The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3

V. Newman-Pope Not Antichrist but Spokesman for God

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN (1801-1890), famous High Church Anglican convert to Roman Catholicism, and one of the prime movers in the Oxford Tractarian Movement, was born in Lon don. He experienced “conversion” when fifteen years of age, and in the same year entered Trinity College, Oxford. After finishing in 1821 he tutored for a while, was ordained in 1824, and became curate of St. Clements, Oxford. He was appointed to St. Mary’s in 1827, and was preacher to the university in 1831-32. But he resigned and went on a tour of the Mediterranean with R. H. Froucle-still leaning toward Protestantism, as indicated by comments while in Rome. It was while on a voyage in the Mediterranean during this tour that he wrote “Lead, Kindly Light,” in the midst of conflict and groping. PFF3 665.2

Newman returned home in 1833, in time to hear John Keble’s ⁴⁷ famous sermon of July 14 on “National Apostacy,” which later came to be regarded äs the Inauguration of the Ox ford Movement. Newman picked up the work from there and gave it momentum. Before the close of the month a meeting of High-Churchmen was held at Newman’s rectory, during which it was resolved to light for “the apostolical succession and the integrity of the Prayer-Book ⁴⁸ PFF3 665.3

A few weeks later Newman started the Tracts for the Times series-begun independently but called “Oxford Tracts”-from which the movement subsequently derived the name Tractarian ism. He composed twenty-nine of the ninety tracts, all intended to revive the Catholic spirit in Anglicanism and to secure a sat is fying basis of doctrine and discipline. These tracts were supplemented by Newman’s Sunday afternoon sermons at St. Mary’s, which exerted much influence. In 1835 Edward B. Pusey ⁴⁹ joined the movement as an ally. Thus some called the group “Puseyites.” PFF3 666.1

Newman now became editor of The, British Critic and gave a course of lectures in a side-chapel in defense of Anglicanism as a “middle way” between Romanism and Protestantism, By 1839 he began to question the soundness of the Anglican position, and finally in 1841 published Tract Number Ninety, on the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England-which were the stumbling block-to show they were not against the authorized creed of the Roman church, but only against popular errors and exaggerations. It was an attempt to reconcile the Roman and Anglican faiths. There was talk everywhere, and excitement reached a high pitch. Violent opposition was matched by ardent support, as Newman was denounced by some as a traitor and defended by others as a savior of the day. But Tract Number Ninety ended the series, which was never condemned by the university as a whole. (Title page and Newman portrait reproduced on page 540.) PFF3 666.2

He resigned his vicarage and his editorship of The British Critic, and withdrew to Littlemore to study, living there under rigorous monastic conditions, seeking to reconcile himself with the Roman Catholic system. In 1843 Newman published a retraction of all the hard tilings he had formerly said against Rome. Finally, in 1845, he was received into the Roman communion, leaving Oxford for Rome, where, in 1846, he was ordained a priest and later given a D.D, degree by the pope. In 1847 he returned to England, where he continued to reside. In 1854 Newman was called to Dublin as rector of the newly established Catholic University, and in 1879 he was given the car dinal’s hat. PFF3 666.3

1. NEWMAN AGREES WITH TODD’S FUTURIST VIEWS

New man, in “The Protestant Idea of Antichrist ⁵⁰ written five years before he joined the Church of Rome, begins with this laudatory statement concerning the Todd lectures: PFF3 667.1

“The Discourses which Dr. Todd has recently given to the world, arc, perhaps, the first attempt for a long course of years in this part of Christendom [Protestant England] to fix a dispassionate attention and a scientific interpretation upon the momentous ‘Prophecies relating to Antichrist in the writings of Daniel and St. Paul.’ ⁵¹ PFF3 667.2

In this treatise Newman quotes from Todd, and builds his arguments upon Todd from beginning to end, declaring, “We have pleasure in believing that in matters of doctrine we entirely agree with Dr. Todd ⁵² Todd’s main position, be it particularly noted, is “that the prophecies concerning Antichrist are as yet unfulfilled, and that the predicted enemy of the Church is yet to come ⁵³ PFF3 667.3

2. ROME EITHER HOUSE OF GOD OR SATAN

Newman plainly says, “We take up Dr. Todd’s position ⁵⁴ And he goes to the heart of the question with these two propositions: PFF3 667.4

“The question really lies, be it. observed, between those two alter natives, either the Church of Rome is the house of God or the house of Satan; there is no middle ground between them ⁵⁵ PFF3 667.5

