Page:Christian Marriage.djvu/70

 end of the age, which was generally believed by Christians in that time to be impending, and was supposed to bring with it a period of great calamity. This expectation tended to strengthen the wave of asceticism, which had already begun to make its appearance among Christians, and has left very distinct impressions on the Apostolic writings. If celibacy is exalted, and marriage discouraged, we must bear in mind the obvious practical considerations which justified both counsels, on the supposition that the whole system of human life was on the brink of the final catastrophe.

Before we can accept the rulings of the Apostolic age as obligatory on our own, we must be sure that they do not reflect the distinctive and long-discarded beliefs of that age as to the end of the world. It will be apparent that a mere quoting of texts will not serve the turn of any serious inquirer into the permanent teaching of St. Paul; there is a process of careful examination to be carried