ax 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/proconofuniversaOOroge 
 
THE 
 
 PRO AND CON 
 
 0* 
 
 UNIVERSALISM 
 
 BOTH AS TO ITS 
 
 DOCTRINES AND MORAL BEARINGS; 
 
 IN A SERIES OF ORIGINAL ARTICLES, 
 
 BY GEORGE ROGERS. 
 
 STEREOTYPE EDITION. 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY R. P. BROOKS, 
 
 Walnut, between Third and Fourth Streets. 
 
 1839. 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1837, 
 
 BY GEORGE ROGERS, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Ohio. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Note to the Reader, 4 
 
 Alice Sherwood, or, the Pennsylvania Valley — a tale, 5 
 
 Preliminary Considerations, 40 
 
 Universal Salvation proven from the Attributes of God, 49 
 
 Thoughts on the Law of God, 68 
 
 Universal Salvation proven from the Relations of God to Man,. ... 76 
 
 Hymn of Consolation, 99 
 
 Universal Salvation further proved from the Scriptures, 100 
 
 Hymn — Abrahamic Covenant, 130 
 
 Popular Debate, No. 1. — Is the Future Salvation conditional ]. . . . 131 
 
 No. 2. — Universahsm reduced to absurdity, 145 
 
 No. 3. — Relative to the last paragraph of Matt.xxv. 157 
 
 No. 4. — Whence did the opposition to Christ and 
 
 his Apostles proceed ? 188 
 
 No. 5. — Do the Scriptures teach that there will be 
 
 a General Judgment after Death 1 193 
 
 Miscellaneous Objections considered, 22 1 
 
 A Metaphysical Argument from Dr. Beecher examined, 235 
 
 Millennium Hymn, 238 
 
 The nature and ends of Divine Punishment, 239 
 
 The doctrine of Hell Punishment examined, 263 
 
 Does Foreknowledge necessarily imply Foreordination ? ; 280 
 
 Election and Reprobation Scripturally illustrated, 303 
 
 Review of the Argument on the words Everlasting, Forever, &c.,. . 313 
 
 Lake of Fire and Second Death, 321 
 
 An Important Question considered, 325 
 
 Diversity of Views among Universalists, 329 
 
 The Intermediate State considered, 337 
 
 Hymn— The Better World, 347 
 
 Revelations from Hell, by a Damned Spirit, 349 
 
 Appendix to the same,. 373 
 
 Hymn — The Gospel Consummation, 375 
 
 Index to Comparisons and Illustrations employed in this work,. . . . 377 
 Index to Texts commented on, usually urged against Universalism, 381 
 3 
 
NOTE TO THE READER. 
 
 More than a year elapsed from the time this work was commenced 
 until it was completed ; during which the author performed some seven 
 or eight thousand miles of travel, by steamboat, and stages, and on horse- 
 back, besides delivering some two or three hundred discourses. It was 
 amidst these employments — in addition to those arising from the charge 
 of a family — that these pages were composed, and that (the reader is 
 assured) without the slightest aid from any kindred publication. With 
 the candid, these facts will form a reasonable apology for some of its 
 defects, of style, or argument, or consistency, from which it will by no 
 means be pretended that it is free. 
 
 In saying that he derived no aid from kindred publications, the author 
 would not be understood as setting up a claim to entire originality for his 
 production ; on the contrary, he is full well aware, that on so beaten a 
 theme it is impossible to write so lengthily, without occasionally repeating 
 what others have previously advanced. His purpose, however, was to 
 avoid this as far as practicable, and to add something to the common 
 stock of Universalist literature ; something, too, which by its mildness 
 and candor should be adapted to commend our doctrines to the popular 
 notice and approval. How far he has succeeded in this, is left to the 
 reader's decision. 
 
 CiNcijfiTATi, Nov. 8th, 1838. 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD, 
 
 OR 
 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA VALLEY: 
 
 A TALE, 
 
 Shovomg the tnfiuence qf certain religious doctrines on individual and social life. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Conceive, reader, if you please, a deep and quiet valley, of about 
 five miles in length from the points whence it takes its particular 
 designation, and a mile and a half in medial breadth ; the hills, by 
 which on both sides it is hemmed in, may be some two or three hun- 
 dred feet in altitude, and are very precipitous, varying indeed but 
 a little from perpendicularity ; from their bases to their summits 
 they are covered with a thick natural growth of hemlock-fir-trees, 
 intermingled with stunted hazels and sumachs, save that here and 
 there may be seen a soft spot which has been cleared by the axe of 
 the settler : and how picturesque is the effect of those spots ! 
 they occur mostly in the occasional curvatures and indentations by 
 which Nature, with her usual taste, has varied the monotony of these 
 mountainous ridges; or in the defiles which the rivulets from the 
 interior have scooped out in their journeyings towards the ocean. 
 
 I will suppose you standing on one of these acclivities, especially 
 the one on the eastern side, for there the advantage of survey is 
 greatest, and the eye from thence can take in an extent of prospect 
 only bounded by its reach of vision. What a scene of loveliness 
 you now have before you ! it is but little rivalled, if at all, by the 
 far-famed and classic Wyoming. A wide reach of fertile bottom 
 land under excellent cultivation stretches for more than a mile in 
 your front, and for miles on either hand ; it varies in its shades of 
 green according to the diversified products with which it is teem- 
 ing ; the rich and extensive pasture grounds are mottled with cattle, 
 and sheep, and lambs, which are feeding very contentedly, appa- 
 rently conscious that their " lines are fallen to them in pleasant 
 places." The trees which have been spared by the inhabitants for 
 
 Vol. L— A 2 
 
6 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 purposes of shade and ornament, throw out their branches with a 
 luxuriancy which betokens a generous soil, and certainly contribute 
 their full quota toward the aggregate beauty of the picture. 
 
 A road, you perceive, runs lengthwise through the vale, along 
 which many neat habitations are sprinkled ; and about midway 
 there arises the steeple of a modest and tasteful house of worship ; 
 on its vane at this moment the sun's setting beams are reposing : 
 a more fitting emblem of the mild and cheering character of the 
 doctrines dispensed within that temple, could not well be ima- 
 gined — doctrines adapted to shed on the spirit's parting hour the 
 light of an immoveable trust in heaven. 
 
 But the brightest feature in this lovely landscape is yet unmarked: 
 cast your eye, reader, toward the foot of yonder western barrier ; 
 there rolls a river, so exquisitely pure and placid, that it resembles 
 a burnished mirror ; it is, however, partially hidden from our view 
 by the elms and sycamores which fringe its margin, and immedi- 
 ately opposite to us its channel is divided by an island. How soft 
 and verdant ! The muses, and the graces, yea, and goddesses 
 too, might be well content with grottoes on that green and quiet 
 spot. I fancy that, of a calm evening, we might hear at this dis- 
 tance — perhaps we might — the murmuring of the stream where it 
 is broken by the upper point of the island ; and then, in addition 
 to this exhibition of Nature's taste in penciling, we should have a 
 pretty specimen of her skill in music. 
 
 That river, reader, is the Susquehannah, and I doubt me much if 
 in all this wide world the lord of day looks down upon a stream 
 which reflects back his glory more clearly than does this beautiful 
 daughter of the Otsego lake. I have threaded its shores in all 
 their windings, from where it issues from the aforesaid lake among 
 the hills, to where it blends its translucent waters with the briny 
 billows of the Chesapeake bay; and nowhere, methinks, within 
 equal limits, has beauty, in its softer forms, consecrated to itself a 
 greater number of dwelling places : its bordering hills present 
 every conceivable variety of aspect ; now they incline in grassy or 
 arable slopes ; anon they tower in perpendicular or beetling ledges ; 
 here they sweep away in graceful curves a mile or more from its 
 verge, leaving space for broad tracts of level and rich alluvion ; and 
 there they run for miles along the river's brink, and mirror their 
 huge forms upon its waters, as though Nature were as proud 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 7 
 
 as Other beauties are, of contemplating the reflection of her charms. 
 I have told you, reader, this river's name, but the valley itself you 
 must be content with knowing under the fictitious cognomen of 
 Univkrsalia. Now let me point your attention to that school 
 house : there are two in the valley, but this to which I allude is 
 toward its southern extremity ; it is a wooden structure, surround- 
 ed, you perceive, by a grassy plat, and shaded, almost embowered, 
 with beautiful forest trees : it wants but to be white-washed to 
 render it a perfect picture of the rural kind. I must give the set- 
 tlers a hint of this when I next visit Universalia ; for pity it were 
 that a scene so nearly perfect, should lack those little attentions 
 which would constitute it completely so. I may add also, by the 
 way, that in my opinion, school premises every where should be 
 rendered as agreeable as possible ; for there the members of human 
 society gather most of their earliest associations, and these exert 
 no small influence upon their subsequent lives. Virtue and hap- 
 piness not only accompany, but they also promote each other. By 
 as much, then, as it is an object worthy of all attention to form a 
 happy and virtuous society, by so much is it important to com- 
 mence at the fountain head, and to blend with the business of 
 juvenile instruction as much of purity and pleasantness as possi- 
 ble. With this digression I will close my first chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 She who teaches the school at present, in the building above de- 
 scribed, is a youg lady from Connecticut: her stature is about the 
 middling height, her form slender, the color of her hair and eyes 
 a light hazel ; the latter are large and prominent, and, by their 
 expression, say much for the sweetness and innocence of the in- 
 dwelling soul. I could tell you the true name of this young lady 
 if I chose, but I do not choose ; and, therefore, since she must bear 
 some name in our story, we will call her Alice Sherwood. She 
 is not, as I have said, a native of this valley, but is an exotic, of 
 recent transplantation from the " land of steady habits ;" and sooth 
 to say, there blooms not in all the vale a lovelier flower than Alice, 
 which is saying much for her, for many a lovely flower blooms there. 
 
 In religion, Alice is a Calvinist of the modern stamp : of course 
 her faith is but an educational one, in which her understanding has 
 
8 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 extremely little concern ; for what concern can the understanding 
 of a young lady of eighteen have with the mysteries of the trinity, 
 "which represents Jehovah as being both the father and the son of 
 himself! — native depravity — the demands of the divine law against 
 vs to an infinite amount, on the ground of a debt alleged to have 
 been contracted by our progenitors, some thousands of years before 
 we were born ! — the satisfaction of this claim by the murder of an 
 innocent victim — the transfer of our guilt, both original and actual, 
 upon the head of the unoffending Son of God — and ihe imputation of his 
 righteousness to creatures who have no righteousness of their own ? 
 
 These are subtleties for the brain of the metaphysical divine, 
 but are not at all suited to the unsophisticated mind, and guile- 
 less heart, of a young lady of eighteen. 
 
 It will be understood, then, that in describing our heroine as a 
 Calvinist of the modern school, I mean, simply, that she adheres 
 to that party from educational and family prepossessions. The 
 dogmas of this, as distinguished from those of the old school, are, 
 that God has provided in the gospel ample means to save those 
 whom from all eternity he unchangeably determined to damn ! — that 
 Christ shed his blood for the same class, with the certainty before 
 him, that they could never be availed by it ! — that all may be saved 
 if they will, notwithstanding that none can will to be saved but such 
 as God has foreordained to that end, and they can do no otherwise 
 than will it ! — and that the chief aggravation of the miseries of 
 the damned, will arise from their having rejected a gospel that was 
 never meant for them, and which it was utterly out of their power 
 to accept ! with other matters equally sane and salutary. 
 
 Alice, nevertheless, is a good and pious girl — for there are good 
 and pious persons of every religious persuasion — either because 
 their natural dispositions are so good as to defy the corrupting 
 influence of a bad faith, or because they do not entertain that faith 
 with so firm a persuasion of mind as to allow it its full weight of 
 evil influence. However, so stands the fact, be the philosophy of 
 it what it may ; and it is certainly better of the two to be theoreti- 
 cally wrong, and practically right, than the contrary : for if the 
 heart be wrong, the head will easily be induced to stray with it ; 
 whereas, if the former be right, the latter may easily be redeemed 
 from its errors. And yet it must be confessed that many a young 
 and innocent heart receives its earliest taint from the princi- 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 9 
 
 pies which a false education imposes upon the understanding. 
 Alice had been taken seriously to task by her sincere but mis- 
 taken old father, shortly previous to her leaving home, because she 
 had commended the goodness of a certain lady of her acquaintance. 
 " You must always bear it in mind, my dear," said old Mr. Sher- 
 wood, " that persons who are out of the church are in a state of 
 nature — which is a state of unmixed depravity — however good, 
 therefore, they may seem to be, they are in fact vile and abomina- 
 ble : they cannot think a good thought, nor do a good act — and 
 their deeds which seem to be good are but 'deceitful workings,' 
 and are more detestable in the divine sight, as being the offspring 
 of hypocrisy, than are even those that we would pronounce evil. 
 Beware, then, of looking to the unregeneraie for any thing truly 
 virtuous ; you will be deceived with specious appearances, but will 
 never find what you seek ; ' for who can bring a clean thing out 
 of an unclean 1 Not one ;' — the virtues of the unconverted will be 
 but as millstones around their necks to sink them the deeper under 
 the waves of divine wrath." " But my dear father," enquired 
 Alice, " is it not possible for a person to be pure and upright, and 
 as such, acceptable to our Creator, even though without reli- 
 gion in our sense of the term V " In our sense of the term .'" some- 
 what impatiently retorted Mr. Sherwood ; " I tell you, Alice, that 
 there is no other true sense of the term, but that which you are 
 pleased to characterize as ours ,- and if a person be without religion 
 in this sense, then is he without it in any sense — his heart is rank 
 in rebellion against Jehovah, and he would, were it possible, tear 
 him from his throne. Talk not to me, then, of the goodness of 
 unregenerated man ; ' there is no soundness in him,' but ' from 
 the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, he is nothing but 
 wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores.' " 
 
 Such are the dark principles of theology in which our heroine 
 was educated — principles which, had they taken root in her mind, 
 would have driven thence all its native benevolence, and with their 
 sombre shadows must have darkened her vision to all that is fair 
 and beautiful in life : happily for her they found not a congenial 
 soil in her nature; and, consequently, although they perplexed 
 her understanding, they failed of corrupting, in any great degree, 
 that pure fountain whence principally the streams which sadden 
 or gladden existence have their source — the heart. 
 
10 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 One of the most beautiful features of Christianity — not, alas ! as 
 it commonly exists in the practice of its professed disciples, but 
 as taught by its author — is the spirit of kindness and forbearance 
 it enjoins toward those who differ from us in faith and principles^ 
 " If ye salute your brethren only," saith Christ, " what do ye more 
 than others 1 for even the publicans do the same." And the moral 
 of that affecting story of the man who fell among thieves, manifestly 
 is, that all are to be considered as our neighbors who stand in need 
 of our services, that good Samaritan-like we must not stop to en- 
 quire whether the claimants upon our sympathies be Jew or Gentile, 
 but must do good to all, without distinction of nation or sect. 
 
 Alice Sherwood had not been accustomed to exhibitions of this 
 spirit, although her whole life had been spent in the bosom of reli- 
 gious society ; for even the christian charities of the present age 
 are but too much confined within party limits, and are exceedingly 
 selfish and calculating. She had been wont to hear denounced as 
 heretics, all who withheld assent to the dogmas of her faith, how- 
 ever distinguished they might be for uprightness and amiability 
 of character. One of her first impressions, therefore, relative to 
 the people amongst whom she is now sojourning, was, that as they 
 were perfectly tolerant toward persons of all religious opinions, it 
 was not possible that they possessed any religious opinions of 
 their own. But see — she is at this moment engaged in writing 
 to her parents — we can take the liberty of peeping over her shoul- 
 ders, and of thus satisfying to the full our curiosity as to all these 
 matters. With motives so laudable, it will be no trespass against 
 politeness, I trust. 
 
 * * * * " Having described to you the situation 
 of my school, I proceed, my dear parents, to acquaint you with 
 other circumstances connected with my condition here. And first, 
 I am almost wholly deprived of access to the outward means of 
 grace. There is no church of our persuasion short of a distance 
 of four miles from my residence, and even it is on the other shore 
 of the river, in a delightful village called the point. The expense 
 of ferriage thither and back is incurred each time I attend it, and 
 there is about a mile of the way called the narrows, which is 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 11 
 
 often unsafe : it lies between abrupt ledges of rock and the water's 
 edge, and the road is scarcely of sufficient width to admit the pas- 
 sage of a vehicle. I seldom think of surmounting these difficulties 
 to attend worship there. As to the people here, they are nearly 
 all of one religion, and that a new kind to me. In moral and social 
 respects, however, they are all that I could wish them to be. I 
 have found very intimate companions in two young ladies — they 
 are both very thorough subjects of this new faith, and very zeal- 
 ous in its propagation. I must do them the justice to say, that in 
 my opinion, no good cause could fail of gaining by their advocacy. 
 The one is about my own height and age, and is a very imperso- 
 nation of mildness and sweetness of disposition. An angel sent 
 from heaven to soothe a wounded spirit, might borrow her voice 
 and accents with advantage. The other is somewhat her superior 
 in years, and likewise in those accomplishments which are the 
 result of cultivation. She seems also to surpass her companion in 
 religious zeal, from the fact that her natural temperament is more 
 ardent : her peculiar views in theology are with her a favorite topic 
 of conversation, and her language is often marked with much 
 felicity of expression. 
 
 " I supposed, till I had been several weeks with this people, that 
 they had discarded religion in every form ; for I had witnessed 
 amongst them no acts of devotion, nor did their external appear- 
 ance or bearing indicate piety, according to my ideas of it. 
 
 " On one fine evening, after school, I was enjoying a ramble on 
 the mountain which forms the eastern boundary of this beautiful 
 vale — I had reached a point in the obscure path I was pursuing 
 where it emerges from a thicket of sumachs, when I was startled 
 at finding myself very close to an aged man, who was seated on 
 the ground, apparently so occupied with his own thoughts as to 
 be unconscious of my approach : I soon, however, regained self- 
 possession, when I had scanned his venerable appearance, and 
 catching his eye at length, had read its intellectual and benign ex- 
 pression ; besides, I had seen him before, and knew him to be a 
 highly respectable old gentleman, and looked up to by the settlers 
 as a kind of patriarchal head. He greeted me with much courtesy, 
 and motioned me to take a seat on a moss-covered fragment of 
 rock opposite to him, which, as I was short of breath from toiling 
 up the rugged acclivity, I was sufficiently inclined to do. 
 
Id 
 
 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 " ' I have been indulging, for perhaps the last time on earth,' said 
 the old Squire, (for by such familiar cognomen is he known in these 
 parts,) ' in an evening survey of the wonderfully varied works of 
 our Creator : the scriptures are certainly correct in affirming, * he 
 hath made every thing beautiful in his time,' nor beautiful only, 
 for they speak forth to the distrusting heart of man the most intel- 
 ligible assurances of his Maker's infinite loving-kindness. With 
 all their grandeur and glory, they nevertheless but faintly shadow 
 forth his wisdom and benevolence. The poet's deduction is just : 
 
 * Thus wondrous fair, thyself how wondrous then 1 
 Unspeakable, who dwellest in highest heaven. 
 To us invisible, or dimly seen 
 In these thy lower works.' 
 
 " ' When I was a child,' says Paul, ' I thought as a child.' I 
 remember that when a lad I used to think the whole world was 
 comprised between these parallel ridges. How great was my 
 surprise when I first ascended to where we now are sitting, and 
 beheld range behind range iji apparently interminable continuity. 
 I used to set bounds to the goodness of God from the same prin- 
 ciple. My religious education had prescribed for me but a narrow 
 range of intellectual vision. I supposed that the sun of his mercy 
 arose and set within that contracted horizon — but, * when I be- 
 came a man 1 put away childish things,' and for many years have 
 calmly rested in the persuasion, that the divine benevolence is as 
 immeasurable as space, and as all-embracing ; which blessed trust 
 has been the light of my spirit in my darker hours, and continues 
 to be so still as the day-star of my life is setting.' 
 
 " I expressed my surprise at his utterance of these pious senti- 
 ments, ' in as much,' said I, * as I have concluded with confidence 
 that there is no religion amongst you — you certainly never pray, 
 
 and ' ' Pardon me,' interrupted he, ' how came you by the 
 
 certain knowledge that we never pray V ' I infer it,' was my 
 answer, ' from the fact that I never either saw or heard you so 
 engaged.' * Not the most logical inference in the world, my fair 
 friend,' he rejoined, * since many things are constantly transpiring 
 around you which you neither see nor hear. Moreover, the reli- 
 gion of Christ courts not the eye nor the ear of man — it is modest, 
 and is content with being visible in its effects. To see or hear us 
 pray, therefore, would be to detect us in a flagrant violation of the 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 13 
 
 gospel command : * When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
 when thou hast shut the door, then pray to thy Father which is in 
 secret,' etc. Have you, young lady, been so accustomed to an 
 infraction of this express precept, that its very observance on our 
 part is deemed evidence that we are irreligious V 
 
 " My dear parents, what could I reply to this ? I felt it, indeed, 
 to be a thrust that there v/as no possibility of parrying. So, 
 abandoning this ground, I attempted to sustain my impeachment 
 upon another. *How is it, sir,' I inquired, 'that I observe 
 among you none of those anxieties ih^t are usual to pious persons ? 
 Your people exhibit no solemn feelings with regard to death and 
 eternity — they have no concern about the preparation requisite to 
 stand in the awful presence of their Maker. Does not this evince 
 their destitution of piety V 
 
 " I wish you could have witnessed the surprise which these 
 inquiries elicited. He surveyed me in silence for a time, but with 
 a most placid expression of countenance. ' Can it then be possi- 
 ble !' heat length exclaimed, ' that a freedom from distrusts in 
 the goodness of heaven exposes to the charge of being without 
 religion ? — for rest assured, young lady, that the anxieties and 
 awful feelings, of which you speak, can be no otherwise rationally 
 interpreted, than as evincing a want of confidence in God. Let 
 me put the case to your own private experience. You are at 
 present far from the home of your parents — suppose that the time 
 for your return were at hand, would your mind be affected with 
 anxieties, lest, for want of certain preparations, they might spurn 
 you from their presence.] or would you indulge in anticipations 
 of delight, that the moment was near that would find you enfolded 
 in their arms, and your heart cheered with their benedictions ]' ' I 
 
 should, certainly,' said I, ' be affected in the latter way, but ' 
 
 'Pardon me once more,' he replied, 'that but comprises the 
 whole ditficulty. Your trust in your Father in heaven is not 
 equal to that in your parents on earth. That is the sum of 
 the matter — your religious education is to blame for this ; you 
 have been accustomed to a class of religionists whose confidence 
 in heaven's love is as weak as your own. You now, however, 
 have found a different people ; we trust that the Being who made 
 us, is able, and as willing as able, to take care of us ; he clothes 
 the lily — he feeds the sparrow — and why should we not be equally 
 
 Vol. I— B 
 
14 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 the subjects of his providence ? But see, my young friend, it is 
 time we were on our way down the mountain, for one half of the 
 sun's disk is already below the western horizon.' 
 
 " The above conversation, my dear parents, is but an outline of 
 that which took place betwixt the old Squire and myself; he is 
 very prolix in discourse, but his ideas are strikingly just, and his 
 arguments forcible. Whether it be from the influence of religion, 
 or philosophy, or both combined, I know not, but so it is that he 
 maintains with admirable composure his position on that awful 
 line, where the territory of time unites with that of eternity. 
 
 " I will close this letter with some remarks as to our co-reli- 
 gionists in this region. E ither they are much below the same class 
 in Connecticut, in sincerity, moderation, and courtesy, or the veil 
 of partiality, through which I may have been accustomed to see 
 them, has been removed ; for cretain it is, that in respect to these 
 indispensable christian graces, they compare very disadvantage- 
 ously with the people of this valley, which is a pity, too, for the 
 latter are despised by them, and denounced as heretics. But why 
 heresy should be invested with such fascinations of candor, chris- 
 tian charity, and purity of life, while what is termed truth, is often 
 found associated with moroseness and intolerance, is, dear parents, 
 a sad puzzle to Your affectionate daughter, Alice." 
 
 I must inform you, reader, that the latter member of the above 
 alternative expresses the truth. Alice's co-religionists on the 
 POINT are, I suspect, as good as the same class in Connecticut, oj 
 any where else ; but the mind of our heroine had undergone a 
 gradual change — her partialities were in some degree removed, and 
 her perceptions were in consequence less clouded. She now saw 
 many things in the conduct of those denominated saints, which 
 shocked her ideas of propriety, and led her to inquire within her- 
 self, " Is it possible that Connecticut christians would act thus]'' 
 Simple hearted girl ! she will find before she dies that evil princi- 
 ples of religion, in all climes alike, exert an evil moral influence 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Well, a month has elapsed since the epistle was written which 
 occupies so much of the foregoing chapter : as the humble 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 15 
 
 chronicler of events in which our heroine is concerned, I must 
 record what has transpired within the time ; especially as the 
 material required for the completion of onr history is to be drawn 
 principally from the incidents of that month. 
 
 Be it known, then, that in the early part of it, the good folk on 
 THE POINT held a religious meeting of twelve days' continuance : 
 Alice attended it throughout, suspending her school for the pur- 
 pose, a usual thing on such occasions — not with regard to schools 
 merely, but also to most of the ordinary operations of life — and 
 whilst the class of religionists who have recourse to this measure 
 (evidently for sectarian ends,) affect to be horror-stricken at the 
 idea of being employed in secular pursuits on the sabbath, they at 
 the same time regard the command, " six days shalt thou labor," 
 with about as much respect as though it had emanated from the 
 Spartan law-giver. So much for puritanic consistency. 
 
 Alice had fresh occasions, during this meeting, for observing 
 how much a comparison between the people of her own church, 
 and those of Universalia, resulted in favor of the latter. Old Mrs. 
 Matthews, a resident on the point, with whom she tarried during 
 the twelve days, was of the latter class ; she rendered our heroine 
 every friendly attention, and afforded her every facility in her 
 power for attending upon all the services. She even accompanied 
 her, when she could do so consistently with her domestic duties, 
 although, in carrying her civility so far, she subjected herself to 
 the necessity of frequently hearing the doctrines she cherished, 
 together with the believers in them, made the subjects of violent 
 invective and misrepresentation. " Never mind it, my dear Mrs. 
 Matthews," Alice would say on their way from church, " I cannot 
 think our preachers in Connecticut would thus decry their chris- 
 tian neighbors without the slightest reason or provocation." " Nor 
 would they here," the old lady would calmly reply, "if they 
 deemed that their own faith, or morals, would endure a candid 
 comparison with those of the people they denounce." 
 
 Mrs. Matthews had a hired girl, who was a member of the 
 church on the point, and quite a zealot too in that way : had she 
 possessed as much brain as piety it would have been well enough 
 with her ; but, as it was, her zeal was constantly running away 
 with the little sense she had ; although a very poor girl, and her 
 mother a widow in extremely indigent circumstances, she could 
 
16 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 not forego, on the present occasion, the attending upon every ser- 
 vice of the meeting ; she entered into a compact with the old lady, 
 by which her wages were to be suspended for the twelve days, 
 during which she was to have the privilege of attending at three 
 preachings and two prayer meetings each day, and to receive her 
 board for such little service about house as she could render in the 
 intervals. " If you were in unison with me in religious opinions, 
 Bridget," said old Mrs. Matthews, very mildly, "I should feel it 
 my duty to control you in this matter, for your own and poor 
 mother's interests ; as it is, however, it would not fail, were I to 
 interfere, to be ascribed to vr.v/orthy motives." 
 
 That the heart of Bridget Bounce (for so was she named) was 
 profited by these religious exercises, is possible ; whether her 
 understanding was improved, or her scanty stock of information 
 enlarged, is a matter of much doubt. At the conclusion of the last 
 day's services, Bridget returned home excessively elated in mind. 
 *' Oh, Mrs. Matthews !" she exclaimed, " I do wish you had heard 
 
 Mr. F , to-day ! If he ain't a dear man there never was one !" 
 
 " Why, what did he preach about 1" inquired the old lady. " Oh, 
 I don't know exactly," answered Bridget, " but it was something 
 about getting religion, I believe." " Can you tell me where he 
 found his text"?" inquired the old lady again. " Lp, su:i !" ex- 
 claimed the somewhat puzzled Miss Bounce, " I don't mind now 
 whether it was in the fore eend of the bible, or the hind eend, but 
 I expect it was somewhere in the book of Paul." "You have 
 the advantage of better eyes than mine, Bridget," Mrs. Matthews 
 drily retorted, " if you can find the hook of Paul in the biblp, either 
 in the beginning, ending, or middle. 
 
 "We must not be in haste to censure or to laugh at poor Bridget 
 Bounce ; in returning from the preaching without any ideas at all 
 she did quite as well as many others of the congreoaiinn, whose 
 pretensions were much higher, and better than though she hnd care- 
 fully hoarded, without understanding, all the humdrum spirituali- 
 ties that were sawed out on the occasion ; for the sermons usually 
 delivered at such times, be it known, are among the silliest of all 
 the silly offspring of the human brain, (provided, always, that 
 hrain be necessary to their production,) and are as innocent of any 
 thing resembling sense, as the preaching of the Savior was wont 
 to be of any thing resembling them. I will sustain the truth of 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 17 
 
 these remarks, by presenting outlines of some that were deemed 
 the best which were delivered during this meeting. 
 
 Mr. M took for his text, " Take ye away the stone." It is 
 
 found in the account of the raising of Lazarus. The preacher 
 alluded but little to the history ; but proceeded to assume as the 
 spiritual teaching of the text, (1) That the unconverted are mo- 
 rally dead and buried, and as incapable of any thing good as is a 
 literally deceased person of exerting his physical powers. (2) That 
 there are certain obstacles in God's way, which prevent his calling 
 these dead sinners to life : these are the stone upon the mouth of 
 the sepulchre, which christians are called upon to remove. (3) It 
 was sagaciously hinted, that if the friends of Lazarus had refused 
 to take away the stone, in the case under notice, that Christ could 
 not have called him to life ; and, from analogy, it was supposed, 
 that if when God proposes to work by his spirit for the renovation 
 of dead sinners, the saints refuse to co-operate, and prepare his 
 way, the work of Jehovah cannot go on. Such was the sum of Mr. 
 
 M 's discourse, and the burthen of the several prayers put up 
 
 at the close, was, *' Oh Lord ! poor sinners are dead and in their 
 graves around us — thou awaitestto awake them to spiritual life — 
 but requirest in this solemn business the co-operation of thy peo- 
 ple. Oh, help us then to take away the stone, that they may not 
 remain dead to all eternity through our neglect." 
 
 Mr. B preached from the words, " Their feet shall slide in 
 
 due time,'" from which he assumed, (1) That God has a set time 
 from eternity for all the work he performs, (inclusive of the saving 
 or damning of sinners,) and, therefore, (2) It must not be pre- 
 sumed from the fact that sinners, long in rebellion, are yet out of 
 hell, that God's mercy will always endure toward them, for " their 
 feet shall slide in due time." (3) " It might be," the preacher 
 remarked, " that God had appointed the close of that very meeting 
 as the time when the feet of many of the congregation, still re- 
 maining hardened, should slide into unending burnings. They were 
 therefore solemnly admonished to submit without delay, and 
 avert this dreadful doom." Avert a doom appointed from eternity ! 
 
 Mr. A chose the following words : " For ye know that af- 
 terward, when he would have received the blessing, he was rejected, 
 and found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully 
 with tears.'''' There is allusion here to the history of Jacob and 
 
 Vol. I.— b 2 
 
18 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 Esau. The latter, "when it was too late, indulged in unavailing 
 regrets at having sold his birth-right, and implored his father, in 
 the most moving manner, to bless him in such terms of benediction 
 as he could, consistently with what he had already invoked upon 
 the head of his brother Jacob ; the poor old father was much 
 moved for his unfortunate son, and most fervently complied with 
 his desire. The preacher, however, disregarded all the analogies 
 in the case, and assumed from his text, (1) That each sinner has 
 a certain term of time allotted him, within which he may secure 
 the salvation of his soul, (2) If he fail to improve this space, no 
 future opportunities for this great business will be afforded him ; 
 " the divine wrath will kindle, and blaze against him to all eter- 
 nity — ^he will cry out from the depths of his wretchedness in hell, 
 in order to move God to compassion, but all in vain — he will find 
 no place for repentance in the divine mind — (there was in Isaac's, 
 however !)— no pity — no relentance there : the forked lightnings 
 of Almighty anger shall scath and blast the sinner with every 
 stroke." Had it been the preacher's object to depict his Maker's 
 character in the most repulsive colors, he could not have suc- 
 ceeded in that business better than he did. The mind instinct- 
 irely recoiled with loathing from the contemplation of a being, 
 clothed with almighty power, and exerting it for the infliction of 
 the most horrid torments upon impotent worms. 
 
 Mr. S , who preached the next sermon in course, evidently 
 
 thought that the chords of horror had been so often and so vio- 
 lently struck during the meeting, that they had nearly lost their 
 power to vibrate ; he therefore touched an opposite note. He read 
 for his text, " Is there no halm in Gilead ?" His prayer also, and 
 the hymns he selected, were in the same strain. He began with 
 
 " Sinners, will you scorn the message, 
 
 Sent in mercy from above ] 
 
 Every sentence, oh, how tender I 
 
 Every line is full of love. 
 
 Listen to it — 
 
 Every line is full of love.'* 
 
 " Is it so V mentally inquired our heroine, whose orthodoxy 
 by this time, (truth must be told,) had begun to stagger under the 
 load of nauseous and contradictory stuft' to which, for several days 
 in succession, she had been listening. *' Is it then the fact, that 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 19 
 
 every line in the message from heaven to man, is full of love? 
 Then, indeed, have I not heard one line of this message since this 
 meeting began, until this moment ! for all here has been wrath — 
 vengeance — damnation — horror — malediction ! What am I to think 
 of all this?" 
 
 Last of all, arose Mr. F , the great, the notorious Mr. F <, 
 
 who was kept to the last as a sort of force in reserve, that when 
 the congregation had become fatigued in body and mind — their 
 spirits jaded — their nervous systems morbidly excitable — he might 
 then strike a decisive blow, and secure an easy victory. Mr. 
 
 F rolled his large eyes over the audience for some time in 
 
 silence, affecting to peruse every countenance, in order, it would 
 seem, that he might estimate the degree of resistance that still 
 remained to be overcome. At length, assuming a stern aspect, 
 and modulating his voice to a tone of hoarse and triumphant bit- 
 terness, he announced his text from Proverbs — " The scorner shall 
 scorn alone.'''' My pen, thou art a feeble thing ; I will not trust 
 thee in the attempt to describe the harangue that followed — the 
 task surpasses thy powers. I can only say, that from beginning 
 to ending, it was as disgusting and horrid a melange as the alpha- 
 bet of the English, or any other tongue, was ever combined to 
 form. His soul revelled in the infernal pictures which his fancy 
 drew : he completely personated the deity of his own descrip- 
 tions ; his countenance, voice, attitudes, all evinced, that, for the 
 time, he imagined himself the almighty avenger of human crime : 
 and with what eagerness did his ears drink in the groans and 
 shrieks of suiFering spirits, from his ideal abyss of wrath ! " Ye 
 shall scorn alone /" he tauntingly responded again and again, as he 
 imitated these cries with his own hoarse tones, and fancied them 
 realities. " Water ! water ! for my burning tongue ! !" " Ah ! ye 
 wretched sinners ! where now are your insulting scoflfs at God's 
 people? You are each too much occupied with your individual 
 agonies, I trow, to unite longer in this business ; and now to all 
 eternity you must ■ scorn alone /' " 
 
 Such was the closing exercise of this twelve-days' meeting — 
 such the sermon that had wrought so powerfully upon poor Brid- 
 get Bounce, which was " something about getting religion," she 
 believed^ and the text for which was found, she expected^ " some- 
 where in the book of Paul !" 
 
20 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALTSM. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 How much of happiness, hope, intellect, has been wrecked 
 beyond repair, and how much of family and social discord has 
 been engendered, by extravagant and fanatical proceedings, bear- 
 ing the name of religious worship, the omniscient God alone is 
 capable of determining : a few local details only fall within the 
 range of mortal ken. I have not taken it upon me to ascertain the 
 result of the operations on the point — I know, however, that a lad 
 of very bright promise, in his 16th year, a clerk and chief agent 
 in the employ of an eminent member of the bench in that county, 
 was converted by their means into a maniac for life. I also know 
 that the meeting utterly failed of effecting the object for which it 
 was gotten up ; that on the contrary, it even had a reaction against 
 it, as might have been foreseen by the agents in the business, 
 had not the adage, " whom the gods purpose to destroy, they first 
 make mad," had some kind of verification in their case. 
 
 The public there had been advertised that a traveling advocate 
 of the universal love of heaven would preach in their academy on 
 the evening of the day which was to close the long meeting. The 
 famous Mr. F adverted to this fact in his sermon in the morn- 
 ing, with ineffable contempt ; he cautioned his people at the peril 
 of their souls against hearing the stranger, and ended his notice 
 of him by very charitably assigning him a final doom amongst 
 those who " shall scorn alone.^^ This very allusion to the stranger, 
 induced one of his hearers, a transient sojourner on the point, to 
 resolve, for the first time in his life, on hearing this new doctrine 
 for himself; not, however, with the remotest intention of believing 
 a word of it — but in this he was greatly and agreeably disap- 
 pointed, for at the close of the sermon, which was nowise remarka- 
 ble for talent, either in the composition or delivery, but was 
 somewhat so for an unaffected simplicity of arrangement and 
 diction, he arose before all present and avowed himself a convert 
 to its doctrine, declaring that he had never before heard preaching 
 which so came home to his understanding, and carried conviction 
 to his judgment, as did that. 
 
 Poor Waters ! he soon experienced that he had pushed out his 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 21 
 
 skiff on a troubled sea. Supposing that all might be convinced 
 by the evidence which had satisfied his own mind, he began zeal- 
 ously to advocate his new faith. Ha, ha! he found very few 
 disposed to even hear him ! not even to hear him quote from the 
 bible ! and of those too whom he had often heard confess them- 
 selves as "poor, erring mortals," and with much affected humilia- 
 tion, pray that God would " lead the blind by a way that they knew 
 not," and " set their feet in the paths of truth." His own brother, 
 a deacon of the church, to visit whom he had traveled some hun- 
 dreds of miles, actually denied him the hospitalities of his house, 
 for the sin of having therein given utterance to his newly acquired 
 views, and he was therefore fain to take up his lodgings at one of 
 the public inns of the place ! Even such is but too frequently the 
 triumph, which the dark spirit of human creeds achieves in the 
 hearts of men, over the heaven-born spirit of charity. 
 
 We mortals, and those of us too who term ourselves christians, 
 are very modest and unpretending beings, very ; we bow our- 
 selves humbly down before the throne of heaven, owning that 
 W3 are blind and impotent, and most devoutly imploring superior 
 guidance; when, should the Being we supplicate vouchsafe an 
 answer to our petitions, we would spurn his instructions with 
 scorn if they accorded not with our preconceived opinions. 
 
 A few days after our heroine had resumed her school in Univer- 
 salia, a note was brought her, by a little girl, a daughter of one of 
 the few families in the place who held a different religious faith 
 from that which generally prevailed there. The note set forth, 
 ^ that, as the universalists were to hold an association in the church, 
 on the Wednesday and Thursday evening, and as it was under- 
 stood that Miss Alice purposed attending the religious services 
 on the occasion, this was to apprise her that the writer, as one of 
 her employers, would not consent that the school should be sus- 
 pended for those two days. * * <* For the yuniversalers," (so 
 ran the scrawl,) " havn't no religion in no shape nor fashon no 
 how, and shudent ought to be kowntenansed by the peepal of 
 God, i was willin yu shud tend the meetin on the pint, all tho im 
 no more a kalwinite than nothin at all, but the kalwins beleev in 
 bein born agin, which i doo too, and i kan kownte Nanse them, 
 bekase they may be will see like us sum day. So no more at 
 present. dolly Trowler." 
 
22 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 " A pretty specimen, this," thought Alice, " of the ignorance 
 and intolerance in religion, with which churches that take a high 
 stand for sanctity of character, quite sufficiently abound ! And I 
 more than suspect that the root of all this uncharitableness lies in 
 the doctrinal principles on which these churches are based." — 
 Alice was right— but coming from her, reared as she had been, in 
 fanaticism, it was a large and serious concession. Facts, how- 
 ever, abundantly justified it. She could not but observe, that 
 under much exterior devoutness, and connected with much scru- 
 pulosity in the observance of times and ordinances, there was in 
 the people of her faith a too general absence of the more substan- 
 tial and fundamental virtues of religion. She could no longer 
 think that these evil fruits of a bad faith were local, with regard to 
 the persons exhibiting them, for a very recent letter from Connecti- 
 cut, written at the request of her parents by their minister, con- 
 vinced her that there also a gloomy theology generated in its pos- 
 sessors a spirit like itself. The letter referred to, appeared to have 
 been despatched in great haste, and expressed very great solicitude, 
 which had, it seems, been awakened on her behalf by the perusal 
 of the one she had written. " I was immediately aware," so it ran, 
 *' though your parents were not, that your immortal soul was in 
 the utmost danger, from the fact that you had most unfortunately 
 fallen in with a community of universaiists, a people more to be 
 avoided than deists or atheists, because they affect to found their 
 faith on the scriptures, and possess a fatal talent for giving a plau- 
 sible face to their impious and blasphemous tenets ; I, therefore, 
 in the name of your parents, and in consideration of your own 
 precious eternal interests, solemnly charge you to shun them, as 
 you would the pit of perdition ! You talk of their social and moral 
 virtues; by as much as they seem to possess these, are they the 
 more to be dreaded, for even the arch fiend can, when it suits his 
 purpose, ' transform himself into an angel of light.' You must 
 therefore not take them for what they seem to be, but for what in 
 fact they are, enemies to God, and to the souls of men. Their 
 doctrine is the siren's song: it lulls the soul, by its bewitching 
 melody, into a slumber from which many thousands of its votaries, 
 it is to be feared, have been awaked at last by the fires that never 
 shall be quenched. It may do to live by, but to persons of that 
 class, the language of the poet will apply with peculiar truth. 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 23 
 
 * Fools men may live, but fools they seldom die.' 
 
 " It is rarely known that men die universalists. I hope you will 
 pardon the freedom of this advice, and believe me to be your sincere 
 well wisher for time and eternity. Zaccheus Fearon." 
 
 To this letter several postscripts were appended by different 
 members of the family, with whom it had been left unsealed for 
 that purpose. I will here insert but one of these, from our hero- 
 ine's youngest sister, an arch and playful girl ; it is as follows : 
 
 "P. S. Who the mischief are these universalists of whom 
 parson Fearon speaks "? do they look like folk, Alice 1 We have 
 prayers put up in our church for all sorts of heathen ; Mahomet- 
 ans, Hottentots, and the like ; but I never heard universalists 
 prayed for yet, therefore I think their chance for heaven is very 
 slim, don't you, Alice ? If you should ever leave our church, do 
 turn Pagan, for every spare rag and rye-straw about here is being 
 turned into money, to pay the way for their salvation. So no more 
 at present, from one who never saw your soul, but loves your 
 body dreadful well. Charity Sherwood." 
 
 In all respects Alice admired the inhabitants of Universalia, with 
 the exception that they were less serious and devout in their gene- 
 ral demeanor than comported with her ideas of piety ; she remarked 
 upon this defect to a very intimate companion of hers (the taller 
 of the two young ladies described in chapters.) and inquired how 
 she would account for it. " Simply, my dear Alice," was the 
 answer, " by considering the true nature and ends of the religion 
 of Christ. Does it not communicate glad tidings 1 and is it not 
 in the nature of things for these to infuse joy into the heart 1 and 
 when the spirit is joyful, will not the countenance be bathed in its 
 light 1 Why, I have seen persons in the act of uniting themselves 
 to chnirches termed christian, and the forms of induction were of 
 so sombre a character, that by the time they were gone through 
 with, the subjects, in look and bearing, resembled culprits who 
 had been consigned over to the executioner. Surely, they or I 
 greatly mistake the character of this religion : I identify it with 
 all that is beautiful and happifying in morals — all that is mag- 
 nanimous in action. I connect with it no hollow and driveling 
 affectation of self-abasement, for the office of Christianity is to 
 
24 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 elevate man — not to trample down his spirit, his dignity, and his 
 
 hopes, and" " You are preaching again, my dear J ," 
 
 interrupted Alice, " so I must call you down to the level of ordi- 
 nary conversation. Of one thing I am satisfied in regard to your 
 religion, Mr. Fearon's declaration to the contrary notwithstanding ; 
 il tvill do to die by — for to that fact I have witnessed several 
 examples since I have sojourned with you here." " I will furnish 
 you with the account of another, and very striking one," said Miss 
 
 J . " It is contained in a letter from a young minister in our 
 
 connection to my uncle." 
 
 She took the letter from her scrip, and read the account as 
 follows: *' I was last week riding in fulfilment of a round of 
 appointments, when I met a young man and women in a dearborn, 
 with a coffin between them, which, on our stopping to converse, 
 they informed me contained the corpse of a sister of theirs, in her 
 19th year, who had deceased at the house of another sister in Mt. 
 Pleasant, and they were taking the corpse to inter it in the family 
 burial place. ' Could you not officiate on the occasion V they 
 inquired. I informed them it was not possible, and inquired 
 how it happened that /was applied to? when I had always un- 
 derstood the young woman to be of a very different faith. 'So 
 she was till within a month or two of her death,' was the reply, 
 *and it grieved her sister, in whose house she died, very much, 
 that she should adopt your faith at so critical a lime.' But so it 
 was — one minister was sent for after another by her friends, to 
 effect a change in her views, but in vain. Reasoning and threat- 
 ening were equally ineffectual. ' I have been living,' she would 
 say ' as you all know, in daily expectation of death for the 
 last five months — I have in* that time reflected much on religion. 
 Without other aid than that of my bible, I have settled into 
 my present persuasion — and can you now think to frighten me 
 out of opinions which have been adopted under such circum- 
 stances? It cannot be; I am immoveably made up to die in 
 them !' I knew there was a little society of universalists in 
 the place where she died, composed of some most estimable 
 persons, and I inquired whether her sister was so hard-hearted 
 as not to send for one of them. They informed me, that, en 
 the contrary, the poor young woman was kept as ignorant as 
 possible of the very existence of such a society. Oh ! what 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 25 
 
 would I not have given to have been but one hour by her dying 
 pillow ! that I might have dilated upon that impartial and un- 
 bounded love, to whose hands in that trying juncture she was 
 so calmly entrusting her all of hope and happiness for ever. But 
 she died alone, poor girl ! Still it was a consolation to me to 
 know, that her faiih proved equal to the severe trial to which it 
 was subjected." — " Let me interrupt your reading here," said 
 Alice ; " supposing they could have extorted from the fears of the 
 dying girl a retraction of her principles, what object would they 
 have gained 1 would such retraction, wrung from her weakness, 
 have atoned for errors deliberately adopted in the strength of her 
 faculties T" " If, by any means," answered Miss F — ., " they 
 could have succeeded in wringing from her a denial of her faith, 
 they would thereby have accomplished an important party pur- 
 pose ; the circumstance would have been loudly trumpeted forth 
 as an evidence that ' the Universalist belief will not do to die hyJ* 
 I have known the death-beds of the young and inexperienced to 
 be haunted for this special end ! Still, we may adopt a more 
 charitable view of their conduct : their efforts may have been 
 stimulated by the weak supposition that the Creator will damn 
 mortals for their errors of opinion ! a supposition which does great 
 injustice to his character, unquestionably. But we will proceed 
 with the letter" * * * " At a conference prayer- 
 meeting in the town, on the sabbath evening following this 
 melancholy incident, a self-conceited sprig of divinity arose, and 
 after the usual groans and distortions of countenance, delivered 
 himself to the following effect. ' My friends, the young woman 
 who was interred in our grave-yard a few days since, and who 
 died in rebellion against God, and rejection of his truth, was offer- 
 ed a conveyance to a protracted meeting some time before her 
 decease, but she refused to avail of it, and now — Oh ! — Oh ! — 
 Oh ! — she's gone where protracted-meeting opportunities will no 
 more be afforded her !' 
 
 " And who, think you, was this young saint 1 what were his 
 pretensions ? I will state a fact from which you may judge. He 
 had had the charge of the school in that district, but was de- 
 prived of the sarpe about a month before the delivery of the 
 above recorded speech, for having repeatedly taken indelicate 
 
 Vol. I.— C No. 2. 
 
26 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 liberties with the youug females entrusted to his care ! This is 
 an unexaggerated truth." ****** 
 
 " I have known," said our heroine, "just such lumpish boobies 
 in Connecticut ; and they could deliver themselves quite as edi- 
 fyingly in conference prayer-meetings. That is a species of 
 meeting to which I was accustomed at home from my infancy ; 
 and for as long back as I can remember. Deacon Snaffle invariably 
 took the lead in it. I doubt if he once failed in all that time, to 
 thank the Lord, that ' while others who are as good by nature as 
 we are, and much better by practice, are trying the a-w-e-ful re- 
 alities of eternity, we continue to be the spa-red monuments of thy 
 dis-tin-guish-ing grace and mercy.' The good man's voice was 
 so cracked, that its sounds wonderfully resembled the monotonous 
 jingle of a cow-bell. I have often checked my sister Charity, 
 for nicknaming him ' Old Brindle,' which was the name of a fa- 
 vourite bell-cow of ours. ' Old Brindle,' she would say, ' wants 
 to make out that hell contains better folk than we are ! I'm sure 
 then it can't want for good society. But what are we to think of 
 our Creator's justice, if he does indeed damn many, who are much 
 better than others whom he saves V We could none of us answer 
 the questions of the playful girl ; so we all united in chiding her 
 for what we termed her wickedness in asking them." " There is 
 an admirable stoicism," said Miss J — . " in our manner of talk- 
 ing about hell, and its inhabitants. Our bigotry damns men 
 very liberally, and saves them very sparingly. Woe to us all if 
 our Creator were as indifferent to our eternal interests as we seem 
 to be to those of one another ! My grandfather, the old squire, 
 who, like most old people, is very garrulous, often entertains me 
 with the Scotchman's prayer : 
 
 ' Lord bless me and my wife, 
 
 My son John and his wife ; 
 Us four, 
 
 No more, my Lord, I care for no more.' " 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 Were you ever present, reader, at an universalist association ? 
 If you were, you need not that I describe one to you ; if not, ray 
 advice to you is that you witness one for yourself as soon as pos- 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 27 
 
 sible ; you will thereby obtain a better idea of such a meeting than 
 any verbal description of mine can give you : and, moreover, there 
 are shades of difference in the same thing at different times, and 
 in different places. You must therefore be content for the present 
 with a sketch of that which took place in Universalia, and was 
 the one referred to in the chaste and classical note of Dolly 
 Trowler. 
 
 My soul ! it is a goodly sight to see some fifteen or twenty 
 hundred persons together, with eager attention, and joy-beaming 
 eyes, listening to the embassage of pardon and love from heaven ! 
 No sighs of anguish are heard there, I trow ; no screams of ter- 
 ror ; far other music greets the ear than that arising from crushed 
 hopes and broken hearts ; for there are unfolded the riches of di- 
 vine grace, as revealed in the covenant of promise. 
 
 "And there, in strains as sweet as angels use, 
 The gospel whispers peace." 
 
 Among the hearers on that occasion, was one who had been 
 confined to her bed for many years from a paralytic stroke ; yet 
 even she had been brought a distance of forty miles to enjoy the 
 happy influences of this glad meeting. The wagon containing 
 the couch on which she lay was drawn close against the church 
 window, which was left open in order that the accents of mercy 
 from the preacher's lips might reach her ears. It is scarcely pos- 
 sible, methinks, to be present on such an occasion without appre- 
 ciating the apostolic exclamation, " How beautiful upon the 
 mountains are the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings ; that 
 publisheth peace ; that saith to Zion,thy God liveth ; thatpreach- 
 eth good tidings of good !" 
 
 The intervals between the times of worship being too short to 
 admit of the congregation repairiag to their respective homes for 
 refreshment, provisions, in basket loads, were taken to the place 
 occupied for the transaction of business, (which was the 
 school house afore-described,) and were spread out on a common 
 table, to which, without respect to rank, or condition, or opinions, 
 all that would come might come, and partake freely, " without 
 money and without price." Had you been there, reader, you 
 could not, for the life of yon, have distinguished between the 
 clergy and the laics. All were on a parity ; all distinctions of 
 cast were lost sight of ; all individualities were merged in the 
 
28 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 mass : and as one family all rejoiced together in a common and 
 glorious hope. 
 
 Oh, but I would like passing well to be able to give you the 
 outline of the sermons delivered at this meeting ! but space will 
 not permit. The general themes were : — The immeasurable love 
 of God as manifested to man through Christ Jesus ; the per- 
 fect wisdom and benevolence of all the divine dispensations, 
 throughout all space and all duration ; the happiness inevitably 
 attendant upon virtue, and misery upon vice ; man's obligations 
 TO man, and to God ; and how the due discharge of these is pro- 
 motive of public and private good ; the resurrection of all man- 
 kind to an incorruptible, immortal, and glorious state ; the final 
 extinction of death, suffering, sin ; and the reconciliation of all 
 intelligences to their all-perfect and benevolent Creator ; that he 
 may be all in all. These are but the general and more prominent 
 topics ; but within this grand outline many beautiful particulars 
 were comprised. I am tempted to give you a sketch of the closing 
 discourse, by Mr. S — . ; from it you may, with some approach to 
 accuracy, infer the general character of the whole. 
 
 His text was from Matthew 6, 34 : " Take therefore no thought 
 for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things 
 of itself — Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." " It seems 
 the scope and purpose of the popular theology," said the preacher, 
 " to shed a frightful gloom upon man's vision of the future ; to 
 people that future with horrid phantoms, and thereby to encum- 
 ber him with perplexities and harassing forecasts of evil; as if 
 the brief path from the cradle to death were not already sufficient- 
 ly thorny and tearful. The advice contained in the text, must 
 have been designed by the benevolent Savior, as a preventive of 
 this superstitious folly on the part of weak and blind humanity. 
 
 " If man is indeed," continued Mr. S — . " ushered into the 
 world an infant demon, full of malignant hatred toward his 
 Creator, (of whom he is utterly ignorant, as of all things else,) 
 and a subject of that Creator's wrath, and that wrath has kindled 
 for his spirit, in a world beyond the grave, a furnace of intense 
 and unquenchable fires ; and man has but the short and precari- 
 ous term of his mortal life allowed him, within which to appease 
 that wrath and avoid those fires ; if all this be the case, then in- 
 deed is his utmost solicitude about the future fully justified ; and 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 29 
 
 with all his agonising sensibility on that head, he falls unspeaka- 
 bly short of being so to a sufficient degree. But then, what are 
 we to think of the Savior's precept"? Does he not positively in- 
 terdict this solicitude, on the ground, that each day has its own 
 sufficient evil? 
 
 " Oh !" exclaimed Mr. S — . " perish for ever that dark and 
 blighting theology, whose business it seems to spread additional 
 thorns in the pathway of life, and engender distrusts of that al- 
 mighty love, by which in all our sufferings and dangers we are 
 constantly over-watched !" And he proceeded to point out the 
 grounds for a confidence in heaven ; for a cheerful acquiescence 
 in all the divine allotments during the present, and a suppression 
 of all anxieties about the future, save such as are indispensable 
 to a proper regard for our well-being, and for that of the creatures 
 dependant on our care and providence. " Man's interests beyond 
 the grave," said he, " are in infinitely better hands than his own ; 
 in his whose love for him exceeds that of a mother's for her 
 offspring by as much as an atom is exceeded by infinity ; in those 
 hands they are safe; and it was a consideration of this fact 
 without doubt that dictated the text before us, interdicting all 
 distressing solicitude about the future. 
 
 " This life," said the preacher, " hath its own sufficient and 
 substantial miseries, and it is quite unnecessary to pry into an 
 unseen world — a terra incognita^ and to tantalise ourselves with 
 those unreal, those shadowy horrors, by which a false religion 
 ever seeks to bolster up its pretensions. 
 
 " Nevertheless," continued the preacher, " though I admit 
 that this world is sufficiently sorrowful, and, to a certain extent, 
 properly termed a ' vale of tears,' yet do I not fully sympathise in 
 those sickly repinings at its miseries and vanities, which are too 
 commonly drawled out from the pulpit, for the world is the work- 
 manship of God ; and it is correspondently beautiful — beautiful 
 surpassing description. Its mountains and valleys, hills and 
 plains, rivulets, rivers, lakes, oceans ; its infinitely diversified 
 forms and colours ; — for it embraces all the hues of the rainbow 
 variously blended and combined : all are beautiful. Then the sun 
 pours down upon it a flood of glory by day, and the moon mantles 
 it with a silver radiancy by night; and oh! is not the canopy 
 beautiful when it is scintillating with its millions of stars ! And 
 
 You I.— c 2 
 
30 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 there is much of moral beauty too in this much-abused world of 
 ours, maugre all that the bigot, and the cynical philosopher may 
 say to the contrary. See, for instance, maternal love, ' strong 
 as death,' bending over the cradle of infancy, and the couch of 
 affliction; see hearts. united by mutual affection reciprocally sus- 
 taining each other through long, long years of trial and suffering : 
 
 see in short, amidst the darker aspects of human life, on which 
 
 gloomy theologians are wont to dwell, there are transpiring 
 a thousand scenes to engage the approving notice of all-seeing 
 Heaven. Yes, this is a beautiful world. 
 
 " Yet ought we to remember," said Mr. S — ., " that it is not 
 our abiding home, nor does it afford to man's unbounded spirit 
 sufficient scope for the expansion of its powers : we may there- 
 fore look forward to a world beyond the precincts of time and 
 death ; not with gloomy forecasts of evil, but in the cheering 
 hope of ere long dwelling in its realms of sinless purity, and of 
 basking forever in its cloudless light. It is with this kind pur- 
 pose that the hand of religion draws aside the screen which con- 
 ceals future things ; that from the prospects of a better world we 
 may gather encouragements to sustain us under the trials and sor- 
 rows of this : she whispers to man's doubting heart the cordial 
 assurance, that the wings of divine protection are ever over him ; 
 amidst the vicissitudes of life she points his hopes to a more en- 
 during and changeless existence ; and she dries up his tears, by 
 referring him to a time when all tears shall be wiped, and cease 
 to flow for ever and forevermore." 
 
 The preacher closed his discourse with some excellent obser- 
 vations, tending to reconcile man to his condition on earth while 
 he slays here, and to leave it with cheerfulness when called hence 
 to a better inheritance ; to beget in his bosom sentiments of kind- 
 ness and good-will toward his fellow man ; to incite him to a 
 willing discharge of all his obligations, and to swell his heart 
 with love and gratitude to God, for the revelations of his love 
 through Jesus Christ. In reference to the forbearance necessary 
 to be exercised toward those who differ from us in religious faith, 
 he used, I thought, a very pretty comparison. 
 
 ♦' You and I, my brother," said he, " take our stand on a high 
 eminence, whence we can command a wide prospect of hills, and 
 plains, and forests, and streams, stretching away in the distance 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 31 
 
 as far as the eye can reach ; the sun is setting, and to me it seems 
 to be dipping down into the very bosom of a lake in the distance. 
 * In the lake ! !' you exclaim, with great surprise ; * why I can 
 see hills far, far beyond ; and the sun seems to be immediately 
 over them !' Now the difference here, my brother, must be owing 
 to the superior strength of your visual organs over mine, enabling 
 you to see much farther than I ; and I should be almost beside 
 myself to quarrel with you for such a cause. Well, then, you 
 ought to bear with another, if to his mental vision, the divine 
 and infinite love — the sun of the moral universe — seems to shed 
 its beams upon all intelligences, insomuch that not one can ever 
 get beyond its vital and cheering influences ; whilst to your more 
 restricted perception there seem to be millions whom the light of 
 that sun will never touch, and millions upon millions in regard to 
 whom, after life's brief day, it will set to rise no more, leaving 
 them in rayless darkness and despair for ever and ever." 
 
 I can assure you, reader, that whoever was an uninterested 
 auditor during the services of this association, our heroine was 
 not ; her ear seemed eagerly to drink in every word ; she had 
 never in all her life witnessed religion under aspects so attractive ; 
 it seemed to her that the prevalent and ardent anticipations of 
 heavenly bliss had brought down its realities to earth. " The 
 poet may here be quoted with truth and emphasis," thought she, 
 
 " Every sentence, oh how tender ! 
 Every Une is full of love." 
 
 As the meeting was about to close, the preachers, who were now 
 together in the desk, or within the area around it, united their 
 voices with the choir in the opposite gallery, in singing that 
 beautiful hymn, 
 
 " Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings, 
 
 Thy better portion take ;" 
 
 and every heart seemed to heave with a pang of regret, when the 
 parting benediction was invoked. 
 
 " Well Alice," archly remarked Miss J—., as they walked 
 arm in arm to her father's house, "you see tbat we publicans and 
 sinners engage, occasionally, in the worship of God after our 
 heathenish fashion ; we omit, it is true, what many seem to con- 
 sider as the chief essential in the business, viz : the imagery of 
 a dark infernum, with its myriads of lost spirits, groaning to the 
 
33 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 glory of God from beds of burning coals. But, on the whole, 
 and bating this beautiful item, tell me, Alice, how did you like 
 the meeting ?" 
 
 Alice made no response save by pressing the arm of her com- 
 panion with her own, with an emphasis which indicated that she 
 was in no mood for discourse, but rather for silent communion 
 with her own thoughts ; and they, accordingly, prosecuted the 
 residue of the short walk to Miss J — 's paternal residence in 
 silence. 
 
 I may here inform the reader that Miss J — lives in the first 
 house above the humble edifice in which Alice holds her school ; 
 it is in nearly the most pleasant part of the valley ; to the west- 
 ward may be seen, at some distance across the beautiful plain, 
 some glimpses of the Susquehanna, meandering like a broad 
 riband of silver through the lovely landscape, and laughing in 
 the sunbeams, as if conscious it were imparting to that land- 
 scape its principal charm. On the east, the part of the hill 
 just opposite, is somewhat depressed, and marked with one or 
 two slight openings or defiles, formed probably by the occasional 
 rivulets which congregate after heavy rains ; it is also somewhat 
 rounded from the same cause, and presents several convex 
 slopes, with narrow passages between, which are smooth, or ap- 
 pear so in the distance, and covered with grass ; these give to 
 this point of the valley a very picturesque effect. It was by 
 one of these passages that Alice gained the position on the hill- 
 side, where she found the " Old Squire," (as described in chapter 
 3) and she was now irresistibly led to seek the same spot, that 
 she might be perfectly alone, and once more feast her eyes with 
 the prospect to be obtained from that eminence. I have said once 
 more, for her parents had by letter expressly enjoined her instant 
 return to Connecticut. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " Oh ! for an angel's harp ! and an angel's skill to touch its 
 chords and awaken its harmonies ! for human language falls 
 immeasurably short of themes so grand and extatic. Hencefarth 
 and forever I abjure all impious distrusts of my almighty Father's 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 33 
 
 love ! I shall as soon believe that infinite duration can be exhaust- 
 ed by its successive flow of moments or of ages, as that the in- 
 finite ocean of divine love can be drained by its ceaseless expa- 
 tiation upon the innumerable myriads of creatures to which it has 
 given existence. Henceforth as I walk abroad, I shall perceive 
 in everything and everywhere its all-pervading presence, its all- 
 beautifying and vitalizing influences. 'Twill sparkle in every 
 star of night ; 'twill scintillate in every solar ray ; in all the 
 voices of nature I shall hear its music ; it will touch with balm 
 the wounds of my heart in sorrow and bereavement ; it will shed 
 its mild light on the darkness of adversity : and in the strife of 
 the passions, and amid the storms and alarms of life, borrowing 
 the voice of its once embodied and crucified representative on 
 earth; it will say "jomce," and an immediate "calm" shall 
 succeed. I am — I am constrained to be — a universalist, and, what- 
 ever obloquy may attach to that name, such for the future will I 
 avow myself, for life and death, time, and eternity, all things, 
 present in the light of this faith a new and beauteous aspect." 
 
 Call this rhapsody, reader, if it so please you, it is the lan- 
 guage in which the full soul of our heroine vented itself, when 
 she had been for some minutes seated in the shade of the clump 
 of sumachs afore-noticed, where she had had her interview with 
 the " Old Squire." The afternoon was most lovely — the atmos- 
 phere pure and serene — and the wide-spread panorama before 
 her seemed even more beauteous than before. The main road 
 through the bottom, and the several paths diverging from it in 
 various directions, seemed teeming with life — persons on foot, on 
 horseback, in carriages, were repairing from the meeting to 
 their several homes ; here and there stood groups of friends re- 
 ciprocating adieus, and invitations for future visits : it was in a 
 double sense a moving scene. "Oh!" continued Alice, as she 
 gazed upon it, " most truly said Mr. S — , ' this is a beautiful 
 world ;' it is indeed so ; and more especially now to me, since 
 my perceptions, I trust, are much improved; for yonder Nar- 
 rows, as they are termed, both in name and nature might well 
 represent my former state of mind ; but I now see the heavens, 
 the earth, all things, to be mantled with the smiles of almighty 
 love, and every living creature to be a subject of his benign re- 
 gards. Yes, I am quite brought into a new faith, new hope, new 
 
34 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 feelings ; and I shrink not from henceforth bearing the despised 
 name corresponding to these new views." 
 
 *** ## ^ n^ ^ 
 
 I need only add, that the above resolution has been faithfully- 
 adhered to : Alice has been for some time at her native home, in 
 Connecticut, where, although opposed on every hand, and by 
 those too whom she respects and loves, she unshrinkingly avows 
 herself a believer in the plainly scriptural doctrine, that ' The Lord 
 is good unto all, and his tender mercy is over all his works ;' and 
 this glorious faith is a principal theme in the epistolary corres- 
 pondence which she maintains with Miss J — , her intimate and 
 amiable companion while a sojourner in the Pennsylvania Valley. 
 We will close our story with an extract from a recent letter of 
 hers to this young lady, from which the reader will perceive, that, 
 at whatever sacrifice to her private interests, Alice is bent on 
 maintaining her despised faith in the midst of its most violent, 
 but perhaps, conscientious opponents. 
 
 * * * * "I did not inform you that in returning 
 
 to my native home, I chose the longer route up the Susquehanna 
 to the very pleasant village of Unadilla, on the western margin, 
 and just above the mouth of a lovely river of the same name : 
 thence across to the Katskil turnpike, from which I diverged to 
 Delhi, a beautiful town on the Delaware, and but little more than 
 a score of miles from its sources : thence over the most barren 
 and dreary mountain ranges conceivable to Kingston or Sopus ; 
 and to Roundout, on the North river, where the Delaware and 
 Hudson canal terminates : thence across to Hyde Park, distin- 
 guished for its elegant country seats ; and so on to Poughkeepsie, 
 Dover Plains, &c. I might have gone by the shorter way of the 
 Great Bend, Coshecton, and Newburgh, but I had no particular 
 motives for haste, and merely consulted pleasantness. 
 
 " In the sitting-room at Roundout, an animated conversation 
 ensued on the subject of religion. A young universalist minister 
 being there on a professional visit, his doctrine became the topic 
 of discussion. Of course I was an interested auditor. My atten- 
 tion had been attracted toward an intelligent German in the com- 
 pany, by the peculiar benevolence of his sentiments. Governor 
 Shultz, of Pennsylvania, had pardoned a criminal under sentence 
 of death, as his last official act. All the company (being believers 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 35 
 
 in endless wfe) reprobated the ex-Governor on this ground, with 
 the exception of the German, who bestowed unqualified praise 
 upon his clemency ; remarking, that ' if forgiveness he a crime, 
 then God has committed more of it than any other being.'' Indeed 
 all he said was so much in the spirit of him who told the sinful 
 woman, ' neither do I condemn thee — go and sin no more,' that I 
 concluded within myself, ' Surely this person does not believe in 
 a Deity who will damn his creatures to an eternity of misery for 
 their sins of a few years ; or if he does, his dispositions are not 
 conformed to those of that Deity.' 
 
 " I was correct in regard to my German fellow-traveller ; he 
 had, to be sure, never before heard of the Universalist sect, but 
 when informed of what the term implied his eyes sparkled with 
 delight, and especially on being told that this denomination is nu- 
 merous and rapidly increasing : he assured us that all benevolent 
 literary men, whether catholic or protestant, were secretly of this 
 persuasion ; and although the most of them did not choose to incur 
 ecclesiastical censure by openly avowing it, yet that it is suffi- 
 ciently intelligible in their writings, and he entertained us with 
 very numerous quotations which fully sustained the remark. 
 
 " If the fact is as stated, I conceive it to form a strong consider- 
 ation in favor of the truth of our sentiments ; but then I reflected 
 that Cowper, that most benevolent of all poets, was a rigid Cal- 
 vinist, and, therefore, an undoubted exception to the truth of the 
 observation ; and yet, upon further thought, I find that it does hold 
 good even in regard to him, for there are passages in his Task 
 which show that from his better nature a benign light occasional- 
 ly flashed upon the darkness of his educational creed ; or, in other 
 words, that his kind heart often dragged per force his head (viti- 
 ated by false religious culture) into a purer and manlier train of 
 thinking than that which his gloomy creed inspired. Take the 
 following sample. 
 
 * Thus heavenward all things tend, for all was once 
 Perfect, and all at length must be restored. 
 So God hath wisely purposed, who would else 
 In his dishonor'd works, himself endure 
 Dishonor, and be wrong'd without redress." 
 
 " The mind that dictated these lines could not possibly, at the 
 time, have believed that Jehovah will be eternally dishonored by 
 
86 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 the total and irreparable ruin of the fairest portion of his work- 
 manship. 
 
 " I find, indeed, my dear J — , that all that is beautiful in senti- 
 ment is in reality connected with this doctrine ; and that the most 
 sublime and admired minds have indeed in every nation and age, 
 so far as my reading extends, been more or less illumined by it. 
 Who that has read with attention the works of Pope, Addison, 
 Goldsmith, Akenside, Thompson, Gray, Fenelon, Schiller, Goethe, 
 and others, can seriously doubt the fact? Would that the minds 
 of my aged parents could be open to perceive its truth ! How 
 serene would the evening of their existence be, if the divine light 
 of this faith were blended with the beams of their setting sun ! 
 
 " I am more than ever convinced, my friend, that the doctrine 
 of unending misery, in the proportion in which it is sincerely be- 
 lieved, blunts the natural sensibilities. How else could its advo- 
 cates remain so manifestly indifferent with the dreadful prospect 
 before them, that countless multitudes of human beings are con- 
 stantly drifting on the tide of time to never-ceasing burnings 1 
 My parents, for instance, (and they are to the full as kind as 
 parents commonly are,) seem to have quite given me over to 
 eternal reprobation : yet they appear but little affected by this 
 circumstance ! I ventured to ask them as we sat around the fire a 
 few evenings since, whether, if I were bound to a stake to be 
 burned alive in their presence, they would not be unspeakably 
 afflicted by the event. ' We would, undoubtedly,' replied my 
 father, ' but spiritual things are not to be compared with natural ; 
 our carnal attachments will have ceased when we reach the eter- 
 nal world ; and we shall not retain a single feeling in opposition 
 to the will of God ; whether that will be to damn or to save.' I 
 was strongly tempted to respond, that except the divine Being 
 shall undergo as great a change as we, his will must be, as it 
 now is, to ' have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of 
 the truth.' But I knew that to reason with him on this subject 
 would rather tend to irritate than to convince him : and I therefore 
 preferred to be silent, as it better comported with the respect due 
 to the parent from the child. 
 
 " My new faith subjects me to numerous petty annoyances. If 
 I attend upon preaching in any of the churches, I am sure to find 
 a part of the sermon pointed against myself; and the heads of 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 37 
 
 my acquaintances will be turned around in order to see how I am 
 affected by it. I cannot be present even at a prayer meeting but 
 the several supplicants will for prayer substitute declamation and 
 argument against my doctrine, as though Jehovah himself needed 
 to be convinced of its falsity ! Some attempt to gain me over to 
 their views by flattery ; they wonder at a person of my sense and 
 accomplishments being a universalist. Others address themselves 
 to my interests ; they pretend that a conformity to their opinions 
 is indispensable, in order to one's admittance into the higher cir- 
 cles of society ; and yet these same persons term themselves * the 
 despised and persecuted followers of Jesus' ! 
 
 " Parson Fearon seriously advised me the other day, in pre- 
 sence of my mother and sister Charity, as I respected myself, 
 my parents, and connexions, and as 1 prized my soul, and chris- 
 tian fellowship on earth, &c. to disavow my false and dangerous 
 opinions. ' Would you have me be a hypocrite, Mr. Fearon,' 
 said I, ' for such I should certainly be, if, for any motive, I should 
 disavow opinions which I seriously and heartily believe: my 
 opinions may give way before sufficient evidence of their falsity, 
 but mere persuasions addressed to my pride or self-love, however 
 they may bias my willf can surely not remove the convictions of 
 my judgment. But,' continued I, after a little pause, and (I will 
 confess it) with the view of bringing him out plainly, for I sus- 
 pected that to gain numbers to his church was more a real object 
 with him (as with too many others) than to win souls for heaven, 
 — * what would you think if I were to unite myself to the 
 methodistsi' — 'I should think you had gone from bad to worse,' 
 said he; 'you had better remain as you are, Alice, for the metho- 
 dists believe in being a saint to-day and a devil to-morrow, which 
 is flatly contradictory to the bible doctrine of final perseverance.' 
 In this sentiment my father (who came in during the conversation) 
 fully united. 
 
 A few days subsequent I had an interview with the methodist 
 minister, Mr. Steiningstinger, (rather a long name,) whose opinion 
 was, that to go over from the universalist to the calvinist belief, 
 was 'like jumping out of der fire into der frying-pan ; for, mine 
 Got in heavens ! I would a goot teal rader pe a universalist as 
 pe a calvinist.' The singularity is, that each of these sectarists 
 affects to believe the faith of the other at least safe for salvation, 
 
 Vol. I.— D 
 
38 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 while they hoth agree in thinking the universalist faith unsafe / 
 and yet each, rather than be saved in the faith of the other, would 
 prefer to be damned in that of universal salvation ! Such at least 
 is the result to which their professions are reducible. 
 
 " I assure you, my dear J — , that my faith gathers confirmation 
 from nearly every day's observation and experience. I cannot 
 tell you how much I rejoice and thank God that ever I was a 
 sojourner in your beautiful valley, for my new faith is a talisman 
 which blends a hitherto unknown delight with every scene and 
 incident of existence. I had the unspeakable pleasure, but two 
 days ago, of so establishing its truth and exhibiting its excellency 
 to a neighboring vt^oman, whose spirit for some time past has 
 been fluttering at the gates of death, that she has become a con- 
 firmed and rejoicing subject of its influence. ' Oh !' she exclaims, 
 ' I can now die satisfied ; I can now part with ray husband and 
 children, and my kind neighbors too, in the confidence of meeting 
 them again in a brighter world ; there the sun never sets, for God 
 is that sun, and all intelligences shall bask in its beams. I for- 
 merly,' said she, ' often surveyed my little ones with an anxious 
 heart, reflecting that they were about to be left in a world of sin and 
 temptation, where the probability was strong that they would not 
 all escape that dark and dreadful pit of irreparable perdition 
 which 1 conceived to be yawning beneath their feet ; and I used 
 to ask myself, which of these — Oh ! my God ! the thought was 
 full of agony — which of these that have been nourished in my 
 bosom, and have engaged my anxieties by night and by day ; over 
 whose cradles I have watched in their sickness until the stars 
 grew dim in the morning light, and bright and dim again — which 
 of these, and how many, shall I have brought up for endless burn- 
 ings ? But now — God be praised for ever more ! — these anxieties 
 are all dispelled, and I can leave them with Him who has pledged 
 his truth that he will take care of them ; under the wings of his 
 protection they are more secure than they could be in my care." — 
 Not small is the astonishment of the good people about here that 
 my faith should thus have gained a trophy within the very shadows 
 of the grave, for the woman described is very near her end, being 
 in the last stage of a pulmonary consumption. 
 
 "My playful sister Charity, who is at my elbow, says, 'tell 
 Miss J— that I mean to come in a year or two and see what they 
 
ALICE SHERWOOD. 3^ 
 
 can do with me in her pretty valley; for being a rattle-brain, I 
 have been given over as a child of the devil from my infancy, in- 
 somuch that I feel something like a filial attachment for the old 
 gentleman, and hope there will be a favorable turn in his hard for- 
 tune some day or other. However, I am willing to be quits with 
 him after all, if there's a better chance for me ; for, to say truth, I 
 am tired of having certain pert and ignorant misses about here, 
 roll their eyes and pucker up their faces as they meet me on the 
 road to church, regarding me as infinitely their inferior, because 
 they are pleased to term themselves GodPs children : but if God 
 esteems them above me it is more than their neighbors do. Tell 
 her, too,' she continues, ' that I am much obliged to her for making 
 Alice a universalist; for she too is now a child of the devil, and 
 is therefore nearer akin to me than formerly, since we can now 
 both claim the same spiritual as well as natural father.' 
 
 " Adieu, my dear friend. May the light of this glorious faith 
 extend to the farthest bounds of intellectual being — :that wherever 
 Jehovah is known at all, he may be known and felt as a God op 
 LOVE. So sincerely prays Alice sherwood." 
 
 The author feels it incumbent on him to assure the reader, that all 
 the principal incidents in the above story are true. The valley itself has 
 a real existence, and is faithfully described from his memory of the scene. 
 Alice Sherwood and her two companions, the old Squire, Mrs. Mathews, 
 Bridget Bounce, Mr. Waters, and the other dramatis personx of the 
 tale are true characters. He states this fact, in order that the story may 
 not lose its proper effect, from the supposition that it is a mere figment 
 of the imagination. 
 
PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 We are about, reader, in a serious and candid spirit I hope, to 
 examine together the claims and pretensions of universalism, pro 
 and con: we wish to be honest in this business, do we not? I 
 do, and am disposed to believe that you do also ; well then, let us 
 make a right beginning, since much depends on starting aright, 
 and except we conduct our investigation according to some kind 
 of system we can accomplish but little to advantage ; under this 
 persuasion I proceed to suggest some considerations, which in 
 the task before us ought to be kept steadily in view. 
 
 1. You will admit that the scriptures cannot support two oppo- 
 site doctrines as true, without destroying their own credibility ; 
 you will also admit that the contrary to what they do teach as 
 true must be false ; consequently, if in a single instance they 
 sanction the notion that sin and misery will be of endless dura- 
 tion, it must follow that Universalism is untrue — for universalism 
 asserts the contrary. Now if this doctrine stands contradicted by 
 one text in the bible, we must not think of looking up other texts 
 for the purpose of sustaining it — that one must be admitted as 
 proving it false. See, reader, how I shorten business to your hand ; 
 you have now, in order to refute the doctrine of universal salva- 
 tion, no need to furnish a multitude of texts, one will do — only 
 bring one that is plainly to the purpose, and the work is accom- 
 plished. Do you fancy that the passage concerning the rich man 
 and Lazarus is to your purpose? or that concerning the unparnonable 
 sin 1 or those that relate to Christ's second coming ? very well, we 
 shall see in the course of this investigation, and if they are, or either 
 of them, your doctrine is then established. You, of course, are 
 willing to abide by this rule 1 So am I, and, remember, it works 
 both ways equally ; if I can find but one passage which clearly 
 
 40 
 
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. 41 
 
 proves that all misery and sin shall ultimately cease, it must 
 follow that they cannot endure to all eternity — and then, reader, 
 you are bound to become a universalist. 
 
 2. When a book is somewhat obscure in its style, a knowledge 
 of the author's character will help to a proper understanding of it, 
 and it is unfair so to interpret the matter written as that it will 
 disagree with the known mind and dispositions of the writer. 
 For example: Si>ppose, reader, that you should happen on a po- 
 litical work claiming to have been written by the venerated Wash- 
 ington, and several passages in it would bear the construction, 
 that the author approved an absolute monarchy as the best form of 
 government ; would you not, from what you knew of the writer, 
 at once reject such construction as unworthy of him, and as un- 
 likely to be the correct one? Certainly you would; you would 
 try if said passages would not fairly support a different sense — a 
 sense corresponding with the principles which the Father of his 
 country espoused at the risk of his fortune and life ; and finding 
 that they would, you would most readily adopt it as their true and 
 proper meaning. Well, then, treat the bible in the same manner ; 
 read it as a revelation of the divine dispositions toward man ; 
 and, recollect, that if it be so, it will not contradict what nature 
 and providence conspire to teach of his perfections ; thus reading 
 it, you will not. methinks, arise from its perusal in the belief that 
 it sanctions the dogma of endless suffering. 
 
 3. The figurative part of the scriptures should not be made to 
 support a sense plainly at variance with that of the literal part. 
 If it is unequivocally taught in the bible, that all men shall be 
 finally redeemed from unrighteousness and reconciled to their 
 Creator, it is manifestly absurd to interpret certain parables and 
 allegories as teaching the contrary. By a mistaken acceptation 
 of the figurative language of scripture : Jehovah is supposed to 
 be at times angry, sorry, and grieved at heart ! he is thought to 
 hate sinners ; to take vengeance on them, to laugh at their calamU 
 ties, Sic \ This is believed of the unchangeable / cr^/z / notwith- 
 standing that these same scriptures distinctly inform us that 
 God is love, Good to all ,• that he changeth not, ivill not cast off 
 forever, is kind to the unthankful and the evil, loving to every man, 
 and will have all men to he saved ! By a particular observance of 
 the foregoing rule, and by making the plain and obvious texts a 
 
 Vol. I.— d 2 
 
42 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 key to those which are obscure, these apparent contradictions 
 would be avoided. 
 
 4. Some religious theories are so absurd in themselves — so at 
 war with all our established notions of the fitness of things — that 
 to suppose them supported by the bible, is to believe the bible 
 itself unworthy of credit, as a book of mysteries, or rather ab- 
 surdities, with which human reason can have no concern ; and the 
 theory of endless misery I conceive to be one of that very char- 
 acter. Many sensible minds have rejected the bible, because 
 they had been taught by their religious tutors, that this dogma was 
 therein inculcated. For, occording to this theory, God either 
 designed the most disastrous results from the work of creation, 
 and is therefore a Being wholly devoid of benevolence ; or these 
 results will take place in opposition to his design, which must 
 imply that he lacked the wisdom to foresee, or the power to 
 prevent them, and is therefore short-sighted or impotent ! " Shall 
 I believe this, or discard the bible ?" is the inquiry of many a 
 mind ; to which I answer, there is another, and better alternative. 
 Cast off the influences of a false education'; and bow to the sim- 
 ple teachings of inspiration, which are a fountain of divine truth 
 wherein are mirrored the ineffable perfections of Jehovah ; you 
 will then find, methinks, that they are not chargeable with the 
 lending their countenance to a doctrine, which involves a seri- 
 ous arraignment of all the divine attributes, 
 
 5. The scriptures must not be understood as authorizing a 
 tenet, which by its very concequences is proved to be false ; try 
 that of endless misery by this rule, and it will be found, either 
 that said dogma is unscriptural, or that the bible is in the highest 
 degree self-contradictory ; for allowing that it is taught in the 
 inspired volume, we must then allow that it teaches the follow- 
 ing incongruities — The anger of God which is but for a moment, 
 will endure as long as his mercy, which endureth forever ! — The 
 works of the devil will exist after being destroyed, as long as 
 Christ shall, who is to destroy them — " God will wipe away ALL 
 tears from off ALL faces," yet shall unnumbered intelligences 
 weep to all eternity ! — " The pleasure of the Lord will prosper in 
 Christ's hands," nevertheless, the pleasure of the devil will so 
 far prosper against it, that where units will be saved, scores, 
 possibly hundreds, will be irretrievably ruined ! " Christ shall 
 
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. 43 
 
 see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied," although his 
 blood will have been shed in vain — his mission undertaken in 
 vain — his benevolent desires exercised in vain, in regard to innu- 
 merable myriads whose redemption and recovery he undertook. 
 The duration of the devil shall be co-eternal with that of him, 
 ■who took flesh and blood, " that through death he might destroy 
 him that had the power of death, that is the devi^!" A large 
 portion of that same world to which the bread of God from 
 heaven " giveth life," shall, nevertheless, to all eternity continue 
 under the empire of death ! And although the Lamb of God 
 *' taketh away" its sin ; it shall forever-more remain sinful ! God 
 " will not contend forever, neither" saith he, " will I be always 
 wroth ; for the spirits should fail before me, and the souls that I 
 have made." " But he will contend, and be wrothful forever," 
 saith the doctrine of endless misery, " without at all regarding 
 the consequences to the souls that he has made." God's pleasure is 
 "that all return unto him and live," and his truth is pledged that 
 he will do ALL his pleasure, still, it will to ceaseless ages 
 remain unaccomplished ! His will is to " have all men to be 
 saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth ;" but ^n im- 
 mense majority of these all men will be endlessly damned and 
 remain in ignorance ! In the resurrection God is to abolish the 
 last enemy — to subdue, or reconcile, all things unto himself; and 
 to be all in all; but he will have many foes after the last is 
 destroyed — millions shall continue in rebellion after all shall be 
 reconciled ; and they shall be estranged and alienated from him 
 forever, notwithstanding he shall have become all in all. To 
 sum up, this dogma represents that Jehovah will be disappointed ; 
 his purposes baffled ; his pleasure unaccomplished ; that Christ 
 will have died in vain in regard to millions; and, therefore, 
 that he was not equal to the undertaking upon which he entered ; 
 and in which an infinitely wise God saw fit to employ him ; that 
 the devil will prove too strong for his destroyer and conqueror ,• 
 that Christ's victory over Death, will leave to the vanquished 
 many more trophies than to the vanquisher ; that the works of 
 satan, who is finite, will co-endure with the works of God, who 
 is infinite; sin shall exist as long as holiness ; misery as long as 
 happiness ; death as long as life ; error as long as truth ; and 
 'hell, for the final overthrow and destruction of which the word of 
 
44 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 Jehovah is pledged ; will be equal in its duration to heaven itself, 
 which is the throne of (iod. And all this in despite of scriptural 
 assurances to the contrary; and despite also of the means which 
 God has employed for the fulfilment of his purposes, in the gift 
 of his Son, spirit, ministry, word, judgements &c ! ! ! "Who can 
 believe all — and more than all this? Can you, reader? If not, 
 then imputeaiot to the bible the teaching of so absurd a system 
 as that of which these are the consequences. If you can believe 
 all this ; why, then, God help you, reader ! your credulity must 
 be quite sufficient for the belief of any absurdities which it may 
 suit your convenience to adopt, or the interests of priestly craft to 
 inculcate. 
 
 6. It is admitted that if a doctrine be of bad practical tendency, 
 however plausible :3 itself, the divine sanction must not be 
 claimed for it. This is a sound rule, reader, and I am willing 
 to abide by it, are you 1 That the doctrine of endless suffering 
 does not, on the whole, exert a beneficial influence upon man- 
 kind, is evident from reasoning a priori^ and from facts. First 
 from reason. This doctrine familiarizes the mind to scenes of hor- 
 ror and wretchedness more dreadful than words can portray, and 
 must therefore harden the heart in the proportion in which it is 
 believed ; for it is an established fact that the constant or fre- 
 quent contemplation of suffering tends to blunt the sensibilities, 
 and to generate cruelty. Hence where public executions are 
 common, they are witnessed with indifference. Hence too, the 
 butcher laughs while in the act of slaughtering a lamb — a sight 
 at which those who are unaccustomed to it will weep; and hence, 
 I may further add, the most frightful denunciations of almighty 
 wrath, are listened to with perfect unconcern, even by those who 
 believe, that millions of the human family, including neighbors, 
 friends, possibly immediate kindred, will to all eternity experi- 
 ence its dreadful weight. It is also true, that cruel laws serve 
 to degrade and brutalize those who are subject to them; hence in 
 proportion to the sanguinary character of a government, are the 
 barbarousness and viciousness of the governed ; and, ^n the other 
 hand, a mild and free government will give birth to a virtuous 
 and generous people. Now the doctrine of endless suffering 
 represents the sovereign of the universe as a tyrant, who seeks 
 to rule his subjects through their fears, " Serve me or I will 
 
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. 45 
 
 burn you," is the language it puts into his mouth, " for your finite 
 oflfences I will be infinitely angry, and for your disobedience of a 
 moment, I will punish you with the pains of an eternity." Is it 
 to be wondered at, that such a system has generated so much 
 drivelling superstition ] — so much morose and gloomy fanati- 
 cism ] so many whining, cringing, abject, self-degrading syco- 
 phants ; who lie at the feet of an almighty power, professing to 
 adore its every act, however unintelligible the object — for the 
 contemptible purpose of screening themselves from the weight of 
 its apprehended wrath 1 Such, it must be conceded, have in 
 all ages been the influences of this God-dishonoring tenet, and 
 such, a priori, we should judge they would be. At the same time 
 it is cheerfully admitted, that very many, by reason of their 
 native excellency of disposition, have proved superior to these 
 evil influences. These exceptions, however, do not affect the 
 general truth of the rule. 
 
 Second, from facts. The world has experimented with the 
 dogma of ceaseless woe for fifteen centuries. What has been 
 the result] The founders and agents of the Inquisition in Spain, 
 Portugal, and Portuguese-India believed in it ; so did the relent- 
 less persecutors of the Waldenses and Albigenses ; and the per- 
 petrators of the St. Bartholomew massacre ; wherein 40,000 
 were murdered in one day. And those also who lighted the fires 
 of Smithfield. It was believed in, too, by Mahomet, who laid 
 the foundation of his system in blood : and by his followers it 
 was implicitly adopted, together with the principle that it is 
 lawful to propagate religion by the sword. The worshipers of 
 Juggernaut believe in it, and it lies at the bottom of all their 
 degradations. And it is sacredly cherished by the Bedouins of 
 the desert; with whom the power to plunder, constitutes the 
 right to do so. What beneficial influence has the doctrine of 
 endless misery exerted upon these 1 Scarcely a murderer expi- 
 ates his crimes upon the gallows but he avows a belief in that 
 dogma.* And it has been ascertained that the inmates of our 
 
 * See for proof ninety and nine out of a hundred of the printed confessions of ex- 
 ecuted criminals. Such was the belief of Washburn, Hoover and Pavis, recently 
 executed in Cincinnati ; and of Cowan, who butchered his wife and two children. 
 An attempt was made in some religious party prints to deceive the public as to the 
 opinions of the last named person ; but unlucliily for the publishers it was made too 
 soon, i. e. before he was executed ; and, therefore, there was opportunity for gettine at 
 the truth of the matter from his own lips. Being wailed upon by several respectable 
 citizens, and questioned as to his belief on this head, he slated thai he had never en- 
 
46 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 penitentiaries are nearly all of them the subjects of that faith.* 
 Surely if this dogma possessed the practical virtues which its 
 advocates claim for it, we should not find a people vicious in 
 proportion to the prevalency of its belief amongst them ; but it 
 is incontrovertible, that we do so find them, and therefore it has 
 no such virtues. 
 
 7. " But in a matter of this sort," does the reader say ? " it is 
 a maxim of prudence to choose the safe side. Supposing it is ; 
 is it safer to douU the divine goodness than to trust in it? Will 
 God be angry with those who ascribe to him more benevolence 
 than (according to your system) he actually possesses 1 And will 
 he punish them for such an ascription % This hacknied maxim of 
 prudence^ has, after all, no prudence about it; we have no right 
 HOT poiver of choice in the matter of our belief — we are bound by 
 conscience, and compelled by necessity to believe according to 
 the decisions of evidence, and, so far as it respects our eternal 
 state, one belief must be just as safe as another. The catholic is 
 deterred from embracing protestant principles by the considera- 
 tion, that though the latter may be better — i. e. more reasonable 
 and scriptural — his own are more safe. " You cannot be saved 
 out of my church if my faith is true," saiih he, " whereas, by 
 your own confession, I can be saved out of yours ; prudence then 
 cautions me to choose the safe side.^^ The Jew, and the Mahome- 
 dan, use precisely the same argument, each considering salvation 
 sure m his own church, and uncertain out of it; and its foundation 
 in air cases is the weak supposition that a dependence on the 
 divine mercy alone is insecure. " God may be as good as you 
 sdy; out then he may not; and it is the more prudent course to 
 prepare for the worst, that in any event we may be safe." Shame 
 on sucn distrusts of the divine goodness ! and on the systems of 
 theology which tend to beget them ! | 
 
 8. We must be careful how we adopt mere arbitrary interpre- 
 tations of scriptural terms and phrases, or we shall easily be 
 
 tertained d- Hbts as to the truth of the notion of endless suffprins ; he had for fourteen 
 years belonged to a church, which makes this an essential article of faith. 
 
 * A few years since the newspaper vituperations against universalism, on the 
 ground of its supposed vitiatinij tendencies, provoked an examination among the 
 state corrvicts of Auburn and Sing Sing penitentiaries, in order to ascertain whether 
 this sysmm of reliirion had influenced tne?n in their choice of a criminal course of 
 life. The result of the investigation was, that not a singie universalist was found in 
 either of these estal)lishmenls. The autliur of this work visited the prison at Auburn 
 two years ago; this is in the heart of a country alxmnding with universal ists, and 
 yet among its 800 convicts not one believer in this doctrine was included ! ! 
 
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. 47 
 
 deceived as to the doctrines of the bible. For example ; Walker 
 defines the word redemption^ " The purchase of God's favour 
 by the death of Christ." Could anything be more absurd than 
 the idea, that the infinite Being sells his favors? and sells them 
 for the blood of suffering innocence ? ! The scriptures everywhere 
 represent the grace of God as being free, or gratuitous ; but pur- 
 chased grace can scarcely be termed free. Webster gives us as 
 the meaning of damnation, " A sentence to eternal torment ;" and 
 he even refers us for his authority to Mark xvi. 16. Now it hap- 
 pens that said passage is entirely silent about " eternal torment ;" 
 and that there is nothing in the connection which necessarily im- 
 plies anything of the kind ; consequently, both his definition and 
 his reference are a sheer assumption. Three words in the original 
 tongues, which are wide of each other in their signification, (I 
 mean sheol, tartarus, and gehenna,) are represented in our com- 
 mon version by the one English word hell; and, until lately, it 
 was not known that even, this term has now a different significa- 
 tion from what it had formerly ; insomuch, that Christ could be 
 said to have " descended into hell." (See what is miscalled 
 *' the apostles creed,") without its being thereby meant that he 
 went down to a region of torment, which is the idea now convey- 
 ed by the phrase. The English words eternal, everlasting, for- 
 ever, etc. most commonly signify endless duration. The reader 
 must bear it in mind that the scriptures were not originally written 
 in English; the original terms which in our version these are 
 made to represent, often to wwrepresent, are not equivalent in 
 their meaning, but require to be understood in each case according 
 to the connection in which they stand ; hence these terms cannot 
 be relied on as sufficient, of themselves, to settle such questions 
 concerning duration as may arise in the course of this investiga- 
 tion. But of these things in their proper place. For the present, 
 the reader is only requested to bear in mind, that his religious ed- 
 ucation has led him to associate with every biblical terra a partic- 
 ular idea, and that this association is often incorrect, having 
 grown out of interpretations entirely arbitrary ; and, therefore, 
 that it is in such cases likely to lead him to wrong results in his 
 inquiries into the meaning of the scriptures. He is requested as 
 far as possible to guard against the influence of this circumstance; 
 and, instead of leaning too much upon any authority aside from 
 
48 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 the scriptures, to prefer making them in all possible cases the 
 interpreters of themselves. 
 
 Lastly. Although it is freely confessed that mere human au- 
 thority is insufficient for the settling of a question like the one be- 
 fore us, yet should it be found, that a doctrine now received as true, 
 was not known by christians in the early ages of the church, the fact 
 would warrant ihe conclusion, that said doctrine is not taught in 
 the scriptures. What should we think of a politician who should 
 set up certain principles as belonging to the JefFersonian school in 
 politics, and on enquiry it should be found, that none of the im- 
 mediate successors of that statesman had ever held them 1 We 
 should conclude with certainty that said politician was mistaken. 
 In like manner, when a theologian starts a theory in religion, and 
 we find it to have been unknown by those who immediately suc- 
 ceeded Christ and his apostles in the gospel ministry, we are 
 compelled to conclude against the truth of said theory. 
 
 It must not, however, be inferred from the above, that the mere 
 age of an opinion entitles it to respectful consideration ; for the 
 early converts to Christianity from the Jewish and heathen church- 
 es, brought many strange whims with them, which they were fond 
 of incorporating with their new faith ; and the notion of a dark 
 infernum, populated with doomed spirits, which is the basis of our 
 present theory of hell, was, without doubt, one of said whims. 
 W^hilst, then, the entire novelty of a doctrine is proof presumptive 
 of its untruth, the mere antiquity of a doctrine affords no presump- 
 tion in its favor. That the belief of universal salvation is not a 
 new thing in Christendom is evident from ecclesiastical history. 
 Origen, in the third century, a distinguished father in the church, 
 maintained this opinion distinctly ; and although several of his 
 tenets were subsequently condemned as heretical, this was not in- 
 cluded among them, which goes to show that even at that early 
 time, this doctrine was not regarded as a novelty. The fact of its 
 not being then considered a heresy is of great weight in its favor, 
 for, unlvke the doctrine of endless misery, it cannot be shown to 
 have been derived from any system of heathen mythology : but, 
 on the contrary, must be regarded as a tenet peculiar to Christianity. 
 Whereas the opposite doctrine, whilst it forms a part and parcel 
 of most of the pagin codes of faith, was entirely unrecognized by 
 the Jewish religion, which claims its origin from God himself. 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 49 
 
 Many other important considerations, reader, might be suggest- 
 ed here on the threshold of this investigation, serving to show 
 how very small is the probability, that the dogma of ceaseless 
 suffering can in the issue be regarded as of scriptural authority : 
 but the above, it is believed, are quite sufficient for this purpose. 
 Of this, however, you must be judge for yourself. " Prove all 
 things ; hold fast that which is good." 
 
