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COSTELLO WESTON, PASTOR OF "THE CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER." aAr.IF*AX, M^. &., 187A. .«()i'-i'f') l;:iff5?7'»v>n'T I- ■M-, r l^-:iTMJ. A. m fax, by Rev. A S DesBrisay, of Windsor, on " Universalism " At the close of that lecture the wish was expressed by sey^ gentlemen present that the subject migfit be presented from fte .Dn.versal,st rtandpoint In response t„ that ,rish this lectZ ™ and local aUusions to be found in the lecture. It is now ^riiitea At the requM of mmj perrons who beard it. While .tcontams nothing that will be new to any who hold the &.th It defends it i. hoped that readers not acquainted with he teachmg of the tJnirersaUst Church, will find in it a not i^ or ^ct ^tejnent of that te«,hing. If it shall lead any reader to a ZZ ^L^^^ '"T"!"" " of "« 8«.»nds upon which the Univer «ahst faith IS based, the author wiU not regret having given hi. consent to its nubljeiitoo..,, , . 'K given ms . T'f.fr' iftr -oO % 77 f LEGTXTRE. ) ib/Ij f , (tub I i . • , ,, liAmiA AND Oentlembn,-- 1 thank you for the opportunity your presence gives me, to speak to you of the Ohurcli I love, and the Faith which id my inspiratiok and strength. It has been a question with me hbw I could best ' meet the expectation with which you have come helre to-nighf : whether to attempt to review in detail the dniicisms ttiade' upon ^ the Universalist belief in the lecture deUvcred here the othef evening, or to moke a positive and independent , statement of the | grounds upon which we base that belief — noticing those criticisms , incidentally as they tonch my argument — and leave you to. com- pare the two views, asd judge between them as jk)u will. I have ^ finally decided to adopt the latter course, both because thipking jii'^ will be most satisfactory to you, and because it it most congenial | to me—not leading to the personal rc$iee^nji„(t^l^ w t^Q Qpuft , case, wouH be. almost unaivoidable. r.iifiM n f wV . ,^i < ■ ,f .„i I'hQre is no need to say that the church caj|^ tf niyersalist §b , small in comparison with the; other leading churches of CWisten- -' dom, though, if this had anytlung-to dfo witli. the truth of ite ^ teachings, { think it could be « satisfactorily explained. But it is ^ proper tp say in answer to the c^aripe that l^ii^ Church " does no , positive Christ^ work" — "has no spiritual power'* — ^'^ lives i^n controversial excitement:"-^in, answer to this charge it is proper (q ^ tell you that this little comply, numbering about 180,000 soula^ '.i hold consecrated to religious uses church- property amouBtin|^ |q,^j $8^00,000; that they, employ about seven hiju^iared minister^; , sustain five weekly religious journals, two semi-monthlies, one ;] monthly, and 9pe qioarterly. They have endowed an4 n^ainia^ ^ five Colleges, seven Academies, and two Theologiof^ Scl^jNDlf: v, em^dpyingsuinetyteight instructors, owningiproperty to the ya^nffft two and a half million dollars, and having; twelve hundtjed C|tw4i?ni||. > , And, asking you alsp to j^et^r iu n^nd tluit tl^isjif a bof(y wh^ch,]b^ had separate and independent exisjljepce less U^ a hundred^^^fa, ^ I submit that a Qhnrch of this si^ ^d, age i)jf)ii<^ give^ the ^pjipld \ these proofs of its vitality, ai^d loiya% to Chpstbp, duty, Uit^rmff^ ^ when it is deserij^ as ** hatYiog |>Q power," ^pjqi a« ^* P^'^ Wp?fi > n^ations." . ., ^ f. iSeveaty yean|< ago thifi Q^urch* tt^n Qiu<^ smaller ^ian^a«i,^ published its " Confession of Faitli," which remains unchanged— S^S^^o the only authorized and authoritative declaration of its doctrine. That Confession is in these words : I « We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the duty, interest, and final destination of mankind. II. « We believe that there is one God, ^hose nature is Love, rftvealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spint of Grace, X will finaUy restore the whole family of mankind to hoUnesp and happiness. ^ , . . IJT « We believe tJJiat holipe^s a^d true happiness are inw;, ab?^onncS^M^d.t^^believerso^ghttobe cjwreful tp maintain ^aSd^fe good^works, for ihe«e things mm^f^i m, fitjw^^^men." CA4opte4 A.D. 180a.] . .