The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-06-20

Saturday to San Diego and Los An
geles Pastor Russell addressed thor
oughly representative audience. His
afternoon topic was. BEYOND the
Grave" His evening topic we report
His text was. God so loved the world
that He gave His Only Begotten Son.
that whatsoever believeth in Him
should not perish. but have everlasting
life John 3:l6.
Forcefully the Pastor pointed out
that once Christian people. even Bible
students. misunderstood this text and
read into il Il conflicting thought. dis
hunOring To God-read it as though it
said that God so loved the world as to
keep them from perishing. in order
that the few. the sanity Elect. might
attain to glory and look over the bat
Elements of Heaven and see all the re-
u.dinder-Jews. heather and the mass
es of writhing in tor
ment to all eternity-unable to perish
forced to live. in order that they might,
by their sufferings. entertain the more
fortunate. who were guaranteed bliss
TO the full.
What right did we ever have. said
the Pastor. TO thus put into the mouth
of our Savior. as our creeds have done,
words which He never uttered-words
which are very untrue-indeed, bias
phemy against our Maker!
Light Shines Through the Fog.
We are not faulting our forefathers.
Had we been in their place. doubtless
we would have been as confused as
We're they. and we might have INDUCED
in hereto burning. etc. And had they
lived in our wonderful day of great
light. knowledge. privilege, opportuni-
". education. Bibles. ETC.. doubtless
they would have had as noble ideas as
ourselves respecting the proprieties of
Christian conduct and Divine conduct
and Love and Justice. The Bible tells
us that Satan and his fallen angels are
responsible for those terrible doc
trines of demons" which have given
thinking people such horrible night
mares, and driven so many of them
away from God and the Bible into I'M
belief. agnosticism. and even atheism
Let us rejoice in the light of the bet
ter Day which has dawned Let us be-
come Bible students in the highest
sense of the term Never before has
there been such an opportunity for
knowing the real teaching of Gods
Book--what it does contain and what
it does not contain. We have the BIZ
BILE. concordances and helps. and we
have the general education which per-
mits us to study them. Our forefa-
theirs labored against lack of education,
time. lack of Bibles. and lack of good
artificial light.
What the Word Perish Means.
When we come to think of it. the
word perish contains not the remOtest
suggestion of fire or torture In our
ignorance we read all that into the
text and into other texts of similar
import: for instance. the statement
that God is not willing that any should
perish. but would that all should come
unto Him and live: and the statement
of st. Peter that the wilfully ignorant
shall perish like brute beasts. made tC
be taken and destroyed; and the state
ment through the Psalmist. "All tn,
wicked will God destroy" How luri(
these simple words became before oul
fnfiamed and perverted imaginations
How some of us rang the changes OF
these Bible terms in vain attempt t.
drive men toward God through fear
when God declares that He does no
want such to come and has no pleasure
whatever in their worship or service,
Did not Jesus tell us that the Fathe
seeketh such to worship Him as wor
ship Him in spirit and in truth? (Johl
4:23D And our perversions of tn
Divine Word and Plan only helpe'
men away from God to such misun
Outstanding of Him that they coul
not worship Him in spirit and In truth
and. at most. could worship only i
form and ceremony.
The Pastor told of an experience
had in India. Some Of the highe
caste Hindoos. wholly unapproachabl
by the missionaries heard that he wa
preaching more reasonable messag,
They came. entreating him for furthe
meetings. declaring their respect fC
the intelligence of Christians. but thu
they could not believe the doctrin.
usually preached. They could not b.