The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

;NON-CATIIOLICITY OF PLACE. 207word, as Turrettin remarks,* can be predicated only of thatsociety that inchides the Church triumphant in heaven, aswell as militant on earth,—that society that comprehendsall the elect, reaching back to the days of Abel, and onwardto the last trumpet. But the great matter with Romeis to make it appear that she has achieved a terrestrialcatholicity. Now certainly it is not Rome's fault if shehave not done so. Her efforts to extend her dominion havebeen of no ordinary kind : they have been skilfully contrivenand vigorously prosecuted. And if in this greatwork she has made but little use of the Bible, she hasmade abundant use of the sword. Her missionaries havebeen soldiers, who have pressed the pike and the musketinto the service of Christianity, and spread the faith ofRome as Mahomet spread the religion of the Koran.Theweapons she has wielded have been the false miracle, theforged document, the lying legend, the persecutor''s brand.At no time has she been particulai'ly nice as to the characterof her converts,—receiving hordes within her pale whohad nothing of Christianity but the name ; and yet, afterall, that empire which she calls catholic or universal is veryfar, in point of fact, from being so. She boasts that atthis day she can count upwards of two hundred millions ofsubjects. We do not stay to inquire how many of these arereal Papists. The Pope has of late excommunicated enmasse whole cities and provinces. Do these count as childrenof the Church ? But the Church of Rome parades thenumber of her followers, and asks, is it possible that allthese millions can be mistaken 1 She forbids her membersto make use of their reason in judging of their religion, andthen claims weight for their testimony, as if they had usedtheir reason in the matter.This is simply to practise a delusion.The very smallest Protestant sect would furnishfar more real witnesses in favour of Protestantism thanthe Roman Catholic Church could do in favour of Roman-* Institutio Theologiaj Elenctica?, Francisco Turrettino, vol. iii. quest, vi.Genevaj, 1688.