St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-27
SHEOL BLOTTED OUT.
Rev. Vail Would Erase He'll
From Every Vocabu-
larry,
And Substitute a Place OF
Simple Preparation or
Soul.
The Universalist Idea OF the
Hope That Must In
spire All.
None Knows How Long 1t
3 Takes to Harmonic the
S Wicked.

to the fact that given word produces
given picture, and that in the minds OF
each that picture is accompanied by
certain thoughts and sentiments. In
illustration of this. he continued:
Suppose | mention proper name
Ugnatius Donnelly. for eXample); i'm
mediateIy You picture a short, stout
man, with a round, fat face and pug
gish nose. But in the minds of some
will arise series of thoughts and feel
ings that might all be summed up in
the word demagogue, while in the
minds of others will arise series OF
feelings and thoughts that might all be
summed up in the word patriot. Now,
this ability of words to arouse thoughts,
pictures OF feelings. and those of a diff
ferent character Gust as we see the
picture of the same man will do) is one
of our most important considerations.
1t is important because we want
TO hold closely to the idea that
sin is punished; that there is
proper word to use in teach
ing of this punishment; but consider
ing the fact that the word hell is word
that does not produce uniform and
true picture you will see that it must
PLANTATION is needed you will hardly
question, for you know as we'll as do
that if an important orthodox man uses
the word without any qualification, be
fore a mixed aSSemblage, it will not
Garry Uniform Impression.
One hearer will find in it reassertion
Of the literal lake of fire and birthstone;
another will conclude that it cannot be
that. but will be puzzled in the eX-
IRENE, and his mind will not he filled
with definite pictures of anything--it
will be filled with confusion. COnse-
Quently. say ii we have an idea that
can be presented, and presented so as
to make our meaning clear to our hear
ers. we should choose such word or
phrase, and not such as miS.ead and
myStifv.
Tine scholar always found in the word
hell one of those double applications
that we all understand, but the theO-
logic mind ever made it literal place Of
torture Always made it place. | say,
| for in the olden religions it is localized
physical existence. As compared with
the older religions the Hebrew, eX-
PRESSING himself in the Old Testament,
escapes this conclusion, for his under
| world does not seem to be either very
| happy or very unhappy. or Hebrew
who had finished his course it was said,
Gle was gathered to his fathers;" and
of the coming ones, And gathered TO
| their fathers shall the children be-"
The underworld was the gath
ering place of the dead: and
the terrors of an Oriental he'll
was not in this Hebrew conception.
Leaving the Hebrew of earlier times.
we come down to the time of Christ, and
we lind in the New Testament the suf-'
| ferings of sin compared with the suffer
| ings of punishment i'll a certain noted
valley, but by any fair examination,
! even if the sentences are the exact ones
| that were spoken and perhaps they are
! Got) it only means to emphasize the Sc
| verify of punishment by a comparison
| to physical things fire, etc. that would
| bring the truth more strongly home.
| When we pass the first ages of the
| church, however. we find that Christian
| art. by some of the greatest pictures,
| has indellbly imprinted this word hell
| OH the mind of a vast number OF be-
| levers: for Christian art began to APP
| peal to the eye, and left a most
| definite record behind it las in
''Angelo's Day of Judgment'0; a record
that was repeated in picture, i'll poem,
and in sermon las the ''Inferno,' Par
adise Lost" and the sermons of Ed
wards), repeated until it became the i'll
| Spration of every revivallst, of almost
every pastor. and filled the world with
this image of
A Fierce. BOttOmless Pit.
! The picture of this pit was we'll defined.
Most men in some way have fumes of it
| suggested whenever the minister takes
up the theme. 1t is claimed that intel
ligence has discarded this physical idea.
| Well, If it has, then by all means let us
discard the word. At least let us put it
back among the archaic words in the
| dust of the attic loft. And when we use
/ it, if we do not believe it in the accepted
form, we simply use phrase that pro-
dIces different idea from ours i'll the
minds of the hearers, and we thus un
consciously deceive them.
After this review of the meaning of
the word. the preacher declared he
would reject it entirely, because to the
average mind it was inseparably bound
up with the mental picture of burn
ing birthstone lake; and in its place he
would substitute the word 'retrlbu-
tion."
Il use the word 'retribution' because
there is no picture or localized thought
connected with it that would miSlead
ANYBODY. | accept 1t because the pro-
|
Justice i, that sin must be punished.
Iaecept it because l can, by using it,
follow the method that seems to me the
true one. and reach the end l believe 10
be the true result.
E3ut Where Does the Wicked Man
Go
after he passes away from this world?
am free to say that do not know. 1t
You do know you can settle one of the
q Worlds great problems. AS l read the
Bible there is rather an indefinite
teaching on this subject. And while |
would not dognatiZe on this problem.
8 and while. for many reasons. do be-
I iIieye in future life, L have 70 doubt
tliere are other reasons equally good
4 Why should refrain from any attempt
= at description. But one thing l may
a say here. Happiness is a condition that
lis in harmony with all things good. AS
long as we are out OF that harmony
! we are and must be miserable. All sin is
miserable by its very conditions OF
inharmony. How long Il man going
sfrom this world bad and polluted viii
be i'm coming into harmony with the
eternal mind cannot tell. But hope
| q shall emphasize that word by and by)
! that in time he will be purified, will be
drought intGharmOny WITH the eterhai
mind. and so will find his punishment
| at an end. A heavy emphasis has been
LAID on the fact that the Bible speaks of
. teyeriasting punishment, but the terms
forever. endless, everlasting are applied
in the Bible to hills and rivers, and TO
neriods not longer than fifty years.
Still the great work of the church is not
Lilo dogmatze. but to seek FOR the truth
as for hidden treasure.
But when we come to substite retribu-
!. tion. and then study the methods of
divine punishments. we will not SO
:. wandering among our imaginative
creations. We will come much closer
> to our own conditions, for we shall