Produced by Keith G. Richardson
EVANGELICAL UNION DOCTRINAL SERIES.
(_FIFTH ISSUE_.)
THE DOCTRINES
OF
PREDESTINATION, REPROBATION, AND ELECTION.
_EVANGELICAL UNION DOCTRINAL SERIES._
_The following Volumes of the Series are now ready,
Price is. 6d. each:_--
REGENERATION: Its Conditions and Methods. By the Rev. ROBERT
CRAIG, M.A.
THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD. By the Rev. ROBERT MITCHELL.
THE HOLY SPIRIT'S WORK: Its Nature and Extent. By the Rev. GEORGE
CRON.
THE NATURE OF THE ATONEMENT. By the Rev. WILLIAM ADAMSON, D.D.
_OTHERS IN PREPARATION._
THE DOCTRINES
OF
PREDESTINATION, REPROBATION,
AND ELECTION.
BY
ROBERT WALLACE,
_Pastor of Cathcart Road E. U. Church, Glasgow._
LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO.
GLASGOW: THOMAS D. MORISON.
1880.
PREFACE.
WERE a number of shipwrecked mariners cast upon an island, one of
their first inquiries would be, Is it inhabited? Having observed
footmarks upon the sand, and other tokens of man's presence, another
question would be, What is the character of the people? Are they
anthropophagi, or are they of a friendly disposition? The importance
of such questions would be realised by all. Their lives might depend
upon the answer to the latter.
We look around upon the universe, and everywhere observe marks of
design, or the adapation of means to ends. The conviction gathers
upon us with deepening power, that there must have been a supreme
intelligence arranging the forces of nature. If I throw the dice box
twenty times, and the same numbers always turn up, I cannot resist
the conclusion that the dice must have been loaded. The application
is simple. But, as in the case of the mariners, a second question
arises, viz.:--What is the character of the Being revealed in
nature? Is He beneficent, or like the fabled Chronus, who devoured
his children? It is substantially with this second question that the
following work has to do. It is a treatise concerning the character
of God.
The subjects discussed have been for many years the occasion of much
controversy and difficulty. Whilst to certain minds it were more
agreeable to read exposition of Christian truth, yet the followers
of Christ may often have to contend for the faith once delivered to
the saints. Our Lord's public ministry showed how earnestly He
contended for the truth. At every corner He was met by the men of
"light and leading" amongst the Jews, and who did their best to
oppose Him. Paul, too, when he lived at Ephesus, disputed "daily in
the school of one Tyrannus, and this continued by the space of two
years." The period of the Reformation was also one of earnest
discussion between the adherents of the old faith and the followers
of Luther. The questions discussed in those days, both in apostolic
and post-apostolic times, were eminently practical; but they were
not a whit more so than the questions of Predestination,
Reprobation, and Election. These touch every man to the very centre
of his being when he awakes from the sleep of indifference, and
wishes to know the truth about the salvation of his soul. It has
been our object, in the present volume, to dispel the darkness which
has been thrown around those subjects, and to let every man see that
the way back to the bosom of the heavenly Father is as free to him
as the light of heaven.
The following treatise consists of an Introduction bearing on the
history of the questions discussed; Part I. treats of Predestination;
Part II. is on Reprobation, and Part III. on Election.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
_PART I.--PREDESTINATION._
CHAPTER I.
THE WORD PREDESTINATION, AND THE DOCTRINE AS HELD BY CALVINISTS.
CHAPTER II.
CALVINISTIC PREDESTINATION IN REFERENCE TO DIVINE WISDOM.
CHAPTER III.
THE DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO ALMIGHTY
POWER.
CHAPTER IV.
PREDESTINATION CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO DIVINE FOREKNOWLEDGE.
CHAPTER V.
PROOF-TEXTS FOR CALVINISTIC PREDESTINATION EXAMINED.
CHAPTER VI.
OBJECTIONS TO CALVINISTIC PREDESTINATION.
CHAPTER VII.
GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE DOCTRINE.
_PART II.--REPROBATION._
CHAPTER I.
THE CALVINISTIC DOCTRINE OF REPROBATION STATED.
CHAPTER II.
THE BIBLE USAGE OF THE WORD REPROBATION.
CHAPTER III.
PROOF-TEXTS FOR CALVINISTIC REPROBATION EXAMINED.
CHAPTER IV.
OBJECTIONS TO CALVINISTIC REPROBATION.
CHAPTER V.
SUMMARY OF THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF REPROBATION.
_PART III.--ELECTION._
CHAPTER I.
THEORIES OF CALVINISTIC ELECTION.
