New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-07-23

10 nsft that III not N the Vhoe OF one unouhi
tor.r1re nor one false sentiment i wish all the
clerov uouh tell their hearers that il is simply
lection from ancient writing-a selection, too, inside oy
persons who one claims were inspired. Sueh on',
.poken honesty would serve TO overthrow great deal
a snner,ttop and To dspel great deal Of delu-lon
Millions on hearing this news, would look upon the
BE with new eyes. Then, for the fret time, they
would have courage 10 exercise iDu', on, with ~hf1
.remblir y their ress0n upon u, ana 70 Judge oil -
merit tr thenselyes Then for the first time. the
mountaineering sou-shrvelipg and sou-en-lsvipg re-
cion of authority would begin to give place in them
To the soul enl ghteuing, soul-expanding and soul
freeing religion OF res<on.
The clergy should also frankly tell their hearers 'hs
Ley who undertook to make up Bible differed widely
among themselves in respect 10 what should % Ia
make il up They should tel them how some voted
to receive and others 10 reject this that and the other
of these ancient writings Nor should they forget to
add. that the Catholics hold that the Pro,esan, Bible
does not take in many Of those ancient writings
A. il should; and that the Protestants hold that the
Catholic Bible takes in far more than il should.
Perhaps both the Catholic and Protestant bles take
in too many of these wntDgs perhsps too few. Were
20 make up Bible for myself, i mg h differ much from
both IL might be inferior possibly II might be superior
to both. But, however this c1sy De, my assumption
of the right to force upon the conscience OF others
would be DO more arrogant ard nOnsencal than il the
Ike assumption IN behalf oftbe existing Bibles. Every
al il in al important sense bound to make up Bbe
70, himself. But while this is required by the religion
Of reason the religion Of authority claims that s pat
eDt right from heaven tn make Bibles excludes every
other night to make them.
| refused to admit that the Bible especially "a
whole, nstes the popular or orthodox view, either o
the AtoDement or OF future punishment. An eternal
hell finds no couuenence in the Old Testament and is
opposed to the general tenor Of the New. TGsre
few words in the latter which favor the institution.
say nstuton-for if Slavery may be dgnitet with
this name it il peculiarly proper that every other hell
should be. Such Of these few words attributed
toJesus and most of them are would be entitled to our
most profound and earnest consideration, could we be
cure that he uttered them. But five could be, We
should be less uncertain 10 what they refer
Moreover a. they used in connection with his
highly fgur.tve and surprisingly hyperboical Ian.
guage We .boud be apprehensye that 10 put literal
Interpretation upon them might be 70 sacrifice their
significance. Maniestly, then, these few words con
s'tute basis quite too harrow and uncertain on "hch
TO build an argument for eternal he-an argument
leading to the most important and appalling OF all con-
illusions. ~
In every age thousands of the learned spend no little
time in concentrating the whole power of their minds,
and the whole interest Of their hearts, upon inquiries
into the meaning of adjective whica Jesus is re-
ported TO have coupled with the word punishment.
Upon that meaning they make turn the iuture AMI
eternal condition Of man. What matchles tony 10 go
70 an adjective, instead of God, with quest on of
such overw h. lining importance Nay, whst insanity
to be thus driving exclusive search into a word,
for the purpose Of learning the very little OF the vine
will which can be learned from mere word, while All
the lille the heavens above hesds and the earth
beneath our feet are teemng with unmistakable and
conclusive evidences of that will Oh when will men
"turn from these yauiiies unto the living God, VINO
"nade heaven and earth and the sea- and all things
chat are therein and left not Himself without wit
"ness in that He did good, and gave us rain trom
"beaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with
food and gadLessW
To return for a moment 10 this undu ymagnitied adj
iective L. if properly translated into everlasting p
That is uncertain. Uncertain too i II whether II was
spoken in Hebrew Syrac or Greek. For scholars
can more decide in what language 1t was spoken
than in Whist language the Book of Matthew was first
written. Now, if the idea which jesus conveyed 10
this word and in its original come ,tl0ns has indeed
goue the round Of all these languages, then 1t would
not be strange it. by the time it reached our language
it had become greatly changed idea.
Nor be properly said that the popular or orto-
dox view Of the A,onemeut is sustained by the Bible
The few passsges for 1t inconsistent with the gen
efal tenor Of the book.
The Jews were waiting for the Messiah. lie came.
The mass did not own HIM and the few who did were
sadly disappointed and utterly confounied by his
death. They thought it had been he who should
have restored Israel But in process OF time happy
tn, M were given to his death whereby the believing
Jews lifted up out of the despair into which that
death had sunk them. One of these turns a. honest
admit, as il was natural, was the Atonement. The
saorfce of animals for the remission OF ems was
deeply rooted in the Jewish faith. very easy step
Therefore, was il 70 fancifu analogy between .uch
sacrifice and the death of Christ, and still easier was
the succeeding step which transmitted the fiction into
an indubitabie fact The early Gentle converts were
IIghatly
being prepared for by Jewish education they would
be low to receveit To them Paul says very little of
IT, The sacrifices Of the Greeks and Romans differed
widely from those Of the Jews.
admit that the Atonen ent is in the esteem OF the
majority Of Christians, the great central doctrine of
ChIis,ihnty-'he great saving doctrine, inasmuch a.
they hold that every denying 1t must perish, and
that Christianity iiself would perish without it. But
If the faith OF the earliest Christians il appealed To Tor
determining its relative importance, then will but little
account be made Of the crime. Jesus did net teach
IT, nor wa. it taught until many year. afer his death
II woud not be held to at this day. had not Paul taught
it, Paul would not have taug hi IT, had he not been
jew. The Jews would not have received it bu, for
their faith in animal sacrifices and from this faith
they would have been free, had they entirely ougrown
paganism. Ii because Of their pagan concep-
tuns of Deity that they numbered dagnatlo and de-
stIucOD among His ntensest delights. II was because
of the lingerngs Of pagaDsm i'll them, that they at
tribuled 10 Him burning wrath which blood and sui
feiiDg could alone appease.
No, the AtOnement not the preeminent doctrine
with the early Christians The Resurrection held that
place. This the hope for which Paul sas
iudged-ths hope that there shall be resurrection
of the dead" He taught that their preaching and
faith were vain If there be resurrection.
l have mentioned Of the hsppy turns given to
the oeath of Christ Another and no less honest one
that which made his death Iced toa triumphant ar
eument for the resurrection If Christ had risen, then
there would be rising Of all, both of the Jest snt
the unjust" His resurrection was held to be the ear
uest-,he " first fruits of the general resurrection
With the believing Jews, the Messiah. reign
"A visible and literal reign-wes second IN
importance TO the resurrection only. They were
cure of il. So, too was Jesus. The difference be
tween himself and them this point was that they
believed he would set up his kingdom then, AMI he
that be must first pass through the gates of death.
Soon after hi, death however they believed that he
had risen, and the effect Of this belief was renew
their confidence bis kingdom. Conf tent they
that he would return to reign in sheousnes-
Full Of this confidence Paul. He doubted not
that the end of the world has come though he DID
Dot think II Ia be quite the Ihes-.lOnisns
did Peter doubted that " the end Of all thiDgsls
at hand" So too James that the coming of the