The Methodist Quarterly Review March, 1898.

ART. I.-IS METHODISM CATHOLIC

WHAT is Christian catholicity What model shall we take for true' catholicity, a catholicity which is neither too broad nor too narrow, neither too inclusive nor too exclusive How may we know what Churches are most catholic, and what least catholic We all believe in the Holy Catholic Church. Where is it How may we know it

There are various bodies in whose titles the word "catholic" is prominent. We have the "Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church," and the "Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Oriental Church," with its several most holy catholic branches-the old Catholic Church, the Reformed Catholic Church, and' the Catholic Apostolic Church. These Churches are catholic in name and accept for the most part the catholic, or ecumenical, creeds, but are not wholly catholic in fact. They impose conditions of communion apparently not imposed by the New Testament, and do not impose some conditions which seem to us to be imposed by the New Testament. Their catholicity is not a large and true catholicity.

There is but one model of true catholicity, the Chnst' of 'God, the Son of man. He came in the fullness of divine power and the perfection of human character to reveal the love of God for a fallen race, to sacrifice himself for our redemption, and to show us the way to eternal life. With the infinite perfections and powers of God and the nature, feelings, and disposition of man, wh6 so fitted as he to lay the foundations of the divine plan of human salvation Over-

[12-FIFTH SERIES, VOL. XIV.]

coming sin as never man did, triumphing over death as only the Lord 0 life could, he has the unique right as Saviour and Creator to say to all who would know the way of life, "Follow me." Following him as closely as our human limitations will allow, let us catch, if possible, the spirit of his catholicity and see how much of it we shall find in Methodism.

The catholicity of Christ may be fairly outlined, we think, under these four heads: The catholicity of the Gospel. Christ made it broad enough to embrace all races, nations, and conditions of men. The catholicity of his provisions for its proclamation. He provided that it should be offered to all, and urged upon all, by all believers. The catholicity of the conditions of salvation. He made them so few and so simple that all may comply with them.

4. The catholicity of Christian fellowship. His great desire seemed to be, having got men into the kingdom, to keep them in.

We understand the Gospel to be good news for all men everywhere, without exception, no matter whether they are civilized or savage, educated or ignorant, rolling in riches or abounding in poverty, blameless as touching the moral law or steeped in vice and crime, knowing that God is a spirit or associating him with idols or fetiches. The apostles were slow to comprehend the universal applicability of the Gospel. They had been constantly with the Master and received lesson after lesson as to the scope of his mission, but they were dull of heart and narrow of vision. They wanted him to send away unfed the starving multitude to perish by the way, because many of them were vagabonds; they wanted the Samaritans to be consumed by fire from heaven, because they offered no entertainment; they forbade strangers to work in Christ's name, because they were working independently. He rebuked and instructed them, and explained again and again the nature of his mission; but they did not fully understand, perhaps because

The love of God is broader

Than the measure of man's mind,

and Peter had to have the vision on the housetop before he would give the Gospel to the Gentiles. It is the glory of the Christianity of our times that it grasps so clearly and firmly the idea of the unity of mankind, and opens its churches to men of every race, hue, and tongue-though not so freely, not always with so warm a welcome, as could be desired. The Dutch Protestant of South Africa occasionally puts over his church door, "Dogs and Hottentots not admitted," but such rare exceptions have no advocates and few defenders. Individuals are not yet free from race prejudice, but the Church itself holds the true doctrine of brotherhood and is getting on to more catholic ground. Methodism is no less catholic on this point than the most catholic of denominations. It is confined to no continent, country, or people. It claims the world for its parish, and crosses seas, climbs mountains, and learns strange tongues, to carry the Gospel to those who are beyond. We believe in the efficacy of our holy catholic religion for masses and classes, for "barbarian, Scythian, bond," and "free."

