Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1891-06-10
DOemas.

D0gmas.
We do not think that our well-meaninp
correspondent who announces his sshos.
tility to all the leading dogmas of the
church" is as skeptical as he believes him
self to be. From the sentence quoted we
might set him down as wholly irreligious:
but in the furnished items of the faith to
which he still cliDgs he reinststes himself in
the ranks Of true believers. Most of those
who, like our correspondent, assail what
they suppose to be "the orthodox creeds of
evangelical Christians are setting up
man of straw for the sake of bringing him
low; they misstate the doctrine they OPP
pose and misinterpret the articles of faith
they SO vehemently denounce. We have
seen the imaginings of nervous people read
into creeds between the lines, when a fair
Interpretation of the text as it stands gave
no such meaning to the article.
One of the points of attack in the letter
addressed to us is the oft-quoted assertion
that "there are infants in bell only span
long" The dogma has been held by
za alots in both the Catholic and Protestant
churches that unbaptized infants being
wholly unregenerate if taken from the
world in that condition must be- eternally
Protestant creed which asserts this as an
article of faith, or Of any evangelical
Christian" who holds to it. It has been so
often denied and repudiated by the leading
opponents of modern Protestant creeds
that it is not worth while for any one to
spend his breath in denouncing it. Many
passages in the writings of good men, now
gone to their rest, which have been quoted
as asserting the damnation of non-elect In
fants, do not convey this meaning. Thus
a quotation from Faber was given as de.
claring that the world of wee "holds mere
boys and girls" We ere at the pains to
hunt this up some years ago, and we found
that his "boys and girls" were impenitent
persons who have sinned but once where
we have sinned thousand times" They
were not infants, but young people "wbo
have sinned far less than we have done, "
but after all were conscious sinners"
The dogma Of original sin" which our
friend assails SO furiously is not, as he sup
poser, that linen and women are to be
damned for the sin which Adam and Eve
committed nearly 5000 years ago." There
have been hair-splittipg theologians who
have held the whole race guilty of the dis
obedience of their great progenitor, and as
much deserving of punishment on account
| of the rebellion in Eden as was the origi-
! nal transgressor. But as we understand
| the doctrine now stated in the creeds it
only includes all born into the world as
tainted with the sin of Adam in the sense
that they inherit disposition to do evil,
which tendency asserts itself in their first
moral action. They are not held RESPONSE
BILE for the inheritance but for the trans.
gression which inevitably follows its pos
session. They are not accountable for
Adams fault, but for going astray them
selves as soon as they become conscious of
the difference between good and evil.
'Total depravity" does not mean that
all men are wholly wicked, but that the list
of those that have done wrong and who
have become conscious transgressors of the
moral law, includes the sum total of all
born into the world. These all sin as soon
| as they reach the years of discretion, and
know the difference between right and
wrong. We need not take the scripture
account nor quote from the creeds for the
one can be found who has the sense of
moral obligation and is not conscious of
transgression is proof enough of the
doctrine. Every man is sensible of a
proneness to evil, and feels the necessity of
self-restraint if he would not 60 astray. He
is not accountable for the original ten
dency, but he is held as transgressor
when, because of it, he does the thing he
knows to be wrong.
That which gives our correspondent the
most trouble is the "dogma of the de-
crees." He cannot reconcile it with his
sense of justice that one man should be
elected to be saved and another reprobated
to eternal misery without any volition to
that end On the part of either. We admit
that the language of many Of the creeds is
harsh and unreasonable in the statement of
that sovereignty which ordains whatever
comes to pass in the world. But We Go
not escape from the mystery by revising
the creed; nor would there be any relief
from what we know to be true if we
burned every theological treatise devoted to
this subject There are wide differences in
character, patent to the commonest cbser-
Walton. All are prone to evil, but some are
inspired with the purpose of reformation,
and in following this new bent of their will
the love of virtue gradually gains an as.
cendancy in their hearts, so that they get
the better Of the evil desires until the
change in them is universally recognized.-
Others put little or no restraint On their
selfshness and folly, and BECOME worse and
worse to the end of their days.
When man tries to beget the change In
himself by his own unaided efforts he be.
comes sensible of the hopelessness of the
He must have outside help or he
will never be redeemed from tho bondage
to evil. Here was the mistake of the old
theology. 1t represented that the needed
aid came from the supernal spheres to one
because his Maker had decreed that he
H. Ho 10 uac
withheld from another because the same
Almighty Sovereign had Gecreed that he
should be left to himself and be lost. But
theory of the difference between the two
characters. In what purports to be the
description of the Divine action the offer of
help unto life is said to be made to all
without exception, and only those who
reject the preferred aid are left to the hope
less result. The Redeemer of the world is
represented as intent on delivering the cap
tive. Ii The Gospel story he does not wait
In cold j: difference for the cry of the needy,
and yield only to their importantly. He
came to 6. elk as we'll as to save, and the
picture cf he scene where He is made to
knock al he door of every heart, asking
only that 1t may be opened to receive the
blessing, is one of the most touching ex-
hibitions ever made of unselfish love.
Here the letter. writer will ask if there is
not decree that some will keep the hearts
door closed and barred, and thus exclude
the radiant Guest? There is such decree
in the sense that whatever happens was de-
creed, if the Creator knew it would follow
in the history of the race. If we admit that
He who rolled the round world into being,
and after due preparation placed man upon
it to people the space thus provided, knew
all that would happen, then we must &C
knowledge that He ordained whatever
would come to pass. Did he foreknow that
Garfield would fall by the hand of GuiteauP
Then in His Interchangeable DEGREES He
provided for that atrocous crime. This
foreknowledge and decree did not soften
the guilt of the assassin, nor lessen his &C
liability. In the came way those who
fail to accept of the offered mercy have
their cwn willfulness to blame fer the re-
suit, although it was foreknown and de-
creed from all eternity that they would be
thus stout of purpose in spite of the
gracious knocking that comes to every
l. NfH