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


that tho electric lights have been turnec
on the lmperfections of that creed ant
everything that man fashions is imper
fcct-let us put the old creed respect
, fully aside aud get brand new one
1t is impossible that people who livcc
hundreds Of years ago should fashion al
Z appropriate creed for our times. Johr
Calvin was great and good man, but h,
died three hundred and twenty-six year.
ago. The best centuries Of Bible study
have come since then, and explorers have
done their work, aud you might as vel
have the world 20 back and stick tc
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 clevating
of signals or the burning of bonfivcs on
the hilltops and reject the magnetic
wire which is the tongue of nations, as
ignore all the exegetists and the philolo-
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 Il better creed than
John Calvin. The Nineteenth century
ought not to be called to sit at tAa feet Of
the sixteenth
But" you say, cit is the same old
| Biblc, aud John Calvin had that as we'll
as the present student of the scriptures"
| Yes, so it Is the came old sun in the
| heavens, but in our times it has gone to
| making dagucrreotypes and photographs.
1t Is the same old water, but in our cen
tury 1t has gone to running .team en-
glncs. 1t is the same old electricity, but
In our time it has become lightning
looted errand boy. So it is the old BIZ
Die, but new applications, new uses,
new interpretations. You must remcm-
Der that during the last th &c hundred
years words have changed their mean-
ing and some Of them now mean more
and some less. l do not think that John
Calvin believed, as some say he did, in
the damnation of infants, although some
OF the recent hot disputes would seem to
imply that there is such thing as the
damuation of infants.
"A man who believes in the damna,ioa
of infants himself deserves to lose
heaven. do not think any good man
cenl d admit such a possibility. What
Christ will do with all the babies in the
next world | conclude from what he did
with tho babies in Palestine when he
huggcd them aud kissed them. When
some OF you grown pc .ple 20 out of this
world your doubtful destiny will be an
embarrassment to ministers officiating
at your obsequies, who will have to be
cautious 90 as not to hurt surviving
trends But when the darling children
go there are no "ifs" or "buts" or gucs-
ses. We must remember that COED
John Calvin was logician and met
aphys'cian and by the proclvitics of his
ratnre put some things in an unfortunate
way. Logic has its use and metaphysics
has Its use, but they are not good at
making crceds. A gardener hands you
blooming rose, dewy fresh, but severe
ootanist cones to you with a rose and
says: 81 will show you the structure of
TINS rose, Aud he proceeds to take it apart
and pulls off the leaves and he SAYS
"Fherc 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 Gays:
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 i! sovereignty" aud
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 a gardener comes in
and presents me with q crimson rose,
red as blood, and says: "Inhale the
sweetness Of this, wear it on your heart
and it forever" l 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 hernencutics. The defect in
some of the creeds is that they try to tell
us all about the decrecs Of God. Now,
the only human being that was ever com
petent to handle that subject. was Paul,
and he would not have been competent
had he not been inspired. I believe in
the sovereignty of God and believe in
mans free agency, but no oae can har.
moniZe the two. 1t Is not necessary
that ne harmonize them. Every ser
mon that have ever heard that attempt
cd such harmoniZation was to me rs clear
as London fog, as clear as mud. My
brother of the nineteenth century, my
brother Of the sixteenth century, give us
Pauls statement and leave out Jopr own.
Better one chapter of Paul on that sub
jsct than all of Calvin's institutes, able
and honest and mi shty as they are. Do
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 dccrees7 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 hundred quintilli-
on Of years ago. I move for creed for
ali our denominations made cut of Scrip
ture quotations pure and simple. That
would take the earth for God. That
would be impregnable against infidelity
and Apollyonic assault. That would be
beyond human criticism. The depomi-
nation, whatever it's name be, that can
rise up to that will be the church of the
millennium, will swallow up all other
denominations and be the one that will
be the bride when the Bridegroom
cometh. Let us mako it simpler and
palmer for people to get into the king
dom of God. Do not hinder people by