The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-08-02

-
Throne" We re-
port the former. Each address lasted
for nearly two hours, but so deeply in
| terested were the audiences that they
seemed not to note the fight Of time.
He said
| No other question could be of deeper
interest to thinking people than the one
now before us-"Where Are the Dead?"
Our ancestors, our neighbors. our
friends, are dead or dying. and our
| selves with them. What will be our
condition when the spark of life flick
| ers out? l have no new revelation on
this subject l have merely for my
guide what is recognized by all Chris
tians as the Divine revelation on this
subject-the Bible I hold that there
is no other source of informat ton com
parable to it.
Before presenting his own findings
| on the subject. in the Bible, Pastor
Russell reviewed the findings of 9th
ers-Christian in general. The agnos-
tic view. that there is no life beyond
the tomb, he could not entertain. He
believed that mans organism. so much
higher than that of the brute, implies
not only an all-wise Creator but His
benevolent intention for mans future
He examined the Catholic view, and,
while according full liberty to every
Catholic to believe what to him seems
reasonable respecting the dead, Pastor
| Russell could not agree with Roman
Catholic teachings. He summarized
their view to be that a very sanity
few were fit for heaven and that they
went thither. He complimented the
| justice of their intentions. that com.
| paratively small number of humanity
were worthy Of eternal torture.
! For his own part. he could not mag
Inc any human being. on account of
any human weakness or depravity. as
meriting endless torture. The Catho-
lie view. that all heather and prac-
tcally all Protestants and Catholics
60 in death to purgatory. he could not
agree with for two reasons. First, he
finds no Scriptural authority for such
view, and secondly. his mind cannot
accept the thought that an all-wise
adjust, ALLOWING and powerful Gre
ator will torture His creatures for GEN.
turtles in any such manner rs Catholics
generally believe, and as Dante's great
poem, Inferno" so graphically de-
picts
Our Protestant View Is Worse.
Pastor Russell declared that he was
Protestant. in large measure be-
cause his parents were such. But he
declared that while he sees many
truths both in Protestant and in Cath
Ollie teachings he considers that the
Protestant view respecting the here
after of the dead the most diabolical
conception to be found on the face
of the earth. the grossest blasphemy
against the Divine character and pro-
vision for humanity. Had he nothing
better to offer he would not be address
ing his audience on the subject
Perplexed and disconnected by his
early teachings he had. when a youth,
discarded all human creeds, and the
Bible as weli-believing that the latter
!
happy day for him when he learned
: that this was mistake-when he
learned that the creeds of the Dark
Ages are Numerically opposed to the
teachings of Gods Word Now his
Bible has become TO him new book
the most wonderful book in the
world. Its teachings he now sees to
be, beyond all comparison. the most
logical-the only rational presentation,
and most glorious one respecting
man--explaining his past, present and
future as prearranged by wise, gra-
cious and all-powerful Creator
Two Protestant Views.
Protestant views respecting the here
after are various. but two in particular
represent Protestant thought in gen
eral: ~ The Calvinistic theory; (2l
the Arminian theory.
Five centuries ago there were no
Protesta nts-all were Catholics and be-
lieved in three places for the dead
heaven for the sanity few: Purgatory
for the general mass of mankind; and
hell, everlasting torture, for the incor-
rigible. Luther and coad1utors got u
studying the Bible. and. finding moth
ing there respecting purgatory and
mass for the dead they threw these
out. Figura lively, they smashed com
pietely the idea OF Purgatory. A little
later they were perplexed and said to
each other We have smashed Purga
tory, but ROW what shall we do with
all these thousands Of millions who
have been there in our imagination