Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1910-01-22

/ to all eternity. in order that they might
suffer cxcruciating pains. both mental
and physical. never-ending. as part
Of the supposed penalty Of the "origi-
nal Sin committed by our first par
ents in Eden.
Evidently there will be few people
In these highly intelligent Christian
bodies reauy to 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
fellow-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 a span long"
because non-elect. Even where the
doctrine Of Election Is still blindly
held, few have the temerity to state
their belief that any innocent infant
/ was predestinated to everlasting tor
| ture. But Brother Calvin's conteD-
ton expressed In the Westminster
Confession is that there are no innocent
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 Professionals and Catho-
lies. as evidenced by their fear to
have an infant die unbaptized-so that
some. in extreme cases, even practice
baptism In uterog"
Doctrinally Methodlsm Is indirectly
opposed to Calvinism 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, it is now the tacit faith
of the vast majority of Christendom.
The doctrine that God had premedi-
tated and irreyocably foreordained the
eternal torture of our race except a
handful of the Elect was too horrible
a one to stand. So the Methodist doc
trine of Divine Love for all and Free
Grace as respects salvation has APP
pealed more and 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 consgn TO eternal torture
whether they shall suffer eternal
agonies as a result of Divine loveless-
ness in foreordaining 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 Millennial Age. as the
arc electric light casts the candle of
the past into the shadow, so the clear
err 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 unions Let
| us see! II 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
I trinal union instead Of mere fedora
) ton based upon the ignoring Of doc.
! trine! We can all assent to this. there
, fore let us examine the facts.
4 The Bible assuredly declares a Di-
, vine election according to a 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 a member. He
, foreordained tests of the worthiness of
. these members and the glorious re-
ward that should be theirs and a great
] work which they shall be privileged ia
do for mankind-limitedly now, fully
during the Millennium. Accustomed to
the election Of fellow-citizeus 10 the
! Presidency, TO Congress. etc, where
they will have the nnnnrtnniiv f,,r