Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1909-11-04
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL,
Pastor Brooklyn
I Tabernacle.

Tomorrow will be observed by our
friends Of the Catholic, Lutheran and
Episcopal churches as "All Saints
Day At an early date after the death
of the apostles. probably in the third
century. the custom crept into the
Church of invoking the blessing Of the
saints. Some held in remembrance a
patron saint. whose influence and
memory were of a merely local char
acter, and a certain day in the year
was set apart as memorial and for
invoking his influence in the heavenly
courts. When subsequently papacy
was organized, gradually the majority
of the Christian congregations acceded
to papacy's claims that it's bishop is
the special vicar Of Christ, reigning in
has stead and exercising his authority.
Many submitted themselves to this
rule and thus were absorbed into that
great system which still holds sway
in the world. 1t was papacy that es-
tablished ''All Saints Day" as a holy
day for the invocation Of all saints not
otherwise particularly provided for by
separate days of invocation.
Although saints admittedly are rare
few in comparison to professed
ans-nevertheleSs it seems there
were enough so considered in the time
Of Gregory ". to appropriate nearly
all the days of the year. In other
words, there were about 800 recognized
in Gregory's time-after Chris tianity
had been in operation for 800 years.
Hence tomorrow will be the day for
invoking the blessing of all the saints
of the past one thousand years. But
just how many or how few they are.
according to the records of the cele-
brating churches, we do not surely
know If the records of the first eight
centuries were correct. in the same
proportion we should not expect that
the total number Of saints recognized
would be above one thousand. One
sad thought connected with the cele
bration tomorrow must present itself
to all thinking minds amongst the cele
brants; that is, that only the sanity
do they acknowledge as of holy char
acter, fit for heaven, because the I'M
sanity. the unholy, would certainly be
unfit. The teaching of papacy is that
since only the sanity can be ushered
into heaven at the time Of their death,
all the insanity, the undeveloped.
they hold, must first experience awful
tortures in Purgatory-to purify them.
to make them ready for heaven.
Professionals on the contrary have dis
carded Purgatory. claiming that it is
an unscriptural doctrine. They do not,
however. claim that any but the saint
ly are prepared for heaven at death,
nor that God has promised heaven to
the untaught or undeveloped in Chris
tan character. Hence in some respects
the Protestant theory is still more
grievous, more terrible. more awful,
for the bereaved than the Catholic
view. in that it offers no hope for all
eternity to any insanity. Prayers to
the saints, we believe to be unscrip
tural and unreasonable. Nowhere in
the Bible are we authorized to pray to
the dead-either saints or sinners. On
the contrary the Scriptures set forth
object of worship, though they do in
innate the propriety of praying to our
Lord Jesus also. AS we read, "All men
should honor the Son even as they hon
or the Father John Y. 90. But pray
ers to the dead are unreasonable, ac-
cording to the Bible, which teaches
that 1.-The dead know not anything"
(Ecclesiastes ix, 81; that their sons
come to honor and they know it MOTTO
dishonOr and they perceive it not of
them" Dob xiv. 2D; and that there is
no work, nor device. nor knowledge,
nor wisdom, in the grave, whittier
thou goest" (Ecclesiastes tx, 1Ol.
The Scriptures do recognize the diff
ference between the saints. the Lords
holy ones. and the remainder of man.
kind. And it is assuredly true that the
great masses of humanity are totally
unfit for the glories and projections of
the heavenly state. 1t is true that the
Church is called upon to develop the
fruits and graces of the holy Spirit
and is assured, as st. Peter declares,
IF We do these things. We shall never
fall; for so an entrance shall be min
istered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ I'll Peter i. ID.
But we hold that it is not only un-
scriptural. but irrational. to believe
that all mankind except the sanity de
serve centuries of torment in Purga-
tory or an eternity of torture in a
worse and hopeless place Let us take
the Scriptural proposition. the only
consistent one. the one which agrees
with our five senses and with the BIZ
ble-that the dead are dead. and that
resurrection from death is what they
need and what our Lords death will
secure for every member of our race
Let US accept this statement of the BIZ
BILE, BLESSED and holy is he that hath
part in the First Resurrection. on such
the Second Death hath no power, but
they shall be priests of God and Of
Christ. and shall reign with him
thousand years" Revelation Xxx, g.. Let
US accept the Scriptural explanation of