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Loraqua j» doaumant aat trap grand pour Atm ; an un ssul allehd. H sst fNmd A paitir da llMflito supArlaur gaueha, da gauaha A drpHa, at da naut an bos* an pranant la nombra / d^magaa nAoassaIra* Laa diagrammaa siiiyisnia [ la mAthodo* - . .' : ■ 1' ■ 2 ;. 1 * -V / rr-i ■ ■*■ / "* ^ ^ ' 4 €11 ' --'i: ' c 2,./ ■ i ^- r \ /l«vJ nB|^^^#' ■hr a •*/! r •1. / i#. • V ifMlillM Hmtm* ■ ■ , >ltBACHBO BY THE ' . , REV. JAMES SIMPSONS » * ' *' * ^ aft I^^Js ^ »^ « - « fifc-j.i' » B ^ i -:^'i-'.:,'i->- u^-i ^stti-j^i. With BiiiMBOi to ft S«rmoii PrMolMa hf tbt tftoior 0! |fl» finul'9 Climtih. Oluurlolt«towii. wid pobllalM4 in tli* vi **lianilB« OuMdlMk," 8n>c«nbMr QQOk laM. r : ' > Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, gives this : ''As much as tieth in* you, live peaceably with Ml The advtc0 : -as mucn as iiein tnyou mea.'' $oM think it should be our earnest endeavor to ab* staio horn religious controwrsy as much f^s possible, ah4»* irhile. we hold our own opinions firmly and de&dtely,: to npike every allowance for otpers who hold ^Hgiit ^Iflewi, and giv^ them credit, at any rate, lor being t^Kmaii ittd sttaightforward in their belief, as we ourseh^ are. But Jhere mitst be a limit to this charity and elasticity, ^ "The wia^ iiom that is from "above is first /mn, iken peaceable," says ^ James. So while we are anxious to maint|iti peace we must often be ready to fight long and vigorously ror th|^ rity of that religion, which we hold , and be utterly tiegardless of what is said or done about tit ANOUCAN CHURCH OF CANADA h' x\ V:.:" outside. I am pre|)ared to recognize that the Church of England is broacfind comprehensive m her ruunl and doc- trines, that she allows, a wide difference in the manner of conducting service, duly considering the various tastes and habits of her people ; thgt she binds her menibers to few hard and fast rules and regulations, so that within her jwle there may be great diversity of opinion on things not essen- tial to salvation ; but when a priest of the Church goes out of his way to abuse one of the ordinances of the Church and accuse his brother priests of doing the deyil's w6rk be- cause they follow the plain directions of the Prayer Book, I. feel it my bounden duty to enter ui)oh my own defence and the defence of those souls who come to me for penance, counsel and absolution ; and although controversy's unplea- sant yet I am always glad when the subject of confession and absolution is brought to the Iront by it, because it al-. ways results in a victory for the upholders of this doctrine. ' Every now and then England blazes for a few weeks with a fiery contention about this doctrine of confes- sion. Newspapers, religious and secular, are fille^ with let- ters and articles on the subject. Orators denoiinetf it in public halls, ministers preach against it from scores of pul- pits, and the consequence is that men and women enquire into the matter, see ftiat it is Scriptural, feel that it. is help- ful, resolve to avail themselves of its benefits, arid liundreds of new penitents flock to their priests to take advantage ot this means of grace which heretofore they had looked upon witli suspicion or avoided as a soul-destroying contrivance of the great enemy of mankind. And everywhere else, as far as my experience goes, the question has but to be discussed to convince men that it is in accordance with the teaching of the Church 6f England, in accordance with God's Holy Word, and most helpful for overcoming sin. Now I want tospeak very plainly. ' You kndw that dur- ing the Mission, Father Huntihgdoti spoke at two of the after meetings on "Confession of Sin to a Priest," pointing out its reasonableness, its manliness and its usefulness, l^st Sunday the Rector of Charlottetown in a sermon attacked - V y ,8-- this doctrine as unscriptuml, unorthodox and the invention of Satan for ruining bodies and souls. I was not present at St. Paul's, and so can only gather from others what was said, and as 1 knoyr from personal experience that the jireacher's words are very pften distorted and misquoted, I havp been very careful m checking off the statements I wish to bring into question, and feel sure they were made. And the sermon was pub- lished at length in the Morning Guardian, and as no cor- rections have api)eared, it