x.xV. _Of Homilies._-The second Book of Homilies, the several t.i.tles whereof we have joined, under this article, doth contain a G.o.dly and wholesome doctrine, and necessary for these times, as doth the former Book of Homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth; and therefore we judge them to be read in Churches by the Ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may be understanded of the people.

"_Of the Names of the Homilies._-1. Of the right Use of the Church. 2.

Against Peril of Idolatry. 3. Of repairing and keeping clean of Churches.

4. Of Good Works; first of Fasting. 5. Against Gluttony and Drunkenness.

6. Against Excess of Apparel. 7. Of Prayer. 8. Of the Place and Time of Prayer. 9. That Common Prayers and Sacraments ought to be ministered in a known Tongue. 10. Of the reverent Estimation of G.o.d's Word. 11. Of Alms-doing. 12. Of the Nativity of Christ. 13. Of the Pa.s.sion of Christ.

14. Of the Resurrection of Christ. 15. Of the worthy receiving of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. 16. Of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 17. For the Rogation-Days. 18. Of the State of Matrimony. 19. Of Repentance. 20. Against Idleness. 21. Against Rebellion.

"[This article is received in this Church, so far as it declares the Books of Homilies to be an explication of Christian doctrine, and instructive in piety and morals. But all references to the const.i.tution and laws of England are considered as inapplicable to the circ.u.mstances of this Church, which also suspends the order for the reading of said Homilies in Churches, until a revision of them may be conveniently made, for the clearing of them, as well from obsolete words and phrases, as from the local references.]

"ART. x.x.xVI. _Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers._-The Book of Consecration of Bishops, and Ordering of Priests and Deacons, as set forth by the General Convention of this Church, in 1792, doth contain all things necessary to such consecration and ordering; neither hath it any thing that, of itself, is superst.i.tious and unG.o.dly: and, therefore, whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to said form, we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully, consecrated and ordered.

"ART. x.x.xVII. _Of the Power of the Civil Magistrates._-The power of the civil magistrate extendeth to all men, as well clergy as laity, in all things temporal; but hath no authority in things purely spiritual. And we hold it to be the duty of all men, who are professors of the Gospel, to pay respectful obedience to the civil authority, regularly and legitimately const.i.tuted.

"ART. x.x.xVIII. _Of Christian Men's Goods which are not common._-The riches and goods of Christians are not common, as touching the right, t.i.tle, and possession, of the same, as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast.

Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.

"ART. x.x.xIX. _Of a Christian Man's Oath._-As we confess that vain, and rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ, and James his Apostle; so we judge that Christian religion doth not prohibit, but that a man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charity, so it be done according to the prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth."

CAMBRIDGE AND SAYBROOK PLATFORMS.

The Cambridge Platform of church government, and the Confession of Faith of the New England churches, adopted in 1680; the Saybrook Platform, adopted in 1708; and the Heads of Agreement, a.s.sented to by the Presbyterians and Congregationalists in England in 1690,-form a volume, and cannot, therefore, be inserted in this work.

The form of church government, however, embraced in those Platforms, is essentially the same as that now in use by the Orthodox Congregationalists at the present day, and the Confession of Faith the same in substance to that we term the "Andover Orthodox Creed."

MORAVIANS, OR UNITED BRETHREN.

A name given to the followers of Nicholas Lewis, count of Zinzendorf, who, in the year 1721, settled at Bartholdorf, in Upper Lusatia. There he made proselytes of two or three Moravian families, and, having engaged them to leave their country, received them at Bartholdorf, in Germany. They were directed to build a house in a wood, about half a league from that village, where, in 1722, this people held their first meeting.

This society increased so fast, that, in a few years, they had an orphan-house and other public buildings. An adjacent hill, called the Huth-Berg, gave the colonists occasion to call this dwelling-place Herrnhut, which may be interpreted _the guard_ or _protection of the Lord_. Hence this society are sometimes called _Herrnhuters_.

