LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA PRESENTED BY MRS. ERIC SCHMIDT JHINESE IMAGE OF BUDDHA. HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS; CONTAINING A STATEMENT OF THE ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT, DOCTRINES, FORMS OF WORSHIP AND GOVERNMENT OF ALL THK RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS IN THE WORLD SAMUEL M. SCHMUCKER, LL. D. NEW YORK: JOHN B. ALDEN, PUBLISHER r \ ,. COPYRIGHT, 1881, BY HUBBAKD BROS. TROWS NO BOOKBINDING COM NEW YORK. PREFACE. THE design of the following work is essentially different from that of other publications on the same subject, which already exist. The larger and more extensive of these are composed of articles on the Religious Sects in the United States, which were written by members of the several de- nominations described, and are often expanded into immense length by reiterated and familiar arguments intended to demonstrate the truthfulness and Scriptural authority of the Sects to which the respective writers belonged. This method of treatment is much better suited to works on Polemic Theology than to those which profess merely to contain a statement of opinions and a narrative of events. On the other hand, the smaller works which have appeared on this subject are superficial and incomplete, being generally made up of very short articles, of clippings from Encyclopaedias and Biographical Dictionaries, and are utterly unfit to con- vey even to the general reader a satisfactory idea of the vari- ous subjects which come under consideration. The Old and New School Presbyterian bodies have been consolidated into one organization since the articles con- cerning them were written, so that the distinctions main-, tained in this work are not strictly correct ; but in view of the fact that many will regard the causes of separation with great interest, and will desire to refer to some trustworthy account of the differences, always required in the Catholic Church before going to ..he Lord's Supper. A portion of Penance consists in catisf action satisfaction to God, and satisfaction to the Church, whom the penitent has offended. Sometimes the most sees fit to relax the rigor of the Church, and romit a portion of the penance or satisfaction which would other- wise be. enjoined. This is called an indulgence. Old Tetztal once did a thriving business in selling these indul- gences for money, until Luther arrested his course, and " made a big hole in his drum," which silenced it forever. The abuses which existed in the sixteenth century, in reference to these indulgences, led to the first outbreak of the Reformation, and to the down-break of the Papal Dower throughout a large portion of Christendom. Roman Catholics administer Extreme Unction to those about to die, as a sacrament a rite which is based on the words of St. James : "Is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord." The Church also regards Marriage as a sacrament; mean- ing thereby that, when the ceremony is performed by a Catholic priest, a vow is thereby made to God, which can- not be dissolved. Hence the Church does not permit full divorces for any cause, even for those specified and allowed by the 1-iw of the land. Yet the Popes have frequently granted dispensations for divorces, whenever the interests of the Church were promoted by them, thus apparently making a fundamental law and principle subservient to interest. But the church permits limited divorces, or separations a mensa et thoro. The Invocation of Saints occupies a very prominent place m the worship and religious exercises of the Catholic 18 HISTORY OF ALL UKLIGIOHS. Church ; for the reason that, if pious friends and relations when on earth pray for those whom they love, it is a rea- sonable inference that they would continue so to do, here- after, in Heaven. Of the truth and propriety of this view, there can be no doubt ; yet whether this ?onsidera- tion justifies us in offering them our prayers, when in another world, is a question on which men will be disposeJ to differ. Of Purgatory, or the intermediate state between death and judgment, the Catholic Church teaches, that the jus- tice of God will not punish those whose sins are of a trivial nature, to the same severe extent as those who are guilty of the most enormous crimes. Hence, as Hell is believed to be composed entirely of the elements of brim- stone and teeth-gnashing, without any grades, of misery or diversity of torment, another place named Purgatory has very opportunely been discovered, where minor trans- gressions are disciplined by a lighter and more equitable punishment ; so that when their venial sins have been suffi- ciently suffered for, the purified spirits will be admitted to Heaven. A portion of the public services of the Catholic Church is celebrated in Latin. * The reason of this is because the liturgy of the Church was anciently composed in that lan- guage, and si just reverence for antiquity induces her to retain the form in which her prayers were originally uttered. In this country all the prayers are translated into English and printed, in the people's editions, togethei with the Latin. The Mass is a series of Latin prayers, during the utterance of which the consecrated host is of- fered to God by the officiating priest.* The term Mass itself is derived from the concluding words of this solemn and imposing rite, which are "Ite, missa et" In the great cathedral churches of Europe the ceremonies con- nected with this portion of Catholic worship are solemn, imposing, and sublime in a pre-eminent degree, and the spectacle has often led the most thoughtless and irreverent minds to pious and penitent emotions. HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 19 Notwithstanding the prevalence of Protestant sects and churches, the Roman Catholic Church is still more numer- ous than any other single denomination. Her members may be said, at a rough guess, to amount to a hundred millions. In the United States they have increased with a steady and rapid pace during the last fifty years, till at the present time they are one of the leading denomina- tions. The spirit of this ancient and venerable church is aggressive, and her aspirations for extension never cease. But we believe that all those fears which some timid Pro- testants profess to entertain, of future danger to Ameri- can liberty from the encroachments of the Church of Rome, are most preposterous arid absurd ; for that Church has enough to do to protect and preserve her own inte- rests and security, without having any means, even if she possessed the will, to interfere with the rights and inte- rests of others. EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. ONE of the oldest of the Protestant churches, and in Europe one of the most distinguished, is the Evangelical Lutheran. There are probably more historical incidents of interest and importance connected with the early career of this sect, than belongs to any other. The na:ne or title by which they are designated the term Lutheran was first applied to them by their opponents, the Roman Catholics. When Luther met Dr. John Eck. the Romish theologian, in his celebrated debate at Leipsic, 1519, the latter endeavored to stigmatize the friends of the Reformer, and to turn both him and them into ridicule, by calling them Lutherans, in opposition to Catholics and Christians. The term thus used in the first instance as one of reproach, Decame universally prevalent among the enemies and friends of the new sect ; and it has since become renowned and esteemed for the honorable and memorable associa- tions connected with it. The other title which Lutherans tpply to themselves that of Evangelical is the one 20 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS which Luther nnd his followers originally claimed, when they abandoned and renounced what they held to be tho errors and abominations of the Romish Church. The birth of the Lutheran denomination may with some fitness be dated from the year 1507, in which Luther then a monk, and twenty-four years of age, first discovered a Latin Bible among the rubbish of his convent library, from the perusal of which he derived his novel nnd then almost unknown ideas in reference to the doctrinal system of Protestant theology. During 'ten years he continued to investigate and study the Scriptures, at the end of which period, in 1517, he made his first public foray into the territories of Rome, by attacking the sale of Indul- gences, which at that time was carried on by Tetzel, in the vicinity of Luther's residence. Luther refused abso- lution, as a priest, to those who had bought forgiveness of their sins with money from Tetzel. A violent controversy ensued between Luther and Tetzel, in reference to this business, in which the former gained an overwhelming advantage. His violent conduct, however, excited the in- dignation of the authorities of the Catholic Church, and the Papal Court decreed that his writings should be pub- licly burnt. In return for this compliment, Luther col- lected together some of the standard works of the Romish Church and burnt them, together with the condemnatory bull of the Pope, in the view of the inhabitants of the city of Wittenberg. To punish this audacity, the Pope fulmi- nated another bull or decree, excommunicating the refrac- tory and contumacious priest. Thus the breach was made irreparable, and the career and independence of the new sect were formally and publicly begun. The first churches, or religious organizations connected with this new sect, were established in Saxony. The *nonarch of that State, the Elector Frederic, became a patron of Luther at the commencement of his career : and as the Reformer was one of his subjects, being professor At Wittenberg, his favorite University, his protection was &f immense value. Soon Reformed and independent HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 21 churches were established in every city arid town of Saxon^ , from Saxony the new faith spread rapidly into Hanover. Wurtemburg, Prussia, and many of the minot principalities which constituted the then Germanic Empire. The views of Luther even extended into France and Eng- land, into Denmark and Sweden ; and it may with truth be asserted that the most potent and efficient enemy which the Roman Catholic Church has ever met with, during the progress and vicissitudes of many centuries, was " Brother Martin," the Monk of Eisleben, the illustrious founder of Lutheranism. The history of the Lutheran Church in Europe presents two very marked and prominent features. Her conflicts have been divided between those which she waged with the Church of Rome, and those which were carried on within her own bosom by the disputes and everlasting differences of her own members. Debate and disturbances seem indeed to have been the natural and normal state of this sect during their whole past history. Even before the death of Luther, the opinions of Melanchthon, his most intimate and trusted friend, became so widely dissimilar from his own, that a coldness of feeling ensued between them. The various diversities of sentiment, among the Lutherans, were somewhat harmonized by the memorable Diet at Augsburg, at which the Confession or creed known by that name was set forth, as the system of doctrine which the Lutheran Churches then entertained. At a subsequent period efforts were made to terminate the dis- putes which raged between the Lutherans and the Catholic Church ; and the Reformers prepared a revised edition of the Augsburg Confession, called the Smalcald Articles, in which some concessions were made toward the Romish system. These purposes of conciliation ended in nothing. Luther died in 1546, in the sixty-second year of his age, arid he left his followers an inheritance of great peril ; for thoy soon became involved in the horrors of war with the Emperor Charles V., who was then champion of the Romish Church and of its supremacy. The Elector of 22 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse were the politica- and military heads of the Protestant party. The Emperor, suddenly surrounded by the armies of t-hc Protestants at Innspruck, in 1552, was compelled to make some impor- tant concessions to the Protestant leaders, which are known by the epithet of the Treaty of Passau. The Pro- testants eventually wrested from the Emperor an edict, by which he finally decreed and allowed that all those who had adopted the Confession of Augsburg should thence- forth be free from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff, and were at perfect liberty to ordain laws for themselves in reference to all matters pertaining to their religious belief, discipline, and worship; and all the inhabitants of the German Empire should be permitted to judge for themselves in religious matters ; and that who- ever should injure or persecute them, or any of them, on account o'f their opinions, should be treated as enemies ot the Empire, and disturbers of its peace. At a subsequent period in the history of the Lutheran Church, another creed was added to their standards, in addition to those which we have already named, in order to aid in healing disputes and controversies which had arisen among her members and her theologians. This was called the Formula of Concord, which differs in some re- spects from the Augsburg Confession. The two catechisms of Luther, the Larger and the Smaller, also hold the rank of authority with the members of this sect ; so that the symbolical books which contain their creed, when taken altogether, are of enormous size and volubility. The con- sequence is that the utmost diversity of opinions exists among the Lutherans in the various countries of Europe where they prevail. Every possible shade of sentiment and belief can be found among them, from the semi-Romish " old Lutheran," who, like Luther, adheres to the doc trine of consubstantiation, to tho semi-Infidel, who. like Strauss, Paulus, Rohr, and the other modern rationalistic theologians of Germany, deny the inspiration and mira- cles of the Scriptures. In this country the same tendency HISTORf OF ALL RELIGIONS. 