The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-06-22

the human soul which we term natural DEATH
former influences. The righteous man becomes
dead 20 SID, cali0us to evil Influences The sinner
becomes in some conditions dead TO right
.Thc soul that sInneth it shall die" 'You
and slns,n shows that there Is such thing as a
resurrection from this state OF moral death In this
NE or state Of being showing also that death or
overcome We now see clearly that death is the
penalty, for ali have sinned; that this pun
ishment Is eternal for it will and
% Which it sns exist Bas we a must re
member. at the same time. that the word-some-
times rendered eternal and sometimes everlast-
ing-is an adjective, necessarily limited IN It's
meaning by the nature oil the noun to which 1t
applies. The word everlasting or eternal when
cause it applies to God. The same word, applied
to the priesthood OF Aaron or the doors OF the
I Iempie has limited signincation, because the
IL. ike the word everlasting eternal is relative
In It's meaning. II say, 'lhere is a large apple
not possibly make the apple as large
a. the elephant although it has the same
rsas meaning NOW take the noun ,Sn
accomplishments OF an ends good father pun
ishes his child for the purpose OF bringing about
while, and when parent Furnishes merely for the
sake OF Furnishing we call him brutal. The whole
that The Keeper Of ressu nas IL Ga haS
kept his little son chained In q room Tor three
months for the crime or stealing. And whyf Be-
cause the punishment was unnecessarily cruel and
without any apparent object OF bene1ting the
child. Punishment, then, being limited in its ma
SIN which is its cause, and when
the sin is removed It's Office ceases,
s ns longer %ss
the atunement Of Christ Let us see. The world
lay dead IN trespasses and sins, grovelling In the
consequences Of becoming slaves TO unbrided ap-
petltes and passions: blinded by their own lusts
TO the love that benincent Creator had mani
tested in al His works; ignorant OF God and the
rewards OF righteousness. and literally in the gall
Of bitterness and bonds OF iniquity. And yet God
loved that poor, miserable, sinful world with such
an intense, undying love that he sent His only be-
gotten Son. clothed with fesn and blood, that he
might mlngle among them, reaching down to the
very depths OF their degraded naturesnot to screen
them nom deserved punishment and thus reconcile
the Father to them-oh mol There Is no orthodoxy
In such an idea: but, In the language OF the New
Testament, God was IN Christ, reconciling the
world unto HIMSELF" not imputlng their trespasses
the years OF their sin ana suffering they had been
SHINING against themselves and bringing on their
never failing accompaniment Of SIN and it
was the mission OF Christ to save the sim
ner from sin. .Thon shalt call His name
Jesus, for He shall His people from their sins.n
Reconciliation OF the sinner to God not OF God to
the sinner Is, therefore, the true orthodox view OF
the atonement; and that work OF reconciliation,
although not yet complete, is steadily progressing,
and Will continue TO progress until ''all shall know
in the language of st. Paul, Cor, xv.-"When ali
things shall be subdued unto him. then shall the
son also himself be subject unto him that put all
things under Him, that God may be all in ALL"
Oh.
What Does the Bible Teach!
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
1t Is well-known fact that those who style
themselves Christians at the present day are di-
vided into sects who differ on many questions rela
tive to the Christian enterprise; but farther than
this, they may be divided properly into two classes
who differ materially and wholly on one question,
which Is OF the utmost Importance to every living
soul, viz. Universal salvation or not Now, both OF
these classes take the Bible as their guide and as
the foundation on which they build their religious
hopes. question SO momentous as this one
affecting the endless condition OF spirit. ought to
be settled. Minor questions, which do not affect
the future condition OF any one. can be left for
bigots to play with; but the one OF eternal happi.
ness or misery ought to be fully understood. II 1t
cannot, then there Is no religious question that
can be.
1t Is said men shape the Bible to their opinions,
and not their opinions to the Bible, and thus do
not take a lair and honest view OF this question.
Doubtless this Is often the case; but there per-
sons strictly honest that take exactly opposite
views OF 1t. one says, "a have examined the Bible
tanght" Another finds 1t taught plainly and I'M
equivocaly. How are these opinions TO be recon-
have made the Bible a life study, read it in the
original Greek and Hebrew, with prayer and an
earnest desire for the truth whatever 1t might be;
YET they diner decidedly as to whether man will
suffer etcrnally or not.
Some Ieei that the letter OF the Bible teaches
eternal misery; but their idea OF JUST mercy and
tile character Of God leads them to get around the
point by asserting that the spirit OF the Cos |
pei teaches eternal happiness for all. ior the letter
OH ito fhara fn..l
that God-given reason may be exercised; and. in |
view OF Gods love, which is Infinite. and His |
Him to cause one OF His creatures to suffer for
ever And another says, "iou must not reason,
Many the question to
ton OF II, turn deaf ear, as 1t Is not pleasant to
think Of and console themselves with the thought
that IN some mysterious way they will come out
right in the end, or at most, they will be no worse
or than thousands OF Others while others give the
question e9npsrasvey no though, at an ,r.,on.
to-day In evangelical churches, who have sub
scribed 70 the creed OF eternal damnation and
publicly stand by it, do not believe 1t and many OF
them are willing to confess privately that they do
not and cannot believe such doctrine. This, at
least, Is very significant.
passed into the beyond. thousand millions exist
today on the earth, and are passing away at the
rate or one every second; and there are millions
yet 10 be; and the doctrine that to-day Is promul-
gated by majority OF our religious teachers. II
true consigns nine-tenths OF our race 70 an end
less hell while minority teach final restoration.
Which Is true? We know from experience the ter
rble suffering that the spirit Is susceptible OF in
this world and the thought that one soul even |
must suffer at least thus much forever and ever, /
a duration the merest fraction OF which IS meas |
ureless and beyond the comprehension oi man, Is |
appalling. Is there a solution OF this question: |
II seems as II there might be- for this, which Is
vii al in religion should be settled nrst.
This subject is not introduced for mere contro-
versy but for light and love Tor the great brother
hood OF mankind, that the world may be wiser,
better and happier. II the Bible has been wrongly
translated, let us have new and correct render
ing OF the original Greek and Hebrew. IL We need
a new revelation let us try to obtain that II the
spirit OF the Bible Is misunderstood and we have
enormously chung to the letter, let us have the
spiritual meaning OF Scripture. The world has adj
vanced far enough and Is wise enough 70 setuc
sucn q question as this. The BiDlc teaches one
thing or the other; there is no middle or dual
ground. Let not disputers, but the great,
wise, the learned the honest and pure, unbiased.
investigate this subject, and tell US what the Bible
teaches the truth or at least throw some light
upon It, that the religious world may stand on