The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1902-1905, 1902-06-05
slope for the Children"
Editor PALATKA NEWS:

Editor PALATKA NEWS:
In your recent editorial, "Hope for
the Children" in which you com,
mented on the doctrine of Infant
salvation" as held by the Presbyte.
rian church, you clnssed yourself
among the ''ordinary mortals who
nave not had the benefits of thee.
logical training" And so, you will
not think it presumptuous in me to
correct some of your impressions and
statements on the position of the
Presbyterian church.
The clause in the Confession OF
Faith which sets forth the doctrine
in question is as follows: Elect in
fants, dying in infancy, are regener-
ated and saved by Christ, through
the spirit, who worketh when, and
where and how we pleaseth." 1t oc-
ours in the chapter on "effectual
calling" which describe how human
beings are saved, viz, by the mystic
rious work of the Holy Spirit in re.
generation. "Elect infants" living
through infancy, and growing up, are
saved by the work of the Holy Spirit
and by their own acts of faith, repen-
tance and conversion. ELECT infants
dying in infancy and "all other
elect persons who are incapable of
being outwardly called by the minis
try of the word"-that is, infants
who die and infants who grow up
idiots and imbeciles-cannot undel-
stand, believe, repent and convert,
ana 50 are saved by regeneration and
the blood of Christ, but without any
acts of their own.
Infants and idiots, as we'll as
adults, have a place in Gods plan of
salvation. They are saved, not be-
cause they are innocent, but because
Jesus came to seek them as, by ma
ture being among those that Were
lost, and because sit is not the will
of your father in heaven that one of
these little ones should perish" The
Presbyterian standards are the only
ones which furnish the scriptural
ground for the salvation of infants
who die and of idiots. And this is
the significance and value of this
are perverting and doing 50 much
reckless talking about.
Very many in the Presbyterian
church are stoutly resisting even the
slightest modification of the ''elect
infant cause.-the writer is one of
them-because they resent the idea
that this clause is capable of being
construed into teaching anything so
aboninable as "infant damnation"
words no where found in the confess
sion). And many good Presbyte-
rians are working to modify the
clause, to satisfy desire for the
church to disavow certain infer
ences drawn from statements of the
Confession of Faith"
Such a horrible doctrine as that of
Infant damnation' has never been
taught by the Presbyterian church.
There is no "lnfant damnatiOn
clause" as you describe it, in the
confession; and there never has been
one. And the demand for revision
and reinstatement is no demand to
get rid of Il dead letter clause in the
fundamentals of the church." The
church believes so fully and earnest
ly in the salvation of all infants that
many of it's members are unduly
sensitive about it, and are deeply
grieved by the bascless imputation
of the thOughtless ind unfriendly,
and wish to revise in a manner suited
to silence forever the differences of
men and the misgivings of some of
the members of the church.
Very Respectfully,
THOs. 7. HAY.