El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-06-27
What Is He'll?
Clergymen Disagree As To the
Hereafter OF the Wicked.

A Cincinnati clergyman recently
gave u.terance to the following some
What alarming description OF hell:
ssThe fire of hell is real. true, proper
fire. 1t is not quenchable at all and
has the property of nnceasinR dura-
ton. The fire is molten fluid. 1t
ia In perfect combustion and therefore
emits no smoke. Out of hell there is
no redemption; and from its fires there
is no liberation
An alert New York reporter seized
upon these burning words of the Gin
cinnati preacher, carried them to g
half dozen metropolitan ministers OF
note and asked for an expression OF
opinion. The unsnimity with which
the Gotham shepherds disagreed, not
only With their western brother but
among themselves, presents an in
teresting study, says the Rochester
Herald, in comparative hades.
Rev. Robert Collyer found nothing
attractive in such picture OF hell His
reputation of it was very emphatic.
He said: "It's an Internal sermon,
based ON ansinfernsl lie. If there Is
any such teaching in the bible, then so
much the worse for the bible. It should
be torn out of it. 1t ia q terrible thing
that at the end of the nineteenth CEN
fury q preacher can be found who
would give vent to such opinions. 1t
is strange that q congregation could
listen to them and not rise up and turn
him out. But the man does not be-
lieve 1t himself. If he did he would
go mad within 4s hours. He has mere
~ theological belief in it. That's
all.''
Rev. A. G. Dixon, whose views on
prohibition and Bishop Potter were
aired recently in Rochester, expressed
the opinion that hell sis place OF fire,
a LII Gyo
Conscience will burn, reason will scorch
and Imagination will inhame. He'll
begins while we are yet in 6his life.
Men sink lower into it every day; and
when death comes this process OF de-
generation will only continue"
DR.. 8. r. Cadman betrayed some diff
fidence in prescribing an exact formula
of future punishment. He said; -!
do not undertake to say that there will
be no corporeal punishment; but 1 will
say that the idea OF corporal punish
ment is the most vulgar conception OF
the results of the divine anger. l can
not undertake to say just what will be
the nature of the future punishment:
but we are not called upon to accept
such a doctrine as that of eternal tor |
meut by actual fire."
DR.. Lyman Abbott stated that as the |
result Of many years of study of the
New Testament he had formed the |
opinion that there is very little In 1t to |
warrant belief in endless, conscious |
sin and suffering, but much to warrant |
the belief that the end of sin is death. |
To him the thought of a corner in
Code universe where sin, lawlessness
rebellion, selfshness, deceit and ma
Lightly shall continue eternally is not |
only unbearable but unthinkable and |
not to be reconciled with faith in even |
the purity of God. According to DR.. |
Abbott the final hymn of praise will be
marred by no groans and no rebellious
and despairing discords.
Rev. r. s. Macarthur agreed with |
the Cincinnatian that hell is real, but |
does not believe that it is material. |
Said he; "I no more believe that the
fire of hell Is actual, proper fire than
believe that heaven is paved with gold
and inclosed with gates of pearl,
These are symbols. Future punish
ternal infection as an internal condt-
ton. God does not send men to perdi-
ton. They go into hell hereafter be-
cause hell has gone into them here"
Evidently fearful of having afforded
grain OF consolation to the ungodly by
his disavowal of belief in material
hell fire DIR. Macarthur added the
bible that future suffering is intended
to work out the redemption of the
soul. No such ray of hope falls
athwart the dark path of the lost"
DR.. w. 81. P: Faunce, the
new president of Brown univer-
sity, expressed the opinion that the
man who believes that retribution for
sin consists in physical torture belongs
essentially to the Middle Ages. Cont
nuing, DIR. Faunce said: He must
also believe that heaven consists In lit
eral harps and crowns and golden
streets. The man who thinks that Gods
of sin is to consist of mate
rial flame would probably think that
the bread of life was made by baker
and the water of life was of the same
kind as that in the Croton aqueduct.
The only cure for such Grass material
ism is in deeper and more spiritual
views of sin and righteousness"
While it might be considered Meth
er meet nor proper for a layman to
take issue with these eminent author
tiles, it Is interesting to reflect that if
none of them be mistaken and all of
them be correct in their forecast of
sinner is like to be confronted by q d.
versified hell or none at all. So long
as doctors of divinity continue to teach
on basis of reward and
however, some form of
hell must be provided.
AS a matter of fact the minister of
today who strives to be exact in his de-
'cription of hell, especially of a mate
rial hell, will be likely to find his con- I
not unit in accepting his
specifications without questioning their
accuracy. The day has gone by when
Ill utterances from the pulpit are ac- {
,epted as gospel truth. Free bibles,
rec schools and the free exercise of
,he faculty of thought have done much
20 equip the intelligent man with ideas t
If his own in regard to
! variety of subjects on which former t
y he was compelled to accept the opin-