The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-31
PASTOR RUSSELL'S
SERMON
Eminent Divine Discusses Where Are the Dead9'

followers Of Jesus, the "overcomers
of the world, are fit for the kingdom
Of heaven. In despair they SAID to
to do but enlarge hell many times
and stuff the entire mass therein,
writing over the doorway, "Who en-,
ters here abandons hope They did
it, but il was n sorrowful matter,
quite contrary to their generous
hearts.
Greatest Theologian-John Calvin.
1t was when the Reformers were feel
ing very sad for what they felt they
had been obliged to do with the heath
en- and with their neighbors and friends
families, that Brother Calvin appeared,
"Cheer up said Calvin. "Of course
we are all sorry, but it is not our fault.
The shame of such conclusion is not
ours. [ will show you the way out OF
the dilemma; charge the whole terrible
business upon Almighty Godl Say that
He foreordained and predestinated
things thus, and that we canont help
! IIitl7
Pastor Russell said that these good
! men hesitated for time about charg-
| ing against God what they had been
ashamed to acknowledge as their own
plan and doing; but seeing no way out
Of the difficulty they finally agreed,
and then extolled John Calvin as the
greatest theologian the world had ever
known. Calvin arranged the entire
matter into philosophy and his doe
trine became the basis of all creeds of
Westminster Confession of Faith,
which is generally acknowledged by
Presbyterians, Baptists, etc, Thus,
said Pastor Russell, we Protestants got
our diabolical theory respecting the
dead. We 'must confess that it is
much worse than the theory of our
Catholic friends. If we could not ac-
| cept theirs because it was unloving,
unmerciful. unjust and ungodly surely
we cannot accept any longer our own.
Brother Wesley's Gospel Of Love.
The blessings of the Reformation
were considerably overshadowed and
error of an all-powerful God, destitute
of love, vindictive and devilish to a
degree never approximated by any hui
man degenerate. Centuries later that
good man, John Wesley, appeared. His
soul cried out against tho injustice and
lovelessness of Calvinism; and his
claim that God is love has permeated
Christendom to such an extent that
even those denominations which pro-
fess the Westminster Confession of
Faith and Calyinistic theories do not
OF Wesley for his largeness of heart
even though we must confess that he
had less logical head than had Broth
er Calvin.
Brother Wesley and the majority Of
his followers failed to see the inconsis-
tency of his claim that God is love, and
yet that nine hundred and ninety nine
out of every thousand are to be eter-
nally rmented-because the mass of
them had never heard of "the only
name whereby we must be saved; 80
and because others who had heard did
not live. contrary to their tendencies;
did not live sanity lives!
Pastor Russell declared that Wesley
and Calvin put exactly the same saint
ly few into heaven, and put all the re-
mainder into eternal torment. Hence
it was a mere question between these
two men as to why this was so, and
not as to the fact. Calvin said, alt is
Gods will and He foreordained it
and love would never do thus. 1t was
the result Of Divine lack of wisdom in
their creation, and lack of power to
help after their creation. Hence the
fate of the masses,'
Brethren, We Do Not So Believe!
Pastor Russell said, There is a great
mistake. None Of these theories salts
fy your heads and hearts, nor mine
The difficulty ls that we have been try"
ing to accept the errors of the Dark
Ages instead of going clear back and
making our theology afresh from the
words Of Jesus, the Apostles and
prophets. Let us do this now and find
the beauty of the Divine Plan in the
Bible. and glorious Divine character
such as we know it should have-far
beyond human wisdom, justice, love
and power. So the Lord SAYS: I" AS the
heavens are higher than the earth, so
are Ny ways higher than your ways
and My plans higher than your plans, -
Where Are the Dead7
Tho Bible confirms the ablest find
ings of science when it tells us that
the dead are dead and not alive at all.
anywhere. The Scriptures declare,
HThe dead know not anything;b
their sons come to honor and they
know it not; they come to dishonor but
they perceive 1T not of them Again
the Bible says, "There is neither wis.
dom nor device nor KNOWLEDGE in the
grave (sheol, The Bible helD whittier
| thou goest' (Ecclesiastes tx, 10).
Where, my dear friends. is the KEY
to the whole problemG The Bible hell
is the grave. sheol hades, the death
state. The salvation which God has
provided is the salvation from sin and
| from death. The hope set before US in
| the Gospel is-the resurrection of the
dead. If nobody is dead there can be
no resurrection of the dead 1t is not
the body which dies that God has
promised shall be resurrected, but the
soul, II was not Adam s body merely
that was punished with death, but II
was his soul, which involved the body