The catholicity of Christ's provisions for the proclamation of the Gospel Methodism heartily affirms and endeavors to practice. If Christ 'on Olivet had simply said to the company that witnessed his ascension, "I have made salvation possible to everybody, let those who want it find it and take it," his sacrificial work would have been in vain. He gave it to a few; the few must carry it, to the many, and not simply tell them what Christ had done, but offer the Gospel to them and by invitation, entreaty, example, command, and warning urge them to accept it. To this end apostles and prophets were given, but these were not enough; the priesthood of believers was 'established. All believers were to have part in the work of propagating the Gospel. Those who were set apart to serve tables, that the apostles might give themselves continually to prayer' and the ministry of the word, did not keep strictly to the business they were set over, but went about preaching and baptizing. One of these lay deacons was the glorious Stephen, the first martyr; and another was Philip, whose zeal was caught by his household, and his four daughters became effective preachers of the word. This was the application of Christ's idea in sending out the seventy, as he expressed it in the words, "And these signs shall follow them that believe"- not apostles and prophets simply, but those who believe-" In name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues."

Methodism does not believe in a high and exclusive priesthood. The duty and the privilege of propagating the Gospel belong to all, to the body of believers as well as to the ordained ministry. The great and glorious work is to be divided, as we believe, according to the distribution of gifts and opportunities. The same Holy Spirit who calls to continual prayer and the ministry of the word calls the simple believer, also, to a life of devotion to God and to the extension of his cause. Methodism aims, not to suppress the gifts of devout laymen, but to encourage their exercise and development; and in its class meeting and prayer meeting, its Sunday school and Epworth League, its regular church services and its parish activities, it finds fields for Gospel work for all who will take it.

Taking up now the third head, it seems to us that Methodism has caught very nearly Christ's catholic spirit respecting the conditions of salvation. It 'teaches, in his words, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." This is the sum and substance of the Gospel. Conviction of sin, confession of sin, repentance, faith in God are all comprehended in tile act of belief, and justification and regeneration are the response of God. Christ declared with great positiveness, "Ye must be born again; " but that is not our work, but the work of the Holy Spirit, and must, as God is faithful, immediately follow the act of belief. It is not a condition with which we can comply, but in fulfilling the condition of belief we do our part, and the rest is with God. The new birth means a new life, and the new life has its own signs and fruits. Methodism has from the first emphasized the importance of the new life. It has not taught that there 'is any substitute for it. It has held that without it baptism is a meaningless sign, church membership an empty relation, and men yet in their sins. On the other hand, whoever possesses it is a child of God and a brother in Christ, and is entitled to the privileges of the Church. If we keep applicants waiting at the Church door a while for full admission it is simply to satisfy ourselves that they are witnessing a true confession. They may be very crude in their ideas of the kingdom; they may know little or nothing of Christian doctrine; they may have a low standard of morals, but the new life means salvation, and they have the right of admission to the fellow-ship of the saints if they have the new life. For babes in Christ the Church has her school for development, her progressive lessons in the duties, privileges, and responsibilities of the Christian life. According to our General Rules there is "only one condition previously required of those who desire admission into these societies-' a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins.'" But, as interpreted, this desire will prompt to all that is necessary to salvation and to the implanting of the new life, without which, according to Christ's declaration, a man "cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Methodism, then, occupies catholic ground-the ground which Christ himself occupied, who is our perfect standard of catholicity. The secret of its power, the phenomena of its history, can only be understood by regarding it as a life and not as a machine. Its peculiar methods, its special practical features, never made it what it is. It was a life, and as a life unhampered by ecclesiastical bonds and customs it had the power of growth in a marvelous degree. When the germ of anew life is planted in the human soul by the holy Spirit, that soul is ready to be taken at once into the nursery, which is the Church.

We come now to the fourth feature of Christ's catholicity, the conditions of Christian fellowship. This brings up questions of Church discipline, the causes of suspension, expulsion, excommunication, the use of the ban, and the like. Each Church has its own rules of fellowship and its own way of enforcing them. In some cases one may find it easy to get in, but hard to stay in. A denomination may be quite catholic in gathering in, and yet have great facility in putting out. Christ showed his catholicity in forbearance and in a tolerance whose breadth must have impressed his disciples and other orthodox followers as extraordinary. Though Peter denied him with bitter oaths, he did not cast him out; though Thomas was obstinate in his unbelief, a gentle rebuke, a practical solution of his doubt, was all the discipline administered to him. The Master who knew all the good and guilty thoughts of each heart was slow to condemn. A brother was to be forgiven, not seven times, but "seventy times seven," or tunes without number. No grudging welcome was given to the prodigal son, no cold reception to the woman taken in adultery. Christian fellowship is specially needed for these; shall we seek occasion to withdraw it from them or draw them more closely to the very heart of it We are to learn Christ's spirit from his words and acts of mercy, and remember that he came, not to destroy, but to save, not to cast away, but to reclaim, not to curse, but to bless. It should not, therefore, be the end and aim of Church discipline to get men out of the Church, but to save them to the Church, in the Church, and by the Church. We have, perhaps, not enough of the spirit of Christ. We are apt to talk of justice where he would speak of mercy; we arc sometimes harsh and censorious where he would be tender and forbearing; we often give scorn where he would give pity; we fear contact where he courted it. He said the tares would get in with the wheat; we have a zeal for separating them which he did not inculcate. Of course persistency in evil courses must sunder the tie of fellowship; for "what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion bath light and darkness" Moreover, those who are not of us often go out from us and thus make it manifest that they are not of us. The writer does not oppose exclusion or excommunication as a last resort; lie only urges that the Church proceed with all care, charity, and consideration, always remembering that it is the mission of the Church to save and not destroy. All Christians have need to pray earnestly and constantly for the spirit of Christ.

