The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1878-02-28

sHoA " Az V AA0AiS hh\A DOOoA\ls OIlttO UilS
spirits and souls condemned are in
eternal suffering. The doctor sus-,
tains those propositions--or rather
the Church's belief in them-by
appeals to tho Athanasian creed,
to the Fifth General Council, which
condemned the doctr!ne Of Origen
and other early fathers that the
punishment Of the wicked was
temporary to the Fouth Lateran
Council which reaffirmeds the
churchs faith in eternal punishment
us a dogma, and to Bcnedlct XII,
whose "Constitutions' define the
dogma moro explicitly. DR.. Pres
ton cites the traditions of the church
also as being of tho samo general
tenor. The church also teaches
that there are deadly sins for which
Ghere can be no forgiveness after
this life, and if there be no place
for pardon then the punishment for
such sins must be without end.
DR.. Bellows says the Unitarians
believe i'll eternal punishment in the
only sense in which President
Porter seems to believe in it-i. g.,
in punishment limited by no boun-
Diary in time or eternity beyond
which it cannot extend in p,nish-
ment that will last as long as sin
lasts, and will bo eternal if sin is
eternal, and that the more event of
death and u change in our spirit 8
vesture will not alter our moral and
spiritual conditions or change the
present dispositions of a. holy moral
Sovereign and kind Father toward
His subjects and children.
DIR. Williams, on behalf of the
Baptists, argues from the fact that
nan is redeemed by Christ only, and
that that no provision has been
made, so far rs we have any indica-
ton in Scripture or in the moral
government Of God, for the redemp-
ton Of fiends and demons, that
punishment must be eternal.
Neither man nor devils can repent
of themselves without divine help,
and when such help is refused or is
not given they must continue in sin
and hence in punishment eternal.
In regard to the sentimental theory
DR.. Williams shows that, though
Christ wept over Jerusalem and
prophesied it's utter overflow He
did not avert that ruin. The tears
did not avert the wasting and the
blasting by tho avenger when
pitilessly rcpelled as the Healer.
The Doctor traces the historical
associations Of the words "damna-
ton "condemnation," "judgment,"
and shows that the prophecies as
far back rs Enoch, before the
Delugo, believed in the doctrine of
eternal punishment for sin .5tr.'
DR.. Sawyer, the Universalist, re-.
joices that the fire and birthstone
hell is now seldom preached, and
says that old grounds Of reason on
which the doctrine of endless pun
ishment was formerly made to- rest
have been laid aside and new,
though not better, ones invented.
Speaking for himself and his de,
nomination, he says they recognize
the OWL of sin, but believe that it is
an evil incidental to the develop
ment of free moral powers md
relatively transient in it's nature,
and is ultimately to be overcome
and wholly eliminated from +, the
universe of God by those retributiye
and and irr,eaemptive, processes revealed
in Scripture and manifested in
Providence, which tho infinite Wis,
dom and love hold in their hand
and know 50 well how to- employ,
and which they will employ in a
way perfectly suited to man as q
free moral being, without, destroy
ips bis his personality rs'oonN or violating his
While d the doctors are thus
differing, blaspheming Bob Inger-
soil roams over the land Like a
roaring lion, devonring Christianity,
Hell, Birthstone. Fire and MI. In
his opinion the whole scheme of
salvation is q cheat and q fraud, md
ho violently attacks the idea of
doity and a soul to save. III this
great variety of creeds, every one
can be suited, but to those who
believe there is but ono way Of
obtaining salvation, the question
which is the right road is a per7,
picking puzzle. In this dilemma,