Excerpt from A Dissertation on the Scriptural Qualifications for Admission and Access to the Christian Sacraments: Comprising Some Strictures on Dr. Hemmenway's Discourse Concerning the Church To the table of the Lord, but th fubjeas of faring grace. This 0 pinion univerfally prevailed, with out the leal'i oppofition, until Mr. Stoddard publifhed his difcourfe concerning the terms of communion, in which he maintained that the facrament is a converting ordinance. Doe'tor Increafe Mather, therefore in his anfwer to Mr. Stoddard, calls his fentiment aflraizgc docfirine. But the arguments and character of M r. Stoddard event ually brought over many minifiers and churches to his way of thinking. Among others, Mr. Edwards, his grand-ion and colleague in the minifirjv', adopt ed his Opinion, and, fora number of years, carried it intointo praaice, though never without having fome heli tation and difficulty in his own mind. Butat length, he totally renounced Mr. Stoddard's icheme, and publiihed a mafierly performance, in vindication of his own, and of the common opinion of the New England churches. And ever fince that publica tion, minifiers and churches have generally been divided into Stoddardeans and Edwardeans, in te fpeet of the facramental controverfy. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.