The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-12-28

answer to another inquiry the Doctor
remarked that he believed the salvation OF
and child descended from Adam. The oppor-
tunity Is given them to accept Oh. reject 1t.
What the mode of punishment is to be, or
how God will effect reconciliation with sin
ming souls in the hereafter, he was not pre-
pared to say. His mind was not quite clear
on that point. But every man who sins has
in his own conscience q gnawing worm greater
than any physical punishment that could be
endured. He had known men during his pas
toral life whose crimes were only known to
themselves, their pastor and their God, and
who nevertheless suffered punishment q
thousand-fold greater than the law of the
land would have inflicted upon them. Put
such man, said the Doctor, right under the
throne Of God and he would not be happy.
HAIr1Ne BETWEEN Two OPINIONS.
The Rev W. f. Hatfield, pastor of the
Eighteenth street Methodist Episcopal
Church, New York, took view OF Mr..
Beecher's utterances similar to those held by BY
Mr.. Glider, OF Brooklyn. He believed Mr.
whistle idea Of redemption, suffering and
punishment for sin; and that In combating
| that idea he permitted himself to be carried
away further than he would be willing to q.
| in cooler and calIner moments. For himself
Mr.. Hatfield said he was not an extremist.
| He could not go with the Universalists ON the
one hand nor with the Calvinists on the
other. He believes In place and in condi,,
1
and of punishment in the future life He
cannot accept the doctrine of q material hell
fire for the wicked, and yet there are many
passages of Scripture that seem to teach
that. But, on the other hand, there are
many passages also that seem to teach a
sort of unlimited Universalism, wherein SIM
ming men will make peace with an offended
God. He believes that tho time Is coming
J when the ereeds of Christendom must be re-
yised on these doctrines.
The Rev. W. T. Dixon, pastor Of the Con
cord Baptist Church, Brooklyn, believes in
the fundamental doctrines of the Bible. as
held by the Evangelical Christians. He had
glanced through Mr.. Beecher's sermon In the
Herald on Monday, and read a little of 1t in
the presence of the Herald man yesterday,
| and was shocked especially at that sentence
| which likens God to Satan, damnng multi
: Dixon said that, for himself, he believed in 9
particular judgment Of every individual al
death, and general judgment. Of all al
O later period of existence. He believes
| in q resurrection Of the body preceding
hell for the wicked as well as In mental con
dition of punishment: and in place for the
redeemed as well as condition OF blessednesi
hereafter. Mr.. Dixon explained his particu
lar and general judgments as corresponding
a to the arrest of q criminal here in our streets
. and his incarceration, it may be, for weeks be
fore his trial and actual punishment comes
off, which may be Imprisonment Tor lie Or To-
|
He believes, however, that God will give every
man an opportunity TO accept or to reject hi
salvation, either in this life or In the future.
MODIFIED ANNIH1bAT1oNtsM.
So The Rev. j. L. Searles, pastor of Wilet
4 Street Methodist Episcopal Church, New
future punishment We grade our crme
here on earth. he said, and accord degrees Q
punishment proportioned to the crime com
n mitted. One man goes to the penitentiary fe
i ten or thirty days. another goes to the Stat
y prison for two or five years; another for life
: and the fourth, for murder, is swept out o
n human existence This last we call capita
! punishment highest grade known to th
j. law, inasmuch as the taking Of human life |
l. the highest crime know n among men. Now
8 said Mr.. Searles, those different classes Q
o criminals come up before the bar of CO.
+ to be judged. One is an iDcorrigibl
= sinner, with whom God can da nothing
Q except to infliet 'capital punishment o
b The others undergo different terms of inpris
v onment but where, Mr.. searfes was not pre-
d pared to say. His mind is in doubt ON tha
q point. Still he could not believe in materia
v hell Of fire and birthstone, but neither cOult
e he admit In the present state Of his knowl
IT edge probation after this life. Eternal life
y the Scriptures teach, is In Jesus Christ and II
r. Him alone. A sinner who lives in eternal tor
d ments must have this eternal life which !
s found only in the union of the soul wit
n Christ. Hence Mr.. Searles could not fully at
q cent the doctrine of eternal punishment bt,
d he was not prepared to say how God woul
N modify the punishment of the sinner in tn
,r future life.
HE'LL NOT MATERIAL NOR ETERNAL.
q The Rev. Nathan Hubbell, pastor of one c
D the oldest Methodist churches In the city
| T. Forsyth street, considered some OF MI
,ss Beeeher's statements extraordinary and I'll
u y. tenable For himself, Mr.. Hubbell could nc
=, - believe in q literal fire as mode OF punish
!. ment, for the reason that no human "body
y could stand a material fire beyond yer
" limited period. He could not believe In
~ again nor in the eternal duration Of punish
- 20 ment for this second reason, that God ha
u taught us In the Bible that men will be Judge
u according to the deeds done IN the body an
u, all sinners indscriminately into hell fire an
" leave them there eternally there can be no tru
=. 2l judgment on the basis Of deeds done IN th
ID body. That would be judging oil alike. The1
are figures of speech In the Bible which eannt
be interpreted literally on one side more tha
1T on the eother Mr.. HubbeIl believes In q stat
10 and place of punishment for the wicked In th
ID future life; but where it is or how it is to /
q imposed he could not say. Gods resource
If are infinite, and he was willing to leave tn
% a. consequences &C Of the sinners acts as well
A. his own, In the hands Of the All-wlse al
al Merciful Redeemer and Judge Mr.. Hubble
1e believed that those views were shared by
,e large number of his brethren In the Methods
n ministry.
A. Other ministers-Protestant and Catholic
r. were sought; but some had not read nj
a Beecher's sermon; others were too busy
v give their own views, and still others held
N the creeds of their churches without troublln
of their own minds with such speculations.
es -
N BATON ROUGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
s, Co-Education in the s0utiI-Good scho0
n. for GoIOred hildren- A Letter from