There is a class of cases included in the Methodist Discipline which do not necessarily involve immorality or gross sin. Our General Rules command many things; for example, that we refrain from doing ordinary work on the Sabbath, from buying or selling goods on which the duty has not been paid, from "giving or taking things on usury," from "uncharitable or unprofitable conversation," from "the putting on of gold and costly apparel," from "softness and needless self-indulgence," from "laying up treasure upon earth." They also enjoin "fasting or abstinence." The failure to observe these rules calls for admonition; if the admonition brings no repentance, expulsion, is to follow. In another place "dancing, playing at games of chance, attending theaters, horse races, circuses, dancing parties, or patronizing dancing schools" are specified as offenses to be dealt with in the same way. We will not say that these are not good and wholesome rules for the most part. Men and women ought to give to them a cheerful obedience, but from spiritual motives rather than from fear of ecclesiastical punishment. Most of these matters may be safely left to the individual conscience. We do not believe anything is gained by holding up the extreme penalty of excommunication for acts of doubtful character, or, at the worst, vanities or follies. It is better to give loving counsel in these things than to enforce punitive laws. The penitentiary is not intended to make citizens good. The prison is not the end and aim of the State. It is only for the forcible restraint of the willfully bad. So the Church is not a punitive institution. It succeeds, not by casting out men, but by getting them in and developing all their capabilities for good. Christ was not a maker of rules and regulations. He did not add to the already overburdened Jewish system for the regulation of conduct. He resolved it all into a few fundamental principles, simple, practical, and' easily understood. He sought to get the heart right, and trusted to an awakened and quickened conscience and the individual sense of responsibility in making choice to guide safely in the graces of the Christian life up to the divine standard.

Churches are uncatholic in prescribing minute and rigid rules of conduct, as when they excommunicate men for membership in secret societies, or for taking up arms, or for voting at elections, or for not conforming to a particular style of dress or mode of wearing the hair. Whom Christ would not turn away Christ's Church must not cast out. Beautiful was the lesson he gave in the house of Simon the Pharisee when the woman "which was a sinner', anointed him with precious ointment. In Simon's eyes she was a hopeless outcast, but the Master saw her great love and great faith and commended her, and rebuked Simon. In most Churches heresy is a cause for excommunication. If a man rejects important doctrines he is liable to trial and expulsion. In such eases a Church may show a harsh and unloving spirit and punish with excommunication sincere souls who have honest doubts as to doctrines they are unable to understand or understand imperfectly. There is a heresy of the head and a heresy of the heart. The latter is by far the more dangerous. The former may unfit one to be a teacher, the latter is likely to imperil his salvation. Intellectual doubt may be quite consistent with heart belief, and disciplinary processes for its cure may do a cruel wrong to a deeply sensitive nature. It is best to learn of the Master how to treat such cases. The poor father who came to him for his child came with little faith. The disciples had tried and failed to heal him. Doubtfully he said, "If thou canst do anything." Christ corrected him. That is not the question, he said. The one condition is, "If thou canst believe." The man responded, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." He asserted belief; he confessed unbelief. The answer seems absurd in its inconsistency, but Christ accepted it as though 'it were a perfect compliance with the prescribed condition, and performed the miracle. There was no doctrine which Christ taught more faithfully than that of belief. He urged its importance again and again. lie declared it was the door, the only door into the kingdom. "lie that believeth not," he said, "shall be damned;" but he accepted a weak belief because it was sincere, and overlooked the unbelief because it was acknowledged with sorrow.