“The question is, whether, as he [Todd] maintains, its fulfilment is yet to come, or whether it has taken place in the person of the Bishop of Rome, as Protestants have very commonly supposed ⁵⁶ PFF3 667.6

3. CHARGE SPRINGS FROM MEDIEVAL GROUPS

Still following Todd, he charges that the concept of the papal Antichrist sprang from “three heretical bodies” between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries- -the Albigenses, Waldenses, and the Spiritual Franciscans, the third of which a rose in the bosom of the Church of Rome itself, as well as the Fratrioelli, and the Joachimites, including Olivi-and then the Hussites, Lutherans, Calvinists, and English Reformers ⁵⁷ Lauding the Futurist Maitland’s earlier research ⁵⁸ Newman scores the position of Bishops Newton and Hurd in the past, and M’Neile and Irving in contemporary times ⁵⁹ PFF3 667.7

4. Is EITHER VICE-CHRIST OR ANTICHRIST

Dealing with the claims of the Roman church-that of speaking for Christ, developing His words, suspending His appointments, granting dispensations, and absolving from sin-Newman sets forth the alternatives with a penetrating clarity that reveals his whole concept of what constitutes Antichrist: PFF3 668.1

“He who speaks for Christ must either be His true ambassador or Antichrist; and nothing but Antichrist can he be, if appointed ambassador there is none. Let his acts be the same in both cases, according as he has authority or not, so is he most holy or most guilty. It is not the acts that make the difference, it is the authority for those acts. The very same acts are Christ’s acts or Antichrist’s, according to the doer: they are Christ’s, if Christ does them; they are Antichrist’s if Christ does them not. There is 110 medium between a Vice-Christ and Antichrist ⁶⁰ PFF3 668.2

Thus he leads to the amazing conclusion that Christ left a visible church with invisible privileges, divinely endowed with authority to act for Him, irrespective of personal character or conduct. PFF3 668.3

5. APPLIES MOUNTAIN AND KINGDOM PROPHECIES TO CHURCH

Newman comes finally to the specifications of Daniel’s prophecy of the “stone cut out” of the mountain “without hands,” which “broke in pieces and consumed” all former kingdoms and became a great mountain filling the earth; and of the saints of the Most High taking the kingdom and possessing it forever. This he applies to the reign of the church, as through her äs His “vicar and representative, ... He has truly and literally judged among the nations, and rebuked many people, reigned in righteousness, promoted peace, taught the nations, repressed the wicked ⁶¹ PFF3 668.4

6. CHOOSES AGAINST PAUI.’S ANTICHRISTIAN CORRUPTION

Despite all the church’s defects this is “but a literal accomplishment of the sure word of prophecy concerning the reign of Christ upon earth ⁶² His concluding item is: PFF3 669.1

“If we must go to prophecy, which set of prophecies is more exactly fulfilled in the Church of the middle ages, those of Isaiah which speak of the evangelical kingdom, or those of St. Paul and St. John which speak of the antichristian corruption ⁶³ PFF3 669.2

Having denied application of the prophecies to the Papacy, Newman undertakes to level the doctrinal barriers separating the Church of England from the Church of Rome. In Tract Number Ninety he boldly declares that “Scripture is not, on Anglican principles, the Rule of Faith ⁶⁴ hen he deals adroitly with pardons, the mass, purgatory, Images and relics, invocation of saints, maintaining that the Articles do not condemn the doctrines of Rome but only her absurd excesses. Clever in concept, subtle and persuasive in reasoning, it gave the pro-Catholic slant to every one of the Articles and paved the way for the acceptance of Roman teaching. PFF3 669.3

Upon becoming a Catholic, in 1845, Newman accepted those “additional Articles which are not found in the Anglican creed”-including transubstantiation. Of this he said, “I had no difficulty in believing it as soon as I believed that the Catholic Roman Church was the oracle of God.” It was this new conception of an infallible church that changed all things for Newman-that and the dismissal of the pope from the charge of being Antichrist. PFF3 669.4

Such were the beginnings and the basis of that Romeward movement in the church of England that attained such large proportions and materially weakened the force of the great advent and prophetic awakening. The new concept of prophecy was at the heart of it. PFF3 669.5

Picture 1: SWEDISH CHILD PREACHERS HERALD JUDGMENT HOUR
Royal decree of 1726 prohibiting religious meetings in private homes (Upper Left); report of Dr. Skoldberg on physical condition of Preaching children (Upper Right); contemporary press articles describe the preaching phenomenon (Lower Pair); and typical preaching scene of the time (Center)
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