is only reasonable to svippose that the report is accurate. Yet if I should find that after all I had been misinformed, I am preiwred to make the hum- blest and fullest atpology for anything I may say heire to- "'^ Believe me, I speak as I do from no ill-will— no ^vX of charity- no desire to comiiel everyon* in the Church of England to observe all that we do. So fai I have alM^ys lived in peace with my brother clergy, recoghizm^ that while there were certain wide differences between some of, us in non-essentials, we might all be loyal priests of our Church, and I have been always ready to assist them in any >iay I could. But now a direct charge of \ disloyalty has been made against me— so direct, that though no iwmes were mentioned, no one could doubt to wh6m the charge referred particulariy, at that time, and consequently I nuist make a stand and do my best to vindicate my leachirig. This is apparently the position of affairs ak present :— We— the priests of this Church- declare that it iV in Accord ance with the teaching of ihfe Church of EnglandUhat if any one feels his conscience troubled with his sinS, ne is -at liberty to confess those sins to a priest and reiiieiVfi absolu*., tion from him in the Name of God. The Rectbr of St Paul's declares (if he is correctly reported) as folloy$: .-^ do not hesitate to say, and I say it solemnly as in God s sight, that I fully hflieve that the devil has never invented a more successful scheme for ruining the bodies and sbuls of thousands than this doctrine of auricular confessioh and priestly absolution. The proof of this would be easjiiand ■ sS'.l 1 '. -^4— ,'.«. might be mfidc overwhelming, and those who know the sys- tem best would be the last to deny it." Ft is manifest, therefore, that one ^^f us must be a traitor to his church and false to his ordination oath, for every priest has to vow at his ordination to "be ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctnnCs contrary to God's word ; and to use both publick and pri- vate monitions and exhortations, as well to the sick as to the whole, within his Cure, as need shall, require, and oc- casion shall be given ?** If the Church of England holds that auricular confession is an erroneous and strange doctrine, then, as an honest man, I must preach against it or leave that Church. But, on the other hand, if the Church allows and recommends the doctrine, then every priest who cannot accept that doc- trine ought to resign his charge, or at least remain silent on the subject, and not accuse those who do teach it of do- ing the devil's work. #k to-night I intend only to show that voluntary confes- sion of sin to a priest,' and the absolving of the penitent by the priest is allowed h^ the Church of England, as may be proved by reference to her formularies. I shall not have time to deal with the question whether the doctrine is Script- tural— that must be deferred to some other day. Now I only* wish 16 make clear to all whom it may concern, that we are not betraying our Church when we bid%hose who desire it— (and mind only those who desire it^^?*^*"^ *s no compulsion about it) — to come to confession. Bear in mind then, that the question yndcr consider- ation is not- -is voluntary confession to a priest Scriptural-- not is every one bound to confess to a priest — not even is (Confession right or wrong— but is private confession and ab- solution under any circumstances in accordance with the teaciiing of the Church of England, and if so, has a priest of that Church anjp right to denounce that doctrine and those who uphold it? '^ . The line of argument I intend tdfoljow is doubtless •^ vifei^a. — 5 • familiar to most of you, you hav^ heard it before, and yet it 18 just as well to recall it, because you, as well as I, should be able to defend our Church, and perhaps your own practice in a clear and definite way. I maintain that any man who denounces private confes- sion as the invention of Saun, cannot honestly remain a priest m the Church of England and accept her money. AncTl am sure every unprejudiced person, be he Catholic, or pJotest- ant, or Agnostic, or Atheist will agree with me, if he will but lay aside all party spirit and consider the plain grammatical meaning of the followinjc |>arts of the Praytr Book •— (I) Every priest of the Church of England fias these i^ords said