Methodism holds and preaches faithfully the fundamental doctrines of evangelical Christianity, telling men they must turn from sin, love God, and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to be saved. It does not shun to declare the whole counsel of God, but its chief care is that the fruits of faith appear in the lives of its communicants. Heart religion is better than head religion. The devils believe and tremble, but intellectual belief is not necessarily of the saving order. We have no trials of lay members for heresy, only for sowing dissension. We follow the direction of St. Paul, "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations." This seeming negligence does not minister to doubt or unbelief. Our people are quite generally sound in the fundamentals of the Christian religion, though they may differ widely on minor doctrines. Our catholicity in these things is, we believe, the catholicity of Christ. We may not have attained unto his high standard of love and tender patience; but it is our earnest desire to shut no door which be has opened, to reject no soul whom he has accepted, to exclude from our fellowship none who have been admitted to his fellowship, and above all to cause no weak brother to stumble and fall.

As a denomination we claim no exclusive rights, privileges, authority, or sanctity. We only claim to be a part of the Holy Catholic Church, with equal access to the oracles of God, equal inheritance in the riches of Christ, equal privileges in the ordinances of the Gospel, equal responsibilities in spreading "scriptural holiness over these lands," equal right to preach Christ and him crucified, equal joy in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and equal part in the communion of saints with Christians of other names. We look upon other Churches with no desire to deny their Christian character or refuse them Christian fellowship. With John Wesley we desire to have "a league offensive and defensive with every soldier of Jesus. Christ." We acknowledge the fruits of the Spirit wherever they appear, and under whatever name. We receive, in the words of the first Methodist, written in the last year of his life, "all that love God, in every Church, as our brethren and sister and mother; and in order to union with us we require no unity in opinions or modes of worship, but barely that they fear God and work righteousness." The same catholic-minded apostle declared at another time that he "dare not exclude from the Church catholic all those congregations" in which unscriptural doctrines were preached, nor those in which the sacraments were not duly administered, because that would exclude the Church of Rome. He could bear with their wrong opinions and superstitious modes of worship, provided they had "one Spirit," "one hope," "one Lord, one faith, . . . one God and Father of all," and would not scruple to "include them within the pale of the Holy Catholic Church." In his sermon against bigotry he urged the brethren not to be "content with not forbidding any that cast out devils," but in every such instance he says:

Acknowledge the finger of God. And not only acknowledge, but rejoice in his work, and praise his name with thanksgiving. Encourage whomsoever God is pleased to employ, to give himself wholly up thereto. Speak well of him wheresoever you are; defend his character and his mission. Enlarge, as far as you can, his sphere of action; show him all kindness in word and deed; and. . . if he forbid you, do not forbid him.

Surely Wesley was very close to the heart of the Master when he wrote these words. He caught the spirit of the catholicity of Christ. We must quote him once again from a sermon on "A Catholic Spirit." He said:

I dare not, therefore, presume to impose my mode of worship on any other. I believe it is truly primitive and apostolical; but my belief is no rule for another. I ask not, therefore, of him with whom I would unite in love, Are you of my Church of my congregation Do you receive the same form of Church government and allow the same Church officers with me Do you join in the same form of prayer, wherein I worship God I inquire not, Do you receive the supper of the Lord in the same posture and manner that I do Nor whether in the administration of baptism you agree with me in admitting sureties for the baptized, in the manner of administering it, or the age of those to whom it should be administered Nay, I ask not of you (as clear as I am in my own mind) whether you allow baptism and the Lord's supper at all. Let all these things stand by; we will talk of them, if need be, at a more convenient season. My only question at present is this: "Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart"

If this is catholicity this is what Methodism loves and cherishes. We say not that we are more catholic than all other denominations, we say not that we better interpret the mind of Christ; that would be bigotry, and we hate bigotry. We say not that we have "already attained," or "were already perfect;" but we strive to keep close to the Master, and learn to love as broadly, deeply, and tenderly as he loved. In the words of our beloved Bishop Simpson: "We live to make our own Church a power in the land, while we live to love every other Church which exalts our Christ."

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