discoveries and inventions, the enlargement of commerce and wealth.^14 Nor was it near as bad as
the state of things which Luther had witnessed at Rome in 1510, under Pope Julius II., not to speak
of the more wicked reign of Pope Alexander VI. Secondly, the degeneracy was not due so much
to a particular doctrine, as to the confusion which necessarily followed the overthrow of the
ecclesiastical order and discipline, and to the fact that the Lutheran Reformers allowed the
government of the church too easily to pass from the bishops into the hands of secular rulers.
Thirdly, the degeneracy was only temporary during the transition from the abolition of the old to
the establishment of the new order of things. Fourthly, the disorder was confined to Germany. The
Swiss Reformers from the start laid greater stress on discipline than the Lutheran Reformers, and
organized the new church on a more solid basis. Calvin introduced a state of moral purity and
rigorism in Geneva such as had never been known before in the Christian church. The Huguenots
of France, the Calvinists of Holland, the Puritans of England and New England, and the Presbyterians
of Scotland are distinguished for their strict principles and habits. An impartial comparison of
Protestant countries and nations with Roman Catholic, in regard to the present state of public and
private morals and general culture, is eminently favorable to the Reformation.
§ 8. The Priesthood of the Laity.
The social or ecclesiastical principle of Protestantism is the general priesthood of believers, in
distinction from the special priesthood which stands mediating between Christ and the laity.
The Roman church is an exclusive hierarchy, and assigns to the laity the position of passive
obedience. The bishops are the teaching and ruling church; they alone constitute a council or synod,
and have the exclusive power of legislation and administration. Laymen have no voice in spiritual
matters, they can not even read the Bible without the permission of the priest, who holds the keys
of heaven and hell.
In the New Testament every believer is called a saint, a priest, and a king. "All Christians,"
says Luther, "are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them, save of office
alone. As St. Paul says, we are all one body, though each member does its own work, to serve the
others. This is because we have one baptism, alike; one gospel, one faith, and are all Christians for
baptism, gospel and faith, these alone make spiritual and Christian people." And again: "It is faith
that makes men priests, faith that unites them to Christ, and gives them the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit, whereby they become filled with all holy grace and heavenly power. The inward
anointing—this oil, better than any that ever came from the horn of bishop or pope—gives them
not the name only, but the nature, the purity, the power of priests; and this anointing have all they
received who are believers in Christ."
This principle, consistently carried out, raises the laity to active co-operation in the
government and administration of the church; it gives them a voice and vote in the election of the
pastor; it makes every member of the congregation useful, according to his peculiar gift, for the
general good. This principle is the source of religious and civil liberty which flourishes most in
Protestant countries. Religious liberty is the mother of civil liberty. The universal priesthood of
(^14) Even Janssen admits this, but is silent about the greater corruption in Rome. See his Geschichte des Deutschen Volkes I. 375 sqq.
Comp. his Ein zweites Wort an meine Kritiker, p. 82.