| Show THE presbyterian CREED i ONE of the questions discussed discue eed by the presbyterian general assembly i now in session at detroit has received abe he attention of nearly all religious bodies in the united states we refer fo the proposed revision of the presbyterian articles of faith for years some of the more enlightened numbers of that organization have felt the injustice of the doctrine of predestination an ae laid down in the westminster confession but the number of protestants prote stanta against this apparently parent ly cruel and illogical doctrine was so I 1 insignificant as to command but little attention the sentiment spread however and last year the assembly appointed it committee to propose a revision of the artielee articles cles of faith with a view of eliminating the objectionable terms and expressions the work of this committee has now been laid before the assembly final fl ns action to be taken upon this important question lop at ai a fol lowing session there ought to be no serious objection among bible students to the elimination from the creed of a doctrine in aich which god to is represented as having foreordained fore ordained a certain number of his children to salvation and another number the largest to eternal damnation the doctrine is not only irreconcilable with our conceptions of infinite mercy and justice but it seems also to be a direct contradiction of the fact that man is a responsible agent accountable for his deeds whether good or evil the idea of predestination was woven into the system of dogmatic theology not by any of the authors of the bible but by augustine and when it itle is known that this eminent church father as neander states often read the scriptures more to discover something to corroborate his own views than to fand ti nd the truth it may well be suspected that the objectionable doctrine has its deepest roots in the Platon tan philosophy of which augustine was a diligent student rather than in the soil of true christianity the doctrine of election as found in the 1110 scriptures is widely different from the augustinian calvinistic conception it exhibits the independence of our creator and represents him as pursuing his own plans and purposes oes in promoting the good of all his children without interfering with their freedom of action it declares the source of salvation to be in the first instance the mercy of god it accounts for the rejection of the gospel by nations without excusing this rejection and it gives a reason for the prediction of the final success of the kingdom of christ notwithstanding all hostility limited to these features the doe doctrine of predestination is scriptural but when it is applied to individuals making them all but irresponsible machines in the hands of an engineer it to is wee false in theory and disastrous in its effects it can therefore be only strati Wing to believers in the word of god to learn that an influential religious body has the courage to take steps towards the correction of the error but another question naturally arises if one doctrine can be rejected bemuse because it offends the sentiment of individuals divi duals why cannot every other doctrine be rejected for the same reason some might feel that the doctrine of the divinity of christ is as dr brandes calls it an absurdity others might think with dr that the doctrine of substitution is a juridical difficulty it seems that the presby te ter rians lans by the step they now have taken hind bind themselves to eliminate nate one doctrine after another from their creed should the sentiment against it grow strong aprong enough to demand consideration era tion here is a dilemma indeed the followers follwe rs of confession have for years and years declared to the world that this creed was founded on the word of god in their opinion the only revel ns ever to be had bad the only source of absolute religious truth perfect and infallible but now they are forced either to cling to their creed and suffer their church to be broken up into factions or else to change that creed that embodiment of the infallible word of god if they choose this letter latter alternative as they in all probability will what confidence can be placed in the rest of the creed to Is it not all liable to a very reasonable suspicion the whole the necessity or of the continued revelations of that spirit whom special function among men to is to guide them to all truth man made doctrines however carefully expressed or a whole system of doctrines however well formed will sooner or later prove their insaf fl fi clency and bring fatal confusion divinely revealed truths are eternal anti and unchangeable these alone can stand the test of ages and bring about harmony and happiness to mankind |
