THE FOURTH CENTENARY OF LUTHER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 29, 16 November 1883, Page 16

THE FOURTH CENTENARY OF LUTHER.

The united Protestantism of Dunedin has celebrated- its greatest anniversary in the Knox Church— afittirig.place for such' a celebration. An English clergyman once callei Kxox the ruffian of the Keformation, and few, we fancy, wiU be disposed to question' Lutheb's claim to be regarded as its buffoon. Still there ard to be found' men who think they see something very, commendable in botfi ;• and who, therefore, may" be permitted to honour the 'birth of the one in a building bearing name of -the other; There even- seems- to be a sort of fitness in the ? association, of ideas suggested =by the man honoured and the bnildiog in which the honour was bestowed. The speakers at tlu's celebration were representative men from both the clergy and the laity. As was befitting in the circumstances, the Mayor of Dunedin occupied the chair. His Worship is remarkable for the happy way in which he has on all occasions acquitted himself of the duties of chairman ; and it must be admitted that on this occasion he was happier than usual.- We regret our space doeffnot permit us to set down here— ia 1 this place— the entire of bis learned and eloquent speech— one, too, so beautifully illustrated by a quotation from that prince of comic historians— Fboudk ; and that we are - compelled to confine ourselves to one passage of this illustrious address. ' . \

The following words, which are so -worthy of one' who occupies the proad position of the Mayer, we are sorry 'it is not the Lord Mayor, of Dunedin will be for ever memorable*:—" I am particularly pleased to preside at this centenary meeting in the most southern city of the world — at the antipodes of the scene of Luthbe's labours — in a building named after one wh\si own work was so like his, whose life and labour i vn are met to honour, and who, like him requires no monument to perpetuate his memory, because he lives in the hearts of the Christian population of the world, who now enjoy that civil and religious libsrty he worked so hard to establish, and which it is ours to preserve and perpetuate." Could anything be neater and more historically correct, in the supposition, true, of course, fiat ihs overwhelming majority of Oh.ristiau3.are not Christians, and that the penal laws during three hundred years, the confiscation of honest men's prope ties, the exclusion of the people from almost all share in .the government of. their country, the inhuman butcheries of the peasants of Germany, of Oliver Cbomwsll, and the transportation anl sailing into slavery of tens of thousands of Irish women and children by the devoted followers of Lcthes were the highest developments of civil and religious liberty? We truly grieve tbat we are unable, owing to want of time and space, to devote more prolonged aad delicate attention to the worthy Mayor's beautiful alilress. But as he was not the on 1 ? not 2 worths' speaker amongst laymen at this tauching anniversary-, we find ourselves Compelled to pass on to the next in order, Mr. E. B. Cabgili,. His position in this city claims for him especial attention, eveu if his display of eloquence and erudition did not lay upon us the obligation of 'drawing special attention to his great oration. And here, again, as in the case^oMhe Mayoivwe must express our. regret at our inability to do Mr, Gabgill fall justice. But there is.one paesiga in thereport of his panegyric on Ltjther which, is so remarkable for the Herculean literary industry and historical research it displays, as well as for the elegance of its diction, that we can by no means pass it over in silence. We fancy we should not be far wrong if wa.sail th 3 following passage was delivered in a high, solemn, reverent, and awe-striking tone, viz. :— "' Luther and the Bible' — wa3 an all-conapretaensive subject. The great fundamental chaDga brought about by the Reformation, not only in Germany, but in England, was simply this : The Restoration of the Word of God to its right place, as the syle armoury of their faith, the sole settlement of every dispute, and certain guide in every doctrine. It was somewhat difficult in the present day to realise the state of things that must have 'prevailed before the Reformation. That there were multitudes of .men ,who were waiting ,and wishing for better things, they hai ample evidence of in the many 'touching incidents in. LUTHBa's life. , Nevertheless, intense darkness with regard to the Word of God did prevail. . The Bible was unknown. Neither priests nor people read or knew anything about it." It is, of

