title: A debate on the beginning of Messiah's reign...
text: mmm Jilll MammBBaSSa wBwftaR^'vifei'jy • v ^' ^ffiiBra «r Jar* fitt LIBRARY O F CONGRE SS, <=&%< Y 31 <?C<y,y, '7 li $ {UNITED STATES OF AMKhlCA.jl BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. A DEBATE THE BEGINNING OF MESSIAH'S REIGN, THE ABRO- GATION OF THE MOSAIC LAW, AND FIRST PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL; BAPTISM: ACTION, SUBJECT, AND DESIGN; THE "DISCIPLES" OR "CHRISTIAN" CHURCH THE SAME INSTI- TUTED BY JESUS CHRIST ON PENTECOST; THE DOCTRINE AND POLITY OF THE METHODIST CHURCH A FEASIBLE BASIS FOR THE UNION OF ALL CHRISTIANS; ELD. JOHN A. BROOKS, Of Winchester, Kentucky, of the Church of Christ, AND REV". J. W. FITCH, ? -? Of Winchester, Kentucky, of the Methodist Episcopal Cliurch South, Commencing Sept. 13th, and ending Sept. 18th, 1869. DONALD PADMAN, Phonographer, of Louisville, Ky., Reporter for Mr. Brooks. ALBERT SUTLIFFE, Phonographer, of Cincinnati, Ohio, Reporter for Mr. Filch. J CINCINNATI: PUBLISHED BY R. W. CARROLL & CO., 115 & 117 West Fourth Street. 1870. MODERATORS: JUDGE JAMES FREXCH, of Winchester, Ky., President; RET. ROBT. HINER, of the Methodist Church, and ELD. R. M. GANO, of the Church of Christ. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by E. W. CARROLL & CO., [n the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of Ohio. PRELIMINARIES. By agreement of the parties, the regulations of the " Camp- bell and Rice Debate " were adopted as rules for the government of the present Discussion. The following propositions are discussed : I. With the beginning of Messiah's reign on Pentecost, the law of Moses was abolished, and the Gospel in its elements, and with its conditions of salvation, first proclaimed. Mr. Brooks affirms. II. Infant baptism is authorized by the "Word of God. Mr. Fitch affirms. III. The baptism of a believing penitent is for the remission of past sins. Mr. Brooks affirms. TV. The sprinkling or pouring of water upon a proper sub- ject, by a proper person, in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is Scriptural baptism. Mr. F. affirms. V. The church known at this day as the " Disciples," or " The Christian Church," is the church which was instituted on the day of Pentecost. Mr. B. affirms. VI. The doctrine and polity of the Methodist Church present a feasible basis for the union of all Protestant Christians. Mr. F. affirms. FIRST PROPOSITION. • WITH THE BEGINNING OP MESSIAH'S REIGN ON PENTECOST, THE LAW OF MOSES WAS ABOLISHED, AND THE GOSPEL IN ITS ELEMENTS, AND WITH ITS CONDITIONS OF SALVATION, FIRST PROCLAIMED. Monday, September 13, 1869. DEBATE MR. BROOKS'S FIRST ADDRESS, ON THE FIRST PROPOSITION. Monday, September lZth. Gentlemen Moderators, Ladies and Gentlemen : We have no apology to make for our appearance before you on this occasion. We have ever believed that religious controversies, properly conducted, could only result in good to those who hear with unprejudiced minds. With this conviction, as to the propri- ety of religious discussions, we have not hesitated, at any time or under all circumstances, properly to discuss questions in which we are all so deeply interested. Indeed, but for controversies, the re- ligious intelligence, which at present exists in this world, could not have been. The religious knowledge of the world to-day is the result of the controversies of Martin Luther, Calvin, AVesley, and others. The proposition before us for discussion this morning is : " That with the beginning of Messiah's reign on Pentecost the law of Moses was abolished, and the Gospel in its elements and with its con- ditions of salvation first proclaimed" In the very statement of the proposition, it is conceded that the Messiah's reign did begin upon Pentecost. To concede this is to yield all that we claim in the proposition. If the Messiah's reign began upon Pentecost, of course, the law of the Messiah was first made public then, and that law in force before his coining must of necessity have been abro- gated. The principle I maintain here to-day is one of vital import- ance, and one which will justify us in stating the proof by which we arrive at this conclusion. We have first to prove that the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ was established on the day of Pentecost ; that the reign of the Messiah began at that time. In the second place, that the law of Moses was abolished with the beginning of that reign. By the law of Moses, we mean the law 10 BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. given through the mediation of Moses. In Hebrews x : 28, the Apostle says : " He who despised Moses's law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses." The man that trampled upon, the authority of that law, that refused to obey the mandates of that law, died without mercy under tw r o or three witnesses. Again [John i : 17] : The law w T as given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. We see the distinction is clearly drawn between the law of Christ and the law of Moses. This lat- ter law, we are to affirm, has been abrogated. In the next place, w r e are to prove that the Gospel in its elements was then first pro- claimed. By its elements we simply mean the great facts of the Gospel as developed in the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and coronation of the Redeemer of the world. In the last place, we shall attempt to prove to-day that the conditions of salvation, under the