The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-02-27
HOW MANY PHILADELPHIA PEG
PILE WILL BE SAVED?*
REV. FREDERICK A. BISBEE.

as, 9.
In our city, as in all other centers
of population, there are all sorts and
conditions of men, ranging from the
very good to the very bad. Aside
from the humanitarian interest we all
feel regarding the present and future
condition of all these people, there is
the interest of personal attachment
in some degree for all. However hum
BILE and debased man may have be-
come, there is yet some one who at
least still clings to the wish, if not tee
hope, for his welfare. We are all look
ing forward to an inevitable end that
awaits alike the good and the bad, a
crisis determining that which is be-
yond; and looking over this great
multitude of sensitive human hearts
we instinctively ask the question,
"How many will be saved?' and face
at once the fundamental question at
issue between the orthodox and Uni
versalist churches.
On the one side orthodoxy has laid
down such conditions of salvation as
necessarily excludes from salvation
at least two-thirds of our citizens,
while on the other the Universalist
proclaims that Bible prophecy is true
that call flesh shall see the salvation
of our God, and every knee shall bow
and every tongue confess that Jesus
is Lord, and because Jesus was lifted
up he will draw all men unto him"
and all men shall ultimately be saved
from sin into righteousness; that the
worst sinner among us today will
sometime and somewhere be con-
victed of his sin; converted and
changed from sinfulness to righteous
ness and ultimately made holy and
happy. The difference here noted is
vital and irreconcilable. The ortho-
dox position that some of Gods chill
dren will be everlastiugly lost i'm
pugns the character of God; as long
as there is one soul unreconciled to
him He is not all in all. AS long
as evil successfully opposes his will
he is not almighty. As long as there
is suffering that has not some ul'i-
mate object of good, his love can not
be perfect.
This view violates the gentle spirit
of Christ and the heart of humanity
We in our poor human weakness
would if we could rescue every sinner
from his sin and place him on the
road to righteousness. Are we to
think for moment that we are, in our
disposition and desire, better than
Gods and if God has the disposition
he has what we lack, the power to carry
out his purpose, and he will not fail.
We have before us today in the per-
son of Dario, the atrocious murderer
of little child, here in this Christian
city, specific instance of as bad a
form as sin can assume; what of his
salvations The immediate impulse
of the people was intense anger and a
desire to avenge. Were we heather
people the impulse would be yielded
to, but we are Christian and we say
the law must take it's course; the man
must have fair trial; we must see if
there are any mitigating circum-
stances.
The first impulse is to say, HE
ought to go to hell" and orthodoxy
says unless he repents he will go, but
it says also, if between now and the
time of his death he repents, confess
es Christ and is washed in his
blood" he will go straight to hea-
ven. On the other hand Universalism
says that no theological scheme can
save character like that; no substi-
tuition of the righteousness of an
other will do for him, and yet it says
he will be saved; it says he must
bear the awful punishment of his sin,
but that punishment instead of being
everlasting is, like all righteous
punishment, reformatory in its ma
ture, ard by it the distorted nature
of this man will be Strengthened. By
the discipline of God in the years
and ages to come, the evil of this life
will be eradicated, and he will be
made good, and in proportion as he
is made good will be be saved.
Which is better, which more Christ
like, which more humane and divine,
to destroy the life or reform the life
In the more Christianized sections of
our country there is revolt against
capital punishment. Christians say
we must not kill. We can restrain, but
in restraint we must use every effort
to improve, and this is the dawning
of the true spirit Of Christ, showing
that punishment must always be
remedial and never vindictive.
Bot it is said, allow can such an
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