The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-03-20

that tRe electric nghtS have DeeA turncC
on the Imperfections of that creed and
everything that man fashions is imper
fect-let us put the old creed respect
fully aside aud get brand new one
1t is impossible that people who lived
hundreds Of years ago should fashion an
appropriate creed for our times. John
Calvin was great and good man, but he
died three hundred and twenty.six years
ago. The best centuries Of Bible study
have como since then, and explorers have
done their work, aud you might as well
have the world go back and stick to
what Robert Fulton knew about steam
boats and reject the subsequent improve
ments in navigation; and go back 20
John Gutenberg, the inventor Of the
art of printing, and reject all modern
newspaper presses, and 60 back to the
time when telegraph was the elevating
of signals-or the burning of bonfires on
the hilltops and reject the magnetic
wire which is the tongue Of nations, as
ignore all the exegetists and the phiiolo-
gists and the theologians of the last 326
years and put your head under the sleeve
of the gown of a sixteenth century doc
| tor. could call the names of twenty
living Presbyterian ministers of religion
who could make a better creed than
John Calvin. The nineteenth century
| ought not to be called to sit at tho feet of
the sixteenth
"But," you say, "it is the same old
Bible, and John Calvin had that as well
| as the present student of the scriptures"
Yes, so it is the came old sun in the
heavens, but in our times it has gonc to
making dagucrreotypes and photographs.
1t is the same old water, but in our cen
tury 1T has gone to running steam en-
gines. It is the same old electricity, but
in our time it has become lightning
footed errand boy. So it is the old BIZ
BILE, but new applications, new uses,
new interpretations. You must remem-
Der that during the last tn ee hundred
years words have changed their mean
ing and some Of them now mean more
and some less. do net think that John
Calvin believed, as some say he did, in
the damnation ofinfants, although some
of the recent hot disputes would seem to
imply that there is such thing as the
damnation Of infants.
a man who believes in the damnation
of infants himself deserves to lose
heaven. | do not think any good man
could admit such possibility. What
Christ will do with all the babies in the
next world I conclude from what he did
with the babies in Palestine when he
hugged them and kissed them. When
some OF you grown apple 60 out of this
world your doubtful destiny will be an
embarrassment to ministers officiating
at your obsequies, who will have to be
cautious 50 as not to hurt surviving
friends. But when the darling children
60 there are no offs" or "buts" or gues-
ses. We must remember that COED
John Calvin was logician and met
aphysician and by the proclivitics of his
nature put some things in an unfortunate
way. Logic has it's use and metaphysics
has its use, but they are not good at.
making creeds. A gardener hands you
blooming rose, dewy fresh, but a severe
botanist cones to you with q rose and
says: ''I will show you the structure of
this rose. Aud he proceeds to take it apart
and pulls off the leaves and he says
'There are the petals" and he takes out
the anthers, and he says: "Just look at
the wonderful structure Of these floral
pillars" and then lie cnts the stem to
show you the juices of the plant. So
logic or metaphysics takes the aromatic
rose Of the Christian religion and says:
81 will just show you how this rose Of
religion was fashioned;" and it pulls off
| Of it a piece and says: "That is the hu
man will" and another piece and says:
'This is Gods WILL" and another piece
and says: "TAis il sovereignty" and
another piece and says: "This is free
| agency" this is this and that is that
And while stand looking at the frag-
ments of the rose pulled apart, one whom
the Marys took for gardener comes in
| and preseuts me with q crimson rose,
red as blood, and says: "Inhale the
sweetness Of this, wear it on your heart
and wear it forever" / must confess
that prefer the rose in full bloom to the
rose pulled apart. What 8 time we have
had with the dogmatics, the apologetics
and the herneneutics. The defect in
some Of the creeds is that they try to tell
us all about the DEGREES Of God. Now,
the only hunan being that was ever com
petent to handle that subject. was Paul
and he would not have been competon,
had he not been inspired. I believe II
the sovereignty of God and believe il
mans free agency, but no oae can har
monize the two. 1t Is not necessary
that ne harmonic them. Every ser
mon that have ever heard that attempt
ed such harmoniZation was to me as clca
as a London fog, as clear as mud. M.
brother of the nineteenth century, my
brother Of the sixteenth century, give u
Paul's statement and leave out yopr own
Better one chapter Of Paul on that sub
iect than all of Calvin's institutes, abb
and honest and mil hhty as they are. d.
not try to measure either the throne o
God or the thundorbolts of God witt
your little steel pen. What do you know
about the decrees2 You cannot pTy epe
the door of Gods eternal councils. Yo
, cannot explain the mysteries Of Cod
government now, much less the mysterie
, Of his government five hundred quintlli
on Of years ago. move for creed TO
all our denominations made cut Of Scrip
, ture quotations pure and simple. TbA
would take the earth for God. Tha
/, would be impregnable against infidelit
| and Apollyonic assault. That would b
I beyond human criticism. The dGSom
' nation, whatever it's name be, that ca
/ rise up to that will be the church Of tn
/ millennium, will swallow up all otht
D denominations and be the one that wi
y be the bride when the Bridegroom
q cometh. Let us make it simpler an
:. palmer for people to get into the king