 UNIVERSAL SALVATION 
 
 DIRECTLY AND POSITIVELY PROVEN FROM THE AT 
 TRIBUTES OF GOD. 
 
 1. GOD IS LOVE (1 John, iv. 8.)— This proposition has 
 
 been much" declaimed upon, by those too, who, while they admitted 
 its truth in terms, denied it in fact. It is now introduced as a 
 subject for careful argumentation. In this business we shall not 
 need those rhetorical embellishments which, at the same time that 
 they amuse the fancy, often make it an instrument in deceiving 
 the judgment: the less our argument is encumbered with these 
 the better it will be, because the more intelligible. 
 
 As has been well remarked (by Adam Clarke) " God is never 
 said, in the scriptures, to be Justice, or Patience, or Holiness, 
 but he is frequently in one form or another said to be /owe." 
 .Hence it is inferred that love is his moral nature, and the basis 
 of all his other attributes — love is God : to say that God is just, 
 or holy, or unchanging, is the same as to say that infinite love is 
 characterised by these qualities ; to say that all creatures through- 
 out all space are in God's hands, and subject to his control, is in 
 effect to say they are in lovers hands, and subject to its control : in 
 short, God and love are so essentially identical, that the name of 
 each may be, and often is, employed for designating the other; 
 any predicate of the one will answer equally well as a predicate 
 of the other ; hence we may affirm of infinite love that it rules 
 the universe, is eternal, impartial, holy, just, good, &c., for God 
 is all these, and God is love. In these three words is he defined 
 
 Vol. L— E No. 3. 
 
50 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 by John, a fisherman of Galilee, and they express more than all 
 the collected wisdom of previous and subsequent ages ever has 
 or can express. 
 
 The doctrine of endless misery is utterly irreconcilable with 
 this essential attribute of the deity, for love invariably seeks, and 
 to the utmost of its power promotes the ultimate good of its ob- 
 jects ; by this circumstance alone is it distinguishable from its 
 opposite principle ; to affirm that love will consent that any of its 
 objects shall be miserable, without reference to any eventual good 
 from that misery^ is to affirm that it approves of misery for its 
 own sake, and this is to confound it with hatred. The doctrine 
 of endless woe does in effect affirm this, and thereby it absurdly 
 confounds Jehovah, who is infinite love, with infinite hatred. To 
 make this more plain, we will suppose God to be the opposite of 
 what he is — What should we expect as the result! Anything 
 worse than what is contemplated in the belief of unceasing tor- 
 ment? If not, in affirming this doctrine, are we not manifestly 
 confounding love with hatred, since we ascribe to the one such 
 actions as can only result from the other 1 
 
 "Wherever infinite love is, there can no suffering be, except per- 
 mitted from motives of ultimate benefit to the sufferer, and conse- 
 quently, in no conceivable case can the theory of endless misery 
 be verified, except by some means the subject thereof could get 
 beyond the presence of love, or, which is the same thing, beyond 
 the presence of God. But, 
 
 2. GOD IS OMNIPRESENT.— (Psl. cxxxix. 7.)— And, of 
 course, love is omnipresent ; it surrounds, pervades, and sustains 
 all things, (Ephe. iv. 6,) to get beyond its reach, therefore, is 
 impossible, for whither shall we go from its presence? Shall we 
 ascend to the heaven of heavens ? it is there. Shall we descend 
 to depths unfathomable by the plummet-line of thought? it will 
 Btill be far, far beneath us: and should we speed with the wings 
 of light to the farthest bounds of being, still, still should we find 
 its presence to extend immeasurably beyond us. The sinner is in 
 its hands when he goes hence equally as while he is here, and 
 although he may find it " a fearful thing to fall into the hands of 
 God," yet the result will prove that they are the hands of love, 
 and, therefore, not the hands of an enemy. Such was David's 
 view of the matter, when reduced to the necessity of selecting 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 51 
 
 one out of three modes of punishment. " Let me fall now," said 
 he, " into the hands of the Lord, for very great are his mercies ,- 
 but let me not fall into the hands of man." (1 Chro. xii. 13.) 
 But why prefer falling into God's hands, rather than those of 
 man, if, as the dogma of eternal torment affirms, God's inflictions 
 will infinitely exceed in duration and severity any which the most 
 cruel of mankind would be willing to sanction 1 
 
 The power of Jehovah cannot extend where his love does not, 
 for that would prove the latter finite, and if his power c-annot ex- 
 tend beyond his love, it can act on creatures only as directed by 
 love ; it can inflict only such suffering as love approves as con- 
 ducive to its own ends : hence it may with confidence be affirmed 
 that even present suffering would not be permitted except with 
 reference to some future benefit to the sufferer, and, consequently, 
 that no^usekss suffering exists, for if divine love will overrule it 
 all for ultimate good it is not useless. The scriptures abundantly 
 sustain this view of the matter. " For the Lord," say they, 
 " will not cast off for ever, for though he cause grief, yet will he 
 have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies, for 
 he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." 
 (Lam. iii. 37. See also, Heb. xii. 10.) Of course endless 
 misery is entirely excluded by this reasoning, for misery without 
 end can produce no beneficial results to the sufferer, and if no 
 beneficial results to the sufferer, then infinite love can have no 
 agency in its infliction ; and if infinite love would refuse to sanc- 
 tion it, then it must take place, if at all, where love is not, but it 
 cannot take place where love is not, for love is everywhere. 
 
 If unending misery be inflicted, will it not, as it regards the 
 subjects, consist of an exercise of power to the exclusion of love? 
 and will there not in that case be creatures whom God will not 
 love ? and since he will not love them, can he be a God to them, 
 inasmuch as there can be no God where there is no love, for God is 
 loveT It is impossible for answers consisting with the faith of 
 endless misery to be rendered to these questions. If in the vast, 
 vast solitudes of space, there existed a point beyond which the 
 divine presence did not extend, and beings were capable of hurl- 
 ing themselves into this desolate void, (for desolate it must needs 
 be without a God) they doubtless could thus be rendered misera- 
 ble without end, and thus only, as has already been said, there is 
 
52 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 no other way conceivable ; but the supposition implies an im- 
 possibility, Jehovah being omnipresent. 
 
 3. GOD IS OMNISCIENT.— (Acts xv. 18.)— He knew 
 from eternity all we should ever be ; he foresaw every mutation 
 through which we should ever pass ; every sinful act we should 
 commit. If there could ever arise any circumstance to affect his 
 regards for us, he as certainly knew it before he created us as 
 now ; the fact must have been as much a cause for wrath or 
 hatred toward us then as after it transpired ; nevertheless, in full 
 view of all which it was foreseen we should be he loved us, and 
 that too " with a great love :" (Ephe. ii. 4.) Now if God were 
 defective in this attribute of his character, the notion of endless 
 misery would find some sort of shelter in the plea, that as 
 Jehovah failed to foresee that so disastrous a case would arise, 
 he did not provide against it, and, therefore, that the evil is now 
 past remedy, and God would fain prevent it if he could. But no 
 such plea can be set up, for not alone in sound philosophy, but in 
 the scriptures, he is represented as " seeing the end from the be- 
 ginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done." 
 (Isaiah xlvi. 10.) Futurity, which to all other eyes, lies in im- 
 penetrable shadow, is perfectly open and clear to his; he know- 
 cth all its, as yet, undeveloped and unrecorded events. And how 
 could it be otherwise 1 for 
 
 " Did he o'erlook the least of his concerns, 
 (Since from the least the greatest oft originate,) 
 Then unforeseen contingence might alarm him, 
 And disturb the smooth and equal course of his 
 Affairs," 
 
 It is worse than idle, then, to resort to the ridiculous subterfuge 
 of saying, that God does not foreknow all things ! but could know 
 them were he so minded ! — which fantasm has been sanctioned by 
 no less a personage than Dr. Adam Clarke ! A blunder, this, (by 
 the way,) which may be pardoned in a son of Erin, but in no 
 other, for it implies that God must know all things, in order to 
 determine how many and which among them he may choose to 
 know, and how many and which of them he may choose to be 
 ignorant of! I have shown, I think, that God's foreknowledge 
 comprised all events, and that in view of all which it was foreseen 
 we should be he loved us. If, then, his love shall always con- 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 53 
 
 tinue, it will surely not consent to our being plunged into suffer- 
 ings which can yield us no benefit; and if his love shall not 
 always continue, he must necessarily undergo a change. — But 
 
 4. GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE.— (James iii. 2.)— And 
 even were he otherwise, it would be impossible to find a cause 
 which could justify a change in him toward us, because nothing 
 in relation to us has transpired of which he was not fully aware 
 long before w^e had a being. Arminians are apt to tell us in this 
 argument, that although the love wherewith God once loved the 
 sinner shall eventually change to hatred, yet God changeth not I 
 The change, say they, is altogether in the sinner ! which, to my 
 thinking, is very singular logic. God hates to-day the very beings 
 whom he loved yesterday, and yet remains unchanged ! ! Then 
 surely love and hatred are one and the same thing ! " But," say 
 they again, " he loved us as pure beings, and on our becoming 
 sinners he ceased to love us." Well, supposing this the case, 
 does he undergo no change in ceasing to love us ? How absurd 
 the negative to this question. But it is contrary to fact that God 
 loved us as pure beings — he never knew us as such ; it is fllatly 
 contrary to scripture likewise, for " God commended his love to- 
 ward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." 
 (Rom. v. 16.) " When ive were enemies, we were reconciled to 
 God by the death of his son." (Ibid. ver. 10.) And hence another 
 inspired writer observes, " Herein was love, not that we loved 
 God, but that God loved us." (1 John iv. 10.) Now do we not 
 seriously detract from the divine character, when we represent 
 that his love toward us will abate, merely because we prove to be 
 just such beings as he clearly foresaw we would be when that 
 love was first conceived, supposing it to have had a beginning? 
 For nothing surely but a change from love to hatred can induce his 
 consent, that an existence which he conferred as a blessing, shall 
 by any possibility be converted to a curse. 
 
 The Arminian will here shift his ground, and argue as follows. 
 *' God eternally hates sin ; when we become sinners, we associ- 
 ate ourselves with what he eternally hates, and therefore his 
 hatred of us implies no change on his part but on ours." Now 
 knowr you not, sir, that this is a mere sophism 1 For in associa- 
 ting ourselves with sin we do not become sin, an''- therefore do not 
 become the thing which God eternally hates. If you could show 
 
 Vol. I.— e 2 
 
54 PRO AND CON OF TNIVERSALISM. 
 
 that God eternally hates sinners^ it would be much more to your 
 purpose. And think you, sir, that Jehovah will subject to an in- 
 discriminate destruction both that which he loves and that which 
 he hates 1 that he will never dissociate them 1 It were equally 
 ■wise in the farmer to destroy both his wheat and its adherent 
 chaff, merely because he found them together in his field ! Or 
 for the lapidary to destroy his precious stones, because of the 
 worthless earths in which he may have found them embedded ! 
 
 Either God once loved the sinner, or he did not. If he did notf 
 then he created him in hatred, and it is vain to look to the life or 
 character of the sinner for the ground of that hatred, as it took 
 place millions of ages before he was in being ! If God did once 
 love the sinner, he loves him yet — he ever will — or he is a finite 
 Being, and affected by finite objects ; but, the scriptures being 
 true, this cannot be, " for he is of one mind and none can turn 
 him." (Job xxiii. 13.) God must, therefore, to all eternity love 
 all intelligences ; this love will not prevent their being subjected 
 to just punishment, for punishment aims at a good result ; but it 
 will certainly prevent their being ruined; for the ruin of its object 
 is only consistent with hatred. 
 
 It is the very perfection of absurdity to suppose that the dispo- 
 sitions of an infinite Being are in anywise affected by the muta- 
 tions of his frail and short-sighted creatures; this our opponents 
 must and do admit, and yet they are continually giving to some 
 obscure scripture texts such an interpretation as makes them teach 
 directly the contrary. For instance, the passage in the first 
 chapter of Proverbs, where Wisdom, personified in the feminine 
 gender, is represented as saying, " Because I have called and ye 
 refused, I have stretched out my hands and NO man regarded ; I 
 also will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear com- 
 eth," &c. Which text is usually subjected to the horrid comment, 
 that the Almighty God will laugh, and sport himself with the 
 miseries of his infinitely ruined offspring ! But in their blind zeal 
 to make out a case our opponents seem to overlook the fact, that, 
 thus interpreted, the passage goes quite beyond their purpose — it 
 proves too much, as it includes themselves, with all mankind be- 
 sides, in a doom of final reprobation — " NO man regarded ;" and 
 therefore ALL men must be endlessly damned ! A sweeping 
 conclusion, truly. 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 55 
 
 The mutability of God is manifestly implied in the common 
 supposition, that although he will bear with the provocations of 
 sinners during the term of their stay on earth, yet so soon as they 
 are removed hence, he will utterly alter his course, and let loose 
 his vengeance upon them without mercy. Some have even sup- 
 posed that there is a period in the lifetime of each individual, be- 
 yond which the divine forbearance will no longer be exercised 
 toward him ; if he remains impenitent up to that juncture, he is 
 said to have " sinned away his day of grace ;" his fate is then 
 sealed. To such an one will apply the language of Abdiel, ad- 
 dressed to the chief fallen spirit, in " Paradise Lost." 
 
 ■ ■" those indulgent laws will not be now vouchsafed, 
 
 Other decrees against thee are gone forth without recall. 
 That golden scepter which thou didst reject, is now 
 An iron rod to bruise and break thy disobedience." 
 How hapless the lot of such ! For they have learned by bitter ex- 
 perience that the divine mercy is as variable as their own purposes ! 
 The number, however, is comparatively small, who think that life's 
 flickering taper will in some cases outburn the sun of divine mercy ; 
 much the most of christians are of the opinion of the poet, that, 
 " Whilst the lamp holds out to burn 
 The vilest sinner may return." 
 But the philosophy is weak, and the theology false in either case ; 
 for how in the name of both can God's dispositions toward his 
 creatures be affected by their removal from one department of his 
 works to another ? Can such removal change the relations be- 
 tween the parties 1 Is God not the same Being in all places 1 
 Take, for example, the case of Paul. Suppose that on his way to 
 Damascus, when the vision came upon him, he had broken his 
 neck in falling to the ground ; he would then have died an un- 
 converted persecutor of the christian religion. What then ? Why 
 then, according to popular theology, he would have been an ob- 
 ject of divine wrath to all eternity ! But, luckily for him, his 
 neck escaped, and a few minutes witnessed his moral transforma- 
 tion into a chosen vessel of mercy ! What a hair-breadth partition 
 betwixt bliss and woe eternal ! How unstable the divine regards 
 toward his creatures ! and how feeble the chances on which they 
 turn! " I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob 
 are not consumed." (Mai. iii. 6.) For the same reason, I desire 
 no better ; the dogma of interminable misery must be false. 
 
56 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM 
 
 5. GOD IS OMNIPOTENT.--(Rev. xix. 5.)— Whatsoever, 
 therefore, his wisdom prompts him to purpose, his power ena- 
 bles him to execute. By Calvinists this truth is fully admitted, 
 but they contend, that God only purposed the salvation of a part 
 of mankind, and that that part must eventually be g^athered in, 
 "for," say they, " God has all power, and will not fail to do his 
 pleasure." They seem anxious to vindicate the divine wisdom 
 and poicer, but it is at the expense of his goodness and equity. 
 Arminians, on the other hand, seem shocked at this limitation of 
 the divine benevolence, and contend that God is impartial, and 
 earnestly desires to have all men saved, but from some cause 
 or other will be disappointed ! They seem anxious to vindicate 
 the divine goodness and equity., but it is at the expense of his 
 wisdom and power ! The Calvinistic deity is an all-wise, and 
 all-powerful Being ; but partial., and inexorable, who works 
 for his own mere pleasure., uncaring how much misery that 
 pleasure may cost his creatures ! His own glory is his continual 
 aim — for this he raises up or casts down — gives life or death — he 
 saves or damns. His glory must reign, though the throne of its 
 sovereignty be erected on pyramids of damned spirits ! The 
 Arminian God, on the contrary, is a kind-hearted, well-meaning 
 Being, but deplorably deficient in prudence and foresight., he is 
 rather to be pitied than blamed when the creatures he formed for 
 himself are wrested from him by the devil, and lured into 
 irrecoverable ruin, for he certainly made them for a different end ! 
 He is rather to be pitied than blamed I say, yet, in truth, he is 
 scarcely excusable in having created beings, of whom he knew 
 himself unable to take the necessary care ! and that by far the 
 larger part of them should — despite his utmost efforts to the 
 contrary — become a prey to his malignant enemy the devil. 
 Reader, can you in conscience say that I am unfair in these rep- 
 resentations 1 Universalists worship a deity " who will have all 
 men to be saved," (1. Tim. ii. 6.) and who "worketh all things 
 after the council of his own will," (Eph. i. 2.) whose pleasure 
 it is that all should " turn from their evil way and live," (Eze. 
 xxxii. 11.) and who " will do all his pleasure," (Isa. xlvi. 10.) 
 God has certainly not given to his creatures an ability to counteract 
 his infinite purposes ! On the contrary, " He doelh his will, in the 
 armies of heaven, and amongst the inhabitants of the earth, and 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 57 
 
 none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?" 
 (Dan. iv. 35.) 
 
 It is pretended, that " none are doomed to final ruin, till God has 
 previously done every thing for their salvation, which, consistently 
 wuth his attributes, he can do ; and that, therefore, the endless mis- 
 ery of the damned involves no reflection on the divine goodness." 
 Supposing this true, does it involve no reflection on his goodness 
 to have called them into being, under circumstances which 
 rendered their endless misery certain ? But it is not true ; the 
 weight of Christ's authority stands against it; he testifies that 
 God did much more for Chorazin, and Bethsaida, than he had 
 done for Tyre, and Sidon ; and that had he done as much for the 
 latter places, " they would long ago have repented, sitting in 
 sackcloth and ashes," (Mat. xi. 20.) And addressing Caperna- 
 um, he says, " If the mighty works which are done in thee, had 
 been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day," 
 (ibid.) Now it certainly must be considered a singular fact, that 
 God desires the salvation of all, and yet permits thousands to 
 sink to endless woe, who could have been saved by his doing 
 merely as much for them, as he saw fit to do for others ! How is 
 this? Universalists maintain, that God's love is as strong be- 
 yond, as on this side the grave ; and that what it fails of accom- 
 plishing here, it will infallibly accomplish hereafter ; at least, the 
 ultimate salvation of all men cannot fail from a lack of divine 
 power ; if at all it must be from a lack of his goodness. But 
 
 6. GOD IS GOOD.— (Psa. Ixxxvi. 5.)— Goodness is opposed 
 to evil, it seeks to overcome it, hence the injunction, " Be not 
 overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good," (Rom. xii. 27.) 
 This, undoubtedly, is according to the divine conduct, for God 
 would certainly not enjoin on his creatures a virtue which he 
 will not practice himself; and if the divine goodness shall event- 
 ually overcome our evil, then the existence of evil must forever 
 cease ; and, by consequence, the existence of misery also. " The 
 Lord is good to all, and his tender mercy is over all his works," 
 (Psl. cxlv. 9.) But how God can be good to all, and yet torment 
 countless millions without any regard to their good, is more than 
 can be comprehended ! How his tender mercy can be over all 
 his works, and yet a large portion of those works be abandoned 
 to infinite ruin, is also more than can be comprehended ! Indeed, 
 
58 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 there are many things in the scriptures which we must not 
 pretend to understand in accordance with the notion of endless 
 misery, inasmuch as they are utterly repugnant to that doctrine. 
 If the mercy of God does extend to the damned, without allevia- 
 ting their miseries, or eventually bringing them to a salutary 
 termination, then there is no difference between mercy and 
 cruelty — it is as well to be the object of the one as of the other — 
 since they both produce the same effects. For how can cruelty 
 be better defined than by saying, it is the injiiction of torment on 
 an object^ without designing any good to that object from that tor- 
 ment? and if infinite mercy will do this, then it is not distin- 
 guishable from infinite cruelty. If, on the other hand, the mercy 
 of God does not extend to the damned, then it is not " over all his 
 works," neither is it infinite, which signifies without bounds or 
 limits. 
 
 To me it seems that the question of endless misery can be 
 settled in few words, as follows — The unhappy subjects of 
 endless damnation, is their existence, so far as respects them- 
 selves, a good 1 or an evil? You will not hesitate to answer, 
 an evil. I again ask. Can an absolute evil emanate from a Be- 
 ing who is infinitely good? NO, is the only answer of which 
 this question will fairly admit, and it answers equally well the 
 question, whether the dogma of unceasing suffering can possibly, 
 in this view of the case, be true ? 
 
 7. GOD IS JUST.— (Deut. xxxii. 4.)— We are brought into 
 existence by the mere will of our creator; we are compelled to 
 accept of that existence on his own terms, our will is not consulted 
 in the matter; if the terms on which we receive our being are as 
 dreadful as represented by the doctrine of endless misery, it 
 seems but just that we should be voluntary parties in the com- 
 pact; but such we are not, and, therefore, cannot justly be held 
 to the terms. 
 
 A powerful nobleman settles by deed of conveyance a small 
 farm upon one of his tenants; while the latter is rejoicing in his 
 newly acquired property, he is informed, that .the conditions of 
 the gitt are, that not a singrle weed must be allowed to grow upon 
 the premises ; that if, at any moment when it may suit the donor 
 to call him to account, there shall be found any such within the 
 limits of the farm, he shall answer for it with his life, and be put 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 59 
 
 to death in the most horrid manner. The poor man in g^eat alarm 
 hastens to inform the nobleman that he cannot accept of the proper- 
 ty on such fearful terms ; but he is told in reply that it is now too 
 late ; the compact is settled, and sealed, and cannot be cancelled. 
 " Whether )'ou were acquainted with the conditions or not — 
 whether a party in the bargain or not — it is my will that the mat- 
 ter should be as it is, and you must abide the issue." Reader, is 
 the conduct of that nobleman just? 
 
 Justice requires, that when an article of value is entrusted to 
 any one's keeping, he should be clearly apprised of its full worth, 
 and the consequences of its loss, and should be provided with 
 means of security in proportion. Now conceive man charged 
 with the keeping of an immortal spirit, and that his sins during 
 this brief existence, will subject it through unending duration 
 to the dreadful heritance of its almighty maker's frowns. I 
 ask, if man is so clearly apprised of his situation as the magni- 
 tude of the matter at stake requires he should be ? I ask further, 
 are his means of security in proportion to the inconceivably dread- 
 ful issue of the cast ? On the contrary, if the system which 
 supposes this state of things be true, myriads of invisible spirits 
 are constantly seeking opportunities to deceive and ruin him, 
 and his own depraved nature — with which he is born without his 
 own consent — is ever ready to second their malignant efforts ! In 
 addition, the way of safety is so dim and uncertain, that a thou- 
 sand different paths are sincerely mistaken for it, and by no 
 possibility can it certainly be determined, that any one is right to 
 the exclusion of all the rest ! There are innumerable wants and 
 anxieties to which man is unavoidably subject, and which tend to 
 divert his mind from the business of his soul's salvation ! Sure- 
 ly they must deem but meanly of the justice of heaven, who 
 imagine that he thus trifles with the eternal interests of his 
 creatures ! 
 
 Justice also requires, that there should be an equal pro- 
 portion between crime and punishment; and who will pretend 
 that such proportion exists betwixt the crimes of even the most 
 abandoned of our race, and the ceaseless sufferings of eternity? 
 sufferings which shall inconceivably long endure, when as many 
 millions of ages shall have passed away, as there are stars in 
 the firmament of night — multiplied by as many more as there are 
 
60 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 particles of light in the sun — and these by as many as there are 
 atoms of matter in the universe — and the whole together by as 
 many as the moments of duration which have elapsed, since the 
 almighty put forth the first exertion of his omnipotence ! Must it 
 not be admitted, that in damning to all eternity one immortal 
 spirit, God would inflict a greater evil, than all the sins of all 
 mankind, from the commencement till the close of time, ever 
 have or ever can accomplish 1 "With what justice then can end- 
 less misery be inflicted 1 
 
 I may be told that "the sin of man is ivjinite, and, therefore, 
 deserving of infinite punishment." But the notion of the infinity 
 of sin destroys all idea of proportion between one sin and anoth- 
 er, and, consequently, the slightest idle word is equal to "the 
 blasphemy against the holy ghost." Besides this notion proves 
 one sin to be infinite, and, therefore, a million of sins is a million 
 of infinities ! and if one deserve infinite punishment, how can a 
 million ever be justly punished 1 There is no end to the absurd 
 consequences deducible from this position. 
 
 Sin is a voluntary violation of the divine requirements, "To 
 him that knoweih to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin," 
 (Jam. iv. 17.) Does God exact infinite performances of finite 
 creatures'? If so, he requires of us as much as he can do him- 
 self! and if not, sin is a violation of but finite obligations, and is 
 consequently but finite in itself, and in proportion to the amount 
 he commits wull be the quantity of the sinner's punishment. 
 
 We set up no claim to eternal life on the ground of justice, we 
 would not be understood as demanding this as a matter of right, 
 we hope for it as " the gift of God, through Jesus Christ." 
 But we do claim 171 justice \o be returned to our original uncon- 
 sciousness, except it shall please God to prolong our existence for 
 objects of benevolence ; we do too firmly rely upon his justice to 
 believe, that he w^ould obtrude on us a being by which he knew 
 we should be infinitely the losers ! and we conceive, therefore, 
 that we have a large interest in this attribute of his character. 
 God is too just to be unmerciful, as well as too merciful to be 
 unjust; there is the utmost harmony between these perfections of 
 his nature. God is not divided against himself, and as the unend- 
 ing misery of millions of mankind, cannot be agreeable to his 
 mercy, it cannot for the same reason be agreeable to his justice* 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 61 
 
 Would it be just in God to subject the sinner to the necessity of 
 remaining unjust to all eternity ? Does justice, in requital for a 
 temporary violation of its requirements, demand that those re- 
 quirements should continue eternally to be violated 1 The doc- 
 trine of endless misery certainly involves an affirmative answer 
 to these questions ! 
 
 8. GOD IS HOLY.— (Lev. xix. 2.)— From the opposition 
 between this principle and sin, we argue that the latter must 
 eventually be brought to a period ; which, to be sure, is a 
 very different idea from that which is commonly entertained, 
 viz. that God, who is a being of infinite purity, will cause sin, 
 or at least permit it, to co-endure with his own eiernity ! If sin 
 shall always exist, it will be owing either to a want of power 
 in God to destroy it, or to a want of disposition. To the former it 
 cannot be, for he is almighty ; neither can it be to the latter, for it 
 is a thousand times declared in his word, in one form or other, 
 that sin is utterly odious to him. How then can it be supposed, 
 that he will doom those who die unholy, eternally to remain so? 
 
 Either, 1st, — Sin, and the divine holiness, shall exist in eternal 
 opposition to each other — or 2ndly, they shall exist in eternal 
 union — or, 3dly, the greater of the two shall eventually overcome, 
 and destroy the other. If the 1st is true, the parties must be 
 equal, and so neither of them can be infinite ! If the 2nd is true, 
 all that the scriptures and moral philosophy teach respecting the 
 deity, must be false ! We must therefore conclude the 3rd to be 
 true ; And now, which shall prevail, infinite purity, or sin ? If 
 the former, the whole universe shall be reconciled to God, and 
 be happy. If the latter, the whole universe shall be subjected to 
 the devil, and be miserable. Can common sense be at a loss for 
 a decision in this case 1 The scriptures, at least, have not left 
 the matter in doubt, " For it pleased the Father, that in him all 
 fulness should dwell, and (having made peace by the blood of 
 the cross) by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I 
 say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." 
 (Col. i. 20.) According to very respectable commentators, 
 *' things in earth, and things in heaven," is a common Hebrew 
 phrase for expressing the whole intelligent universe. 
 
 An objector may here inquire, " Why, since it is so opposed 
 to his nature, does not God exterminate sin at once 1 and, since 
 Vol. I.—F 
 
62 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 he does not at once, how do we know that he ever will 1 To the 
 first question I reply, that sin, though odious in itself, may yet, 
 as overruled by the divine Being, be made to eventuate in a 
 greater good than could be effected without its means. I say not 
 that God appointed it to that end ; but that he will so overrule it 
 that such shall be the result. How otherwise, can his permit- 
 ting its existence be vindicated? for it could surely not have 
 existed without his permission. " The wrath of man shall 
 praise him, and the remainder of wrath he will restrain," (Psa. 
 Ixxvi. 10.) None will deny that there are numerous instances on 
 sacred record of sin having been made to minister to good 
 results. The betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ are exam- 
 ples to this point. To the 2nd question I answer, that the 
 scriptures afford us the clearest guarantee that all evil shall 
 come to a close ; it is supposed to be the work of the devil, 
 i. e. an adversary, and " for this purpose the son of God was man- 
 ifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil,''' (1 John, 
 iii. 10.) Of course, we are not warranted in supposing that these 
 same works of the devil will continue in being after they are 
 destroyed, as long as he shall who is to destroy them ; and if 
 sin shall cease, so also shall suffering. 
 
 Much is said by objectors of shallow intellect, on the absurdity 
 of supposing, that sinners can enjoy happiness in the immediate 
 presence of a holy God. "The pure abodes of bliss," they 
 say, " would afford no felicity to sinners." This objection rests 
 on the assumption that universalists hold to all men being saved 
 in their sins, which is not the fact, and the objection is therefore 
 inapplicable; if it have any force at all, it is equally against the 
 objectors, for, are they not sinners 1 If not, they are not of the 
 class which Christ came to save, for he " came into the world 
 to save sinners," yea the " chief," (1 Tim. i. 15.) Grace shall 
 abound where sin hath abounded, and by as much more as infinite 
 goodness exceeds finite evil ; God requires us to be holy, as he 
 is holy, and has declared that without holiness no man can see 
 him ; yet has he given us in his word the counter assurance, that 
 his " glory shall be revealed, and alljiesh shall see it together," 
 (Isaiah, xl. 4.) which implies of course, that all shall have 
 attained to the prerequisite holiness, which is the term of admis- 
 sion to his blissful presence. 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 63 
 
 9. GOD IS TRUE.— (2. Cor. i. 18.)— And man is to ''live 
 by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth." (Mat. iv. 4.) 
 For his words are words of love, (God is love,) and are dispensed 
 to minister moral life to man ; hence the gospel is called " the 
 word of his grace,^^ (Acts xx. 32.) and "the word of /^/<2." 
 (Acts v. 20.) It is also identified with a message oi salvation, 
 (Acts xiii. 26.) and with a message of jieace. (Acts x. 36.) 
 The burden of its communication is, that " eternal life, which 
 God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." (Titus 
 i. 2.) And being promised before the world began, it was not 
 made dependant on anything in us, or to be performed by us, but 
 on the divine verity. " For he is faithful that promised." (Heb. 
 X. 23.) Our unbelief can never induce Jehovah to violate his 
 word. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot 
 deny himself." (2. Tim. ii. 13.) Man's purposes and promises 
 are necessarily affected by unforeseen contingents, but when 
 Jehovah gives his word no circumstance can prevent its being 
 made good. " For as the rain cometh down and the snow from 
 heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and 
 maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, 
 and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out 
 of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall ac- 
 complish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing 
 whereunto I sent it." (Isa. Iv. 9.) God's truth is even pledged 
 upon oath for man's salvation. (Isa. xlv. 23.) The reason for its 
 being so confirmed, is thus explained by the apostle, " For men 
 verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to 
 them an end of all strife ; wherein God, willing more abundantly 
 to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his coun- 
 sel, confirmed it by an oath ; that by two immutable things, in 
 which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong 
 consolation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold of the hope set 
 before us." (Heb. vi. 16.) After all which, Arminianism makes 
 the whole matter to depend on some ifs, huts, excepts, provideds, 
 &c. And these subjunctives can never be made positives by our 
 own agency, but by the direct agency of Jehovah alone — when, and 
 in regard to whom, he shall see fit to exert it! What assurance 
 then can we individually have for ourselves after all 1 
 
 There are in the scriptures, unquestionably, some conditional 
 
64 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 promises ; these all, however, respect our situation in time^ and 
 in no case extend their reference to eternity. Salvation, through 
 faith, takes place during the present existence of the believer. 
 " He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life." (John iii. 36.) 
 And damnation, through unbelief, takes place during the joreseni 
 existence of the unbeliever. " He that believeth not IS con- 
 demned already." (John iii. 18.) The promises which respect 
 man's condition beyond death are absolute — as already said, they 
 rest on no contingents; they are called "exceeding great and 
 precious." (2 Pet. i. 4.) And the covenant containing them, 
 as compared with the Jewish covenant of works, is called "a 
 better covenant, founded upon better promises." (Heb. viii. 6.) 
 These are not conditional, for the promises of'God through Christ 
 are not "yea and nay ;" they are not may he and may not he ; but 
 " in him all the promises of God are yea, and in him amen, to the 
 glory of God by us." (2 Cor. i. 21.) "Behold the days come, 
 saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house 
 of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the cov- 
 enant that I made with their fathers when I took them by the 
 hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they con- 
 tinued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the 
 Lord." [The fault found with the old covenant, it seems from 
 this text, was its condiiionnlity, which rendered its blessings very 
 insecure, having only the frail dependance of human faithfulness.] 
 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of 
 Israel after those days, I will put my laws into their minds, and 
 write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they 
 shall be to me a people." [If it be considered a term in this 
 promise, that the subjects are to have God's laws in their minds, 
 is not God pledged to put them there? If they are required to 
 be God's people, is he not bound by covenant to make them 
 such ? As, then, the conditions depend on God for fulfilment, 
 they cannot ultimately fail in regard to any of the subjects, as is 
 manifest from what follows :] " And they shall not teach every 
 man his neighbour, and every man his brother, know the Lord, 
 for ALL shall know me from the least unto the greatest, for I 
 will be merciful to their unrighteousness; and their sins and 
 their iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. viii. 8 — 12.) 
 A promise could not be more absolute in its character, and of this 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. G5 
 
 our opponents seem well aware ; hence they seem anxious to 
 limit its application to believers. "The house of Israel," say 
 they, " spiritually means the church." And does " the house of 
 Judah" also mean the church 1 and was it the " fathers" of the 
 church which " continued not in" God's covenant, and were 
 therefore not " regarded ]" What trifling with the sacred oracles 
 is this ! And now, I beg to know, if God will unconditionally 
 save the Jewish nation, will he not save all the nations on the 
 same grounds'? or is he a respecter of nations'? 
 
 The very key-stone of the gospel arch seems to be the promise 
 made by God to Abraham, that in his seed all mankind shall be 
 blessed ; this is frequently adverted to in the new testament, in 
 such terms as sufl^iciently show the great importance the inspired 
 writers attached to it; Paul emphatically calls it the gospel, 
 (Gal. iii. 8.) and Peter, with equal emphasis, calls it the promise, 
 (Acts. ii. 39.) and the covenant made with the fathers, (ibid. iii. 25.) 
 It is indeed a promise of promises : its manifest import is, that 
 all nations, families, kindreds, to whom have extended the curse 
 of sin and its concomitant moral death, shall experience a 
 redemption therefrom, and be blessed with Christ Jesus their 
 head. The revelation of this great truth is " glad tidings of 
 great joy which shall he unto all people," (Luke ii. 10.) It was 
 the prime theme of preaching in the infancy of Christianity, and 
 it caused the hearts of those that heard it to bound with glad- 
 ness. To doubt the eventual fulfilment of this promise is to make 
 God a liar, (1 John v. 10.) it is to refuse credence to the record 
 which he giveth of his son, " and this is the record, that God 
 hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his son," (ibid.) 
 hence he is said in the scripture to have given his son " to be the 
 life of the world," (viii. 24.) and Jesus calls himself " the bread 
 of God which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to 
 the world." (John vi. 33.) The primitive believers rested in 
 hope of that eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised 
 before the world began, (Titus ii. 2.) and this promise was not 
 hypothetical, or conditional, but absolute, " not according to our 
 works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which were 
 given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." (2 Tim. i. 9.) 
 Could unconditionality be more strongly expressed ? 
 
 It may be objected, that this record is true only with regard to 
 
 Vol. I.— f 2 
 
60 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM, 
 
 the believer; but if so, how does the unbeliever by refusing 
 credence to it make God a liar? for he only treats as talse that 
 which (according to the objection) actually is so as it respects 
 himself! It is then a clear case that our belief or unbelief can- 
 not affect the truth of the record ; it was a verity from everlast- 
 ing, and to everlasting it must remain a verity ; and we are 
 required to believe it, not to make it true, but because it is so ; 
 so soon as this record is believed, its reality is verified, hence 
 the believer is said to have " passed from death unto life," 
 (John. v. 24.) he "Aa/^ everlasting life," (ibid. iii. 36.) it was his 
 before he realized it ; the gift of God made it his, and the truth 
 of God declared it his, and faith in the record at length brought 
 him into possession of it. 
 
 But some will here inquire, Suppose the unbeliever should to 
 all eternity treat the record as false, will he not in that case fail 
 ever to experience its verity 1 The supposition implies a contra- 
 diction, for if by any means an individual shall fail to enjoy 
 the blessing communicated in the gospel, it will prove as it 
 respects that individual a falsehood, and if a falsehood, his unbe- 
 lief in it can be no crime, but rather a virtue. 
 
 Some of the subjects of a certain wise and benevolent king, 
 having been informed that he is a tyrant, rebel against his gov- 
 ernment, but being weak, and unable to resist his power, they 
 are soon brought to experience that they lie entirely at his mercy ; 
 they are now filled with the most dreadful apprehensions; they 
 imagine that he will execute his vengeance upon them in every 
 horrid form; some he will burn alive, others he will break upor 
 the wheel, &c. Poor creatures ! they have greatly mistaken the 
 character of their king, for he has no such cruel intentions. On 
 the contrary he resolves to subdue them by the force of love; 
 to overcome their evil with his goodness ; he accordingly writes 
 an act of pardon in their behalf, and sets the royal signature 
 to it, at the same time commissioning an ambassador to carry 
 them the joyous intelligence. But suppose that some of them 
 will refuse to credit the message, what then 1 Will he falsify 
 his word ? will he prove himself vindictive because they in 
 their blindness suppose him so? That would be a strange 
 method, surely, of vindicating his character and the truths 
 of his message ! Yet, thus acting, he would but imitate the 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 67 
 
 conduct which the doctrine of endless misery ascribes to the 
 sovereign of the universe. 
 
 Or, to change the figure, a certain wealthy man, hearing that a 
 poor debtor of his is in great distress, from an apprehension that 
 his little all is about to be seized to satisfy the claim against 
 him, sends a written assurance to his poor friend that he has 
 forgiven him the whole debt, and professing in strong terras his 
 kind dispositions towards him : the debtor, however, refuses to 
 credit these benevolent assurances, as they disagree with ttie 
 ideas he has received of his creditor's character : whereupon the 
 other gets angry, prosecutes the debt, and in default of payment 
 casts the poor man into prison. Does not the conduct of the 
 creditor in this case justify the poor man's unbelief in his kind 
 professions 1 It undeniably does ; it proves that the other would 
 have been unsafe in relying upon any promises of his. 
 
 To apply these cases. Will God act cruelly because we think 
 him cruel 1 Will his truth become a fahehood because we treat 
 it as such 1 Will he belie his own record, by eternally damning 
 those to whom he hath given eternal life ? And will he do this 
 because we foolishly refuse credence to that record ? A most 
 sagacious method of vindicating its verity, unquestionably. 
 
 Thus we have seen that every attribute of Jehovah yields 
 conclusions, the most clear and undoubted, in favour of the 
 eventual salvation of all mankind. How could a suspicion to the 
 contrary be entertained for a single moment"? seeing that God is 
 one and undivided, and all the perfections of his nature are in 
 harmony with each other. His justice is as much opposed to the 
 endless reign of inji^stice as is his holiness to the ceaseless dura- 
 tion of sin, or his love to the eternal continuance of hatred^ or 
 his mercy to that of cruelty ; his goodness to that of evil, and 
 his truth to that of error. It is in the nature of things for these 
 infinite attributes to overcome their opposites; the latter being 
 finite, and not allowed even a present existence /or their own sake ; 
 but with reference to some ultimate good to be brought about by 
 their means. How ought we to rejoice and take courage from the 
 fact, that our heavenly father's character is pledged for our final 
 good ! And how valuable ought we to esteem that revelation of 
 himself to the world through Jesus Christ, by means of which 
 yre arrive at this glorious assurance! What a soothing and 
 
68 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 peaceful influence does this assurance breathe through the soul ! 
 Amid the darkness and dreariness of life, its language is, 
 
 -" yet bear up awhile, 
 
 And what thy bounded view (which only saw 
 A Uttle part) deem'd evil, is no more, 
 The storms of wintry time will quickly pass, 
 And one unbounded spring encircle all." 
 
 THOUGHTS ON THE LAW OF GOD. 
 
 This subject is so apt to be introduced in controversies of this 
 nature, that I have thought proper to consider it at some length, and 
 to assign it a distinct place in this investigation : especially as the 
 opponents of universalism, w^hen compelled by arguments from the 
 attributes of God to abandon the hope of finding countenance to 
 their theory in that quarter, are prone to have recourse to his law^ 
 and to make it responsible for the severity of the sinner's doom, as 
 if the law could exist independently of the legislator ! " God, to 
 be sure," say they, " is infinitely good, and no wise disposed in 
 and of himself to inflict upon his creatures so horrible a punish- 
 ment, but his law imperiously requires such a satisfaction upon 
 its violators, and except its demands are met to the full, the 
 order and harmony of the divine government cannot be maintain- 
 ed." Never did a bad cause resort to a weaker fallacy. " Is 
 there a fate above the Gods 1" Or, to christianize the question, 
 is there a law in the government of Jehovah which he himself 
 cannot control 1 and in contrariety to his purpose and pleasure 
 will the destinies of millions of millions be'fixed by tnis uncon- 
 trollable pow'er in irreversible perdition % Then indeed is the 
 creator to be pitied : since none more than he will deplore — and 
 unavailingly deplore — the ruin brought upon his creatures by 
 this relentless law ! Yet, even in this view of the case, he is 
 not wholly exonerated from blame for having created beings in 
 view of this result; and him, therefore, after all, and not his law, 
 must they hold as primarily responsible for their miseries. 
 
 Theological system-builders tell us that the law of God is 
 infinite. Why ? Because it is God^s law. All things are God's. 
 Are all things therefore infinite 1 If so, they are equal to one 
 
THOUGHTS ON THE LAW OF GOD. 69 
 
 another and to him that made them ! Its requirements too, they 
 tell us, are infinite in regard to all intelligences. It follows then, 
 that as much is required of persons of small, as of large abili- 
 ties — as much of the ignorant as of the learned — of a child as 
 of a man — of a man as of an angel ! If these wise men had 
 been at the pains ot consulting the bible it would have informed 
 them, that " Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much 
 be required," (Mat. xii. 48.) and that in regard to every service, 
 as well as that of which the apostle here particularly speaks, " if 
 there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a 
 man hath^ and not according to that he hath 710/," (2. Cor. viii, 
 12.) which, all the universe over, must be admitted as a fair and 
 equal principle of legislation and government. 
 
 Proceeding on, for one step in error usually prepares the way 
 for another, they assume that an infraction of this infinite law is an 
 infinite offence ; which being the case, a// offences must be infinite, 
 for all are violations of the same law, and, therefore, all offences, 
 ■whether committed by a wise man or a fool — a lord or his slave — 
 by one possessing great, or another possessing small advantages 
 — whether committed in the blaze of gospel day, or in the gloom 
 of pagan night — ^under strong, or under weak temptations — attend- 
 ed with aggravating, or with mitigating circumstances — all are 
 equal ! Nor is this the worst consequence, for if one sin is infi- 
 nite, then it is equal to all the sins together that have ever been 
 committed, for all together can make no more than an infinity. 
 The school-boy who defrauds his fellow in a game of push-pins, 
 in violating an infinite law, and thereby contracting guilt corres- 
 ponding in turpitude to the dignity of the law sinned against, 
 draws down upon his soul as much condemnation as though he 
 had denied, betrayed, and crucified the son of God ! or as though 
 he had in his own person committed every crime that has ever 
 been perpetrated since time began! Upon my word, persons 
 who can believe all this must have an easy credulity ! 
 
 But further ; the offence being infinite, the punishment, we are 
 told, must also be infinite. This is the philosophical ground- 
 work — the rationale of the doctrine of endless misery. It hence 
 follows that he who knew his Lord's will and failed to do it, will 
 be beaten with no more stripes than he will who knew it not ! 
 See a beautiful confirmation of this rare divinity in Luke xii. 47. 
 
70 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 A punishment that is infinite in all cases, can be no greater in one 
 case than in another : how greatly then was Paul deceived in 
 supposing that crimes committed under the gospel, demanded 
 greater punishment than did those committed under the law ! 
 " He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or 
 three witnesses : of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, 
 shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the son 
 of God, and hath accounted the blood of the covenant wherewith 
 he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the 
 spirit of grace?"* (Heb. x. 28, 29.) Moreover, Christ informed 
 the scribes and Pharisees that they should receive the greater dam- 
 nation, (Mat. xxiii. 14.) and a greater, if any dependence may be 
 placed on logic, implies a less. That there are degrees in punish- 
 ment, then, is a doctrine of undoubted scriptural sanction, and it 
 hence follows that it is not infinite, for infinity admits of no degrees. 
 
 The law of God, speaking of it not in a particular, but in a 
 general sense, is a copy of his eternal perfections — is a necessary 
 emanation from his pure and holy nature : to understand its char- 
 acter, therefore, we have but to know that of its author. Is he 
 good ? so is it. (Rom. vii. 12. 16.) Is he holy ? It also is holy, 
 (ibid.) Is he pure? It also is pure. (Psl. xix. 8.) Is he love? 
 His law is love likewise. (Mat. xix. 40.) Is he just? It too is 
 just. (Rom. vii. 12.) Is he perfect? His law is perfect also. 
 (Psl. xix. 7.) On his law, therefore, the divine Being has 
 stamped the impress of himself. No thinking man will hesitate 
 a moment to admit this fact. 
 
 All wise and just law is instituted for the benefit of the govern- 
 ed ; human laws, as they emanate from imperfect beings, often 
 lose sight of this end ; and by as much as they do, they are 
 unwise and unjust — sometimes the offspring of tyranny — some- 
 times of caprice, interest, conceited ignorance, or misdirected 
 benevolence — but always marked with the imperfection of their 
 authors. God's law, on the contrary, is absolutely perfect, and 
 
 * The intenlion of the apostle's argument here is, that as there was no escape for 
 those who committed the highest class of offences under the law, so apostates from 
 Christ, being still more deserving of punishment, as they sinned against greater 
 obligations, should more certainly and more terribly perish, in the judgements then 
 impending over the obstinate enemies of Christ's cause. It is .as though a judge 
 should say in passing sentence on a criminal, "You must not hope that executive 
 clemency will be exercised in your case ; for if such an one escaped not, who com- 
 mitted a similar act with less atrocity in the manner, and under less ajriravated cir- 
 cumstances, of how much sorer punishment must you be thought worthy, who havo 
 slaughtered a fellow being in a most cruel manner, and in cool blood." 
 
THOUGHTS ON THE LAW OF GOD. 71 
 
 must succeed in effecting the final good of all for whose behoof 
 it was instituted.* Deny this, and you deny the plainest dictates 
 of common sense. The penalties of this law — how severe 
 soever — must be compatible with this design; for a greater 
 absurdity could not exist in terms than the declaration, that the 
 penalties of an infinitely perfect law are such as will defeat its 
 own ends. The doctrine of endless misery, therefore, is an ab- 
 surdity in terms. 
 
 The quibbler may essay to evade the above conclusion by 
 affirming that if the general good be secured, (even at the ex- 
 pense of a certain amount of private good,) the original object 
 of the law will be answered, in like manner as human govern- 
 ments frequently find it necessary to sacrifice guilty individuals 
 in order to secure the public weal. But this plea is not valid: 
 human governments are extremely defective — yet even they, in 
 proportion as they are wise and just, aim at the universal good ; 
 if they fail of effecting this end, it is from want of power; 
 when they sacrifice individuals they plead necessity for the act; 
 but as men advance in enlightenment, they discover this plea to 
 have no foundation in fact, and, consequently, amongst the most 
 refined nations capital punishments are grown into disrepute. 
 Whether in human governments this necessity does, or does not 
 exist, it certainly does not in the government of God. Does he 
 love every indivibual ? Then his law respects the final good of 
 every individual. Is that law perfect ? Then all its proposed 
 ends must infallibly be effected. Universal salvation results of 
 course. But let us go to the scriptures once more. " Think 
 not," saith Christ, " that I am come to destroy the law and the 
 prophets ; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil, for verily I say 
 unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle, shall in 
 no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." (Mat. v. 17. 18.) 
 That this has not reference to the Jewish ceremonial law is obvi- 
 ous, for it Christ did come to abolish, as saith Paul, " The law 
 was our school-master to bring us unto Christ, but after that faith 
 is come we are no longer under a school-master." (Gal. iii. 24.) 
 It was the moral law which Christ came to fulfil, and how is it to 
 
 * It is not strictly proper to speak of the divine law as having been instituted, for 
 like himself it must have been from eternity ; being, aa already remarked, a neces- 
 sary emajiation from his all perfect nature. 
 
72 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 be fulfilled ? By every individual being brought to comply with 
 its requirements ; and what are these ? " Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
 all thy mind ; this is the first and great command, and the second 
 is like unto it; thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; on 
 these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." 
 (Mat. xxii. 37. 40.) To the same purpose speaketh James, "If 
 ye fulfil the royal law ; thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy- 
 self, ye shall do well," (Jam. ii. 8.) and^ Paul likewise, " Love 
 worketh no ill to its neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of 
 the law." (Rom. xiii. 9.) On every being in the universe must 
 this law be equally binding — all, however, are not equally capa- 
 ble of understanding its claims, and, consequently, the obliga- 
 tions of all in regard to it are not equal, nor for the same reason 
 is a noncompliance with it equally culpable in all — for culpability 
 is in proportion to the obligations violated — and the obligations of 
 each are in proportion to the capacity and opportunities of each. 
 However, if not one jot or little is to pass from the law till all 
 be fulfilled, it follows that all are to be brought eventually to 
 comply with its requirements, in loving God supremely, and 
 each other as themselves. Hence we again arrive at the result 
 that all mankind shall be saved. 
 
 Those who, in the effort to screen God from blame in the busi- 
 ness of endless punishment, are in the habit of referring it to the 
 inexorable character of his law, usually attempt to illustrate the 
 matter by the example of Zeleucus the lawgiver. To one of his 
 statutes was appended the penalty of the loss of both eyes on the 
 part of its transgressor; it turned out that his own son was the 
 first among his subjects to incur this heavy doom; the king, as 
 may be believed, was much afflicted at the circumstance, that his 
 only heir and presumptive successor in the government, should be 
 subjected to a punishment which would forever blast his expecta- 
 tions in life ; yet the penalty must be inflicted, or his laws would 
 sink into contempt. He therefore determined at length to yield 
 to the violated statute the two eyes which it demanded ; but 
 instead of having both taken from his son he shared the punish- 
 ment with him, and yielded one of his own ! By this means, we 
 are told, he secured the most unbounded respect of his subjects 
 toward himself and government. 
 
THOUGHTS ON THE LAW OF GOD. 73 
 
 The conduct imputed to Zeleucus may have been well enough 
 on his part, but would it be suitable to the wisdom — the justice — 
 the benevolence, of the legislator of heaven and earth 1 In the 
 statute-book of his dominion, there surely exists no law, the ope- 
 ration of which he will have cause to deplore. One necessary 
 cause of the impotence of human law is, that its penalties are 
 arhitrary — by which I mean that they do not grow out of the of- 
 fence — their only connexion with it being the result of positive 
 enactment. They, therefore, seldom tend to amend the subject, 
 or even to prevent others from committing, or the subject from 
 repeating the same crime. They, moreover, fail of making any 
 amends to the statute violated, or the party or parties injured there- 
 by. The law of Zeleucus was characterized by all these defects, 
 and according to the theory of endless suffering, such are also the 
 characteristics of the law of Heaven. For, is it pretended that 
 between the sinful acts of men, and their suffering in ceaseless 
 fire, there is any necessary connexion 1 If not, then the penalty 
 is arbitrary. Is it pretended that it will yield reparation to the 
 violated law ? or to the party or parties sinned against ? or will 
 it tend to the emendation of the sufferer ? or to deter others from 
 imitating his example % If neither of these, then is it not most 
 undeniably a gratuitous cruelty. 
 
 But it will be said, perhaps, that I lose sight in this argument 
 of the main object of punishment, viz., that of rendering satis- 
 faction to the law. But I deny that the law is satisfied with the 
 punishment of its violator, for punishment is not an end in legis- 
 lation, it is but a meam to an end — the end itself is obedience. It 
 is the essence of silliness to suppose that the law will rest satis- 
 fied with the means, while the end is unaccomplished. But the 
 theory of ceaseless suffering supposes this. Therefore, said 
 theory is the essence of silliness. Is the physician satisfied 
 with the ministry of medicine to a patient, without reference to 
 his cure % Or the farmer with the putting in of his seed without 
 reference to a harvest ? 
 
 If God's law has not respect to the ultimate good of the pun- 
 ished, then, as it regards him, it is not benevolent — and if not 
 benevolent, it is also not just. If it has respect to his final good 
 this* will be the issue of its operations with regard to him 
 Either this conclusion is just, or the law is imperfect; but the 
 
 Vol. L—G No. 4. 
 
74 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 law is not imperfect ; therefore the conclusion is just. Logic, 
 then, brings us to the very truth attested by the saviour, and 
 before quoted, viz., that the law of God, in every jot and tittle, 
 which is love to God and to our neighbors, shall infallibly be 
 fulfilled, in the universal obedience of all the intelligences for 
 whose behoof it exists. 
 
 I ask now, are the penalties annexed to this law, such as will 
 defeat its intentions, and render impossible its fulfilment 1 They 
 certainly are, if the theory of unceasing punishment be true, for 
 in that case, myriads of myriads of beings will eternally remain 
 in a state of rebellion against God, and of enmity toward each 
 other. To render the absurdity of this still more glaring, we 
 will again have recourse to comparison. 
 
 A preceptor, having under his care numerous pupils of highly 
 respectable parentage, is anxious to advance them to the highest 
 possible state of intelligence, in order that they may prove orna- 
 ments to society, and creditable to himself as their instructor ; he 
 accordingly frames a strict code of disciplinary rules for their 
 guidance, and enacts among other things, that any pupil who 
 shall for a certain term of time neglect his studies, shall forever 
 thereafter be debarred from all means of mental improvement, 
 and be doomed to perpetual ignorance. Reader, can you see any 
 fitness between such a law, and the preceptor's original design ? 
 On the contrary, could he have adopted a surer measure for its 
 frustration 1 And think you that in the government of the uni- 
 verse, God thus weakly legislates against his own purposes? 
 You must deem but meanly of his wisdom if you do. 
 
 The only plea now remaining for endless misery connected 
 with this subject is, that by its penal operations upon the offend- 
 er, the law will secure the respect to which it is entitled. This 
 plea is good as it regards limited and emendatory punishment ; 
 but as it regards that which is endless, it is utterly void of 
 force, for a law which acts against its own ends — which respects 
 not the ultimate good of those upon whom its penalties fall — and 
 which is therefore blind — weak — vindictive — and inconsistent — 
 is in fact entitled to no respect, and can never secure it from ra- 
 tional beings ; a servile compliance with its mandates, from 
 Hiotives of fear, it may indeed exact, but in that case it can with 
 no propriety be called " the petfect law of Liberty,^* God's way 
 
THOUGHTS ON THE LAW OF GOD. 75 
 
 of securing respect for his law, consists in his having made it so 
 reasonable in itself — so just — so pure — so benevolent — so every- 
 thing that it should be — that the mind truly enlightened in regard 
 to its nature and claims, cannot but choose to obey its dictates- 
 most cheerfully and heartily to obey them : iif all minds do not 
 now so choose, it is because all minds are not now so enlightened ; 
 but the covenant of God's love, which promises to bless all man- 
 kind m Christ Jesus, implies his purpose thus ultimately to 
 enlighten all, and to bring all to obey this law, as the means of 
 that blessedness. " I will put my law in their minds," saith 
 God, as before quoted, "and will write it in their hearts." And 
 then will have come to pass the prediction of the prophet, 
 *' And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great 
 shall be the peace of thy children." (Isaiah liv. 13.) "It is 
 written in the prophets. And they shall be all taught of God." 
 (John, vi. 45.) Thus what the prophet foretold, Christ has 
 sanctioned. 
 
 How beautiful, then, is the light which the scriptures have 
 thrown upon this interesting subject ! and how opposed, at every 
 step, are its conclusions, to the drear and spirit-blighting theory 
 of endless suffering ! According to their teaching, as before 
 shown, God's law, like himself, is love ; its perfection consists 
 in its adaptedness to convert the soul. (Psl. xix. 7.) God's vera- 
 city is pledged that he will write on all hearts, (Heb. viii. 11, 12.) 
 and when this is done, all will obey it. " The law of the spirit 
 of life in Christ Jesus," will set them free " from the law of 
 sin and death," (Rom. viii. 2.) herein consists the blessedness of 
 the upright, that " his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in 
 his law doth he meditate day and night." (Psl. ii. 2.) Reader, 
 get possession of this law of love, and it will lead you to visit 
 the fatherless and the widow — to do justly, love mercy, and 
 walk humbly with God — to love your enemies — to overcome evil 
 with good — and thus to assimilate to the character of your father 
 in heaven. " Great peace have they that love the law of God, and 
 nothing shall offend them," (Psl. cxix. 165.) 
 
7d PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 UNIVERSAL SALVATION 
 
 DIRECTLY AND POSITIVELY PROVEN FROM THE RELA- 
 TIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 
 
 1. AS OUR CREATOR.— He must be, in a remote sense at 
 least, responsible for the issue of our being, and according as it 
 shall prove a blessing or a curse, he may be regarded as a bene- 
 factor or an enemy, and we shall have endless reasons for grati- 
 tude toward him, or for resentment. It is vain to attempt an 
 evasion of this consequence, for if it be said that our misery 
 would not have been, but for our sin, it must also be admitted that 
 our sin would not have been, but for our existence, nor our exis- 
 tence, but for our creator : to this conclusion, then, it must come 
 at last, and here it must rest. What man, though ever so much 
 depraved, would consent to be a parent, with the certain knowl- 
 edge before him, that his offspring would be a subject of misery 
 and degradation in this life, and of ceaseless and hopeless suffer- 
 ing in another 1 And provided he did so consent, might not his 
 offspring justly account him his foe, and hold him accountable 
 for all the evils of his wretched being 1 It would certainly not 
 avail the parent to plead that he was actuated by benevolent mo- 
 tives in conferring that existence, and that he designed it should 
 prove a blessing to the recipient ; for how could he have designed 
 that for good which he knew would prove an evil 1 Man, how- 
 ever, though possessing the foresight supposed, might plead the 
 strength of his sensual inclinations, and the insufficiency of his 
 moral principles of resistance, not in excuse, but in extenuation 
 of his pernicious act ; but could the divine character, in a similar 
 case, find shelter under such a plea 1 No, for " God cannot be 
 tempted with evil," (James i, 13.) nor has he sensual inclinations 
 to gratify. 
 
 " But," inquires an objector, " may not the creator have made 
 man subject to the liabilities supposed in the doctrine of endless 
 misery, with the view of testing his obedience ? — for if man were 
 not left to his own election between go^od and evil, how could his 
 virtue as a moral agent be put to the proof?" A sheerer fallacy 
 never perplexed the poor human brain ! What ! the almighty 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 77 
 
 maker of man must have recourse to tests to know the qualities 
 of what he creates ! It is to be hoped then, that he is made 
 ■wiser by his experiments ! But supposing such a test necessary, 
 still it might have been made without involving endless^ and, there- 
 fore, irremediable consequences. That man is left to his choice 
 between good and bad is not denied ; but it is denied that infinite 
 benevolence has suspended his weal or woe, for eternity, on so 
 frail and fickle a thing as the human will — more especially as he 
 could not but foresee the result of such suspension. 
 
 A father having mixed a quantity of arsenic with some white 
 sugar, puts the compound into the hands of his children, acquamt- 
 ing them at the same time with its poisonous qualities, and cau- 
 tioning them against eating of it ; they, however, seduced by its 
 appearance, and detecting nothing but agreeableness in the taste, 
 disbelieve, or disregard the parental admonition, allow their 
 appetites the dangerous indulgence, and experience death as the 
 consequence. The neighbours of the father, hearing that the 
 children came into possession of the poison by his agency, inquire 
 his motives in arming his poor offspring with the means of self- 
 destruction. " Merely by way of experiment," he replies, " upon 
 their faith in my word, and obedience to my commands." The 
 neighbours inquire again if he did not foresee the probable issue 
 of the experiment. " Yes," he answers, " not only the probable, 
 but the certain issue, was as clear to me before the trial as it is 
 since — still, I meant no harm to my children by the affair ;" can 
 you not, reader, anticipate the judgement of the neighbours upon 
 this cruel transaction ? " Wretch !" mt thinks I hear them ex- 
 claim, "You are guilty of the murder of your children ! you 
 supplied them with the instrument of death, full well knowing 
 how fatally to themselves they would employ it ; and now you 
 seek to deafen your conscience to the voice of their blood by the 
 weak plea, that you designed a result, different from what you 
 were assured would take place ! you are convicted, sir, out of your 
 own mouth." Yet is this contemptible apology the best that 
 can be found, by the advocates of unending woe, for the defence 
 of the divine character. God designed well in creating those to 
 whom he knetu their existence would prove an endless curse. 
 
 Let us conceive Jehovah as existing alone — in the solitude of 
 unpeopled space. Stood he then in need of creatures like us, to 
 
 Vol. L—a 8 
 
78 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 augment his happiness 1 — to increase his power 1 — to perfect 
 his perfections 1 No ; for infinity is insusceptible of increase. 
 What, then, prompted him to create 1 Was it the desire to test 
 his creative skill 1 No ; for omniscience does not gather knowl- 
 edge from experiments. The only conceivable motive in this 
 case is that of benevolence, in order that it might have objects on 
 which to expand itself; being infinitely happy in himself, the crea- 
 tor was prompted to produce sentient creatures by a propensity to 
 communicate that happiness. And in proportion as beings are 
 multiplied, in that proportion are the participants of that ex- 
 haustless felicity also multiplied. Here is an end worthy of a 
 God ! an end, reasonable, benevolent, glorious ! philosophy ap- 
 proves it as probable, religion as just and true ; this is a corner- 
 stone in the universalist faith, and for want of such a foundation, 
 the thousand and one theories in religion are as unstable as the 
 ocean's waves, and as unsubstantial as their foam ; happily we 
 are saved the labour of proving this important point, by the fact 
 that it is self-evident, and, therefore, by no party in theology 
 denied : yet, although none deny it in terms, many do in effect — 
 for is not the doctrine of endless misery, to all intents and pur- 
 poses, a total denial of it 1 
 
 In the deity's discourse with Jonah, how affectingly is his rela- 
 tion to man, as creator, urged as a reason for the display of his 
 mercy. " Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou 
 hast not laboured, neither madest it grow, which came up in a 
 night, and perished in a night ; And should not I spare Nineveh, 
 that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand souls 
 that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, 
 and also much cattle." (Jonah iv. 10, 11.) The prophet, it 
 seems, had been more painfully affected about the perishing of a 
 gourd, because he had found a shelter in its shade from the torrid 
 sun, than about the prospective destruction of a large city with 
 its entire population ! and inasmuch as he had predicted this 
 destruction, he would have preferred it should ensue, rather than 
 that his preaching should fall into disrepute ! God, therefore, 
 condescended to show the callous prophet the ground of his own 
 benevolent interest in this vast multitude — he had (so to speak) 
 laboured for them, and made them to grow — they were the work 
 of bis hands — his benevolence had prompted him to create, and 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 79 
 
 it now prompted him to save them. Ye prophets of ceaseless 
 woe, we may in charity hope you will be less pained in the end, 
 that your preaching is falsified in the happy event of a whole 
 world's salvation, than if it should be verified in the utter ruin of 
 even a solitary individual.* 
 
 Moses has recorded that God saw all things, when he had made 
 them, to be very good, (Gen. i. 38.) implying, of course, that they 
 were answerable to the benevolent purposes for which he had 
 created them. The author of any mechanical, or other contri- 
 vance, accounts it to be good or bad, according as he sees it is 
 or is not adapted to meet his original intentions. God saw to 
 what result his works would come — he saw whether the utter and 
 irretrievable damnation of myriads of beings would be among 
 those results ; and if he did indeed foresee this consequence, and 
 yet in view of it, pronounced his works " very good," it must 
 follow that he designed it, and then of what value are all the scrip- 
 tural assurances of his goodness 1 — and what credit is due to them % 
 
 Moses has also recorded that God blessed the first human pair, 
 and bade them " multiply and replenish the earth." (Gen. i. 23.) 
 For what ? that hell might be populated 1 for such, according to 
 the dogma under consideration, he forese^w would be the case. 
 In the name of God — and religion — and consistency — oh ye abet- 
 tors of this dark creed ! I call upon you to ponder well this im- 
 portant matter. Would infinite love thus encourage our unsus- 
 pecting parents to multiply their kind, even to millions of 
 millions, to the end that the dark realms of unending woe should 
 be peopled ? Would not an imputation of so odious a character, 
 add blackness to our blackest conceptions of cruelty ? Surely 
 this encouragement to propagate the species, implies that the 
 divine benevolence had charged itself with their safe keeping, and 
 through whatsoever vicissitudes of sin and suffering the offspring 
 
 * It would, however, seem not, from the feeling they often manifest on this subject. 
 Whilst yet a minor, in Philadelphia, I once went to hear a celebrated orator declaim 
 (declamation it proved in fact, argument in professimi) against the growing and 
 dangerous heresy of universalism. I shall never forget the following passage in the 
 discourse— in my boyish simplicity, I thought it grand at the time. " WTiat ! ad- 
 mit the sinner into heaven ! If Jehovah could commit such folly (I speak it with 
 reverence) the meanest saint in that bright realm, would rise indignant from his 
 
 f olden throne, and spurn the wretch to hell !" Think of that now ! How beautiful ! 
 low sublime ! How viodest withal ! The preacher hijnself was not a sinner— not 
 he : and so being not a sinner, he and his class will doubtless have heaven entirely 
 to themselves j for Chriat Jesus came into the world to save sai?its, it seemB, not 
 fiuineis. 
 
80 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 of that sinning pair might intermediately pass, yet was it the 
 purpose of that undying love, most faithfully to redeem the im- 
 plied pledge. 
 
 It is affirmed of God in the scriptures that he " will have a regard 
 to the work of his hands," (Job xiv. 15.) hence all his works are 
 frequently called upon — together with " every thing that hath 
 breath, to praise the name of the Lord." (Psl. cl. 6.) I know 
 not with what reason or justice every creature can be required to 
 praise God, except they are to be the gainers by the existence 
 which they have received at his hands : on this ground it is most 
 just; and most heartily, methinks, will that praise be accorded 
 when in the morning of that immortal day, which is to be signal- 
 ised by the triumph of infinite love over death, and darkness, and 
 sin, they shall see the mysteries of divine providence during the 
 night of time unfolded, and to have issued by means to them the 
 most unpromising in the most happifying and perfect consumma- 
 tion ; then we shall truly find all beings uniting in the ascription, 
 " Thou art worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and 
 power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they 
 are, and were created." (Rev. iv. 11.) 
 
 Men have been much puzzled, in different ages, to account for 
 the existence of evil — they have been at a loss how to reconcile 
 the fact with the established doctrine of the infinite goodness of 
 the creator ; the Magian, or Zoroastic religion, (which prevailed 
 throughout ancient Chaldea,) attempted to solve this mystery, by 
 the supposition that there are two creators, of equal, or nearly equal 
 power ; the one the source of all good, the other the source of all 
 evil: which doctrine is still substantially (though not avowedly) 
 maintained by a majority of christians; who trace all that is 
 good to God, and all that is bad to the devil ! so that the preva- 
 lent christian creed, so far as respects this particular, is but the 
 Magian creed revived in a new form. But with this advantage 
 in, favour of the latter, that Zoroaster taught that the author of 
 all good would eventually overcome and extirpate the author of 
 all evil, and goodness should then be sole, supreme, and univer- 
 sal. Whereas the class of christians referred to, think that evil 
 will be co-eternal with good — that there will never, in the bound- 
 less future, be found a remedy by infinite goodness, for the evils 
 which shall overspread his dominions ! 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 81 
 
 The scriptures are most satisfactory, most philosophical, upon 
 this puzzling point ; they teach that " of God are all things," 
 (Rom. xi. 36. 1 Cor. viii. 6. 2 Cor. v. 18. Rev. iv. 11.) they 
 represent Jehovah himself as saying, " I form the light and 
 create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all 
 these things." (Isaiah xlv. 7.) " Can there," they ask, " be 
 evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it !" (Amos iii. 6.) and 
 again, " Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall 
 we not receive evil also V (Job ii. 10.) " Affliction cometh not 
 forth of the dust !" they affirm, " neither doth trouble spring out 
 of the ground." (Job v. 6.) All these things are, in the scrip- 
 tures, most consistently resolved into the power and appointment 
 of Heaven, for wise and benevolent ends. Hence, they are evils 
 only in a relative, not in an absolute sense — evils as they are con- 
 nected with our<t but not as they are connected with Godh agency, 
 for what we mean unto an evil result, God means unto good. 
 (Gen. i. 20.) 
 
 ** Happy the man who sees a God employ'd 
 In all the good and ills that chequer life. 
 Resolvingr all events, with their effects 
 And manifold results, into the will 
 And arbitration wise of the Supreme." — Coivper. 
 
 This is the language of a philosophical christian, and it speaks 
 the religion and philosophy of the bible. We were not designed, 
 in this mode of being, for either moral ox physical perfection — the 
 same creator who gave ferocity and an appetite for blood to the 
 beast of prey, gave to man also the passions and appetites which 
 prompt him to crime, and prove to him frequently the sources of 
 that moral and physical misery inseparable from human life. 
 Man, however, is gifted with reason, to enable him to restrain 
 the animal impulses, and to allow them such exercise only as 
 is consistent with his duty and true happiness. God holds him 
 responsible for the use he makes of all this functions ; as his 
 moral principles, or his animal nature predominates, he assimi- 
 lates to God, or to the brute, and is accordingly happy or mis- 
 erable. 
 
 " Two principles in human nature reign. 
 Self-love to urge, and reason to restrain, 
 Nor this or good, nor that a bad we call. 
 Each works its end to rule or govern all." — Pope, 
 
82 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 Paul, in plain prose, speaks the same truth, "But 1 see an- 
 other law in my members, warring against the law in my mind, 
 and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my 
 members." (Rom. vii. 23.) In all which there is this utility, that 
 our moral virtue is thus put to trial — Good and evil — life and 
 death — are set before us — on our choice depends our condition — 
 not hereafter, but here — and we hence learn from experience 
 the happiness which flows from virtue, and the misery from vice ; 
 which experience is not to be lost to us when we shall have de- 
 parted this stage of action, but, on the contrary, is to have a 
 beneficial bearing upon our whole future being. 
 
 From this view of things we gather a lesson of most cheering 
 and practical influence : we learn to adore the perfections of our 
 creator ; because if nothing exists independently of him, then all 
 things are subject to his control ; and in what difiiculties or evils 
 soever we may become involved, his power and grace are equal 
 to our extrication ; whatever is, is for a wise and good end ; and 
 for the same end, man is what he is, " For the creature was made 
 subject to vanity, not willingly," [that is, not by the creature's 
 will, for the creature could have no will in the matter of its crea- 
 tion,] " but by reason of him who subjected the same in hope. 
 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bon- 
 dage of conuption, into the glorious liberty of the children of 
 God." (Rom. viii. 20, 21.) Some have supposed, (the celebra- 
 ted John Wesley among them,) on the authority of this, and a 
 few other passages, that even the brute creation are destined to a 
 future, and happier state of existence, and I know no good reason 
 why they should not be, for their present state is one of much 
 suffering ; and with the highly gifted Bulwer, (in a work of his 
 entitled " The Student,") I deem it probable that the all-benefi- 
 cent creator, has in reserve for them an ample compensation for 
 their present sufferings. However this may be, it is a matter of 
 inspired record that such is the case with regard to man. " Our 
 light aflflictions which are but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
 more exceeding, and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 From the whole, then, it results, that we are God's property — 
 he made us for himself— not for the devil — that we might par- 
 take, and reflect, his goodness and glory — not that in our ruin we 
 might reflect his cruelty and his disgrace — all the attributes of 
 
.«r0MENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 83 
 
 his nature are so many sufficient pledges, that we shall infallibly 
 answer the beneficent end to which he designed us — while at the 
 same lime they all combine to assure us what that end is — and 
 hence, as before remarked, we are under the strongest of obliga- 
 tions to lift our hearts toward him in confidence and love — and to 
 devote to his most reasonable service those powers of body and 
 mind, which we have received from his forming hand. 
 
 2. AS OUR FATHER. Our opponents seem aware of the 
 consequence against their dogma to be drawn from this relation, 
 and they, therefore, deny its universality ,■ " it only exists," say 
 they, " in regard to the truly pious ;" and they find a number of 
 texts of scripture which they think sanction this restriction. 
 For example : " As many as are led by the spirit of God, they 
 are the sons of God," (Rom. viii. 14.) whence it seems logic- 
 ally to follow, that as many as are not so led, are not God's sons ; 
 and it is granted that they certainly are not, in the sense intended. 
 They also find, that while some in the scriptures are addressed 
 as, in a particular sense, the children of God ; others are spoken 
 of as " the children of the wicked one," or " the devil." Hence 
 they actually maintain that mankind consists of two classes — the 
 one the offspring of God — the other of satan ! Than which a 
 sentiment more odious, or more pernicious in its consequences, 
 was surely never adopted ; a little attention to scriptural phrase- 
 ology will set this point in a plain and satisfactory light. 
 
 It is known to every attentive biblical student, that in figura- 
 tive language, a person was said to be the child even of any 
 circumstance or abstract quality, by which he was distinguished ; 
 hence we read of children of light — of the day — of darkness — 
 of Belial — of God — of this world — of the resurrection — -of the 
 bridegroom — of the kingdom — of perdition — of affliction — of cor^ 
 solation — of thunder — oi peace — of strife — of cunning — of guile — 
 &c. &c. If we are to understand any of these expressions in a 
 strict sense, why not all 1 Is it not obvious, that neither of these 
 were designed for a literal interpretation? 
 
 A person was also said to be the child of another, whose dis- 
 positions or example he copied ; hence, Jabal is called " the 
 father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle ;" Jubal is called 
 "tne father of such as play upon the harp and organ ;" and Tubal- 
 Cam, " the father of all such as work in brass and iron." (Gen. 
 
84 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 iv. 20, 21.) To the proud and persecuting Jews, Christ said, 
 «* Ye are of your father the devil, and his works ye do," (John 
 viii. 44.) " If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the 
 works of Abraham." (ibid. 31.) Now in point of fact, they were 
 Abraham's children ; but they were not so by resemblance of charac- 
 ter, or in a practical sense : so Christ, when he enjoins certain 
 virtues, urges as a motive to their performance, " that ye may be 
 the children of your Father which is in heaven." (Mat. v. 45.) 
 By losing sight of the figurative usage here, one would think that 
 the party addressed, were not the children of God — else, why are 
 they directed what to do in order to become such ] But the 
 attentive reader will discover that Christ distinctly recognises the 
 divine relation to them; for he calls God their "Father in 
 heaven," which implies of course that they were in reality his 
 offspring, and by practicing the virtues enjoined, they would 
 become such characteristically or practically . To the same amount 
 Peter, after commending the virtues of Sarah, Abraham's wife, 
 adds by way of encouragement to the women of the churches to 
 which he wrote, " whose daughters ye are, so long as ye do well." 
 (1 Pet. iii. 6.) They would thus become her imitators, and, 
 according to the usage of speech in those times, her (laughters. 
 
 We are not by any means free from the same usage now ; it is 
 still a common practice to call the disciples, or imitators of anoth- 
 er, his children. Some we call the children of Calvin — some of 
 Wesley — the physician we term a son of Esculapius, or of Hippo- 
 crates — the lover of music is a son of Apollo — the lover of wine 
 and frolic is a son of Bacchus — the shoe-maker is a son of Crispin 
 — the sailor a son of Neptune — the soldier a son of Mars — the 
 strong man a son of Hercules, &c. Among the wild mountain 
 clans of Scotland, this usage was still more prevalent ; each 
 individual, besides being the child of his chief, was also the 
 child of whatever particular profession he followed, or circum- 
 stance which distinguished him. 
 
 It might with the same propriety be maintained, that because 
 some are termed sons of thunder, they were therefore generated 
 by an electrical explosion of the clouds — or because some are 
 termed children of light, that they were therefore born in the sun, 
 as to suppose that all are not the children of God, because of 
 some being metaphorically termed " the children of the wicked 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 85 
 
 one." Truth is, that God is equally the father of every individ- 
 ual, but while the christian has within himself the evidence of 
 this fact, and it is a source of peace and rejoicing to him ; the 
 wicked man is ignorant of it — is " without God, and without 
 hope in the world." Plain as this point is, however, in itself, 
 I am not disposed to beg its admission by the reader without 
 proof, and therefore present the following circumstances in evi- 
 dence. 
 
 1. We are equally the descendants of Adam, and he in the 
 scriptures is termed " the son of God." (Luke iii. 28.) Surely 
 if the original stream is related to the fountain whence it flowed, 
 all the branches into which it has ramified, are equally related to 
 it. 2. It is the duty and privilege of all to pray, and Christ 
 directs, " when ye pray, say our Father who art in heaven." 
 (Mat. vi. 9.) Christ would certainly noi authorize our calling 
 God what he is not ! 3. Our spirits have a common source ; 
 hence, God is called the " father of our spirits," (Heb. xii. 9.) 
 and " the God of the spirits of all flesh." (Num. xvi. 22.) 
 4. They have also a common destination ; for " when the body 
 returns to the dust whence it came, the spirit shall return to the 
 God that gave it." (Eccle. xii. 7.) 5. We are all corporeally com- 
 pounded of the same materials ; " for God hath made of one blood 
 all nations of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth," (Acts 
 xvii. 25.) and " in him we live, and move, and have our being," 
 (ibid.) 6. The fact is expressly declared, " For there is one God 
 and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you 
 all." (Ephe. iv. 6.) 7. It is also interrogatively affirmed, (which 
 is the strongest form of affirmation, being a question which in- 
 volves its own answer,) " Have we not all one Father ?" (Mai. 
 ii. 6.)* 8. And Paul admitted the same to be true, even of 
 the idolatrous Athenians, " Forasmuch, then, as ye are the off"- 
 spring of God." (Acts xvii. 22.) Jehovah himself repeatedly 
 does the same in regard to the rebellious Jews, " If I am a father, 
 where is mine honor T' (Mai. i. 10.) Finally, we are positive- 
 ly declared to be related to God through Christ, who is " the 
 
 * Oh, the straits to which the advocates of a partial theology are reduced ! " This 
 affirmation," say they, " only has respect to the Jeu:ish priests, whom the prophet 
 ■was then addressing himself to." Indeed ? Then when he adds, " Haih not one God 
 created us all ?" I suppose we are to understand him as meaning, that God is the 
 creator of none but those priests ! 
 
 Vol. I.— H 
 
86 FRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 head of every man," and " the head of Christ is God." (1 Cor* 
 xi. 3.) Much more might be adduced to the same effect. 
 
 Sin may, indeed, and does, efface the divine image in us ; it 
 may, and does, render us unlike our Heavenly Father ; it sepa- 
 rates, too, between us and God ; but it cannot dissolve the 
 relation, nor the obligations, between the parties ; for that rela- 
 tion, and those obligations, are not founded on any qualities we 
 possess ; but on the act of God in our creation, and nothing 
 short of his uncreating us, can obliterate them. When the 
 prodigal wandered from home — wasted his substance, and degra- 
 ded himself, did he cease to be a son 1 And when at length, 
 he reflected that he had a father, was he mistaken 1 Oh, no ! the 
 sequel proves him to have been correct, and it equally proves to 
 us, that the paternal goodness of God, (for that is the point it 
 was introduced to illustrate,) will long — ^long outlive our filial 
 obedience and gratitude ; God will not cease to be a father, 
 even though we may cease to act as his children. 
 
 I have said above, that the theory which supposes mankind to 
 be composed of two opposite parties, is exceedingly pernicious in 
 its influences ; argument can scarcely be required in support of this. 
 If I belong to the devil — if he is my father — then to him is my 
 filial obedience due — and God can have no counter claims upon it 
 — every child is bound to love and obey his own parent. This 
 is one evil consequence. Another is, that the parties standing 
 toward each other in such opposite relations, will naturally cher- 
 ish toward each other a militant disposition — the child of God 
 will despise the child of the devil, and the latter will hate the 
 former in return. How much of the seas of blood that has cried 
 to the throne of heaven against the persecutor, has flowed from 
 this source, the all-seeing God alone can tell. What if the 
 husband should be a child of God, and the wife a child of 
 the devil — will God, or the devil, claim the oflfspring 1 or v/ill 
 they divide the property in dispute agreeably to Solomon's de- 
 cision 1 
 
 The bible does, indeed, recognise two opposite characters — but 
 not classes of men. So far is it from imputing all righteousness 
 to one set of persons, and all wickedness to another, that it dis- 
 tinctly asserts, " the whole world lieth in wickedness," (John v. 
 20.) and " there is none righteous, no, not one." (Rom. iii. 10.) 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 87 
 
 The terms righteous and wicked^ therefore, as they respect man- 
 kind, have but a relative signification ; for the most upright of 
 men have some defects of character, and the most wicked some 
 redeeming qualities ; if a division of mankind were attempted, it 
 is certain that a vast majority would be neither on the one side 
 nor the other, but on the dividing line ; it would be exceedingly 
 difficult for the conflicting claims on the part of God, and the 
 devil, to be adjusted in regard to this large majority, otherwise 
 than by the judgement of Solomon before alluded to — by each of 
 the subjects being equally divided between the parties. Thus 
 much for the difficulties attendant on a gross interpretation of the 
 figurative language of scripture. But if men, as the scriptures 
 assert, belong to one heavenly parent, and one redeeming head, 
 and are members one of another, then are they bound to each 
 other in fraternal, and to their common parent in filial ties; 
 from these ties arise strong obligations, and from a discharge 
 of these, ensues true happiness — happiness to each, happiness 
 to all. 
 
 If an earthly father's love to his child will endure unimpaired 
 through a long — long course of disobedience and provocation on 
 the part of that child — if it will follow him in all his wanderings 
 and rebellions — inviting his return — eagerly watching for occa- 
 sions to restore him to virtue and to happiness: and even though 
 that child's waywardness may have exhausted the parent's prop- 
 erty — ruined his domestic peace, and almost broken his heart — if 
 it will still cling to the ungrateful wretch — even down to death — 
 water his ignominious grave with tears of anguish — and in bitter- 
 ness of soul exclaim — " Oh ! my son, my son ! would God I 
 had died for thee !" (2 Sam. xviii. 13.) Or, in case the child 
 become penitent, if it will still meet hira more than half way — 
 embrace him in its arms — bestow kisses of pardon on his cheek — 
 and bedew his neck with tears of joy : (Luke xv. 30.) if, I say, 
 earthly parental love will do this, what may not be argued from 
 the love of heaven % 
 
 " Ah !" exclaims an objector, " but God's love is not Ihe same 
 as that of an earthly parent." No, not exactly the same^ I grant, 
 it differs from it, however, only in degree — not in nature. An 
 earthly father's love may fail — its ardour may abate — for it is 
 finite — it is even among possibilities for a mother's love to 
 
88 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 cease toward her suckling child — but the parental love of God is 
 higher than the utmost reach of human affection, by as much as 
 heaven is higher than the earth. (Isa. Iv. 9.) It is unfailing. 
 (1 Cor. xiii. 8.) It is " an everlasting love." (Isa. xxxi. 3.) 
 *' Many waters cannot quench it, neither can the floods drown it." 
 (Cant. viii. 7.) It existed toward us even when we were aliens, 
 and enemies by wicked works," (Col. i. 21.) and although for 
 a time our sins may so far " separate between us and God," as to 
 hinder our enjoyment of his goodness, yet a total and final for- 
 feiture of his love can by no circumstances be effected. (Rom. 
 viii. 38.) As an earthly father would, were it in his power, make 
 all his offspring — even the least deserving — unceasingly happy — 
 how much more will our father in heaven — all-powerful as he is, 
 as well as good — do the same for his children 1 Jesus Christ 
 has expressly, and by his own repeated example, sanctioned 
 comparisons of this nature — he enjoins, " Be ye therefore merci- 
 ful, even as your Father in heaven is merciful." (Luke vi. 37.) 
 We should certainly hesitate to pronounce a parent merciful, 
 who should inflict protracted and aggravated miseries upon his 
 children, without reference to any merciful end! 
 
 We argue not from this divine relation, that God will noipunish 
 us according to the demerit of our crimes — on the contrary, we 
 insist that he will — but be it remembered, that to punish a child 
 is one thing — to ruin him is another. 
 
 The stern old Roman, (Brutus) who sacrificed his oflfspring 
 for an act of treachery to his country's freedom, is said to have 
 betrayed no emotion during the terrible execution of the sentence. 
 His patriotism and impartiality, have been the subject of lavish 
 praise, but mankind have scarcely accepted these considerations, 
 in atonement for his outrage upon the ties of nature. 
 
 In the history of our country, there is an incident of much 
 moral beauty ; it relates to the time of our war with the French 
 and Indians, while we were yet the subjects of the British crown. 
 A man by the name of Dunning, being at work in his field, saw a 
 party of Indians approach his dwelling, where lay his sick wife 
 and infant child, to whom it was out of his power to extend 
 protection ; but his older children were at play together close at 
 hand, and, conceiving ii possible to save at least one of them, 
 he seized a horse, and rode up to the group with the purpose of 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 89 
 
 selecting the child most dear to him, and effecting his escape 
 with that one ; when, however, he came to the business of selec- 
 tion, he found it impossible to fix his preference in favour of one 
 to the exclusion of the rest ; and he therefore resolved on making 
 a desperate effort for the rescue of the whole. Accordingly, he 
 drove them on before him, interposing his own person betwixt 
 them and the fire of the savages, and thus, at his own imminent 
 risk, he succeeded in his noble undertaking of saving all his 
 children. What a beautiful instance of paternal love ! A father 
 throws his own life between his children and ruin — mere temporal 
 ruin — and that father but a man — a child of dust ! But the 
 infinite Being, we are told, will abandon millions — ay — millions 
 of millions — of his offspring — the work of his hands — to a 
 doom of infinite woe ! 
 
 Reader, are you a father? Have you a child after your own 
 likeness, or the likeness of her whom you love as yourself ] If so, 
 look now upon that child, and tell me, if you have the heart of a 
 man, whether any — the worst conceivable provocation on his part, 
 can so utterly alienate your affections from him, and blunt your 
 sensibilities in regard to him, that you could abandon him to utter 
 and hopeless ruin — to a state in which he would be lost — in the 
 most absolute sense of the word — lost to virtue, to happiness, to 
 you, to his God, even to hope itself, (ihe last to desert the miser- 
 able,) and to all the purposes of his existence ] Can you, sir, 
 render affirmative answers to these questions 1 The Lord pity 
 you for a wretch, if you can ! and if you cannot, then, I pray you, 
 avoid the blasphemy of imputing to the " Father of mercies,'* 
 acts of cruelty, at which even your better nature revolts ! 
 
 Oh ! how many an earnest prayer has gone up to the throne of 
 Ueaven, from the hearts of parents, who mistakenly conceived 
 their children to be liable to a doom of ceaseless fire ! And to 
 that all-seeing eye, which can analyse all human thoughts, 
 what intense — what poignant solicitude is often discernible in 
 these supplications! " Oh ! my God," (we may conceive tobe. 
 the substance of these parental breathings,) " compassionate the 
 sorrow-stricken heart of a father ! and arrest the steps of my 
 thoughtless and wayward child, that they take him not down to 
 depths of ruin, beyond the reach of thy grace. Oh ! let not my 
 soul in his loss deplore the eternal blight of its hopes, and all the 
 Vol. I ^H 2 
 
90 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 fond expectations of my trusting heart — that as thou hadst given 
 him to me in love, that same almighty love would charge itself 
 with his safekeeping, until he reached the bliss at thy right hand 
 — oh ! let not these expectations issue in a harvest of despair ! 
 And, oh Lord ! pity also the mother on whose bosom he hung, and 
 who watched over his infancy with the vigilance of a love, which 
 among finite beings, none but a mother can know. Oh ! how can 
 she endure, that a plant she so cherished, should grow up but to 
 be blasted by thy wrath ! Pity us ! pity us. Lord ! and if the bolt 
 of thy displeasure must have an object, let it fall on me, but let 
 the mother and her offspring live ! Oh, let not our sun go down 
 in so dark a cloud, as that which bodes his ruin !" Alas ! alas, 
 old man ! know you not, that the love of heaven for the subject 
 of your solicitude, even infinitely exceeds your own 1 Think you 
 that your son has a stronger hold in your regards — all frail and 
 limited as you are — than in those of the God that .made him 1 
 Does the affectionate mother need to be implored to be kind to the 
 infant at her breast] much less does the love of our Father [in 
 heaven, need to be moved toward his offspring, by their feeble 
 supplications — can a little drop agitate an ocean ? or an atom 
 discompose the order and harmony of the universe 1 Then will 
 infinite love require to be moved by that which is finite. Hence 
 with the poet we may say — 
 
 " And will Jehovah condescend 
 To be my father and my friend 1 
 » Then let my songs with angels join. 
 
 Heaven's secure if. God is mine." 
 
 And here I may as well stop, for there is no end. to the argu- 
 ment for the ultimate salvation of mankind from the paternal 
 relations of God. 
 
 3. AS OUR MORAL GOVERNOR.— We usually account 
 a ruler to be wise and good, in proportion as the subjects of his 
 government are prosperous and happy. The best of earthly sove- 
 reigns, however, cannot entirely prevent crime, and its attend- 
 ant miseries from infesting their dominions, but in proportion as 
 they can and do secure this result, are their administrations ad- 
 mired, and they themselves accounted the benefactors of their 
 people. Suppose that we were informed by an intelligent travel- 
 ler, that in journeying through a certain country, he found the 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 91 
 
 people in the most degraded situation conceivable — that in what- 
 ever direction he went amongst them, he could hear little else 
 than descriptions of the terrible vengeance of their king — his 
 horrid prisons — solitary cells — racks, puUies, and other torturing 
 instruments — and the groans and screams of the hapless in- 
 mates of these drear abodes. And suppose this traveller should 
 further inform us that the officers of this king, and those 
 who assumed to know his character and interpret his designs, 
 were in the constant habit of enforcing his mandates upon the 
 people by appeals — to their fears in reference to these horrors. 
 Should we not from this description, conclude that said king was 
 a monstrous tyrant 1 
 
 If it be asked whether an earthly ruler would be justified in 
 allowing crime and suffering to enter his dominion — supposing 
 he had the power to keep them out 1 it must be answered, 
 No — except he could secure some ultimate good to his subjects 
 by their admission — and that ultimate good must be so great, as 
 fully to compensate for the temporary evils and misery which 
 they occasioned, insomuch that in the issue, his subjects would 
 be gainers by iheir admission. In that case he would be fully 
 justified. On this ground alone, as I conceive, can the almighty 
 ruler of the universe be acquitted of folly or cruelty, in having 
 permitted sin and suffering to enter the world — for none are so 
 weak as to suppose that he could not have had it otherwise. And 
 do we not grossly slander his character when we affirm, that he 
 permitted this state of things with the certain foresight that it 
 would never be remedied, but would to all eternity be growing 
 worse, and would involve in irreparable ruin many millions of his 
 unfortunate subjects'? They who can vindicate so cruel, and 
 unwise an administration of affairs, must be entitled to some credit 
 for their ingenuity ! 
 
 A certain sovereign, whose empire was large and populous, and 
 whose defences were so strong that no foe could invade his do- 
 minions, without his permission, who knew, moreover, that 
 nothing would more gratify his malignant enemies than to be able 
 to gain an entrance among his people, and by enticing them from 
 their allegiance, to involve them in wretchedness and ruin. Yet 
 this king gave orders that all the entrances and defences of his 
 empire should be left unguarded, and every obstruction to the 
 
92 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 ingress of the foe removed : which being done, they rushed 
 eagerly in, and all the disastrous consequences which it was fore- 
 seen would follow, were soon apparent. Whereupon, he was 
 wroth — very wroth — and ordained that the evils thus introduced 
 among his subjects should never be wholly extirpated, and that all 
 of his people who should omit to return to their allegiance with- 
 in a certain brief space of time, should be abandoned irredeem- 
 ably to the consequences of their rebellion, in addition to the most 
 horrid tortures which it was in his power to inflict ! Can you tell 
 me, reader, who that sovereign was 1 
 
 Is the above, then, a true representation of the ruler of the 
 universe ? It undeniably is if the theory of ceaseless punish- 
 ment be true, but it by no means corresponds with God as he is 
 revealed in the bible, however it may as he is revealed by Milton, 
 for does the former teach that the universe will always be a scene 
 of rebellion and suffering ? Shall hatred eternally divide God's 
 empire with love 1 — Sin with holiness 1 Hell with heaven ? 
 Shall the tide of ruin — deep, widespread, everlasting, be allowed 
 to roll over his fair works by his own consent or connivance ? 
 No — no — no ! this cannot be. On the contrary, if any dependence 
 is to be put on inspired testimony, Jehovah shall reign throughout 
 the universe in the supremacy of almighty, all-subduing love — 
 to him shall every knee bow, and every tongue swear, that in 
 him they have righteousness and strength, (Isa. xlv. 23.) every 
 power inimical to the order and harmony of his government, 
 shall be destroyed, (1 Cor. xv. 24, 25, 26.) corruption, dishonor, 
 mortality, death, hades ; shall be swallowed up in a victory of 
 incorruption, glory, immortality, life and heaven, and God shall 
 be all in all. (ibid.) Such will be the triumphant issue of the 
 divine government; and with great propriety therefore, does 
 the Psalmist exclaim, "The Lord reigneth, let the earth re- 
 joice !" (Psl. xcvii. 1.) Oh ! this cheering truth ! what a guar- 
 antee does it afford, that all events — however complicated — 
 however dark and unpromising to our imperfect perceptions — 
 shall nevertheless issue in a final consummation, most cheering 
 and salutary to every intelligent being ! It is enough to know that 
 love reigns — infinite love — to be assured that the affairs of the 
 universe are wisely and benevolently administered, and that though 
 " sorrow endureth for a night," yet the shades of that night 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 93 
 
 shall ere long pass away, and "joy cometh in the morning." 
 (Psl. 1. 30.) 
 
 It is an inquiry of grave moment, whether in the government 
 of Jehovah a suitable distinction is maintained between the good 
 and the bad in his present dispensations, or whether he defers the 
 making of such distinction until the parties arrive in eternity. 
 That the former is the case is evident from several considerations, 
 but these it is not my purpose to introduce until I come to treat 
 upon 9^ future judgment i suffice it for the present to observe, that 
 if the good were not now rewarded, and the wicked now punish- 
 ed, the former would become discouraged, and the latter em- 
 boldened, and thus great injustice would be done to both. 
 Moreover we should not know virtue to be a goody nor vice to be 
 an evil, but for their respective effects — nor is it enough that we 
 merely observe these effects, we must experience them — Should 
 we ever be likely to abandon a fountain whose waters were 
 uniformly sweet to our taste ? Or a tree, whose fruit was deli- 
 cious ? And can it comport with the justice (not to say goodness) 
 of our divine ruler, to have so framed the moral system, that the 
 very actions which tend to our final undoing, should be agreeable 
 in their present influences, and that those actions which are promo- 
 tive of our eventual good, should yield no present enjoyment to the 
 actors ? As well would it comport with the regards of a father 
 to the welfare of his child to strew with flowers, and with 
 tempting fruits, a path in which lies hidden a frightful preci- 
 pice ; for in such case he might assure himself of his child's 
 destruction. 
 
 The laws of nature, it is true, have an equal operation upon all 
 classes of men. God " maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on 
 the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust," (Mat. v, 
 45.) all classes are alike liable to sickness, poverty, pain, death, 
 &c. Is there therefore no present and sufficient distinction among 
 them 1 There undoubtedly is. " Great peace have they that love 
 God's law, and nothing shall offend them," (Psl.cxix. 165.) but 
 " there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." (Isaiah Ivii. 
 21.) The ways of wisdom (meaning virtue) are said to be 
 " ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." (Prov. iii. 
 17.) On the contrary, " the way of transgressors is hard." 
 y^Ibid. xiii. 15.) We must therefore not commit the mistake of 
 
94 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 supposing, that because these distinctions are not always plain to 
 our perception, that therefore they do not exist : neither must we 
 suppose that because the good are not always rich and healthy, 
 nor the wicked always in indigent or afflictive circumstances, 
 that therefore the former are not sufficiently rewarded, nor the 
 latter sufficiently punished. 
 
