Excerpt from The History of the Church of Christ, Vol. 1

IN my Proposals for printing this history of the church of christ, I promised an Ecclesiastical History on a new Plan. The Reader there fore will naturally expect some distinct account of a Plan, which in a sub jcet so generally known, lays claim to novelty, in order that he may judge for himself whether it appears sufficiently interesting to engage his perusal of the Work itself.

It is certain that, from our Saviour's time to the present, there have ever been persons whose dispositions and lives have been formed by the rules of the New Testament men who have been real, not merely nominal Christians: who believed the doctrines of the Gospel, loved them because of their divine excellency, and suffered gladly the loss OF all things, that they might win christ, and BE found IN It is the history of these men which I propose to write. It is of no consequence with respect to my plan, nor of much importance, I believe, in its own nature, to what external Church they belonged. I intend not to enter with any nicety into any account of their rites and ceremonies, or forms of Church government, much less into their secular history. Even religious controversies shall be omitted; except those which seem to bear a relation to the essence of Christ's religion, and of which the history of his real Church requires some account. Let not the Reader expect that the actions of great men - great in a secular view I mean - will be exhibited to his notice. Nothing, but what appears to me to belong to Christ's kingdom, shall be admitted: ge nuine piety is the only thing which I intend to celebrate.

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