Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-06-21
"What Has Become OF Heli1"

Wo arc struck with an article which
recently appeared in ono of tho lnaga
zines discussing tho\ subject of nine
tecnth century changes In theology un-
der the title, "What iias Become of
'lIcll ?"
Many changes have taken place of late
years in tho character of tho preaching
which we arc accustomed to hear from
our pulpits, so that tho question, "What
has become of hell % is strictly in order.
Who of us nowadays over hear sermons
in which tho words "liro' and "brim-
stono" occur? Or sermons like those
John tho Baptist preached whom ho
stood upon tho banks of the Jordan and
warned people to flee from the wrath to
come? In recent years SO many frills
have boon added to the Gospel in defer
| cncc to what may bo termed tho spirit
of worldlncss that our simple forcfath-
crs, if they could como back to life,
would ncvor recognize it as tho Gospel
which they used to hear preached in
carly days, and which guided them
peacefully and happily through death
into glory. We never hear tho Gospel
preached nowadays like the ministers of
tho old school used to preach it and we
sometimes find ourselves wondering if
tho slow progress Christianity is making
in this ago of tho world, when ovory-
thing else runs by electricity, is not duo
to this fact. Popularity seems to be tho
ultimatum at which most of our modern
preachers aim. They seem to be more
ambitious to please men than to save
mon; more anxious to nattcr their vani-
ties than to save their souls. If tho
Kingdoms of this world arc ever to be-
como the Kingdoms Of Christ there must
bc an abandonment of this spirit Of
time serving in religion. Ministers must
plant themselves squarcly upon the cross
of Christ They must go back to the
methods which the apostles themselves
used, and they must show tho magni-
tudc of the Saviour'S atoning work not
only by pointing out the sacrifice which
he made upon tho cross, but also by
portraying the horrors of that abode of
evil spirits from whose tortures lie died
to rescue men.
We arc old-fashioncd enough to be-
licvc that "hadcs' is no substitute for
hell in our system Of theology and we
lose our patience as quickly in listening
to preachers who talk of "hadcs" as we
do in listening to preachers who try to
preach hell out of existence altogether.
We would like to believe that no such
place as hell existed, but wc cannot get
behind what the good book says on this
subject and VIC cannot silence the voice
OF that inner register which asserts that
just as truly as the sun rises and sets
just so truly must they suffer who set at
defiance the laws of God inscribed upon
the heart. If the doctrine of rewards and
penalties holds good in the world Of flesh
why should it not hold equally good in the
world Of spirit We do not undertake to
interpret scripture for others. Theology
is not our hobby. But we do undertake
to interpret scripture for ourselves, and
bringing our unprofcssional but honest
powers Of scrutiny to bear upon the de-
clarationS of the good book, we believe
that hell exists and we believe that
preachers ought to SO inform their con
grcgationS.
One reason why our modern pulpit
lacks the force which characterized the
pulpit of fifty years ago is that preach
crS do not put enough fire and birthstone
into the sermon which they preach from
Sabbath to Sabbath. Instead of bring
ing the world up to the standard of the
Gospel they arc bringing the Gospel
down TO the standard Of the world, and
the outcome of this departure from the
beaten paths of orthodoxy must cvcntu-
ally be the overthrow of Christianity
unless divine power intcrvcncs to pre-
vent this result. We arc hopeful enough
t. believe that the pendulum will soon
swing back and that our ministers will
return to the methods of the Old school :;
but in the mean time rs we listen to the
chiminGs Of the Sabbath bells as they
float out this morning upon the tranquil
air and summon us to the diScourscs
which await MS in the Sanctuarics, we
find ourselves confronted with the qucs-
ton, "What has become OF hell ?'--Thc
Constitution.