p. 392 | The Missionary by S. N. Haskell

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 2, 1880

The Missionary.

By S. N. Haskell

SCOTLAND: HOW THE LIGHT BROKE OUT.

The Roman Catholic religion was the religion which prevailed at the time the reformation commenced its work. The people were under the papal supremacy; and society was but little in advance of that in heathen countries. In Scotland half the wealth of the nation belonged to the clergy. They had obtained an exorbitant degree of opulence and power. Their lives were corrupted by wealth and idleness; and they were a scandal on religion, an outrage on decency.

Their ignorance was as great as the dissoluteness of their morals. Even bishops were not ashamed to confess that they had never read any portion of the sacred Scriptures. The ignorance of the common people prepared them for superstition and religious imposture.

The Book which was intended for all, and which alone was able to make them wise unto salvation, was locked from them and its use prohibited under severe penalties. They trusted in their pretended spiritual guides, who instructed them to trust for their salvation in the performance of certain rites and ceremonies. Of the doctrine of Christianity there remained scarcely anything but a name. Avaricious priests and monks stood ready to devour their temporal substance.

Every avenue by which light might enter was carefully guarded. Learning that would throw light upon the Scriptures was branded as heresy. The most frightful pictures were drawn of those who had separated themselves from the Romish church. These were held up before the church to deter others from following their example. Their meaningless forms and ceremonies were their religion. If any person should express dissatisfaction on account of these abuses, or if he proposed a correction of them he was at once stigmatized as a heretic and unless he escaped by flight was immured in a dungeon or burnt at the stake. Thus they guarded their system of corruption. By forms and ceremonies the clergy ruled the people, and by making these so important the devil ruled the clergy.

The devil had in this manner spread his net of darkness over the people to prevent the work of God. But all this could not prevent the light of reformation from reaching honest hearts.

It was in a dungeon that the seeds of truth from a German Bible found good soil in Luther's heart. By unknown means, which history intimates may have been some of the stray writings of Luther, a gleam was imparted to Patrick Hamilton, a young man, and a relative of James III. His free utterance against the church aroused the suspicion of the clergy. Attracted by the fame of Luther he repaired to Wittenburg, became acquainted with him and also with Melancthon. He enlisted the university at Marburg which was under the direction of the learned and pious Lambert. While here he was seized with an unconquerable desire to impart the knowledge which he had received to his own countrymen. In vain were the dangers to which he would be exposed presented before him. His determination was fixed, and taking with him a single attendant he returned to Scotland. The missionary spirit once kindled could not be extinguished.

S. N. HASKELL.