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Sketches ad hints of church history, and theological controversy
Sketches ad hints of church history and theological controversy Author:John Erskine Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: not poffeffing virtues which merit eternal rewards,—and the eternity of future puniihments. My prefent account of this excellent treatife (hall be confined to... more » what relates to the doctrine of atonement, p. 42.—150. The Proteftant doctrine as to the atonement is this : Sinners of mankind are reconciled to God, and attain eternal happinefs, only through the interpofition of a Mediator, who has perfectly fatisfied Divine juftice, and whofe fatisfailion is imputed to them. Is this doctrine founded on Scripture ? Is it confiftent with reafon. I. Eberhard thus endeavours to prove that it is not founded on Scripture: "The Scripture-reprefentations " of this fubject, being conveyed in figurative lan- " gll3ge, are peculiarly expofed to wrong interpreta- " tions. The underftanding them literally has produ- " ccd doctrines contrary to good tafle, to philofophy, " and to found criticifm. Thui the reafonings of Gro- " tius and Reinbec from the words amvrpaait and ur/ioi " have by Le Clerc been fhown inconclufive- The word ' fat'ufaftiw occurs not in Scripture; and the idea " annexed to it is collected from various texts, injudi- " cioufly connected together. The expreffions of wri- " ters, accuftomed to a wor(hip of which facrifice " were a chief part, and in whofe language many ima- " ges were borrowed from facrifices, have occafioned " many miftakes in thofe who do not confider the ori- " gin of thefe figurative phrafes. Of imputation the " Scripture never fpeaks, fave to exprefs a judgement pafled upon men, in conference of their moral con- To this they who adhere to the generally.received' Proteftant doctrine reply: It is inconfiftent with the defign of revelation, fo to propofe doctrines, which have an immediate influence on religion and virtue, as mould lead, not the mu...« less