 " For what if virtue starves, while vice is fed, 
 
 What then 1 Is the reward of virtue bread V — Pope. 
 
 Solomon saith, " He that spareth the rod hateth his son," [and 
 so he does virtually — for he pursues toward him a course ad 
 apted for his ruin, and hatred could do no worse] " but he that 
 loveth him, chasteneth him betimes." (Prov. xiii. 24.) It is 
 unaccountable that a different conduct should be thought of for a 
 moment, as ascribable to the deity ! " Shall not the judge of all 
 the earth do right '^" (Gen. xviii. 25.) 
 
 Conversing once with a preceptor of youth, who was of the 
 opposite opinion — I advised him, with affected gravity, to adopt 
 for his school a similar plan of government. " Instead," said I, 
 *' of rewarding your meritorious, or punishing your culpable 
 scholars, day by day, as they may deserve — enter against their 
 names in a book every good or bad action which they may com- 
 mit — and at the end of the year call them to an account for all 
 their past conduct, and then reward or punish them respectively 
 in gross : this will at once save you much trouble, and afford you 
 an opportunity of vindicating the rectitude of your goverrunent 
 to the collected mass." My friend stared upon me in surprise— 
 for I had taken care not to connect this advice with any allusion 
 to his religious opinions — " Oh sir !" he exclaimed, " this plan 
 would prove most weak and ruinous ! The meritorious scholars 
 finding themselves so long neglected, would become dishearten- 
 ed ; the vicious ones would grow reckless and hardened from 
 long impunity, and the school in that case would dissolve before 
 the term expired ; but even if this consequence did not ensue, to 
 inflict upon the culprits altogether the punishment they had 
 demerited by their several misdemeanours thoughout the term, 
 would be to destroy them utterly — No, no, sir, it would not 
 answer! I should be foolish and weak indeed to govern my 
 school by such a plan !" — " And yet, my friend," I rejoined 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 95 
 
 "your creed ascribes precisely such a system of government to 
 the sovereign of the universe !" 
 
 In nothing, perhaps, is the weakness of man more conspic- 
 uously displayed, than in his lowering the divine character 
 even far beneath his own, and then affecting to reverence it 
 as the very infinitude of perfection ! Let an earthly ruler but 
 act as we represent Jehovah as acting, and he would earn for 
 himself the unenviable reputation of a miscreant — a monster — 
 we would assign him a niche in the temple of infamy with 
 Caligula — with Domitian — with Marius — with Henry the elev- 
 enth of France — and eighth of England — and others of like 
 hard heart and dark spirit, who stand prominent amongst the 
 loathed and hated of mankind, 
 
 '* By merit raised to that bad emmence." 
 
 And yet we affect to regard with lavish praise those self-same 
 odious attributes, when connected with an idol of our imagina- 
 tion to which we impiously apply the name GOD ! ! ! It can 
 surely then not be much wondered at, that so much depravity of 
 character has been found among the worshipers of such a deity ; 
 and that in the train of this radical and leading error so much 
 that is absurd in theory, and nauseating and blighting in influ- 
 ence, should be found. The purest of hearts will in time be 
 vitiated by constant communion with a bad being, and what 
 worse being can be found in the universe (if we may except the 
 devil) than he whom millions of blinded devotees adore as 
 God ? Unsinning infants themselves, have been supposed the 
 objects of his wrath ! The successive generations who have 
 been born and perished in heathen lands, and without their own 
 fault have never heard of him, it has been believed, will have to 
 do penance for their ignorance in never-ceasing groans ! Many 
 to conciliate him have traversed burning and sandy wastes ; many 
 have clad themselves in sackcloth and denied themselves all the 
 comforts of existence ; many have crouched down and been 
 crushed under heavy cars ; walked barefooted over burning coals ; 
 &c. &c., and even in our own time and country, how much 
 anxiety of soul is experienced — how many hearts are crushed — 
 and over how many a tender and amiable spirit is thrown the 
 blasting and blighting influence of fear ? Does infinite hatred 
 
96 PRO AND CON OF tJNIVERSALlSM. 
 
 occupy the throne of the universe ? Is the king of heaven an 
 almighty tyrant 1 Why — oh ye children of men, are ye not 
 assured by the instructions of the bible I It calls upon you to 
 rejoice, because God reigneth — it represents his goodness as unto 
 all, and his tender mercy as over all his vv^orks — it tells you that 
 the unthankful and the evil are also the subjects of his kindness — 
 It points to God as the pattern and the perfection of those virtues 
 which ye yourselves should practice — it sets forth the Lord Jesus 
 to you as the embodied representative of those perfections — and 
 was he a Being to break a bruised reed, or quench the smoking 
 flax ? were his ministrations such as were adapted to break the 
 heart — or to paralyse it with despair 1 
 
 I have before alluded to the conclusion we should form concern- 
 ing a sovereign ; from the reports of a traveler respecting the 
 condition of his subjects — that if he found a great deal of suffer- 
 ing and oppression which were never to be brought to a benefi- 
 cial termination, we should thence infer that said sovereign was 
 a tyrant. Let us now imagine a celestial tourist to have just 
 returned to the abodes of bliss from a wide flight for observation 
 among the works of God — the hosts of heaven gather around 
 him — each harp suspends its melodies, and each angelic minstrel 
 bends forward with eager attention, not doubting that the disclo- 
 sures about to be made will develope new mysteries of love and 
 goodness on the part of their king, which shall awaken their 
 harps to still loftier notes of praise. — But who can conceive their 
 astonishment and dismay when they are told of a vast, vast 
 world of liquid fire — and of myriads upon myriads of ill-fated 
 spirits who are the sport of its angry billows — tempest-tost by 
 the breath of omnipotent wrath — and live but for suffering — for 
 ruin — for despair 1 And what has been their crime ? Perhaps 
 for long, long ages, they outraged their sovereign's laws — distur- 
 bed the harmony of his dominions — repaid his kindness with 
 repeated rebellions and ingratitude — and multiplied their provo- 
 cations in proportion as his blessings were multiplied upon 
 them — until at length even infinite goodness was wearied out 
 with their obstinate resistance to its influences, and abandoned 
 them to their inevitable fate. But no; such is not the ground on 
 which their ruin stands justified ; on the contrary, their trespasses 
 were of but momentary duration— committed in much ignorance. 
 
ARGUMENT FROM THE RELATIONS OF GOD TO MAN. 97 
 
 and under strong temptations — from motives of self-gratification 
 merely — and not of injury or arrogance to their Lord, who, 
 indeed, is by his own nature, infinitely above the reach of evil. 
 " And oh, my conj peers ! " continues the celestial narrator, 
 ** Could you see that dreadful abode of woe — and hear those 
 frightful shrieks — those imploring groans — to which is rendered 
 no other response than the echoes of their own despair ! You 
 would then see that our creator's character has dark and odious 
 aspects, such as are not dreampt of in this world of light ! would 
 that I could report, that from these miseries is to arise some 
 ultimate object of benevolence to the sufferers ! Alas ! no such 
 object is proposed ; on every bolt which secures the portals 
 of that horrid place I saw deeply engraven the dreadful word — 
 ETERNITY— and the key, (I was informed,*) when the last 
 spirit doomed to pass through these portals shall have entered — 
 is to be hurled by the hand of omnipotence to immeasurable 
 depths in the abyss of space — and decreed there to rust for ever- 
 lasting ages !" 
 
 Reader, can the truth of the above picture be admitted, and at 
 the same time the infinite goodness of Jehovah be believed, 
 without a solecism as gross as language was ever framed to 
 express 1 Human ingenuity could scarcely be more poorly em- 
 ployed than when engaged to reconcile such flagrant contradic- 
 tions ; and there is no calculating the injury to the christian 
 cause, which has ensued from this very source. 
 
 Who that has been, in imagination, with the indefatigable 
 Latude, in his long and painful incarceration in the Bastile — with 
 the no less dauntless and indomitable Trenck, in the horrid hells 
 of Prussia — or with the amiable Silvio Pellico, in his ten years' 
 
 * We must 9'jppose the poet, Young, the informant in this case, as we know of 
 no other to whom the secret touching the key of hell has ever been entrusted. 
 
 " What ensues ? 
 The deed predominant ! the deed of deeds ! 
 Which makes a hell of hell, a heaven of heaven. 
 The goddess, with determined aspect, turns 
 Her adamantine key's enormous size 
 Through destiny's inextricable wards, 
 Deep dfriving every bolt, on both their fates : 
 Then, from the crystal battlements of heaven, 
 Down, down she hurls it through the dark profound, 
 Ten thousand thousand fathom"; there to rust, 
 And ne'er unlock her resolution more. 
 The deep resounds ; and hell, through all her glooms, 
 Returns in groans the melancholy roar." 
 
 Vol. I.— I No. 5. 
 
98 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 confinements in the dungeons of Spielburgh, — who that has in 
 these cases been made acquainted with the dark and systematic 
 expedients of oppression by which the unfortunate victims were 
 kept for long and lingering years (to them ages) on the rack of 
 mental and bodily suffering, and has not, in his very heart of 
 hearts, cursed the odious tyrants by whom this suffering was 
 inflicted ? And yet these monsters in human form were angels 
 of mercy in comparison with the almighty tyrant of the universe, 
 if the doctrine of endless misery be true ! They could not be 
 present with their victims — they could not hear their affecting 
 groans, nor know all their secret pangs — they could not sympa- 
 thize in their feverish longings after liberty, the enjoyment of the 
 sweet air of heaven, a sight of ever-varying and ever-beauteous 
 nature, of kindred and friends — nor could they appreciate the 
 depth of anguish which the wretch must feel who views himself 
 as a link stricken out of the chain of human existence, and de- 
 nied the privilege of acting his allotted part on the theatre of life. 
 No, earthly kings cannot fathom the depth of woe their hapless 
 victims experience ; besides that their personal attention is not 
 directed to them, but is engaged with their own pleasures and the 
 affairs of state. But not such is the case with the Omniscient 
 Being, and therefore the greater, and more inexorable tyrant he, 
 if the acts imputed to him by human systems of faith be accord- 
 ing to fact. 
 
 I have now gone through with the argument from the relations 
 of God ; as our Creator, Father, and Moral Governor : they lead 
 US to the same conclusion as that to which we arrived from the 
 consideration of his attributes ; immense stores of argument to 
 the same effect are still before us ; have I, as yet, committed the 
 smallest departure from candor? Has my reasoning in any 
 instance been overstrained, or far-fetched ? Have the premises 
 been begged 1 or the deductions been illogical 1 If on any of 
 these grounds I have offended, I am content, reader, to forfeit my 
 credit with you to that amount. But if otherwise, I pray you to 
 let your mind be open to the influence of truth, and to remember, 
 that a true knowledge of our Creator's character, and of his rela- 
 tions to us, forms the basis of all vital and practical religion ; 
 and the basis too, of all true and lasting enjoyment. 
 
HYMN OF CONSOLATION. 99 
 
 Time's swift advance is hastening near 
 
 The moment of my spirit's flight, 
 Soon, soon 'twill leave this darksome sphere, 
 
 And spring to distant worlds of hght : 
 There bliss is known without alloy, 
 
 And beauty blooms without decay ; 
 All thought of grief in cloudless joy 
 
 Shall melt hke morning mist away. 
 
 Adieu to sin, where boundless love 
 
 Hath to himself all things subdued ; 
 Adieu to tears — that world above 
 
 Shall sorrow's faintest sigh exclude. 
 And thou, pale tyrant of the tomb I 
 
 I soar beyond thy blighting breath : 
 I go where fadeless glories bloom, — 
 
 Adieu to sorrow, sin, and death ! 
 
 'Twill there be ray sublime employ 
 
 My Maker's power and love to trace 
 Through worlds on worlds of light and joy, 
 
 Which people the unbounded space : 
 And though I speed on wings of hght 
 
 For ever and for evermore, 
 I cannot reach his glory's height, 
 
 I cannot all his love explore. 
 
 Oh, bliss on bliss ! to dwell with God ! 
 
 And his unveil'd perfections see ; 
 For wasteless ages my abode. 
 
 Shall in his blissful presence be : 
 And all that thought had e'er conceived 
 
 Of beauty, glory, joy, and love. 
 Or tongue express'd, or faith believed, 
 
 I'll find surpass'd in worlds above. 
 
 There I shall on his bosom rest, 
 
 Who gave his life to ransom me. 
 And all mankind, in Jesus blest, 
 
 Shall form one great society. 
 And hark ! from the enraptur'd throng 
 
 Redeem'd from sin, from Hades freed, 
 Salvation ! bursts in ceaseless song ; — 
 
 Oh ! there is bliss ! 'tis bliss indeed ! 
 
 E'en on this dim and distant sphere,_ 
 
 We join our feeble notes of praise ; 
 Some gleams of glory reach us here, 
 
 And our glad hearts with rapture raise. 
 All praise to thee, thou God of love ! 
 
 Whose smiles are all the heaven we know ! 
 Our deathless powers in worlds above 
 
 Their ceaseless gratitude shall show. 
 
100 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALlSM. 
 
 UNIVERSAL SALVATION. 
 FURTHER PROVED FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 First. The doctrine of the ultimate salvation of all men is 
 according to the WILL OF GOD ; (1 Tim. ii. 4.) and this fact 
 surely is of great weight in its favour; for although Arminians 
 pretend that the human, and not the divine will, is supreme in 
 this case, the scriptures are far from countenancing such an idea, 
 but, on the contrary, teach that God " worketh all things after the 
 counsel of his own will." (Ephe. i. 11.) And even in the 
 business of regeneration they make his will to be the sovereign 
 cause. " Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth ;" 
 (Jam. i. 18.) "which were born, not of blood, nor of the will 
 of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John i. 3.) 
 And yet we are charitably informed, that if we fail of being the 
 subjects of this divine work, we shall be doomed to ceaseless 
 perdition ! Very rational ! The will of God in the matter of 
 man's salvation is negatively as well as affirmatively expressed ; 
 and if any are finally lost, it is clear that the will of Jehovah will 
 be frustrated. 
 
 But is this probable 1 Is it possible % When the will of God 
 is formed in regard to any object, he appoints the means, and, of 
 course, the adequate means, for bringing it about. Christ was 
 appointed to this very end. " For I came down from heaven," 
 saith he, " not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent 
 me; and this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all 
 which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise 
 it up again at the last day." (John vi. 38, 39.) If none thai 
 were given to Christ shall be so lost as not to be recovered at 
 length, it behooves us to inquire. How many were included in 
 that gift? Answer. "The Father loveth the Son, and hath 
 given all things into his hands." (John iii. 35.) " Whom he 
 hath appointed heir of all things.^" (Heb. i. 2.) " All things 
 that the Father hath are mine." (John xvi. 15.) Here, then, 
 we have the business of Christ clearly revealed. Was Christ 
 sufficiently empowered to fulfil this object] The following facts 
 leave us no grounds for doubt on this point. First, The Father 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 101 
 
 delegated to him all power in heaven and in earth. (Mat. xxviii. 
 18.) Second, The keys of hell and of death were committed to 
 his hands. (Rev. i. 10.) Third, He commands us io pray {ox 
 this object. (Mat. vi. 10.) And we must have a better opinion 
 of his wisdom than to suppose, that he would sanction our pray- 
 ing for an event which he knew would never come to pass, " for 
 whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Rom. xiv. 23.) Fourth, It 
 seems scarcely probable that Jesus would commence an under- 
 taking without a pre-assurance of his ability to complete it, and 
 thus offend against the moral of his own parable, concerning a 
 man who began to build without being able to finish ; (Luke xiv. 
 29, 30.) for that he undertook the redemption of the world is cer- 
 tain. Will he fail from a neglect to couni the cost 1 Fifth, We 
 have positive assurance that " the pleasure of the Lord shall 
 prosper in his hand," that " he shall see of the travail of his soul 
 and shall be satisfied;" (Isa. liii. 10, 11.) which can be con- 
 ceived to mean nothing less than that he will fully accomplish 
 the object of his mission and death. If Christ " tasted death for 
 every man," (Heb. ii. 9.) and yet millions shall be finally lost, 
 will he be satisfied? Finally, Paul assures us, that Christ " must 
 reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet ;" (1 Cor. xv. 25.) 
 and by all enemies is clearly meant, all those things that are 
 inimical to man's purity and allegiance to God ; sin, death, the 
 devil, hell, &c. that God may be all in all. 
 
 It may be said — " But sinners are so perverse, their wills so 
 stubborn, so much opposed to God, that their redemption is utterly 
 hopeless, and even impossible." Reader, perhaps your own case 
 may constitute a refutation of this objection. Was not your 
 heart once thus perverse ? obstinate ? opposed to God ? And if so, 
 cannot the same grace that overcame its enmity equally over- 
 come that of others T To remove these barriers to our union to 
 God was the very end of Christ's mission and death. We can 
 scarcely suppose him to have been so short-sighted as not to 
 foresee the obstacles to be overcome. This, indeed, would be 
 neglecting to count the cost ! My dear sir, look what your objec- 
 tion amounts to. Our hearts are hardened in sin ; Christ came to 
 soften them, but he fails — why 1 Because they are so hard I Our 
 wills are opposed to God ; Christ came to subdue them, but he 
 fails — why 1 Because they are so opposed ! Methinks he should 
 
 Vol. I I 2 
 
102 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 have seen the whole difficulty of the case before he undertook it ; 
 and either not have undertaken at all, or else have prepared him- 
 self in proportion to the resistance which he knew he should meet 
 with. Reader, this will really not do ; the grace of God, you 
 believe, was sufficient for Manasseh, for the dying thief, for Saul 
 of Tarsus, for the Philippian jailor, and think you there is any 
 case beyond its reach? What said Christ himself concerning 
 Mary Magdalene l That they love most to whom most is for- 
 given. (Luke vii. 47.) Still, however, as Paul clearly shows, 
 (Rom. vi.) we must not " sin, that grace may abound." The 
 great error which perplexeth you, reader, is, that you limit the 
 grace of God by the span of human life, and suppose this little 
 world to be the sole theatre of its operations ; whereas it is in 
 fact commensurate with the breadth of his dominions, and as sin 
 aboundeth, that infinite grace aboundeth much more. (Rom. v. 
 20.) When, therefore, we shall have measured the height, and 
 depth, and length, and breadth, of Being, then shall we know the 
 measure of almighty grace. 
 
 Second. The doctrine of Universal Salvation is according to 
 the PURPOSE AND PLEASURE OF GOD: (Ephe. i. 9, 
 10.) Few are disposed to deny that the divine pleasure favours 
 this great object, but very many doubt its ultimate accomplish- 
 ment nevertheless ; but how speaketh the scripture upon this 
 point 1 " I am the Lord, and there is none like me, declaring the 
 end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that 
 are not yet done, saying — My counsel shall stand, and I will do 
 ALL my pleasure." (Isaiah xlvi. 10.) Now the gathering " toge- 
 ther in one," (or re-heading, as it may be rendered,) " all things 
 in Christ," whether they be " things on earth or things in hea- 
 ven," is said in the text to be " according to his good pleasure 
 which he hath purposed in himself." Professor Stewart, of An- 
 dover, who is high authority in matters of biblical criticism, 
 affirms, that " things in earth and things in heaven," is a Hebrew 
 periphrasis for " the whole intelligent universe ;" now if this 
 be so, the pleasure and purpose of God respects the eventual 
 uniting together of a universe of intelligences, through his Son 
 Jesus Christ, and 1 think it extremely probable that Paul alludes 
 to the same important event, when he represents "the whole 
 creation" as groaning and travailing in pain, together with thosa 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 103 
 
 who were already in Christ, " waiting for the adoption, to wit, 
 the redemption of our body." Observe ; not our bodies^ but our 
 bodi/, i. e. the whole mass, or aggregated family. The idea is 
 certainly a beautiful one, that the redemption of a part cannot be 
 considered as complete until the redemption of the whole is so ; 
 for are we not members one of another 1 And if one member 
 suffer, doth not the whole body suffer with it? Why else do 
 angels themselves sympathise with the dwellers upon earth, and 
 rejoice as each sinner is added to the company of the redeemed ? 
 I pity the man whose heart is so narrow, and whose christian 
 philosophy is so circumscribed, that he can anticipate a futurity 
 of perfect bliss for himself, at the same time that he thinks that 
 millions, flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone, will scream in 
 ceaseless fire ! 
 
 To deny that from the beginning God had a purpose regarding 
 man's ultimate destiny, is to charge him with folly, for none but 
 an idiot will work without a definite purpose. To say that his 
 purpose respected the final happiness of but a part, is to charge 
 him with cruelty. To say it respected the ultimate happiness of 
 all, and yet that all will not be ultimately happy, is to represent 
 him as impotent. Now the scriptures represent his purposes as 
 eternal; (Ephe. iii. 11.) and they teach us that our salvation in a 
 future state is to be, not in accordance with our works or merits, 
 but according to his own purpose and grace, which were given 
 us in Christ Jesus before the world began.'" (2 Tim. i. 9.) 
 
 It will here be objected, that "inasmuch as God has no plea- 
 sure in sin, and yet, contrary to his approval, it exists, and has 
 existed for centuries, what assurance have we that his pleasure 
 will be fulfilled in a future any more than in the present state ?" 
 I admit this to be the most formidable objection which can arise 
 in this inquiry, and although I have more than once anticipated it 
 in my former pages, yet, as this seems its proper place, I now 
 again bring it in directly — the reader will at least not suspect me 
 of wishing to keep it out of view. That God has no pleasure in 
 sin for its own sake, is clear, for it is opposed to his nature. That 
 he does not approve of it as an ultimate object, is also clear, for it 
 entails misery, and infinite benevolence did not create for such an 
 end ; but that God does will its existence, for the present, and 
 with reference to some future purpose of goodness, it were the 
 
104 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALTSM. 
 
 essence of folly to deny, for otherwise it would not be. When 
 a father corrects a child, has he pleasure in the pain he inflicis ? 
 No. Why then does he inflict it ? Because he approves the end 
 it is designed to bring about. Did God approve of the betrayal, 
 denial, and murder of his son, on their own account ? No. Never- 
 theless, it is clear from the scripture, that he appointed these 
 events ; and to what end ? A world's redemption. Now would 
 not the philosophy have been weak and hobbling in the extreme, 
 which in Christ's day would have argued, " that inasmuch as 
 God's pleasure had been violated in the matter of his son's death, 
 that therefore it might to all eternity be so violated, and all his 
 purposes respecting his rising again, and ascending to glory, be 
 forever baffled ]" You must see the weakness of such reasoning 
 in that case ; why not then in regard to the case before us ? The 
 fact that God's will, pleasure, and purpose, are in favour of the 
 ultimate extinction of sin and redemption of mankind, warrants 
 the conclusion that these objects will in due time be effected ; for 
 the apostle does not affirm that God wills such a consummation at 
 the present, but "in the dispensation of the fulness of times." 
 
 Third. This doctrine is in agreement with THE PROMISE 
 OF GOD. (Gen. iii. 15. Acts iii. 25. Ibid. 21. Gal. iii. 8. 
 Titus 1, 2, etc.) We are often told, I know, that the promises 
 of God respecting future blessings are exclusively applicable to 
 the righteous^ to those who have been born again, &c. but such 
 is not the fact ; for when Peter was preaching to the murderers 
 of Jesus, and shortly subsequent to the wicked transaction, he 
 told them, " Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the cove- 
 nant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, In 
 thee shall all nations be blessed." (Acts iii. 25.) If the mur- 
 derers of the saviour were the legitimate heirs of this promise, 
 can any good reason be assigned why any are not so ? When 
 God is represented as saying, in regard to the Jewish people, 
 *' For this is my covenant with them when I shall take axuay 
 their sins,^^ (Rom. xi. 27.) are we to understand the promise as 
 applicable to those only whose sins were already removed 1 "All 
 the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord ; 
 and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee." 
 (Psl. xxii. 27.) This, surely, is not subject to the limitation above 
 noticed ! Not only all the nations are here embraced, but all th© 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. ; 105 
 
 kindreds of the nations. " All nations whom thou hast made shall 
 come and worship before thee, Lord, and shall glorify thy 
 name. (Psl. Ixxxvi. 9.) If there are any nations whom God 
 hath not made, they, to be sure, are not included in this promise. 
 " Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall 
 be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the 
 rough places plain ; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, 
 and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath 
 spoken it." (Isaiah xl. 5, 6.) This passage cannot (as some 
 pretend), refer to the millennium, for the state of things signified 
 by that word, it is supposed, will be gradually and progressively 
 eflfected ; but here we have the assurance of a simultaneous dis- 
 covery of the divine glory on the part of all mankind, " all flesh 
 shall see it together.'''' Again, the same prophet saith, " And in 
 this mountain will the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast 
 of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of 
 marrow, of wines on the lees well refined ; and he will destroy in 
 this mountain the face of the covering cast upon all people, and 
 the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up 
 death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from 
 oflf all faces, and the rebuke of his people will he take away from 
 off all the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah xxv. 6, 
 7, 8.) To whatever event the prophet may have looked, it is 
 certain that Paul understood the language as appropriate to the 
 era of the resurrection, for while writing upon that theme, he 
 says, " And then shall be brought to pass the saying that is 
 written. Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor. xv. 24.) 
 And, indeed, to what other time or circumstance will the language 
 intelligibly apply \ The apostle conceived that the morning of 
 the resurrection would be one of unclouded glory, the opening 
 of a day which should never give place to night, an era of uni- 
 versal rejoicing and triumph. "Who, in his description, can find 
 one word to countenance the horrible idea, that the bursts of rap- 
 ture, the extatic swells of praise, shall be blended with the 
 despairing groans of full three-fourths of a world 1 
 
 From the following passage, I have often thought the revelator 
 must have had in his eye the promise of God to Abraham ; and 
 if so, he certainly understood it in the widest sense of which the 
 language is susceptible. " After this I beheld, and lo, a great 
 
106 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kin- 
 dreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and be- 
 fore the lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands; 
 and cried with a loud voice, saying. Salvation to our God who 
 sitteth upon the throne, and to the lamb." (Rev. vii. 9, 10.) 
 Suppose we limit this great, this innumerable multitude, to ^part 
 only of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues; even 
 iCn it would form a circumstance against the doctrine of endless 
 suffering ; for it is certain that, if that theory be true, there must 
 be many nations and kindreds out of which no part could be saved. 
 For example, all that were involved in the deluge ; and since, the 
 people of Sodom, Gomorrha, Tyre, Sidon, Chorazin, Bethsaida, 
 Capernaum, &c. beside the numerous tribes that have perished 
 from the earth in a condition of moral darkness and idolatry; 
 whereas the multitude John saw was composed of ALL nations, 
 kindreds, peoples and tongues. Stronger phraseology could 
 scarcely be framed for expressing the entire human family. If, 
 however, stronger language for the purpose can be found, we 
 have it from the same writer, and upon the same subject, " And 
 every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under 
 the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,* 
 heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, 
 be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and to the lamb for ever 
 and ever." (Ibid. v. 13.) Here then we have the Psalmist's 
 exhortation reduced to practice, "Let every thing which hath 
 breath praise the Lord." (Psl. cl. 6.) What scene could be 
 more fitting for the winding up of earth's affairs ? What com- 
 mentary upon the text " God saw all things that he had made, 
 and behold they were very good," could be more beautifull 
 Does not such an issue justify the angelic rejoicings at the birth- 
 day of time ■? When the morning stars sung together, and all the 
 sons of God shouted for joy." (Job xxx. 7.) A foresight of 
 such a consummation might well cause all the arches of eternity to 
 echo and re-echo with rejoicing. And when infinite love creates, 
 what rational being can doubt, that such will be the result? 
 
 ♦ Ah ! but it does not include those that are in hell." Perhaps not. Let me see. 
 Are yoj quite sure that hell is not "under the earth?" I pretend to no accurate 
 knowledge with reeard to its locale, but if the christian hell be the Im-des of tha 
 heathen poets, which I shrewdly suspect, then must it come within the range of the 
 above passage. 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 107 
 
 Fourth. The theory of universal salvation is in accordance 
 with the OATH OF GOD. " Look unto me and be ye saved, 
 all ye ends of the earth ; for I am God, and there is none else. I 
 have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth in 
 righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee 
 shall bow, and every tongue shall swear. Surely shall say [I 
 omit the words added by the translators] in the Lord have I 
 righteousness and strength. Even to him shall come; and they 
 that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall 
 all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." (Isaiah xlv. 
 22 — 25.) This is very absolute and very unequivocal ; it ex- 
 presses not merely the fad of the ultimate salvation of all, but 
 also the nature of that salvation ; which will consist in their be- 
 ing clothed with divine strength and righteousness ; and this in- 
 deed constitutes the essence of gospel salvation : for the removal 
 of moral beings from one to another of the different worlds in 
 the universe (however agreeable the exchange in a physical point 
 of view) can make but little difference in the enjoyment of those 
 beings, except their moral condition be suited to it. Salvation 
 from sin, therefore, not in it, is that for which we contend ; when 
 every individual shall be able to say, " In the Lord have I right- 
 eousness and strength ;" there will be no sinners in existence, 
 and if no sinners, no moral suffering. 
 
 The great apostle has given us the above prediction in a version 
 somewhat different, but which diminishes nought of its univer- 
 sality. " Wherefore also God hath highly exalted him, and given 
 him a name which is above every name : that at the name of 
 Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in 
 earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should 
 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
 (Phil. ii. 9, 10, 11.) I know of but one scriptural way of access 
 to God, and Christ is that way. " No man," saith he, " cometh 
 to the Father but by me." (John xiv. 6.) Our opponents tell 
 us there is no change after death ; and it is certain that infants, 
 and the hundreds of thousands who yearly pass from lime ignorant 
 of the gospel, do not in this life come to God by that only way. 
 What ground of assurance have we, then — what scriptural ground, 
 that these shall be saved ? None whatever, if the doctrine of 
 endless misery be true ! Paul, however, removes the difficulty 
 
108 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 satisfactorily ; he shows us that the time will come when every 
 knee shall bow in allegiance to God, and every tongue so confess 
 Christ as that God shall be glorified. It would not be to God's 
 glory, surely, to extort (as our opponents affirm he will) an in- 
 voluntary confession from finite creatures. Omnipotence glorified 
 by forcing an acknowledgement from worms ! Yet such is the 
 meager and grovelling view which some seem to entertain on 
 this head. 
 
 Fifth. God is expressly called " THE SAVIOUR OF ALL 
 MEN." (1 Tim. iv. 10.) In what sense can he be consistently 
 so called, except in a final sense ? All surely are not saved now ,- 
 they are not saved from sin, suffering, death — nor, if the doctrine 
 of ceaseless suffering be true, from hell, for thousands are hourly 
 descending thither. I am aware that it is assumed by some that 
 he is the saviour of all men merely by having placed them in a 
 salvable state: but then I also know that this is sheer nonsense ; 
 for if they had ever been out of a salvable condition, they could 
 never have been put into it. Would a sensible physician talk of 
 putting an incurable patient into a curable state ? Men were 
 either always salvable, or they were not ; if they were not, they 
 could not be mad& so ; if they were, they did not require to be 
 made so. 
 
 But what is meant by God being the saviour " especially of 
 them that believe 1" Whatever it may mean, it certainly does not 
 that he is their saviour only, for he is also " the saviour of all 
 men." If I save ten, out of a score of persons, from a burning 
 house, or any other danger, am I warranted in calling myself the 
 saviour of the score ? I can surely not be considered the saviour 
 of the portion that perished ! And although I had made great ex- 
 ertions for the rescue of the whole, still I was in fact but the de- 
 liverer of those who by my means were actually delivered. The 
 true meaning, however, of God being called " the saviour of all 
 men, especially of them that believe," is, that the latter class are 
 saved in the present life, while the former are not — the latter are 
 entered into rest, (Heb. iv. 3.) but unbelievers are yet in the wil- 
 derness of sin and consequent trouble — the latter class are justified 
 by faith, and have peace with God, (Rom. v. 1.) but unbelievers 
 are " without God, and without hope in the world" — the latter 
 class are quickened from a death in trespasses and sin (Eph. ii. 1.) 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES 109 
 
 but unbelievers are still in death and condemnation. Here then 
 is the special salvation, in contradistinction from that which ia 
 common to all, or to which mankind are destined in common. 
 
 It will not do for the Calvinist to seek a subterfuge here in the 
 assumption, that all does not mean all ; for, however such plea 
 may avail him in some instances, it cannot in this; nor, indeed, 
 in scarcely any where salvation is concerned, which shall be made 
 sufficiently evident. " And he is the propitiation for our sins, and 
 not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 
 (1 John ii. 2.) Here a part is spoken of in distinction from the 
 whole, and both the whole and the part are embraced in the pro- 
 pitiation treated of. How, then, can any be endlessly damned 
 for those sins for which Christ has propitiated ? It will perhaps 
 be assumed that " these are our original sins only." It is easy 
 making assumptions, but those who thus assume must be greatly 
 indebted to our good grace if we allow it ; for there is not in the 
 scripture one particle of warrant for it, either direct or implied. 
 " Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, for in that 
 he put all things in subjection under him, he left nothing that is 
 not put under him." (Heb. ii. 8.) Here all things are contrasted 
 with no thing. What language could be more clearly universal 
 in its signification? And their being put in subjection under 
 Christ cannot mean merely that his power over them is established, 
 for that is the case at present ; (all power is given unto him in 
 heaven and in earth. Matt, xxviii. 18.) ; it implies a subjection 
 of a different kind — a moral subjection — reconciliation — allegiance. 
 
 " But," says an objector, " there must be some mistake here, 
 for in looking over the world we find very many who both 
 live and die without manifesting any subjection to Christ — how 
 then can it be that all are put under him, in the sense for which 
 you contend 1" Now it so happens, that the apostle has antici- 
 pated this very objection. " But now," saith he, " we see not yet 
 all things put under him — But we see Jesus, who was made a 
 little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned 
 ■with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste 
 death for every man." (ibid.) The fact, then, it seems, of 
 Christ having died for all, was considered by the writer a sufli- 
 cient guarantee, that the universal subjection which it was de- 
 signed to effect, shall infallibly be brought about. 
 
 Vol. I.— K 
 
110 PRO AND CON OF UNI VERBALISM. 
 
 In the following text, the absolute sense which the apostle 
 means to convey by the word all, is, if possible, still more expli- 
 citly established. " For the love of Christ constraineth us because 
 we thus judge, that if one died fur all, then all were dead — and 
 that he died for all." (2 Cor. v. 14.) According to the argument 
 here, if one did not die for all, then all were not dead — if he died 
 for a part only, then that part only were dead ; but " he died for 
 
 aur 
 
 The same writer, in his letter to Timothy, exhorts that besides 
 praying to God for kings, and others in authority, " that supplica- 
 tions, prayers, and giving of thanks, be made unto God for all 
 men." Will any think of limiting the word all in this instance 1 
 The object of so praying for all is stated to be, " that we may 
 lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For 
 this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our saviour, who 
 will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the 
 truth. For there is one God, and one mediator betwixt God and 
 man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, 
 to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. ii. 1 — 8.) The same all for 
 whom it is our duty to pray, are also subjects for whom Christ 
 died, and mediates ; and whom God will have to be saved. 
 Mark, the truth is here represented as agreeing with the salvation 
 of all — and, of course, as disagreeing with the ultimate damnation 
 of any — for if any portion of the human race is to be finally lost, 
 a knowledge of the truth would not consist with the salvation of 
 that portion — as that truth could only teach them that they were 
 to be damned. The object of God's will in that case would be 
 an impossibility, (and it does not consist with infinite wisdom to 
 will impossibilities,) for only that part of mankind could be 
 saved by coming to a knowledge of the truth, with whose salva- 
 tion that truth agreed. 
 
 It may here be said that the command to pray for all, may not 
 have been meant in an universal sense, for Christ expressly says, 
 on one occasion, " I pray not for the world." True, Christ was 
 then praying particularly for his apostles, that they might be kept 
 together, and guarded against the allurements of a wicked world. 
 But read on, " Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also 
 which shall believe on me through their word." Here you per- 
 ceive the petition takes a wider compass. Proceed farther, " that 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. Ill 
 
 ihe world may believe that thou hast sent me," and again, " that 
 the world may know that thou hast sent me." (John xvii. 9 — 23.) 
 We find, then, that the saviour does include all men in his prayer ; 
 and, what think you, reader, will the object of that prayer ever 
 be fulfilled ? 
 
 Let us go next to those passages in which the number to be 
 saved, is made to correspond to the number that have sinned. 
 " All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Well, 
 what further concerning those all \ " Being jxistified freely by 
 his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 
 iii. 23, 24.) "For as by the oflTence of one judgment came upon 
 all men to condemnation, even so, by the righteousness of one the 
 free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." (ibid. v. 18.) 
 It is immediately added, " For as by one man's disobedience 
 many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many 
 be made righteous." (ibid. 19.) The same many that were 
 made sinners shall — not may he — perhaps, or perchance — but shall 
 be made righteous. Say if you please this many means but a 
 part. Well, then a part became sinners, and that part shall be 
 made righteous, and the part which did not become sinners of 
 course does not need to be made righteous, so that we are brought 
 to the same result at last — all shall be made righteous — God's oath, 
 as before shown, is pledged for it — and the prayers of Christ, and 
 of every benevolent heart, are centered on it. But a remark 
 touching that word many ; it does not properly represent the Greek 
 term, which should have been rendered the mass, or the multitude, 
 as is evident both from what goes before and follows ; for Paul 
 is laboring to show that the provision of divine grace is com- 
 mensurate with the demand for it, and even more than commen- 
 surate, for the divine determination was, that man might be 
 fully aware of his dependence and sinfulness, and to this end the 
 law was given to gauge the depth of his guilt, and throw him 
 upon the mercy of God for deliverance; hence saith the apostle, 
 " Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound, but 
 where sin abounded grace did much more abound, that as sin hath 
 reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteous- 
 ness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." (ibid 20, 21.) 
 " God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have 
 mercy upon all." (ibid. xi. 32.) "For as in Adam all die, even 
 
112 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 SO in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. xv. 22.) The word 
 Adam here doubtless means, the fleshly nature we possess from 
 him, in which nature we all die. Christ stands for the heavenly 
 nature, and in it we shall all be made alive. "And as we have 
 borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of 
 the heavenly." (Ibid. 49.) From all these instances it must be 
 manifest, that the word all, when applied to man's salvation, re- 
 quires to be understood in its strict and absolute sense, and hence^ 
 as God is called '• the saviour of all men," the entire race must 
 ultimately be saved. 
 
 Sixth. Christ is called " the saviour of the world." (John iv. 
 42.) The only saviour of men, in a supreme sense, is Jehovah 
 himself; Christ is such only in an instrumental sense. " Him 
 hath God exalted to be a prince and a saviour." (Acts v. 31.) 
 " We believe, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be 
 the saviour of the world." (1 John iv. 14.) And if the world 
 at the last is not saved, it is clear that Christ will have failed of 
 carrying into effect the object of his mission ; his own testimony 
 informs us, that this was his main business. "For God sent not 
 his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world 
 through him might be saved." (John iii. 17.) And again, he 
 saith, " For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, 
 but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will 
 which hath sent me, that of all that he hath given me I should 
 lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. (Ibid, 
 vi. 38, 39.) In another place, he speaks of having lost one, "the 
 son of perdition," from among the number of the apostles; but he 
 here declares, that nothing is to be so lost as not to be at length 
 recovered. 
 
 It behooves us then to inquire, what is the extent of the gift from 
 the Father to the Son 1 Let the scriptures answer. " The Father 
 loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hands." (John 
 iii. 25.) " Whom he hath made heir of all things." (Heb. i. 2.) 
 "All that the Father hath are mine." (John xvi. 15.) And he 
 is not to lose any so given him, but that he shall raise them up 
 again at the last day. God would hardly, methinks, have com- 
 mitted all things to the hands of Christ with a foresight that they 
 would be unsafe in his custody ! And, more especially, as he 
 committed them to him with the express design that he should 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 113 
 
 (gave them ! Now, if the theory of endless suflfering be true, at 
 the time God gave all things to Christ he knew that a large por- 
 tion of them would become the property of the devil, and that 
 the devil could never be made to relinquish his possession of 
 them. A singular gift, truly ! 
 
 "Ah! but the world is so sinful; how can Christ save it]" 
 Answer. He " taketh away the sin of the world." (John i. 29.) 
 " But suppose they will not come to him — how then ? Christ 
 shall answer, " And I, when I shall be lifted up from the earth, 
 will draw all men unto me." (John xii. 32.) " What! whether 
 they repent, or are reconciled to God, or not ?" No. " It pleased 
 the Father that in him should all fulness dwell, and (having 
 made peace by the blood of the cross) by him to reconcile all 
 things unto himself, by him, I say, whether they be things in 
 earth or things in heaven." (Col. i. 19, 20.) And, moreover, 
 Christ is exalted to give repentance and remission of sin." (Acts 
 V. 31.) Peter told not the Jews that Christ would bless them in 
 their iniquities, but " by turning away every one of you /rom your 
 iniquities." (Acts iii. 26.) 
 
 Some of the allegories of the saviour are rich in instructioa 
 upon this head ; for example, A man lost one sheep out of a flock 
 of a hundred ; not willing to lose even that one, " he left the 
 ninety and nine in the wilderness," and started in pursuit of the 
 straggler; "he sought it;" how Ions'? "until he had found it." 
 
 Oct ' O ' O 
 
 Well, having found it, how did he proceed 1 Did he say, " Well, 
 I have done my part; I have been at the pains to seek you, and 
 BOW, you are a free agent, I will not compel you to return, but 
 you may come if you choose, or otherwise you may stay where 
 you are and perish ]" No, the shepherd acted in no such wise 
 as that ; the lost one, by long rambling, had doubtless become 
 weak and diseased, and quite unable to return of itself, (as, by 
 our opponents' confession, is also the case with man,) so the kind- 
 hearted shepherd took it upon his shoulders and carried it home, 
 rejoicing at his recovery of his lost property. And the moral of 
 this beautiful parable is, that among the angels of bliss there is 
 more joy in the contemplation of one sinner saved, than in that 
 of ninety and nine unfallen beings who had never by wandering 
 excited their sympathies. All which is as natural as beautiful. 
 
 If angels are thus affected by what transpires on earth, think 
 
 Vol, I.— k 2 
 
114 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 you that they have no sympathies for those who groan in 
 hell 1 And it the heart of the saviour was so affected at the grave 
 of a friend that he wept, and at the prospect of temporal over- 
 throw to a city, that he broke into passionate lamentation, will he 
 be altogether unaffected by the utter and hopeless ruin of three- 
 fourths of a world, for whose redemption he gave his life 1 We, 
 at least, have inspired assurance, that he is " the same yesterday, 
 to-day, and for ever." (Heb. xiii. 8.) 
 
 Seventh. The consideration of particular cases, as they are 
 disposed of in the scriptures, makes decidedly in favour of the 
 Universalist faith. The case of the Sodomites, for example, dark 
 as it looks under some of its aspects, is nevertheless put before 
 us in the scriptures in a light which warrants the belief of its 
 ultimately salutary termination. The same is true with regard to 
 the Jews ; but let us look at them separately. 
 
 The Sodomites, with the people of Gomorrha, were destroyed 
 with fire from heaven ; and are said in Jude, verse 7th, to be " set 
 forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire ;'* 
 from which many are led to the supposition that their suffering 
 must be unceasing ; but this is a mistake, or the bible is contra- 
 dictory, for 1st, Jeremiah the prophet avers that the temporal 
 calamities of the Jews, in his day, constituted a heavier retribu- 
 tion than what had befallen the Sodomites, which surely could 
 not be if that of the latter were unending in hell. I will give you 
 his language. " For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter 
 of my people, is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, 
 that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hand stayed on her.^'' 
 (Lam. iv. 6.) Do you believe this % If so, you cannot at the 
 same time believe that the punishment of the latter is unceasing. 
 2nd. See what God says by another prophet. He declares Jeru- 
 salem's sins to be greater than those of Sodom ; (Eze. xvi. 48, 
 49.) and if so, was it not just that her punishment should be 
 greater] He compares Jerusalem to a woman, whose elder 
 sister is Samaria and the towns adjacent; and whose younger 
 sister is Sodom and her neighbouring towns. (Ibid. 45, 46.) 
 He then says, "When I shall bring again their captivity, the 
 captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Sama- 
 ria and her daughters, then will I bring again thy captivity in the 
 Adst of them." (verse 53.) " When thy sisters, Sodom and her 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 115 
 
 daughters, shall return to their former state, and Samaria and 
 her daughters shall return to their former state, then thou and thy 
 daughters shall return to your former estate." (57.) " Neverthe- 
 less," he concludes, " I will remember thy covenant with thee in 
 the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlast- 
 ing covenant; then thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed, 
 when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger, 
 and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy 
 covenant; and I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou 
 shalt know that I am the Lord." (60, 61, 62.) Thus much for 
 the case of Sodom ; and to me, it is strange beyond expression, 
 that persons professing a belief in the bible, should in the face of 
 such testimony maintain that the inhabitants of that and its neigh- 
 boring cities, (containing, without doubt, human beings of every 
 age, from hoary hairs to lisping infancy,) were doomed to inter- 
 minable perdition ! 
 
 Now for the Jews. Was Paul a believer in their ultimate sal- 
 vation ] What, then, means the anxiety expressed in the follow- 
 ing language? " Brethren, my heart's desire, and prayer to God 
 for Israel, is that they might be saved." (Rom. x. 1.) And the 
 following is even more expressive of anxiety : " I say the truth 
 in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the 
 Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in 
 my heart, for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ 
 for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh." (Ibid. ix. 
 1, 2, 3.) This language, dear reader, is easily accounted for 
 without resolving it into the fears he entertained for their fate 
 beyond the grave; for, on that head, as shall be shown, he had 
 no fears whatever. But they were in darkness; in spiritual as 
 well as civil bondage; they had filled up their measure of wick- 
 edness, heavy temporal judgments hung over them, the loss of 
 their political and ecclesiastical existence, war, famine, pestilence, 
 captivity, dispersion amongst all nations, &c. Is it to be won- 
 dered at that, in view of these calamities, the apostle's heart 
 should have been affected in the manner described 1 I trow not. 
 But as to their final destiny beyond death, it is clearly settled 
 by the pen of inspiration. Isaiah says, "In the Lord shall allth& 
 seed of Israel he justified, and shall glory." (Isa. xlv. 25.) The 
 same prophet has recorded God's promise to that people, and Paul 
 
116 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 has quoted it entire : *' For this is the covenant that I will matte 
 with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will 
 put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts, and 
 I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people, and 
 they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his 
 brother, saying, know the Lord, for all shall know me from the 
 least unto the greatest ; for I will be merciful to their unrighteous- 
 ness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." 
 (Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12.) See also what is said in Romans, chap- 
 ter 11th : The blindness of Israel is to continue until the fullness 
 of the Gentiles be come in, " And so all Israel shall he saved^ as 
 it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer, who shall 
 turn avray ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant unto 
 them when I shall take away their sins ; as concerning the gospel 
 they are enemies for your sake, but as concerning election they 
 are beloved for the fathers' sake. For as ye in times past have 
 not believed God, but have now obtained mercy through their un- 
 belief, even so have these also now not believed, that through 
 your mercy they also might obtain mercy ; for God hath concluded 
 them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all." (Rom. 
 xi. 26—32.) 
 
 From the above testimony it must be exceedingly evident that 
 Paul has no anxieties about the ultimate destiny of his nation ; 
 but he was, nevertheless, most earnestly solicitous for their present 
 salvation ; and surely there is nothing strange nor singular in the 
 fact of his solicitude. As a universalist minister, I certainly 
 have no fears about the ultimate destiny of the world : neverthe- 
 less, I am willing to go as far, forego as much, and endure as 
 much, to effect the present deliverance of the human race from 
 ignorance, superstition, and the bondage of guilt, and to bring 
 them to the enjoyment of gospel blessedness, as is any one who 
 conceives their transmundane state to depend on such deliverance. 
 
 " But all are not Israel that are of Israel," the quibbler will 
 here say, " and therefore, we need not understand these promises 
 as referring to the whole Jewish nation." True ; both Isaac, and 
 Ishmael, were of Israel, that is, they were both children of Abra- 
 ham ; but God's decree was, ♦' In Isaac shall thy seed be called,'* 
 and Ishmael, therefore, instead of being numbered with Isreal, 
 became the head of another, and distinct people. Can any body 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 117 
 
 tell me what in the world this circumstance has to do with the 
 case before us 1 That Paul was not speaking of Israel in any 
 such restricted sense is exceedingly obvious. " All Israel shall 
 be saved," the same Israel that were yet in their sins, that " were 
 blinded," that were " enemies to the gospel," that were all " con- 
 cluded in unbelief." And this is to be effected when " the full- 
 ness of the gentiles be come in." The whole race of man, in 
 those days, were included in those two classes ; and consequently 
 the whole Jewish people, with the fullness of the gentiles, con- 
 stituted the sum of the entire human family. 
 
 Mercy, then, mercy to every individual, forms the ground of 
 all the divine dispensations in regard to man, whether he lifteth up, 
 or casteth down ; blinds, or enlightens ; elects or reprobates : the 
 ultimate end is mercy, mercy to each, mercy to all. " the 
 depth of the riches, both of the knowledge and wisdom of God, 
 how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding 
 out ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord ] or who hath 
 been his counsellor 1 or who hath first given unto him and it 
 shall be recompensed unto him again ? For of him, and through 
 him, and to him, are all things. To whom be glory for ever, 
 amen." 
 
 As God is the first beginning, so shall he also be the last end, 
 of all things ; all have come from him, so all shall eventually revert 
 to him. You have seen, reader, a tiny rivulet in the far-off wil 
 derness, so small as scarcely to make a murmur as it rippled over 
 the pebbles in its channel, and clear, oh, how clear ! how limpid ! 
 Whither doth it journey 1 Would you guess to the ocean, some 
 hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles distant ] You know that 
 such is its destination, and why ? because the ocean is its native 
 home, its birth place, it first emigrated from thence to the clouds, 
 in the form of mist, from thence it was precipitated to terra-firma, 
 in the form of rain ; and it hid itself awhile, seeking a retreat 
 from the stormy world, in subterranean cavities ; but they proved 
 cold and comfortless hiding places, and it soon again sought the 
 light in the shape of springs, and is hastening home as fast as it 
 can. The story of this rivulet bears some resemblance to our 
 own ; we emanated from God, the infinite ocean of existence, he 
 is the " Father of our spirits," and how widely soever we may 
 8ince have roamed, and whatever the mutations through which 
 
118 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 we may have passed, still kindred substances have a mutual 
 attraction for each other ; the liberated spark will seek the sun, 
 and waters unconfined will seek the ocean : in like manner, when 
 the body returns to the dust whence it came, " the spirit shall 
 return to the God that gave it." " For of him, and through him, 
 and to him, are all things. To whom be glory for ever, amen.." 
 
 Eighth. Universal salvation is also evident from the fact, 
 •at sin, death f hell, the devil, works of the devil, error, &c., are to 
 be destroyed ; for how can misery be, after all its elements are 
 extinct ? With respect to sin, as has been shown already, it 
 cannot forever exist in opposition to divine holiness; David prays, 
 " O, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end," (Psl. 
 vii. 9.) and such must surely be the desire of every righteous 
 person, and the more so in proportion as he is righteous ; we, 
 however, are desirous that it should cease at once, and immedi- 
 ately, because we cannot see how God can overrule it for good 
 results ; but this, God in his own time will show. The prophet 
 Daniel, associates with the anointing of Messiah, the designs of 
 God " to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and 
 to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in an everlasting 
 righteousness ;" (Dan. ix. 24.) and, indeed, this is the uniform 
 testimony with respect to the object of God in the gift of his son ; 
 *' God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." (2 Cor. 
 V. 19.) But in order to a reconciliation, sin must be removed. 
 
 That death is to be abolished, several scriptures and considera- 
 tions go to prove. It is customary for the inspired penmen to 
 consider, as already done, whatsoever Christ came to do ; because 
 they regarded his power as adequate to the full accomplishment 
 of the work assigned him : hence, Paul speaks of him as having 
 *' abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light by the 
 gospel." (2 Tim. 1. 10.) The same writer affirms, that " the 
 last enemy shall be destroyed, DEATH." (1 Cor. xv. 26.) I 
 leave out of this text the two spurious words, as they are not 
 necessary to, but rather tend to weaken its sense. " Then shall 
 be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed 
 up in victory." (ibid.) After the last enemy is destroyed, there 
 will of course be none remaining, and the declaration that thia 
 shall take place is absolute. It is easy seeing then, that the 
 assumption that " eternal life implies eternal death," is falla- 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 119 
 
 cious ; for, to leave out of view the scripture testimony to the 
 controversy, it is refutable on logical ground alone. If eternal 
 life imply eternal death in a prospective sense, it also must in a 
 retrospective -J if, because life always shall be, death must always 
 be also ; then it follows that as life always has been, death also 
 must always Aat?e been', but when life resided in God alone, in 
 whom did death reside 1 Answer that, ye who contend for death's 
 eternity, on the ground that life is eternal. Life has its well- 
 spring in the nature of Jehovah ; let the source be dried up, and 
 the empire of death will be universal. Death results from mor- 
 tal constitutions ; when these have ceased, death must cease of 
 course, and be " swallowed up in victory." 
 
 Hell is fated to the same end. God says by the prophet, " I will 
 ransom them from the power of Sheol, (grave or hell) I will 
 redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues. O 
 Sheol, I will be thy destruction." (Hosea xiii. 14.) John's de- 
 scription, (highly figurative, unquestionably,) must refer to the 
 same event. " And death and Hades were cast into the lake of 
 fire, this is the second death. ^^ (Rev. xx. 16.) Here the destruc- 
 tion of death itself, is termed the second death. As saith the 
 Poet, 
 
 " And pains, and groans, and griefs, and fears, 
 
 And death itself shall die." 
 
 Paul broadly intimates the destructioa of Hades, in the triumph- 
 ant challenge, " Hades, where is thy victory?" (1 Cor. xxvi.) 
 It were victory enough to retain within its dark domain, unnumber- 
 ed myriads of God's family ; and if such is indeed to prove the 
 case, the challenge of the apostle could, on the part of Hades, be 
 triumphantly responded to. But this shall not prove the case, 
 for God's word has gone out for its destruction, and the decree is 
 past revocation, for saith God, " Repentance shall be hid from 
 mine eyes." Happy, glorious event ! " 0, thou enemy, de- 
 structions shall come to a perpetual end." Here, indeed, will be 
 a triumph worthy of almighty grace, a triumph of triumphs ! 
 "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive, 
 thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that 
 the Lord God might dwell among them." (Psl. Ixviii. 18.) O, 
 Hades! thy grim and direful reign must close, when. almighty 
 love comes to resume the sceptre of universal empire, and little 
 
120 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 as the prospect of thy final discomfiture may be relished by those 
 who fancy that to them are entrusted the keys of thy dreary 
 portals, yet come it must at last, and thy grim associate, death; 
 shall share in thine overthrow, as he shared in thy triumphs. 
 
 " Break down, ye separating hills, 
 Let sin and death remove ; 
 Tis love that drives my chariot veheels, 
 And death must yield to love." 
 
 Alike doom awaits the devil, (which means an adversary, any 
 adversary,) " Forasmuch, then, as the children were partakers 
 of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the 
 same, that through death, he might destroy him that had the 
 power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through the 
 fear of death, were all their life-time subject to bondage." (Heb. 
 ii. 14 — 15) The devil, poor fellow ! has had a hard fortune from 
 the beginning; but here is a long good night to his troubles. 
 
 The works of the devil are also among the subjects doomed to 
 eventual extinction. "For this purpose the son of God was 
 manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." 
 (1 John iii. 8.) That sin is a work of the devil, introduced by 
 his instrumentality, will not be disputed ; neither will it be doubt- 
 ed that misery of all kinds flows from sin. (I mean that by our 
 opponents this will not be doubted — we believe that there is much 
 misery which is not consequent of sin.) If, then, the works of 
 the devil shall experience the fate decreed for them, it follows 
 that all the misery consequent of sin shall cease. Error also is 
 ascribed to the devil, (for he is called the father of lies, (John 
 viii. 44.) and false doctrines, under the figure of tares, are called 
 " the children of the wicked one," " the enemy that sowed them is 
 the devil," (Mat. xiii. 39.) both the devil and his works are not 
 infrequently personified in the scriptures,) error, therefore, must 
 also in due time cease : the same thing is plainly intimated in the 
 several predictions afore-quoted, that God will remove the face 
 of the covering cast upon all people, and the veil spread over all 
 nations, that all shall be brought to know the Lord, and to confess 
 Christ to the glory of God the Father ; then shall tears be wiped 
 from all faces, and the divine glory be displayed to an universe 
 of intelligences. 
 
 Ninth. The ultimate salvation of all men is obviously infer- 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 121 
 
 able from numerous other scripture texts and circumstances. For 
 example : the anger of God is alluded to as existing but for a 
 moment i (Psl. xxx. 5. Isaiah liv. 8.) but, in full fifty instances, 
 his mercy is said to endure forever, (1 Chro. xvi. 34. 2 Chro. v. 
 13. xvii. 3, 6. XX. 29. Psl. cvi. 1. cvii. 1. cxviii. 1, 2, 3. cxxxvi.l, 
 2, 3, etc.) but according to the opponent system this antithesis is 
 false ! for in that case his anger endureth as long as his mercy : 
 yea, more, for as regards the subjects of endless misery, the 
 reverse of the antithesis is the fact ; God's mercy toward them 
 endureth only during their momentary stay on earth, and then 
 commenceth the reign of his wrath, and it conlinueth forever ! 
 
 Strictly speaking there is, there can be, no anger in the deity : 
 " he is of one mind, and who can turn him ]" But in accommo- 
 dation to our limited conceptions, the retributive dispensations of 
 his providence are termed his anger, because they display the 
 repugnance of his infinitely pure nature to all unholiness ; these, 
 however, are ever directed to the sinner's reformation as an ul- 
 timate object ; they are therefore necessarily temporary, and, as 
 compared with eternity, but for a moment ; but the mercy which 
 directs them, endureth, according to the most absolute sense of 
 the word, forever, while God himself endureth. 
 
 It is positively declared, " For the Lord WILL NOT cast off 
 forever, but though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion 
 according to the multitude of his mercies, for he doth not afflict 
 willingly, nor grieve the children of men." (Lam. iii. 31, 32.) 
 The same prophet also asks the important and self-answering 
 question, " Will he reserve his anger forever ? Will he keep 
 it unto the end ?" (Jer. iii. 5.) And the negative is boldly and 
 explicitly settled by two other prophets. " For I WILL NOT 
 contend forever, NEITHER WILL I be always wroth, for the 
 spirits should fail before me, and the souls that I have made." 
 (Isaiah Ivii. 16.) "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to 
 anger, and plenteous in mercy ; he WILL NOT always chide, 
 NEITHER WILL HE retain his anger forever." (Psl. ciii. 
 8, 9.) And still another inquires, "Who is a God like unto 
 thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgressions 
 of the remnant of his heritage? he RETAINETH NOT his 
 anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy ; he will turn again, 
 he will have compassion upon us ; he will subdue our iniquities ; 
 
 Vol. I.— L No. 6. 
 
122 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depth of the sea." (Mic, 
 vii. 18, 19.) In regard to David God saith, and it is to be pre- 
 sumed that he deals with all men upon the same principle, " If 
 his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments ; if^ 
 they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then 
 will I visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquity with 
 stripes; But my loving-kindness WILL I NOT utterly take 
 from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail." (Psl. Ixxxix. 30, 
 21, 32.) If the doctrine of endless misery were hut half as 
 explicitly affirmed in the scriptures as it is repeatedly here de- 
 nied, it could with more show of truth claim our credence under 
 the divine sanction; and it would then seem the height of pre- 
 sumption, to attempt the advocation of the opposite doctrine of 
 the final salvation of a world. But what can be brought forward 
 in its behalf, which will set aside this repeated and positive evi- 
 dence of its falsity 1 And especially when to this are added all 
 the evidences from God's attributes, relations, will, pleasure, 
 promises, purpose, oath, his end in creation, redemption, provi- 
 dence, &c., one would think that to countervail all this, there 
 should be direct testimony, so explicit, and so oft repeated, 
 in various, yet always unequivocal forms, that common sense 
 could not well mistake their purport. And even in that case the 
 bible, by its contradictory testimonies relative to the same point, 
 "would nullify its own claims upon our respect and confidence. 
 But how stands the fact? You will see, reader, ere we are done, 
 that this dogma depends for support on some isolated allegories 
 or other disjointed and hyperbolical portions of the scripture! 
 A foundation so flimsy would stand small chance of availing \t 
 long, I ween, were it not for the too general ignorance, duplicity, 
 and mystery-loving character of mankind. 
 
 Tenth. The same is also inferable from the nature of prayer, 
 FAITH, and CHARITY. It has before been shown that we are direct- 
 ed to pray for all men, (1 Tim. ii. 1.) and also to pray \x\ faith, 
 because " whatsoever is not of faith is sin;" (Rom. xiv. 23.) to 
 pray in faith for all men would not be proper, nor would it have 
 been enjoined, if it were the fact that in regard to millions it 
 would prove unavailing: the very injunction implies that the 
 object of these petitions shall be finally fulfilled ; more especially 
 as they are in accordance with the divine mind, " who will have 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 123 
 
 all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." 
 (1 Tim. ii. 4.) Christ has directed us to pray that the will of 
 God should be done, (Mat. vi. 10.) and he himself has set the 
 example of praying for the whole world. (John xvii. 21.) It 
 is to be presumed that he knew whether his prayer would or 
 would not avail : David often broke out into supplication for the 
 whole human family, " Let all the people praise thee, O God, let 
 all the people praise thee !" ( Psl. Ixvi. 3.) " O let them give 
 thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for- 
 ever," (ibid, xxvii. 5.) and he also prays, " O let the wickedness 
 of the wicked come to an end !" (ibid. vii. 9.) "• The Lord 
 heareth the prayers of the righteous," it is said, (Prov. xv. 29.) 
 and it is but reasonable to believe he does, and that he will 
 answer them too, when they accord with his own will, and the 
 example of his son. 
 
 All good men pray for the final salvation of the world ; oh how 
 fervently do they desire this great object ! And yet, strange to 
 say, how averse are many of them to believe that it will ever be 
 brought to pass ! They will argue against it, preach against it, 
 •write against it, and yet most fervently pray for it ! And the 
 doctrine which sets forth that their benevolent supplications are 
 heard, and will in due time be fully answered, they denounce as 
 a most gross and dangerous heresy ! 
 
 Faith. The scriptures intimately connect faith with salvation ; 
 but what must faith be in its nature, in order to be saving in its 
 influence % This is a question of greater moment than is gener- 
 ally imagined, for except it give assurance to the subject of his 
 own eventual happiness ; yea, and of the eventual happiness of 
 all in whom his affections are interested — it surely cannot saving- 
 ly affect him : can any system of belief light up my mind with 
 joy and confidence relative to the future world, which fails to 
 assure me of my own future blessedness 1 And allowing it gives 
 me this, which fails to assure me also of the future blessedness of 
 my parents, my wife and children, my friends, and all in whose 
 welfare my heart concerns itself? Now it is undeniable that 
 neither of the several systems of unending punishment can do 
 this. Supposing, for example, the doctrine of election true, can I 
 certainly know that myself, and all these other objects of my love, 
 are among the happy number elected to ceaseless bliss ] None, 
 
124 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 surely, will think of rendering an affirmative answer here. Mach 
 less can I be certified on this head, if the notion oi free agency 
 be true ; for on that ground there is no certainty to any body — not 
 only no certainty of ever getting to heaven, but also no certainty 
 of remaining there in case it is ever reached ! Because if some 
 once there were exiled, and driven to hell, (the fallen angels,) 
 and we are to continue free agents, the same may happen again ! 
 
 If faith give not present certitude of future bliss to its pos- 
 sessor, I can only say that the scriptures have greatly exaggerated 
 its virtues : " There remaineth therefore a rest," say they, " TO 
 the people of God ;" (Heb. iii. 9.) and " we which have believed, 
 DO enter into rest;" (ibid. 3.) they speak of a " peace and joy 
 IN believing ;" (Rom. xv. 13.) and they connect with faith a "joy 
 that is unspeakable and full of glory." (1 Pet. i. 8.) Paul calls 
 faith "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things 
 not seen ;" (Heb. xi. 7.) precisely the reverse of this definition 
 will express the nature of the belief of endless misery ; it is 
 the substance of things not only not hoped for, but by every be- 
 nevolent mind most fervently deprecated ; thus near, exactly, and 
 no nearer, does this dreary faith approximate to an identity with 
 the faith of the gospel ! 
 
 " Faith works by love, and purifies the heart." (Gal. v. 6.) 
 Does the faith of unending punishment do this ? On the contrary, 
 I will prove it to be inconsistent with a due degree of love to 
 mankind. Take a mother who believes this doctrine ; she has 
 lost a son who had attained his majority, and who died without a 
 preparation for heaven. Does she suppose that he has been 
 doomed to an eternity of flames ] Not she ; she will tell you of 
 the mercy of God, and of his plenitude of grace for the salvation 
 of the vilest of offenders ; and although she is not warranted by 
 her creed in cherishing the smallest hope for her son on these 
 grounds ; still she will persist in discrediting the idea of his 
 final ruin ! Why is this ] It is because of the love she bears to 
 her offspring. Suppose now that she loved all mankind as well ; 
 what then ] Why then she would be equally loth to believe that 
 any would be finally lost. Does not this make it manifest that 
 a faith in this dogma is incompatible with true philanthropy ? 
 You will rarely find a person of sane mind, who thinks, however 
 profligate he may be, that he will be doomed to verify the truth of 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 125 
 
 this dogma : although his prejudices would be shocked at the idea 
 that no part of mankind are to be endlessly damned ; he is quite 
 sure there will be a great many : but he is not to be included in 
 the number — oh no, not his precious self. He might go so far as 
 to acknowledge, *' if I should die in my present state I would 
 without doubt sink to hell ; but then," quoth he, " 1 dont expect 
 so to die ; I hope divine grace will some day interpose for my 
 salvation." If this man loved all as he loves himself, he would 
 find it exceedingly easy to believe that all mankind will be saved ; 
 but the faith of endless-hell torments, we see, does network by love. 
 Charity, which is but another name for love, and which the 
 apostle Paul tells us " never faileth," (1 Cor. xiii. 8.) though 
 prophecies may fail, and tongues may cease, and knowledge may 
 vanish away, and the earth in the lapse of ages may be resolved 
 into its primary elements, and the stars may grow dim with age, 
 and worlds, and systems of worlds, may be dissolved, and become 
 commingled in primeval confusion ; all this may be, but love never 
 faileth ,- for love is God, and was the first of all things, and must 
 survive the wreck of all things, in case such wreck transpire. 
 As God willeth not the final ruin of any, but, on the contrary, 
 will have all to be saved ; so as we assimilate to the divine 
 nature are we similarly disposed toward the whole of mankind : 
 And here, christian reader, I will appeal to your experience; let 
 rae take your memory back to the period when you were first 
 sensible of the divine influences upon your heart ; you were 
 overwhelmed, you were dissolved in tenderness, you looked 
 around you with new eyes upon all things, and they seemed 
 invested with a charm which they had never previously worn ; 
 love was apparent to your perceptions every where, and seemed 
 to have transmuted all things into its own image and essence ; there 
 was nothing, however mean or contemptible, upon which your 
 heart did not yearn to expatiate itself in kindness ; you could fully 
 sympathise with the desire of the poet, 
 
 " that the world might taste and see 
 The riches of his grace ; 
 The arms of love which compass me. 
 Would all mankind embrace." 
 
 Far were you then from a disposition to limit divine grace to a 
 moiety of the human family ; on the contrary, you felt that that 
 Vol. I.—l 2 
 
126 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 grace which had reached a case so desperate as yours, was quite 
 able to plunge, in its saving influences, down to the lowest depths 
 of human guilt; for your heart fully endorsed the sentiment 
 breathed forth by the christian poet before-quoted, relative to the 
 divine goodness. 
 
 " Throughout the world its breadth is known, 
 
 Vast as infinity ; 
 
 So vast it never passed by one, 
 
 Or it had passed by me." 
 
 Is it probable, reader, that your conceptions of almighty love 
 were at that time exaggerated 1 — that they soared beyond its 
 height — went down below its depths — or extended beyond its 
 circumference 1 No, no, this is not probable, the greater proba- 
 bility is, that your conceptions since have, by the influence of a 
 partial creed, been narrowed into limits quite out of accordance 
 with your christian profession and your former experience. 
 
 " Charity," saith the great apostle, " rejoiceth not in iniquity, 
 but rejoiceth in the truth ;" (1 Cor. xiii. 7.) from which we 
 gather, that whatever love cannot approve, and rejoice in, cannot 
 be true. Love can approve of all things as they are, because it 
 looks forward to what they are to be ; it can approve of present 
 evil, with a view to future and greater good ; it can smile upon 
 a short night of tears, which is to issue in an ever-enduring day of 
 joy, the brighter for those tears. But can charity rejoice in the 
 endless ruin of intelligent Beings 1 No ; and we therefore infer 
 that the doctrine concerning such an event is false. 
 
 Eleventh. We may infer the ultimate salvation of all men 
 from the fact, that we are taught by Jesus Christ himself to make 
 the conduct of God toward his enemies, the model of our conduct 
 toward ours. " But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless 
 them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them which despitefully use you and persecute. That ye may be 
 the children of your father which is in heaven," &c. (Mat. v. 44.) 
 "What can be conceived more flagrantly opposed to this character of 
 the deity, than that which is ascribed to him by the theory of eter- 
 nal torments 1 To imitate God as that doctrine portrays him, we 
 must cherish toward our foes an implacable revenge, a revenge 
 which nothing short of their utter ruin will sufl5ce to extinguish ! 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 127 
 
 Such is the revenge, such the deity of that dark creed ! It is 
 equally easy to love him, as to love the grim vision of Milton's 
 
 Molech, horrid king : 
 
 Besmear'd with blood of human sacrifice, 
 And parents' tears" 
 
 Does he indeed love his enemies ? How, I pray, is that love 
 evinced? By continuing them in life? Yes, that they may 
 thereby sink the deeper in guilt, (for such he certainly knows 
 will be the result,) and draw down upon themselves accumulated 
 ruin ! Such is the love of God ! Such his lenity toward the 
 objects of his wrath ! He has prepared for them a sea of sul- 
 phurous fire, and although no good to any creature can arise from 
 it, it shall be their hapless doom. 
 
 " There to converse with everlasting groans, 
 Unrespited, unpitied, unreprieved, 
 Ages of hopeless end." 
 
 I put it to the consciences and good sense of my readers, 
 whether a doctrine which thus represents the deity can be true; 
 and whether the saviour's selection of the divine conduct as an 
 example for ours, was not, in this view of the case, a most inap- 
 propriate, and unfortunate selection. 
 
 Twelfth. We may also infer our doctrine from the precepts 
 and the acts of the saviour whilst he sojourned with men : he was 
 the representative of God, and the reflection of his perfections, 
 (Col. 1.) "when ye have seen me," said he, "ye have seen the 
 father," (John xiv. 9.) and what was his treatment of sinners 1 
 Such, exactly, as entitled him to be called their "/mnc?," (Mat. 
 xi. 10. Luke vii. 34.) he had " compassion on the ignorant, and 
 them that were out of the way;" (Heb. v. 2.) even in death he 
 practiced upon the precept he gave to man, by praying for his en- 
 emies; (Luke xxiii. 34.) and he commissioned his disciples 
 after his resurrection, to commence their labors of gospel leva 
 amongst his murderers. (Luke xiii. 47. Acts iii. 2G.) When 
 Peter inquired of him, "How oft shall my brother sin against me, 
 and I forgive him — until seven times ?" his answer was, " I say not 
 unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven." (Mat. 
 xxiii. 22.) That is, forgive as God forgives, without limitation. 
 
 To the woman taken in adultery he said, "neither do 1 con- 
 demn thee ; go, and sin no more :" (John vii. 3.) from which we 
 
128 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 are not to infer, however, that he did not regard the act with a 
 due degree of abhorrence ; for he cautioned her against a repeti- 
 tion of it — " sin no more :" all that we can infer, is, that knowing 
 the frailty of our nature, and the temptations with which it is 
 beset, he judged less harshly of, and made more allowance for 
 human conduct, than cynical self-righteous bigots are wont to do. 
 ♦'This man," thought Simon the pharisee, when he saw that 
 Jesus admitted a sinful, conscience-smitten woman, to disburthen 
 her heart in tears shed upon his feet ; " is not so good and great 
 a person as he is accounted, or he would not permit a sinner to 
 touch him." Simon had not the least idea that he himself was a 
 sinner : oh, no ! he would not submit to the pollution of contact 
 with any one bearing that character. Christ well divined what 
 was passing in his mind, and he read him a lesson of benev- 
 olence so simple, and so touching withal ; that it must command 
 for its author the love and admiration of mankind through all 
 future time. (Luke vii. 36.) When the multitudes followed him, 
 eager to hear his mild and soothing eloquence, into desert places, 
 and through long fasting became weak with hunger ; Christ com- 
 passionated them because they were far from tiieir villages, and 
 they might faint on their way thither to get food : and he worked 
 a miracle for their supply on the spot. (Mat. xvi. 9. Mark viii. 9.) 
 Ah ! he saw very, very many amongst them, if the theory of an 
 endless hell be true, who after a few brief years should implore 
 his pity from the fiery deeps of ruin, and implore it in vain ! How 
 tender, and how delicate, was the manner he adopted toward the 
 transgressing Peter ; in order that that rash, but warm-hearted 
 disciple, might be reassured of his favour! (John xxi. 15.) And 
 how condescending was his conduct toward the skeptical Thom- 
 as ! (ibid. XX. 27.) How enlarged is the benevolence he incul- 
 cates in his sermon on the mount ! and in the parable of the 
 good Samaritan! (Luke x. 30.) The worst of mankind, he 
 informs us, will salute their brethren — will love ihe'n friends ; 
 (the members of a fraternity of thieves will do this as it regards 
 each other;) but if we would be God-like we must love our 
 enemies, and be kind to those that hate us : we must not suffer our 
 fellow feeling to be narrowed by party or by geographical limits; 
 but must aim to emulate him who is "good to all," and whose 
 " tender mercy is ovfer all his works." 
 
ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. 129 
 
 Such was Jesus Christ: and those who saw him saw the 
 Father, (John xiv. 9.) for he was the incarnated "image of the 
 invisible God;" (Col. i. 15.) the visible, and tangible mirror 
 of the divine perfections. How can we better acquaint ourselves 
 with the Father's character, and how a priori^ better form a con- 
 clusion as to what he will do in regard to our sinful race, than by 
 attentively considering the precepts and the acts of his son, who 
 was his representative amongst men? "And we beheld his 
 glory," says one, " the glory as of the only begotten of the 
 Father, /w// of grace and truth.'''' (John i. 14.) Now is not com- 
 mon sense outraged when attempts are made to harmonise with 
 this developement of his character, the doctrine, that God will 
 to all eternity damn seven eighths of his frail and ignorant hu- 
 man offspring '? When darkness can be proven a better medium 
 of vision than light ; when it can be shown that cold is attributa- 
 ble to the presence of caloric ; when the great toe, in the human 
 system, is shown to be the nucleus of the arterial and venous 
 circulation, instead of the heart ; when the principle of gravita- 
 tion is proven to incline heavy bodies to the clouds : when these 
 things can be made to appear, it will then be equally apparent that 
 from the perfections of character exemplified in the teaching and 
 acts of the Saviour, will result a final catastrophe answering to 
 that set forth in the dogma of endless misery. 
 
 I will add no more considerations at present, although much 
 more will be adduced in the progress of this work. I flatter my- 
 self however, that more is not necessary for the conviction of the 
 candid inquirer: let him but suppose these facts reversed, and 
 then, must he not acknowledge their weight in the scale of the 
 opposite doctrine to be immense ? \^ for example, it could be 
 urged in behalf of endless misery, that God wills it ; that it 
 accords with his purpose^ pleasure,, promise, and oath ; with the 
 mission, miracles, and death of Christ ; that it is a legitimate ob- 
 ject of prayer, faith, and charity ; that all the good, in heaven 
 and on earth, desire it ; that in order to be like God we must in 
 our practice conform to the spirit of it : and that Chrisfs example 
 when on earth was in strict accordance with its principles. 
 And if it could be further urged in its favour, that revelation une- 
 quivocally teaches that God's mercy is momentary, and his anger 
 eternal ,• that he will contend forever ; that in numerous instances 
 
130 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 he will utterly take away his loving-kindness, and cease to be 
 gracious; also that death will always endure; and sm, and ^Ae 
 devil, and his works, and error, and misery and hell: and, further- 
 more, that God created numerous intelligences to i\ievery end that 
 they should be ceaselessly miserable ; and that any result short of 
 this would be a disappointment of his eternal plans. If, I say, all 
 this could be urged in proof of the truth of that doctrine, would 
 you not, reader, deem it the very extremity of folly and pre- 
 sumption in me, or any one else, who should undertake to 
 prove that doctrine false ■? You most undoubtedly would. Well 
 then, all that I have repeated, and much more, can be adduced in 
 favour of the universalist faith : and does it not therefore follow, 
 that to undertake a refutation of that faith is the very extremity 
 of folly and presumption ] 
 
 HYMN— ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 The Abrahamic covenant all people embraced, 
 
 By it all who fell in Adam are in Jesus replaced ; 
 
 1* or Jehovah hath sworn, and he will not recall his vow, 
 
 That in the name of Jesus every creature shall bow. 
 
 From his kingdom shall Christ remove all things that offend, 
 He will finish transgression and bring sin to an end ; 
 No place for the devil nor his works will be found ; 
 Where sin once abounded grace much more shall abound. 
 
 Oh then shall the glorious restitution take place, 
 
 The reconciliation of all Adam's lost race, 
 
 Which Jehovah hath promised and announced unto man, 
 
 By the mouth of all his prophets since creation began. 
 
 To Zion the ransom'd of the Lord shall repair, 
 
 The Jew and the Gentile, bond and free shall be there ; 
 
 All people encircled in the Saviour's embrace. 
 
 And sighing and sorrow to their songs shall give place. 
 
 On the mountain of Zion God a feast shall afford, 
 And all nations shall flock unto this feast of the Lord : 
 The songs of salvation shall employ every voice, 
 Christ shall see of the travail of his soul and rejoice. 
 
 Every creature in heaven, on the earth, and beneath, 
 Shall celebrate the triumph over Ha-des and death: 
 All rule, and authority, arid power overthrown. 
 And, God all in all, the whole creation shall own. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. I. 131 
 
 POPULAR DEBATE.— No. I. 
 
 IS THE FUTURE SALVATION CONDITIONAL? 
 
 ARGUMENT IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. 
 
 1st. Man is a free moral agent ; as such he is a subject of law, 
 of exhortation appealing to his interests and his fears, and of rewards 
 and punishments. If his future safety is independent of his pres- 
 ent conduct I can conceive of no use that religion can be to him; 
 why Christ should have died for his redemption ; or why he 
 should be so earnestly, and repeatedly urged to attend to the im- 
 portant business of his salvation ! Surely if he is not to be leg^rd' 
 ed zs 3 probationer for eicrnity there was no need for all this; 
 religion is a mockery : and the means of grace utterly useless, if 
 his future felicity is secure without them. 
 
 2nd. We are solemnly assured in the Bible, that " the soul that 
 sinneth it shall die," — that "he that believeth not shall be dam- 
 ned," — that " he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap cor- 
 ruption," — that " we must all appear before the judgment seat of 
 Christ, that every one may receive for the things done in his body, 
 whether they be good, or whether they be evil." &c. Universal- 
 ists tell us that these threatenings, with the accompanying prom- 
 ises relate wholly to the present state, but for this we have but 
 their assertion, and the strength of language which marks many 
 of these texts, proves that assertion groundless. Is it in the pres- 
 ent world that " they who sow to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap 
 life everlasting"? Do universalists enjoy their everlasting life 
 in this world? Christ is said to have become " the author of eter- 
 nal salvation to all them that obey him." Does this also happen 
 in the present state ? Is the eternal salvation to be realised here 1 
 Moreover, an apostle exhorts to " give all diligence to make your 
 calling and election sure" — " for so an entrance shall be minis- 
 tered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Now that in this passage the 
 reference is not to Christ's kingdom here, is certain, for Christ's 
 kingdom here is not everlasting. Here, then, is an insurmounta- 
 ble proof, that our condition beyond death is dependant on our 
 
132 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 conduct in life ; but this is so important a point that it shall be 
 proven farther. 
 
 The momentous question was put to Christ — " Are there few 
 that be saved ?" And what was his answer ? v/as it such as favor- 
 ed the universalian theory 1 No indeed. " Strive to enter in at 
 the strait gate, for many I say unto you shall seek to enter in and 
 shall not be able — for wide is the gate and broad is the way that 
 leadelh to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat; be- 
 cause strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto 
 life, and few there be that find it." Here we have a direct issue 
 between the Saviour and the universalian theory, the former af 
 firming that but few will arrive at eternal bliss, and that few con- 
 ditionalli/, and the latter affirming that all will arrive there, and 
 that unconditionally. 
 
 But a still plainer case occurs ; when the lawyer and the rich 
 young man, inquired each of Christ what good thing he should do 
 to inherit eternal life : instead of receiving an answer such as 
 universalism would render, viz ; Do nothing — you will be saved 
 at all events ; they were both informed that to mere legal obe- 
 dience they must add the charity of the gospel ; to the rich young 
 man was said, " sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and 
 thou shalt have treasure in heaven." Here observe by the way, 
 that heaven is put by the Saviour in apposition with eternal life ; 
 which implies that they are synonimous. Treasure in heaven, 
 then, it seems, may be secured by acts of charity upon earth ' 
 I defy all the sophistry of universalism to fairly meet the argu- 
 ment in this case, against their unconditional salvation ! It can- 
 not be done. 
 
 Finally, Let me caution you, my friends, against the vitiating 
 and soul-destroying dogma of universal salvation ; vitiating and 
 soul-destroying it must necessarily be, since it takes away from 
 virtue all its encouragements, and from vice all its restraints ; 
 which encouragements and restraints are eminently yielded by 
 the hope of future reward, and the fear of future punishment. This 
 is the very theory referred to by the prophet, which " makes the 
 hearts of the righteous sad," and " strengthens the hands of the 
 wicked by promising them life." For must it not dishearten the 
 righteous to be told, that in the future world God will make no 
 distinction between them and the vilest of sinners ? Again then 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. I. 133 
 
 I exhort you, my friends, to shun this doctrine, and pray God to 
 guard you against a belief in it. 
 
 ARGUMENT IN THE NEGATIVE. 
 
 1st. Whether man is a free agent, and if so, to what extent, are 
 questions which I will not here attempt to resolve ; these subtle- 
 ties have in all ages engaged the highest orders of intellect, and, 
 if Milton's authority in these matters be considered as valid, they 
 have engaged even the reasoning powers of fallen angels in their 
 dreary pandemonium. 
 
 " Others apart sat on a hill retir'd, 
 In thoughts more elevate, and reason'd high 
 Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate ; 
 Fix'd fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute ; 
 And found no end, in wandering mazes lost." 
 
 The mist of uncertainty, nevertheless, still clings around these 
 questions as much as ever. I choose to assume that man is, in 
 some degree, master of his volitions, and the actions thence ensu- 
 ing ; that in many cases he could both will, and do, otherwise than 
 as he does ; but that he is not free, to the extent supposed by my 
 opponent, is susceptible of both philosophical and scriptural proof; 
 he surely is not at liberty to ruin himself past the remedial reach 
 of his creator's grace : to suppose the contrary, is an almost blas- 
 phemous arraignment of that creator's wisdom and benevolence! 
 But if we even concede to man all the freedom contended for, it 
 will not thence follow that he is a probationer (i. e. on trial) fo? 
 eternity ; that he is nnt, is evident from several circumstances. 
 
 First, we cannot control the events even of the future hour ; I 
 may propose in an hour hence, to start on a journey ; but when the 
 moment arrives, I may be prevented by illness, or the weather, 
 or the state of the roads or streams, or a failure of the means of 
 conveyance. In short, a score of things may interpose betwixt 
 my purpose and its execution; and if such is the case with regard 
 to the future hour, is it likely that God has entrusted to me a 
 control over my eternal destinies 1 Secondly, Why is the term of 
 human life of so unequal duration with regard to different individ- 
 uals, if this life is a state of trial ? Some pass the ordeal in one 
 short hour, and attain the goal without the risks and hardships 
 of the race ; whilst to others are allotted the toils and trials of 
 
 Vol. I.—M 
 
134 PRO AND CON OF TNIVERSALISM. 
 
 three fourths of a century ! Some, moreover, if this theory be 
 true, pass to heaven by a path of flowers ; their education, 
 habits, temperaments, worldly interest, family and social consid- 
 erations ; all incline them to the choice of a religious life : whilst 
 with others, the very reverse is the case ; they are religious, if at 
 all, at a sacrifice of nearly every earthly interest ! If eternal 
 bliss is to be attained at the price of a religious life, why is not 
 that price equally within the reach of all 1 And Thirdly, human 
 life at the longest is too short, its lights are too dim ; its wants, 
 trials, temptations, cares, too numerous; and its momentous 
 ends too obscurely revealed, if these ends are, the avoidance of 
 an eternity of woe, and the ensurance of an eternity of bliss. 
 No, no, it cannot be that we here are to form characters which 
 shall last forever : for those who die in infancy form no characters 
 at all ! And shall they so remain forever ] " But they are inno- 
 cent," it will be said. True, but innocence is not virtue, when 
 we have it not in our power to be otherwise. If innocence is a pass- 
 port to eternal joys, we are all born into the world with the pass- 
 port in our hands, and millions attain the prize by the mere 
 accident of dying before an opportunity is oflfered of forfeiting the 
 title ! 
 
 But my opponent opines, that if man is not a probationer for 
 eternity, there was no need of the saviour's advent and death, 
 and that preaching, and the whole business of religion is useless ! 
 Really, I can see no force in this argument ; man is a rational 
 Being; he owes duties to his God, and to his fellows; it is the 
 office of religion to acquaint him with these, and to prompt him 
 to a discharge of them — he is subject to numerous trials and afflic- 
 tions ; under which it is the business of religion to sustain him — 
 he is destined to a higher station in Being than that which he at 
 present occupies : to this religion with friendly finger points his 
 hopes. Jesus Christ came to expound to man the nature and 
 claims of this religion : and by his ministry, miracles, life, death, 
 and ascension, to exemplify and establish it. No necessity foi 
 religion, indeed ! It might as well he said that we shall not want 
 religion in a future life, except it be to prepare us for another still 
 beyond it ! Truth is, if even there were no future life, religion 
 would still be needful to guide us peacefully and happily through 
 the present, and wherever there is rational existence, religion is 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. I. 135 
 
 indispensable to its happiness. I must decidedly protest against 
 that narrow theory, which supposes religion only necessary as a 
 sort of certificate of admission to the world of bliss ! It is clear 
 that such is the view of it which has practically obtained amongst 
 the major part of Christendom.* 
 
 2nd. Let us now glance at the texts, which my friend thinks 
 sustain his views of a future conditional salvation ; he says truly 
 that universalists are in the habit of referring them exclusively to 
 the present slate. "The soul that sinneth it shall die." All ac- 
 quainted with the language of the bible know, that soul is but 
 another word for person or individual ; " Eight souls were saved 
 from drowning," that is eight individuals were so saved. Now 
 how many souls have sinned? "All have sinned ;" (Rom. iii. 
 23.) therefore, in the sense intended, all have died. To say that 
 this is an endless death, is not only to assume beyond what is 
 revealed, but also to incur the absurd consequence that all man- 
 kind shall endlessly die! 
 
 " He that believeth not shall be damned." The Greek word 
 here rendered damned is in other passages rendered condemned^ 
 and judged ; and might with equal propriety have been so trans- 
 lated in this place. We have no warrant for saying that the 
 damnation is to ensue beyond the grave. " He that believeth not 
 IS condemned already." (John iii. 18.) My opponent, if he is not 
 now, has been an unbeliever : while such he was damned, or he was 
 not ; if not, the text in his case proved false; if he was damned, 
 it must have been in this state of being, and thus his view of the 
 text is proven incorrect. 
 
 " He that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corrup- 
 tion." Where ? Not surely in a future world, for there, neither 
 flesh nor corruption exists : we have Paul for witness, that in the 
 resurrection " this corruption shall put on incorruption :" and 
 again, " for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
 incorruptible." (1 Cor. xv.) But my friend thinks the language 
 
 * 1 hp quaint, and calvinistically orthodox John Bunyan, shall hear me witness to 
 the truth of this remark. " When he was come up to the gate he looked up to the 
 writing that was above, and then began to knock, suppnsing that entrance should 
 have been quickly ailministered to him ; but he was asked by the men, that looked 
 over the top of the jjate, ' Whence come you 1 and what would you have V he ao- 
 gwered, ' I have eat and drank in the presence of the king.' Then they asked him 
 for his certificate that they might go in and show it to the king. So he fumbled in 
 his bos im f .r one an 1 found none, &c." I need hardly add, that he waa denied admis- 
 sion,— See Pilgrim's Progress, part first. 
 
136 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 of the latter clause of this text too strong, to apply to things of 
 time : " he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life 
 everlasting." ' Do Universalists,' he somewhat wittily asks, 
 
 * enjoy their everlasting life in this world V I will treat him to a 
 bible answer, " He that believeth on the son HATH everlasting 
 life, and shall not come into condemnation, but IS PASSED 
 from death unto life." (John iii. 36.) You see then, (if the 
 scriptures are to be the umpire between us,) that Universalists, 
 as well as other honest folk who believe in Christ, may enjoy 
 
 • everlasting life in this world.' It seems but reasonable, moreover, 
 ihat the harvest should be reaped where the seed is sown ; he 
 would be a sagacious fellow who should think of going to the 
 moon to gather a crop of turnips which he had planted on this 
 earth ! Equally sagacious is he who talks of going to a world 
 of spirits to reap corruption of thejtesh, 
 
 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 
 that every one may receive according to the deeds done in his 
 body, whether they be good, or whether they be bad." Begging 
 my opponent's pardon I must tell him, that, in the sense of this 
 text for which he contends, he does not believe it himself! Does 
 he, for instance, believe that he will suffer in a future world for 
 all his transgressions in this ] Not he ; notwithstanding that he 
 ■will acknowledge to have sinned often, and greatly, yet he thinks 
 that his post mortem state will be one of unmingled happiness ! 
 He does not believe that Moses, in the future state, will be pun- 
 ished for his murder of the Egyptian, whose body he buried in 
 the sand : nor that Samson will be held to a reckoning for his 
 scandalous connexion with Delilah ; nor Peter, for the denial 
 of his Lord ; nor Thomas, for his obstinerte refusal to credit 
 Christ's resurrection without sensible demonstration. And yet 
 he puts upon the text before us such a construction as requires 
 him to believe all this ! Let us now look for the true sense of 
 this passage: leaving out the words added by the translators it 
 reads as follows, "For we must all appear before the judgment- 
 seat of Christ, that every one may RECEIVE THI? THINGS 
 IN BODY, according to that he hath done, whether good or 
 bad." Where is the judgment seat of Christ 1 Are we any 
 where told it is in eternity] No; on the contrary, Christ him- 
 self says, " For judgment I am come into this world ;" (John ix* 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO, I. 137 
 
 39.) and as to the time of this judgment he says, '■^ Now is the 
 judgment of this world ;" (John xii. 31.) and, indeed, it was long 
 before predicted of him that he should "execute judgment and 
 justice in the earth ,•" (Jer. xxiii. 5.) and another prophet saith, 
 *' he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment 
 in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." (Isaiah xlii. 4.) 
 "The judgment seat of Christ" is a figure, implying that by the 
 principles of his gospel human actions are tested in this latter- 
 day dispensation ; Jesus himself explicitly sanctions this defini- 
 tion. " He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath 
 one that judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall 
 judge him in the last day." (John xii. 48.) Let these remarks 
 suffice for the present, they sufficiently show that an application 
 of the text in dispute to a future state, is unauthorized and 
 gratuitous. 
 
 Pass we now to what my opponent deemed his most invinci- 
 ble proofs, perhaps we shall find them not absolutely insuperable 
 after all. A young lawyer, it seems, and a certain rich young 
 man, inquired of Christ what they should do to inherit eternal 
 life; and because they were directed to superadd christian chari- 
 ty to legal obedience in order to the attainment of this object, my 
 friend thinks it quite clear that future endless bliss is condition- 
 ally bestowed. Were I a logician I would whisper in his ear, 
 " my friend, first prove^ what you here assume^ viz. that the scrip- 
 ture sense of ' eternal life' is synonymous with ' future endless 
 bliss.' " But this he thinks he has already done, by showing an 
 instance in which this phrase is put in apposition with the word 
 heaven. It behooves him, however, to show also that this last 
 term always, or even generally, is used to signify the world of 
 bliss. That it is not, I can establish past dispute ; yea more, 
 I can establish that it does not in this very instance. For 
 it is immediately afterward confounded with the " kingdom of 
 heaven ;" " Verily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven." Now I know of no one 
 instance in which this phrase signifies the future world of bliss ; 
 its invariable reference is to the church, or Xhe gospel dis'pe7i»ation : 
 the same that is likened to " a grain of mustard seed ;" to " leaven 
 which a woman hid in two measures of meal ;" to " ten virgins ;" 
 and numerous other things. This kingdom is a purely spiritual 
 
 Vol. I.— m 2 
 
138 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 institution ; it " cometh not," saith the saviour, " with observa- 
 tion, the kingdom of heaven is within you :" and Paul says it 
 consists of " righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy 
 spirit." (Rom. xiv. 15.) It was truly difficult in Christ's day for 
 a rich man to become a subject of this kingdom ; opposed as 
 were its unpretending and self-denying principles, to the pomp, 
 and glitter, and ostentation of the world ; and embracing only, as 
 ■was then the case, a few unlearned, untitled, and obscure fisher- 
 men, as its denizens. Even many years subsequent to Christ's 
 time, an apostle had occasion to say : "Not many wise men after 
 the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called." (1 Cor. 
 i. 26.)* How hardly, then, would a rich man resist the blan- 
 dishments of the proud world, and become a follower of the 
 humble Nazarene ! " It is easier," said Christ, " for a camel to 
 go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into 
 the kingdom of God." (Mat. xix. 24.) This led the disciples in 
 apparent surprise to inquire, " Who then can be saved 1" The 
 answer given is strangely at variance with the doctrine of salva- 
 tion by human agency : " With men this is impossible, but with 
 God all things are possible." What is this but virtually saying 
 that our salvation is not by any means of ourselves 1 that it is 
 something over which we have no control 1 — and which, therefore, 
 cannot, in the nature of things, be conditional ; but must come 
 solely from God, who alone can secure it to us 1 And the same 
 thing is elsewhere repeatedly affirmed. " By grace are ye saved 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of God : 
 not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephe. ii. 8.) Which 
 indeed is avowedly the doctrine of all protestant Christendom, 
 and has been maintained also by some eminent lights in the Ro- 
 mish church, more especially by St. Augustine : and yet, with 
 singular inconsistency, they mostly deny in fact, what they so 
 clearly avow in terms ! 
 
 The disciples next inquire (for I wish here to meet all the ap- 
 parent difficulties of this passage) what they should receive, 
 who had forsaken all and followed him : he answers them, " When 
 the son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also 
 
 * The Countess of Huntingdon (a rigid calvinist) used to say, that her hope of sal- 
 vation would be cut off by this text but for the presence of one letter ! But for that 
 Messed letter m it would read, Not any noble are called. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. I. 139^ 
 
 shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 
 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, 
 or faiher, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my name 
 sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting 
 life." I know well the strength of educational prejudices ; and I 
 also know that these prejudices incline us to apply this language 
 to a world beyond the grave ; but let us scrutinize it carefully : 
 Are the apostles to sit on thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of 
 Israel, in a future world ? Is it in a future world that the Son of 
 man shall sit on the throne of his glory 1 On the contrary, we 
 have his own repeated assurance that this took place at the con- 
 clusion of the Jewish, and opening of the gospel aion or age: 
 expressly, and repeatedly, is it said by the saviour, when speak- 
 ing of this very event, " Verily, I say unto you, there be some 
 standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the son 
 of man coming in his kingdom." (Mat. xxi. 28. Mark viii. 38. xiii. 
 26. Luke. ix. 27.) What was the precise idea meant to be conveyed 
 by the expression, " ye shall sit on thrones, judging the twelve 
 tribes of Israel," I pretend not to decide; certainly, however, it 
 is not to be understood literally ; and that the disciples themselves 
 understood it to relate to things of time is manifest : on the very 
 night before his crucifixion they were contending as to which of 
 them should occupy the chief places in his kingdom ; and when 
 at length the reign of Christ commenced, we ind them constantly, 
 in their preaching and writing, alluding to this divine dispensation 
 under the title of " the kingdom," (Acts viii. 12. xx. 25. xxviii. 
 39.) and as having a present existence, " who hath delivered us 
 from the power of darkness, and HATH TRANSLATED US 
 into the kingdom of his dear son." (Col. i. 13. 1 Thes. ii. 12.) 
 This is " the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and saviour Jesus 
 Christ," on which my opponent dwelt so emphatically, and which 
 he sagely supposes cannot exist in time because of its being 
 termed everlasting ! Pity for him that he should have read his 
 bible to so little purpose ! For as the kingdom of Christ, if Paul 
 may be credited, it cannot exist in eternity : he informs us that at 
 the close of terrestrial things, or at the era of the general resurrec- 
 tion, Christ " shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even 
 the Father : when he shall have put down all rule, and all author- 
 ity, and power : for he must reign till he hath put all enemies un- 
 
140 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 der his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 
 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall THE 
 SON HIMSELF ALSO be subject unto him that put all things 
 under him, that God may be all in all." (1 Cor. xv. 24 — ^28.) My 
 opponent's supposition then, you perceive, that the everlasting 
 kingdom of Christ is in eternity, is quite wide of the fact. 
 
