Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-09-11

because of human nature. confess am
sangulne, very sanguine, more sanguine
than any OF you In regard to human nature.
l believe that the time will come when
| Christians will love one another. Love in
church is ike broom. 1t is hard stick
at one end and all split up at the other end.
The Church has divided in q thousand
branches. and there is no longer any love
between them. To those who are dis
tressed on the question of loving, again let
+ me point out this one feature of evolution.
don't believe that human unfolding will
stop at the horizon. There will be brighter
suns and better worlds after this one shall
have passed away and we with it. We
shall love again, and l should rather lose
member Of my body than have this thought
taken away from me. We shall love again
In higher sphere and more blessed com.
panionship, an inspired life OF love in the
hereafter, and my reason for this belief is
the opinion that we are all developed from
the simplest forms of life to our present
condition.
THE THEORY OF ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.
In regard to the orthodox theory of eter.
nal punishment the speaker said
"The Bible defines sin to be the trans.
gression of law, but all transgressioU of
law Is not sin. Human infrmity is not sin.
God looks with compassion upon human
frailtY. He comes with pardon and for
giveness and not with punishment. That
may not be the God of Calvin, but it is
the God of worship. Tne idea of God
who creates millions of men for the pur-
pose of damning them, and who continues
=
hideous to be entertained by any rational
man. The pulpit should have better
knowledge of human nature than to hold
and preach such an idea. Our churches
now are nothing but first class passenger
cars to heaven, to which a man gets
ticket on being converted. They don't
make men any better and many of their
members have smaller capital Of honesty
than others who have never been inside of
them"
In closing it was said ''To those who
are distressed about the question of living
again, let me call your attention to this
fact in evolution Matter never ceases to
exist, and the tendency is always to refse-
ment, to make the gross refined, the foul
pure; to elevate and ever increase in beauty
and delicaoy.
SATURDAY NIGHTS LECTURE.
Henry Ward Beecher delivered the last |
lecture of his course in San Francisco Sat- |
urday night before an audience which half |
filled Metropolitan Hall The subject of |
the discourse was, 'xIhe New Profession" |
The lecturer began by pointing out that
the material conditions of this continent |
were more advantageous than were ever
offered to any people, and they had sue
ceeded in drawing vast, but mixed, pop.
ulation. The question was, Could such
population continue to live in peace
Some said that it was problem for Chris
tisnity to solve whether the Anglo-Saxon
could live peaceably with the African, the
Mongolian or the Roman races. There
was no doubt that many foreign heresies
which had been brought to this country
imported great dangers. There were others
which had grown up among US. These in
cluded the relation between the employers
and the employed, the collection of great |
fortunes into few hands, monopolies and |
combinations of railroads, of corporations |
and of manufactures, and the ignorance of |
the common people, who held the balance !
of power. The danger from all these ele- |
ments was intensified by the fact that reli-
glOn was IN transluOn sbaVe, causing
decadence of moral Influence.
He then enumerated the supposed re-
straining influences which counteracted
these peace-endangering tendencies, and
among them he named public sentiment,
our institutions and laws, the example OF
the educated class, the diffusion of knowl
edge by the press and Christianity. But
all these, he maintained, were inadequate
and fell far short of the purpose. To pre-
serve peace and keep this nation one, the
profession of teaching should be looked to.
In the free public schools lay the saliva
tion of America The doctrine was car.
ried to prove that no such Government as
ours could be sustained except through the
free ard general diffusion of knowledge
through the common schools. In them
only true democratic equality was to be
found, and this equality should be care
fully preserved. Education should be
made compulsory, but it should also be
made as good and perfect as possible.
There should be no stinting in the appro.
priation. Seotarian teachings should be
rigidly excluded, and teaching elevated to
permanent and professional business.