23 to diversity of sentiment exists among the Lutherans, though it is not carried out to the same extremes ; and a certain degree of uniformity, together with considerable liberty, prevails among them here. From the period of Luther's labors the church which he represented gradually spread over a large part of north- ern Europe. In 1525, it became the established Church of Saxony. In 1527 the Lutheran doctrines were intro- duced into Sweden, with the sanction of the monarch, Gustavus Vasa Ericson. Lutheranism was introduced into Denmark in 1527, under the reign of Frederic I., whence it was carried into Norway, Lapland, and other countries of the extreme North. During the progress of half a century after Luther's death, his. doctrines were proclaimed by able and learned advocates in the Netherlands, in Poland, in Franre, besides in all those German States and communities vhich we have, already named. In Europe the Lutheran Church is at the present time the most numerous of all the Protestant sects. Her mem- bers number eight millions in Prussia, two millions in Austria, two millions in Saxony, one million in Wurtem- berg, one million in Hanover, two millions in the smaller German States, two millions in Denmark, four millions in Norway and Sweden, two millions and a half in Russia, half a million in Poland, and a hundred and twenty thou- sand in the Netherlands. Lutheranism is the established religion in more separate States and kingdoms than is any other Protestant Church. There are more universities connected with this denomination than any other Protes- tant sect can boast of; for nearly all the great seats of learning in Germany exist in connection with that sect, and are served by professors, who, for the most part, are Lutherans. Yet it must not be inferred from this fact that there is any unity of opinion among these numerous asso- ciations of learned and scientific men ; for their belief ex- hibits the utmost possible differences. It no more implies unity or harmony of belief between people, to say of them 24 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. in Europe that they are all Lutherans, than it wouM imply similarity of appearance and of character, to sax of certain other people that they were all Swiss or all Frenchmen. The Lutheran Church in Germany has produced, during the several centuries of its past existence, a greater num- of learned and illustrious scholars than any other sect, either Romish or Protestant. It would be absurd to begin any enumeration of even a portion of these ; for they would form a catalogue of many hundreds. Her clergy in Europe are the most learned, as a body, in theological science, of any sect in the Avorld. At a time when candi- dates for the priestly office in England and Scotland were admitted, without their being able to understand a single word of the Hebrew, in which the original of the Old Testament is written and the knowledge and interpreta- tion of which are indispensable to every well-read theolo- E'an, or even intelligent preacher at that time the utlieran churches in Germany required, and still require, in all their candidates for the sacred office, a perfect ac- quaintance with the original languages of the Scriptures, and an equally accurate knowledge of every other depart- ment of theological science. It must be admitted that the three most influential and powerful sects in Europe at the present time, and since the Reformation, have been the Church of Rome, the Reformed Church of England, and the Lutheran Church in Germany. We will now proceed to sketch the history of this last in the United States, and set forth the doctrines and usages which now predominate among her members and preachers. The first religious assemblage of Lutherans which ever existed in the United States was composed of a few immi- grants from Holland, who came to New York about lt>30, a few years after the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock, and while the colony of New York still remained under the jurisdiction of the Dutch. They belonged originally to the small community of Lutherans who lived HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. U in Holland, and who fled to this country probably tc es- cape the horrors of the Thirty Years' War, which at that disastrous period threatened to exterminate Protestantism from Germany and the Netherlands. Their first minister was named Fabricius, who arrived in 1669, and who preached for them during eight years. Their first church was a log building erected in New York in 1671, for which a stone edifice was afterwards substituted. The next settlement of Lutherans in this country was that of the Swedes on the Delaware, at Philadelphia, iii 1636. They continued to hold their religious services in their native language for many years ; after this the pre- valence of the English around them, the difficulty of ob- taining native preachers from Sweden, and the fact that the other then existing Lutherans of this city held all their public exercises in the G-erman language, induced the Swedish Lutherans to apply to the Protestant Episcopal Churches for a supply of ministers. This request was readily complied with ; and the consequence was, that in the progress of time the whole congregation were trans- ferred to the Episcopal Church, and were formally united with that body. The German Lutherans commenced to immigrate to this country about the year 1700, and gradually spread over a large portion of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. In 1710, three thousand of them came from the Palatinate and settled in New York. In 1733, a large number established themselves in Georgia, at a place which they called Ebenezer. These were driven from Saltzberg, in Bavaria, by the persecutions of the Jesuits, who then exercised an