CHAPTER II.
CALVINISTIC ELECTION INVOLVES POSITIVE REFUSAL TO PROVIDE SAVING
GRACE FOR THE LOST.
CHAPTER III.
CALVINISTIC ELECTION CONSIDERED IN REFERENCE TO THE SOVEREIGNTY OF
GOD.
CHAPTER IV.
CALVINISTIC ELECTION JUDGED BY THE REASON.
CHAPTER V.
BIBLE TEXTS IN PROOF OF CALVINISTIC ELECTION CONSIDERED.
CHAPTER VI.
OBJECTIONS TO THE CALVINISTIC DOCTRINE OF ELECTION.
CHAPTER VII.
THE SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF EVANGELICAL ELECTION.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only beloved Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.--_Jesus._
I reject the Calvinistic doctrine of Predestination, not because it
is incomprehensible, but because I think it irreconcilable with the
justice and goodness of God.--_Bishop Tomlin._
God our Saviour will have all men to be saved.--_Paul._
THE DOCTRINES
OF
PREDESTINATION, REPROBATION, AND ELECTION.
INTRODUCTION.
REGARDING the predestinarian controversy, it has been said, "Hardly
one among the many Christian controversies has called forth a
greater amount of subtlety and power, and not one so long and so
persistently maintained its vitality. Within the twenty-five years
which followed its first appearance upwards of thirty councils (one
of them the General Council of Ephesus) were held for the purpose of
this discussion. It lay at the bottom of all the intellectual
activity of the conflicts in the Mediaeval philosophic schools; and
there is hardly a single subject which has come into discussion
under so many different forms in modern controversy" (_Ch. Encyc_.)
Although the controversy between Pelagius and Augustine began in the
fifth century, it is an interesting inquiry--What was the mind of
the earlier Christian writers on the subject? Of course their
opinion cannot settle the truth of the question in debate, but it
has a very important bearing upon the subject. The late Dr. Eadie
claimed the voice of antiquity for the system of the Confession of
Faith. He says, "The doctrine of predestination was held in its
leading element by the ancient Church, by the Roman Clement,
Ignatius, Hermas, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus, before Augustine
worked it into a system, and Jerome armed himself on its behalf"
(_Ec. Cyc._) This statement may be fairly questioned, and, we think,
successfully challenged. Dr. Cunningham, in his _Historical
Theology_, remarks, "The doctrine of Arminius can be traced back as
far as the time of Alexandrinus, and seems to have been held by many
of the Fathers of the third and fourth centuries." He attributes
this to the corrupting influence of Pagan philosophy (_Hist. Theo._,
Vol. II., p. 374). This is not a direct contradiction to Eadie, but
it shows that truth compelled this sturdy Calvinist to admit that
non-Calvinistic views were held in the earlier and best period of
the Church. The question, however, is one that must be decided by
historical evidence, and not by authority. And what is that
evidence? Mosheim, in writing of the founders of the English Church,
says, "They wished to render their church as similar as possible to
that which flourished in the early centuries, and that Church, as no
one can deny, was an entire stranger to the Dordracene doctrines"
(_Reid's Mos._, p. 821). The Synod of Dort met in A.D. 1618, and
condemned the Arminian doctrine, and decided in favour of Calvinism;
but, according to Mosheim, this system of Calvin was unknown to the
early Church. Faber maintains the same. He says, "The scheme of
interpretation now familiarly, though perhaps (if a scheme ought to
be designated by the name of its _original_ contriver) not quite
correctly, styled Calvinism, may be readily traced back in the Latin
and Western Church to the time of Augustine. But here we find
ourselves completely at fault. Augustine, at the beginning of the
fifth century, is the first ecclesiastical writer who annexes to the
Scriptural terms 'elect' and 'predestinate' the peculiar sense which
is now usually styled Calvinistic. With him, in a form scarcely less
round and perfect than that long and subsequently proposed by the
celebrated Genevan reformer himself, commenced an entirely new
system of interpretation previously unknown to the Church Catholic.
What I state is a mere dry historical fact" (_Faber's Apos. Trin._,
_Cooke's Theo._, p. 305).
Prosper of Acquitania was a devoted friend and admirer of Augustine,
and not wishing to be charged with propagating new views, wrote to
the Bishop of Hippo (Augustine) desiring to know how he could refute
the charge of novelty. "For," saith he, "having had recourse to the
opinion of almost all that went before me concerning this matter, I
find all of them holding one and the same opinion, in which they
have received the purpose and the predestination of God according to
His prescience; that for this cause God made some vessels of honour
and other vessels of dishonour, because He foresaw the end of every
man, and knew before how he would will and act" (_Whitby's Pos._, p.
