by F. Mascariņa
"But I trust that the Church, by the light
of her doctrine, will so enlighten the world's vain wisdom, that,
even though it accept not the mystery of the faith, it will
recognise that in our conflict with heretics we, and not they,
are the true representatives of that mystery. For great is the
force of truth; not only is it its own sufficient witness, but
the more it is assailed the more evident it becomes; the daily
shocks which it receives only increase its inherent stability. It
is the peculiar property of the Church that when she is buffeted
she is triumphant, when she is assaulted with argument she proves
herself in the right, when she is deserted by her supporters she
holds the field. It is her wish that all men should remain at her
side and in her bosom; if it lay with her, none would become
unworthy to abide under the shelter of that august mother, none
would be cast out or suffered to depart from her calm retreat.
But when heretics desert her or she expels them, the loss she
endures, in that she cannot save them, is compensated by an
increased assurance that she alone can offer bliss. This is a
truth which the passionate zeal of rival heresies brings into the
clearest prominence. The Church, ordained by the Lord and
established by His Apostles, is one for all; but the frantic
folly of discordant sects has severed them from her. And it is
obvious that these dissensions concerning the faith result from a
distorted mind, which twists the words of Scripture into
conformity with its opinion, instead of adjusting that opinion to
the words of Scripture. And thus, amid the clash of mutually
destructive errors, the Church stands revealed not only by her
own teaching, but by that of her rivals. They are ranged, all of
them, against her; and the very fact that she stands single and
alone is her sufficient answer to their godless delusions. The
hosts of heresy assemble themselves against her; each of them can
defeat all the others, but not one can win a victory for itself.
The only victory is the triumph which the Church celebrates over
them all."
Hilary of Poitiers,On the Trinity,7:4(A.D. 359)
See also:
How
Old is Your Church
Comparative
Religions- The Uniqueness of Christianity
Comparing
Christianity & Judaism
Comparing
Christianity & Hinduism
Comparing
Christianity & Islam