 I have already shown that everlasting life is enjoyed in this state 
 of existence; let me put this interesting point beyond all cavil: 
 Christ himself says, " He that heareth my word, and believeth on 
 him that sent me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE ;" (John 
 V. 24.) he repeats the same, (John vi. 47.) he als« defines this 
 life ; " This IS life eternal, that men may know thee the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." (John xvii. 2.) 
 So soon then as this knowledge is possessed is the eternal life con- 
 sequent thereof enjoyed. The apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, 
 says, "Being made free from sin, and become servants of God, 
 Ye have your fruits unto holiness, and the end (or consequence) 
 everlasting life." (Rom. vi. 22.) By supplying in the closing 
 clause of this text what grammarians call the ellipsis, or the 
 omitted words, it would read " and ye have ihe end (or conse- 
 quence) which is everlasting fife." John says, " No murderer 
 hath eternal life abiding in him." (1 John iii. 15.) These instan- 
 ces will suffice to settle the fact beyond controversy, that the 
 phrases, " eternal life," and " everlasting life," are often used in 
 reference to present gospel enjoyment. I,.however, do not thence 
 infer that they never point to the immortal existence of the future 
 state : still I cannot positively say that they ever have such 
 reference; but from the nature of this life, we cannot doubt that 
 it is the same that is enjoyed by all pure intelligences in every 
 department of Being. 
 
 But few words are necessary, methinks, in disposing of my 
 friend's now only remaining scriptural argument; I allude to the 
 passage concerning the narrow, and the broad roads: the one 
 leading to life, the other to destruction ; the one but sparsely, the 
 other very populously occupied. And does my friend seriously 
 deem that these represent the highways to bliss and woe unend- 
 ing? Is it the fact that the path to final happiness is so narrow, 
 and difficult of access, that but few are so fortunate as to find it; 
 while on the other hand, the numerous travellers to endless ruin 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. I. 141 
 
 are accommodated with a broad, M'Adamized road 1 How 
 strangely in connection with this circumstance sounds the decla- 
 ration, " The Lord hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked, 
 but rather that all should turn unto him and live !" If I could 
 adopt my opponent's view of this subject, I would abandon all pre- 
 tensions to a belief in the infinite goodness of God, or in his alleged 
 disposition to save the human family ; and I should be at an utter 
 loss how to discriminate between an all-benevolent deity, and 
 an all-malignant devil ! The meaning of the passage is briefly 
 as follows : Christ confined his personal ministry to the Jews, 
 but such was the bigotry, and so many and unyielding the preju- 
 dices of that people, that but few, and they with great difficulty, 
 could be persuaded to become the subjects of his kingdom; 
 much the major part persisted in rejecting him ; they would not 
 come unto him that they might have life : and, as a consequence, 
 they were involved in the destruction which^, ensued when their 
 city and temple were desolated by the Roman army : the few 
 among the Jews who did by faith in the saviour enter into life 
 are designated by Paul, " a remnant according to the election of 
 grace." (Rom. xi. 8.) Christ saith in the text, "many, I say 
 unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able :" and ia 
 agreement with this, the afore-mentioned apostle says, " What 
 then 1 Israel hath not obtained that which he seeJceth after ,• but the 
 election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." (ibid. 7.) 
 Thus endeth ihe examination of the texts relied on in the affirma- 
 tive of this argument : let us now glance at some additional con- 
 siderations on the negative side. 
 
 1st. — Supposing a future salvation conditional, what are the 
 conditions'? Is faith one 7 If so, forty-nine fiftieths of the past 
 generations of man are already damned to all eternity, for they did 
 not, in this life, and could not, believe in the saviour ! Moreover, 
 it is certain that the disciples of Christ had no will in the matter 
 of their belief; it was forced upon them by sensible evidence : 
 for years they remained ignorant of the true character of their 
 master, notwithstanding that they had the advantage of his teach- 
 ing and miracles, and when at length they became convinced on 
 this head, that conviction was forced upon them by evidence 
 which they could not resist. Thomas, in particular, declared, 
 " Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put 
 
142 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his 
 side, 1 will not believe.''^ (John xx. 26.) There can surely be no 
 merit in an act in which we are passive ,• equally so as in the act 
 of respiration : and that such is the case in the business of belief 
 in general, that it is not a matter of volition, is as susceptible of 
 demonstration as is any moral axiom whatever. 
 
 2nd. — Let us suppose perfect holiness one of the conditions j 
 " without which no man can see the Lord :" (Heb. xii. 14.) 
 where now shall we find one who comes up to this mark 1 Paul 
 acknowledges that he had not, (Phil. iii. 15.) and Solomon says 
 *' There is not a just man on the earth that doeth good and sinneth 
 not." (Eccle. vii. 20.) How small then is the chance of salvation 
 beyond death to any, if it depend on the attainment of true holi- 
 ness here ! My opponent himself will confess, first, that with the 
 taint of sin upon his soul he cannot enjoy the felicity of heaven, 
 and second, that he will never in this world be free from that 
 taint. What remains then ? Ergo. Except changed after 
 death he must be endlessly damned ! I would not willingly give 
 head-room to a doctrine which closed all chance of future bliss 
 even against myself. 
 
 3rd. — If neither faith nor holiness, separately, is sufficient as a 
 term of admission to heaven, but the union of both is required, it 
 then follows, that with the highest degree of perfection attainable 
 by man, an individual may yet be endlessly lost, if he have the 
 misfortune to be ignorant of gospel truth ! And then too, what 
 becomes of another item in the same creed, viz. that, in a future 
 world, every man will be rewarded according to his works 1 
 
 Thus on every hand we meet insuperable difficulties in the 
 way of a future conditional salvation, whilst on the other side I 
 know of none that may not be easily obviated : many are startled, 
 it is true, at the idea, that even the deepest guilt into which a man 
 may plunge himself, will not utterly sink him beneath the reach 
 of divine grace, and shut the gates of future bliss against his soul : 
 but let such reflect that even according to their own belief, the 
 worst of sinners experience a free pardon upon repentance in this 
 life, and that here or hereafter God's mercy is the same — his love 
 to his creatures the same — the power of his grace, and the benev- 
 olent objects of his government the same ; or all that we are told 
 of the immutability of his nature must go for nothing. That the 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. I. 143 
 
 mere depth of human guilt will prove no barrier against the effi- 
 cacious operations of divine grace, is obvious from his promises, 
 " though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as vi^hite as snow ; 
 and though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." 
 (Isaiah i. 18.) It is a most pitiful puerility to object that promises 
 of this nature only indicate the divine dispositions toward man in 
 iime, for that implies that in eternity these dispositions will have 
 changed ; and that the reformation of sinful intelligences will have 
 ceased to be an object with God ! which are most gross ab- 
 surdities. 
 
 My opponent alleges that ours is the doctrine alluded to by 
 Ezekiel, which " strengtheneth the hands of the wicked by 
 promising him life ;" and thereby " makes the hearts of the 
 righteous sad." If the righteous are made sad by being told that 
 all sin, and misery, and death, and disorder, shall eventually come 
 to a period — that the infinite purity and felicity will be transfused 
 into all conscient existence — that God's promises will be verified, 
 his will accomplished — the ends of Christ's death consummated, 
 and their own prayers answered ; if this, I say, is saddening to 
 righteous hearts, I can only say it is pity for them, and that I 
 most fervently pray to be delivered from a heart of the kind ! 
 But is it true that we strengthen the hands of the wicked 1 Do 
 we promise him life in his wickedness 1 Nothing can be farther 
 from truth than an affirmative answer to these questions. We 
 insist that death — certain — present death— death constituted of 
 remorse, misery, degradation, and every kind of mental (and 
 often bodily) suffering, shall be the harvest of the sinner in pro- 
 portion to what he sows. It were an easy thing to retort the 
 charge upon the doctrine of my opponent, and to show that it 
 promises absolute impunity to crime ; however deep, and long- 
 continued, provided that it be but repented of this side the grave ! 
 But as I have been already diffuse in my reply, I will not dwell 
 upon this manifest advantage in favour of my theory. 
 
 I could say much relative to the restraining effects of his doctrine 
 of post-mortem rewards and punishments : I might point to coun- 
 tries in which this belief is universal, (such is the case in Ma- 
 homedan and Pagan lands,) and consider the moral and religious 
 condition of those countries : I might point to ages past when no 
 voice was lifted, nor allowed to be lifted, against this tenet, and 
 
144 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 expose the degradation and infamy of those ages; but let this 
 pass, it will suffice to remark that in our own age and country, at 
 least nineteen twentieths of the criminal offences committed, are 
 by persons who believe and have been educated in that doctrine : 
 when these dark and mystic fables, shall have given place to 
 manlier and more scriptural views of God's character and govern- 
 ment, there is every reason to think that the tone of moral feeling 
 will be more pure and elevated. 
 
 In the conclusion, then, let me earnestly entreat you, my 
 friends, to lay every selfish and party consideration aside, and 
 search diligently for truth; let no croaking menaces, dictated by 
 craft, and in all times resorted to for their effect upon weak minds, 
 discourage you from the pursuit, or repress your efforts for mental 
 emancipation. Heed not my opponent's counsel by praying 
 to be guarded against this or that belief: you cannot certainly 
 know which, or whether either, is correct ; it would therefore be a 
 mockery of God to offer up a prayer of the kind ; it would be 
 virtually asking him to keep you in your present faith right or 
 wrong ! This is the essence of bigotry. Rather pray to have 
 your minds disenthralled from prejudice — to have its educational 
 mists dissipated, and to be guarded against the influence of self- 
 ish or party considerations in the search for truth. You may be 
 told that this or that doctrine is not safe ,• treat such suggestions 
 with the contempt they merit ; they have been used by every cor- 
 rupt party, whether in politics or religion, in order to repress exer- 
 tions toward reform : Not safe, is the monarchist's watchword of 
 alarm against a change in government ; the same is echoed by the 
 Papist against reform in religion ; and it is reiterated by the ad- 
 vocates of an endless hell, against an advance in divine knowl- 
 edge : this watchword has, to some extent, accomplished its 
 intended ends, but it is becoming trite, and is losing its power. 
 Truth is safe, whatever that truth is ; and its pursuit is safe, for 
 should we even fail of the end we cannot but get the nearer to it 
 for our exertions, and fail, if fail we must, with thousands of the 
 noblest and purest of mankind who have failed before us. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. II. 145 
 
 POPULAR DEBATE,— No. II. 
 
 UNIVERSALISM REDUCED TO AN ABSURDITY. 
 
 In a popular attempt to refute this daring heresy, I deem it not 
 only perfectly allowable, but also the most proper and successful 
 mode, to point out its absurd nature and consequences ; or in other 
 words, to use the method of argumentation termed by logicians 
 the reductio ad absurdum. I shall adopt this course on the present 
 «)ccasion, and, therefore, I ask in advance that my auditors will 
 pardon, for the motive's sake, such of my remarks as may seem 
 to border on levity. I hold it to be self-evident, that a doctrine 
 which is fairly reducible to absurdity, must be false. 
 
 1st. — What can we possibly gain by adopting the universalist 
 faith ] It is not pretended that we shall thereby render out future 
 salvation more secure ; admitting its truth, we shall all share its 
 benefits in another life, whether we have believed in it or not. Per- 
 haps we may be told, that to be possessed of this faith will add to 
 o\iT present happiness ; but this cannot be granted. I am as happy 
 in my belief at the present as though I were a universalist, and 
 I know not but happier. There is then nothing to be gained by 
 the adoption of this faith, if even true ,• and if it be false ! dread- 
 ful ! dreadful will be the issue to those who are deluded by it ! 
 
 2nd. — Universalists manifest a marvelous faculty in believing 
 the promises of God ; but tell them of his tkreatenings, and you 
 will find them nowise disposed to credit them. Oh no, " God is 
 too good to punish men ; it cannot be that he means what he says 
 in this matter." All which, to be sure, is in strict accordance with 
 the carnal heart. If a father promise his son an apple, or any 
 other present, the little urchin will take good care to jog his mem- 
 ory about it ; but if a beating be promised he will soon contrive 
 to forget that, and flatter himself his father will forget it too. So 
 it is exactly with universalists in regard to the deity ! 
 
 3rd. — No doctrine could be hit upon more consoling or con- 
 venient to wicked men ,- for the bible tells them thejr " shall not 
 live out half their days;" and this system says to them, " Never 
 mind it, sinners ; you shall go immediately to heaven." There 
 
 Vol. I.— N No. 7. 
 
146 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 is a decided advantage accruing from sin according to this teach- 
 ing ; for if sin shortens men's days, it only takes them the sooner 
 to heaven ! The antediluvians, for instance, w^ere, on account of 
 their abominable crimes, swept away to glory by the waters of 
 the flood ! whilst poor old Noah, for his piety, was doomed to 
 linger for years in this vale of sorrow ! The same was the case 
 with the Sodomites, Egyptians, Assyrians, etc. who provoked 
 the wrath of God to kill them, and take them home to a world of 
 bliss ! A fine doctrine, this. 
 
 4th. — How would you like, my brethren, to sit down in the 
 kingdom of God with murderers, adulterers, thieves, and every 
 description of wicked persons ; the rag.) tag and bob-tail of man- 
 kind I This will surely be the case, if universalism be true ! 
 All the moral classifications of human society will be merged 
 in one motley and conglomerated mass ! If heaven is to be graced 
 with this kind of neighborhood, I can only say, " my soul, 
 come not thou into their secret ; and to their assembly, mine 
 honor, be not thou united !" Those who wish for such a heaven 
 may have it to themselves for me. 
 
 5th. — This doctrine furnishes not an apology merely, hut even a 
 motive for suicide. Who would bear the ills of life, its disap- 
 pointments, sorrows, pains, bereavements, &c. if at any moment 
 he pleased, he could leave it for a better 1 Surely universalists 
 are fools to buflfet with the storms of time, when if they chose it 
 they might at once push home their bark into a peaceful eternity ! 
 If I were of this belief, I would look about me for the easiest 
 mode of translation to glory, and would put an instant period to 
 this troublesome existence by drowning, or hanging, or shooting, 
 or poisoning ; for according to universalism, these are all but 
 convenient instruments of removal from earth to heaven ! 
 
 6th. — It furnishes a motive to murder also. I should certainly 
 think it right, if I were of this faith, when I saw my friends in 
 affliction or embarrassment, to despatch them in the easiest man- 
 ner I could, and thus put an end to their misery. Who could 
 blame me, when my motive was so good 1 
 
 7th. — Universalists tell us that all the punishment due to sin is 
 inflicted in this life. Let me suppose a case. An individual 
 spends his whole life in the most atrocious crimes ; from bad to 
 worse he goes, and goes with accumulated speed, down the steep 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. II. 147 
 
 declivity of guilt, until his very existence becomes an intolerable 
 burthen to him, and he terminates it at length by suicide. Where 
 does he receive his punishment for the act of self-destruction 1 
 can any one inform me ? 
 
 8th. — But if sinners are punished in this world, the Psalmist was 
 mistaken ; for the prosperous state of wicked men excited his en- 
 vy ; he saw that " they are not in trouble as other men, neither are 
 they plagued like other men ;" that " their eyes stand out with 
 fatness, they have more than heart can wish :" and '• they even 
 have no bands in their rfm/A." " Behold !" he exclaims, " these 
 are the ungodly who prosper in the world : they increase in rich- 
 es." Now all this is quite another tune from that which univer- 
 salism plays us ! which of the twain shall we accredit] Both we 
 cannot. 
 
 Suppose, my auditors, that we take a peep into an universalian 
 futurity : Strange scenes present themselves to our view ! I see 
 there together, in happy and peaceful fellowship, the slanderer 
 and the slandered — the assassin and his victims — the tyrant, and 
 those who on earth groaned beneath his yoke — the seducer of 
 innocence, and she whom, with a broken heart and a ruined rep- 
 utation, he sent to a premature grave — the murdered son of God, 
 and those who mocked him in his dying agony ; all, in promis- 
 cuous, and indiscriminate companionship, together ! I wonder 
 how long it will be ere those glorified villains will fall back into 
 their old habits ! And, by the way, I am here reminded of a 
 question put to a universalist by his own child, which had the 
 effect of opening his eyes to the ridiculous and delusive character 
 of this heresy. The little boy had been reading the story of " The 
 Babes in the Wood ;" with the inquisitiveness natural to youth he 
 inquired, " Father, where did those babes go to after they wexe 
 murdered V "To heaven, of course," replied the parent. "And 
 where did the wicked men go to who murdered them V " Why, 
 I suppose,'* the father stammeringly replied, " that they went to 
 heaven too." " But wont they murder the poor children again ?" 
 the boy once more inquired : and to this question the father could 
 render no reply; it proved a means, with God's blessing, of 
 awakening him to the awfully insecure nature of the universalian 
 system. 
 
148 PRO AND CON OF UNIVER3AL1SM. 
 
 REPLY TO THE ABOVE. 
 
 The opponents of our faith are welcome to select against i§ 
 whatever weapon they may deem most effectual : if they are 
 able, without a distortion of its features, to exhibit it in a ridicu- 
 lous light, we will not complain ; for we think (as my opponent 
 has said) that a doctrine must be false which can fairly be redu- 
 ced to an absurdity. It may, however, turn out, ere we are done, 
 that my opponent will attain an experimental persuasion of the 
 truth of the proverb, that " people who live in glass houses 
 should not throw stones." 
 
 First, we are asked, what is to be gained by the adoption of the 
 universalist belief? It might as well be asked what is to be gain- 
 ed by believing in the Copernican, rather than in the Ptolemaic 
 system of astronomy 1 or in the true view of any science rather 
 than in the false ] What is to be gained ! so much that hours 
 would scarcely suffice for telling ; yet it may be comprehended in 
 the declaration, that all is to be gained that is implied in being 
 translated out of superstitious darkness into divine light. That 
 it will make our after-death felicity no more certain, is granted ; 
 and my opponent must also grant that the same is the case with 
 literary, scientific, or any other kind of knowledge : but will he 
 therefore say that they are useless ? Such, at least, is the logical 
 deduction from his argument ! But he informs us that he is as 
 happy, during the present, in his belief, as he could be in mine. 
 Perhaps so. What is his belief] It is no less than this : that 
 untold millions of human beings, among whom may be his 
 own father and mother, wife and children, and possibly himself, 
 shall groan forever beneath the wrath of God J Is he as happy 
 in this persuasion, as if he confidently trusted that all our race 
 will at last be the subject of unending holiness and felicity in 
 heaven ? I hope, for the honor of his heart, that he did not feel 
 as he spoke when he gave utterance to so monstrous a sentiment ! 
 
 2nd. — He charges us with being more ready to accredit the 
 promises than the threafenings of God. It is sufficient that I deny 
 this charge, and affirm, that we have too good an opinion of the 
 veracity of the divine Being, to suppose, that he has threatened 
 punishments which he will never inflict ; and of his benevolence, to 
 suppose that his inflictions will not consist with the ultimate well 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. II. 149 
 
 being of ihe offender. And if such are the nature and end of the 
 divine retributions, why should we be loth to believe the threaten- 
 ings respecting them ] I truly can see no reason. His simile of 
 the lad and his father does not fairiy illustrate the case : nor is it 
 natural, for a child is as much inclined to believe his parent whea 
 he threatens as when he promises^ provided the threatening be 
 just and reasonable in itself; but if a father should menace his 
 son with the cutting his throat, or dashing out his brains, the son 
 might well not think him serious, except he have previously known 
 him for a brutal tyrant. So it is with universalisis in regard to 
 our Father in heaven ; we believe what he has threatened ; not 
 what my opponent's creed says he has threatened ; we cannot so 
 far outrage his justice and benevolence. 
 
 3rd. — Our doctrine, it seems, " is very consoling to wicked 
 men:^^ well, this circumstance surely does not disprove its iden- 
 tity with the gospel, for that is termed " glad tidings of great joy 
 which shall be unto all people." But my opponent represents it 
 as holding out encouragement to sin, by telling men that the 
 shorter they render their stay on earth by their crimes, the sooner 
 they will get to heaven. Now this objection to universalism 
 rests on the false assumption, that men pass, according to this 
 theory, immediately from earth to heaven. This is a mistake ; 
 we pretend not to know what is the condition of men intermedi- 
 ately to death and the resurrection ; we have the assurance of 
 Christ that the subjects of the resurrection will be " as the angels 
 of God in heaven," " neither do they die any more, but are the 
 children of God, being the children of the resurrection :" (Luke 
 Kx. 36.) and Paul also fully satisfies us that the resurrection state 
 wf mankind will be one of incorruption, immortality, and glory. 
 1 1 Cor. XV.) We then are content with believing within scrip- 
 ture warrant, and affect not to be wise above what is written rela- 
 tive to the future state.* Our opponents, on the contrary, assume, 
 that so soon as men die they have an endless abode assigned them 
 either in heaven or hell, according as they have been righteous or 
 wicked on earth. We shall see now that my friend's objection 
 rebounds against his own dogma. He will admit that Moses and 
 Aaron, because of their disobedience to the divine command in 
 
 ♦ The reader will find inquiries upon this Bubject at some length in a future No. 
 Vol. I.— n 2 
 
150 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 certain cases, were cut off from the earth, and denied the privi- 
 lege of accompanying the host of Israel into the promised land, 
 (Deut. xxxii. 49, 50.) But Moses and Aaron, according to my 
 friend's creed, Avent immediately to heaven, and it thence follows 
 that their disobedience was advantageous to them ; it took them 
 the sooner to heaven ! Moreover, my friend may according to the 
 course of nature have full fifty years yet to live, which is a long 
 time to be kept out of the world of bliss : but suppose he should 
 murder his neighbour to-morrow, and improve (as nearly all mur- 
 derers do) the space between the sentence of death and its execu- 
 tion, by repentance ; his peace with God may soon be effected, 
 and his arrival in the realms of glory will be the earlier for his 
 crime by half a century ! Here is encouragement to crime with 
 a witness ! Universalism tells men that sin will not in any case, 
 can not, go unpunished. Does this encourage them to sin ] No, 
 surely, except they covet punishment : on the other hand, my op- 
 ponent's doctrine tells them " you will not be punished in this 
 life, nor (provided you repent) in another." Of course every 
 villain promises himself that he will repent, and thus secure an 
 immunity from punishment in both worlds. Which now is the 
 theory which holds out inducement to crime? 
 
 4th. — My friend is most morbidly apprehensive, that if our 
 heresy be true he shall not meet in heaven with society as pure and 
 holy as himself! I will essay to quiet his nerves upon this head. 
 True, it is not in my power to tell him (even on his own ground) 
 that he will meet no murderers there, for he expects to meet 
 Moses, David, Paul, and others, against whom ihe crime of mur- 
 der stands recorded in the inspired record, (see Exod. ii. 12. 2 Sam. 
 xi. 15. Acts viii. 1. ix. 1.) Neither can I promise him that heaven 
 will contain no incestuous persons, or drunkards, for he expects to 
 join Noah and Lot there ; the former of whom was guilty of one of 
 these crimes, and the latter of both, (see Gen. ix. 21. ibid. xix. 30 
 —36.) I can tell him too of fornicators, adulterers, thieves, swear- 
 ers, &c., whom he thinks he shall see in heaven, and with whom 
 he thinks he can enjoy good fellowship without moral contamina- 
 tion, (see Hosea i. 2, 3. 2 Sam. xi. 4. Luke xiii. 43. Mat. xvii. 74. 
 &c.) Why then does my opponent urge against our faith an objec- 
 tion which makes equally against his own ? If he cannot consent 
 to enjoy the felicity of that bright world in company with his fel- 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. II. 151 
 
 low sinners, I know of no help for him; for I scarcely think that 
 another heaven will be prepared for the exclusive use of some few 
 Simon pures of his own stamp ! 
 
 He will tell us, perhaps, that the persons who committed the 
 crimes above mentioned, are saved, according to his doctrine, 
 upon the condition of repentance .• well, we also admit that no 
 man can enjoy God except he is first morally qualified for that en- 
 joyment ; he supposes that only a few will attain this qualifica- 
 tion ; we think (and upon sufficient bible warrant too) that all will 
 attain it. The difference between us, therefore, has less respect 
 to the nature of the principle, than to the extent of its applica' 
 Hon. According to his creed nearly all murderers are saved ; it 
 rarely happens that one is led to the gallows, who does not 
 express a confidence of his acceptance with God ; and they are 
 usually accompanied by ministers of the gospel, who expressly 
 sanction this proceeding. Indeed, the situation of the murderer 
 after his sentence, is decidedly more favourable to the great busi- 
 ness of preparation for heaven, than is that of the honest member 
 of society who dies upon his bed ; the former has his faculties in 
 full play, his days are numbered, he almost knows his hour; in 
 the solitude of his cell he is subject to few interruptions ; holy 
 men, and books adapted to aid his devotions, are at his com- 
 mand ; hence it rarely happens that this awful interval is not 
 improved in the manner aforementioned : and it may be asserted 
 with undoubted truth that, according to the creed of endless mis- 
 ery, there are infinitely more murderers saved than of honest men, 
 in proportion to the number of each class ! How does my friend 
 like that result 1 
 
 5th. — Let us now look at the declaration that universalism 
 furnishes a motive to suicide. I have already shown that we do 
 not believe in an immediate translation from earth to heaven ; 
 wherein then consisteth the inducement to self-destruction! Of 
 all people on earth we have the least reason for being dissat- 
 isfied with the present life; for according to our view, all its 
 sorrows, temptations, trials, disappointments, &c., are appointed 
 by infinite love, to exercise us here for our hereafter advantage. 
 If we imagined that an endless hell awaited us when we leave 
 this brief life of tears, and that each crime we committed might 
 sink us the deeper in its fiery surges, it is probable that we 
 
152 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 should become desperate from despair, and rush headlong (like 
 the charmed bird ihat flies within the serpent's reach) into the 
 very ruin we were most concerned to shun. Alas ! how many a 
 tender and amiable being has fallen a victim to this dreadful 
 persuasion ! The benevolent Cowper had nearly been included 
 in the number. But surely the universalist, whose faith dispels 
 these murky clouds from his moral sky, and conducts him in an- 
 ticipation to an universally bright and glorious conclusion of all 
 things, may well be content with, and cheerful under, the dis- 
 pensations of life, however dark at the present those dispensa- 
 tions be. 
 
 6th. — And a motive to murder also ! " Now mark" (as Sir 
 William Draper saith in his letters to Junius,) " how plain a tale 
 shall put him down, and transfuse the blush into his own cheek."" 
 On the ground of pity^ he alleges, he could, consistently with 
 our faith, murder a person laboring under distress and embar- 
 rassment; and despatch him to a better world. But I will 
 show you, my auditors, that agreeably to his own creed, the motive 
 to murder upon this ground, is infinitely greater. He is a father : 
 if he looks with an impartial eye around him he will see, that 
 not more than one in twenty of the human race (even within the 
 limits of Christendom) die in possession of the fitness for heaven 
 which he thinks is alone attainable in this brief existence ; con- 
 sequently the chances of endless damnation against those of salva- 
 tion, in regard to every person who grows to a responsible age, is, 
 at the least, as nineteen to one ! At the same time he believes 
 that all who die in infancy go to heaven. What a motive is here, 
 then, to infanticide ! What parent can think of aiding the pro- 
 gress of his offspring toward maturity in view of this fact ! 
 Nineteen chances in the scale against his soul, to one in his favor » 
 On the ground of revenge also, the motive to murder is great ac- 
 cording to my opponent's creed. An individual entertained against 
 another a most deadly hostility ; he brooded for some time over 
 several plans of mischief toward him, but none seemed sufficient- 
 ly deep to satisfy him. " If even I take his life," thought he, 
 *' he is so good a christian that I shall but be doing him the favor 
 of hastening his exit to eternal happiness." At length he be- 
 thought him of a scheme ; he waylaid his object, got his person 
 fully within his power : " Renounce your God," said he, " or I 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. II. 153 
 
 plunge this dagger to your heart." The poor wretch, listening 
 wholly to his fears, did as he was bidden; he renounced God: 
 whereupon his enemy immediately despatched him, exclaiming 
 " Now I have ruined you body and soul, and am fully avenged." 
 
 7th. — Universalists, it seems, are quite wide of the truth in 
 affirming that sinners are here punished for their sins ! My oppo- 
 nent has found scriptural proof to the contrary ! Well, if this be 
 so we have scripture proof against scripture proof; for the bible 
 saith " the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth, much more 
 the wicked and the sinner." (Prov. xi. 31.) But it is no^ so ; 
 the very authority he quoted is direct against him. (see Psl. Ixxiii.) 
 David, in this Psalm, sets out with the declaration that, " truly God 
 is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart ;" he goes 
 on to say that he had formerly doubted this fact, and had supposed 
 that the wicked were more favored than the righteous ; a merely 
 superficial view of human life had led him to false conclusions in 
 this matter ; and he gave way to discontent, supposing that it was 
 in vain that he had cleansed his hands, and preferred the service 
 of God. But when he went into the sanctuary he was undeceived, 
 he there learned that the prosperity of the wicked is but in ap- 
 pearance ; that it is unstable, liable to sudden reverses : and, 
 moreover, that they " are utterly consumed with terrors," and 
 subject to be visited with swift desolation. He thence confesses 
 that his former complaints were foolish and brutal, and ends with 
 declaring " It is good for me to draw near to God," &c. Now it 
 must be apparent to all who look candidly into this case, that the 
 very sentiment which David confesses to have adopted hastily and 
 in ignorance of the fact, is now put gravely forth by my opponent 
 as an established revealed truth ! I request him to lay his hand up- 
 on his heart and ask himself, " Do I regret that I have chosen the 
 service of God (even if there be no hereafter consequence from it) 
 in preference to the pursuits of sin 1" Let him, I say, put this ques- 
 tion directly to his conscience ; if it render an affirmative answer, 
 its moral state must be such as no true christian can envy : on 
 the other hand, if its response be negative, his doctrine that sin is 
 not here punished, nor virtue rewarded, is refuted by his own 
 experience. 
 
 8th.— We are asked a question in relation to the suicide, which 
 I confess to be as difficult an one as can be propounded against 
 
154 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 our system. Allowing that in a long career of crime he received 
 a due amount of punishment for every offence, where does he re- 
 ceive the penalty for the last act, that of self-destruction ? 1 will 
 endeavor to answer this question : difficult, I acknowledge it, 
 but not insuperable. First, then, I observe that life is a blessing, 
 and when an individual deprives himself of a blessing, he sustains 
 a loss of course, and that loss is a suitable and adequate punish- 
 ment. That life is a blessing, is clearly assumed in the scriptures : 
 length of days is often promised to the righteous, while sinners 
 are menaced with the reverse. If either of you, my auditors, should 
 rashly throw away all your earthly fortune, would not the loss of 
 that fortune be an adequate penalty for your rashness? And 
 Secondly, I observe, that ere a person can consent to part with life 
 by his own act, he must have previously undergone the very extrem- 
 ity of mental suffering ; for so deeply seated a sentiment is the love 
 of life in the human bosom, that it is rarely eradicated whilst 
 reason retains its empire. Dreary indeed must be the state of 
 that heart, to which the cold grave becomes a welcome refuge 
 from existence ! Self-murder is, indeed, often in itself the penalty 
 of a life of crime : the wretch who becomes his own executioner 
 is frequently driven thereto by the numerous and complex evils 
 which his guilt has brought down upon his head. But more 
 often, it is to be feared, does suicide result from mental misfor- 
 tunes for which the subject is nowise responsible. 
 
 Lastly, we come to the peep into our universalian futurity, with 
 which it pleased my opponent to indulge us. " There," quoth 
 he, " are the murderer and his victims — the seduced and the se- 
 ducer — the tyrant, and his slaves — the crucified son of God, and 
 those who mocked him in his dying agonies." Well ; better 
 thus, I trow, than to have this state of things reversed ; Jesus 
 prayed for his murderers : will it shock his benevolent soul to 
 find his dying prayer answered in their forgiveness ? The mar- 
 tyred Stephen supplicated that the bloody deed of those who 
 stoned him should not be laid to their charge. Will it grieve him 
 to meet them in a world of universal peace and reconciliation 1 
 Paul was one of them, and him, at least, even by my opponent's 
 admission, Stephen will sit down in fellowship with. 
 
 Pardon me, my friends, if I so far trifle with this subject, as 
 to- notice the smart little master's question ralative to the " Bahcs 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. II. 155 
 
 in the Wood;'''' by which, it seems, his naughty universalist papa 
 ■was converted to the comforting belief of an endless hell ! I 
 shrewdly suspect, however, that this is but apous hoax^ of the trad 
 family : we will look at it nevertheless. Saul, (afterward called 
 Paul), persecuted the saints. My friend will admit that these 
 saints went to heaven, and that Paul went there too : will he not 
 persecute them again % Where did Uriah go to after his murder? 
 My friend will probably say " to heaven." And when David 
 died, where went he ] " He went to heaven also." But will he 
 not murder Uriah again ? And will not Lot get drunk, and com- 
 mit incest again in that world ? And Peter repeat the denial of 
 his Lord ? &c. &c. A puerile argument this, you perceive ; but 
 my opponent deemed it worthy of serious consideration in favor 
 of his dogma of endless suffering, and it is full worthy of that 
 cause. 
 
 We may now, I presume, without sacrilege, peep into the futu- 
 rity of my opponent. Alackaday ! we shall see a spectacle of 
 spectacles ! Parents, children, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, 
 neighbors, friends, severed for eternity ; some singing in heaven, 
 some screaming in hell ! , There are in the realms of bliss many 
 miscreants, as red with blood as murder could make them; who 
 cancelled their crimes by a brief term of repentance before death; 
 and they now see far down in the deeps of eternal suffering beneath 
 them, many of the unhappy victims whom they were the instru- 
 ments in sending thither with their sins upon their heads ! 
 
 There, among the blest, is Zedekiah, who caused the streets of 
 Jerusalem to flow with blood — there Charles V. of Spain, who 
 drenched nearly the whole eastern continent in gore — Lewis XL 
 who boasted that he had slaughtered more than 200,000 heretics — 
 St. Dominic, who founded the Inquisition — Peter the hermit, M^ho 
 instigated the crusades — the bloody Mary of England, and nu- 
 merous other sainted miscreants, whose names come down to us 
 loaded with the execrations of mankind : but who, nevertheless, 
 are supposed to have died " in the odour of sanctity :" how many 
 of the victims of their cruelty are groaning amongst the damned it 
 is not in human power to estimate !* My friend supposes it a hor- 
 
 * 1 took uj) a paper a few weeks since, containing the sentence and accompanying 
 address of a judge to a criminal, doomed to execution for the murder of his brother's 
 Wife. "You," tiaid the judge, (in substance, I pretend not to give his words,) " will 
 
156 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 lid result of our faith, that the seducer of innocence should be 
 found at last in heaven, in company with her whom he had sent 
 with a broken heart and ruined reputation to an untimely grave. 
 Alas ! if this consequence shocks him, what must he think of his 
 own dogma ] according to which the ruined and broken hearted 
 girl may have been driven, not to a premature and ignominious 
 grave merely, but to an unending abode in hell ! And the 
 wretch who brought down upon her this temporal and eternal 
 blight, may by timely penitence, have secured for himself an abode 
 among the blest! What, too, must he think of a doctrine which 
 peoples heaven with parents bereaved for ever of their children, 
 and children of their parents, which sunders for eternity those 
 sacred ties by which the God of nature has bound human beings 
 together ; and which have for their prototype the relation which he 
 himself bears to every sentient creature of his power? Which, 
 I would ask him, is the more cheering and consistent view to in- 
 dulge relative to futurity ; that which implies a frustration of 
 God's designs in creation, and that men will possess in eternity 
 the dispositions and qualities which characterise them here ; or 
 that all the plans and purposes of Jehovah respecting our race 
 shall be fully consummated ; and all mankind, saved from sin- 
 reconciled to God and each other — assimilated to the divine 
 nature, shall attain to that glory and felicity which is the end of 
 their creation ] Let conscience and common sense candidly an- 
 swer this question, ere an attempt is made to ridicule an univer- 
 salian futurity. Thus endeth my reply. 
 
 have opportunity for making your peace with God, and will receive every aid in this 
 business which it is in the power of the reverend clergymen to give you. Not such 
 was the case with the unhappy woman whom you murdered ; she was hurried to the 
 bar of heaven with all her sins upon her soul." Here then is a case in point : the un- 
 fortunate sister-in-law is to wail with the lost, and to behold her murderer rejoicing whh 
 the saved ! Wm. Gibbs, the pirate who was hung some years since at New-York, con- 
 fessed that he had been accessory to the murder of 400 persons: these were murdered 
 on the high seas, or upon our coasts : all acquainted with this class of persons know 
 that they are usually not over-burthened with a concern about the future ; it would 
 therefore be speaking within boimds to say, that 350out of the 400, were sent to eterni- 
 ty in impenitence, and duomed ui an endless hell of course. The pirate, on the contra- 
 ry, had space allowed him for repentance ; was attended upon by his priests, &c. (he 
 w;ia a catholic) and when led out to execution he expressed himself as if assured 
 of forgiveness and a happy futurity. Fancy him now in heaven, looking down 
 upon aso of his victims in hell ! 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 157 
 
 POPULAR DEBATE.— No. III. 
 
 RELATIVE TO THE CLOSING PARAGRAPH OF MATTHEW XXV. 
 
 UNIVERSALIAN VIEWS OF SAID PASSAGE. 
 
 I feel, my auditors, the magnitude of the task I have undertaken 
 rektive to the subject before us : it is two-fold in its nature ; first, 
 *.o uproot from your minds prepossessions of long standing, and 
 associated with your earliest remembrances : and secondly, to in- 
 troduce and impress in their stead ideas entirely novel to you, and 
 in contrariety to those entertained by full fifteen sixteenths of all 
 Christendom. Nevertheless, as I have in my own mind the ut- 
 most assurance of the truth of my views, and as I know the docu- 
 ments by which I am to sustain them to be clear and unequivo- 
 cal, I enter upon the undertaking without the smallest solicitude as 
 to the result ; requesting only that you will listen to, and weigh 
 with impartial attention, all that shall be adduced on both sides. 
 As my friend of the opposite faith is to follow in a review of my 
 arguments, I shall not anticipate many of his objections ; but 
 will attend to them, as they come from himself, in my rejoinder. 
 " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
 angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : 
 And before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall sepa- 
 rate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from 
 the goats : And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the 
 goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his 
 light hand. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
 prepared for you from the foundation of the world : For I was a 
 hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me 
 drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye 
 clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and 
 ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, 
 Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and 
 gave thee drink ? When saw we tKee a stranger, and took thee 
 inf or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or 
 in prison, and came unto thee ? And the King shall answer and 
 
 Vol. L— O 
 
158 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have dons 
 it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto 
 me. Then shall he say also unto them on his left hand, Depart 
 from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
 his angels : For I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I 
 was thirsty and ye gave me no drink : I was a stranger, and ye 
 took me not in : naked, and ye clothed me not : sick, and in 
 prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, 
 saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a 
 stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto 
 thee 1 Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily, I say unto 
 you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did 
 it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punish- 
 ment ; but the righteous into life eternal." (Mat. xxv. 31 — 46.) 
 1st. — I observe that there is no mention in the text of a refer- 
 ence to the future world ; no intimation that the events it describes 
 are to transpire subsequent to the resurrection ; all this rests on 
 the mere assumption of our opponents. On the contrary, the 
 passage bears evidence on its face that its true and intended ap- 
 plication is to things of time .* this is what I propose to make 
 apparent, in opposition to the generally received opinion, that it 
 describes a judgment in eternity. Mark well the reading of the 
 passage : " And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he 
 shall separate them one from another." Separate whom 1 Every 
 grammarian knows that nations is the antecedent to the pronoup 
 the7n in this place ; nations, then, are what are to be judged, 
 and separated, at the time to which the text looks forward : this 
 is a different thing entirely from the sort of judgment to which it 
 is commonly applied ; for that supposes that all the human family 
 will be parcelled out, according to moral classification, and 
 severed individually from one another : husband from wife, pa- 
 rent from child, &c. but nothing of the kind is intimated here. 
 Are our opponents willing to abide a literal application of the text 
 to a judgment in eternity] If so, we shall have the different 
 nations of mankind severed from each other; and whilst some, en 
 masie, are taken to heaven, others will be driven to hell ! Surely 
 they will not admit this as true ; and yet on their own plan of 
 exposition it most assuredly is, according to the grammatical im- 
 port of the language. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 159 
 
 2nd. If this text describes an after-death judgment, it is plain 
 
 that salvation will be awarded strictly on the ground of works \ 
 and this is contrary to the plain teaching of the bible, and to the 
 avowed doctrine of every protestant church ! " For I was an 
 hungered, and ye gave me meat:" &c. No mention made of 
 faith, repentance, regeneration, or any other generally admitted 
 prerequisite to salvation. 
 
 3d. — These features (not to mention others) of the text, de- 
 mand for it an exposition different from that which is usually 
 given ; this I shall in all simplicity attempt. Observe then, that 
 the subject matter of it is, the coming of Christ in glory — accom- 
 panied by angels — the gathering of all nations — and the rewarding 
 them according to their works. Suppose now that it can be shown, 
 that these events were to transpire within a third of a century 
 from the lime of Christ's ascension : will not the popular views 
 concerning it be at once refuted ? Well, this is precisely what I 
 propose to do. 
 
 4th.— See first, verses 30, 31, of the preceding chapter: 
 *' And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; 
 and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall 
 see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power 
 and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great 
 sound o(^ tt tiuiiipet, and they shall gailier together his elect 
 from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Can 
 it be denied that this is the identical coming noticed in my text? 
 Mark well, then, the verses immediately succeeding, "Now 
 learn a parable of the fig-tree, When his branch is yet tender, and 
 puttelh forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh : So likewise 
 ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at 
 the doors. Verily I say unto you. This generation shall not pass, 
 till all these things be fulfilled." Here you have the time fixed 
 by the solemn asseveration of Christ himself. And that you may 
 be assured that this parallelism is not solitary, nor accidental, 
 I will introduce Mark and Luke to the same point; in Mark 
 xiii. 26—30, it reads as follows: "And then they shall see 
 the Son of man coming in the clouds, with great power and 
 glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather to- 
 gether his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the 
 earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now, learn a parable of 
 
160 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 the fig-tree ; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth 
 leaves, ye know that summer is near : So ye, in like manner, 
 when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, 
 even at the doors. Verily 1 say unto you. That this generation 
 shall not pass, till all these things be done." In Luke, chapter 
 xxi. 28 — 32, the same is expressed in nearly the same terms : 
 *' And when these things begin to come to pass, then look 
 up, and lift up your heads ; for your redemption draweth 
 nigh. And he spake to them a parable ; Behold the fig-tree, and 
 all the trees ; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of 
 yourselves that summer is nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when 
 ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of 
 God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you. This generation shall 
 not pass away till all be fulfilled." Here are three distinct tes- 
 timonies to the fact that the coming of Christ to judge the nations, 
 was to take place within the then existing generation. Christ 
 even proceeds to caution his disciples how to regulate their con- 
 duct with reference to that event; that it might not come upon 
 them by surprise ; which clearly implies that they should live to 
 witness it. " And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your 
 hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares 
 of this life, and so that day come on you unawares. For as a 
 snare shall it come on ail ihem that dvvpU on the face of the 
 whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may 
 be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to 
 pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke xxi. 34 — 6.) 
 It would at once astonish and amuse you, my auditors, to know 
 how erudite commentators have strained their learning and inge- 
 nuity in order to reconcile these passages with their pre-conceived 
 opinion, that the coming of Christ is to ensue at the end of tin*. 
 Dr. Clarke even carries his efforts at evasion so far as to affirm, 
 that by " this generation," Christ may have meant that race of 
 people, viz., the Jews : that they should not become extinct as a 
 nation before he should come to judge the world ! But this is 
 pitiful, yea contemptible : for — 
 
 5th. — The same evangelists have recorded another declaration 
 of Christ to the same effect, and in phraseology which will not 
 bear such an interpretation ; and, besides, the contexts of the dif- 
 ferent passages already quoted make it clearly manifest, that th© 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 161 
 
 word generation was used by the Saviour to denote, the people of 
 that age. *' For these,'''' said he, " be the days of vengeance, that 
 all things that are written may be fulfilled :" (Luke xxi. 22.) 
 again, at the close of his description of Jerusalem's overthrow, 
 he proceeds to tell that his coming shall be " immediately after 
 the tribulation of those days;" (Mat. xxv. 29.) and in Mark xiii, 
 the same is repeated in another form, " But in those days, after 
 that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall 
 not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the pow- 
 ers that are in heaven shall be shaken : and then they shall see the 
 son of man coming in the clouds of heaven :" &c. (24 — 26.) 
 and his caution to his disciples immediately follows, implying, as 
 before remarked, that his coming was to take place in their day, 
 for they are told to look for their Lord ; " lest coming suddenly he 
 find yoa sleeping." (36.) And yet grave and erudite biblical 
 critics inform us, that (although eighteen centuries are since 
 elapsed) this event is yet to transpire ! But we will look at 
 other scriptural testimonies. 
 
 See, first, Mat. xvi. "For the Son of man shall come in the 
 glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward 
 every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There 
 be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see 
 the Son of man coming in his kingdom." (27, 28.) What think 
 you now ? Did Christ's appearance in his glory, to reward and 
 punish, occur in that age ; or are some that were then among his 
 auditors still living on the earth ] To the same purpose speaks 
 Mark, " Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my 
 words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall 
 the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his 
 Father, with the holy angels." (viii. 38.) " And he said unto 
 them. Verily I say unto you. That there be some of them that 
 stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the 
 kingdom of God come with power." (ix. 1.) And Luke, "For 
 whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him 
 shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his 
 own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I 
 tell you of a truth. There be some standing here, which shall not 
 taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God." (ix. 26, 27.) 
 Surely testimonies so emphatic, and repeated, should be admitted 
 
 Vol. I.— o 2 
 
162 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 by all as sufficient to settle the question as to the time of Christ's 
 coming : but there are yet others to be adduced. 
 
 There has ever been a difference of opinion amongst biblical 
 commentators, as to the date at which the book of Revelation was 
 written ; some placing it previous, and others subsequent, to the 
 great calamities which befel the Jewish people. To my thinking, 
 the book contains clear internal evidence that the former is the 
 correct position : for the ciiy, and temple are several times allu- 
 ded to as still standing, which would not have been the case had 
 it been written subsequent to their destruction. Indeed the main 
 subject matters of the book seem most evidently to be, the ruin 
 impending over the Jewish people ; the destruction of their civil 
 and ecclesiastical polity, and the trials and eventual establishment 
 of the christian church. In the introduction, we are told that the 
 object of these revelations from God was, " to show unto his ser- 
 vants things which must shortly come to pass.'''' (i. 1.) The coming 
 of Christ in the clouds is also mentioned, (i. 7.) And, moreover, 
 the writer is commanded, " Seal not the sayings of the prophecy 
 of this book, for THE TIME IS AT HAND ;" (xxii. 10.) to 
 which is added, " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he 
 that is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let 
 him be righteous still : &c. And, behold, I COME QUICKLY ; 
 and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his 
 work shall be." (11, 12.) And it is further added, •' He which 
 testifieththese things saith, SURELY I COME QUICKLY." 
 (20.) Here then is additional evidence as to the time of our 
 Lord's second coming. Is still more required 1 More shall bo 
 furnished. 
 
 This same event is predicted by the prophet Malachi, under the 
 description of "the day that shall burn as an oven," (iv. 1.) and 
 "the great, and dreadful day of the Lord ;" (5.) and it is declared 
 that Elias the prophet was to be sent before its arrival, who 
 should " turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the 
 heart of the children to their fathers." (6.) The Jews under- 
 stood thi^ as pointing to the time when Mesiah should set up his 
 kingdom, and therefore settled it in their minds that this event 
 should be preceded by the coming of Elias the prophet. See to 
 this point Mark, ix. " And they asked him, saying. Why say the 
 scribes that Elias must first come ? And he answered and told 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 163 
 
 them, Elias verily cometh first, and reslorethall thin^ ; and how 
 it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, 
 and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed 
 come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it 
 is written of him.'* (11, 12, 13.) When John the Baptist's birth 
 was predicted, it was said, " He shall go forth in the power and 
 spirit of Elias, to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers ;" 
 &c. (Luke i. 17.) and in reference to the self-same personage 
 Christ says, " If ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to 
 come." (Mat. xi. 14.) These co-relative texts afford us a clear 
 indication of the time when " the great and terrible day of the 
 Lord" should transpire : and in Acts, ii. we get some further light 
 upon it, for Peter quotes from the prophet Joel the signs which 
 should precede " the great and notable day of the Lord ;" and he 
 declares that these were actually then taking place. (16 — 20.) It 
 were superfluous to add to this mass of evidence : it would not 
 be saying too much to affirm, that no one scriptural fact is more 
 lucidly set forth than this, viz., that Christ's coming to judge the 
 nations, in the sense intended in the text, was an event close at 
 hand when the language of the text was spoken. 
 
 6th. — We come now to the question, (a complex question) 
 What are we to understand by the coming of Christ — what were 
 its objects — and what were the literal circumstances ensuent 
 upon it 1 I answer directly : first, that Christ's coming is not to 
 be understood as actual, or real ; but as allegorical. Secondly, 
 Its objects were to punish the Jewish people for their wickedness 
 and obstinacy; to abolish their ecclesiastical establishment; and 
 to establish a pure and spiritual church in its stead. Thirdly, the 
 events ensuent upon that coming, were a train of signal and ter- 
 rible judgments upon the Jewish nation, including the entire 
 destruction of their temple ; their complete subjugation and dis- 
 persion by the Roman power ; and their ejectment from the 
 church (frequently called kingdom') of God ; and the induction 
 of the Gentiles into that church, or kingdom in their room. 
 These great, and momentous facts, constitute the sum of what is 
 figuratively set forth in the text. In scripture times men (Jews 
 especially) were wont to be very lavish in their use of hyperbole ; 
 hence we find them frequently describing events, of comparatively 
 small consequence, in such terms as would lead a person unac- 
 
164 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 quainted with their style, to imagine that something was intended 
 very far beyond even the most stupendous occurrences of life. 
 Christ, in the text, has conformed to this usage of his countrymen, 
 which circumstance has led thousands (including many of piety 
 and learning) to suppose that it looks forward to events beyond 
 the precincts of time. 
 
 Now for the proof of my positions, I will first quote from Luke^ 
 xxi. as these matters are more distinctly set forth by him than by 
 the other evangelists. " And when ye shall see Jerusalem com- 
 passed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh- 
 Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains ; and let 
 them which are in the midst of it depart out ; and let not them 
 that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days 
 of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 
 But wo unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, 
 in those days ! for there shall be great distress in the land, and 
 wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the 
 sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations : and Jeru- 
 salem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the 
 Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in 
 the moon, and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations, 
 with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring ; INIen's hearts 
 failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which 
 are coming on the earth : for the powers of heaven shall be sha- 
 ken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud, 
 with power and great glory. And when these things begin to 
 come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads ; for your re- 
 demption draweth nigh. And he spake unto them a parable; 
 Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees ; When they now shoot forth^ 
 ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at 
 hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, 
 know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say 
 unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled.'* 
 (20 — 32.) I only ask of you, my friends, that you will closely 
 scrutinise this language ; many an erudite scholiast, with mind 
 preoccupied with the fantasms of his creed, has been sadly 
 puzzled here: puzzled, because he was predetermined to find that 
 the language respects a coming of Christ to judge men at the 
 close of time ; and as nothing of the kind is even intimated, he has 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 165 
 
 thrown himself back in his easy-chair, stroked his gray wig, 
 and consoled himself with the conclusion " Ha, ha ! I see now, 
 the passage has a two-fold meaning ; the one expressed, the other 
 understood ; the destruction of the Jewish city and temple is the 
 former, the great judgment at the conclusion of time is the latter. 
 Yes, yes ; the one is made the antetype of the other. I see it 
 now; well, I will so put it down." And accordingly, we have 
 been over and over again favored with this assumption, in behalf 
 of which we cannot be pointed to one particle of evidence ! 
 
 Daniel the prophet had predicted the very events to which our 
 text refers, (ix. 26, 27.) "And after threescore and two weeks 
 shall Mesiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the 
 prince that shall come shall destroy the city, and the sanctuary ; 
 and the end thereof shall he with a flood, and unto the end of the 
 war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the cove- 
 nant with many for one week : and in the midst of the week he 
 shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the 
 overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even 
 until the<;onsummation, and that determined shall be poured upon 
 the desolate." And again in chapter xii. he represents Mesiah 
 under the name of Michael, " And at that time shall Michael 
 stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy 
 people ; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was 
 since there was a nation even to that same time : and at that time 
 thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found 
 written in the book :" (1.) and the prophet designates (in enig- 
 matical terms) the precise time of these momentous transactions, 
 *' And from the time that the daily sncrijice shall be be taken away, 
 and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a 
 thousand two hundred and ninety days." (11.) Christ, in his 
 description of these coming calamities, alluded to, and confirms 
 what Daniel had said about 500 years before. See Mat. xxiv. 
 *' When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, 
 spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso 
 readeth let him understand,) Then let them which be in Judea flee 
 into the mountains : Let him which is on the house-top not come 
 down to take any thing out of his house : Neither let him which 
 is in the field retyrn back to take his clothes. And wo unto them 
 that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! 
 
166 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the 
 sabbath-day : For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not 
 since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall 
 be." (15—21.) And as if still more clearly to point out the identity 
 of the time of his coming, with that of Jerusalem's overthrow by 
 the Roman armies, he immediately blends with his account of the 
 former, an allusion to the national ensign of the latter, i. e. the 
 figure of an eagle upon their standards. " For as the lightning 
 Cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west ; so 
 shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever 
 the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." (27, 28.) 
 And he then emphatically adds, " Immediately after the tribula- 
 tion of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall 
 not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the 
 powers of the heavens shall be shaken ; And then shall appear 
 the sign of the Son of man in heaven : and then shall all the 
 tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man 
 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." 
 (29, 30.) IMMEDIATELY, &c. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, that the Jews were in those days 
 regarded as God's peculiar people ; they had, for nearly twenty 
 centuries, maintained a peculiar politico-ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment, which claimed Jehovah himself as its institutor. This, in 
 the new testament, is sometimes alluded to under the appellation 
 of the " kingdom of God," and the Jews are termed the " chil- 
 dren of the kingdom," being by their peculiar religion isolated 
 from the other nations of the earth, they held them in contempt, 
 termed them " Gentiles," and deemed themselves defiled in case 
 of personal communion with them. (John xviii. 28. Actsxi. 3.) 
 To this favored people, Christ for a time confined his ministry ; 
 he even enjoined his disciples, " Go not into the way of the 
 Gentiles, and into any of the cities of the Samaritans enter ye not, 
 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Mat. x. 
 5, 6.) The Jews were considered as exclusively entitled to the 
 divine favor, the extending any share thereof to the Gentiles was 
 regarded as the taking the children's bread and casting it to the 
 dogs. (Mark vii. 27.) Such was the order of things in Christ's 
 day, but the time was nearly arrived which was to witness its 
 reversal, the Jews were on the eve of being ejected from the 
 
POPULAR DEBA.TE, NO. III. 167 
 
 tingdom, and the Gentiles of being inducted into it in their stead. 
 *'I will call them my people which were not my people, and her 
 beloved which was not beloved ; and it shall come to pass, that 
 in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people, 
 there shall they be called the children of the living God." (Rom. 
 ix. 25, 26.) This very prophecy was on the verge of fulfilment; 
 hence, when a Roman centurion, (captain of a hundred men,) ap- 
 plied to Christ, and expressed strong confidence in his ability to 
 heal his servant, the saviour seemed surprised at the degree of 
 faith manifested by a mere heathen, and he took occasion to inti- 
 mate the fact, that the Gentiles should soon be seen coming from 
 ihe north and the south, the east and the west, and sitting down in 
 the kingdom, or church of God, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
 whilst they themselves, " the children of the kingdom," (as he 
 elsewhere says,) should be thrust out. (Mat. viii. 11, 12. Luke 
 xiii. 2S, 29.) The patriarchs and prophets, it seems, were con- 
 sidered as having exercised an evangelical faith in Christ's me- 
 sialiship, and were therefore accounted members of his church or 
 kingdom, and all who in a true sense become his disciples are 
 regarded as coheritors with them of the same gospel blessing: 
 as saith Paul, " So then, they that be of faith ARE blessed with 
 faithful Abraham." (Gal. iii. 9.) 
 
 This is the Abraham's bosom, to which the poor man in the par- 
 able (by whom are personated the gentile nations) " was carried 
 by angels." The Greek word angelos signifies messengers^ or 
 agents, and as often human messengers as spiritual ;* to be " car- 
 
 * The angels of the seven churches in Asia Minor, referred to in the 2nd and 3rd 
 chapters of Revelations, were the tninisters of those churches. The three angels 
 who appeared to Abraham (Gen. xvii.) are called men, and such they undoubtedly 
 were, for they ate and drank with the patriarch, and washed their feet, agreeably to 
 the custom of the times. The " angel of the Lord" that appesired to Cornelius, is 
 also called " a man." (Acts x.) We must not take for granted, therefore, when the 
 word angels occurs in the scriptures, that spiritual beings are always meant, although 
 Ihey doubtless often are. " The angels which kept not their first estate," (Jude 
 ver. 6.) are usually (though without scriptural warrant) understood as being celestial 
 beings who fell from the realms of blessedness, all which is sheer fiction. We are 
 not justified in assuming that any such event ever took place; the bible nowhere 
 declares it. The account in Revelations (xii.) of a " war in lieaven," must not be 
 understood of the world of bliss ; heaven, there, means the church, (as it often else- 
 where does.) In the same chapter we are told of a dragon in heaven, and of a 
 pregnant woman, and of her flight into the wilderness, and of a serpent spouting 
 out a flood of water after her, and of the earth taking part with her against the serpent, 
 &c. Surely they must have a marvelous love for the ridiculous, who fancy these 
 facts to have transpired above ! and yet this is prominent amonsst the texts adduced 
 to support the doctrine concerning fallen angels ; because it happens to be said that 
 the tail of the dragon drew dov/n a third part of the stars of heaven to the earth, 
 (but not to hell, observe.) Tnith is, as before shov/n, all these things pertain to the 
 conflicts which the church had to sustain with its enemies, in the early days of it5 
 
168 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 ried by angels to Abraham's bosom," may therefore mean, to be 
 conducted by the ministry of Christ's apostles or ministers into 
 the true faith of Christ. The gentiles might well be likened to a 
 poor man, covered with sores, for spiritually considered, their 
 condition was deplorable enough. By the " rich man" is meant 
 the Jewish nation, which for centuries had abounded in all spir- 
 itual privileges, in this sense " they fared sumptuously every 
 day," and, in the persons of their priesthood, w^ere literally clad 
 " in purple and fine linen." But this people were doomed soon 
 to die to all these distinctive privileges, and to lift up their eyes 
 in hades, (which literally means the grave, or the unseen state, 
 but figuratively, moral or civil degradation,) in this degraded and 
 condemned state they were to see the gentiles elevated to the 
 high distinction and privileges from which they themselves had 
 fallen, and from this happy and privileged state they were to find 
 themselves separated by an impassable gulf. What constituted 
 this great gulf we are more than once informed : viz., the blind- 
 ness of mind, and the obstinate unbelief, to which that people 
 were judicially given over. "Therefore they could not believe, 
 because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and 
 hardened their heart ; that they should not see with their eyes, 
 nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should 
 heal them." (John xii. 39, 40.) Paul also testifies to the same 
 fact. " What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which he 
 seeketh for ; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were 
 blinded : (According as it is written, God hath given them the 
 spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that 
 they should not hear) unto this day." (Rom. xi. 7, 8.) Christ 
 represents Abraham as saying in regard to them, " If they hear 
 not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though 
 one rose from the dead," which was literally true, for Christ 
 had actually raised one Lazarus to life, and they yet remained 
 as unbelieving as before, and they so continued even after Christ 
 himself had risen. Eighteen centuries have since elapsed, and 
 the gulf seems as impassable as ever : ihe gospel is progressively 
 subduing to itself the subjects of all other religions, the gentiles 
 from the ends of the earth are flocking into Christ's kingdom, 
 
 eeiahlishment ; and also Xn the overthrow of the Jewish ecclesiastical polity about the 
 same timo. The popular misconception of those texts may be maiuly ascribed to the 
 epic of Milton, wno was a great admirer of mythological lore. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 169 
 
 but the Jews remain still in outer darkness : degraded, and op- 
 pressed, they lift up their eyes in hades, being in torment, and they 
 see the formerly despised gentiles in Abraham's bosom, to whom 
 they in their spiritual lifetime denied the crumbs which fell from 
 their table. 
 
 Pass we next to the parable of the supper, which a certain 
 ^ing made on the occasion of his son's wedding ; this is clearly 
 applicable to the same events : the Jews are the party first invited, 
 wl.ic on various grounds excused themselves from complying ; 
 the servants were then commanded to go into the highways and 
 hedges, and to compel all they should find, both bad and good, 
 into the wedding: these represent the gentiles, who, morally 
 consilered, were poor, and maimed, and halt, and blind. The 
 party first invited are represented as having made light of the 
 invitation, and committed personal outrage upon the servants 
 sent to call them ; which refers to the persecutions of the prophets 
 and apostles by the Jewish people ; whereupon the king sends 
 " his armies," to " destroy those murderers and burn up their city :" 
 which clearly implies that God was soon about to fulfil the same 
 retribution upon the Jews by the Roman army. (Mat. xxii. 2.)j 
 
 The parable of the virgins likewise represents the gospel in- 
 stitution under the figure of a wedding ; the coming of Christ to 
 establish his kingdom in the world, and to minister judgments to 
 its enemies, is set forth in the coming of the bridegroom : this 
 should ensue at midnight, whilst " they all slumbered and slept," 
 which corresponds with the account Christ uniformly gave of his 
 coming, that it should " be in an hour when they looked not for 
 him." Paul notifies his brethren of the same fact. " For your- 
 selves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief 
 in the night. For when they shall say. Peace and safety, then 
 sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman 
 with child ; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are 
 not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." 
 (1 Thes. V. 2 — 4.) The wise virgins represent those who 
 looked for this coming, and, whilst the term of grace lasted, 
 prepared themselves to enter with Christ into the gospel gates ; 
 the foolish virgins denote those who by reason of a neglect of this 
 preparation were shut out, and were doomed to share in the ca- 
 lamities of the time : the ** wailing and gnashing of teeth," the 
 
 Vol. I._P No. 8. 
 
170 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 " outer darkness," the famine, pestilence, sword, captivity, and 
 other evils, by which that dreadful era was distinguished. From 
 these evils the believing part of that people were saved. Christ 
 repeatedly declared that those who should become his disciples 
 should escape these troubles, and we have historic testimony that 
 they actually did escape them : the saviour, however, said " that 
 except those days should be shortened there could no flesh be 
 saved ;" but he adds, " but for the elect's sake those days shall be 
 shortened." (Mat. xxiv. 22.) Peter, in reference to the same pe- 
 riod, says, " For the time is come that judgment must begin at 
 the house of God : and if it first begin at us, what shall the 
 end be of them that obey not the gospel of God ] And if the 
 righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sin- 
 ner appear"?" (1 Pet. iv. 17, 18.) Dr. Adam Clarke, and other 
 eminent commentators, admit that this language has especial 
 reference to the above mentioned events, and, indeed, there is 
 evidence of the fact on the face of the passage. " The time ia 
 come,"&c., not is coming, some thousands of years hence, as the 
 popular theology supposes. 
 
 To the same effect are the parables of the tares and the wheat, 
 and the net cast into the sea; "at the end of the world {ion 
 aionion, end of the age or mosaic dispensation), the tares were to 
 be gathered from amongst the wheat, and cast into a furnace of 
 fire; but the wheat itself, was to be gathered into the master's 
 barn ; at the same time, the bad fishes in the net, were to be taken 
 from the good, and thrown away, whilst the good were to he put 
 into vessels for preservation. (Mat. xiii.) It is a common prac- 
 tice to refer this passage to the literal termination of this world, 
 but such is obviously not the scriptural meaning of the phrase, 
 "end of the world," it never requires such an interpretation, but, 
 on the contrary, invariably means the consummation of the Jewish 
 economy. Paul calls the period at which Christ died, " the end 
 of the world ;" (Heb. ix. 26.) and he also applies the same phrase 
 to the days in which he and his fellow apostles lived. (1 Cor. 
 X. 11.) The Jews, Dr. Clarke and others inform us, were in 
 the habit of dividing time into two grand epochs, viz. the mosaic 
 age, and the age of the messiah. Keeping this fact in mind, we 
 shall easily understand Christ's meaning with regard to the blas- 
 phemy against the Holy Ghost, which " shall not be forgiven in 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 171 
 
 this world (or age), neither in the world (or age) to come ;" 
 *'but is in danger of eternal damnation." Literally, the damna- 
 tion, or condemnation, of the age ; referring, without doubt, to the 
 fearful judgments then near impending over those blasphemers, 
 who imputed the miracles which Christ wrought, by the spirit 
 of God, to the influence, or agency, of Beelzebub. The " furnace 
 of fire," mentioned in the parable of the tares, we are not to as- 
 sume means the fancied infernal regions ; the scriptures, (which 
 are ever the best expounders of themselves) say of God, " his 
 fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem :" (Isaiah xxxi. 9.) 
 and Malachi, as before quoted, designates the period of these 
 very judgments as, " the day that shall burn as an oven." The 
 temple, so great and splendid, and the larger part of the city, 
 were converted into a mass of flame, and might very properly 
 therefore, in figurative language, be represented under the figure 
 of " a furnace of fire." Thousands of the Jews perished in the 
 flames, and, according to Josephus, more than a million perished 
 from different causes during the siege. " Then," said the saviour, 
 " shall be great tribulation, such as never was since the begin- 
 ning of the creation which God created, until that self-same 
 time, no, nor never shall Z>e." (Mat. xxiv. 21, Mark xiii. 19.) 
 
 The saviour contrived on one occasion, to draw a just sentence 
 «f condemnation against this people, out of their own mouths : 
 Tie told them of a certain man who planted a vineyard, and let it 
 out to husbandmen that they might dress it; he sent his servants 
 in due season to demand his portion of the vintage : but they 
 evilly entreated the servants, beating some and stoning others, 
 (with which collate " 0, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest 
 the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee ;") last of 
 all he sent his son, and they consummated their wickedness by 
 plotting against his life also. " When the Lord of that vineyard 
 Cometh," inquired the saviour, *' what will he do unto those hus- 
 bandmen I" His auditors, probably not dreaming of an applica- 
 tion of the case to themselves, replied " He will miserably destroy 
 those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other hus- 
 bandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Je- 
 sus saith unto them. Did ye never read in the scriptures, The 
 stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head 
 of the corner : this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in 
 
172 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 our eyes 1 Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of Go<i 
 shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the 
 fruits thereof." (Mat. xxi. 41 — 43.) It is added, " And when the 
 chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived 
 that he spake of them." (ib. 45.) 
 
 We find, indeed, that Jesus seized upon every fitting occasion 
 for communicating these stupendous matters to his countrymen, 
 not, to be sure, in plain language, for they would not have borne it, 
 he would thus have enraged them against him, and the catastro- 
 phe of his death would have been hastened before the other great 
 objects of his mission were fulfilled : he therefore chose a mode 
 of communication always popular with the Jews, and, indeed, 
 with all oriental nations, which consisted in relating fictitious 
 incidents, in which was couched some important moral or fact, to 
 oe guessed out as best it might, by the party to whom it applied. 
 But another reason must be here acknowledged why Christ re- 
 sorted so much to allegory in his discourses to the Jews. It was 
 God's design that his son should be rejected by that nation gen- 
 erally, and that their rejection of the gospel should be made the 
 occasion for offering it to the gentiles. Let any one who doubts 
 this take Christ's own account of the matter : " And the disciples 
 came, and said unto him. Why speakest thou unto them in para- 
 bles ? He answered and said unto them. Because it is given unto 
 you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it 
 is not given." (Mat. xiii. 10, 11.) The end of God in this mysteri- 
 ous business was, nevertheless, merciful — merciful both to the 
 receiving and to the rejecting party, as Paul very satisfactorily 
 shows. " I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall ? 
 God forbid : but rather through their fall salvation is come unto 
 the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now, if the fall of 
 them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the 
 riches of the Gentiles ; how much more their fulness ]" (Rom. 
 xi. 11, 12.) And again, " For if the casting away of them be the 
 reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but 
 life from the dead ?" (ib. 15.) Once more, " For I would not, 
 brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (lest ye 
 should be wise in your own conceits,) that blindness in part is 
 happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.** 
 (ib. 25.) " And so all Israel shall be saved.'* 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 173 
 
 The fact of the opening of the gospel gates to the gentiles was 
 first made known to Peter, in a vision well adapted in its charac- 
 ter to symbolize the event : he saw a sheet let down from heaven, 
 knit at the four corners, and containing all manners of living 
 things, and among them many which were accounted unclean by 
 the Mosaic code : a voice came to him, " Rise, Peter, kill and 
 eat," but he replied, " Not so. Lord, for I have never eaten any 
 thing common or unclean." So inveterate indeed were his 
 Jewish prejudices that the vision had to be three times repeated* 
 and he three times told not to call any thing common which 
 God had cleansed, before he could be convinced. It is remarka- 
 ble in this transaction, that all those creatures, both clean and 
 unclean, are represented as being let down from heaven, and 
 lifted up into heaven again : which would seem to imply the fact 
 (in several forms intimated in the inspired record) that as all 
 originally came from God, so all must eventually return to him. 
 *' God hath shown me," said Peter, " that I must call no man 
 common or unclean;" and, accordingly, he began straightway to 
 proclaim the way of life to the gentiles. His christian brethren 
 (being all Jews by nation) were shocked at his liberality ; being 
 as yet, ignorant of the affair which brought it about : he therefore 
 rehearsed the whole matter to them from the beginning, telling 
 them how signally the word had been blest to Cornelius' house- 
 hold, and they, convinced that the hand of God was in the busi- 
 ness, rejoiced, and glorified God, saying, " then hath God also 
 unto the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (Acts x.) From 
 that time forward the gentiles' cities became the principal theatres 
 of gospel operation, and oh ! how the tidings of great joy to all 
 people ran and triumphed ! The Jews became more rancorous 
 than ever in their opposition : not content with rejecting it them- 
 selves, they sought to obstruct its progress among the gentiles; 
 they followed them with persecutions from city to city, " contra- 
 dicting and blaspheming." " Then Paul and Barnabas waxed 
 bold, and said. It was necessary that the word of God should first 
 have been spoken to you : but seeing ye put it from you, and 
 judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the 
 Gentiles : For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set 
 thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salva- 
 tion unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard 
 
 Vol. I.— p 2 
 
174 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord : and as 
 many as were ordained to eternal life, believed. And the word 
 of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the 
 Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief 
 men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barna- 
 bas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off 
 the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And 
 the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." 
 (Acts viii. 46 — 52.) See also to the same effect, Acts xxviii. The 
 scene there described, took place at Rome, and the members 
 of a Jewish synagogue in that city were the party addressed. 
 " Go unto this people, and say, Hearing, ye shall hear, and 
 shall not understand ; and seeing, ye shall see, and not perceive : 
 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are 
 dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed ; lest they should 
 see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with 
 their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 
 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent 
 unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had 
 said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning 
 among themselves." (26 — 29.) 
 
 I flatter myself that the parables of Chist, in the light of this 
 application of them, are changed from obscure and unintelligible 
 enigmas, into beautiful and pertinent representations of fact. I 
 am persuaded that no one of them was ever intended to represent 
 the eternal aifairs of mankind, and the popular attempt to apply 
 them in that manner, has but served to strip them of their point 
 and beauty. 
 
 Before I close I will briefly answer the argument founded on 
 the antithesis in the last verse of the passage under consideration. 
 " These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the right- 
 eous into life eternal." I grant that the same Greek adjective 
 which qualifies the life of the righteous, also qualifies the punish- 
 ment of the wicked — what then 1 must the things thus contrasted 
 necessarily be of the same duration ? I could certainly produce 
 many scriptural antitheses in which the contrasted terms are not 
 equivalent to each other : neither will it be safe to assume that 
 the same adjective when applied to different things in the same 
 connexion, must always be allowed the same strength of meaning ; 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 175 
 
 for by this rule I could prove the hills and mountains equal in 
 duration to the ways of God: "The ever/as/mg mountains were 
 scattered, \he perpetual hills did bow, his ways are everlasting.'*'* 
 (Hab. iii. 6.) Here is the same word occurring three times in a 
 verse, and requiring an infinite signification in one instance, 
 and a limited meaning in the other two. If it even be allowed, 
 however, that the antithetical terms in Matihew are of equal sig- 
 nification, it will not thence follow that the punishment was to be 
 endless, excepi it can be proven that the life was to be so : but 
 this will not be undertaken by any one who has observed the 
 new testament usage of the phrase eternal life .- this expression 
 does not refer to the immortal existence of the future state, but 
 the divine renovation of mind enjoyed by believers in the gos- 
 pel. " This is life eternal, that men may know thee, the only, 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent;" (John xvii. 2.) 
 and he that hath this knowledge, " HATH everlasting life — IS 
 PASSED from death unto life." (John iii. 36.) It was pre- 
 cisely to the state of blindness, ignorance, and condemnation, con- 
 trasted with this state of gospel life, that the Jewish rejectors 
 of Christ were adjudged. Now if the everlasting life possessed 
 by the believer be no more than an endless,, or an immortal exis- 
 tence, wherein is he distinguished from the unbeliever, for the lat- 
 ter will also exist immortally ] It must be obvious, that the term 
 eternal, when connected with life in the scriptures, has reference 
 to the divine nature or quality of that life, and not to its duration. 
 
 STRICTURES ON THE FOREGOING. 
 
 My dear travellers to eternity, this is an inquiry of awful mag- 
 nitude — one which ought to engage our most serious consideration. 
 I have always regarded this portion of scripture as a description 
 of the last judgment, in which the fates of men will be settled 
 for eternity : but tf s gentleman who preceded me has employed 
 much ingenuitr and a most fatal ability for wresting the scrip- 
 tures, for the ^>arpnse of showing that the passage before us has 
 no such meaning •. to unravel and expose all his ingenious soph- 
 istry surpasses my powers, for he has in his argument so dexter- 
 ously blended what is false with what is true, that it would 
 
176 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 task the keenest discrimination to analyse and exhibit them sepa- 
 rately. Without attempting, therefore, a labored review of his 
 entire argument, I shall confine myself to the office of pointing 
 out its principal defects. 
 
 1st.— He argued that the separation spoken of in the text, is a 
 separation of nations^ not of individuals according to moral classifi- 
 cation ; I admit that a strict grammatical analysis of the lan- 
 guage would favor this view ; but it cannot be that Christ intended 
 any such meaning, for we do not find whole nations to be right- 
 eous, nor whole nations to be wicked, and therefore nations, as 
 such, are not liable to reward, or punishment; but the good and 
 bad individuals in each will, in the great day, be dealt with accor- 
 ding to their respective doings in life. 
 
 2nd. — Before he can prove that the " fire prepared for the devil 
 and his angels," is a circumstance of time, he must prove that 
 the devil and his angels are inhabitants of this world ; but this 
 he cannot do. He tells us, to be sure, that the devil means 
 simply an adversary, and that the term angels, means messengers 
 or agents, and that both these terms are applied frequently to 
 human beings. All this I grant ; but still I find devils spoken of 
 in the scriptures in reference to fallen spiritual beings, once 
 angels of light, but now degraded from their beatified state — 
 their leader is by the prophet Isaiah called " Lucifer, son of the 
 morning." Christ tells us concerning him, that " he was a mur- 
 derer from the beginning, and abode not in truth." These 
 devils used to possess men in the days of the saviour, and we 
 have accounts of their speaking, tearing people, throwing them 
 into the fire, and water : they also entered into a herd of swine, 
 and caused them to drown themselves in the sea. In Revelation 
 we are told about a war in heaven between the angelic and infer- 
 nal hosts ; and of the latter being overcome, and chained down 
 in the pit of perdition. Yet universalists tell us that the terms 
 devil, Satan, Beelzebub, and the like, are but figures of speech — 
 mere personifications — evil principles — diseases — afflictions, &c., 
 invested with ideal personality! I, on the contrary, with all 
 orthodox christians, maintain that these terms belong to a class of 
 evil beings ; once angels of light, but now arrayed in deadly 
 hostility against God and the souls of men. Let my opponent 
 disprove this view if he can. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 177 
 
 Sd. — I affirm, that no such coming, as is described in the text, 
 has ever yet come to pass. Did the saviour descend in clouds 
 during the lifetime of those who heard him speak 1 Dec? he ac- 
 tually gather before him all nations'? Did the stars fall from 
 heaven ? Does history furnish a record of any such events 1 
 Surely not ; the heavens and the earth still endure as formerly ; 
 we have ocular evidence that no such events as were to accom- 
 pany the coming of Christ, have ever yet occurred. What follows 
 then ? It follows that said coming is not already past, but is yet 
 to take place. Our friend must not hope to argue us out of our 
 eyes and ears. 
 
 4th. — I admit the destruction of Jerusalem to be the main theme 
 of Mat. xxiv, yet I insist that it has also a reference to a general 
 judgment at the close of time ; this will appear evident if we 
 attend to the inquiries of the disciples at the beginning of the 
 chapter : " And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple : 
 and his disciples came to him, for to show him the buildings of 
 the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these 
 things ? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one 
 stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he 
 sat upon the mount of Olives, his disciples came unto him pri- 
 vately, saying. Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what 
 shall he the sign of thy coming, and of the end cf the world ?" 
 (1 — 3.) Here we find questions relative to three great events. 
 1st. — The destruction of the temple. 2nd. — The sign of his 
 coming to judge the world : and 3rd, the end of time, when said 
 coming shall actually take place. To each of these inquiries 
 the chapter contains a distinct answer. True, we cannot point to 
 the precise line, or verse, where the answer to one of these ques- 
 tions closes, and that to the next in order begins ; the transitions 
 from one to the other are so sudden, and the language applied to 
 all so bold and so similar, that many have been led into the mistake 
 of supposing, that these events were to happen simultaneously, or 
 at least in rapid succession. Into this very blunder the universal- 
 ists have fallen : hence they tell us that Christ's second coming 
 has already transpired, and that we of this day, have no further 
 concern with it than as a matter of sacred history! 
 
 5th. — I scarcely know how to approach the novel, (and, I will 
 own, ingenious,) application of the parables, with which we 
 
178 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALTSM. 
 
 have been entertained : I acknowledge it was smoothly and 
 plausibly spun out ; I shall not attempt a formal refutation of it ; 
 it ought to suffice as proof of its incorrectness that it is opposed to 
 seven eighths of all Christendom, in past and present ages. How- 
 ever, as his cause obtains much apparent scriptural countenance 
 from this mode of applying these beautiful allegories, I will 
 endeavour to maintain the old ground, by pointing out those parts 
 of his attempt which were particularly lame and objectionable. 
 
 And first comes up the subject of the rich man and Lazarus — the 
 last passage in the bible which I should have dreamed of hearing 
 applied to favor universalism ! but what will not human ingenuity 
 attempt 1 Now I will quash at once my opponent's plausible 
 use of this text, by showing that it is not a parable at all, but a 
 literal narration of fact. It is not introduced as parables usually 
 are — it is not prefaced with the remark, " and he spake a parable 
 unto them ;" or " the kingdom of heaven is likened unto," &c. 
 On the contrary, Christ directly says, " There was a certain rich 
 man." On which, with Mr. Wesley, and others, I argue, " there 
 was such a person, or there was not .• if there was, then is the pas- 
 sage a plain recital of fact ; if there was not, it follows that Christ 
 asserted a falsehood." Idefy my opponent to extricate himself from 
 this dilemma ! Another thing deserving notice in this connexion 
 io, that Josephus, in his dissertation concerning Hades, (the hell to 
 which the rich man went) describes it in a manner extremely 
 corroborative of the orthodox views concerning this terrible text : 
 he must be regarded as the highest authority for Jewish opinions 
 in the days of the saviour : and according to him. Hades contained 
 the souls of all the dead, both good and bad, and is to continue 
 as a receptacle of them until the last judgment; when the good 
 will be admitted to Paradise, and the bad doomed to flames for 
 eternity : meanwhile these are now kept separate by an impassa- 
 ble gulf. How exactly accordant with the saviour's account of 
 the post-mortem condition of the rich man and Lazarus ! And 
 oh! my friends, that gulf! that dreadful gulf! which cuts off to 
 the damned all hope of escape forever ! Universalism can con* 
 struct no bridge across it which will not crumble under a lost 
 spirit's tread. Let me entreat you not to rest your hopes on any 
 such air-built superstructure ! 
 
 I notice next the ten virgins — which I admit is a parable, and 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 179 
 
 also that one of its meanings belongs to the present time ; it relates 
 to Christ's church or kingdom in this world: but besides this, 
 there is a higher and more awful view to be taken of it — it looks 
 forward to the coming of Christ in the last and final judgment. 
 The same may be said of the parable of the marriage supper : 
 my opponent has noticed but one of its applications ; he, more- 
 over, has failed to note a circumstance connected with it, of very 
 great consequence ; I allude to the case of the man " who had 
 not on a wedding garment." Why was this overlooked 1 Did my 
 opponent find it too hard for his ingenuity % " And when the king 
 came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a 
 wedding-garment : And he saith unto him. Friend, how camest 
 thou in hither, not having on a wedding-garment ? And he was 
 speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand 
 and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness ; 
 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Mat. xxii. 11 — 
 13.) From this we learn the important truth, that except we in 
 this life attain a preparation for heaven, we shall have no admis- 
 sion to that blissful abode hereafter. 
 
 My opponent has very plausibly disposed of the argument raised 
 on the fact, that the same Greek term is employed to qualify both 
 the life of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked ; but 
 unfortunately for his cause, whilst his sophistry was employed in 
 disproving the endless duration of the latter, it at the same time 
 disproved that of the former. Eternal life must end if eternal 
 punishment shall ! This one consequence of his reasoning is 
 sufficient for its refutation : he professes to believe in endless hap- 
 piness beyond the grave ; I defy him to bring forward any warrant 
 for it from the scriptures, in stronger or more unequivocal tenn? 
 than are therein applied to future punishment. 
 
 REJOINDER. 
 
 I sincerely thank my friend for the conciseness and explicitness 
 of his objections, it shall not be the fault of my will if my replies 
 are not equally concise and explicit. 1st. — He grants the gram- 
 matical correctness of the criticism on the text, which makes 
 nations (not individuals) the parties arraigned and separated in the 
 
180 PRO AND CON OF UNlVERSALlSM. 
 
 judgment that it foretells ; yet he thinks Christ could not have de* 
 signed what his language fairly means ! This, in effect, is to 
 accuse him of not having known how to express his meaning ! 
 Nations, too, he tells us, are not punished, as such, for their 
 wickedness. He certainly has not learned this from the bible, for 
 it teaches not only that " the wicked shall be turned into hell," 
 but also, " and all the nations that forget God." No-t the bible 
 alone, but all history informs us that there is such a thing as na- 
 tional guilt, and that this is sure to draw down national punishment. 
 2nd. — I must prove, he thinks, in order to made good my appli- 
 cation of this passage, that " the devil and his angels" of which 
 it speaks, are not fallen spiritual beings ; and that the " ever- 
 lasting fire prepared" for them, is not the fire of a hell beyond the 
 bounds of earth. Nay, I think it does not fairly fall to my part 
 to prove this ; it is all assumed as fact by popular theologians, it 
 is their business to make it good by substantial evidence. As to 
 the idea of lapsed spirits from heaven, called devils, it is too 
 ridiculous for sober consideration : my opponent must admit 
 that the different terms so rendered often refer to beings and things 
 of this earth : I contend that they always do, (if we may except 
 the terms relating to demons — a popular heathen superstition, 
 which supposed that the souls of deceased persons wandered 
 about the earth, and entered into men and women, causing dis- 
 ease, madness, &c. : the Jews in our saviour's time had adopted 
 this chimera,) hence we read of deaf devils, dumb devils, luna- 
 tic devils, leprous devils, etc. Seven devils were cast out of 
 Mary Magdalene. One poor fellow who applied to Christ for 
 relief supposed himself possessed of a legion of them, (a whole 
 battalion,) and when these were exorcised and permitted to enter 
 into a herd of pigs, they affected the pigs with a species of mad- 
 ness (not hydrophobia, certainly) which caused them to run down 
 a declivity into the sea. Most usually, however, these terms are 
 used with reference to human adversaries. Christ once called 
 Judas a devil, and Peter he termed Satan : it is therefore not 
 unreasonable to understand "the devil and his angels" to mean 
 the chief enerny of Christ's gospel, and his agents or instruments : 
 and the " fire prepared" for them to mean, the terrible retributions 
 with which they were soon to be visited. We are told in Reve- 
 lations of a war in heaven, " Michael and his angels fought 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 181 
 
 against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels.'* 
 Blind indeed must be the mind, to which it is not evident from 
 the whole connexion, that " heaven " here means the church, and 
 " the dragon and his angels" the enemies of the gospel, acting 
 under some great leader ! for the same account speaks of a woman 
 in heaven, who brought forth a man child, and who fled into the 
 wJ'derness from the persecutions of the dragon (all this in heaven^ 
 ml* d you !) which vomited forth water after her, " and the earth 
 helped the woman," etc. On which highly figurative account 
 (so manifestly relating to the church, its conflicts and final tri- 
 umph) is erected the edifice of monstrous absurdity about a 
 pitched fight, which took place between contending armies of 
 angels before time began ! That these crude notions are even 
 yet common amongst Christians is evidence that the sacred 
 volume has been studied to but little purpose.* 
 
 3rd. — " I affirm," quoth my opponent, " that no such coming 
 9S is predicted in the text has ever yet transpired." Then, my 
 friend, you affirm that Christ has proven a false prophet! for have 
 I not furnished proof upon proof, that he positively declared it 
 should take place within that generation, and within the lifetime 
 of some of his auditors ? Our friend's mistake, however, arises 
 from the want of an acquaintance with the style of speaking then 
 in general use ; he understands every thing in a gross or literal 
 sense ; and so, as history relates nothing of the sun having been 
 quenched — the stars having fallen — all nations having been actual- 
 
 * I will give another text often referred to, that my readers may see on what ques- 
 tionable ground the popular doctrine of a devil is made to stand. "And it shall 
 come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from 
 thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, That thou 
 sjjalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say. How hath the op- 
 pressor ceased! the golden city ceased ! The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, 
 and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual 
 stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger is persecuted, and none hindereth. The 
 whole earth is at rest, and is quiet : they break forth into singing. Yea, the iir-rees 
 rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, sat/ing, Since thou art laid down, no 
 feller is come up against us. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at 
 thy coming : it stirreth up the dead for thee, everi all the chief ones of the earth ; it 
 hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. Ail they shall speak 
 and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we 1 an thou become "like unto us } 
 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols : the worm is 
 spread under thee, and the wonns'cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O 
 Lucifer, son of the morning ! hoio art thou cut down to the ground, which didst 
 weaken the nations!" <Tsafah xiv. 3— 12.) Here you have it, reader; here is that 
 fallen angel that has so lon^ been a bu^-bear in Christendom : but here we have him 
 dead and buried, and therefore shorn of his power, as one would naturally suppose : 
 he is said, however, to be capable of such a variety of metamorphoses, that it were 
 well to keep a sharp look out for him nevertheless. 
 
 Vol. I.— Q 
 
182 PRO AND CON OF UNI VERBALISM. 
 
 ly congregated together before some real and visible judgment* 
 seat, it is clear, he thinks, that all this is yet to take place. 
 Nor is he without company in this error; many erudite theolo- 
 gians of high title, and most reverend wig, have erred from the 
 same cause. The sacred writers were much accustomed to the 
 use of the figure called hyperbole ; which consists in describing 
 a subject in an exaggerated manner, employing very bold im- 
 agery. See, for example, Isaiah's account of the destruction of 
 Babylon by the Medes. " Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, 
 cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate ; 
 and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars 
 of heaven, and the constellations thereof, shall not give their 
 light : the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon 
 shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world 
 for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity ; and I will cause 
 the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haugh- 
 tiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine 
 gold ; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I 
 will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, 
 in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce 
 anger. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no 
 man takelh up ; they shall every man turn to his ow^n people, 
 and flee every one into his own land." (Isaiah xiii. 9 — 14.) This 
 is the prediction of a mere temporal overthrow, but how glow- 
 ingly described ! The earth was to run away like a timid deer 
 before the hunter ! Now, to employ my friend's mode of rea- 
 soning here, I might argue that the destruction of Babylon is an 
 event yet to take place ; for the earth has not yet so run like a 
 frightened sheep from its orbit, nor have the luminaries of heaven 
 been extinguished. Truth is, that if we adopt this sort of logic 
 we shall arrive at most marvelous and contradictory conclusions 
 from different parts of the scriptures : and we should also be 
 forcing upon them a meaning which they were never meant to 
 bear. Our friend, by consulting the several commentators upon 
 Mat. xxiv, and its parables, will find that even the most orthodox 
 of them have been forced into concessions which favor my appli- 
 cation. For example : Dr. Clarke, remarks that the coming of 
 Christ " in his glory," may mean his spiritual presence in the 
 preaching, and miracles, by which the gospel dispensation was 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 183 
 
 ushered in ; his " gathering before him all nations," may mean 
 the assembling of the Jewish tribes on some festival occasion, (as 
 was the case on the day of pentecost ; and as was also the case 
 (according to Josephus and others,) when Jerusalem was besieged 
 by Titus Vespasian :) his " holy angels," may mean his apostles 
 and other inspired evangelists ; " the great sound of a trumpet," 
 may refer to the preaching of the gospel, by which means the 
 " elect were gathered together," or, in other words, believers 
 were brought into his church or kingdom, etc. Such is a specimen 
 of concessions made by commentators opposed to myself on the 
 general question between us, and they are the more to be relied 
 on for that very reason. 
 
 4th. — Let us now look at the three questions put to Christ by 
 his disciples, as he sat upon the mount of Olives. First. " When 
 shall these things be?" What things'? Evidently, those of 
 which he had been speaking, and these, by a reference to the con- 
 text, you will perceive were the destruction of the city and the 
 temple. On this point we are agreed. Proceed we then to the 
 second. " And what shall be the sign of thy coming." What 
 coming? Without doubt, his coming to execute these judgments 
 upon that obstinate people. Third : " and of the end of the world ]" 
 This, however, is not properly a third question, but merely a 
 member of the second : " the sign of thy coming and of the end 
 of the world]" (tov st/avoc) end of the age, or Mosaic economy: 
 for the disciples understood that the destruction of the city and 
 temple would close the Jewish dispensation, and usher in that of 
 the Mesiah : hence they associate his coming to execute this 
 destruction with the end of the Jewish age or state. St. Mark's 
 account of the same matter clearly corroborates this view. " And 
 as he wejit out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, 
 Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here ! 
 And Jesus answering, said unto him, Seest thou these great 
 buildings ? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that 
 shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of 
 Olives, over against the temple, Peter, and James, and John, and 
 Andrew, asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things 
 be ? and what shall he the sign when all these things shall be 
 fulfilled r' (Mark xiii. 1—4.) So also does St. Luke's. " And 
 ss some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly 
 
184 PRO AND CON OF TTNIVERSALISM. 
 
 Stones and gifts, he said, As for these things wh.ich ye behoM, 
 the days will come, in the which there shall no'c be left one stone 
 upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And they asked 
 him, saying. Master, but when shall these things be? and what 
 sign will there be when these things shall come to pass 1" (Luke 
 xxi. 5—7.) You perceive that both these latter evangelists make 
 but two questions of it ; and must not every reflecting reader be 
 satisfied from the nature of the case, that these inquiries had no 
 sort of reference to the close of time 1 What could put such an 
 idea into their heads 1 they had not been taught by Moses, nor 
 by any of their prophets, that this mundane system should come 
 to an end : and all the Jews believed that when the then existing 
 ecclesiastical dynasty should terminate, it should be succeeded 
 by a most resplendent state of things under their Mesiah, which 
 (from all that I can learn) was never expected to come to a pe- 
 riod. The assumption then that the disciples questioned Christ 
 respecting the end of time, is wholly without rational warrant, 
 
 5th. — We will next glance at my friend's objections to my 
 novel mode of applying the parables, he thinks my error here is 
 sufficiently clear from the fact, that seven eighths of all Christendom 
 are against me. Martin Luther did not yield to this argument — 
 or, possibly, protestantism had been unheard of to this day — 
 nor did John Wesley, or methodism would not have been : all 
 reformers, both in church and state — in law, medicine, the arts; 
 are met at the outset by this argument ; my friend was therefore 
 right in not resting his cause here. 
 
 He proceeds to convince us that the passage concerning the 
 rich man and Lazarus is a literal narrative ! bless me ! then the 
 dead carry with them to eternity their bodily organs ! and, al- 
 though existing in an immaterial state, they are still subject to 
 material influences ! The rich man " lifted up his ey«s," he sa«r 
 Lazarus in " Abraham's bosom,^'' he requested to have him sent to 
 dip \i\s Jin ger in water ^ and therewith to cool his tongue^ for the 
 supplicant was tormented in the Jlames. All fact — literal fact ! 
 disembodied spirits have eyes^ and tongues^ and bosoms, and Jiiv 
 gers; and the material element oi fire can burn them, and of 
 water can cool them ! literal fact all ! The regions of the saved, 
 too, and of the damned, are so adjacent to each other that the 
 inhabitants of each can maintain a familiar coloquy with those 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 185 
 
 of the other ! How manifestly allegorical is this whole account ! 
 Its scene is laid on the earth ; and the dramatis personse (although 
 they are said to have died, and one of them to have been buried,) 
 are represented as being still in the body. My friend thinks the 
 orthodox views of this text are confirmed by what is termed Jose- 
 phus' dissertation concerning Hades .• said dissertation, however, 
 is a most palpable forgery, and gotten up, without doubt, as a 
 counterpart to this parable; the phraseology is any thing but 
 Jewish, and it is asking too much of our credulity to require us 
 to believe that Josephus had any hand in it. But even allowing 
 it genuine, what then 1 Why then, hell is in the interior of our 
 earth, and both the good and bad of all the dead are there — and 
 Lazarus, when carried to Abraham's bosom, was in fact carried, 
 to hell ! According to this, we may expect ere long, (should 
 Simms' theory be true, which holds the interior of our globe to 
 be accessible at the poles,) that the improvements in navigation 
 will bring us to be well acquainted with hell and its inhabitants. 
 
 I shall not waste time in proving this passage to be an allegory ; 
 for that were as superfluous as to prove that a square is not a 
 circle. Mr. Wesley's logic, by which he would show it to be a 
 tarrative of fact, would equally convert full twenty other bible 
 parables into literal histories: for argument's sake, I am willing 
 ^o concede this point to my opponent ; merely that he may be 
 convinced, that his dogma of endless woe cannot be maintained 
 flom this passage even with this concession. I know that the 
 main feature of it on which the argument for this doctrine is 
 made to rest, is the account of the gulf — the impassable gulf. 
 Let us then admit Hades to be a local hell, either under, or beyond 
 the earth, as you please; and let us admit the gulf to be literally 
 such, i. e., a deep, and rugged chasm. You have now gained a 
 hell, and one from which there is no chance of egress ; but for 
 how long ■? Ay ! indeed ; this is likely to prove a troublesome 
 question for the theory of an endless infernum ! for hades itself is 
 doomed to certain destruction. "I will ransom them from the 
 power of hades, [so reads the septuagint, the version from which 
 Christ and his apostles were wont to quote,] I will redeem them 
 from death. death, I will be thy plagues ! hades^ I will 
 be thy destruction." (Hosea xiii. 14.) When hell is destroyed, 
 and its subjects ransomed from its power, what purpose can the 
 
 Vol. L— q 2 
 
186 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 golf answer 1 I will ask another question ; what is gained in 
 favor of endless misery from the admission that the parable 
 before us is literal history? Both these questions are fairly 
 answered by the one word — NOTHING. 
 
 The man without a wedding garment : — who was he ? somebody 
 that had stolen into heaven unperceived through the carelessness 
 of the porter? It would seem so, by my opponent's understand- 
 ing of it ! I should say rather a Jewish intruder, (one of the 
 class in regard to whom the king had said, " they shall not taste 
 of my supper,") who sought to shelter himself from the retribu- 
 tions which were about to befall his nation, by assuming the profes- 
 sion of— without the qualifications indispensable to — a subject of 
 Christ's kingdom, or church. Oneof the same class that Jesus said 
 should say unto him in that day; "Lord, thou hast eaten and 
 drunk in our presence ; and we have prophesied in thy name, and 
 in thy name done many wonderful works," &c. : but he shall 
 say unto them, " Depart from me, I never knew you." It must not 
 be lost sight of that all these things are spoken of in reference to 
 the church or kingdom of Christ on earth — their application to 
 the future state is not only gratuitous, but in its logical conse- 
 quences supremely ridiculous. 
 