absolute supremacy in that kingdom. This colony was supplied with native ministers from Germany, and they have ever since been a prosperous and highly respected community. When George Whitefield traveled in this country, he visited the Lutheran Churches in Georgia, and was much pleased with their piety and use- fulness ; and besides preaching for them, presented them with a bell for one of their churches, as a token of his 26 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. esteem. The descendants of these people still adhere tc the religion of their forefathers, and are connected with the flourishing Lutheran Synod of South Carolina and the adjacent States. The most numerous and prosperous colonies of Lutherans were located in Pennsylvania ; and about the year 1742 they began to assume their first importance and promi- nence in the community. It was in that year that the great patriarch of American Lutheranism reached this country. This was the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, a remarkable man in every respect, one of the most useful and distinguished persons in the history of this sect in this country. He is the direct ancestor of the well-known family of Miihlenbergs which still exists, and has pro- duced several men of eminence in the pulpit, in politics, and in the battle field. Previous to 1742, the Lutherans in Philadelphia worshiped in connection with a few mem- bers of the German Reformed Church, in a small log house, in the lower part of Arch street. Muhlenberg, having been sent out from the University of Halle, in Germany, as a missionary to supply the wants of the Lu- therans here, immediately commenced his labors, and these he continued with great success during nearly half a cen- tury. He was admirably adapted in every respect for his difficult post. He was one of the most learned men of his time, and could preach fluently in German, English, Dutch, French, Latin, and Swedish. He was also thoroughly versed in Greek, Hebrew, and several of the cognate Oriental lan- guages. He was one of the most laborious and indefati- gable of men. Probably no missionary every toiled in this country with more unremitting effort than he. Often he preached four and five times on a Sunday, and in as many languages. He traveled extensively, and wherever his services were needed among the stray communities of Lutherans through the middle States, he was prompt and ready to bestow them. As might be expected, his work prospered ; he himself became greatly esteemed, and ac- quired an immense influenca in the community. HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 27 Through his instrumentality the first Lutheran Synort which ever convened in this country was held at Phila- delphia, in 1748. At that time there were only eleven preachers belonging to the sect in the United States, with fifteen congregations, and a community of fifty thousand people. During the Revolutionary war the Lutherans were zeal DUS in the support of the cause of liberty. A eon of Dr. Melchior Miihlenberg was a General in the Continental army ; and the Germans were prompt, accord- ing to their means, in assisting the good cause. Zion's church, their largest edifice then, and even still, in this country, located at Fourth and Cherry streets, in this city, was occupied at one time (in 1778) by the British army as a hospital. Their oldest church, that of St. Michael, at the corner of Cherry and Fifth streets, was also used by the British as a garrison church in the morning of Sunday ; though the congregation were allowed to occupy it in the afternoon. These outrages were con- tinued until the final expulsion of the invaders from the precincts of the city of Penn. After the Revolutionary war the Lutherans began to in- crease rapidly, not only by the growth of their native members, but by foreign immigration. In 1786, they had about twenty-five ministers ; and the number of the churches and pastors gradually grew, until, in the year 1820, the most important event in their career which ever occurred in this country took place. This was the estab- lishment of their General Synod, by which the five or six separate District Synods which had previously risen into existence, in various portions of the country, were consoli- dated and united into one chief body. The results of thia arrangement were soon felt, and were found to be highly beneficial. The General Synod served to give harmony, consistency, and unity to the various portions of the church which were scattered over the several States ; and this result was much needed. The members of the sect, who immigrated to this country, came from the various Protestant States of Germany, and they brought witb 28 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. them tlic peculiar opinions and usages to which they had been accustomed at home. These are different and dis- similar in most of those States ; and the result would very naturally follow here, that considerable difference of opinion should prevail among the aggregate masses on every point of doctrine and worship. It is but due to the Lutherans to say that, though harassed by this tendency to diversity and discord, they have gradually coalesced into a degree of uniformity and homogeneity which could hardly have been expected. Yet one cause of this result is to be found in that indifference to church matters which gradually prevailed among many of them, when their at- tention became diverted toward the opportunities for ac- quiring wealth with which they were favored in this country. A large proportion of them, devoted to their pecuniary interests, did not care what became of the church of their forefathers ; and by giving twenty-five cents a year, to secure their right of burial, many of them became indifferent to the prosperity and welfare of that faith for which their forefathers had fought and suffered, and for the possession of which many of them had deserted their native land, and had ventured upon the perils and deprivations of a howling wilderness. One of the first fruits of the establishment of the Gene- ral Synod Avas the erection of the Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa., intended to prepare the young men of the church for the ministry. This is the most important institution connected with 1 he Lutheran sect in this country, and was established in 1325. It is provided with largo and commodious buildings, and with one of the best theo- logical libraries in the country. The President of this in- stitution is Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D. D., who was elected i is first professor in 1825; who still continues, after