The provincial letters of Blaise Pascal : $b A new translation, with historical introduction and notes, by the Rev. Thomas M'Crie — John Shaqi
The provincial letters of Blaise Pascal : $b A new translation, with historical introduction and notes, by the Rev. Thomas M'CriePascal, Blaise
Religion
The provincial letters of Blaise Pascal : $b A new translation, with historical introduction and notes, by the Rev. Thomas M'Crie
Pascal, Blaise
Jansenists -- France -- Early works to 1800; Jesuits -- Early works to 1800; Port-Royal des Champs (Abbey) -- Early works to 1800
Were this the proper place, it would be easy to show that, in the
leading points of his theology, Jansen did not differ from Calvin, so
much as he misunderstood Calvinism. The Calvinists, for example, never
held, as they are represented in the Provincial Letters,[20] “that we
have not the power of resisting grace.” So far from this, they held that
fallen man could not but resist the grace of God. They preferred,
therefore, the term “invincible,” as applied to grace. In short, they
held exactly the _victrix delectatio_ of Augustine, by which the will of
man is sweetly but effectually inclined to comply with the will of
God.[21] On the subject of necessity and constraint their views are
precisely similar. Nor can they be considered as differing essentially
in their views of the death of Christ, as these, at least, were given by
Jansen, who acknowledges in his “Augustinus,” that, “according to St.
Augustine, Jesus Christ did not die for all mankind.” It is certain that
neither Augustine nor Jansen would have subscribed to the views of grace
and redemption held by many who, in our day, profess evangelical views.
Making allowance for the different position of the parties, it is very
plain that the dispute between Augustine and Pelagius, Jansen and
Molina, Calvin and Arminius, was substantially one and the same. At the
same time, it must be granted that on the great point of justification
by faith, Jansen went widely astray from the truth; and in the
subsequent controversial writings of the party, especially when arguing
against the Protestants, this departure became still more strongly
marked, and more deplorably manifested.[22]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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