Perfectionism. This doctrine is often confound- ed with two others, from which, however, it is philo- sophically distinguishable. One of these is the doc- trine of the simplicity of moral action, the most pow- erful advocate of which is the theological school at Oberlin, Ohio. According to this theory, it is impos-
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sible that sin and virtue should co-exist in the human lieart at the same time; all moral action is single and indivisible; the soul is either wholly consecrated to Christ, or it has none of his spirit. These two states may alternate : the man may be a Christian at one moment and a sinner the next, but he cannot be at any one moment a sinful or imperfect Christian. The advocates of this view, however, deny that any one can claim to be a perfect Christian under this theory, because he does not remember any conscious failure, since "even present failure is not always a matter of distinct consciousness, and tlie past belongs to mem- ory, and not to consciousness." See Oberlis The- ology.
The other view, which is sometimes confounded with perfectionism, is that entitled by its advocates the doctrine of "perfect sanctilication," or sometimes the "higher life." This is, in brief, the doctrine that Je- sus Christ is a present Saviour from sin ; that he is able to keep those that trust in him from falling into any sin whatever ; and that if the soul trusted him completely it would be preserved from all deliberate sin, and its unintentional wrong-doing — errors rather than sins — would not be imputed to it. It is true that some of the advocates of this view claim to have so lived in the presence of Christ as to have been for weeks and months luiconscious of any sin ; but more generally those who hold this view of the present re- deeming power of Christ, while they insist that it is possible to live so near to him as to be kept by him " without sin," also confess that they occasionallj' fail to keep up a complete and undeviating trust in Christ, and so do, in fact, in some degree, temporarily fall awaj' from that condition in which they maintain it to be their privilege to walk. It should be added that this doctrine of the "higher life" is one of experience rather than philosophy, and it is difficult to afibrd a clear and concise definition of it that will be free from ever}' objection, or intelligible to those of an unspirit- ual state of mind. See Perfection, Christian.
Perfectionists, a controversial term, applied in an odious sense to those who lay claim to absolute Christian perfection, or maintain its possibility. They may be divided into several classes, as they rest their claims on different grounds. 1. There are the advo- cates of imputed perfection. These are perfect, not in their own righteousness, but in the imputed righteous- ness of Christ. The individual who fancies himself in possession of all Christ's righteousness holds usual- ly, not only that he does not, but that he cannot sin. What would be sin in others is no sin in him. But moral character is not transferable property. It ad- heres to its possessor, and to him alone, and can never become the character of any other being. See Impu- tation. 2. The second class are those who claim what they call an evangelical perfection. They do not profess to oliey perfectly the divine law, or think that this is at all necessary. The moral law has been superseded by the law of faith. To this theory it is sufficient to reply that the moral law has not been su- perseded or annulled, but is in full force now through- out the universe. Our Saviour came to vindicate and honor the law, not to annul it. See Antinomians. 3. The third class are those who ])rofess to fulfil per- fectly the law of God. Tliey admit that the moral law — the great law of love — stands in unabated force ; that it is liinding on thi'msolv(>s ; and insist that they can and do completely fultil it. This tlie}' claim in such an absolute sense as to imply perfect sinlessness, and to require no further need of penitence and for- giveness. This view is not held by any one sect, nor confined to any one denomination ; but is avowed more or less distinctly liy some persons in different church- es, chiefly in the Mclluidist and the Congregational de- nominations, thougli not accepted liy the great body of believers in any of them. Such views have occa- sionally characterized mystical individuals in every
age [see Mystics], and are also held, under some mod- ilication or other, by several bodies of communists in this country. See Theol. Rev. i, 554 ; Meih. Qua?: Rev. 1841, p. 307 ; 1848, p. 293. See Law (Moral).