This system has generally prevailed; in like
manner the Inquisition made use of the secular arm. The condition of
ecclesiastical affairs is thus described by the highest living authority
on Congregationalism:--
"Our fathers laid it down--and with perfect truth--that the will of
Christ, and not the will of the major or minor part of a church, ought to
govern that church. But somebody must interpret that will. And they
quietly assumed that Christ would reveal his will to the elders, but would
not reveal it to the church-members; so that when there arose a difference
of opinion as to what the Master's will might be touching any particular
matter, the judgment of the elders, rather than the judgment even of a
majority of the membership, must be taken as conclusive. To all intents
and purposes, then, this was precisely the aristocracy which they affirmed
that it was not. For the elders were to order business in the assurance
that every truly humble and sincere member would consent thereto. If any
did not consent, and after patient debate remained of another judgment, he
was 'partial' and 'factious,' and continuing 'obstinate,' he was
'admonished' and his vote 'nullified;' so that the elders could have their
way in the end by merely adding the insult of the apparent but illusive
offer of cooperation to the injury of their absolute control.
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