Chapter XIII

PRIMITIVE DISSENSIONS AND APOSTOLIC PRECAUTIONS.

ACTS vi. 1-4.

The Election of the Seven a Crisis in Church History--Date
of St. Stephen's Martyrdom--Occasion of it--Primal
Relation of Judaism to Christianity--Not Mutually
Exclusive--Illustrated by those of First Methodists
to Church of England--Tyranny and Deposition of
Pilate--Multiplication of Christians led to Murmuring
and thence to Choice of Seven--Showing Benefits and
Drawbacks of Prosperity--Imperfections of Apostolic
Church--Fallacy of Roman _à priori_ Argument for
Infallibility--Reciprocal Influence of Church and
World--Various Meanings of Term "World"--Murmuring
arose from Racial and Linguistic Differences--Hebrews
and Hellenists--Modern Analogies--Diversity of Functions
in Church--Serving of Tables Differs from Ministry of
Word--Which Demands Study, Meditation, and Prayer--
Weakness of Modern Pulpit Accounted for--Election
of Deacons and Number--The Diaconate and Cardinalate 246-267

CHAPTER XIV.

ST. STEPHEN AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

ACTS vi. 5, 6; 8-11.

The Seven were Scriptural--Origin of Diaconate--Bishop
Lightfoot's View--Influence of the Synagogue upon the
Church--Illustrated by Marcionites--And by Pilgrim
Fathers in New England--Constitution of Synagogues--
Jewish Almoners or Deacons--Evidence to Diaconate of
Apostolic Fathers--Of Pliny--Of Irenæus--Connection
of Community of Goods with the Eucharist--Poor Law
among Jews--And Christians--Testimony of Lucian--
Christianity Viewed from the Outside--Difference
between Ancient and Modern Office--Life-long
Diaconate in Ancient Celtic Church--St. Patrick's
Father--Election of Deacons in the Synagogues--
Imposition of Hands and Ordination--Names of Deacons
and Nicolas of Antioch--St. Stephen and the Charge
of Blasphemy--Every True Teacher must expect
Misrepresentation 268-292

CHAPTER XV.

ST. STEPHEN'S DEFENCE AND THE DOCTRINE OF INSPIRATION.

ACTS vi. 12-14; vii. 1, 2.

Derivation and Meaning of Name "Stephen"--Libertine
Assailants of St. Stephen--United with Cilicians--St.
Paul and the Sanhedrin--Selden on Sanhedrin--Use of
Shorthand among the Ancients--The _Acts_ of the
Martyrs and Investigations of M. le Blant--Effective
Character of Stephen's _Apology_--Analysis of
it--Naturally Irritating to Jewish Officialism--Charity
towards Persecutors--Reverence towards the Past--A
Good Thing, but may be Pressed too far--Lessons for
our Age--Science and Religion--Mistakes in the Martyr's
Speech--Natural--Useful, too, as Testifying to Honesty
of Report--And Teaching True Doctrine of Inspiration--Dr.
Vaughan on St. Stephen's Mistakes--St. Stephen and
Freedom of Church Worship--Christian Universalism not
Inconsistent with Sacred and Consecrated Buildings 293-321

CHAPTER XVI.

THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYRDOM.

Testimony of Church of Lyons to St. Stephen's Martyrdom--
Earliest Celtic Martyrdoms and Celtic Assemblies--
Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day--Christmas Season
and Three Classes of Martyrs--Dies Natalis and the
Liturgies--Immediate Cause of St. Stephen's Death--
Locality of the Martyrdom--Newly-discovered
Church of St. Stephen--Survey of Western Palestine--
Jewish Stonings--St. Stephen died under Forms
of Law--Christianity and Human Law--Testimony of St.
Clement's Epistle--St. Stephen and Prayer to Jesus
Christ--Doctrine of Book of Common Prayer--St.
Stephen's Funeral--Early Christian View of
Resurrection--Story told by John Malalas--Persecution
and Church Extension 322-345

CHAPTER XVII.

SIMON MAGUS AND THE CONVERSION OF SAMARIA.

Prominence of Hellenists in the Church's Earliest
Days--Apostles and Deacons Contrasted--Source of St.
Luke's Knowledge of Early Church History--St. Philip
at Cæsarea--Exact Locality where Philip taught in
Samaria--Our Lord's Ministry in Samaria a Failure--
Why?--Because the Spirit was not yet given--Presence of
the Holy Ghost the Condition of Permanent Blessing--St.
Philip and Simon Magus--Story of Simon as told by
Justin Martyr--Evidence for Early Date of the Acts--
Justin and Simon's Statue--Simon a Sorcerer--Jews and
Sorcery--Jewish Gnosticism--Fayûm Manuscripts and
Magic--Contrast between Philip's Miracles and
Simon's Magic--Need of Miracles at Outset of
Christianity--Philip's Doctrine Concerning
the Kingdom of God--What it involved--Church's
Prosperity Dependent entirely upon Christ--Threefold
Result of Philip's Teaching--John Keble on Christian Joy 346-368

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE APOSTLES AND CONFIRMATION.

Apostolic Mission to Samaria--Development of
Church--Position of St. Peter--False Decretals--
Confirmation, Origin of--New Testament is not an
Exhaustive Manual of Rites and Ceremonies--Tertullian
on Standing at Prayer--Conservative Character of
Church Ritual--Illustrated by Cases of Dean Hook,
J. H. Newman, Tate and Brady, and the Plymouth
Brethren--Apostolic Example Perpetuated in Second
Century Practice--And in Case of Confirmation--Calvin
on its Apostolic Origin 369-384

CHAPTER XIX.

ST. PETER AND SIMON MAGUS.

ACTS viii. 18, 19.

Change in Confirmation at Reformation--Yet the Rite
remained Essentially the Same as of Old--Importance
of Tertullian's Testimony for its Primitive Origin--
Cyprian's and Augustine's View--Relation of Cyprian
to Tertullian--Imposition of Hands United with Prayer
in Ancient and Modern Church--Utility and Blessings
of the Rite--Improvement which might be made in its
Administration--Conduct of Simon Magus--He was
Intellectually Convinced but Spiritually Unconverted--
Application of his Example to Foreign Missions--Late
Controversy Concerning Educational Missions--Simon's
Conduct and Simony--Definition of Simony--Sin not
Confined to Established Churches--Takes Subtle Shapes
in Every Community--St. Peter's Exhortation to Simon
Magus--Corrects a Modern Error 385-397