Therefore, purely
in self-defence, they feel themselves constrained to cling to the
continuity theory. It may be absurd, it may be unhistorical, it may be
impossible and utterly repudiated by every impartial and honest man.
That cannot be helped. Impossible or not impossible; true or false, it
is necessary for their very existence, so that, just as a drowning man
catches at a straw, though it cannot possibly support him, so do these
most unfortunate and hardly-pressed men clutch at and cling to the
hollow theory of continuity. Sometimes, when off their guard, and in a
less cautious mood, they will confess as much themselves. And what is
more, we can provide our readers with an instance of such a
confession. Many will well remember a well-known and distinguished
Anglican divine, named Canon Malcolm MacColl. He died a few years ago,
and we do not wish to say anything against him. Well, he wrote to _The
Spectator_ in 1900. His letter may be seen in the issue of 22nd
December for that year. In the course of this letter he makes the
following admission: he declares that "to concede that the Church of
England starts from the reign of Henry VIII.
Pages:
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123