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The Church in Relation to the State, Ed. by J. M'naught
The Church in Relation to the State Ed by J M'naught Author:James Gibson General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1872 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: THE PRINCIPLE OF VOLUNTARY CHURCHES PROVED TO BE THE ORIGIN OF ROMISH DOMINATION. INTRODUCTION. THAT " the truth will take care of itself," is no new maxim. It has lately, however, been put forth with unusual frequency, and with an air of novelty and triumph. Yet it is more specious than solid. While it seems a compliment to truth, it is in reality no more than an apology, not merely for the toleration, but even for the support of error. In the history of science, we know how much the folly, caprice, passions, interests, and consequent prejudices of men, have retarded its advancement. In this case, too, there was no natural opposition in the human heart. How much more, then, must these causes operate against moral and religious truth, to which all experience, and the uniform testimony of the Word of God, declare that the heart of man is deeply opposed ? It appears to me, that it is from ignorance or forgetfulness of this fact, or principle of our sinful nature, that the maxim with which these observations commence has been so often brought forward, both by statesmen and divines, as a reason for putting truthan error on an equal footing, and extending alike to both, or withholding alike from both, any support or encouragement. Now, this seeming reason appears to me to be founded entirely in a fallacy. The native excellence of truth no one will dispute. But, like the gold in the mine, unless it be wisely applied and regulated, through the proper instrumentality and aid of man, it is altogether useless and inefficient. A law may be ever so excellent, but, as Paley observes, " a law is nothing, and can...« less