The Henson Journals

[192]

Thursday, October 17th, 1918.

1536th day

I spent the morning in the Athenaeum writing letters, and giving the final touchings up to my lecture. Then I walked to Wells Street, and joined Ella at lunch with the Knights. K. has had a medical warning, and now meditates retirement from London. It will be a pity for his influence in Printing House Square is valuable. We fell in with the Master of the Temple on our way to King's College. Here we had tea in the rooms of Prof. Matthews, the Dean of Theology, and met divers of the professors. Sir Edward Clarke came also, & Lord Bryce, who presided at the lecture. He introduced me as destined to carry on the succession of learned historian bishops, of whom Stubbs & Creighton were illustrious examples. But I felt woefully abashed by his words knowing well that I could be no more than one of the Nethinim in that company! However, I delivered my lecture to a very large audience and was well listened to. On the whole the atmosphere was distinctly sympathetic. Linetta dined with us at the Hotel: and then I went round to the Club. Here I had a most interesting conversation with a Club–member, whose name I don't know, and who told me that he had examined much of the evidence for atrocities in Belgium, and the ill treatment of our own prisoners, and that he was convinced not only that many abominable things had been done, but also that there had been very much of a different character which our Government did not suffer to be published, and which would mitigate the horrible aspect of the general position.

[193]

Bishop Crofts in "The Naked Truth, or the True State of the Primitive Church" published in 1675, has much to say on the subject of episcopy.

"When our bishops do ordain presbyters, do they not use the very same form of words which our Saviour used when he ordained the apostles? "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins ye forgive, they are forgiven" etc. Do they not then by the same words confer the same powers? (for I hope they use no equivocation, nor mental reservation) if the power be the same, the order is the same by their own rule …………..

give me leave to tell you that I shall not easily recede from scripture in fundamentals, either of faith or church discipline; in things indifferent of themselves, or in more weighty matters very doubtfully expressed in scripture, I shall always most readily submit to the interpretation of the primitive & universal church, I require both primitive & universal; for I shewed before, that in matters of faith there were some errors very primitive, yet not continued by the universal church, but rejected in succeeding ages. And at the time of the evangelical reformation by Luther, Melancthon, Calvin etc. I can show some errors generally received in most, if not in all the churches in Christendom, but neither approved nor known by the primitive church. Wherefore, I require what you produce shd be both primitive & universal, & this to interpret some place of Scripture doubtful in itself, not plain.

[194]

Now as to the business in hand, I cannot yield, that the scripture is very doubtful in it, or scarce doubtful at all: for though in scripture it is not in terminis [in the end] said, presbytery & episcopacy are both one in the same order, yet the same circumstantial expressions are (as I have shewed) so strong and many, that they are equivalent to a clear expression in terminis. Secondly, this is not a matter of any indifferency, but of vast & dangerous consequence, if mistaken. That a church without such bishops as you require cannot be truly called a church, & so we shall exclude many godly reformed churches: For if bishops be of such a superior distinct order as you pretend, if the power of ordination be inherent in them only, then where no bishop no true priests ordained, where no priests no sacraments, where no sacraments no church. Wherefore I humbly beseech you be not too positive in this point, lest thereby you do not only condemn all the reformed churches, but the Scripture & S. Paul also; who tells us, That the scripture is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation, both in matters of faith & works also, to instruct & thoroughly furnish us to every good work: & will any deny this of ordination to be both a good & necessary work, seeing that the powerful preaching of the word & administration of the sacraments depend upon it? Wherefore I dare not by any means suspect the scripture defective in this weighty affair"

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