The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-01
DIR. STRONG EFT AL. ON HE'LL.
A Suggestion of Lack of Logic
Somewhere,


Editor Morning News: Apropos of the
above mentioned discussion, will you al
low an interested and amused country
preacher<to ask a few questions and make
a suggestion as to exegesis2
First. If hell is not place, how could
Christ descend into it? Descent carries
with it the primal idea of locadop--a place
below. The logic of these propositions.
one in DR.. Strong's sermon, the other in
his very able letter amounts to a reductio
ad absHTdum, Christ could not go to a
place unless such a place existed. The
Doctor will have to give up either his doc
trine or his theory of hell
Second. If hell is state produced in the
soul by course of evil doing and aliena-
ton from God then did the Lord reach
that state by such a course? DIR. Strong
does not think so. We have no such con-
ception of the character of Christ. His
death was the end of his sufferings 1T is
tinished!' He cried on she cross
Third. There is a possible and reasona-
bic exegesis of the passage that may help
10 harmony. Read: For Christ also hath
once suffered for sins, the Just for the
unjust that he might bring us to God; be-
ing put to death in the flesh but quick
ened by the spirit; by which also he went
and preached TO the spirits in prison
dent in the days of Noah" ete.-1 Pet,
lii:1S-20
% The person, ''he"-Christ went and
preached.
% by whlch"-the spirit-the agent, or
emba ssador.
90 ITO the spirits in prison"-antedilu-
VANS
"a Which were disobedient In the days
of Noah"
The Holy Spirit was the preacher, the
audience the Spirits in prison., the time
1.-THE days of Noah" To the spirits now in
prison, Christ went and preached, by the
Spirit, In the days of Noah" etc.
The word phulake, here translated pris-
on, Is nowhere translated he'll, in the A.
", nor is it translated by paradise. Sheol,
hades, gehenna and tartarus are all trans
lated by he'll but phulake never.
Exegitically, therefore, the Doctors pro-
positions are not sustained. The prisoners
were not in hell, and if Christ had gone
TO them he would not have been in hell.
But since, as we have seen, the SHINING
and the preaching took place in the days
of Noah, we may safely conclude the
spirits were not in he'll nor did Christ go
there to preach to them.
We country Crackers" are a little
afraid of your town preachers. They can
explain away too much of the Bible. We
clodhoppers believe that heaven and hell
are real PAGES as Wen as condltlons, the
one to be sought, the other to be spurned;
the doctrine is practical and perhaps thar
is one reason why some of the town folks
say they have to go to the country
churches to get their useful members.
1t is said Mr.. Ingersoll lectured against
hell as a place on one occasion, and while
doing so the doorkeeper skipped out with
the lucre; whereupon the doughty cham
pion said: IF there is no hell there ought
to be one for such as him." We may rest
assured that God has done his duty II
there ought to be a hell there is one.
Come out in the country, brethren, get
some fresh air, shoot birds, fish; develop
your muscles. 1t will make your preaching
more muscular. We think it is little too
f1abby. J. A. Scarboro,
Statesboro Ga