Saturday, June 8, 2024

Excerpts from Frederick Çalder, Memoirs of Simon Episcopius (1837)

 Calvinists condemning Arminians/Remonstrants teaching heresy re. Universal Atonement:

 

That the doctrine of the universal extent of the atonement of Christ was taught by some of the reformers long before the time of Arminius, will be seen by the two following extracts from Bullinger, whose writings, according to Le Vassor, contributed so much to the spread of the Reformation in Holland. They are taken from the French edition of his works, the preface of which is dated 1549. We shall retain the orthography of the text:--“Jesus Christ nous ait oste par sa mort, la couple de nos pechez et qi’il áit este fait satisfaction pour tout le monde,” p. 32. “Le Fils de Dieu, nostre seigneur Jesus, a abondanment satisfait, pour la couple le monde,” p. 33. By the moderate Calvinists of the present day the doctrine of Jesus Christ having tasted death for every men is very generally admitted; yet such admission in the days of Arminius and Episcopius, would have subjected them to the charge of Socinianism; not, perhaps, for asserting this doctrine itself, but under the pretence of their holding others which they were unwilling to acknowledge; for in this disingenuous manner did the Dutch divines of the Geneva school constantly attempt to render the advocates of universal redemption suspected of Socinianism. Should it be said that they had good reasons for this, on the ground of the system of Arminius tending to it, as was evident from several of those who afterward bore his name becoming Socinians; yet it should be recollected that, by the same mode of arguing, it might be shown that the opinions of Calvin also tended to Socinianism, seeing that the Churches of Geneva, which had formerly received this doctrine, had, still of late, universally embraced the errors of Socinius. In cases of this kind we ought rather to adopt the sentiments of a modern writer on ecclesiastical history, who says, “He is not to be made answerable for all the sentiments adopted by those who, in after ages, become his professed followers.”—Sabine’s History of the Christian Church, p. 224. (Frederick Çalder, Memoirs of Simon Episcopius, The Celebrated Pupil of Arminius, and Subsequently Doctor of Divinity, and Professor of Theology in the University of Leyden [New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837], 57)

 

 

[The Remonstrants] were considered heterodox on this point by many of their Calvinists opponents, who, for the most part, adopted the doctrine of the imputation of a twofold righteousness, in order to our justification, as it was first propounded by Zuinglius. The one which he called the active righteousness of Christ, he said, was the effect of his having fulfilled the whole law for us, and therefore our obedience is perfect and complete in him. The other he designated the passive of righteousness of Christ, the result of his obedience unto death. By the latter, he asserted the guilt of sin was taken away, and by the former, we were entitled to eternal life. This opened the door to Antinomianism, which maintained “that the personal acts of obedience of Christ to the law being put to the account of believers, they are therefore reckoned righteous in him for which reason God sees no sin in them; and they are not bound to confess sin, mourn for it, or pray that it may be forgiven. They need not fear either their own sins or the sins of others, since neither can do them any injury.”—Boone’s Book of Churches and Sects.

 

For demurring at this, and other opinions equally strange, connected with this subject, Arminius and his followers were counted heretical by the Calvinists; hence one o them expostulated with a Remonstrant, because he hesitated to admit “that a sinner is justified by that faith that believes that Christ had endured for him, by name, eternal death and all the punishment of the damned,” a doctrine in relation to which Dwight says, “If the atonement of Christ consisted in suffering what those, for whose sins he atoned, deserved to suffer his mediation did not lessen the evils of the apostasy, and of course there is, in the Divine kingdom, just as much misery with the mediation of Christ as there would have been without it; and nothing is gained by this wonderful work but the transfer of this misery from the guilty to the innocent.” And yet this was the doctrine of the Belgic divines, and on this they founded the right of acquittal from punishment of those for whom Christ died; holding those to be Socinians who hesitated to receive it, inasmuch as they saw that any other interpretation of the atonement would open the way for the admission of the university of the death of Christ. This will be seen by quotations from their works.

