, 1877-12-27
lS THERE A IlELL2
The Doctrine zealousIy Rejected
and Denounced.
Tho Ret Dr. Farrar, Canon Of Westminster,
1alts new Uniyersalist
Departure.

i.~lCA0 1uN AuoutGCu III l8tU YC2I6 IT
Thousands Of Clrtatfan faMi'tes,-has beer
pscaciain9 at tlo Abbey on snl,jccts relating Il
tho future life. Roth last Sunday and Sunday
week tho Minister was crowded with people Il
1lstou to these discourscs. Tho throng ma s<
great ti1at f1any hnl to stand throughout thu
services. CTR shorthand reporter las provided
Us with tho verbatim reports oi both sermons
but our aqace Ia 30 preoccupicl today With
other matters that NC can Only giyo summary
OF them.
In llfa final dlscourse, based upon I, Potter,
w.. 9, DR.. Farrar discussed the subject Of the
future punfst,ment Of tho ungodiy, In reply to
questions which 1lc assumed his audlcnco 10 be
asking, and which he said they had the fullest
right to nsk, and whcl, It was the bot,t,tlen duty
Of ministers OF tho Gospel 20 far a. possible to
ansvcr, he, for one, IN all deep humility, yet
nlwaYs asking God for fearless cot,raga and per-
feet honesty, would try to giro such answers AZ
he could. II It were but the fragment Of an an
swcr It was because f1c believed 1t to be God's
Will that no other should be posslble. Those
who took loose r0njectires Tor established GER
talnttes those y ho carcd moro fot authority than
for rrtsuH and conscience, those who IRE
tended 10 dignity with the name If Scrlpturnl
Argument inctencca out os tho narrow aperture
OF single texts, those nho talked with the Glib
self-co1nplncciTy Of nn ignorance which calls it.
n,ittcd into What, with unconsc1ous baspl1e,ny,
they call thu Council Chamber OF the Trinity
thev, perhaps, might Alrak readily Of Are and
hrsn,sfone, and might feel ths cunsotatorY glow
awfulness a,ni lnalsty Of tho s,1iFcrEugs Of Tie
tln1nnc1. But those whose faith must hare
broattcr basis than hollow Representations
tnau the AnlbIRliouttleAs Of oppoatnR texts
by human tl!coloatans over Gods light, those
who tlrllcyed that reason, and conscience, and
experience, 10 less than tile Scriptures, aru no
less Tho books Of God, md that they, too, must
hive direct voce In these great DECISIONS, they
would not be- 80 ready to snatch Goa's thunder
Into wretcflcd nnd tecble hands. They would
lay their mOutlls In the dust rnther than make
sad The llcArts which God haul not made sad.
'lhey would take Into account tho grand prnc!-
pies which lptntnatu thpugh Scripture no less
thaIl It's isolated expressions: md, untleterred
By tho base md feeble notion that virtue woujd
he lmpossltlo without tho l,orrurs oi M e,llcee
bell, they would declare ttlelr trust that eyen
after death. through the Infinite mercy OF tho
loving Failrr, the dead would be ai!yo apalf,,
found.
After this eloquent Introduction the preacher
proceeded to state Whit. aftcr years Of thought
to oc tho belief Of multit1ldcs, and Ut ycarly-ll-
crcaslnQ multltndcst Of tho wisest anu OF the
most learned In the CInrrh. Proceeding to ax-
asnu tho subject in detail. le first sc. forth tito
PoPAAAI lUL4oA " HCll ~ UE lQuEA III tllE curly
tl,eoloytans, IN Dante. In Milton, and III shak-
spcarc, citing tomc Of the most terrific uassaecs
descriptive of endless torture. Happily, the
ti'u11gl'ta aud hearts OF men were often far gBu-
sn s'sf t1stIsaa an n1e'eF tan thes !ecas CUSTOMS
tol'fes were treated BY narrow-mIndcd
seen !a all their lntolerable ghaatil-
ness. Ilc know Of noth.ug 50 calculated 10
every foctrino Of religion aa the casY CON-
placcncy With which soae cAecriuliy &c.