the lapse of thirty-three years, to fill the important duties of his office, and is the most eminent Lutheran theologian in this country. There are two other professors connected with the institution, completing the usual routine of the most the rough theological instruction. A large portion HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 21' D{ the library was obtained by Dr. B. Kurtz from sjme of the universities and clergy of Germany and Denmark. As an auxiliary to the seminary, Pennsylvania College was founded at the same place in 1827, Dr. Schmucker and Thaddeus Stevens, Esq. being instrumental in pro- curing the charter of the institution from the Legislature. A branch of this college, and one of the most meritorious portions of it, is the Medical College in Ninth street, below Locust, in Philadelphia. The Schmucker family, like that of the Muhlenbergs, holds a prominent place in the history and development of the Lutheran Church in this country ; there being no less than eleven persons of the connection who have been, or now are, clergymen of that sect. The younger mem- bers of this family sometimes write their names " Smucker," for the sake of convenience and brevity. Other eminent names occur in the history of the Lutheran Church in this country, such as those of Dr. Helmuth, formerly pastor of Zion's Church in Philadelphia ; Dr. Kuntze, one of the best Oriental scholars of modern times ; Rev. Drs. Kurtz, Brunholtz, Handschuch, Lochman, Geissenhainer, Quit- man, (father of the late General Quitman of Mexican fame,) Schaeffer, Demme, Mayer, and Bachnian, of Charleston, the greatest of American entomologists. In addition to the institutions at Gettysburg the Lu- therans have a seminary at Columbus, Ohio; another at Hartwick, New York ; others at Lexington, South Caro- lina, and at Springfield, Ohio. They have Education, Home Mission, Foreign Mission, and other benevolent societies. At present they number twenty-two synods, fifteen of which Tire connected with the General Synod. They have about five hundred ministers, fourteen hundred congregations, and a hundred and forty thousand regular communicants. They hold, in point of numbers and iniluencc, a very respectable position among the secondary denominations of this country. In Europe the Lutheran Church is governed by bishop^ 30 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. and by superintendents, whose functions are the satne as those of diocesan bishops ; but in this country parity ex- ists in their ministry, and each preacher is regarded as a bishop. In other words, their church government is Pres- byterian ; and their doctrines, or the doctrines which are entertained by the great majority of them, are termed Evangelical. They believe in the Trinity, the Deity of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, the vicarious atonement, and the fall of man ; but they discard the doctrine of Pre- destination and Absolute Decrees of God respecting Man's Salvation. They hold to Justification by Faith alone ; to the necessity of good works, nevertheless ; and to the eter- nity of future hell-f^re for the finally impenitent. Their opinions exhibit the greatest diversity on the subject of the Lord's Supper ; some of them adhering to the dogma of Consubstantiation, as taught by Luther ; while others hold that the bread and wine are merely commemorative symbols of the broken body and shed blood of Christ. Luther declared to the last his belief in Consubstantiation. In one of his later works he says : " I should have wished to have denied the real presence of Christ* in the Eucha- rist, in order to confound the Papists. But so clear and strong are the words of Scripture which establish it, that in spite of my inclination so to do, and though I strained every nerve to reach the point, yet I could never persua le myself to doubt or deny it." Hence the " old Lutherans," who profess to be strict Lutherans, adhere to this opinion ; though their numbers in this country are comparatively few. The vast majority, however, go to the opposite ex- treme, strip the Eucharist of all mystery, and invest it only with a commemorative efficacy. Tlfe Lutherans also differ about "old and new measures," some being opposed to prayer meetings and other revival ways and means ; while others adopt the Methodist method of converting sinners, and sometimes carry their usages to the utmost possible limits. These Lutherans are, however, founu chiefly in the western States. They claim the liberty to believe and reject the Augsburg Confession, which is the HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. Si principal creed of the sect, when they please and as far as they please. The rationalistic Lutheran theologians of Germany, many of whom are the most learned men of the age, assert that they carry out the great principle of the Reformation that of private judgment in religious mat- ters to its full and legitimate extent ; and thus each on^ of them has a creed of his own. There are a few German Lutheran Churches in this country who belong to this wing of the sect, some of whom are Unitarians, and others as good as Infidels and Rationalists. But with these heretics the main body of the Lutheran Church hold no communi- cation whatever, regarding their sentiments with horror and condemnation. GERMAN REFORMED CHURCH. The German Reformed Church, as it exists both in Europe and in this country, is historically descended from the Swiss churches which were established in the sixteenth century, through the instrumentality of the distinguished reformer, Ulric Zwingli. The original seat of the sect was in Switzerland ; but many of these churches exist in the various Protestant States of Germany, as well as in this country. Zwingli was the contemporary of Luther. He commenced his reforming zeal nearly at the same time, and was led t3 tne adoption of his Protestant sentiments by a process somewhat similar to that used by Luther. He was born at Wildhaus, in the canton of Schweitz, in January, 1484. At an early age he exhibited proofs of superior intelli- gence ; and his parents, who were poor, made every effort to give him the benefit of a learned education. He was intended foi the priesthood, as the best avenue which could then be foun,d for the display of talent and the gratifica- tion of ambition. In due time he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, after having completed his studies at the University of Basle. In 1506 he became the parish priest of Glaris, a village near his native Wildhaus, and here he 32 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. commenced to study and examine the Scriptures