of transmitted corruption; but it had nothing to do with the theological doctrine of the “Federal Headship” of Adam.  Not that I could wholly give up this last doctrine; for I still read it in the 5th chapter of Romans.  But it was clear to me, that whatever that meant, I could not combine it with the idea of degeneracy, nor could I find a proof of it in the fact of prevalent wickedness.  Thus I received a shadowy doctrine on mere Scriptural authority; it had no longer any root in my understanding or heart.

Moreover, it was manifest to me that the Calvinistic view is based in a vain attempt to acquit God of having created a “sinful” being, while the broad Scriptural fact is, that he did create a being as truly “liable to sin” as any of us.  If that needs no exculpation, how more does our state need it?  Does it not suffice to say, that “every creature, because he is a creature and not God, must necessarily be frail?” But Calvin intensely aggravates whatever there is of difficulty:  for he supposes God to have created the most precious thing on earth in unstable equilibrium, so as to tipple over irrecoverably at the first infinitesimal touch, and with it wreck for ever the spiritual hopes of all Adam’s posterity.  Surely all nature proclaims, that if God planted any spiritual nature at all in man, it was in stable equilibrium, able to right itself when deranged.

Lastly, I saw that the Calvinistic doctrine of human degeneracy teaches, that God disowns my nature (the only nature I ever had) as not his work, but the devil’s work.  He hereby tells me that he is not my Creator, and he disclaims his right over me, as a father who disowns a child.  To teach this is to teach that I owe him no obedience, no worship, no trust:  to sever the cords that bind the creature to the Creator, and to make all religion gratuitous and vain.

Thus Calvinism was found by me not only not to be Evangelical, but not to be logical, in spite of its high logical pretensions, and to be irreconcilable with any intelligent theory of religion.  Of “gloomy Calvinism” I had often heard people speak with an emphasis, that annoyed me as highly unjust; for mine had not been a gloomy religion:—­far, very far from it.  On the side of eternal punishment, its theory, no doubt, had been gloomy enough; but human nature has a notable art of not realizing all the articles of a creed; moreover, this doctrine is equally held by Arminians.  But I was conscious, that in dropping Calvinism I had lost nothing Evangelical:  on the contrary, the gospel which I retained was as spiritual and deep-hearted as before, only more merciful.

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