The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-12-25
ESTABLISHED AUGUST "a. 1852

Lon remains, not az an opinion, bit a. Q
dogma Of the Roman Catholic Church
Uabaptiasd i4taats dyiag IN infancy do MOI
90 % Aedtea, eRdtRsy do % 10 hell, though L
3 ahtR 1AieN cOadst only b a negadOa o
happiaeas.
What ID the doslrins d Ptosestanls
The Retofmep St lhe a1leeulh century
lauged themaelyet Into ltVo great diyia,
ionS, known as LuthefanS and oalyinBts
The creed Of the Lntherans is the AuRB
burg Confession. That standard Of doc
trine seems certainly 10 imply infant
dAmnation. Its Language concerning bRp
tiSm ia that ut Is necessary 10 salvation
(necesSarius I'd sAlutem)." Il also con
demns the Anabaptiats "Who affirm that
children can be saved without baptism
Atirmant Pueros Sine Baptismo Salyol
Fieri)."
The best known and the most widely
received OF the Calyipistic creeds 10 ths
WeStminster Confession Of Faith. Il
plainly declares that baptism Ia not ab'
solutely essential to salvation, although
Il be a great sin to condemn or neglect
this ordinance, yet grace and salvation
arc not so inseparably annexed unto It.,
aS that no person can be rSgenerated or
paysd without it,P It ftr 10 asaume
thtl II ahy pefsons could Is aased with.
out It childfen dying III Infancy would be
among the number. This would seem TO
rid that creed OF The charge Of teaching
infant damnation. But 10 the Westlnin.
lister Conference, a. 10 all the CalyinistIc
formulas OF doctrine, the election OF grace
10 held TO be that upon which primarily
salvation iS contingent. God In eternity
chooses some human beings unto eternal
lie, and therefore reHener Ates them BY his
spirit, justi6eA them through Christ, and
eventually raises them to heaven. The
q1estion here Ia, therefore, are all infants
who die In infancy thus chOaeuS The
Weslminaler confession does not UNDER
taks u ger aalihstly. Il simpl says
"kbttt inlants, dying 10 Infancy, ate 70.
generated and saved BY Christ through
the Spirit, who worketh when, and where,
and how he pleassth." Il Is entirely con.
Aistent with this article to hold that all Ia.
fants who die 10 infancy are saved. Then
all Of them are assumed TO be elect. And
Is equally consistent with this article 10
hold that some-.the unbaptized or any
other porIion-are lost. Then sOwe are
assumed not to be elect. Very wisely il wnS
not made matter Of faith 10 hold TO one
opinion rather than the other. Especially
was this wise in an age when opinion was
not 20 unapimonI ~ IL Is et present ON Ihe
subject, w ala ! Nvf
C.Isin hfaalf aistihetly Regulated
The damnatlod II iuiabIs WHO die Without
baptisuS He 4Ays, "The Reception OF an
opinion, thai 81 Eho hsppep % die With
out baptism are lost, makes our condition
wore than thato the ancient lsraelies,
"a though the grace ofGOd were more re.
strtcted now than it was under the law. !"
Whether he was prepared 10 go no far "a
to assert the salvation OF all infantS dying
In infancy, or only OF those who are
"children Of the covenant" that il, child.
ren Of at least one Christian parent, is a
question upon which he does not seem to
have expressed himself.
In modern times all the Protestant lie.
nominations. through their leading the.
olOgIRns, repudiate infant damnalion.
DR.. kraulh, who represents the High
Ldtherans Of this country, and who takes
very ultra ground on the subject Of 'bap.
tism, nevertheless says: "0n Gods part
II is not SO necessary that he may not in
an extraordinary case, reach, in an ex.
traordinary way what baptism Is his
ordinary mode Of accomplishing" The
Low Lutherans are very much more
liberal in their views OF such matters.
WatSon speaks for the Methodists or
Arminials., He says concerning the
benefit OF Chrialeobedience asSet forth in
Romans 5; IS: swhstever, therefore, that
benefit may be, all children dying in in.
fancy must partake Of ii, or thefewonld
be large portion Of the human race
upon whom the free giit,' the effects Of
the righteousness Of one did not
come, which Is contrary to the apostIe's
words"
Dr.. Charles Hodge, d Princeton, Ia
gsnerally acknowledged 70 be the lore.
most ,calviRistic, theologi4n Of this cen.
tury. FOR himself Be days, EAll whodie
in inialcy iare iAv&l, p add proceeds 70
prove the assertion. And In another
place, after expressing his fegFst for The
attempt made BY a certain writerto show
that the Weatminster Confession Of Faith
teaches that only a part OF those who die
in ipiAHcs atesaaved, he adds, eve can
only ~ hat NJ hover saw o Calyinistic
theold ianS 10 hlla that doctrine. We
are not Ieasaed enough to venture The
assertion that no Calyinist ever held it,
ItthEs qppeats; fSa,, that Prod laitSr
never did gedefally entertain the doctrine
ot infant damuadon. It was only Dor.
tion who once were disposed to hold it,
It appears, second, that there hAsS sSBtsnl
since the formation Of the ProtestAnt'
creeds . marked advance on this alhlecti
toward more merciful view. This ID
entirely consistent with the Protestant
idea Of creeds. They are not fegardedaa
iufaIlible or incapable Of improvement
And it appears, third. that the commonly
received Protestant doctiin6 now il lha,
all children aShO die in iafaaey SotO hsausa.
MEpAscfHos.