“The Second Helvetic Confession” was a confession that Mr. (Canterbury)
Matthew Parker endorsed; he wrote that it expressed the beliefs “of all of
us.” He wrote that in a 1566 letter to Mr.
Heinrich Bullinger, the author of the “Second Helvetic Confession.,”
A lengthier document, Mr. Bullinger’s Decades
was required for ordinands in the Church of England. Mr. (Rev. Dr. Prof.) R. Scott Clark has
provided an outline of the “Decades” at: http://clark.wscal.edu/bullinger.php . (Incidentally, Mr. Bullinger’s dedication was to Mr. (Edward VI)
Tudor.)
The Decades is available at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Decades-Henry-Bullinger-Volumes/dp/1146886381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380934921&sr=8-1&keywords=heinrich+bullinger+decades+volume+1 . The Second Helvetic Confession is at: http://www.ccel.org/creeds/helvetic.htm
Now, ding! Ding! School time! : “Schooling
Un-Reformed Anglicans.”
We say with Zachary Ursinus,
"Friend, entering here: be short and leave…or else stay and assist us in the
work."
Now,
for some corrective words:
CHAPTER VIII
Of Man's Fall, Sin
and the Cause of Sin
THE
FALL OF MAN. In the beginning, man was made according to the image of God, in
righteousness and true holiness, good and upright. But when at the instigation
of the serpent and by his own fault he abandoned goodness and righteousness, he
became subject to sin, death and various calamities. And what he became by the
fall, that is, subject to sin, death and various calamities, so are all those
who have descended from him.
SIN.
By sin we understand that innate corruption of man which has been derived or
propagated in us all from our first parents, by which we, immersed in perverse
desires and averse to all good, are inclined to all evil. Full of all wickedness,
distrust, contempt and hatred of God, we are unable to do or even to think
anything good of ourselves. Moreover, even as we grow older, so by wicked
thoughts, words and deeds committed against God's law, we bring forth corrupt
fruit worthy of an evil tree (Matt. 12:33 ff.). For this reason by our own
deserts, being subject to the wrath of God, we are liable to just punishment,
so that all of us would have been cast away by God if Christ, the Deliverer,
had not brought us back.
DEATH.
By death we understand not only bodily death, which all of us must once suffer
on account of sins, but also eternal punishment due to our sins and corruption.
For the apostle says: "We were dead through trespasses and sins...and were
by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, who is rich in
mercy...even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together
with Christ" (Eph. 2:1 ff.) Also: "As sin came into the world through
one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men
sinned" (Rom. 5:12).
ORIGINAL
SIN. We therefore acknowledge that there is original sin in all men.
ACTUAL
SINS. We acknowledge that all other sins which arise from it are called and
truly are sins, no matter by what name they may be called, whether mortal,
venial or that which is said to be the sin against the Holy Spirit which is
never forgiven (Mark 3:29; I John 5:16). We also confess that sins are not
equal; although they arise from the same fountain of corruption and unbelief,
some are more serious than others. As the Lord said, it will be more tolerable
for Sodom than for the city that rejects the word of the Gospel (Matt. 10:14
f.; 11:20 ff.).
THE
SECTS. We therefore condemn all who have taught contrary to this, especially
Pelagius and all Pelagians, together with the Jovinians who, with the Stoics,
regard all sins as equal. In this whole matter we agree with St. Augustine who
derived and defended his view from Holy Scriptures. Moreover, we condemn
Florinus and Blastus, against whom Irenaeus wrote, and all who make God the
author of sin.
GOD
IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF SIN, AND HOW FAR HE IS SAID TO HARDEN. It is expressly
written: "Thou art not a God who delights in wickedness. Thou hatest all
evildoers. Thou destroyest those who speak lies" (Ps. 5:4 ff.). And again:
"When the devil lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a
liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). Moreover, there is enough
sinfulness and corruption in us that it is not necessary for God to infuse into
us a new or still greater perversity. When, therefore, it is said in Scripture
that God hardens, blinds and delivers up to a reprobate mind, it is to be
understood that God does it by a just judgment as a just Judge and Avenger.
Finally, as often as God in Scripture is said or seems to do something evil, it
is not thereby said that man does not do evil, but that God permits it and does
not prevent it, according to his just judgment, who could prevent it if he
wished, or because he turns man's evil into good, as he did in the case of the
sin of Joseph's brethren, or because he governs sins lest they break out and
rage more than is appropriate. St. Augustine writes in his Enchiridion:
"What happens contrary to his will occurs, in a wonderful and ineffable
way, not apart from his will. For it would not happen if he did not allow it.
And yet he does not allow it unwillingly but willingly. But he who is good
would not permit evil to be done, unless, being omnipotent, he could bring good
out of evil." Thus wrote Augustine.
CURIOUS
QUESTIONS. Other questions, such as whether God willed Adam to fall, or incited
him to fall, or why he did not prevent the fall, and similar questions, we
reckon among curious questions (unless perchance the wickedness of heretics or
of other churlish men compels us also to explain them out of the Word of God,
as the godly teachers of the Church have frequently done), knowing that the
Lord forbade man to eat of the forbidden fruit and punished his transgression.
We also know that what things are done are not evil with respect to the
providence, will, and the power of God, but in respect of Satan and our will
opposing the will of God.
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