, 1874-05-17

PATTON ON HEATHEN
Prof. Patton, in his summing up Of the ev
denco against Prof. Swing, has dednod himse]
IN the matter Of justifcation,-a position wlic
Was necesstated by Prof. SWINGS charitabl
commlseratlon for the heathen and his kindl
benefit OF = doubt whether Penelope and Soc
rates and John Stuart Mill have been conaigne
to eternal damnat1on becalse their ideas wa1
not squared by the Westminster Confession O
Faith, document Of which tho two former wer,
| quite ignorant Us well IS Of the Holy Scriptures
| 5ays Prof. Patton, in substance: "If tht
heathcn can be saved by their good works. ant
II their morality can bring them into the King
dom Of God. what do the missionary societies
mean1 Why ts it necessary to 60 to India tc
carry Christianity to the Buddhists? Why did tue
Apostle Paul feel himself called upon to so aud
preach to tho cultivated people Of Athens ~
Ibis style OF reasoning may bo set down as a
relationships development Of ono Of his own
theor1es,--an most people would oo disposed
to lot him answer Ills cunninely-contrivcd ques-
tions himself. Fortunately, however, tho an
sWcrs arc ready at hand. Christ himself bus
Indicated that there ia possibility others be-
sides his Immediate followers may be saved
Other sheep have which are not Of this fold"
Paul. who was vary Jealous theoiogan, md
whose authority stands much higher than Prof.
Patton's, defines himself very clearly on this
point: q When the Gentiles who have not
fIfc Io1U 4 9>xr
tanned in the law, those having not tho
law are 4 law unto themselves and
tho doers OF the law shall be Justified" This is
exactly tho position which Prot. Swing takes.
He has followed Paul's theology, and, if this
does not square with Prot Patton's theology, 90
much the worse for Prof. Patton. Paul's doc
trines have baen known and read OF men for
nearly two thousand years, md haye never been
impeached and it is hardly likely that Prof
Patton will undertake it at this late day. This
doctrine Of Paul's not only applies to the point
IN issue, but it conveys some very important
relative to the questions which Prof.
Patton propouuds, and which he intended
as intorrogatories which would bring tie
fallacies aud abaurdities Of Prof SWINGS
teachings into the cloarest possible light.
We do not presume to declare what effect
they may bare upon tile Presbytery, but the great
public outside Of the Jury will form IN opinion
something like this: There is possibility that
tho heathe1 whose works are good aud whose
lives are exemplary may be saved. When, there
oFo ..,
CATION Of certain faith, and justification by
hat faith alone, it is possible that missionary
'ffort is wrong, because by preaching tho Gospel
% the heathen, an opportunity ia certainly given
hem to reject it, and, after having been made |
acquainted with the doctrine then, II they reject
t, however exemplary or good they may |
'e, according to Prof. Patton's theology
hey are damned; whereas, il the mis-. |
ionaries. had kept away from them, there
sas o prospect they might have been saved by
'eiDg "doers Of the law" Looking at the mat
er from Frof. Swings aud Pauls standpoint,
hero is possibility that missionary effort NAV
9 unnecessary so far as justification is con-
erued. Looking at it from Prof. Patton's
tandpolnt, there 3s 3 very strong possibility TINT
Missionary effort based upon Justification By
nth alone may be wrong. It being tho caso,
ccording to the authority Of Paul, which
rof. Patton will not question, that the
eathen, who know not the law but do ]
? nature the things contained In the
#, will be justified, no is certainly
arranted in asking why missionaries are sent to
10 heathen. It is q very natural question. And |
IL question also is very natu1al-f man is JUS
led by faith alone, why may not very bn<l man
we faith, and why may not such system of
eology be maintained quite irrespective Of
orality at all7 The prosecutor has not only
raigned Prof. Swing, but ho has also arraigned
Q APOSTLE Paul. As Prof. Swing SAYS in his | |
Inirable argument before the prcsbytery, the
rupture was announced before the Confession t
Faith WAS formulated, and the only avenue of Il
cape for the faithful is to insert marginal |
ferences in future editions of the Bible direct
; attention to Prof. Patton's explanations.
/