The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-22
The Rev Charles 7. Russell, Noted Divine Of Two
Continents Talks to the People of
Salt Lake

, of Gods words. He taught that as soon
as God had created the world he peopied
II and then began TO see how much tor
ture he could put his people to in the
ages TO come Even the stoutest OF CAL
rinists must agree that this teacher did
not solve the great problem OF the here
after.
Views of Wesley.
mo better did the great Wesley solve
the problem by taking the opposite view
from Calvin. Wesley would have us be-
thing and that his great undertaking
had gone beyond his control and that
the devil was winning out. There was
truth i'm both Croeds established. In the
conversion OF the heather bearing on the
theory that until all heather were con-
verted the Messiah's reign could not ap-
pear slow progress has been made Sta
tistics show that where there were 6.000.-
600 hcathen loo years ago there are now
1900. 600. Will leave 1t 10 you how long
II will be before this task is accomplished.
Then fear that II the hcathen were
converted TO the present state he would
have To be converted over several times.
CalVin's teachings and Wesley's teach
ings must fall down and after all we
must ger back TO the theory OF the Bible
Let us view the scriptures without our
creedal spectacles. Let God be true.
creeds and the Bible do not agree, then
the trouble Is with the creeds and not the
Bible.
"The subject OF the hereafter is not
the heathens. Probably they say mean
enough things about II However l
prefer TO 20 to Christendom for the an
swer There are two great answers to
the question What is the hereaftcr?-
the answer of Catholicism and the an
swer of Professionalism. Let us see what
the first has TO say Of IT,. What Is Gods
provision for the future? The Catholic
believes that when n man is dead he Is
moro alive than when he is alive. In
other words II a man be struck on the
head with a stick hard enough to knock
him senseless then ne doesn't know any
thing. bu, hit him little harder and
he is killed and then becomes more alive
than he was when he was alive. Does
Catholic friend where the man goes. He
answers to one Of three Races-heaven,
purgatory or hell In edual numbers
oh. no. Only the sanity 20 to heaven. a
few TO hell. but most all who die go to
pureatory.
They will tell me that all Catholics
go 10 hell because mass is said for the
repose OF souls in purgatory and the fact
that mass Is said for priest. cardinal and
pope proves that nearly all Catholics go
to purgatory. Do all Protestants then go
to hell, according to Your theory? No,
all Protestants go to purgatory. too, be-
cause they have not had the light and
because they have done nothing 10 send
them TO hell. In other words. they are
unfit for hell. The same Is true Of the
heathens, Only heretics of the worst
type so to hell.
Talks of Purgatory.
Then my Catholic friend will tell me
that purgatory is not pleasant place.
| ask him 10 describe 1t to me II IL is
his theory OF the hereafter. He invites
me TO read Dante's Inferno-that great
poem written by a great Catholic poet.
| plead lack of time. so he tells me that
souls are seen by Dante in purga tory.
| Some are running here and there. That
is easy. Others are standing under
showers OF fire and unable to escape the
burns or assuage the pain. Others are
pitched head foremost in great pits of
steep precipices by devils with prones
| only to fall into seas OF boiling water.
And this is purgatory. Then. my Cath
olic friend. II you can believe II nice
| place. satisfactory place. and 10 your
| liking as theory Of the hereafter. then
| do not let me try to change your way OF
thinking ! can't believe that way II
| | did should never smile again in all
my life.
WHY can't I believe it? Because /
! cannot believe in God who will subject
his creation TO such torture for thousands
/ OF years. later to take them away to
paradise. where they may be healed from
tory. However, my dear friend, this is
| merely my way OF seeing what God
means in his word. l don't believe YOU
would treat your worst enemy that mean.
But what OF the Protestants answer?
And now, dear friends. l am ashamed to
say what am going 10 say and hope
| Will not make YOU mad when / say It.
But OF all untenable theories OF the here
after the Idea of Professionalism is the
worst. II We cannot believe in purga
tory-a punishment OF thousands of
years-how can we believe in eternal pun
ishment In fire and birthstone. in roast
| ing and boiling. never to be released? II
| is the most terrible doctrine Of any
know. We must trace the Protestant
| theory back 500 years TO the work of our
| forefathers. II hasn't been many cen
turtles. You know. since all our fore =
! fathers were Roman Catholics So. If they
! have fastened the new theory of eternal
| punishment on us let us get away from
II as fast as our better understanding
of the Bible Will permit.
Story of Martin Luther.
81 want to tell you OF one Martin Luti-
| er He had been teaching theology and
according to his own words. had never
read the Bible. He had been teaching
what the councils of the church had
given him TO teach. He lost his favor
with the church when he asked the pope
| to call counsel of the church TO invcs
tigate the teaching to see II there had