Church and Nation: The Bishop Paddock Lectures for 1914-15Temple, William
Religion
Church and Nation: The Bishop Paddock Lectures for 1914-15
Temple, William
Church and state
[#] This is a description of Sectarianism, not of any particular
Denomination. We are all infected with the sectarian spirit. In many
respects Rome is far more sectarian than the great Presbyterian bodies
in Scotland. With all its faults I sincerely believe that the Anglican
Communion is, in spirit, more of a Church and less of a sect than any
other body. But then it contains several sects within itself, both
"High," "Broad," and "Low."
The truth which it thus presents, the Church believes to be the gift of
God. This above all is the idea which it tries to safeguard by the
outward signs of regular orders and sacraments.
Our belief about the communion service is that there Christ comes to us
just as once the eternal Word, which was present with all His creation,
none the less came in full manifestation under the limitations of time
and space at a particular moment and in a particular country. So in the
communion the Divine presence which fills the whole world ("Heaven and
earth are full of His glory," as we say in the service itself) is
offered to us, and draws near to us; and that not because of any virtue
in us; it was while we were yet sinners that Christ came and died; it is
while we are yet sinners that Christ offers Himself to us; and it is as
guarding against any conception that we can determine how He shall come,
or when and where, and that we can, as it were, manufacture His presence
in our own way, that the Church maintains with the utmost emphasis the
order that is necessary for that service.
It is to preserve the conception of spiritual life as a gift of God, and
of the Church as the society which recognises and receives it as such a
gift, in distinction from a mutual benefit society organised for the
edification of its own members, that the Church insists upon the due
order of its administration; and it is through concentration upon this
idea of holiness, and all that it ought to mean in our personal lives,
that we can make our greatest contribution towards bringing into
existence again a real Catholic Church, a Church which shall genuinely
include all the persons who believe in Christ in one order and
fellowship. The first and indispensable condition of re-union is fuller
dedication to the will of God in Christ. We shall be united to one
another when we are all truly united to Him.
But, if that work is to be accomplished, we shall also need wisdom, in
order rightly to counteract the effects alike of folly and of sin in the
past history of the Church; and here every man must be willing to make
what suggestions he can, merely submitting them for acceptance or
rejection by the whole body of the Church; because unless people are
prepared to speak of the problem as they see it, leaving the final
judgment to be formed by the body of which they are members, there is no
hope of our making any progress at all.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account