The Medical Missionary, vol. 18
February 17, 1909
“Church Federation—IV. Its Meaning to the State and to All the People” The Medical Missionary, 18, 7, pp. 131-133.
ALONZO T. JONES
WE have seen that the “Federal Council of Churches” assumes jurisdiction and domination of all the territory of all the nation, and of all things and all people religious in that territory. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.1
It is equally true that she assumes jurisdiction and domination of all of the people in all things moral, and in many, if not all, things civil in that same territory. This is as plain in her own officially published words as is the other. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.2
That her assumed jurisdiction and domination is universal and all-embracing—State and civil, as well as church and religious; people who are not religious as well as those who are—is made certain in the following statements in the report of the committee on State and Local Federations: MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.3
1. “The time has come when the churches may and must know every individual in the entire community as accurately as they now know their own membership.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.4
2. One of the “certain committees that should be created in every local Federation” is one on— MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.5
“Civic Righteousness or Civic Affairs—to keep in touch with all the moral issues of the community.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.6
3. “A large part of the task of the state federation is to organize the churches in every minor political division, i.e., city or township. By political divisions, rather than villages for several reasons: MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.7
“(1) “Only by covering every political division, can we be sure that the whole State is covered. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.8
“(2) To ascertain the task before the local churches and their efficiency in meeting it, religious and civil statistics must be compared; and the latter are for political divisions.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.9
4. And why shall the whole State be covered by the church-combine in “political divisions,” “civil statistics,” etc.?—Answer: MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.10
“The enforcement and improvement of law often becomes the imperative duty of Local or State Federations, especially in regard to Sunday-rest, liquor-selling, sexual immorality and child labor.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.11
And— MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.12
“Civic action on the part of the churches, i. e., in law-enforcement must proceed on lines of township, etc.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.13
5. How widely extended is this to be?—Answer: MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.14
“The churches have as great an opportunity as ever to-day, if they will combine to meet the real needs of each community, from building roads and organizing industry, like John Frederick Oberlin, to swinging the thought of a whole great metropolis to religious things by concerted evangelism; ... and make possible what we have never had before, a systematic campaign to Christianize every phase of the life of the entire commonwealth.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.15
.6. And does she really mean to make all this effectual?—Answer: MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.16
“It thus becomes possible, as in two States already, to announce the watch-word: ‘Some church responsible for each square mile!’ Responsible, i. e., to know and seek in some way every individual therein, mutually reporting preferences to sister churches. The area of each ‘responsibility district,’ of course, varies from one city block to a whole town of forty square miles.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.17
“The Federation ... should emphasize the importance of the ‘responsibility districts’ which it establishes. When these cover the State, and the churches so appreciate their opportunity and responsibility, that each church will know the position of every voter on moral issues and tirelessly work to place every one upon the right side, moral reforms will come swiftly and permanently.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.18
“Knowledge of men alone gives power over men.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.19
“The keynote is responsibility! Dynamite is in that word! Its significance once realized, it will revolutionize the relation of the churches to the community and to each other.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 131.20
“The State Federation, like a general, taking in the whole field, can suggest what is needed at each point.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.1
“There has already been worked out a practical program of activities as definite and comprehensive as has ever been proposed for any religious or civic campaign. We have planned the work; let us work the plan.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.2
Now note in that plan which is to be “worked” just what is embraced in the jurisdiction find included in the activity of the church-combine. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.3
1. All of the territory. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.4
2. All of the people—“every voter” and “every individual in the entire community.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.5
3. All of these voters and individuals to be known “as accurately” as is the very church-membership itself; and every voter to be “tirelessly” worked for the “right side.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.6
4. Law-enactment. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.7
5. Law-improvement. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.8
6. Law-enforcement. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.9
7. “All the moral issues of the community.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.10
8. “All “the real needs of each community, from building roads to evangelizing the metropolis.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.11
9. “Every phase of the life of the entire Commonwealth.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.12
10. “Power over men.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.13
