Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 256, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 October 1912 — BISHOP-APOSTLES A COSTLY MISTAKE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BISHOP-APOSTLES A COSTLY MISTAKE.

Pope Now Sees Error—Directing Faith Back to Apostles. All Followers of Christ Repudiating Apostolic Succession, Now Havo Proper Basis For Harmony and Union Through Untrammoled Bible Study.

St Lonis, Oct. 20. —We report one of Pastor Russell’s discourses here totoday from the text, “Have not 1 chosen you Twelve?” (John vi. 70.1 The Pastor declared that shortly after the Apostles died Satan got great power In the Church, using two instrumen-

talities to Introduce false doctrines. (1) By the Second Century the ministers began to be recognized as separate from the congregations, and instead of being elected their servants, they established themselves as a clerical class and began to lord it over the household of faith, themselves appointing the ministers over the congregations, instead of their being chosen by election, as in the days of the' Apostles. (2i At the same time the chief ones of the clergy, having the title of bishops, were claimed to be the successors of the Apostles, with the same right to teach andto be considered infallible messengers of Christ. The doctrine of Apostolic Succession was formulated. They pointed out that when Judas lost his place amongst The Twelve, the eleven met and chose one to fill his place. The speaker called attention to the fact that the eleven Apostles, in electing Matthias to their number In the place of Judas, did it without Divine authority and sanction. The one they chose the Lord ignored, and we hear nothing further of him. In His own due time the Lord brought forward the one He purposed should take the place of Judas—St. Paul. Jesus assured these Twelve that they should “sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,” in the “Times of Restitution” and ••Regeneration.” (Matthew six. 28; Acts ill, 1921.) These Twelve were again pictured symbolically In Revelation as the crown of twelve stars, on the head of the symbolical Woman, who represented the Church of Christ. Again The Twelve are pictured in the symbolic New Jerusalem, which portrays the Church beyond the veil In Heavenly glory, as twelve foundation stones.— Revelation xxi. 14. F*!«e or Pseudo-Apostles. Of these Twelve alone Jesus said. “Whatsoever things ye bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever things ye shall declare loosed,” or non-essential, on earth shall be declared “loosed in Heaven’’—so carefully would the Great Head supervise the words of those who were His mouthpieces to the Church. With St Paul we can then agree that “The Word of God Is sufficient, that t the man of God may be thoroughly furnished.” (II Timothy iii. 15-17.) The Emperor Constantine, a convert to Christianity, listed that the teachings of the various bishops were quite contradictory. Although not baptized, he recognized that if these teachers were Divinely guided their testimony would be harmonious. Constantine, in A. D. 325, convened the Council of Nice—called an “Apostolic Council.” because the bishops were thought to be living apostles Although Emperor Constantine proffered transportation free, only about one-third of the bishops attended—3Bs. For days, weeks and months disputes prevailed; and finally the Emperor gave the decision respecting the 5 wording of the Creed. And that Nicene Creed was promulgated as the Christian Faith; and the edict went forth that all who would not accept it should be banished. Thus uniformity of Faith was effected by a worldly prince. For twelve centuries after this. Apostolic Succession continued, operating through “Apostolic Councils” and creeds. Is it any wonder that in all those fifteen centuries the Truth itself was buried under a mass of superstition, error, false doctrine? Bible the Torch of Progress. For four centuries the Bible has been coming back to the people. Proportionately liberty has been enlightening the worl4 Ignorance, superstition and persecution have been yielding to nobility and Justice We all praise God that we live in a day when it is no longer, considered Godlike Christlike to persecute others: But. alas! for the past fifty years the influence of the Bible is on the wane! Infidelity, styled Higher Criticism. 1* rapidly undermining faith in the Bible. The present Pope, realizing the sitna tion. has banned Higher Criticism in all Cathotlc institutions and has issued i an order that the faith of all Catholic | ecclesiastics and teacher* be tested bj oath. He sees. too. that faith in Apos tolic Succession is gone from the mass es. and that to preserve religious faith the masses must be directed back to tbs words of Jesus, the Twelve Apostles and the Prophets, ns the only inspired authority on religion We commend his course and rejoice In It