449). This was a frank acknowledgment on the part of Prosper, who
was a man of ability, and Secretary to Leo, and it carried much
farther than was intended. The fact, however, was patent that the
Christian Church for some four hundred years was a stranger to what
is known as the doctrine of Calvin. The view thus stated is
confirmed by Neander. When Prosper and Hilary appealed to the Bishop
of Rome, they doubtless expected that he would favour the system of
Augustine, and condemn the Semi-pelagians (modern E.U.'s). If so,
they were mistaken. The bishop was chary, and whilst speaking
contemptuously of those presbyters who raised "curious questions,"
he left it undecided what the curious questions were. He had said in
his letter to the Gallic bishops, "Let the spirit of innovation, if
there is such a spirit, cease to attack the ancient doctrines;" but
he did not say what was ancient and what was novel. Neander upon
this remarks: "The Semi-pelagians, in fact, also asserted, and they
could do it with even more justice than their opponents, that by
them the ancient doctrine of the Church was defended against the
false doctrine recently introduced concerning absolute predestination,
and against the denial of free-will tenets, wholly unknown to the
ancient Church" (Vol. IV., p. 306). The concluding words are almost
identical with those of Mosheim, just quoted.
Bishop Tomline, who gave special attention to this phase of the
subject--viz., the state of opinion in the Church previous to
Augustine, says, "If Calvinists pretend that absolute decrees, the
unconditional election and reprobation of individuals, particular
redemption, irresistible grace, and the entire destruction of free
-will in man in consequence of the fall, were the doctrines of the
primitive Church, let them cite their authority, let them refer to
the works in which these doctrines are actually taught. If such
opinions were actually held we could not fail to meet with some of
them in the various and voluminous works which are still extant. I
assert that no such trace is to be found, and I challenge the
Calvinist of the present day to produce an author prior to Augustine
who maintained what are now called Calvinistic opinions" (Preface
VII.)
The extracts which he gives from the writings of the Fathers are so
many and extended that we can only give a few. Clement of Rome, a
contemporary of the apostles, says: "Let us look stedfastly at the
blood of Christ, and see how precious His blood is in the sight of
God, which, being shed for our salvation, has obtained the grace of
repentance for all the world" (p. 288). Justin Martyr, who lived
about the middle of the second century, says, "But lest anyone
should imagine that I am asserting things that happen according to
the necessity of fate, because I have said that things are
foreknown, I proceed to refute that opinion also. That punishments
and chastisements and good rewards are given according to the worth
of the actions of every one, having learnt it from the prophets, we
declare to be true; since if it were not so, but all things happen
according to fate, nothing would be in our own power; for if it were
decreed by fate that one should be good and another bad, no praise
would be due to the former, nor blame to the other; and, again, if
mankind had not the power of free-will to avoid what is disgraceful
and to choose what is good, they would not be responsible for their
actions" (Tom., p. 292). Irenaeus, who lived near the end of the
second century, says, "The expression 'How often would I have
gathered thy children together, and ye would not' (Matt. xxiii. 37),
manifested the ancient law of human liberty, because God made man
free from the beginning, having his own power as he had also his own
soul to use the sentence of God voluntarily, and not by compulsion
from God. For there is no force with God, but a good intention is
always with Him. And therefore He gives good counsel to all. But He
has placed the power of choice in man, in that those who should obey
might justly possess good, given indeed by God, but preserved by
ourselves" (Tom., p. 304). Tertullian (A.D. 200), "Therefore, though
we have learned from the commands of God both what He wills and what
He forbids, yet we have a will and power to choose either, as it is
written, 'Behold I have set before you good and evil, for you have
tasted of the tree of knowledge'" (Tom., p. 320). Origen (A.D. 230)
says, "We have frequently shown, in all our disputations, that the
nature of rational souls is such as to be capable of good and evil"
(Tom., p. 323). Ambrose (A.D. 374) says, "The Lord Jesus came to
save all sinners" (Tom., p. 377). Chrysostom (A.D. 398) says, "Hear
also how fate speaks, and how it lays down contrary laws, and learn
how the former are declared by a Divine spirit, but the latter by a
wicked demon and a savage beast. God has said, 'If ye be willing and
obedient,' making us masters of virtue and wickedness, and placing
them within our own power. But what does the other say? That it is
impossible to avoid what is decreed by fate, whether we will or not.
