The Washington herald., 1912-10-07
DEAD, JUST DEAD
SAYS RUTHERFORD
New York Attorney Answers the
Eternal Question Of "Where
Are the Dead I"
SPEAKS AT COLUMBIA rHEArER

where are the dead?' is . question
that was answered by Hon. J. F. Ruth
erford, Of the New York bar, in his lee
ture given yesterday afternoon At the
Columbia -Theater.
Developing his argument from the tes-
t!nony Of the Bible in logical manner.
peculiar to advocates at the bar, Mr..
Rutherford showed that the dead are
not dwelling in a state OF bliss in heaven.
nor are they paying the penalty Of life
In q place Of fire and birthstone, called
hell. but are just dead. and all that dead
implies-unconscious. nonexistent. no.
where.
He said that the mention of hell fire In
the Bible Is explained by q Biblical ref
e-ence that Christ always spoke to the
multitude in parallels. Nowhere do the
original words used in the Bible for hell
carry with them the idea Of eternal tor
ture, he maintained.
Man Not Immortal.
The Bible explicitly teaches that man
is not immortal. according to him. It
promises Immortality to mankind. but
this promise is to be redeemed at the res
direction. Death, through the fall Of
Adan1, Is the inheritance Of all man
kind: and death Is nonexistence.
Mr.. Rutherford explained that the doc-
trine of resurrection means the calling
of the dead-those who are not-back
into life. At the resurrection. the PROM
ised life eternal will be bestowed upon
man.
II was much worried, when I was a
little boy" said Mr.. Rutherford. by
the doctrine Of eternal punishment"
II can remember sitting in the front
row at church one Sunday. when the
pastor explained to some whispering
little boys the doctrine of hell He said
that IL they should die that night, the
devil would probably get them. put
them on a pitchfork and broil them for
a thousand years over a slow fire; then.
he would turn them over. and roast them
for another thousand years. and. he
concluded. eternity will have just be-
gun
Talks with Demons.
As death means nonexistence, the old
doctrine of the asbestos soul. which
though held over seething lake OF
liquid fire throughout eternity would not
be consumed. but continue to exist and
enjoy the heat, is illogical. he said. The
asbestos soul theory. he continued. Is
not substantiated by the testimony of
the Bible.
There are those Mr.. Rutherford con-
tinued. who believe that they have talk
ed with the dead. and some Of these
have been man of high position and at
tainments. They are honest in their be-
lief They have not spoken with the
dead, because the dead are nowhere.
This is what has really happened: They
have spoken with demons These demons
are the fallen angels. who are mention
ed in the Bible as having taken the
daughters of men for wives. and who for
their iniquity were cast in darkness by
the Lord to await judgment. These de-
mons have communed with men through
mediums in all ages. Spiritism 10 in
reality demonism."
Old Ideas Wrong.
Resurrection In the Bible means the
calling Of the dead back to life. 1t does
not mean that the dead live in some
other state. and will be called back to
inhabitate their former earthly bodies.
The resurrection spoken Of in the Bible
is the resurrection Of the creature. not
the isody.
The old idea OF resurrection. Mr.. Ru-
therford went on. was that the earthly
body would be restored on judgment
day to the creature. Prending this res
toration. the creature would be in a
state of life in hell Or heaven. The body
would be called together at the resur-
rectloh from the enus OF the earth. his
doctrine, the speaker said. is a wrong
understanding of the Bible.
The Bible testifies." concluded Mr..
Rutherford. "tnat the dead are in the
tomb. where ey will remain until the
resurrection. here is no hell. Man Is
not immortal. No one has spoken with
the dead. Spirit communications have
all come from the fallen angels. who
have deceived such men as William T.
Stead. and Crooks. the English scientist,
and a host Of others who believe in Spir-
itualism. Christ will bestow immortality
on man first after the resurrection"
In the evening he lectured on The
Resurrection" in the Old Masonic Tenn