Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1877-12-26
The Doctrine Of Eternal Punish.
ment.

Dnent.
wear or two ago a Calvinistic divine felt
called upon by the growing laxity i'm the belief
in a literal hell and eternal punishment to
write book to show that any yielding on this
point by orthodox Christians must result in
breaking down the great fundamentally for
Influencing the impenitent, while allowing
them to DRIFT into a fatal sense of security i'm
regard To their hereafter not justified by the
plain unmiStakeable declarations of the Bible
The preacher cited that utteTance of Christ
Depart from me. We cursed, into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. and
various other texts of the like tenor. to show
that the doctrine of literal helfTe was the
only sound one, and must be maintained with
out any falteTing. This book does not seem.
however. To have had the effect intended by
the author i'm TeinStating the literal eternal
hell of fire and birthstone, with all its terrOrs
tOthe uncOnveTted. The number of those who
Question its existence has increased, and just
now the doctrine of eternal punishment is not
only TOundly denounced by pagan moralistS
like Robert lngersOll, and scientists of the Oar
win and Tyndall school, but by some Presby-
teTian and Congregational preachers, (ncu-
ding Henry Ward Beecher,) and lately a great
connection has been created i'm England by
the pulpit utteTaneeS of DR. Farrar. the new
canon Ot Westminster. Quoting from the Ri
Die the words hell" "damnatiOn." ever
lasting" ne continued Il say unheSitating-
~, / say with the fullest right to speak, and
with the necessary knowledge, l say with the
calmest and most uniiinching sense of Tespon-
sibiIity. standing here in the sight of God and
Our saviour. and it may be- of the angels and
spirits Of the dead, that not one of these words
ought To- stand any longer in our English BIZ
BILE; and that, being i'm our present acceptation
Of them simply miStranSlatiOns. they most I'M
gUeStiOnably will not stand IN the revised YER
sion If the Bible if the reviSeTS have under
stood their duty. The verb TO damn in the
Greek Testament is neither more nor less than
the verb to condemn The word 'aiOniS'
translated 'eyeTlaStingly,' i'm its first sense
means 'agC-lOng. in its second sense some
thing above aud beyond time. EThe word rem
dcred he'll j. TaTtaTuS, borrowed as the name
for the prison of evil spirits. In five verses
it i HadeS. the world beyond the grave:
i'm twelve places il is Gehenna. the Val
ley Cf Hinrom. outside Jerusalem. which
after being polluted by corrupt practices
was purified 10y fire-the metaphor of
purifying AMI correcting punishment. which,
a. We all believe. does await the impenitent
sinner both here and beyond the grave"
lie knew Of nothing 80 calculated To make
the whole soul revolt with lOathing from every
doctrine Oi religion as the easy c0mplacency
with which some persons cheerfully accept the
belief that they are living and moving in the
midst Of millions doomed irreyerSibly to ever
lasting pcrtlitiOn. No language could he stern
enough To repTobate the manner in which
many elder brothers of the PrOdigal had
turned God Gospel Of plente0uS redemption
into anathemaS and all but universal perdition
II We were not unaffected when the destitute
perish with hunger or the dying agOnize in
~,
the dignity of a human being who did not revolt
and Sicken at the notion of a world in fiame?"
His utteTanceS seem To have created 80 much
Of a furry that he has felt il necessary To write
letter To- a religious journal. in which he
complains that he has been miSrepresented.
lie did not, he says, denOunce the doctrine of
eternal punishment or demand the leaving out
of the word eternal from the revised Eng
lish Bible: his object was to prove that the
word did not necessarily denote endlessnesS'
and To yiHdicate belief in the possible saliva
tiOn of sinners after death. which had not been
forbidden by the church, and which had been
held =" both 10y very eminent fathers and theolc
gianS and by some of the hottest of the saints
Of God" This explanation would seem TO be
q good deal in the nature of a retTactiOn, for it
would b. difficult to frame words more directly
In denunciation Of the doctrine of eternal pun
iShment than those quoted from his sermon.
II will he a matter of interest To see how far
the TeyiSerS Of the English version of the
Scriptures now at work i'll England will Sus-
tain Canon FarTar in his translation of the
texts bearing upon future punishment. The
tenor OF the discussion in church circles in
England just now would seem 10 indicate that
they viii not 20 his lengths.
In New England the discussion upon the
same point has been raised i'm the orthodox
COngre gatiOnal church. through the alleged
apOStacy of number of the preachers. and
10 test the question circular was sent out TO
one hundred representative cleTgymen of the
Congregational denomination. covering the
whole country from Maine To California. ask
ing them ID if il is their opinion that there
has been any essential departure from the
faith in the doctrine of eternal punishment,
and O. how far belief in this doctrine
should be insisted on aS a prerequisite to the
ministry in the Congregational churches
In the replies received from Seyenty-three of
these clergymen. fifty six declare that the doe
trine i believed. in substance. if not in the old
form. aS thoroughly a ever in their churches
and their vicinage, and they would object TO
minister who dare not avOw belief in it, Twelve
say that the doctrine is still taught and be-
lieyed. bUf that they would Judge each ease of
q minister on its merits, and that il would de
penn on Ills general >OundneSS, and whether he
had doubts and speculative opinions, or posi-
lively denied that the Bible teaches this doe
trine, whether they would vote to install him
or not. While five declare for fun liberty and
The allowance of a diversity of opinion where
man does not 20 so far aS 10 become logically
and practically unevangelicaL Many of the
majority say that they would readily admit
questioning and specializing persons to their
Churches, though requiring minister and
teachers To BE- sound in the faith.
Though a majority of the responses indicate
adherence in the main To the old doctrine Of
eternal punishment. it is rather significant
3aet that 80 large minority as seventeen out
oi seyenty-three Of the clergymen of a demon.
jnatlon that has heretofore been considered as
among the stanehest defenders of the doctrine
sf material he'll, should now eoncede this lib
ITty Of individual belief.
~S~D
Our own mild Christmas weather is i'm strik-
-.