Now when the church-combine so fully occupies everything in all of that list, then where will there be left any room for the State! Where, in fact, will be the State!—The State as a body distinct from the church will be gone. As a distinct system of law and government the State will have been utterly supplanted, and its machinery will exist only as the tool of the church to accomplish by force her arbitrary will and to make effective her despotic decrees. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.14
Let us look over that list again and see what it really means. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.15
The universal monopoly of territory. This is sheer imperialism: as verily as was that of Nimrod at the first. Religious or ecclesiastical imperialism is strictly Nimrodic and Babylonish, as truly as is civic imperialism, and is the worst possible kind of imperialism. And it would seem that this had been sufficiently illustrated in the papacy to be a warning to all people for all time. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.16
The truth is that no church can ever rightly have anything to do with territory, nor with territorial bounds, nor with territorial jurisdiction. The church has to do only with souls. And no church can ever have any jurisdiction of souls, any more than of territory. The church is never sovereign nor lord of anything or anybody; but is only the servant of everybody. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.17
Likewise the church can never of right have anything to do with law; neither law-enactment, nor law-improvement, nor yet with law-enforcement, in any way nor to any extent whatever, whether Divine law or human law; but only with the gospel; and in that, only with preaching the gospel, never with enforcing it. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.18
Likewise no church can ever of right have to do with building streets or side-walks or roads or bridges or towns. No minister of the gospel was ever commissioned by Christ to plan or superintend the building of streets, or sidewalks, or roads or bridges, or towns; nor to mold and swing votes in the electing of town or city governments; but only to preach the gospel. Think of Paul planning and superintending the building of roads, bridges, and towns; and manipulating town-elections! MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.19
No minister of the gospel was ever commissioned to turn any state or nation of this world into a “kingdom of God”; but only to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, and so to have men delivered from the darkness and the bondage of sin of this world, and translated into the light and glorious liberty of the kingdom of God as that kingdom is in the realm of God. The kingdom of God “is not of this world.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.20
And when the whole Federation church-combine; as in her own list thus indicated, in order to acquire and exercise “power over men,” shall be actively engaged over every foot of the territory of the United States, inquiring into the standing of every individual to know how he stands on all moral issues, to know how he will vote on all questions of this assumed ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and to pry into every phase of life of the entire commonwealth, then what can that be but simply a federated system of universal, inexcusable, and pernicious meddling, that will differ from the very Inquisition itself only in degree, and not in spirit nor in kind. The centralized head of this Federation can then say of this nation as did Boniface VIII of the King of France, “I know all the secrets of his kingdom.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 132.21
Indeed, there never was a closer likeness to the papacy than is this thing in every feature. The program here defined in their own words, and the plan which is to be “worked” so universally and so intricately, is, in spirit, in purpose, and in every detail, identically that of the Church Federation of the fourth century in the Roman empire. This can be illustrated by the citation of only a single paragraph from the history of that original scheme of Church Federation and imperialism: MEDM February 17, 1909, page 133.1
“Religion asserts its authority, and endeavors to extend its influence over the whole sphere of moral action, which is, in fact, over the whole of human life, its habits, manners, conduct. Christianity, as the most profound moral religion, exacted the most complete and universal obedience; and, as the acknowledged teachers and guardians of Christianity, the clergy continued to draw within their sphere every part of human life in which man is actuated by moral or religious motives. The moral authority, therefore, of the religion, and consequently of the clergy, might appear legitimately to extend over every transaction of life, from the legislation of the sovereign, which ought, in a Christian king, to be guided by Christian motive, to the domestic duties of the peasant, which ought to be fulfilled on the principle of Christian love.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 133.2
That passage was written by Dean Milman nearly seventy years ago with reference solely to that church-combine and its clergy of the fourth century, in its assumption, encroachment, usurpation, and domination. It is as closely descriptive of this present church-combine and its clergy, as if it had been written only y to-day and with reference solely to this movement in our time. MEDM February 17, 1909, page 133.3
In one second article of this series it was remarked that the “unity” sought in this Federation is a “unity not for piety, but for power.” In these two articles—Ill and IV—it is abundantly shown by their own words, that this is altogether true. Therefore, in view of the vast field that is to be so completely occupied, and that is to be so intricately and “tirelessly worked, by this Federation of “Protestants,” what an awful meaning lies wrapped up in it in the presence of the mighty truth that “Unity without piety makes the church a curse to the world.” MEDM February 17, 1909, page 133.4
That system in the fourth century in its “unity without piety” made the papacy, and in that the greatest curse that ever befell the world. And now here comes this church-federation and ecclesiastical imperialism of professed Protestantism in the very likens of that which made the papacy. And when this scheme shall have been only developed and systematically worked as planned and already begun, then what can these two things together do for the world but absolutely to sink it? MEDM February 17, 1909, page 133.5