Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-08-18

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fury? Could you not write last will
and testament. or write deed, or write
an Important document on pure white
sheet of paper easier than you could
write 1t upon sheet scrubbed all over
with infamy and blotted and torn from
who are so uncommon-se as to
believe that though man starts in
this world with infancy and its inno-
cence and turns out badly, in the next
world he can start with dead failure
and turn out well. But" say some
people, 1--WE ought to have another
chance in the next world because our
life here Is so very brief; we scarcely
have room to turn around between the
cradle and the grave, the wood of the
one almost striking against the marble
of the other We ought to have another
chance because of the brevity Of this
life"L My friends, do you know what
made the ancient delugeaa necessity?
IL was the longevity Of the antedi
luvians. They were worse in the sec
ond century than in the first, and worse
when they got three hundred years old,
and worse at four hundred, and worse
/ at five hundred, and worse at six hun
dred, and worse at eight hundred; until
the world had TO be washed and
secured and scrubbed and soaked and
sunk and anchored whole month un-
der water before il was fit for decent
people to live in. | have seen many
pictures of old Time with his scythe to
cut, but l never saw any picture of
Time with chest of medicines to heal
Seneca said that in the first few years
of his public life Nero was set up as an
example of clemency and kindness, but
he got worse and worse, the path de-
scending, until at sixty-eight years of
age he was the suicide. If eight hum
dred years of lifetime could not cure
the antediluyians of their iniquity,
undertake TO say that all the ages of
eternity would be only prolongation of
depravity. But" says some one, lin
the next life the evil surroundings will
be withdrawn and good influences will
be substituted, and hence, eXpurgation,
sublimity, glorification." But you must
remember that the righteous, all their
sins forgiven, pass right up into beat
iflc state, and then having passed up
into the beatific state, not need
ing any other chance, that will
leave all those who have never
been forgiven, and who were impeni-
tent, alone-alonel and where are the
salvabie influences to come from? Can
it be expected that DR.. Duff, who spent
his whole life in pointing the Hindoos
10 heaven, and Dr.. Abeel, who spent
his life in evangelizing China, and that
Judson, who spent his life in preach
ing the Gospel to Burmah-can it be
expected that they will be sent down
from some celestial Missionary Society
to educate and to save those who
wasted their earthly existence? No.
We are told distinctly that all mission
airy and evangelistic influences will be
| ended forever and the good having
passed up to their beatific state, all the
morally bankrupt will be together, and
where are the salvable influences to
come from? viii a specked or bad
| apple put in barrel of diseased apples
make the other apples good? Will one
who is down be able to lift others up?
| Will those Who have miserably failed
! in the business of this life be able to
| pay the debts of other spiritual insol-
vents? viii a million wrongs make
one right? Poneropolis was the city
where King Rufus of Thracia, put all
bad people OF his kingdom, and when
ever there were Ubiquitous people found
in any part of the land they were all
sent TO Poneropolis. 1t was the great
capital of wickedness Suppose a man
or a woman had opened a primary
school in Poneropolis. would the par
| ents OF other cities have sent their chill
| dren there to be educated and re-
! formed
! Again, wish YOU further to notice
| that another chance in another world
means the ruin of this. Now. sup
! pose a wicked man is assured that
| after a lifetime of wickedness. he
| can fix it all right up in the
| future. That would be the demorali-
zation of society, that would be the
| demolition of the human race. There
are men who are now kept on the limits
| of sin by their fear. The fear that If
we are bad and unforgiven here it will
not be well with us in the next exist
ence, is the chief influence that keeps
| civilization from rushing back into
! semi barbarism, and keeps semi bar-
| barism from rushing back into mid
| night savagery, and keeps midnight
| savagery from rushing back into ex-
| limits of sin. But this idea coming into
1 his soul, this idea of another chance. he
| says. go 10. now; I'll get out of this
world all there is In IT," Come glut-
| tony and revenge and uncleanness and
! all sensualities. and wait upon me. 1t
| may abbreyiate my earthly life by dis
! soluteness. but that will only give me
| heavenly indulgence on a larger scale
| in shorter length Of time. will over
! take the righteous before long, | will
| only come in heaven little late, and
| will be a little more fortunate than
| those who have behaved themselves on
| earth and went straight TO the bosom
OF God, because VIII see more and have
1 4 n 4 ,,,,.