The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1870-02-09
THE CHILDREN OF BAPTIZED PARANTS
Have a COVENANT Right to BAPTISM
VII.

VII.
VIEWS OF THE ASSEMBLY AND PROFESSOR
HODGE SHOWN TO BE CONGREGATIONAL
AND DANGEROUS.
l am now to show that the views of the
Assembly and of Professor Hodge as their
exponent are Congregational and Anti
Presbyterian. 1st. 1.-The Universal Visible
Church" (says Prof. H., page 424, "On
Confession of Faith, '') sis therefore not a
different Church from that which has just
been described as invisible" And in his
Pres. DOct., page 81, %, after affirming
that Presbyterians believe "1st, That the
Church consists of all the elect
in which sense it is now invisible, or
rather yery imperfsetly visi6le to men; )" he
adds, 'as THIS CHURCH is in its successive
generations partially di8eriminated IN iadis-
tinet outline by men 1T IS CALLED
the Universal Visible Church. D." Now this
is not only opposed to the Presbyterian doc
trine of the Visible Church as laid down in
our last article, but is identical with that of
Congregationalist as given in their own
Standards. In the Ratio Discipline or the
Constitution of the Congregational Churches,
Portland, 1929, chapter ii, page 80, "Qn
the distinction between the visible and IN
visible Churches" teaches, ''1st. The ord
Church, when qualified by the epithet ISL
bic, includes the whole body of the al,
E. whoever TRULY possesses lie
ments of Christian character is OF
the invisible Church, &c. End. 7 lie
Church is any number of persons i've
CREDIBLE evidence of Christian Ger,
SO chat invisibility, wher rm Is
sprded to the Church state mas to
the existence of the Christia 'ipIe
merely, while visibility relates ut
ward manifestation. And again er
XVI, '>Of the Church, page Ger
describing the invisible Church 4 ng
of the whole number of the elec e,
it is said, ''The whole body of me "a.
out the world processing the fal, ne
Gospel, and obedience unto God + st,
according to it, not destroying then 70
feasion By any errors or unhOliness nger
sation, they and their children with are
and may be called the Visible ithohe
Church of Christ, although as such it Is not
entrusted with any officers to rule and govern
over the whole body" Thus, also, in the
Cambridge Platform, page 81. "Of the
nature of the Catholic Church in general.
and of a PARTICULAR Visible Church" S..
':This militant Church is to be considered
Visible and Invisible. Invisible in the res,
pect of the relation in which they stand to
Christ, Visible in respect of the pro-
fession of their faith in their persons, and
in PARTICULAR Churches. And so there
n,ay Be acknowledged an universal Visible
Church" But as the book goes on to teach,
it is only when the members Of the militant
Visible Church "are considered as not yet
in Church order" that is, as organized IN
PARTICULAR churches, that ''they enjoy the
spiritual union and communion, common to
all believers, . so we deny an Univer-
sal Visible Church" And in S 5 it is taught,
that ''since the coming of Christ the militant
Visible Church is only CONGREGATIONAL;
therefore, neither national, provincial. nor
classical" DR.. Wardlaw In like manner
ranks among the authorized uses Of the wor.
Church, its use Sin the sense
and invisible Church" Gong. hdependei
cy, pages A, 6S) And Dr. Samuel David
son in his Ecclesiastical Polity of the"Nev
Testament, pages 58, so, uses precisely the
same words. 1t is thus evident that the
teaching of the Assembly as developed by
Prof. Hodge is identical with that of Con
gregationalists, and destroys the Presbyte
rian doctrine of an organized Visible Churcl
as distinct from the Invisible.
II. In the second place, DR.. A. A. Hodge
with the Assembly, makes credible profes
sion of personal saving faith necessary to
real or proper membership in the VISIBLE
Church, on page 425. "On Confession o
Faith he says, "a credible profession, a
presumptive evidence of REAL RELIGION con
stitutes a person a member of the Visibl
Church, or as he states it below, shat tn
person is a member of the true Church.
And again, Presbyterian Doctrine, Pag
%, "those who are property recognized a
members of the Visible Church, because the.
are really members of the Church invisible.
'But all those, and only those are rightUll
regarded and treated as members of tn
Visible Church who upon ra, nal ground
we are to presume are true bers Of tn
spiritual Church" DR.. A. 5dge thu
states what is considered Il essential
distinctive principle of .he legations