ecpt tho belief thnt they are living nuI moy~
linz in the midst OF millions doomed trre-
coul!l 10 stern enough 10 ruprotate Tic manner
In which many older brothers OF the rrOucul
Ind turned 1oa's Gospel Of plcntcous rc.icnip-
tlon Into 9ntl.eMas and oil but universal per-
destitute. perish with hunger, Or tho DYING
agunizo tn pain,. was thoro any human being,
worthy Of tho dignity of human being, wlio
did not rcTolt and sicken at tho notioii ,tif
S w1' as1 q xor r ,sa snd @ aer I'll Il II pa4l % sgsn
tho conclusions 0f an apparently irreststibIe
logic, we surely, VINO hatl no trreslAtlLlo logic
aRanst Us in tllla natter. but only n great part
spirlsua sclflsl,ess and tmprnctratle traditions,
scicnce,, Of hunlantty.-nay, in the far higher
uanlc OF tho uoa who loves us, Ut tho BaYlpr
wlioIicd for us, Ut the Holy Ghost who enligat-
ems us,--l9 we not l'url from LIS Representations
" = AAkt1At1 o. tuAk EfGl3 uEFY9 Anil
fibre OF our intellectual, morni, and spirit
uol llfa rayolts at TT Ignorance may, II II
wil1, make fetish OF such q d6ctrtue;
rhar.saisn NY wFlte broad upon ~
stead Of Holiness to liz Lord; but = here, re-
In tho presence Of 50 many living, and In fhis
vast mausoIoum Of thu glorious dead, here,
amid tic >ileut memorials ot tile men Of tatuu
aud tl,c iathers who begat us, Of whom many,
though not saints, weso yct noble, though crrtlis
men, md whom, though they a1ld We alike shall
certainly huiFer, and autler bitterly, both hero
and hereafter, tho penalty ot unrepentcd sil,,
wa can!iot and will not think nt ~ condemned
~ tcpudtate," exclaimed tic preacher, these
crude ail E'!astlf trnTcst!es Of the holy md
nwfui will of tiod. / arralgn them ia merci-
less!y tgnoralt impcach them 4s fa1scloou
aEanst st,si Ghrisss universal ald absolute redeMp-
0od's exceeding asM eterHa1 lore. Aloro ac-
ccptablc, mn very sure, tt,an tho rigid an,l
most uneotnpro;ntainR orthodoxy OF all the
rhariscrs rho hasc ever Judged their brethren
Hin who, Oh tbs Srnss. prayed for 1lls muir
derrts, arl vino died that they might l,vc--,
more acscptaolc, NY, ttsan ths delight which :
a!ntd de!nSe Of rain hugs tho plank on which
trembling p!cty which made 81. Paul declare
himself ready to b. anathttnA from Christ Tor
the sake Ut his brethren, which mutla Moses cry
to ns God q s'aat. ~, tha neopls i.ays ahmed
&E EtIAk "As 3Ck AAH ~ NoA WILL IpgHlf0 tEEtf
slI, and Il not, blot me-, pray Thev, out Of Thy
look which THU hast writttn.'n
:, Dr. Farrar earnestly uskcsl his hearers 70 be-
leyo that he spoku not with natural passlou,
but with tho most accurate theological prs
ctson wtlet, he said that, though texts might be-
quoted wllcl. gaye pritaa facla plauslbtllty to
such 1n0.lcs 6f teaching. yet, to say nothing Of
the fact thut the light uf love which 0ul ii In
self has kiu'iitd within us rccotled from them,
those texts are. IN tue first placc, alien to thu
oroaA, tnlfy'ng l.rinctplca of Scripture; that, tn
tho next plasc: thy ary founded on tntcrpre.a~
third place, ,tlsat, lor csery ons 80 quoted two
can be induced on tho Other side. There
WIS Al old, sensible, u,.mtttcd rule Of
theology that phrases which belong to
1ncsaphor to imagery tn poetry, to emotion, ara
not to bu formulated into necessary doctn a. or
esystallized into rigid cree.ls. ii till rule DO
used to test them, nine- tenths Of the ptruses IN
which the.e vIews arc built fall utterly 10 tbs
u tho tlamc OF Christian light aud Christian
liberty; onre more, III tho nalne OF Chssst'e
promised spirit, ho protested against the igno-
rant tyranny of isolated texts, whic!, had uyrr
been tue ruEse Of Christian truth, the glory Of
NARROW !ntellecls, sud the Gauss Of tbs worst
n ftn