God says, 'If ye be willing ye shall eat the good of the land;' but
fate says, 'Although we be willing, unless it shall be permitted us,
this will is of no use.' God says, 'If ye will not obey my words, a
sword shall devour you;' fate says, 'Although we be not willing, if
it shall be granted to us, we are certainly saved.' Does not fate
say this? What, then, can be clearer than this opposition? What can
be more evident than this war which the diabolical teachers of
wickedness have thus shamelessly declared against the Divine
oracles" (Tom., p. 458).
Besides the names thus given, Tomlin appeals to and gives quotations
from the following authors of antiquity as confirming his statement
--viz., Tatian, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Lactantius, Eusebius,
Athenasius, Cyril, Hilary, Basil, Ambrose, Jerome, &c. The testimony
of the Fathers is clearly against the Calvinistic system. We do not,
of course, claim them as settling the controversy; this must be done
by an appeal to reason and the Scriptures; but it is nevertheless
deserving of attention, that for some 400 years the stream of
opinion in the Church ran in a contrary direction to that of Geneva.
The system of Calvin is, that God wishes only some men to be saved,
and that everything is fixed; and it was clearly held before
Augustine's time, that God wished all men saved, and that men were
free, which they could not be if all things were foreordained.
Besides this, it is a remarkable fact that the errors of the early
heretics bore a close resemblance to those held by the followers of
Calvin. Irenaeus, writing of Saturnius, says, "He first asserted
that there are two sets of men formed by the angels, the one good
and the other bad. And because demons assisted the worst men, that
the Saviour came to destroy bad men and demons, but to save good
men" (Tom., p. 515). Gregory of Nazianzum, warning his readers
against heresy, says, "For certain persons are so ill-disposed as to
imagine that some are of a nature which must absolutely perish," &c.
(Tom., p. 522). Jerome, commenting on Eph. v. 8, remarks,. . .
"There is not, as some heretics say, a nation which perishes and
does not admit of salvation" (Tom., p. 525). Do not the heretical
opinions denounced by the Fathers bear a close resemblance to the
"elect" and the "reprobate" of the Confession of Faith?
The departure from the ancient creed of the Church arose out of the
controversy with Pelagius. This monk, surnamed Brito (from being
generally believed to be a native of Britain), is supposed to have
been born about the middle of the fourth century. Nothing is now
known regarding the place of his birth, or precise period when he
was born. His name "is supposed to be a Greek rendering of
(Pelagios, of or belonging to the sea) the Celtic appellative
Morgan, or sea-born." He never entered holy orders. If tradition is
to be trusted, he was educated in a monastery at Bangor, in Wales,
of which he ultimately became abbot. In the end of the fourth
century he went to Rome, having acquired a reputation of sanctity
and knowledge of the Scriptures. Whilst here he made the
acquaintance of Coelestius, a Roman advocate, who espoused his
views, and gave up his own profession, and devoted himself to extend
the opinions of his master. About A.D. 405, they began to make
themselves known, but attracted little attention; and after the sack
of the city by the Goths, A.D. 410, they left and went to Africa.
The two friends seem to have separated here. Pelagius went to
Jerusalem, whilst Coelestius remained in Africa. The latter desired
to enter into holy orders, and sought ordination. His opinions had
become known, however, and objections were lodged against him. He
appealed to Rome, but did not prosecute his case. He went to Ephesus
instead. The proceedings at Carthage in this matter are noteworthy,
as they were the occasion of introducing Augustine into the
controversy. He was determined not to let the subject rest, and sent
Orosius, a Spanish monk, to Jerusalem, and got the question brought
before a synod there in A.D. 415. This assembly, however, refused to
condemn Pelagius. In A.D. 418, the emperor banished the heresiarch;
and after this history fails to give any reliable account of him. He
had spoken what he thought, and had stirred the minds of men in
three continents. When the Council of Carthage met, there were
twelve charges of heresy laid against him. A summary of his opinions
is given by Buck, and is as follows:--(1.) That Adam was by nature
mortal, and whether he had sinned or not, would certainly have died.
(2.) That the consequences of Adam's sin were confined to his own
person. (3.) That new-born infants are in the same situation with
Adam before the fall. (4.) That the law qualified men for the
kingdom of heaven, and was founded on equal promises with the
Gospel. (5.) That the general resurrection of the dead does not
follow in virtue of the Saviour's resurrection. (6.) That the grace
of God is given according to our merits. (7.) That this grace is not
given for the performance of every moral act, the liberty of the
will and information in points of duty being sufficient. If these
were the opinions of Pelagius, then, according to our finding, he
had erred from the truth. I say "if," because it is not safe to
trust an opponent when professing to give the views of an
antagonist. He is apt to confound deductions with principles which
are denied.
