It is truly sorrowful to reflect on the many and serious mistakes, or rather positive errors, of the great doctors, or early fathers as they are usually called. We know of nothing more grave and solemn than the fact, that they greatly misled the people then, and that by their writings they have been misleading the professing church ever since. Who can estimate the evil consequences of such teaching for the last fourteen hundred years at least? The misinterpretation or the misapplication of the word of God is evidently the rule with these leaders; to teach sound doctrine, the exception. And still they are the boast and the alleged authority of a large portion of Christendom even until now.
On the subject of asceticism, any one having an ordinary acquaintance with scripture may see their ignorance of the mind of God, and their perversion of His word. We are exhorted, for example, to "mortify the deeds of the body," but never to mortify the body itself. The body is the Lord's, and to be cared for. "Know ye not," says the apostle, "that your bodies are the members of Christ?" True, they are to be kept under and brought into subjection, but that is the wisest way of caring for the body. (Rom. 8:1313For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13); 1 Cor. 6:15; 9:2715Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. (1 Corinthians 6:15)
27But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:27).) Again, the apostle says, "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;" and then he states what these are: "fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." These are the deeds of the body which we are to mortify—to put to death practically; and this on the ground that the flesh was put to death on the cross. "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts;" not, observe are crucifying it, or ought to crucify it, but have crucified it. God has put it out of His sight by the cross, and we are to keep it out of sight by self-judgment. The body, on the contrary, has in the New Testament a most important place as the temple of the Holy Ghost; but the tendency of asceticism is to starve the body, and feed the flesh. "Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." (Col. 2:2323Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. (Colossians 2:23).)
The Fathers seem to have overlooked that asceticism was the offspring of heathen philosophy, and not in any way of divine Christianity; but they never fairly looked into scripture for the mind of God on these subjects. The total ruin of man in the flesh not being understood by them, they vainly thought it might be improved, and were thus led astray in ways innumerable; especially as to the work of Christ, God's judgment of the flesh, the true principle of worship, and the whole path of christian service.
Having now seen the foundation laid of the great monastic system, which was to exert so powerful an influence in connection with Christianity, literature, and civilization, throughout the dark ages, we may leave it for the present, and return to our general history.