The Moravians avoid discussions respecting the speculative truths of religion, and insist upon individual experience of the practical efficiency of the gospel in producing a real change of sentiment and conduct, as the only essentials in religion. They consider the manifestation of G.o.d in Christ as intended to be the most beneficial revelation of the Deity to the human race; and, in consequence, they make the life, merits, acts, words, sufferings, and death, of the Savior the princ.i.p.al theme of their doctrine, while they carefully avoid entering into any theoretical disquisitions on the mysterious essence of the G.o.dhead, simply adhering to the words of Scripture. Admitting the sacred Scriptures as the only source of divine revelation, they nevertheless believe that the Spirit of G.o.d continues to lead those who believe in Christ into all further truth, not by revealing new doctrines, but by teaching those who sincerely desire to learn, daily, better to understand and apply the truths which the Scriptures contain. They believe that, to live agreeably to the gospel, it is essential to aim, in all things, to fulfil the will of G.o.d. Even in their temporal concerns, they endeavor to ascertain the will of G.o.d. They do not, indeed, expect some miraculous manifestation of his will, but only endeavor to test the purity of their purposes by the light of the divine word. Nothing of consequence is done by them, as a society, until such an examination has taken place; and, in cases of difficulty, the question is decided by lot, to avoid the undue preponderance of influential men, and in the humble hope that G.o.d will guide them right by its decision, where their limited understanding fails them. In former times, the marriages of the members of the society were, in some respects, regarded as a concern of the society, as it was part of their social agreement that none should take place without the approval of the elders; and the elders' consent or refusal was usually determined by lot. But this custom was at length abandoned; and nothing is now requisite to obtain the consent of the elders, but propriety of conduct in the parties. They consider none of their peculiar regulations essential, but all liable to be altered or abandoned, whenever it is found necessary, in order better to attain their great object-the promotion of piety.

What characterizes the Moravians most, and holds them up to the attention of others, is their missionary zeal. In this they are superior to any other body of people in the world. "Their missionaries," as one observes, "are all of them volunteers; for it is an inviolable maxim with them to _persuade_ no man to engage in missions. They are all of one mind as to the doctrines they teach, and seldom make an attempt where there are not half a dozen of them in the mission. Their zeal is calm, steady, persevering. They would reform the world, but are careful how they quarrel with it. They carry their point by address, and the insinuations of modesty and mildness, which commend them to all men, and give offence to none. The habits of silence, quietness, and decent reserve, mark their character."

The following is a sketch of the mode of life of the Moravians, or United Brethren, where they form separate communities, which, however, is not always the case; for, in many instances, societies belonging to the Unity are situated in larger and smaller cities and towns, intermingled with the rest of the inhabitants, in which cases their peculiar regulations are, of course, out of the question. In their separate communities, they do not allow the permanent residence of any persons as householders who are not members in full communion, and who have not signed the written instrument of brotherly agreement, upon which their const.i.tution and discipline rest; but they freely admit of the temporary residence among them of such other persons as are willing to conform to their external regulations. According to these, all kinds of amus.e.m.e.nts considered dangerous to strict morality are forbidden, as b.a.l.l.s, dancing, plays, gambling of any kind, and all promiscuous a.s.semblies of youth of both s.e.xes. These, however, are not debarred from forming, under proper advice and parental superintendence, that acquaintance which their future matrimonial connections may require.

In the communities on the European continent, whither, to this day, numbers of young persons of both s.e.xes resort, in order to become members of the society from motives of piety and a desire to prepare themselves to become missionaries among the heathen, and where, moreover, the difficulties of supporting a family greatly limit the number of marriages, a stricter attention to this point becomes necessary. On this account, the unmarried men and boys, not belonging to the families of the community, reside together, under the care of an elder of their own cla.s.s, in a building called the _single brethren's house_, where usually divers trades and manufactures are carried on, for the benefit of the house or of the community, and which, at the same time, furnishes a cheap and convenient place for the board and lodging of those who are employed as journeymen, apprentices, or otherwise, in the families const.i.tuting the community.