 The closing question of my opponent is important. Does the 
 hope of an endless hereafter life rest on no clearer scriptural war- 
 rant than is urged in proof of the eternity of punishment ? This 
 comprises the sum of his last argument. Oh ! most blighting to 
 human hope were the negative to this question ! for I do with my 
 whole soul believe, that the eternity of punishment has no scrip- 
 tural warrant at all : aion. and its derivatives, are so equivocal in 
 their signification, that if no better ground of hope were afforded 
 in regard to the duration of the future life, than what they furnish, 
 such hope would be the next thing to despair : happily, however, 
 the case is far otherwise ! — for, 1st, the subjects of the future 
 life are to be like unto the angels of God, " neither do they die 
 any more." (Luke xx. 36.) 2nd. They are raised immortal, 
 (incapable of dying) incorruptible, (above the power of decay) 
 and glorious. They are also made alive in Christ, (who is said 
 to have been made " after the power of an endless life ;" Heb. vii. 
 16,) and to " bear the image of the heavenly ;" (1 Cor. xv.) 
 their vile body is to be changed, and fashioned like unto Christ*a 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. III. 187 
 
 " most glorious body." (Phil. iii. 21.) 3rd. They enter into a 
 glory in exchange for their present light affliction, which far ex- 
 ceeds eternal, (for so is the literal reading) exceeds it to excess, 
 (2 Cor. iv. 17.) 4th. Death is to be abolished, in regard to 
 them, " swallowed up in victory ;" which seems the strongest 
 form of assurance that their existence can never cease. In addi- 
 tion to these reasons, it must be considered that we were made to 
 the end that we should live eternally, and enjoy our creator. In 
 this, then, is the object of oar being fulfilled ; whereas by a 
 contrary issue it would be frustrated : and, moreover, life must 
 be absolutely eternal, having its well-spring in the eternal God. 
 On the contrary, suffering is a mere result of the present im- 
 perfection of our nature. In short, the reasons are almost 
 endless which justify the belief of a future endless existence to 
 man, and they will all apply, with others in addition, against his 
 being subjected to an eternity of suffering. 
 
 We have now gone through my friend's objections, and what 
 is their amount ? Their aggregated weight is but that of a 
 feather against the mass of testimony to which they stand opposed. 
 So shielded at all points is my argument upon the application of 
 this important subject, that I might safely dispense with all that 
 I have said in its support, and then decide the issue by one single 
 text. If my opponent is right, there is coming a judgment, the 
 calamities of which will a million-fold exceed all together that 
 the sun has ever looked down upon since it was first struck into 
 existence ; whereas, Christ says of the time of Jerusalem's de- 
 struction, " Then shall he a time of trouble such as never was since 
 the beginning of the creation until that time', NO, NOR EVER 
 SHALL BE !" 
 
188 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 POPULAR DEBATE.— No. IV. 
 
 ARE WE TO INFER, FROM THE OPPOSITION ENDURED BY 
 CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES, THAT THEY TAUGHT THE 
 DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS MISERY 7 
 
 AFFIRMATIVE. 
 
 One thin^, at least, is certain, and that is, that the saviour 
 taught doctrines to which wicked men were extremely averse. 
 On this point we cannot but be agreed. Was the doctrine of 
 endless punishment one of these 1 It either was, or he taught the 
 opposite ; for something relative to the future states of men he 
 unquestionably did teach : but that the subject-matter of his 
 preaching was not universalism is evident, from the virulent per- 
 secutions which met him at every step : for men would hardly, 
 methinks, have persecuted him, in return for the good news he 
 brought them, that they were all to go to heaven when they died ! 
 Oh, but this would have suited them exactly ! they would have 
 hailed it with acclamations ; and instead of regarding the saviour 
 as their enemy, they would have greeted him as their benefactor. 
 That Christ was not so received ; but, on the contrary, was oppo- 
 sed, vilified, hated, scoffed at, and finally murdered, is an evidence 
 irresistible that he did not inculcate universal salvation. 
 
 There is no doctrine to which the heart of man is more opposed, 
 than that which tells him he must answer in a future life for the 
 actions committed in the present; especially when it is added, 
 that the hell to which his sins will sink him will retain him 
 forever ; its fires prove as quenchless as his immortal spirit, and 
 escape from the aroused wrath of omnipotence as impossible as 
 to get beyond the circumference of his power. Ah ! this is not 
 a doctrine to please the carnal heart ; it is not adapted to quiet 
 the troubled ocean of man's fears and anxieties about eternity; 
 it administers no opiate to the guilty conscience : and hence, as 
 the pious minister of Jesus knows full well, the world is arrayed 
 in deadly hostility against it. I am persuaded that nothing but 
 this could have aroused against the saviour the rancour which 
 followed him all his life, and at length nailed him to the cross. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. IV. 189 
 
 Christ foresaw this consequence from the preaching of his 
 gospel ; and he forewarned his disciples against it. " If the 
 world hate you," said he, " ye know that it hated me bofore it 
 hated you." " In the world ye shall have tribulation," &c. And 
 the apostles, accordingly, were soon called upon to verify the fact 
 that " they that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer per- 
 secution :" but that it is " through much tribulation we must 
 enter the kingdom of God." These facts and general principles 
 can by no means be reconciled with the idea that Christ and his 
 apostles inculcated universal salvation. 
 
 Now it is well known that this doctrine does not meet with 
 opposition from the irreligious and the licentious : these yield it 
 their hearty good wishes and open countenance. No ; it is the 
 humble follower of Jesus who most abhors this fatal error — the 
 man of prayer — he who has exercised an evangelical repentance, 
 and obtained the pardon of his sins ; he views universalism as a 
 dangerous and soul-damning delusion, and he sincerely deprecates 
 its prevalence. Whilst on the other hand the doctrine of aa 
 endless hell for the finally impenitent, finds as little favor with 
 sinners now as formerly. From all which I deduce the conse- 
 quence, that this was the doctrine of Christ and hit apostles, and 
 that to this source principally, we must trace the opposition and 
 persecutions which they sustained, 
 
 NEGATIVE. 
 
 The first point to be settled in this inquiry is, whether Christ 
 and his apostles were opposed by that portion of human society 
 termed the wicked^ or by that called the pious : the determining 
 of this question must necessarily affect the conclusion of the 
 argument. It can scarcely be requisite to prcnje to you, my 
 hearers, those of you acquainted with the gospel history at least, 
 that all the persecutions of the saviour came from men who took 
 high ground for sanctity of character ; the priests of the Jewish 
 church — the scribes, whose ofiice it was to expound the law of 
 God ; and the pharisees, " who trusted in themselves that they 
 were righteous, and despised others ;" these were they from 
 whom came all the opposition to the gospel in the infancy of its 
 promulgation : and from men of like pretensions, and of a like 
 spirit, I may add, have emanated all the religious persecutions 
 
190 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 which have occurred since time began. Christ himself has, I 
 think, expressed the very same sentiment in different language : 
 (see Mat. xxiii.) he charges the scribes and pharisees with being 
 guilty of " all the righteous blood that had been shed upon the 
 earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, unto the blood of Zacha- 
 rias, son of Barachias, whom they slew between the temple and 
 the altar." (ib. 35.) By which we undoubtedly are to understand, 
 that all this martyr-blood had been spilt by the dark and fanatical 
 spirit which these classes so eminently displayed. 
 
 As to the common people, those usually denominated the wicked^ 
 the world, &c., they were ever the friends of the saviour ; they 
 attended upon his preaching in throngs — they followed him into 
 the wilderness far from their villages : Christ on several occa- 
 sions fed thousands of them together, which gives us an idea of 
 the numbers by which he was usually attended ; and, we are 
 directly informed that " the common people heard him gladly :" 
 (Mark xii. 37.) but for them he would have fallen a victim to the 
 malice of his foes before he did, " but they feared the people, lest 
 they should have been stoned." The following passage gives us 
 a clear intimation as to the state of things in this respect. " Then 
 drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him 
 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying. This man 
 receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." (Luke xv. 1, 2.) 
 This drew out of the saviour the beautiful parables of the lost 
 sheep, lost piece of money, and prodigal son ; in which he vin- 
 dicates his attentions to those whom his pharisaic opposers so 
 self-complacently denominated sinners. 
 
 Having settled the fact that the opposition to the saviour pro- 
 ceeded mainly from the classes denominated the pious, and chiefly 
 from the straitest of them called the pharisees with ihe'u priests at 
 their head ; we may now I think account for that opposition on 
 different grounds from those assumed by my opponent. These 
 classes themselves believed in endless misery ; they had bor 
 lowed this dogma from heathen nations, for assuredly and by 
 consent of even the highest orthodox authorities, they had no 
 warrant for it in their own canonized scriptures ; it cannot be 
 rationally supposed, then, that Christ excited their rancor, by 
 teaching endless misery. No, no ! that it proceeded from an oppo 
 site cause is far more probable : Christ taught that God is ap 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. IV. 191 
 
 universal Father, and benefactor to mankind : whereas they sup- 
 posed him a partial Being, and (as a matter of course) that they 
 were the subjects of his partiality — Christ's teaching went to 
 prove that even enemies, despised publicans, and harlots, are com- 
 prised within the range of heavenly beneficence ; whereas they 
 would fain have had it thought that God's goodness was restricted 
 to an inconsiderable moiety of our race. The extremes of north 
 and south are not wider apart than were the sentiments inculcated 
 by the saviour, and those entertained by these narrow and bigoted 
 sectarists. In view of these facts we may easily understand 
 "What kind of a world it was against which Christ cautioned his 
 disciples — it was the same that had hated him — from which had 
 proceeded all his own bitter and unrelenting persecutions — it was, 
 in short, the (so called) religious world : from the same source 
 have issued all the murders, tortures, confiscations, proscriptions, 
 exactions, &c., which, sanctified by godly pretexts, have, in all 
 ages, and in all climes, drenched in blood our groaning earth : 
 the common people have never (save in the capacity of tools) 
 been engaged in this horrid business : all history agrees in tracing 
 it to a fanatical spirit in religion. 
 
 Neither is it true, my friends, that the doctrine of universal 
 salvation is generally pleasing to men : it is indeed true that it ought 
 to be so ; and it is also true that if men's hearts were less selfish and 
 less sophisticated with corrupting creeds, it would be so ; but it is 
 undeniable that the dogma of endless suffering is much better 
 adapted to flatter the vanity and self-love of man than the contrary, 
 and hence, probably, we may account for its more general preva- 
 lence in the world. This doctrine tells us there will be an eternal 
 distinction between us and others ; this pleases us, for we are sure 
 to think the distinction will be in our favor; it tells that God loves 
 some and hates others ; this pleases us also, for we are sure to 
 think ourselves the party loved : it tells us that some are to go to 
 heaven at death and some to hell ; and with this likewise we are 
 suited, for we think there ought to he a hell for somebody, and 
 there are always certain somebodies whom we dislike heartily 
 enough to wish there ; but as to ourselves — oh ! no danger in the 
 world to ourselves — hell could not have been made for such 
 promising folk ! 
 
 Doctrines of cruelty have ever met with a better receptioii 
 
192 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 among men than have those of benevolence ; for the reason that 
 the mass of mankind are in gross ignorance, and their conception® 
 of the daily are low and grovelling : when intelligence and re- 
 finement become more general in the world, doctrines of benevo- 
 lence will be better received. Paul labored and suffered reproach 
 for exhibiting God as an universal saviour: (1 Tim. iv. 10.) and 
 the same teaching would have ensured him a like experience in 
 every subsequent age to the present time. My opponent tells us 
 how opposed to the doctrine of an endless hell the pious minister 
 of Jesus finds the world ; but the truth is utterly to the contrary. 
 I put it to your own observation, whether the opposite to this is 
 not the fact ! Knew you ever of a case of persecution against 
 an individual, for his preaching an endless helH Never, surely ! 
 As already said, this doctrine is by far too convenient, and too 
 well suited to the vanity and selfishness of men, to be a subject 
 of opposition : it is a point which the interests of all false and 
 corrupt religions will unite to guard, as the main secret, and all- 
 potent engine of their dominion over mankind. 
 
 Nor can I allow to my friend's objection to universalism the 
 weight he claims for it, that it is generally disapproved, and its 
 propagation deprecated, by men of prayer. Possibly it is ; pos- 
 sibly too the preaching of it by the apostle was opposed by this 
 class of persons : we know with certainty that it was principally 
 such that composed the number of haters and crucifiers of the 
 saviour ! I should be sorry to endorse a millionth part of the 
 doctrines and doings of praying men ; for many and many a dark 
 deed of crime, God knows, has sought to sanctify itself by prayer. 
 The simple fact, therefore, of a doctrine being loved or hated by 
 praying men proves nothing either as to its truth or falsity. 
 
 On the whole, then, I ask, how can we rationally infer from 
 the opposition encountered by Christ and his apostles, that they 
 taught the doctrine of endless misery ? On the contrary, when 
 it is considered that his opponents themselves believed this doc- 
 trine, is not an opposite inference the more rational 1 Ycu, my 
 hearers, may decide these questions for yourselves. I pretend not 
 to say that they were persecuted for the one of these causes 
 or the other, but only that if for either, the latter is the mora 
 probable. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 193 
 
 POPULAR DEBATE.— No. V. 
 
 IS THE NOTION OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT AFTER DEATH 
 AGREEABLE TO THE SCRIPTURES AND REASON 1 
 
 ARGUMENT IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. 
 
 Of all the heresies that have infested the Christian church, 
 universalism is at once the most audacious and the most alarming ; 
 it lays its destructive axe at the root of opinions which have ever, 
 by general suffrage, been regarded as vital, and fundamental, in 
 christian faith : amongst these it is doubtful if any one is more 
 venerated, for its antiquity, and general prevalence in the world, 
 than that which is involved in the question before us. Will there be 
 a judgment after death ? Say no — decide this momentous inquiry 
 in the negative, and you will be secure of a hearty vote of thanks 
 from the irreligious and the abandoned of all nations, by whom, 
 we may be sure, this doctrine is but little relished. Say no, and 
 the bible may very well be dispensed with : for its main business, 
 as it seems to me, is to prepare men against that dreadful assize 
 at which all our actions in life must undergo the severest scrutiny. 
 Ah ! in reference to this, how many a dying wretch has disclosed 
 the secrets of a life of crime, which had otherwise gone down 
 with him into the oblivion of the grave ! And how many an one 
 at the same awful juncture, has relinquished his grasp upon 
 hoards, which had been accumulated by fraud and oppressive 
 exactions ! Well doth the poet call this the — 
 
 " Great day, for which all other days were made, 
 
 « * * * 
 
 Great day of dread, decision, and despair. 
 At thought of thee, each sublunary wish 
 Lets go its eager grasp, and drops the world, 
 And catches at a single reed of hope 
 In heaven." 
 
 Reason clearly suggests the necessity for a judgment of men after 
 this life : when we observe the present dispensations of provi- 
 dence, we perceive that they take place indifferently in regard to 
 the righteous and the wicked ; a suitable distinction is not now 
 Vol. L— R No. 9. 
 
194 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 maintained between these opposite classes : hence a future dis 
 pensalion is obviously necessary in order to remedy the irregulari 
 ties of the present. God must vindicate the justice of his gov- 
 ernment — he must display his infinite aversion to sin, and his 
 approval of virtue — and this he must do before assembled worlds. 
 By confining our attention to the events of time, we should often 
 be templed to call the justice of God into question : the cruel, 
 and the rapacious, are allowed to trample under foot and despoil 
 the meek and the upright : the poor man finds in the law but a 
 weak defence against the rich oppressor ; the innocent are often 
 subject to the full rigors of legal vengeance, whilst the guilty are 
 suffered to escape with impunity. Who can estimate the sum of 
 suffering caused by such men as Charles XII. of Sweden, 
 Cromwell, and Napoleon 1 How could Pizarro, and Cortes, be 
 adequately punished in life, for the prodigies of cruelty which 
 they perpetrated in Mexico, and Peru 1 When Jehovah looked 
 down from his throne in heaven upon the unhappy Montezuma, 
 expiring on heated plates of iron : marked he not for deep dam- 
 nation the miscreant who had caused this suffering ] A single 
 mandate, from a single tyrant, has often whelmed millions of 
 hearts in anguish ; think of the horrors inflicted within the limits? 
 of British-East-India (if Burke, and Sheridan, may be trustedj 
 by the tyranny of Warren Hastings ! " I'll swear," (said aa 
 unhappy princess, whose husband had been perfidiously mur- 
 dered by that tyrant,) " if Hastings is not damned, his God 
 is a black accomplice in his crimes !" It would indeed seem 
 so, if the unjust oppressions of time are not to be avenged in 
 eternity. 
 
 When we look through the scriptures we find them to contain, 
 1st : numerous allusions to a certain set time, denominated " the 
 day of judgment;" these allusions are an indirect proof of the 
 doctrine under examination. 2ndly, we find direct proofs to the 
 same eiffect in particular descriptions of that day. 
 
 " And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, 
 "when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of 
 your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for 
 the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than 
 that city." (Mat. x. 14, 15.) " Then began he to upbraid the 
 cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 195 
 
 repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Beth- 
 saida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been 
 done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago ia 
 sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolera- 
 ble for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And 
 thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought 
 down to hell : for if the mighty works, which have been done in 
 thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this 
 day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the 
 land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee." (Mat. xi. 
 20 — 24.) " The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of 
 temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment 
 to be punished." (2 Pet. ii. 9.) " And the angels which kept 
 not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath re- 
 served in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judg- 
 ment of the great day." (Jude 6.) These are the principal 
 among the indirect proofs of a day of general judgment : you will 
 observe that it is alluded to as a fixed and definite period — not as 
 a day ; but as the day. — Sometimes it is denominated " that day," 
 " the great day," &c. 
 
 Again, there are passages in which mention is made of " the 
 judgment seat of Christ," and of our having to stand before, and 
 to give an account thereat. (Rom. xiv. 10. — 2 Cor. v. 10.) 
 
 The accounts of our Lord's second coming I shall not adduce 
 in this argument, although they have been thought to belong to 
 the same subject, but they have been already subjected to the 
 alembic of my opponent's sophistry, and they turned out to mean 
 no such thing. I pass them, then, and go to the direct evidences. 
 
 " And the times of this ignorance God winked at ; but now 
 commandeth all men every where to repent ; Because he hath 
 appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in right- 
 eousness by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath 
 given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the 
 dead." (Acts xvii. 30, 31.) Here is the doctrine fully asserted : 
 Christ, ihe judge — the world, the party — and an appointed day , the 
 time : all clearly and distinctly revealed. 
 
 Next see, 2 Peter iii. : " "Whereby the world that then was, 
 being overflowed with water, perished : Bnt the heavens and the 
 aarth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved 
 
196 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly 
 men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one 
 day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years 
 as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as 
 some men count slackness ; but is long suffering to us-ward, not 
 willing that any should perish, but that all should come to re- 
 pentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the 
 night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great 
 noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, 
 and the works that are therein, shall be burned up. Seeing then 
 that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons 
 ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness: Looking 
 for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the 
 heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt 
 with fervent heat ] Nevertheless we, according to his promise, 
 look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- 
 ness." (6 — 13.) Here is a circumstantial account of an awful 
 event, or rather train of events. I hope my opponent will not 
 attempt to spiritualise it, and reduce it to a nonentity. 
 
 Pass we now to 2 Thes. i : " Seeing it is a righteous thing 
 with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you ; 
 And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus 
 shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. In flaming 
 fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey 
 not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : Who shall be punished 
 with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
 from the glory of his power ; when he shall come to be glorified 
 in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because 
 our testimony among you was believed) in that day." (6 — 10.) 
 Could a general judgment, and one too, which shall decide the 
 fates of the parties for eternity, be more decisively revealed than it 
 here is 1 Christ descends— he descends from heaven— he descends 
 in flames — he descends to avenge himself upon the enemies of his 
 gospel— and that vengeance, what is it ? Destruction, total, per- 
 petual, irremediable. 
 
 I will adduce two other testimonies, which I confess to be highly 
 figurative, but which, nevertheless, without doubt, refer to the 
 same stupendous transactions: the first is in Daniel vii. "I 
 beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 197 
 
 sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head 
 like the pure wool : his throne was like the fiery flame, and his 
 wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth 
 from before him : thousand thousands ministered unto him, and 
 ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him : the judgment 
 was set, and the books were opened." (9, 10.) The other is in 
 Rev. XX. " And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on 
 it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and 
 there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small 
 and great, stand before God : and the books were opened ; and 
 another book was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead 
 were judged out of those things which were written in the books, 
 according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which 
 were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which 
 were in them : and they were judged every man according to their 
 works. And death and hell was cast into the lake of fire. This 
 ■is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in 
 the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (11 — 15.) These 
 passages are marked with much sublimity of thought, and grandeur 
 of imagery ; but as they are dark and enigmatical, I do not lean 
 upon them with a strong reliance. 
 
 That Paul taught the doctrine of a judgment after death is man- 
 ifest : we find it distinctly asserted in his letter to the Hebrews. 
 *' It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment." 
 (Heb. ix. 27.) And we are informed in the book of Acts, that 
 " as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
 come, Felix trembled." (Acts xxiv. 25.) 
 
 I am curious to know how my opponent will attempt to fritter 
 away all this testimony : not only how he will meet the argu- 
 ment from the scripture, but also from the reason and necessity 
 of things. There must be a judgment after death — all nations 
 have believed in it, and, as already remarked, it is imperatively 
 called for by the inequalities in the present dispensations of provi- 
 dence : evil men look forward to it with fear and trembling; but 
 the righteous most earnestly desire its coming : it will be to them 
 a day of deliverance, of vindication, and of recompense for all 
 their sufferings and trials in time. They shall also see their de- 
 sire upon their persecutors, and shall have no longer occasion to 
 exclaim with the souls of the martyrs, as described in Revelation, 
 
 Voj,. I.— R 2 
 
198 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 " How long, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge 
 our blood on them that dwell on the earth T' (Rev. vi. 10.) 
 
 In conclusion I remark, that if there be no judgment after death, 
 then the saviour's momentous question, relative to the worth of the 
 soul, is a grave burlesque : nothing more. " What shall it profit 
 a man," he asks, " if he gain the whole world, and lose his own 
 soul, or what shall he give in exchange for his soul ?" And what 
 renders this question more awfully momentous is, that it is pro- 
 pounded in immediate connexion with the declaration, " For the 
 Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy 
 angels, and then shall he reward every man according to his 
 works." (Mat. xvi. 27.) 
 
 ARGUMENT IN THE NEGATIVE. 
 
 It may seem an act of great temerity on my part, my auditors, 
 to attempt maintaining the negative of this question against such 
 an array of argument, and evidence, as has been adduced on the 
 other side : more especially as your education, and long habits 
 of thinking, upon this subject, must necessarily bias your minds 
 against the object of that attempt; nevertheless, a firm convic* 
 tion that the doctrine of a general judgment after death is a mere 
 bug-bear, without any real countenance from reason or the bible ; 
 and injurious in its influences upon mankind, imposes upon me 
 the duty of undertaking its refutation : give me but your candid 
 attention and I can promise myself success. 
 
 1st. — You were told that the wicked do not relish this doctrine. 
 Perhaps not; but I know of no particular reasons why they 
 should object to it. On the contrary, I should think that they find 
 it sufiiciently convenient ; it puts off the day of reckoning to a 
 conveniently distant time, and represents its decisions as sufiiciently 
 uncertain; and this tends to set their consciences well at ease until 
 the moment of danger is conceived to have nearly arrived ; then 
 comes in the expedient of repentance, just in season to ward the 
 long-suspended stroke of justice ! The anecdote of the Irishman 
 who stole" a pig, (whether truth or fiction) well illustrates this 
 point : when told he would have to answer for it at the day of 
 judgment, he replied, " Och ! but had I known you would wait 
 80 long, I would have taken two of them !" 
 
 It is true, as my opponent remarked, that by the terrors of that 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 199 
 
 expected day, the dying sinner has often been induced to " make a 
 clean breast," by confession ; and that ill-gotten hoards have been 
 wrenched from the hands of avarice and extortion — but w^hat then 1 
 Have the robbed and the oppressed been benefited by these fits 
 of remorse ? No such thing ; they have served for the founding 
 of churches, or of convents, or for the enriching of ecclesiastics, 
 but rarely indeed have they brought reparation to the injured. On 
 the other hand, v^^hat a fearful engine of mischief has this doctrine 
 proved in the hands of wily priests ! with what terrific phantoms 
 has it peopled the dreaded future ! And how dense a darkness 
 has it shed upon man's dying hour ! Often, and often, by its 
 means, has the ghostly counsellor at the bed of death, wrung 
 from the fears of the dying man the savings of a life of industry, 
 which ought to have gone to his widow and her orphan children. 
 Indeed, with such frequency has this case transpired, that it has 
 been found necessary by enlightened legislators, to make, by 
 statute, bequests of this nature invalid. Wicked men averse to 
 the doctrine of a judgment after death! Not they indeed ; they 
 are prone enough to "put the evil day afar off:" the cheek of the 
 hardy mariner is blanched with dismay, and the prayer of agony 
 quavers on his lips, when his storm tossed vessel seems on the 
 point of being ingulfed in the troubled element beneath him : but 
 the danger passed, he laughs at his fears, and blasphemes the 
 name of God without compunction. 
 
 2nd. — If there is to be no judgment after death, my friend 
 thinks, the bible may be dispensed with ! its main business being, 
 as he thinks, to prepare men against that event ! There is a mar- 
 velous issue between us, then, upon this point. I hold the main 
 business of the bible to be the preparing us for this life — its duties, 
 and sufferings — and to reconcile us to its sorrows by revealing the 
 joys that await us in another — it tells of God, and of ourselves — 
 of our relations to him and to each other — and it shows us that a 
 conformity to the obligations which these relations impose, presents 
 the surest prospect of happiness. How many of mankind, I pray, 
 are prepared by the bible against a future day of judgment ? 
 
 3rd. — He quotes us the poet, who in a strain of extravagance 
 which prose would never countenance, calls the fancied era of the 
 judgment, the — 
 
 " Great day, for which all other days were made." 
 
200 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM 
 
 I must think that the Creator was poorly employed if he made 
 all other days for the sake of such a season of ruin, confusion, 
 madness and misery, as we are apt to imagine that day of judg- 
 ment will prove I It is little short of blasphemy to charge him 
 with so flagrant an outrage upon justice and benevolence. Truth 
 is, that however this doctrine may serve to furnish images of ter- 
 ror" and grandeur to the bard, it will illy endure the investigation 
 of sober inquiry. 
 
 4th. — The main argument from reason for a future judgment, is, 
 that providence is not jxmt in its present dispensations ! Such is 
 really the substance of the argument! It is pretended that a 
 suitable distinction is not maintained betwixt the righteous and 
 the wicked. This is a grave charge against the Governor of the 
 universe; and, if true, I should doubt his disposition to admin- 
 ister its affairs at any future lime more justly than he does at pre- 
 sent. Convince me that ray maker can do what is wrong, or omit 
 to do what is right, at one time, and I shall at once despair of his 
 doing otherwise at any time ! Now the nature of the case would 
 be materially altered, if it could be made to appear, that from 
 these present irregularities some great and glorious result 
 should ensue — a result consistent with the eventual good of the 
 entire mass of his creatures ; but a mal-administration of affairs 
 which shall issue so disastrously to millions of millions, 
 cannot by any sophistry be vindicated; nor can we ever ration- 
 ally expect the interests of the governed to be safer in the same 
 hands. 
 
 But tell me now, ye who can look over the world with an eye 
 of candid observation, are not the distinctions of condition betwixt 
 the good and the bad, as broad as are the distinctions of character ? 
 You must, at least, acknowledge that the latter are not as wide 
 as the difference between unending bliss and unending woe — 
 you must even allow, that if it were attempted to sever these 
 classes from each other, it would be difficult to determine in 
 regard to an immense majority of mankind, whether to rank them 
 amongst the righteous or the wicked, so nearly balanced are their 
 good and evil traits of character ! Now, in regard to these, what 
 shall be done? Shall we, whilst we allow them no reward for 
 their good qualities, eternally damn them for their evil ones? 
 This would seem a very unjust measure; and yet it is the very 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 201 
 
 measure which the common doctrine of a judgment after death 
 contemplates ! 
 
 We see not, as sees the all-seeing God : he saw Montezuma, 
 for example, suffering under the cruelties of Cortez : perhaps 
 also he had oft seen others suffering under the cruelties of Mon- 
 tezuma, and in that case the sulTerings of the latter were but a 
 just measure of retribution. " But Adoni-bezek fled : and they 
 pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and 
 his great toes. And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, 
 having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their 
 meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited 
 me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died." 
 (Judges i. 6, 7.) Yet we are told that men are not judged and 
 punished here ; for if here, why again hereafter 1 
 
 And may not Charles XII. Cromwell, and Napoleon, have been 
 mere scourges in the hands of providence ? Many wise and good 
 men have so regarded them, and with the evil they each did, much 
 good was accomplished also. Governor Hastings may have been 
 a tyrant or not: he has been differently, oppositely, represented. 
 Supposing he was, and that God shall eternally damn him, agreea- 
 bly to the Indian princess' requirement ; will his damnation 
 repair the wrongs he did in life ? or will its only purpose be 
 revenge 7 But then, another difficulty occurs ; agreeably to the 
 doctrine under review, the victims of the tyrant are as liable to 
 unending woe as is the tyrant himself! Still another, after des- 
 patching his victims to hell the latter may have himself repented 
 and gone to heaven ! I see not, then, if even there shall be a 
 judgment after death, how it is to repair the evils of life, or make 
 amends for the mal-administrations of providence during time! 
 
 5th. — It is commonly supposed that we go at death immediately 
 to heaven or to hell : this being the case, where is the necessity 
 for a general judgement? Is it to enable the Omniscient Being 
 to review his former decisions ? May he have committed mis- 
 takes which this rejudication will enable him to correct? Or 
 is this first commitment to the prison of the universe upon a 
 suspicion of guilt merely, and the business of the judgment to 
 refute or confirm that suspicion ? A more solemn mockery than 
 this same fancied judgment was never conceived. A pageant, 
 suitable enough as a subject of poetry, or of popular declamation, 
 
202 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 but how absurd ; yea ridiculous, (sublimely so, however,) when 
 the infinite Jehovah is represented as collecting around him the 
 people of a hundred centuries, that, either he may correct his 
 mistakes, or convince them that he has made none ! Really, for 
 plain and honest prose this is most insufferable stuff! 
 
 6th. — But let us to the scriptures and carefully attend to their 
 testimony upon this head. It is not to be doubted that they speak 
 of several days of judgment, and hours of judgment also. It was 
 the day of judgment to the old world when its destruction came 
 upon it. It was Sodom's day of judgment when it was destroyed 
 by fire from heaven. Peter evidently speaks of the time of the 
 latter visitation under this appellation, for he adduces the facts 
 of Lot's deliverance, and the overthrow of the Sodomites, as 
 an evidence, " that the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly 
 out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judg- 
 ment to be punished." (2 Pet. ii. 9.) And the same writer 
 speaks of a day of judgment which was at hand when he sent his 
 epistles to the churches ; " for," he saith, " the time is come that 
 judgment must begin at the house of God, and if it first begin at 
 us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of 
 God." (1 Pet. iv. 17.) Even Dr- Clarkft admits this as referring 
 to the retributions then impending over the Jewish people. 
 
 And now, my hearers, notice well the following passage, which 
 identifies the time of the judgment with that of the introduction 
 of Christianity. " And I saw another angel fly in the midst of 
 heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that 
 dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, 
 and people. Saying with a loud voice. Fear God, and give glory 
 to him, for the hour of his judgment is come : and worship him 
 who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of 
 waters." (Rev. xiv. 6, 7.) 
 
 My friend's indirect proofs of a general judgment require, I 
 think, but a glance, in order to their turning out no proofs at all. 
 The first of them is a threat against such cities as should refuse 
 to receive the apostles of Christ." "It shall be more tolerable 
 for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment than for that 
 city." Is it not too manifest for argument, that nothing more is 
 here meant than that in the time of visitation, it should go harder 
 with that city than it had with Sodom and Gomorrah ? Th& 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 203 
 
 latter were destroyed at once ; whereas the destruction of the 
 former should be protracted and complicated : it should be be- 
 sieged, its supplies of food and water cut off; famine and pesti- 
 lence should stalk within its walls, and an unsparing foe should 
 direct against it the missiles of destruction from without. The 
 next passage contains a denunciation against Chorazin, Bethsaida, 
 and Capernaum ; which places had been eminently the theatres of 
 his teaching and miracles. They are threatened with a severer 
 fate than had overtaken Tyre and Sidon : the period at which this 
 fate should come upon them is termed " the day of judgment." 
 It must be evident that this judgment was temporal from the fact 
 of its being compared with that which had befallen other cities ; 
 but the punishment of the places which had received, without 
 accepting, the offers of the gospel, was to be greater than that of 
 the others, because of their having sinned against greater light : 
 but still we are not to suppose that Christ brought into comparison 
 things between which there could be no proportion, and, therefore, 
 as the lesser judgment was temporal, so also should the greater 
 be. 
 
 The only indirect proof yet remaining is Jude, 6. I confess I 
 am not clear as to its meaning, but still I am even with my oppo- 
 nent in this respect, for he can know no more about it than I do. 
 It is usually assumed that the angels here mentioned are spiritual 
 beings — that the habitations they left were seats, or mansions, in 
 heaven; and that " the judgment of the great day*' means the 
 event contended for in the affirmative of this argument. These 
 airy assumptions have, in human creeds, assumed the form and 
 substantiality of facts ! Such occasional obscurities are fortu- 
 nate God-sends for the popular theology, they serve it as retreat- 
 ing places from the rapidly spreading light of true biblical phi- 
 losophy. 
 
 Before passing on to my opponent's direct proofs, I will briefly 
 notice the argument founded on the definite prefix, the, (instead 
 of the indefinite, a,) as connected with this subject. Unfortu- 
 nately for this argument, it has no foundation in the original 
 Greek : there the article is en, indefinite ; not ho, definite : " en 
 hemera kriseos,''^ a day of judgment: this is almost uniformly the 
 form of the phrase, and this materially alters the face of the 
 argument. And even were the form of the phrase as my oppo- 
 
204 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 nent represents it, should we then be justified in assuming, that 
 the scriptures recognise but one day of judgment? we might, 
 indeed, if there were not numerous testimonies to the contrary ; 
 but to do so in the face of these would seem to imply a strange 
 indifference to bible authority. Every day is, in some sense, a 
 day of judgment, for all God's ways are said to be judgment. 
 (Dan. iv. 37.) He "is known by the judgment he ea?ecu/ef A." 
 (Psl. viii. 16.) "Every morning doth he bring his judgment to 
 light." (Zeph. iii. 5.) But times of signal retribution upon a 
 particular place or people, are more especially designated as days 
 of judgment, of vengeance, or of recompense : and these are 
 often alluded to in such strong phraseology, that the inattentive 
 reader might easily be led to think that they belonged to the 
 concerns of eternity. See the following, with regard to the de- 
 struction of Idumea. " And all the host of heaven shall be dis- 
 solved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll : 
 and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from 
 the vine, and as a falling Jig from the fig-tree. For my sword 
 sliall be bathed in heaven ; behold, it shall come down upon 
 Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment." (Isaiah 
 xxxiv. 4, 5.) " For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and 
 the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. And the 
 streams thereof shall be turned into burning pitch, and the dust 
 thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning 
 pitch : It shall not be quenched night nor day ; the smoke 
 thereof shall go up forever : from generation to generation it 
 shall lie waste ; none shall pass through it for ever and ever." 
 (ib. 8—10.) 
 
 Let us now attend to the texts which are considered as direct 
 proofs of a future general judgment : the first is Acts xvii. 30, 31. 
 If I have any knowledge of language this passage affords a 
 refutation of the doctrine it is brought forward to support. It 
 informs us that God connived at the idolatry of former times, 
 because of the ignorance of the people ; " but now," says the 
 apostle, " he calls on all men every where to repent." Why 1 
 ^'•Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the 
 world," &c. Now here a question arises. Are all men, of all 
 ages, to be judged at that appointed day? If so, I again ask, 
 why were not men called on in lortner times to repent as well 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 205 
 
 as now 1 
 
 at former wickedness, if it be true that he purposes bringing it to 
 the scrutiny of his bar ? It is most manifest that the apostle spake 
 of a judgment in which the people of former times had no con- 
 cern ; and, therefore, not a future general judgment, for in that it 
 is supposed, all will be concerned alike ! To me the apostle's 
 meaning is clearly as follows : " In past limes, when Jehovah 
 made no express manifestations of himself to the heathen nations, 
 their idolatry was excused, or overlooked, but now, a dispensation 
 of superior glory being opened — its light and privileges being 
 extended to all — all are now called upon to reform their conduct : 
 for God hath appointed in this latter day to judge the world, by 
 the strict and righteous principles of the gospel of his son ; and 
 he hath given assurance of this fact — he has set the seal of his 
 direct panction to his son's doctrines, by raising him from the 
 dead." Such, upon the face of the passage, seems its true mean- 
 ing, and the following considerations go irrefutably to confirm it. 
 1st. As has been shown before, the gospel dispensation is em- 
 phatically termed, " the time of Gocfs judgment.'''' 2nd. Christ 
 expressly declares that he will not personally judge men, but " the 
 words that t have spoken," saith he, *' the same shall judge him 
 in the last day :" (John xii. 48.) i. e., the gospel day, or era. 
 3rd. We have testimony direct both as to the time and the place 
 of this judgment, both of which are in accordance with the above 
 view. " Now is the judgment of this world." (John ix. 30.) 
 " He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment 
 in the earth : and the isles shall wait for his law." (Isaiah xlii. 4.) 
 *' But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth 
 and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kind- 
 ness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth .• for in these things 
 I delight, saith the Lord." (Jer. ix. 24.) " Behold, the days 
 come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous 
 Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute 
 judgment and justice in the earths (Jer. xxiii. 5.) Thus much for 
 my opponent's first direct proof of a general judgment after death: 
 it is precisely the text that I should select for a contrary purpose. 
 
 His next is in 2 Pet. iii. : this seems, prima facie, to lend more 
 countenance to his position, and without doubt this seeming 
 is greatly strengthened by our educational bias : but never mind, 
 
 Vol. I.— S 
 
206 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 with candid scrutiny for our guide we shall get at the writer's 
 meaning I trust. Did the writer mean that the natural elements 
 — fire, air, water &c., should " melt with fervent heat " ? ! What 
 meant he by telling those to whom he wrote that they looked for 
 these things 1 and also, by exhorting them to maintain a strict 
 watch in reference to them ] Do not these circumstances seem to 
 imply that they were near at hand ? Now that the 13th verse figu- 
 ratively represents the gospel state, no attentive student of the 
 bible will question. " Nevertheless we, according to his prom- 
 ise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
 righteousness." (2 Pet. ii. 13.) With this compare the following 
 in Isaiah : " For, behold, I create new heavens, and a new earth : 
 and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 
 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create : for, 
 behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And 
 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people : and the voice 
 of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 
 There shall be no more thence an infant of lays, nor an old man 
 that hath not filled his days ; for the child shall die a hundred 
 years old ; but the sinner, heing a hundred years old, shall be 
 accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them ; and 
 they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." &c. (Isaiah 
 Ixv. 17 — 20.) This cannot belong to eternity, for it is presumed 
 people will not there build houses, nor plant vineyards, nor die 
 even in their hundredth year. John, in Revelation, describes the 
 same state of things. " And I saw a new heaven and a new 
 earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away ; 
 aad there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new 
 Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a 
 bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of 
 heaven, saying Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and 
 he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God 
 himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall 
 wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more 
 death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
 pain : for the former things are passed away. And he that sat 
 upon the throne said. Behold, I make all things new. And he 
 said unto me, Write : for these words are true and faithful." 
 (Rev. xxi. 1 — 5.) Observe. This New Jerusalem is not wii^ 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 207 
 
 God in heaven, but it cometh down from God, out of heaven. 
 The destruction of the Jewish state is several times alluded to in 
 the scriptures under the figure of a dissolution of the physical 
 universe. See a prediction to this effect in Haggai. " For thus 
 saith the Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will 
 shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land: 
 And I will shake ill nations, and the Desire of all nations shall 
 come : and I wiJi fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of 
 hosts." (Hag. ii. 6, 7.) By universal consent of commentators, 
 this alludes to a dissolution of the Mosaic institution, and the 
 bringing in that of the gospel. Paul evidently so understood it. 
 " Whose voice then shook the earth : but now he hath promised, 
 saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those 
 things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those 
 things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore, we 
 receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, 
 whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly 
 fear." (Heb. xii. 26 — 28.) From the whole, then, it must be 
 apparent to all my attentive hearers, that Peter is speaking of no 
 other judgment than that which was to accompany the dissolution 
 of the old covenant, and the ushering in of the new : his lan- 
 guage and imagery are exceedingly bold, it is true, and so, indeed, 
 they well might be, for the events themselves were to be stupen- 
 dous beyond what had ever before been witnessed. 
 
 Should it be objected, that, inasmuch as there is an allusion in 
 the connexion to the destruction of the old world by water, and it 
 took place literally, therefore we ought also to understand the pre- 
 dicted destruction by fire in a similar sense. I answer, that in 
 point of fact the old world was not, itself, destroyed by the 
 deluge : the inhabitants only were destroyed — and not all of 
 them, for Noah and his family were saved, and the writer himself 
 saith " the same world is kept in store, reserved unto fire," &c. : 
 that a literal destruction of the " ungodly men," referred to in the 
 text, took place when the old system was abolished, is not denied. 
 
 The next proof of a judgment after death, is in 2 Thessaloni- 
 ans, i. Here we have the coming of Christ — with his mighty 
 angels — taking vengeance on the rejectors of the gospel, &c. : 
 were not these matters, in the foregoing debate, clearly proven to 
 
208 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 have taken place when the dissolution of the Jewish state, above 
 alluded to, transpired ] Was there to be more than one such 
 coining of Christ 1 If so, as they are all similarly described, how 
 shall we distinguish between them 1 
 
 A careful analysis of this text, with the context, presents the 
 following as its chief subject-matters, viz. : The apostle writes 
 to comfort the Thessalonian christians under their persecutions — 
 he asserts the righteousness of God in recompensing tribulation 
 upon those that troubled them — he promises them rest from these 
 afflictions when the Lord Jesus should be revealed, to take ven- 
 geance on the persecutors and rejectors of his gospel — this ven- 
 geance is termed " everlasting destruction from the presence of 
 the Lord, and from the glory of his power." In the next chapter 
 the apostle terms the time of these transactions " that day ;" and 
 he cautions them against being deceived by reports that it had 
 already arrived, for it should not occur until "a falling away" 
 had taken place ; (alluding, no doubt, to some signal apostacy,) 
 and the " man of sin" had been revealed, whom the Lord should 
 " consume with the brightness of his coming." This very cau- 
 tion implies that the coming of Christ alluded to was not distant, 
 although less near than some would have had them think ; they 
 would not, methinks, have been likely to be deceived with expecta- 
 tions of an immediate coming of Christ to judgment, if they had 
 not been taught that it should happen at no great distance of time. 
 
 " But then," it may be objected, " this epistle was written to a 
 gentile church, and said church was situated in a gentile city; 
 how then could the overthrow of the Jewish state concern them ?" 
 Thessalonica, it is true, was a gentile city ; but the number of 
 Jews which were there seems to have been considerable, and quite 
 influential also, (see Acts xvii.) and extremely active in their 
 opposition to the gospel. " Now, when they had passed through 
 Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was 
 a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his manner was, went 
 in unto them, and three sabbath-days reasoned with them out of 
 the scriptures ; opening and alleging that Christ must needs have 
 suffered, and risen again from the dead ; and that this Jesus, 
 whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, 
 and consorted with Paul and Silas ; and of the devout Greeks a 
 great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 209 
 
 JeWS" which belieVisd not, moved with envy, took unto them cer- 
 tain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and 
 set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, 
 and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they 
 found them not, they drew Jason and certain of the brethren unto 
 the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world 
 upside down are come hither also." (Acts xvii. 1 — 6.) I cannot 
 doubt that it is to these the apostle refers in his letter to the 
 christian church in this place, when he says, " it is a righteous 
 thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble 
 you :" for such was the rancorous enmity of these Thessalonian 
 Jews to the cause of Christ, (and indeed of the Jews in general,) 
 that they followed the apostles with persecutions even to other 
 and distant places : see what is said of their conduct at Berea. 
 " But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the 
 word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither 
 also, and stirred up the people." (ib. 13.) Similar notices of the 
 opposition of this bigoted people to the apostles appear in several 
 places in the book of Acts : see the following-, for example, 
 which relates to Antioch. " And the next sabbath-day came 
 almost all the whole city together to hear the word of God. But 
 when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, 
 and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, con- 
 tradicting and blaspheming." (Acts xiii. 44, 45.) "And the word 
 of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the 
 Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief 
 men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barna- 
 bas, and expelled them out of their coasts." (ib. 49, 50.) 
 
 " But what," it may again be asked, " are we to understand 
 by a ' destruction from the presence of the Lord V " &c. Liter- 
 ally, the presence of God is every where : " Whither shall I 
 go from thy Spirit 1 or whither shall I flee from thy presence ? 
 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my 
 bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the 
 morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even 
 there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold 
 me. If I say. Surely the darkness shall cover me ; even the 
 night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not 
 from thee ; but the night shineth as the day : the darkness and 
 
 Vol. I.— s 2 
 
210 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 the light are both alike to iAee." (Psl. cxxxix. 7 — 12.) There 
 can be no getting out of God's presence, then, literally : this 
 must necessarily be understood in some qualified sense, and that 
 sense may well be supposed, a banishment from such place or 
 places as Jehovah was supposed specially to manifest himself in. 
 I need not inform my hearers that the land of Judea was thought 
 by the Jews to be such a place ; more especially Jerusalem, and 
 more especially still the temple there: To it, in their banishments, 
 they turned their faces when they prayed. — There shone the 
 shekinah, the representative of the divine presence — there was 
 the holy of holies, where Jehovah was supposed to dwell between 
 the cherubim. Jonah expressly identifies the temple as the 
 place of God's presence: "Then I said, I am cast out of thy 
 sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple." (Jonah 
 ii. 4.) So says David, repeatedly, (Psl. xcv. 2 : c. 2.) The 
 fact of Jerusalem being regarded in that light is still more plainly 
 evinced in the following passage, which commemorates the for- 
 bearance of God toward the Jews, in not exiling them from their 
 country : " And the Lord was gracious unto them, and had com- 
 passion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his 
 covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy 
 them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet." (2 Kings 
 xiii. 23.) The following is also to the same effect : " For through 
 the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, 
 until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah re- 
 belled against the king of Babylon." (ibid. xxiv. 20.) Now if 
 even the Jews were sojourning in foreign lands, yet, as they 
 were in the habit of going to Jerusalem at the times of their 
 great feasts and religious festivals, they might with equal pro- 
 priety all be said to have been driven from God's presence, when 
 their beloved city and temple were consumed with flames — their 
 civil and ecclesiastical privileges taken from them, and they, 
 scattered as a conquered and captive people amongst the different 
 nations of the Roman empire. 
 
 " But the punishment is termed everlastings and this," it may 
 be said, " signifies duration without end." On this feature of the 
 case I shall not at present devote much time, as I design by and by 
 to consider the scriptural uses of these words at large. One only 
 view of the subject will I here take, which, however, I think 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 211 
 
 ought of itself be sufficient. If the word everlasting, as used in 
 the scriptures, strictly, and generally, mean endless duration, we 
 then have two communications, resting equally on divine authori- 
 ty, which are in direct, and irreconcilable contradiction to each 
 other. The one of these is an absolute promise that the Israelites 
 should hold the land of Canaan by an everlasting possession. 
 (Gen. xlviii. 4.) The other is that they should be exiled from 
 their country, and scattered amongst all the nations of the earth, 
 I need not quote authority for the latter, as it occurs in several 
 places, and long since is so strikingly confirmed by fact. If the 
 everlasting banishment of the Jews from their country were now 
 brought to a close, it would even then have proved of as long 
 duration as did the everlasting possession ; but the former may 
 still continue as long in the future, for aught that appears to the 
 contrary, as it already has in the past. 
 
 Let us now to the passage in Heb. ix, in which it is thought 
 the doctrine of a judgment after death is directly asserted. 
 Surely no text has been more trifled with, or more wrested from 
 its purpose, than this : in order to make it speak a sense which 
 it was never meant to speak, it is a usual practice of our opponets 
 to mutulate it at both ends; from the beginning are clipped the 
 words, "And as," which agreeably to the laws of grammar, 
 connect it inseparably with what goes before : and at the end is 
 unceremoniously lopped off all that follows the word "judgment ;" 
 whereas the adverbial conjunction, "so," by the same laws, in- 
 dissolubly joins it to what comes after ! By thus minoing the 
 passage, our opponents have brought it into tolerable subserviency 
 to the notion of a post mortem judgment. Correctly quoted it reads 
 as follows : " And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but 
 after this the judgment; So Christ was once offered to bear the 
 sins of many : and unto them that look for him shall he appear 
 the second time, without sin unto salvation." (Heb. ix. 27, 28.) 
 
 Who, that reads the whole connexion, can suppose the writer 
 had any allusion to the death and judgment of men in common ? 
 Understood in such light it is as whimsical and vagrant an episode 
 to the subject in hand, as was ever perpetrated by a writer in 
 sober prose ! It is a link of sand in a chain of gold ! 
 
 Truth is, that Paul (or whoever is the author of this epistle) is 
 speaking of a particular class of men, and not of men in general ; 
 
212 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 this is confirmed by the Greek reading of the text. " And as it is 
 appointed unto the men (to/? a.v^fmroi;') once to die," &c. Those, 
 namely, with whom he is conlrasiing: Jesus Christ in his priestly 
 capacity — the Jewish high-priests. It is quite impossible for any 
 one who candidly attends to the connexion to deny this. But I may 
 be asked, " In what peculiar sense did these men die 1 and what 
 are we to understand of the judgment which followed 1" Fair 
 questions these, and they shall be fairly answered. 
 
 Paul, as I have said, is running a parallel between the Levitical 
 priesthood and that of Jesus Christ; the former did not continue 
 long in one person " by reason of death," but Christ continuebh 
 forever, and therefore " hath an unchangeable priesthood :" the 
 saviour " needeth not daily as those high-priests to offer up sacri- 
 fices," for this, (" when he offered up himself,") he did once, 
 forever : the Levitical priests went " into the holy places made 
 with hands," but Christ " into heaven itself, now to appear in 
 the presence of God for us:" the former entered " with the blood 
 of others, but Christ w4th his own blood ;" the annual death of 
 the former was but typical, not actual ; the one sacrificial death 
 of Christ was real, and personal. When the Jewish high-priest 
 came out from the holy of holies, (having died^ in the manner 
 stated, " for his own sins, and for the sins of the people,") he 
 pronounced 2, judgment upon the congregation who waited with- 
 out the tabernacle for his re-appearance ; this was a sentence of 
 acquittal of their errors of the past year ; it was in the following 
 words : " The Lord bless thee, and keep thee- The Lord make 
 his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee ; The Lord 
 lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." (Num. 
 vi. 24 — 27.) The author of the epistle to the Hebrews has most 
 ingeniously accommodated this circumstance in the usages of 
 Jewish worship to illustrate certain facts under the gospel : as, 
 for example, the Levitical high-priest was seen after his ceremo- 
 nial death by the congregation, looking for him, to their joy, and 
 justification from the sins of the past year. So Christ, though 
 dead, shall appear in the hearts of all believers unto their salva- 
 tion — salvation, not from the condemnation for sin merely, but 
 from sin itself. 
 
 So much for this passage, so strongly relied upon by many in 
 proof of post-mortem judgment. I put it to your candor and good 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 213 
 
 sense, my hearers, if it can be properly considered as being at all 
 to that purpose 1 That cause must be sadly put to it for authori- 
 ties which resorts to one so really foreign to its object, as is the 
 text before us to the object of the doctrine of a general judgment 
 after death. It is any thing but probable that a short isolated 
 declaration, about men in general being judged after they died, 
 should have been thrown into the midst of a chain of argumenta- 
 tion, which had for its object the exemplifying the superiority of 
 the christian over the Jewish priesthood ! And besides, if we 
 even lose sight of this absurdity, and admit the clause to refer to 
 a general judgment after death, then tell me pray, what analogy 
 can be found betwixt that circumstance, and the sacrificial offer- 
 ing and subsequent appearance of Christ to believers 1 Can you 
 discover any, whatever 1 If none, then that circumstance cannot 
 be the one intended by the writer in the text, but some other with 
 which Christ's death and subsequent appearance will compare ; 
 and I have already shown what that is. 
 
 Well, my opponent has given us two other texts — one in Daniel 
 vii, the other in Revelation xx : he confesses them somewhat 
 obscure and enigmatical, and he therefore leans not on them with 
 much reliance ; we will glance at them nevertheless, for if they 
 will not serve to prove the position of our friend, they may to 
 refute it. 
 
 As to the one in Daniel, it wholly relates to what should take 
 place in the days of the fourth kingdom — which, as all good 
 critics unite in saying, is the Roman empire. These kingdoms 
 were first shadowed forth to the mind of Nebuchadnezzar in a 
 dream, under the representation of a large image of a human 
 figure; the head thereof, being of gold, symbolized the Assyrian 
 empire ; the breast and arms of silver, symbolized the Medo- 
 Persian (which subverted the Assyrian ;) the belly and thighs 
 of brass, represented the Macedonian (which subverted the Medo- 
 Persian ;) the legs and feet of iron and clay, shadowed forth the 
 Roman power (which subverted the Macedonian ;) the ten toes 
 of the image represented the ten kingdoms of which the Roman 
 power was composed. " And in the days of these kings shall 
 the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be de- 
 stroyed : and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but 
 it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it 
 
214 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone 
 was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in 
 in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold ; 
 the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to 
 pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, and the interpretation 
 thereof sure." This last represents the kingdom of Christ, 
 which, it is well known, arose in the midst of, and completely 
 superceded the Roman power. Bishop Newton (with whom in 
 the main agrees Sir Isaac Newton) speaketh as follows in his 
 dissertations on the prophecies : " All these kingdoms will be 
 succeeded by the kingdom of the Messiah. ' I beheld,' saith 
 Daniel, ver. 9, 10. ' till the thrones were cast down,' or rather ' till 
 thrones were set, and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment 
 was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool : 
 his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 
 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him : thousand 
 thousands ministered unto him : and ten thousand times ten 
 thousand stood before him: the judgment was set,' or the judges 
 did sit, 'and the books were opened.' These metaphors and 
 figures are borrowed from the solemnities of earthly judicatories, 
 and particularly of the great Sanhedrim of the Jews, where the 
 father of the consistory sat, with his assessors seated on each 
 side of him, in the form of a semicircle, and the people standing 
 before him : and from this description again was borrowed the 
 description of the day of judgment in the New Testament." 
 Daniel afterward had the same great events presented to his 
 mind in a vision of a different kind : instead of an image of a 
 human figure he saw four beasts ; the 1st like a lion, representing 
 the Babylonian power : the 2nd like a bear, standing for the Me- 
 do-Persian : the 3rd like a leopard, by which is symbolized the 
 Macedonian ; and 4thly comes the Roman empire, represented by 
 a beast of great power and ferocity, which has no prototype in 
 nature : it had ten horns, representing the ten integral parts of 
 this great kingdom. The prophet then in a very sublime manner 
 alludes to the institution of the empire of Christ, (in the very 
 midst of the Roman power, and at the time of the zenith of its 
 glory.) " I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the 
 Ancient of days did sit," &c. He then speaks of a little horn 
 springing up in the midst of the ten, which, from the description^ 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 215 
 
 is undoubtedly some grand apostate from, and persecutor of the 
 church ; without doubt it is the same as is alluded to by Paul, 
 under the appellative of the " man of sin," whom the Lord should 
 consume with the brightness of his coming. " I beheld, and the 
 same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them ; 
 until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the 
 saints of the Most High ; and the time came that the saints pos- 
 sessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the 
 fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all king- 
 doms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, 
 and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom 
 are ten kings that shall arise : and another shall rise after them ; 
 and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three 
 kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, 
 and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to 
 change times and laws : and they shall be given into his hand, 
 until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judg- 
 ment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume 
 and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, 
 and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall 
 be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose 
 kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve 
 and obey him." (Dan. vii. 21 — 27.) 
 
 On the passage in Rev. xx. it cannot be necessary to say much, 
 it is evidently parallel with the above in Daniel, whence also its 
 representations are borrowed : it shadows forth the universal 
 reign and judicial authority of Christ Messiah : in those days the 
 regal and judicial functions of government were invariably united ; 
 hence in scripture phraseology, to judge, always imports the same 
 as to govern: when it is said that such and such persons jW^ed 
 Israel at particular times, we are to understand that these per- 
 sons exercised the supreme rule ; when ii is said also that " the 
 Lord shall judge his people," we may understand it precisely as 
 if it read, the Lord shall govern his people. In accordance with 
 this usage the moral governrrtent of Messiah during the gospel era 
 is set forth under the representation of a judgment, or trial in 
 judicial form. Christ told his disciples they should sit with him 
 on thrones, "judging the twelve tribes of Israel :" in other words, 
 that as his instruments they should assist in the moral govern- 
 
216 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 merit of his church or kingdom ; " to stand at the judgment* 
 seat of Christ," then, is to be amenable to him as our moral 
 governor etc., etc. It is most marvelous that erudite expositors 
 of the bible, seeing that these matters were not unknown to them, 
 should have suffered themselves to be so warped by preju- 
 dice as to charge it with teaching the heathenish dogma, that 
 Jehovah has need to arraign the spirits of dead men at his tri- 
 bunal, in order that he may form a decision upon their actions 
 while in the body ! That the heathen nations should have gener- 
 ally adopted this persuasion is less wonderful, seeing that all 
 their notions of their divinities were gross, and grew out of 
 usages amongst themselves. The Jews deemed better of their 
 God — more philosophically — an all-seeing — all-pervading spirit — 
 all just, and pure, and good— whose tribunal is in the bosom of 
 every thinking Being : what needs he of an external bar ] — Of 
 books, and witnesses, and other of the forms and ceremonials of 
 trial 1 The Jewish scriptures sanction no such puerile represen- 
 tations of the infinite Jehovah. Shame to christians, that they 
 have copied the crude conceptions of heathenism ! 
 
 The book of Revelation abounds v/ith prosopopceia, or personi-' 
 Jication. Sin, death, hell, the devil, antichrist, heresies of differ- 
 ent kinds, are all personified : and to such length is the figure 
 carried that they are even in some cases represented as suffering ; 
 hence we find mention of a lake of fire and brimstone, " where 
 the beast and the false prophet are :" (these represent a spirit 
 of apostacy and a spirit of persecution.) And hence also we find 
 mention of the casting of death and hell into the lake of fire ; also 
 the cases of those who had suffered martyrdom in the cause of 
 Christ, are represented under the figure of the souls of these per- 
 sons, which are set forth as crying out for vengeance upon their 
 persecutors. This latter circumstance was seized upon by my op- 
 ponent, who, understanding it in the literal sense, supposes that 
 saints in heaven are actually impatient for the day of judgment, 
 that they may be avenged in the endless damnation of their 
 oppressors! Merciful God, what saints are these! if such is 
 the character of the inhabitants of heaven, demons of darkness 
 were preferable society to them. This portion of Scripture, as 
 has been before shown, revealed things which were shortly to 
 come to pass — the trials and sufferings of the infant Christian 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 217 
 
 church — the judgments which should be executed upon its oppo- 
 sers and corrupters — particularly those impending over the Jewish 
 church and nation, are the prominent subjects of the book. These 
 judgments are sometimes expressed under the phrase " second 
 death ;" a death which some have persisted in representing as in- 
 terminable, in the face of the declarations that death is to be de- 
 stroyed — be no more — be swallowed up in victory — and that in 
 its extinction the last enemy shall be extinguished ! Undoubt- 
 edly the several passages in this book which speak of these 
 events, are to be understood as implying that under the be- 
 nign government of Messiah, all evils, both physical and 
 moral, shall come to an ultimate end ; no more tears — no more 
 night — no more death — no more sin — no more sickness, nor sor- 
 row, " for the former things shall be done away" — no farther 
 need of sun, nor moon, for the quenchless and unsetting glory of 
 Jehovah shall be the future light of all intelligences forever. 
 "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels roundabout 
 the throne, and the beasts, and the elders : and the number of 
 them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of 
 thousands ; saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that 
 was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
 and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which 
 is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as 
 are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying. Blessing, 
 and honour, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the 
 throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." (Rev. v. 11 — 13.) 
 
 What now remains in proof of a judgment after death ? I truly 
 know of nothing, either on scriptural or philosophical ground ; 
 my opponent, it is true, supposes that Christ's question relative to 
 the advantage to be derived from gaining all the world, and losing 
 one's soul^ has a bearing in favor of that doctrine, "especially,'* 
 quoth he, " as this question was propounded in immediate con- 
 nexion with the account of his coming to reward men according 
 to their works." It was so, I grant; but then what is said in the 
 same instance as to the time of said coming ? It was to take 
 place in the life-time of some that heard him speak ; and conse- 
 quently, instead of favoring my friend's position, it makes against 
 it — for if God rewards men according to their works in this world, 
 h^ certainly does not defer that business until the end of time. 
 
 Vol. I.— T No. 10. 
 
218 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 A judgment eighteen hundred years ago, is rather too far back, 
 1 fancy, for the purpose of my opponent. Moreover, ihe word 
 souU in the passage under consideration, should have been life — 
 even the orthodox Dr. Clarke admits this, and expresses his 
 astonishment at the translator's having rendered it as it now stands. 
 To the mere English scholar it is manifest, from the grammatical 
 connexion of the passage, that it was the life of which Christ was 
 speaking, not the soul; and it is indeed quite surprising that the 
 same Greek term should have been twice rendered life in one 
 verse, and twice soul in the verse next following, and yet an un- 
 broken connexion (both in language and subject) uniting the two 
 verses! "Then said Jesus unto his disciples. If any man will 
 come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and 
 follow me. For whosoever will save his psuche shall lose it ; and 
 whosoever will lose his psuche for my sake, shall find it. For what 
 is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his 
 own psuche? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his 
 psuche?" (Matt. xvi. 24 — 26.) When the rules of interpretation 
 are thus grossly violated, one cannot help suspecting that truth 
 has been purposely sacrificed to the interests of a creed. To per- 
 versions of this kind the popular dogmas in theology are mostly 
 indebted for the scriptural countenance they claim. The dangers 
 of losing the soul ! How many a thrilling and terrifying peal has 
 been rung upon this theme ! And men in their ignorance have 
 not doubted that their aroused alarm on this head had good bible 
 warrant.* 
 
 I cannot be persuaded, my hearers, that the doctrine of a judg- 
 ment after death has been productive of any benefit to mankind ; 
 whatever tends to encourage the impression that the retributions of 
 guilt are distant — and uncertain as distant — must necessarily be 
 pernicious in its influences ; and without doubt, the common no- 
 tion of a general judgment has this tendency. We have inspired 
 testimony to this effect. " Because sentence against an evil work 
 is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men 
 
 * " What shall sing the dirge of a soul that is lost 1" exclaimed the late eloquent 
 and amiable Summerfield. " What celebrate the obsequies of an entombed spirit 1 
 If the sun should hide his face behind a darkening gust— if the stars should fall from 
 heaven— if the heavens were veiled in sack-cloth— if earth were convulsed through- 
 out her whole circumference, and from mountain-top to mountain-top burst forth the 
 fell of horror and desolation ; all would not be adequate to express the event of a 
 ost and damned soul !" Very eloquent this, it is true ; but eloquence often lends 
 ita gorgeous coloring to paint the face of error. 
 
POPULAR DEBATE, NO. V. 219 
 
 is fully set in them to do evil." (Eccles. viii. 11.) Still the 
 writer of this text did not suppose that punishment was deferred 
 until after death ; on the contrary, he positively asserts that the 
 days of the wicked shall not be prolonged ; but the mere circum- 
 stance of a delay in the execution of punishment he saw to be of 
 injurious consequence on the hearts of men. How much more so, 
 to tell them that they may possibly escape with entire impunity, 
 how guilty soever they might hel And what must men think of 
 the wisdom and goodness of Jehovah, as our moral governor, if 
 he does indeed deal with us upon principles which himself has 
 declared pernicious 1 It is nowise probable that in the above 
 passage there is allusion to a tardiness in the retributions of hea- 
 ven ; I think that the reference is to human punishments, which 
 are often delayed, (and even omitted altogether,) and men are apt 
 to be emboldened to repeat their transgressions by this delay and 
 uncertainty. In Solomon's time, nothing was known of a judg- 
 ment after death ; it was a settled point with the people of 
 that day, that sooner or later the judgments of heaven overtook 
 the guilty in life ; although then, as now, they were apt to be de- 
 ceived into false conclusions, from the external appearances of 
 prosperity on the part of wicked men, and from the fact that 
 *' there be just men unto whom it happeneth, according to the 
 work of the wicked ;" as if the operations of nature, and the con- 
 tingent events of life must each moment be interfered with, and 
 shaped to suit the ever-changing moral conditions of mankind ! 
 Christ himself has told us, that " God causeth his sun to rise on 
 the evil and on the good, and sendeth his rain upon the just and 
 the unjust." But these circumstances do not conflict with the 
 express testimony of the scriptures on the other hand. " Behold, 
 the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth ; much more the 
 wicked and the sinner." (Prov. xi. 31.) 
 
 The sum of my argument, then, is as follows : 1st. That there is 
 no express nor fairly implied scripture warrant for a general judg- 
 ment after death. 2d. That on the contrary, all the texts which 
 speak of a judgment, or of judgments in particular, are clearly, 
 (so far as they can be understood,) applicable to time, not to 
 eternity. 3d. Both God the Father, and Christ the Messiah, are 
 expressly and repeatedly represented as exercising the judi- 
 cial branch of their moral government in the earth. 4th. The 
 
220 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 bible (as well as civil history) abounds with instances of divine 
 judgment upon the guilty, both individuals and communities. 
 5th. Hence I infer that, except the righteous Judge of all the earth 
 tries and punishes the same parties twice for the one cause, that a 
 judgment after death is unnecessary. 6th. It were a mockery also, 
 for the cases to be tried are clearly known to the infinite and om- 
 niscient arbiter, in their origin, and consequences, direct and re- 
 mote ; in his mind, therefore, they ^re prejudged. How vain, then, 
 and absurd, were the forms of trial under such circumstances I 
 Finally, if a general judgment, in any form, shall take place after 
 this life, it does not follow that punishment (much less endless 
 punishment) must necessarily be any part of its consequences. 
 It were far more probable — far more in agreement with what is 
 disclosed to us in nature and revelation of the boundlessness of 
 the divine mercy — that the object of such judgment will be to 
 bring the purity and grace of God into greater contrast to our per- 
 ceptions, with our wickedness and ingratitude ; and thus, whilst at 
 the same time that we shall obtain the deeper conviction of our un- 
 worthiness, we shall also be the more constrained to adore that 
 almighty love which shall consent to "cast our sins into the 
 depths of the sea." (Mic. vii. 19.) We are not without ample 
 bible warrant for this idea of a general judgment and its objects. 
 See amongst other instances to this point the following : " And 
 not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment 
 was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences 
 unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by 
 one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of 
 the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ: 
 Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men 
 to condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift 
 came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's 
 disobedience many were made sinners; so by the obedience of 
 one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, 
 that the offence might abound : but where sin abounded, grace did 
 much more abound ; that as sin had reigned unto death, even so 
 might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Je- 
 sus Christ our Lord. (Rom. v. 16 — 21.) 
 
 I have before observed, that the verb to judge, is most usually 
 employed in the scriptures to express the same thing as the verb 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 221 
 
 to govern. Christ is considered as the King of the New Testa- 
 ment state, or gospel kingdom ; and as such he is represented as 
 exercising the judicial functions of government. His judgment 
 shall last while his reign lasts, and he shall only " reign until he 
 hath put all enemies under his feet;" "then shall the Son also 
 himself be subject unto him that halh put all things under him, 
 that God may be all in all." Now it is most strange, on the part 
 of our opponents, that they make the exercise of his judicial au- 
 thority to begin just where the scriptures make his regal authority 
 to end ! And notwithstanding the plain and repeated declarations 
 of the bible, that he "shall execute judgment and justice in the 
 earth,'''' they will have it that he judges men for their good and evil 
 actions, not in time, but in eternity. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 
 
 OBJECTION I 
 
 There are two texts of scripture which speak expressly of 
 punishment after death — yea, more, after the resurrection ! How 
 will universalism stand before these 1 The one is Daniel xii. 2. 
 " And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, 
 some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con- 
 tempt." The other is St. John v. 28, 29. " Marvel not at this : for 
 the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear 
 his voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto 
 the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the re- 
 surrection of damnation." These passages are parallel in their 
 reference and signification. Universalists, I know, attempt to 
 give them a figurative application. But we ought ever to reject 
 figurative expositions of scripture, except expressly warranted by 
 the context, or except a passage be such in its nature as to ex- 
 pressly require a departure from the rules of literal interpretation. 
 
 It is granted that the above texts are parallel, but this very ad- 
 mission is fatal to the objection ; for Christ has fixed the time of 
 Vol. I — T 3 
 
223 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 the event to which they refer, at the period of the overthrow of 
 the Jewish state, and so indeed has the prophet likewise; the en- 
 tire 12th chapter of Daniel is occupied with predictions relative to 
 this subject. I allege this upon the highest possible authority, viz, 
 that of Jesus Christ. See for proof, INIatt. xxiv. 15 — 21. The 
 resurrection spoken of by Daniel was to take place when there 
 should be " a time of trouble, such as never was since there was 
 a nation, even to that same time," when God should " have 
 accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people" — when 
 " the daily sacrifice should be taken away, and the abomination 
 that maketh desolate set up." But when were these events to 
 happen? They were to happen when the Jewish dispensation 
 was to be brought to a close, and the gospel institution to be 
 set up on its ruins. The Savior's exposition of the prophet, in 
 Matt. xxiv. leaves us no ground for doubt on this head. Thus 
 much as regards the time of this resurrection, which, instead of 
 being at the end of the world, as our opponents think, is past, by 
 nearly eighteen centuries. 
 
 Now as to its nature, it were the height of absurdity to suppose 
 it literal, for several reasons. 1st. We have no account in histo- 
 ry, sacred or civil, of a literal rising of all men from their graves, 
 at the time of Jerusalem's overthrow, or at any other period. 
 2d. To understand it literally would involve consequences absurd 
 and contradictory. It would lead to the result that all mankind 
 will at the same time rise to life and to damnation ! "They that 
 have done good to the resurrection of life." Is there a single hu- 
 man being who has not done good '? " And they that have done 
 evil to the resurrection of damnation." Is there a human being 
 who has not done evil ? Take this passage in a strict sense, then, 
 and you have the monstrous conclusion that all shall arise to life — 
 and all shall arise to damnation! 3d. A literal rendering of these 
 texts would establish a doctrine at variance with that exhibited 
 by Paul in a set treatise on the resurrection. If men are to arise 
 from their graves in a morally corrupt and dishonored condition, 
 what meant he by saying of our body, "it is sown in corruption, 
 it is raised in incorruption — it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in 
 glory — it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power 1" Say you 
 that he spake this of a part of mankind only? No such thing, 
 sir ; on the contrary, he says, " IN CHRIST shall ALL be made 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 223 
 
 alive." (I Cor. xv.) If Paul believed that mankind would con- 
 sist, in the resurrection, of two classes, moral opposites to each 
 other, here is the place where he would have said so ; but he es- 
 tablishes the contrary, for it is utterly impossible to reconcile the 
 popular doctrine concerning the resurrection with the glorious 
 portraiture of that great event which the apostle has here given — 
 the last enemy vanquished — hades overthrown — all things sub- 
 dued unto the Father — and God all in all. 
 
 But another reason, and sufficient of itself for understanding the 
 texts under consideration in a spiritual sense, is, that the immedi- 
 ate connexion of the one in St. John imperiously calls for such 
 an acceptation. Christ, in a verse or two preceding, describes the 
 resurrection referred to as then beginning to take place. " Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the 
 dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ; and they that hear 
 shall live." And through the chapter he speaks of life and con- 
 demnation, as a then present consequence of embracing, and of re- 
 jecting the gospel. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hear- 
 eth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting 
 life, and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from 
 death unto life." See also the following verse to the same effect : 
 " For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, 
 even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." It is any thing but 
 reasonable to suppose that he should so rapidly pass from the 
 figurative to the literal on the same subject, without apprising his 
 hearers of his change of style. I may remark further, that lan- 
 guage quite as strong as either of our texts can be produced, the 
 figurative meaning of which, nevertheless, is too obvious to be 
 denied ; see the following : " Then he said unto me, Son of man, 
 these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say. Our 
 bones are dried, and our hope is lost ; we are cut off for our parts. 
 Therefore, prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, 
 Behold, my people,' I will open your graves, and cause you to 
 come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Isreal. 
 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your 
 graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 
 and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live; and I shall 
 place you in your own land : then shall ye know that I the Lord 
 have spoken it, and performed it, saith the^LoRD." (Ezekiel 
 
224 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 xxxvii. 11 — 14.) In this place, the civil and moral degradation 
 of the Jews are set forth under the figure of iheir death, and the 
 perishing of the flesh from off their bones. Their moral and 
 civil restoration are exhibited under the figure of opening their 
 graves and raising them to life. On the whole, then, it must, I 
 think, be manifest to the enlightened reader, that the import of 
 the passages before us is, that Christ, by the word of his gospel, 
 and the ministry of his apostles, was about to call men forth from 
 the graves of superstition and ignorance, in which they had long 
 been buried — that as they came forth to the light of the truth, they 
 should experience justification, or condemnation, according as 
 their past actions had or had not been in accordance with its dic- 
 tates, or according as their disposition was to receive or reject this 
 gospel. This important work had already begun in Christ's day, 
 but it was destined soon to take effect upon a much wider scale, 
 and, eventually, it shall be universal in its extent. This gospel 
 would affect the vicious subject of its awakening power, in like 
 manner as Paul had been affected by the law. It brought home 
 his sins to his conscience, and thereby slew him, or overthrew his 
 fancied security. (Rom. vii.) But the gospel condemns the sin that 
 it may save the sinner. 
 
 Observe, now, what phraseology the apostles were accustomed 
 to employ: " Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dust, 
 and Christ shall give thee light." (Ephes. v. 14.) " You hath he 
 quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin." (Ephes. ii. 1.) 
 " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are 
 above." (Col. iii. 1.) Indeed, the world was considered as dead, 
 and buried in sin and superstitious ignorance. Hence, the neces- 
 sity of being regenerated, or made alive again, in order to admis- 
 sion into the kingdom, or church of Christ. The word was con- 
 sidered as having a regenerating, a revitalising influence; hence, 
 Paul tells the Corinthians, "For in Christ Jesus I have begotten 
 you through the gospel." (I Cor. iv. 15.) It were needless, I 
 think, to attempt making the subject plainer ; it were quite suffi- 
 cient to insist, that Christ could not have meant to leach the doc- 
 trine of a final doom upon the spirits of men after the resurrec- 
 tion, for the reason that a calamity so terrible would infinitely 
 exceed in magnitude all the calamities together which have trans- 
 pired since time began ; whereas, as I have elsewhere shown, the 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 225 
 
 Savior has himself declared, that as great a tribulation as that 
 attending Jerusalem's destruction had never before transpired 
 since the beginning of the creation, " NO, NOR EVER SHALL 
 BE." 
 
 OBJECTION II. 
 
 " Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall 
 seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go, ye cannot come." 
 (St. John viii. 2L) It is to be considered in this objection, 1st. 
 That the party addressed should seek Christ, but nevertheless die 
 in their sins ; which implies that they should not find the Savior. 
 2nd. They were to fail of ever getting to heaven, for thither 
 Christ went, and " whither I go," said he, " ye cannot come." 
 Each of these considerations, separately considered, seems suffi- 
 cient to exclude them from hope ; but together they present a bar- 
 rier to their salvation which appears insuperable. 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 It is admitted that thousands, yea, millions, fail of finding the 
 Savior in this life ; but this is conceived to be no reason why 
 they should to all eternity fail of salvation. The scriptures ac- 
 quaint us with but one way of access to the Father, and that is 
 ly Jesus Christ. The Savior positively declares there is no other. 
 We have every reason for believing that ninety-nine hundredths 
 of mankind, including infants and the heathen, die without a 
 saving acquaintance with Christ; if on this ground, therefore, we 
 exclude any from hope forever, all must be so excluded for the 
 same reason ; consequently, this part of the objection, if it prove 
 any thing, proves too much. It does so for another reason. I 
 have shown, in a previous part of this work, that every intelligent 
 being is ultimately to be made acquainted with Christ, and to 
 acknowledge him also, "to the glory of God the Father;" (Phil, 
 ii. 9 — n.) which sufficiently proves that the opportunity for 
 becoming acquainted with the gospel is not limited to the term of 
 this life; and also, that if it were so limited, a very, very small 
 moiety of our race would be saved ; and the realms of hell would 
 be peopled by ninety-nine hundredths of mankind ! The main 
 strength of the objection, therefore, must depend on the clause, 
 " whither I go ye cannot come.^^ But before this can be admitted 
 
226 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 as an argument in proof of the endless ruin of those to whom it 
 was addressed, a question or two must be settled. 1st. Did the 
 Savior refer to the realms of bliss when he said, whither I go ? 
 He may simply have alluded to his death, which would put him 
 beyond the reach of their power. 2nd. Granting that he alluded 
 to the realms of bliss, does it follow that because they could not 
 then follow him, they never should do so 1 But what is most fatal 
 to the objection is, that Christ addressed the very same language 
 to his own apostles ! Are they, therefore, to fail forever of getting 
 to heaven. " Little children, yet a little while I am with you. 
 Ye shall seek me : and as I said uuto the Jews, Whither I go, ye 
 cannot come; so now T say to you." (St. John xiii. 33.) You 
 perceive that he not merely addressed to his disciples the same 
 language as is urged in the objection, but in the same sense ; 
 " and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go ye cannot come, so now 
 I say to you.^^ Except, then, this language be considered as war- 
 ranting the belief, that our Lord's own apostles shall be endlessly 
 damned, the objection before us has no weight. 
 
 Great use has been made of it, nevertheless ; and in order to 
 increase its terrifying power, it is very generally altered from its 
 true reading ; the version of it in most common use is as follows : 
 "If ye die in your sins, where God and Christ is ye never can 
 come." I doubt not that in tracts and religious almanacs it is 
 often to be found in this very form, but these with me have not 
 authority quite equivalent to the bible. 
 
 OBJECTION III. 
 
 "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy 
 shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy 
 Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh 
 a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : but 
 whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be for- 
 given him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." 
 (Matt. xii. 31, 32.) Mark's version of this matter is still more 
 decisive against the Universalist faith ; it is even pretended that 
 Matthew's rather favors it than otherwise ; " for (say tlie advocates 
 of a future limited punishment) the very declaration that this par- 
 ticular offence shall not be forgiven in the world to come, seems 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 227 
 
 naturally to imply that all other sins may ; and as for this, 
 although not pardoned in the present nor in the next world, (or 
 cg6, which is the more proper reading) it yet may be in a world 
 or age still subsequent, for the scriptures speak of a plurality of 
 aeio7is (worlds or ages) to come." Now the text as it stands in 
 Mark cannot be evaded in this way — it there reads that the blas- 
 phemer against the Holy Spirit " hath never forgiveness." Nor 
 is this all ; for if it were, it might still be pretended that nothing 
 was meant more than that the blasphemer shall be certainly pun- 
 ished to the full amount, and after that he might be exempt as a 
 matter of right, not of pardon; in like manner as a criminal may 
 come out of prison on the expiration of his term, and the law can 
 have no further demands against him for that offence. But the 
 text in Mark bars this evasion also ; it declares that the blasphe- 
 mer against the Holy Spirit " is in danger of eternal damnation." 
 How now will this objection be met? 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 Not very easily, reader, I grant, for you have presented it in 
 the most formidable shape possible ; it can be met, nevertheless, 
 and satisfactorily too, I trust. 1st. Drs. Campbell, Clarke, Mc- 
 Knight, and Lightfoot, though believers in endless misery, have 
 decided that the phrase, "neither in this world, neither in the 
 world to come," is not to be understood as referring to the present 
 and the future states of man ; but to the then present dispensa- 
 tion, (the Mosaic) and that which was about to succeed it. (the 
 Christian.) The Methodist commentator is decidedly of opinion 
 that the punishment for this offence was to be of a temporal char- 
 acter ; and that in the declaration that it should not be forgiven, 
 Christ intended nothing more than to rank it with the highest 
 class of offences under the law, which were punished with death, 
 and for which nothing but death would atone. But there is no 
 evidence in either case, he thinks, that the punishment was to 
 extend to the soul of the offender in another life. None, indeed, 
 (as he remarks) could commit this particular sin, save those who, 
 witnessing with their senses the performance of his miracles, 
 imputed them to demoniacal influence. 2nd. As to the phrase 
 " eternal damnation," it must be confessed a very strong — a too 
 strong rendering of the Greek text ; it may bear it, indeed, but it 
 
228 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 is not in keeping with the context. It is well known that the 
 word damnation comes from a term which is susceptible of vari- 
 ous interpretations, and which actually is in other places rendered 
 sometimes judgment^ sometimes condemnation ,• these, it is true, 
 are strictly as strong in meaning as is the term damnation^ but 
 they are not so considered in ordinary usage; to the word damna- 
 tion a terrible significance has been attached, which neither its 
 etymology nor scripture authority will justify. The term eternal, 
 too, comes from a Greek word of very equivocal signification ; it 
 sometimes means a limited, sometimes unlimited duration ; some- 
 times a definite period, as the duration of human life ; sometimes 
 an indefinite period, as during the continuance of an existing 
 state or order of things ; in this last sense it is employed in the 
 passage before us — " neither in this aeion, neither in the seion to 
 come;" that is, neither in the Mosaic age, neither in the age of 
 the Messiah. It cannot here mean eternity, for it were nonsense 
 to talk of a plurality of eternities ; hence, I have said that the ren- 
 dering of the original here by the phrase eternal damnation, is too 
 strong, and not in keeping with the context ; it might with more 
 propriety have been rendered, the condemnation of the age^ a phrase 
 sufficiently awful in its meaning, when we come to know the 
 dreadful and complicated calamities which impended over the 
 heads of that wicked generation, and in these, those blaspheming 
 Jews, who imputed to demoniacal agency the works which Christ 
 performed by the Spirit of God, were doomed to experience their 
 full share. 
 
 Thus is this objection disposed of, without the least violence, 
 as I think, to either of the texts containing it. Many weak per- 
 sons (as Dr. Clarke observes) are apt to be thrown into terror, 
 oftentimes despair, by the persuasion that they have committed 
 this unpardonable sin; and that, therefore, the irrevocable sen- 
 tence of eternal damnation has gone forth against them. How 
 much superfluous misery has been entailed upon mankind by false 
 views of God, and by false interpretations of scripture ! And is 
 it not unaccountable, reader, that we should rest so contentedly in 
 views so contradictory, that whilst we admit the divine mercy to 
 be infinite, we nevertheless suppose there are cases of sin entirely 
 Veyond its reach ! ! ! 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 229 
 
 OBJECTION IV. 
 
 **The Son of man goeth as it is written of him : but woe unto 
 that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed ! it had been good 
 for that man if he had not been born." (Matt. xxvi. 24.) This 
 is said respecting Judas, and it amounts to a strong argument 
 against Universalism, because, whatever might be the poignancy 
 of Judas' sufferings for this offence, or whatever its duration, 
 even though it extended to a thousand millions of ages, yet if it 
 eventually come to an end, and be succeeded by an eternity of 
 bliss, he will still be the gainer by his existence ; and the declara- 
 tion, that it were good for him to have not been born, will not in 
 that case hold true. The probability against the ultimate salva- 
 tion of Judas, is confirmed by the fact that Christ calls him " a 
 devil," (John vi. 70.) also by the fact that he came to his end by 
 self-destruction. " And he cast down the pieces of silver in the 
 temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself." (Matt, 
 xxvii. 5.) Moreover, the rest of the apostles, in solemn supplica- 
 tion, intimated his final fate in very significant language. " That 
 he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which 
 Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." 
 (Acts i. 25.) And in addition to all this, Christ declares him to 
 be lost^ and he calls him " the son of perdition." " While I was 
 with them in the world, I kept them in thy name : those that thou 
 gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of 
 perdition ; that the scripture might be fulfilled." (John xvii. 12.) 
 All these circumstances together, it must be admitted, make out 
 a very strong probability against the ultimate salvation of Judas. 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 They seem to do so, indeed, my friendly objector, as you have 
 marshalled them. I think, nevertheless, that he may be extricated 
 from that disagreeable predicament without any unfair means. 
 1st. Be it known, that the declaration about it being good for him 
 not to have been born, was but a common proverbial expression 
 amongst the Jews upon all calamitous occasions. " And Job spake 
 and said. Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in 
 which it was said, There is a man child conceived." (Job iii. 2, 3.) 
 " Cursed be the day wherein I was born ; let not the day wherein 
 my mother bare me be blessed." (Jer. xx. 14.) " If a man beget 
 
 Vol. I.— U 
 
230 PRO AND CON OF IJNIEVRSALISM. 
 
 a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his 
 years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that 
 he have no burial ; I say, that an untimely birth is better than 
 he." (Eccles. vi. 3.) Dr. Clarke produces several instances from 
 Schoetgen to the same effect. I will give a few of these only. 
 *' Whoever considers these four things, it would have been better 
 for him had he never come into the world; that which is above, 
 that which is below, that which is before, that which is behind ; 
 and whosoever does not attend to the honor of his creator, it were 
 better for him had he never been born.'''' chagigah. " Whosoever 
 knows the law, and does not do it, it had been better for him had 
 he never come into the uwrld.'" shemath rabba. " If any man be 
 parsimonious toward the poor, it had been better for him had he 
 never come into the world.'''' " If any performs the law for the 
 sake of the law, it were good for that man had he never been cre- 
 ated." SAHAR GENES. The words in small capitals are the titles 
 of several Jewish writings. "These examples sufficiently prove 
 (I am quoting Dr. Clarke) that this was a common proverb, and 
 was used with a great variety and latitude of meaning." Christ, 
 however, does not say it were good for Judas NEVER to have 
 been born, but simply, if he had not been born ,• that is, we may 
 reasonably suppose, if he had not been born that particular per- 
 son, or at that particular time, or to that particular end of betray- 
 ing his master. If it were better for him NEVER to have been 
 born, the goodness of his creator is seriously impeached in having 
 conferred an existence which he foresaw would prove an infinite 
 curse to its possessor ! That God, who " is good unto all," was 
 also good unto Judas, those tender mercies which " are over all 
 his works," must also have been over him ; but this could by no 
 means have been the case if he was brought into being with the 
 foresight that he should eternally be the loser thereby. 
 
 But Christ calls Judas a devil, and this, you think, strengthens 
 the probability against his salvation. Your brain is probably mys- 
 tified in regard to this particular, by the supposition that by the 
 word devil, is meant an abandoned, fallen spirit of the infernal 
 pit; but, as I have elsewhere shown, this is an unauthorized defi- 
 nition of the term. You believe in Peter's salvation, and him 
 the Savior calls Satan. (Matt. xvi. 23.) I see not why one devil 
 may not be saved as well as another. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 231 
 
 Again, Judas is called the son of perdition, and is said to be 
 lost. True, his treachery proved the cause of his temporal de- 
 struction, or perdition, (for the terms are synonymous) and 
 the circumstances of his death appear to have been very igno- 
 minious and painful ; this fact would, according to the usages 
 of speech in those days, fully justify the Savior's calling him 
 the son of perdition. As to his being lost, there is no proof that 
 any thing more is meant, than that he was lost to Christ as an 
 apostle i the context clearly favors this inference; the Savior had 
 kept together all whom the Father had given him for disciples, 
 save that one. In this particular sense Judas was lost; to consider 
 him as lost in a moral sense, however, would but be to include 
 him amongst those whom Christ came to seek and to save. And 
 it must be further remembered that nothing is to be so lost, as not 
 to be recovered again "at the last day." (John vi. 39.) 
 
 " That he might go to his own place," and that place, oh, sapient 
 reader, you are pleased to think, was the infernal regions! Ex- 
 tremely modest it was, I must needs say, for the eleven apostles to 
 tell the almighty Jehovah, that the deep abodes of hell was the ap- 
 propriate place for one of his intelligent offspring, and a former 
 companion of theirs ! If they had been certified that God had 
 created that place for Judas, and him for it, they might have 
 called it his " own place" with some propriety ; but in the ab- 
 sence of such assurance, it were a stretch of presumption amount- 
 ing to blasphemy. It must be evident to the candid reader, that 
 the passage in our version needs a transposition, which will transfer 
 the applicability of the words in question from Judas to Mathias, 
 who succeeded him in the apostleship, " that he might go to his 
 own place, from which Judas by transgression fell." 
 
 It may well be doubted if Judas died by his own act; the ori- 
 ginal represents him as having strangled himself. There are other 
 modes of strangling besides hanging; and a man may strangle 
 himself otherwise than by a voluntary act; Judas may have suf- 
 focated with excessive grief, for his grief was excessive. The 
 account of his hanging does not consist with that which Peter 
 gives of his death — "and falling headlong he bust asunder in the 
 midst, and all his bowels gushed out." (Acts i. 18.) The law of 
 gravitation behooves to be subverted, before a person suspended 
 bj the neck can fall headlong ! Dr. Lightfoot, however, jumps 
 
233 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 over the philosophical difficulty in the case, by supposing that 
 the devil may have snatched Judas from the gallows and dashed 
 him to the ground. Ah, it is easy accounting for the greatest mar- 
 vels where the' devil is concerned. On the whole, there is really 
 nothing in the case of Judas which, on close examination, amounts 
 to an argument against universal salvation; nor is there any thing 
 which is not susceptible of an easy explication in agreement with 
 the fact of his eventual redemption. 
 
 OBJECTION V. 
 
 " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John iii. 3.) " Know ye 
 not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God I 
 Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, 
 nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind ; nor 
 thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortion- 
 ers, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10.) It 
 would really seem, in this last passage, that the great apostle had 
 the universalist heresy in his eye, and that he penned this lan- 
 guage w4th the express intention of guarding the church to whom 
 he wrote against it. " Be not deceived ;" let none persuade you 
 that the good and the bad, with faith and without it, the man of 
 prayer and the blasphemer, are all to attain at last to celestial 
 blessedness ; no, no, I tell yoii that the righteous only shall in- 
 herit the kingdom of God. 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 I have had several previous occasions to observe, in this work, 
 that the phrases, "kingdom of God," and "kingdom of heaven," 
 are not to be confounded with the world of celestial bliss; they are 
 never so used in the scriptures. I have given some proofs of this ; 
 take a few more. " And when he was demanded of the Pharisees 
 when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them, and 
 said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither 
 shall they say, Lo here ! or, lo there ! for, behold, the kingdom 
 of God is within you." (Luke xvii. 20, 21.) " For the kingdom 
 of God is not meat and drink ; but righteousness and peace, and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost." (Rom. xiv. 17.) " But woe unto you, 
 scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye shut up the kingdom of 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBji:CTIONS CONSIDERED. 233 
 
 heaven against men ; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer 
 ye them that are er)tering to go in." (Matt, xxiii. 13.) These 
 are but a specimen of very many proofs, that by the kingdom of 
 God, and of heaven, is meant, the gospel institution in the world ; 
 when it was about to be ushered in, men were told that the king- 
 dom of heaven was at hand, &c. Now, it has long been the pre- 
 valent error with christians, in regard to this subject, that they 
 have confounded this kingdom with that of celestial glory beyond 
 the grave. Nicodemus was a Jew ; his habits, and modes of 
 thinking, his prejudices, were all Jewish ; he was told that in order 
 to become a subject of the gospel institution, he *' must be born 
 again," must undergo a moral renovation, must cease to act, and 
 think, and worship as a Jew, and begin anew to graduate in the 
 science of religion at the feet of Christ. An individual who has 
 had his birth and education, and spent a considerable part of his 
 life in a despotic country, must needs be born again ere he caa 
 appreciate the blessings of a free government. A person in a 
 savage state is not prepared to be ushered at once into civilized 
 life ; he must first be prepared for the transition by an education of 
 his mind, sentiments, and habits. So it is in regard to religion; 
 ere we can appreciate the blessings of the gospel kingdom, we 
 must obtain a mastery over our evil passions and appetites ; we 
 must cultivate and cherish those dispositions and tempers which 
 will assimilate us to Jesus Christ; w-e must cease to do evil and 
 learn to do well. Paul saith truly, that no murderer, fornicator, 
 or the like, can inherit the kingdom of God ; this truth was new to 
 such as had been converted to the belief in Christ, from the various 
 heathen superstitions ; they had been accustomed to regard many 
 vices as not only consistent with religion, but as actual virtues. 
 I need not inform my intelligent readers that the very worship of 
 most of the pagan deities was often associated with acts of a most 
 vicious and repulsive nature. In reading the apostolic epistles, 
 we find they had much trouble to indoctrinate the early converts 
 into the knowledge of that pure and elevated system of faith and 
 morals, which constituted the religion of Christ, the kingdom of 
 God, or of heaven, into which nothing that is unclean, or unholy, 
 can enter; which is as chaste "as a bride adorned for her hus- 
 band." We may easily comprehend, then, (without supposing a 
 caution against universalism to be intended,) why Paul warned 
 Vol. I.— u 2 
 
234 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALTSM. 
 
 the Corinthians against the delusive supposition, that the nnright- 
 ecus could inherit the kingdom of God ; as though he had said, 
 " Be not deceived on this head, ray brethren ; Christianity is quite 
 a different institution from those of which you were formerly the 
 subjects ; they allowed in you many things which are wicked and 
 abominable, but it requires in its subjects the utmost attainable 
 purity of thought, of conversation, of life ; and it utterly refuses to 
 lend its countenance to any thing of a contrary nature." 
 
 But here arises a question. " Since such are the requirements 
 of Christ's kingdom on earth, can we reasonably expect that the 
 unrighteous will be admitted into that more glorious kingdom in 
 heaven?" No. Neither can we reasonably expect that the utmost 
 holiness to which w^e can attain while we inherit flesh and blood, 
 will qualify us for admission there; if divine grace must needs 
 effect a preparation in the worst of sinners for that blest abode, so 
 must it also in the best; let the christian who has the immodesty 
 to question this, learn to know himself better. Is he never sensible 
 to the presence of anger in his bosom ? of envy, jealousy, discon- 
 tent, revenge, malice ? Does he think to carry these dispositions 
 to heaven with him % How much difference in these respects, 
 on a candid comparison of himself with others, {same there unde- 
 niably is, but how much ?) does he find in his own favor % It is 
 quite a plain case that the christian needs a preparation for heaven 
 as well as the sinner ; the difference is, that in the former it is 
 begun on earth, in the latter it is not ; but to infinite grace the 
 counteraction of the greatest guilt is equally possible as that of the 
 least. 
 
 To speak of salvation to an individual in a state of guilt, is to 
 speak nonsense; it is an absurdity in terms, for what is salvation 
 but a deliverance from guilt; saved from it, we are saved from 
 misery, {moral misery I mean,) for where guilt is, and there only, 
 is misery — in the heaven of heavens as in the heart of hell. Let 
 none charge us, then, with the teaching that all mankind are to 
 be made happy in heaven without a previous preparation for it. 
 We differ from others in believing that all tuzV/ eventually be so 
 prepared ; some of those to whom Paul wrote, had been such char- 
 acters as he specifies as not admissible to the church or kingdom 
 of Christ; but they had ceased from their former evil practices, 
 and had become the denizens of that kingdom. (1 Cor. vi. 11.) 
 
MISCELLANEOTIS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 235 
 
 A METAPHYSICAL ARGUMENT FOR ENDLESS MISERY 
 CONSIDERED. 
 
 Sometime since I attended divine service at the Second Presby- 
 terian church, Cincinnati, and heard a discourse from the pastor, 
 Dr. Beecher. Its subject was the reasonableness of endless misery, 
 and its consistency with the divine goodness. Dr. B. is president of 
 the Lane Seminary, and an ecclesiastic of very high reputation 
 for learning and talents. Let us see what a gentleman of his 
 calibre can do in a case of such difficulty. The followiDg are the 
 strong points in the discourse referred to. 
 
