The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-01-24
A Word About Hell.
From the Louisville Courer.Journal

mas used 10 no confined entirely to the
religious press, the secular journals
considering that II was none OF Their
business, aud that 1t would he unpOpn
lar to enter even upon the threshold ol
the Theological arena, L0tterIy, now
ever, the doctrines Of the churches
have received Il very thorough ycnllIa
ton in the organs Of secular thought,
the current battle over the doctrine OF
he'll furnishing n good Illustration OF
the tendency Of the times.
There are several classes Of dispu
tauts 10 this controversy, amt the onIy
apparent benz lit which accrucs from
The widespread logomachy seems to
he the discovery Of what these classes
hciicvc. They may be divided into
those who profess 20 believe that there
is no future punishment Of any kind
those who believe in u Tarlarus OF
raging, material flame, into which men,
women and children are hurled aud LETT
to roast slowly fo:eycr; those who be
licvo in an eternal misery based on
separation from God aud renorsc Of
conscience those who believe N the
Limbus Of the sch elastic diyines-a
temporary arrangement for he purili'
cation Of souls. These are the lead
ing doctrines concerning hell,
The idea Of material suffering re-
ccived its greatest development in the
Middle ages, and the primitive process
was frequently brought out in the rcIi'
gious dramas, so popular ut hat pc.
Rod, 1t IS evident that every one
looks upon this subject according to
his sense Of individual responsibility to
the laws Of God. The Culvinistic sys-
TEN Of theology, being the most EN-
plIatic on the subject Of individual res
possibility. is the most emphatic in its
lcclal atoms Of material punishment,
The Westminster Catechism, in res
ponse to the question: "What are the
punishmcnts Of sin in the world to
come! = says: "The p%unishments Of
sin IN the world to come are everlasting
separation from the comfortable pres
cncc Of God, and most grievous tor
ments in soul and body without inter
mission ia he'll fire forever" 1t is no
tlccable, however. that the adhercnls Of
the Churches, into whose doctrinal sys
ten CalSinism largely cnlcra, are rare
" found to endorse the declaration
which We have quoted, and, in accord
ancc with the universal desire to do
away with tac idea Of positive suffer
ing hereafter, various theories have
been framed, which are not 50 startling
to the average mind. Ii is very safe
to say that no living human being
knows anything whatever about the
nature Of future punishment. The
word 'hrll,' itself, Is derived from
a Saxon word which means the
''cooered' or "innis'ble' place. 1t is not
necessary for an. one to endeavor IT,
prove that men are punished for their
crimes hereafter, tor human intelligence
recognizes the !act that there are high.
or laws Of conduct. on which human
are BASED by an intuition Of duty,
and that those higher laws take cog
nizance, not only Of external but inter
nal, wrong doing, and must punish the
,iOlatOrs OF their requirements.
There has Irtn u good dccl of vul-
gar Icvity in the newspapers on the
subject of hell, which notes a DISPOSE.
ton to trillc with all serious subjects
seems very certain, in spite of all
This raiIIery, that since men have been
delivering themselves from the bur
lens imposed on them by the old doc
Of positive punishment hereafter,
human laws have been prOpOrtionatcly
rampIed upon, and every species of
has increased enormously. We
lciy any me to prove the contrary,
md it is for that reaScn that we deem
proper tor Il secular journal to up ;
.Dly the clergymcn who teach that
Owevcr human courts and human sen
Imrnt may condono crime, it is pun
at the hands of II more august ,
tribunal hO,O, We know not, but Ger ;
ainly IN proportion to the gravamen
# the Oticnse. If this is not true, men
md women might rs well give up try.
ng to be virluous and abandon them~
to whale!c irregularities their
nclinalions lead them, dlsmissing the
dca
OF gloomy Tartarus, where hell shuts
fast
Ter iron gates and spreads her brazcn
floor
As far below the shades rs earth from
heaven"
any punitive process whatever. We
re inclined to believe in the principle:
Semper, aJiqae ct at OmniJas,' and
ike the traditions of the NOachian del
the doctrine of %retributiOn enters,
II some form, into the belief Of nearly
very nation which exists or that has
,vcr existed on the face OF the earth.
There is no use whatever talking about
'uppressing lawlcssncss when the ten
Of current religious teaching is
% weaken all laws, human and divine.
II the Church can do no better than
make Itself incident to mems disregard
all law. by relieving them o: the
ear Of punishment, 1t should abandon
Is professions to the office of conser-
'ator Of public morals.
-
Virginia, like Georgia, is making an
,tIort to attract capital to the State for
Industrial purposes. She proposes to
Exempt from taxation for a period of