with spe- cial reference to the absurdities which were committed by the pilgrims who at that time traveled to the venerable ahrine at Einsidlen, which, by some imposture or other, had at that time acquired a widely-spread notoriety. By op- posing this local superstition, he invited and incurred the condemnation of his ecclesiastical superiors ; while at the same time he acquired great popularity among the multi- tude as a young man who was able and determined to ex- ercise some freedom of thought. His growing fame at length procured ftr him the post of preacher in the cathe- dral church of Zurich. This event occurred in Decem- ber, 1518. He was an eloquent speaker ; and though while at Claris his morals had not been any better than they should be, this defect was overlooked and gradually overshadowed by his superior abilities as an orator. Meanwhile Luther was carrying forward the Reforma- tion of Wittenberg, and the new doctrines which he pro- pounded and defended found a ready and an able advocate in Zwingli. The latter preached one novelty after another as fast as he became convinced, by a careful examination of its Scriptural authority, until he had gone over the whole ground of Protestant theology. During the pro- gress of these labors many of the Swiss cantons became the partizans of the Protestant cause; and the centre of the new faith remained at Zurich, of which city Zwingli was the leading and most powerful intellect. In some re- spects, and on several important points, Zwingli diifered from Luther, especially in regard to the nature of the Lord's Supper. For the purpose of comparing their views, and,. if possible, of forming an ecclesiastical and religious union, they held several conferences together ; but in both cases the rude and resolute manner in which the Saxon Re- former insisted on his own peculiar and unmodified opin- ions as being the only and the immutable truth, and his determination not to depart a single jot from his previ- ously expressed sentiments, rendered all prospect of ac- commodation utterly hopeless, and sadly disappointed the HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 33 charitable hopes which Zwingli had reasonably enter- tained on the subject. Zwingli, therefore, proceeded to carry on his reforms in Switzerland in entire independence of the movements of Luther. One canton after another declared in favor of the Reformation, until all, save five of them, ranged them- selves on that side of the dispute. The names of those which refused to do bo were Uri, Lucerne, Schweitz, Unter- halten, and Zug. It is probable that, had the Reformer Jived longer, he might have been able to extend his doc- trines among the inhabitants of these cantons also ; but in October, 1531, a religious war was declared between the cantons of opposite faith, and Zwingli went forth as chief chaplain in the army of his confederates. He was slain at the battle of Cappel, and thus prematurely terminated a career which might have ultimately led to very impor- tant and permanent results. Zwingli was an inferior man to Luther in every sense. He was his inferior in native genius, in learning, in boldness, in eloquence, in the ex- tent and grandeur of the arena on which he labored, in the results which he produced, in the fame which he ac- quired, and in the completeness and duration of his public career. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, Zwingli occupies a very honorable place in history, as the foundei of the German Reformed Church. After the death of Zwingli, his place as the head of this church was assumed by a much greater man than himself by John Calvin who resided at Geneva, and rendered that city the head and centre of Swiss Protestantism. Calvin differed from Zwingli on several points; especially pn the nature of the Lord's Supper, and on the proper nature of church government. Zwingli regarded the Eucharist merely as a commemorative symbol of Christ's death ; while Calvin taught that the worthy communicant received, in the bread and wine, the actual body, blood, and bones of Christ. As to church government, Zwingli was in favor of subjecting the church to the civil authority, 30 far as her temporal and secular affairs were concerned ,' M HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIOUS. while Calvin contended that in all things, hoth temporal and spiritual, the church ought to be wholly free and separate from the civil power. Calvin never succeeded in persuad- ing the Swiss, much less any German community, to re- ceive and adopt his views of church government, though they were doubtless founded in truth and justice. The German Reformed Church in the United Slates took its rise about the year 1720, when the first immi- grants who belonged to that sect came to this country. These settled in Eastern Pennsylvania ; but other churches were gradually formed in various portions of this State, and subsequently in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and the Carolines. In this country their church government is essentially Presbyterian. Some of the congregations of this sect are in a flourishing condition ; though they never have had any very large churches, nor have they had any eminent or distinguished persons among their membership. In this respect, as well as regards numbers, wealth, and social influence, they have always been infe- rior to the Lutheran and Dutch Reformed churches. The creed of this sect is set forth in the Heidelberg catechism. Their doctrines are regarded as orthodox, be- lieving as they do in the Trinity, the vicarious atonement, and other fundamental points of Protestant theology. The Heidelberg Catechism was drawn up in 1563, and adopted at the city of that name. Its purpose was to effect a compromise between the Reformed Churches of Switzer- **md and Germany; and it was composed by several emi- nent and learned men who represented several different parties. These were Dr. Zacharias Ursinus, who was a aisciple of Melanchthon, Dr. Casper Olevianus, a follower of Calvin ; and the Elector Trederic III., sovereign of the Palatinate, of which Heidelberg is the capital, who was a disciple of Zwingli. This catechism says nothing about the cardinal doctrine of the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity ; the atonement is regarded as general, in oppDsition to Calvin's opinion ; and the theories of Calvin and Zwingli about the Lord's Supper are so mingled, thai HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 35 a compound of the two is made. It also teaches that mankind cannot repent without the assistance of the Spirit of God'; yet it admits that when the Spirit