תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

XVI.

CENT. of the Calvinist or Reformed church, more espeSECT. II. cially those that relate to the eucharist, were also PART II.introduced into Denmark, towards the conclusion

The diversity that

reigned a

various

branches of the Reformed church.

of this century; for, in this kingdom, the disciples and votaries of MELANCTHON, who had always discovered a strong propensity to a union between the protestant churches, were extremely numerous, and they had at their head NICHOLAS HEMMINGIUS, a man eminent for his piety and learning. But the views of this divine, and the schemes of his party, being discovered much sooner than they expected, by the vigilant defenders of the Lutheran cause, their plans were disconcerted [], and the progress of Calvinism was successfully opposed by the Lutheran ministers, seconded by the countenance and authority of the sovereign [p].

XXVII. It must not however be imagined, that the different nations that embraced the mong the communion of the Calvinist church, adopted, at the same time, without exception, all its tenets, rites, and institutions. This universal conformity was, indeed, ardently desired by the Helvetic doctors; but their desires, in this respect, were far from being accomplished. The English, as is sufficiently known, rejected the forms of ecclesiastical government and religious worship that were adopted by the other Reformed churches, and could not be persuaded to receive, as public and national articles of faith, the doctrines that were propagated in Switzerland, in relation to the

sacrament

[o] Erici Pontoppidani Annal. Ecclesiæ Danisa Diplomatici, tom. iii. p. 57:

[] That is (for our author consistently with truth can mean no more) the designs, that were formed to render Calvinism the national and established religion proved abortive. It is certain, however, that Calvinism made a very considerable progress in Denmark, and has still a great number of votaries in that kingdom.

XVI.

sacrament of the Lord's Supper and the Divine C E N T. decrees [9]. The protestants in Holland, Bremen, szer. III. Poland, Hungary, and the Palatinate, followed, PART II indeed, the French and Helvetic churches in their sentiments concerning the eucharist, in the simplicity of their worship, and in the r principles of ecclesiastical polity; but not in their notions of predestination, which intricate doctrine they left undefined, and submitted to the free examination and private judgment of every individual [r]. It may farther be affirmed, that, before

[9] It is true, indeed, that the doctrine of Zuingle, who represented the bread and wine as nothing more than the exter nal signs of the death of Christ, was not adopted by the church of England; but the doctrine of Calvin was embraced by that church, and is plainly taught in the xxviiith article of its faith. As to what relates to the doctrine of the divine decrees, Dr Mosheim is equally mistaken. The xviith article of the church of England is, as bishop Burnet candidly acknowledges, framed according to St Augustin's doctrine, which scarcely differs at all from that of Calvin; and though it be expressed with a certain latitude that renders it susceptible of a mitigated interpretation, yet it is very probable, that those who penned it were patrons of the doctrine of Absolute Decrees. The very cautions, that are subjoined to this article, intimate, that Calvinism was what it was meant to establish. It is certain, that the Calvinistical doctrine of predestination prevailed among the first English Reformers, the greatest part of whom were, at least, Sublapsarians; in the reign of Queen Elizabeth this doctrine was predominant, but after that period it lost ground imperceptibly, and was renounced by the church of England in the reign of king Charles I. Some members of that church still adhered, nevertheless, to the tenets of Calvin, and maintained, not only that the thirty-nine articles were Calvinistical, but also affirmed, that they were not susceptible of being interpreted in that latitude for which the Arminians contended. These episcopal votaries of Calvinism were called Doctrinal Puritans. See Burnet's Exposition of the Seventeenth Article, &c. and Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. i. p. 579.

[r] See Grotii Apologet. eorum, qui Hollandiæ ante mutationem, A. 1618, præfuerunt, cap. iii. p. 54. Ed. Paris. 1640, in

I 2mo.

XVI.

CENT. fore the synod of Dort [s], no Reformed church SECT. III. had obliged its members, by any special law, or PART II.article of faith, to adhere to the doctrine of the

The doc

trine adopted by the Reformed churches.

church of Geneva relating to the primary causes of the salvation of the elect, or the ruin of the reprobate. It is true indeed, that in the places now mentioned, the greatest part of the Reformed doctors fell by degrees, of their own accord, into the Calvinistical opinion concerning these intricate points; and this was principally owing, no doubt, to the great reputation of the academy of Geneva, which was generally frequented, in this century, by those among the Reformed who were candidates for the ministry.