Although we do not know where and when Pelagius was born, nor the
place and time of his death, we have reliable information on these
points regarding Augustine. He was born at Tagaste, a town in north
Africa, on 13th Nov., A.D. 354. He was the child of many prayers by
his devoted mother Monica. The early portion of his life was spent
in idleness and dissipation, but he was at last converted in a
somewhat remarkable manner. He turned over a new leaf in his moral
life, and became a most devoted Christian. Although considered
inferior to Jerome (his contemporary) as regards Biblical criticism,
he was a man of genius, and a strong controversialist. He contended
against the Donatists, the Manichaeans, and the Pelagians. When the
Vandals were besieging Hippo, he died on the 28th of August, A.D.
430, in the 76th year of his age. No father of the early Church has
exercised a greater influence upon theological opinion than he has
done.
The system now known as Calvinism should be designated
"Augustinianism," Augustine being, as remarked, the real author of
the system, and not the Genevan divine. Regarding the central tenets
of his creed, it is said: "He held the corruption of human nature,
and the consequent slavery of the human will. Both on metaphysical
and religious grounds he asserted the doctrine of predestination,
from which he necessarily deduced the corollary doctrines of
election and reprobation; and, finally, he supported against
Pelagius, not only these opinions, but also the doctrine of the
perseverance of the saints," (_Ch. En._, Aug.) Besides introducing a
new theological system, Augustine put his imprimatur upon the
burning of heretics. When the magistrate Dulcitius had some
compunctions about executing a decree of Honorius, Augustine wrote
to him and said, "It is much better that some should perish by their
own fires, than that the whole body should perish in the everlasting
fires of Gehenna, through the desert of the impious dissension"
(_Ch. En._, Aug.) Calvin therefore could not only claim the
authority of Augustine for his dogmas, but he might have claimed him
also as justifying the burning of Servetus. But this by the way.
With the voice of the Fathers against him, and, as we think,
unwarranted by the light of philosophy and the true interpretation
of Scripture, how came it about, it may be asked, that Augustine
adopted the system which should be called by his name? The true
answer to this will be found, we apprehend, in a variety of
considerations. His early dissipated life, his nine years connection
with Manichaeism, the extreme statements of Pelagius, his own
strange conversion by hearing, when weeping and moaning under a fig
-tree, a young voice saying quickly, "_Tolle lege, tolle lege_" (take
and read, take and read), and which he took as a Divine admonition;
these, combined with the commotion of the times, would lend their
influence to the position he came to occupy. His system, whilst it
accords glory to God, is one-sided, by ignoring the function man has
to perform in applying the remedial scheme.
Although Pelagius had got many to espouse his opinions, yet his
tenets were again and again condemned by the councils of the Church.
The controversy, however, very soon diverged from strictly Pelagian
lines, and entered upon a new track--viz., that of Semi-pelagianism,
to which is closely allied the principles advocated by the
Evangelical Union of Scotland. From extremes there is generally a
recoil, and this was the case as regards Augustinianism. Certain
monks at Adrumetum drew conclusions from the system which, whether
they are admitted or not, are its logical outcome. They said, "Of
what use are all doctrines and precepts? Human efforts can avail
nothing, it is God that worketh in us to will and to do. Nor is it
right to reproach or to punish those who are in error, and who
cannot sin, for it is none of their fault that they act thus.
Without grace they cannot do otherwise, nor can they do anything to
merit grace; all we should do, then, is to pray for them" (Neander,
Vol. IV., p. 373). Augustine endeavoured to neutralise these
opinions by writing two books explaining his views. Regarding these
answers, Neander observes, "But such persons," as the monks, "must
rather have found in this a further confirmation of their doubts."
Whilst the monks of Adrumetum drew natural conclusions from the
dogmas of Augustine, there came determined opposition to the new
creed. It came from the south of France. John Cassian, who had been
a deacon under Chrysostom, had established a cloister at Massila
(Marseilles), and had become its abbot, entered the lists against
the Bishop of Hippo. He departed from the opinions of Pelagius
regarding the corruption of human nature, and he recognised "grace"
as well as justification in the sense of Augustine. But he widely
differed from him, as will be seen from the summary of Semi
-pelagianism given by Buck. It is as follows: "(1.) That God did not
dispense His grace to one man more than another in consequence of an
absolute and eternal decree, but was willing to save all men if they
complied with the terms of the Gospel. (2.) That Christ died for all
mankind. (3.) That the grace purchased by Christ, and necessary to
salvation, was offered to all men. (4.) That man before he received
this grace was capable of faith and holy desires. (5.) That man was
born free, and consequently capable of resisting the influence of
grace, or of complying with its suggestions." Buck remarks, "The
Semi-pelagians were very numerous, and the doctrine of Cassian,
though variously explained, was received in the greatest part of the
monastic schools in Gaul, from whence it spread itself far and wide
through the European provinces. As to the Greeks and other Eastern
Churches, they had embraced the Semi-pelagian doctrine before
Cassian." Yet when, as in 1843, similar opinions were proclaimed in
Scotland, they were everywhere met with the cry of "New Views,"
although they had been held so extensively 1400 years before! So
much for ignorance.
