St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-20
CHURCH EVOLUTION.

Could JOHN CALVIN, JOHN WESLEY,
WHITFIELD, JONATHAN EDWARDS and
the rest of the founders and early pro-
denly back to earth, what would they
think of the evolution which has taken
place in their doctrines since their days?
These men taught with power which
swept over mankind like Almighty wave,
that the Almighty was God who in
anger consigned the unjust and wicked
to literal he'll of fire and birthstone.
They believed that the one who fell one
hairs breadth short of the requirements
of their Creator received the fate of the
most wicked person. Even the heather,
who had not the light of Christianity,
and, with CALVIN, the infant, were
doomed to dwell forever III the lake of
fire and birthstone. They placed lit
eral construction upon the Bible, and
sough. to shut off the operation of
human reason.
1t is one of the most marvellous things
in the world that this awful doctrine
stood so long. 1t is only within about
thirty years that the churches which
were founded upon the teachings of
these men have been modifying their
old belief. Here and there some able
man has been bold enough to declare
that it was not possible for him to teach
such divine injustice. Almost every
one of these has had to 60 through the
ordeal of church trial and bitter de-
nunciation from the more narrow men,
berS of the faith; some have been eX-
PEELED, and some have succeeded in
forcing their churches to modify the
doctrines.
Rev. JOHN w. CROOKS. Of the Burr
Street Baptist church, read paper be-
fore The weekly meeting of min
listers yesterday afternoon, in which he
asserted that the preaching of such men
as WESLEY, WHITFIELD and EDWARDS
was largely responsible for the present
unrest in the orthodox churches. Take,
for instance" says Mr.. CROOKS, 1.-The
sermon by JONATHAN EDWARDS on
Sinners in the Hands OF an Angry God.'
wherein he portrays God to be a great
monster, Who is gloating over the lost
in hell as He tramps them under His
feet, one crushed and bleeding mass of
humanity. The blood is squirting in
every direction, while their shrieks
ring through the hot air, which is filed
with flames and smoke"
Mr.. CROOKS has grasped. in part, the
cause for the unrest; but he has not
gone far enough. CALVIN and IVES
LEY lived when Europe was just emerg-
ing from the dark ages. People were
commonly burned at the stake for diff
fering from the majority party on mat
tiers of political and other opinion; in
some parts of Europe petit thieves were
burned at the stake, and in all other
parts they were put to death in some
manner. These men grew Up with the
impress of those methods firmly stamped
upon their mortal beings. They are to
be excused to great extent if they did
not see clearly through the glimmer of
Christianity which had just dawned,
and were influenced in their conceptions
by their surroundings. Civilization was
but little advanced when JONATHAN
EDWARDS came into action. The great
est blame for the present conditions
rests upon the shoulders of the men of
the nineteenth century who persistently
adhered to the dogmas which were
nodded under the influences of the age
of cruelty. There is no excuse for these
adherents, for they have grown up under
the influences of an enlightened and
mercifuI age. Had the evolution which
has been going OIL some thirty years
begun fifty years sooner. there would be
little or no unrest in the churches today,
and the cause of the orthodox religion
would be many~times stronger.