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Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

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THE FIRST AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.205mber they were many ; in character most dverse; they arose and flourished in different placesHardly anywhere was the Church free from themLet us ask only one question here: by what powerwere they resisted ? <strong>The</strong> human mind had thenthe fullest liberty <strong>of</strong> action in Christians. It wasby a free choice-a choice accompanied with danger,o ' and persisted 1 in through " suffering-that cj menbecame Christians. <strong>The</strong> liberty which men exercisedin becoming Christians they could use furtheragainst Christian doctrine, by innovating ; bymixing it up with other doctrines, with which,perhaps, their minds had been familiar beforetheir conversion; by developing it after their ownfashion. <strong>The</strong> desire <strong>of</strong> fame, the self-will <strong>of</strong> genius,the mere luxury <strong>of</strong> thought, would <strong>of</strong>fer a continualtemptation to such a course. Many, fromone motive or another, fell into it. <strong>The</strong> questionwhich we repeat is, what power prevented the oneChurch from breaking up under this process <strong>of</strong>free thought into fragments? <strong>The</strong>se heresies beganeven while the Apostles were teaching. S.Peter, S. Paul, and S. John speak strongly againstthem. <strong>The</strong>y swarm in the two generations succeedingthe death <strong>of</strong> S. John. How is it that, athe accession <strong>of</strong> Marcus Aurelius, Christians ha\ing passed the limits <strong>of</strong> the empire, and beingfound so far as the wandering tribes <strong>of</strong> the north,there is still one Church, surrounded, indeed, bya multitude <strong>of</strong> sects, differing from her and from

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