Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-24

antithetic declarations: First, that tn
Divine passing by, is h OF in any sens
to be interpreted as Limitation
of the cordial offers of grace; and secondly
that this Divine act does not carry with i
any impairment Of that freedom, which il
some sense remains with the sinner unde
the curse of the fall, and by virtue of which
when wrought upon by the Holy Ghost, h
embraces Christ and is saved through Him
WILL NOT SATISFY ALI.
That the chapter as amended will fully
satisfy the church, cannot be expected
There will still be someone who would pre-
fer to see the entire doctrine dislodged from
its central place in the Confession; though
it is difficult to see how this could be done
without an open abandonment at this point
of the Reformed, or Calvinistic system.
DR.. Morris makes objection to the use OF
the words "some of mankind and 'the rest
of mankind, which were not changed by
the committee. 1t implies that the saved
are only few and that the lost are the
great majority of the human race This Dr.
Morris thinks no Presbyterian now believes.
He saws:
"Surely some form of statement should be
introduced here which would remove for
ever the stigma of so narrowing compari-
that finally, in accordance with the grand
and benevolent purpose of God, a great
multitude whom no man can number shall
be redeemed through grace, while only some
small proportion of mankind shall perish in
and for their sin"
The idea of creation. as taught in chapter
of the Confession, has also been remode1led
to conform to the teachings of science. The
committee re-wrote this paragraph, introduc-
ing the idea that the heavens and the earth,
and all things therein, were created in six
creative days of indefinite duration. The
creation of the universe is also affirmed, al
though not in connection with the period of
time known as the "six days"
THE IDEA OF UNIVERSE.
The word universe was used, DR.. Morris
explains, to express more perfectly the
comprehensive idea of creation, as ex-
pressed in the Nicene Greed. "And the
value of such comprehensive statement is
specially apparent in such an age as ours,
when false and perpicious theories of crea-
tlon are widely current, when for the crea-
tive energy of personal God, bringing all
things into existence by His own omnifc
counsel and will, there is substituted SO
much of unbiblical teaching as the origin
OF nature through some primal energy in
matter, or by the action of impersonal force
and law"
Passing on to the doctrine of the imputa-
tion of sin and total depravity, which have
been likewise softened to agree with the
ideas of to-day, DR.. Morris explains the
language describing the moral condition of
the Iallen sinner as the effects of the fall of
Adam, in this wise:
"Here the language is regarded by many
as needlessly and even Extensively strong;
and the phrase, made opposite to all good
is often falsely interpreted, as implying the
absence of any and all traces of goodness,
even in a civil and social sense, and the
presence of an innate and dominating de-
pravity, which, in the case of any sinner,
cannot well be worse
The change made qualities the phrase
thus: Made opposite TO all that is spiritu-
ally good. The opposition of the natural
heart is thus made TO relate only to that
which is spiritual, holy, due to God In
the phrase which declares that man is
wholly inclined to all evil, the word ''all''
is taken out, because the committee thought,
not that each sinner is wholly inclined to
spiritual evil, rather than to spiritual good,
in such sense and degree that of himself he
will never turn away from his sins to holi-
ness and to God.
TWO NEW CHAPTERS.
Two new chapters, 'fof the work of the
Holy Spirit" and "of the universal offer of
the gospel" having been written into the
Confession, DIR. Morris makes long, care
full and detailed explanation of the reasons
that so Influenced the committee. The |
same desire TO broaden the Confession is |
here apparent, by introducing clauses con-
tanning more explicit statements respecting |
the love of God for mankind, the suficiency |
Of the atonement, the free offer of salvation I
o all men, the person and work of the
Holy Spirit, the duty of the church to
the world, and the responsibility |
of every sinner for the rejection of this |
offered grace.
As to the work of the Holy Ghost, the
committee has elaborated the utterance of
the Nicene creed on this point. The COM
nittee thought: f'Our Confession certainly
falls below the level of this old creed,
as to the duty of loving, obeying
md adoring the Spirit as Person in the
blessed Trinity. To meet this deficiency
he committee introduced their chapter with
declaration which is substantially that of
Nicea, as to the divinity of the Spirit, his
,o-equal place as Person with the first and
econd Persons, and his right to credence,
owe and devotion by all men through all
ges."
SCOPE OF THE WILL.
Lie cudpleE Ou Tree Will required the !
ame softening process, so as to make it
onform to the rewritten chapter 8. The
hange, DR.. Morris explains, was made with
egard to the state of the human will since
he fall and before its regeneration. The
ommittee's idea was that the loss of liberty
# the will as the effect of Adams sin was
loss in the direction of spiritual good
That the sinner is therefore spiritually
lead and cannot put himself into condi-
ion of true holiness Instead, therefore,
# saying that man is altogether averse
rom good and dead IN sin, the committee
suggest that he is merely indisposedto to good.
The Calvanistic doctrine of election re-
,eives much attention in the pamphlet. The
popular idea that the Westminster divines
aught infant and heather damnation seems
o have moved the Revision Committee, for
he chapter of effectual calling is totally
hanged. OF the important clause affirming .
hat the dying infants of elect parents and
III other elect persons who are incapable of
,eing outwardly called by the ministry of
he word are regenerated and saved by
Christ through the Spirit, who worketh
when, and where and how he pleaseth, Dr.
Norris says:
Respecting the incomparably larger
lass referred to in this statement-the
wing infants constitute nearly or quite half
f the human race-the change proposed is
very significant one. The revision makes
broad affirmation in the most explicit
orm, by omitting the limited term, elect,
nd inserting the comprehending term, all.
Cor the first time it introduces the explain
tory declaration that all such infants are