The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-04-28
AN EXAMPLE FROM JAPAN.

A missionary of one of the Evangeli-
cal denominations writes from Japan
as follows, to a friend:
"One of the things which most of all
pains and torments these Japanese is that
we teach them the prison of hell is ire
vocably shut, SO that there is no egress.
They grieve over the fate Of their depart
ed children, parents and relatives, and
often show their grief by tears. They
ask us if there is any hope; any way to
tree them by prayer from that eternal
misery, and I am obliged to answer there
is absolutely none. Their grief at this,
affects and torments them wonderfully;
they almost pine away with sorrow. They
often ask if God cannot take their father
out Of hell? and why their punishment
must never have an end? They do not
cease to grieve and I can hardly restrain
my tears at seeing men 80 dear to my
heart suffer such intense pain. Such
thoughts have, I imagine, risen in the
hearts of missionary teachers of all
churches. Again and again, and my
brother missionaries were questioned by
people about their dead parents and fore
fathers who had not heard the gospel.
These distressed hearts asked if they
could pray for their ancestors. have
had most painful scenes, as 1 think many
American church missionaries have had"
This is the same old experience CON-
ing to the front again in a new place.
Over and over again have we presented
examples of these same sad results of
preaching the orthodox doctrine of
irrevocable punishment. The Evan
gelical missionary world is receiving
constant notifications that the religion
of Christ, as interpreted by their stand
ards, is not welcome message even to
the pagan world. 1t is not good news,
or the Gospel, for the heather to be in
formed that their ancestors who died
without the light, so called, have sunk
into an eternal abyss of suffering in the
future world that the condition of the
vast multitudes of the dead of their
race is irrevocably fixed in despair when
they pass out of this life. The mis-
siOnary experiences of the orthodox
church is undoubtedly more full of
testimony in this respect than has been
heretofore made known. Much has
been told, but more undoubtedly has
been concealed. From the instances in
which we are permitted by correspon-
dence to get glimpses of the unrest of
the heather under the teaching of this
faith, we may well conclude that there
is larger amount of the same kind of
suffering which is not allowed to pass
into current missionary history.
Such instances as the above are no
LITIGATION to the orthodox world that the
problems suggested by their creeds are
not confined to Christian communities.
Among heather who have been brought
under the influence of orthodox mis-
sionaries the same anxiety prevails that
is so common among ourselves. Even
the pagan is human being, and pos
sesses a heart that is touched very SEN
sibly with the prospect of eternal suf-
fering for those who were dear to him
who have gone out into an eternal
night; and he will ask questions and
suggest problems arising from the the
ology which he is taught, on parallel
lines of interest in the religious world
at home. We believe that could the
truth be known, and the missionaries
permitted to faithfully report on this
subject, that the dissent Of the pagan