reign of Christ, were first proclaimed upon Pentecost ; that the terms of pardon as laid down by Jesus Christ and his apostles were then first published to the world. To these facts we ask your attention this morning. I would that this proposition was more simple ; that there was but one truth to demonstrate. But we have at least four distinct propositions to establish; running, indeed, the one into the other; distinct, yet here closely connected. On the proposition that the kingdom of Jesus Christ was set up on the day of Pentecost, that the reign of Christ began on that day, the first argument I shall advance is based upon Daniel ii : 44: " In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- dom, which shall never be destroyed ; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Now, the discussion of these propositions would amount to but little, unless the truth should be elicited. I have but one purpose, then, in the proposi- tion — simply to present the truth, and thus the difference between his Church and mine. And I want, just here, to say that I use the expression " my Church" simply in a conventional sense ; it is the Church of Christ, not ours. Now, my Church, if you will permit the expression, claims that the kingdom of Jesus Christ began upon the day of Pentecost. My friend claims that the kingdom had long been in existence, that it had an existence before, that the kingdom was present, and that Jesus was reigning prior to that day. The proposition, then, is clearly before us. Jesus com- menced to reign on that day, and was coronated King of kings on that day. The above are the utterances of Daniel, who lived long after the descendants of Abraham received the law upon Sinai ; after all those periods in which our pedo-baptist friends have fixed the beginning of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Centuries had elapsed since God, through Moses, had spoken to the people, when the prophet presented these great facts. He has before the king that MR. BROOKES FIRST ADDRESS. 11 most wonderful image with golden head, silver breast and arms, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron, which by common con- sent referred to the future universal empires of the world. The prophet said to the king of Babylon: " Thou art the golden head," but another kingdom shall come up after you, represented by the silver breast and arms of the image, which shall overcome your kingdom, which shall banish it from existence. This was the Medo-Persian empire, established by Cyrus, which broke in pieces the Babylonian dynasty; this, in the image, was represented by the arms and breast of silver. This was succeeded by the Greco-Macedonian kingdom or empire, headed by Alexan- der the Great, and represented in the image by the thighs and belly of brass ; this again by the Roman empire, represented by the iron legs and feet with toes of iron and clay mixed. Now, says the prophet, in the days of these kings (the Roman emperors) the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom that shall never be de- stroyed, that shall not be left to other people, but which shall break in pieces all these kingdoms. Are these sayings applicable to that kingdom of which my friend speaks ? are these things applicable to the Jewish kingdom ? Is it possible that that kingdom, after having been in existence for centuries, could be in the future? "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom" The prophet says: "In the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall stand forever." Did the Jewish kingdom stand forever? Is there left behind to-day scarce a memory of it ? " It is to break in pieces all these kingdoms," (this kingdom, which the God of heaven was to set up, is to break in pieces all others). Has the Jewish kingdom done it ? Did the kingdom of my friend do it ? Has it not rather been broken in pieces since that ? Are we to expect that it will again stand upon the earth? Again : The prophet represented this kingdom as a little stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and rolling on and on, until it filled the whole earth, and crushed these kingdoms. Our second argument leads us to Micah iv: 1, 2: "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills ; and people shall flow into it. 12 BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths ; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." In this passage the prophet declares that in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established above the hills. In the last days of what ? Remember, now, the prophet speaks long after the Jewish kingdom had been established — long after the law had gone from Sinai. " It shall come to pass, in the last days, that the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountain, for the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusa- lem." Is there a period yet in the future, in which, from Zio.i'. summit, God is to send forth the law for the delivery of the people? Is my friend to assume that God has not completed his revelation, and that the last law has not gone forth to govern the people ; that the mountain of the house of the Lord is yet to be established ? The prophet extends the last days of the Jewish kingdom to the day, when the law of Moses shall be succeeded by the law of the Lord, which is to go forth from Zion and from Jerusalem. That law my friend contends for went forth from Sinai, and the law of the Lord, which was to go forth