 " 1st. God had a right to create minds, and it was benevolent 
 in him to do so." Granted. "2nd. God had a right to institute 
 laws for the government of minds so created." This too is 
 granted. " 3d. He had a right to guard his law by retributive 
 sanctions." Very good. " 4th. The system of government so 
 instituted must last forever, for the same reasons will operate to 
 keep it up which led at the first to its institution ; and as its 
 rewards and punishments are an essential part of the system, they 
 must endure to eternity. Endless misery results of course." And 
 if it does, endless reward results of course also, and what then be- 
 comes of the scriptural doctrine of salvation by grace 1 It goes by 
 the root before this metaphysical axe of the Doctor's ; eternal life, 
 instead of being the gift of God, will be but a legal consequence 
 of obedience to the divine government ! But endless misery does 
 not result ; the Doctor's logic is purblind here. Suppose the 
 criminal code of a land to last for a thousand years ; does it fol- 
 low that each transgressor under it must endure its penal inflic- 
 tions for so long] That judge would be thought a whimsical 
 expounder of the law, I fancy, who, finding the legal punishment 
 for theft to be imprisonment, should, upon that ground, take it 
 into his head that the culprit must be confined for so long as that 
 statute should remain unaltered, if even to a hundred centuries! 
 Moreover, if we allow the Doctor's consequence, on what basis 
 will rest his own hopes of eternal blessedness? He has violated 
 the law — its penalties are irrevocable, and therefore^ (as he thinks,) 
 eternal ! We call a man a good logician who can prove all he 
 wishes to prove ; what may we call him who can prove a great 
 deal more 1 
 
236 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 To reconcile endless misery with the divine benevolence, the 
 Doctor had recourse to two illustrations ; the first was to the fol- 
 lowing effect. A legislative body compose a code of laws for a 
 particular realm ; all their enactments are made with express 
 reference to the public welfare; but in order to effect a result 
 which shall be best on the whole, and for the generality, they find 
 it absolutely necessary to append the penalties of perpetual im- 
 prisonment, and even a forfeiture of life in certain cases; where- 
 upon an individual among them remonstrates — "Take care what 
 you do, (he exclaims,) these penalties may come to bear upon some 
 ofyourselves, your children, or your children's children ; therefore, 
 be cautious how you proceed, for by this act you may possibly be 
 sealing your own doom, or theirs." " What shall be done now 1" 
 (enquired the Doctor.) " Either the good of the whole public 
 must be left unguarded through an overweening tenderness to- 
 ward a comparatively few abandoned individuals, or they must be 
 sacrificed to the general interest ; which shall we prefer ?" 
 
 This comparison betwixt a legislature and the deity is far more 
 plausible than just; for no difficulties of the kind here supposed 
 arise in God's way ; he is never reduced to a choice between two 
 or more evils ; it is as perfectly in his power to secure the ultimate 
 good of the whole as of a part ; if I doubted this in regard to 
 every individual part composing that whole, I should equally 
 doubt it in regard to any. I wish our opponents would tell us at 
 once whether they do or do not deny the divine omnipotence ; for 
 if they do not, why are they perpetually nibbling at it with this 
 species of sophisiry ? But why do I speak of his power? His 
 wisdom and benevolence are equally crippled by this sort of com- 
 parisons. He cannot frame a system of government, it would 
 seem, which will not subject him to the hard necessity of forego- 
 ing the claims of benevolence with regard to some of his crea- 
 tures, out of respect to the well-being of the greater number! 
 
 The Doctor's other illustration was less hacknied; I know not 
 but it originated v*ith himself. It was, in substance, as follows: 
 " Suppose that before the work of creation was begun, the Almighty 
 had anticipated it, by at once calling into momentary existence all 
 the intelligences whom he contemplated ever to create, in order to 
 obtain their vote upon the question whether they would prefer to 
 6e, (subject to all the liabilities of being, which are contemplated 
 
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 237 
 
 by the doctrine of endless misery,) or to return to non-existence, 
 and to remain non-existent forever." " I foresee (the Creator tells 
 them,) that some of you will violate my laws, and subject your- 
 selves to my eternal displeasure; but this will result from no 
 decree or purpose of mine, but from the incurable perverseness of 
 such individuals themselves, in despite of all the efforts of my 
 goodness to prevent it. Will you, then, that I prosecute my pur- 
 pose of creating you, to live forever, and subject to the risk (which 
 shall only be realized in regard to a comparative few) that your 
 being shall be rendered eternally miserable by disobedience ; or 
 shall I abandon my purpose, forgo my benevolent plan, with all 
 the incalculable amount of enjoyment to millions of millions 
 which shall result therefrom, merely out of regard to the relatively 
 small quantity of misery which is unavoidably incident to it]" 
 The universal vote in such a case would have been, (as the Doc- 
 tor thinks,) " Create us ; we will prefer to exist and take the risk, 
 rather than to continue in eternal nothingness ; and if any of us 
 shall be so ungrateful as to violate our obligations to thy good- 
 ness, and so perverse as to rush through every obstacle of thy 
 grace down to final ruin, we shall deserve the result, and we con- 
 sent to abide it — let us live !" 
 
 My dear reader, I trust you are not such a dolt as to be 
 unable to perceive the fallacy in the above case; it consists, you 
 must see, in supposing Jehovah reduced to the alternative of 
 either creating some beings for final misery, or not creating them 
 at all ! If this is not absurdity, essential, quintessential absurdity, 
 then is there no such thing in the universe. Moreover, it is very 
 doubtful if that assemblage of intelligences would, in the case 
 supposed, have rendered any such vote, even allowing the propo- 
 sition to have been presented in the soft and guarded terms which 
 the Doctor has employed. But how, according to his doctrine, 
 stands the reality '? Certainly far less favorably than here repre- 
 sented. From the state of human society since the lapse of our 
 first parents down to present times, (6000 years) I am warranted 
 in saying, that if the notion of endless misery be true, ninety-nine 
 hundredth's of mankind will be eternally lost! Would a multi- 
 tude of beings deserve to be called intelligent, who should con- 
 sent to accept of existence in view of any result approximating 
 this 1 Would the Doctor himself consent to be the parent of any 
 
238 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 given number of children, out of which a proportion, answering to 
 that of the human family which shall sink to eternal woe, should 
 certainly be lost, ruined, abandoned to suffering and to infamy, for- 
 ever and ever 1 Let him deliberately and conscientiously respond 
 to this question, ere he again depicts his Creator's character in 
 the hues of his dark and repulsive theology. 
 
 MILLENNIAL HYMN. 
 
 Oh Zion, arise ! in thy glory appear, 
 
 Thy garments of beauty put on, 
 For the time of the singing of birds now is near, 
 And the voice of the turtle already we hear — 
 
 Thy winter is over and gone. 
 
 Too long have the harps of thine exiles been mute, 
 
 And sad on the willows have hung; 
 For they said, " in the land of the stranger-pollute — 
 Where we sow'd in despair — reap'd in anguish the fruit- 
 How can anthems of Zion be sungl" 
 
 But the time long foretold by thy prophets is near, 
 
 Kise ! rise ! for its dawning we see, 
 When thine exiles, redeem'd, shall in Zion appear. 
 And the hand of Jehovah shall wipe every tear, 
 
 And sighing and sorrow shall flee. 
 
 No more, then, forever thy sun shall go down, 
 
 Thy moon hide its brightness no more; 
 For God with the bliss of his presence shall crown, 
 That world on which darkness and sin never frown: 
 No night ever visits that shore. 
 
 \lready the Gentiles are flocking to thee, 
 
 To share thy salvation they come, 
 From the ends of the earth, from the isles of the sea; 
 All kindreds and nations thy converts shall be, 
 
 And no more in transgression shall roam. 
 
 Oh hail, thou blest season ! thou era of gold ! 
 
 Thy beauties our bosoms inspire ; 
 Thy glory shall snon in its fulness unfold ; 
 All flesh the salvation of God shall behold. 
 
 And sin, death, and sorrow, expire. 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 239 
 
 DIVINE PUNISHMENT, 
 
 ITS NATURE, ENDS, AND CERTAINTY, HARMONIZED WITH THE 
 SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF FORGIVENESS. 
 
 " One of the most absurd features of the Universalian system," 
 (once remarked a respectable minister to me, in a conversation on 
 these subjects,) ♦' is the notion, that in the divine economy, sin is 
 never forgiven, in the sense implying an exemption from deserved 
 punishment ! You nevertheless (continued he) affect to believe in 
 the scripture doctrine of pardon upon the term of repentance ; but 
 how sin can be pardoned, and at the same time punished, I con- 
 fess, surpasses my comprehension !" And yet, reader, there is 
 no real solecism in this case. We are constantly witnessing facts 
 which confirm the theory, that to pardon an offence, and yet to 
 punish it, are acts not incompatible with each other. The case 
 of Mr. B. is in point; gambling was his besetting vice; he lost 
 at the gaming table the whole of his once large estate ; but he has 
 become a christian, and of course abjured his former evil prac- 
 tices ; he has experienced forgiveness. But has the property he 
 lost been restored to him 1 By no means : this penalty of his for- 
 mer sinfulness he must continue still to endure — hence it is plain 
 that, though pardoned, he has not escaped punishment. Mr. S. is 
 another instance to the same effect : he used to indulge a violent 
 propensity for strife ; the lightest occasion would excite his com- 
 bativeness, and a fight was his first impulse. He lost an eye in 
 one of his quarrels, which led him to reflect on the madness of his 
 conduct. He is now, after many struggles, entirely cured of his 
 pugnacious propensities — he is a reformed man, and enjoys the 
 consciousness that his sins are remitted. Still, he has not re- 
 gained his lost eye ; he must continue to abide the deprivation as 
 a penalty of his past folly. A hundred cases of the kind might 
 be instanced, if necessary, to show X\^zi forgiveness, or a liberation 
 from sin, does not imply an exemption from the penalty due to it. 
 The reformed debauchee, for example, who by years of indulgence 
 had wasted his bodily and mental energies, and contracted diseases 
 which either must shorten his days, or render them days of suffer- 
 ing to him ; when he became a christian, did he find repentance 
 
S40 PRO AND CON OP UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 to expel from his system these deleterious effects of a mispent 
 life ? No : but it proved a means of preventing an increase 
 of those effects ; for when the cause ceased, it ceased to produce 
 results. 
 
 Exactly accordant with fact, as above illustrated, is the teach- 
 ing of inspiration upon this head. Speaking of the divine dealings 
 with the rebellious Israelites during their sojourn in the wilder- 
 ness, David says, " Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though 
 thou tookest vengeance of their inventions." (Ps. xc. 8.) In the 
 psalmist's estimation, therefore, the/orgmng- of sin was not held 
 to be incompatible with the taking vengeance of it. " I will cer- 
 tainly chastise you for that act, my son," (said father C.) " it must 
 not be allowed to pass with impunity." And father C. did chas- 
 tise his son accordingly. The boy was subdued ; he saw the evil 
 of his conduct — sought his father's forgiveness, and obtained it. 
 The old man kissed the tears from the cheek of his child, and 
 pressed him to his bosom. See you now how the punishment of 
 sin is reconeileable with its pardon 1 If you do, you understand 
 the philosophy of forgiveness as it is exhibited in the scriptures. 
 " Wherein, then, (you will ask) consisteth the advantages of par- 
 don upon this scheme V They are great, my dear reader, and 
 manifold ; the pardoned are freed from their former vices, and, of 
 course, from the effects that would follow from a continuance in 
 them. They are recovered to virtue. Mr. B. no longer feels that 
 fever of the soul arising from solicitude about the chances of the 
 game. He is not startled from his nightly dreams by the phan- 
 toms of wretches whom his arts have reduced to penury, and their 
 families to want of bread. By honest industry he is now repair- 
 ing his own wrecked fortunes, and he therefore looks upon his 
 wife and children with the satisfaction of knowing that he is no 
 longer sporting with their interests and happiness for life. Such 
 is the improvement in the condition of Mr. B. As to Mr. S., he 
 is subject no more to bodily wounds and bruises ; nor to agita- 
 tions of spirit such as he experienced while a slave to angry pas- 
 sions. He is not now perpetually making to himself enemies of 
 his neighbors, nor exposing himself to expensive and mortifying 
 litigations — he lives in peace within himself, and with all around 
 him. Would to God that the whole of the two classes of sinners 
 whom these gentlemen are designed to represent, would, by a like 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 241 
 
 amendment, secure to themselves a similar change of condition ! 
 I have said nothing of their spiritual enjoyments, arising from a 
 religious life : these are incalculable. Oh ! the exquisite happi- 
 ness of knowing that conscience, and God, and all the good of 
 mankind, approve them ! Both these gentlemen, you perceive, 
 reader, have experienced forgiveness ,• but who can say that they 
 have not also been punished? 
 
 Errors in relation to punishment have naturally led to errors in 
 relation to forgiveness. Those who have supposed the former to 
 be arbitrary in their nature, have also well supposed that when 
 God pleases, they can be dispensed with without injury to any 
 body, or the contravention of any eternal principle ; and that for- 
 giveness actually implies the setting aside these punishments. 
 By the same class of theologians it is even gravely affirmed, that 
 divine punishments are not designed for good to those upon whom 
 they operate ! proceeding as they do from infinite goodness, and 
 operating as they do upon creatures who are the subjects of that 
 goodness, (for " the Lord is good unto all,") yet they are not de- 
 signed for good to them ! I am at a loss whether to term this 
 false philosophy, or no philosophy at all. 
 
 "But U for gooff^ (do you say, reader 1) " then it were better 
 to commit the more sin, in order to experience the more punish- 
 ment; the more of a good thing the better." Why, my most 
 shrewd reader, it would be a good act in one to help you out of a 
 quagmire ; but you would not therefore jump into a quagmire for 
 the sake of being helped out ! Should we not deem a man an idiot 
 if he broke a limb, for the mere sake of having it set by a benevo- 
 lent surgeon 1 Now this will well illustrate the case ; for the set- 
 ting of a fractured limb, although a beneficial operation, is yet a 
 painful one ; and the same is true of the divine corrections. It is 
 better, therefore, to avoid them by well-doing ; yet, when they are 
 demerited, it is better that they be experienced, how painful so- 
 ever, since, coming as they do from a Being who is infinitely 
 wise, just, and merciful, they cannot but be productive of merci- 
 ful results. " And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speak- 
 eth unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chas- 
 tening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him : For 
 whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
 whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with 
 Vol. I.— V No. 11. 
 
242 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 you as with sons ; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth 
 notl But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are parta- 
 kers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have 
 had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them re- 
 verence : shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Fa- 
 ther of spirits, and live 1 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 holiness. Now, no chastening for the present 
 seometh to be joyous, but grievous : nevertheless afterward it 
 yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are 
 exercised thereby." (Heb. xii. 5 — 11.) Thus we find the bible 
 to speak very intelligibly as to the ends of divine punishment. 
 
 " But is this theory — plausible in itself, and accordant with scrip- 
 ture teaching — is it sustained by matter of fact? Have punish- 
 ments a reforming tendency 1" If they have not, then must it be 
 admitted that they are useless .- for they cannot repair the injury 
 done by the oflfender ; they do not prevent others from committing 
 the same oflfence : and to say that they vindicate the honor of the 
 law, is to put words together which have no intelligible meaning. 
 They, then, are but retaliatory ^ their object is revenge — sheer re- 
 venge ! 
 
 " But why does not the punishment of an offence more generally 
 operate to prevent others from committing it?" An examination 
 into the nature of punishment will explain this. Punishment is of 
 two kinds, as to its nature — several, as to its objects. One kind may 
 be termed arbitrary — the other necessary. Arbitrary punishment is 
 such as results from the mere will of the punisher ; it has no na- 
 tural connexion with the offence. Necessary punishment is such 
 as necessarily proceeds from the sin itself; it is an unavoidable 
 consequence of it. In the one, an outward executioner is required ; 
 in the other, sin is its own executioner. The stroke of the one 
 may therefore be dodged ; the stroke of the other is as inevitable 
 as fate. To illustrate. Tell a man that murder will bring him to 
 the gallows, and his mind will respond — " Yes, provided, 1st, that 
 I am detected: 2nd, that I am convicted: 3rd, that I am not pardon- 
 ed: 4th, that I do not break jail and escape: 5th, or die a natural 
 death before the day of execution : 6th, or do not despatch myself 
 in some other way : 7th, or am not forcibly rescued.''^ Now it is 
 certain that either of these accidents may prevent the catastrophe. 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 243 
 
 Hence it will be seen, that between murder and hanging there is 
 no natural connexion. The connexion is arbitrary, hence its un- 
 certianty. Here then is the reason why, in all countries, sangui- 
 nary laws have failed to diminish the number of crimes. Now let 
 us see whether divine punishments can be thus evaded. What is 
 the natural penalty of murder 1 It is remorse — fierce, unremitting, 
 dreadful remorse. Is there any escape from these effects? None. 
 The wretch may traverse oceans ; may fly to remotest lands ; may 
 seek to hide himself in trackless deserts, or the inaccessible wilds 
 of nature — vain, all his efforts ! the voice of his brother's blood 
 crielh out against him from the ground. No outward judicatory 
 is needed here : no judge, nor jurors, nor witnesses. He has all 
 within himself. He dares not to enter a plea of not guilty ; con- 
 science, if he did, would overwhelm him with its thunders. No 
 mockery of the kind is admissible in the court with which he 
 has to do. How many a wretch thus hunted down, although no 
 clue existed by which man could trace the crime of blood-guilti- 
 ness to his skirts, has voluntarily surrendered himself to the ac- 
 tion of the law, preferring to die an ignominious death rather than 
 to suffer longer from the goadings of remorse 1 You may tell me, 
 that in some countries murder, in some cases, is not held to be a 
 crime, and is therefore not productive of the consequences de- 
 scribed. Very well — where it is not known to be a crime, no 
 guilt can be incurred in the com.mission of it ; yet, even then, as 
 a wrong, its evil effects are not the less certain. The savage who 
 deems revenge a duty, and buries his hatchet in the skull of an 
 enemy, is in constant fear of a reaction of the same law of revenge 
 upon himself. Even pirates, and bandits, who, by custom, havo 
 learned to set small value on the life of a fellow-being, have the 
 greater reason, from that very cause, to dread falling victims to the 
 avarice, or the bloodthirstiness of each other. In the government 
 of God, there is, there can he, no escape from deserved punishment. 
 
 " Not even by repentance V No, not even by repentance. Je- 
 hovah has himself declared, that he " will by no means clear the 
 guilty." (Ex. xxxiv. 7.) "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall 
 he also reap." (Gal.vi. 7.) "Thoughhand join in hand, the wick- 
 ed shall not be unpunished." (Prov. xi. I.) If God will clear the 
 guilty by the means of repentance, will he not be clearing them 
 by same means % According to Paul, he " will render unto every 
 
244 PRO AND CON OF UNI VERBALISM. 
 
 man according to his deeds." (Rom. ii. 6.) But how so, if, in re- 
 gard to many, no retribution for evil deeds will ever be rendered 
 at all 1 
 
 Arbitrary punishments are the only ones within human power 
 to inflict — we cannot make wickedness punish itself ^ hence, we 
 append to transgression certain penal pains, which, being by na- 
 ture wholly unconnected with it, may or may not take effect, as 
 mere accident shall determine. The popular theology represents 
 the divine penalties of sin as being equally arbitrary, and, there- 
 fore, equally uncertain ! That I may be perfectly comprehended 
 in this branch of my subject, I will once more illustrate the dif- 
 ference betwixt positive and moral (in other words arbitrary and 
 necessary) punishments, by the sin of our first parents and its 
 penalty. 
 
 The divine threatening in regard to the tree was, " In the day 
 thou eatest thereof thou shalt' surely die." We understand this 
 death to have been vioral in its nature — consisting of condem- 
 nation, debasement, &c.; such as we are given to know they really 
 did experience on the day of transgression, and such as naturally 
 resulted, and must ever result, from the doing an unlawful deed. 
 We suppose that the punishment could not possibly have been 
 dispensed with ; and that whether it had been threatened or not, 
 it would have resulted from the act just as it did ; because it was 
 a natural and necessary consequence from it. It is even doubtful 
 if Jehovah originated the connexion between sin and suffering, or 
 whether he could dissolve it. But, supposing it possible to have 
 set aside the penalty in the case, it certainly would have opera- 
 ted to the injury of the culprit, who would have been encouraged 
 to argue thus within himself : — " I once transgressed the law of 
 God, and no evil result ensued ; hence, I find that misery is not 
 an inevitable consequence of sin, it only takes place as Jehovah 
 pleases ; it then is not an evil in itself, for if it were, it would of 
 itself produce evil effects ; and since it pleased God that it should 
 not in this instance, the same may happen in all future instances." 
 Emboldened by this persuasion, he sins, and sins again, and wheu 
 at length vengeance does ensue, he thinks that inasmuch as it was 
 not necessary, it might as well have been dispensed with, and ii 
 was therefore unkind in God to inflict it. 
 Now, the popular theology supposes that the death in the threat* 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 245 
 
 fining above noticed, implied the being doomed to eternal jiames f 
 Can any body see any necessary^ any reasonable connexion between 
 the eating of an interdicted apple, and the suffering in ceaseless 
 fireT It is not even pretended by those who take this view of the 
 subject, that the penalty threatened was otherwise than arbitrary ; 
 and, accordingly (as they think) a pretext was easily found for set- 
 ting it aside ! They did not die ! God relented ! (The snake had 
 predicted this conclusion of the affair, and our friends confirm the 
 truth of the prediction.) The culprits were dismissed with a half- 
 angry and half-approving reprimand ! 
 
 I do not affirm that in the administration of the divine govern- 
 ment, arbitrary punishments have never occurred ; in scripture 
 times, it would seem, the divine dealings with men were more 
 direct and visible than they have since been. In those days, out- 
 ward and sensible expressions of his displeasure against sin some- 
 times occurred ; as in the deluge, the destruction of Sodom, Baby- 
 lon, Tyre, Sidon, and Jerusalem. It is not pretended, that in this 
 class of punishments, the reformation of the punished is the 
 immediate object ; they are meant as examples to others, and there- 
 fore they are benevolent, although not directly so to the subjects 
 themselves ; yet they must even to them prove ultimately so, it 
 being no part of Jehovah's policy to sacrifice the eternal interests 
 of a part, to secure those of the residue, for several reasons. 
 1st. He is under no such necessity. 2nd. He can as easily make 
 all eventually happy as to make a part so. 3d. He loves one 
 portion of his creatures as well as another. And, 4th, must there- 
 fore prefer the final good of all before the final good of some. 
 These outward punishments are exceptions to the general scheme 
 of divine retribution; they have but seldom occurred, and are called 
 his " strange work." (Isa. xxviii. 21.) 
 
 I have said, it is even doubtful if Jehovah originated the connex- 
 ion betwixt sin and misery. I must take this back. I prefer to 
 resolve all causes, with their effects, into the all-wise appoint- 
 ment of the infinite God ; more especially as the scriptures afford 
 me examples to this effect ; and, besides, there is so evident a 
 mercy in the law of which I speak, that it seems a dictate of rea- 
 son as well as piety, to account for its existence on the ground of 
 divine institution. It can scarcely be necessary for me to prove 
 this the bible view of the case. Nevertheless, I will adduce a 
 
 Vol. I.— V 2 
 
246 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 few instances. The following is the language of Eliho, the onlj 
 one of Job's friends whose discourse God did not disapprove. 
 *' That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride 
 from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life 
 from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain 
 upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain : 
 so that his life abhorreth bread and his soul dainty meat. His 
 flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen ; and his bones 
 that were not seen, siick out. Yea, his soul draweth near unto 
 the grave, and his life to the destroyers. If there be a messenger 
 with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man 
 his uprightness ; then he is gracious unto him, and saith. Deliver 
 him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom. His 
 flesh shall be fresher than a child's : he shall return to the days 
 of his youth. He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable 
 unto him ; and he shall see his face with joy : for he will render 
 unto man his righteousness. He looketh upon men; and if any 
 say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it pro- 
 fited me not ; he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and 
 his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God often- 
 times with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be en- 
 lightened with the light of the living." (Job xxxiii. 17 — 30.) The 
 same Elihu also exclaims, " Surely it is meet to be said unto God, 
 I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more." (Job xxxiv. 
 31.) Jeremiah takes a similar view in regard to the sufferings 
 brought on themselves by the Israelites, whom he personates under 
 the name of Ephraim. "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning 
 himself thus. Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bul- 
 lock unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me and I shall be turned ; 
 for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I 
 repented ; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh : 
 I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the 
 reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son ] is he a pleasant 
 child 1 for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember 
 him still ; therefore my bowels are troubled for him : I will surely 
 have mercy upon him saith the Lord." (Jer. xxxi. 18 — 20.) And 
 the sufferings entailed upon the same people by an invasion of 
 their country, is by the same prophet accounted for in the same 
 way throughout his book of Lamentations ; and they are also rep- 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 247 
 
 resented as issuing in the same gracious ends. " For the Lord 
 will not cast off for ever. But though he cause grief, yet will he 
 have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For 
 he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. To 
 crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. To turn aside 
 the right of a man before the face of the Most High. To subvert 
 a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. Who is he that 
 saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord comraandeth it not ? 
 Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good ? 
 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punish- 
 ment of his sins ? Let us search and try our ways and turn 
 again to the Lord." (Lam. iii. 31 — 40.) David, enumerating the 
 blessings of providence upon himself and his household, repre- 
 sents the following as the divine promise in regard to his children. 
 *' If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments ; 
 if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then 
 will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with 
 stripes. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take 
 from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail." (Ps. Ixxxix. 30 — 
 33.) Now it is absolutely pitiful, yea, contemptible, to give to 
 passages of this nature a partial application, as if Jehovah does 
 not in his dealings with each and. all of the transgressors of his 
 law, observe the same eternal principles of mercy and justice ! 
 
 Let us attend now to the modus operandi of divine punishments. 
 I have before considered the case of the gambler, but we may take 
 a more difficult view of it. We will suppose, then, that he con- 
 stantly rises from the game a winner ,• how, in that event, does he 
 get his punishment 1 Is he not rather rewarded for his wicked- 
 ness, and encouraged to proceed in it 1 He would be encouraged, 
 indeed, if he fared as well as you, reader, seem to suppose ; and 
 in that case, why shall we not all turn gamblers, since we are 
 lured to it by the flowers which providence strews in that path ! 
 Reader, dismiss this delusion ; for such, and a very destructive 
 one, it really is. I will tell you how the successful gambler gets 
 his punishment. It does not follow from the fact that he always 
 has won, that he therefore always shall ; one more expert than 
 himself may at any moment strip him of all his past gains; his 
 very successes serve to lessen his caution, and embolden him to 
 venture larger stakes ; hence, it often happens that his entire for- 
 
248 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 tune is vibrating upon the chances of the moment ; he may arise 
 with double his present wealth, or without a penny. "What must 
 be his mental perturbation when so much is depending on such 
 shifting hazards ? Anxiety of this nature, so feverish, so intense, 
 is rapid in its progress of eating out the soul. But aside from 
 this, has he no reasons for disquietude in regard to his victims, 
 some of whom he may have rendered desperate by despair at 
 their losses, and may visit their ruin upon his head 1 Let him who 
 wishes to portray the career of a gambler as pleasant, go to a 
 Parisian or a London hell, (rightly named,) to borrow his lights 
 and shades for the picture. Would you, reader, exchange your 
 life of quiet and of honest self-approval, for his, of turbulence and 
 apprehension I 
 
 Consider, next, the case of the dishonest man. Suppose him so 
 adroit in his arts that he is never detected ; is he therefore never 
 punished 1 Why then starts he at every leaf that rustles near 
 him 1 Why those uneasy glances when he hears approaching 
 footsteps ? Why cannot he look his honest neighbors in the face, 
 but his eye must be constantly cowering beneath their glance % 
 And consider, moreover, in addition to the suffering which these 
 circumstances indicate, how many painful risks of detection he 
 runs, how much time he spends in plotting and executing his 
 felonies ; which, employed in honest industry, would bring him 
 equal gains, with more certainty and less suffering ; and when he 
 prowls forth in the darkness to effect his disgraceful purposes, 
 what dangers of various nature he must necessarily encounter. 
 Pah ! his bread is bitter and hard-earned !* 
 
 I might detail the penalties attendant on the different crimes in 
 practice amongst mankind — lying, adultery, fornication, drunken- 
 ness, &c. ; each has its own appropriate pains and dangers ; each 
 
 * The case of Johnson, of Cincinnati, is an instance to the point, that great danger 
 is incurred even by the most expert marauders. This man had for a number of years, 
 as it afterwards appeared, been in the habil of committing burglaries, and with such 
 secrecy and success, that he had amassed a large quantity of stolen goods together, to 
 the value of several thousand dollars ; nor does it appear that in all iliat time his 
 character and conduct were suspected. One morning, the keepers of a wholesale 
 store in the city found their door to have been ojiened in the nishi, and on entering 
 aspectarle of a horrid description presented itself— it was the deadbody of the burglar, 
 manded in such a manner as bafflpd all attempts to identify him, until by accident 
 (or led by a suspicion of the fact) his own daughter approached, examined him, and 
 by a particular mark on his person discovered the dreadful truth, that the mangled 
 wretch before her was her father ! He had in the darkness fallen from the third loft 
 through the scuttle. What a death to die ! and in what a cause 1 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 249 
 
 brings with it an entailment of shame, and loss, and remorse. Need 
 I enlarge, reader 1 I trow not, because your own bosom is at this 
 moment throbbing responses in harmony with these statements — it 
 knows that you never sinned but the regularity of its throb was 
 interrupted, and the quiet of its empire invaded. 
 
 " But conscience becomes callous after a while," say you, " and 
 the sinner of every kind learns to perpetrate his deeds without 
 compunction ; hence, instead of increasing with the ratio of guilt, 
 (as justice would seem to require,) punishment actually diminishes 
 as crime increases." A specious objection, I grant you, reader, 
 very specious ; but you overlook the fact that this moral insen- 
 sibility is itself a punishment — the greatest of punishments. 
 When thus given over to hardness of heart and a seared, a cic- 
 atrised conscience, the individual has in a manner lost his moral 
 nature ; it is absorbed in the animal, the brute ; all the nicer chords 
 of his being, whence formerly sprung the more refined enjoyments 
 of his life, have lost their harmonies ; these delicate barriers be- 
 twixt his soul and infamy being broken down, he is lost hence- 
 forth to conscience, and modesty, and self-respect, and a respect 
 for public opinion ; he is become an absolute wretch, a beacon set 
 up by providence amidst the rocks of crime, as a caution to others 
 to avoid a similar degradation. And reckon you this among 
 your instances of exemption from present suffering 1 I pray hea- 
 ven that of all its numerous and dreadful retributive dispensations, 
 I may especially be preserved from this ! 
 
 Thus it is seen, that such is the order of things in the economy of 
 providence, that each sin necessarily entails its own penal conse- 
 quences ; that escape from these, otherwise than by an avoidance 
 of the causes which produce them, is absolutely impossible. It 
 is by this class of penalties that the most of men are restrained 
 from crime ; even where there is no written or positive law, these 
 exert their influence ; and their efficacy would be incalculably 
 greater than it commonly is, if preachers and moralists were not 
 perpetually diverting men's attention from them, and directing it 
 to punishments of a factitious and uncertain character, which ter- 
 rify only, when they can be made to appear as unavoidable and 
 near at hand ; and they then serve but as instruments for waking 
 up vague and superstitious apprehensions ; not for establishing 
 rational and permanent checks upon our vicious inclinations : it 
 
250 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 is not in the nature of things that the latter object should be thus 
 accomplished.* 
 
 No person, of sane mind, will voluntarily thrust his hand into 
 the fire. Why ? Because he knows that pain would be the cer- 
 tain consequence. He does not love pain, and he therefore avoids 
 an act which he knows would incur it. Suppose he were equally 
 sure that sin will produce suffering, would he not have equal rea- 
 son for avoiding it also ? He would, undoubtedly : and hence is 
 proven the importance of convincing men that misery is an abso- 
 lutely certain result of wickedness ; and in order to their being so 
 convinced, they must be shown that the two things are naturally 
 and necessarily connected together. 
 
 " But the comparison is not good," (you may say,) " for we 
 have no inducement to thrust a hand into the fire, even if no pain- 
 ful efiect followed — whereas we have an inducement to sin, in 
 the immediate pleasure which sin affords." Very well — we must 
 then have recourse to another illustration. Many people are pre- 
 vented from eating honey, although it is extremely agreeable to 
 their palate, by the acute cholic-pains which they have experi- 
 enced from the using it. Perhaps their fondness for it induced 
 them to hope, at first, that these pains were merely accidental ; 
 
 * The following facts prove the correctness of the above statement ; they are con- 
 tained in an expose of the conduct of the Professors and Students of the Oberlin In- 
 stitute, Ohio, by Delaznn Smith, A Student. These men are new-light Presbyte- 
 rians, and, of course, christians, par excellence ; firm believers in eternal torments, 
 and, without doubt, very sincere by fits and starts, or, when the danger of these tor- 
 ments affecting themselves, is felt to be imminent. This end is frequently accom- 
 plished for a ti'me by what are termed revivals of religion ; it was during such a 
 season, that the following facts, relative to the character of the Professors and Stu- 
 dents, were disclosed by themselves. President Mahan doubted, he said, if he had 
 ever been a christian, or had ever understood the christian religion. Professor Mor- 
 gan confessed the same, and in addition, that, he had committed very great and griev- 
 ous sins, in making an idol of his young wife. Professor Cowles said he was in a 
 like predicament with the others of the faculty. U. T. Chamberlain said, that on 
 leaving Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, he stole, and brouglit off a quantity of Joiners^ 
 tools— diXso, that his pride had kept him from praying for three weeks together, be- 
 cause some of his brethren could pray better ihati he could .'—moreover, he had been 
 in the habit of robbing hen-roosts, lying, and other gross sins. Oliver D. Hibbard 
 (now Principal of the Foreign Missionary Society at Oberlin) confessed to a disbelief 
 in the Holy Ghost ; to lying, and divers other hypocrisies. G. L. Hovey had been 
 dishonest in his dealings ; had stolen, dind committed almost every abomination; 
 and, among others, had lied, when standing in the sacred desk ! J. Warren had 
 been guilty of almost every abominatioa— among o\.\ievs, fornication and adultery. 
 Henry Fairchild liad been so proud of his power of converting sinners, that he had 
 lied, and misrepresented, in order to increase the fame of his success. Rev. George 
 Whipple had been very licentious, and depraved in his habits, particularly in acer-. 
 lain act, too indelicate to be here mentioned. These confessions, it must, be remem- 
 bered, relate to their conduct while they stood before the world as christians ; yea, 
 as teachers of religion ! What reliance, I ask now, can be placed in the efficacy of 
 threatened punishments, even of the most terrible kind, which may, by repentance, 
 or other means, be wholly evaded ] 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 251 
 
 but on their experiencing the same result whenever they ate of it, 
 they were convinced of its being an inseparable consequence ; 
 and they were therefore induced to abandon the indulgence in it 
 altogether. I ask, now, if these cholic-pains do not impose a 
 more eflfectual check upon their appetite for the honey, than would 
 an interdict on pain of imprisonment, or even of damnation 1 It as- 
 suredly does, and for this good reason : these cholic aflfections, 
 they know, cannot be eluded ; they may be accounted for on phy- 
 siological principles ; their connexion with the cause that pro- 
 duces them is necessary, and therefore, unavoidable : whereas, 
 betwixt the eating of honey and the being imprisoned, or damned, 
 there is no necessary connection whatever. How immeasurably 
 important, then, is it to the interests of virtue, that men be faith- 
 fully instructed as to the certainty of the penal consequences of 
 transgression ! For what care they how hot is the hell with which 
 they are menaced, or how durable are its agonies, so long as they 
 are persuaded that, how many, or enormous soever their crimes, 
 they shall escape the punishment altogether 1 Hence, a trans- 
 mundane hell is an impotent bug-bear. 
 
 You may tell a person who has an appetite (or a passion, I 
 know not which to term it,) for intoxicating drinks, that if he dies 
 a drunkard he will be eternally damned. What cares he for such 
 a threat? All depends on an if-— if he dies a drunkard ; but he 
 does not calculate on dying such — not he : his purpose is to stop 
 in good time, and, by repentance, get to heaven at last. No, no ; 
 the steps to drunkenness are not to be thus arrested — not thus can 
 you resist the momentum of that reckless propensity, by which 
 so many a fellow-being is impelled on to certain and protracted 
 ruin. Still, the case is not utterly hopeless, if, before he has be' 
 come a slave to the maddening bowl, you can but gain his attention 
 to the voice of reason and fact, and can portray to him in the 
 dreadful colors of truth, the deep, deep infamy, to which a begun 
 indulgence will almost inevitably lead — the bloated countenance ; 
 the blood-shot eye ; the fevered pulse ; the heart on fire, and re- 
 quiring continual draughts to cool it; the intellects bewildered ; 
 faculties destroyed ; prospects blasted ; person rendered loath- 
 some by filth and rags ; and then the nausea that succeeds de- 
 bauch; the shame ; the scoffs, jeers, and dram-shop blasphemies; 
 and oh ! worst of all, a broken-hearted wife ; squalid and starv 
 
252 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 ing children; a desolate household; a death-bed in a ditch at 
 last — a drunkard's ignominious grave, and execrated memory! 
 Such is the hell to which many a wretch (alas ! how many,) is 
 drifted on the fiery tide of rum. 
 
 And since sin impairs our moral nature, there is evident mer- 
 cy in thus connecting misery with it so inseparably ; and the 
 scriptures, accordingly, represent the divine retributions as be- 
 ing prompted by mercy. "Also unto thee, Lord, belongeth 
 mercy : for thou renderest to every man according to his work." 
 (Ps. Ixii. 12.) And yet popular theologians are wont to consi- 
 der the business of divine punishment as so exclusively just in 
 its nature, that were God all mercy, he would dispense with it 
 entirely ! This grows out of the mistake of supposing, that justice 
 and mercy are opposed to each other : in which case, mercy is 
 usually confounded with excessive lenity — ^justice, with stern 
 revenge. He who has enjoined the " not rendering evil for evil, 
 or railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing," (1. Pet. iii. 9.) 
 will eternally outrage the principle in his own conduct toward 
 sinners ! 
 
 Some, however, may seek to improve my argument as to the 
 nature of punishment, to the purpose of shewing that it may be 
 endless, independent of the divine agency ; and consequently, with- 
 out furnishing ground of complaint against God. " For if, as you 
 affirm," (they may say) " the penalty of sin grows out of its na- 
 ture, necessarily, and unavoidably — if it is not an arbitrary inflic- 
 tion — why may it not, of itself, continue forever, and the divine 
 character be wholly unconcerned in the business ]" It is no un- 
 common thing for the advocates of ceaseless woe to place their 
 defence of that doctrine on this very ground. " We don't believe" 
 (say they) " in a local hell — a hell of material fire. The sinner's 
 misery will be constituted of remorse — keen and poignant re- 
 morse ; which, like an undying worm, shall gnaw within them to 
 all eternity." Nay, good friends, this refinement upon the old 
 fashioned notion of hell, will not do ; it implies an impossibility. 
 The soul (by which, I mean our moral nature,) is so constituted, 
 that none of the affections thereof can be exercised forever, with- 
 out a perpetual action of the exciting cause. They may be com- 
 pared to fires, which will burn out in time, except new fuel be 
 added ; or to springs, whose waters will exhaust, except kept up 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 253 
 
 by constant new supplies. Take, for instance, the affection of 
 joy ; you know, that to however rapturous a degree it may be ex- 
 cited, it will subside at length, unless it be renewed by fresh ob- 
 jects. The same is true of sorrow ; you are bereaved by death 
 of a beloved object, and your heart is thrown into deep anguish, 
 so deep, that you suppose it will never be in your power to smile 
 again : however, the very intenseness of your grief causes it to 
 exhaust the sooner. Such is also the case with remorse. God 
 must re-constitute the soul before any oi its affections can last 
 forever, without a constant renewal of the exciting cause. A hell 
 of remorse, therefore, cannot be unceasing, except sin (the source 
 of remorse) shall also be so. This philosophy is in accordance 
 with indisputable fact, and it utterly puts to flight the idea of an 
 endless moral hell. 
 
 Neither can punishment of a physical kind be endless, without a 
 perpetual miracle ; pain cannot be endured without wear and detri- 
 ment to the nature which sustains it. Pain, in any part of the sys- 
 tem, necessarily implies a process by which, if it continue long 
 enough, the part must be destroyed. But endless misery implies 
 that the subject thereof shall endure to all eternity ; and there- 
 fore, he will forever be wasting, decaying, wearing out, without 
 ever being wholly wasted, or consumed — which is a paradox ; 
 a contradiction ; an impossibility. I appeal to you, reader, if 
 living proofs of this position are not constantly presenting them- 
 selves to your observation ] How pain attenuates the system ! how 
 destructive is its influence upon both body and mind ! In order, then, 
 to the sinner's being susceptible of misery without end, God, by 
 a perpetual miracle, must counteract the impairing effects of mise- 
 ry upon the sinner's constitution ; and in how much worse a light 
 the Almighty Jehovah can be represented than as thus employed, 
 I leave you, dear reader, to judge. 
 
 It is most wisely and benevolently contrived, in the existing or- 
 der of things, that the very effects of an evil tend to its cure. 
 What caused the prodigal to resolve on a return to his father ? It 
 was the desperate extremity to which he had become reduced by 
 sin. It is not probable that the thoughts of home would have se- 
 riously affected his purposes, if his affairs abroad had been in a 
 more favorable posture ; and I appeal to every gospel minister, 
 whether his preaching does not much oftener take effect on ex- 
 
 VOL. I.— W 
 
254 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 treme and flagrant offenders, than on those who sin within more 
 moderate limits ] Little thought the prodigal's elder brother that 
 he himself stood in need of mercy, when he so grudged its lavish 
 exercise toward the ragged penitent just returned ; and it is usu- 
 ally difficult indeed, to convict such persons of guilt, or of the ne- 
 cessity of reformation : for, as their departures from rectitude 
 have been comparatively moderate, their compunctions are like- 
 wise so. Mary weeps at Jesus' feet, regardless of the conven- 
 tional forms and ceremonies of propriety ; she is wholly bent on 
 easing her oppressed heart of its weight of remorseful anguish, 
 while Simon, the Pharisee, sits by, a cold and captious critic up- 
 on her conduct. Poor Mary had sinned much, and therefore felt 
 much ; but Simon had only trespassed within the bounds of de- 
 cency, (as the world phrases it,) and he, therefore, was troubled 
 with fewer and less poignant compunctions. Thus it is seen, that 
 the very excesses of an evil tend to bring about its removal ; and 
 most strikingly is the goodness of Jehovah manifested in this ar- 
 rangement. We find it to obtain in all the departments of provi- 
 dence. When our atmosphere becomes surcharged with impuri- 
 ties, insomuch that it is unfitted for respiration, the effect is, that 
 those agitations are generated which we term storms, thunder- 
 gusts, etc., and these consequences of the evil effect its cure. 
 When the human body becomes diseased, from accident or care- 
 less exposure to the elements, the disease affects the system in 
 various ways ; it may produce discharges of the superfluous 
 and feculent humors through the stomach or the bowels, or by 
 means of cutaneous eruptions, morbid issues, etc., which effects 
 it is the office of the physician not to check, (save in cases of ex- 
 cess,) but to promote ; and, in proportion as the effects are facili- 
 tated, is the cause removed. The same law, as before remarked, 
 operates with full force in the moral s)'^stem. Sin is a moral dis- 
 ease — it induces moral nausea; the soul hath its aches, and its 
 rheums, and its feverish heats and thirsts, its restlessness and its 
 torpor, as well as the body. Let the moral mediciner not attempt 
 to sooth these, whilst the cause (which is sin) continues in full 
 operation ; let him not administer anodynes to the guilty spirit : 
 on the contrary, let him arouse its faculties ; set its crimes in 
 startling array before it ; deepen, if possible, the poignancy of its 
 lemorse, until the cause of the disease is subdued ; let him then 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 255 
 
 be careful to impress upon the patient this truth — this momentous 
 truth, that a soul diseased by sin, must ever, by an unalterable 
 law of heaven, be a subject of like sufferings. This truth impress- 
 ed, it will be then time enough to dismiss his convalescent pa- 
 tient with the voice of soothing — " Go, and sin no more, lest a 
 worse thing come upon thee." 
 
 Yes, I repeat it — fearless of successful contradiction — endless 
 misery, whether physical in its nature, or moral, or both com- 
 bined, is, except sin be also endless, an absolute impossibility. I 
 say not that Omnipotence could not inflict it ; by a perpetual mi- 
 racle he could, undoubtedly ; but then, it would be a miracle of 
 wrath, of cruelty, of revenge ! Such an anomaly as that of Al- 
 mighty love, directing its energies to ends of hatred, would fill 
 the boundless universe with astonishment and dismay ! 
 
 " But why" (you may ask) " may not sin be continued to all 
 eternity ] For, if it can, then by your own admission, misery can 
 also." Yes, I admit that if the one is to be endless in duration, 
 the other shall be so likewise. Let us inquire, however, whence 
 sin proceeds : we shall find it proceeds wholly, and altogether, 
 from our animal nature; hence the scriptures commonly speak of 
 it as an offspring of the Jlesh ,- and although I would by no means 
 exonerate our moral powers from a participation in the guilt 
 thereof, yet it seems highly probable, that apart from our fleshly 
 constitution sin cannot exist " Now the works of the flesh are 
 manifest, which are these ; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, las- 
 civiousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, 
 wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, 
 revellings, and such like." (Gal. v. 19 — 21.) In the spiritual 
 world, it is presumed there will be no gold to tempt our avarice ; 
 no strong drinks to gratify a propensity for drunkenness ; no op- 
 portunities of conquest to excite ambition,- no conflicts of interest 
 to engender malice, envy, or strife ; no sexual provocatives to lust ; 
 nor temptations to fraud, falsehood, or deceit. If sin is to exist 
 in eternity, I should like to know what are to be its objects ! and 
 what the nature of the propensities which shall produce it ! Can 
 we sin when envy, lust, ambition, malice, and the like passions, 
 with all our animal appetites, shall have ceased to be? Setting 
 aside those scripture testimonies, then, which respect the eventu- 
 al extinction of evil, and the reconcilation of all intelligences to 
 
256 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 God, we have common-sense reasons for believing, that sin will 
 not continue beyond the limits of our present being : there seems a 
 strong probability, at least, that its existence is incompatible with 
 the spiritual nature of man in the resurrection state.* 
 
 The only view of endless suffering which, nowadays, is even 
 attempted to be reconciled with the divine mercy, is that which 
 supposes it is to operate as an example to others. I have already 
 noticed, and I think, refuted this notion. I have shown that there 
 can be no necessity, on the part of Omnipotence, to awe the uni- 
 verse by eternal exhibitions of his wrath, in order that he may 
 secure its obedience. Ah ! human ingenuity may do much ; it 
 may sound the depths of oceans; it may tell the number and the 
 •magnitude of the stars ; it may measure the altitnde of mountains 
 whose snowy summits are miles above the clouds ; it may navi- 
 gate the air, and find its way to distant lands across trackless 
 seas ; it may estimate the speed of light ; it may arrest the elec- 
 tric bolts of heaven, and soar to ; in short, it may do any 
 
 thing which is possible in itself. But to reconcile with infinite 
 love the infliction of endless pains upon short-sighted creatures, 
 is not possible in itself, and therefore human ingenuity must fail 
 in that attempt. 
 
 What should we think of the wretch, who in cool blood should 
 load one of his children with irons, confine him in a dark and so 
 litary cell, limit his diet to a scanty morsel of bread and water 
 per diem, until worn out by days and nights of suffering, attenu- 
 ated to the pale and meager image of despair, he could exhibit 
 him to his other children as a sample of his power of torturing, in 
 order to secure their obedience through the medium of their fears? 
 We should justly esteem such a wretch a very prodigy of cruel- 
 ty. Nevertheless, I put it to your conscience, reader, whether the 
 Being who can chain down myriads of his own offspring, for simi- 
 lar purposes, in a boiling ocean of flame, is not immeasurably 
 worse than even he 1 Almighty God ! man, in portraying thy 
 character, has dipt his pencil into the darkest tints of his own heart ! 
 
 * I maybe here told, that the devil and his ansels could sin without an animal 
 nature • and that, thereftire, the samo may be equally practicable lo us when we de- 
 part this life Be it remembered, however, that I deny the premises ; and conunon 
 Bense utterly repudiates the idea, that any high order of intelligences siiould prove 
 themselves such idiots as to engage in an open war with Omnip.uence ! I assign lo the 
 popular notion, therefore, concerning personal devils, an emmeut and uudoubved 
 place amongst old wives' fables. 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 257 
 
 No, no — endless exemplary punishment will not do ; nor will 
 any form or purpose of endless punishment. Nothing will do, 
 which makes punishment an ultimate object, rather than a means ; 
 for it ceases to be punishment in that view of it — it is revenge, or 
 cruelty, or something of that nature, but not punishment, surely ; 
 that were a sad misnomer ! 
 
 I am contending that punishment, (as well as reward,) under 
 the government of an infinitely just and merciful Being, must be 
 present and certain. I own I am extremely anxious to succeed in 
 making this point clear; and I may therefore introduce the same 
 idea again and again, in different forms, in order that I may not 
 fail of making myself perfectly i«telligible. We will now take 
 another view of it. 
 
 We distinguish between what is good and what is bad, by their 
 respective effects ; if the fruit of a tree be uniformly agreeable to 
 our tastes, and healthful to our systems, nothing is more probable, 
 than that we will often have recourse to it ; if it even at times be 
 not immediately pleasing to our palates, so that it prove invaria- 
 bly beneficial to our healths, we will still be likely to resort to it 
 for the latter reason. By this tree I would represent virtue ; its 
 fruit is generally pleasing, and always wholesome. On the other 
 hand, if we find another tree, of sometimes inviting appearance, 
 whose fruit (although luscious to the taste, at times,) never 
 fails to produce, in those who eat of it, the most painful and 
 deleterious consequences, will we not naturally incline to shun it? 
 Will fence be needed to guard this tree] or sentinel dog] or any 
 devices of the kind? No, indeed; its own bad qualities are its 
 best protection. By this tree I would represent vice ; sweet in the 
 mouth its fruit may sometimes be, but invariably bitter in the 
 stomach. I cannot quite subscribe to the popular distich, that 
 " Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, 
 As to be hated, needs but to be seen." 
 In regard to some vices, this is undoubtedly true ; but not in re- 
 gard to all. Some assume so fair and specious an appearance, 
 that the whole strength of virtuous principle is requisite for resist- 
 ing their blandishments ; like sirens, they enchant the senses of 
 the unwary voyager on life's treacherous sea, and beguile him 
 among the rocks, where he makes fearful shipwreck of his peace. 
 Were it otherwise, we should have no inducements to sin ; vir- 
 
 VOL. I— w8 
 
258 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 tue would have no trials, and would deserve no recompense. How- 
 ever, whether sin is or is not uniformly odious in appearance, one 
 thing is certain, viz : that its influences are always bitter upon 
 those who practice it. To sin, of every kind, may properly be ap- 
 plied what Solomon has said of one species of it. " For the lips 
 of a strange woman drop as a honey-comb, and her mouth is 
 smoother than oil : but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as 
 a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death ; her steps take 
 hold on hell. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh 
 the door of her house ; lest thou give thine honor unto others, and 
 thy years unto the cruel ; lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, 
 and thy labors be in the house of a stranger ; and thou mourn at 
 the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, how 
 have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof." (Prov. 
 V. 3 — 5,8 — 12.) If the order of things were otherwise than as 
 here set forth — if vice did not injuriously affect those who prac- 
 tice it until they died, and the evil were then past remedy forever, 
 how incalculably disastrous would be the consequences ! and what 
 a reflection against the divine wisdom and equity would this ar- 
 rangement involve ! Consider it seriously, reader, I pray you. We 
 are not now to learn the evil nature of sin from its present effects, 
 when we might profit by the lesson — no, no ; this is to be 
 proven to our experience when the discovery will be too late to 
 avail us ; when the overwhelming realities of it will be final, hope- 
 less, irremediable ! And such is the wisdom and the benevolence 
 of a God, in his treatment of his creatures ! He strews the path 
 of sin with roses ; man is wooed to tread in it by the mystic and 
 winning voices of the passions and appetites; he is lulled into 
 fancied security by the deceitful influences of a false peace; 
 meanwhile, in the far-off horizon before him, a tempest of wrath 
 is gathering against his spirit, and at a moment when he looks 
 not for it, it will burst forth with a fearful ruin upon his head: 
 he will be startled from his delusive dream at length, and find 
 himself undone past recovery ! And thus God deals with man ! 
 Oh, false and treacherous theology ! yet, how cherished ! how 
 venerated, as the very truth of heaven ! One's acquaintance with 
 the bible must be imperfect, indeed, to be unable from its pages 
 to refute so gross an error. 
 
 Is virtue not now rewarded ] Let the following s6ripture tesli- 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 259 
 
 monies answer. " The angel of the Lord encampeth round about 
 them thai fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the 
 Lord is good : blessed is the man that trusteth in him. fear 
 the Lord, ye his saints : for there is no want to them that fear 
 him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger : but they that 
 seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, ye chil- 
 dren, hearken unto me ; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 
 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he 
 may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from 
 speaking guile. Depart from evil and do good ; seek peace, and 
 pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his 
 ears are open unto their cry. The righteous cry, and the Lord 
 heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord 
 is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart ; and saveth such as 
 be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous : 
 but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his 
 bones : not one of them is broken. The Lord redeemeth the soul 
 of his servants ; and none of them that trust in him shall be deso- 
 late." (Ps. xxxiv. 7—15, 17—20, 22.) " Trust in the Lord, and 
 do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be 
 fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the 
 desires of thy heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also 
 in him, and he shall bring it to pass : and he shall bring forth 
 thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day. 
 But the meek shall inherit the earth ; and shall delight themselves 
 in the abundance of peace. The steps of a good man are ordered 
 by the Lord ; and he delightelh in his way. Though he fall, he 
 shall not be utterly cast down ; for the Lord upholdeth him with 
 his hand." (Ps. xxxvii. 3—6, 11, 23, 24." He that dwelleth in 
 the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow 
 of the Almighty. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of 
 the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee 
 with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his 
 truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid 
 for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day ; nor 
 for the pestilence that walketh in darkness ; nor for the destruc- 
 tion that wastelh at noon-day. There shall no evil befal thee, 
 neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall 
 give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." 
 
260 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 (Ps. xci. 1, 3—6, 10, 11.) " The righteous shall flourish like the 
 palm-tree : he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that he 
 planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our 
 God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be 
 fat and flourishing." (Ps. xcii. 12 — 14.) " Happy is the man 
 that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding : for 
 the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and 
 the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies :; 
 and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared untO' 
 her. Length of days is in her right hand ; and in her left hand 
 riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all 
 her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold 
 upon her : and happy is every one that retaineth her." (Prov. ill. 
 13—18.) 
 
 Are the wicked now punished 1 Here are scripture answers, 
 "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the 
 remembrance of them from the earth. Evil shall slay the wicked ; 
 and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate." (Ps. xxxiv. 
 16, 21.) " Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou 
 envious against the workers of iniquity ; for they shall soon be 
 cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. The 
 wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast 
 down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright con- 
 versation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their 
 bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man hath is bet- 
 ter than the riches of many wicked. I have seen the wicked in 
 great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree; yet 
 he passed away, and, lo, he was not ; yea, I sought him, but he 
 could not be found." (Ps. xxxvii. 1, 2, 14—16, 35, 36.) " Envy 
 thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the 
 froward is abomination to the Lord : but his secret is with the 
 righteous. The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked : 
 but he blesseth the habitation of the just." (Prov. iii. 31—33.) 
 " He lovetn transgression that loveth strife ; and he that exalteth 
 his gate seeketh destruction. He that hath a froward heart 
 findeth no good ; and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into 
 mischief." (Prov. xvii. 19, 20.) " Who hath woel who hath 
 sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath 
 wounds without cause ? who hath redness of eyes ? They that 
 
DIVINE PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED. 261 
 
 tarry long at the wine ; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look 
 not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in 
 the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a 
 serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold 
 strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things : Yea, 
 thou shall be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as 
 he that lieth upon the top of a mast." (Prov. xxiii. 29 — 34.) "I 
 went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man 
 void of understanding ; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, 
 and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof 
 was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well ; I looked 
 upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slum- 
 ber, a little folding of the hands to sleep : so shall thy poverty come 
 as one that travelleth ; and thy want as an armed man." (Prov. 
 xxiv. 30 — 34.) Let these testimonies suffice out of many, very 
 many ; they are enough to establish the bible decision of the point, 
 that " the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth, much more 
 the wicked and the sinner." (Prov. xi. 31.) 
 
 In, order, then that punishment should be effective of the ends 
 intended by it — in order to its fulfilling its purposed objects in the 
 scheme of divine government, it is seen that it must be cerlain; 
 it must also be a natural consequence cf sin — as necessarily con- 
 nected with it as other effects are with their causes ; and it must 
 also be proportionate to the offence. Hence, the scriptures con- 
 stantly speak of the divine retributions as being according to our 
 deeds. But does the doctrine of endless misery so represent it? 
 Nay, verily, but quite the contrary. 
 
 Charles and Henry were brothers — twin brothers ; they grew 
 together until they had attained their 20th year, when Charles 
 died ; and as he made no profession of religion, he was sentenced 
 to endless pains. Had Henry died at the same time, he would 
 have shared a similar doom, for he was as destitute of religion 
 as his brother; luckily for him, however, he lived until his 70th 
 year, during the whole of which time he was in an unconverted 
 state, excepting the last six months : for the last six months 
 he had lived a pious life, and, consequently, was admitted after 
 his death to heaven. " The punishment of sin," saith the theory 
 of endless misery, " does not take place here, but is deferred until 
 the parties arrive in the spiritual world." ^Consequently, Henry 
 
262 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 received no punishment in this world for his long career of sin- 
 fulness ; and it will not be pretended that he received it after 
 he arrived in heaven — he was therefore not punished at all ! But 
 how fares it with his brother Charles ? He, poor fellow, must 
 welter in unceasing flames for the crimes of his brief existence on 
 earth ! Has God rendered to these twins according to their works'? 
 The above, I think, is not a strained view of the subject; on the 
 contrary, it corresponds to facts which, if the notion of endless 
 misery be true, are constantly transpiring. Not only is it com- 
 monly supposed that a man may secure an exemption from just 
 punishment by repentance, and after serving sin for the main part 
 of his life, be prepared in a few days, or hours, or even moments, 
 for heavenly bliss — but it is also supposed by Arminians, that if a 
 christian be overtaken with sin at the last, and die unpardoned, 
 although the whole of his former days may have been devoted to 
 virtue, yet he shall sink to hell, and be lost past redemption ! It 
 is indeed impossible to avoid innumerable and most gross anoma- 
 lies in connexion with that doctrine, and for the reason that it is 
 essentially absurd in itself. In the theory of forgiveness and of 
 punishment, as herein advocated, and which has been shown to 
 be in striking agreement with scripture and fact, no such anoma- 
 lies are involved : it seems to meet all the requirements of reason 
 and justice — it reflects a glory and a praise upon the all-perfect 
 Creator and Ruler of the universe — and it affords a guarantee that 
 the great and benevolent ends of his government, (which can be 
 nothing less than the promotion of the greatest possible amount of 
 eventual good to the greatest possible number of his subjects,) 
 shall be infallibly and triumphantly achieved. 
 
 " That be far from thee," said Abraham, when God had re- 
 vealed to him his purpose of destroying the Sodomites, and the 
 patriarch was remonstrating against the involving the good and 
 the bad in a common destruction — "That be far from thee to do 
 after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked ; and that 
 the righteous be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not 
 the Judge of all the earth do right 1" (Gen. xviii. 25.) Here was a 
 fitting occasiou for Jehovah to have informed the patriarch, (and 
 through him the world,) that in his present dispensations he does 
 not discriminate between persons of different characters, but treats 
 all alike, deferring unto a future period the making of those distinc- 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 263 
 
 tions which justice seems to require. But no such information did 
 Abraham obtain ; on the contrary, the justness of his remonstrance 
 was practically acknowledged. God did not slay the righteous 
 with the wicked, but saved Lot and his family, whilst he over- 
 threw with a judgment of fire the wicked inhabitants of the cities 
 of the plain. Nevertheless, we are informed by modern theolo- 
 gists, in the face of this, and of a hundred kindred scriptural facts, 
 and the experience of all ages and of every day, that a suitable 
 distinction is not here made betwixt the righteous and the wick- 
 ed ; and therefore, that to satisfy the requirements of infinite jus- 
 tice, there must be a future dispensation for this special end. Such 
 is the conclusion — you have seen, reader, that the premises are 
 false, and, consequently, the conclusion is false also. 
 
 HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 
 
 Dr. Adam Clark, speaking of the English word hell, says, 
 " It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon helan, which signifies, to 
 cover, conceal, or hide, and hence the tiling, or covering of a house, 
 and the covering of books are to this day called keling ,• and the 
 phrase to hell is still used as synonymous with to cover, or hide, 
 in several of the western counties of England. Thus the true 
 and primitive meaning of the word hell, was perfectly accordant 
 with the idea suggested by the Hebrew sheol, and the Greek 
 hades, for, as nouns, all three of these words imply something 
 unseen, concealed, or invisible, and have, therefore, with propriety 
 been employed to convey the notion of an unseen world, the grave, 
 or the state of the dead in generaV^ Thus far the great Arminian 
 commentator. 
 
 The learned Archbishop Usher, has expressed the same opinion, 
 as follows; " We have no word in the French or English lan- 
 guage to express the idea conveyed by the Hebrew sheol, or the 
 Greek hades. Our English word hell had anciently this mean- 
 ing, being derived from the German hell, to hide. Hence, the 
 ancient Irish used to say * hell the head,'' meaning to cover the 
 head. So that our hell then answered to the Greek hades, which 
 
264 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 signifies ' an unseen place.'' " To this agree, also, Dr. Campbell, 
 of Aberdeen, and many others. 
 
 Not only in regard to the literal sense of the Old Testament 
 word rendered hell, are learned commentators agreed, but also 
 in regard to the fact, that the idea of punishment beyond death was 
 not entertained by the Jewish people, nor inculcated in their sacred 
 oracles : this must surely be admitted a highly important conces- 
 sion. Look at it, reader. The Jewish economy continued down 
 to the four thousandth year of the world, and after. For all this 
 period, then, no revelation had been made to man concerning 
 a hell beyond the grave. And although Jehovah had established 
 a church on earth, and revealed to that church his character and 
 his laws ; although he addressed the human will by every motive 
 likely to influence it ; yet, for four thousand years and more, no 
 disclosure was made relative to a fact the most awful that finite 
 mind can contemplate ; a fact (if true) which ought to have been 
 traced in words of flame on every object in nature ! ! ! 
 
 There was not in the Hebrew language a word denoting such 
 a state or place as an ultra-mundane hell ; for although in our 
 version of the Old Testament, we occasionally meet the word hell, 
 yet it is derived from a term {sheol) which literally signifies the 
 separate state. The Jews evidently supposed that all the dead go 
 to the same place. Their usual phraseology in regard to a de- 
 ceased person was, (whatever might have been his character,) 
 " he was gathered to his fathers." Nor did this relate merely lo 
 the body of such individual, for we find it used in reference to 
 those who were interred in foreign lands, as well as to such as 
 were buried in the family cemetery with their progenitors. 
 
 That the term sheol suggested no idea to the mind of a Jew 
 answering to the modern signification of the word hell, must be 
 extremely apparent to every candid student of the Old Testament ; 
 see for proof the following, among numerous similar instances of 
 the application of this term. 
 
 When the patriarch Jacob supposed his son Jacob to be torn in 
 pieces by a wild beast, he exclaimed, " I will go down unto 
 Isheoll the grave unto my son, mourning." (Gen. xxxv. 37.) 
 Job, in the midst of his troubles, supplicated his Maker as fol- 
 lows : " Oh, that thou vvouldst hide me in [sheol] the grave, that 
 thou wouldst keep me secret till thy wrath be past." (Job, xiiL 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 265 
 
 14.) David exclaims, on one occasion, " Oh Lord, thou hast 
 brought up my soul from [sAeo/] the grave." (Ps. xxx. 3.) In 
 another place the psalmist saith, "For thou wilt not leave my 
 soul in [skeol'] hell, neither w^ilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see 
 corruption." (Ps. xvi, 10.) Peter represents him as having used 
 this language in reference to Christ. (Acts xiii. 15.) " The Lord 
 killeth, and maketh alive ; he bringeth dow^n to lsheol'\ the grave, 
 and bringeth up." (1 Sam. ii, 6.) 
 
 " The grave [skeol'] is my house." (Job.) This was no doubt 
 said in allusion to the "long-home" of man — "the house ap- 
 pointed for all the living." Jonah cried unto the Lord " out of 
 the belly of [sheoll hell." This was while he was in the belly 
 of the fish; he viewed himself as already cut off from the living, 
 and included among the inhabitants of the separate state, and 
 therefore he says " the earth with her bars closed against me for- 
 ever." Yet he lived after this to preach to the Ninevites. 
 
 " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for 
 there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in skeol^ 
 whither thou goest." (Eccl. ix. 10.) People cannot well be 
 tormented in flames, without knowing something about it, but 
 Solomon says, " there is no knowledge in sheolP^ consequently, 
 sheol cannot be a place of torment. 
 
 The king of Babylon was threatened with being " brought down 
 to [skeol] hell, to the sides of the pit," and that while there, the 
 kings of the earth should see him, and taunt him with his former 
 boasted greatness, saying, " Is this the man that made the earth to 
 tremble'? (Isa. xiv. 15, 16.) Hell [sheol'] is confounded with "the 
 nether parts of the earth." (Ezek. xxi. 22.) In Amos ix. the 
 Lord threatens to bring the sword upon the Jewish nation, and he 
 says, " Though they dig into [sheoll hell, thence shall my hand 
 take them." 
 
 These must fully suffice to show that sheol, in Old Testament 
 times, was not supposed a receptacle of damned spirits. Jacob 
 surely did not imagine that his beloved Joseph had gone to 
 a world of misery — nor did he expect that his own gray hairs 
 would sink in sorrow to such a place — neither did David allude 
 to a realm of fire when he said his soul should not be left in hell 
 — nor did Jonah mistake the whale's belly for such a realm — nor 
 did Peter think that Christ's soul went, at death, to a hell of 
 
 Vol. I.— X No. 12. 
 
266 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 modern description. No, no ; no such spectre-peopled limbo as 
 starts up in modern imaginations at the mention of that word, was 
 ever associated witii it in the minds of the inspired writers. 
 
 The same is on all hands, acknowledged true in regard to the 
 Greek term hades ^ which, by the most eminent critics, is defined 
 as signifying an unseen state; and is literally used to denote the 
 state of the dead in general. This (even if we set aside the 
 etymological evidence in the case,) is most satisfactorily proven 
 by the fact, that the seventy Jews who translated the Hebrew 
 scriptures into Greek, under Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 270 
 years before Christ, have employed hades as a corresponding 
 word for sheol^ and it so stands in their version, called the Septu- 
 agent, from which Christ and his apostles were in the habit of 
 quoting. It is true, that of the eleven times it occurs in the New 
 Testament, King James' translators have but once rendered it by 
 the word grave ,• but it is exceedingly manifest that, in all its 
 literal applications, grave or the separate state, would have better 
 conveyed the sense of the original, than does the term hell. 
 
 Both sheol and hades are occasionally used in the scriptures 
 in a figurative, or accommodated signification ; between which 
 and the primary idea, there is undoubtedly a close analogy. 
 Previous to the introduction of Christianity, the ideas of men 
 respecting the future state were vague, dark, and uncertain ; we 
 must all remember that such were our own feelings, in our child- 
 hood, in relation to death and its consequences ; an uneasiness — 
 a terror of an indefinable nature, is the natural state of the mind 
 in relation to that undisclosed realm beyond the grave, until the 
 light and hopes of the gospel have calmed the fears of the 
 spirit, and composed its flutterings. It is then not to be won 
 dered at, that the Jews, to whom the state of the dead was 
 equally undefined, should occasionally accommodate the terms 
 sheol, and hades, to express a condition of mental suffering and dis- 
 quietude, proceeding from whatever cause, more especially from 
 remorse of conscience. Such is unquestionably the meaning of 
 these words in their figurative application. 
 
 David says, " The sorrows of death compassed me, and the 
 pains of [sheol'] hell got hold of me. I found trouble and sor- 
 row." (Ps. cxvi. 3.) Now all this occurred to him in this life ; 
 and intense as these hell-sufferings were, yet he survived them, 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 267 
 
 for he continues, " In my distress I cried unto God, he stooped 
 from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters." Let 
 it be remembered, that although the general tenor of David's life 
 was upright, yet there were instances in which he very greatly 
 sinned. It was, therefore, meet that he should greatly suffer, 
 which he did,- as appears from the text just quoted, and the fol- 
 lowing truth was no doubt recorded from his own bitter experi- 
 ence. 
 
 " The wicked shall be turned into [sheol] hell, with all the 
 nations that forget God." (Ps. ix. 17.) That is to say, moral 
 darkness, degradation and misery shall be their infallible portion. 
 There is such a thing as national, as well as personal damnation. 
 " Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any 
 people." (Prov. xiv. 34.) The nations of the plain were turned 
 ir.to sheol literally, i. e. into the invisible state. The Jewish 
 nation was often turned into sheol morally, i. e. into the blind, ab- 
 ject, enslaved, unhappy state, to which forgetfulness of God in- 
 variably sinks an individual or nation. " Because of the trans- 
 gression of a land, many are the princess thereof." (Prov. xxviii. 
 2.) How true is thisi Wickedness disposes a people to be 
 slaves, and they multiply their princes or oppressors accordingly. 
 But free, and " happy is that people wnose God is the Lord." 
 (Ps. cxliv. 15.) 
 
 David had not only been in sheol, but the lowest sheol. Never- 
 theless, he survived to thank God for his deliverance. " Great is 
 thy mercy towards me, for thou hast delivered my soul from the 
 lowest Isheof] hell." (Ps. Ixxxvi. 13.) His soul, prostrated 
 under an overwhelming sense of guilt (probably on account of 
 his cruel conduct in the case of Uriah) experienced a depth of 
 moral wretchedness not to be described, save by the expressive 
 phrase " lowest sheol.''^ Now there cannot be a lower than the 
 loy^est, and the wise man, as well as the psalmist, testifies, that 
 the state implied in this expression is experienced in this life. 
 Speaking of the wicked woman, Solomon says, " her guests are 
 in the depths of \_sheol'\ hell.:' (Prov. ix. 18.) Yes ! the deluded 
 debauchee greatly mistakes his road to happiness, while he is 
 rioting in brutal gratification ; midnight gloom settles upon his 
 soul, and, in regard to moral enjoyment, it resembles a waste and 
 Jjarched desert, without one verdant spot on which his hopes caa 
 
268 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 light for sustenance. There is still another instance of the use of 
 this phrase. The reader may examine it, and determine whether 
 it can be referred to a future life. 
 
 ** For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall bum unto the 
 lowest [skeol] helU and shall consume the earth with her in- 
 crease, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will 
 heap mischiefs upon them ; I will spend mine arrows upon them. 
 I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison 
 of serpents of the dust. The sword without, and the terror within, 
 shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling 
 also, with the man of gray hairs." (Deut. xxxii. 22 — 25.) I have 
 quoted thus much, that the reader may the more readily perceive 
 its inapplicability to the spiritual state. And yet it is not very 
 uncommon for learned ministers to quote certain detached parts of 
 it with such a reference I This text expresses what should be 
 the fate of the Jewish nation when it should " forget God ;" and 
 such shall be the fate of all nations similarly guilty. 
 
 And now, reader, need more be added for your conviction con- 
 cerning the meaning of the term sheol? If it properly refers to 
 a place of ceaseless suffering, is it not surprising that it is not 
 once used in the bible in express reference to such a place 1 Yet 
 «iip.V( is thfi fA^^t — as miist be acknowledged by every candid biblical 
 student. Observe, this is the only hell of which the world knew 
 any thing authentically for 4000 years ! If there be any truth in 
 the modern dogma concerning an infernal prison in a future world, 
 is it not very remarkable that Jehovah did not disclose the mo-> 
 mentous fact to his covenant people, amidst the many threatnings 
 which he denounced against them in case they should relapse 
 into idolatry 1 It really seems to me incredible, that a circum- 
 stance of such immense consequence should have been kept 
 secret — seeing a truth of this nature is of such vast concern to 
 mankind, and their utter ignorance respecting it for so many ages, 
 is certainly no inconsiderable evidence that no such place exists. 
 
 The same remarks are applicable to hades,- the most striking 
 instance of its figurative application is in the parable of the rich 
 man and Lazarus. I have already noticed this at some length, 
 and shown that it cannot be understood as belonging to a future 
 world without gross impropriety ; because the party represented 
 therein as having gone to hades, (or rather as having been buried 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 269 
 
 tnAaJes, as Dr. Clarke maintains is ihe literal rendering,) is spoken 
 of, nevertheless, as still possessing all his bodily organs, and as 
 subject to material influences; which proves that the parable does 
 not relate to the vt'orld of spirits, but to the present life ; and such 
 also is most manifestly the case with all the Savior's parables. 
 
 The state literally referred to in these terms is doomed to final 
 destruction. " I will ransom them from the power of [sAeo/] the 
 grave; I will redeem them from death: death, I will be thy 
 plagues; [skeol'] grave, I will be thy destruction !" (Hos. xiii. 
 14.) Paul plainly intimates the destruction of hades in his trea- 
 tise on the resurrection ; for this is then to be included in the 
 universal overthrow of all the enemies to human purity and hap- 
 piness : hence he exclaims, "O hadts^ where is thy victory !" 
 (1 Cor. XV. 55.) It is also intimated in the 20lh chapter of Reve- 
 lation, under the figure of being '-cast into the lake of fire." It 
 were absurd to attach the idea of torment to the phrase lake of fire 
 here, {ox death and hades cannot suffer torment; and since the tenor 
 of inspiration is clear as to their final extinction, it is but rational 
 to understand the passage under notice as containing an allegori- 
 cal representation of that event. 
 
 Thus much for sheol and hades. Is it not surprising that these 
 evident, these indisputable bible facts, require, at this late date, to 
 be disclosed to the English reader? For what have men been 
 studying divinity for eighteen centuries ] For what have splendid 
 colleges and churches been erected, and millions on millions of 
 money been expended for the business of religious instruction? 
 if, after all, mankind are kept in utter ignorance regarding bible 
 truths of the most important character, aud very nearly affecting 
 their happiness and moral interests ! " The wicked shall be turned 
 into hell." From these words how oft has been inculcated the 
 horrid dogma, that there is a vast furnace of fire beyond the con- 
 fines of time, in which the deathless spirit shall be tormented for 
 its present crimes after it leaves the body, for inconsumable ages ! 
 And shall such also be the fate of entire nations? for the above 
 text includes in the same doom, ♦' all the nations that forget God.'* 
 Ah ! the preacher finds it impolitic to shock the credulity of men, 
 by portraying damnation on a scale of such magnitude as this; 
 and he very prudently, therefore, leaves the latter clause of the 
 text without an application, He is careful, also, not to inform his 
 
 Vol, I.— X 3 
 
270 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 hearers that David had himself been in this hell, as well as Jonah ; 
 and that neither of these were under the necessity of dying in 
 order to arrive thereat. We will now pass to the consideration of 
 a different word. 
 
 Gehenna. This term refers literally to a valley near Jerusalem, 
 where, formerly, Moloch or Baal was worshipped ; it was also 
 called Tophet, and the valley of Hinnom. It used to be the scene 
 of a most cruel species of idolatry, where children were made to 
 pass alive through the fire to a grim deity. This odious worship 
 was abolished (at least in this place) by Josiah, king of Judah. 
 •'And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of 
 Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass 
 through the fire to Moloch." (2 Kings xxiii. 10.) In order to 
 pollute tiie place more effectually, it was fixed on for the public 
 execution of criminals, whose bodies were permitted to lie there 
 unburied. Thither also was conveyed all manner of filth from the 
 city, so that it became the most loathsome place conceivable. In 
 later times it became necessary, in order to prevent a pestilence, to 
 keep up a continual fire, for the purpose of consuming the putrid 
 matter thus collected. To this fire, and to the worms which con- 
 tinually bred in this place, reference is had in the expression, 
 " where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." 
 
 That the term Gehenna primarily refers to this valley, is uni- 
 versally admitted by the learned ; they pretend, to be sure, that 
 it came to be used in later times with reference to the infernal 
 regions ; which, indeed, is true enough ; for it is so understood, 
 at present, by most Jews, and a majority of Christians. But, 
 how late were the times when it came to be so used % This ques- 
 tion is one of some importance in this discussion ; was it so used 
 in the days of Christ % Oh, what strenuous efforts have been 
 made to establish the affirmative of this question ! The proof 
 chiefly relied on to this end, is that of certain Jewish lalmudic 
 writings ; but when the antiquity of these is inquired into impar- 
 tially, it is found that they do not go back to the times of the 
 Savior by several centuries, (that is, those targums which speak 
 of Gehenna at all.) But suppose it were otherwise ; suppose that 
 these rabbinical scholiae could be traced back to the earliest date 
 claimed for them, it would then seem singular enough that a hell 
 should have been in existence for forty centuries without a name ; 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 271 
 
 and that no suitable designation was found for it until one was 
 borrowed from a notoriously loathsome valley, adjoining the city 
 of Jerusalem! Does this seem probable'? Ninety-nine hundredths 
 of mankind, for more than a hundred generations, had passed 
 through a brief life of earthly misery, to a world of unceasing 
 burnings ; and yet that world was without a name ! 
 
 I confess there are a few texts, which to the common reader, 
 with prejudices in its favor, appear, at first sight, to sanction this 
 use of the word Gehenna. I therefore propose subjecting all the 
 passages of this character to a candid investigation, begging the 
 reader to bear in mind that this is a question in which the divine 
 wisdom and goodness are deeply concerned, and that in conse- 
 quence we ought to form our conclusions with the utmost caution, 
 since in them is involved no less a decision than, whether it shall 
 be the fate of unconceived myriads of our race to endure the wrath 
 of God through future endless ages. 
 
 " But I say unto you. That whosoever is angry with his brother 
 without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment; and who- 
 soever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger ofi 
 the council ; but whosoever shall say. Thou fool, shall be in 
 danger of hell-fire." (Malt. v. 22.) I cannot do better than to 
 quote a commentary on this text from Alexander Campbell, who 
 surely will not be suspected of wishing to refute the dogma which 
 I am opposing, for he is at this time engaged in a strenuous effort 
 to maintain it. 
 
 " Thompson translates Matt. v. 22, thus : ' Whosoever is angry 
 with his brother without cause, shall be liable to the sentence of 
 the judges ; and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca^ (a con- 
 temptuous v/ord.) shall be liable to the sentence of the Sanhe- 
 drim ; and whoever shall say, 3Iorch, (a reproachful word,) shall 
 be liable (to be sentenced) to the vale of fire,' or, to the Gehenna 
 of fire. 
 
 " In the common translation of this verse, there is a confound- 
 ing of things present and future, of things human and divine, 
 that badly comports with the wisdom and dignity of the speaker. 
 Wl:at affinity exists between judges, a council, and hell-fire • 
 Why should one expression of anger only subject a person to 
 human judges, and another subject him to hell-fire, in the usual 
 sense of these words ? Now, if the terms in this verse conveyed 
 
272 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALTSM. 
 
 the same meaning to us which they conveyed to the audience which 
 the Savior at that time addressed, we would discover a propriety 
 and beauty in them which is not manifest in the common transla- 
 tions of them. The fact is, that the allusions in this verse are all to 
 human institutions, or customs among the Jews ; and the judges, 
 the Sanhedrim, and the hell-fire here introduced, are all human 
 punishments. Parkhurst observes, on the phrase Gehenna ton 
 puros, (a Gehenna of fire,) that, in its outward and primary sense, 
 it relates to that dreadful doom of being burnt alive in the valley 
 of Hinnom. 
 
 " The sentence of the city councils, which extended in certain 
 instances, to strangling a person, is one of the allusions. These 
 councils were composed of twenty-three judges, and were an infe- 
 rior court amongst the Jews. The Sanhedrim, or council o( seventy- 
 two senators, whose sentence authorized stoning to death, and 
 which was the superior court of that people, constitutes the second 
 allusion. The burning a person alive in the vale of Hinnom, is 
 the third. By these allusions he teaches his audience that anger 
 in the heart, anger expressed in the way of contempt, and anger 
 expressed with manifest malice, would, under his reign, subject 
 them to such diversities of punishment, as they were wont to ap- 
 portion to atrocious actions, according to their views of criminality. 
 
 " The following translation of this verse is expressive of the full 
 sense of the original. * Whosoever is vainly incensed against 
 his brother, shall be obnoxious to the sentence of the judges, (the 
 court of twenty-three;) whoever shall say to his brother,(inthe way 
 of contempt,) Shallow-brains, shall be obnoxious to the Sanhedrim ; 
 and whosoever shall say, Apostate wretch, (the highest expression 
 of malice,) shall be obnoxious to the Gehenna of fire,' or to being 
 burned alive in the vale of Hinnom. This translation is in sub- 
 stance approved by Adam Clarke, and other critics of respecta- 
 bility." 
 
 " And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to 
 enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, 
 into the fire that never shall be quenched ; where their worm dieth 
 not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut 
 it off": it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two 
 feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched ; 
 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 273 
 
 thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter 
 into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be 
 cast into hell-fire ; where their worm dielh not, and the fire is not 
 quenched." (Mark ix. 43—48.) Life, in this passage, signifies 
 gospel faith and enjoyment; "he that hath the Son hath life;" 
 it cannot mean a future life of bliss, for persons do not pass to a 
 state of heavenly felicity, with their bodies maimed and mutilated. 
 Nothing can be more ridiculous than the referring such texts to 
 a future world ! Do the wicked go to hell whole and sound in 
 health and limb, whilst the righteous go to heaven in a crippled 
 state 1 I suppose that Gehenna, in this passage, is accommodated 
 to express whatever of evil and misery were incurred by a rejec- 
 tion of the Savior. In my remarks on the 25th chapter of 
 Matthew, I alluded to the nature of these sufferings. 
 
 Be it borne in mind, that this was a place of most disgustful 
 BOtoriety throughout Judea, and had been for many centuries. 
 The Jews were as familiar with its name as we are with the 
 term penitentiary ,• and the word Gehenna was as certainly asso- 
 ciated in their minds with the idea of the loathsome valley of 
 Hinnom, as ihe term penitentiary is in ours wiih that of a place 
 of penal confinement. Now this being the case, as the learned 
 will admit, do you think it probable, reader, that Christ would use 
 this word with reference to the invisible state, without apprising 
 his hearers, in express terms, that he did so use it, and not ac- 
 cording to its common signification ? Suppose a preacher, in our 
 day, were to threaten his hearers with a severe punishment in the 
 penitentiary in case of impenitence, would they be likely to un- 
 derstand him as referring to an endless hell 1 Yet there is actually 
 as much of a relation to eternity in this threatening as in that of 
 being punished in Gehenna. 
 
 Perhaps we shall belter understand the meaning of Christ's 
 allusion to Gehenna, when addressing the rejecters of his gospel, 
 if we attentively consider the following passage. " And they have 
 built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son 
 of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; 
 which 1 commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. There- 
 fore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more 
 be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The 
 valley of Slaughter ; for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be 
 
274 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 no place. And the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the 
 fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth ; and none 
 shall fray them away. Then will I cause lo cease from the cities 
 of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, 
 and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridgroom, and the 
 voice of the bride ; for the land shall be desolate." (Jer. vii. 31 — 
 34.) This prediction had not yet received its accomplishment, 
 but its fulfilment was nigh at hand ; it was fearfully impending. 
 Christ told the Pharisees, " These be the days of vengeance, 
 in which all things written in the prophets shall be fulfilled;" and 
 that the blood of the martyrs shed in past ages, should be visited 
 on that generation ; hence he asks them, " How can ye escape the 
 damnation of Gehenna ?" (Matt, xxiii. 33.) It is manifest, from 
 the nature of this prediction, that it looked forward to the great 
 national judgment on the Jewish people, when they were driven 
 from their country, and cut oif from all their former distinguished 
 privileges. Josephus informs us that nearly half a million of 
 them were slaughtered in Jerusalem alone, and that their carcasses 
 were cast out into Gahenna, or the valley of Hinnom. 
 ■ But some people think that the phrase " shall not be quenched,'* 
 must refer to something absolutely eternal, " for, if not quenched 
 (say they) it must burn unceasingly." This does not necessarily 
 follow, however ; a fire cannot be said to be quenched which ex- 
 pires of itself, for want of combustible matter to support it ; and 
 we have reason to believe that this was the case with the fire of 
 Gehenna, for Isaiah has explicitly recorded that such was Jeho- 
 vah's determination. " And it shall come to pass, that from one 
 new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all 
 flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall 
 go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have trans- 
 gressed against me : for their worm shall not die, neither shall 
 their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhorring unto all 
 flesh." (Isa. Ixvi. 23, 24.) Sabbaths, new moons, flesh, and car- 
 casses, have no relation to eternity. This text must therefore refer 
 to a circumstance of time. The same, no doubt, to which Christ 
 alludes, viz : The unquenched fire and ever-breeding worms of the 
 valley of Hinnom. The phrase " shall not be quenched," occurs 
 in several other places in the scripture, in such connexion as leaves 
 no room for doubt as to the limited duration of the judgment it ex» 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 275 
 
 presses. " Then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it 
 shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be 
 quenched.'*'' (Jer. xvii. 27.) " Behold, mine anger and my fury- 
 shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon heast^ and 
 upon the trees of the field, and upon \he fruit of the ground, and it 
 shall burn, and shall not he quenched.''^ (Jer. vii. 20.) It is hoped 
 that those who contend for ceaseless suffering on the strength 
 of this expression, will not include among the subjects of that suf- 
 fering, gates, palaces, beasts, trees, and fruits of the ground ! They 
 should at least limit their tender mercies to the subjects of sensa- 
 tion ! See to the same effect, Ezek. xx. 47, 48. " And say to 
 the forest of the south. Hear the word of the Lord : Thus saith 
 the Lord God, Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall 
 devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree : the flaming 
 flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the 
 north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the 
 Lord have kindled it : it shall not be quenched.''^ In the following 
 passage concerning the destruction of Idumea, this phrase occurs 
 in a form much stronger than in Mark. *' And the streams thereof 
 shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, 
 and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be 
 quenched night nor day ; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: 
 from generation to generation it shall lie waste ; none shall pass 
 through it for ever and ever." (Isa. xxxiv. 9, 10.) It will be ap- 
 parent to the candid reader, from these passages, that the phrase 
 shall not be quenched, in its scriptural applications, is not to be 
 understood as implying that the fire is to burn to eternity, nor 
 even that it is expressive of suffering beyond the present life. 
 The Jews were so accustomed to these expressions in their sacred 
 writings, where they invariably refer to circumstances of time, 
 that they were in no danger of being misled with regard to their 
 meaning as employed by the Savior. 
 
 When Christ sent his disciples out to preach, he gave them the 
 following caution : " And fear not them which kill the body, but 
 are not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear him which is able to 
 destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. x. 28.) "And I say 
 unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and 
 after that, have no more that they can do : but I will forewarn 
 you whom ye shall fear; fear him, which after he hath killed. 
 
276 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto you, fear him." 
 (Luke xii. 4, 5.) 
 
 It is usually supposed that Gehenna must here imply a hell 
 beyond the grave, because the destruction of the soul, as well as 
 the body, is threatened. But there are two facts in the way of 
 this position ; the first is, that the word (psuche) rendered soul 
 in this place, more properly signifies the animal life, and is so 
 rendered in numerous instances. This criticism, the correctness 
 of which will not be disputed, removes the ground of the sup- 
 position at once. The second fact is, that the body, which those 
 whom they were told not to fear had the power to kill, is not 
 liable to destruction in a hell beyond the grave, but returns to the 
 dust of the earth from whence it originated. How then can 
 Gehenna, in this instance, imply a place of torment in a future 
 state? It cannot. We must, therefore, seek a more consistent 
 explanation of this passage than that which is usually given. 
 
 Some think that the allusion here is to the Roman authority, 
 personified, which had power, after killing the body, to deny it 
 burial, and cast it into Gehenna ^ or to destroy the life and the 
 body together in Gehenna, by burning alive, which was a mode 
 of punishment practiced in that day on the highest class of oflfen- 
 ders. If such was indeed the Savior's allusion, the following par- 
 aphrase may well convey the sense of the passage. "I say unto 
 you, my disciples, (for they are the party addressed,) that so long 
 as you are faithful to the objects of the mission on which I now 
 send you, you have nothing to fear from your persecutors, for not 
 a hair of your heads shall perish unpermitted of your Father in 
 heaven. Entertain no fears, therefore, in regard to them : at the 
 most, they can but kill the body. You will in that case die a 
 martyred and honored death ; but even this shall not befall you, 
 except by your heavenly Father's permission for your good. Be- 
 ware, however, that you run not into unlawful excesses; presume 
 not on the divine protection, if you should wantonly transgress the 
 laws of the land, but apprehend the fearful award of the civil ma- 
 gistrate, who, after killing the body, has power to cast it into Ge- 
 henna, or (by dooming you to be burnt alive) to destroy the life 
 and body together, in that loathsome place." Peter uses a cau- 
 tion of similar import, to those whom he addresses in his epis- 
 tles. " Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 277 
 
 which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto 
 you : but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suflfer- 
 ings ; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also 
 with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, 
 hiippy are ye ; for ihe spirit of glory and of God resieth upon you : 
 on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 
 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an 
 evil-doer, or as a busy-body in other men's matters. Yet if any 
 man suffer as a christian, let him not be ashamed ; but let him 
 glorify God on this behalf." (1. Peter iv. 12—16.) Others again 
 think that Jehovah is alluded to as the object to be feared, not 
 on the ground of his ability to destroy in a hell beyond the grave, 
 (for Gehenna, in that day, was not received in any such sense,) but 
 in reference to his power to involve them in a common destruc- 
 tion with that portion of their countrymen who should obstinately 
 reject the gospel. To me this seems the most probable construc- 
 tion of the text ; for Gehenna was associated in the minds of Jews 
 with every thing horrid, loathsome, and abominable. Christ tells 
 the Pharisees that they made their converts " two-fold more the 
 children oWehenna than themselves ;" and James, speaking of the 
 tongue, says, " it is set on fire of Gehenna.'''' Should we be at a 
 loss to understand a person who should say, that the converts made 
 to such and such principles were made the children of the peniten- 
 tiary ? The meaning, I think, would be sufliciently obvious to us ; 
 we should understand it to imply, that they had become fitted, by 
 the evil principles they had imbibed, for such practices as might 
 subject them to the penitentiary. Well, then, as before observed, 
 Gehenna was a place of as great and of as odious notoriety, in that 
 day, as is the prison, or penitentiary in ours ; for the former was 
 not only a receptacle for the unburied carcasses of criminals, and 
 the filth and offals from the vast and over-populated city of Jerusa- 
 lem, but it was also a place of criminal execution. The Jews, it is 
 well known, held themselves polluted if they came in contact with 
 a dead body, and it may well be conceived, therefore, what a hor- 
 ror they entertained in regard to so nauseous and loathsome a 
 place as by all accounts the valley of Hinnom was. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that neither Christ nor his apostles 
 ever used the word Gehenna except when addressing Jews : to 
 Gentiles the reference would have been unintelligible. Paul, 
 
 Vol. I.— Y 
 
278 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 "who calls himself " the apostle to the Gentiles," never once used 
 it, nor any other term answering to the modern idea of hell. It 
 is somewhat singular — nay, it is very remarkable, that while all 
 other nations had their respective hells, the Jews, who were es- 
 pecially instructed in religion by Jehovah, for the space of 2000 
 years, were without any ideas on the subject ! Should not this 
 fact alone suffice to prove, that the doctrine of a region of suffer- 
 ing beyond death is fabulous ? — that it is of heathen origin 1 and 
 that it has no true and proper connexion with a religion revealed 
 from heaven 1 
 
 It is probable that the idea of a hell was first taken from those 
 gloomy dungeons, which earthly tyrants have, in all ages and 
 countries, employed as the instruments of their ambition or re- 
 venge ; hence, with the idea of hell are usually associated the 
 dismal and heart-sickening imagery belonging to such places as 
 the Bastile of France, the Black-hole of Calcutta, and the Inqui- 
 sition of Spain or Goa; dungeons, chains, racks, torturing imple- 
 ments, darkness, feverish thirst, groans, shrieks, blasphemies, 
 burning, suffocation, desperation, despair, all these start up in con- 
 nection with that direful word, which has given to priests their 
 magic power over the souls of men, and which has caused man to 
 start back with horror from the contemplation of that futurity which 
 has been opened to him in the gospel as an object of joyful hope. 
 
 In this branch of our general subject it is a high satisfaction to 
 us, that we have the judgments of all, of all sects, both Jew and 
 christian, in perfect coincidence relative to the radical and primary 
 meaning of Gehenna ; all agree that it comes from the two He- 
 brew words Gia and Hinnom^ literally signifying the valley of 
 Hinnom. On this point there is no dispute. It is assumed, 
 indeed, that it came by accommodation to be applied to a hell 
 beyond this life ; but it surely ought not to be expected that an 
 assumption of such magnitude will be admitted without the most 
 substantial evidence ; and none such, so far as I can learn, has 
 ever been produced, nor do I believe it can be. 
 
 Critics are also agreed, as before observed, relative to s/teoZ and 
 hades, and even our English hell These things must be kept in 
 mind by the reader, for they are of great moment in their bearing 
 upon the settlement of the great question before us, relative to 
 the truth or falsity of universalism. 
 
HELL PUNISHMENT EXAMINED. 279 
 
 The celebrated Dr. John Mason Good, in his lecture on the 
 nature and duration of the soul, affirms, respecting the popular 
 tradition, as early as the time of Isaiah, (and Homer, with whom 
 he believes him to have been contemporary,) that " it taught that 
 the disembodied spirit becomes a ghost as soon as it is separated 
 from the material frame ; a thin, misty, aerial form, somewhat 
 larger than life ; with a feeble voice, shadowy limbs, knowledge 
 superior to what was possessed while in the flesh ; capable, under 
 particular circumstances, of rendering itself visible, and retaining so 
 much of its former features, as to be recognised in its apparition ; 
 in a few instances wandering about for a time after death, but for 
 the most part conveyed to a common receptacle situated in the 
 centre of the earth, denominated sheol, hades, hell, or the world 
 of spirits. 
 
 " Such was the general belief of the multitude, in almost all 
 countries, from a very early period of time, with the difference, 
 that the hades of various nations was supposed to exist in some 
 remote place on the surface of the earth, and that of others in the 
 clouds." 
 
 It is more than probable that this dim and misty outline of the 
 realm of ghosts was from age to age amplified upon, until it be- 
 came the abode of the damned, modified amongst different nations 
 according to the diversified policy of their priests, or fancy of 
 their poets : by some it has been located in the interior of the 
 earth ; by some on its surface in some remote district ; by some 
 in the clouds, in the moon, in a comet, or one of the planets. 
 With some it has been held a hell of fire ; with others a hell of 
 ice ; with others, of alternate burning and freezing ; with others, of 
 darkness and dreary wandering amid every frightful circumstance, 
 of hunger and thirst, etc. The latest refinement upon it amongst 
 christians is, that it has no outward or material existence, but is 
 merely a slate of moral suffering, remorse, unavailing anguish, 
 and despair. 
 
 If hell be a located place^ God made it. He made it with a per- 
 fect knowledge of the end to which it should answer, and he of 
 course adapted it to that end. He also created those whose doom 
 it shall be to groan in its depths forever ; and he of course knew 
 that such should be the issue of their being. And he is infinitely 
 benfivolent, nevertheless ! He " is good to all, and his tender 
 
280 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 mercies are over all his works ! !" Let those believe these absur- 
 dities who can. I can not, if the penalty be a hundred fold dam- 
 nation ! ! ! 
 
 Thanks be to God ! I lie under no such obligation ! The light 
 of his word shines sufficiently bright on the pathway of my inqui- 
 ries on these subjects, to satisfy my understanding and my hopes. 
 It informs me, that " in the beginning God created the heavens and 
 the earth," but no mention is made of his having created a HELL ! ! 
 So, also, at the conclusion, it speaks of " a new heaven, and a 
 new earth," but nothing whatever of a NEW HELL ! ! Thus, 
 neither firstly, nor lastly, nor intermediately, do the scriptures re- 
 cognise such a hell, as at this day is proving, to a frightful extent, 
 a source of terror, and madness, and suicide. 
 
 It is sincerely hoped that the reader will " search the scrip- 
 tures," in order to satisfy himself on this point. He will receive 
 but little edification from the perusal of polemical squabbles con- 
 cerning it. He must " to the law, and to the testimony ;" and 
 oh ! let him take heed, that nothing short of these high authori- 
 ties determine him in a belief, so dreadful in its bearings on his 
 own happiness, and so pernicious in its influence on his views of 
 the Divine character. 
 
 FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 
 
 DOES ABSOLUTE FOREKNOWLEDGE NECESSARILY IMPLY ABSO- 
 LUTE FOREORDINATION ? 
 
 So momentous are the consequences involved in this question, 
 that very many have been deterred from adventuring fairly and 
 boldly into a discussion of it; for if, on the one hand, it be settled 
 in the affirmative, it seems clearly to follow that God is the author 
 of sin-— that man is without moral freedom— that he therefore is 
 not responsible for his actions — and, in that case, promises, threat- 
 enings, rewards, punishments, appeals to his interests, his fears, 
 his sense of propriety, &c., are unmeaning mockeries. It seema 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 281 
 
 to follow, moreover, that God has incorporated a lie in man's 
 moral constitution ; for man has an ineradicable persuasion that he 
 is free — that not his actions only, but his volitions also, are en- 
 tirely subject to his own control ; which, however, is not the case, 
 if all events are the result of divine foreordination. Such are the 
 difficulties on the one side. Milton has alluded to them with 
 much beauty and force in his Paradise Lost, as follows : 
 
 " Ingrate, he had of me 
 All he could have ; I made him just and right, 
 Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall. 
 Such I created all th' ethereal powers 
 And spirits, both them who stood and them who fail'd ; 
 Freely they stood who stood, and fell who fell. 
 Not free, what proof could they have given sincere 
 Of true allegiance, constant faith or love, 
 Where only what they needs must do appeared, 
 Not what they would ] what praise could they receive 1 
 What pleasure I from such obedience paid. 
 When will and reason (reason also is choice) 
 Useless and vain, of freedom both despoil'd, 
 Made passive both, had served necessity, 
 Not mel" 
 
 On the other hand, if the question at the head of this article be 
 settled in the negative, it would seem to follow that, in a great 
 measure, things are left to the determination of chance — that 
 Jehovah himself may be disappointed in the final issue of affairs — 
 that he is indifferent to the eternal interests of his creatures, or he 
 would not have suspended them upon uncertain contingencies — 
 that in innumerable instances the will of man will prevail against 
 the divine will — that, in fact, God can have had no definite pur- 
 pose in creating, save such as he adopted on the foresight of what 
 man would do; and thus, the doings of the Infinite are shaped 
 and controlled by the ever-changing vagaries of finite beings ; and, 
 moreover, the deity is, in truth, as directly accountable for all the 
 events which take place upon the ground of absolute foreknow- 
 ledge, as upon that of absolute foredetermination. 
 
