Newspapers / The Christian Sun (Elon … / May 1, 1844, edition 1 / Page 2
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prayers—4o show ns that high moral rec titude and that pure love, which is tim.ee ry uature of God, and which the Son of God came to impart to man; and then transfer yourself to the region of the creed r, and creed makife and creed-i: D. defending polemic, and tell me, which of die two is in his view most nearly allied to infidelity,” p. 90. But to what pur pose do Tipiote Dr. Wylie? He is of course a heretic, because he says the Bi ble ought -tit take, the place of human creeds; the sectarian devotees can flirt Ms arguments from them, or can hide them In a corner, as easily as infidels can dispose of the arguments of Paley, Wat son, Addison or Chalmers. Blessed be God, that he is raising up his witnesses^ both east and west, and “ compelling them to remodel their views of his character and government ner to stand alone, sneered at as objec but let them co] have in a ihan t perhaps to be ' pity or contempt; ______ lselves with these two reflections:—1st. That so were the prophets persecuted that were before them; and 2d. That there is no other #ay for popular delusion to be removed from 4he community, in any age or nation, than for a few men |o step forward, almost alone in the first instance, and to be valiant for the. troth upon the <?arth. If we lose the M laurels” of human glory, by this course, let us rejoice in the sacrifice; and let consider it our highest honor to be follow ers of them, who through faith and pa tience inherit the promises. A sixth evil of the sectarian spirit is, its tendency to produce rash and uryust suspicions, in regard to the motives and character of our fellow-christians of anoth er pfirty, and to influence us to treat them as pelicans and sinners. The Lord for bids oar judging one another, as explicit- * ly as he forbids murder ; but alas! the commandments of God are made of none effect, by sectarian partiality. It is thought no crime to indulge evil surmisings against those of another denomination, and even to adjudgefiierntfo perdition, because they dissent (Sim the articles of our creed. And, indeed, if it be right to expel our own members from the church for this want of assent, it must be because a be? lief in those articles is essential to salva tion? for surely we have no right to expel them for any but that which would ox elude them from the kingdom of grace and glory: of cq^pe all churches who expel memben for a dissent from iheir creed, must beneve, if they would be consistent with themselves, that all persons of an other creed are in a state of danftation. Thus the claim stands on the from of ev ery sect, out of our church there ii no sal vation. The several sects have a mani fest eagerness to get hold of this clainf^ and the ground of it is the same as in the Mother Church:—namely, to use it as an instrument of intimidation, with which to multiply numbers,* and thus to increase sectarian power. The Mormons, we are told, openly avow it, as one of their pro minent doctrines, that there is no way for any soul of man to avoid the flames of hell, but by becoming a Mormon $ and others have manifested a ^trong desire, though not so openly, to pogsesatheipselveis of the same potent engine. I* wBis is the very og|u?e that has been at work of late years, to*make immersion a saving ordinance; but it is no matter what the particular may be, whether a doctejae or a ceremony, if it be a peculi arity^eCone sects and can be impressed on popular credulity as a mat ter that is essential to salvation, it opens a door for that^ect ultimately to “ take the worldorSSt least to divide dje. conquer ed world with the holy Mother Church, who first craftily Ok up this favorite and most efficient claim. All Who resort to such JSwesiastical stratagems, aremani festly the harldjjdaughters of the great Mother of Harlots; for if she he s^ch a mother, she must of course have daugh ters; and where are. they to be found, if we overlook such m have tip precise fea tures of the mother? w Let any organized body, of men be in quil^possession of these two doctrines— out of our church there is no salvation, and in our church there is* no damnation | -—and such a body is at once prepared to Jiercise^as extensive an imposition over mankind, as was ever exeruji^fby Pa-, gans, Jews, Mahomgteps or Papists. And is it possible that any of the sects of the nineteenth century can hope that they will be successful in attempting to p»y this game over again, which has so long insulted heaven, and degraded the popu lation of the world ? They may be as sured that Up feign of the Man of Sin is coming to an end, whom the Lord shall
The Christian Sun (Elon College, N.C.)
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May 1, 1844, edition 1
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