of all men. Speaking of Professor Tholuck, Professor Sears says, “The most
painful disclosures remain yet to be made. This distinguished and
excellent man, in common with the _great majority of the Evangelical
divines_ of Germany, though he professes to have serious doubts, and is
cautious in avowing the sentiment, believes that all men and fallen
spirits will finally be saved.” Mr. Dwight, in his recent publication,
says, “The doctrine of the eternity of future punishments is almost
universally rejected. I have seen but one person in Germany who believed
it, and but one other whose mind was wavering on this subject.”
Universalism may, therefore, be considered the prevailing religion in
Germany.
In the United States, Universalism was little known until about the middle
of the last century; and afterwards it found but few advocates during
several years. Dr. George de Benneville, of Germantown, Penn., Rev.
Richard Clarke, of Charleston, S. C., and Jonathan Mayhew, D. D., of
Boston, were, perhaps, the only individuals who publicly preached the
doctrine before the arrival of Rev. John Murray, in 1770. Mr. Murray
labored almost alone until 1780, when Rev. Elhanan Winchester, a popular
Baptist preacher, embraced Universalism, though on different principles.
About ten years afterwards, Rev. Hosea Ballou embraced the same doctrine,
but on principles different from those advocated by Mr. Murray or Mr.
Winchester. To the efforts of these three men is to be attributed much of
the success which attended the denomination in its infancy. Although they
differed widely from each other in their views of punishment, yet they
labored together in harmony and love, for the advancement of the cause
which was dear to all their hearts. The seed which they sowed has since
produced an abundant harvest.
The ministry of the Universalist denomination in the United States,
hitherto, has been provided for, not so much by the means of schools, as
by the unaided, but irresistible influence of the gospel of Christ. This
has furnished the denomination with its most successful preachers. It has
turned them from other sects and doctrines, and brought them out from
forests and fields, and from secular pursuits of almost every kind, and
driven them, with inadequate literary preparation, to the work of
disseminating the truth. This state of things has been unavoidable, and
the effect of it is visible. It has made the ministry of the Universalist
denomination very different from that of any other sect in the country;
studious of the Scriptures, confident in the truth of their distinguishing
doctrine, zealous, firm, industrious; depending more on the truths
communicated for their success, than on the manner in which they are
stated. It has had the effect, also, to give the ministry a polemic
character—the natural result of unwavering faith in the doctrine believed,
and of an introduction into the desk without scholastic training. But the
attention of the denomination, in various parts of the country, has of
late been turned to the education of the ministry; and conventions and
associations have adopted resolves requiring candidates to pass
examinations in certain branches of literature. The same motives have
governed many in their effort to establish literary and theological
institutions. The desire to have the ministry respectable for literary
acquirements, is universal.
A few years since, a small number separated from the denomination, and
adopted the appellation of _Restorationists_. To prevent misapprehension,
it may be repeated, that, although a few have thus seceded, yet a
difference of opinion in regard to the duration of punishment has not
disturbed the harmony of the denomination generally, nor is it regarded as
sufficient cause for breach of fellowship, or alienation of heart and
affection.
The Universalists quote the following texts of Scripture, among others, in
support of their sentiments:—Gen. 22:18. Ps. 22:27; 86:9. Isa. 25:6, 7, 8;
45:23, 24. Jer. 31:33, 34. Lam. 3:31-33. John 12:32. Acts 3:31. Rom. 5:18,
21; 8:33, 39; 11:25-36. 1 Cor. 15:22-28, and 51-57. 2 Cor. 5:18, 19. Gal.
3:8. Eph. 1:9, 10. Phil. 2:9-11. Col. 1:19, 29. 1 Tim. 2:1-6. Heb. 8:10,
11. Rev. 5:13; 21:3, 4.
-------------------------------------
We copy the following from the _Trumpet and Universalist Magazine_ of June
4, 1836. It is by the Rev. HOSEA BALLOU, of Boston, in answer to the
question, “Who are Universalists?”
“There seems to be an evident propriety in calling all who believe in the
final holiness and happiness of all mankind, _Universalists_. There
appears no good reason why those who believe in a limited punishment, in
the future state, should have a less or a greater claim to be called
Universalists, than those who entertain a hope that all sin and misery end
when the functions of life cease in the mortal body. As they both agree in
the belief that God is the Savior of all men, if this belief entitle one
to the name of Universalist, of course it gives the other the same title.
