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Two Studies in the History of Doctrine : Augustine and the Pelagian

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Two Studies in the History of Doctrine : Augustine and the Pelagian 3EP29 1023 AUGUSTINE AND THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF INFANT SALVATION. BY BENJAMIN B. 'WARFIELD NEW YORK THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE COMPANY 1897 Copyright, 1897, by The Christian Literature Company PREFACE. The papers contained in this volume, neither of which is here printed for the first time, are reprinted to render them more accessible than they have come to be in the lapse of time. Some of their peculiarities are explained by the circumstances of their original pub- lication. The former one was prepared as prolegome- na to a translation of Augustine's Anti-Pelagian trea- tises, and owes it to this fact that those treatises are described and abstracted and not extracted in it, while incidental passages bearing on the subject from others of Augustine's writings are illustratively quoted. It is reprinted here practically unaltered. The latter paper, which originally appeared in a monthly maga- zine, has, on the contrary, been considerably enlarged and in some parts rewritten for this reissue. Princeton, September, 1897. CONTENTS. PAGE AUGUSTINE AND THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. .1-139 The Origin and Nature of Pelagianism .3-12 The first task of the Church, 3 ; inevitableness of this here- ; of it, its sy, 4 the author 4 ; novelty, 4 ; its anti-Chris- its its tian basis, 4 ; roots, 5 ; central and formative prin- its ciple, 6 ; three chief contentions, 7 ; its attitude to grace, 8 ; to sin, 9 ; its crass individualism, 10 ; five claims made for it, 12. The External History of the Pelagian Controversy 13-22 Pelagius' work in Rome, 13 ; Pelagius and Ccelestius in Africa, ; Ccelestius' condemnation at 13 Corinth, 14 ; Pelagius' examination before John of Jerusalem, 15 ; his trial at Diospolis, 15 ; his condemnation at Carthage and Mileve, 16 ; Innocent's acquiescence, 17 ; wavering policy of Zosimus, 17 ; the interference of the State, 18 ; final action of the Africans, 18 ; stringent action of Zosimus, of Eclanum, 20 ; rise of semi-Pelagianism, 19 ; Julian 20 ; condemnation of semi-Pelagianism, 21. Augustine's Part in the Controversy 23-126 Augustine's readiness for the controversy, 23 ; first oral stage of it, early anti-Pelagian sermons, 24 ; occasion, ob- ject, and contents of the first two books of the treatise, On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, 28 ; of the third book, 31 ; of On the Spirit and the Letter, 32 ; the letter to Anastasius, ; 36 the note to Pelagius, 37 ; the first letter to Paulinus of Nola, 38 ; controversial sermons of this period, ; the of the controversy, 39 progress 43 ; Sicilian Pelagianism letter to Hilary, and the 43 ; Tima- sius and James, 46 ; occasion, object, and contents of the treatise On Nature and Grace, 46 ; Paulus Orosius, 51 ; letter to Jerome on the Origin of Souls, 51 ; Ccelestius* Definitions, 53 ; occasion, object, and contents of On the Perfection of Man's Righteousness, 53 ; news of the " doings in Palestine, 55 ; Pelagian view of Forgive us our debts," 55 ; councils in Africa and letters to Inno- cent, 57 ; letter to Hilary of Norbonne, 58 ; letter to John of Jerusalem, 59 ; letter to Julianna, 60 ; occasion, object, l CONTENTS. PAGB and contents of On the Proceedings in Palestine, 62 ; second letter to Paulinus of Nola, 63 ; the sharpest period of controversy, 65 ; Augustine's policy, 66 ; Zosimus' dis- comfiture, 6S ; occasion and object of On the Grace of Christ and On Original Sin, 69 : contents of On the Grace of Christ, 70 ; of On Original Sin, 72 ; Augus- tine's sermons of this period, 73 ; letter to Optatus on the soul, 80 ; correspondence with Sixtus, 83 ; letter to Mer- cator, 86 ; letter to Asellicus, 8S ; occasion, object, and contents of the first book On Marriage and Concupi- scence, 89 ; second letter to Optatus, 92 ; occasion, ob- ject, and contents of On the Soul and its Origin, 93 ; his first controversial advent of Julian, 95 ; writings, 96 ; occasion, object, and contents of the second book of On Marriage and Concupiscence, 98 ; and of Against Two Letters of the Pelagians, 99 ; and of Against Julian, 103 ; the Enchiridion on sin and grace, 106 ; occasion of On Grace and Free Will, 108 ; object and contents of this treatise, no; occasion, object, and contents of On Re- Grace, ; the letter to Vitalis, buke and m 113 ; Julian's reply to the second book of On Marriage and Concupi- scence, 117 ; occasion of On Heresies, 117 ; its account of Pelagianism, 118 ; rise of semi-Pelagianism in Gaul, 120 ; occasion, object, and contents of On the Perseverance of the Saints and On the Gift of Perseverance, 120 ; contents of the Unfinished Work, 124 ; Augustine's crowning anti-Pelagian work, 126. The Theology of Grace 127-139 Roots and formative principles of Augustine's theology, its central idea, ; the Necessity Grace, 127 ; grace 127 of free-will, 12S ; the fall, 128 ; 129 ; the Nature of Grace, 130; prevenient grace, 132; gratuitous grace, 132 ; sov- ereignty of grace, 132 ; the Effects of Grace, 133 ; ir- resistible grace, 133 ; indefectible grace, 133 ; Predes- tination, 134 ; the Means of Grace, 135 ; infant damna- tion, 137 ; Scriptural basis of Augustine's theology, 138. