Wesley Corpus

“Why, I did once myself rejoice to hear,” says a grave citi zen, with an air of great importance, “that so many sinners were reformed, till I found they were only turned from one wickedness to another; that they were turned from cursing or swearing, or drunkenness, into a mo less damnable sin, that of schism.” Do you know what you say? You have, I am afraid, a con fused huddle of ideas in your head; and I doubt you have not capacity to clear them up yourself, nor coolness enough to receive help from others. However, I will try. What is schism? Have you any deter minate idea of it? I ask the rather, because I have found, by repeated experiments, that a common English tradesman receives no more light when he hears or reads, “This is schism,” than if he heard or read,-- Bombalio, stridor, clangor, taratantara, murmur. Honest neighbour, do not be angry. Lay down your ham mer, and let us talk a little on this head. You say, we are in the damnable sin of schism, and therefore in as bad a state as adulterers or murderers. I ask once more, What do you mean by schism? “Schism ! schism why, it is separating from the Church.” Ay, so it is. And yet every separating from the Church to which we once belonged is not schism; else you will make all the English to be schismatics, by separating from the Church of Rome. “But we had just cause.” So doubtless we had; whereas schism is a causeless separation from the Church of Christ. So far so good. But you have many steps to take before you can make good that conclusion, that a separation from a particular national Church, such as the Church of England is, whether with sufficient cause or without, comes under the scriptural notion of schism. However, taking this for granted, will you aver in cool blood, that all who die in such a separation, that is, every one who dies a Quaker, a Baptist, an Independent, or a Presbyterian, is as infallibly damned as if he died in the act of murder or adultery? Surely you start at the thought ! It makes even nature recoil. How then can you reconcile it to the love that “hopeth all things?” 31.