course, a notorious "fact that Luther allowed everybody the same liberty of being governed by what he learned fro n the Bible that he claimed for himself ; and that his anathemas against all who dared to dispute his inspiration and infallibility, and all the wars he provoked, were only so many pleasantries and playful gambols of the liberal and amiable reformer." Then, how can we worthily set down that recondite passage in Which Mr. Cargill' informs an ignorant world that before Luther "intense darkness with regard to the Word of God did prevail. The Bible was unknown. Neither priests nor people read-or knew anything about it." Well, did you ever ! go to, Mr. E. B. Cabgill ; do you really believe that nonsense 1 But what a pity thai aaav. clergyman of the kirk should disabuse the gaping crowd in Kuox Church as to the accuracy of Mr. CAltGlLfc's historical knowledge. Ths Rsv. W. Bannerman, who, by tha way, wo have often observed, frequently interposes ag a spoil-sporb at meetings of the unco quid, gave expression to the profound thought that at the "period of the Reformation, the inheritance of God's people— the Bible — had been rescued from the hands of the ruthless destroyers"— that ie, the priests and people, who, according to Mr. Cargill, neither read it noc knew anything about it. But. this is only a slight contradiction of a matter of no importance to these profound students of the history of the Reformation period. . - , Bishop Nevill, of the Anglican Church, was there also. Considering his principles, and, indeed, his speech on this occasion, people will- , wonder what hrought him there, unless they remember his recent siige deliverance, on the union of Christendom.-. ; However, a* he considered it his duty to go there,.and, even, speak, we should do him a wrong if we failed to set down- here, at least, the most noteworthy passage of his speech; It is as follows :— " We were told by inspiration that there were in thj Bible things, hard to be understood— things which they that were unlearned and unstable or lawless wrested to their jown destruction. Then came in the other guide which God had given to Hiscreature man— the- Spirit-bearing Church, which was declared to be tie habitation of God. It was the temple of God— because the habitation of the Holt Ghost, and the promise of God was given that the gates of. hell-should never prevail against it. When the Church spoke in her councils and in her creeds—not by one individual, no matter in what position he stood, was there infallibility— but in the Spirit-body as a whole there was the truth. The Cliurch speaking as a whole in her corporate capacity was tb^ voice of Jesus Christ, who was Himself the Truth.— (Applause.) " This is very edifying, and we are curious to kuow what Mr. E. B. Cargill thought about the Bishop's claim to belong to an infallible Church, for this representative lay -admirer of Luther was just after slating that the Bible, or Word of God, was the sole armoury of their faith, the sole settlement of every dispute, and certain guide in every doctrine. But the Rev. Dr. Roseby. followed and gave the Bishop a Roland for his Olliver. His Reverence docs not seem disposed to permit himself to be included in the unity of Christendom through tbc instrumentality of Bishop Nevill's infallible Church. There were other speakers, but we areso daaed and confounded by their prodigious, indeed heroic, display of learning, and historical knowledge, that we are beginning to 'get' a little confused, and' are coming to the conclusion we had better say but little more. There is one veteran reformer, however, who deserves a passing word, and whose name should by no means be omitted in this article. Mr. Oh Bell is a great stickler for liberty when it Berves his purpose to be bo, and it was eminently fitting that the man who strenuously insists on Catholics paying for the godless education of other people's children, in spite of their protests and the fact that they manfully pay for the education of their own children, should take a prominent part in-'the celebration of the anniversary of the. man who inaugurated three hundred years of tyranny — social, political, andreligious— in Europe ; and mouth platitudes about "the oppression of kings and false Churches." ...... A few days ago we happened to come across the following words in a leaderof the London • Evening Mail,<ot last September 14, and a& we think it is applicable to the meeting in Knox Church, and :.o well calculated to throw light on the profound and ludicrous of the speakers, we have come to the conclusion to s&int it at the end of this notice of that meeting. Our readers, in order to estimate it atits full value will please hear in mind that the JHemuirf Mail is the evening edition of the Times :—: — " Nevertheless, each partyto this great and secular controversy has learnt something in the lapseof i csnturies. Protestant historians would nowadays hardJy care to. pin their faith on the Magdeburg Ccnturiators whom the Pope so unnecessarily belabours. They would disdain \o represent the medieval Papacy as exercising a maliga influence upon civilisation, and they would aesent to almost all that the Pope cays of it in urging its claims to the gratitudeof Europe. Nowadays, as the Popetruly ; aSrcms, there is^no one who does not know, ' that artel? the fall of the Roman- jEmpire the • Popes were the most strenuous of all in their resistance :to the^formida'ble incursions of the barbarians ; and that owing- to> their prudence and firmness the fury of the enemy, was .checked more than once, the noil of Italy

liberated from bloodshed and conflagration, and the city of Rome saved from ruin.' More than this; the salvation of Italy was, in a sense, the making of modern Europe. la the turmoil which surrounded the birth of the new order the Papacy presented the one stable institution, the sole moderating and controlling-influence which enabled the warring elements of a new civilisation to establish themselves in. equilibrium under the shadow of its supreme authority. When the Papacy fell from its high estate, Europe again lost its unity, nor has it ever completely recovered it. This is a view of the mediaeval Papacy which the age of the Reformation could Dot be expected to appreciate. It saw in the Papacy only an ecclesiastical organization of which the corruptions were palpable. Its function was to resist the Papacy, not to do it historical justice. Indeed, in order to resist it effectually, in order to rouse popular sympathy, and to enlist the support of the masses who judge roughly, and -can only understand a 'picture' if it is painted in broad outlines and vivid colours, the historians Of the Reformation were almost compelled to do the Papacy historical injustice. The attitude of the Reformation towards the Papacy was almost like that of- the modern statesman who summoned his followers' to the fight with the cry, ' Le eUHc a* lisme, voila I'ennemi.' But the time is long gone by> when such an attifcade could be justified in the historical treatment of the Papacy, even if it could ever be said to have been justified. ' Even among Protestants,' says the Pope, in a passage which beßpeaks his candour, ' many possessed of keen intellect and impartial judgment have laid aside not a few prejudices, and, constrained by the force of truth, have not hesitated to praise the civilizing and beneficial influence of the Papacy on politics.' We would even go so far as to say that n o historian worthy of the name can for a moment hesitate to do a s much as this."

If the speakers in Knox Cliurch had a tincture of real scholarship they wouldjiotjhave made such a laughable exhibition of themselves, and their educated friends in Europe would not be obliged to blush for them.