over him at his ordination, while the Bishop lays his hands upon his head :— ^ ^ J tK. ri,'^T*7r^*'5 "^''y Ghost for the Office w» com* to me, or lo tome other HJx-reet and learned MinUler of Oods Word, and open hi. grief ; that by the minbtry of (Uni't holy Word he may receive the benefit of atiauluiion, together with ghtiatly counacl and advice, to the quieting of his conacience, and avoidinir of all ■cniplcanddoubtfulneM." * Here it ceiUinly an invitation lor one troubled in con- science to go to some priest and confess his sins and receive absolution. Will one who d«»jclares such a confession is an invention of the devil for destroying souls, i/art to read this which his Church orders him to }—da>r he, if one comes to him as he is bidden, to open his grief— l)ecome the emiss- ary of Satan and hear that confession }—dare he help destroy that soul by giving absolution ? But he may reply thnt the man comes to open his grief, not to confess his sin, and he receives absolution by the, ministry of God's Word, i. e., the exposition or application in his case of the promises of Holy Scripture, not by the priest absolving him in God's name. I think every intelligent man would cull that quibbling, but again we will, for the sake of argument, allow that perhaps it means nothing more, but even then it implies cases wherein the priest has a right, (which is denied), " to pry into the spiritual condition of the souls " of {those who come to him at his own invitation and to administer some sort of absolution to them for the quieting of their Conscience. (iii) On Ash Wednesday every priest is ordered to read the Conimination Service to his congregation. The service opens with this exhortation : — '• Brethren, iii the Primitive Church there was a godly discipline, that, at the beginning of Lent, such persons as stood convicted of noto- rious sin were put to open penance, and punished in this world, that their souls might be saved in the day of the Lord : and that others, ad- monuhed by their exampje, might be the more afraid to offend. Iifttead wher«of, (iiti^l the «|kl discipline may be restored again, which u much to i)e wished), it;fit thought goo%that at this time, (in the presence of you all) sbovlld bft read the gene&l sentences of God's cursing against impeititent sinners." ^,'*f? Now a pe^n could n^ be put to opijn penance until he had confessed his sins, and it was the priests or bishops !'-?f*-il.-r,*3:ii« ir* t^r^xuaw !gKv>&. — r— l!!?r^?""'^- *^** penance. Is th«t whicti wm <*• Igodly the Church of the .19th century ? Will « prjctt wholeETh . congregation on Sunday that thi. I. a .ouF destroying doc^ line, icll the same congregation on Ash Wedntsday '^ \t \% much to be wished that thj^-' * • ^^^^A r- ■ It i« "»W»'^^ff!f"?)lW»7S»»^ ^ * for ruining the loub and bodies of thousands, than this doc- trine of auHcuUr confeition and priestty absolution," dare carry out ,the orders of the Prayer Ikxik and move a lick i>enon to make a confention and then absolve him ? '. should hope not. But what if he refuses ? Listen to the solemn oath every man hat to take when he it ordained :— ^ ' ** I» (A. B.) do ■nlemniy make the following declsratlon t I ttsent to the Thirty-nine Article* of KcliKion and to the IVjok of Common l*nye,r, and to the «>rdcring of ltuho|>«, l'^'it;»iii and Deacons ( I helievc the Doctrine of the Church of Knuland ax th, And Canon* 38 of the Church pf England says': " If any minister, after he hath made and subscribed the declara- tion aforesaid, shall omit to use the Fonn of Prayer, or any of the Orders (and the Order for the visitation of the sick is among these) any of the Orders or Ceremonies prescribed in the Communion Book, let him be suspended ; and if aAer a month he do not reform and submit himselt, let hijn be excommunicated ; and then if he shall not submit him- self within the space of another month, let him be deposed from the mthistry." .1 / ^ Suspension — excommunication and deposition, then, are the legal consequences of refusing to use this office. I appeal to every honest man and woman, of any re- ligion whatever — suppose you had never heard of confession except when it was denounced— suppose you had been ■ f * Th« Canons an the rulM wid regulations of th« Chttn;h of England, drawn opal the time of the Rafonnatkm. ^ ■ , '■' .:•:■■ ■■.