in the last days, was to go forth from Zion, and not from Sinai ; but in the last days of what ? The world ? No; but of the Jewish kingdom. Then, the law of the Lord was to go forth from Zion, and the word from Jerusalem ; this was not accomplished until the day of Pentecost. We freely admit thus much : that Christ was anointed prophet, priest, and king prior to the day of Pentecost ; that, in this sense, he was king — he was heir apparent to the throne of the universe. On one occasion, when Pilate asked him : "Art thou the king of the Jews?" he answered and said: "Thou sayest it." In some sense, then, Christ was king at this time. " I am," he said, in an- swer to the question. Again : That the principles of the kingdom of Christ, the great principles not fully developed, made their appearance in the per- sonal ministry of Jesus Christ, is not to be doubted. He spoke in parables; sometimes in terse expressions; sometimes in utterances wrapped in impenetrable mystery, to conceal the principles that were afterward to be developed in proclaiming his Word, and that were to be interpreted fully by his apostles. Let us turn to Matthew xii : 28: " But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." Mat- thew xxi: 21: "That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." Again, Luke xvi: 16: "The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." Matthew xi : 12 : " And from the days of John mr. brooks's first address. 13 the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew xxiii: 13: "But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men ; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." Now, then, that in this sense the kingdom of Christ was present ; that in this sense people were pressing into that kingdom, is not for a moment to be doubted. I do not know how better to explain these passages than by an illustration of this kind : Prior to the establishment of the Federal Constitution of America, the great principles of liberty were present, if you please, in the spirit of the people of New England, in the writings of Jefferson, in the burning elo- quence of Henry ; yet they were the principles of liberty in an unorgan- ized state. The great mass of the people may be said to have pressed into this preparation for the republic. It may be said, in this sense, of the Tories, that they neither went in themselves, nor would they permit others to go in. But would it be claimed, for a moment, that that confederacy was perfected until the Constitution was adopted by the people in general Congress assembled, and fully proclaimed as the law of the land ? When Washington was named by accla- mation as President of the United States, he may be said to have been President in one sense — the President elect; but did he begin to rule until inaugurated as such ? Now, in this sense, the kingdom of Christ was present. We want to-day simply to know the truth, and exactly how these Scriptures are to be interpreted. That they can not mean that Christ had begun to reign, that the kingdom had been set up liter- ally and truly, that the power of Christ was then being exerted, like that of a king upon his throne, is evident from the following Scriptures. In Mark ix: 1, Christ says: " Verily, I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." The coming of that kingdom, then, was yet in the future. Luke xxii : 18: "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come." That king- dom, then, is yet in the future. Will our friend presume for a moment to tell us that, when the Savior said the kingdom shall come, the kingdom had already come ? When the Son of God says the kingdom shall come, was it not yet to come? Certainly so. Beyond all question, then, at this time the kingdom was still in the future. Again, we build an argument on Luke vii: 28: "For I say unto you, among those that are born of Avomen, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." If the kingdom was present, John was in that kingdom; yet, with all the claims he could pre- sent, the Savior says, "But he that is least in the kingdom of God 14 BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. is greater than he." How can John be greatest in the kingdom and yet be less than the lea«t in the kingdom? John in the king- dom," and yet less than the least ! We can not have any thing less than the least. Therefore, without fear of contradiction, we say that John was not in the kingdom of Christ ; and if John was not in that kingdom, that kingdom was not in existence on the face of this earth. Again, we base our fifth argument on John iii : 5: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God." To whom did the Savior speak this language? Here was Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews ; not only a Jew, but en- titled to every privilege of a citizen, and a ruler in that kingdom to which my friend stands committed this morning. But though a Jew, and a ruler in the Jewish nation, yet, at the same time, the Savior says, " Except ye be born again, ye can not enter into the kingdom of God." Will my friend tell us this kingdom is that of ultimate glory ? He will not, for every time he administers baptism, he quotes this very passage as the authority by which he does it. Now, our Savior said to those in the Jewish kingdom, "Except ye be born of water and of the Spirit, ye can not enter into the kingdom of God." Is it possible that a man could be out of the kingdom, and yet in it at the same time ? The Son of God says to the Jews, Unless ye be born again, ye can not enter into the king- dom of God. My friend says they were already in the kingdom ; which is right, Mr. Fitch, or the King himself? Matthew xvi : 18, 19: "And I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." I need not say here that I assume the Church of Christ to be the kingdom of Christ ; that the Christian is the subject of that kingdom ; that the head of the kingdom is the head of the Church ; that the subjects of the one are the members of the other. Then he says : " Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," Are we to sup- pose the Son of God would have said this, when that Church had been in existence for centuries. I know not by what rule of inter- pretation my friend can get clear of the passage before us. If I seek out a place to-day. and say, upon this spot I will build my house, there is not a Meihodist preacher here who would not un- derstand the building to be a future event. And yet, when the Lord says, "1 will build upon this rock," they can not understand. Why can they not understand? Not because I make the Savior mean just what, he says, but that it excludes identity, and with it infant baptism, forever. " Upon this rock I will build my Church." mr. brooks's first address. 15 But my friend will say the Savior does not mean this. How does my friend know? When I say a thing, do not I mean it? If I were to go to him and make a statement, would he not believe it? Then why not believe the Son of God when he says, " I will build my Church upon this rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it?" Once more : The basis of our seventh argument may be found in Acts xvi. Before the Savior ascended up into heaven, one of the apostles said, " Master, wilt thou at this time restore the king- dom unto Israel ?" Their idea was, that Christ had come into this world to continue the reign of David — to literally sit upon the throne of David — simply to establish a temporal kingdom. Hence, when the Savior was in their presence, they asked him the question, "Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom unto Israel?" Un- questionably, up to this time it had not been restored. After Christ had risen, and just before he was about to ascend into heaven, his apostles asked whether the kingdom should then be restored. Had it been restored, when the disciples themselves did not know it? Now, up to this hour, that kingdom had not been established. Upon no other hypothesis can my friend reconcile the Scriptures. Does he claim that the kingdom of God had already been estab- lished? that Christ had been reigning upon his throne? Then how can he possibly reconcile these Scriptures to this view ? Matthew xix: 28: "Then answered Peter and said, We have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefor? And Jesus said unto them : That ye which have followed me, in the re- generation, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Then you shall sit upon twelve thrones. Had the apostles taken their seats on these thrones before Pentecost, and begun to rule the tribes of earth? Certainly not. Christ, then, had not taken his seat upon his throne, and his apostles had not begun to rule. Hebrews i: 3: "So when he had by himself purged our sins, and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Again, Hebrews x: 12: "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God." Was his kingdom established until he took his seat upon the throne of the universe? Here, the Apostle tells us, he did that after purging us of our sins. Now, then, Christ did not take his seat upon the throne until after his death and burial and ascension into heaven ; until he had purged us of our sins ; until he had offered himself a sacrifice for our sins. Not until then did he take his seat. How, then, could the kingdom of Christ have begun two thousand years prior to this time ? We will now point you to the day when that kingdom com- menced. ,We grant you that Christ was anointed King ; that he 16 BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. was heir-apparent to the throne ; that in his parables, and in terse Bayings, the great principles of the kingdom had been thrown out, but not in a manner for the world to comprehend them. That kingdom could not have been in existence until he took his seat. In the light of these passages, this clearly did not occur until after the death of Christ. From the time of his death to the day of Pen- tecost, there was, no time when that kingdom could have commenced. That it commenced after this, no one will maintain. Now, then, for one moment let us look at some of the passages which bear upon this question. Acts ii: 16, 17: Then Peter, standing up in the pres- ence of the people, and referring to the outpouring of the Spirit, said, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel : and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, 1 will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh," etc. Again, Acts xi: 15: "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost ieil on them as on us at the beginning." This that you now see and hear, this manifestation of the Spirit, is that " which was spoken of by the prophet Joel, that it shall come to pass in the last days." The last days of what? The last days of the Jewish kingdom. It could not have meant any thing else. Now then, Peter, after this, in justification of his act in preaching to the Gentiles, said