The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-06-26

mitted against the social order you
instinctively say of the transgressor:
He ought to suffer the full penalty
of the law" Thus you not only rec
ognize the reasonableness of punish
ment, but that it should be in ratio
to the degree of guilt.
Why, then, do men object to divine
retribution for sin, whether present
or future? Is it because it does not
accord with human reason?
Certainly not. The experience that
distress" comes as the result of sin
is universal-and it is good Univer-
salism, too. Why then do men seem
to think they shall go unpunished7
The cause is found, l think. in this:
They have fully resolved to sin, and
so would fain persuade themselves,
and others if possible, that they
shall escape. And while reason rem
onstrates, passion pleads, and the
mere hope of passion is INDUCED
while the plain mandates of reason
are ignored. Passion thus DONNA
ting the man, self-control is lost, and
he is like an engine with full head
of steam without an engineer, or
ship at sea without a pilot. And
thus men "sov to the wind and reap
the whirlwind."
The better judgment of mankind
also rightly estimates mutual respon-
sibility in the commission of any
course or act of sin! Said these con-
victed men: "Verily we are guilty
"We"- associates in crime, compan-
ions in misery. One did not, could
not, Jay the blame upon another and
say, II am innocent" They all to-
gether stood condemned at the bar
of their own consciousness court
from whose jurisdiction there is no
escape.
And how many scheme in modern
business, in politics and civil govern
ment, and even in religion and the
church shall at last be fully disclosed
and the actors therein be brought
face to face with an accusing con-
science And, as in this case, those
who have been wronged and have
suffered for the truth and for con-
science sake, shall be royalty reward
ed; while those who have seemed
strong and defiant shall, through fear
and trembling, confess their own guilt
verify, we are guilty"
Thus man is impelled by that with
in himself = Memory, Conscience,
Reason-to render verdict against
himself in case of guilt, or in favor of
himself in case of innocence; and
then God simply confirms the verdict
-ratifies it in the Supreme Court of
Heaven, from which no appeal can
be taken.
Chemistry tells us that the sea
contains the elements, the oil and
wick, the oxygen and hydrogen, that
may produce general conhagration
and transform this material globe.
So in regard to the human soul. 1t
contains within itself all the elements,
the passions and desires, tie oil and
wick which, when unrestrained. shall
"set on fire the whole course of ma
ture." How strong our loves and
hates! How vivid our hopes and
fears! And what strange fires burn
in the soul that is yielding to temp
tation! And so it is written: "Lust,
when it hath conceived, beareth sin !;
and the sin, when it is full grown,
bringeth forth DEATH" that moral and
spiritual death so fully pictured and
illustrated in the Bible. Surely, this
is hell enough for the SHINING soul,
not one without, but within, and
from which we must be saved.
V.
How important, then, is character,
and how significant our conduct, not
only as it relates to ourselves, but
also in relation to othersl The crimes
of modern society are great. Thou
sands of Josephs have been, and are,
victims of their so-called brethren.
The strong devour the weak. From
an industrial and commercial point
of view we are cannibals. Religion
itself has, in many cases, been made
scheme rather than a life. Self
ishness too often dominates nearly
all classes, as such. The cross is
being changed into symbol of
tempered power and self-agrandise-
ment. Money controls the social or
der, the civic state, and by far too
often, the church.
Look at the social condition. In