The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-09-23


tney are proclaiming as the Gospel OF
Christ, then or course. they are ex-
cusable for preaching It., II Ia not for
matter 70 1adke OF their honesty n this
that they VIII no longer assist or CO.
operate In the spread OF such horrible
travest'es upoE the Divine character
no longer assist financially or otherwise
In binding upon the poor heather at
home and abroad increased ignorance
and superstition
Everybody knows that the word Cos
pei signines good tidings." And every
body ought to know that. as Christian
people, we have for centuries misused
the word. applying II to the bad It'd
ings OF great misery to ali people. ex-
ccpt the mere handful OF the elect. We
did this because II was handed down to
us by our forefathers. What Jesus
Christians. "Ye do make void the Law
or God That. as In the natural world
he is sending us now the electric light
instead or the tallow candle, so through
Bible study helps. concordances. etc.
His Word the Lamp to His peoples
Footsteps until the day dawn, Is now
SHINING brighter than ever before.
which In the True Gospel
Catholic and Protestant orthodoxy
have set forth for centuries two gen.
eral views OF the Gospel OF Christ. To
whatever extent they now disagree
and abandon them Until then they
are besmirehed with whatever odium
attaches.
The Catholic Gospel Good Tidings)
and all Protestants. except a mere
handful. go 10 a Purgatory OF awful
suffering. terrible anguish, lasting for
decades, centuries and thousands or
years. roasting, boiling. agonizing. and
thus purging away their sins and dross
that they may ultimately attain to
eternity. II that Is good tidings ii can
be considered such only In contrast
with something more horrible, IL that
De imaginable.
Our Protestant Gospel.
Our Protestant Gospel. OF which we
are so proud that we want to thrust
1t upon Jews and Catholics and heath
ems everywhere, We should thoroughly
understand. enjoy and appreciate be-
fore We waste good time and money
giving II to others Here II Is: Four
centuries ago our forefathers were not
Protestants but Catholics and believed
what was known as the Reformation
Movement set In. Catholics, Jews and
infidels will admit with Protestants
that a great blessing OF enlightenment
and civilization has come TO the world
In the train OF the Reformation Move
ment. But none of US Is prepared to
admit that the Reformers were per-
feet. nor their work perfect.
The Reformers criticized the Catho-
lie teachings which they had former
y believed They examined their
PtPatS- a-fV9ffa-tfottffffk- there to the
effect that Mary was the mother of
God. nor that we should pray to saints,
nor that we should use pictures or i'm
our Of cSpss h. tma mass %as
proper. nor that there was a Purga-
tory anywhere The Reformers threw
out these things as unscriptural. They
completely demolished Purgatory in
their minds. declaring that II had new
er been anything more than imagina-
ton. Then came another thought viz
Fbat 80 a x.,ts -
OF millions of mankind that we and
our fathers for Centuries supposed
were In Purgatory roasting. stewing
tortured. but hoping for heaven. They
looked at one another in CONSERVATION.
They had hearts and sympathies and
felt that as IL had devolved upon them
volve upon them TO relocate all those
thousands OF millions whom they had
on their hands. They felt the weight
of the responsibility Could they de.
into heaven? Surely not! Surely only
the sanity few are At for heaven!
They. as well as all, recognized that
they determined that they must crowd
the entire mass into hell OF eternal
torture and shut the gates upon them
forever and write upon the gates
who enters here abandons hope"
Brother Calvin to the Rescue.
Taking from practically all human
ity all future hope made the Reformers
for the time heartsick 1t would be
to thus do" ali n1i humanity seemed te r
rible And then TO be obliged TO label
that gospel Good Tidings" must GER
tainly have been Trying experience
But Brother John Calvin helped
them amazingly and took from them
their burden He told them that they
Gods fault and not theirs. God had
predestinated them to that awful flu
ture long before He created man; Now
eS RSa'o as she elect 20 and try to
forget everybody else. OF course. 1t
seemed horrible to charge all these
wisdom, Love and Power But It was
the only solution which occurred to
them. John Calvin's theories were
afterwards embodied in the West;
that confession OF faith became the
foundation OF nearly all Protestant
creeds. Brother John Wesley after
ward objected. but admitted that only
the sanity went to heaven and every
body else went 10 eternal torment.
His protest was that. instead OF this
tention, It was. on the contrary. be-
cause OF Divine unwisdom and incom-
potency
"Good Tidings Of Grent JOY"
surely no sane person can any
longer defend any OF the above Cos
pels" as the true one. OF which st.
Paul was not ashamed, Surely st. Paul
never preached any OF those Gospels
nor did any OF the Apostles-nor does
the Bible support such theories, ex
cept by the turning and twisting OF
language, mistranslations OF the orig
inal and neutrality-suspicious. OF some
parallels. The plain statements OF the
Scriptures are all directly TO the oppo-
site
The Bible teaches that "the wages
OF sin IL DEATH" not purgatory nor
eternal torment THE soul that sim
meth. II shall die" Adam. the perfect.
was placed on trial for life eternal or
/ death eternal. He sinned and the SEN
tence against him was Cursed IL the
enrth for thy sake: thorns and thistles
shall 70 bring forth unto thee. In the
sweat OF thy face shalt thou eat bread
until thou return into the ground from
whence thou vast taken" Genesis ILL.,,
"By one mans disobedience sin entered
into the world: and thus death passed
upon all men. because all are sinners"
(Romans ", 12).
Looking about us we find this true.
Everybody who is not dead is diving.
AS the Bible says. we are living under
reign OF sin and death. Nothing that
man can do can either eradicate sin or
| lift us out OF our dead and dying con-
ditton. God alone can help us! He
proposes to help US and the message
| respecting that help Is. In the Scrip
lures called the Gospel. It's announce
| ment by the angels on the night Of
Jesus birth is FULL complete. satisfac-
tory. viz: Behold. we bring you good
| tIdings of great Joy which shall be