The name "Semi-pelagians" was not assumed by the party, lest they
should be held as maintaining the dogmas of Pelagius; neither was it
given until long after the early heat of the controversy. Their
opponents still stigmatised them as Pelagians, although they had
departed from the system advocated by the British monk.
The controversy continued to occupy the mind of the Church during
the latter part of the fifth and beginning of the sixth centuries.
In A.D. 475 a synod held at Arles sanctioned the views of the Semi
-pelagians, and compelled the presbyter Lucidus, who was an earnest
advocate of Augustinianism, to recant. Another synod, held at
Lugdunum in the same year, put also its imprimatur upon them. But
there was not complete agreement, and the divines who had been
banished by the Vandals from northern Africa held a council in A.D.
523, and under their auspices Fulgentius of Ruspe composed a defence
of Angustine's views; (Kurtz, p. 213)
For a considerable time after this the controversy may be said to
have remained quiet, but broke forth with great fury in the ninth
century. Gottschalk, the son of a Saxon count, had been dedicated by
his parents to the service of religion, and in due course entered
the monastery of Fulda. He did not take to cloister life, and
petitioned an assembly held at Metz to be released from his monastic
vows. His request was granted, but Rabanus Maurus, who was the
abbot, appealed to Lewis the Pius, and endeavoured to show that all
_oblati_ (lay brethren dedicated to the service of the Church) were
bound to perpetual obligation. Lewis revoked the decision of the
assembly, and Gottschalk had to go back to cloister life, which he
did by entering the monastery of Orbais. Here he became an ardent
student of the writings of Augustine, and sought to propagate his
views. "He affirmed a _proedestinatio duplex_, by virtue of which
God decreed eternal life to the elect, and the elect to eternal
life; and so also everlasting punishment to the reprobate, and the
reprobate to everlasting punishment, for the two were inseparably
connected" (Neander, Vol. VI., p. 180).
On returning from a pilgrimage to Rome Gottschalk happened to meet
Noting (Bishop of Verona), and expounded to him his views. Sometime
after this meeting the bishop had a conversation with Rabanus (who
was now Bishop of Mayence), and informed him regarding Gottschalk's
opinions. Rabanus promised to send a reply, which shortly afterwards
he did, in two "thundering epistles." The controversy now waxed
warm, too much so for the monk. He was condemned, imprisoned, and
scourged. He threw his treatises into the fire, but intimated his
willingness to go through the ordeal of stepping into cauldrons of
boiling water, oil, and pitch, being thoroughly convinced that he
had the truth upon his side. His offer was treated by Hincoma as the
boast of a Simon Magus. He died in prison.
In the Middle Ages the schoolmen took sides in this controversy, but
there was no general agitation upon the subject. The "Dark Ages" had
set in, and remained until the Renaissance and the revival of
learning in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The European
countries had been greatly agitated by the Crusades, which had
collateral issues of an important character. Turbulent spirits had
been weeded but, and the royal authority had become better
established. Independence of thought began to assert itself in
Wickliffe; and Huss and Jerome of Prague paid the penalty of
martyrdom for gainsaying Rome. But a bright morning was at hand.
Luther arose. His voice, like a clarion trumpet among the Alps,
produced echoes all around. His doctrines spread like wild-fire.
Amongst the countries which readily received them was Holland.
Charles V. was determined to crush the nascent spirit of liberty in
that portion of his dominions, and inaugurated a persecution by
which 50,000 people lost their lives. The Dutch maintained their
rights, and in due course the Protestant religion was that of the
land. The opinions of Calvin were adopted generally. He had adopted
the system of Augustine, as already intimated, and he had a great
influence upon the Protestants generally outside Germany. James
Arminius was born at Oudewater in 1560. He lost his father when
quite young, and the merchants of Amsterdam undertook his education
upon condition that he would not preach out of their city unless he
got their permission. Having gone to Geneva, he sat at the feet of
Theodore Beza, one of the most rigid of Calvin's followers. After
travelling in Italy he returned to Holland, and was duly appointed a
minister of religion in Amsterdam. About this time certain clergymen
of Delft had become dissatisfied with the doctrine of predestination,
and Arminius was commissioned to answer them. But in prosecuting his
inquiries he began to doubt, and then to change his views. He saw
that he could not defend the system of Calvin, and having the
courage of his convictions, he spoke out his mind. He excited
intense opposition, and was visited, without stint, with the
_odium theologicum_. All the pulpits began to fulminate against him.
