So called from Erastus, a German divine of the 16th century. The pastoral office, according to him, was only persuasive, like a professor of science over his students, without any power of the keys annexed. The Lord's supper and other ordinances of the Gospel were to be free and open to all. The minister might dissuade the vicious and unqualified from the communion; but might not refuse it, or inflict any kind of censure; the punishment of all offences, either of a civil or religious nature, being referred to the civil magistrate.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
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