 These difficulties on both sides have induced some to seek a 
 middle position ; none, however, have yet succeeded in the 
 search — there is no sailing betwixt Scylla and Charybdis here. 
 Dr. Clarke (as stated in another part of this work) assumes, that 
 God can be ignorant, if he tries, of such events as he chooses not 
 to know. A most gross solecism, this ; it implies that the Infinite 
 
 Vol. I.— y 2 
 
282 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 Being, if he please, can dispense with his attribute of omniscience! 
 And if with one attribute, why not with all, and so cease to be 
 God 1 John Wesley, and others after him, have sought to evade 
 the question by perplexing it. " With the Omniscient Being," 
 say they, " there is no before, no after — all is present — the past 
 and the future are one eternal now.'*'' This is a mere sophism, 
 however ; for, after all, the knowledge which precedes the events 
 to which it relates is /ore-knowledge; that which is subsequent to 
 them is a/"/er-knowledge ; all the divine knowledge of events is 
 necessarily antecedent to them, and we therefore say, that he 
 /ore-knows all things ; in so saying we conform to the established 
 usages of human speech, and say what none directly question. 
 Why, then, do they seek to mystify the subject, save that it be 
 for the sake of a subterfuge from the force of truth 1 
 
 Were I an Arminian, I would not hesitate to take the ground, 
 that God does not, and can not, foresee future events; for if they 
 are contingent, if they are shaped by the accidental determinations 
 of the human will, then are there no links connecting them with 
 the past — no clue reaching back to the origin of things, by which 
 their succession can be traced ; and even to Omniscience itself, 
 (it seems to me,) it were impossible to foresee the future, except 
 by a concatenated series of causes and effects it were connected 
 with the past. There are things which, in their own nature, are 
 impossible ; error, for instance, cannot be made superior to truth, 
 nor vice to virtue ; nor can a part be made to equal the whole, 
 nor the whole to exceed the sum of all its parts ; and, to my think- 
 ing, it is equally impossible to see an end from a beginning with 
 which it has no necessary connexion. 
 
 Maugre, then, all the subtle sophistry to the contrary, we can- 
 not avoid the conclusion, that absolute foreknowledge does imply 
 absolute foreordination ; just as certainly as there is a connexion 
 between causes and their immediate effects, so are these effects 
 connected with consequences more remote ,• and, like the paths in 
 a labyrinth, which, however mazy and numerous, are found, when 
 retraced, to issue in the single path with which they begun : so 
 the millions of events which form the intricate web of human 
 life, are seen by the eye of Omniscience to be but natural ramifi- 
 cations from causes which originated in his own appointment. 
 Take different ground, if you will, reader, but where will you 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDIKATION. 283 
 
 find it to end ? In a metaphysical morass, where not an inch of 
 firm footing will be found. 
 
 For example, an individual commits a wicked act; this had a 
 cause ; whether a reasonable cause or not, or whether he could 
 have acted otherwise or not, is not now the question ; it had a 
 cause. What was it 1 Say, if you please, " his depraved nature." 
 Very well, and had not his depraved nature also a causel " Yes," 
 say you, "it was transmitted to him from our first parents, and 
 was an effect of their first oflTence." Well, and had not the first 
 offence a cause too 1 " Oh yes," you reply, " they listened, and 
 yielded to the wiles of the serpent." And pray what was the 
 cause of their so listening and yielding] Here you are, reader, in 
 the swamp of which I forewarned you, from which, however lus- 
 tily you may flounder, you cannot extricate yourself. Neverthe- 
 less, (as you are a free agent) you may try. Say, then, that " our 
 first parents could have resisted the temptation if they had 
 chosen." But from what cause came it that they did not choose 1 
 " Well," say you, " I can only answer, that their appetite for the 
 forbidden fruit was so strong, as to overcome their resisting 
 powers." One question more, then, if you please. Who created 
 their appetite, and made it so strong as to overcome their resisting 
 powers 1 This will admit of but one answer ; and since, on the 
 boundless map of the future, the Omniscient eye could clearly 
 trace from these primary causes, all the multiform results which 
 should ramify to eternity, is it unreasonable or impious to say, 
 that he ordained those results. 
 
 " All very good !" exclaims the reader ; " and so, as sin is of 
 God's appointment, I shall go on and commit as much of it as 
 possible — I shall thereby be merely fulfilling the divine purposes." 
 
 Reader ! reflect a moment ! Now tell me if there is not more of 
 
 rashness than of reason in what you say. You " will be merely 
 fulfilling the divine purposes !" How know you what the divine 
 purposes respecting you are? If he has ordained that some shall 
 come to their death by poisoning, will you thence conclude that 
 such is to be your case, and so swallow a fatal drug 1 or because 
 some are to die by burning, will you conceive it your duty to 
 throw yourself into the fire 1 No, no, you will act more prudently 
 in this case — you will hope that an easier fate awaits you, and you 
 will patiently abide it. Very well ; hope also that to you is al- 
 
284 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 lotted a life of virtue and happiness : it is at least both your duty 
 and interest to act on this persuasion, and nothing can be lost by 
 endeavors toward such a life. 
 
 In sooth, this is one of that knotty class of questions, on which 
 it is much easier to raise difficulties than to obviate them. I greatly 
 mistake the entire scope of the epistle to the Romans, if Paul 
 himself had not some experience to this effect ; he seems to have 
 clearly taken the ground, that God not only foresees, but also fore- 
 appoints all events : he then saw it to follow, that sin itself must 
 be included amongst the all things so appointed ; and, therefore, 
 that sin must, in some sense, be according to the divine will — if not 
 CLS an ultimate end, (as it certainly is not,) yet as an intermediate 
 means ; and he anticipates an objection arising on this very ground. 
 " Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault 1 for who 
 hath resisted his wilH" (Rom. ix. 19.) To meet such cavils was 
 no difficult matter with one of the apostle's dexterity as a rea- 
 soner; he could show how Jehovah can effect good results by 
 means which we should think the least likely to yield them. It 
 is true, that of even this disposition of the subject, advantage 
 would be taken by the captious disputant, " Why," he would 
 ask, " since God effects, by the agency of actions which we term 
 sinful, such signally glorious results, may not man plead the like 
 excuse for his wicked actions, pretending that he meant them as 
 means to a good end ?" Indeed, Paul and his fellow apostles, 
 were actually charged with teaching the very principle involved 
 in this question — " Let us do evil that good may come." (Rom. 
 iii. 8.) And the same has been reiterated against the same doc- 
 trine by superficial thinkers in every age, for little do such super- 
 ficial objectors consider, that it is not their province to foretell how 
 each particalar action shall come out ; their experience ought to 
 instruct them that they are often disappointed in the result of 
 events of the least complex character ; those from which they 
 predict the best issues very commonly yield (so far as they are 
 concerned) the w^orst, and vice versa. Nevertheless, unintimi- 
 dated by the cavils and perversions to which this truth was lia- 
 ble from men of superficial or perverse minds, the apostle pushes 
 on his argument with great vigor, showing that the divine Being, 
 in carrying forward his stupendous schemes, exercises not only 
 a general, but a particular direction : every thing is taken up into 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 285 
 
 his plan, and made a means of pushing it forward toward the ap- 
 pointed consummation : some he raises up to eminence in the 
 world, some he casts down ; some he enlightens, some he aban- 
 dons to blindness ; some he calls to the enjoyment of high reli- 
 gious privileges, and some he gives over to hardness of heart and 
 reprobacy of mind. " Hath not the potter power over the clay, 
 of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another 
 unto dishonour." (Rom. ix. 21.) And most gloriously does this 
 whole argument end. Love is shown to be the foundation of the 
 whole scheme of divine government ; in all of its infinitely 
 diversified manifestations, grace is interwoven throughout the 
 texture : grace indeed is the warp and the woof; of God are all 
 things ; through God are all things ; to God are all things. Such 
 (in Rom. xi.) is the apostle's final and satisfactory disposition of 
 this perplexing and much mooted question. 
 
 " Grace all the work shall crown 
 
 Through everlasting days, 
 It lays in heaven the topmost stone, 
 
 And well deserves the praise." 
 
 Betwixt Calvinism and Arminianism (so far as respects their 
 connection with this question) there is not a hair's breadth of ra- 
 tional difference ; the former indeed seems to be the more harsh of 
 the two, but the more consistent in itself, in reality, however, they 
 are the same ; Calvinism is Arminianism, asserted in honest di- 
 rectness of terms ; Arminianism is Calvinism, expressed by cir- 
 cumlocution. In verbal modification, however, these isms differ. 
 Calvinists acknowledge the conclusion, that God has fore-ap- 
 pointed all things, to be inevitable from the fact that he foreknew 
 all things ; Arminians affect to think differently, and affirm, that 
 Jehovah may design an event to be, when he knows it never will 
 be ; and not to be, at the same time that he knows it certainly 
 will ! hence, although he created us with the certain knowledge, 
 that with regard to a large majority, the act would prove infinitely 
 disastrous, yet he is not answerable for the result, because he 
 meant it should happen otherwise ! Most sage and consistent 
 Arminianism ! 
 
 Doctor Drugg had been heard to say, that of the two medicines 
 he had left in his patient's room — the one sanative, and the other 
 fatal in its qualities — he knew that the sick man would choose the 
 
286 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 latter, and that his death would be the consequence. When put 
 upon his trial for murder, on this ground, the Doctor plead as fol- 
 lows : J' May it please the honorable court, there is as wide a dif- 
 ference between the foreknowing, and the foredetermining of a 
 thing, as between the occipital and metatarsal extremities of the 
 human subject, and therefore, though I knew my poor patient would 
 come to his death by means of the nostrums left in his chamber, 
 yet I beg your honors to believe that such was not my intention — 
 I positively designed his cure." Unfortunately for Doctor Drugg, 
 the court determined ihe case on common-sense principles, rather 
 than on those of Arminianism ; they could not comprehend how 
 he could possibly purpose to cure his patient by means which he 
 positively knew would kill him ! Stupid fellows! had they but 
 been Arminians, they could have found a parallel for the case in 
 the conduct which their creed ascribes to the deity, and thus the 
 poor Doctor would have been longer spared to the cause of science. 
 " So ! then," exclaims the Arminian objector, " the author re- 
 ally seems bent on proving, that as Jehovah foreknew of the ex- 
 istence of sin, he must also have designed it !" Yes, such is really 
 my purpose, and this I mean to do upon your own admitted prin- 
 ciples ; you have been accustomed to casting the supposed 
 odium of this conclusion upon Calvinism, and I am now showing 
 that it equally pertains to your own system. Calvinism, it is 
 true, comes to it by a direct path, whilst you, more cautious, ap- 
 proach it by a circuit. For example, you hold that God made 
 certain angels, with the ability to become devils if they chose ; 
 he knew they would so choose ; he knew that he should banish 
 them to hell ; he knew that if he should allow them they would 
 escape from hell to this earth, and tempt from their allegiance to 
 himself the race of beings called man : he did so allow them ; 
 he knew that for as long as time should last, age after age should 
 roll its successive millions of this race into the infernal abyss ; he 
 knew when he created hell that such should be its uses ; and when 
 he created these ill-fated beings, he knew that they were to peo- 
 ple its fiery caverns — all these things were as plain before his 
 eyes as though they were then present facts ; he could have pre- 
 vented them if he pleased, but did not please ! It unanswerably 
 follows, then, that he designed them. Calvinism admits this at 
 once. Where is the difference, then 1 Just here ; your system 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 287 
 
 alters neither the length nor the direction of the chain of fate ; it 
 but makes it to consist of a greater number of links. 
 
 Having, then, as I think, established the conclusion, that absolute 
 foreknowledge implies absolute foreordination, 1 proceed to notice 
 the objections which seem to lie against it. I have already consi- 
 dered the most formidable of these, viz., that it makes God the 
 author of sin ; and I now ask how, on any ground, is this to be 
 avoided 1 I assert, moreover, that it is plainly scriptural. Shall we 
 affect to be more scrupulous in this respect than were the inspired 
 penmen ? We are told in sacred story, that God put certain dreams 
 into the mind of Joseph, the interpretation of which was, that he 
 should come to be a man of so great dignity that his father and 
 brethren should be brought to reverence him. What means did 
 Jehovah employ to bring this end about 1 Can it be denied, that 
 among those means were several guilty transactions \ Such, for 
 instance, were the envy of the brethren, their selling him for 
 a slave, and the incontinence of Potiphar's wife. Will any pre- 
 tend that God did not appoint these events ? If he did not, then 
 he provided other means for accomplishing the end, or no means at 
 all i if other means, they were not brought into use ! and God 
 knew they would not when he appointed them ! If he provided 
 no means at all, what must we think of his wisdom, in appointing 
 ends, without the requisite means for bringing them about ] Of 
 but one method of evasion know I from the force of this case. 
 The Arminian may say, that in the dreams of Joseph, God only 
 intimated what he foresaw would come — not what he designed 
 should come ; and that God merely overruled these sinful transac- 
 tions' for good, but did not appoint them as a means to that good. 
 Ah! this plea will not do. Let us see of what the good consisted : 
 1st, the deliverance of the chosen people from the famine : 2nd, 
 nor from the famine of Canaan merely, but also from its idola- 
 tries, to which, as they increased, they would have been much 
 exposed : 3rd, their establishment by themselves in Goshen, (a 
 rich pasturage country,) where they multiplied to a numerous na- 
 tion : 4th, the raising from them a line of prophets, reaching down 
 in unbroken succession to the rise of the prophet of prophets, 
 Christ Messiah, through whom a more glorious kingdom should 
 be established, as wide in its sway as the extension of being, and 
 as lasting as the age of the Most High. And will you say, my 
 
288 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 dear reader, that these stupendous occurrences were not previ- 
 ously marked out by Jehovah, and every link in the well-arranged 
 series of means by which they were brought about, appointed and 
 adjusted by him 1 Was the effecting of these great ends left to 
 the agency of accident ■? So at least, thought not Joseph; for when, 
 after his father's death, his brethren came to him to implore his 
 forgiveness for their evil conduct toward him, he said unto them, 
 " Fear not; for am I in the place of God 1 But as for you, ye 
 thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring 
 to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." (Gen. 
 1. 19, 20.) Thus is God directly recognised by Joseph as the 
 prime agent in this business; but his was a different motive 
 from their's, who were the subordinate agents or instruments. 
 Take another example. Jehovah appointed his Son to die for 
 the world's redemption ; he meant, of course, that this important 
 event should be effected in a certain definite way. What was that 
 way? The Savior was to be denied by one of his disciples ; be- 
 trayed by another; forsaken by all ; rejected by his own nation; 
 scourged, and in death confounded with malefactors. All these 
 things are said by Jesus himself to have been previously marked 
 out by the purposes of heaven ; and the inspired recorders of these 
 transactions make no scruple of referring them to the same source. 
 (Matt, xxvii. 35. John xii. 38 ; xv. 25 ; xvii. 12; xviii. 32; xix. 
 24, 36.) After Christ's death, the apostles set forth the same fact 
 in their preaching. " Him, being delivered by the determinate 
 counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked 
 hands have crucified and slain." (Acts ii. 23.) The following is to 
 the same effect. " And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance 
 ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God be- 
 fore had showed by the mouth of all his prophets,that Christ should 
 suffer, he hath so fulfilled." (Acts iii. 17, 18.) Even in solemn 
 prayer together they recognise these events as the result of the di- 
 vine purpose. " For of a truth, against thy holy child Jesus, 
 whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with 
 the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for 
 to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to 
 be done." (Acts iv. 27, 28.) I cannot conceive how any rational 
 man can dream, that God, having for ends of unspeakable glory 
 and benevolence appointed his Son's death, took no express mea- 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 289 
 
 sures for the accomplishment of that event, but left it to be brought 
 about by mere chance ! Yet have I heard even preachers prate to 
 that effect from the pulpit ! I have even heard them affirm that the 
 death of Christ was no necessary part of the divine plan ! Let 
 such wise heads turn to Heb. ix. 8. Col. i. 19, 20, and compare 
 notes with the great apostle upon this point. 
 
 Equally unphilosophical as unscriptural is the denial, that all 
 things, in the broadest acceptation of the phrase, have their origin 
 in the unchangeable designs of heaven ; it is, in effect, to dethrone 
 the deity, and to put the sceptre of the universe into the hands of 
 finite creatures, whose wills may shape its occurrences to suit 
 themselves. The pious worthies in bible times were belter philo- 
 sophers. Job ascribed his calamities directl)'- to Jehovah. "The 
 Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.'''' (Job i. 21.) " Shall 
 we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive 
 cm7?" (Job ii. 10.) Yet in bringing these evils to pass, God 
 employed the agency of Sabine and Chaldean freebooters, as well 
 as winds, and fire, and disease. (These agencies are, in the bible, 
 personified under the name of Satan ;) the scheme, you perceive, 
 involved the sins of robbery and murder ! Jeremiah accounts God 
 the author of the public calamities which he bewails in his La- 
 mentations. " The Lord hath cast off his altar ; he hath abhorred 
 his sanctuary : he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the 
 walls of her palaces ; they have made a noise in the house of the 
 Lord, as in the day of a solemn feast. The Lord hath purposed 
 to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion : he hath stretched 
 out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying : 
 therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they lan- 
 guished together. Her gates are sunk into the ground ; he hath 
 destroyed and broken her bars : her king and her princes are 
 among the Gentiles : the law is no more ; her prophets also find no 
 vision from the Lord." (Lam. ii. 7 — 9.) The same prophet asks, 
 " Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord 
 cnmmandeth it not ■?" (Ibid. iii. 37.) Now in this visitation upon 
 Jerusalem, Jehovah employed the ambition, the lust of fame and 
 spoil, of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon ; the earthly mon- 
 arch's purposes were those which his own lusts suggested — God's 
 were those of retribution upon a sinful people. Let me here ask — 
 do we not account Napoleon to have been a scourge of Providence 
 
 Vol. I^^Z No. 13. 
 
290 PUO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 to the despotic and corrupt nations of Europe? And if God meanl 
 that our nation should become free when it did, was not his 
 hand concerned in the oppressions, exactions, evil counsels in the 
 British cabinet, etc., which directly tended to bring on the great 
 event ] If any suppose these questions to be impious, I beg they 
 will peruse 2 Chron. xviii. 18 — 22, and Exod. x. 1, 2. 1 can- 
 not think that signal occurrences, of the nature here alluded to, 
 take place accidentally ,• and if we allow that they take place pro' 
 videntially ^ then consistency demands the admission that, in ap- 
 pointing the ends, providence also appoints the means by which 
 those ends are effected. 
 
 " But this reasoning proves," you will say, " that we are desti- 
 tute of moral freedom ; whereas this is contradicted by our ex- 
 perience, for we can all do what we please, within the compass 
 of our ability." Granted ; but can you please as you please 1 You 
 are pleased with beauty — can you, if you try, be equally pleased 
 with deformity 1 You are pleased with musical harmonies — can 
 you, by trying, be equally pleased with discords 1 You are pleased 
 with savoury viands — can you, by any effort, become equally so 
 with such as are nauseous ] If not, then where, I pray you, is your 
 boasted freedom of choice ] Your will is influenced by motives, 
 and, for the life of you, you cannot yield to a weaker motive in one 
 direction, when a stronger owe is acting upon you in another; you 
 cannot prefer pain before pleasure, nor sickness before health. By 
 an error in judgment you may indeed mistake the weaker for the 
 stronger motive — every sinner does so when he prefers a present 
 and momentary gratification, such as vice may yield, before a vir- 
 tuous self-denial, which would secure to him a purer and more 
 permanent enjoyment. You must see, reader, that the notion of 
 free-will is a chimera. Is it because you choosey that you love 
 your friends better than your enemies 1 or your own children bet- 
 ter than those of a stranger 1 Suppose, then, that you try to choose 
 otherwise — ha? can you make it outi Why, thou art a most 
 puissant free agent, indeed ! 
 
 There is infinite skill displayed in the divine plan of dealing 
 with man ; while man is acting to please himself, and is under the 
 impression that he directs his own volitions as well as actions, 
 God is, in fact, by his weak and purblind intrumentality, working 
 lut his own vast purposes — making even his impotent wrath to 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 291 
 
 praise him ; controlling, over-ruling to finally glorious ends, all 
 his infinitely diversified schemes and doings. To Nebuchadnez- 
 zar, the proud monarch of Babylon, was afforded an experimental 
 proof of this. " The king spake and said. Is not this great Baby- 
 lon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might 
 of my power, and for the honour of my majesty 1 While the word 
 was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, 
 
 king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken ; the kingdom is de- 
 parted from thee : and they shall drive thee from men, and thy 
 dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field : they shall make 
 thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, 
 until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, 
 and giveth it to whomsoever he will. — And at the end of the days 
 
 1 Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine un- 
 derstanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and 
 I praised and honoured him that livelh forever, whose dominion 
 is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to 
 generation : and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as 
 nothing : and he doeth according to his will in the army of hea- 
 ven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : and none can stay 
 his hand, or say unto him, what dost thou V (Dan. iv. 30 — 32, 34, 
 35.) When Senecharib, king of Assyria, marched back his army 
 without fulfilling his contemplated invasion of Jerusalem, he sup- 
 posed he was merely fulfilling his own sovereign pleasure ; but 
 see how God speaketh in regard to him. " Therefore will I put 
 my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn 
 thee back by the way by which thou camest." (Isa. xxxvii. 29.) 
 Indeed, whoever wishes to maintain a firm faith in the doctrine of 
 free agency, would do well to avoid a study of the scriptures, for 
 they afford it small countenance indeed. " The preparations of the 
 heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord." 
 (Prov. xvi. 1.) "There are many devices in a man's heart; 
 nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." (Ib.xix. 
 21.) " Man's goings are of the Lord ; how can a man then un- 
 derstand his own way ?" (lb. xx. 24.) " The king's heart is in 
 the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water : he turneth it whither- 
 soever he will." (lb. xxi. 1.) "The lot is cast into the lap; 
 but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord,," (lb. xvi. 33.) 
 
292 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 Has the language of these texts any meaning 1 And is it of any 
 authority in this question 1 
 
 I will now show you, sir Arminian, that in your notion of free 
 agency you are inconsistent with yourself; your practice is in 
 contradiction with your theory. Why, if our hereafter condition 
 depend on our volitions, do you supplicate the deity to interfere 
 therewith T Why ask him to convert this individual, or that, if, 
 after all, the individual must convert himself? Why should we 
 look to God for salvation, when the matter depends on ourselves I 
 And what meant Paul when he said, himself might plant and 
 Apollos water, but God must give the increase 1 You try to make 
 out, I know, that our salvation is a sort of partnership concern be- 
 tween God and ourselves — we must do a part, and God will do 
 the rest. But then, (as you confess,) we cannot do our part until 
 God does his ; and there are millions in regard to whom his 
 part is not done at all, (or if at all, ineffectually, which is the same 
 thing.) You therefore are inconsistent when you connect our sal- 
 vation with our supposed free agency, because by your own ad- 
 mission we have so such agency ! You do not admit this unequi- 
 vocally, I grant, but you certainly do in such terms as clearly 
 imply it. See the following quotation from the Methodist disci- 
 pline, (which is but a transcript from the Episcopalian book of 
 Common Prayer, and expresses the doctrine of both those denomi- 
 nations on this head.) 
 
 " Art. viii. — Of Free Will. — The condition of man after the fall 
 of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself by his 
 own natural strength and works to faith, and calling upon God ; 
 Wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and ac- 
 ceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing 
 us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when 
 we have that good will." 
 
 I do not quote your written creed for the sake of refuting it, for 
 I believe it in accordance with the bible and with fact: I quote it 
 to show your inconsistency with it ; for most gross inconsistency 
 it is to say, that if a man be not converted, it is his own fault ; 
 and yet he can do nothing toward this conversion until God has 
 begun it, nor then, unless God continue it also when it is begun ! 
 If the language of your creed does not express this, it expresses 
 nothing intelligible ; and certes, the bible expresses it, whether 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 293 
 
 your creed does or not. " Being confident of tliis very thing, that 
 he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the 
 day of Jesus Christ." (Philip, i. 6.) See also the following, and 
 observe attentively, that although every man is represented as be- 
 ing in some degree a subject of divine operations, yet are these 
 more or less effectual in each individual according as God wills, 
 not as we will : *' And there are diversities of operations, but it is 
 the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of 
 the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is 
 given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to another the word of 
 knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same 
 Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to 
 another the working of miracles ; to another prophecy ; to another 
 discerning of spirits ; to another divers kinds of tongues ; to ano- 
 ther the interpretation of tongues : but all these worketh that one 
 and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he 
 will." (1 Cor. xii. 6 — 11.) It will be seen that even faith is 
 among these divine gifts ; and it is certain that we cannot exer- 
 cise a power which we do not possess, and we cannot possess it 
 except God give it ; and he gives it as he wills, not as we will. 
 Shall we then be damned because he has not in our case willed to 
 bestow it 1 Extremely reasonable, this ! " But he will give it if 
 we ask for it," say you. Indeed ! But suppose we do not ask in 
 faith, shall we get it for the asking in that case ] Most clearly 
 not, if the bible is any authority. (James i. 6, 7.) So then, my 
 friend Arminian, your position amounts to this : " we cannot 
 have faith without asking for it ; and we cannot ask for it without 
 first possessing it ; and except we do possess it, we shall be 
 damned." This is taking us to hell in a circle ! 
 
 " But why," you will ask, " our salvation not resulting from a 
 free exercise of our own wills, are we called on in the scriptures, 
 and from the pulpit, to be active in the business, when, according 
 to your reasoning, we are hut passive after all 1 I admit that there 
 is seeming weight in this objection ; it is easily answered, how- 
 ever. The government which God exercises over us is not direct 
 and compulsory, but morale it consists in his employing induce- 
 ments, as exhortations, promises, rewards, etc., for the purpose of 
 influencing our wills ,- and so entirely is our free consent engaged 
 in the performance of the parts assigned us, that we are little 
 
 Vol. I— z 2 
 
294 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 aware of the absolute dominion which God is exercising overns; 
 we are aware, indeed, that motives govern us, but we seldom in- 
 quire, who governs motives ] Consistently with the notion of 
 man's free agency, it is difficult, indeed impossible, to understand 
 the thousand promises with which the scriptures abound, of what 
 God will do in, and for, the parties to whom those promises re- 
 late ; for there is necessarily implied therein an interference with 
 the freedom of the will. See the following as a sample : " For 
 in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith 
 the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in 
 the land, serve me : there will I accept them, and there will I re- 
 quire your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations, with all 
 your holy things. I will accept you with your sweet savour, 
 when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the 
 countries wherein ye have been scattered : and I will be sanctified 
 in you before the heathen. And there shall ye remember your 
 ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled ; and ye 
 shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that 
 ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, 
 when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not accord- 
 ing to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, 
 O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord." (Ezek. xx. 40, 41, 43, 
 44.) David says, in relation to the ultimate moral redemption 
 of the Jewish nation by Jehovah, " thy people shall he willing in 
 the day of thy power." (Ps. ex. 3.) And how was this willmg- 
 ness to beeflfected in them 1 Paul shall answer : " Work out your 
 own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which work- 
 eth in you, BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO of his good plea- 
 sure." (Phil. ii. 13.) 
 
 Old Mr. Benevolus promised his son, that he might have the 
 morrow to himself, to do on it whatsoever he pleased ; whereupon 
 John planned that he would begin the day with fishing — he would 
 repair to a neighboring forest and hunt until noon, and the residue 
 of the day he would devote to a sailing excursion with some com- 
 panions. '* You have given him a dangerous license, my dear," 
 observed old Mrs. Benevolus, when John was out of hearing; "I 
 am afraid that harm will come of it." " None whatever," replied 
 the father, " for without violating my word to him in the least, I 
 promise you he shall do just what we choose." So the old folk 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 295 
 
 arranged it between them that a party of young persons should be 
 invited to spend the morrow at their house ; all kinds of attrac- 
 tive amusement were included in the plan, and among the party 
 was to be a winning nymph, a cousin of John's, whose bright eyes 
 were known to exert a fascination over his young heart; and 
 there was to be music, and dancing, and every variety of fruits 
 and confections Jack jumped, and tossed his hat into the air for 
 joy — away went his projected schemes of fishing, and hunting, 
 and sailing; for he would'nt be absent from the party, he said, for 
 the price of his new fowling-piece. You can hardly say, reader, 
 that John was a free agent, for the old folks controlled his will ; 
 and yet you perceive he did just as he pleased. 
 
 You may not like this view of things, reader, and I will tell you 
 why ; it is not flattering to your self-love ; you better like the no- 
 tion that your superiority over others is the result of your own in- 
 dependent exertions. " Not of yourselves, it is the gift of God," 
 is a text which soundeth not well in the ear of your pride ; and 
 you doubtless thank not Paul for asking the troublesome questions 
 in the following passage. '' For who maketh thee to differ from 
 another ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive ] now, 
 if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not 
 received it 1" (1. Cor. iv. 7.) And since this brings us to a consi- 
 deration of ihe religious differences between some and others, we 
 may as well get to close quarters on this branch of the argument. 
 
 A. is a christian, B. is not; why ? " Because A. chooses so to 
 be, and B. does not." But why do A. and B. choose so differ- 
 ently ] " Because the one is naturally less perverse and obstinate 
 than the other." And pray who made the one to be thus natu 
 rally less vicious than the other 1 You are here brought up short, 
 my friend reader. If B. had possessed the same natural disposi- 
 tions and advantages as A., is it not plain that B. would be a 
 christian too ? And can he help, (and must he be endlessly damned 
 for) not having had the same advantages'? So your creed im- 
 pliedly asserts, and so Calvinism directly decides ; between the 
 two isms, therefore, (as I have said,) there is not a hair's breadth 
 of rational difference. It is no detriment to Arminianism, how- 
 ever, that it is essentially identical with Calvinism; on the con- 
 trary, it is on that account the more accordant with the scriptures. 
 (*'For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good 
 
296 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, 
 not of works, but of him that caileth,) it was said unto her, The 
 elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I 
 loved, but Esau have 1 hated. What shall we say then 1 Is there 
 unrighteousness with God 1 God forbid. For he saith to Moses, 
 I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I Mall have 
 compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not 
 of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that show- 
 eth mercy. For the scripture sailh unto Pharaoh, Even for this 
 same purpose have I raised thee up, that 1 might show my power 
 in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the 
 earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, 
 and whom he will he hardeneth." (Rom. ix. 11 — 18.) 
 
 It is impossible to read the writings of Paul with unbiased mind, 
 without seeing on the face thereof that in his judgment certain 
 persons are elected from eternity to be the subjects of gospel faith 
 and obedience, whilst others are doomed to remain in darkness 
 and unbelief. Speaking of the comparative fewness of God's 
 worshippers in the days of Elijah, he represents Jehovah as say- 
 ing to that prophet, " I have reserved to myself seven thousand 
 souls who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." (Rom. 
 xi. 4.) On which the apostle remarks, " Even so then at this 
 present time also there is a remnant according to the election of 
 grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise 
 grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more 
 grace; otherwise work is no more work." (Rom. xi. 5, 6.) The 
 same doctrine is carried out in other parts of the scripture; Christ 
 tells his disciples, " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen 
 you." (John xv. 16.) And whilst (as before shown in this work) 
 the greater number of the Jewish people were debarred from be- 
 lief in him by the purposes of God, a knowledge of his Messiah- 
 ship was forced upon others, who are termed "the elect," and in 
 regard to whom it is said, " and as many as were ordained to eter- 
 nal life, believed." (Acts xiii. 48.) It has been seen that Thomas 
 did not believe in Christ from choice, but from necessity ,• and as- 
 suredly Paul himself had no will in being thrown from his horse 
 and convinced by ocular evidence that he was persecuting the 
 Lord Messiah ! Nothing is clearer from the scriptures than that 
 believers in those times regarded themselves as particularly elect- 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 297 
 
 ed and foreordained to that privilege. " According as he hath 
 chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we 
 should be holy and without blame before him in love : having 
 predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to 
 himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." (Ephe. i. 4, 
 5.) Peter plainly sets forth the same fact in his epistles : he tells 
 the Gentile converts to whom he writes, that while the Jews 
 were afore-appointed unto a disobedience and rejection of the gos- 
 pel, that themselves were an elect people, " a chosen generation ;" 
 having now obtained mercy, " that ye should show forth the 
 praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his mar- 
 vellous light." (1 Peter ii. 7, 8, 9.) 
 
 To the more superficial part of my readers, an explanation may 
 be necessary, why we should suffer for sin, if it is committed 
 agreeably to the fore-appointment of God. Should we suffer for 
 what we cannot help 1 Let such remember that they are as much 
 concerned to answer this question as I am ; for, whatever their doc- 
 trine may be, they must see it to be the fact, that we do suffer for 
 what we cannot help. We suffer so soon as we are born. Can we 
 help being born 1 We suffer greatly from teething. Can we help 
 this natural operation 1 Many of us suffer from hereditary dis- 
 eases. Can we help those diseases \ And lastly, if our lives are 
 prolonged, we suffer from the decay of age, and surely we cannot 
 prevent that decay. " But why should we be censured and 
 punished for sin, if its commission be but the result of foreordi- 
 nation ?" You are answered, reader, so soon as you answer 
 yourself, why you crush with detestation the odious reptile under 
 your foot, when you know it cannot help being the reptile that 
 it is ! And why you love any beautiful being, and hate a loath- 
 some one, when the one nor the other can account for being what 
 it is ! Truth is, our Creator has designed that this existence should 
 be one of partial suffering — moral as well as physical suffering; 
 and in appointing the end, he has also appointed the means. Sin 
 is the main means by which the former is brought on ; he who 
 sins most, has most moral suffering : God has joined these two 
 things together, and no man can put them asunder. The reader 
 will therefore learn not to plead this doctrine as an excuse for 
 sinning the more, for, so sure as he does so, he must suffer the 
 more. All this, I know, would reflect no glory upon the Crea- 
 
298 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 tor's character, but for the fact — the glorious, heart-cheering fact, 
 that out of all this shall issue an universally benevolent result; 
 " our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, worketh for us 
 a far more exceeding and eternal vt^eight of glory." 
 
 And now, my smart Free-thinker, do you object to the bible 
 because it inculcates this doctrine 1 I will then show you that it 
 is as accordant with fact as with scripture. Is it because men 
 please that one is born of rich, and another of poor parents ; one 
 of vicious, and another of virtuous parents; one grows up in de- 
 cent, and another in profligate society 1 Had I been born in the 
 Chinese empire, I should, in a civil respect, have been a slave, 
 and in a religious, a worshipper of the Mogul, or the Lama. Had 
 I been born of Russian peasants, I should have been a serf; but 
 having been born in America, I am a freeman. Did I choose 
 where, or of what parentage I should be born 1 No — this in the 
 order of providence was determined for me by my Creator. Even 
 in Christendom I might have been born of infidel parents, and edu- 
 cated in infidel principles, in which case, in perfect honesty of 
 heart, I should have probably adopted an infidel creed. Or I might 
 have been born a subject of certain moral imbecilities, which 
 would have determined my religious character for life, such as a 
 flexibility of purpose and of principle ; my intellect might have 
 been feeble, lacking in forethought and judgment, whilst my ani- 
 mal propensities might have been violent. Who will say, that 
 thus constituted, I should not have found it more difficult to 
 be a virtuous man, than do others of different natural powers and 
 temperament ? Say now, if you can, that our moral characters 
 are determined for us by our own free choice. No sir, if you be- 
 lieve in a God, you must refer all the events of life to his pre-ap- 
 pointment. But you are an Atheist, perhaps 1 Well then, your 
 goddess. Chance, with her bandaged eyes and dizzy brain, haa 
 fixed these affairs of human life thus irreversibly, by the force of 
 her blind decrees. And are we profited by the exchange of an 
 Almighty deity, whose benevolent energies are unerringly, 
 
 " From seeming evil still educing good, 
 And better thence again, aud better still. 
 In infinite progression," 
 
 for an unseeing, unthinking, unfeeling fatuity, whose hap-hazard 
 determinations can never be brought to any beneficent conclusion I 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 299 
 
 The Arminian's favorite and stereotyped maxim is, that what- 
 ever may be the civil or the constitutional diflferences among 
 men, the spirit of God operates sufficiently upon all, to make 
 each man's advantages for salvation the same, and to 4eave all 
 inexcusable who are not saved at last. This I deny : — the scrip- 
 tures, facts, and virtually their own creeds and prayers, deny it ; 
 they are in the constant habit of thanking God for advantages 
 which they themselves possess over others Who, that has 
 read the lives of Bunyan, Tennant, John Newton, Col. Gardner, 
 Brainard, Bramwell, the Wesleys, Adam Clarke, and others of 
 that class, can help admitting that a well arranged train of provi- 
 dences determined them to be what they were 1 I have before 
 shown that on Christ's own authority, God did less for Sodom 
 than he afterward did for Chorazin and Bethsaida, and that the 
 former could have been saved, had as much been done for it as 
 had been done for the latter ! And God himself told Jerusalem, 
 which he spared, that her sins greatly exceeded those of Sodom, 
 which he had cut off! (Ezek. xvi.) Has the sinner who is cut 
 off in the bloom of youth, and just as he is ripened for hell, 
 equal advantage with him who lives in sin until his hairs are 
 hoary, and who then from sheer satiety turns from sin with loath- 
 ing, and prepares for heaven 1 If the natural advantages of all 
 men were equal, and an equal measure of divine assistance were 
 afforded to all, it is certain that the effect upon all would be the 
 same, and if ani/ would be christians all would be. If even the 
 natural advantages of all men were not equal, yet if the measure 
 of divine assistance were proportioned to the requirements of 
 each, the same result would follow ; for similar causes will inva- 
 riably, under like circumstances, produce similar results. But all 
 men are not in a like degree affected by divine grace ; therefore, 
 all men have not the sq,me opportunities afforded them in this world, 
 for securing their salvation in the next. Thus Arminianism is 
 logically refuted. For example, if my organ of veneration (phre- 
 nologically speaking) is smaller than another's, it will require 
 more external means to excite religious aflfections in me than in 
 him ; if more is not granted me, and he have but barely enough 
 for his salvation, it will follow that I shall be damned for tbe lack 
 of the aid which my Maker saw to be indispensable to my salva- 
 tion. Could I prevent that lack ? Or, if my organ of marvel- 
 
300 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 lousness is small, I shall require more evidence to satisfy me of 
 the truth of Christianity than will another of greater credulity; 
 if that additional evidence is withheld, should I (as I could not 
 help it) be eternally damned therefor? God created some to the 
 clearly foreseen end that they should suffer an eternity of pains : 
 did he love these as well as those whom he created to a different 
 end 1 Say nay, and you pronounce him partial ; say yea, and it 
 follows, as he is unchangeable, that the wicked inhabitants of 
 hell shall to eternity be as much the subjects of his love as the 
 
 pure inhabitants of heaven ! Once more But what boots it to 
 
 chase Arminianisra through its various corkscrew windings ! I 
 have already shown it to be one with Calvinism in fact, and only 
 differing from it in verbal modification ; its abettors are constantly 
 letting out this truth in their prayers, and sermons, and related 
 experiences, John Wesley, in his tract on the efficacy of prayer, 
 for example, relates that a certain woman implored the Lord to 
 dedicate to himself her infant from its birth, and to make it the 
 subject of his special protection ; consequently, saith the good 
 but credulous divine, the earliest lispings of that child were pray- 
 ers and expressions of piety ; and when he grew up, he became 
 an eminent christian. Now, to say nothing of the weakness of 
 supposing, that the unchangeable Jehovah could be induced by 
 the mother's prayers to love the poor child better than he other- 
 wise would have done, and to take the case as it stands, what does 
 it prove 1 It proves that because the mother implored him to be 
 so, he was partial to that child ; he did more for it than for others : 
 independently of its own agency he stamped upon it a religious 
 character, by virtue of which, it is to be presumed, it got to heaven 
 at last; it might otherwise have got to an endless hell ! 
 
 " Great God ! on what a slender thread 
 Hang everlasting things !" 
 
 So exclaims an Arminian poet, and well may he so exclaim. 
 
 Believe me, reader, it is not possible to avoid the conclusion, 
 that all events take place agreeably to the unalterable decrees of 
 Jehovah ; whether we look at facts, as recorded in history or in 
 our own experience, or as they transpire around us, or whether 
 we examine the subject in the light of the scriptures or of com- 
 mon sense, we are irresistibly brought to this conclusion : most 
 gladly would I have avoided it if it had been possible, for my 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 301 
 
 prepossessions were strong, and of long standing against it ; and 
 even though at length convinced of its truth, yet had I a struggle 
 with the remnant of prejudice within me ere I could consent to 
 discuss it in this work. I feared two things ; 1st, that the doc- 
 trine of necessity (as it is called) might prove practically injuri- 
 ous ; and, God knows, I would not consent to acquire wealth or 
 fame (allowing my poor production could procure me either) by 
 means which might prove injurious to mankind. After duly 
 weighing this consideration, I came to the following conclusion : 
 Truth is from God, it therefore cannot be injurious, but the con- 
 trary ; moreover, the brightest lights of the christian church, of 
 all past ages, have believed in, and maintained this truth ; many 
 even who have suffered martyrdom for the cause of Christ — a 
 great majority of the Scotch nation (not notorious for impiety, 
 certainly) have always maintained it since they became protestant : 
 our pilgrim fathers, too, were unanimous in its belief. Indeed, if 
 we but reflect seriously upon it we must see, that this truth not 
 only exalts the divine character, but it furnishes inducements to 
 man to trust in God, and cheerfully to acquiesce in the allotments 
 of his providence, inasmuch as all are to be brought to a good 
 issue at the last ; whereas the persuasion that all things, even 
 interests of endless and inconceivable magnitude, are left contin- 
 gent on the vagaries of human will, must necessarily tend to 
 affect the mind with despair— to induce distrusts of God's wis- 
 dom and goodness — to beget suspicions that in omitting to provide 
 against our final undoing, he betrayed a recklessness in regard 
 to us, quite incompatible with his professions of love, and of 
 desire for our salvation. Thus my first objection to a discussion 
 of this point was removed. My 2nd was, that it would render my 
 
 book more vulnerable to to what 1 Not to valid objections, 
 
 reader, but to misrepresentation ; to the vapid common-place of 
 party decrial, &c. for religious controversy is conducted frequent- 
 ly with great dishonesty ; however, this weighs little with me, 
 for I must not suppress truth from a fear of what the consequences 
 of its publication may be to myself. I have published it, there- 
 fore, and if any should undertake its refutation, I beg them to be 
 assured, that their success will not be hailed with greater pleasure 
 by their own party, than by the author. 
 Vol. I.— 2 A 
 
302 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 ELECTION AND REPROBATION 
 
 SCRIPTURALLY ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 This article, reader, is designed as a sequel to the one forego- 
 ing, and in this many important points will be cleared up, which 
 in that were left out of view, for I wish to avoid fatiguing_ your 
 mind by over-long articles ; and I hope, moreover, to gain your 
 attention the better by varying the style of the whole as much as 
 possible : for this purpose we shall prosecute the residue of this 
 branch of our discussion in a conversational form ; the parties in 
 the conversation are supposed to be a Calvinist, an Arminian, and 
 the author. 
 
 Calvinist, I most fully concur in your conclusion, that absolute 
 foreknowledge necessarily implies absolute foreordination ; and 
 therefore that all things exist agreeably to the divine will and ap- 
 pointment: I often tell my Arminian brethren that their notion of 
 a God who leaves the most momentous affairs to be determined by 
 contingencies, is but little, if any, better than atheism ; because, 
 like it, it makes it a matter of mere chance whether existing things 
 shall issue in a desirable order and harmony, or whether they shall 
 progress from bad to worse to eternity : even in heaven we may 
 not be secure against the bad effects of free agency ; another 
 rebellion may take place there, another battle, and another expul- 
 sion of a part of its blissful inhabitants to the dwelling place of 
 the damned. 
 
 Arminian. But you forget, sir, that we have the positive word 
 of Jehovah, that the state of the redeemed in heaven shall be one 
 of changeless felicity. 
 
 Calvinist. Yes, he has so promised, I grant, and he may mean 
 that such shall be the case ; but it is none the more certain for that, 
 if your doctrine be true, for he is constantly breaking through his 
 purposes, and doing acts which he meant not to do ! He meant 
 that sin should never enter the world, yet it entered ; he meant 
 that man should live eternally in Eden, yet he drove him out ; he 
 meant that man should be immortal, yet he dies ; he meant too 
 that his Son should save the world, yet by much the larger part 
 of it is to be damned ! In like manner, he may very sincerely 
 
ELECTION AND REPROBATION. 303 
 
 mean that our future bliss shall be changeless, yet it may prove 
 quite otherwise ; and the time in future ages may come, when all 
 the purity and the bliss in existence may be confined to his own 
 essence, and all the universe besides may be a chaos of sin and 
 desolation. 
 
 Author. And besides that, my friend Arminian, God, you say, 
 does not interfere with the freedom of the will, and therefore, he 
 cannot keep you in heaven if he would, provided you should 
 make up your mind not to stay there. If you can point out a way 
 in which, consistently with free agency, he can prevent you from 
 sinning in heaven, you will show a way by which he could have 
 prevented our sinning on earth, and drawing down infinite ruin 
 upon our heads : if you say that he did not choose to employ that 
 way, you in effect assert that he did not choose to save us, by the 
 only mode practicable, from sin and eternal woe ! And what is 
 this but taking Calvinistic ground outright? 
 
 Calvinist. Well, to continue the subject with which I begun, I 
 am heartily glad to find that we can travel the same road with re- 
 gard to the divine decrees, and the utter exclusion of human works 
 and human will from the business of salvation ; but our road 
 forks at length, I perceive ; you assume that God has decreed to 
 save all men, and that in due time he will effectually call and 
 bring them in, if not in time, at some period beyond ; here, then, 
 we must part, for our road branches into two, between which 
 there is a wide separation. You admit the doctrine of election 
 to be scriptural ; why not then the doctrine of reprobation also, 
 for the one presupposes the other ? 
 
 Author. Not always. Do our elections at the polls presuppose 
 the reprobation of the public ? On the contrary, the good of the 
 mass, who are not elected, is consulted, and designed to be sub- 
 served by the instrumentality of those who are. When an indi- 
 vidual is proposed for an office among us, we inquire whether he 
 will be likely to prove a faithful public servant — whether he will 
 be true to the interests of his constituents — and being satisfied on 
 this head, we give him our suffrages; thus it is seen, that in elect- 
 ing some to distinguished places, instead of reprobating the 
 residue, we propose the general good. God elects on the same 
 principle. Why were the Jews elected to be God's peculiar 
 people? Evidently that the true worship of God might be pre- 
 
304 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 served in the world, until the time should be ripe for its more 
 general diffusion. In electing Pharaoh (in the order of his provi- 
 dence) to be king of Egypt, Jehovah had views to the good of 
 the world at large ; not only that he might show his power in 
 him, but also that his name might be declared throughout all the 
 earth. (Rom. ix. 17.) The Savior himself was elected to ends 
 of universal benevolence. " Behold my servant, whom I uphold ; 
 mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth : I have put my Spirit 
 upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. A 
 bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not 
 quench : he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not 
 fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth : 
 and the isles shall wait for his law. I the Lord have called thee 
 in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and 
 give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles ; 
 to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, 
 and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. (Isaiah xlii. 
 1, 3. 4, 6, 7.) Christ elected his apostles also, not for their own 
 exclusive good, but as his instruments in diffusing the blessings 
 of the gospel to mankind at large. And those who through faith 
 in the gospel are brought to a present knowledge and enjoyment 
 of God, are far from being to be considered the whole harvest of 
 grace in the world ; they are but " a kind of first-fruits of his 
 creatures." (James i. 18.) Now to all acquainted with Jewish 
 usages, it is known that the first-fruits, when presented as an oflfer- 
 ing to the Lord, were (if accepted) considered as an earnest of the 
 successful ingathering of the entire harvest ; to this fact Paul 
 alludes, when he says, " for if the first-fruits be holy, the lump 
 is also holy." (Rom. xi. 16.) And this remark from him is par- 
 ticularly worthy of notice, when we consider its application ; for 
 reprobated as were at that time the bulk of the Jewish people, 
 yet they are all to be brought in at last (as the apostle argues) for 
 the first-fruits of the nation (the patriarchal fathers) were holy : 
 " And as is the root, so are the branches." The apostle introduces 
 the same figure also when maintaining that the whole creation 
 shall be redeemed, and that the bliss of any portion thereof must 
 necessarily be incomplete until that important event is consum- 
 mated ; there is (he represents) an earnest looking and longing 
 for it on the part of all creatures. " And not only they, but qui- 
 
ELECTION AND REPROBATION. 305 
 
 selves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit ; even we our- 
 selves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the 
 redemption of our body."- (Rom. viii. 23.) He again employs 
 the figure of the first-fruits when treating on the resurrection of 
 the dead ; he considers the presentation and acceptance of Christ 
 our spiritual head as the first-fruits from the grave, to be a sure 
 pledge of the ultimate gathering in of the whole harvest of man- 
 kind. " But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the 
 Jirst-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by 
 man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all 
 die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in 
 his own order: Christ the first-fruits ,- afterward they that are 
 Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall 
 have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when 
 he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power. 
 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 
 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put 
 all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put 
 under him, it is manifest that he is excepted which did put all 
 things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto 
 him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that 
 put all things under him, that God may be all in all." (1 Cor. 
 XV. 20 — 28.) In this view of election there is nothing repulsive 
 to common sense, to justice, to goodness, as there undeniably is 
 in the Calvinistic view of the subject. On the contrary, all is 
 here consistent, beautiful, benevolent ; the elect of God are but 
 the first fruits of his grace ; the present earnest of that victory 
 over sin, and assimilation to infinite purity, which it will eventu- 
 ally achieve in the whole human race. 
 
 Calvinist. Very pretty, I grant ; very plausible too, to mere 
 human reason, but we are not to estimate things by the standard 
 of our frail judgments; we are to remember that we are infinite 
 offenders against God, and as such, deserving of his holy displea- 
 sure to all eternity. Consequently, we 
 
 Arminian, Stay ! I wish to know how we can deserve God's 
 displeasure to all eternity, if, (as you and the author both main- 
 tain,) we are not free agents ; we do only such things as he fore- 
 ordained we should do ; we cannot be righteous except he see 
 fit to make us so, and yet for not being what we could not be, 
 
 Vol. I.— 2a2 
 
306 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 we are deserving of the great Jehovah's infinite displeasure ! 
 Why, my dear sir, one must have a credulity equal to an earth- 
 quake to swallow all this ! 
 
 Author. You swallow it, nevertheless, my friend, as well as he, 
 for I have proven sin to have been foreordained on your principles 
 as well as on his ; your notion of man's free agency I have shown 
 to be a fantasm, and consequently, if it is unjust and cruel in God 
 to inflict endless suffering on his ground, it is equally so on 
 your's. The doctrine of endless misery is equally indefensible on 
 either ; it reflects equal discredit upon the divine character on both. 
 
 Calvinisi and Arminian. Yes, if mere human reason is to be 
 the judge. 
 
 Author. As a human being, I can have no other than human 
 reason ; I must either exercise that, or none ; if none, why are the 
 claims of God upon my love, my homage, my confidence, pressed 
 upon my consideration ? If my understanding cannot comprehend 
 the acts of my Creator, I cannot then know whether they are wise 
 or foolish, good or evil, and therefore I cannot tell whether he is 
 entitled to my love or my hatred, my admiration or my con- 
 tempt. The very fact of our being called on to adore and serve 
 him, presupposes our capacity to understand the nature and the 
 grounds of our obligations to him. Away ! then, with your 
 senseless decrials of human reason, for Jehovah himself has hon- 
 ored it by frequent appeals to it in his word. 
 • Calvinisi. Well, waiving that matter for the present, let us 
 attend further to the original point between us : you have shown 
 that election does not necessarily imply reprobation. I grant it 
 does not, but I still contend that there are some cases of special 
 reprobation brought to view in the scriptures. Take the follow- 
 ing as instances : " But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that 
 are lost : in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds 
 of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel 
 of Christ who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 
 (2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.) " And for this cause God shall send them 
 strong delusion, that they should believe a lie ; that they all 
 might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in 
 unrighteousness." (2 Thes. ii. 11, 12.) 
 
 Author. I have not meant to deny the scripture doctrine of 
 reprobation; on the contrary, I have shown that whilst some are 
 
ELECTION AND REPROBATION. 307 
 
 called to eminent gospel privileges, others, (at least in this life,) 
 are excluded from all participation therein. Yet, thanks to God ! 
 we are not left in hopeless darkness as to the final fate of even 
 these reprobates ; the great apostle has most satisfactorily cleared 
 up this point : he has shown that there is to be an eventual and 
 universal ingathering of reprobated Israel, when the fulness of 
 the (once rejected, but subsequently elected) Gentiles be come 
 in ; in the very casting off of the Jewish people, mercy was de- 
 signed to the rest of the world. " I say then, Have they stum- 
 bled that they should fall ? God forbid : but rather through their 
 fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to 
 jealousy. Now, if the fall of them be the riches of the world, 
 and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles ; how 
 much more their fulness ] For if the casting away of them be ihe 
 reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but 
 life from the dead V (Rom. xi. 11, 12, 15.) This will show the 
 purpose of God in sending them " strong delusions ;" and it also 
 shows us the end of the damnation consequent thereof: the same 
 is also expressed in the following. *' For as ye in times past have 
 not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their 
 unbelief; even so have these also now not believed, that through 
 your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded 
 them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all." (Ibid. 
 30 — 32.) We see then that the " lost," to whom, in the days of 
 the apostles, the gospel was " hid," were not by Paul considered 
 as irrecoverably so ; it was " the lost" whom Christ came " to 
 seek and to save." Neither does it follow, that because some 
 seem at the present in a far-gone condition of darkness and sin, 
 they are eternally to remain in it. 
 
 Calvinist. What meant the Savior, then, when he represented 
 such only to be his sheep as hear his voice and follow him ] And 
 does not his promise that he gives unto them eternal life, and that 
 they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of his 
 hand, imply on the face of it that he will not do the same for all 
 the human race ? 
 
 Author. It certainly implies that he does not do the same for 
 all, but not that he never will. It is granted that some are his 
 people in a peculiar sense, and that others are not so at the present 
 time ; but if we affirm that the same shall to all eternity be the 
 
308 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 case, we must set a large part of the bible at nought. Jesus him- 
 self says, " And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold ; 
 them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and there 
 shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (Johnx. 16.) Even in our 
 strayed condition we are spoken of as sheep of his flock, and he-, 
 as the shepherd, pursues in order to bring us back to the fold'. 
 *' All we, like sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned every 
 one to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity 
 of us all." (Isa. liii. 6.) Who that has read, and attentively- 
 considered, the beautiful parable of the lost sheep, can doubt the 
 benevolent perseverance of the shepherd in pursuing sinful and 
 wandering man, until he has fully succeeded in the object of the 
 pursuit 1 Truth is, that elect and reprobate are distinctions belong- 
 ing to time only, and not even to all of time ; for, as before shown, 
 the Jews, once highly favored, are now reprobate ; the Gentiles, 
 once reprobate, are now highly favored. Anon the Jews shall be 
 gathered in with the fulness of the Gentiles, and all distinctions 
 shall be lost forever ; there shall then be neither Jew nor Greek, 
 barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free, but all shall be one in Christ 
 Jesus. In the speech which James delivered in the apostolic 
 council at Jerusalem, the doctrine of election and reprobation is 
 presented in perfect harmony with these views. " Simeon hath 
 declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of 
 them a people for his name. [These were the elect ; some taken 
 out from the mass as subjects for gospel grace.] And to this 
 agree the words of the prophets ; as it is written. After this I 
 will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David which is 
 fallen down ; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I 
 will set it up ; that the residue of men [those left, after some had 
 been taken out] might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, 
 upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, whodoethall these 
 things." (Acts xv. 14 — 17.) We here have the rejected, the 
 passed by, the reprobates, plainly brought in at last ; and were it 
 otherwise, the declarations that God is impartial, and that his 
 ways are equal, would be without any meaning intelligible to 
 mankind. 
 
 Calvinisi. It is not partiality in the great Jehovah to damn one 
 sinner according to, and save another contrary to, his deservings ; 
 in the one case he glorifies his justice, in the other his gracev 
 
ELECTION AND REPROBATION. 309 
 
 All deserve to bo damned, and would be damned but for his elect- 
 ing mercy, which snatches some from their merited doom, " as 
 brands from the burning." The non-elect have no ground for 
 complaint, for their condition is rendered no worse by the sal- 
 vation of others than it otherwise would be ; hence with the 
 pious Baxter we may exclaim, " Let deserved be written upon the 
 gates of hell, but on the gates of heaven be inscribed the free 
 
 GIFT." 
 
 Author. Did not your creed blind your eyes to the light of reason, 
 my friend, you would be far from satisfied with this disposition of 
 the case ; for, first, as our friend Arminian has shown, endless 
 ruin is not, cannot he, deserved, by acting in accordance with the 
 divine pre-appointment. And, in the second place, if it even 
 were deserved, both justice, and the principle of impartiality, re- 
 quire that either all should be punished alike, or pardoned alike, 
 since all are alike involved in a common guilt. What would be 
 thought of a chief magistrate, (in whom our constitution has 
 vested the pardoning power, for discretionary exercise,) if he, 
 acting on the principle you ascribe to the deity, should pardon 
 one part of a piratical crew, and hang the other, when both were 
 equally guilty] Would the public mind oppiove so aibitrory and 
 capricious a use of his prerogative % On the contrary, would it 
 not arouse against him the honest indignation of every thinking 
 man % If some of the pirates were less deserving of death than 
 others, that would alter the case ; but this is not the posture in 
 which your creed places it : according to it, all are alike guilty, 
 and alike deserving of punishment; and yet that same God 
 whose " ways are equal," and " who will render unto every man 
 according to his works," damns some according to, an.d saves 
 others contrary to, their deservings ! Truly, my friend, to believe 
 this does require a most marvellous credulity ! 
 
 Arminian. Mr. Author, I like your views of election and rep- 
 robation right well, they effectually vindicate the goodness and 
 equity of our Creator : but I cannot be reconciled to your views 
 of foreordination ; nor can I see any use, if they be correct, in 
 your preaching, writing, or using other means for the reformation 
 of mankind. Why, I ask, do you use means in order to an end 
 which is unchangeably foreordained ? 
 
 Author, Because they also are foreordained. Isaiah announced 
 
310 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 to Hezekiab, king of Judah, that God had appointed him to live 
 yet fifteen years ; nevertheless, this did not prevent, on the part 
 of the sick monarch, a recourse to medical means for his recovery. 
 (Isaiah xxxviii. 21.) " Except these abide in the ship," said Paul, 
 *' ye cannot be saved," notwithstanding that God had told him that 
 they should all escape, and become converts to the gospel by his 
 means. " For there stood by me this night the angel of God, 
 whose I am, and whom I serve, saying. Fear not, Paul ; thou 
 must be brought before Cesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all 
 them that sail with thee. Wherefore, Sirs, be of good cheer : for 
 I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me." (Acts 
 xxvii. 23 — 25.) It is presumed that Paul did not preach to these 
 the less on account of the assurance that they were to be given to 
 him for converts ; it is scarcely probable that he excused himself 
 with the plea, that as God had purposed their conversion, it 
 would be eflfected with or without means. 
 
 f Cahinist. I fully approve your answer ; the purpose respect- 
 ing the salvation of the elect is indeed unalterable, and the number 
 of the same " is so fixed and definite, that it can neither be added 
 to, nor diminished." Still, as you have said, he who has ap- 
 pointed the end, h^a =-^oo with it appointed the means whereby it 
 is to be effected : and the same is true with regard to the reprobate ; 
 they are to be damned by the agency of appointed means — the 
 gospel was appointed " a savour of life unto life, and of death 
 unto death." 
 
 Arminian. The poor reprobate then would have been better off 
 without it, if it is only to prove to him an instrument of final ruin. 
 This is truly horrible ! It follows conclusively from your view, 
 that the gospel is an occasion of greater evil than good, by as 
 much as the number of the damned will exceed that of the saved ! 
 And is this " the gospel of the grace of God V Oh ! assuredly 
 not. I see now a great utility in preaching on universalist prin- 
 ciples, inasmuch as it is to be an effectual means in God's own 
 time and way of bringing into the fold of life the whole of human 
 kind ; an end, this, worthy of such means ! and a means, this, (I 
 may add) worthy of such an end ! But to preach the glorious 
 gospel to intelligent creatures for the mere purpose of furnishing 
 an excuse for damning them eternally ! God of heaven ! how 
 diseased by corrupting creeds must be the mind of that man, who 
 
ELECTION AND REPROBATION. 311 
 
 can tolerate such an absurdity ! You affirm that" the gospel is 
 appointed as a sure means of bringing about a total ruin to 
 millions — the universalist has it a sure means of accomplishing 
 a final salvation for all. 
 
 Calvinist, And according to 'Arminianism it will prove a sure 
 means of accomplishing nothing ! It may, or it may not, just as it 
 shair happen ! All may be saved, or none ! God may prevail, or 
 the devil ! hell may be useless, because tenantless, or all the uni- 
 verse besides may be depopulated to people it ! all is uncertainty, 
 nothing is sure ! Now, agreeably to my system, something, at 
 least, is certain ; the purposes of Jehovah, seconded by his power 
 to fulfil them, are a guarantee that he has not created in vain ; 
 nor has Jesus died, nor the scriptures been given, nor the gospel 
 been preached, nor the spirit operated, but that all whom from 
 eternity he designed for salvation, shall be saved. 
 
 Arminian. All whom he designed for salvation ! I wonder then 
 you don't turn universalist at once ; fori am sure it is susceptible 
 of easy and clear proof, that all were designed for salvation ; and 
 if all so designed shall be saved, why then, all shall be saved ! 
 This is giving in to universalism with a witness. 
 
 Author. Well, well, gentlemen, we may as well bring our 
 conversation to a close, for you cannot sufficiently agree together 
 to unite in opposing me ; on the contrary, you make oui a clear 
 proof of my doctrine by the arguments which you urge against 
 each other. One of you affirms, that there is, on God's part, a 
 plenitude o^ power for the salvation of all : the other, that there is 
 a plenitude of disposition. What, then, is left to me to prove % 
 for a full disposition to do a thing, and a power adequate to its 
 performance, implies with certainty that the thing shall be done. 
 It must be evident to your candor, gentlemen, that each of your 
 systems, taken separately, " limits the Holy One of Israel ;" out 
 of both, united, a theory may be framed which will well harmo- 
 nize with the divine perfections. Universalism, in my judgment, 
 is that theory. 
 
 Arminian. Nevertheless, I must still object against both 
 yours and the Calvinian system, that, by assuming that all things 
 are the result of divine appointment, they make God the author of 
 all the sin in the universe ! 
 
 Author. We make him the author of all things, indeed ; so do 
 
312 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 the scriptures ; so does common sense ; and so, I may add, doea 
 your own doctrine also, as has been shown before. It can make 
 no actual difference between us in this respect that you say, God 
 permits, while we say, he appoints, for the result is the same in 
 both cases. I have a tiger chained to a stake ; without my per- 
 mission it can do no harm ; there is a group of lovely children 
 playing near by ; the monster is glaring at them, his eyes flash 
 fire, he claws the ground, and gnashes his teeth with rage. Shall 
 I permit him to get loose among them 1 It is done ; he has broke 
 his chain ; he has bounded into their midst : merciful heaven, 
 what a scene of carnage ensues ! their screams pierce my soul ! 
 My conscience accuses me of the deed, but I am guiltless ! I am 
 guiltless ! I only permitted it. 
 
 An act is sinful only as it is committed with a sinful design ; 
 God's designs, like himself, are infinitely and unchangeably good, 
 consequently, he cannot sin in any act or appointment of his, 
 (however much suffering may be involved in its present opera- 
 tions,) because not only is such act, or appointment, designed for 
 ultimate benefit to all who are affected by it, but the Being who 
 so designed has power sufficient to bring such benefit to pass. 
 
 The tiger is loose, (by which I would personate sin and mise- 
 ry,) whether by appointment, or permission, you must see that the 
 divine character is equally concerned in the event. Shall it roam 
 and make havoc amongst God's offspring forever 1 or shall it be 
 destroyed — the wounds it has inflicted be healed, and the subjects 
 of its violence be brought to see and experience, that, all things 
 considered, it was better for them to have suffered from its fury 
 for a time, that thereby their happiness might be enhanced for 
 eternity 1 Your creed renders an affirmative answer to the former 
 question — mine to the latter. And now tell me, candidly, which 
 answer is the more consonant with the glory, the wisdom, the 
 benevolence of the infinite Creator 1 Put your hand on your heart 
 and answer. 
 
 To the question, " Why do you write, and preach, since, as all 
 things take place by necessity, you cannot alter them?" my an- 
 swer is, I can alter such things as were appointed to be altered by 
 my means. As before observed, when ends are ordained, the 
 means for effecting them are ordained also ; there is then all the 
 use for means upon this scheme, as upon any other. 
 
EVERLASTING, FOREVER. ETC. 313 
 
 " But how would you reply to a criminal," (I may be asked,) 
 *' who should plead, that as it was foreappointed to him to com- 
 mit the deed, he ought not to be punished for it V I would answer 
 him, that it was also foreordained that he should suffer for the act. 
 It was certainly foreordained that Judas should betray the Savior, 
 and also that he should experience the tvoe pronounced upon him 
 therefor. 
 
 If you don't like this view of things, good friend, whoever you 
 be, the author will be most happy to have you refute it : show 
 that it is contrary to scripture ; contrary to experience, to fact ; 
 and bring forward, in lieu thereof, a scheme which shall unite the 
 suffrages of all these in its favor ; which shall better consist with 
 the Omnipotence and sovereignty of the great Jehovah ; and not 
 only will the author become your most willing convert, but he 
 will make you, into the bargain, his most sincere and humble 
 bow of thanks. 
 
 EVERLASTING, FOREVER, &c. 
 
 A BRIEF VIEW OF THE ARGUMENT FROM THESE TERMS. 
 
 We are apt to forget, in this branch of the discussion, that the 
 question is not about the meaning of English words ; for as the 
 bible was not written in English, the meaning of terms in that 
 language can have nothing whatever to do with the settling of the 
 inquiry as to its doctrines. The proper question before us is, 
 What is the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words, which are 
 rendered everlasting, eternal, etc., in our version of the scriptures ? 
 In the attempt to maintain the doctrine of endless suffering, it has 
 been most strenuously contended, that the radical and most usual 
 sense of these words is unceasing duration. If, however, we 
 attend to their applications, we shall have reason for considering 
 this definition extremely questionable : they are applied to hills, 
 and mountains ; to the term of human life ; to the Aaronic priest- 
 hood ; to the Jewish ordinances ; to their possession of the holy 
 land, and to many other things of temporary duration. In one 
 
 Vol. I.— 2 B No. 14. 
 
314 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 instance, forever is applied lo a period of three days. (Jonah ii. 6.) 
 If such uses of terms were only occasional, if they occurred but 
 row and then, and after long intervals, we might suppose them 
 employed out of their strict and ordinary signification; but 
 such is far from the fact ; on the contrary, their application to 
 limited periods is so frequent, that the best critics in the lan- 
 guages have defined them as " expressing duration, but ivith great 
 variety.'''' 
 
 That they are frequently used to express eternity is granted, 
 chiefly as applied to God and his attributes ; but then, it must be 
 observed, their being so applied is no evidence, that this is their 
 radical meaning, for we also find days, years, and ages, similarly 
 applied. (Ps. Ixxxix. 29 ; Mic. v. 2 ; Ps. cii. 24, 27 ; Isa. xxvi. 
 4; Ephe. iii. 21.) Yet surely none will hence infer that these 
 words, apart from their connexion, imply eternity, although as 
 thus applied they undeniably do. The same is true of everlasting, 
 forever, etc. : when the subject to which they are applied is in its 
 own nature eternal, they are to be understood as expressing that 
 sense ; but when the duration of the subject is limited, they must 
 be understood as implying but a limited duration. 
 
 Seemeth it at all probable, reader, that if the radical sense of 
 these words were as aflSrmed by the doctors of endless misery, 
 Jehovah would have employed them as he has in his commands to 
 the Jews ] He surely did not purpose that their peculiar religion 
 should be of perpetual obligation ; yet he directed that the priest- 
 hood should be everlasting. (Ex. xl. 15.) He set apart the house 
 of Aaron to this o^ce forever. (Deut. xviii. 5.) He gave the Jews 
 the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. (Gen. xvii. 8; 
 xlviii. 4.) He instituted the sabbath as a sign betwixt him and 
 them forever. (Numb. x. 8.) The atonement was to be an ever- 
 lasting statute. (Lev. xvi. 34.) Their ordinances of the pass- 
 over, (Ex. xii. 15.) tabernable, (Ibid. xxxi. 17.) and circum- 
 cision, (Deut. xxviii. 46.) were to last forever. And the same 
 term, in its duplicated form, is applied to their possession of the 
 promised land,/orei'er and ever. (Jer. vii. 7; xxv. 5.) Many simi- 
 lar texts might be quoted, in which these terms are used in a way 
 greatly to have deceived the Jews, if their generally received 
 sense had been unending duration; for they would in that case 
 naturally have inferred that their institutions were to continue 
 
EVERLASTING, FOREVER, ETC. 315 
 
 without end, whereas it is well known that God meant it but as a 
 preparatory dispensation, to be succeeded by another of superior 
 excellence and glory. 
 
 In Hawes' Reasons against Universal ism, (published by the 
 American Tract Society,) it is affirmed of these terms that they 
 *' invariably imply the longest duration of which the subject to 
 which they are applied is capable.'^'' About as true, this, as many 
 other statements in the same work. Was not the Jewish sab- 
 bath capable of being continued longer than it was "? Was Canaan 
 incapable of being possessed by them to the end of time? Was 
 not their priesthood capable of being continued indefinitely'? 
 Could not Jehovah have secured the sacerdotal office to the family 
 of Phineas (in which it was to continue/orerer) for more than 400 
 years ? Was the fish incapable of containing Jonah for more than 
 three days ? Truth is, that the declaration falls about as far within 
 the range of truth, as does Nova Zembla within the torrid circle; 
 if I had faith in its verity I should turn Jew at once. 
 
 Let us suppose a person, believing in endless misery, to be 
 sent on a mission to a colony of Jews, for the purpose of convert- 
 ing them to Christianity; he begins by acknowledging their reli- 
 gion to have been instituted by Jehovah, and to have continued 
 in force for nearly fifteen centuries, but it at length (he tells them) 
 gave place to the religion of Messiah, "who hath changed the 
 customs which Moses delivered," and that all men are now called 
 upon, under a penalty of eternal damnation, to abjure their former 
 faiths, and modes of worship, and become the subjects of the 
 gospel kingdom. They ask him what he understands to be the 
 radical meaning of the terms everlasting, ^nd forever. How, now, 
 shall he answer them 1 If he say, that they only require to be 
 understood in the sense of endless, when the subject is such in its 
 nature, he will be conceding to universalism all it asks ; he will 
 be compromiting the main reliance of the dogma of endless suf- 
 fering. This will not do. If, on the other hand, he tell them, 
 with Mr. Hawes, that they invariably imply the longest duration 
 of which the subject to which they are applied is capable, he will 
 subject himself to their scorn. " What !" they will exclaim, 
 "call you upon us to abjure the religion of our fathers, in favor 
 of an upstart system which originated fifteen hundred centuries 
 later, when by your own acknowledgement we are commanded to 
 
316 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 retain the former for as long as it is capable of being observed ; 
 for our statutes, and ordinances, and priesthood, were all to be 
 everlasting, forever, etc., and these imply the longest duration of 
 which the subject is capable ! Why, sir, since you acknowledge 
 the divinity of our scriptures, it becometh you rather to turn Jew, 
 than to call upon us to become christians !" Our missionary 
 would find himself in a sad quandary here. 
 
 It may be said, however, that as the immortal state is more 
 distinctly revealed in the New Testament than in the Old, the 
 terms rendered forever, etc., may be used in the former in a more 
 definite and uniform sense. We will see how this is. The pri- 
 mary word in the Hebrew is oulem, in the Greek it is aion ,- the 
 authors of the Septuagint have uniformly employed the latter, in 
 rendering the former, which shows that in their judgment these 
 terms are of similar signification ; and vi'ho so capable of judging 
 as they, who were conversant with both languages as spoken 1 
 Truth is, that aion, by the consent of the most eminent linguists, 
 is of as uncertain signification as oulem. Alexander Campbell 
 says, " its radical idea is indefinite duration.'''' We need only to 
 remark its various applications in the New Testament, to be 
 convinced of this. 
 
 It is true that Dr. Clarke says in one place, that it is the 
 strongest word that could have been employed for expressing the 
 eternity of punishment ; and his judgment would have been enti- 
 tled to respect, high respect, were it not nullified by what him- 
 self has said, of the same term in other places, as well as by the 
 fact of its frequent application to periods of time. Eternity never 
 had a beginning, but the beginning of aion is alluded to in five 
 different passages. (Luke i. 70; John ix. 32; Actsiii. 21 ; xv. 18; 
 Ephe. iii. 9.) Eternity can have no end, whereas the end of aion 
 is spoken of in several places. (1 Cor. x. 11 ; Heb. ix. 26; and 
 live times in Matthew.) There can be but one eternity, but the 
 scriptures mention a plurality of aion''s. (Tim. i. 17; Ephe. iii. 
 17; Col. i. 25.) It is absurd to speak of this eternity, in dis- 
 tinction from a future eternity ; but the scriptures speak of this 
 aion, and the aion to come, in several instances. (Matt. xii. 32 ; 
 Mark x. 30 ; Luke xviii. 30 ; Gal. i. 4 ; 2 Tim. iv. 10. etc. ; to 
 come, Matt. xiii. 32 ; Heb. vi. 5.) And yet aion is the strongest 
 term that could have been used to express endless misery ! Tho 
 
EVERLASTING, FOREVER, ETC. 317 
 
 doctor's creed was sadly in the way of his candor when he 
 penned this affirmation. 
 
 That the scriptures do employ stronger terms for expressing the 
 duration of the future life, of the glory of heaven, and the risen 
 nature of man, is past denial ; they inform us that our being in 
 the resurrection shall be one of incorrupt ion, of immortality, of 
 glory: we shall die no more; Christ was made, (they say,) 
 *' after the power of an endless life." And Christ has said, " Be- 
 cause I live, ye shall live also ;" as therefore his life is endless^ 
 the reason for our life will be endless also. Could the scriptures 
 not have guarantied the eternity of torments by some such 
 expressions'? That they could must be admitted, and that they 
 have not is evidence that this doctrine was not designed to be 
 taught therein. 
 
 From the writings and preaching of some, one would think that 
 the passages which connect the words everlasting and forever 
 with punishment, constituted a principal part of the sacred wri- 
 tings, whereas the case is so much otherwise, that there are but 
 two passages in the whole of the Old Testament where these 
 terms occur in such connexion ; not at all in the gospels of Luke, 
 and John ; but once in Mark ; not at all in the Acts of the apos- 
 tles, although several extracts from their preaching are therein 
 contained ; but once in all Paul's epistles, which form so consi- 
 derable part of the New Testament ; not at all in the epistles of 
 Peter, James, and John ; so that all the instances together would 
 not make so many as may often be found in a six-penny printed 
 sermon, or even a farthing tract. Nevertheless, if found but once 
 in the bible, in a sense corresponding to our English word endless^ 
 it would be sufficient to authorize the classing of that sentiment 
 among the doctrines of inspiration. 
 
 Still it must be confessed, in that case, that the bible would 
 stand most grossly self-contradicted ; for who could then affirm 
 that the wrath of Jehovah is not as enduring as his mercy ? whereas 
 the bible, over and over again, represents the former as but mo- 
 mentary, and the latter as enduring forever ! Who could affirm, 
 too, that the Lord will not always chide, be always wroth, nor 
 contend, nor cast off, forever ] But the bible does so affirm ! Who 
 could say that God loves his enemies, overcomes evil with good, 
 and is without variableness or shadow of turning ] And who 
 
 Vol, L— 2 b 2 
 
318 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 could say that he is good to all, and that his tender mercy is over 
 all his works 1 Yet the scriptures do thus represent him ! Such 
 are the contradictions in which the bible must be involved if we 
 allow to the words everlasting, forever, etc., an unlimited signiSt- 
 cation, as they are applied to punishment. 
 
 " But why," I may be asked, " do you take these terms in the 
 sense of endless, when they are connected with promises of this 
 kind, and reject such sense when they are connected with threat- 
 enings T' I only so accept these words, reader, when the nature 
 of the subject evidently so requires. How, for example, can we 
 possibly limit their signification in the above quoted promises ? 
 " The Lord will not cast off forever" — " will not always chide" — 
 "heretaineth not his anger /orez?er" — " I will not contend /w- 
 ever, neither will I be always wroth," etc. ; suppose we make 
 forever, and always, in these texts, to mean a limited period, they 
 will then read, that the Lord will not cast off, nor contend, for a 
 limited period ! But this is contrary to fact. There is, then, an 
 evident necessity for understanding everlasting, and forever, in 
 promises of this nature, in an unlimited sense; whereas, if we so 
 understand them as connected with threatenings, we shall have 
 the scriptures involved (as before shown) in most manifest self- 
 contradiction. 
 
 Let us take a particular case, in which a contradiction seems to 
 be clearly involved. David, toward the close of his life, admon- 
 ished Solomon in the following words .• " And thou, Solomon my 
 son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a 
 perfect heart, and with a willing mind ; for the Lord searcheth all 
 hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: 
 if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake 
 him, he will cast thee off forever.'^'' (1 Chron. xxviii. 9.) How shall 
 this closing declaration be reconciled with the declaration in 
 Lamentations ? " For the Lord WILL NOT cast off forever ;" for 
 the latter is not special in its application, it belongs to no particu- 
 lar time, nor people, but is general and absolute. How then shall 
 we reconcile these texts'? It can only be done by maintaining that 
 David could not, hy forever, have intended to all eternity ; and that 
 he did not is clear from the fact, that he himself has furnished us 
 with the declaration of Jehovah, that he would not, in any case» 
 utterly abandon any of his children. " If his children forsake my 
 
EVERLASTING, FOREVER, ETC. 319 
 
 iaw, and walk not in my judgments ; if they break my statutes, 
 and keep not my command^nents ; then will I visit their transgres- 
 sion with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, 
 my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my 
 faithfulness to fail." (Ps. Ixxxix. 30 — 33.) We must not, then, 
 if we would avoid arraying scripture against scripture, understand 
 David as threatening Solomon with an event, which God had 
 solemnly swore to him should in no case come to pass. 
 
 If the inspired writers designed to teach the notion of ceaseless 
 suffering, it is strange, as there unquestionably are words in both 
 the Greek and Hebrew tongues, which could be combined to ex- 
 press that idea in an unequivocal manner ; it is strange, I say, that 
 they have in no instance employed such words for the purpose ! 
 Mahomet has found words for very clearly teaching this doctrine, 
 in his Alcoran ; and it is also very unequivocally expressed in the 
 Book of Mormon : some of the old christian writers have also 
 clearly enough expressed it. None will deny that it is lucidly set 
 forth in modern creeds ; and in fulminations from the popular 
 pulpit, God knows it is dealt out with sufficient intelligibility. 
 The inspired writers alone, it would seem, knew not how to ex- 
 press it in a way to be understood ! or they did not try — which 
 is the more likely ? 
 
 Unending misery ! Who ever conceived the import of that ex- 
 pression? Eternal suflfering ! Suppose the sun (a million limes 
 as large as our earth) to be a globe of fire — suppose a spark to be 
 stricken therefrom and extinguished every millionth year, the 
 period would arrive at length, when all those millions of years 
 would have elapsed, and the last spark of the sun would be 
 quenched ; but eternity would be as little exhausted, as when the 
 process of extinction commenced ! Take a parchment, as broad as 
 the space conceived to be occupied by creation, on all its surface 
 write millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions, etc., making every 
 succeeding number to exceed the one before it ; then add all these 
 together, multiply the aggregated sum by another of equal amount, 
 and let each unit in this vast sum represent a myriad of ages — 
 what would all these be to eternity 1 As the minutest atom to the 
 whole universe ! 
 
 And in all this time will not the anger of Jehovah abate ? Will 
 these ages upon ages of suffering not suffice to appease his wrath, 
 
320 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 or to mollify his resentment 1 No, no, no ; suns, particle after par- 
 ticle, millions of years intervening, may be put out forever; ages 
 on ages, beyond the power of numbers to compute, may roll away 
 into the unbeginning past; each planetary member of our solar 
 system, of all the systems composing the universe, may moulder 
 with the slow decay of an atom to every myriad of centuries, but 
 the ire of Omnipotence shall never, never, never, never know 
 ought of diminution ! He whose command to us is, " Let not 
 the sun go down upon your wrath," will, nevertheless, cherish 
 toward us a wrath as unextinguishable as his own essence ! And 
 what are we, upon whom his almighty energies will be thus 
 avengingly poured down? What? The minutest animalcule 
 which the microscope brings within the reach of vision, bears the 
 same proportion to immensity that we bear to him ! 
 
 And will no considerations avail, such as his relations to us 
 as Creator, and Father — his having brought us into existence 
 without our consent — the exceeding shortness of our earthly 
 probation — the feebleness of our faculties of understanding and 
 judgment — the dimness and uncertainty amidst which the paths 
 of truth lie hidden from our perceptions — the many passions, ap- 
 petites, anxieties, interests, and duties, aside from the business of 
 our soul's salvation, which pressed upon our attention, and left 
 us but small time for concern about our eternal affairs — will not 
 these considerations, I say, when pleaded from the depths of our 
 misery in hell, avail us by softening him into compassion 1 No, 
 no, " God is love ,•" no, no, " he is kind to the unthankful and to 
 the evil ,•" no, no, he " is good unto all, and his tender mercy is 
 over all his works ,•" no, no, he loves his enemies ; no, no, he 
 " will not cast off forever ,•" no, no, he " is merciful and gracious''^ — 
 **full of compassion'^ — " abundant in goodness and truth,^^ etc., 
 therefore his anger shall endure to eternity, and the misery of his 
 guilty offspring shall have no end ! ! ! 
 
LAKE OF FIRE, AND SECOND DEATH. 321 
 
 LAKE OF FIRE, AND SECOND DEATH. 
 
 These expressions occur in the book of Revelation only. I 
 introduce them here, not because I have the vanity to suppose 
 that I can furnish the true key to their meaning, for I pretend 
 not to be able to do this with certainty, but because they are 
 usually urged against the universalist faith with the more vehe- 
 mence, and positiveness, as, of all the other parts of scripture, 
 they are least understood. I can speak to the negative point of 
 what they do not mean, with more confidence than to the positive 
 of what they do. 
 
 That the lake of fire cannot refer to a place or mode of suffering 
 in another life, is evident from the nature of some of the things 
 subjected to its operation ; these are death, hades, the beast, and 
 the false prophet. The first three of these, it can scarcely be 
 supposed, are suitable subjects for endless suflTering ! Death is a 
 mere negation — the absence of life; hades is the separate state; 
 the beast personates the corrupters and opposers of Christianity, or 
 a corrupt hierarchy, some say Jewish, some Pagan, some Romish 
 christian, and some (the Romanists) the pseudo reformed chris- 
 tian ; it may mean either of these, or the Lord knows what. 
 Whatever it means, however, it is represented, together with the 
 false prophet, as having been " cast alive into a lake of fire, burn- 
 ing with brimstone," from which, if the lake of fire mean hell, 
 we must infer that they were consigned bodily, in flesh and blood, 
 to its sulphurous flames ! 
 
 It is equally evident that the second death cannot signify an 
 endless death, (as some assume,) because the inspired testimony 
 is full and clear to the point, that death is to be destroyed, swal- 
 lowed up in victory, be no more, etc., which may imply any thing 
 rather than that it shall endure, and triumph over millions of Jeho- 
 vah's offspring, to all eternity ! 
 
 Touching the meaning of Revelation there is a great diversity 
 of judgment among critics. They are also much divided as to the 
 period at which it was written — some placing it before, some 
 after, the destruction of Jerusalem : to my mind the probabilities 
 seem decidedly to favor the former position ; and I also think 
 
322 PRO AND CON or UNI\^RSALISM. 
 
 that the book chiefly relates to that catastrophe, and to the various 
 circumstances attendant on the introduction of the christian insti- 
 tution. I have, as I think, very substantial reasons in the book 
 itself for this opinion. In the introduction thereto it professes to 
 disclose things that were " shortly to come to pass," and for which 
 it even says, " the time is at hand." (i. 1, 2.) And that the judg- 
 ments threatened through the book were to have an immediate 
 (and not a remote) fulfilment, seems evidently to be implied in 
 the closing declarations : — " Surely I come quickly ,•" (xxii. 20.) 
 " Behold, 7 come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give 
 every man according as his work shall be." (xxii. 12.) It seems 
 too that the city and temple of Jerusalem must have been yet 
 standing, not only from their being referred to in several indirect 
 forms, but from the additional fact, that John is directed by the 
 angel to measure the temple. " And there was given me a reed 
 like unto a rod : and the angel stood, saying. Rise, and measure 
 the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 
 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure 
 it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles : and the holy city shall 
 they tread under foot forty and two months." (xi. 1 , 2.) Moreover, 
 I have (in the article on a general judgment) shown reasons for 
 identifying the judgment so sublimely described in chapter xx., 
 with that of which Daniel spake in a strain of equal grandeur, 
 (Dan. vii. 9.) which is regarded by both Bishop, and Sir Isaac 
 Newton, and other eminent expositors, as portending the momen- 
 tous events which should attend the destruction of the Mosaic 
 economy, and the setting up of Messiah's kingdom. 
 
 By keeping these things in mind, we need be at no very great 
 loss for the understanding of the phrases at the head of this arti- 
 cle ; we can at least attain a high degree of probability in regard 
 to it. As to the lake of Jire^ we often find that very figure em- 
 ployed in the descriptions of the judgment at the end of that 
 world {aion, or age)\ Malachi calls the period thereof " the day that 
 shall burn as an oven." (iv. 1.) Christ said, that at the end of 
 that world, (or age,) the tares should be cast into the furnace of 
 fire. (Matt. xiii. 40.) God expressly says he will gather the 
 Jews into the midst of Jerusalem, and melt them as silver is 
 melted in a furnace. (Ezek. xxii. 18, 22.) And it is said that 
 the Lord's " fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem." (Isa^ 
 
LAKE OF FIRE, AND SECOND DEATH. 323 
 
 xxxi. 9.) This, indeed, was a figure to which those whom Christ 
 and his apostles addressed were well accustomed. In Revelation, 
 ihe lake of fire is represented as an agent in destroying, as well as 
 punishing. Death, hades, the beast, etc., are not subjects of pun- 
 ishment; the destruction of the two former, at the time of the 
 introduction of the gospel institution, must imply, I think, that 
 the fundamental and most glorious feature in that gospel, viz., 
 the doctrine of immortality, would effectually and forever dispel, 
 in the minds of believers, all fears and anxieties on the subject of 
 death, and the state beyond it ; and that it would also carry their 
 minds forward in anticipation to the final extinction of these and 
 all other foes to human happiness. 
 
 The second death is also used in reference both to the punishment 
 of sentient beings, and the destruction of insentient things. After 
 the stating, that all liars, adulterers, the unbelieving and abomi- 
 nable, etc., were cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, it is added, 
 " this is the second death :" here the phrase must imply a process 
 of punishment. Again, after telling that death and hell were 
 cast into the lake of fire, the revelator adds, " this is the second 
 death :" it here, unquestionably, implies an utter destruction, 
 for, as stated before, death and hades cannot be subjects of suflfer- 
 ing ; and, therefore, in this instance the lake of fire cannot signify 
 a place of punishment, or of misery : it were the height of ab- 
 surdity to speak of casting insentient things into misery ; their 
 being cast into a lake of fire can only intimate their destruction. 
 
 *' But why may it not mean an utter destruction in both cases 1" 
 I may be asked. Because, I reply, its application in other 
 places is such as clearly to discountenance such construction. 
 •' He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." (ii. 
 11.) From this it is plain that the punishment denominated the 
 second death, was one involving joaen, and not destruction. More- 
 over, it is said of those who had part in the first resurrection, " on 
 such the second death hath no power." (xx. 6.) These are the 
 overcomers who should not be hurt of it : whereas, the fearful, 
 the unbelieving, etc., should be subjected to its full power; the 
 smoke of their torment should ascend "c?ay and night, forever and 
 ever." Hence, the phrase implies suffering, not extinction of 
 being; it implies, I may add, temporal, or timely suffering, where 
 there is an alternation of day and night. 
 
324 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 In the close of the book, the gospel institution is spoken of 
 under the figure of a city — a holy city coming down from God out 
 of heaven i into this pure and happy place none are admitted but 
 such as are pure in character : " there shall in nowise enter into 
 it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, 
 or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of 
 life :" the gates thereof are never to be closed, inasmuch as at all 
 times it is to be accessible to all, upon their faith and reforma- 
 tion. In it is no darkness, nor sin, nor death, nor sorrow ; old 
 things are there done away, and all things are new. This highly 
 colored description of the gospel state on earth has been often 
 supposed to refer to a time called Millennium, when Christ shall 
 literally descend, and live with his saints on this terrestrial globe 
 for a thousand years : but there is no necessity for so extravagant 
 a supposition ; any one who has familiarized himself with the 
 poetic style of the sacred penmen, will easily believe that nothing 
 more is intended in this beautiful vision, than the setting up of 
 the kingdom or church of Messiah in the world ; the joy, and 
 hope, and purity, and peace, which are the lot of its subjects, and 
 the prospects it would afford to all believers, of a final and glo- 
 rious issue from the sorrows, and death, and guilt, of this earthly 
 state, in the unending felicity and immortality of heaven. 
 
 The Savior never intimated, at any time, in any of his several 
 discourses with his apostles, that he was to come in latter times, 
 and establish a civil dynasty in this world ; he would certainly 
 not have left a matter of this consequence unrevealed : we never 
 find it referred to in any of the apostolic epistles, which it unques- 
 tionably would have been if it were to take place. It seems to 
 me a weakness, a puerility, to base a doctrine of such magnitude 
 upon a passage or two in a book, which is avowedly the least 
 understood of all the sacred writings ! It is admitted that Christ 
 has now a spiritual kingdom on earth — it is admitted that he is 
 present, in doctrine and spirit, in this kingdom — it is admitted 
 that this divine dynasty is extending its conquests over the globe, 
 dispelling sin, and darkness, and despair, and imparting holiness, 
 and light, and hope — it is admitted, moreover, that in the light of 
 this kingdom, death and hades lose their blighting influence over 
 the mind of man, and a clear end, and glorious issue, are seen to 
 all the evils which now infest the world. What more is needed, 
 
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION CONSIDERED. 325 
 
 then, to meet the just and sober expectations which (making due 
 allowance for the poetic coloring employed in this enigmatical 
 part of the sacred oracles) arise out of what is said by the revela- 
 tor, about the thousand years' reign of Messiah on the earth 1 
 Candor replies — nothing. 
 
 Reader, I am greatly averse to dogmatizing, and will not 
 pretend, therefore, that I have infallibly unfolded the true signifi- 
 cance of the parts of this mystical book which I have touched 
 upon ; but this I will affirm, that I have given you my own views 
 with all candor, and that I have formed those views with the 
 utmost care, and without implicitly following the steps of any of 
 the numerous expositors thereof, and consequently I shall not ask 
 you implicitly to follow mine. 
 
 AN IMPORTANT QUESTION CONSIDERED. 
 
 I have several times anticipated the question, whether the Cre- 
 ator could not have accomplished all his proposed ends of benevo- 
 lence, without subjecting us to those preliminary sufferings which 
 form so considerable a part of our present allotment ? " Was it 
 not," we are frequently asked, " equally possible for him to have 
 made us perfectly happy at once 1 and if so, must he not be want- 
 ing in goodness not to have done so V Ii is not for us to say 
 what the Almighty could or could not have done, in this case ; 
 it seems probable, however, that with every degree of imperfec- 
 tion in being, there must necessarily be a corresponding degree of 
 imperfection in happiness : himself alone is infinitely perfect in 
 nature, and, consequently, himself alone is infinitely perfect in 
 felicity. If he could have made us as perfect, he could also have 
 made us as happy, as himself: but then we could have known no 
 progression in happiness ; we could not have passed from this 
 state to a better, from that to a better still, and so on, ad infini- 
 tum, as seems to be our destination under the present order of 
 things. This is one view of the case which tolerably well solves 
 the enigma of the existence of suffering, under the government of 
 infinite love : but there is another. 
 
 Vol. I.— 3 C 
 
326 PRO AND CON OF TJNIVERSALISM. 
 
 We frequently hear the remark, that all our happiness is com" 
 parattve, or that it arises from contrast — that we could not enjoy 
 food if we never experienced hunger — nor drink, if we never knew 
 thirst — nor rest, if we were strangers to fatigue, etc. This is a 
 mistake, however ; all our pleasure is not relative, although much 
 unquestionably is ; but our senses are so contrived as to be media 
 of positive enjoyment to us. It is not essential to our appreciating 
 the fragrance of the rose or violet, that we previously respire the 
 sulphuretted hydrogen arising from foeted house-drains : the infant, 
 it may be presumed, without previous experience, enjoys the food 
 with which nature has so kindly furnished the mother for its sus- 
 tenance. No, all our happiness does not result from contrast ; yet 
 who can doubt that it is incalculably increased thereby 1 A man 
 who is born to affluence — whose whole existence has been spent in 
 all the enjoyments which wealth could supply — who has never 
 known the fatigues of labor, nor the gnawings of want — has but 
 small zest for the pleasures which offer themselves ready culled 
 to his hand ; but he becomes sick of satiety, and a prey to that 
 stagnation of soul proceeding from the want of an object to engage 
 its energies. But conceive a poor man, accustomed from his 
 birth to severe drudgery, and the coarsest fare: or conceive the 
 pampered son of wealth first supposed — let him be cast by accident 
 upon an inhospitable coast — he must needs traverse a savage de- 
 sert ere he can reach the abodes of civilized life — days and nights 
 of want and suffering elapse during his toilsome journey — hunger, 
 and thirst, and weariness, and burning heat, and dangers innume- 
 rable ; — he reaches the goal at length, is kindly received, furnished 
 with all the luxuries of tropical existence — delightful groves over- 
 shadow him — breezes laden with aromatic incense fan his frame — 
 the melody of birds regale his ear — and all that appetite — all that 
 fancy can crave, is subject to his wish. Is argument needed, 
 reader, to convince you that our traveler enjoys these luxuries 
 with a more intense delight than, before he tasted of adversity, he 
 ever experienced 1 
 
 That our enjoyment is incalculably enhanced by contrast, then, 
 s past denial, and we hence obtain an idea of the probable use 
 of our present suffering ; the bliss of eternity may be the more 
 exquisite for the tears of time, and the happiness of each succeed- 
 ing stage of our existence may be heightened by the deficiencies 
 
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION CONSIDERED. 327 
 
 of the stage preceding it ; for I am far from thinking that we 
 shall arrive at once, on our reaching heaven, at the acme of feli- 
 city, but we shall be progressing toward it, to eternity. From 
 this reasoning, it seems probable that the bliss of an infant spirit 
 (which has had little or no experience of suffering) is not so 
 great on its first arrival in the abodes of bliss, as is that of the 
 adult who has reached the haven after long struggling against the 
 winds and tides of time. 
 
 By those who suppose our first parents to have been placed in 
 a condition of perfect happiness before their fall, their case may 
 seem a refutation of this theory concerning the utility of sufl^ering; 
 but I do not admit the premises. If the first pair had been com- 
 pletely happy ere they sinned, they could not have been tempted 
 as they were ; the very manner of the temptation proves their 
 felicity to have been incomplete ; their appetite coveted the inter- 
 dicted fruit ; this implied want, which they were forbidden to 
 gratify, and ungratified want (however unreasonable that want in 
 itself) is one of the ordinary elements of misery. They desired, 
 too, to he as Gods, knowing good and evil, which clearly implied a 
 discontent with the lot assigned them ; they aspired to a higher 
 sphere, and this is the essence of ambition. They experienced 
 also a hunger of intellect, a desire to know good and evil, and this 
 knowledge they supposed the tree would impart. It is therefore 
 exceedingly clear that they were not absolutely happy, although 
 more happy, undoubtedly, than subsequent to their fall. 
 