In the midst of the controversy he died, 19th October, 1609. He was
admitted by his opponents to have been a good man. In 1610 his
followers presented a Remonstrance to the assembled States of the
province of Holland. From this circumstance they have been called
Remonstrants. In this celebrated document the following propositions
were stated:--"(1.) That God had indeed made an eternal decree, but
only on the conditional terms that all who believe in Christ shall
be saved, while all who refuse to believe must perish; so that
predestination is only conditional. (2.) That Christ died for all
men, but that none except believers are really saved by His death.
The intention, in other words, is universal, but the efficacy may be
restricted by unbelief. (3.) That no man is of himself able to
exercise a saving faith, but must be born again of God in Christ
through the Holy Spirit. (4.) That without the grace of God man can
neither think, will, nor do anything good; yet that grace does not
act in men in an irresistible way. (5.) That believers are able, by
the aid of the Holy Spirit, victoriously to resist sin; but that the
question of the possibility of a fall from grace must be determined
by a further examination of the Scriptures on this point." The last
proposition was decided in the affirmative in the following year
(1611).
A synod was convened at Dort in 1618, from which the followers of
Arminius were excluded. It put its approval upon the views of
Calvin. The discussion soon assumed a political aspect, which
Maurice of Orange turned to his own account, put Oldenbarnveldt to
death, and sent Grotius to prison.
In the Church of England divines may hold either view of this
question. The saying has been ascribed to Pitt: "The Church of
England hath a Popish liturgy, a Calvinistic creed, and an Arminian
clergy" (Bartlett). Whilst she has had such genuine Calvinists as
Scott and Toplady, she has also produced men who held that the
Saviour died for all--viz., Hales, Butler, Pierce, Barrow, Cudworth,
Tillotson, Stillingfleet, Patrick, and Burnet. The Wesleyan body are
decidedly anti-Calvinistic.
In 1643 an assembly of divines met at Westminster, and although they
could not agree about church government, they came to a finding
about doctrines, and drew up the Confession of Faith and the
Catechism, which are thoroughly Calvinistic. The Church of Scotland
adopted these formularies, and although there have been several
secessions from her, they were not upon the ground of doctrine as
expressed in the creed. In 1843, however, a decided departure took
place in this respect, in one of the offshoots of the Church--viz.,
in that of the United Secession Church. The Rev. James Morison had
declared it to be his belief that Christ died for all men. He was
charged with heresy and deposed. Other brethren threw in their lot
with him, and in due course the Evangelical Union was formed. Its
primary doctrines are that the Divine Father loves all men, that
Christ died for all men, and that the Divine Spirit gives sufficient
grace to all men, which, if improved, would lead to their salvation.
Such, then, is a brief outline of the main historical facts in this
controversy, and it is worthy of note, as remarked, that for the
first 400 years of the Christian era the Calvinistic system of
theology was unknown to the Christian church. It began, as we have
seen, with Augustine, and being adopted by Calvin was widely spread
in those countries which received at the Reformation Protestant
principles. It comprehends truths of vast value to man, but which
are not peculiar to it. They are held as firmly by opponents as by
the followers of Calvin; such, for instance, as the inspiration of
the Bible, the doctrine of the Trinity, the inability of man to work
out a glory meriting righteousness, justification by faith alone,
and the necessity of the Spirit's work in regeneration. As in the
Church of Rome, there have also been ranged under the banner of the
Genevan divine men of the most varied accomplishments and the most
saintly character. But men are often better than their professed
creed, and often worse. As a system it has passed its meridian, and
although ministers and elders are still required to profess their
faith in its peculiarities, it has lost its hold on the popular
mind. Mr. Froude, in his celebrated address to the St. Andrew's
students, said, "After being accepted for two centuries in all
Protestant countries as the final account of the relations between
man and his Maker, Calvinism has come to be regarded by liberal
thinkers as a system of belief incredible in itself, dishonouring to
its object, and as intolerable as it has been itself intolerant. To
represent man as sent into the world under a curse, as incurably
wicked--wicked by the constitution of his flesh, and wicked by
eternal decree; as doomed (unless exempted by special grace, which
he cannot merit, or by an effort of his own obtain), to live in sin
while he remains on earth, and to be eternally miserable when he
leaves it; to represent him as born unable to keep the commandments,
yet as justly liable to everlasting punishment for breaking them, is
alike repugnant to reason and to conscience, and turns existence
into a hideous nightmare. To deny the freedom of the will is to make
morality impossible: to tell men that they cannot help themselves,
is to fling them into recklessness and despair. To what purpose the
effort to be virtuous, when it is an effort which is foredoomed to
fail; when those that are saved are saved by no effort of their own
and confess themselves the worst of sinners, even when rescued from
the penalties of sin; and those that are lost are lost by an
everlasting sentence decreed against them before they were born? How
are we to call the Ruler who laid us under this iron code by the
name of wise, and just, or merciful, when we ascribe principles of
action to Him which, as a human father, we should call preposterous
and monstrous?" Error, however, like disease, is not easily
eradicated; but as men get better acquainted with God, those dark
and heathenish conceptions regarding him entertained by Calvinists,
such as the foredooming of children and men to endless misery, will
give place to nobler thoughts of the Author of our being.
