The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-06-24
DAILY CRESCENT.
For the Crescent.
THE HE'LL CONTROVERSY

For the Crescent.
THE HE'LL CONTROVERSY.
- Who shall decide when parsons disagree
If there be hell tor an eternity,
Or other place, OF short DURATION where
The sinful souls for heaven must prepare?
How can one know who cannot Hebrew speak
Translate the Syric, Chaidee or the Greek
How find the truth, when learned parsons tell
That that S valley which we call a hell -
That hell, in fact, Is mental grief and woe
For wicked deeds committed here below!
When either side Is urged with such skill,
1t leads TO doubts, and doubts lead farther still
For the unlearned will surely pause, and say
= IF is clear TO me they prove 1t either way
Would it not be wiser, on their part
To preach doctrine to improve The heart?
Grant hell be short, or neverendng pain,
What IS = to maa- VIVA profit or what gain!
We II take it as it is, and know it good
For all His works. by every soul confessed,
IRE made IN wisdom, and made tor the best.
And why should lie reveal His every plan,
And all His wise intentions show to man;
Whe this hell shall everlasting be
Shall last an hour, eternity.
And why suppose that certain rules must guide
The Hand that could the toaming deep divide2
II He doth please, lie surely has the power
TO damn for ever. Or but for an hour
a; And can the preachers show, or will they plead,
That this is not the way he does proceed
If they cannot, their wranglfng let them cease,
And teach but what they prove, or hold their peace
BE t their chef care to elevate the mind;
Go preach good will towards the human kind
Not waste their time in mere surmise and doubt
Concerning things that they know naught about;
For there is want OF knowledge and OF light
When each can prove the other Is not right
One learned man. by every one confessed,
Declares that all shall finally be blessed,
While one learned, whose head with lore is crammed
Declares that some shall certainly be damned
Be damned for ever-world without end
IN burning flames shall countless ages spend
The first, by way OF proof, doth here maintain
That evil deeds bring retrIbutlve pain,
As cause precedes effect, and argues well
That it is true the Bible mentions hell.
That an effect doth follow ev''ry cause.
Is true; for it Is one OF Natures Laws,
And plain that guilt must rack erring mind
Epr torof ha and hp attG Nyg find
And this plain way OF reas ming is the true
Nor learning needs the Scriptures to construe.
But LEADS the mind so easily along,
The fool shan err in spite the learned thrOns
If Gospel truths require such mighty lore,
How can plain men their mysteries explore?
How know the truth, or entertain hope
To find whats literal and whats tope9
Upon their preachers they cannot depend
For any light who strive but to defend
The dogmas they themselves do entertain,
Which, if they prove at all are prov'd in vain
For when the learn'd dispute about word,
A Hebrew adjective, how shall the herd
Of common men, the truth select and weigh?
This don t instruct, but leads the mlnd astray.
Then, since It's cleaT to men OF ev' ry cline,
That retribution ever follows crime
For that is shown by Natures settled laws
That woe is the effect when quilts the cause;
Why let them cease their theoOglc war,
Which proves but what the people knew before,
Who, by the way, will surely here observe,
That dogmas can no useful purpose serve,
When all the evidence to prove them true
Is had and held but by the learn d lew,
Who cant however in this distant age,
Declare what meaning slept upon the page
OF Hebrew writ thousand years ago,
Which time has modified and altered so.
Then let us take these dioms so abstruse,
And form our faith upon their common use
And if the Bible does declare. forsooth,
Hell never ends, we know it speaks the truth;
And It's absurd the meaning to distort
OF Hebrew words, which mean Just what they ort ~
For If they be SO hard to comprehend
Why were they writ-what object or what end
Can they now serve--what use can be to those
For whom the ancient Prophets did compose
Then let the preachers cease their useless strife.
And turn their eyes to the affairs of life,
If they instruct and elevate the mind,
They will more benefit the human kind. NiDoCo,