im- pels and urges men to repent, they have the power to resist that impulse and act as free agents. MONOPIIYSITES are properly the followers of a monk of the sixteenth century, Severus, but the term is applied to all the Eastern churches who believe in the one nature of Christ, holding that the divine na- ture was so united to and mingled with the human that they formed but a single nature. The churches that hold to this faith at present are the Syrian, the Jacobite, the Coptic, including the Abyssinian, the Chaldean, the Arminian,and the Indo-Syriac. These churches all hold this one article of faith in common, though their creeds differ widely. MOXOTHELITES, a sect which was suppressed in the latter part of the seventh century. They claim- ed that as Christ had two natures he must have two wills, but that the human will was so overpowered by the divine that it became entirely subordinated to it, and consequently there could be but one free will in the same person. This practical denial of the perfec- tion of Christ's human nature raised the opposition of other Christians, and they were condemned in General Council. MONTANTSTS, followers of Montanus, who, in the second century, claimed that the Spirit, the Paraclete, dwelt in him, and through him would give a more perfect system of religion than that expounded by the apostles. He was aided by two women whom he had won over to faith in him and his pretensions. They allowed women to teach, forbade second marriages, ad allowed divorce. Persons guilty of great crimes were never after to be admitted to communion, they denying the authority of the bishops to restore them 80 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. LAMAISM, the religion of the Buddhist inhabitants of Thibet, Mongolia, and of hordes of Tartars. The Grand Lama, or Delai-Lama, is supposed to be the deity inhabiting the body of a human being, and is worshiped accordingly. When the man dies, the spirit is supposed to have left the worn-out tenement, and to have taken up his abode in the body of some child, where he is discovered, by means of certain tokens, by the Lamas, and the worship is accordingly transferred. This religion is an offshoot of Buddhism, is very nearly coeval with it, and very similar in rites and ceremo- nies. It is the faith of a very large portion of the human race, and has withstood the lapse of time and the efforts of man to overthrow it. BRAHMIN'S are the first of the four castes of Hin- doos. They take their name from Brahma, the first of the Trinity the Creator from whose mouth, the seat of wisdom, they proceeded. They are the sacerdotal caste, and have the most absolute authority. Brahmin- ism is the most extended religion on the face of the globe; and it is even claimed that the Hindoo religion, in its several forms, is adhered to by more than half the peo- ple of the world. It is, however, in India and else- where, beginning to succumb to Christianity ; and the day is not far distant when it will be a thing of the past, when the light of Christianity shall have dis- pelled the heathen darkness. BUDDHISTS. Buddhism originated in India, but was expelled by the Brahmins, and spread to Japan, Thibet, China, and Ceylon, where it remains the es- tablished religion still. It was founded by Gautama. a Hindoo sage, in the sixth century B. C., though mythology dates it back to the eleventh century B. C. The faith was at first aesthetic and moral, but is now essentially idolatrous and very similar to that of the Brahmins, which see. AN IDOL OF GAUTAMA, THE BUDDHA. HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 37 ANABAPTISTS, OR " MUNSTER BAPTISTS," a German sect which arose during the sixteenth century, who, under the pretext that Christ himself was about to assume all government, bid defiance to all magistrates, laws, and every restraint. Munzer, a fanatic, assumed the leadership and, at the head of a large army, attempted to propagate the new faith by force of arms. He was soon overcome, captured, and executed by the elector of Saxony. His followers were scattered, and a party of them settled at Muns- ter, whence their name. Here they established them- selves, deposed the magistrates, confiscated estates. and deposited all treasure for common use. They sailed their city Mount Zion, invited all of their faith to assemBle, and proclaimed that they would reduce the world to their doctrines. The city was, after a long siege, taken by the army of the Catholic bishop, and their leaders punished by death. The distin- guishing features of their creed were: first, in common with other Baptists, the baptism of believers by im- mersion, denying the efficacy of infant baptism ; sec- ond, that all civil law was an encroachment on the rights of Christians, and that all distinctions of birth and rank should be abolished ; third, the communist doctrine of equality in possession of wealth ; fourth, the patriarchal government and usages in respect to marriage, including plurality of wives. The taking of Munster was the death-blow to the sect, and, al- though scattered over Germany, Switzerland, and Holland, they dwindled and disappeared. BROWNISTS, a dissenting sect of the Puritans, followers of Robert Brown. Their articles of faith were much the same as those of the Established Church, but in government they were essentially independent They rejected all forms of prayer, as well as all ritual- istic forms. In 1592, there were computed to be uo1 Ies3 than twenty thousand of this sect. Marriages ic church were not allowed, and only the children of 88 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS- believers were baptized. They recognized no distinc- tive priesthood, but admitted of lay preaching. From this sect sprang the company who laid the first per- mauent settlement in this country. THE BAPTIST CHURCH. t THOSE religious people to whem the term " Baptist" ia applied, both in this country and in Europe, are divided into a variety of minor sects who are known by various epithets, such as Free Will Baptists, Free Communion Baptists, Seventh Day Baptists, and several others. The most extensive and important denomination of this class, however, are those known by the simple word "Baptists," and these are probably the most numerous and one of the most influential sects in the United States ; and of these we propose to speak in this article. The Baptists claim to be the oldest of the present di- visions of Christendom, on the ground that their method of administering the rite of baptism by immersion is the only one, as they contend, practiced by the apostles and the primitive Church, and the only one which ought to be practiced in succeeding ages. They hold that as baptism was and is the only method of admission to the Church, and as immersion is the proper way of administering this rite, those only can be members of the Christian Church who have thus been admitted. Consequently those who have been merely sprinkled are not baptized ; and as, in the early ages, we hear nothing of infants being baptized, but only such as had first " believed," and were old ecrough to exercise faith, they therefore infer that adults only are suitable subjects for this rite, which incorporates them with the Church of Christ. It is undoubtedly true that the preponderance of proof is in favor of the position that baptism was, in the first instance, administered only by immersion ; that the very word for baptism used in the Greek New Testament means plainly to " immerse," and not sprinkle ; and that the ablest opponents of the Bap- tists have been cDmpelled to admit that the argument rif STORY OB ALL RELIGIONS. 