DALE'S HISTORY OF CONGREGATIONALISM.* THE history of English Congregationalism—it could
be said of Congregationalism generally—might have begun with the sixteenth century rather than with the first. It is natural, however, even for the most "independent" of divines to look for precedents in primitive Christianity. Dr. Dale has done his best, but there is not much to be made out of the argument. The earliest form of Church order the Pres- byterians may fairly claim for themselves—the " bishops " and "elders" of the Epistles cannot be reasonably dis- tinguished—but Monarchical Episcopacy came into being within the first century of Christianity. The Apostles had been autocrats, and when the last of them disappeared, something had to be put in place of their rule. Dr. Dale does not attempt to question the genuineness of the Ignatian letters—that issue has been definitely decided—but declares that if "no allowance is to be made for mystical and rhetorical exaggeration, the authority claimed for Church rulers is enormous, not to say blasphemous." Such allowance should certainly be made ; but quite enough remains to make a serious difficulty for the opponents of Episcopacy, especially when we remember that Ignatius (martyred in 117) was little more than a generation younger than St. John. That the principle which expresses itself in Congregationalism has always existed in the Christian Church cannot be denied. "The fair ideal of the Church," writes Dr. Dale of a quite early age of the Church, "as a society of saints illuminated by the Holy Ghost was lost." But when had it been even nearly realised ? Hardly in the communities which St. Paul addresses. What pastor would say to his church members what St. Paul said to the Christians of Corinth, or St. John (who is not unlike a diocesan Bishop) to the Churches of Asia ? Dr. Dale sees the resemblance between the Donatists and the Congregationalists. The Donatists had much right on their side ; but is it possible to imagine the Catholic Church governed on Donatist principles ? Similarly, can we conceive the result if all Christendom were to become Congregational ? If some stupendous revival could touch the hearts of all who "professed and called themselves Christians," well and good. But take Christendom as it is, as it always has been, and what should we have ? The Calvinistic theory, it may be answered, translated into fact,—a small illuminated minority, a vast majority relegated to the outer darkness. "A great society consisting of all those who had received the Christian Sacra- ments from duly authorised ministers,"—that, according to Dr. Dale, is the false conception of the Church which resulted from the triumph of orthodoxy over Donatism. But if, after all, " conduct " is the one thing that really counts, Donatism, with its ideals that never have and never can be approached, would certainly do less for the world.
But we must pass on to historic English Congregationalism. This begins with Robert Browne, to whose life and work chap. 5. is devoted. The story is a very strange one. This founder of Congregationalism spent the last forty years of his life as a beneficed clergyman of the English Church, but "that he had ceased to hold his ecclesiastical principles is not at all certain." It is true that the story is told by his opponents, but the facts remain. How a man who held that "every separate society [of believers] should be free from all control except that of Christ himself" could retain a place in the highly organised hierarchy of Anglicanism is certainly a very difficult question to answer. The next chapter, which tells the story of the second half of Elizabeth's reign, is melancholy reading. The Con- gregationalists were caught in the net that was thrown for Humanists. It is true that their leaders used highly provocative language ; that if they bad had their way they would have wrought such a destruction of all that they disliked as would have turned England into a wilderness— every church was to be pulled down, but the "stone, tymber, leade, yron" might be converted to civil uses—but the deplorable fact remains that men who were not practically dangerous were treated with a cruel severity. Perhaps the
History of English Congregationalism. By B. W. Dale, D.D. Completed and Edited by A. W. W. Dale, Loudon : Hodder and Stoughton. [12e. net.]
hardest case was that of John Penny. Penny was a Welsh- man who was possessed with a passion for evangelising his countrymen. His earliest plan—that the Universities should send teachers, among them as many Welsh-speaking men as could be found, to this neglected region—seems harmless enough ; but it scandalised the martinet Whitgift. All through we see the enthusiast hardened and embittered by misunderstanding and opposition. Dr. Dale truly says :—
Had the authorities in Church and State shown any dis- position to provide for the neglected religious condition of the people of Wales, it is doubtful whether he would have attacked the supremacy of the Queen or discovered that Bishops had no place in the Apostolic Church."
He suffered death by hanging on May 29th, 1593.
The story of the first half of the seventeenth century shows us the party of which Browne and his successors were the Extreme Left growing in power till it was able to avenge all the wrongs which it had suffered. This growth was by no means ignoble. Now and again, as when the Pilgrim Fathers left their country, its leaders seem to have "despaired of the Republic." Still it went on, and before the middle of the century was reached the Church and the Monarchy were prostrate in the dust. The treatment of the Anglican clergy is, as Dr. Dale says, a matter of bitter controversy. Baxter, whose moderation makes his testimony weighty, says that "six to one at least, if not many more," were ejected for offences against morals, and that "those who being able and godly preachers were cast out for the War alone and for their opinion's sake, were comparatively very few." Corroborative evidence is not wanting as to the character of the clergy. On the other band, it must be remembered that the trials were not fairly conducted. The accused clergy were not allowed to be present when their cases were being tried, and if they wanted to see the depositions they could only do so by paying for them. On the whole, the story, though told from the anti-Anglican point of view, is sufficiently fair. So is the even more painful story of the St. Bartholomew ejection. It is not easy to say what course the Government of the Restored Monarchy should have followed ; that their action was harsh can scarcely be denied. Even the notice given was scandalously inadequate.
As we approach our own times the story runs a smoother course. Still, there are periods of storm and stress. The Congregationalists, whose history is merged to a certain extent in that of Nonconformists generally, had to contend for their rights, for toleration first and then for equality, and their contention has been uniformly successful, Disestablish- ment, on which, after all, there is nothing like unanimity, alone excepted. We cannot follow our authors—we should say that Professor Dale has completed and revised his father's work—into the details of the narrative. One incident which our elder readers may remember, the Dissenters' Chapels Bill of 1843, may be noticed. The Unitarians had become possessed of a number of endowments in the Northern Counties, and an effort was made to turn them out. The Bill proposed to make occupation for a certain term of years a valid title. The Bill was fiercely opposed. Bishops and Non- conformist leaders were for once found on the same side. But the Government stood firm, and the Bill was passed by large majorities ; and our historians approve. "For Churches of the orthodox faith any material gain would have been immeasurably outweighed by moral loss."
In taking leave of a very able book we cannot but express our thankfulness that Professor Dale has been able to preserve unimpaired for the students of Church history a valuable work which might have lost much by the too early death of its author.
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