-.; . ■ ^ dh .; Tfi 8D«akin(r to you of the Teaching of the Universalist Churoh, I Sk^Se myself to what is peculiar and distmotive m that ^'M^&stians assert their belief that th« ? HolT Scriptures of the 'Ofa and 'New Testaments contein a revelation of the character nf^ttod ind of the duty, interest, and final destin.ition of nian- t!nd^' in beliete "tfc is one God, whose nature is Love, r^Ld in one Lord Jesus Christ;" all agree « that believers Rol need not dwell upon these points m the Univerwfist teacning. TheTSe^oipeculiXthat 8y*rtem,but are held In Jommou l^ Sl'tos^^^sciples: And although it is not so clear that a^^^^ nelkbKgree with in asserting that " lioll°««?,^«^,i~%*^*^^^^ SSi dr^iiSeparably conhe(^t6d," it is not of that «>»* J T^ SiS^ to sp^^ Istand here rWher to speak to you ofthat idea '^Jf V L«^« *^!i rifime to the Universalist Church, the belief that In^Jk^S" to W before yo some of our reasons for holdiiig; SnlSStks; A ask your patient and thoughttul examiWj- ?btf ^t3 «i^^^^^^ In ibe'firt* place IUsk Jou to note car^Uy tiiTeiapii^bns^of this statement, and noi cbiifound it with an, •'^S^iT^J^ ^iU finally restore ^^^^, ""^^^^i^lt^ S^IS'^ersalist Church^^es^ faiM td te«^ch this. WeaQiM^tei^, b->d:'iUUi )ctrine. id New 1 of the 8 Love, Grace, tioliuesii insepar-; aaiataiUj Church, I in that )tures of haracter of man- is Love, believers works;*' caching, nmou 'bf it all our le happi- ,t I w!«h that idea Blief that » holin^ra r holding exainib^- carefttlly with an: )le fbmify ches thiat bowgtea^ the fiilfl^ itiota that ^;» lind I has ever is no dif- I • 1 .1 . ference in Qod's treatment of good and bad, but in the strongast terms we say the reverse ot this. But we do say that we believe God will finallv change all the bad into good ; bring them ui)to obedience to Himself; restore them to holiness, and thu$ to happiuesis. <■> ji; irci i m>-nM ' ■. , 'i It is here thftt Vre part oMapany wi4h our brethron of okher Churches. This is the poi|it at issue between ui and thfUQ* Again I ask you not to mistake that point. There is w question as to the tendency, or the evil consequences, of bad, unfaitb&ii living. The question is — ^whether God's loving-kindnefls 1$ over all J)is works, and whether his mercy endures for ever. The C*tholio says that the bliss of Heaven is only for those wh6 die io' the bosom of the Roman Church ; the Calvlnist, that- it is for a number "so certain and definite, ttliat it cannot be either increased or dim^n- ished-^hosen by God before the fQiindat»on of the world wasli^i" and that '^ the rest of mankind God wa» ploai^d to passibv, aftd to ordain to dishonor and wrath ;" the Methodist,, that Hoaven is freely offered to aill, but some failing tofoookpfy witjhthe oon4Hi9Vis« will perish everlastingly; the Uittiversalilit, agreeing .with the Methodist that God has prdvided Heaven for aJU his children, gpes Alrther by affirming that all will gnally comj^ly with the eooditions, and experience) its joys. , X pro<9eed to indicate the grounds upon which this faith rests. As Christians we base it upon the ref ela- tion of the nature of God, contained in the Christian ^ripturea^r- and in finding out what that revelation is, we acknowledge no other authority than the reason the good God has given us. 1$ this |* G«lr- man Rationalism?" In one sense it is, for it is the rationalism of which the great German, Luther, was the fearletechampAon* el our obedience by the use of physical force. But for all that, in ten thousand subtle ways " he worketh in us to w"^ and to do of his good plea- sure." " No man can come unto me except the F^Uher who hath sent me draw him," is Christ's emphatic declaration. But om tw-other who addressed us the other night says, t9 ijaaintain this is to deny man's "free agency." Well^I do not hold myself re- sponsible for that, I do not undertake to save any man'f pet notions of "free agepoy" if they contradict thia fundamental truth— not of Christianitv alone— but of all possible religion. To dethrone God is equiv^ent to denying his existence, an4 makes worship an impossibilily.. I maintain the doctrine of Go4's moral sovereignty on what seems to me good ftuthority. I give you the plain words of Christ himself. I point you to many declarations of the truth throughout the Bible. But I dp not think there is any- thing inconsistent with a true estimate of human freedom in those declarations. , At Windsor, the other night, our friend could not see the fqrce of a passage which I quoted from John Wesley, bearing upon this point. Perhaps you will. I suppose no ope doubts that Wesley believed in human . freedom ; he succeeded in making himself pretty well un^ierstopd onthat sul^ect. ,1 quote his words to show that he declared alsoi the supremapy of God's luoral dominion. , Sere is what he say?): " There seenss .to be * plain and simple way of removing this di^oulty without entangling ourselves in any suhtle metaphysical d^uisition. As GocT is Cjne, so the work of God is uniform in «dl ages, May we not then conceive how he ,,wal work on the souls of men in time to come, by considering how '8 he dbes #otk how, and how he has wrought In times past ? Tate ttfciB itaitaiicid of ^is iii which yott canh6t°bb deiseived. You know httW God wfotight in yottr own soul. He did i\6t take a^ir Vour tLhaferttanding, "btit en%htened and itrentfthened it. Ho dij not destrby fi(ny of ykjttr^ffcxitiohs, tother they fidre m6re Vigorous ttitfn hemfe. LeaJit^bf all did he take away your lift^tty— your power bf iiWoiinggobd atnd'Ml; he did not force ybh,'btit,heing assisted by hi^ gi*Ce, you, Kite ITary, chose the bettet part. NOw, in the ^nie ' li£iliin^Q6r is Ck)d hkls cbiitcirted so many to hiiiis^lf Without dc^rby- i% iheir libdrty,he'can'urtddubtedly coiivfertWhoJe natloris, br the Whole ^orld. It U as tdcsv for him to dinkeri a v/dtM as r horror in Is its nncotir pofiaed fire increase in it poipsistent lieir terrible ,ftpt«xwi|r- th^ .Creator 11, to action, elfofter this h^Bg8,!toa a^le misfor- ymming that fall into an . " Ip the tor. There life hegaye o4,took no hQtl^er they sistent with rouid be an aohai^ce to i it 18 inan's thq Of eator a no " free lot a pledge $,9b#l ulti- JuBticQ be ;htfuj[ atten- A. Brooke, LV1TU sua buo « The act of creation lays on us a duty. We bring a child into the world, and the abaolate tmperatil^e of Ood ia on its to ft«d, «dqoftte, and lovie to the end' that tQ Which we haire given life. We do oar hast iar time, and he grows worse, and dies impenitent. But ii^ we ,are of a true human nature we cannot forget him. Our first thought m the other world is our cfrring'idn, and if we ckm— and I ibr o^^ 2lo no^.dbnbt it — our one efifort in Che eternal Kfb ^\\ be to ^nd him but, and redeem him to our < heart by any saorifl^ whioh loye can prompt And even could love not move ue, ditty wotild dall ns to tliis riehteois qnestl We mtiK bring our wanderei' h«nie. It lA so, I firmly belfeve, with^Gkid md- men. By the very act c^ <»^tion God has laid upon hiiMelf a neeesdiiy of redemption. We wander from him, and he pittiifthes as throuffh his spiritual laws. We reap that which we have sown : we fill our belly with Hie husks which the swioi^eat £(e ka^ u^ eaf o^ th^ frpit of o^r owp de^i^ : the day of retoj- butlon qomes, and our i^^urw turii to ^11, oiir irritated desires becpme , our hell, tioweir, a|D»d lowqr , 8l3l we 'sipl^, ai^d suffering; is ha|xt on us, for impenitent roai^ ihqf t touch the abyss of God's chastising, tenderness, before prWe and self, be conquered into penit|ence. But God waifs and worki : 'them also 1 musf bring,' spjeajcp the necessitji yrhx^ fiiiWs fibm hii Piiher- * ^ hood. AH throtrgh our deepest ruin God's victorious love is opposed to men'd relu^nt hatred and de^ir; till at last, they, being Of the finite, ' finite, uid of the dead Uiinga of the Universe, dead, are shattered to pieces by plersiatent love; and the child,) oome to. himielf,i ealla out from the depths of a divmemifsea^, «I wiU ante andgotomyiallw Faf off hi«j father sees him, and in t«(imaphlM»t joy receiver, hin»,! 'this njy po» w^s dead» and is alive again ,; '•^fw lo8*n and J^s, found.' It ' wil^ bfe^ i^a within eter^uty)?, i till, in the fullness of chaii^, there fi'^^n be at last oi^ ilock apd one shep- herd, A!(ost tender japdj most troe,g^ii9pge8. Ckmtrf^s^ i^^ in its beauty, with the common hqtaon|of thefutoi^'of the'race— tha^ which has maddened ine'n'toto Atheism and hatred Of imtbortality— a smdl flock oh which allih* i^^niie love of the infinite goodness is outpoured,' .and beywid its fold a howlinig wilderness of lost and ruined soub^o^l ««d rdihed for ever and overhand rained upon by the elemal fire* o€ 'the everiastin|^i» anger of a vindfetiviB God. It Js not to ; that is tiOt our God, nor that our i heaven, nor thi^the immort^^ for which We (ayt. God mut fasing «U his creatures to hhaiiBl^. * There shall be one flock and one shetAierd.' " Perhtips this seemt blaefpbemotts to the thoueht of our brother, but I ciriiKrt think it will to most of you. It chttges God with no wrong, but Mtther refuses to adbit t&lit he will do wrong. Bla^' phemy is tJhe rovietse of this— tho ohargiag that upon God which; ' the moral sense of maittkind deotoros to be, bad, mud onjy bad.- Drexelius, an advocate of the doctrine of eternal' WWy in the early jpart Of the setent^atb cOrttury, saidt '♦*if alfthe severest and •< it binbarous toj^uves which Wore eter Invented by the tyrants olU til. J w^ifszij TT^IJV iTjr s.:r^rrjxxs i-irc-tigsjy -s»ii'«- ss^nsirjiti- ^.- improved and refined the art of cmolty, Aod bipotitt&it it to jMrfeC; 14 tion, if these, I say, were to be heaped upon the head of one man, and he was to endure them for a hundred years, yet they would not come near the pains of th<^ damned for one day." And it is blasphemy, is it, to deny that sueh a representation as this of IJod's dealing with his tihildron is the true one ? Said Lord Bacon : « It were better to^hare flo .opinion of God at all than such an ofnaion as is unworthy of Wm ; for the, one ia unbelief, the other contumely ; and cer- tainly superstition is the reproach of the Deity. Plutarch said wdl to that purpose: 'Sur«ly,' saith he, «! liad rather a great deal men should say there was no aueh man as Plutarch, than tfatU ih^f should say tbere was one Plutarch that would eat his children as, «oon as th^ w«re bom,' as the poets speak of Saturn. And as the conHimely is greater towards God, so is the