Since we have been looking at what Elder Potter said about many Two Seeders denying a physical resurrection of the body, we will return to look at what Elder John M. Watson in "The Old Baptist Test" wrote on that point. Following that we will have a couple chapters where we give some more citations from Potter on certain Two Seed tenets.
Watson, in Section VI of his book "The Old Baptist Test" titled "The Resurrection" wrote:
"There has been much figurative language used with respect to the resurrection, which some have seized upon and tried thereby to reduce the whole to a figure, but instead of the truth of a real resurrection..." (pg. 228)
It is a funny thing that Two Seeders were too literal in Bible interpretation in some ways and yet too non-literal (or figurative) in other ways. They interpreted texts that speak of people being the children of the Devil in a most literal manner but scriptures dealing with a physical resurrection in a most figurative way, thereby denying a literal bodily resurrection. The only way to deny the resurrection of the bodies of the just and unjust is to deny that the texts that speak of it are literal. We have already seen in the preceding chapters where Elder Sylvester Hassell saw the ill effects of overly spiritualizing many literal texts in the Bible, a thing that still characterizes many of today's "Primitive Baptists."
Watson wrote further:
"But after all the revealed light we have on the subject of the resurrection of our bodies, and the examples given of it, the Parkerite will not admit it, but entertains a notion about it subversive of the whole matter. His conception is predicated of the erroneous propositions that only the elect fell in Adam, that all human souls are eternal, and were infused into Adam at the time of the formation of his body, and that the multiplication of the woman's conception was to engender bodies for the abode of a seed from Satan. Human bodies, therefore, are held in low estimation by them, and, when they die, go to the dust from whence they were formed, the soul to God, with a mystic, imaginary body of its own, and the seed of the devil back to him, and the body in which it dwelt, like that of the Saint, to the dust, never to rise again. Thus the bodies, both of the just and unjust, are never to rise again, but the soul returns to God to be again confounded with him, and can have no distinctive existence or being of its own, while the seed of the devil returns to Him to be one with Him again-so, in the winding up of the whole affair, there will be one God and one evil spirit. This is a fair induction from their erroneous premises-a palpable reductio ad absurdum." (pg. 228)
In the above citation Watson gives several Two Seed propositions, one of which says that the Two Seeders believe "that all human souls are eternal." But, that is a correct proposition. Surely Watson does not deny the immortality of the soul. Perhaps he means "that all human souls are eternal AND were infused into Adam at the time of the formation of his body." That would have been clearer had he not put a comma after "eternal" and before "and." In this case Watson would deny that all souls were in Adam when he was created and would be taking what is called the "creationist" view of the origin of the soul, which says that each soul is created by God in the womb after the female egg is fertilized by the male seed. The other view is called Traducianism, which posits that both body and soul are derived from parents through natural procreation, with souls passed down from Adam. I think, however, that the Two Seed view is a modification of the Traducian view, for it does not simply say that the souls of all are derived from the first soul in Adam or Eve but that the souls were actually present in them. Many Creationists would not deny that all souls were represented in Adam, but not that each soul preexisted in Adam.
Watson also says that the Two Seed view has a low estimation of the human body. Recall that in the first chapters of this treatise we saw how Two Seedism borrowed much from Gnosticism, and a chief idea in it is to say that the material or physical world is evil and that salvation was to be delivered from it. They therefore would naturally see the idea of living forever in human bodies as a bad thing.
Next, Watson gives a list of the several items in the "Parkerite creed." Watson wrote:
"We will now take a general retrospect of what we have written, and compare tenets with our opponents. Let us, then, make out a synopsis of the Parkerite creed:
1. They believe there is an uncreated, self-existent and eternal God, infinite in Wisdom, Power and Holiness.
2. They believe there is an uncreated self-existent, eternal Evil Spirit, or Devil, intelligent, wicked, cunning and antagonistic to God.
3. They say that the soul of Christ is uncreated and eternal.
4. They fancy that the souls of the Children of God, or the Elect, are uncreated and eternal, and were always in actual union with God.
