The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1884-01-16

spirits" (FTance). And the Catechism of
Trent, which is an authoritative docu-
ment of the Church of Rome, set forth in
1865, causes all its people to say: " be-
lieve with certainty, and without shad-
ow of doubt profess my belief in God the
Father, who by His Omnipotence created
from nothing"
And that this belief was always that of
the Church, is evident from the universal
reception of the Creed of Mecca, which
begins its statement with 81 believe in
God the Father Almighty, maker of all
things visible and invisible" But as the
only visible thing is I" matter" if God did
not create it, he created nothing that is
visible and hence the Greed would have
been contradicted by the Church, but it
was not contradicted by the Church,
hence the Church has always protested
its belief in the non-eternity of matter.
In the long dissertation appended to
Cudworth's Intellectual System (vol.
3, p..14O), the distinguished church his
torian Mosheim, remarks: Among the
doctrines justly esteemed sacred by
Christians, as being taught by our
Saviour, not the least important is that
which refers the origin of the whole uni
verse solely to the Deity, and inculcates
the belief that the world was created and
made out of nothing by the infinite
power of God. This tenent was enforced
from the very commencement of Christi
anity. Nor was any one admitted into
church fellowship without public con-
fession that God was the creator and
author of all things, and even of matter
itself, the material of which they con-
sist."
He who holds matter to be eternal
agrees with the heather and the Gnostics,
and not with scripture and the church.
Cudworth has to apologize for such
Christians thinks they ought not to be
called atheists, but concludes they are far
from holding the truth.
This opinion of matter being eternal,
not only contradicts scripture and the
teaching of the church from the first to
the present, but contradicts reason as
well, and increases the difficulties of
being a Christian, instead of lessening
them. 1t would be impossible for as to
hold the eternity of matter and at the
same time to believe God was omnipo-
tent. And if not omnipotent, then hav-
ing no infinite attributes whatever; and
if not infinite, then not God at all But
scripture teaches and the church has al
ways taught, with some few exceptions of
some of her teachers, that God created
matter. If he did not, He was not the
creator at all only the developer of all
things; and if only the developer, then
the creator of nothing. Thus we not only
contradict reason and the church, but
the Bible itself; which tells US God
created; which He could not have done,
unless He had also made matter.
The difficulties therefore of this theory
are far greater than that God created all
things both visible and invisible. We
are sorry any Christian man should reach
a conclusion, that takes away the almigh-
ty power of God orif He did not create
%" matter and it is eternal, He could not
uncreate or annihilate it; thus making
God, the Almighty Father, being OF
limited power and therefore not the God
who spake and it was done.
We are obliged therefore to decline
the compliment our correspondent pays
the Episcopal Church. It's first article
reaffirms the Nicene formula, that God is
the maker of all things visible and in
visible. We never heard of any divine
Of our church who held or taught the
contrary. We rejoice therefore as mem
Der of this church, and of the Church
Catholic as well to affirm our faith with
our Fathers before us: 81 believe in
God the Father Almighty, maker of heav-
en- and earth, and of all thing visible and
invisible" And may God in mercy, bring
back our respected correspondent to this
faith.