The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-11-08
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.
Cannon Farrar On the Change q
Views Regarding II.


Applsnded-
Lonaen Globe.
At the Town hail sectional meeting
Of the Church Congress AZ Manchester,
yesterday afternoon, the attendance
vas far more thaa the room could ac-
commodate. The chair was taken by
the Bishop Of Wakefield, who prefaced
the introduction OF the subject Of
= Esehatoiogys by an appeal for OBJ
serTanee Of its solen1nity. He thought
that the expression Of feeling from
the audience should be generally re-
strained. Canon Luekrock, the reader
OF the first paper, spoke Of future
punishment In connection with
heather and these in christian lands
who were practically brought up
under heather surroundings. He
held that before sentence was passed,
the conditions should be strictly fair.
Archdeacon t,Arfar. who followed,
said the view OF future life which not
long ago was common. was that the
vast majority Of mankind, christian,
as well Is heather, dying in unre-
penGed sin, passed after this life into a
| lake of fire, OF birthstone, where in
puniEhment for misdoings of theiI
brief earthly days, they were tortured
| in uncomfortable agony in material
flames to eternity. Within living
memory OF this was the orthodox
view, and any one who repudiated it
or even swerved materially from it,
was denounced as hereto and un
believer. These views he repudi
ated with all the force Of his convic-
ton. To him they seemed dishon
orable TO the view which God had
given rs OF himself, to be subversiye Of
the full message of salvation, to b
fundamentally opposed to our unso
phisticated ideas of justice as well a:
mercy, and abhorrent to the natura
reason and conscience of mankind. A
rumor had been circulated that sincs
he himself delivered the Westminster
sermons he had changed his mind
He had not changed his mind in /
single particular, but he rejoiced TO sex
| abundant evidence on every side tha
| thousands OF honest and sincere anc
holy Christians had changed theil
minds on this tremendous sub
jet. At first, day by day and
hour by hour, the sermons ex
posed him TO immense obloquy. Now
| the old doctrine, in all its nakec
horror, and with all its false accfe
tons, was practically dead, or only ex
hibited galvanic semblance of life. /
had been softened down in every pos
siblc direction The reply to his ser
| mons by DIR. Pussey, he considered
point by point, and found, with tn,
| deepest thankfulness, that on ever,
question he deemed to be vital, DIR
Pussey was absolutely at one will
him. He argued that DR.. Pussey ad
mitted that il was no part OF tn.
Catholic faith to believe either that, il
the first place, the torments OF bel
| were physical; or, secondly, that tn.
vast majority of mankind wer,
| doomed To them; or, thirdly, that ",
must assume them to be the lot OF al
who died and made no sign, o
ton beyond the grave wa
necessarily endless. They boti
argued IN favor of two proposition
first, that God might reach man.
souls whose case to us seemed hope
less; and, secondly, that there Nigh
be a permanent punishment in hade
in the intermediate state beyond tn
grave. Archdeacon Farrar proceeded
to state the authorities supporting hi
views. To him, one text, God i
Love- was sufficient to disprove thes
popular accretions TO the doctrine o
the endless torment which, and which
alone, he had repudiated. He relies
in Gods justice as much as in hi
mercy. In the litany of the churcl
the prayer which appealed to him ana
moved him most was the prayer tina
God might have mercy upon all men
He did not think that TO be. either
hopeless or impossible petition, or ,
petition inconsistent with Gods jus
tice or beyond the power of that mere,
which we are told triumphs over jus
tice. Loud cheers.
Another paper by the Rev. 81
George w. Cox was equally strong ii
its reputation of the doctrine of eter
nal punishment, and he, like Arch
deacon Farrar, quoted largely from
the Fathers. remarking that the NOR,
we rise to the faith of these grea
Christian thinkers and teachers, tn,
less we shall care for dramatic picture.
of great white throne, with the an
gels marshaling mankind to the grea
assize. This paper at some length
showed that the dramatic pictures il
the book of Enoch, written before the
Christian era, furnished the apostolic
writer's with the materials for theil
eschatology. His opinions in the enc
Tread in his absence by a layman
ELECTED sounds OF disapprobation
There was kissing at a refer
ence to the tyranny OF sacred books
and at the doubts expressed as 10 thu
authenticity of some portions of Tho
New Testament. The author ever
doubted whether some of the dis
courses in the gospels were ever de
livered at ALL The president interfered
however, to prevent any demonstra
ton either for or against, urging tn,
solemn nature OF the subject as a plet
for silence on the part OF the audience
One or two speakers at an overflow
meeting in the Free Trade hall oh
| lected, but the majority appeared I,
be in accord with the archdeacon, Far
rar, aud Canon I4uckroek, though the,
resented the skepticism of Sir Georg
Cox. At the Town Hall, where tn
audience heartily aPplauded DR.. Far
rar, most OF the speakers Joining il
the debate solemnly protested agains
| any interference with time-honore'
4 x-sa