WHY? AND HOW?

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 26, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 52.

THE Christian Advocate, in stating why their missions in Roman Catholic countries are justifiable, says that the Methodist Episcopal people reject five of what the Catholics call sacraments, "and the pope, who has been declared to be the father of the princes and the governors of the world, they regard as only a learned and influential Italian celibate minister, to be treated by the whole world with high honor, because he has the confidence of such a multitude of the human race." But why should he be highly honored because of his false assumption? If he is what he claims to be, he is worthy of high honor, and should be held in such; but if his claim is false, even tho all the world believe it, should he be honored because of their false confidence? If the great sick world believed that a certain specific remedy, in which we knew there was no healing virtue, would cure them all, should we honor it because of their false confidence? Rather, would there not be all the more need of showing them that their hopes were utterly baseless, and that the thing they honored as a sovereign remedy was really no remedy?

How can Christians who believe in the absolute, complete efficacy of Christ’s atonement, in salvation by faith, honor Mr. Joachim Pecci as pope,—father of kings and vicegerent of God on earth? The falsity of the claim, honest tho it be on his part, could not be recognized by them, because of its very falsity.

Of course the pope as a man ought to be honored. "Honor all men," is the Bible injunction. As men, all are entitled to high honor; they are the purchase of the blood of Christ. But no false assumption in religious matters, no matter by whomever or howsoever many believed, entitles any soul to high honor.

And right here comes in the doctrine of religious liberty. If the pope believes it, he will not demand more honor than men can heartily, voluntarily, yield him. Nor will any one else who believes in religious liberty demand such honor for themselves or any one else. Jesus did not. He said, "If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge [condemn] him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world."