THE PRESBYTERIAN CONFESSION OF FAITH

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2073, 26 February 1889, Page 2

THE PRESBYTERIAN CONFESSION OF FAITH

Following is an extrtot from the speech of the Eev. B. Sommerville, daring the discussion the other day In the Presbyterian General Assembly, upon the pro* posal for a revision of the Confession of Faith :— Probably the loudest, strongest, and moat successful objections to the Confession jadged by the iDflaenoe they hart upon the public, are those that are pre» ferred against its representation of tha future of the wicked. Their name it legion who rail against the teaching of the Confession m this direotlon, and they rail very successfully, for no one likes the thought of such an eternity of existent* as 1b therein presented. Unpopularity, however, is no proof of error ; the Master himself baoame the most unpopular man of His time simply beoanse he persisted In preaching traths that weae m opposition to the popular dealre. If the teaching of the Oonfestion m regard to an eternity of punishment for the ffiokfld be m keeping with the Word of God, It will live through all opposition ; If not', it must give way to what is, Ido not believe m f ature pro* batlon for the wlcfced, I oannot find that m the Bible. I do believe m fatnre punishment, I beliere It is impossible to get it rooted out of the Bible. I believ* that the dootrlne of rewardi and the doctrine T)f punishments are 10 Interwoven that no arguments oan separate them; that they mast stand or fall together; that they are equally eternal, and that all efforts that have been pat forth to rob tha one, and not the otbec of eternity, have . miserably failed, and must oontlnnt to fall." Mr Sommerville went on to say that he did not believe that fatara punishment would be of the nature of tha awful torments represented m the Confession. He maintained that the Confession In Us statement of the trath In tegard to'the punishment of the wicked, w?g not only obscure but unnecessarily severe, and though it suited the age that gave It birth it did not salt this. The speaker referred to the chapter? on " Decrees " < m proof of his contention that the statementof drotrlne was unfortunate, and said : Now I presume no minister would care to go Into his pulpit and tell hit congregation (hat God for the manifesto" tion of hit glory has foreordained & certain number of the human family to everlasting; death, and that the number of those to* fore-ordaloed is so fixed and definite that it oannot be either Inoieated or diminished* I would shudder to utter such a statement to men having souls to save. Tell them that this Is the only logical oonolasloa that Is possible, according to the teaohlng of Scripture, and you may preaoh to them till Doomsday about the goodness of QooV but they won't believe It. The two^ufemeotn to the popular mind areso contradictory that reconciliation is impossible. He pointed out that predestination was ft. dark dootrlne at the best, and m the Con* fesslon It was set forth m its darkest anil most repulsive colouring;.