2. At the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) the doc- trine of Christ's true yet sinless manhood was formn- lised in the words, " truly man, with a rational soul and body of like essence with us as to his manliood, and in all things like us, sin excepted ;" and there lias not since been any change within the accepted Chris- tological doctrine of the Church. The theologians of the Middle Ages contented themselTes with the tra- ditional doctrine, without any special eft>rts for its ftirther derelopment ; though in the controversies with regard to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, her champions sought to add weight to their ar- guments by claiming that the acceptance of their views would recognise also the sinlessness of Clirist. A doc- trinal error of a different sort hence arose, vis. the put- ting Christ in the background as too holy for mortals to address, and substituting the mediation of the Vir- gin and the priesthood.
8. One of the cliief merits of the Reformers is the ikct that they taught that Christ is faidividually and immediately apprehended by Ikith, and that the Holy Scriptures, not the dogmatic and liturgical traditions of the Church, are the sources whence Christian truth is derived. They accepted the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church conceming^the person and character of Christ, of which his sinlessness formed an essential part. It was received, as in the apostolical times, as an intuition not needing proof, but ** above mere log- ical demonstration."
4. Sodnianism might have been expected to open up a new and fruitfol discussion of this subject, yet, apparently in antagonism with its views of the person and office of Christ, it asserted not only the sinlessness of Jesus as a foot, but also the non poue peeatre, and indeed denied that be was really subject to tempta- tion, because of his supernatural generation.
5. From the rise of German Rationalism, about the middle of the 18th century, this doctrine iias been re- peatedly impugned by writers of that school. Some (as Reimarus, Balirdt, Ventnrini) even go so far as to characterize Clirist as an impostor. So also, among English Rationalists, Newman, Pha$e$ of Faith, finds imperfoctions in the moral character of Christ. Strauss denied Christ's sinlessness on the ground principally of its h priori impossibility, or of the necessaiy con- nection of sin with finite existence. P6caut, a recent French writer, adduces as proofe of Christ's moral im- perfections (Zs Cknst a la corucienoe, Paris, 1869), his treatment of Ills mother (Luke ii, 41-^2 ; John ii, 4) ; the expulsion of the profaners of the Temple (Matt xzi, 12-17, et al.) ; the cursing of the fig-tree (Matt, xxi, 17-22; Mark xi, 12-26); the destruction of the swine (Matt viii, 28-84, et al.) ; his severe reproofe of the Pharisees (Matt v, 20, et aL); and also his sup- posed abnegation of the title good, (Matt xix, 17, et aL) ; but, in strange oontradiction of his own views, he uses such knguage as this : " To what a height does the character of Jesus Christ rise above the most sub- lime and yet ever imperfect types of antiquity
Jesus Christ has been humble and patient ; holy, holy, holy before God; terrible to devils; without any sin. .... His moral life is wholly penetrated by Crod" (Schaff, Perton of Christ, the Mirade of History, p. 208, 209, 846-848). Other Rationalistic writers (as Kant, Jaoobi, and others) have labored to place in clear light tiie unparalleled moral excellence of Christ, as the abid- ing type and proof of the divinity of his teachings. The denial of this doctrine, whether open or covert, mostly arises fh>m shallow moral and religious concep- tions, or from lowering the ftindamental moral nature of sin, justification, etc., into mere relations.
5. On the other hand, Ullmann has laid the Church
under lasting obligations by his nMmogrqJi, Die S^id-
lomgbeU J«su (last ed. 1868, Getha), tiansL by Biwwa,
Th€ Simfmum qfJemtt (Edmb. 1858, 12mo> DooMf,
Scfaafl; and Weiss have still ftirther contributed to its
eluddiktion (see references at end of this article). Tin
subject has been more or less fully treated : in oppo»>
tion to Rationalism by Hase {StreHsckriflen, iii, 1887 ;
' Lebm Jemt, and DojfwuOik); Schweiser, in Stskiim mi
JSTrMfaa, 1884,111 and iv; 1887, iii); in oonnectioa wkh
; historico-critical exsmJnatioin of tlte person of Cbnst,
by Kefan (der gmMMiche Christus, p. 4a, 106-116);
' fhm the stand^>oint of tlte doctrine of Chxistisa mner-
I als and Church history, by De Wette (CMitfiidbe .AAte.
, Uhrt, vol. i, § 60-58), Weisse (EvoH^eUsehe GttdmtkU),
Ewald (GmckidiU Chrisim, p. 184 t), Scheakel ilkf-
' wujttik, and very waveringly in his ChcBraeUrhUd Jeam,
p. 85 and 89), WeissAcker {Evamgeiisehe GtmJkicHe, p^
487); from the stand-point of Church coi^easiona, bj
I Thomasius, Hoftnan, Philippi,and Ebraid; nom apva*
ly biblical point of view, by Schmid, Beck, Gess, Gar-
bett (Christ as Prophet, Priest, aitd Kimg [Lond. 1842»
, 2 vols.8vo]), Stevenson (On the Ofioes qf Christ [ImiL
\ 1884, 8vo]), and Riggenbach ; ttom that of the needia'
tion theology of Schleiermacher, in trestisee ontiia life
; of Christ, tiy Neander and others, and in works on dqg-
I matics and the liistory of dogmas by Rotfae, liefanec,
I Dorner, Nitssch, J. Mimer, Lang^ MartenMn, Sch5-
! beriein, and othera.
I II. StatemmU of the Docirtiie.— The term sfnlms , nes, ipafuifm'ioia, involves a twofold idea, jCnC, a nsg^ ; ative one, via., " the absence of antagonism to the moral law and to the divine will, of which that law is I the expression ; and this not only in relation to sep- arate acts of will and outward actions, but also in rela> tion to the tendency of the whole moral nature, and to its most deep-seated disposition" (Ullmann, Sinhtimeis ! of Jesus, p. 41), which may be expressed by the term innocence, goodness of nature, etc. ; and, seamdbf^ a positive one, via., the expression in ontwiird fenn of this inward harmony by a life of complete and pevfeet- ly holy activity, working out in frill obedience to the will of God the duties of each hour, while keeping bolh spirit and life unstained by evlL This we term abso- lute holiness.