5. They contend that all the souls of the Children of God were infused into Adam, and pass, by a procreation of human bodies, into the persons of the elect.
6. They assert that the reprobates have no souls, and that their bodies are a multiplication of the woman's conception for the reception of a connate Satanic seed, uncreated and eternal, instead of souls, with which Satan was eternally united.
7. They affirm that, at death, the soul returns to God, and the seed of Satan to him.
8. They deny the resurrection of the bodies of the just and unjust." (pg. 229)
Tenet number one, of course, is true. We have thus far looked at the above errors and of others not in the list. However, it is strange that Watson left out several other false tenets, although he does mention them in other places. He does not mention the errors of Two Seeders concerning "regeneration" or "rebirth," the "no change" view of it, nor their denial of God's use of the means of his word in that work. It is also strange that in a list of their beliefs he lists one item that is true but seven that are false. Perhaps he is just willing to grant them some degree of orthodoxy by mentioning that one item. However, as we have seen, they really do not believe item number one, for they believe the Devil is uncreated and self existent, and that he created or procreated his children. They may believe that God is as stated in item number one, but they do not believe he is the only one who fits that description.
Watson makes this observation on Two Seedism:
"Their doctrine is serpentine, and it has serpentine ways and outlets, and is hard to hold even when caught." (pg. 231)
I think that this was not only true with the Two Seeders in Watson's day, but it is also true in later days, in the twentieth and twenty first centuries among those who call themselves "Primitive Baptists," with the exception of those who are of a different strain, such as the Eastern Association of Primitive Baptists. They are slippery in a deceitful way, and this is true with cults. By this I mean that they can be shifty, sneaky, deceptive, crafty, etc. When they are confronted with biblical texts that refute their erroneous premises, they can show some cunning craftiness in the ways they can twist a text to make it say what it does not say upon first glance. When I was with the Hardshells I often saw this slippery activity. They not only show this slippery serpentine activity in how they twist scripture but also in the ways they alienate preachers who do not toe the line from the affections of the Hardshell community.
Watson wrote:
"We were then willing to bear with the sparse amount of Parkerism, which then showed itself, while its advocates were careful to keep back its most objectionable tenets; but since then, it has been preached even to the extent of a full denial of the resurrection of our natural bodies, with its other unscriptural and hurtful doctrines; in consequence of which five of our churches have passed resolutions that it shall not be preached in their pulpits, and some of its advocates have been, from time to time, kindly entreated to forbear preaching such things. Moreover, an association lately constituted, which came out from among the Parkerites, or non-resurrectionists, has been received into our correspondence. Notwithstanding all this, we again entreat the advocates of Parkerism to desist from preaching their tenets; yea, we say if one or two of its leading advocates would desist, our associated union might be preserved, and oh! how fearful is the responsibility which now rests on them." (pg. 233-234)
As we saw in previous chapters, for several decades of the 19th century the "Primitive" or "Old School" Baptists who opposed Two Seed heresies were far too willing to bear with Parkerism. In the previous chapter we saw how Dr. Throgmorton stated this very thing in his debate with Elder Potter. Some did begin to declare non-fellowship with Two Seeders in the 1840s and onward, but most did not. It was not until the 19th century neared its end that there began to be a widespread declaration against Two Seedism. Further, as we have shown, remnants of Two Seedism still remain among the "Primitive Baptists" of the Hardshell variety. How any of them could have tolerated the presence of those who denied a bodily resurrection for even a short time is amazing. It is also bewildering how they could declare non-fellowship against those who believed in supporting mission organizations, seminaries, Sunday Schools, etc. but not do so against Two Seed heresies.
Watson wrote:
"Most of the evils, which have convulsed and shook the world, at different times, emanated, from perversions of Divine Truth. Have I perverted any text of Holy Scripture, and in that way opened a fountain tributary to the great time stream of error? Let me search it out and repent of it, and seal it up forever with a hearty recantation."
