The author of this little volume has no higher ambition in these closing years of his public life than to promote the unity and fellowship of all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. If he shall be remembered in after years by those who shall come after him as one who sought to remove prejudice and misunderstanding among the friends of Christ, and to bring them closer together in fraternal fellowship and service, and as one who, in his day, contributed something to the fulfillment of our Lord's prayer for the oneness of his followers, he will not have lived and labored in vain. May He whose beatitude--"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God"--has been an inspiration in all our labors, crown this humble plea for the unity of His disciples with His own divine blessing and benediction!
INTRODUCTION
The greatest task before the Church is the evangelization and Christianization of the world. The successful accomplishment of this task involves the harmonious co-operation of the various parts of the divided Church. Hence the supreme problem before the Church is such a unification of its sundered parts as will secure the needed co-operation. The chief motive to Christian union is that it is an essential condition to the conversion of the world. Jesus prayed that his disciples might be one, "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." This prayer of our Lord defines both the reason for Christian union and the kind of union he desires. The reason is "that the world may believe," and the kind of union prayed for is that which will promote and hasten that end.
At no time in the history of the Church since its divisions have occurred has there been so deep and widespread interest on the subject of Christian union as there is to-day. At no time, therefore, has there been so favorable a time for the re-study of this subject in the light of New Testament teaching and church history. Bitterness of party spirit has subsided. Narrow prejudices have given way before increasing light and a larger charity. The will of Jesus Christ is more potent in molding the religious thought and life of men to-day than it has been for many generations and centuries. If He, our sovereign Lord and Head of the church, desires his followers to be one, the Church now is ready to pause and ask, reverently and thoughtfully, "In what sense, Master, wouldst thou have us one, and how may it be accomplished?" Believing the time, therefore, to be propitious for such a re-investigation of the subject, we purpose to contribute a series of historical studies on the unity of Christians with the view of aiding in the solution of this problem of our time.
As the modern mind has become accustomed to the historical method of study, it is believed that the subject of Christian union can be seen in the clearest and best light when it is looked at through the perspective of history. It is our plan, therefore, in conducting this investigation, to begin with the beginning of Christianity, and to ascertain, as far as possible, what kind of Christian union existed and to what causes it owed its existence in the first and successive epochs of church history. We believe that God has been teaching us through these centuries past by the events of history, and especially in these modern times is He speaking to us in the movements of our age in language which can not be misunderstood by those who have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to understand. We feel sure that any discussion of this great theme that is unillumined and uninfluenced by the providential movements of our time would be inadequate. We shall therefore seek to know the meaning of what God is doing in our day as well as of what He did in days of old.
THE HISTORICAL METHOD.
The student to-day naturally approaches the study of every subject that roots itself back in history by the historical method. This is the well-nigh universal method now in vogue among scholars in their study of the sacred books of the Bible, whether they be classed as conservative or radical, It has seemed to us that the subject of Christian union, which is as old as the Christian Church, and whose underlying principles are much older, can be seen in its true light only as it is seen in the perspective of history, especially of inspired history. Much of the confusion relating to this question to-day comes, we are bound to think, from viewing it too exclusively as a present-day problem to be solved solely in the light of present conditions. The range of vision is not wide enough, and does not extend back into history far enough, to see the subject in all its bearings. Certainly we can not ignore the present condition of the Church, and the present phase of thought and feeling as relates to Christian union; but it can not fail to be vastly helpful to study how the Church was one in the beginning of its career, the conditions under which it remained one for a period, the causes which subverted that unity, and the influences which have been and are now at work for its restoration. This is what we mean by the historical method of studying this subject.
For the purpose of this study we may divide the whole period of Church History into five great epochs, as follows:
I. The Apostolic Age.
Strictly speaking, this would be the period between the birth of the Christian Church, in about A. D. 30, to the death of the Apostle John, about the year A. D. 100. It will be sufficient for our purpose to let the Apostolic Age embrace the first century.
II. The Post-Apostolic Age.
Again having in mind the purpose of this investigation, this second epoch of Church History, beginning with the second century, may extend to the Council of Nice, in the year 325. The adoption of the Nicene creed marks a distinct epoch in the history of the Church.
