The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-06-27


to imagine that they can utterly cX.
tinguish, by ignoring or by rcpudiat
ing, these things which the flesh find
its too disayrcrabc to consider. Hence
they lower the requirements OF right
cousncss or deny the penalties of slr
in order to indulge desire without dis.
quictude and to escape obligation with.
out cOmpunciion. 1t is trick Of the
ostrich which hides its head in the
sand and fancics that thereby it has
escaped its pursurcrS because il no
longer secs them.
y friend told me the other day of a
case in point lie and fellow travel
or were seated near each other in d
railway car. a distributor of tracts
came i'll and dropped his leaflets in the
laps OF the passengers. My friends
fellow passenger betrayed great lmpa-
ticncc and began TO abuse the conor-
tcur and his free literature, dcnounc-
ing The poor fellow as Il crank before
examining his tracts. My friend there
upon eXposlulatcd, saying, "1ou have
not read the tract. Look at it more
carefully and you will like lt.' HIS
travelling companion yielded to his adj
vice and proceeded to read the tact
and in Il few moments rcspundcd
Why am mistaken. ] did not OBJ
serve it closely. | thank the man for
IT," After reading it to finish he
folded it up carefully and put it in his
pocket for future reference. The tract
was designed to prove that there is no
hell. The man at first supposes il was
IA orthodox document, and then he
Il 81, Z, 4 |.
whcu he discovered it was framed to
rciutc the doctrine of eternal punish-
ment it instantly became Il most ac-
ccntablc present.
Similarly we have recently seen son e
parties Sleefuly applaudiny, because
they utterly misunderstood, an act of
Il small sect known as the United
Brethren. 1t appears that this body
has stricken out Of the Apostles
clccd y the wold "hcll'; in The phrase
which says Of Chlis che descended in
to hell" and has substituted the word
" hadcs. WhercupOn certain paltics
hasten to rejoice that the United
brethren show signs Of weakening on
the doctrine OF eternal punishment, al
though the brethren did not dream
that they were dealing even remotely
with the subject when they took the
action mentioned. Here, for example,
Is Il saplrrt passage from an editorial
which appeared in the New York
Press:
Many fcals have been expressed
OF late years concerning the abolish
mcnt in modern popular thinking Of
what one rcccn. dramati3t labeled 'ihc
Il loll ~ T., 4.
is true that the strcnuousncss of the
ancient idea, which found expression
in tangible cindcrs aud sulphurpus
flame, has suffered severely from the
attacks all along the line delivered by
Il new generation which has delighted
more to dwell upon the kindness, love,
long suffering and forgiveness OF Deity
than upon His vengeance Oo use the
word only in SCriptual scnsc.) But il
more significant yet to find this attack
taking actual theologic forTl and win
ming a victory. When the general quad
rcnnial conference of the United
Brethren church, in session at Fred
erick, Md, decides to substitute the
mildcr 'hadcs' for the 'hcll' Of the
apostles creed it gives the older class,
who have enjoyed hearing oratory
from the pulpit through long career,
something to shake heads over, to
prophcsy upon and to shrink FROM"
Now, the fact is the Wow that the
United Brethren take of this phrase in
the creed has no relation to eternal
punishment or hell as place of
penalty at all. They used The word
"hadcs in place of the word "hcll "
bn l,t a, hoc #
penalty attached to it, whereas the
former has it not. They never be.
lcved that Jesus went TO any place Of
punishment al his death. " llades "
Is the Greek equivalent Of the "'"',S
rupor Of the Launs, and the Unitc,,
Brethren with many others believed
that the phrase in the creed means nc
more than to be buried, TO go down
into the grave, 20 pass from the visibl,
into the invisible world, as all men
good or bad, dn when they die.
The Methodist Episcopal churuhe:
in The United States have not had il
the form Of the creed used by then
the word "hcll' since 1856. The,
use this form: L" He suffered under
Pontius Plate, was crucilicd, dead ant
bured." Dr.. Charles Hodge, th,
great Presbyterian thcologian, init
mates in his Systematic Theology ,
that this was the original form, an'
that the words " into hell did not ap
pear in the creed until the fourth Cen
t,my. Let this be as it may, it is cca
that the Methodist. did not modify il
the slightest degree Their adhesion t
the doctriro OF eternal puniShmen
when they took this form of The cree
a hundred and fifteen years ago. 0
the contrary, they have preached wit
power ana pcrsistcncy the doctrine {
everlasting punishment for the linalI
mpcn'tcnt.
For the two words, "dcad an
buried" The United Brethren preft