 

Maccovius says: “If Christ died for all, then he was a surety and ransome for all, even for those that perish everlastingly. And this will brand God with injustice for taking a twofold punishment for the same offences, when the first satisfaction might have suffered.”—Mac. Distinct. c. 10, Disp. 18, p. 35

 

D. Damman, who was scribe to the Synod of Dort, speaks to the same effect: “It is repugnant to God’s justice that he should constitute Christ to bear the sins of all men and make full satisfaction for them, and yet ordain some men to bear their own sins in their own persons, and so make satisfaction for them themselves; then he should punish one sin twice, that is to say, both in his Son and in them that perish.”—Consene, p. 63.

 

Vogelius says, “If Christ tasted death for unbelievers, he drank that bitter cup in vain, or else unbelievers must taste eternal death twice, contrary to God’s justice, to the dignity of Christ’s death, and to possibility;” and therefore this man says, “The Remonstrants who believe in the universality of Christ’s death are to be suspected of Pelagianism, Socinianism, and other filthy heresies.”—Contra Ministros Campens, pp. 125, 135.—From Dr. Womack, bishop of St. David’s, as quoted in his Arcana Dogmatum, Anti-Remonstrantium. (Frederick Çalder, Memoirs of Simon Episcopius, The Celebrated Pupil of Arminius, and Subsequently Doctor of Divinity, and Professor of Theology in the University of Leyden [New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837], 69-70)

 

 

On infant damnation and reprobation:

 

To prove that this horrible doctrine was espoused by many Calvinist divines of that day, we shall give a few extracts from their writings, as copied by the Remonstrants and presented to the synod of the 14th of January, 1619. In this paper, they first give a lengthened statement of their own sentiments on the subject of predestination, and then proceed to object to the opinions of those who ranged themselves under the name of Calvin, many of whom were the writers of these passages, and were to be their judges. The section containing these quotations may be found in the Acta Remonstrantium, at page 44, part 2. That the reader may see that we deal fairly with these passages, we shall present the original in opposite columns to our translation:--

. . .

 

The condition of those infants who die in Christ before that they have been able to perform any act is different, for they will, as others, either be saved merely as the result of grace, or damned according to nature as children of wrath.

 

For, since this promise is not so general as to comprehend all, therefore I dare not positively say that any, so dying [without baptism] will obtain eternal salvation. For there are some children of holy people, who do not belong to those who are predestinated to eternal life.

 

There are many infants of pious parents, who, dying before they have the use of their reason, nevertheless, on account of original sin, will be damned.

 

The execution of the decree of God against reprobate infants is this:--As soon as they are born they are reprobated to eternal death; being left to themselves when dying, on account of the guilt of native and original sin.

 

Many more passages to the same effect might be selected from this MALIGN THEOLOGY, but we judge the above will satisfy the reader. (Frederick Çalder, Memoirs of Simon Episcopius, The Celebrated Pupil of Arminius, and Subsequently Doctor of Divinity, and Professor of Theology in the University of Leyden [New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837], 176-77)

 

 

Belief of Remonstrants ("1618 Opinions of the Remonstrants with a Memorial to James Arminius"):

 

9. All the children of believers are sanctified in Christ; so that not one of them perishes who departs out of this life prior to the use of reason. But no children of believers who depart out of this life in their infancy, and before they have in their own persons committed any sin, are on ay account to be reckoned in the number of the reprobate: so as that neither the sacred laver of baptism is, nor are the prayers of the Church, by any means capable of profiting them to salvation.

 

10. No children of believers who have been baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Ghost, and while in the state of infancy, are by an absolute decree numbered among the reprobate. (Frederick Çalder, Memoirs of Simon Episcopius, The Celebrated Pupil of Arminius, and Subsequently Doctor of Divinity, and Professor of Theology in the University of Leyden [New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837], 474)