New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-07-14

THE RELIGION or GE\ERtL GORDON.
In the July number II The Iort,igbHg Ecrier Mr..
Malock mas paper entitled " Message from Cen
,ral Gordon" IN wh ch the religions views of the
latter are outlined at his own special request. Ali.
Ma.lock prcfares his account with these words: 1t
il fact not generally known, but It Is true. never
thrlr,s that General Gordon. when he left England
for the Suudau did 10 with the conviction FIRMLY
ii, cl i'm his mind that lac will never return alive
II wa, this conviction which caused hun to to be
anNiou, that his peculiar views on religion should
he made known though hc has in furnishing the
groundwork of the exposition not considered " that
hes, fragment, fulfil otherwise than very impcr-
frrty the real cn which their author has at heart
ID i, indeed cou,pl,uou>y true that the ord nary
reader will fan to ia them the paris OF any CO.
rerrut system and as Mr.. MallocA says General
Gordon only values them for the Indications they
Afford of such a coherent system, it is difficult -
avoid the conclusion that the end aimed ut IN
making them public ha' not hcen attained.
1t O., impossible to classify General Gordon th"o-
logically There is no Church. living or dead with
which his views harmonic. 1t must he admitted
at the outset that he has evolved religion of his
own and that if not original, seeing that 1t com
rrelen,l. diverse elements of many crreds II IS as
surc,ly as strau .e composition as has ever Dcen
Submitted to he attrnt on of men, " hat renders IL
most pulling X its curious adml Ature OF Materials
tie and spiritual conceptions Much oil IL reminds one
of the legends of the Tamud. while IN other parts a
pronounced Mv,tcism eXhi hIts.tseIt Oh coarse IL Is
idle speculate upon the nature oI the mchtai pro
crsses through which the assimilation OF sich III
conrrl Gus and diScordant material has been
ciic. ted for il Is well known that the human mihd
i c2pabe of that kind of intellectual digestion to
rract cally unlimited extent. The chief interest at
t,cLeI 10 TIN, fragmeutiry exposition consists in
fine iuht it throw. upon the character Of General
Gorlnn He believes. for instance, that tie
! rh,,ical world was ia quite literal way divided
+ bet ycen God and the Devil that Jerusalem
is the centre of the Divine jurisdiction and that the
/ centre of tho da5Olic kingdom ~ " close to Bass
Isle south of Oahcite not far from PltcaIrns Isle
! In his own words " Roughly speaking, then, GoFs
throne dominates the lands OF the earth the centre
/ Of which is Jerusalem: the Devils throne don't
| mates the barren world Of waters, the centre OF
/ which IL near Bass Isle" Ills ideas abont the
Creation the Fall the Flood. are permeatcd by SIM
liar material conceptions lie holds that the CON
Gcuration Of the ground around Jerusalem s part of
! Divine plan Of symbolism. lie behaves that the
Adamic faint has descended upon all flesh in tho
/ most positive and tangible manner. and thus
through a literal poisoning of Adam aud Eve by
the forbidden fruit. The antidote for this poison
ia the immaculate body of Christ" and he employs
sone curious physiological arguments in this con-
nectiOl.
Some of his doctrines are strangely like those OF
the Catholic Church iwhilo Others are rs dIssniiar
lie holds to literal fiery Hell, but hlsgeneral tho
oogy il distinctly mcdiioval in its color and tonc.
lie holds doctrine of transubstantiatlon Win tho
philosophy left out. lie condemns WORKS az
means of salvation but personally ho trayerscs this
theory by his austere life lilo believes In tOa 10
pravIty intellectually but omotlonally no discards
ttn. - hla gIlI
il devouty CONVINCED that his own course has been
specially appointed. While locating God ia detl'
mite part OF space. aud thus subscribing TO an old
world materialsn, lac yet eyinces a refined spirit
ualism in other OF his conceptions Mr. Mailock
obsery % that in spite of the curious matoralisn