The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-03-03

Ind or tho title OF Eteindi Hope tDutton &
Goa. the R'v. FREDERIC W. FARRAR. Canon Of
Westminster. has published in voum" the five
rr.ions on heaven. he'll. AMI the doom Of the
wicked after death. which were preached by him
in Westminster Abbey during November and
December. lN77. The sermons on he'll attracted
great attention AZ the time Of their delivery. be-
cause of their supposed denial Of the orthodox
doctrine in regard to the subject. and the con-
troyersy they excited has moved their author to
put forth the entire series in revised and cor
rectcd form. with u preface and copious notes.
The first OF the 1--WE sermons treats Of heaven.
and was oocasoned by the celebrated sympo-
stun on the soul am, the future life which had
then inst appeared in The Nincieenh Centluy.
Tho lending contributor to that discussion. Mr..
Frederic Harrison, stigmati2ed the Christian
heRVen as a future of ccaseless psulmody."
an eternity Of the tabor" and rs gross SON
sunl. indolcnt, and selfish" and these aspcr-
sions aroused Canon farrar to reply TO him.
What the Canon says on this subject and on
the eognate topic. =" Is life worth livingy" has
however. no special interest. being merely
repetition OF familiar arguments. But. after
delivering his second discourse, the Canon says
he found himself faced by the further question:
" How can life be regarded as worth living by
the majority Of mankind If. as is taught by tho
TO everlasting damnntion This led him to
preach the remainder OF the series
The common doctrine. which the Canon de-
nounces rs destroying all noble thoughts of God
and all JOY and peace in believing. IL represent
ed 10y him as being; first that at death there is
PASSED upon every impenitent sinner an ire
yersible doom 10 endless torturcs either mate
rial or mental. Of the most awful and unspcak-
able intensity; and. secondly that this doom
awaits the vast majority Of mankind. To de-
monstrating that this doctrine Is both founded
upon an Incorrect Interpretation Of Scripture.
and contrary 10 tn" opinions Of some Of the
soundcst and most rcyerrd authorities of the
Christian Church, the greater portion Of the
volume is devoted, All the Hebrew aud
Greek words in the original test OF the Bible
which are supposed 10 teach everlasting pun
i,hmeut. are examined. and the usual consid-
eratioIs are adduced to show that they do not
involve the idea II amending DURATION
After this. arguments are advanced, from
the infinite bonoyolcncc Of God. for the
indulgence OF the hope. though not the adop-
tion Of the positive belief. that somewhere in
the remote future. sinners dying uurcconcilcd
10 God may repent Of their sins and be restored
10 happiness The Canon il very guarded
however, In formulating his own ideas He
says that he dare not lay down any dogma of
Cnivcrsalism, partly because it is not clearly
revealed, and partly because the power Of the
human will TO persist in sin and reject saliva
ton cannot be estimated. Nor does he accept
the theory that the punishment of the wicked
Will come 10 m end through their ultimate an
initiation. This soems to him 10 lack support
and 10 contradict the doctrine of immortality
The Roman Catholic doctrine Of purgatory hr
also REJECTS though. in common with many EN-