The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-11-27

No man deserves heaven, but all deserve
hell, and the only way To get to heaven Is
through the agency OF another person:
They say the law was violated. Where did
this law come from? Was IL a law God made?
or was IL law that was on hand? Yet this
law must be satisfied. Think of the law going
ton.
Then they tell US that another man has made
redemption possible for us by suffering in he
place OF the wicked. WHAT kind of a man Is IL
that would want to take advantage OF a re-
demptton of that kind, and what sort OF
ruler would you think him who would accept
been convicted of murder and Sentenced to be
hanged and another man should step up on
the day fixed for the execution and say:"Here
IS a healthy man with family: L am not
healthy man and have no family, and VIII
take his place upon the gallows; what
would you think of the governor who would
say, can right; let the man take the criminals
placer' lApplause.l Is IL possible that that Is
right? Yet that has been preached for years
The doctrine of hell has been preached Tor
hundreds and hundreds OF years, and we nave
been told that millions and billions of years
world God knew it was to be cast into hell-fire
and had arranged all the details OF It's damna,
ton. What cheerful doctrine that is. Ana
yet people say to me, WY do you attempt 10
take away our consolation daughter and APP
pausej; why shock our hottest ideas? why
take the blessed tidings of God TO man away
from us? They would a thousand times rather
that there should be no heaven than that
there should be no hell. [Appiause.l
These are the tidings that they preach to
YOU and expect, believe, trey believe these
things themselves. The went To work TO save
man from the clutches of an angry God, and
the means they adopted were 10 brighten him
with the belief that God would take his naked
soul and dash il into hell or course they say
God is all goodness and loneliness and kind
ness, but they also say you had better look out
when you get into His actual presence. And
they fit out missionaries and send them thou-
sands and thousands of miles away to carry
these glad tidings to the heather. They want
Them 70 nave Tes on T tbat a" ie nnOsh their
enemies. But who goes to hell? Not the rich
and the comfortable, who swim die all the week
and squa e themselves at church on sunday;
! they are well enough of, and say, "No hell Tor
me, if you please give that to the poor" so
| that at last the only class we get into hell Is
| the tTamps. Nobody goes to hell himself: IL is
| always somebody else, particularly those we
hate. But these orthodox gentlemen say,
| "Why don't you have some respect for our
| reelings?" go into of their churches
! that Is, in my minds eye l do-and they tell
to have some Feelings on that subject. 1t seems
! to me / would have more reason TO feel hurt,
particularly If | told them before there is no
| hell. Poets of strong Imagination and great
! gift OF language have given US graphic descrip-
| tions of hell, and eminent painters have de-
| picted 1t in all its horrors.
| Some time ago he had seen in the church
| where Shakespeare is buried, at Stratlord-upon
| Avon, a very vivid picture of hell. In this
| picture train OF wicked are rep esented as
| passing in doeful procession down the throat
| of an immense devil. There were caldrons In
! which the lost ones slmmered and boiled, and
| CRATES upon which they blistered and roasted.
| There were devils pouring I'm pitch upon the
/ Victims and little de vii stirring the CRATE 10
| keep up good draught. In one corner
| number Of the blessed appeared with holy
| grin upon their countenaDces, extending from
ear to ear, as IL they would say, "Ah, didn'twe
you've s you g sT GTeat sughter All This 10
| show the love OF God. 4 never saw such MD
eoms, selfish thing In my life: $500 .,,
| had to be modified TO some extent, and so the
| doctrine of atonement was Invented. IL was
said all we have 10 do is to believe in the Lord
| Jesus Christ. Nobody knows what that
| means. / don't. Believe what? And what
good would 1t do? a man might believe in
| Jesus Christ and Yet be q murderer. There has
not been a man hanged in the United States
| for the last Que hundred years that has not be-
declared on the scaffold that they were & ing
right straight to Jesus Christ that very
day. [Applsuse.l man must believe
| in certain thing or be eternallv damned !;
| but II he believes and Is sorry. then
he will be saved. There was a man hanged in
/ San Francisco some time ago for cutting q
| girls throat AS he thrust the keen knife into
the white throat she implored him TO spare
her, as she was not prepared to die. great
| effort was made to obtain the release OF this
| monster, but all appeals failed, and then he
got religion. They generally do about that
time. He IN de a speech from the gallows in
| which he said he was going 10 heaven, and
that the only thing that made him feel bad
| was that he would not meet the woman he
| had killed because she was MOI CHRISTIAN. /
| suppose up In heaven, IL the music gets IA tile
| mOnotonous, and he should desire another
thrill of joy that all he will have TO do IS To go
| and look over and see the woman he murder
| ed writhlng in the agOntes OF hell. Does any
body want to support that doctrine? never
| will, never, never, never! And with all due
| respect TO every lady and gentleman here, |
| say damn such doctrine. Laughter and
| cheers.l Does anybody mean to tell me that
none but Christians go TO heaven? Have on
never known a., good fellow to die
| could not bear to think of as being in hell?
| And have you never known woman who
had worn herself out in the service of her hus-
| band and chiIdI en-, whom you could OF think
of as being In he'll while her orthodox husband
! was in heaven, simply because he believed and
she did not On the battlefield saw brave
/ boy. not sixteen years old, shot down In his
| struggle TO Keep the flag of his country from
being trailed in the dust, He died with IL
| curse upon his lips, but he died with picture
| of his mother In his heart, and he died ior the
right, for liberty and for progress. Do you
mean TO tell me that that boy'sssoul went
straight 10 the abysses of hell? IproDounce IL
an Infamous lie. Applause / can not be-
lleve In any such doctrine. l believe with an
old Unlversallst minister aud must say (
respect the Universalists because their God is
at least a gentleman and not a devil-I believe
with the gentleman who IA d, Il can not help
thinking that the latch-string will hang cut
until the last young one comes home"
[Applause.I
Colonel Ingersoll continued that thousands
of people were in iunalc aSvlums 10. day in
consequence of the preaching of the horrible
doctrine of hell. In the car-, not long a. %, a
and asked wReIhef he had any objections
TO his sitting beside him. He replied,
None whatever" ana the young mau sat
| N,
comfort To be NJ ar you" He said. any mother
put an arrow In my heart. She taught me the
doctrine OF hell" Colonel Ingersoli said the
mother was foolish there wa, no hell IL had
been abolished. The young man told him
further that he had JUS csc ped from the in
sane asylum the night before, and the colonel
gave him instructions 10 guide him In msS ing
his escape. He had become crazy on learning
OF the love of God. He met such people every
day. This doctrine did not affect the vicious,
10 only affected the tender hearted, the .atfrc-
tionate mother and the sweet little child He
had ATTENDED a prOtractsd meeting once, just
for little Will, a. q had thought himself IN
b diam Ministers were harangung the life
out OF their audiences, and it'll girls, ten and
twelve " old, W. re coming forward to be
prayed for. They might h We be- n eating jam
or taking lump Of sugar when heir mothers
backs wer turned. they might bav gone
tn "a neighbor's and promised 10 be back at
O'Clock, aud stsid until 3 And there were old
men, with as many sins To account for AS
these children were days Old, down upon their
knees praying for them and imploring the.
Lord 10 break down their he lish pride. And