Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1910-05-14

VI wa III ahN 80 - hf
enough, sad enough. and. Us was IN
tended, our hearts cry out after the
living God. for his mercy and compass
sion. that he would save us from death.
save us from destruction. The answer
of Divine Justice is. that we are unfit
to live-that our Creator graciously de-
tai. But, ~hearkening, we bear 4 mes
sage assuring us that God has looked
down In compassion and heard the
g~roanings of the prisoners" He fore
knew our helplessness under the reign
OF sin and death. and in his Plan made
provision for our case in advanee-"be-
fore the foundation of the world"
After four thousand years Of this
reign of sin and death. exhibiting Di
vine Justice without mercy. our Gre
ator revealed the wonderful features
Of his Program. He sent forth his
Son, that he. by the grace OF God,
might taste death for every man
not for the Elect Church merely. but
for all the families Of the earth.
Hence 1t is written that Jesus gave
himself a ransom for ALL and again,
that He is the Precipitation tsatisfac-
tom for our sins dhe Church'sD and
not for ours only. but also for the sins
Of the whole world
SO. then. the death penalty pro-
nounced against u race, which would
have reduced Adam and his posterity to
the hopeless condition Of beasts, as
respects eternal life. God had already
intended to set aside through the sac
riice of Christ. Nevertheless, he al
lowed sin and death to reign from
Adam to Moses. and from Moses 10
Christ. and from Calvary to the pres
ent. He has coutented himself with
laying the foundation for the world
wide blessing, in the death Of the Re
lecmer. He intends ultimately, the
Bible assures MS. to offer complete de-
liverance from sin and death. to Adam
enough; 1t shows forth Divine Justice,
intertwined with Divine Mercy and
Love. We admit our present I'M
%worthiness Of life eternal and feel
grateful for proposed assistance
through Christ, but our great Adver-
sary, operating through ignorance. and
superstition and fear, seized the op.
%portunity to deceive us and misrepre-
sent our Creator by bringing in what
st. Paul designated. doctrines OF
demons" Il Timothy iv, y. These have
been promulgated. not merely in heath
en- lands, but amongst the civilized.
These false doctrines have tended 10
ALLEVIATE the hearts and minds of hui
mainly from God and his revelation;
they have put "a barrier between God
and his creatures.
These doctrines OF demons" are pre-
scented from various s~tandpoints, but
they are alike in one respect; namely,
they all teach that God deceived our
first parents when he told them that
the wages of sin is death" These
doctrines of demons assert the con-
trary, that man cannot die, but must
live somewhere to all eternity. Thus
on the basis Of mans fears, this doe
trine that God thrust Immortality upon
his creatures. the demons built up for
us a theory so horrible as to be nau
seating and terrifying to every sane
and healthy mind. These doctrines
of demons" have been promulgated far
and near, and with various colorings.
but in essence they are all the same.
They have come down from the dark
ages represented in all our creeds,
Catholic and Protestant.
Our Catholic friends have developed
this thought TO a nicely. They tell us
that of those who die. only a mere
handful are fit for heaven and go
there Immediately. They tell us that
the most reprehensible class, heretical
rejectors Of Divine Truth, will be sent
to a hell of eternal torture where they
will die. They assure us. how
ever. that the number who will re
ceive this extreme punishment is small
In comparison with the race as a
whole. They tell us that the majority
Catholics and Protestants, civilized
and heather, are unfit for heaven at
death, and likewise not deserving of
eternal torture, and that thus the grca,
mass of mankind. nine out Of every
ten, go at death to Purgatory, there 10
suffer for centuries or for thousands
Of years in eXpiation Of sins. and for
publication Of their souls, that they
may be eventually fit for Heaven and
its blessings. our hearts rebel at such
a view Of the hereafter" While Civ
ing our Catholic friends, and our own
forefathers who We're Catholics, credit
for being as sincere as ourselves, we
conclude that the light Of our day, and
the light Of our intelligence, will not
permit US to believe and rejoice In
such a view Of the hereafter as this.
We say to ourselves Surely the Grp9t