Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1884-01-24
Answer to Fair Play.

heioFtned cnurcn OF C0ntre Hall on
New Years evening, 10 comnemorstion
OF the 400th anniversary OF the birth Of
Uric Zwingli, the great Swiss Iteformer,
some Lutheran brother lost his TEN per
because, in an address which delivered
! would not give Luther indiscriminate
and unmeasured praise but dared TO
say not only that the several Reformers
were men differently endowed by Divine
Providence, but also that, while in some
things Luther stood without q rival, he
was excellcd by his brother Reformers
in others. For this. this Lutheran
brother aud clerical friend, under cover
Of an assumed name, undertakes to
chastize me through tho columns Of the
Ctntre Reporter, charging mo with being
exceedingly narrowminded indeed"
with attempting TO "belittle Luther"
and calling me "A bigot,n "a willful
ecclesiaslicAl triekster," &c. OF the
very bad spirit which the article brea.hes
and OF the personal abuae TO which my
clerical friend has been willing to stoop,
will take no notice. But Il charges
me with n spirit and temper towards
Luther and the Lutheran church. which
wholly disclaim represents me as
saying things which did not say and
makes deuisls aud assertions which
show much more zeal than theological
information. To these feel called
upon TO reply
! !. ia my address | stated that Luther
in common with all the Reiormers vas
\ pTedesiinArian. This my clerical
friend undertskes, strangely enough, TO
deny by saying that according 20 Luther
Gods decreer are not Absoiute, but
conditioned by 8 certain order Of
means" Bot this is simply not %. .,
this ministerial brother sho sct. up as
an oxPoBndsF Of Luiher's theology,
ought most certsinly 10 know. There
was nothing conditional 10 Lulher's
doctrine. On the contrary, hts doctrine
of predessinaiion ssss u the rsosi r.sil
cal and absolute character, even CslYin's
being less extreme. lie denied most
ahaolutely the freedom Of the human
viii In its relation TO the Divine sover
eighty, on which freedom everything in
the conditional theory Of predestiua
tiou hinges. He taught that IL one
man repcnts and believc- under the
preaching OF the gospel snd another
does not, this is not due TO any differ.
eacr IN The men tbemselve-. not 10 any
greater wsckrdnsss or inward resistance
IN the one than in the other, but ONLY
.nd absolutely to the secret will Of God.
TO proof OF this, quotations without
NUM- i'~r might easily he made from his
own writings, especially bis book against
rrasmusop op the 'Serviiudc Of the Will -
bat will quote other writer's a. being
mors sausfAstnry. In the recent en-.
celIent biography of Luther (Koe~tlin's)
written by Lutheran aud translated
by Lutheran. on page 27l, We read
this statement Of Luther's doctrine.
"That sinners do not turn 10 God and
acquire saving faith in his word can only
be attributed TO : secret will OF God.
aud fer this man may not call God 10
account" Even the smslcald articles
written by Luther himself in the year
1887, aud received by the Lutheran
church into The Book OF Concord" a.
part Of her confessional standard teaches
this doctrine. DR.. George 2. Fisher, Of
Yale Theological Seminary. in his his.
tory Of the Reformation says, "Pred<s
tinaiiOn is asserted by Luther in HE
book on the SerVitude Of the VIII, even
in It's relation 10 vickeduesn, in terms
more emphatic than the most extreme
statements Of Calvin" The want of
space forbids more quotations. If had
the space would gladly go on quoting
from Luther and other authors, not only
TO convince my Lutheran brother that
my address was not nero defamation, /"
but also to give him some little &C.
qusintance with Luther's doctrine of
which he seems 20 woefully ignorant /:
but really cannot. in short newspa
per srtiCle, give him all the theological
information which his course In The
Theological Seminary and years Of paii,
ent study ought TO have supplied.
.. ] am charged vith saying that ''tbe
Lutheran church has largely come over
10 the ZwingliAn view Of the Lords
supper" Bot in fact, said nothing
like this. What said ia that number
Of prominent Lutheran Theologians are
beginning to admit that in the inter.
probation Of the words Of institution,
Wis; This Is my body, = Zwinell waa In