The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-02-02
[ADvrarlsnirsr.l
UNIvERsALIsNT.
A Few Popular Errors
Corrected.

i the punishment Of the wicked, are so dli
!, iortd and misreproGented by inference, tia
some eorrcctiou on my part IL admissible
Tho niyerSalist can believe every threaten
ms Ia the word Of God-eTery declaration 0
. the Bible relating 10 the punishment ofth'
wicked. He can give to every expression
and every word Of the Divine 0raeles all
the extent and force-lhO Usus LoouESDl-
tho usage tho original language demandI-
aad itlll maintAia bis faith unlmpaired, ID
the hnal salvation Of every human soul
The punishment OF the sinner, 90 far from
standing Ia tho way bis salvation, may
DO, aud, indeed, often Is, one Of the msauI
that leads 10 II. For II dsIervd = DO 70.
mSmbersd by all, that puniIhmsnt Is never
40 end, but always means 10 an end.
And the government that infietI Il, Is at
once wise and good, the purpoSsd end will
noe,IIarily DO characterized BY wisdom aHd
goodusiI.
An endless punishment, II such thing
wer, possible, must be lis own end, which
10 absurd. II iISaying that God Furnishes
bis creatures merely TO PuuiIh them, which
10 contradiction Of our fundamental ideas
Of Divine justice, no less thRn Of the Divine
goodness, and many very elesr declarations
OF the Bible besides. Thus 1t was said long
before Christianity was proclaimed In tho
world, that God 'doeS not ailiiet willingly
nor grieTe the children OF men !" that lie
Is mot alWayS wrsth;" that lie twill not
keep His anger forever - and that under
his benign government weeping may en-.
dun for q night but Joy eomsih In the
morning.
All arc aware that the fearful doctrine Of
endless punishment rests solely on the force
off single ambiguous word, word that
primarily means bidder or unknown time
and Is therefore capable ofbeing applied
10 any period OF duration, from that Of
human life, or perhaps even q shorter msA.
IurO OF time, 10 the existence OF Ged. That,
when applied to punishment, Il necessarily
or naturally expresses the idea Of eternity,
Is one Of those bold Rnd hazardous assump-
tons which no man has right 10 make
without reason, and a reason adequate to
justify II. But In the case before u there
Is no reason TO be assigned, at least none
that does not rather increase than Lessen
The difficulty involved. Moreover, Il Is
worthy Of remark thlta punishment may
DO said to.be eternal or everlasting, 10 the
SetipturAl use OF these words, Nilhou. at
all implying, or even suggesting, that any
single individual will suffer through lis
whole duration. When the Jews were car
ried away 10 Babylon, their captivity was
daehted as apuniIhmsnt, and this punish.
usnt as everlasting. Yet perhaps no per-
son IN lu-ed II through the whole serenity
years. Tho period embraced at least two
ordinary generations. But that remarka-
bic people Is now suffering much longer
captivity, which Is represented IS ian ever
lasting destruction from the praIencs Of the
Lord, and from the glory oilliI powtr"-
as q "9oing away into everlasting punish
nent, &C., &c. How many generations
have been born and passed away since their
city and sanctuary WtrI destroyed land
the end Is not yet. Tha. state still re-
mainI, but those who endure l. are born
aud die. The punishment 10 "SrerlaitinE''
10 The Sehpturai Ienis Of being long, and
oihldden or intermediate duration; but no
enc, unls,i It be The Wandering Jew"
baI suffered Il through these eighteen hun
drsd years. Besides, nothing Is more GER
tain from Scripture prophecy than the fact
that this "syeflASting puniIhnenn Is 10
come 10 an end and $50 all israsl shall DO
Iayed, as II is written, there rhAll come
cut OF Zion . deliVtrer, and shall turn
away ungodlineI from Jacob
Let me here r.mlnd'my friend that Uni
rersslisii, thOn, not only believe In pun-
iihnient, but In Everlasting puulIhmsnt,n
Ia the sense In which that doerine Is taught
In the Bible. But everlasting punishment,
a. thus exhibited In The Scriptures, Is a very
different thing from the endless punishment
ofour prevalent orthodoxy. 0ne Gomez 10
an end, while the other does not. Ono Is
just, while the other 10 an outrage on tu,-
lieo one 10 consistent with justice, and the
other admits OF no trace OF goodness In It..
The UniverSaliSt uniteS with tie PSalmist
In saying hUnto thee, o Lord, bclongeth
Aercy, for thou rsndersSt 10 every man &C.
cording TO bis worksh while the Advo.
Gates OF orthodoxy are Obliged to COMES,
that In the inhieiion Of endless torment,
(miScalled puniIhment) God forgetI III,
goodness and mercy, and exercises what Ia
mort ais would b. pure revenge.
Let Us turn 10 The other side. Those who
believe In endless puniihmsnt must Of
course believe that q pait Of Gods intslli.
gent and moral creatures cannot be saved,
Consigned 10 stats Of hopsle4I Wreiched.
ae,s, which admits Of no abatement and No
termination, they Ars,objeetS Of the divine
wrath, and mot subjects Of the divine love,
and the only conclusion ID that either Chris
did not die for them, or that be died In vain,
New II happens that there Is a very larg,
class Of passages In tho Scriptures which eI.
prsiily, or by necessary implication, teach
q widely different result 10 the divine GOV.
erunent, and as the isius Of tho work OIL
Christ, passages which affirm In unmiit,ke.
able ierns that ''God loves the world.n N,
whole human family; that Christ came d
and that doing this He "disd for ali b
"tAsted death for every man, And thil
love Of God and work Of Christ are repre-
scented as ofiueh power and efficacy iba
God Is said 10 be 1.-THE Saviour Of all men, ]
and Christ Is declared to DO 1.-THE Sayiou
oftho world.n Besides, Christ was point
ed out by John the Baptist as 1.-THE Laml
Of God, that taksth away the sin Of ih
world, aud an apostle tells Us that IN
must reign till He has subjected all things I,
Himself, when lie will deliver up the king
dom 10 His Father, snd God will 10 all Ii
all.n The iame,EapoStle. teaches US Tia
i'ni In Adam oil die, sYtn 80 In Christ sh.l
all be made alive - aud finally that God
on account Of chri,ti voluntary humilla
ton and death, has 'highly exalted him
and given him anams that Is above ever,
name, that In the name OF jesus every kns
should bow, Of things Ia heaven, ant
things In sat,l, and things under The earth
and that every tongue should confess tha
Jesus Christ Is Lord, 10 the glory or Coz
tse Father Nor !, this at al Of, Of Ssr s
Of Ii. whole Bibis. W. believe hat cBri.
was foretold even in Eden, as the seed 9th,
woman who was 10 bruiis The serpent
head and 10 the patriarchS as their seed, II
whom all the families and tlndrtdI OF 'ih
earth should DO blessed. nAbrahan, u iait
a. I..lan