Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-04-27
BEECHERs NEW DEPARTURE.

He RemOunceS CaivinIsm anu De-
nounces the Cambridge Conies'
sion.
Near the close of his sermon in Ply
mouth Church, Brooklyn, last Sunday,
Henry Ward Beecher said:
| hold in my hand what is known as
.lloi THE CAMBRIDGE CONFESSION,
and is the platform of faith Of the New
England Congregational churches. 1t
was the faith Of our fathers; it was the
confession of faith which was accepted
in Boston ten years ago. Mr.. Beecher
read several clauses OF this confession.
The first ended with the sentence, By
the decree of God and for the manifesto
ton of His glory some men and some
angels are predestinated to everlasting
ruin and some are foreord aimed to ever
lasting death" "That is rather rough,
is it not?" asked Mr.. Beecher The sec
ond had this concluding sentence:
"These angels and men thus predes-
tinated and foreordained are fixed to an
Interchangeable destiny; their number is
certain and defined, and cannot be in
creased or diminished ." That is
what YOU may call rather a tight
Gt" said Mr.. Beecher. Laugh
teri The next article read was that
relating to the DEGREES of God, in
this regard being in accordance with the
unsearchable counsel of God, in which
He saves whom He will, and passes by
those whom He passes by, and ordains
them to dishonor for their sins or to His
uraise and glory. Now, what is there in
this but what, if it were said of an abso-
lutte monarchy, and that of the worst
type would not arouse the supremest in
dienation. III were to be left to choose
between absolute inidelity and atheism,
and the acceptance of God who has
preordained and predestined an innum-
erabIe host Of His creatures to torments,
to pains, and to eternal death for His
glory, why rather than accept such an
Internal Deity Iwould be an atheist, and
/ would glory therein. Suppressed ap-
plause. Mr.. Beecher quoted clause
from a sermon that he said his ears had
heard delivered from that Plymouth
pulpit in which DR.. Binney had said
that there were those sitting before him
who in the eternal ages would suffer
more Of
THE TORRENTS or THE DAMNED
than had been suffered by those who
we're already suffering, and this torture
would 90 on from that period, the wall
increasing and increasing, the horrors
intensifying and intensitying. There
was set before the people such a paraly-
sis of despair by that peacheF that 1t was
positively sickening. Is it to q Being
like this we arc 10 say "0ur FatherY
Why, il there was one soul that was pre-
destined 70 such hopeless inheritance
of woe, | would say Our fiend, and
not "Our Father" Is this the God who
sent His Son into the world, By whom
men are to be saved? Is this the God
who is represented in the parable of the
prodigal as not waiting for this son to
come to Him, but who goes forth to meet
him, and Who falls upon his neck and
kisses himG Ny God is not a butcher;
He is my Savior; He is not 9eyourer,
but an eternal shepherd. To teach
otherwise would be to turn this world
into = yRst penitentiary. Let us see
how this theory u IS we see it in human
life. Take the biushiBR, beauteOus
maiden. to whom life is one Fespisndent
10y, scattering, by the beauty Of her
natsre, 10Y whore'er she goes, receiving
TIE homage That is her due from all.
By andSby she incomes the sharer
OF happiness With apothes. She lives
for him. By and by there comes
a little child; dLa child falls sick she
Watches it night and day; she looks in
the mirror; takes no note Of The roses
that are leaving her cheeks; 10 note Of
the line Of care that is mArring her
beauty forever no note Of The Joys that