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF INFANT SALVATION 141-239 Introductory 143-144 The Patristic Doctrine 144-151 Infants' need of and capacity for salvation recognized, 144 ; prevalence of legalistic conception, 145 ; Gregory of Nys- sa's views. 146 ; externalism of conception, 147 ; bap- tism held necessary to salvation, 148; teachings of Au- gustine, 148 ; outcome of patristic thought, 150. The Mediaeval Mitigation 151-154 The inherited doctrine, 151 ; the scholastic doctrine of CONTENTS. poena damni, 152 ; abortive attempt to apply to infants baptism of intention, 153 ; John Wycliffe, 154. The Drift in the Church of Romb 154-165 Four opinions held in post- Reformation Romanism, 154 ; the Tridentine doctrine, 155 ; popular teaching on its basis, ; baptism of intention rejected for infants, 155 15G ; discrimination in favor of heathen infants, 158 ; protests of the heart, 161; "happiness in hell," 163; modern Pelagianizing views, 164. The Lutheran Teaching 165-174 Protestant doctrine of the Church, 166 ; assertion of the necessity of baptism, 167 ; baptism of intention applied to infants, 168 ; Gerhard's teaching, 169 ; fate of heathen infants, 170 ; four opinions, 171 ; agnosticism the histori- cal Lutheran position, 172 ; modern Lutheran opinion, 172 ; difficulties of Lutheranism, 173. The Anglican Position 174-194 Romanizing teaching of early formularies, 175 ; salvation of baptized children affirmed, 177 ; implication of bap- tismal regeneration, 178 ; unsuccessful efforts to revise, 181 ; implied loss of unbaptized, 183 ; at least no hope ex- tended for unbaptized, 185 ; pure agnosticism as to un- baptized children, 186 ; opinions of English Reformers, 187 ; Cranmer, 187 : Becon, 188 ; Hooper, 190 ; variety of seventeenth century opinions, 191 ; Hooker, 192 ; Low Church opinions, 193 ; recent High Church drift, 193. The Reformed Doctrine 195-220 Consistent application of Protestant doctrine of the Church, 195 ; High Church views of Jurieu, 195 ; free-grace and electing love, 196 ; Zwingli's teaching, 197 ; doctrine of the covenant fundamental, 199 ; Calvin and Bullinger, 199 ; essential Reformed postulates, 202 ; five distin- guishable opinions, 202 ; 1. All dying infants saved, 203 ; 2. Fate of all infants uncertain to us, 205 ; condemned by Dort, 205 ; Gataker, 205 ; Baxter, 206 ; why neither view acceptable to earlier Calvinists, 208 ; 3. All cove- nanted infants saved and uncovenanted lost, All 209 ; 4. covenanted infants and some uncovenanted saved, 210 ; 5. All covenanted infants saved, agnostic as to uncove- nanted, 211 ; Jonathan Dickinson, 211 ; the Reformed Confessions, 213 ; the Synod of Dort, 213 ; the Westmin- " ster Confession, 214 ; implications of elect infants dying in infancy," 215 ; drift in late eighteenth and early nine- teenth centuries, 217 ; Lyman Beecher, 218 ; modern Cal- vinistic opinion, 219. Ethical Tendencies 220-236 The most serious peril to the orderly development of the doctrine, 220 ; early Pelagianizing conceptions, 221 ; in- in CONTENTS. PAGE dividual Pelagianizing assaults on the Reformed doctrine, 221 ; the Remonstrant contention and its inconsequence, 222 ; Wesleyan Arminianism, 223 ; its difficulty, 223 ; Dr. James Strong's solution, 224 ; original Wesleyanism, 225 : minor differences, 226 ; Pelagianizing Arminianism, 228 ; its consequences, 229 ; post-mortem probation, 230 ; Dr. Kedney's construction, 232 ; Dr. Emory Miller's, 234. Conclusion 236-239 Three generic views, 236 ; their relations, 237 ; steps in the development of the doctrine, 237 ; the doctrine a test of systems, 238 ; consonant with the Reformed system alone, 238. AUGUSTINE AND THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. AUGUSTINE AND THE PELAGIAN CON- TROVERSY. The Origin and Nature of Pelagianism. It was natural that the energy of the Church in in- tellectually realizing and defining its doctrines in rela- tion to one another, should first be directed towards the objective side of Christian truth. The chief con- troversies of the first four centuries and the resulting definitions of doctrine, concerned the nature of God and the Person of Christ. It was not until these Theo- logical and Christological questions were well upon their way to final settlement, that the Church could turn its attention to the more subjective side of truth. Meanwhile she bore in her bosom a full recognition, side by side, of the freedom of the will, the evil con- sequences of the fall, and the necessity of divine grace for salvation. Individual writers, or even entire sec- tions of the Church, might exhibit a special tendency to emphasize one or another of the elements that made up this deposit of faith that was the common inheri- tance of all. The East, for instance, laid especial stress on free will. The West dwelt more pointedly on the ruin of the human race and the absolute need of God's grace for salvation. But the Eastern theologians did not forget the universal sinfulness and need of redemption, or the necessity, for the realization of that redemp- 4 A UGUSTINE AND THE PELA GIAN CONTRO VERSY.
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