"tures" himself pronouncing Calvinism to be "fcriptural truth." Such was its purport in the hands of another graduate of this Univerfity, when he denounced the minifters of our Church, as " dangerous heretics and "fchifmatics," for " impiously and hypocriti"cally fetting their hands to doctrines, which "in their hearts they never affented to;" and for "adopting the pride-foothing Arminian "herefy of univerfal redemption ;" and "main"taining the Popish herefies of universal re"demption, free will, and falling from grace; "blafphemies as poifonous as thofe of Arius, Pelagius, and Socinus "." Such, again, was its purport, at a fomewhat later period, in the hands of a beneficed minifter of our Church, when he paffed the following comprehenfive fentence against thofe, who were not of his perfuafion. "Arminianifm," he laments," is "the grand religious evil of this age and coun 66 h try. It has more or lefs infected every Pro"teftant denomination amongst us, and bids "fair for leaving us, in a fhort time, not fo "much as the very profeffion of godliness. "The power of Christianity has, for the moft part, taken its flight long ago; and even Whitefield's Works, vol, vi, p. 95. "the form of it seems to be on the point of bid ding us farewell. Time has been, when the "Calviniftic doctrines were confidered and "defended, as the palladium of our established "Church, by her Bishops and Clergy; by the "Universities and the whole body of the laity. "It was (during the reigns of Edward VI. "Queen Elifabeth, James I. and the greater 66 part of Charles I.) as difficult to meet with a "clergyman, who did not preach the doctrines "of the Church of England, as it is now, to "find one who does. We have generally for"faken the principles of the reformation: and "Ichabod, or thy glory is departed, has been "written on most of our pulpits and church doors ever fince i." The charge, thus urged and repeated at feveral periods of the last century, (a charge, the confidence of which might well be diminished by a confideration of the acknowledged fact, as to the comparative numbers and authority of the accufers and the accufed,) continues to be advanced with the fame purport, and with unabated confidence, at the prefent time. It were unneceffary to enumerate the evidences of a truth, which must be notorious to all who hear me. I fhall be fatisfied therefore with remarking, that it is with this view, that one Toplady on Predeftination, pref. p. 5. of the authors, to whom I have just referred,' after the interval of half a century ftill continues to lament over "the poor deferted and "distracted Church of England, ftruggling for "breath in the midst of Popish and Pelagian "mire" and that it is avowedly in a great degree upon the ground of Calvinism, that the advocate of a party in the Church claims for his party the appellation of "True Churchmen " and evangelical Minifters '," and denies it to their fellow-labourers in the vineyard. The allegation against our true churchmanship is not our prefent affair; although perhaps it may incidentally be noticed. It has indeed been weighed in the balance; and it has been found wanting. Our business is with the charge, as it excludes us from the title of Evangelical Minifters to which charge, inasmuch as it refts upon our declining to preach the doctrines of Calvin, we are (as I faid before) contented to plead guilty. And that we do for the following fimple reafon; because the doc * Sir Richard Hill's Reformation Truth reftored, pref. p. viii. The True Churchmen afcertained, &c. by John Overton, A. B. - See the Articles of the Church of England proved not to be Calvinistic, by Thomas Kipling, D. D. and Vindiciæ Ecclefiæ Anglicana by the Reverend Charles Dau beny. trines of Calvin appear to us to be irreconcile able with the doctrines of Chrift and of his Apoftles; and if we adhere to the latter, and preach the Gospel in that purity, in which they have delivered it, we conceive that we must diffent from, and reject, the former. It furely will not be understood from this declaration, that I mean to protest against all the doctrines maintained by Calvin and his followers. Some articles of faith are common to most, or all, of the profeffors of Christianity, Many articles of faith, and among these feveral' of the prime and fundamental tenets of our religion, are common to us and to the Calvinifts. The doctrines, which I have in view, are fuch as belong peculiarly to that denomination of believers; and conftitute the characteristic mark," which diftinguishes them from their brother Chriftians. To prevent however the poffibility of mifapprehenfion, and to exhibit at the fame time" a clear and compendious view of the nature of the controverfy between us, I propose to state, as concifely as I am able, the moft effential articles, on which we differ from the Calvinifts, and which are made the bafis of fo folemn an accufation against us. Thus for inftance it is the doctrine of Calvin and of his followers-I would be understood in the fubfequent ftatement as referring to thofe perfons, who maintain the avowed principles of Calvin, and do not fhrink from their obvious confequences; for as to those opinions, which their abettors denominate "moderate "Calvinifm," I fhall have occafion to advert to them presently; and will here only remark in paffing, that the framer of the more perfect fyftem himself would have fcorned them, as an unworthy fubterfuge, and reprobated the appellation, as a contradiction in terms;-I fay then, it is the Calviniftic doctrine, that God has by an eternal, abfolute, irrefpective, and immutable decree elected and predeftinated certain individuals to falvation, from which, by the fame decree of predeftination, he has excluded the great mafs of mankind, excluding them from the benefits purchased by the death of his Son." Our doctrine is, that • Prædeftinationem vocamus æternum Dei decretum, quo apud fe conftitutum habuit, quid de unoquoque homine fieri vellet. Non enim pari conditione creantur omnes: fed aliis vita æterna, aliis damnatio æterna præordinatur. Itaque prout in alterutrum finem quifque conditus eft, ita vel ad vitam, vel ad mortem, prædeftinatum dicimus. Caly. Inflit. lib. iii. cap. xxi. fect. 5. Quod ergo Scriptura clare oftendit, dicimus; æterno et immutabili confilio Deum femel conftituiffe, quos olim femel affumere vellet in falutem, quos rurfum exitio devovere. Hoc confilium, quoad electos, in gratuita ejus mifericordia fundatum effe afferimus, nullo humanæ dignitatis refpectu quos vero damnationi addicit, his jufto |