Daily Republican., 1875-07-31

" SAo SSn~OAo, uVWOVoI OO1u 6uU Ul8JAu
Y its claims t0ecclesiastical authority, still
1t must 'speak as the oracles Of God" O
take It's proper and legitimate place a
mong "the traditions Of men," And th,
fact that the conflict now being waged Il
between truth and tradition, needs M
argument to prove. The babbling con
fusion of seventeen centuries has pro
duced an appalling state of indifference
thoDghtlessness and partial blindness =
Men know but little an6 care less, for th.
teaching Of the Bible, unless 1t sanction.
their peculiar notions which they receiv
ed by tradition from their fathers. Henct
the Bible; the word Of truth, can only bt
found by uncovering and bringing 1t out
from beneath the accumulated eeclesias
tical rubbish of the last seventeen centu'
ries Of traditional theology.
1.-THE Bible be true, as we believe Il
is, then It must speak for itself fand when
it speaks, 1t will commend itself to
every mana conscience in the sight OF
Cod" The Bible then must be It's own
interpreter; its harmony must not be bro.
ken, neither indeed can it bs, when left
to interpret ITSELF All that is wanting on
our part, is IN earnest, honest, dilieent,
patient, and prayerful investigation offs
divine teachings. "The wisdom Of the
world 10 fo0liahness with God" and yet
this toolishness preslmes within itself to
teach men the wisdom of God, not know.
ing that "their foolish hearts are darken-
ed" If, then, the Bible be its own In
terpreter; "Everlnsting Punishment" 10 q
revealed fact, around which there can be
no ambiguity of meaning. No meaning
less phrases to create discord can be per-
nisted within Its sacred precincts. The
law and the testimony is all we ask
We propose then to show that the sever
lasting punishment," In the text quoted,
isin perfect harmony with mans con-
stltuti0nal make up, and the very law Of
hip conscious being, for, be II remember
ed that all the elements of his conscious
and material being, existed before God
SAID, "Let " make man" Mark this,
man was made, and made Of materials
alnady existing, "made of the dust of the
grsund:" Now, will any man in the ex-
er4se Of enlightened reason, presume to
depy that man 10 a creature made Of
lt4t ! Then mans "foundation Is In the
du't," II the testimony be true, then,
where mans foundation Is, his identity
must be, then the breath, Or spirit ot lite,
bywhich man became a living soul, can
moi possibly be the man himself, for,
"when God gathers unto himself his
spfi:,or bresth,-which he gave man,
then man shall turn again to dust. Here
then, 10 no ambiguity, man is a creature
made of duet, and the withdrawal of bis
breath, or spirit of life, BY God, only
plates him In his original condition be-
fore he was created, hence the divine an
nouL cement 10 found to be In perfect har-
moay with mans constituted make up
"Dast thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return" Such then, ID the divine testi-
moiy In regard to ths creature called in
the Bible, man, but what strange In
coipprehensible creature man is, in hu-
man theological tradition. Now, If the
elements which enter into the constitu-
tional make up # the first man, existed
before be was created, In an unconscious