danger greater towards men." But men say ottr objection to eternal evil will not stand, because it is just as strong when urged against the wbes and ills of earth ; arid they demand a solution of the problem of temporal evil before its eternity is called in question. Well, the early Christians did not think this so hard a matter. One of them said — " Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chastmieth, and seourgeth every son whom he receiveth. if ye endur* ehastening, God dealeth with you aa with sons ; for what son is he >wh6m the father chasteneth not? *f * * • Furthermore, we have had fathers! of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence : shall wie not much rather be in sub- jection to the Father of Spirits, and live ? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure ; but he. for our profit, that we might be partakers of his hpliness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous : noverthelefs, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteous- ness unto them who are exercised thereby." [Heb, obap. xii.l " For our profit," is tkit Christian's exjdanation of evil ; and observe how M« " concentintes thought on God's IWtherhood." " Ye have forgiotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto flAtWren."— « He dealeth with you as \^th «(m»."~" 3h»ll we not be in subjection to the Father of; Spirits ?" But can anys show how eternal sufferfng is for tlie "profit" of those who endure it- how it "yieldeth the peaceable hmt Of rii^teousness unto them , who are exercised thereby I?" ; ,, j Is it not strange tHat men ar6 so slow to see the immeasurable difference between ievil asJlnite and tr»n»iieBt, and evil i^ infinite ! And andlAnfi_hAfiiirAl»n anftiavintrinHlAiaA fi%^ a l^tx^An^Xt^^-t. .... and suffering inflioted for its own sake ? We tell them that the last is inconsistent with the Divine Good- hais 15 .r one man, ley would ^nd it is lOfUod's opiilion M ; and cer- rell to that ihoold saj re was one rn,' as the h God, 80 >t 8tand, J2d ills of temporal he early hem said to you as g of the horn the rhom he I as- with '« « « » Qcted us, e ill sub- rily for a , for our Now no ;rieY0U8 : gkteous- xii.j nl; and jrhood." oyou as Bhall we nysbow are it-ni-j to themdi ., ( I ftfurable , infinite e Good- ness, and they make an6w;er tl^a,t it i^ ho ipore so tl^ttn the first; that it is no more unreaabnahle that a gi^d God has ordained his children shall always su^e^i than ^hat; he .ij>ermi(8 t^ep to sufil^r ; now. , ', '"' .!,',',. . ' '! , ' Is is possible they are serious in this answer? Is there, th^ii,! no difference between diacipUne and torture; 1j>etwee^ givii^g dfugs , as medicine, and giving tti^in as poison; between the surgeoirs ■ and the assassin's wiouhds? Is tiieib ho difference Wtwoeii the ] malignant cruelty; of a Devil, i^rid the ch^stefiin^pf ja.Faj|j[i|!r w^j)^^j loves u? too truly tO^ftl'e.us^eeded pain? 1'/,..'!, , .,., ^. * , Oitr inference js that, becaiage it. would ,b^ contr^y tp every con- sideration of justice for GdA to pjsrmik the eternal existence of ^viL in his universe, therefolrci ^6, .fact tnat Xe t«^u«t is a pledge that be "will, finally restore the whole family of inanldnd to holineiBS and" happiness." .,^ ,,'.'.,,■'.!,"!".(.,,.'.,. , '■ But we do not base odfte'i^^^ij^g iilt^gethei^'pn inference from what the Scriptures reveil of tfe^ nature' of God and his government. We point also to the most explicit and emphatic declaration that God will deliver all men frofai evil. 1 quote a few, of these, confin- ing myself to the New Testament: ^^ Inhere shati be.one fc^d and , one ^hepherd.*^ " 1 will draw 4^1 nieii iintb me,'* said Jesus. " As ' in Adam all die, even so .in Christ shall aU be made alive." / " Christ must reign till he ha^h piit all enemies under his feet, */* arid when all' tiling^ slialf bi ralbdix^'d unto hipa, iiied shall tlie son,,; alsd hiiiiself be subject 4ht0 lith^ tli^t put all thin^ undei: him, that' ^ God iWiy be all in till," ^r6t6 '^aul;— [1 Coi^: %vl\ ' ** As the same word IS used to express iih^w4y In Which all eiieihies are to be sub- ject to Christ, and thi^ uviy' in which Christ himself is to be subject .. to God, it follows thsit the enemies when jjubjected shall be friends." •* —[Dr. J. F. plarke.] Igaln Paul declares (Eph. i.'