The Rev. John Murray was called a Universalist, and he called himself by
this name, although he admitted there might be suffering hereafter, in
consequence of blindness or unbelief. It is true, he did not allow that
the sinner was punished for sin, either here or in the future world, in
his own person, because he maintained that the whole penalty of the divine
law, for the sin of the whole world, was suffered by the Lord Jesus, as
the head of every man. He allowed, notwithstanding, that the natural
consequences of sin would inevitably follow transgression, as we see is
the case by every day’s observation. So, likewise, was the Rev. Elhanan
Winchester called a Universalist, and he called himself so, although his
views respecting a state of retribution, and the sufferings to which the
wicked in the world to come will be subjected, were widely different from
those entertained by Mr. Murray. Mr. Winchester believed in a place of
material fire and brimstone, where the wicked would endure a torment as
intense as has been represented by those Christians who believe in endless
misery. But, as he believed that all these sufferings will end, though
they might continue for many thousand years, and that those miserable
wretches will at last be subdued and reconciled to the divine government,
and be happy, he was denominated a Universalist.
“The Rev. Dr. Huntington is ranked a Universalist, equally with those who
have been named; but he believed in no punishment hereafter, being
Calvinistic in his views of the demerit of sin, and of the atonement made
by Christ.
“From the commencement of the denomination of Univeralists in this
country, there has been a difference of opinion respecting the doctrine of
rewards and punishments, among both the clergy and the laity belonging to
the connection. But this difference was not considered, in those times, a
good reason for a distinction of either name, denomination, or fellowship.
All united in the cheering hope that, in the fulness of the dispensation
of times, sin will be finished, transgression ended, and all moral
intelligences reconciled to God, in true holiness and everlasting
happiness. A view so grand and glorious, so full of comfort, of joy, and
of peace, and so triumphant, was sufficiently powerful to draw together
all who enjoyed it, and to hold them together as a denomination distinct
from all those who hold the unmerciful doctrine of endless punishment.
“When the General Convention of the New England States, professing the
doctrine of universal salvation, appointed a committee to draft articles
of faith and a constitution, by which it might be known and distinguished
from other religious sects, care was taken to appoint on that committee
brethren whose views differed respecting the subject of a future state of
rewards and punishments. The worthy and fondly-remembered brother Walter
Ferriss, who penned that instrument, was a believer in future rewards and
punishments; but he so wrote that confession of faith as to comprehend the
full belief of universal salvation, without making any distinction between
the belief of future punishment, or no future punishment. And it is well
remembered that this circumstance was, at the time of accepting the report
of the committee, viewed as one of its excellences.
“It seems improper to give so much weight to different opinions, which
differ not in principle, but in circumstances only, as to constitute them
walls of separation and disfellowship. If one believe that all misery ends
with this mortal state, and another believe that it may continue twenty
years after, and then come to an end, is there any real difference as to
principle? All believe that our heavenly Father holds all times and
seasons, and all events, in his own power, and that he worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will. And, moreover, all believe that God
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth. This constitutes us all Universalists, and calls on us to keep the
unity of the spirit, and to walk in the bonds of peace.”
ROMAN CATHOLICS.
The following Creeds and Rule of Faith contain the fundamental principles
of the Latin or Roman church.
Apostles’ Creed.
“I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and
earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was
conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he
descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he
ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father
almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the
dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic church; the
communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
the body; and life everlasting. AMEN.”
It is doubtful who composed the above Creed. It was not in common use in
the church until the end of the fifth century. See _King’s History of the
Apostles’ Creed_.
The Symbol, Or Creed Of St. Athanasius.
“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that
he hold the Catholic faith;
“Which faith except every one do keep entire and inviolate,
without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
“Now, the Catholic faith is this—that we worship one God in
Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.
“Neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.
“For one is the person of the Father, another of the Son, another
of the Holy Ghost.
“But the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.
“Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy
Ghost.
“The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Ghost
uncreated.
“The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the
Holy Ghost incomprehensible.
“The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.
“And yet they are not three Eternals, but one Eternal.
“As also they are not three Uncreated, nor three
Incomprehensibles; but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible.
“In like manner, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the
Holy Ghost almighty.
“And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.
“So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God.
“And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
“So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy
Ghost is Lord.
“And yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord,
“For, as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge
every person by himself to be God and Lord,
“So we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are
three Gods or three Lords.
“The Father is made of no one, neither created nor begotten.
“The Son is from the Father alone, not made, nor created, but
begotten.
