The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-25
POPULAR MISTAKES
ABoUT THE WESTMINSTER CONFESS
SION OF FAITH.
DISCUSSED BY DR.. MeCoRKLE.
nNoTHING HORRIBLE IN THE Doc
TRINE OF PREDEsTINATION."

OaiciaI POsitiOns-The Prcsbyte-
rian Church i'm Regard to Predes-
tination Teaches What Is Taught
EyanEeIfcaI Churches-The Saliva
ton of Babies Dying in Infancy.
"some Popular Misconceptions of the
Westminster Confession was the sub
iect of Rev. DIR. William P. McCorkle's
sermon yesterday morning at the First
Presbyterian Church. Notwithstanding
the unfavorable weather a fine congrega-
ton was present, and listened to the SER
mon with manifest interest and approval.
After reading Daniel Nv, 49, "by
way of preface rather than for
the purpose of exposition Mr..
McCorkle made a few comments upon the
story of Nebuchadnezzar' dream and its
sequel, calling attention to the fact that
it is irrational to deny the doctrine of the
sovereignty of God. The verdict of calm,
impartial reason must ever be that God
"doeth according to his will in the army
of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth" Announcing as his subject,
Westminster Confession" MIR. McCorkle
said:
There is a misconception as to the per-
sons who are required to subscribe to our
creed. The truth is, we require nobody to
subscribe it but those who are placed in
official positions and thus become leaders
and representatives of the church. And
this they do, only after they have taken
pains to inform themselves as to what
our creed teaches, and as to whether It's
teachings are scriptural. The doors of the
Presbyterian Church are as wide open as
the doors of heaven, and no church Is
more catholic as to it's terms of member
ship.
There is a misconception as to the
terms of subscription. 1t is currently
believed that we subscribe the confession
as if ii were of equal authority with the
Bible, if not above it. The first question
asked at ordination is, Do you believe the
Scriptures to be the word of God? ana
the only infallibie rule of faith and prac-
tee? The confession may err; the Blhe
only is infallible. The next question
asked is, Do you sincerely receive and
adopt the confession of faith and the
catechisms of this church as containing
the system of doctrine taught in the holy
Scriptures? We do not say we suoscrloe
every word, and every sentence; but only
that we believe that the creed as en-
bodied in the confession and catechisms Is
the same system of doctrine as that
taught in the Bible"
Proceeding, the speaker read from the
confession. to show how it guarded the
right of private judgment, and made all
DEGREES of councils, it's own, of course, IN
Guided subjects to be judged by the
Scriptures Criticism of the confession
is legitimate" he said, land we need not
conclude that the Calvanistic edihce Is
tumbling about our ears when there Us
a demand for the revision of Few sem
fences of the confession.
Again, there is much misconception
as to the general doctrine of predestina-
ton. especially as it regards the fall, and
the existence of sin. We are represented
as teaching a doctrine which destroys
human responsibility and makes God the
author of sin. Now the confession teaches
that God foreordains all things, yet so
as thereby neither is God the author Oh
sin, nor is the liberty or contingency
of second causes taken away, but rather
established The links in the argument
of the Westminster divines were these:
First, God foreordains all things; second,
among the things foreordained Is free
moral agency. and accountability; thlrd,
therefore, nothing that has been foreor-
daned can in anyNise set aside free
agency. To do so would make him the
author of sin, and it would set aside tna'
very, liberty and contingency OF human
choice. which has been decreed by the
fiat of creation.
There is assuredly nothing horrible in
this doctrine. The truth is we teach on
these general points, precisely what Is
taught by the leading theologians of all
evangelical churches Mr.. McCorkle cited
the seventeenth article of the Episcopal
Church. the theology of Spurgeon and
Broadus and the statements OF wesley
Adam Clarke and Richard Watson In
proof of his assertion. Illustrating how
God "orders and governs the free acts
of his creatures, he said, Here is watch
and three books. l did not make them
and am not responsible for anything In
them. But for my own purpose put them
here, and arrange them in this order
Just so does God order and govern sin
The guilt and responsibility of murder
lies in the heart of the murderer; but
God permits it, and for his own wise
reasons may so control the event
itself that it shall be by a knife
instead of by bullet or poison, and to-
morrow instead of to-day, and on tht
Bay instead of on Bull street. And TINS
is just what we mean by his 'orderlne
and governing and bounding all sins o.
men ana OF anBels.
The last point discussed was the saliva
ton of infants dying in infancy. Con
ceding that the language of the confess
sion was open to misconstruction by tht
uniformed Mr. McCorkle showed ~ thal
the church understood the phrase "elec'
infants" as synonymous with the clause
infants dying in Infancy 90 that neith
err Calvin nor any respectable Calvinlstl'
writer believed in the damnation or any
infants; (3) that In this regard, the Pres
byterian Church had been far in advance
Of other churches since some In othel
churches believe to this day that the in
FAINT dying unbaptized is damned; ana tina
CD the Cavinistic system is the only one
which provides consistently for the sal
Walton Of all infants dying In infancy
1t IS a Calvinistic doctrine which mas
within the last century, been adopted pS
evangelical Christendom.
Concluding, the speaker declared M
conviction that the current discuss.oi
would only call attention to the great
ness and worth of the Westminster Con
fesison. He quoted high commentator
Of 1t from eminent Methodist authorities
and said that the older Presbyterian
became, and the better Informed, tn
more they appreciated creed, agains
which the chief objection urged was
that more clearly and logically than am
other II set forth the truth which Neb
uchadnezzar saw when his reason wa
reEtored-that God doeth according u