^-lO) : God has "made khowil unto us the mystei^ of his will according to hla ^ good pleasure, which he hath purw^ed in himself;, that in the dlsr,^^ pensation of the ftilln^ss of ii^es ne miglit gather 'together in one |' all things in Christ, both which are In heaven aiid which are op earth." Again (Phil; ii: 9-1^1) .v" (God hath highly ^xalted'hiw and given him a likme i^Wug)i he bp f«?mi>|iflf coftta»4^6tip|i in tl^; le^^^ of Soriptnre, whiPh bears upon thi8,8u]j)j<|pt; and the./rppohoUiatipn of this dif- ference is thn wnrlr. nnt nf a iWniMk liIrA ti^to it'.U />> ^^*;^..i. ^^A faittfuV 8|ii^^,^ ^ mjci^l^bfl^ C9ii|t^^ 1(1^ atthp^ 1 1 give is , rs— " Thfi mich tlu^, ough hi|8 e tjniver- :e8ta; bui iltogethw listen M )ns w)iipn said thi^t erplausir, 19W8 ii ft, save a][| qualifical- buj; wJm) hile thej •" Why time anq re to sup- :eDgth IS What if nust we, US to me spiritual andpol- ions and im away, fe wbooe lace hUn, lis loath: of Opd. ndto^Q d by no 3 believe Godi^«^! *^gain,it 3elief) as 3 Tirropg, sriptare, this dif- «%•« 9 4» w% MM att|^i^^ IT terms which are said to teach the eternal duration of evil. 1 confess to some hesitation in approaching this part of the argument. I cannot boast of being " specially commissioned by Deity " to set your mmds forever at rest upon this important subject ; nor of " unequaled facilities for acquiring information " upon it. I can only bring you the results of such study as a young man—" a youth," has been able to give to it. But I hope you do not think any of those terms cited here .the other night have been overlooked by Universalists. We have given them all patient and conscien- tious study, as men anxious to know their real import: and we find in them nothing which is inconsistent with our faith. We were told first of the Hebrew word " Sheol," in the old Testament, that It signified Hell, in its modern sense. If this is true, it mu«t be admitted that our translators did their work very poorly That word occurs in the Old Testament sixty-four times, and is translated Hell thirty-one times ; Grave, thirty times ; and Pit, three times. It would seem reasonable that a word chosen by inspiration as the name of the place of woe would not be ambigu- ous m Its meaning. But what say the scholar?? Dr. Fairbairn, Professor of Divinity in the College of Glasgow, says : " Beyond doubt, Sheol, like Hades, was regarded as the abode, after death, u 7!fj^m°^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^®'" ^^' Whitby: "Sheol, throughout the Old Testament, signifies not the place of punishment or of the souls of bad men oijly, but the grave only, or the place of death ; it is the place to which the good as well as the bad go." Dr. (jMttipbell : It « signifies the place of the dead, without regard to the goodness or badness of their persons, their happiness or misery." Dr. Muenscher : " The realm or kingdom of death, an abode deep under the earth. Thither go all men without distinction. There all pain and anguish cease, and unbroken silence reigns; all w powerless and still." LeClerc and Grotius say the same. " The grave only, or the state of the dead." Prof. Moses Stuart : " There can be no reasonable doubt that Sheol does most generally mean the under world, the grave or sepulchre, the world of the dead. It is very clear that there are many passages where no other mean- ing can reasonably be assigned to it. Accordingly our English translators have rendered the word Sheol grave in thirty instances out of the sixty-four instances in which it occurs." Even he finds but five texts in which he thinks Sheol indicates a place of future punishment, and of these he says : « The probability that Sheol in these texts designated the future punishment of the wicked depends, perhaps, in a great measure on the state of knowledge among the Hebrews with regard to futur e re^^ards and punishments." • dJlJ^'tJi^'iCI*'vl:hJiri°A °'"=7'' ^^}^?P^ '* »««» wi»*» «« reiiember tiimt there is no evi. ?fl^.lr!« «**^'i"!I.* 'i*'* f"y o'^"" tw'irfin rewards uid punishments after desth I wk the rMder's attenUon to tlje testimony of competent scholars upontbispoint. ** The sancOon m which the Hebrew Law was founded is extraordinary. The Lat^-giyer 18 Edward Leigh, according to Home, " one of the most learned men of Uib time," fi^ye : " All learned Hebrew scholars know that the Hebrews h^ve no word proper for Hell, as wo take H^U." Thus you see it is at least an open question among those who believe in eternal punishment whether it is taught in the Old Testam,eut. ''»» In the GreeH translation of the Hebrew Scriptures known as th« Sopt,u^gint Sheol is rendered hades, which word occurs in tl>e Now Testament eleven times, and is translated into English once grave and ten tira(?s hdl. Of Hades Dr. Campbell says: "In my judges ment it ought never in Scripture to be rendered Hell, at least in the sense wherein the word is universally understood by Oliristians. It .is ye^y plain that neither in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, nor in tjie New, does tlie word hades convoy the mean- ing which the present English word hell, in the Christian usage, always conveys tp our minds. The attempt to iUustrate this would be unnecessary, as it is hs^rdly now pretended by any critic that this is the acceptation of the term in the Old Testament." Of tiijO passage in ths New Testament in which the word occurs, on which those who argue that it means a place of eternal woe