4 . A Peculiar People
Amid the gloom that settled upon the earth during the long period of papal supremacy , the light of truth could not be wholly extinguished . In every age there were witnesses for God- -men who cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator between God and man , who held the Bible as the only rule of life , and who hallowed the true Sabbath . How much the world owes to these men , posterity will never know . They were branded as heretics , their motives impugned , their characters maligned , their writings suppressed , misrepresented , or mutilated . Yet they stood firm , and from age to age maintained their faith in its purity , as a sacred heritage for the generations to come .
The history of God ' s people during the ages of darkness that followed upon Rome ' s supremacy is written in heaven , but they have little place in human records . Few traces of their existence can be found , except in the accusations of their persecutors . It was the policy of Rome to obliterate every trace of dissent from her doctrines or decrees . Everything heretical , whether persons or writings , she sought to destroy . Expressions of doubt , or questions as to the authority of papal dogmas , were enough to forfeit the life of rich or poor , high or low . Rome endeavored also to destroy every record of her cruelty toward dissenters . Papal councils decreed that books and writings containing such records should be committed to the flames . Before the invention of printing , books were few in number , and in a form not favorable for preservation ; therefore there was little to prevent the Romanists from carrying out their purpose .
No church within the limits of Romish jurisdiction was long left undisturbed in the enjoyment of freedom of conscience . No sooner had the papacy obtained power than she stretched out her arms to crush all that refused to acknowledge her sway , and one after another the churches submitted to her dominion . In Great Britain primitive Christianity had very early taken root . The gospel received by the Britons in the first centuries was then uncorrupted by Romish apostasy . Persecution from pagan emperors , which extended even to these far-off shores , was the only gift that the first churches of Britain received from Rome . Many of the Christians , fleeing from persecution in England , found refuge in Scotland ; thence the truth was carried to Ireland , and in all these countries it was received with gladness .
When the Saxons invaded Britain , heathenism gained control . The conquerors disdained to be instructed by their slaves , and the Christians were forced to retreat to the mountains and the wild moors . Yet the light , hidden for a time , continued to burn . In Scotland , a century later , it shone out with a brightness that extended to far-distant lands . From Ireland came the pious Columba and his colaborers , who , gathering about them the scattered believers on the lonely
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