The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-07-07
NM. BEECHER ON HELL.
Everlasting Punish ment Not
Taught i'm the Old Testament,
New York Herald. June 18th I

|
Mr.. Beecher complimented the zeal.
Gus ones who turned out in the rein
to attend his prayer meeting last night.
He talked to them about death and
about the future life, particularly in
relation to the doctrine of eternal pun
ishment. He called the attention OF
those who cling to the idea of an ev-
erlasting he'll to the fact that it is not
taught at all in the Old Testament,
| asserting that in the administration of
q nation which was avowedly directly
under the Divine care, "there was q
period Of four or i've Thousand years
during which the doctrine Was not
taught once" 1t was evident that
among the jews there was certain
idea of hereafter of pain, but the
teaching of gross, sensual, material
torment, "bel0Dged to the Roman
mind" 1t was "the creation of the
medimval age, and there had come
down to US lingering remnants of it."
Mr.. Beecher touched lightly on the
New Testament allusions to death as
an eternal sleep. He pointed to the
distinctiOn which exists between the
Western and the Oriental mind on
this subject. In the Western hemis.
phere everybody seemed to dread
death, whereas the Chinese and other
Orientals had. as u rule, no moro fear
of death than they had of going with
ont q meal. The Roman Empire was
built upon the Tuscan, and, although
the latter was conquered, the Tuscan's
horrible conceptions of future tor
Ment had permeated the Roman EN-
pire. When the Roman Catholic
Church organized itself, gradually it
selected as its most powerful instru.
ment the keys. "NO sceptre in the
kings haud, no sword in q generals
hand, no instrument OF torture in In.
quisitorial hands ever had the power
in IL that was in the keys. They typ
flied the Church's claim to lock and
unlock the gates of heaven and hell
for every human soul aud while the
Church magnified the joys Of the re-
deemed in Paradise, their Imagination
was absolutely drunken with the suf-
fering of the damned souls that went
out unregenerate at death. While the
Protestant Reformation threw off
great deal of this, yet it retained much
of it, and it might be said that the
popular notion of hell now was gross,
barbaric, devilish. 81 believe" added
Mr.. Beecher, "there is q period OF
penalty that follows transgression in
this life, but it is mental, it is moral,
it is in the other lite, and under clear.
or circumstances q remOrse, o self.c0n.
As man who has sQuan.
dered his estate and is brought to |
poverty and then begins to think what
he might have had, so can UNDER
stand how q mans mind may torture
him with constant reminders of what
no hasi lost. Pain and pleasure are
and are designed in the
Divine economy to work out after.
ward, If not here, q salvable state Of /
mind" In reply to the question,
How should q Christian look al
leath?" Mr.. Beecher redlied, Well,
N the first place, he should not look
1t it at all-On purpose. Or if he /
ooks al it, he should do so only to
stimulate himself to lead q better life
lere, and not brood over the horrors
Of AN imaginary hereafter" People
" rendered how they would feel when
lying. ON tell you how you'll feel,
most Of yo0," said Mr.. Beecher.
You'll feel stupid that's all you'll
'sel. You'll want to go 70 sleep, Dy-t 4
~ is as easy as going tosleep In mo st.
Instances. Once in q while there was
triumphant or a radiant death, or q
'emorseful death, but not once in
million times was there such q death
Is is described in books. That was
Ill dummery." Mr.. Beecher attach.
I'd no significance to the manner In
which man expired, as it was prin-
'ipally the result Of ply sicsl accidents,
md afforded NO test Of his moral state.