Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1878-02-21

: yet are they placed at the disadvantage be
e fore the world of appearing as specia
pleaders-that is, everybody knows before
s hand just what gun each one must shoot
e or leave bis tort.
t Hence the strange and painful spectacl
t of Mr.. Beecher, ut 65, with wonderful for
e ensic display, declaring against Calvanisn
e and the terrible forms of future punish
$ ment into which 4 dogmatic age had Ion:
e ago cast these doctrines. ...-..
Y The public mind had long since aban
e doned these dark ideas. and the public in
: terest was not in hearing anythi g new
+: nor yet in the thought that MIR. Beeche
: had reached any conclusion in The last tel
: years. Not in these things was the public
: interest. but in the wonderful fact that Mr.
l Beechcr had taken the great risk in saying
what he had long since. and the majority
| of his audience had long since, believed tt
, be true.
Now, l say all this is sad and paint,
: enough, that, in an age of so much doubt
sectarian bands should place men at sc
great a disadvantage. Dr.-now Bishop
, Cheney must repeat. rerbatiu, a liturgy O
; long ago. and Il sentiment that nobody be-
lieves. or leave the church. In Professor
Swings trial it was publicly stated that the
} issue was not upon the truth or f;.lsity ol
Caivinisn-not this. but did Prot. Swing
believe that doctrine? Not. was he good
soldier. but did lie use Presbyterian gun
C-,,;tl, g.
the British Encyclopedia, and 10 man en-
either continent was better able for the
task. but because it seemed to conflict with
the teachings Of his church he was called
to account.
4 Now. all these things put the truth at
disadvantage. There is coming to be a
very wide and general distrt!st rs to the
honesty of clergynlcn in what they say
and this distrllst is ten times worse in its
effect on the public faith than would be
their bOl!est uitcrances with clear, strong.
open-f:,ced honesty back of them.
Then there j. anotherp!ase 10 this whole
state of public unrest and doubt. 1t is
hardly reasonable to suppose that all these
men. cler"ynlen included, WHO doubt. are
either ignorant Or dishonest. The suppo-
s.tion should rather be that there are some
| things that have come down to lis tl!a,
nay not he wholly true; and that need. to
say tie least. rc-statiDg. The history OF
| the church in tie past Should favor this
conclusion. The men of the past We're
generally sincere. ana many OF them very
able; Int time has proved that they We're
not always correct in their teachings.
sihe geo-ccntric theory of the earth. once
, so s:ou!ly fought for, has bcea abandoned.
The siX-lays theory of creation is now
generally given up, and e1olntion is press
ing very hard upon the doctrine of spc-
cial creation. Ard then. when there are
so many conflicting. and even contr; di,-
tory. dogmas held by the different church
er. it is not modest in any one Of these to
say that it alone is inf.lIiblc and Ill the rest
wrong.
Nor is it immodest in the world of
dou'oters to suggest that none of them are
| wholly right. And it seems to me that al
the churches should be willing and even
glad to accept any new light, or to modi-
| fy their views when it seems reasonable
more than may be maintained. Why
should they not even readily admit mis-
takes? Science has done this all along and
has grown thereby. The Bible itself was
the grOwt! of ages. and SO has been
Christian doctrine. The crecds OF the
churches were generally formulated in the
heat of some controversy. and were likely
to not be free from the bias of their times.
Why should we say that these men were
infallble, and that wisdom died with
them? The whole Christian world has
agreed that we need new translation of
the Bible. and we are not afraid that truth
will suffer thereby. Why he so fearful on
other points?
Take. rs an example, the subject OF ete,-
nal punishment that is attracting so much
attention. \ dreamy age. or an age O;
cruel despotism might accept such dOp-
nia. even in its most horrible forms. But
ours is IN are of realization. Men weigh
their wor!s-iX a meaning TO them. The
awful pictures of hell in the past ages rise
up before the prophetic realization OF
minds in o:lr day. and they see the mean,
iny-thc terrible fact set forth. and they
are not afraid to ask if such thing can be
true.
| Before the reformation. even all the way
from Origen. there was some latitude al
lowed in thinking of this fearful subject.
But the doctrine of purgatory had been
abused by ROnMnsm this abuse must be
stopped; and with one terrible blow Pro
testantism struck down all prayers for tlr.
lead, and all possibility ana hope of any
help or mercy ever reaching Il soul beyond
this life. The history Of human though,
records not another step so bold and far
reaching. 1t would do in the heat of !:
great controversy. and in such days Nigh,
be accepted; but any philosopher. or stu
dent OF human though, might easily fore
see that there must come reaction. Or
take another doctrine the doctrine Of cleo
ton and reprobation. that mercilessly con
signs unnumbered millions Of human be
ings to all the pains of an eternal hel
without any possibility of escape. This
too, was born out OF controversy. and il
usch times might be accepted; but ther'
must come an aftel-thonght--a reaction
Men will rise up and ask ii the Bible teach
es such things. And if told that it does
they will ask who put such things in Tho
Bible. And II told that God put then
there. they will ask. Who is God. that Ii.
s ild say or ,lo such awful things? Ant
II pressed. they will deny both God ant
! the Bible. Tile religious sentiment is yer.
tender and deep in the hlnlan mind, and /
will go great why with the truths thit
seem to lead along the paths Of religion
but there is such thing as asking ths
/ mind and heart 10 go too far; and ther
they will rebel. Men must not be asked