"I doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs,
And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns."
In 1879 the United Presbyterian Church adopted what is known as the
"Declaratory Act," which is a clear departure from the rigid
Calvinism of the Confession of Faith. In this declaration God's love
is said to be world-wide, and the propitiation of Christ to be for
the "sins of the whole world." They hold the Confession dogmas in
harmony with the Declaratory Act, but it is an attempt to put the
new cloth on the old garment, or the new wine into the old bottles.
It is impossible that God can love the whole world, and yet foredoom
millions to be lost. The two views are destructive of each other.
This church, one of the most intelligent in the country, cannot
stand where it now is. It is bound to go forward.
PART I.--PREDESTINATION.
CHAPTER I.
THE WORD PREDESTINATION, AND THE DOCTRINE AS HELD BY CALVINISTS.
THE word "predestinate" signifies, according to the _Imperial
Dictionary_, "to predetermine or foreordain," "to appoint or ordain
beforehand by an unchangeable purpose." The noun, according to the
same authority, denotes the act of decreeing or foreordaining
events; the act of God, by which He hath from eternity unchangeably
appointed or determined whatsoever comes to pass. It is used
particularly in theology to denote the preordination of men to
everlasting happiness or misery. The term is used four times in the
New Testament, and comes from the Greek word _proorizo_, which
signifies, "to determine beforehand," "to predetermine" (Liddell and
Scott). Robinson gives as its meaning, "to set bounds before," "to
predetermine," "spoken of the eternal decrees and counsels of God."
According to the lexicographers, the meaning--as far as the word is
concerned--is plain enough. It is quite clear from the Scriptures
that God predestinates or foreordains. This is admitted on all
sides. But here the questions arise--What is the nature of God's
predestination? and does it embrace all events? The Confession of
Faith gives the following deliverance on the subject--"God from all
eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will,
freely and unchangeably foreordain whatsoever comes to pass." The
Larger and Shorter Catechisms express the same idea. This was the
opinion of the Westminster divines, and is the professed faith of
Presbyterians in general in Scotland. One of the most eminent
theologians of the school of Calvin--Dr. C. Hodge--vindicates this
deliverance of the Assembly. He says, "The reason; therefore, why
any event occurs, or that passes from the category of the possible
into that of the actual, is that God has so decreed" (Vol. I., p.
531). He says again, "The Scriptures teach that sinful acts, as well
as those which are holy, are foreordained" (Vol. I., p. 543). And,
again, "The acts of the wicked in persecuting the early Church were
ordained of God, as the means of the wider and more speedy
proclamation of the Gospel" (Vol. I., p. 544). He says, moreover,
"Whatever happens God intended should happen, that to Him nothing
can be unexpected, and nothing contrary to His purposes" (Vol. II.,
p 335). The same writer, in speaking of the usage of the term
"predestination," remarks, "It may be used first in the general
sense of foreordination. In this sense it has equal reference to all
events, for God foreordains whatsoever comes to pass:" It will thus
be seen that the Confession, and the Catechisms, and Hodge, as one
of the most eminent expounders of these formularies, uphold the
doctrine, that everything which happens was foreordained by God to
happen. The doctrine as thus stated is clearly the foundation of the
whole system of Calvinism. If this is shaken, the entire structure
topples to its base. Being so important, its advocates have sought
to strengthen it by appealing to the Divine attributes and to
passages from holy writ. Let us then examine their arguments derived
from the attributes, and the texts they have adduced.