Christian Sects in the Nineteenth CenturyCornwallis, Caroline Frances
Religion
Christian Sects in the Nineteenth Century
Cornwallis, Caroline Frances
Christian sects -- History -- 19th century
Having now given some account of the principal Calvinistic sects, I shall
conclude by mentioning a few of those less numerous societies, which,
whilst agreeing in the peculiar doctrines of Calvin, differ upon other
points. THE PARTICULAR BAPTISTS, agreeing with the General Baptists on
most other practices and doctrines, differ from them on this. The
separation took place in the year 1616, when a controversy on the subject
of infant baptism having arisen among the Baptists, one portion calling
itself the “Independent Congregation” seceded, embraced the Calvinistic
doctrine, and became the first Particular Baptists: others, who were in
general attached to the opinions of Calvin, concerning the decrees of God
and Divine Grace, were not entirely agreed concerning the manner of
explaining the doctrine of the Divine decrees. The greater part believed
that God only _permitted_ the first man to fall into transgression,
without particularly predetermining his fall: these were termed
SUBLAPSARIANS. But others again maintained that “God in order to
exercise and display his justice and his free mercy, had decreed from all
eternity the transgression of Adam, and so ordered the course of events,
that our first parents could not possibly avoid their fall. These were
termed SUPRALAPSARIANS.
There is a modern sect that originated in Scotland about 1728, termed
Glassites, from its founder Mr. John Glass, who was expelled by the Synod
from the Church of Scotland, for maintaining that “the kingdom of Christ
was not of this world.” His adherents then formed themselves into
churches, conformable in their institution and discipline to what they
apprehended to be the plan of the first churches recorded in the New
Testament. Soon after the year 1755, Mr. John Sandeman (an elder in one
of these congregations in Scotland) attempted to prove that “Faith is
neither more nor less than a simple assent to the Divine testimony,
concerning Jesus Christ delivered for the offences of men and raised
again for their justification, as recorded in the New Testament.” He
also mentioned that the word _Faith_ or _Belief_, is constantly used by
the Apostles to signify what is denoted by it in common conversation,
i.e. a persuasion of the truth of any proposition, and that there is no
difference between believing any common testimony, and believing the
apostolic testimony, except that which results from the testimony itself,
and the Divine authority on which it rests. This led to controversy
among the Calvinists and Sandemanians, concerning the nature of
justifying faith; and the latter formed themselves into a separate sect.
They administer the sacrament of the Lord’s supper weekly, and hold “love
feasts,” of which every member is not only allowed but required to
partake, and which consists of their dining together at each other’s
houses, in the interval between the morning and afternoon service. They
interpret literally the precept respecting the “kiss of charity,” which
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account