Particular daily opportunities of edification are there afforded them; and such a house is the place of resort where the young men and boys of the families spend their leisure time, it being a general rule, that every member of the society shall devote himself to some useful occupation. A similar house, under the guidance of a female superintendent, and under similar regulations, is called the _single sisters' house_, and is the common dwelling-place of all unmarried females, not members of any family, or not employed as servants in the families of the community. Even these regard the sisters' house as their princ.i.p.al place of a.s.sociation at leisure hours. Industrious habits are here inculcated in the same way. In the communities of the United Brethren in America, the facilities of supporting families, and the consequent early marriages, have superseded the necessity of single brethren's houses; but they all have sisters'

houses of the above description, which afford a comfortable asylum to aged unmarried females, while they furnish an opportunity of attending to the further education and improvement of the female youth after they have left school. In the larger communities, similar houses afford the same advantages to such widows as desire to live retired, and are called _widows' houses_. The individuals residing in these establishments pay a small rent, by which, and by the sums paid for their board, the expenses of these houses are defrayed, a.s.sisted occasionally by the profits on the sale of ornamental needle-work, &c., on which some of the inmates subsist.

The aged and needy are supported by the same means. Each division of s.e.x and station just alluded to, viz., widows, single men and youths, single women and girls past the age of childhood, is placed under the special guidance of elders of their own description, whose province it is to a.s.sist them with good advice and admonition, and to attend, as much as may be, to the spiritual and temporal welfare of each individual. The children of each s.e.x are under the immediate care of the superintendent of the single choirs, as these divisions are termed. Their instruction in religion, and in all the necessary branches of human knowledge, in good schools, carried on separately for each s.e.x, is under the special superintendence of the stated minister of each community, and of the board of elders. Similar special elders are charged to attend to the spiritual welfare of the married people. All these elders, of both s.e.xes, together with the stated minister, to whom the preaching of the gospel is chiefly committed, (although all other elders who may be qualified partic.i.p.ate therein,) and with the persons to whom the economical concerns of the community are intrusted, form together the board of elders, in which rests the government of the community, with the concurrence of the committee elected by the inhabitants for all temporal concerns. This committee superintends the observance of all regulations, has charge of the police, and decides differences between individuals. Matters of a general nature are submitted to a meeting of the whole community, consisting either of all male members of age, or of an intermediate body elected by them.

Public meetings are held every evening in the week. Some of these are devoted to the reading of the Scriptures, others to the communication of accounts from the missionary stations, and others to the singing of hymns or selected verses. On Sunday mornings, the church litany is publicly read, and sermons are delivered to the congregation, which, in many places, is the case likewise in the afternoon. In the evening, discourses are delivered, in which the texts for that day are explained and brought home to the particular circ.u.mstances of the community. Besides these regular means of edification, the festival days of the Christian church, such as Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, &c., are commemorated in a special manner, as well as some days of peculiar interest in the history of the society. A solemn church music const.i.tutes a prominent feature of their means of edification, music in general being a favorite employment of the leisure of many. On particular occasions, and before the congregation meets to partake of the Lord's supper, they a.s.semble expressly to listen to instrumental and vocal music, interspersed with hymns, in which the whole congregation joins, while they partake together of a cup of coffee, tea, or chocolate, and light cakes, in token of fellows.h.i.+p and brotherly union. This solemnity is called a _love-feast_, and is in imitation of the custom of the agapae in the primitive Christian churches. The Lord's supper is celebrated at stated intervals, generally by all communicant members together, under very solemn but simple rites.

Easter morning is devoted to a solemnity of a peculiar kind. At sunrise, the congregation a.s.sembles in the graveyard; a service, accompanied by music, is celebrated, expressive of the joyful hopes of immortality and resurrection, and a solemn commemoration is made of all who have, in the course of the last year, departed this life from among them, and "gone home to the Lord"-an expression they often use to designate death.

