The Religious Life of LondonRitchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
Religion
The Religious Life of London
Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
London (England) -- Religion; Religious thought -- England -- London
Yet the Church of England is tolerant, to a certain extent, of heresy.
The judicious Hooker writes, “We must acknowledge even heretics
themselves to be a maimed part, yet a part, of the visible Church. If an
infidel should pursue to death an heretic professing Christianity only
for Christian profession’s sake, could we deny unto him the honour of
martyrdom? Yet this honour all men know to be proper unto the Church.
Heretics, therefore, are not utterly cast out from the visible Church of
Christ. If the Fathers do, therefore, anywhere, as often they do, make
the true visible Church of Christ and heretical companies opposite, they
are to be construed as separating heretics not altogether from the
company of believers, but from the fellowship of sound believers. For
where professed unbelief is, there can be no visible Church of Christ;
there may be where sound belief wanteth. Infidels being clean without
the Church, deny directly and utterly reject the very principles of
Christianity which heretics embrace, and err only by misconstruction,
whereupon their opinions, although repugnant indeed to the principles of
Christian faith, are notwithstanding by them held otherwise and
maintained as most consistent therewith.” The Privy Council by its
Judgment of “Essays and Reviews” has decided that a Churchman may hold
heretical opinions.
In popular language, the Congregationalists, the Baptists, the
Presbyterians are orthodox; the Quakers, the Methodists, Wesleyans and
otherwise, are orthodox; for our purpose popular language is sufficient.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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