III. The Graeco-Roman Age.
This period extends from the Nicene Council to the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, under Martin Luther. This age of the Church, which includes the rise of the papacy, was marked by the first division of the Church--that between the Eastern and Western Churches, better known to modern history as the Roman Catholic and Greek Churches. This division occurred in the year 1054.
IV. The Era of Protestantism.
This epoch of the Church, beginning, of course, with the Lutheran Reformation, continues to the present. But it has undergone a change in its spirit and method which justifies a new designation for the times in which we live.
V. The Period of Reunion.
This era had its beginning in a reaction against divisive tendencies in the Church, and the introduction of influences and formal movements looking toward unity. Roughly speaking, this era began with the nineteenth century, and will end with the fulfillment of Christ's prayer for the unity of his followers. This, we believe, will be followed by another great epoch--that of the triumph of a united Church over the forces of evil, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. But this epoch does not fall within the scope of the present study, save as the sublime end toward which all our efforts for union look, and "toward which the whole creation moves."
This is a rough outline of the plan we are to follow in this study. Each of these epochs of Church History will be studied in order to find out what lessons it has for us who, in these last days, are seeking to solve the problem of Christian union. Some of these epochs will require more careful study, and will yield better results, so far as our present topic is concerned, than others. But each will be found to contribute something in the way of example, warning or suggestion that will help us to understand more clearly the supreme problem which confronts the Church to-day.
"History," some one has said, "is philosophy teaching by example." Is it not even more than that? If there be a guiding Hand, an overruling Providence, shaping the course of human events, does it not follow that history in the long run is a commentary on the divine purpose? History is a great teacher, but in order to learn the lessons it can teach us we must divest ourselves, as far as possible, of all prejudices and preconceived theories that would prevent us from accepting its facts or the meaning of its facts. In this investigation we plead for an open mind and a love of truth that transcends all our reverence for inherited opinions and traditions.
Two motives impel us to this fresh study of the subject of Christian union. We believe that we who are designated as "Disciples of Christ," or "Christians," and who, together with our fathers, have stood for nearly a century as advocates of Christian union, need to re-study this subject both in the light of the past and of the present that we may renew our zeal in its behalf, and get a clearer grasp of the subject in its relation to the times in which we live, and to the principles for which we stand. Like others, we are not immune from the party spirit, and there is constant danger that we may make the plea of Christian union a mere party slogan, much as a political party sometimes raises a popular cry to catch votes. On the other hand, there is danger that some may grow weary of the slow coming of the desired unity, and may seek to hasten it in a way that would compromise important principles and furnish a new occasion for division. To prevent either of these extremes, it seems to us a fresh study of this whole question is desirable. The other motive is a desire to contribute any light which we may be able to give for the benefit of our brethren in other religious bodies who, with us, are seeking to solve the problem of unity and to find a closer bond of fellowship that will enable them to co-operate, as members of a common family and citizens of a common kingdom, in spreading the reign of Christ over the earth. Hitherto the ears of these brethren have not been so open to hear anything we had to say on the subject as they are at present. We shall have that larger constituency in view in these studies, and we shall be grateful for any help which we may be able to render our brethren in other religious bodies, who, equally with us, are interested in this subject. Our earnest desire is, and our earnest effort will be, to avoid writing as a partisan, but to write rather as a free member of the body of Christ, claiming fellowship with all Christians, and seeking only to bring them into such relations with Christ and with each other as that the will of God may speedily be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
We are at the dawn of a new era on the subject of Christian unity. Men may shut their eyes to the fact if they will, but the fact exists nevertheless. A new spirit has entered into the hearts of Christian people, and the Church has caught the sight of a new vision which will henceforth be a controlling factor in its life. Having once seen this fair vision, it can never live and labor contentedly under the limitations of its division walls. It is with the view of hastening the realization on earth of this vision of a united Church, if only in some small degree, that we undertake this work.
It is with a profound sense of our inability to deal adequately with so great and vital a theme, that we undertake the task outlined above. We do so, however, relying confidently upon the gracious aid of that divine and immanent Spirit an important part of whose mission in the Church is to Promote its spiritual development and unity.
