Page:The Collected Works of Theodore Parker Discourse volume 1.djvu/303

256 scenes of his life, and always as a man, that the lesson of divinity might not be lost.

Now if he be this model man, and the churches are but assemblies of men and women grouped about him, to be instructed by his words, and warned by his example, it is not easy to see what authority they naturally have over the individual soul.

If Jesus were but a wise and good man, no word of his could have authority over Reason and Conscience. At best, it could repeat their oracles, and therefore he could never found an institution which should be Master of the Soul. But even if he were what the churches pretend, it does not appear that he has given this authority to any on earth. If we may credit the Gospels, Jesus established no organization; founded no church in any common sense of that term. He taught wherever men would listen; to numbers in the synagogue, temple, and fields; to a few in the little cottage at Bethany, and in the fisher's boat. He gave no instruction to his disciples to found a church; he sent them forth to preach the glad tidings to all mankind: the Spirit within was their calling and authority; Jesus their example; God their guide, protector, and head. In all the ministrations of Jesus, there is nothing which approaches the formation of a church. What was freely received was to be given as freely. Baptism and the Supper were accidents. He appointed no particular body of men as teachers, but sent forth his disciples, all of them, to proclaim the truth. The twelve had no actual authority over others; no preëminence in spreading the Gospel. Had they a right to bind and to loose? Let Paul answer the question. The first martyr, the most active Evangelist, and the greatest Apostle were not of the twelve. Excepting Peter, James, and John, the rest did little that we know of. Did Jesus say—as Matthew relates—that