The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-01-19
PEOPLES PULPIT.
THE COST OF
CHURCH
FEDERATION
TO CONCRECAT lONALlSTS
PRESBYTERlANS
METHODISTS

ME f1O)DlSlS
oCps-ss-s-s-s-s-s-s-s.s.s-
Evidently there will be few people
In these highly intelligent Christian
bodies ready to Insist. rs our fore
fathers did. thai this element of faith
Is essential 10 salvation. Few Of us
would agree with Brother John Calvin.
the great architect OF this creed. that
j fellowChristians rejecting this doc
trine should be burned at the stake,
as Brother Calvin decided in respect
to Brother Servetus No. thank God!
We have outgrown some of the mar
rowness which so terribly fettered
some of our brethren during the dark
ages.
are Infants in hell not span long,"
because non -elcct. Even where the
doctrine of Election is still blindly
held, few have the temerity to state
their belief chat any innocent infant
was predestinated to everlasting tor
ture. But Brother Calvins cOnten-
ton expressed in the Westminster
infants-that the condemnation Of
Original Sin was to eternal torture and
that Adams children. born in sin and
shapen in iniquity." were therefore not
innocent. but guilty born under the
sentence OF eternal torment and sal
vable from it only through membership
in the Church of Christ. indeed we
may say that this theory was still
older than Calvin. for did not st. Au-
gustine first declare the danger of In
fants to eternal torture and the neces-
sity of their being brought into the
Church of Christ by baptism In order
to escape eternal torture? And Is not
the force of this teaching still manifest
amongst both I'rotestants and CathO-
lies, as evidenced by their fear to
have an infant die unbaptizcd-so that
some, in extreme cases. even practice
Baptism in utrroT'
/ Doctrinally AiethodisIn Is indirectly
opposed to Calvtnism in every sense
of the word. Possibly Methodists will
have less to concede than CalvinistS,
because. although in Wesley's day the
doctrine of Free Grace was combatted
on every hand il is now the tacit faith
Of the vast majority of ChristendOm.
The doctrine that God had premedi-
tated and irrev0.atiy foreordained the
eternal torture OF our race except a
handful of the Elect was too horrible
one to stand. SO the Methodist doc
trine of Divine Love for all and Free
Grace as respects salvation has ap-
pealed more ana more to the growing
intelligence OF mankind. Nevertheless
we cannot do otherwise than concede
that 1t will matter little to the thou
sands of millions which all "orthOdOx"
creedS cOnSign To eternal torture
whether they shall suffer eternal
agOnies as a result of Divine lOveiess-
ness in foreorlaining their sufferings
or to Divine inability to outwork for
their benefit The supposed advantages
OF Free Grace arranged for them by
Divine Love.
/ The More EXCELLENT Way.
Our suggestion is that now, in the
tapping time of this Gospel Age with
the Oncoming Milennial Age. as the
arc electric light casts the candle of
the past into the shadow, so the clear
er light now shining from the pages
Of Gods Word casts into the shadow
all the doctrines of the dark ages"
relieving us of the horrible nightmare
which once beclouded our hearts and
lives and made us fearful of our Gre
atOr as an all-powerful. but merci.
less sovereign. In this blessed light
now shining from Gods Book have we
not basis for Christian uniOnf Let
us see. If we can find in Gods Word
that the doctrine of Election and the
doctrine of Free Grace are both true,
both Biblical. but that one belongs to
the Church in this Gospel Age and the
other to mankind in general In the
coming Milennial Age. will not this
solve our problem and give us doc
trinal union instead of a mere fedora
ton based upon the ignoring of doc
trine? We can all assent to this. there
fore let us examine the facts.
The Bible assure ,iy declares a Di-
vine election according to Divine
purpose foreordained-but not such an
election as Brother Calvin outlined.
God fOreOrdained the selection of a
Church, predestinating the number
who would constitute its membership
and the character of each one who
would be acceptable as member. He
fOreordained tests of the worthiness of
these members aud the glorious re-
ward that should be theirs and great
4. :x.lx.