The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-09
THE FIRE OF HE'LL
ROMAN CATHOLIC OPINION AND
TEACHING THAT 1T Is REAL FIRE.

Fluid Applied So as to Produce
From the New York Sun.
A very remarkable lecture in defense of
the proposition that lin hell the demons
and the reprobates are punished by real
fire," was delivered last Sunday at the
Roman Catholic Cathedral of st. Peters,
at Cincinnati. by the Rev. John NJ. Mack
ey, Phi. d. st. Peters is the Cathedral
church of Archbishop Elder, and DR..
AIaekey is its assistant rector and conse-
quently a man of an ecclesiastical bromi-
hence which gives the more Importance
90 his very striking lecture of which the
principal part is presented below, taken
from the full text in the Commercial Trib-
une of Cincinnati
THE beggar, Lazarus, died and was car
ried by angels into Abrahams bosom, and
the rich man also died and he was buried
in hell. And, lifting up his eyes when
he was in torment, he saw Abraham afar
off and Lazarus in his bosom, and he
said: Father Abraham, send Lazarus
that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue, for I am tor
mented in this flame Here the rich man
is tormented by the flame of the fire of
hell. The fire of hell Is therefore a true
and proper fire, as it produces the effect
produced by true and proper, that is to
say real fire, namely, a flame that tor
ments man exposed to its action i'm a
place of torrents, to which the rich man
Rpprehended his five brethren might come.
The flame is real, and not metaphorical
as water, even the small quantity held on
the tip of the finger of Lazarus. would
cool the tongue of the rich man, as he
thought in his forlorn and Intellectual APP
peal to Father Abraham. The reality,
that is to say, the truth of the fire Of he'll
is manifest, also, from the environments
and conditions under which it is present.
ed to us by our Savior. Everything in
the record is real, not metaphorical. The
beggar is real, hell is real, the rich man
Is real the tongue to be cooled is real
the torment of the man is real, and the
real torment is effected by a real flame,
produced therefore, by a real fire.
The objective real reprobate, in objec-
lively real torrents, inflicted by object
lively real fire, is set forth in the language
and conception of our Savior, in order
TO deter us from conduct inducing the
same torments upon us personally as were
and are to be inflicted upon reprobates
forever and eternally. To argue that the
fire is not true and proper that is. real
fire, is TO argue against the reality of hell
itself; against the reality of torment
against sufferings corresponding to real
torment. 1t is to argue therefore against
real sufferings endured by real human per-
sons This would prove too much, and.
therefore. nothing. 1t would divest God
of all sanction of eternal laws, and. there
fore, of legislative and real power as a
law without sanction is no law al all. God,
Invested of power to legislate, is Invested
OF real power to govern. His providence
Is eliminated, His creative authorship neg
atived and His reality ifnpughed. Alas!
the sad consequence in the train of error
impugning the truth of the objective real
tiles presented by our Savior in His holy
gospel for our guidance in the conduct
of morals!
1T is against reason and utterly puerile
and unworthy of a true philosopher to
seek to introduce subtle distinctions where
the law itself makes no distinction. 1t is
against the true method of theology to de-
ny objective reality to truths enunciated
nearly always and everywhere In the holy
gospel by the same terms. Fire is the me-
dum of torments inflicted on the repro
pate everywhere in the gospel. True fire
alone is true source, a true medium
therefore the fire of hell is real true. proper
IRE. The method of our opponents is the
one followed by Theosophists Pantheists,
Agnostics and the whole flock of the exc
cradle modern sects who deny all reality
ana make the universe consist OF airy
phantoms.
The abode of the reprobate is without
order and full of unceasing horror and
intestine discord. The reprobates chose to
"hd away from their end, they elected to
stray away from their true support God
respected their gift of liberty. He con-
"Itned their choice, and they will famish
ana anguish In all their faculties and
powers IN never-ending misery in a state
OF true death-deprived of God and with
out nope, The pain of loss IS added TO
the pain Of sense.
NO dehnilion of the church exists as 10
tle true and proper fire of he'll, for it is
me common belief of the faithful and of
NHeo4oSlans that the fire is real and not
melaphoricai. Temerty atone would de-
part from the common belief of the people
ana their doctors. Hence absolution is
ueflled penitents obstinantly clinging to a
meta phorlcai fire, an opinion or a belief in
proximity to error and indeed in real
formal error, so to speak. though unsup-
ported by definition of Holy Church. as
me mlnd OF The church Is made manifest
py the consensus of theologians and of the
faithful
ST. Augustine, De Civitate Del Xxx. 16,
says; The fire of he'll is something phys
.cal external, true body which produces
such PAIN as true, real fire produces The
uHahlmltv of the teaching of the fathers
Is the recognized exponent of the mind of
me church. Thes fathers, in every page
VI their treatises on the subject of the
PANS OF hell. designate them by the term
nIe ana add such attributes and compar-
IsoAS as clearly exclude imaginary and
metaphor from the notion and conception
OF such fire.
Isnorance of the way fireforments spir-
US or bodies, acts on spirits, on souls and
ausels, does not initiate against the facts
aSN, aled in Holy Scripture. For the modes
ana neXus between causes and effects,
asehts and acts, even in the natural order
ere profound mysteries. To act is 10 pro-
luce an effect to produce an effect is to
" cause Fire torments the reprobate,
una therefore it acts upon him, as the
'otInehts are the effect of fire.
Inc fire of he'll is as real fire as the
natural fire, and has, over and above the