The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-06-08
PREDEsTINATIOy.
The Presbyterian Doctrine of Election
John Calvin's Logic.

l " y tAN oOtasN W nav oAtA PAicta viz
almost unanimous sate by which the
, Presbyterian General Assembly de-
cided to call upon the Presbyteries
for categorical answers as to whether
they wish for revision of the West
) minister Confession of Faith, and if
so to what extent 1t is true that the
vote in no respect commits the As
sembly to revision, but the tone Of
some Of the speakers indicates both
that the returns from the Presbyter-
les are likely to show strong senti-
J ment in favor of modifying the an
cient standards, and that the senti-
ment is not less likely to find vigor-
Gus support in the future Assembly,
in which the subject will come up for
consideration on its merits.
The articles of the Confession res
pecting which there is an especial de
mand for revision are those that Gu
unciate the Calvinistic doctrine of
election. Election to salvation or to
damnation has always been funda-
mental principle of that system of
theology, or,as DrDufiield of Prince
ton, put it in the Assembly, zone of
the first and great essential state
ments of the Calvanistic system"
The teaching with regard to it is
suceinctly and Enthusiastically express
ed in these sections of the third chap
ter of the Confession:
iii. By the decree of God, for the
manifestation of His glory, some men
and angels are predestined unto
everlasting life, and Others foreor-
dained to everlasting death.
CIV. These angels and men, thus
predestinated and foreordained, are
particularly and unchangeably de
signed, and their number is so certain
and definite that it cannot be either
increased or diminished. "VL AS
God has appointed the elect unto glo-
ry, so hath He, by the eternal and
most free purpose of His will, foreor-
dained all the means thereto.
Wherefore they who are elected be
ing fallen in Adam, are redeemed by
Christ are effectually called unto
faith in Christ by His spirit work
ing in due season: are justified, adop-
ted, sanctified, and kept by His pow
er through faith unto salvation. Nei-
ther are any other redeemed by
Christ, efectually called justified,
adopted sanctified, and saved, but
the elect only.
"VIL The rest of mankind God
was pleased, according to the I'M
searchable counsel of His own will,
whereby He extendeth or withholdeth
mercy as He pleaseth, for the glory
of His sovereign power over His
creatures, to pass by, and to ordain
them to dishonor and wrath for their
sin, to the praise Of His glorious jus
tice."
The other sections Of the Comics
sion to which objection is made are
those of the tenth chapter:
"III. Elect infants, dying in in
fancy, are regenerated and saved
by Christ through the Spirit, who
worketh when, and where, and how
He pleaseth So also are all other
elect persons who are incapable Of
being outwardly called by the minis
try of the Word.
''IV. Others not elected, although
they may be called by the ministry of
the Word. and may have some COM
mon operations Of the Spirit; yet
they never truly come unto Christ,
and therefore cannot be saved; much
less can men not protesting the
Christian religion be saved in any
other way whatsoever, be they
ever so diligent to frame their lives
according to the light of nature and
the law of that religion they do pro
fess; and to assert and maintain that
they may, is very pernicious, and to
be detested.'
John Calvin was remorseless
logician He would have gone to the
stake rather than avoid any logical
conclusion from his premises, and il
was his spirit which animated the
Westminster ldivines. The doctrine
of election is simply that as all
things were foreordained Sbefore the
foundation of the world was laid"
those who we're to be saved or damn
ed, we're then fixed upon according
to the eternal and immutable pur-
pose and the secret counsel and good
pleasure of God. That is simply
another way of saying that inexora-
BILE law governs the moral as it does
the material universe 1t is sub
stantially the doctrine of fatalism,
which makes human liberty to be
completely and irresistibly controll-
ed by destiny. If the elect are bound
to be saved, no matter how they may
resist, and those not elected are
bound to be damned, no matter how
hard they may try to escape fate
so awful, of course the faltalistic
theory prevails, Calvinistic theolo-
gians in all times have split hairs to
escape this harmony between cleo
tions and fatalisms, and yet it re-
mains, according to the view of or
binary people. Election and free
will are necessarily at variance,
under the terms of the Westminster
Confession. But, said the old theo-
logians, if you give up the doctrine
of election, you admit everybody to
salvation, justify the pestilent teach
ing that this earthly life is not the
only period of probation, and deny
the doctrine of eternal punishment,
so comforting to the elect and so
terrible to those not chosen. For of
course, no good Presbyterian has any
doubt of the election of his children
who died in infancy
But of late years this terrible doc
trine has lost its force and pertln-
ency, for the general Protestant be-
lief in hell has been either abandon
ed entirely or become greatly weak
ened. The word itself has been ex-
plunged from the theological vocabu-
larry and the innocuons word Sheol
substituted. There is a growing
disposition to hope, if not to believe,
that in some way and through the
operation of Gods boundless mercy,
nobody is going to be damned eter-
nally, and that, therefore, the doc
trine of election, so fat-footed in it's
condemnation of the vast majority
of mankind to hell and everlasting
torture, ought to be set aside. ''The
young men in our families, in our
Summaries and our colleoes said a