The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-29

Rev. BascOm Anthony's sermon on
"What He'll Is"


Rev. Bascom Anthony preached at
| Trinity Methodist Church last night TIE
second series Of sermons upon the future
condition and punishment Of the dam ed.
The subject was What Hell Is ana It
was handled by the speaker with the en-
ergy and vigor that always characterize
his sermons
The text was Mark, GAG: Where the
worm dieth not and the fire is not
quenched." Mr.. Anthony took the posi-
ton that the Bible does not give anything
like a full revelation of the hereafter, in
all its details. II limits itself 10 the bar
est statements that seem to be designed
TO excite our ina gination and 10 stimulate
us 10 some conception of the world TO
come. The negative statements as TO
heaven and he'll are literally true. such as
there is no night there The positive
statements are few, and seem designed
TO quicken the Imagination rather than
70 inform the intellect The reason Is
apparent for to give information on any
topic supposes capacity to receive ii. To
tell one of that which lies beyond his fac
ulties is TO tell him nothing
Casper Hauser the heir apparent to the
Bavarian throne who was raised in
dungeon and had never seen the face of
d mortal except his keeper, is good illus
tration of this. He was found one NJ ~
morning standing in the road perfectly be-
wildered with his first view Of the Wo ID.
He had never seen a tree nor hoWeri Tor
the first time he behe.d the sun. He never
knew until then there was world, FOR 10
him his narrow cell was all. Until liber-
AIRED he . had hPeO confined.
After liberation he complained to his
keeper for not letting him know of these
things before.
Now, suppose" said Mr. Anthony, you
had tried to tell him in his dungeon o.
the beauties of a rainbow. 1t would nave
been useless to tell him Of coors, for there
were no colors in his world. The best you
could have done is TO find some spot
on his dungeon wall brighter than the rest,
and say to him that the dullest spot on
the rainbow is brighter than that In
saying this you have told him little, but
have stirred his Imagination To him your
speech is filled with hyperbole. 1t seems
impossible that the one bright spot in his
wall should be surpassed by the dullest
in a rainbow There was no inability on
your part to impart information TO him;
the inability was his 10 receive it.
such is the divine attitude toward us
in revealing the future life. 1t lies be
yond our knowledge, and for God, to tel
us in exact terms what the future word
is, would be no revelation at all; for we
could not receive it. Hence the Bible set
ties down to such statements that heaven
is paved with gold and its gates are OF
pearl; or that he'll is lake OF hre ana
birthstone.
These statements tell us little more
than your effort to tell Casper Hauser of
a rainbow They stir the Imagination, but
fall short of the facts. God knew we es-
teemed gold beyond ell metals, hence ne
SAYS the thing we esteem most is walked
on up there, when he says the streets are
of gold Heaven Is better than gold' nell
is worse than fire. These be but figures
which God falls back upon to try to slim
ulate our dull faculties to some apprecia-
ton of eternal things.
But if the horrible figures of the text
be but figures, what must the reality be?
A living body, purifying and eaten OF
worms is the utmost reach OF the horrl-
be and repulsive. An unending fire is the
climax Of pain and anguish. These two,
figures, divine revelation brings to our
world and to us, who are but Casper
Hausers, and says hell is this. 1t could
tell us no more, for we know nothing be-
yond these of suffering and anguish any
more than Casper knew of colors beyond
the one bright spot on his wall"
From the revelations of the scriptures
Mr. Anthony contende1, it was impossible
to form any conception of the nature OF
the punishment or the doomed sous III
hell The imagination might wander al
most as it listed, through a field of in
finite conjecture. but there was no posi-
bility of getting anywhere near the truth,
other than by chance.
At any rate, though hell would be
place in Ike ping with the nature of those
it confined, without the light of Gods
countenance of the sunshine of His smile
whore those who had in the flesh trans
crossed the Divine laws would suffer for
their sins through the countless aeons of
eternity. Whatever the form of punish
ment might be, even were it only the
damned souls unending contemplation of
it's own iniquity, it would be sufficient.
on next Sunday Mr.. Anthony will dis
cuss the scriptural authorities upon the
existence Of future and eternal punish
ment He has already discussed this ques-
ton from another standpoint, the nature
of things, outside the pages of the Bible
He is next to investigate and explain the
subject from the point of view of a be-
lever in the Divine authority and revela-
ton of the sacred writings Of the Chris
t an religion.