Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-05-22
LIBERAL UNION MEETING.

DIR. j. L. York addressed the Liberal
Union last evening, at which there was a good
attendance, on the subject of 1.-THE Kings
and Kingdoms of Heaven and He'll The
speaker said that not until late years have
the people dared to question the truth of
orthodox statements made regarding hell and
the devil, as the Bible. has always been
brought forward to prove the correctness of
such doctrines. He noted the statement of
Jesus to his disciples, where he SAYS, 81 have
chosen you twelve, and one Is a devil !" also,
text given in two different portions of the
book OF Revelations, 1.-THE dragon, that old
serpent which is the devil and Satan . also,
third from Henry Ward Beecher, The
doctrine that God has been for thousands of
years peopling the earth with human beings,
and during three-fourths of that time leaving
them without guide, altar or church, and
then destroying them for their lack of faith,
Is to transform the Almighty into monster.
A heaven presided over by demon who for
thousands of years only peoples the earth
with millions OF human beings to sweep them
OFF into hell-not like dead flies, but without
even taking the trouble to kill them-is such
heaven as don't want to go to- The doc
trine is too horrible. / don't believe it and
L WON'T" Brave and noble words are these,
coming as they do from the worlds greatest
preacher. As the axle on which the car of
salvation runs is the vicarious atoHement,
and this sacrifice of Goldman implies
fallen and ruined race, and the fall of man
implies a failure in the executive power or
intention of the author when He made man !;
and the failure implies higher potency in
the principle of evil or devil than in the
principle of good or God, the whole scheme
of salvation hangs link by link up to its crowR-
ing stone on the coexistence, influence and
superior power of a personal devil, and if
such thing as the devil exists, the Deity
must have created him for the purpose CT
destroying man, or otherwise Satan proved
superior in his power to his creator, and
either position is painful to thinking mind.
We have no desire TO ridicule the people who
claim to believe this doctrine, and have no
doubt that they honestly believe that the
Bible teaches this soul-stultifying doctrine.
But do the Scriptures teach the doctrine of
hell, devil and endless punishment? Most
certainly not in the Old Testament for the
doctrine of life beyond the grave is not
limited at. Exceptin the story of Samuel ap-
pesring to Saul through the woman of En-
dor, and a certain passage in the Book Of
Job. which is just as susceptible of
temporal as of q spiritual meaning, there
is not a distinct item of doctrine in
the old book indicating life beyond
the grave. much less an eternal hell and devil.
Granted that the devotees Of the eternal hell
doctrine can find in one or two sentences put
into the mouth of Jesus some slight founda-
ton for this doctrine Of diabolisD, the general
context of his teschings, especially the beauti-
full parallels in which hs was won't to teach,
contradicts the idea of inality, whether for
punishment or reward, to any soul beyond the
limit of its impenitence. And in the study of
both the Old and the New Testament we
fiud the same total lack of evidence, and the
same direct proof of ignorance and superstition
in the fabrication of monstrous and IN.
natural myth. And whoever will take up
the study OF the ancient astronomical religions
Of the world will find the roots and rudimsnts
of all the creedal faiths of the present day,
and how large the modern have borrowed
from the ancient religions. would not have
anyone infer that there is no retribution for
wrong-doing. The king and kingdom of he'll
is within the soul where Jesus found the
devil in Judas Iscariot).