89 drawn from the early practice of the Church is in their favor. The history of the Baptists may therefore be said, in one sense, to begin with the apostles. But several gene- rations after their day, the universal practice of the Church had gradually become changed, and the sprinkling both of infants and of adults had taken .the place of the primitive rite, As a sect, or separate organization, they never existed for many ages, until the rise of Peter Waldo, in the twelfth century, who established the sect of the Waldenses among the mountains and valleys of Pied- mont. One of the prominent doctrines which he and his followers believed was the impropriety of the baptism of infants, and the necessity of immersion to the validity of any baptism. Waldo commenced his reforming career in 1180 ; and during several centuries those who received hi? doctrine endured immense persecutions, according to the prevalent spirit of tne times, from the Roman Catholic Church, which was then predominant throughout Europe. Those Christians who adhere to " believers' baptism," in opposition to the sprinkling of infants, next appear as a sect, in the sixteenth century, under the epithet of the "Anabaptists of Munster." These were fanatics of the worst description, who did an infinite degree of harm, and met with a terrible fate ; but they had no connection whatever with modern Baptists, except in the single fact that they immersed. The Munster Baptists may more properly be regarded as the predecessors of the modern Mennonites, who are indeed directly historically descended from them. In 1338, Walter Lollard, a Hollander of learning and distinction, who adhered to the doctrine of the Baptists, visited England, preached and made many converts, who were known by the epithet of "Lollards," after their leader. During the reign of Henry VIII., an J Edward VI., they greatly increased in numbers ; though subsequently, they were cruelly persecuted under Queen Mary. On one occasion as many as fourteen suffered death, rather than renounce their religious convictions 40 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGION'S. Notwithstanding fire and sword, however, these pcoplf continued to increase, and gradually the name by which they were designated was changed from Lollard to Bap- tist, and they acquired more and more importance and in- fluence. At length religious liberty and personal security were granted them by Cromwell, who had overthrown the pernicious tyranny of Charles I., and had established the Commonwealth. It was during the reign of Charles II., that those events occurred which planted the Baptist name and faith in the New World. The chief instrument in producing this result was the celebrated Roger Williams, who was a native of Wales, and originally a clergyman of the Church of England. Becoming dissatisfied both with the doctrines and the government of that church, he determined to remove to the then infant colony of Massachusetts. His voyage terminated in February, 1631, and he first became a resi- dent and a pastor at Salem. At that period he was a Puritan, and had not yet publicly announced his new views on the subject of Baptism. But when, some years afterward, he did so, he was expelled from the territory of the colony, and compelled to seek a new home else- where. Then it was that he and a few devoted followers removed to the region of country, then inhabited wholly by Indians, which now constitutes the State of Rhode island. There he established the first regular Baptist Society in this country,, at Providence, in March, 1639. Other societies were soon formed in other localities in the State, and the Baptists thus became the founders an 3 chief citizens of one of the sovereign Commonwealths of this confederacy. During the progress of several gene- rations the denomination has gradually increased in all the States, and especially in the South, until at the present time, as their statistics show, they approach in point of numbers every other sect in the community. The doctrinal system of this denomination of Baptists, is Calvinistic and Orthodox. They believe in the eternal decrees of God, in reference to the salvation of the Elect HISTORY 0? ALL RELIGIONS. 41 and hold that such as have been predestined to be saved from the foundation of the world shall be saved, and no others. At the same time their method of preaching is very earnest and practical as much so as that of the Metho- dists and they are very zealous in laboring for the con- version of sinners. It is to this fact that their remarkable increase in this country is to be attributed. They are also great proselytizers among the members of other churches, by means of arguments and reasonings in reference to the true nature and method of baptism. Their fundamental principle on this point is, that Christians should not admit, anything as an article of belief or of duty which is not taught in the Scriptures, and sanctioned by the practice of the Apostles themselves. Every other doctrine or rite they hold to be a mere human invention. They apply this principle to baptism, and contend that both the teach- ings of the New Testament and the example of the Apos- tles are plainly in favor of "believers' baptism," in pre- ference to infant sprinkling; the former is right, and the latter a wholly unauthorized innovation. In support of this doctrine they can array, besides Scripture proofs, a host of concessions and admissions which the most distin- guished writers of other sects have made, which clearly admit the greater propriety of immersion, and thus con- cede the truth of the doctrine of the Baptists. Nothing is more curious than the extraordinary fullness