The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1910-01-18
0OCNe-s-s-s-e-s-s-s-e-s-s- -s-e-s-s-e~o.
PULPH IT,.
THE COST OF
CHURCH
FEDERATION
TO CONGREGATIONALISTS
PRESBYTERlANS
METHODlSTS

bodies ready 10 insist, as our fore
fathers did. that this element of faith
is essential to salvation. Few of us
would agree with Brother John Calvin,
the great architect Of this creed, that
felIow-Christians 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
Few any longer believe that there
are infants in hell not span long"
because nOn-elcct. Even where the
doctrine of Election Is still blindly
held, few have the temerty to state
their belief that any innocent infant
was predestinated to everlasting tor
ture. But Brother Calvin's cOnten-
ton expressed in the Westminster
Confession Is that there are no innocent
infants-that the condemnation OF
Original Sin was 10 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 II only through membership
in the Church of Christ. Indeed we
may say that this theory was still
older than Calvin, for did not s.. Au-
gIstine first declare the danger Of in
fants to eternal torture and the neces-
slty 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 Protestants and Catho-
lies, as evidenced by their fear to
have an infant die unbaptized-so that
some, In extreme \cases, even practice
baptism in uteroW
Doctrinally Msthodlsm is Indirectly
opposed to CalVinism in every sense
of the word. Possibly Methodists will
have less to coucede than Calvinists,
because. although in Wesleys day the
doctrine of Free Grace was combatted
on every hand. 1t Is now the taclt faith
of the vast majority of Christendom.
The doctrine that God had premedi-
AhNth anu lOi iiI
eternal torture Of cur race except
handful of the Elect was too horrible
Il one to stand. SO the Methodist doc
trIne of Divine Love for all and Free
Grace MS respects salvation has APP
pealed more and more to the growing
Intelligence of mankind. Nevertheless
we cannot do otherwise than concede
Ian ,,yH -
sands of millions which all "orthodox"
creeds consign TO eternal torture
whether they shall suffer eternal
agonies as a result Of Divine loyeless-
ness In foreordainlng 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 oncomlng Milennial Age, as the
are electric light casts the candle of
the past into the shadow, so the clear
or 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 orr hearts and
lives and made us fearful OF our Gre
ntor ms an all-powerful, but mercl-
less sovereign. In this blessed light
now shining from Gods Book have we
not basis for Christian nnionf Let
us see. IL 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 Mlllcnnlal Age, will not this
solve our problem and give us doc.
trlnal union instead of mere tcderd.
ton based upon the ignoring OF doc.
trineP We can all assent to this, there.
fore let us examine the facts.
The Bible assurcdly declares a Di.
vine election according to Divine
purpose foreordalned-bu not such an
election as Brother Calvin outlined.
God foroordained the selection of a
| Church. predestlnatlng the number
who would constitute it's membership
ana the character of each one who
would be acceptable as n member. He
foreordalned tests of the worthlness OF
these members and the glorious re.
ward that should be theirs and great
work which they shall be privileged to
do for mankind -llmltcdly now, fully
during the Millennium Accustomed to
! the election OF fcllow.citl2ens to the
Presidency, to Congress- etc, where
they Will have the opportunity for
blessing the non-clect, we should have
carried this same thought TO the Dl-
vine election OF the Church. We should
have disccrned that the elect Church,
the seed OF Abraham" Galatians ILL.,
20l, Is specially Intended to bc the
channel Of Divine blessing to "all the
families Of the earth" Genesis xviii,
~.
How strange that we overlooked this
and the assurance that with the COM
pletion OF the Church Messiah would
exalt her In the First Resurrection"