Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-06-20


same time conserve the ends Of justice,
so Christ could not receive ia his per-
son the punishment due to mans sins.
The atonement was not propitiatory.
The idea that God was angry with the
race and nothing short Of the sacrifice
of His Son would propitiate His wrath
is alike repugnant to the character OF
God, and the reason of man. The pro-
pitiatory idea is borrowed from the
mythologies of Egypt, Greece ana
Rome. When defeated in battle or
overtaken by some great calamity,
they said the Gods are angry and must
be appeased. The mission OF Jesus
Christ was to reveal the true character
of God, which is that Of a compassion
ate father, and so effect mans recon
Citation.
cannot believe in the orthodox view
of the Resurrection. The Resurrection
of the dead l believe, but the resur-
rection of the body, never. And the
few texts of scripture that seem 10
teach a bodily resurrection must be so
construed as to harmonic with the
general teaching of the Book. The
body is not the dead. The body is not
the man. The body is no part OF the
man. Man is spiritual being, ani-
mating a physical organism. No man
ever saw God, because He is a spirit.
Man was made the image or God.
No man ever saw man. We see the
house in which the tenant lives, the IN
strument which he uses, but not the
man. Socrates said when asked
whether they should bury him, yes, If
YOU can catch me- A bodily resur-
rectlon is not necessary to personal
recognition, nor is 1T necessary TO the
exercise Of Gods distributive justice.
To say that the body was partner OF
the soul in the acts Of this life, and
must therefore participate in.
FUTURE REWARDS
or punishments, is to attribute respon-
sibility to matter. And IL the body, the
instrument of the soul, is responsible,
then the knife In the hand of the assas-
sin is responsible and in hanging the
assassin, we should hang the knife. The
true doctrine of the Resurrection is
spiritual. 1t makes no difference to me
whether, as ST. Paul seems to teach,
spiritual body is prepared for the soul,
or whether as SwedenbOrg taught, the
soul mas it's spiritual body encased In
this material organism, and is separated
at death, or whether God will provide
such bedy when the necessity arises
But one thing we know the dust returns
to the earth as it was, and the spirit TO
God, who gave it. ] cannot say that
this life is in every case the measure or
a mans probation. The inequalities OF
this life. the tremendous disadvantages
10 which some are exposed, seem to de-
mand for them q better opportunity
than is here offered them. Indeed
Peter says, Wherefore, for this cause
was the gospel preached to the dead,
that they might be judged according TO
man in the flesh, but live according TO
God in the spirit" Put upon this your
own Interpretation, and l shall DO the
same.
Neither can I accept any longer the
orthodox teaching Oh the subject OF tu-
ture retribution. There can be no queS-
ton as to the fact of retribution both in
this world and the world TO come. The
only question, and this is very impor-
tant one, is as to its nature and duration.
First, as to its nature. Is the orthodox
hell q verify? Ii the strong figures OF
speech implied in the scriptures have
put upon them d literal Interpretation,
then it may be, but why should any one
be so inconsistent. The Bible is book
of imagery. 1t is full of trophies and
figures but it is to be rightly understood
and interpreted. But some one says
are YOU wiser than the Fathers| l
answer, l make no special claim TO wis
dom. neither am l running TO SIT even
at the feet of the Fathers, and accept
their teaching, if indeed, it is repug-
nant to my intellect. No subject is so
sacred but that we may bring to its In
vestigation the whole strength OF intel
lect with which God has endowed US.
Milton describes
THE ORTHODOX HE'LL
asa verify. He wrote good poetry
but bad theology. The dogma of lit
eral hell, external and eternal, has be-
come as fabulous with thinking men as
Dantes "Inferno." He'll is not so much
a place as a state, not so much external
as internal He'll is in the man. In its
incipiency hell may be found even on
earth. The poet says, Within him,
hell he brings and round about him,
nor from hell one step no more than
from himself can fly by change of
place Whatever the nature OF future
punishment may be, why should we re-
gard it as eternal? The two Greek
words aioa and aiOniOn are used inter