The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-02-26
concERNINc UNIVeRsALisM.
An Open Letter to Rev. Mr.. Blanch-
ard.

lat meeting Of the Methodist preachers
of Portland and vicinity, Monday, 1t was
voted unanimously to request the publica-
tion OF the following letter in the PREss.l
Reu. Mr.. blanchard:
Dear Sir-I was interested in your His
tory of Uniyersalism" reported in the PRESS
and Argus February 10th. But there is
another side to that story. There are facts
which are essential to the right understand
ing Of the case which you did not mention.
! beg leave to refer to some Of them.
Your scriptural illusions l shall not no.
tice. With the Bible in hand each one can
judge of your correctness inthis department,
and infer therefrom your probable reliability
In the realm of history. You define Univer-
salism as ''the faith that all men will finally
be holy and happy in the future life."
This definition Is historic and puts you en-
rapport with Pagans, Gnostics. Sibyls, and
here and there a dilapidated Orthodox.
Your first witnesses for Universallsm are
the Persians. When liberals find something
like trinity and the doctrine Of endless
punishment among non-Christian peoples
they argue with much assurance that those
doctrines are of Pagan origin and non-Chris-
tian. Now you find Uniyersalism among
the Persians and in Plato. We must con-
clude, therefore, that this doctrine is Of Pa
gan origin, or all that arguing goes for moth
ing, except when 1t applies to the Orthodox.
Your first witnesses for Universalism after
the Apostles are the Gnostics. There are a
few facts-trifes perhaps you think-con-
corning those Gnostics which you did not
mention. take them, except when other
wise indicated, from "The Ancient History
of Universalism," by an eminent Universal
ist, Ell. Ballou, ID. d., from which, presuma.
bly,, you took yours.
]. The Universalism of those Gnostics was the
"transmigration Of all souls TO Heaven" through
as many 6odies-probations as we're needed for
all who needed. Bdtlou, p. 25.
The gospel Of Simon, the Sorcerer, mentioned
In Acts 8, said to have been the patriarch Of the
Gnostic neresies, was, in short; this; Mediate
and cultivate yourself before death, or migrate
after death and so all Will be saved. See Nos
helm Commentaries, Vol. ], PIP. 246. 247.
Whether "transmigration" as taught by
the Persians and other Pagans, Is the gospel
of Christ, or that ''other gospel pronounced
'accursed" by Paul. submit to your serious
meditation.
2. Those Gnostics did not derive the doctrine
of 'transmigraton of all souls to heaven from
the Scriptures, but from pagan philosophy Bal
5. Those Gnostics we're known by the orthodox
or dominant church only as enemies.-Banou, PIP.
4. Those Gnostics were spoken Of BY Polycarp,
first born Of satan n'-Bduou, p. is.
s. Those Gnostics denied that Jesus Is the
Seen the % @antIshrIsf described ii the words % Of
John, "who is the liar but he that denieth that
Jesus Is the Christ? This Is The anti-christ that
9. The Scriptures aside, those Gnostics were
the only Universasts known in church history
during the first m hundred years after Christ Bal.
You say the Sibylline Oracles taught Uni
versalism. Yes; and Mr.: Ballou frankly
says they were "forgeries," drought forth
in iniquity." He also says that those forge
ries contain '''the earliest explicit declara-
tion extant of restoration from the torments
Of HE'LL" and the declaration itself as given
by him shows that it was mixture Of OTtho-
doxy and Paganism, and while the orthodoxy
was considerably Orthodox, the Universal.
ism was very much Pagan, too nearly"
says Mr.. Ballou.
You name four of the so-called Orth odox
fathers in the first four centuries whom you
claim as believing in Universalism, and say
the brainy, men Of the day were its staunch
Call "the day" the first four centuries AID
and follow your historian In its veral
periods His first period is A. ID. 90-l90 OF
the Orthodox fathers in this period he says:
NEARLY all allude to or expressly assert
ishment; seven call 1t the everlasting, the
eternal fire or torment" How many of them
''allude to or expressly assert" Uniyersalism?
Not one.
In the next'period. 10000. he finds two
authors whom he claims, upon direct evil
dence from their writings, as Universalists;
only two Of about 200 mentioned by Mo-
sheim. From circumstantial evidence
scanty and indistinct" he conjecture" there
were others. (See Ballou, p. 1o9l In this
taught endless punishment that it required
about half of his history to take proper care
of them, but only two brainy men-Univer-
salists-from the Apostles to 800 A. ID a
period of 260 years.
AT length Mr.. Ballou finds what he calls
"a distinguished era" in the history Of Uni
versalism. Distinguished by the fact that
"Universalism appears to have been for
awhile the sentiment OF majority OF the
most eminent Orthodox fathers in the East"
after the apostles? No. In the second?
No. Not till the last half of the fourth
century A: u. did that era appear A. D., 800
1888. In the first ten years Of that era he
salists among the Orthodox bishops and
writers especially Of the East" He names
two. In the remainder Of the era from 80
1888 he finds his majority" In one section
the East. Never before has he claimed or
intimated "a majority" in East or West.
The whole number named and claimed upon
direct evidence was six or seven. This dis
tinguished era lasted about twenty-three
years and then Christianity -Universalism
was merged in Origenism, &C., in the SYM
bolic style OF the times, "the make of Origen-
ism was disembowelled, the host Of Amalek
was destroyed, and. what was most provok-
ing, jerome. who was counted in to make up
that majority was at the funeral exchanging
great and mutual congratulations with the
destroyers. OF this untoward turn Of affairs
Mr.. Ballou says: "Universalism received
check from which It entirely recovered In
the Catholic church."
A noted liberal said that he "wrote his
that is your style, 1t is certain that there Is
"History Of Universalism" which you
never mention,