The Church of England vs. Eternal Torment.
By Uriah Smith
It is no doubt generally supposed that the doctrine of eternal misery is an acknowledged article in the creeds of all evangelical denominations. It appears from the following paragraph, that that long-established and influential church, the Church of England, does not so regard it, the Lord Chancellor deciding that it is not a doctrine of that church. C. W. Turner, in a Letter to the Presiding Elder of the Milwaukee District, sets forth that in 1562 the Church of England purged away some of her popish errors, and among other things expelled the doctrine of eternal misery. He then continues:— “In the case of Wilson vs. Fendal to determine whether endless torments was a doctrine of the Church of England, or not, the Lord Chancellor in the case, which occurred 1864, decided it was not. For, remarked his Lordship, to decide that it was, would be to restore the article expelled in 1562; that he had no power to do; and this was in the presence of two Archbishops, and had their approval and signature. (See the Report in the Law Times of Feb. 20, 1864.)” May we not in this see one of the reasons why the Bible doctrine of the destruction of the wicked, makes such progress in England.