There has never been a time under the divine economy
when any man to whom the Word of the Lord came was not divinely
authorized to proclaim his message wherever he could get a hearing,
whether in synagog or temple, or out under the broad canopy of heaven.

CHAPTER IX

THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE

What about the church of the future? Is the modern sect system the
ultimate goal of Christian attainment in this world? While the sects
contain much truth and many of the people of God, their ecclesiastical
constitutions are foreign to the true church of Jesus Christ, and it
is inconceivable that the great Founder would make no provision either
in his Word or in his plan for the correction of the evils which have
grown up around the Christian system during the dark ages of the world
and which have in a great measure perverted the gospel itself and
lessened its wholesome efficiency as the universal remedy for human
ills.

Since no sect can make good a claim to being exclusively the church of
God, a general feeling of toleration at least (if not in all cases
of sincere respect) has come to prevail respecting the different
denominational churches. Men have come to look upon the sects as
a mere matter of fact, not to be seriously questioned, and we are
supposed to cover the whole scene with the mantle of patience and
charity and make the best of a bad situation.

[Sidenote: The Protestant truce]

Dr. J.M. Sturtevant has expressed this general attitude so well that I
shall quote his own words: "It has long been true in this country that
no Protestant can freely expose the errors and superstitions of the
papal church, especially from the pulpit, without incurring the charge
of intolerance, bigotry, and uncharitableness. Religious controversy
itself has been placed under the ban, as in its own nature
uncharitable. When once any religious opinion has organized itself
into a sect, it is thought to have acquired a sacredness which, in the
name of Christian charity and in the interest of the tranquility of
the community, defends it from any open assault. We have come into the
condition in which Rome was when she had extended her conquests from
the British Isles to the Euphrates and had transferred to Rome the
divinities of all the countries conquered. People of every nationality
might worship their own divinities, but must respectfully tolerate the
worship of every other. In this way only could religious conflict be
avoided.