■■■::■■■, '■ ; ■'■; '■ ( ■ -"' '■■■ > >.,^ /\ f . \ 4^ ■f\f. taught to tbliDf It tf ft vile and unholy thing ill^our life— wjiat. would l)c your feclingi ifiyou were moved to makt ^ tuch • confewion u|)on your lii k l»ed ? Would you not re- ^ coil with horror from tuch « thing ? Would you not think that ypuf clergyman wai trying to ruin your aoul and lead you a«fay ? Of courve you*wouId. Can you n^Ve, then, that thin rubric in the Order for the Visitation jK the lick presupposes that every otje has been taught to make hi* con- • feation while in healih and strength, and that having been accustomed to mak« it, or i|t least hear about it aU his iife^ he also makes it in pre()acation for death.: " - (v) Again, the 113 Canon of the Qhurch^ England declares t. " If any man confess his secret and hidden sint to the minister fcr the unburdening of hit .conscience, and to receive spiritual consolation and case of mind from him, we do not in any way bind the said iiiinister by this o^ml constitution, but do straitly charge and admonish him, tli»t ' he do not at any time reveal and make known to any person whatsoever, any crime or offence so committed to his trust and secrecy . . . under poin of irregularity." • Imegu/ lariiy, let me explain, means not only the deprivatioti of thi priest, but renders him utterly incapjible of holding any office for the future. , \ -^ / . Does any sane person think that the Church^oiitd take the trouble to place such a canon on her statutes if she Con- sidered confession a doctrine invented by Satan f^ithe destruction of souls ? /.'f ' Against all this mass of accumulative evideijce. in / ' ^^ .4-' / ■ ■■' / ■ / ■ • '-M / -. ^ /. A- 1 • ■.,^j-* lit ^f i ■•V'Tlfcl^V- i, ' ■ . 1 ' ft ^ */ ■W^ * "^ V T*pr ' *■ ■... y ^ :: •^1 to them as containing a Godly and wholesome doctrine,* necessary for those times. But Bishop Harold Browne, a very moderate Churchman, commenting upon this article, says: "AH writers on. the subject have agreed, that the kind of assent which we are called upon to give the Homi lies is genet ctiy not spMfic. W-e are not expected to express full concurrence witn every statement, or every exposition of Holy Scripture contained in them, but merely in the gen- eral approve of them as a body of sound and orthodox dis- courses, and well adapted for the times for which they were composed FV)r instance, we cannot be required to «4ll the Apocrypha by the name of Holy Scripture or quote it as of Divine authority, because we find it so in the Homilies. We cannot be expected to think it a very cogent argument for the duty of fasting, that thereby we may encourage the' fisheries and strengthen the seaport towns from foreign in- 'Vasion, because we find it so in the Homilies," and f may add there are many Churchmen who would hardly be pre- pared to call iharriage a Sacrament because it is so called in the Homilies^ But let us see what this "Homily on Repent- ance " says : "It is most evident and plain that this auricular confession hath not the warrant of .God's Word." What auricular confession does the writer refer to when he says Mf^ auricular conTession ? He goes on to tell us "the numbering of sins a^ hath been used heretofore in the times of blindness and ignorance." He does not mean, then, private confession simply considered, but z. particular system of it, "used in the times of blindness and ignorance"— mam- •festly the system of his day and of the generation immediate- ly preceding it- -the system which he says " was not used in -^t. Augustine's time"— the present^system of the Roman Church, which compels every one. willing or unwilling, to make privatie confession to a priest before receiving Holy .Communion. FfMrthe Homily goes oil to state: "It is against tHcFtrOe^hristian liberty that any man should be iiiundxotht numbering of his sins, as it hath been used heretofore*'- and is that not exactly What we hold? No ' man is bound to come to confession, but we priests are bound \ r- iyn-T -m ■■•'.