The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1881-11-23
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EST MoDus IN MINUS.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER %, 1881.
Mr.. Beecher on Hell.
Everlasting Punishment Not Taught In
the Old Testament-Dyiug the Easiest
Thing in the World.

Mr.. Beecher talked about death and about
the future life, particularly in relation to tho
doctrine of eternal punishment He called the
attention of those who chung TO the idea of an
everlasting hell 10 the fact that it is not taught
at all in the Old Testament, asserting that in
the administration of a nation which was
avowedly directly under the Divine care,
there was period Of 1000 or 5000 years
during which the doctrine was not taught
once" 1t was evident that among the Jews
there was a certain idea Of hereafter Of pain,
but the teaching of gross, sensual, material
torment belonged to the Romcn mind" II
was "the creation of the medieval age, and
there had come down to MS lingering remnants
of it." Mr.. Beecher touched lightly on the
New Testament illusions to death as an
eternal sleep. He pointed TO the distinction
that exists between the Western ann the
Oriental mind on this subject. In the Western
hemisphere everybody seemed to dread death,
whereas the Chinese aud other 0rientals had,
as a rule, no more fear of death than they had
of going without meal The Roman Empire
was built upon the Tuscan, and, although the
latter was conquered, the Tuscan's horrible
conceptions of future tormont had permeated
the Roman Empire. When the Roman Catholic
Church organized itself, gradually it selected
as its most powerful instruments the keys.
No scepter in the kings baud, no sword in
generals hand, no instrument of torture in
inauisitorial hands ever had the power in it
that was in the keys. They typifed the
churchs claim TO lock and unlock the gates
of heaven and hell for every human soul and
while the church magnifed the joys of the re-
deemed in Paradise t. cir Imagination was
absolutely drunken with sufferings Of the
damned souls that went out unregcneratc at
DEATH" While the Protestant Reformation
threw off great deal of this, yet it retained
much of it, aid it might be said that the pop
ular notion of hell now was gross. barbaric,
devilish. 81 believe added Mr. Beecher,
there is a period of penalty that follows
transgression in this life but it is mental, it is
moral, it IS in tue other life, and under clearer
circumstances remorse, self condemnation.
As man who has squandered his estate and
is brought to poverty, and then begins TO think
what he might have had, so | eau understood
how mans mind may torture him with con-
slant reminders of what he has lost Pain
and pleasure are disciplinary, and are de-
signed in the divine economy to work out
afierward, if not here, salvlble state Of
mind. In reply to the question, How
should n Christian look at death 2" Mr..
Beecher replied: "Well, in the first place he
should not look at it at all-on purpose. Or
he looked at it, he should do so only to
stimulate himself to lead better life here and
not TO brood over tie horrors of an imaginary
hereafter" People wondered how they
would feel when dying. "Tll tell you how
you'll fell-most of you" said Mr.. Beecher.
You'll feel stupid; that's all you'll feel.
You'll want to 90 to sleep. Dying is as easy
as going to sleep in most instances. Once ina
while there was a triumphant or radient
death or a remorseful death, but once in a
million times was there such death is
described in books. That was all llummery'"
Mr.. Beecher attached no significance TO the
manner in which a man expired, as it was
aud afforded no test of his moral state.-Neto
York Herald