“The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son, not made, nor
created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
“So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three
Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
“And in this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing
greater or less; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal to one
another, and coëqual.
“So that in all things, as has been already said above, the Unity
is to be worshipped in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity.
“He, therefore, that will be saved, must thus think of the
Trinity.
“Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation, that he
also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Now, the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and Man.
“He is God of the substance of his Father, begotten before the
world; and he is Man of the substance of his mother, born in the
world.
“Perfect God and perfect Man; of a rational soul, and human flesh
subsisting.
“Equal to the Father according to his Godhead, and less than the
Father according to his Manhood.
“Who, although he be both God and Man, yet he is not two, but one
Christ.
“One, not by the conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by the
taking of the Manhood unto God.
“One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of
person.
“For as the rational soul and the flesh is one man, so God and Man
is one Christ.
“Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again
the third day from the dead.
“He ascended into heaven: he sitteth at the right hand of God the
Father almighty; thence he shall come to judge the living and
dead.
“At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and
shall give an account of their own works.
“And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and
they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
“This is the Catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully
and steadfastly, he cannot be saved.
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As
it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, one God, world
without end. AMEN.”
This Creed is said to have been drawn up in the fourth century. “It
obtained in France about A. D. 850, and was received in Spain and Germany
about one hundred and eighty years later. We have clear proofs of its
being sung alternately in the English churches in the tenth century. It
was in common use in some parts of Italy in 960, and was received at Rome
about A. D. 1014.” This Creed is retained by the church of England, but
the Protestant Episcopal churches in the United States have rejected it.
The Nicene Creed.
“Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, Factorem cœli et terræ,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
Filium Dei unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum, ante omnia sæcula. Deum de Deo,
Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum;
consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos
homines, et propter nostram salutem, descendit de cœlis. Et incarnatus est
de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine; ET HOMO FACTUS EST: crucifixus etiam
pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus, et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia
die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit in cœlum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos: cujus regni
non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et Vivificantem; qui ex
Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et
conglorificatur; qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam Sanctam,
Catholicam, et Apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum Baptisma, in
remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam
venturi sæculi. Amen.”
Translation.
“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus
Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. And born of the Father,
before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God,
begotten, not made; consubstantial to the Father, by whom all
things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down
from heaven. And was incarnated by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin
Mary; AND HE WAS MADE MAN: was crucified also under Pontius
Pilate; he suffered, and was buried. And the third day he rose
again, according to the Scriptures. And he ascended into heaven.
Sits at the right hand of the Father. And he is to come again with
glory to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there
shall be no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of
Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who, together with
the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified; who spoke by the
Prophets. And One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolical Church. I
confess one Baptism, for the remission of sins. And I look for the
resurrection of the dead; and the life of the world to come.
Amen.”
This Creed was adopted at Constantinople, A. D. 381. It is used in the
Protestant Episcopal churches in England, and occasionally in those of the
United States.
The foregoing Creeds are copied from Catholic books.
-------------------------------------
The Catholics, both in Europe and America, acknowledge the following Rule
is “all that, and only that, belongs to Catholic belief, which is revealed
in the word of God, and which is proposed by the Catholic church to all
its members to be believed with divine faith.”
“Guided by this certain criterion,” they say, “we profess to believe,
1. “That Christ has established a church upon earth, and that this church
is that which holds communion with the see of Rome, being one, holy,
Catholic, and apostolical.
2. “That we are obliged to hear this church; and, therefore, that she is
infallible, by the guidance of Almighty God, in her decisions regarding
faith.
3. “That St. Peter, by divine commission, was appointed the head of this
church, under Christ, its Founder; and that the pope, or bishop of Rome,
as successor to St. Peter, has always been, and is, at present, by divine
right, head of this church.
4. “That the canon of the Old and New Testament, as proposed to us by this
church, is the word of God; as also such traditions, belonging to faith
and morals, which, being originally delivered by Christ to his apostles,
have been preserved by constant succession.
5. “That honor and veneration are due to the angels of God and his saints;
that they offer up prayers to God for us; that it is good and profitable
to have recourse to their intercession; and that the relics, or earthly
remains, of God’s particular servants, are to be held in respect.
6. “That no sins ever were, or can be, remitted, unless by the mercy of
God, through Jesus Christ; and, therefore, that man’s justification is the
work of divine grace.
7. “That the good works which we do, receive their whole value from the
grace of God; and that, by such works, we not only comply with the
precepts of the divine law, but that we thereby likewise merit eternal
life.
