Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-11-02


October s1.-Pastor Russell, Of Brooklyn Tab
ernacle, preached today from the above text
and said In part:
the Catholic, Lutheran and Episcopal churches
"All Saints day. At an early GATE aIteE
the death OF the apostles, probably IN the thiII
century, the custom crept into the church oL
invoking the blessing OF the saints. some helI
in remembrance patron saint, whose influence
and memory were OF a merely local eharacter
. and n certain day in the year was set apart as
q memorial and for invoking his influence VI
the heavenly courts When subsequently papa
cy was organized. gradually the majority oL
the Christian congregations acceded 10 papacy $
claims that its bisnopsis the special vicar OF
Christ, reiening In His stead and exercising Ills
authority, mony submitted themselves 10 tuls
rule and thus were absorbed into that great
system which still holds sway In the Worlu.
1t was papacy that established All saints ,lay
holy day for the invocation OF all saints
not otherwise particularly provided for by sepa-
rate days cf invocation.
Although saints admittedly are rsre-few IN
comparison To professed Christians, nevertheless
II seems there were enough so considered IN
the time of Gregory w. to nearly appropriate
all the days Of the ye1r. In other words tnere
were about 1865 recognized in Gregory's time
after Christianity had been In operation FOR SUI
years. Hence tomorrow Will D. ire uay ior
invoking the blessing of all the saints OF the
past 1.OOc years. But just how many or now
few they according to the records OF tho
celebrating churches, we do not surely know.
II the records OF the first eight centuries were
correct, in the same proportion we should NOT
expect that he total number of saints recOS-
niXed would be above 1000. One sad thought
connected with the celebration tomorrow must
present itself to all thinking minds amongst
the cclebrants; that is. that only the sanity
do they acknowledge as of holy character, III
for heaven, because the insanity, the unholy,
would certainly be unfit. The teaching "f
paracy is that since only the sanity can be
ushercd into heaven at the time Of their death,
all the insanity, the undeveloped, they hold,
must first experience awful fortunes In purga-
tory-to purify them, to make them ready Tor
heaven.
Protestants on the contrary have discarded
Purgatory, claiming that II is unscriptural
doctrine. They do not, however, claim that
any but the sanity are prepared for heaven
at death. nor that God has promised heaven
to the untaught or undeveloped in Christian
character. Hence in some respects the Protes-
tant theory is still more grievous, more terrible,
more awful, for the bereaved than the Catholic
view In that IL offers hope for all eternity to
any insanity. Prayers to the saints. we be-
lieve TO be unscriptural and unreasonable. No
either saints or sinners. On the contrary the
Scriptures set forth our Heavenly Father the
supreme object OF worship, though they do In
innate the propriety of praying to our Lord
Jesus also. As read: "All men should
honor. the Son even they honor the Father. -
reasonable, according to the Bible which teaches
that the dead know not anything (Eccl. s:5)
that their sons come to honor and they know
1t MOTTO dishonor and they perceive IL not Of
them tJob H:21; and that there is no
work, nor device. nor knowledge. nor wisdom,
The Scriptures do recognize the difference be-
tween the saints. the Lords holy ones and
the remainder Of mankind. And II Is assuredly
true that the great masses OF humanity are
totally unfit for the glorics and projections of
the heavenly state. 1t is true that the church