The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-10-20
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faith,
ile held to the strength aud The integrity
of the government OF God that 81 SIN WIN
be properly punished; but he did not be-
)lievc In q material hell fire; nor IN the terri
ble ideas Of future torment that have
come down from the past. Such teachings
n, cate the very idea Of God. lfGod pun
ishes sinners, II Is because he must. lie IS
yindicatory but not vindictiye. lie IL u
righteous being, and a righteous sovereign,
but he is not malicious murderer. ,,,
The doctor held TO the endlessness OF the
law by which sin mnst be punished, ana
hence to endless punishment for the end
lessly obdurate, If such there be; but he
could not affirm that any soul VIII, or VIII
not forever remain in sin nor deny endless
punishment for any soul. But, postulating
endless punishment upon endless SHINING
he was logically bound to suppose that, if
| the SHINING come to an end the suffering
must also come to an end-unless it be that
suffering of loss that in the nature OF things
seems to be remediless. And he had nope
that. somehow, all the divine love and
striving to win and save souls will not end
with this poor, short life, but that the work
of discipline and salvation might go on IN
the immortal world.
| In regard to
ENDLESS PUNISHMENT
| He held that there is not one word in the
articles of religion about endless punish
ment, nor about future punishment. NOR
was there one word on this subject in the
apostles creed, nor the Nicene creed. Nor
was there word in the thirty-nine articles
of the Church of England on the subject.
| That church inserted an article affirming
endless punishment, and carried it eleven
years and then dropped it. So it was in the
days of Wesley. and it is to be noted that
| Wesley in framing the articles OF religion Tor
the Methodist Episcopal church did not IN
sert the article, nor did he anywhere make
any allusion it, This omission was Ger,
tainly intentional, and not accidental And
this view was strengthened by the we'll
known fact that Wesley was deeply attach
| ed to the Moravian ministers, who were
generally restorationists, and especially to
Peter Boehier, who declared that the time
would come when every, lost So soul IN hell
would be redeemed, and that Wesley him
sell in his latter years came into broader
hope for all mankind.
He held that the church had no law by
which to expel him for his views of a future
hope. 1t has been decided by the highest
courts of England that minister OF the
established church could not be disciplined
for not believing in endless punishment
that the church had no law requiring that
belief Nor was there any such law in the
Methodist church. The Methodist church
as vet was favorably conditioned to be an
| example of tolerance.
The doctor claimed that there were
WRONG IMPRESSIONS
| rs TO his having brought the present trial
upon the conference He had been pushed
into defense, and had not sought it. He
| had found it necessary to defend the cnurcn
| against the attacks OF Colonel lngersoll ana
| others, and he had, in order to the best de-
tense of truth and the doctrines OF Method
| ism to protest against a hyper-orthodoXy
and a too literal and material Interpretation
of the scriptures and certain Antinomian
teachings that were too common.
lie characterized as false and unfair the
statement of DR.. Parkhurst, that Dr.
Thomas does not intend to stay in the
Meth tll%i church. Ali he wants is the glo-
nv of your approval to turn his back on
YOU and walk out and leave you and go to
his audience in the theatre in triumph
This is his object in forcing this trial upon
the church; this is the whole Of it."
The long address closed as follows:
"And now, brethren, have tried TO- set
this case before you as plainly as possible
| am not in conflict with our articles of re-
| ligion on the question of the scriptures and
the atoncment You have no law by which
to expel me for my teachings concerning
future punishment. Had you such law
YOU would then have the denominatlonal
right to do so; but it would not be SO. readi-
Nv cOnCeueu Ill UllcSe udHo lhdI Ou II"
moral right to become narrower than
the gospel Of Christ, and TO eX-
clude from the ministry one who
believes in His doctrines and
who is trying to build up His kingdom in
the world. And if you do, what encour-
agement is there for young men to enter
the Methodist ministry with the more than
possible alternative before them of having
to be either silent or false in their deepest
convictions, or else, after having labored
hard and long, to find the years that should
be full of peace and rest all clouded and
troubled with strife and debate-and maybe,
at last, turned out TO die
Should you now find me guilty | should
sorrowfully confess that / have all my life
been mistaken as to the breadth of oathol-
icity of Methodism. Should you bid me go
from your midst, shall do what good
can elsewhere and try to find more peace
full employ than in fighting the church !
have so long loved and served. We shall
all soon be done with our work on earth.
One who w.s to appear against me has gone
hence, shall try TO meet him and you
somewhere on the other shore; and then
and there, IL not now and here, trust we
shall dwell in the clearer light and life OF
truth and love. '-[ Chicago Times.
A Newspaper Editor Of To-day.
During the last twenty-five or thirty years
I