§ 1. The Church and Its Task

The faith that God revealed to the first men had, in the course of ages, lost its original form and had turned into a multitude of the most varied national and state religions. At the appearance of Christianity every people had its own separate gods, its own separate worship, and instead of religion being a power that binds men to one another and to God,[1] in the world of that time the very diversity of religion divided men and estranged nations from one another. This division in religion necessarily affected the morals of the peoples as well, and instead of the former love among men, instead of the reverence in every man for the image of God and hence the recognition of equality among men, there arose that selfish morality of which humanity of that age presents so sorrowful a picture.[2] This unnatural condition, in which the world then found itself, was felt oppressively in every class of the social life of that time; everywhere it was felt that such a condition could not long endure, and there was felt a need for some new power that would regenerate mankind and turn it from the wayward path it had taken. And that regenerating power appeared when the “fullness of time” came, when, according to the eternal design of Providence, the social disorder of that time was to cease, and in place of selfish morality there was to appear a love that would gather all nations into one family, that they might labor together for the common good and strive together toward the end that is foreordained to them by nature and by God. Christianity was born, which, condemning the division of men that had been legitimized under the seal of religion, set forth the equality of all before God and eternal justice, and showed what the relation of men to God, to themselves, and to their neighbors ought to be, and proclaimed itself the faith of the whole world—a faith having within it the power to spread everywhere, to embrace the whole nature of man, and to satisfy all the true needs of the human spirit. This Christian faith God Himself declared to men, and He Himself established it as the kingdom of God on earth, as the Church of all mankind (Matt. 16:18; Mark 10:15). As such, this Church must be perfect, for it is God’s institution on earth.

The eternal law that had been prescribed by God for men in their mutual relations and in their relation to their final end—that law had been obscured by man’s will, and in the course of ages a deep chasm arose between that divine law and man’s will. To level and remove that chasm was beyond the power of any earthly force; there was needed for this a divine power that would direct man’s will and bring it to submit itself willingly to the eternal law. That divine power is the Christian Church, which accordingly has as its first and chief task to direct man’s will in accordance with the will of God; and God’s will is that men should honor their Creator, that mutual love should reign among them on earth, that they, as images of God, should equally esteem one another, that they should labor together for the common good, and that by their life on earth they should prepare themselves to attain the eternal good. This is the general and final task of the Christian Church. And this task of hers the Church began at once to carry out from the moment she entered the world, and she has carried it out through all the ages, showing her beneficent and regenerating influence upon human society and upon all its institutions.[3]

Footnotes

[3] In speaking of this, we cannot help citing the words of one learned Englishman on how the Christian church has influenced mankind: “She softened the horrors of war and the treatment of prisoners; she mitigated the administration of despotic governments; she abolished polygamy; she condemned the exposure of children and the killing of slaves; she condemned gladiatorial combats and the shames of pagan rites; if she could not abolish vices contrary to nature, she nevertheless publicly branded them together with those who practiced them; she contributed to the improvement of the laboring class—that is, of the great majority of the whole of society—by establishing one day in the week for rest; everywhere she appeared, countless institutions arose for the aid of the sick, the poor, and abandoned children.” Will. Paley, A view of the evidences of christianity. Edimb. 1875. p. 219. On the influence of Christianity on states in particular see Am. Thierry, Tableau de l’empire romain. Paris. 1872. p. 344—359 et al., on law—M. Troplong, De l’influence du christianisme sur le droit civil des Romains. Paris, 1868. p. 147. sq., and in general Chateaubriand, Le Génie du christianisme. Paris, 1864. 2 vol., and above all that chapter in which he discusses “what would become of human society today if Christianity had in no wise appeared in the world”, II, 262—280.

§ 1. The Church and Its Task

§ 1. Црква и њезина задаћа