mainly rely, the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Smith's Bible Dic- tionary, a standai'd ortiiodox authority, says : " It is impossible to ground the proof of an importj^nt theological doctrine on a passage which confessedly abounds in Jewish metaphot-," 'I'hen we have th^ word gehmna, which is said to be unquestion- ably the place of immortal woe ; and our brother "challenges a«y one to prove that tliere was ever a place on earth called gehenna" My answer to thia must be very brief. He has, perhaps, heard of Oaimet. I^ so, he will recognize him as respectable authority upon the subject. Oaimet says: "Gehenna properly signifies tlw Valley of Hinnom, a valley just south of Jerusalem." And he has, ( Moses) maintains a profbund silence on tbat fundamental article, if npt of political, at !ea8t of rel^oua lee isli^tion— rewur4»mpd piuiisbnients In another life. He subBtitut€d temporal chastise- ments and teroport^ blessings.''— Uilman, ' "-In the Jewish Republic both the rewards and the punishments promised by heaven were temporal only; • • • and in no one place of the ILosaic Institutes is there the least mention, or any intelligible hint of the rewards and punishments of another Ufa. When Solomon restored the integrogr of religion, he sddreaied a long prayer to the God of Israel, consisting of one solemn petition for the continuance of the old covenant made by the ministry of Alose^. lie gives an exaot account of aU iti parts, and explains at large the sanctions of the Jewish Law and Re- ligion; and here, as in the writings of Moses, we find nothing but (entj^oralretcarcb an;dpwNi« «■»' abode w», 1,, J*^**" of damned miri.. 'Y°?""'"n<=««. it tion. Wo h« ' '^^'•^ conclugivelv n.^f ^.f *^® ^'^^nity of evil God, and sSr' ^f ^^ '^ "'eT'vffl 2^^^^ °f t4ir pol •Jje of the«e tZ. t „ t „" '"g'> "-Sr Mt «"; ?"« who uudersfan^ *i "®^ passages of Q«-: / ^aj^ng that "the was of sovenfvri ,'""' ''«'« for ever " tL «, '"^ ^e earth •^Sinmngo? C dii'"'"'' """"'on o„,;'"' "^ «ver" sp„ke„ S »w»y intS .L!' '''^^'"•se in which Ch^' . ?■ ^"^^ 'hat at the 'halHe the' S^™ P"'"'*'""™'." Ws m^ll'^f'" "^^ «! go !«^Mes^t5^«- worth j^.^?«'«hW^r^;;-rr-^ i *ith _____j;_^^— ^2^ eternity a •PPiiedto « . '■^'•er to call th *'":7 if''«mony t Bat ffeAm?!, PfA"*' blackniMg... 20 Now I shall offer but one argument upon this point. In tho early Church there are many Univorsalists. Tlie Sybilliue Oracles, written in tho second century, unmistakeably taught that the damned "will eventually be delivered from the torments of hell;" and yet in these writings these terms are applied to punishment without Qualification or explanation. Origen was the foremost scholar of his time, a master of the Greek language, and a most decided believer in the final holiness and happiness of all men, and Origen used the same terms in writing of the punishment of the wicked that are in the New Testament, called it "aionion punish- ment," what Christ called it. Now, here is the point : would he have used this term, if it meant everlasting, believing, as he cqi^ tainly did, that punishment is not everlasting? I think our ft wnds who believe these words mean eternal should explain how it was that the Christian fathers who are known to have been Univorsal- ists, used them with the same freedom as did those v oo ^re not. Will you not think of this ? And leaving this textual ciritictsm I ask you to consider this — if there are texts in the Bible of doubtful or difficult meaning, or that admit of two interpretations, our trre way is to give them that interpretation which is in harmony with the general tone and spirit of the Gospel, not that which contradicts it. One may very easily be mistaken in the construction of the letter of a passage of Scripture, for .there are many and great difficulties in getting at the true meaning of words written two thousand years ago in a language of which none of us have a perfect knowledge. But we cannot be mistaken in believing that Jesus taught that God is our Father, and infinitely better than our thought can picture him. And we cannot go wrong in refusing to believe anything of him which is dishonorable or repugnant to all that is noble in human nature. Remember the "letter killeth but the spirit giveth life." Again, men say Universalism is a "dangerous doctrine;" it makes men bad to believe it ; they become wisked, vicious, dis- honest, and profligate: it gives license to sin. I have no doubt that men sometimes say this in all si' ' iritjcJ. have no doubt that some believe it. Still, may be it is not wvie. So far as this objoo- tion grows out of the mistaken niprussiou that ouiversalist teaching recognizes no radical difference between right and wrong living, I need say nothing. I have shown you that such an impres- sion is wholly unwarranted. There is no Church that teaches with greater clearness that happiness is the result of righteousness, and misery the inevitable consequence of sin. But to some who know this it does not seem enough ; they think the inflnenco of our teachinc is bad, because vtre hold that the worst sinners are God's cherished children, and w 1 yet be reclaimed and made obedient. And I suppose that we mu8t be content to bear the reproach till men como to see how wrong the conclusion is. It makes it lighter, however, when we ^!!