The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1912-08-22
DISAGREE ON HELl-FIRE

(By the Religious Perambulator, Of
fetal Reporter for the / b. S. Al
The hot Midsummer Convention Of
the International Bible Students al
Glen Echo Park, Washington, d. c., in
passing their now famous resolution
made so big a noise about "Hell-Fire
and Birthstone" that the old ~ecclesiat'
steal lineup was thoroughly routed
and put to flight, and an entirely new
formation of forces is now in the max.
ing. 1t surely was a big gun that was
fired from Glen Echo into the camp
of the stand-patters, and the noise
will echo and re-echo throughout the
ecclesiastical heavens for some time
to come.
Gen. VIM p. Hall, U. S. A., a brave
Indian fighter of the past, in calling
for the public reputation of the hell.
fire theory, claimed that to do so would
create a situation in America that
would enable thousands of ministers
to publicly declare what they freely
admit privately. The desired repudia.
ton was made and the general spon.
taneous response from ministers Of all
denominations vindicates the General
as an excellent tactican.
The present general reputation OF
the hell-fire theory by the clergy OF
the Evangelical Alliance will no
doubt be considered by the public as a
startling admission, and is in striking
contrast with the opinions still held
by ninety per cent. of the people who
We're reared under and taught by these
same clergy. The impressions gained
in childhood from the ministers that
the bible was the authority for the
fire-and-brimstone hell will be hard to
erase. 1t is acknowledged that seven.
ty-five per cent of the people reared
under sectarian instruction, when ar.
irving at the age of discretion, discard
as unchristian and unreasonable the
hell-fire mythology of the middle ages,
and as they believe the bible respon-
sible for the doctrine, they lose re-
spect for the bible and for the church,
and discard both and join the big con
gregation composed of detached chris.
tians and skeptics.
The midsummer resolution repudia.
ting and RELOCATING to the ash hcay
the red-hot hell-ire deception, so won.
derfully described by Milton and
Dante, and pictured by Gustave Dore,
will probably be likened unto Shake.
speare's Midsummer Nights Dream
by Billy Sunday, Gypsy Smith and
their kind. It's tough on these gentle.
men, too, at this stage of their illus
trious career, to be deprived Of their
hell-ire-works and birthstone, their
only argument. Their undoing, how.
ever, will be a sweet morsel for the
men and religion congress people, who
have declared against "itinerant evan,
gelists."
From among the hundreds of recent
ly published expressions from leading
clergymen of all denominations on the
Washington "antihell-fre" resolution
we note:
Canon Henson Of Westminster
Abbey, in confirming reputation OF
the eternal torment doctrine of the
dark ages" said: Il think the Am err
lean religious public is generations be
hind us, although l don't say that in
dividual American divines aren't the
equals Of ours"
The famous r. ]. Campbell, of Lon.
don, representing the Non-Conformist
view, said: This seems to me to be
very belated procurement. 1 don't
know any clergyman here who be.
lieves in eternal punishment; o do
/ think any educated clergyman has
done so for many years."
Rev. Arthur l.. Odell, a st. Louis
pastor, said: II do not know Of any
Presbyterian minister who believes or
breaches this idea. OF course, this
literal hell was an idea widely held
in earlier years. but the church is
breaking away from many Of the con-
ceptions Of past ages"
Archbishop Glennon, although evad-
ing the direct question. leaves the i'm
preston that the Catholic clergy no
longer believe In literal hell He said:
Its toe hot to talk about such q sub
ject today. Ar to whether Catholic