“But it was especially by the _system of penance_, which flowed immediately from Pelagianism, that Christianity was perverted. At first, _penance_ had consisted in certain public expressions of repentance.... By degrees it was extended to every sin, even to the most secret.... Instead of looking to Christ for pardon, through faith alone, it was sought for principally in the church through penitential works.... _Flagellations_ were superadded to these practices.... They accordingly invented that system of barter celebrated under the title of _Indulgences_.... A bull of Clement VII declared it an article of faith.... The philosophers of Alexandria had spoken of a fire in which men were to be purified. _Many ancient_ doctors had adopted this notion; and Rome declared this philosophical opinion a tenet of the church. _The pope by a bull annexed purgatory to his domain._”[82] “The Catholic Church was not the papacy,” says D’Aubigné. “The latter was the oppressor, the former the oppressed.” Draper tersely defines the papacy as “THE TYRANNY OF THEOLOGY OVER THOUGHT.” [Sidenote: Summary] Men departed from the simplicity of a gospel by faith. Reason and scientific research took the place of faith in the Word. Education turned men’s minds from God to self, and reason was exalted. The papacy was thus formed. If we look for a visible union of the church and the state before recognizing it as the papacy, we shall find ourselves entrapped; _for it is the working out of a system of education based on human philosophy that forms the papacy_; and the body which adopts this system of education naturally turns to the state for support. [Sidenote: Papacy overthrown by Christian education] It is because of the truth of this statement that the papacy wields its influence through its schools; this is why it has always feared a revival of learning more than the combined forces of all the armies of the world. A death-blow to the papacy can be struck only by introducing a system of education founded upon the teachings of Christ, placing God’s Word as guide, and inspiring faith as the one avenue to wisdom. XI EDUCATION OF THE MIDDLE AGES The development of the papacy led directly to the Dark Ages, for “the noontide of the papacy was the world’s moral midnight.” The papacy was the logical working out of an educational scheme; hence the moral darkness which spread over the world during the prophetic period of twelve hundred and sixty years was due to wrong methods of education. People do not sink into degradation and sin when properly educated. Truth elevates, and, when embodied in man, brings him nearer to his Maker. Faith is the ladder by which he climbs, and when that element has been lacking in an educational system, the masses have sunk lower and lower. [Sidenote: Papacy’s tyranny of theology over thought]