^?i™ if J^^' * ^'"^^^"^ °''"8« w*« ™a^e against Jesus of Na- zareth- Ihis man receiveth sinners and eateth with them," you thZ Z' ! 'T.?''' o*' ?"^ ^ ^^ >^*'^^ ^»™««lf' did what ?l-told them the story of the Prodigal Son ! Certainly ii that story there no intimation of a "time of probation," beyond whose limits the sinner canno hope for forgiveness and acceptance: there s nowhere implied that the father's love will finalfy perish, and lis heart be closed against the far off prodigal; but, ofi the contrary as you read the story you cannot help feeling the conviction SI hi X" 17" '' '"^ ^"" "^""^ ^"^^»»^' "'** no matter how long or ind/nn ? ' '"""^ """^/'l ^* ^'^ ^^"^'^ *^>™ ^ith tender solici- tude, till he repents, and then receive him home with rojoicinir And do you say that this proclamation of a love without limit: a Z "'^i "«,.^"»«^.'^<^ ??«"» can change, was giving license to a sin- ner to continue m his wickedness? Would the prodigal have ?orth ^"yj^f.VP^O'^^gal think you, had he understood as he won! forth from his father's door that the love which that father bore liim was uncertain and inconstant and liable to change to the -rrl^'^'^-ir^^Tf 'i^^^^^ '^«" more penitent'when he .1? l\^'T^^^ . ^^^ *'° ''"«^" *^^at his father was about to close his heart against him for ever? And do you suppose that any of those many other prodigals who drank in those words of Christ were plunged into deeper guilt by the assurance that God always stood ready to welcome their return to the home they had UT'^ .-"^i^^r' ?\^ *'f *"S®^' were waiting to rejoice over their redemption ? It is hard to see what there is in the belief that God purposes not to damn but to redeem his children, to lead them to tv^nroir^';!'"/^:! i"^"^ ^^ ^PP^^^ confidently to experience to prove that this faith has no such effect. We ask that it shall be judged by its fruits. It is well known that the Universalist idea has wide acceptance m all church bodies. It is known that Dr. Tholuck, a German Universalist, was warmly welcomed and highly honored by the Evangehcal Alliance at its late session. It is known that by in! fluential clergymen in the Church of England this belief is openly taught and defended. Will any one undertake to say that^their faith has injured the piety or the morals of Maurice, and Kingsley, ^nf f^-'^wv! Ti "^^""^ ^'^'^'^ ^^ '^« ^«g"«h clergy ? Does any one think that Tennyson is worse for believing— ^ '• That nothing walks with aimless feet, That not one life shall be deatroved Or cast as rubbish to the void ' ' When God has made the pile complete." ^2 Does any reader of the books of George McDonald find that he defends or excuses vice or wrong while teaching the most positive Universalism ? Can any one show that Queen Victoria is harmed by her warm and undisguised sympathy with this faith ? Were John Frederick Oberlin, and Norman McLeod, and Horace Greeley, and Charles Sumner less faithful servants of humanity for holding it ? We appeal to our friends to tell us who they are who have been injured by believing that God's love is over all his works, and that his mercy endures for ever. Another objection is — this is a " new doctrine." To this we reply it is as old as Christianity, and for the first five centuries was held unquestioned by many of the ablest minds in the church. Dr. Edward Beecher in his Church History, just published, says, in a."iswer to the question — " What was the state of facts as to the leading thsological schools of the Christian world in the age of Origen and some centures later?" " It was in brief, this — there was at least six theological schools in the church at large. Of these six schools one, and only one, was de- cidedly and earnestly in favor of the doctrine of future eternal punishment. One was in favor of the annihilation of the wicked — two were in favor of the doctrine of universal restoration on the principles of Origen, and two in favor of univeral restoration on the principles of Theodore of Mopsuestia. It is also true that the prominent defenders of the doctrine of universal retoration, were, in piety, devotion, christian activity, and missionary enterprise, as well as in learning and intellectual power and attainments inferior to none in the best ages of the church, and were greatly superior to those by whom in after ages they were condemned and anathematized. It is also true that the arguments by which they defended their views were never fairly stated and