XXVIII. The books of the Old and New Testament are regarded by the Reformed churches as the only sources of Divine Truth; it must however be observed, that, to their authority, the church of England adds that of the writings of the Fathers during the first five centuries []. The Reformed and the Lutherans agree in maintaining that the Holy Scriptures are infallible in all things; that, in matters of which the knowledge is necessary to salvation, they are clear, full, and complete; and also that they are to be explained by

[] It was in this famous synod, that was assembled in the year 1618, and of which we shall have occasion to give a more ample account in the history of the following century, that the doctrine of Calvin was fixed as the national and established religion of the Seven united Provinces.

[] There is nothing in the thirty-nine articles of the church of England, which implies its considering the writings of the Fathers of the first five centuries, as an authoritative criterion of religious truth. There is, indeed, a clause in the Act of Uniformity, passed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, declaring that her delegates, in ecclesiastical matters, should not determine any thing to be heresy, but what was adjudged so by the authority of scripture, or by the first four general councils; and this has perhaps misled Dr Mosheim in the passage to which this note refers. Much respect, indeed, and perhaps too much, has been paid to the Fathers; but that has always been a matter of choice, and not of obligation.

[ocr errors]

by themselves, and not either by the dictates ofc EN T. human reason, or the decisions of the ancient XVI. Fathers. Several of the doctors among the for- PART II. mer have indeed employed too freely the sagacity of their natural understanding, in explaining those divine mysteries that are contained in the Gospel; and this circumstance has induced many to imagine, that the Reformed adopted two sources of religion, two criterions of divine truth, viz. the Holy Scriptures and Human Reason. But perhaps it will be found, that, in this respect, doctors of both communions have sometimes gone too far, being led on by the spirit of controversy, and animated with the desire of victory. For, if we except the singular tenets of some individuals, it may be affirmed with truth, that the Lutherans and the Reformed are unanimous in the matter now under consideration. They both maintain, that contradictory propositions cannot be the objects of faith; and consequently that all doctrines that contain ideas and notions that are repugnant to, and mutually destroy each other, must be false and incredible. It is true, indeed, that the Reformed sometimes use this principle in a contentious manner, to overturn certain points of the Lutheran system, which they have thought proper to reject [7].

the Re

XXIX. The Reformed, if by this denomination The points we understand those who embrace the senti- in which ments of CALVIN, differ entirely from the Luther- formed and ans in the following points:

Ist, In their notions of the sacrament of the The Lutherans affirm that the body

Lord's supper.

[u] Our author has here undoubtedly in view the Luthetan doctrine of Consubstantiation, which supposes the same extended body to be totally present in different places at one and the same time. To call this a gross and glaring contradiction, seeins rather the dictate of common sense, than the suggestion of a contentious spirit.

Lutherans

disagree.

XVI.

SECT. III.

CENT body and blood of CHRIST are materially present in this sacrament, though in an incomprehensible PART II manner; and that they are really exhibited both to the righteous and the wicked, to the worthy and to the unworthy, receiver. The Reformed hold, on the contrary, that the man CHRIST is only 'present in this ordinance by the external signs of bread and wine; though it must, at the same time, be observed, that this matter is differently explained and represented in the writings of their doctors.

2dly, In their doctrine of the eternal decrees of God, respecting man's salvation. The Lutherans maintain, that the divine decrees respecting the salvation or misery of men are founded upon a previous knowledge of their sentiments and characters; or, in other words, that God, foreseeing from all eternity the faith or incredulity of different persons, had reserved eternal happiness for the faithful, and eternal misery for the unbelieving and disobedient. The Reformed entertain different sentiments concerning this intricate point. They consider the divine decrees as free and unconditional, and as founded on the will of God, which is limited by no superior order, and which is above all laws.

3dly, Concerning some religiouss rites and institutions, which the Reformed consider as bordering upon superstition, or tending, at least, to promote it; while the Lutherans view them in another light, and represent all of them as tolerable, and some of them as useful. Such are the use of images in the churches, the distinguishing vestments of the clergy, the private confession of sins, the use of wafers in the administration of the Lord's Supper, the form of exorcism in the celebration of baptism, and other ceremonies of like moment. The Reformed doctors insist on the abolition of all these rites and institutions; and

that

« הקודםהמשך »