that the Spirit of God had fallen upon them (the Gentiles) as on us at the beginning. The Spirit, he said, fell upon them as on us at the beginning. The beginning of what? The beginning of the Jewish kingdom? Certainly not. The beginning of the kingdom of Jesus Christ — the beginning of Christ's reign. This can possibly be no other beginning than that. The inspired Word fixes this time as the last days of one dispensation — of the Jewish kingdom — and the beginning of that of Christ. The begin- ning of Christ's reign is in perfect harmony with all this. The Savior, you will remember, during his personal ministry, sent his disciples among the Jews, and said: "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Go not into the way of the Gentiles." But now, when the Savior had been raised from the dead, he called his apostles around him, and sent them forth under this commission: " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." '* Teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," "Thus did it behoove Christ to sutler, and to rise from the dead, that repentance and remission of sins might be preached in his name among all uations." " But," said the Savior, " tarry you in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." You are not now competent for that work; tarry until you are inspired and empowered by the Spirit from on high. How were they to be endued with that power? The Spirit was to descend upon them, and they were to be guided into all truth. The Savior on one occasion said — John xiv: 26: "The Holy MR. brooks's first address. 17 Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you." In harmony with this, the disciples were assembled upon Pentecost, and the Spirit of God descended upon them. The great Apostle stood up and began to preach Jesus and him crucified. He unfolded to them the fact that they had mur- dered the Son of God — that they had crucified the Kedeemer. And when the people heard it, they cried out, " Men and brethren, what shall we do?" The Apostle said, " Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." This was the first time, under that commission, that they began to speak. They did not utter one syllable after the Savior gave them that commission till now. They had anxiously waited for the promised Spirit to be poured out from heaven upon them ; and now, inspired by the Spirit of God, they stand up as ministers plenipotentiary of heaven, and, for the first time, they begin to proclaim the Gospel. Now, then, the prophecies had been ful- filled. Daniel said: "The kingdom of God shall be set up in the days of these kings." Its great principles had been set forth in parables that he uttered, but the kingdom was not set up until Pen- tecost. " In the days of these kings (the Roman emperors) the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom." The prophecies of David, the Apostle reasoned, could only refer to Jesus Christ. He only had not seen corruption. He only had burst the barrier of death, and now the Apostle says : " The Lord Jesus, whom you have crucified, is made both Lord and Christ." He has now made the atonement, and gone into heaven, sprink- ling the blood of the atonement before the mercy-seat, and has purged us of our sins. He has made one sacrifice of himself for- ever, and has now taken his seat on the throne of the universe. He is all in all. All authority, all in heaven and in earth, is now given into his hands: and, more than that, the prophecy which Micah uttered is now fulfilled — " The law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." John, indeed, as we have seen, had preached in the wilderness ; but now, for the first time in the world, the Gospel of Christ is preached from Jerusalem; the kingdom of Jesus Christ is established, the Lord begins to reign, and his kingdom is set up permanently in the earth. We propose to invite your attention to some authorities that will not be rejected even by my friend. Dr. Clarke, in his comment on Mat! hew xxvi: 29, says: Verse 18. "'I will not drink of the fruit of the vine.' That is, before the time of another Passover, the Holy Ghost shall descend, the Gospel of the kingdom be established, and the sacramental supper shall take the place of the paschal lamb." 2 18 BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. Again, in his comment on Hebrews viii : 6, he says : " The Old Covenant referred to earthly things, the New Covenant to heavenly; the Old Covenant had promises of secular good, the New Covenant of spiritual and eternal blessings. As far as Chris- tianity is preferable to Judaism, as far as Christ is preferable to Moses, as far as spiritual blessings are preferable to earthly bless- ings, as far as the enjoyment of God throughout eternity is prefera- ble to the communications of earthly good during time, so far does the New Covenant exceed the Old." This language is direct and conclusive. But I want to invite your attention to a passage from Albert Barnes, one of the most distinguished writers of this age, a member of the Presbyterian Church, and eminent for his piety and learning. (See Ecce JEcclesia, p. 449) : " The general purpose of this Epistle [to the Hebrews] is to pre- serve those to whom it was sent from the danger of apostasy. Their danger on this subject did not arise so much from persecutors as from the circumstances that were fitted to attract them again to the Jewish religion. The Temple, it is supposed — and, indeed, it is evident — was still