Considering the termination of the present life no evil, but the entrance upon an eternal state of bliss to the sincere disciples of Christ, they desire to divest this event of all its terrors. The decease of every individual is announced to the community by solemn music from a band of instruments. Outward appearances of mourning are discountenanced. The whole congregation follows the bier to the graveyard, (which is commonly laid out as a garden,) accompanied by a band, playing the tunes of well-known verses, which express the hopes of eternal life and resurrection; and the corpse is deposited in the simple grave during the funeral service. The preservation of the purity of the community is intrusted to the board of elders and its different members, who are to give instruction and admonition to those under their care, and make a discreet use of the established church discipline. In cases of immoral conduct, or flagrant disregard of the regulations of the society, this discipline is resorted to. If expostulations are not successful, offenders are for a time restrained from partic.i.p.ating in the holy communion, or called before the committee. For pertinacious bad conduct, or flagrant excesses, the culpable individual is dismissed from the society. The ecclesiastical church officers, generally speaking, are the bishops,-through whom the regular succession of ordination, transmitted to the United Brethren through the ancient church of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren, is preserved, and who alone are authorized to ordain ministers, but possess no authority in the government of the church, except such as they derive from some other office, being, most frequently, the presidents of some board of elders,-the civil seniors,-to whom, in subordination to the board of elders of the Unity, belongs the management of the external relations of the society,-the presbyters, or ordained stated ministers of the communities, and the deacons. The degree of deacon is the first bestowed upon young ministers and missionaries, by which they are authorized to administer the sacraments. Females, although elders among their own s.e.x, are never ordained; nor have they a vote in the deliberations of the board of elders, which they attend for the sake of information only.

The Moravians that first visited the United States, settled at Savannah, Ga., in 1735.

TUNKERS.

A denomination of Seventh-Day Baptists, which took its rise in the year 1724. It was founded by a German, who, weary of the world, retired to an agreeable solitude, within sixty miles of Philadelphia, for the more free exercise of religious contemplation. Curiosity attracted followers, and his simple and engaging manners made them proselytes. They soon settled a little colony, called Ephrata, in allusion to the Hebrews, who used to sing psalms on the border of the River Euphrates. This denomination seem to have obtained their name from their baptizing their new converts by plunging. They are also called _Tumblers_, from the manner in which they perform baptism, which is by putting the person, while kneeling, head first under water, so as to resemble the motion of the body in the action of tumbling. They use the trine immersion, with laying on the hands and prayer, even when the person baptized is in the water. Their habit seems to be peculiar to themselves, consisting of a long tunic or coat, reaching down to their heels, with a sash or girdle round the waist, and a cap or hood hanging from the shoulders. They do not shave the head or beard.

The men and women have separate habitations and distinct governments. For these purposes, they erected two large wooden buildings, one of which is occupied by the brethren, the other by the sisters, of the society; and in each of them there is a banqueting-room, and an apartment for public wors.h.i.+p; for the brethren and sisters do not meet together even at their devotions.

They used to live chiefly upon roots and other vegetables, the rules of their society not allowing them flesh, except upon particular occasions, when they hold what they call a love-feast; at which time, the brethren and sisters dine together in a large apartment, and eat mutton, but no other meat. In each of their little cells they have a bench fixed, to serve the purpose of a bed, and a small block of wood for a pillow. They allow of marriages, but consider celibacy as a virtue.

The princ.i.p.al tenet of the Tunkers appears to be this-that future happiness is only to be obtained by penance and outward mortifications in this life, and that, as Jesus Christ, by his meritorious sufferings, became the Redeemer of mankind in general, so each individual of the human race, by a life of abstinence and restraint, may work out his own salvation. Nay, they go so far as to admit of works of supererogation, and declare that a man may do much more than he is in justice or equity obliged to do, and that his superabundant works may, therefore, be applied to the salvation of others.

This denomination deny the eternity of future punishments, and believe that the dead have the gospel preached to them by our Savior, and that the souls of the just are employed to preach the gospel to those who have had no revelation in this life. They suppose the Jewish Sabbath, sabbatical year, and year of jubilee, are typical of certain periods after the general judgment, in which the souls of those who are not then admitted into happiness are purified from their corruption. If any, within those smaller periods, are so far humbled as to acknowledge the perfections of G.o.d, and to own Christ as their only Savior, they are received to felicity; while those who continue obstinate are reserved in torments, until the grand period, typified by the jubilee, arrives, in which all shall be made happy in the endless fruition of the Deity.

They also deny the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity. They disclaim violence, even in cases of self-defence, and suffer themselves to be defrauded, or wronged, rather than go to law.

Their church government and discipline are the same with other Baptists; except that every brother is allowed to speak in the congregation; and their best speaker is usually ordained to be the minister. They have deacons and deaconesses from among their ancient widows and exhorters, who are all licensed to use their gifts statedly.