8. “That, by works done in the spirit of penance, we can make satisfaction
to God for the temporal punishment which often remains due, after our
sins, by the divine goodness, have been forgiven us.
9. “That Christ has left to his church a power of granting indulgences,
that is, a relaxation from such temporal chastisement only, as remains due
after the divine pardon of sin; and that the use of such indulgences is
profitable to sinners.
10. “That there is a purgatory, or middle state; and that the souls of
imperfect Christians, therein detained, are helped by the prayers of the
faithful.
11. “That there are seven sacraments, all instituted by Christ—baptism,
confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, holy order, matrimony.
12. “That, in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist, there is truly,
really, and substantially, the body and blood, together with the soul and
divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ.
13. “That, in this sacrament, there is, by the omnipotence of God, a
conversion, or change, of the whole substance of the bread into the body
of Christ, and of the whole substance of the wine into his blood, which
change we call TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
14. “That, under either kind, Christ is received whole and entire.
15. “That, in the mass, or sacrifice of the altar, is offered to God a
true, proper, and propitiatory, sacrifice for the living and the dead.
16. “That, in the sacrament of penance, the sins we fall into after
baptism are, by the divine mercy, forgiven us.
“These are the great points of Catholic belief, by which we are
distinguished from other Christian societies; and these, only, are the
real and essential tenets of our religion. We admit, also, the other grand
articles of revealed and natural religion, which the gospel and the light
of reason have manifested to us. To these we submit, as men and as
Christians, and to the former as obedient children of the Catholic
church.”
BEREANS.
The Bereans are a sect of Protestant dissenters from the church of
Scotland, who take their title from, and profess to follow the example of,
the ancient Bereans, in building their system of faith and practice upon
the Scriptures alone, without regard to any human authority whatever. The
Bereans first assembled, as a separate society of Christians, in the city
of Edinburgh, in the autumn of 1773. Mr. Barclay, a Scotch clergyman, was
the founder of this sect.
The Bereans agree with the great majority of Christians respecting the
doctrine of the Trinity, which they hold as a fundamental article; and
they also agree, in a great measure, with the professed principles of our
Orthodox churches, respecting predestination and election, though they
allege that these doctrines are not consistently taught. But they differ
from the majority of all sects of Christians in various other important
particulars, such as,—
1. Respecting our knowledge of the Deity. Upon this subject, they say the
majority of professed Christians stumble at the very threshold of
revelation; and, by admitting the doctrine of natural religion, natural
conscience, natural notices, &c., not founded upon revelation, or derived
from it by tradition, they give up the cause of Christianity at once to
the infidels, who may justly argue, as Mr. Paine, in fact, does, in his
“Age of Reason,” that there is no occasion for any revelation or word of
God, if man can discover his nature and perfections from his works alone.
But this, the Bereans argue, is beyond the natural powers of human reason;
and, therefore, our knowledge of God is from revelation alone; and,
without revelation, man would never have entertained an idea of his
existence.
2. With regard to faith in Christ, and assurance of salvation through his
merits, they differ from almost all other sects whatsoever. These they
reckon inseparable, or rather the same, because (they say) “God hath
expressly declared, He that believeth shall be saved; and, therefore, it
is not only absurd, but impious, and, in a manner, calling God a liar, for
a man to say, ‘I believe the gospel, but have doubts, nevertheless, of my
own salvation.’ ” With regard to the various distinctions and definitions
that have been given of different kinds of faith, they argue that there is
nothing incomprehensible or obscure in the meaning of this word, as used
in Scripture; but that, as faith, when applied to human testimony,
signifies neither more nor less than the mere simple belief of that
testimony as true, upon the authority of the testifier, so, when applied
to the testimony of God, it signifies precisely “the belief of his
testimony, and resting upon his veracity alone, without any kind of
collateral support from concurrence of any other evidence or testimony
whatever.” And they insist that, as this faith is the gift of God alone,
so the person to whom it is given is as conscious of possessing it, as the
being to whom God gives life is of being alive; and, therefore, he
entertains no doubts, either of his faith, or his consequent salvation
through the merits of Christ, who died and rose again for that purpose. In
a word, they argue that the gospel would not be what it is held forth to
be,—glad tidings of great joy,—if it did not bring full personal assurance
of eternal salvation to the believer; which assurance, they insist, is the
present infallible privilege and portion of every individual believer of
the gospel.