Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-02-12

universalism : The Discussion Waxing
Warm and Enthusiastic.
The subject of Rev. John d.
Wells's discourse before the Unita.
rlAn Church Sunday afternoon
was "The He'll do Believe In" 1t
was designed as conclusion to the
Of the Sunday previous,
which was presented at length in
the HERALD and in which the rev.
erend gentleman took strong
grounds against the popular Or
thodox opinion of the place of fu-
ture punishment. The text was
taken from Galatians II. 7, "What-
soever q man soweth that shall he
also reap;n Romans II. 6, Z, 8, 9,
"Who will render to every man
according to his deeds, to them
who by patient continuance in
well-doing seek for glory and hon.
or and Immortality, eternal life;
but to them that are contentious
and do not obey the truth, but
obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, tribulation and an
gufsh, upon every soul of man that
doeth evil.n Mr.. Wells said:
I have already spoken to you of
the hell do not believe in, viz:
the hell, or punishment, or suffer-
ing, which is everlasting, which
can never come to an end. That
there can be such q fate in store
for any child of God / hold to be
contrary to both Scripture and reas-
on, contrary alike to the dictates
Of the most enlightened conscience
and of the purest heart. While
duly respecting and most
kindly regarding my brethren of
whatever faith, I have no words
In which to express my horror and
dissertation of this fearful and I'M
christian doctrine which so many
Of them say that they believe in.
And l should like very much to
preach another whole sermon
against 1t.
But 1 know that you are expect
ing me to say, and that [ ought to
say, something briefly to-day of
the hell that do believe in.
I now proceed to say, in u few
words, what 1 believe the real hell
to be.
When David's eyes were opened
after his great crimes, and he came
to himself, and was filled with
anguish and remorse, he was in
he'll. Code fire, His blessed fire,
was burning him. When Peter,
who had been so bold and brave
and boastful, at the first moment
of imminent peril, denied the Mas.
ter whom he loved, and remember.
ing that Masters prophetic words,
was horror-stricken at his own
meanness and base cowardice, and
shed bitter tears of pain, he was in
hell. When Judas, after the priests
had counted out into his hand the
paltry silver pieces which he had
been willing to receive as the price
Of the betrayal of his Lord, began
to look back upon his perfidiou:
deed, and saw the blackness of il
deepening and gathering before hi:
eyes, and for that blackness coulC
see nothing else, with what agony
of hell-fire he suffered! And wher
the younger son, in that matches:
story-story of fiction, but no les:
of reality-having wasted all hi!
substance; having, in his riotoul
living, forgotten all the warnings
and all the counsels of his Fathers
house, came to himself, and from
his want and misery and rags
looked back, with a longing that
he could not utter, to the peace and
plenty which be had left be.
hind him, and to the boundless
love which he had wronged, he, too
Nbecame subjected to pains and PEN
altiss of hell. And when you
or 1 do an evil thing, and know
that we have done it, we have a taste
and experience of hell. Every
murderer has his hell, and every
forger, and every thief,-every of
fender against righteous law;-a
hell from which he cannot possibl y
escape, until purifying fire has
done its work. He'll may overtaks
an offender earlier or later
but overtake him it inevitably
must.
For what is hell +? 1t is a suffer.
Ing to follow sin,-a suffering that
is as inseparable from sin as any
necessary consequent from its
cause. Pain and burning no more
certainly result from putting my
hand into the flames, than hell
fire of inward woe follows my Of
fence against an Eternal Truth. AS
in the one case, the constitution O
the fire is such, and the structure oil
my flesh Is such that suffering
comes In the contact between tn,
flesh and tho devouring elements
80 in the other case, the righteou.
law ID such, and the constitution o
my soul is such, that the soul is il
tribulation when it disregards the
requirements OF the law. And az
you may call the physical pain 8
provision of nature or provision
of God, (they mean one and the
same thing, by what you say,
30 you may call the spiritual
pain, the result of evil-doing, the
natural consequence of that evil
doing, or you may call it Gods
chastisement for the offence. God 4
laws are Natures laws,
and all Natures ways
and workings have their origin in
the Eternal Mind. The growth oil
the little flower is just as much q
part Of the Deity as the growth OF
the saintliest soul. 1t is God who
burns me alike in the material fire
and In the fire invisible.
Bat sOhy is hell ? Here comes
the point at which men begin
greatly to differ and diverge; and
pray you observe the few words
that l say now, with exceeding
care. Why is hell? 1t is, say
many, the vengeance visited on the
impsnitent. God bears with men
AS long as he is able, or during an