-•r to exhort men to come, and bound to hear and absolve them if penitent, when they do come— each one njust de- cide for himself— there is no compulsion in the matter— no binding as m the Church of Rome. Each may take ad- vantage of this means of grace, or decline to do so, as he sees fit. But if the sermon is fairly reported, the extract fronn the Homily on Repentance is garbled, and that which might weaken the ca^uppressed. This is the quotation as given : «\Ve ought'llo acknowledge" none other priest for deliverance from our sins, but our Saviour Jesus Christ Who being our Sovereign Bishop, doth, with the sacrifice of His Body and Blood, offered once for ever upon the Altar of the Cross, most eifectUally cleanse the spiritual leprosy and wash away the sins of all tho^e that with true confession of the same do flee unto Him»*— "ftieii there are some dots to show that something is left but.' and then follows,— "but it is againstj the true Christian liberty that any man should be bound to the numbering of hif sins as it hath been used heretofore in the times of blind- ness and Ignorance." Now what do youthink is omitted aa represented^ by those dots ? This is part of it : '' I do not say but that if any do find themselves troubled in con- scunce, that th^ may repair to their teamed curate or pastor or to^ some other Wanted Godly man, and show the troubk and doubt of thetr conscience to them, that they may receive a/ thetr hand the comfortable sahfe igf J'>>HM'Us"ns,^r,i^ pray h.m -^raca»rdfng to God's commandments, hi^ mU g«>e htrn^ afoX/^Vand comfort him with the Word of Grace and • foSveness of bis sins, and when the mm.st^r dotn so, then iSrsSidfastly to believe that my sins are truly forgiven me fn heaven." J(Cranmer's Catechism pjge.o..) (He also, on^ge 183, rails absolution a Sacrament.) ■ Utimer, after condemning compulsory confession^«iys: " ntieakofriM and true confession, I would to God tt Jl M^ England, foi- it is a good thing, and those who Snd A^mSvIs piev^ in conscience, mjghtgo to a l«.rned Zn"nd there^fetch of him comfort of the VVord of God, and so coihe to a quiet conscience, which is better_ to be JiJ^Stan all the richesof the«orld.MSermon in 399. edition 1824. Ridley says: ^' Cimfession unto the minUter, whirfi is able to instruct, conreet and inform the ^^N T^^^^f "^ ignorant conscience, indeed V^^^" *»^^"g^^ ""^''^f ^^M^^ good to Xnirisfs congregation, and. so I assure you | think rfAipc- ■^li&r /i'r' s)r r^^--^ /'■■ ■ * ' . \ ■ * '(**"r>-. ' ■■/ " ■■'■ ■.'• ■' ' ■ ". ' ' ■ to thi8^d4."-(Letter to Master West, Eccles. Biog., vol. iii, Th^ Lutheran doctrine is thus given in the Augsbure Confe«i.on of Faith^ which corresponds to our 39 Articles : V ^^75?"^ ^^ *^^^^ that private absoluHon is to be retained tn tM Chuf:ch and we greatly extol its value and the power of ih^ Keys." The Lutherans in Norway and Sweden have to n^lce Jheir confession before receiving Holy communion to this day And even Calvin, although he denied the Sacramental virtues Of absolution, yet recommends confes- sioh in his Ihstitutes. He says there : " Let everv be- ^2f • i!^™5"'« ' .'^^'. *' '' *^^' ^"^y» *^ he feels such secret anfguish and affliction from a sense of his sins that he can- tot e?ttricate himself, without some exterior aid, not to. , If gleet the remedy offered to him by the Lord, which is that m order to alleviate his distress, he should use the private confession wuh hts pastor, and to obtain consolation, should privately implore his assistance, whose office is bath publiclv ^ry3^'^'^r?™^r;,'^'{^^*" of God with the dol trines of the Gospel." - (Institutes vol. iii., chap, iv KnM*:I!."T'.'^""'?' '^''^I'y' ^^^^ »"«' Calvin a„ „„ hold the doctrine of confession, then, and vet mJ^ Protestantism teach^ that it is the invention of LZ^ destroying souls. Alas! bow has modern Protestanti™ falkn from the teaching of its founders of jo^yeaS _Believe me, brethren, it is very painful for me to"sDeak 'a .*** J^y I have done, and it is only the stei; sen^of duty which compels me now. I care not for what woote outs.de the ,Church of England say about us, but wWa pnest of theXhqreh denounces a do^^ine of he Churd, and those who ^djt, it is only fair to his congregatfon to /A« congreganoVind ^ «^«^to show that we ha^ ^me authority from the Prayer Book for teaching what %^Z I hoge later on to take up the Scriptural authority for tWs doctnne,and also its helpfulness to those EeS the ■5V-,- * f / ■ f ^w- burden of their sins. Meanwhile, if any of you require furj S^Jr information for yourselves or your fnends, I shall b| happy to give it to the best of my ability. I >.■" ^■i 1 * irl « - • - m?i^*^v^w^w.<' I ' ' X ^ {■ I .H.I «; U, ■-4- ', , mn ■>■■ r il ) \ ^