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

Tered with me one minute. But now
that the electric lights havo been TUNED
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 a great and good man, but he
died three hundred and twenty.six years
ago. The best centuries of Bible study
have come since. then, and explorers have
done their work, and you might as well
have the world 60 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 go back to the
time when telegraph was the elevating
OF signals or the burning of bonfircs 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 32G
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 better creed than
John Calvin. The nineteenth century
ought not to be called to sit at ths feet Of
the sixteenth
But" you say, cit is the same old
Bible, and John Calvin had that as we'll
as the present student of tho scriptures"
Yes, so it is the came old sun in the
heavens, but in our time. it has gone to
making daguerreotypes and photographs.
1t is the same old water, but in our cen
turY 1T has gone to running steam en-
giaes. 1t is the same old electricity, but
in our time it has become lightning
footed errand boy. So it is tho old BIZ
bic, but new applications, new uses,
new interpretations. You must remem-
ber that during tho last three hundred
years words have changed their mean
ing and come of them now mean more
and some less. do net think that john
Calvin believed, as some say he did, in
tho damnation of infants, although some
of the recent hot disputes would seem to
imply that there is such thing as the
damaation of infants.
man who believes in the damnation
of infants himself deserves to lose
aeaven. do not think any good man
could admit such possibility. What
Christ will do with ali the babies in the
next world conclude from what he did
with the babies in Palestine when he
hugged them and kissed them. When
some Of you grown pc ,ple 60 out of this
world your doubtful destiny will be an
embarrassment to ministers officiating
at your obsequies, who Will have to be
cautious SO as not to hurt surviving
friends. But when the darling children
go there are no offs" or "buts" or CUES
ses. We must remember that COED
John Calvin was logician aud met
aphysician and by the proclivities of his
nature put some things in an unfortunate
way. Logic has it's use and metaphysics
has it's use, but they are not good at.
making cree5s. A gardener hands you
blooming rose, dewy fresh, but a severe
botanist cones to you with a rose and
says: ''t will show you the structure of
this rose. And he proceeds to take it apart
and pulls off the leaves and he says:
"There are the petals" and he takes out
the anthers, aud 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 fashioncd;' 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 ID sovereignty" and
another piece and Gays: "This is free
agency" this is this and that is that
Aud while I stand looking at the frag-
ments Of the rose pulled apart, one whom
the Marys took for a gardener comes in
and presents me with crimsoa rose,
red as bleod. and says: 'Inhale the
sweetness of this, wear it on your heart
and wearit forever" I must confess
that prefer the rose in full bloom to the
| rose pulled apart. What time we have
| had with the dogmatics, the apologetics
| and the hermeneutcs. The defect in
some of the creeds is that they try to tell
us all about the DEGREES of God. Now,
the only huRan being that was ever COM
| petent to handle that subject was Paul,
and he would rot have been competent
had he not been inspired. l believe in
the sovereignty of God and believe in
mans free agency, but no one can har-
moniZe the two. 1t is not necessary
that ne harmonic them. Every ser
mon that have ever heard that attem pit.
cd such harmonizatien was to me as clear
as London fog, as clear as mud. Ny
brother Of the nineteenth century, my
brother of the sixteenth century, give II,
Paul's statement and leave out yopr own.
Better one chapter of Paul en- that sub
jsot than oil of Calvin's institutes, able
and honest and mi ,hty as they are. Dc
not try to measure either the throne OF
God or the thunderbolts of God with
your little steel pen. What do you know
about the decrees7 You cannot pry open
the door of Gods eternal councils. You
cannot explain the mysteries of Gods
government now, much less the mysteries
of his government five hundrcd quintlli
on Of years ago. move for creed fol
all our denominations made out Of Scrip
ture quotations pure and simple. Tha
would take the earth for God. Tha
would be imprognable against infdelit.
and Apollyonic assault. That would b
beyond hunan criticism. The deaomi