Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-10-17


all men, it is his purpose and in full accord
ance with his plan, that all men-every- ,
wherein all conditions of life-shall have,
If they will accept it, forgiveness and life
everlasting. 1t is also the belief Of the |
Christian world that the Supreme Being |
gives sufficient light in the natural world
even-in the sermons, in stars, in the OBJ |
ject lessons presented in the stars, in the
mountains, rivers and oceans-to lead the
children of earth TO levere Him, and that
he exerts an influence upon all men, whether
in darkness or light that inclines them to
the right and warns them against the
wrong
In commenting upon an editorial article
which recently appeared in this paper, the
Ohio State Journal says:
The Springfield GLoBE-REPUBLIC, whose
editor has always been strictly orthodox,
is pretty nearly thrown of its base by the
discussions about 1.-The new theology
1t says: Heaven hereafter and here as
well, is within the reach Of all. And II
ought to be conceded, too, that just and
loving God will give all men, whether
Christian, Hebrew or Heather, fair and
equal chance" The most advanced An
doverian would claim nothing more than
that; for it follows, either that the heather
will have probation after death, or else be
judged without any reference as to whether
they had heard of Christ or not Now all
that Mr.. Hume, the rejected missionary,
desires, is that he may not be compelled TO
| tell the heathen whom he Is trying 70 con-
vert that their ancestors who never heard OF
Christ are necessarily lost. He could Ger
tainly do this under the GLoBE-REPUBLlc
doctrine. The phases and incidents OF this
controversy are extremely curious even to
the most secular mind.
The GLoBE-REPUBLIc may or may not
be strictly orthodox; 1t does aim 70 be
right; to accept that which is true. And II
is not thrown of its base" or at all
shaken, in declaring that, in the opinion OF
Christian people, Heaven hereafter, and
here as well, is within the reach Of all'; or
in declaring in addition that "a just
God will give all men, whether Christian.
Hebrew or Heather. . fair and equal
chance The rankest Calvinist who ever
lived will not deny this. We believe that
the trouble that has arisen at Andoyer and
the difficulty that the Rev. Robert A. Hume
thinks he has encountered in India, could
have all been swept away, If plain common
sense could have been allowed to have had
full play in the consideration Of questions
of theology.
A contemporary-the Rochester Demo
crdt and ChronIcle-Quotes from Charles
Kingsley's "Hypatis," a passage which
the editor considers as ''singularly ap-
plicsble to the subject under discussion.
Wuf was brave, yet magnanimous Gothic
chieftain who, when his tribe overran Alex
andria. fell under the influence of Hypatia,
and after her death went to Spain, where
he enjoyed the friendship of Placidia and
Adolf. The author says:
Wulf died, as he had lived. a heather.
Placidia, who loved him well, as she loved
all righteous and noble souls, had succeeded
once in persuading him to accept baptism.
Adolf himself acted as one of his sponsors;
and the old warrior was in the act OF step
ping into the font when he turned suddenly
to the bishop and asked where were the
souls of his heather ancestors. I'm hell,
replied the worthy prelate.. Wulf drew
| DhCk IEOlll tue lOllt anu tuION MS bNoi
cloak around him. He would prefer. IL
Adolf had no objection, to go to his own
people" And SO he died unbaptlzed and
went to his own place.
The bishop had no right TO say to Adolf
that his ancestors were ''in hell" The dis
posal of the ancestors and of all men is
solely with the Supreme Being, and not
with bishops, or popes, or conferences, or
squads. According to prevalent Christian
belief, those OF the heather who have lived
up to their best light and done their best
are not ''in hell" and that only those who
have persisted in wickedness are. This is
neither in the line of ''old theology" or
new theology" it is the plain truth, and
if the Rev. Mr.. Hume had exercised the
simplest dictates of reason and sense, it
seems to us that he would have had little
trouble with the people Of India. Mr.. Hume
appears to have encountered among them the
question asked of the bishop by Adolf, and he
had often gone home with heavy heart,
because ''the gospel OF love and mercy
which he was seeking to give to these men
was followed by feeling of bitterness in
their hearts, because they thought it i'm
piled an eternity of sorrow for their ances-
tors" We quote from Mr.. Hume's utter
ances, as follows:
That you may understand Just where
stand, l will make few statements. do
not call myself and do not wish to be
called by any new name. hold every doc
trine which l ever held. But, as is to be
expected a longer Christian experience and
my missionary work have given me larger
and more reverent appreciation of the work
of both Christ and the Holy Spirit. l
realize more and more that God is Christ
like, and will do what we see from Christ
that He will do. l know that men are per-
ishing in sin and that there is no possible
the Lord Jesus Christ Such
words as 1.-The light that lighteth cUery man
that cometh into the world" and that by
the grace of God He should taste death for
euery man" make it clearer to pe than ever
before that there is a gospel for euery man.
The one clear way revealed in the Scrip
tures by which any man is to receive that
gospel Is by its being preached to him.
Hence every consideration requires us to
give all men this gospel as soon as We can.
Since men are going on in sin and forming
sinful characters, single days delay may
be most disastrous. But, since there is a
gospel for eueTy man, there must be some
presentation of it to every
man by the Holy Spirit at
some time or place. That to those who do
not learn of it from Christ's messengers
here this presentation is only by what is
termed the light of nature l do not under
stand the Bible to teach. But since Christ
is TO be the Judge at the final judgment, He
will make Christ-like Judgment, and will
not appear as judge to any one TO whom He
has not become known as possible Say
| Jour The sad truth is revealed that some