standing, the morning and evening sacrifice was still offered, the splendid rites of that imposing religion were still observed, the authority of the law was undisputed, Moses was a lawgiver sent from God, and no one doubted that the Jewish form of religion had been instituted by their forefathers in conformity with the directions of God ; their religion had been founded amidst remarkable manifestations of the Deity, in flames, and smoke, and thunder ; it had been communicated by the ministrations of angels ; it had on its side and in its favor all the venerableness and sanction of a remote antiquity, and it commended itself by the pomp of its ritual and by the splendor of its ceremonies. On the other hand, the new form of religion had little or nothing of this to commend it. It was of recent origin; it was founded by the Man of Nazareth, who had been trained up in their own land, and who had been a car- penter, and who had had no extraordinary advantages of education ; its rites were few and simple; it had no splendid temple-service, none of the pomp and pageantry, the music and the magnificence of the ancient religion ; it had no splendid array of priests in magnifi- cent vestments, and it had not been imparted by the ministry of angels; fishermen were its ministers, and by the body of the nation it was regarded as a schism or heresy that enlisted in its favor only the most humble and lowly of the people. In these circumstances how natural it was for the enemies of the Gospel in Judea to con- trast the two forms of religion, and how keenly Christians would feel it! All that was said of the antiquity and the divine origin of the Jewish religion they knew and admitted ; all that was said MTR. BROOKS'S FIRST ADDRESS. 19 of its splendor and magnificence they saw, and all that was said of the humble origin of their own religion they were constrained to ad- mit also. Their danger was not that arising from persecution ; it was that of being affected by considerations like these, and of re- lapsing again into the religion of their fathers, and- of apostatizing from the Gospel; and it was a danger which beset no other part of the Christian world." Thus these distinguished writers clearly demonstrate that the old was to pass away, and the new was to take its place at this time by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that there was danger of the early Christians apostatizing and returning to the old faith. Just another extract I want to read in your hearing, from Dr.. Philip Schaff, one of the most eminent ecclesiastical writers on this continent. I read from page 59 of his "History of the Christian Church" : " The Jewish Pentecost, the feast of the first fruits and of the giving of the law on Sinai, prefiguring the first spiritual harvest and the establishment of the covenant of grace, as the Passover prefig- ured the atoning death and the resurrection of Christ, received in the year of Christ's death (30) an immeasurable significance, as the birthday of the Christian Church, and the beginning of the third era in the revelation of the triune God. On this day the Holy Spirit, who had hitherto wrought only sporadically and transiently, took up his permanent abode in mankind as the Spirit of truth and holiness with the whole fullness of saving grace, to apply that grace thence- forth to believers by means of the Word and the sacraments, and to reveal and glorify Christ in them, as Christ had revealed and glorified the Father. " While the apostles and disciples, a hundred and twenty (ten times twelve) in number, were assembled in or near the Temple for the morning devotions of the festal day, and were waiting in prayer for the fulfillment of the promise, the exalted Savior poured down from his heavenly throne the fullness of the Holy Ghost upon them, and founded his Church upon earth." Now, this is the testimony of this distinguished historian, a pedo- baptist, and yet how explicitly he speaks. This is the i( birthday of the Church," "On this day Christ founded his Church on the earth." Then, in the estimation of these gentlemen, Christ began to reign upon that day, and established his kingdom on that day, and the apostles of Jesus Christ, his embassadors to the world, began to pro- claim the Gospel of peace upon that day. {Time expired.) 20 BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. MR. FITCH'S FIRST REPLY, ON FIRST PROPOSITION. Gentlemen Moderators, Ladies and Gentlemen : It affords me great pleasure to appear before you to-day, for the purpose of presenting to your consideration that system of religion •which I believe and teach, and to compare my opinions with those advanced by my brother. I could have wished, however, that he had approached the proposition differently. I believe that it is gen- erally admitted that he and those who are connected with him in the ministry, have the faculty of traveling very rapidly over scrip- tural ground, and whenever they begin at Genesis, they are sure to end at Revelations. But, on this occasion, my brother has reached the end much sooner than I expected, and I am very glad to find h^m, at the close of his speech, in such excellent company — asso- ciated with Dr. Clark, Dr. Barnes, and others equally respectable. But it does seem strange to me that the champion of a Reformation based upon a " Thus saith the Lord" for every thing, should so soon leave the Bible, the only source whence we can obtain proof to establish any point of doctrine, or