answered. Indeed they were never stated at all. They may admit of a thorough answer and refutation ; but even if so, they were not condemned and anathematized on any such grounds, but simply in obedience to the arbitrary mandates of Justinian, whose final arguments were deposition and banishment for those who refused to do his will." And this testimony, remember, is from the orthodox side of the question. Finally, men ask — " dare you risk it to believe this? " I pity the man Whose last argument is an appeal like this. In Heaven's name what possible risk is there in believing that God's love will be victorious, and root out all evil from his universe ? Do you fear to trust God too much ? We were reminded the other night that " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Ah, yes ; but it is only its beginning. It is not the loJioU of wisdom. He in whom' we believe said that among all the prophets was no greater than John the Baptist, " nevertheless, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater M than he." And one who was not the least in that kingdom said ; " there is no fear in love ; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment : he that feareth is not made perfect in love." Was he right? Friends, I ask you thouthfuUy to consider whether the danger is in teaching that God is better than our highest ideal of goodness, or in the opposite direction ? Near the beginning of this century a young man of rare promise and integrity, educated in the Univorsity of Edinburgh, was licensed as a preacher in the Scottish Church. But he could not believe the teaching of that Church. The " ne plus ultra of wick- edness he considered to be embodied in -what is commonly presented to mankind as the creed of Christianity ;" and he deli- berately set aside the idea of God altogether. He had a son more gifted than himself, upon wliom he conscientiously impressed his own views, and who says, " I am thus one of the very few exam- ples in •this country (England) of one who has not thrown olflF religious belief, but never had it." Both fkther and son lived " without God in the world." Yet that son, the foremost thinker of England, was so deeply religious in his nature, that when tlie woman whom he loved died, he tells us he made her grave his shrine, and her memory his religion. Fellow Christians, who is i^sponsible for the religious desolation of James Mill and John Stuart Mill, his son ? They are not solitary instances of noble men who have been alienated from Christianity by this interpretation of its teachings. Now, I do not expect that most of you will accept my conclusions or share the convictions I liave expressed to-night. But is it too much to hope that you will se-i that the church in whose name I speak has its legitimate work to do in helping forward the kingdom of our common Master ? Only the other day the pastor of the first Methodist Church in Chicago, defending himself for allowing the noted English Spirit- ualist, Gerald Massey, to lecture in his church, said " Gerald Massey said nothing half, or a hundreth part so bad as Calvinism. What, I ask — is arguing against a personal devil, ' in comparison with making the God of Heaven worse than a Pevil?' If I believed the Bible taught any such doctrine I should in so far un- hesitatingly reject it. If I believed God were such a being I should respectfully decline either love or worship. I shall abide by my moral convictions, and try to keep what little sense I have, if the heavens fall." Now Friends, there are scores and hundreds, and thousands to-day who can see no moral difference between Calvinism and Methodism — between God's ordaining and permitting eternal evil. And they are ready to say in the words of this Methodist pastor, if the Bible teaches cither doctrine they will unhesitatingly reject it. It is no '< 24 aisrospect to Evangelical aad Catholic Christians to say that with tjeir iBter^t^tions of Ohristianitj they cannot reach this class. m em, Ought we not then to have tJieir earnest and hearty God epwd inmr efforts to make them lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ? 1 iaww there is such a class ; men imd women to whom the old in- terpretations of Christianity afford no -spiritual food. Everywhere 1 meet liiose who tell me that without the Universali«t feith they were drifting into unbelief and Atheism. And to-day. in all our parishes, such thank God for the strength, and tlie courage, and the comfort, and the light this faith has brought them. Bretliren who hold the views called Evangelical: would you rather these your brother n. 3n should find no rest, and turn away from God alto- gether, then that they should worship him in the Universalist Uiurch .' I know that I speak toruight to those who hunger and thirst for the assurance which this faith alone gives, who can be ^u''^^\^^^ ','?*^"J'^ ^^'^' ^^y' ^"«»<^«'