He held that great sins
had existed in the church ever since the days of the Apostles, the first
century being the only period when it enjoyed comparative purity.
Thomasius, very naturally, held Arnold in high esteem, and lauded his
services in the following language: "He is the only man, or at least the
first, who has avoided the follies into which others have fallen, and
discovered and fully exposed the errors which have been especially
committed by the Englishman Cave; he has maintained that the Church of
Christ, with respect to life and conduct, had begun to fall into decay
immediately after the ascension of our Saviour, and still more after the
death of the Apostles, and that this degeneracy had enormously
increased since the age of Constantine the Great."[27]
Thomasius, though not personally connected with Pietism, gave it all his
influence. He was Director of the University of Halle, and defended the
Pietists from the standpoint of statesmanship. He believed Pietism the
only means of uprooting the long-existing corruptions of education,
society, and religion.
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