to correct the opinions of err- ing and fallible men. I do not know whether the worthy gentle- man indorsed all that he read from those Doctors of Divinity, but I will tell you emphatically that I do not. I am glad, however, to find that he has in his possession such a valuable book as that from which he quoted. I hope he will read it attentively, for I think it will do him good. In order that we may get at the subject understands gly, I will read the Proposition again : " With the beginning of Messiah's reign on Pentecost, the law of Moses was abolished, and the Gospel in Us ele- ments, and with its conditions of salvation, was first 'proclaimed!'' I will here take occasion to remark, that I shall be under the neces- sity, of proceeding with more deliberation than my friend, from the simple met that he had his speech worked out beforehand, and I have merely, as a respondent, to follow him, and notice the arguments which he has presented. In his closing remarks he cnlls my attention to the language of Christ to Peter, when he said, "L T pon this rock will I build my Church," and predicts that I will attempt to explain it away; for he says that I know that if the Church was not established until afVrthis time, then infant baptism, with all the rest of my doctrines, falls to the ground. I presume he feels fully as much anxiety about the passage as I do, for he knows that unless he can estab- lish his views of the laniruage quoted, that infant baptism, together with other doctrines of the Pedobaptists to which he objects, stands unshaken. MR. FITCH'S FIRST REPLY. 21 Religion, my friends, is the institution of God. It reveals his "will and perfections. It declares his truth and righteousness. It exhibits the infinitude of his love and compassion to man, for whom it was designed and revealed, and it has its groundwork in the na- ture, condition, and moral wants of our humanity. In a word, it is the redemption and eternal salvation of man by Jesus Christ our Lord. This being the case, it is evident, to every reflecting mind, that there can be but one true religion, and that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of that religion. Of that religion he is the Alpha and Omega, and all religious truth must have reference to him, and to his mediatorial work. Hence, the first promise made to man after his fall, when he first stood in need of religion, was the promise of redemption through Christ incarnate: " The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Upon Christ, as presented in this promise, and whatever of religious instruction accompanied it, the faith of men in the primi- tive ages of the world rested, and around it were gathered all their affections and hopes. Every subsequent revelation of heavenly truth was for the purpose of amplifying, illustrating, and enforcing this first great germinal truth. By rite and ceremony, type and symbol, precept and commandment, always adapted to the mental, moral, and social condition of those who were made the custodians and teachers of the living oracles, did God continue to declare his will and purposes, until, in the fullness of time, his Son became the expounder of his own religion, and, by his life, death, and resurrec- tion, perfected that which had been in process of development for The Bible is the book of God. It contains the history of the true religion, and of the atonement made by Jesus Christ, and the redemption of the human family from the dominion and power of sin, death, and the grave. It likewise inculcates and enforces, in a variety of ways, all the doctrines and truths of religion. It pre- sents one continuous and harmonious system of faith and doctrine. The Apostle says, "There is one faith," or doctrine, and this is ob- vious from the following facts : Man in all ages, in the essential characteristics of his being, is the same. His nature, moral wants, and necessities, are now what they have been in all the former ages of the world. He has not changed in any particular through all the centuries of the past. It is the glory of our holy religion that it is divinely adapted to the condition and wants of our fallen and ruined humanity. It is just what we need. Nothing could be a substitute for it, or fill its place. It is the wisdom of God and the power of God. If former ages were oppressed by the same wants which we feel, they most certainly needed the same religion that we have, and most assuredly God gave it to them. I under- take to say that there is not a doctrine of religion or morals taught in the New Testament, by Jesus Christ or any of his apostles, that 22 BROOKS AND FITCH DEBATE. can not be found in the Old Testament. It may not be taught as clearly and plainly, but it is taught there. The beiug and attri- butes of God, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the atonement by an incarnate Christ, moral agency, justification by faith, repentance, the witness of the Spirit, the resurrection, future punishment, future happiness, and the coming judgment, are all taught in the Old Testament. Every thing necessary to make a man "wise unto sal- vation" is found there. Paul, in writing to Timothy, says, " From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." We affirm, therefore, that there is but one true religion in the world ; that God is the author and giver of that religion ; and, that that religion was given to man, not on Pentecost, not w T hen Christ became incarnate, but long prior to that time. 