I wish that those who call themselves "Primitive Baptists," with but few exceptions, had this attitude. I have labored hard for the past thirty five years, and especially the past twenty years in writing against Hardshellism in my various blogs, to get them to do some honest investigation of their beliefs, to come here and discuss their heterodox views on Bible doctrine. I am thankful that we have helped many to come out of Hardshellism (with its remnants of Two Seedism) and others from going into it, but I wish there had been more. If Lemuel Potter, C.H. Cayce, John R. Daily, etc., were here today, I believe they would come here and debate their heresies. But, where are the debaters today?
Watson wrote:
"Who of us are thus feeding and sustaining the Man of Sin, aiding in building Babylon, or sinning in propagating Protestant heresies, or Old Baptist ultraisms. We can readily see the absurdities of Romanism, the errors of many Protestant sects, and avoid them, but we do not recognize, as heresies, those hurtful ultraisms which are eating, as doth a canker, upon our very vitals as a denomination--a denomination which very justly boasts of its antiquity, and of having never acknowledged any other rule of faith and practice but that of the Bible. But some of our brethren are interpreting many of its blessed truths in such a way as to lead off their hearers from the Old Baptist platform of principles. Some of them have pursued that perverse thing, Parkerism, with such obstinacy of opinion, and such perversions of the Scriptures, that we have been compelled to withdraw reluctantly from them. I will now show, most conclusively, that Parkerite ultraisms have changed some of the Old Order of Baptists into a new sect." (pg. 235-236)
Watson believes that a person sins when he propagates heresies. I agree. I also believe that those who bid heretics God speed sin in doing so. So, it is a serious thing to believe and teach heresy. He speaks of what he calls "Old Baptist ultraisms." Many of those heretical ultraisms involved Two Seed tenets, and certainly included a denial of means in eternal salvation, a denial that a person must believe and repent to be eternally saved, affirming that nothing that a person does in life determines whether he goes to heaven or hell. He says those heresies and ultraisms were eating, like a cancer or gangrene, "our very vitals as a denomination." That cancer has indeed spread far so that very little of their denomination is yet living. He says that Parkerite Two Seed tenets have made the Hardshells "into a new sect." It is therefore highly ironic, and grossly inappropriate, for them to claim that they are "Primitive," meaning "original" Baptists.
Of course, Watson was not correct to say that the "Primitive Baptist" denomination that was created as a result of the anti-mission movement of the late 1820's and 1830s had an ancient ancestry so as to be able to "justly boast of its antiquity." Of course, Elder Watson and his segment of "Primitive Baptists" could make a better claim on that score than those "Primitive Baptists" who 1) began to deny that God used the means of gospel preaching to save his elect, and 2) began to deny that evangelical faith and repentance were essentials for eternal salvation, and 3) taught a no change view of regeneration, 4) and taught other Two Seed ideas.
Watson wrote:
"Parkerites are frequently heard to say, "that nothing will ever go to heaven but what came from there!" and, to prove the assertion, quote this text: "He that descended is the same also that ascended." Eph 4:10. They mean, that as the same person ascended who had descended, and as that person was Christ, his glorified human body was not taken up into heaven; thereby hinting darkly at the non-resurrection of our bodies-a heretical tenet which has been embraced by many of them!" (pg. 243)
In previous chapters I have called attention to this motto of the Two Seeders that says "nothing will go to heaven but what came from there." This proposition is not given in scripture but is a man-made one, and it is taken to scripture and the scriptures made to conform to it by twisting scripture. This is true with many man-made propositions that cults and heresies invent. Today's "Primitive Baptists" have several of these as I have shown in previous chapters. Recall another Two Seed proposition that says that nothing a person does in his life determines whether he goes to heaven or hell. Believing that proposition is inspired, they make scripture to agree with it by perverting scripture. Another one says that if a salvation text has a condition to it then it is a mere time salvation, but if there is no condition then it is eternal. Accepting this proposition as inspired they make the scriptures to conform to it.
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