120 



CONFESSION. 



Bohemic> 



1535, 



Saxon. 

 1551. 



English, 

 15531 



1571. 



French, 



I55&. 



b'cotish, 

 1560. 



ry and Poland. They fully harmonise with each other, 

 with only this difference, that the doctrine of predesti- 

 nation, and an approbation of the observance of such 

 religious festivals as the nativity, &c. are to be found in 

 the latter confession only. 



The Bohemic confession Was compiled from various 

 ancient confessions of the Waldenses who had settled in 

 Bohemia, and approved of by Luther and Melancthon 

 in 1532 ; but it was not published till 1535, when it 

 was presented by the barons and other nobles to king 

 Ferdinand. It extends to 20 articles, similar to those 

 of the Waldensian confession, with the addition of 

 others on the divinity of Christ, justification by faith 

 in him, " without any human help or merit," predes- 

 tination, and the absolute necessity of sanctification and 

 good works. 



The confession of the Saxon churches was composed 

 in 1551 by Melancthon, at the desire of the pastors of 

 Saxony and Misnia met in assembly at Wittemberg, in 

 order to be presented to the Council of Trent. It is 

 contained in twenty-two articles : and whilst, like that 

 of Augsburg, it is silent on the subject of predestina- 

 tion, it lays equal stress on the doctrine of justification 

 by faith, and has a separate article entitled " Rewards," 

 in which the doctrine of human merit, particularly as 

 connected with future blessedness, is condemned and 

 refuted. 



The first draught of the English confession was pre- 

 pared by Archbishop Cranmer in 1551, with the assist- 

 ance of Bishop Ridley; and after being revised by 

 Knox and Harley, and others of the Scotish reformers, 

 corrected by the English bishops, and approved by con- 

 vocation, it was published both in Latin and English, 

 in the year 1553. Its articles were at first 42 in num- 

 ber, but on being revised in 1562, they were reduced 

 to thirty-nine, and then published in Latin only ; no au- 

 thentic English copy of them having been edited till 

 1571, when they were again revised by the convocation, 

 and authoritatively published in their present form. 

 They are so generally known, being inserted in most 

 of the Common Prayer Books, that any statement of 

 the doctrines which they contain is quite unnecessary 

 here. We shall only observe, with regard to their Cal- 

 vinistic complexion, a subject which has, of late years, 

 been agitated with uncommon keenness and ability, that 

 the English delegates at the Synod of Dort certainly 

 believed them to be Calvinistic, otherwise it can scarce- 

 ly be supposed that they would have gone along with 

 the doctrinal sentiments of that assembly, particularly 

 on the topic of unconditional election ; and that it is ge- 

 nerally understood, that all who are unconnected with 

 the Church of England have no hesitation in number- 

 ing the 39 articles among Calvinistic confessions. 



The confession of the Reformed Gallican churches 

 was prepared by order of a synod at Paris in 1559; and 

 presented to Charles IX. in 1561, by the celebrated Be- 

 za, in a conference with that monarch at Poissy. It 

 was published for the first time in 1 566, with a preface 

 by the French clergy, to the pastors of all Protestant 

 churches; and afterwards in 1571, it was solemnly ra- 

 tified and subscribed in the national synod of Rochelle. 

 It is extended to forty articles ; but they are in general 

 concise, and embrace the usual topics of the other Pro- 

 testant confessions, including the doctrines of election, 

 and notification by faith only. 



The Protestants in Scotland having presented a peti- 

 tion to parliament in J 560, requesting the public con- 

 demnation of popery, and the legal acknowledgment of 

 the reformed doctrine and worship, they were required 



Confuciu* 



1618.13.. 



to draw up a summary of the doctrines which they couid Confession 

 prove to be consonant with scripture , and which they of Fa *tf| 

 were anxious to have established. The ministers on 

 whom this duty was devolved, being well acquainted 

 with the subject, prepared the required summary in the 

 course of four days, and laid it before parliament, when, 

 after having been read first before the Lords of the Ar- 

 ticles, and afterwards twice, (the second time article by 

 article) before the whole parliament, it received their 

 sanction as the established system of belief and worship. 

 It consists of twenty-five articles, and coincides with all 

 the other Protestant confessions which affirm the doc- 

 trine of election, and reject that of consubstantiation ; 

 for though it is not so explicit as some of them respect- 

 ing the unconditional nature of election, yet a distinct 

 recognition of this doctrine pervades the whole of it; 

 and though it has no separate article on justification, it 

 no less distinctly recognises this fundamental principle 

 of the Protestant faith. 



The tenets of Arminius having obtained considerable 

 prevalence in Holland towards the beginning of the 

 1 7th century, the Calvinists, or Gomarists as they were 

 then called, appealed to a national synod which was 

 convened at Dort in 1618, by order of the States-Gene- 

 ral ; and attended by ecclesiastical deputies from Eng- 

 land, Switzerland, Bremen, Hesse, and the Palatinate, 

 besides the clerical and lay representatives of the re- 

 formed churches in the United Provinces. The canons 

 of this synod, contained in five chapters, relate to what 

 are commonly called the^ue points, viz. particular and 

 unconditional election; particular redemption, or the 

 limitation of the saving effects of Christ's death to the 

 elect only ; the total corruption of human nature, and 

 the total moral inability of man in his fallen state ; the 

 irresistibility of divine grace; and the final perseverance 

 of the saints; all of which are declared to be the true 

 and the only doctrines of scripture. 



The only other confession of which we shall take no- Weitmiu. 

 tice, is that of the Westminster assembly, which met in »ter Assea 

 1643, and at which five ministers and three elders as l>ly> 1643. 

 commissioners from the General Assembly of the Church 

 of Scotland attended, agreeably to engagements between 

 the convention of estates here, and both houses of par- 

 liament in England. This confession is contained in 

 thirty-three chapters, and in every point of doctrine 

 exactly accords with the sentiments of the Synod of 

 Dort. It was approved and adopted by the General 

 Assembly in 1647; and two years after, ratified by act 

 of parliament, as " the public and avowed confession 

 of the Church of Scotland." By act of parliament 1690, 

 it was again declared to be the national standard of 

 faith in Scotland ; and subscription to it as " the con- 

 fession of his faith," specially required of every person 

 who shall be admitted " a minister or preacher within 

 this church." Subscription to it was also enjoined by 

 the act of union 1 707, on all " professors, principals, 

 regents, masters, and others bearing office," in any of 

 the Scottish universities. 



On the subject of the preceding article, see Eusebius; 

 Mtsheim's Ch. History ; King's Hist, of the Apostles' 

 Creed; Waterland's Critical Hist, of the Athanasian 

 Creed; Rycaut's Greek Church; Morland's Hist, of the 

 Churches of Piedmont ; the English Harmony of Con- 

 fessions; Corpus et Syntagma Confcssionum ; Kcecheri 

 Biblioth. Theolog. Symbolical ; Buddaei Isagog. Histo- 

 rico-iheolog. ; and Adam's Religious World Display- 

 ed, (d) 



CONFUCIUS, or Kong-foo-tse, the celebrated Chi- 

 nese philosopher, was born about 550 years before the 

 1 





1 650. 





