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Show THE ll.I.MIlTlltI.VM.Itlll. Oik or the (pnitloiii discussed by tho l'ntbyterlau Ocneral Assembly now In session nt Ditrolt, hat rccihed thu alleutlon or iio.rly nil religious lioilles In thu United Htatcs. e refer to tho proposed n vision of tho l'ruby. torlau nrtlclet ol faith. Tor years tomo of tho more enllght. ened nien.lK.rs of that organlaatlon have felt the Injiulkool the doitrlno of prediutlaat Ion at laid down In thu Wislmlnsttr Con fcsslo n. but the num. Ur of jrotistants against this apparently ap-parently cruel and Illogical doctrine wat to Insignificant as to command but little attention. Hie k nihil. lit s read, howoMr, nnl lost year the Astern bly appointed n commltteo to iropito a revision of tho aril-ilia aril-ilia or fallh wild n view of illoilnatliig tho oljecllonablo tirma and imrolons. The work of this lonimlUeohat now beui hid Uloro the Assiniiil), flnal action to bo taken ujkiii tlilt Imiiortant iiuestlon nt u M lowing session. There ought to bo no serloutoljio lion among lllblo studints lo Iho illm. (nation from tho crl of a doctrine In whkh (11 Is niresuilwl as having foreorlaliicilacululii number or Ills children to salvation and another i units uni-ts r-lho 1 irget to eternal damnation Thu doctrine Is not only Irrecuuellab i lib. mir ioncitlona of liillnlto mercy anljmtuo, tut It stems alio lobe a direct contra llctlon of the fact that man Is a resintlUeageiit,accjuiitablo fur his decdi, whether good or ell Tho Idoi of rede-llnallon was woven Into the ,ytm, f ,.,,. iimtlo theology, not y y ,, Jl authors of Iho IllbU, tut 1 y Augustine. And when It Is known that this eminent church father, a. "Ncanlcr stall t, often real the iul lures more tu discover soiiitthlniz b eoriobomto his own views than to find the truth, It may wellbe,u.,wcliH that tho objoctloiublodoetrlnohat Itt .. Jwt.msJ'raftiBW deijs-jt rcotslu the l'latuiilati J.llo. . hy if which Auriistlne wat a alia grnt student, rather than lu the soil i f true Christianity. The doctrine of election as foun I In the c rl lure la widely illiTerenl from Hie Aiigusllnlan-C'iilvliilttlo cnnceii-Hon. cnnceii-Hon. It cahlblU the tndi 4-iidenco of our C'rtitor an I re rfsenlt Illm as pursuing pur-suing Hit own )lant an I pur.n tn romotlng the good of nil 1 1 Is chll Iren, without lr terfrrlng with their freedom ol action. It dectaita tho source1 of slvallon to W, In tho flrt Instance, themerc) of (M. It accoiintt for tho rejection i f His Uofpcl by nations without with-out cxcuslnc this rilertloti. And II Kites a reason fir the j relic Hon of Iho flusl success of tho King loin of Christ, notwithstanding all hodlllty. Limited o these features the eloo Irluo or predestination It scrlptiiral,but when It Is applied to Individuals, making mak-ing them all but lrrcmslble machines ma-chines In Iho bauds ot an engineer, II It false lu theory and dliattroua lulls t fleets. It can, therefore bo on!) gratifying to l Hovers In thu "word of flod" to learn that an Inlluenthl religious re-ligious body has tho cuurago to tale tie s towardt tho correction of the error. Hut another question naturally arlsis. Ifoneeloctrlne can be rejected be cause It ofTendt tho sentiment of In-dlvllual, In-dlvllual, why cannot every other doitrlnu be rejected for the time reason? Home might fe-cl that the doctrine doc-trine of the dlrlnll) of Christ Is, at Dr. llrandea calla It, an absurdity. absurd-ity. Others might think, with Dr. Wal lenstroni, that the doctrine doc-trine of sul.tllutlon Is a "jurl Ural llfllcully." It seems that the rrctby terlans,by the ttrp they now have taken, bind themselves to eliminate one doctrine after another from their creed, shout I the sentiment ag-iinst It grow strong enough to demand contld-e contld-e ration. Here Is a dilemma, Iniiicd. Tim followers of theYVcslmlnstcr Confession havofor years and years declared to the world that this creed wat founded on Hie wi rd of (loil, In Ihelr Clnlon thu only revelations over to lie had, thu only source cf aUoluto religious truth, iirfcctaud Infallible. Hut now they aro forced, i Ither to cling to their erred an I sutler their church lo be I roken up Into fictions, or the to change that creed, that embodiment of the Infallll l word of (led. If they choose this I liter alternative, a Ihey In all robablllty wll!,what confidence can I e placed In the rest of the creed? It It not all liable lo a very reasonable suslclon? The whole situation lltustratri the necessity of the contlnue-d ruul&tlous of that Hplrlt whose special function among men It to guide them to all truth. Man ma le doctrines, however carefully vx ressed, or awholes)stcm of doctrines, however well furmed, wlllsooueror later rovu their Iniuf-Ilclcncy Iniuf-Ilclcncy and V ring fatal confusion. Divinely revealed truths are eternal and unchangeable. Theto alone car. stand the test of ages an I bring about harmony aud ha loess lo mankind. |
