Section 1: The character of this natural endowment
That there exists in the human minds and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity, we hold to be beyond dispute, since God himself, to prevent any man from pretending ignorance, has endued all men with some idea of his Godhead, the memory of which he constantly renews and occasionally enlarges, that all to a man being aware that there is a God, and that he is their Maker, may be condemned by their own conscience when they neither worship him nor consecrate their lives to his service. Certainly, if there is any quarter where it may be supposed that God is unknown, the most likely for such an instance to exist is among the dullest tribes farthest removed from civilisation. But, as a heathen tells us, there is no nation so barbarous, no race so brutish, as not to be imbued with the conviction that there is a God. Even those who, in other respects, seem to differ least from the lower animals, constantly retain some sense of religion; so thoroughly has this common conviction possessed the mind, so firmly is it stamped on the breasts of all men. Since, then, there never has been, from the very first, any quarter of the globe, any city, any household even, without religion, this amounts to a tacit confession, that a sense of Deity is inscribed on every heart.
I know this is looking ahead, but based on this text, it seems that the Calvinism of Calvin is not the Calvinism of some of the Calvinists here at FR.
As I have said in the past, some of the Calvinists here try to out Calvin Calvin. Reminds me of the story about Charlie Chaplin upon entering a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest only to place third.
When you finish your 'sinning spree' come back and give a clear definition of hyper-Calvinism.
THEN I will be glad to comment on Palmer's quote. The ball in in your court.
51 posted on 06/30/2003 8:12 PM CDT by drstevej
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