 " What can we reason, but from what we know ?" the poet 
 asks ; and from all that we can know at present the probabilities 
 seem decidedly against the supposition, that it is possible for Je- 
 hovah to create sentient creatures, who, from the commencement 
 of their existence, shall be in possession of absolute and unmixed 
 felicity ; it seems a fair presumption, that, were it possible, his 
 infinite goodness would have so created and circumstanced their's, 
 that to all eternity, all creatures should be utter strangers to want, 
 or pain, or to any thing which would render their happiness incom- 
 plete ; for benevolence cannot approve of misery for its own sake, 
 although for the end''s sake it may ; and if misery be not absolutely 
 indispensable to the end, it cannot approve it at all, for the plain 
 reason that it must always prefer to eflfect the best ends by the best 
 mmns,, 
 
328 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 Behold, then, fellow mortals, the use of the sufferings of which 
 you at present complain ! Let your souls be bowed in adoration 
 and love before the throne of your Almighty Father, who permit- 
 teth no evil to come upon you but such as he sees will turn out 
 for your greatest good in the end. 
 
 " God nothing does, nor suffers to be done, 
 But what ourselves would do, if we could see 
 The end of all events as well as he." 
 
 Give not place to impatience, then, nor to profitless repining under 
 affliction. Call not his wisdom, nor his justice, nor his love, into 
 question, as though the sorrows or disappointments you experi- 
 ence were supernumerary ; not one of them is such — each hath its 
 own assigned weight and bearing on the great and glorious issue. 
 
 " His purposes will ripen fast, 
 
 Unfolding every hour ; 
 The bud may have a bitter taste, 
 
 But sweet will be the flower." 
 
 And you, afflicted fellow pilgrim through a world of sin, who have 
 been oft and deeply stricken with the shafts of sorrow, most wel- 
 come are you to a share in the comfort with which this doctrine 
 is fraught ; and if you find the remedy herein for which your heart 
 is seeking, I give you joy of your discovery, and shall feel most 
 thankful if my instrumentality have led to it. 
 
 " Peace to thee, mourner, coming years 
 Will give thee joy instead of tears." 
 
 For myself, if the reader will pardon the egotism, I will say, that 
 the light of this theory is the most placid and cheering which 
 can be brought to shine upon the pathway of my life; in it my 
 heart can most cheerfully bask when the darkness of disappoint- 
 ment is settling upon all its earthly hopes. Courage ! courage, 
 my soul ! Thou art clad with a panoply which makes thee invul- 
 nerable to the shafts of despair— thou mayst sow in tears awhile, 
 but anon thou shalt reap a plentiful harvest of joy. 
 
 Past my fleeting term of sorrow, 
 
 Then shall my life's sun decline, 
 But 'twill rise in joy to-morrow, 
 
 And in cloudless regions shine. 
 
DIFFERENT VIEWS AMONG UNIVERSALISTS. 329 
 
 DIFFERENT VIEWS AMONG UNIVERSALISTS. 
 
 Our opponents are apt to reproach us on account of the diversity 
 of forms in which our doctrine has been held by different classes 
 of universalists ; but if this circumstance makes against its truth, 
 what shall we say of Christianity itself, which has existed under a 
 thousand varient modifications 1 True it is, that in nearly all ages 
 of the church, men of eminent learning and piety have discovered, 
 that the bible most clearly teaches the final salvation of all man- 
 kind, and having found this, they have employed their ingenuity 
 in devising modes, by which they could harmonize it with their 
 peculiar notions of the atonement. It is thus that hypothetical 
 theories have been formed, in order to account for obvious bible 
 facts. 
 
 Origen, so distinguished a luminary of the church in the third 
 century, and many after him, whose minds were bewildered with 
 the Platonic mysticism of a triplicated deity, and who supposed 
 that as sin is directed against an infinite Being, it is therefore infi- 
 nite, and being infinite, it must demerit an infinitude of punish- 
 ment — these, I say, sought out a method by which the damned 
 may be restored, consonantly with tiiese (as they supposed them) 
 fundamental principles ; but this is not to take place until long 
 ages of suffering have been endured, and that of the most terrible 
 kind. This scheme, in our country, is usually termed Winches- 
 terian, from an eminently amiable and gifted divine, (formerly of 
 the Calvinistic baptist communion,) who was indefatigable in its 
 promulgation, both in England and America. 
 
 The learned and venerable Tillotson, a prelate of the English 
 church, took a different view from the preceding; he supposed 
 endless suffering to be actually threatened in the bible, but as uni- 
 versal salvation is also most clearly taught therein, he accounted- 
 for the paradox by supposing, that the former is not designed to be 
 inflicted, but only to act as a means of terrifying and reforming 
 wicked men : he cites the case of Jonah's denunciation against 
 Ninevah as an illustration of his hypothesis. " Yet forty days, 
 and Ninevah shall be overthrown." (iii. 4.) But the menaced 
 calamity was averted by the repentance of the inhabitants, and as 
 Vol. I.— 2 c 2 
 
330 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 this result could not but have been foreseen, the learned prelate 
 supposes that Jehovah merely employed the threatening for that 
 especial end. 
 
 Mr. Huntington, a very celebrated congregational clergyman, of 
 Connecticut, advocated universal salvation on Calvinistic princi- 
 ples : he supposed that Christ, as the federal head of all man- 
 kind, offered himself, and was accepted by divine justice, as their 
 substitute; and, therefore, that all the denunciations of the divine 
 law against sin were executed upon Christ in the sinner's stead. 
 Divine justice being thus fully satisfied, has no further claim upon 
 men, and grace can accomplish its benevolent purpose in rescuing 
 them from the dominion of sin and death, and exalting them to a 
 glory and felicity far surpassing that from which they fell. In 
 this way as sin hath abounded, grace shall much more abound. 
 
 Mr. Huntington's views, which were drawn up and vindicated 
 by himself with much copiousness and ability, were published 
 after his death (agreeably to an injunction in his will) under the 
 title of " Calvinism Improved." In the preface to the work, he 
 states, that he had entertained these sentiments for fourteen years ; 
 but as a congregational minister (although he had advanced no- 
 thing expressly contrary thereto in all that time) he had deemed 
 it prudent to abstain from an open avowal of them. Such were 
 the bigotry and intolerance of the times ! 
 
 Somewhat similar to this scheme is that of Mr. Relly, of Lon- 
 don : he supposed an indissoluble union to subsist between Christ 
 and the human family, in consequence of which, they are esteemed 
 righteous for his sake, and he guilty for their's ; they are adorned 
 and beautified with his grace and purity, and he is abased and 
 degraded for their sins, until infinite justice is satisfied, and both 
 shall then be perfected and blessed forevermore. Mr. Kelly's 
 doctrine was the form of universalism advocated by John Mur- 
 ray, the earliest universalist preacher in America — a man of 
 undoubted genius and lively turn of mind, whose biography is 
 singularly eventful and instructive. 
 
 With the peculiar views of the universalists of Germany, I am 
 not acquainted ; they exist in such number that an American 
 orthodox divine (President Dwight of Yale Colledge) who visited 
 the country, reports that he fell in with but one learned man who 
 professed a belief in the eternity of hell torments, and even he was 
 
DIFFERENT VIEWS AMONG UNIVERSALISTS. 331 
 
 not quite clear that the bible taught the doctrine ! But as to the 
 particular form (or, for aught 1 know,/or77is,) in which the ulli 
 mate restitution of all men is held in Germany, I cannot assert 
 with any confidence ; the divine before referred to affirms, that 
 they maintain it on philosophical rather than scriptural grounds. 
 Nevertheless, his testimony concerning the general rectitude of 
 their character, and the extent and depth of their erudition, is in 
 a very high degree honorable to them. He concedes also, that 
 their attainments in biblical literature very considerably exceed 
 those of the theologians in all other parts of Christendom ; and 
 the same, I believe, is conceded by every body entitled to a judg- 
 ment about it. 
 
 I know of but two classes of believers in universal salvation at 
 the present day — one of which, for distinction sake, are termed 
 restorationists ; their belief is, that impenitent persons shall be 
 punished in the future state, and that their punishment shall be 
 proportioned, in duration and intensity, to the degrees of turpitude 
 in the parties. They mostly agree that this suffering will be 
 moral in its nature, not physical — and they consequently reject 
 the notion of a local hell. They hold punishment to be corrective 
 and disciplinary, and that it will infallibly eventuate in the good 
 of the subjects ; yet, they do not maintain (as their opposers are 
 apt to report) that the damned are to be saved by virtue of these 
 penal inflictions, but, on the contrary, they hold salvation to be of 
 grace, a free gift, and therefore, exclusive of both works and suf- 
 ferings. 
 
 The other class (usually termed modern^ and by some, reproach- 
 fully, ultra universalists,) maintain that all the punishment for 
 sin is experienced in this life ; for an infinitely benevolent Being 
 (they affirm) can have no motive for punishing, aside from amend- 
 ing the subject, or deterring others from sinning, and for neither 
 of these objects can it be necessary to prolong the punishment 
 beyond the term of our present existence: for the history of some 
 of the deepest offenders proves (as they think) that long periods 
 of penal suffering cannot be required for subduing the sinner, (as 
 their brethren of the Winchesterian or restorationist order seem to 
 suppose.) Mary Magdalene, out of whom seven evil spirits were 
 cast, and whose sins are emphatically said to have been many 
 was nevertheless subdued within the term of her mortal life, ana 
 
332 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 brought to wash the Savior's feet w iiii her penitential tears. But 
 a look from Jesus was sufficient to cause Peter, whilst in the 
 
 act of denying hinn with cursing, to go out and weep bitterly 
 
 There is ground for believing that even the traitor Judas broke his 
 heart with poignant sorrow for the betrayal of his master. " I am 
 Jesus whom thou perseculest," was all that the persecuting zea- 
 lot, Saul, needed to soften him down into a disposition to inquire, 
 " Lord, what would'st thou have me to do ?" Ages of suffering 
 were not required for the subdual of the expiring thief, etc. These, 
 and numerous kindred cases, sufficiently establish the fact, that 
 the manifestations of divine goodness to the minds of sinners are 
 all-powerful in conquering their enmity, and engaging their affec- 
 tions; and that for this object but a little time is necessary. 
 
 Amongst modern universalists there are those, who think that 
 although there will be no positive suffering for sin endured in 
 eternity, yet that the sinner will, on account of his wickedness 
 in time, sustain an eternal loss ; for we are progressive beings, 
 (say they,) and it is not reasonable that those who, in this life, 
 have neglected the improvement of their moral nature, should, in 
 eternity, be admitted to equal happiness, or advanced to equal ex- 
 cellence with those who have : to expect this (ihey affirm) is to 
 expect in contrariety to present experience, for all moral attain- 
 ment among men is the result of effort — of guarding and striving 
 against our evil propensities, and sedulously cultivating those 
 habits and principles which form the basis of virtuous character. 
 In the spiritual state, therefore, (they contend) although we are 
 fully warranted in the belief that all will be brought to a know- 
 ledge and enjoyment of God, yet this no more implies that all shall 
 be exalted and felicitated in an equal degree, than the fact that 
 some are here brought to know and enjoy God proves that they 
 are equal in purity and felicity to the angels of heaven. The fol- 
 lowing comparison will afford some illustration of their views on 
 this head. 
 
 James and William were brothers; their father, being on the 
 eve of a long absence from home, divided his estate equally between 
 them, telling them that on their faithful improvement of their 
 respective shares during his absence, their well-being should 
 entirely depend ; but that on his return he would bestow upon 
 each a sura of money that should be an ample competency for 
 
DIFFERENT VIEWS AMONG UNIVERSALISTS. 333 
 
 them during the residue of their lives : this was to be a free do- 
 nation, and irrespective of their merits or demerits. Well, James 
 went to work upon his portion of the estate, determined to advance 
 it to the highest degree of improvement. William, on the con- 
 trary, was indolent, neglectful of his affairs, and his portion of 
 the property got into disorder and dilapidation. On the father's 
 return, at the end of ten years, he found James to be already in 
 wealthy circumstances in consequence of his industry and sobri- 
 ety ; whilst William, poor fellow ! was in rags, and in debt, pre- 
 senting a picture of squalid poverty. This posture of things, how- 
 ever, did not prevent the fulfilling of his original intentions, and 
 he accordingly presented each of his sons the sum of twenty thou- 
 sand dollars. James remonstrated, urging that as he was the 
 more deserving by his good conduct, he was entitled to a larger 
 sum than William, who, indeed, was not deserving of any, having 
 been so improvident for himself, and so prodigal of what he had 
 already received. " But remember, my son," replied the father, 
 *' that the money I am now bestowing is not given on the ground 
 o{ reward, but of grace exclusively. Shall I prove evil to Wil- 
 liam, poor fellow ! because he has been evil to himself? Have 
 not his indolence and prodigality already sufficiently punished him 
 during the past ten years % He has suffered from want — from the 
 embarrassments of debt — from innumerable mortifications and 
 humiliations — whilst, on the other hand, have you not enjoyed 
 plenty, and ease, and honor, and self-approval ? And even now, 
 although I give to him an equal sum as to yourself, yet see you not 
 that you are fully as much in advance of him in your circum- 
 stances as before ? for you have your portion of the estate I gave 
 you on leaving, highly improved, and capable of itself of yielding 
 you a handsome maintenance ; whereas, William's portion is not 
 in a condition to yield him anything!" 
 
 In this comparison, the soul, or moral nature of man, is consider- 
 ed as an estate left to his cultivation and care by his heavenly 
 Father, who is supposed to be absent. On man's management of 
 this estate entirely depends his present moral enjoyment; if neg- 
 lected, it will soon be overrun with the weeds of error and sin, 
 and instead of bearing the fruits of peace, joy, hope, love, etc., it 
 will produce the thorns and briars of remorse, misery, and despair. 
 But in his infinite goodness, God has promised immortal life, and 
 
334 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 a subduing and reconciling view of his glory, to the whole human 
 race, so that all shall bow to him — be blessed in Christ — and be- 
 come the willing subjects of his government. These blessings arc 
 not promised as an equivalent for works performed on our part, nor 
 for qualities attained, but as a free gift. Still, this does not im- 
 ply that all are to be blessed in an equal degree, or (to carry out 
 the figure) that their several estates are to be brought to a like de- 
 gree of advancement; but on the contrary, it is supposed, that 
 those in which the christian graces have been longer and more 
 assiduously cultivated, will be in a condition to yield them in 
 greater abundance and perfection. 
 
 Those who take this view, hold it not as a mere speculation, 
 but (as they suppose) on scriptural warrant; for Paul (say they) 
 clearly recognises a diversity of orders among the subjects of the 
 resurrection. I believe that this view obtains very generally 
 amongst the unitarians of this country, and the author will con- 
 fess, it is that to which his own judgment the most strongly 
 inclines. The only objection (so far as I know) to which it is 
 liable, is, that it represents Jehovah as partial in making some of 
 his creatures to be eternally superior to others. But, then, it is 
 admitted that some are aciually made superior to others in time- 
 superior in person, intellect, fortune, and moral qualities. It is 
 also admitted that there are angelic beings who were made supe- 
 rior to man. Why do not these facts as well form a ground of 
 impeachment against the impartiality of God, as the other ? Truth 
 is, that grades in the order of being is one of the most beautiful 
 arrangements in the economy of creation, and especially when we 
 consider that these several orders are not doomed to remain eter- 
 nally stationary, but are destined to progress toward the infinite 
 centre of perfection forever. 
 
 This view, it seems to me, if it is not directly asserted, is at 
 least countenanced by the sacred writers : what else means Paul 
 when he speaks of some who were tortured for the truth's 
 sake, " not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better 
 resurrection?''^ (Heb. xi. 35.) And what means he also in tho 
 following passage? "There are al?o celestial bodies, and bodies 
 terrestrial : but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of 
 the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and ano- 
 ther glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars ; for one 
 
DIFFERENT VIEWS AMONG UNIVERSALISTS. 335 
 
 Star difFereth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead." (1 Cor. xv. 40, 41.) The christian course, 
 moreover, is compared to a race, a wrestle, and other exercises 
 usual in the Olympic games, in which a prize was held out to 
 stimulate exertion. And Paul speaks of himself as pressing 
 toward the mark of his high calling in Christ Jesus. At the close 
 of his treatise on the resurrection, moreover, he exhorts his Corin- 
 thian brethren, tn viev) of that events to be " steadfast, unmoveable, 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord;" and this, too, from 
 a knowledge on their part (grminded on the consoling facts he 
 had adduced in his letter) that their labor was " not in vain in the 
 Lord." 
 
 The above are all the modifications of the universalist faith with 
 which I am acquainted ; they display a diversity as to the mode 
 merely, not as to the main principle of that doctrine : there are few 
 universalists who care greatly as to the particular form in which 
 others hold their doctrine — their chief concern is about the essen- 
 tial fact, the ultimate bringing in of all the human race, and this 
 in God's own way, they care not how — and in God's own time, 
 they care not when ; their entire confidence in the unbounded 
 wisdom and goodness of the Creator, inspires them with a disposi- 
 tion most cheerfully to acquiesce beforehand in his disposition of 
 the matter, without doubting that he will do all things for the best 
 end, and in the best manner. 
 
 But supposing the diversity of forms in which the universalist 
 faith is held, to be much greater than it is — what then 1 Is the 
 fundamental fact the less to be believed, because there are diflfer- 
 ences of opinion as to the mode of it? And would the advocates 
 of endless misery have us believe that there is less diversity con- 
 cerning that tenet % It would seem so, certainly, from the way in 
 which they are wont to taunt us on this ground. But let us see 
 how the fact stands. Some believe in endless damnation on the 
 ground of the divine decrees — some on the ground of an abuse of 
 our free powers — some say that our sins here are of infinite turpi- 
 tude, and justify God in damning us to eternity — some say that 
 we are not to be eternally damned for the sins of this life, but that 
 sin has a self-perpetuating power, and our punishment will be 
 endless because our sin will be so. Some say that our damnation 
 will consist of a literal burning in hell — some, that it will be con- 
 
336 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM* 
 
 stituted of remorse, and an absence of the divine goodness — some 
 affirm that we shall be damned if found out of the faith and com- 
 munion of the true church — some, that in whatever faith or church 
 we are found, or whether in none at all, if we improve aright such 
 opportunities as have been afforded us, it will go well with us, 
 but if otherwise we shall be damned for the nonimprovement— 
 some maintain that the neglecting to secure the new birth will be 
 the ground of our damnation ; and some, that we must be baptized 
 or be damned, whatever else we may do or leave undone, etc., etc. 
 Universalists, however, do not contend against each other on 
 account of their diversity of views; and this is much more than 
 can be said of the believers in endless torments : the former, in- 
 deed, have no motives for contention — the latter have very weighty- 
 ones ; for if the interests of the immortal state are in any degree 
 dependant upon a correct faith in this world, we should doubtless 
 strive with all our might to save men from their heresies, at what- 
 ever expense to their earthly peace or interests ; hence this doc- 
 trine fully justifies persecution for opinion's sake, but universalism 
 does not ; for it does not represent God in the character of a holy 
 inquisitor, tormenting his short-sighted creatures in everlasting 
 flames, because of their misfortune in failing to find and believe 
 the truth. True it is, that universalists deem the acquisition of 
 truth to be of great importance to men for their present benefit, and 
 hence they endeavor to gain them over to embrace and enjoy it ; 
 but as this motive for zeal in the propagation of their faith is 
 based upon a desire to extend the bounds of human happiness, it 
 would ill comport with that motive to quarrel with men because 
 they were not of their opinion in religion. 
 
AN INTERMEDIATE STATE CONSIDERED. 337 
 
 AN INTERMEDIATE STATE CONSIDERED. 
 
 To human wisdom, relative to the state immediately subsequent 
 to death, very narrow limits are assigned ; and the paucity of 
 information upon this point in the sacred writings, sufficiently 
 proves that they were not given for our enlightenment in regard ta 
 it. From many portions of the Old Testament it might be infer- 
 red, that a future sentient existence was not at all believed in by 
 the writers. Solomon saith, " For the living know that they shall 
 die : but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more 
 a reward ; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, 
 and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished ; neither have they 
 any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." 
 (Eccles. ix. 5, 6.) And again he says, in the tenth verse of the same 
 chapter, that there is no knowledge in skeol (the separate state) 
 whither we are going. Hezekiah says, " Death cannot celebrate 
 thee ; they that go down into sheol cannot hope for thy truth." 
 (Isa. xxxviii. 18.) In the following language from Job, there is 
 an evident vacillation of mind betwixt hope and doubt relative to 
 a future being. " For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, 
 that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will 
 not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the 
 stock thereof die in the ground ; yet through the scent of water it 
 will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, 
 and wasteth away ; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is 
 he ? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and 
 drieth up ; so man lieth down, and riseth not : till the heavens be 
 no more they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. If 
 a man die, shall he live again % All the days of my appointed 
 time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shall call, and I 
 will answer thee : thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy 
 hands." (Jobxiv. 7 — 12, 14, 15.) Nothing was ever better con- 
 veyed than is the alternation of hope and doubt in the mind of the 
 speaker, relative to the important topic of which he speaks. 
 
 From the reluctance, too, with which death was contemplated 
 in Old Testament times, it seems fairly inferrible, that a state of 
 felicity immediately subsequent thereto was not expected. When 
 
 Vol. 1—2 D No. 15. 
 
338 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 it was announced lo the good Hezekiah that he was to die, he 
 received the announcement with extreme sorrow, and humbled 
 himself before God in prayer for a continuance of his life. In 
 numerous instances, too, we find, that length of days is promised 
 as a reward of a virtuous course of conduct. Both Moses and 
 Aaron had their mortal lives abridged, as a punishment for certain 
 specified acts of disobedience. These facts seem to imply very 
 clearly, that it was not in those days believed, that death occa- 
 sioned an immediate transit from earth to heaven. 
 
 Nor does the New Testament, as I think, aiford much clearer 
 ground of faith upon this point. I know that certain texts can be 
 adduced, which, considered by themselves, would favor the notion 
 that men pass at death from earth to immediate felicity ; but then 
 I also know, that the weight of these is countervailed by other 
 texts, and a legitimate deduction from certain scriptural facts. — 
 As, then, we can have no possible interest in being deceived on 
 this head, let us briefly, yet candidly, take a view of what may be 
 said on both sides. 
 
 Christ's words to the dying thief afford, perhaps, the strongest 
 argument in favor of the notion of immediate post-mortem happi- 
 ness. " To-day, shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 
 xxiii. 43.) But it is usual to take quite too much for granted in 
 the popular application of this case, viz., that the thief had a true 
 faith in Christ's messiahship — that he was convicted, and repented 
 of, his sins — that, when he begged to be remembered of Christ 
 when he came into his kingdom, he had reference to Christ's 
 coming in the final judgement — and that Christ's answer implied, 
 that he should be with him that day in heaven. Now to my mind 
 there is very great improbability in each of these items ; and since 
 they are taken on sheer assumption, I will offset against them the 
 following, which, at least, may be supported by a better show of 
 reason, viz : That the confession of guilt which the thief made, 
 had only respect to the crime for which he suffered, not his sin 
 against God — that his notions of the Messiah being Jewish, he ex- 
 pected him to come and establish a temporal dynasty, and to this he 
 had reference in his petition — that Christ's answer was designed 
 to call oflf his attention from such expectations, and direct it to the 
 fact, that he should that day be with himself in the separate state. 
 Such is my judgement of this case, and here are the reasons for it. 
 
AN INTERMEDIATE STATE CONSIDERED. 339 
 
 Christ's own apostles had not correct ideas, at that time, of the 
 nature of the kingdom he came to establish; for, only the night 
 previous, they had contended among themselves as to vt^hich. 
 should be the greatest under his reign ; which proves that their 
 notions on this subject were Jewish, and it is irrational to suppose 
 that the thief had more correct notions about it than they who had 
 listened to Christ's instruction for years ! But again. When 
 was Messiah to come in his kingdom 1 Not surely at the close 
 of time ; for then it is that he is to " deliver up the kingdom to 
 God, even the Father." Christ came in his kingdom spiritually 
 (and in no other sense was he to come) when, at the close of the 
 Jewish dispensation, he established his church in the world. It 
 will hence be seen, that the thief could not have had the evangeli- 
 cal faith in Christ which the popular application of the subject 
 supposes. Moreover, the Savior went at death to the separate statSy 
 or hades, and not to heaven. See how Peter speaks to this point. 
 " Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch 
 David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with 
 us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that 
 God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, 
 according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his 
 throne ; he, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, 
 that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corrup- 
 tion." (Acts ii. 29—31.) 
 
 Another passage which seems to favor the idea of immediate 
 happiness after death, is that which describes Christ's transfigu- 
 ration. "And, behold, there talked with him two men, which 
 were Moses and Elias ; who appeared in glory, and spake of 
 his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." (Luke 
 ix. 30, 31.) If Moses and Elias were translated to immediate 
 felicity, it may be argued that such may be the case with all 
 righteous persons at their decease. There is a real diflSculty in 
 this case, which I by no means feel disposed to overleap, (as 
 others have done,) by assuming, that the whole affair was a mere 
 vision. I would rather suppose that, as the transfiguration of 
 Christ was but of temporary duration, and evidently miraculous 
 in its nature, so the appearance and felicitous existence of 
 Moses and Elias may also have been out of the ordinary course 
 of things, and for only the time being. Who, for instance, would 
 
340 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 argue from the following fact, which took place at the Savior's 
 last groan, that the same kind of a resurrection is constantly going 
 on? "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the 
 saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his 
 resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto 
 many." (Matt, xxvii. 52, 53.) Here was a nsingfrom the graves, 
 but whether the risen remained alive, or returned almost imme- 
 diately to their quiescent stale, we are not informed ; but 1 suppose 
 the latter, as nothing is subsequently said of them. 
 
 Again, Paul intimates that to be absent from the body, is to be 
 "present with the Lord;" it is, (he says,) to "be with Christ, 
 which is far better :" and hence he conceived, that " to die, is 
 gain." Stephen, also, commended his parting spirit to the Lord 
 Jesus — as Jesus himself did his into the hands of his Father. — 
 These, on the face of them, seem decidedly to favor the notion of 
 felicity immediately subsequent to death. I have no wish to 
 force upon them a different signification ; nor to do anything with 
 them which would abstract from their natural weight in this dis- 
 cussion. Let them stand, then, as we find them. 
 
 The following passage is also supposed to convey an argument 
 favoring the same side of the question. " Now, that the dead are 
 raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he ealleth the Lord 
 the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 
 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live 
 unto him." (Luke xx. 37, 38.) The argument couched in this 
 passage is, that as " God is not the God of the dead," and yet 
 terms himself " the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob," 
 who at the time had no existence on the earth, it therefore fol- 
 lows that they must have had a sentient existence somewhere ; 
 and if they, then the rest of the dead also, " for all live unto God." 
 The usual reply to this is, (at least I suppose it is, fori have seen 
 but little on the subject,) that since ail are destined to be raised 
 in God's own time, and all duration, with all its events and 
 existences, is present to his mind, persons may be said to live 
 unto him, who either have not yet come on to the stage of actual be- 
 ing, or have passed off of it : for Jehovah " speaks of things that 
 be not, as though they were." 
 
 I, however, take a diflferent view from the preceding; I believe 
 that man is in possession of an undying essence, usually called 
 
AN INTERMEDIATE STATE CONSIDERED. 341 
 
 his soul, or his spirit, (I am not over particular as to its name,) 
 which came from God, and is destined to return to him. — 
 *' There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty 
 giveth them understanding." (Job xxxii. 8.) God is called the 
 "Father of spirits." (Heb. xii. 9.) And Paul speaks of "the 
 spirits of just men, made perfect." (Ibid. 23.) Angels are said 
 to be " ministering spirits." (Ibid. i. 14.) And Christ says of 
 little children, " their angels do always behold the face of my 
 Father which is in heaven." (Matt, xviii. 10.) From which I 
 can make out nothing intelligible, except it be, that we have a 
 heavenly essence within us which is not confinable within the 
 narrow limits prescribed to mortal nature, but is privileged to 
 hold communion with God and heavenly things. And who is there 
 that has not felt, with a force which no language can convey, that 
 this is the case 1 When Christ arose, and appeared to his dis- 
 ciples, they supposed the appearance before them to be a spirit; 
 and Christ informed them concerning a spirit, negatively. " A 
 spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." (Luke xxiv. 
 37 — 39.) And it is worthy of remark, that, even after the apostles 
 had been more fully instructed in gospel truth, when Peter (after 
 being miraculously delivered out of prison) appeared at the house 
 of Mary, where many were convened in prayer, they could not at 
 first credit the damsel's report, that Peter was at the door ; but, 
 thinking him to have been put to death, they supposed that it was 
 his angel that the woman had seen. (Acts xii. 15.) In short, I 
 have no fellowship in the doctrine that man is a mere animal — 
 merely distinguished from other animals by a superior organiza- 
 tion, and whose entire existence after death depends on a renovation 
 of his physical nature, or, in other words, on a resurrection of his 
 body. Neither, at the same time, do I believe that disembodied 
 spirits enter at once into a condition of positive enjoyment — and 
 the following are among my reasons for not so believing. 
 
 The widow of Nain's son, Jarus's daughter, and Lazarus, (the 
 brother of Mary and Martha,) were raised to life by the Savior pre- 
 vious to his own death and resurrection. These (on the hypothe- 
 sis I am opposing) had gone to heaven or to hell, (supposing the 
 existence of a post-mortem hell.) If to the latter, there is then a 
 redemption from hell. If to the former, was there mercy in call- 
 ing them from a state of positive bliss, to one of perpetual liability 
 
 Vol. I.— 2d2 
 
342 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 to suffering ? Besides, Christ is called " the first fruits of them 
 that slept" — " the first born from the dead" — and " our forerun- 
 ner" into the holy place. How could he be with propriety so 
 termed, if others had passed through death to the happiness of 
 heaven before him 1 Moreover, Peter, when preaching to the 
 Jews on the day of Pentecost, positively asserts, " for David is 
 not ascended into the heavens." (Acts ii. 34.) And if David had 
 not, it is presumable that others had not also. 
 
 It must be remarked, that the declaration concerning David was 
 made subsequent to Christ's resurrection. I notice this, because 
 there are those who think, that although previous to that event 
 the dead were kept in a negative state as to enjoyment, yet, when 
 " Christ our forerunner" had " entered into the holy place," the 
 ■whole congregation of the dead were admitted also. In further 
 opposition to this notion, it must be remarked, that dead persons 
 were also recalled to life by the apostles after Christ's ascension, 
 and therefore, (as remarked concerning those raised by the Savior) 
 they were recalled from a world of bliss to a world of tears — an 
 act, methinks, which neither Christ nor his apostles would have 
 consented to perform. I am at a loss, too, on this hypothesis, to 
 account for the following language : " For we know that the 
 whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now : 
 and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits 
 of the spirit; even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting 
 for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Rom. viii. 
 22, 23.) The sense on the face of this text seems most clearly 
 to be, that the final redemption of the entire body of humanity, 
 must first take place, before any of the members thereof could 
 eajoy the happiness in reversion for them — a sentiment (as I have 
 elsewhere observed ) fraught with beauty and benevolence. And in 
 the following passage, which refers to the ancient worthies who 
 had suffered persecution and death for the cause of truth, the 
 same idea seems to be conveyed. " And these all, having obtained 
 a good report through faith, received not the promise : God having 
 provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not 
 be made perfect." (Heb. xi. 39, 40.) 
 
 It may farther be urged against the doctrine of immediate hap- 
 piness after death, that if it be true, the necessity of a resurrec- 
 tion is entirely superseded, except (as many think, the society of 
 
AN INTERMEDIATE STATE CONSIDERED. 343 
 
 Friends included) that the resurrection succeeds instantly to the 
 dissolution of the body ; and in that case death (as the Sweden- 
 borgians say) is nothing more than a change in the mode of being ; 
 if which be true, the sacred writers have employed language on 
 the subject most strangely at variance with the idea they meant to 
 convey. Paul assuredly speaks of a rising again of the same body 
 which is laid in the grave. " So also is the resurrection of the 
 dead : it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption : it is 
 sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness, 
 it is raised in power : it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spir- 
 itual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual 
 body." (1 Cor. xv. 42 — 44.) He also speaks of the resurrection 
 of the body under the figure of grain springing up from seed sown 
 into the ground ; in which case it is not wholly the identical seed 
 that springs up, but the germ of it merely, between which and 
 a certain portion of the earth and other elements, there are chymi- 
 cal affinities, from which result those new combinations, which in 
 form and substance resemble the original seed. 
 
 To me, then, three things seem to be clearly taught in the 
 scriptures : first, that the spirit of man has some sort of an exist- 
 ence separate from the body : second, that it is not one of positive 
 bliss : and third, that there is to be a resurrection, in which all 
 shall be morally subjected to God, and consequently happy. 
 
 To assume, as many do, that, because now we are mainly (if 
 not altogether, which is doubtful,) dependant on our bodily organs 
 for our mental operations, we therefore must necessarily lose all 
 cons'^-iousness when we are separated from the body, is, in my 
 judgement, to assume very far beyond the warrant of reason. " God 
 is a spirit." Is he also dependant on bodily functions for his 
 consciousness ] If not, the assumption is as well against /ad as 
 reason, (allowing the divine existence to be a matter of fact.) It 
 is against reason, because, from what is possible to us in our 
 present mode of being, it is unreasonable and presumptuous to 
 infer with confidence, as to what is or is not possible to every 
 conceivable mode of being. It were full as sensible, and as 
 modest, to assume, that because the mathematical problems in 
 Euclid are utterly beyond the comprehension of the child, they 
 will therefore be equally unintelligible to the man. I am sick of 
 that hypercritical scepticism which is ever directing its vulture 
 
344 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM. 
 
 glance to the spying out of difficulties in every thing proposed to 
 its faith, and rejecting with self-complacent decisiveness all that 
 comes not within the narrow compass of its apprehension. 
 
 After what I have said of the indeterminate posture in which 
 the subject before us is left by the sacred writers, it must not be 
 expected of me to be wiser than they in regard to it, for I frankly 
 confess it to be a topic on which I can affirm nothing, except 
 conjectural ly. 
 
 " The vast, the unbounded prospect lies before me, 
 But shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it," 
 
 until I extend my inquiries to the era of the resurrection ; then all 
 is clearness and sunshine ; for of it the scriptures most clearly 
 speak as an era of triumph — of complete and glorious triumph — 
 over every foe, and for eternity. 
 
 In our bodily state, we are the subjects of two classes of sensa- 
 tions ; the one class we term morale the other animal ; the former 
 come from the exercise of our souls, or moral powers — from re- 
 flection, or the contemplation of abstract things. Our animal 
 sensations come to us directly by the media of the senses, and 
 are strictly confined to material or sensible objects ; these it can- 
 not rationally be expected, will continue to be experienced when 
 the spirit is dislodged from its earthly tabernacle. But why may 
 not the spirit continue a subject of moral sensation ? Why may 
 it not experience regret at what it may have lost by past non- 
 improvement? and remorse for the guilt it may have contracted by 
 past crimes'? I know of no reason in the world why it may not : 
 and therefore, although I find no express warrant in the scriptures 
 for affirming positively that punishment does extend beyond the 
 dissolution of the body, yet, as I also find no express warrant 
 for positively affirming the contrary, I may at least assert, that 
 the former is neither absolutely impossible nor unreasonable. 
 
 I think it would be no detriment to us universalists to be 
 more modest in taking ground relative to the separate state; or 
 if we must assume positively in regard to it, let it at least be on 
 some express authority, either scriptural or philosophical. It can- 
 not be doubted that some texts look somewhat strongly toward 
 the idea, that our doings in time have some sort of bearing upon 
 our condition beyond it. Do not suspect me, reader, of being 
 about to involve the bible in self-contradiction, by assuming that 
 
AN INTERMEDIATE STATE CONSIDERED. 345 
 
 it teaches salvation by works, or by faith, or any thing else, inde- 
 pendently of the grace of God. I purpose no such thing : but, as I 
 have said, some texts do look toward the idea, that our doings here 
 will somehow affect our condition hereafter. Christ himself 
 endured the cross and despised the shame,/or the joy that was set be- 
 fore him. (Heb. xii. 2.) Paul conceived a crown to be laid up for 
 him as a consequence of his having fought the good fight and 
 kept the faith. (2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.) And Paul and his brethren 
 labored, that whether present with the Lord out of the body, or 
 absent from him in it, they might be accepted of him. (2 Cor. 
 V. 9.) In the Revelation we are told, those who die in the Lord 
 are blessed — " for they rest from their labors, and their works do 
 follow them.^^ (xiv. 13.) 1 affirm not positively that these, and 
 like texts, are unequivocally relevant to the point in hand ; but 
 they so look toward it, that except a different meaning can be 
 found for them, which shall be as obviously in agreement with 
 their phraseology, we should at least be less positive in assuming 
 that there is no punishment for sin of any kind after death. 
 
 In the resurrection we are to have spiritual bodies, by which is 
 no doubt to be understood that the physical nature with which 
 our spirits will be clothed in that state, will be refined and subli- 
 mated beyond any thing within the range of our present concep- 
 tions, and will be a medium to us of a very high degree of enjoy- 
 ment, of a physical or sensible kind. "There are bodies celes- 
 tial," says Paul, " and bodies terrestrial ;" the former undoubtedly 
 transcending the latter in glory, by as much as the heavens trans- 
 cend the earth. At this era, it would seem, we are again to be- 
 come the subjects of the two classes of sensations (moral and sen- 
 sible) afore-mentioned ; and in this probably consists a main dif- 
 ference betwixt the intermediate and the resurrection state ; the 
 former being a condition of the spirit. in which it is unembodied, 
 and therefore, unfurnished with sensorial media — consequently its 
 enjoyment or suffering must be strictly abstract or moral in its 
 nature. 
 
 As to our condition in the risen state, we have reason to believe 
 that it will be one of unspeakable glory ; " we shall bear the image 
 of the heavenly" — " we shall be like him, for we shall see him 
 as he is." It may be, as the ingenious Paley suggests, that the 
 bodies we shall then possess shall be furnished with new and 
 
346 PRO AND CON OF UNIVERSALISM.' 
 
 additional senses, of which we cannot now conceive the use, but 
 which shall prove the media of new and hitherto unconceived sen- 
 sations of delight; and to all the enjoyment derivable from this 
 source will be added all that shall arise from a renovation of our 
 moral faculties — resplendent in the light of the divine approval — 
 clothed with the reflected glory of his perfections — and rejoicing 
 in an entire and for ever emancipation from sin and sorrow, and a 
 prospective perpetuity of bliss upon bliss to eternity. 
 
 Nevertheless, as " one star difFereth from another star in glory, 
 so also is the resurrection of the dead." It seems anything but 
 reasonable to suppose that there will be no difference at that era 
 betwixt Paul (for example) and the individual who passed from 
 time without having taken the first step in moral advancement. 
 I mean not by this, that the former merits a higher order of bliss — 
 for the bliss of heaven is not to be conferred on such ground — but 
 I mean that it would be an utter departure from the uniform course 
 of things under God's moral government. We here experience that 
 effort is the price of all attainment, both moral and intellectual — 
 that all advancement, as well as retrogression, is progressive — 
 and that our souls (like gardens in nature) cannot be got into a 
 condition of yielding the fruits of the spirit in any great degree of 
 excellency or abundance, without sedulous and persevering culti- 
 vation. These things we know to be the case at present, and we 
 have no reason for supposing they will be different with us when 
 we enter upon a new stage of existence. 
 
 The above, reader, is all that I can propose for your faith on 
 this dim subject ; if you wish for more particular and authorita- 
 tive information about it, why, doubtless, it is to be had very 
 cheaply of certain persons, who dogmatize with most positiveness 
 in matters of which they are least informed. The wise man is 
 content with saying, that when the body shall return to the dust 
 as it was, the spirit shall return to the God who gave it — further 
 concerning it he pretendeth to know nothing: but a modern poet 
 (more enlightened) informs us, that 
 
 " To heaven it flies, not there to dwell, 
 But hear its doom, and sink to hell." 
 
 A piece of poetry, this, which I have oft heard sung in the 
 churches, but have never been able to find in the writings of 
 Peter or Paul. 
 
HYMN THE BETTER WORLD. 347 
 
 It quite sufficelh me to be wise concerning these matters within 
 scripture warrant ; and especially as I have no particular anxie- 
 ties about it, from a consideration that " whether we live, there' 
 fore, or die, we are the Lord's ;" and being his, his wisdom and 
 goodness will see to our being properly taken care of. I there- 
 fore close this essay as I begun it, by remarking, that to human 
 wisdom, relative to the state immediately subsequent to death, 
 very narrow limits are assigned. 
 
 THE BETTER WORLD. 
 
 There's a region above 
 Free from sin and temptation, 
 And a mansion of love 
 For each child of creation. 
 Then dismiss all thy fears, 
 Weary pilgrim of sorrow — 
 Though thy sun set in tears, 
 'Twill rise brighter to-morrow. 
 
 There our toils shall be done, 
 And free grace be our story ; 
 God himself is its sun 
 And its unsetting glory. 
 In that world of delight, 
 Spring shall never be ended ; 
 Nor shall shadows nor night 
 With its brightness be blended. 
 
 There shall friends no more part, 
 Nor shall farewells be spoken ; 
 There'll be balm for the heart 
 That with anguish was broken. 
 From affliction set free, 
 And from God ne'er to sever; 
 We his glory shall see, 
 And enjoy him forever. 
 
REVELATIONS FROM HELL 
 
 BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Is it not most indubitable, gentle reader, that the staid and com- 
 fortable looking personage before us is one who is well to do in 
 the world 1 for see with what an air of sober dignity he bestrides 
 that sleek brown gelding ! and see, too, with what self-compla- 
 cency he taps his polished boot with the lash of his silver-mounted 
 riding whip ! And does not the slow-and-easy jog at which he 
 ambles along bespeak him a man who is under no necessity in the 
 world for being in a hurry 1 Nor is he ; for elder Triptolemus 
 Tub is a gentleman of substance, in whatever sense you take the 
 term ; killed and weighed, he would put to shame the best hog on 
 his plantation. His dwelling is a massive one of stone, on the 
 Virginia shore of the Ohio river ; his farm is the sort of rich flat 
 land which Dutchmen are wont to covet; his harvests usually 
 well supply his barn and crib, nor are his coop and pen less well 
 replenished ; his good dame lays in her snufF by the pound, and 
 does nothing the live-long day but superintend the feeding of her 
 pigs and poultry; and why should Mrs. Dorothy Tub do more? 
 seeing she has at her beck and bidding some half a score of black- 
 balls, who can show as shining faces and as complete rows of 
 ivory as can be shown by any body's blackballs within the limits 
 of the " Old Dominion." 
 
 I will not assert that there is any thing particularly pretty or 
 romantic in the situation of the elder's domicil, except there is 
 prettiness or romance in a straight reach of river with naked banks ; 
 a straight line of post-and-rail fence ; and a straight unshaded road 
 between. There is an object of interest there, nevertheless, to 
 arrest the steps of even the most indifferent passer-by ; for near the 
 huge and naked trunk of an elm which leans over the water, and 
 whose roots (on the side next the river) have been washed bare 
 by the current, a square stone set into the ground, and projecting 
 
 Vol. I — 2 E 349 
 
350 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 some four feet above it, is found to bear the following radely 
 chiseled inscription : 
 
 Sacred 
 
 To the memory of eighteen gallant men who 
 
 fell on this spot in defence of the 
 
 helpless women and children^ of the early settlement^ 
 
 against a numerous party of ferocious 
 
 Indians, on the 19 th day of 
 
 January, 1788. 
 
 Here, if the old elm were still in the pride of its foliage, the 
 traveler might be well content to stop under its shadow, and to 
 rekindle the embers of his patriotism with the memories of by- 
 gone days, the trials and hardships endured by the adventurous 
 pioneers of the western wilderness. It is said that even through 
 the thick plaits of fat which encase the heart of our elder, the in- 
 terests of this hallowed spot occasionally find their way, and it 
 may well be believed, since amongst the band of heroes thus 
 briefly epitaphed, repose the ashes of his venerated father. Old 
 Epaphroditus Tub. 
 
 Our friend Triptolemus keeps a store, and house of entertain- 
 ment: too godly is he to postpone the watering of his whiskey, 
 and the sanding of his sugar, until sabbath morning, before pray- 
 ers ; no, no, these matters are decently and piously attended to 
 on the previous evening, for Mr. Tub is, in sooth, a very godly, 
 and moderately honest man. There is a maxim in hacknied use 
 which adviseth, " Get along honestly if you can, if you cannot 
 honestly, get along, anyhow.'''' The elder deemed it not prudent to 
 begin with this precept at the right end — he tried the anyhow first, 
 opining that when he should get rich at that, he could better afford 
 to practice honesty afterward : there is spiritual economy too 
 in this arrangement, he thought, for in after life, when preparing 
 for heaven by a repentance of past misdeeds, it will be found 
 easier resisting the devil with a full pocket than with an 
 empty one, and easier procuring clerical assistance into the bar- 
 gain. Still, it must be confessed that there are numberless 
 inconveniences attending the anyhow practice, among which not 
 the least is, that habits are thereby formed which it will task all 
 the prudence and piety of after years to overcome : even the godly 
 Mr. Tub has experienced the truth of this — he came near being 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 351 
 
 turned out of church lately. (It is'nt right, I know, to be telling 
 this to the world's people^ but I do it for the sake of illustration.) 
 It was ascertained that during the late protracted meeting in his 
 parts, (at which, too, he professed to have attained such discove- 
 ries in religion as convinced him that his former hopes were 
 groundless,) he had suffered the minister's horses, in his stable, 
 to go unfed save with hay, and that scantily, for the space of eight 
 days ! His plea was, that as he had entertained them free of 
 charge, there was no dishonesty in the case ; but then it was 
 decided that it was an act of cruelty to the animals, and of decep- 
 tion toward the owners, who would certainly have preferred that 
 the horses should be fed at a charge, than that they should be 
 starved gratis. However, as the church was weak in numbers 
 and pecuniary means, it was concluded to overlook the elder's 
 offence, as he on his part consented to double his subscription for 
 his preacher — to become an abolitionist, and to allow his daughter, 
 Kesiah Tub, to go about soliciting pious donations and dispensing 
 tracts. Mr. Tub, therefore, was not only retained in the church, 
 but also in his ecclesiastical dignity. 
 
 One all-redeeming quality hath elder Tub — one which will 
 *' cover the multitude of sins ;" it is this — he is most orthodox in 
 faith, and, above all, in the faith of endless damnation. " His 
 own damnation 1" No, no, dear reader, by no means, ha, ha, ha ! 
 Not his own — none but fools, or very nervous folks, believe in their 
 own damnation. But Mr. Tub is quite sure that somebody will be 
 damned ; yet, as they are not to be of his own kith or kin, he takes 
 the matter very comfortably, and even gets quite fat on it : his ex- 
 perience on this point is expressed in the following luscious verses : 
 
 Prais'd be the Lord, I pardon'd am, 
 My spouse, good soul, is pardon'd too. 
 
 We shall be saved through Christ the Lamb, 
 In spite of all that we can do. 
 
 Our offspring — six in number — all 
 
 (By pious parents sanctified,) 
 Are safe in grace, whate'er befall, 
 
 For who can Christ's elect divide 1 
 
 For others, it is nought to me 
 
 W ho shall be saved, or who be lost, 
 Since grace shall but exalted be, 
 
 And saints be blest at sinners' cost. 
 
352 REVELATIONS FROM KELL, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Elder Tub sat at the foot of the old elm, one moonlight evening, 
 ruminating on the trials and dangers, which must have been en- 
 countered in life by the brave men, whose fate was registered on 
 the rude stone near him ; an unwonted sensibility came over his 
 heart on this theme, insomuch that his attention became abstracted 
 from surrounding objects. " Noble, gallant fellows !" he ejacu- 
 lated, "to tear yourselves from the haunts of secure and civilized 
 existence, with all its conveniences and refinements, and to adven- 
 ture with your wives and little ones into this, then dreadful, 
 wilderness, infested with savage beasts, and more savage men ; 
 where every want, every deprivation, every horrid form of suffer- 
 ing awaited you. How much our now smiling and populous 
 country, and its now peaceful and happy inhabitants, owe to your 
 enterprise and perseverance ! Yet here you lie, with nothing but 
 this half obliterated tablet to tell that you ever lived, and to 
 bear its record to the great and noble cause in which you died ! 
 But never mind, my gallant hearts ! for if our country is unmindful 
 
 of her benefactors, it is consoling to think that heaven"- 
 
 Here our soliloquist was interrupted by sounds proceeding from 
 behind him, which resembled a suppressed giggle. " He, he, he, 
 he !" The elder felt both his patriotism and his piety to be in- 
 sulted by this ill-timed merriment, and, supposing it to have come 
 from oneof his blackballs, he doubled his fist with the meek pur- 
 pose of knocking him down ; but on turning around — horror of 
 horrors ! what was his astonishment and dismay ! for he beheld 
 
 a what shall I call it 1 It seemed a man — or the shadow of 
 
 a man — or a compound of man and shadow ! Mr. Tub felt bis 
 hat to rise, as if self-moved, from his head, 
 
 " And each particular hair to stand on end 
 Like quills upon the fretful porcupine." 
 
 " Be composed, my good Mr. Tub," spake out the apparition. 
 " You have nothing to fear from one who was a companion and 
 intimate friend of your father, Epaphroditus Tub. Don't you re- 
 member Shadrach Paddle? you were old enough to have known 
 me in those days. Well, never mind ; we are all in hell now, 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 353 
 
 the whole mess of us — all the eighteen poor fellows whose bodies 
 are mouldering under that stone are now subjects of the realm 
 below. When I interrupted you, you were about to say, that 
 though our country withholds from us the honors due to our 
 achievements, heaven would reward our patriotism and self-devo- 
 tion ! He, he, he! This is what excited my mirth. Bravery, 
 philanthropy, patriotism — these, and like virtues, go for nothing 
 in heaven ; all its favors are showered upon those who have been 
 born again, and have shaped their opinions by a creed : and in the 
 early days of this wilderness, you must know, we were innocent 
 enough of overmuch intelligence on these subjects, and precious 
 little time had we for attention to them at any rate. We are 
 therefore all damned — every one of us — whilst Anthony Pimp, a 
 rascal, who deserted our colony, with a half-dozen horses which 
 he stole, and who, to obliterate the evidence of his infamy, sought 
 to effect our entire destruction by guiding the Indians to our sta- 
 tion at midnight — he, I say, is now in heaven, having got some 
 curious kind of experience, and said over his prayers for some time 
 before his death. Well, God is nowise particular about the moral 
 qualities of his elect ! You are aware, Mr. Tub, that your mother, 
 and my poor wife, Dolly Paddle, were among the women toma- 
 hawked on the occasion. 1 found them both in hell upon my 
 arrival, (a few hours after their's,) and was tolerably well content 
 with my new quarters, hot as they were, when I found there my 
 seventeen brave compatriots, and our murdered wives, besides a 
 number of other gallant men from the bloody fields of Lexington 
 and Bunker Hill. One soon feels at home anywhere in good 
 society— and believe me, my dear Triptolemus, you dwellers in 
 flesh and blood have no adequate conception of the excellence of 
 the society of the world below." 
 
 Our friend, Mr. Tub, was utterly astounded at these disclosures ; 
 his astonishment, together with the familiar manner in which the 
 goblin addressed him, and the near concern he had in the matters 
 revealed, quite got the better of his fears, and emboldened him to 
 hold converse with the dim and misty outline of a once human 
 being then before him. There was such an air of probability, 
 withal, about the matters communicated, that the thought of them 
 caused a revulsion throughout his whole system. His poor old 
 father and mother in hell ! Alas ! he had never before harbored a 
 
 Vol. I.— 2 e 2 
 
354 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 thought to that effect — and yet, what more possible 1 since, as he 
 well knew, they were destitute of those qualifications which are 
 held indispensable to salvation, although possessed of many which 
 rendered them useful and amiable on earth. Such was also the 
 case in general with the hardy pioneers of the west — coarse in 
 manners and in speech, and wholly ignorant of, and indifferent 
 about, the mysteries of the christian faith ; yet frank-hearted and 
 hospitable, and reckless of hardship and danger, when responding 
 to the calls of duty or humanity. 
 
 " Am I to believe, then, Mr. Paddle," the elder took courage 
 to inquire, " that you are really a damned spirit — and that my 
 honored parents, together with the helpless women of the early 
 settlement, who were massacred, and the gallant men who died 
 in their defence, are in a like predicament as yourself]" 
 
 " Yes," replied the goblin, " you are to believe this, and more — 
 I announce to you that nineteen twentieths of those who achieved 
 the liberties of your country — whose names and whose deeds are 
 so eulogized in fourth of July orations — who have commanded 
 your armies and your ships — who have poured forth their souls, in 
 words that aroused the soul, in your senate — yea, who have occu- 
 pied your presidential chair — such men, too, (I grant them to have 
 been) as were never surpassed, perhaps never equalled : yet, I 
 tell you in truth, that nineteen twentieths of them are damned ! 
 He, he, he ! I have often laughed in the orator's face (invisible to 
 him) as dilating upon their splendid deeds, he has pointed to hea- 
 ven as the place where these heroes are to receive the meed of 
 their services in the cause of liberty and right ! He, he, he ! Does 
 the orator think that in those days of strife, and danger, and blood, 
 these gallant fellows took time to concern themselves about faith, 
 and the new birth 1 Not much did old Putnam, I trow, nor War- 
 ren, nor Montgomery, nor Gates, nor Marion, nor old De Kalb, 
 nor Green. And, to come to later times, who suspects that Law- 
 rence, or Decatur, or Jefferson, or Monroe, or Franklin, were 
 subjects of an evangelical faith, and of regeneration ? And it has 
 been asserted on high authority of even the great Washington, 
 that although he gave a general and loose assent to the truth of 
 christianity,yet he undoubtedly stopped short ofthe mystical degree 
 of the new birth; and with all his unrivalled virtues I am sorry 
 to announce But you bite your lip, and manifest great im- 
 
.BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 355 
 
 patience, my friend ; well, I will spare you then the pain that my 
 disclosure might inflict. Nevertheless, I can assure you of one 
 thing, viz. that hell contains a large majority of the most learned 
 and brilliant men that have been born into the world, poets, ora- 
 tors, historians, legislators, patriots, warriors, statesmen, priests, 
 and monarchs; very many too in whose praise history is loud, 
 and many, also, whose excellent moral precepts have formed the 
 elements of the moral code for millions of mankind." 
 
 " Alas ! Mr. Paddle," interrupted our friend Triptolemus, in a 
 tone of deep dejection, " I must needs admit that there seems to 
 be much truth in the matters you reveal, and the more so as they 
 correspond with a revelation made in the scriptures, viz., that ' not 
 many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble 
 are called ;' and we see, indeed, that it is even so — but few, com- 
 paratively, of splendid genius or attainments, it is to be feared, 
 concern themselves about securing an interest in heavenly bliss." 
 
 "You are right, my friend Triptolemus, quite right," rejoined 
 the goblin, "and I will inform you how it happens, (for as you 
 are of the electa it is permitted you to be informed of these mat- 
 ters.) In all countries and ages, the priests (good souls !) have 
 found it easy to impress upon unlettered and unreflecting men the 
 wholesome truth, that the gates of heaven or hell will be opened 
 to them in eternity, according as their actions have been good or 
 bad in time. It has been found easy also to make the same classes 
 believe, that good actions consist of prayers, and fasting, and a 
 right faith, and a right experience, and pious alms, tract reading, 
 attendance at church, etc., which all-important matters have been 
 neglected by too many of bright genius and enlarged understand- 
 ing, to the loss of their immortal souls ; for they have usually 
 thought, that, as the infinite Being is above being personally bene- 
 fited by their performances, they were serving him most acceptably 
 when they served and blest mankind. And they have also gene- 
 rally persisted in the absurd notion that the great Jehovah is 
 entirely too good and wise to have staked the interests of man for 
 eternity on the precarious contingencies of time ! He, he, he ! 
 They have thought better of their Creator than facts have war- 
 ranted — they have robed his character in their highest conceptions 
 of excellence — he, he ! — by the light of the fires of hell they are 
 enabled to correct these crude fallacies ; they there learn to com- 
 
356 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 prehend the seeming paradox, that unbounded love can burn 
 without pity, without end — and therefore, without other object 
 than revenge — unnumbered myriads of helpless beings, who owe 
 their existence to his creative power! 
 
 "Thus it has happened that the most brilliant, and (in the 
 world's estimation) the most excellent and exalted of mankind 
 have, by the dim and deceptive light of philosophy, or the bewil- 
 dering glare of genius, blundered their way down to the infernal 
 pit ; and they carried with them so many virtues and accomplish- 
 ments, that, as I have said before, the world of woe can boast a 
 most delectable society, and numerous are our occupations and 
 amusements to divert our attention from the uncomfortable heat 
 of the climate. Blind Homer, the father of song — Virgil, his 
 most gifted disciple — the versatile Shakspeare — Horace, Ovid, 
 Euripides, Juvenal, Dryden, Ben Johnson, Oiway, Collins, 
 Cowley, Rowe, and nearly the whole fraternity of bards, more 
 especially those who have employed their poetic talent in the pro- 
 fane business of writing plays — these amuse us by reciting and 
 explaining their old productions, or composing new ones. We 
 have lectures on history, delivered by Herodotus, Tacitus, Xeno- 
 phon, Sallust, Gibbon, Hume, Clarendon, and others. Socrates 
 (who was damned for sacrificing a cock lo^Esculapius, as his 
 last act in life,) Cato, Solon, Pythagoras, Zeno, Diogenes, Aris- 
 totle, Athenagoras, and other heathen sages, edify us with their 
 lessons in philosophy. We have also most splendid orations on 
 law, politics, physic, the different branches of physical science, 
 language, chymistry, and even divinity — for we are not without 
 an ample complement of theological professors in hell. Our own 
 Franklin lectures to us on economy, electricity, and other matters ; 
 and we have many noble fellows, of ancient and modern times, 
 including Demosthenes, Cicero, Themistocles,Alcibiades, Hanni- 
 ble, Junius Brutus, and Marcus Brutus, (besides many who signed 
 the declaration of your nation's independence,) who devoted them- 
 selves, soul and body, to the interests of their respective countries, 
 but neglected, alas for them ! in the heat of their enlarged zeal in 
 the cause of man, to commit their creeds, and obtain an orthodox 
 faith and experience toward God" 
 
 A slight noise here drew off the elder's attention, for a moment, 
 in an opposite direction, and on his resuming it, Mr. Shadrach 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 357 
 
 Paddle had disappeared — nothing was to be seen in the place he 
 had occupied, but a faint line of mist ! The elder rubbed his eyes, 
 and strained his vision to the utmost, but to no effect ; he began 
 at length to doubt whether his senses had not been deceiving him 
 as to the apparition he thought he had seen, and the conversa- 
 tion he supposed he had maintained with it ! " However," thought 
 he, " if imagination has been deceiving my eyes and ears all this 
 while, I am much obliged to it, nevertheless, for the wholesome 
 facts it has brought home to my reflection, of which I have never 
 seriously thought before. Gracious God ! what selfish beings we 
 are ! How comfortably we can yield our faith to the dark and 
 dreadful dogma of unending woe, without reflecting how nearl)' 
 we ourselves must necessarily be concerned in its realities, (how- 
 ever secure our title to eternal bliss my be,) on account of friends 
 and kindred, and numberless other of our fellow beings, whom, 
 for their virtues, splendid parts, or noble exertions and sacrifices 
 in the common cause of man, we have been taught to love and 
 admire ! I must noi pursue this train of thought, though, or it will 
 cause my carnal judgment to quarrel with my creed — so I must 
 strive, with divine assistance, to forget what has passed, since, 
 after all, it may be a mere temptation from the devil." 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 " Well, well ! Dorothy Tub, my dear, this world we live in is a 
 mighty large one! for the ' Old Dominion' of itself is a pretty big 
 piece of ground : but, my stars ! it makes a mighty little show on 
 this map ! Well, then, there's Pennsylvania, which is nearly as 
 large, and the Empire state, and Maryland, and Jersey, and all the 
 eastern, all the western, and all the southern states, besides the 
 vast tract of uninhabited country this side of the Rocky mountains, 
 and all that lies beyond — and yet, there's the country between 
 our national territory and the polar circle, on the north, and Texas 
 and Mexico, on the south — and when we have estimated all this, 
 we have got less than a fifth part of the solid portion of our earth ! 
 Only think, Dorothy Tub !" Such were the profound specula- 
 tions of our old friend Triptolemus, as, snugly seated in his elbow 
 
358 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 chair one night, he was doubly occupied in toasting his feet by 
 the fire, and in perusing a map of the globe. His spouse, Doro- 
 thy, sate (or did a few minutes before) in another easy chair, the 
 fellow to that which contained the rotund person of the elder ; but 
 on his looking up from his studies, in the expectation of a response 
 to his ejaculations about the magnitude of the earth, her chair was 
 evacuated — no Dorothy Tub was there — nor had the elder any 
 right to expect her there, for I am sure she had been quite audibly 
 complaining for some time, and predicting a change of weather, 
 from the uneasy condition of her corns and rheumatiz ,- but Mr. 
 Tub had been too profoundly engaged to hear any of this, (a too 
 common case with the lords of creation, when their loving ribs are 
 detailing their aches and pains ;) so Mrs. Dorothy Tub finding no 
 response from her husband touching these interesting matters, had 
 betaken herself to her bed in a huff. 
 
 " A monstrous big world !" exclaimed the elder, continuing his 
 erudite cogitations ; " it would take a long-lived man his whole 
 life to walk over it, I guess, for there's South America, and Af- 
 rica, and Europe, and Australia, and the islands — and yet, with 
 all these, full three fourths of the earth's surface, I perceive, is 
 covered with water. How vast a conception it requires, to em- 
 brace the idea of such magnitude ! Why, I" 
 
 Here the giggle of Shadrach Paddle interrupted his specula- 
 tions, as upon a former occasion. " He, he, he, he !" And upon 
 the elder's looking up, there sat that queer personage, most pro- 
 fanely ensconced in Mrs. Tub's easy chair, and grinning in his 
 face. " He, he, he ! Your world, that you think so large, my 
 good Triptolemus, is no bigger than a hazelnut as compared with 
 hell !" exclaimed the goblin. " Why, my dear fellow, a mo- 
 ment's reflection will suffice to convince you of this fact; for what 
 is the earth's population l It is variously computed at from seven 
 to twelve hundred millions. I will take ten hundred millions as a 
 medial estimate ; this number of human beings is swept into eter- 
 nity and renewed about every twenty-five years, and for all these 
 heaven and hell are the only receptacles. And what proportion of 
 these do you think hell receives 1 I know right well, as I have been 
 there for some time, and have paid some attention to its statistics j 
 but I will not ask you to take the answer on the faith of a damned 
 spirit ; you shall have it on the faith of figures, within your own 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 359 
 
 power to compute. Of the ten hundred millions of human beings 
 on the earth, but two hundred millions are comprised within Chris- 
 tendom ; of these, you must be aware, not more than one sixteenth 
 part are saved — for you must be convinced, from a survey of 
 society around you, that not more than one out of sixteen are 
 experimentally and savingly christians. One sixteenth part of 
 two hundred millions is twelve and a half millions ; and this (on 
 the most liberal allowance) is the proportion of nominal chris- 
 tians saved each twenty-five years, and one hundred and eighty- 
 seven and a half millions is the proportion damned ! 
 
 " As to the Jewish, Mahometan, and pagan populations, making 
 eight hundred millions, it is by a large majority of christians de- 
 nied that any are saved — but by the minority it is supposed, that 
 salvation is possible to such of these classes as make a right im- 
 provement of the advantages which they possess. Let us then 
 allow, a thirty-second part of these will get to heaven — a proportion 
 equal to one half of those saved within Christendom. A thirty- 
 second part of eight hundred millions, is twenty-five millions ; 
 and this is the ratio which get to heaven, of these classes, every 
 twenty-five years : seven hundred and seventy-five millions are 
 the ratio which sink to hell ! Now add together the numbers 
 saved during each generation out of the entire human race — they 
 amount to thirty-seven and a half millions ; and the aggregate of 
 the numbers damned within the same time is nine hundred and 
 sixty-two and a half millions ! 
 
 " Your world, Mr. Tub, taking the Mosaic history to be true, 
 and following the popular chronology, has subsisted for six 
 thousand years, which, divided by twenty-five, (the estimated 
 length of a generation,) gives two hundred and forty as th» num- 
 ber of generations of man since time began ; and (allowing the 
 relative numbers of the redeemed and the lost to have been from the 
 first what they now are) then, my d'ear Triptolemus, since time 
 begun, the portals of hell have opened to two hundred and forty 
 times nine hundred and sixty-two and a half millions of human 
 souls !" 
 
 " Mr. Paddle, you astound me !" exclaimed elder Tub. 
 
 " Pardon me," exclaimed the goblin, " I am not done yet. I 
 have, in my computation, been far more liberal on the side of sal- 
 vation than facts will warrant — I have allowed the same proportion 
 
360 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 to have gone to heaven before the introduction of Christianity, 
 as since — whereas the whole antediluvian world that were 
 drowned by the flood, went to hell en masse ! The gates of per- 
 dition swung open, on that occasion, to their utmost width, and as 
 the bard Milton has sung, ' grated harsh thunder.' Moreover, all 
 the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were damned, as were also 
 the populations of Babylon, Idumea, Tyre, Sidon, Capernaum — 
 the first born of Egypt which perished in the last plague — the 
 hundred and eighty thousand of Senacherib's army which the 
 angel of the Lord destroyed in one night — the million and a half 
 of Jews slain during the siege of Jerusalem, etc., etc. In full ten 
 thousand instances, in the progress of time, have numerous masses 
 of undying spirits thus sunk down to the realm of the damned — but 
 the world of bliss meanwhile has received no such accessions ! 
 In addition, we must take into the account, that full twelve cen- 
 turies of almost utter moral darkness intervened between the 
 primitive ages of the church and the time of the reformation ; and 
 during all this season the successive generations of mankind were 
 consigned, with but here and there an exception, to everlasting 
 woe ! He, he ! I have oft been told in hell, (by old inhabitants 
 of the place,) of the ecstacies occasioned there from time to time 
 by these numerous arrivals — these are the festival seasons of the 
 world below. He, he, he ! they are regarded as most signal tri- 
 umphs over the plans and efforts of heaven. Our sovereign prince, 
 Beelzebub, issues his mandate for a special illumination in hell on 
 these occasions, for we have the material for illumination in great 
 plenty, you are aware, and all at the cost of our Omnipotent foe. 
 He, he, he, he ! Our prince has hopes of an entire and total victory 
 eventually !" — 
 
 " You overwhelm me, Mr. Paddle ! ! !" again interrupted the 
 elder 
 
 "Patience, my good Triptolemus," resumed the goblin, "your 
 conceptions are not yet extended to the hundred millionth part of 
 hell's capacity ; we have been confining our attention to the ac- 
 cessions to its population from this earth alone ; but we are to 
 remember that there was a numerous lapse/rom heaven before the 
 earth was formed : it would astonish you, Mr. Tub, to be told of 
 the vast numbers comprised in that revolt. Well, subsequent to 
 this, in the four thousandth year of the world, (as you may read 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 361 
 
 in your sacred oracles, Revelation xii. — your bible is more read in 
 hell than on earth,) there was another commotion in heaven, which 
 resulted in the casting out from thence one third part of the stars, 
 or angels ! Now allowing an equal proportion to have been 
 ejected in the first revolt, heaven, you perceive, must contain but 
 a small moiety of its original inhabitants ! — and such being the case 
 with regard to that place, which is the immediate seat of Jeho- 
 vah's throne, how many myriads upon myriads of immortal intel- 
 ligences, think you, have fallen from the unnumbered spheres 
 which revolve in the immensity of space?" 
 
 " Hold ! Mr. Paddle !" exclaimed the utterly bewildered Mr. 
 Tub ; " I sink beneath the conception ! The sun itself, which in 
 all probability is an inhabited sphere, is a million times larger 
 than our earth, and all the stars are held to be suns of equal mag- 
 nitude, and the centre to separate systems of worlds ! It does, 
 indeed, seem probable also, that these are all peopled with intelli- 
 gent beings, equally responsible, and liable to incur a doom of 
 endless ruin as ourselves ! Gracious God ! What must indeed 
 be the capacity of that fiery world of despair, which is the recep- 
 tacle for these innumerable lapsed spirits !" 
 
 " What must it be, sure enough 1 Why I've already told you, 
 Mr. Tub, he, he, he !" rejoined the grinning fiend, " that your 
 earth is a mere hazelnut in comparison to it. Have you never 
 read the description of it in your oracles 1 * For Tophet is ordained 
 of old ; yea, for the king it is prepared : he hath made it deep 
 and large ; the pile thereof is fire and much wood ; the breath of 
 the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.' Why the 
 capacity of hell is such, that the Syracusan mathematician, Ar- 
 chimedes, has been employed in an active survey of it ever since 
 his arrival there ; and I heard him say, a little time since, that as 
 many more thousands of years must elapse ere his survey is com- 
 pleted — for, unlike the earth, and the other planetary bodies, hell 
 cannot be measured by astronomical observations. The Almighty 
 architect of the world of sufiering knew full well, from the first, for 
 how many myriads of his offspring he was preparing this burning 
 abode, and he extended its domain accordingly. 
 
 " Blind Homer has described Thebes as containing a hundred 
 gates. Hell has more than a hundred thousand. You will readily 
 believe this, Mr. Tub, when you reflect on the number and the fre- 
 
 VoL. I— 2 F No. 16. 
 
362 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 quency of the arrivals to it from earth alone. Let me see— it is com- 
 puted that the generations of man die, at the rate of one to every 
 second of time ! — sixty every minute ! — three thousand six hundred 
 every hour ! — eighty-six thousand four hundred every twenty-four 
 hours ! Conceive, my dear Triptolemus, with what velocity the 
 gates of woe must swing upon their hinges, to give admission to 
 spirits at this rapid rate ! If hell had but one portal, the arrivals 
 to it from this earth alone would keep it opening and shutting with 
 the speed of light ! 
 
 " I am much amused betimes by the sage computations of some 
 of your modern theologians, who, finding the wholesome and 
 venerable dogma of endless damnation to be getting out of fashion 
 among men, employ their ingenuity in so softening it, as to bring 
 it within the pale of benevolence. He, he, he ! They try to make 
 out that the number of the lost, as compared with that of the saved 
 of mankind, will be but as the proportion of penitentiary convicts 
 to the bulk of society ! He, he ! They come, by a marvellously 
 curious process of enumeration, to this result. ' First (say they) 
 all who die in infancy, are saved ; then, all the heathen who im- 
 prove their natural advantages aright ; then again, there is to 
 come a Millennium, a thousand years' reign on the earth, during 
 which, all are to be righteous' — and this thousand years may 
 mean — he, he, he ! — mark, it may mean, three hundred and sixty- 
 five thousand times the term which is said ! And so, by this hocus 
 pocus process of computation, it is made out, that the number of 
 the saved will greatly exceed that of the lost ! He, he ! how stu- 
 pidly blind you mortals are when you have a party purpose to 
 eiFect ! Why ! though a goblin of the pit, I can quote you scrip- 
 ture to better purpose. Now hear the following, and judge whether 
 all mankind are to be righteous during the Millennium. 'And 
 when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of 
 his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in 
 the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them 
 together to battle ; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 
 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the 
 camp of the saints about, and the beloved city : and fire came 
 down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.' 
 
 " You see, then, my dear Triptolemus, that even at that boasted 
 era of Messiah's reign, a multitude, equalling in number the sands 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 363 
 
 of the sea, are to be added to the population of hell. He, he, he, 
 he ! This will be another jubilee for us. Why, the elect in your 
 younger days, Mr. Tub, would have scouted as an impious heresy 
 the idea, that more will be saved than damned : it was the essence 
 of their comfort to believe, that heaven is a snug little walled 
 city, with jasper gates, and streets of gold, where they should 
 have nothing to do, to all eternity, but to sit on great benches and 
 sing psalms ; and the company of the place was to be a number 
 ' so fixed and definite as to be incapable of increase or diminu- 
 tion.' Great comfort took they, as you, Mr. Tub, may remember, 
 in singing that metrical paraphrase of the text about the broad and 
 narrow way : 
 
 * Broad is the road that leads to death, 
 
 And thousands flock together there ; 
 But wisdom shows a narrow path, 
 
 With here and there a traveler.' 
 
 It was one saved, to a thousand damned, in those good old times; 
 but now — he, he, he ! — the orthodoxy of your day is heels upper- 
 most, Mr. Tub ! In times not long past it was thought, that not a 
 Jew, nor a Mahometan, nor a pagan, nor an infant, (except of 
 elect parents, nor then, except baptized,) nor a unitarian, nor 
 socinian, nor methodist, nor papist, would get to heaven ! But 
 of late — he, he, he ! — either heaven has grown larger, or the gate- 
 keeper has become remiss in examining the passports ; for by a 
 late census of the place, these wise-heads have discovered, that its 
 inhabitants outnumber those of hell, by as much as the honest 
 part of the earth's community outnumber the criminal portion in 
 the penitentiaries ! ! ! He, he, he, he !" 
 
 How long the impious goblin, Paddle, would have continued his 
 profane cachinnations, had no interruption occurred, I take it not 
 on me to say ; but Dorothy Tub, finding no ease to her corns and 
 rheumatiz while alone in her cold bed, (it's a pity she had'nt 
 thought of a warming pan !) came down to try the virtues of the 
 fire and some yarh tea. To the utter astonishment of the elder, 
 her chair was vacant, and in the precise situation in which she 
 
 had left it about an hour before ! Mr. Paddle had made his exit 
 
 whether up the chimney, or, like a fairy queen of old, through the 
 keyhole — or whether he had dissolved himself into mist, as upon 
 a. former occasion, (for the elder did fancy that the atmosphere of 
 
364 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 the room was somewhat hazy,) is more than can be ascertained'. 
 However, it was deemed most prudent to keep the matter whisht 
 from Mrs. Tub, rather than to add the hysterics to her chapter of 
 ailments. And, besides, the elder was not clear in his own mind 
 (as before) whether the whole were not a freak of the fancy. So, 
 having ministered to Dorothy the assistance, which every ailing 
 spouse has a right to expect from her helpmate, he betook him- 
 self to his couch. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " He, he, he ! my old friend Tub — good evening to you !" Thus 
 unceremoniously was the good elder accosted as he rode toward 
 home one misty night, by that audacious goblin, Paddle, whom 
 he suddenly found by his side, mounted on a horse which kept 
 even pace with his own. " Let me see," continued the fiend, "I 
 told you, in our former interviews, of the immense magnitude of the 
 world below, and of the respectability of its. society — on which 
 important topics mortals are inclined to bestow but little reflec- 
 tion : there are also other matters pertaining to the place and its 
 inhabitants,- concerning which their notions are very crude and 
 contradictory. They are apt to represent our prince, Beelzebub, 
 as having a cloven foot, which it is not in his power to conceal ! 
 He, he, he ! But Dutch christians, with better sense, generally 
 agree in assigning him a horse''s hoof! I say, with better sense, 
 for they thus very properly place him amongst unclean beasts— 
 whereas, with a parted hoof, he is an eatable animal, according to 
 the Mosaic code — he, he ! 
 
 "They represent, too, that the devil is chained down, and con- 
 fined in the burning lake ; and yet, at the same time, that he is 
 perpetrating all sorts of mischief all over the world ! Your divine 
 versifier. Watts, in describing hell, thus alludes to him : 
 
 * There Satan, the first sinner, lies, 
 
 And roars, and biles his iron bands ; 
 In vain the rebel strives to rise, 
 
 Crush'd with the weight of both thy hands.' 
 
 From which, it would seem, that he is kept down under the fire» 
 by an express exertion of Omnipotence. Nevertheless, he is M 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 365 
 
 the same time perfectly ai larae, ' going to and fro in the earth, 
 and walking up and down in ii !' He is in Europe, and Asia, and 
 Africa, and America, and Australasia, and in the islands of the 
 South sea — assuming all s.-rts of forms and colors, and tempting 
 a thousand different persons to a thousand different modes of sin- 
 ning ! He, he, he ! A most puissant devil is our mighty prince 
 Beelzehub ! It is gravely put forth by your notorious commenta- 
 tor, Clarke, that it was probably he who raised the tempest about 
 the vessel in which Christ vind his disciples were sailing, with 
 the view of drowning/ them all together, and so quashing the 
 gospel scheme in its beginning ! A most shrewd design, it must 
 be owned ; but surely, our prince could not have so far taken 
 leave of his wits as to hope anything from a tempest which he 
 knew Messiah had power to calm ! He, he ! The devil may pro- 
 perly enough be taken for a knave all over the world ; but nobody 
 mistrusts him for a fool ! No, no, not a fool, for he has outwitted 
 Omniscience ! he has foiled all the plans and purposes of heaven ! 
 When he had seduced from their purity the first human pair, he 
 was told by Jehovah that his head should be bruised. He, he ! 
 So far from it, he has been receiving constant accessions to the 
 number of his subjects ever since ; and over these he is to have 
 dominion to eternity ! He would have gained infinitely less, had 
 Jehovah damned the first couple, instead of permitting them to 
 live, and propagate unnumbered millions of their race for hell ! 
 It was poor economy in God to sacrifice his Son for the world's 
 redemption, when he knew that the devil would contrive to profit 
 by the scheme much more largely than himself! 
 
 *' And pray, my good friend Tub, why enters it not into the 
 sapient heads of you mortals, that, as Satan found it so easy to 
 journey from hell to your world, other peopled spheres may 
 be equally accessible to him 1 The station of your earth is scarcely 
 midway between the sun and the Georgium Sidus, and is there- 
 fore no nearer a neighbor to hell than is other planets in the 
 system. Now the truth is, that our prince is a free and privi- 
 ledged commoner of creation, and he is anything but slack in 
 improving his opportunities to the advancement of his own em- 
 pire ; hence he is to be found every where, and at the season most 
 opportune for his interests : no place, nor presence, is sacred from 
 his intrusions — he, he ! he goes most regularly to church, with 
 
 Vol. I.— 2 f 2 
 
366 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 God's people, as you may read in the book of Job, and even into 
 the pulpit goeth he, in company with the preacher. When Whit- 
 field was informed, at the foot of the pulpit stairs, that he had 
 delivered himself of a most admirable sermon, he replied, that 
 the devil had so told him before ; and there is undoubted matter 
 of fact in the quaint couplet of the old divine, that 
 
 There's nowhere found a house of prayer, 
 But Satan hath an altar there.' 
 
 " I heard him relate, not long since, to the great amusement of 
 his infernal subjects, that he had that day stept into a church just 
 in time to prevent the conversion of a score of souls ! It was a time 
 of excitement in the church — a score of persons had occupied the 
 mourner' s seats — some half a dozen preachers were present, besides 
 about twice the number of subaltern ecclesiastics, who glided, like 
 ghosts in kid slippers, up and down the aisles, peering about for 
 such of the female auditors as were weeping or looking serious ; 
 the fears of the congregation had been wrought upon to the utmost, 
 a death-like silence prevailed, only occasionally broken by the loud 
 and hollow whispers of the ecclesiastics, ' God — is here' ! — which 
 sent a thrill through the whole house. At this interesting crisis, 
 the devil (who had been also peering about for some work in his 
 line) found a large dog quietly snoozing under one of the benches ; 
 he forthwith pinched his tail — the dog set up a how^l, and those 
 near fell to kicking and caning him out of the church : in his flight 
 he unfortunately tript up a deacon, who sprawled his full length 
 in the aisle. He, he, he ! — there were many in the congregation 
 whose risible muscles were not proof against all this, and an ob- 
 streperous laugh ensued ! Thus was that farce brought to a con- 
 clusion." 
 
 " Hold ! hold, there, Mr. Paddle !" interrupted the elder. « I 
 won't allow your tongue to run gallop at such a rate ; for the 
 salvation of the elect is not to be thwarted by such chances as 
 you have related, since it has been fixed from eternity, in a com- 
 pact between the persons of the adorable trinity — in a * covenant, 
 ordered in all things and sure ;' and therefore" 
 
 "Pooh! pooh!" abruptly rejoined the goblin. "I will not 
 waste breath in arguing election and reprobation with you, Mr. 
 Tub. I speak from actual knowledge when I say, that the 
 merest accidents in the world have determined the final and 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 367 
 
 eternal fates of thousands ! There was Toby Tibbins, for example, 
 an intimate acquaintance of mine and your father's, on earth ; he 
 was convicted of being a tory spy, and sentenced to be hung. 
 While in confinement, Toby became a penitent, confessed all his 
 sins, and with the aid of our company's chaplain, he obtained the 
 favor of God. Thus Toby got all his scriptural concerns into a 
 right trim for heaven ; but, unfortunately for his soul, he was par- 
 doned under the gallows : he relapsed into his former rogueries, 
 and has been a companion with me in hell for the last ten years ! 
 
 "There was also Obadiah Snubbs, the undoubted cause of 
 whose damnation was, that his nose was set too far on one side 
 of his face. I knew Mr. Snubbs well, and can certify that he 
 was soundly converted some half-dozen times ; but that nose of 
 his was a most serious stumbling-block to him — it involved him 
 in constant broils, to the great detriment of his spiritual health. 
 He at length found it necessary, for the safety of his soul, to 
 remove into this western region, (then a wilderness,) where he 
 supposed his nose would escape the observation and ridicule which 
 it had attracted on the other side of the mountains ; so he squatted 
 in a cabin near the mouth of Grave creek, where there were but 
 four or five widely scattered settlers. In this retirement, he 
 managed to keep his soul's affairs in a safe condition for some 
 time; but, unfortunately for him, having occasion to go to Fort 
 Wheeling one day to buy stores, a fellow there took the liberty 
 to remark upon the awry posture of his proboscis — which so en- 
 raged my friend Obadiah, that, (forgetting his conversion) he 
 drew his knife on his tormentor, and was killed in the quarrel. — 
 He, he ! Poor Snubbs would have now been in heaven but for 
 his nose ! 
 
 " Even I myself, Mr. Tub, he, he, he ! came very near slipping 
 in amongst the elect at one time ! I should have made it out, I 
 believe, had I not possessed an inordinate turn for whatever was 
 comical ; and the devil finding this out, took care always to put 
 funny thoughts into my head when I was saying my prayers — 
 he, he ! 
 
 " Another stumbling-block with me, when on earth, was, that 
 our preachers, in their printed and pulpit descriptions, used so to 
 confound God and the devil, that, for the life of me, I could scarcely 
 tell which was which. Did you ever, Mr. Tub, read old Jona- 
 
368 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 than Edwards ? If so, you will understand what I mean. Divines 
 in those days used to tell how much it would be to the glory of 
 God to burn the sinner — how much he would mock, and tantalize 
 him, and laugh at his miseries ; and how the saints themselves 
 would unite with the deity in this cruel business ! I took up a 
 volume of sermons one day, by Dr. Benson, (who published a 
 commentary on the bible ;) among them was one from the text, 
 * If I make my bed in hell, thou art there.' On which the Doctor 
 assumed, that God is personally present in the world of suffering. 
 And for what purpose, think you 1 Why, saith the Doctor, that 
 he may blow the flames thereof to their utmost intensity of heat, 
 and thereby inflict a more poignant suffering on the unhappy 
 spirits consigned thereto ! Nor is that all ; but God must be 
 personally in hell, in order that he may quicken the insensibilities 
 of the damned, and make them more susceptible to the influence 
 of the flames ! As thus portrayed, I found it impossible to dis- 
 criminate between God and the devil ; and, consequently, I found 
 it impossible also to love the one more than the other. I know 
 of millions who have. stumbled into hell from the same cause; 
 for it is not in the nature of thinking beings to love an object 
 that is represented to them in an odious and detestable light. I 
 therefore loathed both God and the devil in about an equal degree ; 
 but I have since learned to prefer the latter, since, though he lures 
 men into sin, he can plead in excuse of his conduct, that it is from 
 motives of opposition to their Maker rather than to them ; and 
 moreover, (as he pleads) they are not the offspring of his power, for 
 if they were, he could find means to take care of them, and would 
 certainly not permit them to be infinitely ruined by a foe of inferior 
 power to his own, and then seek to excuse himself with the weak 
 pretence, that he could not help it. From considerations like 
 these, Satan is regarded with more respect by his subjects than 
 they can entertain toward the infinite Being who created them, 
 weak and ignorant, and then exposed them to be entrapt, and 
 ruined for eternity, by his wily enemy — and who, with all his 
 professed love for them, and desire for their salvation, made their 
 final and everlasting destiny to depend on their giving a blind 
 faith to certain riddles respecting the trinity and the new birth. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Tub," continued the goblin, "we have got to 
 within a few yards of your gate, and this is the last visit I am 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 369 
 
 permitted to make you — it is only by the especial grace of our 
 prince that I have been favored with a short furlough from hell 
 these three times — so I shall just tell you for your comfort, that 
 you will be one day favored with the sight of your poor old father, 
 and the residue of the gallant fellows who slumber with him under 
 that stone, and much the greater part of the brave soldiers^of the 
 revolution — hundreds of whom went to hell from the battle-grounds 
 of Saratoga, Monmouth, Brandywine, Germantown, etc. — whose 
 virtues you are at present man and patriot enough to admire. — 
 But at the era to which I allude, you will be so much a dastard as to 
 say amen — some of the old divines assert — to laugh, and rejoice at 
 the sentence which shall seal them over to suffering and despair 
 for eternity. I speak of the appointed day of judgment, when our 
 cause is to have a re-hearing ; for — he, he ! we are committed to 
 hell for the present only on suspicion ! As one of the elect, Mr. 
 Tub, it will be your bounden duty to sanction all the divine 
 doings — even those which shall consign your parents, possibly 
 also your children, and hundreds of thousands of millions of your 
 fellow-beings, amongst whom will be many whose virtues, or 
 splendid deeds, have recommended them to your admiration, and 
 that of all succeeding generations, to a doom of ceaseless woe 
 and unmitigated despair. Do you recoil at the thought, Mr. 
 Tub ] You have reason to suspect that you are not a genuine 
 subject of grace if you do. You must not allow your carnal feel- 
 ings of sorrow, or pity, to be exercised about these matters ; for 
 when you get to heaven you will be^so far conformed to the divine 
 dispositions, that you can see those whom you loved and venerated 
 on earth, boiling and writhing in hell with great complacency. — 
 But be careful, my dear fellow, that you 'give all diligence to 
 make your calling and election sure ;' for in the judgement 
 alluded to, it may possibly be found, that some shall have been 
 falsely committed to hell, and others, without due examination, 
 admitted to heaven. He, he ! it would be considerably to the 
 comfort of Shadrach Paddle, if it should turn out that such a mis- 
 take has occurred in his case ! for although, as I have said, there 
 is much delectable society in hell, I fear I shall never become 
 quite reconciled to its climate. I would also forewarn you, my 
 friend Tab, for I feel an interest in you for my old friend Epaphro- 
 ditos' s?ike, (and that the damned do feel an interest in behalf ot 
 
370 REVELATIONS FROM HELL, 
 
 the dwellers on earth, you may learn from the story in your sacred 
 oracles about the rich man and Lazarus,) I would warn you, I 
 say, against losing your foot-hold in heaven when once you get 
 there ; for since, as the old hymn hath it, 
 
 * From heaven the sinning angels fell,' 
 it may also chance that some sinning saints will be falling from 
 thence some time or other ; and beware, my dear Triptolemus, 
 that you are not overtaken with such mishap, for the change of 
 climate in such case (from heaven to hell) would be greatly to 
 the detriment of your comfort and constitution. So here we are 
 at your gate — I hope you have found me very pleasant and in- 
 structive society, Mr. Tub — so good bye to you, my old buck,' 
 
 and take good care of yourself The next moment Sha- 
 
 drach Paddle — horse and all — had vanished ! ! ! 
 
 »* Did you see him, Cato ?" inquired the elder of one of his 
 negroes, who had come to open the gate for him. 
 
 " Seed who, massa 1" was Cato's returning inquiry. 
 
 " Why, the person who rode up in company with me," replied 
 Mr. Tub. 
 
 Cato shewed his ivories from ear to ear as he exclaimed, " Lorra 
 mercy, massa ! I did'nt saw nobody at all ! Golly ! him mus a 
 bin yar shadder !" 
 
 " Well, never mind, Cato," returned the elder. " Say nothing 
 about it, but just put away the beast." 
 
 But the matter was fated not to be thus hushed up ; for, unfor- 
 tunately for the peace of our friend Triptolemus, it happened that 
 his spouse Dorothy had been looking out at the door, on his arri- 
 val, and had overheard his inquiries of Cato. So she plied him 
 with question upon question, and had recourse 'to all those arts of 
 tantalization which the gentle sex know so well how to practice 
 upon the lords of creation, until the poor elder was glad enough 
 to make a clean breast in order to escape her din. Instead of 
 helping the matter, however, this only made it worse ; for Doro- 
 thy threatened him with hysterics and fainting-fits to the end of 
 her days, unless the matter were instantly submitted to the con- 
 sideration of their minister — who was sent for forthwith, and de- 
 tained until the whole aifair had been rehearsed and canvassed in 
 all its forms ; which occupied the worthy trio until the first cock- 
 crowing. 
 
BY A DAMNED SPIRIT. 371 
 
 " I sKould not hesitate, elder," said the Rev. Mr. Smuggleton, 
 at parting, " to resolve this matter into a bona fide apparition from 
 the infernal pit, were it not for the horse, on which you represent 
 Mr. Paddle to have been mounted during the last interview ; this 
 circumstance convinces me that it was but an optical illusion, for 
 dead horses have no ghosts to represent them, and had it been a 
 living horse your negro would have seen it when it came up to 
 the gate. I must therefore decide, Mr. Tub, that it was all, from 
 first to last, an illusion of the senses; in which case I fear that 
 your carnal judgement must have suggested the profane and im- 
 pious matters which you suppose the damned spirit to have com- 
 municated. This affair must be brought before the church, Mr. 
 Tub, for the spirit of heresy is getting to be too rife among us to 
 be gently dealt with — and besides, elder Tub, you have been far 
 less liberal of your carnal means in the cause of God than your 
 circumstances would warrant. You are but God's steward, Mr. 
 Tub, in regard to what you possess ; and when you withhold 
 the means which God requires for carrying on his purposes of 
 grace in the world, he holds you guilty of a robbery of himself. 
 Remember these things, elder Tub, for the church has too long 
 forborne to cut off its dry and unprofitable branches. Good night, 
 Mr. Tub." 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The livelong night did our friend Triptolemus, and his spouse 
 Dorothy, lay awake in conversation on the matters related in 
 the preceding narrative. The elder confessed, as a matter of 
 privacy, to his loving rib, (in whose custody the secret was un- 
 doubtedly safe,) that he had been leaning toward heresy some- 
 what strongly of late ; and that in all probability the Rev. Mr. 
 Smuggleton was right in his explanation of the supposed inter- 
 views with the goblin. " But then, my dear Dorothy," continued 
 the elder, " we must take counsel of prudence in our management 
 of this business. Since the late protracted meeting, the church has 
 much increased in numbers, and is less disposed to be forbearant 
 than when it was small in members and means. I have lately 
 
872 REVELATIONS FROM HELL. 
 
 turned my store and tavern into temperance establishments, and 
 have the promise of all their custom, on the condition that I give 
 a tenth of the profits to the Lord ; which I have willingly agreed 
 to do, as I can make out the tithe by extra charges. They have 
 consented, however, that I shall sell out the stock of whiskey now 
 on hand, and as the quantity is pretty large, it may (by a prudent 
 process of watering) be made to hold out until the temperance 
 mania shall subside. All things considered, therefore, it will be 
 much to our carnal interests that I make all the concessions re- 
 quired by the church in regard to this ghost business ; it would 
 not do to be turned out in the present posture of affairs !" 
 
 " Certainly not, Mr. Tub, certainly not !" replied the equally 
 pliant Dorothy. " Our Keziah is now president of the Female 
 Tract Society ; and Mr. Smuggleton speaks so highly of her 
 gift in prayer, that I am pretty sure there will be a match between 
 them, which would be a good bargain for Keziah, who is getting 
 well toward thirty ; but if you were turned out of church, Mr. 
 Tub, it might very seriously interrupt that speculation." 
 
 In short, the result of the conference between this loving and 
 pliant couple was, that the elder should make his submission in 
 due form — lament over his spiritual barrenness and short comings— 
 and lay the blame of all that had transpired to the devil. All 
 which was accordingly done ; and I have the great pleasure to 
 inform you, reader, that in all these worldly-wise calculations, 
 our friend Triptolemus sped to admiration; he now goes the 
 whole animal in orthodoxy for fear of being suspected of a leaning 
 to the other side — so that he retains his former standing, and dig- 
 nity, and run of church custom, and reputation for soundness in 
 faith. Moreover, Keziah Tub that was, is now Mrs. Smuggleton; 
 and as to the impudent goblin. Paddle, he has never since been 
 seen in those parts, either on foot or horseback, and devoutly is it 
 to be hoped that he never will. So here end the 
 
 REVELATIONS. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 REVELATIONS FROM HELL. 
 
 The foregoing narrative, gentle reader, is in a lighter and more ludi- 
 crous strain than it suits my general taste to write, or yours, it may be, 
 to peruse ; if you have supposed my design therein to have been mere 
 amusement, at the expense of opinions and usages held sacred by many, 
 you have greatly misconceived it. An author, as well as a public speaker, 
 finds that different modes of address must be resorted to, in order to gain 
 access to different minds. Some may be reached by closely reasoned argu- 
 mentation — some would prefer to have the argument diluted with some 
 florid and gratuitious declamation — some require to be stung into reflec- 
 tion with sarcasm — and some with playful satire. In this case, my design 
 has been to bring before the mind some facts connected with the notion 
 of endless misery, which are not generally taken into the account when 
 that topic is under consideration ; but which, on account of their magni- 
 tude, are worthy of a place in the serious thoughts of all ; and if the 
 undeniable results of a doctrine are to have any bearing on the decision 
 as to its truth or falsity, ought to seal the fate of the merciless dogma of 
 endless woe, effectually and forever. 
 
 The suggestions respecting the magnitude of hell, and the kind of 
 inhabitants which (among others) it must contain, are all, as I conceive, 
 fully within the range of probability, and might have been carried even 
 considerably farther; the intelligent reader, on reflection, cannot but 
 entirely concur in this. The Rev. Dr. Wilson, of Albany, apparently a 
 very conscientious presbyterian clergyman, published a sermon a few 
 years since, in which he asserts that the majority of the framers of our 
 federal constitution were deists or atheists. The great and good Wash- 
 ington, himself, he supposes to hare held the Christian religion in light 
 esteem ; the faith of Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Franklin, he con- 
 siders to have been more than doubtful ; and that of the Adamses (being 
 Unitarianism) is, in his judgment, but little better; nor is Dr. Wilson 
 alone, by a great deal, in these suppositions. I presume that very, very few 
 orthodox ministers can be found who would deliberately affirm, that they 
 believe these distinguished personages to have possessed that pure faith, 
 and to have undergone that divine experience, which are held to be in- 
 dispensable to salvation ; and if they did not, then, on the popular 
 hypothesis of endless misery, they are all damned ! 
 
 As to the distinguished personages of antiquity, I have allowed the 
 goblin to allot a place in hell to only such of them, as, from their histo- 
 ries, aie undoubtedly there, on the endless misery hypothesis. Marcus 
 Brutus, with all his virtues (and by universal testimony these were 
 Vol. I.— 2 G 373 
 
374 APPENDIX TO REVELATIONS FROM HELL. 
 
 many and eminent) terminated his life by suicide — which was a common 
 case in those days. The virtuous Roman matron, who did the sarae to 
 prevent violation, and thereby occasioned the first overthrow of monar- 
 chical power of which history furnishes the record, must be consigned 
 to a common hell with the infamous Cleopatra ! It were vain to 
 enlarge, however, for the scope for this kind of reflections is bound- 
 less. I here but just touch on these facts, that the reader may see, that 
 our veritable friend Paddle's speculations about hell and its inhabitants, 
 are not absolutely gratuitous ; in fact, they were entirely designed as an 
 indirect mode of argumentation, and couched in their present form the 
 better to secure a reading and awaken reflection. 
 
 It is hoped that the serious and moderate portion of my orthodox rea- 
 ders, will not accuse me of an attempt to ridicule their professions or 
 practice in the person of elder Tub. It is known that hypocrites and 
 double-minded persons are to be found amongst all religious classes — 
 Christian, Jew, Mahomedan, and Pagan; against pretenders of this 
 class only are the shafts of my ridicule directed. The sincere Christian 
 has my respect and my aflfection, wherever, or of what denomination 
 soever, he is found. 
 
 " To those I render more than mere respect, 
 Whose actions say that they respect themselves." 
 
 But the hypocrite has my detestation and contempt, whether he be 
 orthodox or heterodox ; for neither the one nor the other is free from 
 his intrusions, according as he judges that with the one or the other his 
 selfish ends may be best promoted. 
 
 The reader may be curious to 'know whether there is actually such a 
 spot on the Virginia shore of the Ohio as that described in the preceding 
 narrative. To this I can only answer, that I was informed some years 
 ago that there is (or used to be, I have forgotten which,) a stone on that 
 shore, the precise locale of which I did not learn, which bears an inscrip- 
 tion to the purport of the one I have described. This is all I know about 
 it ; the rest is fancy. 
 
HYMN GOSPEL CONSUMMATION. 375 
 
 THE GOSPEL CONSUMMATION. 
 
 It coraes ! it comes ! we now behold 
 The dawn of times by seers foretold, 
 
 The glorious gospel day ; 
 Soon, soon its noon-tide blaze we'll see, 
 When death, and sin, and tears shall flee, 
 
 And darkness melt away. 
 
 Then God the cov'ring shall remove, 
 The veil that now conceals his love. 
 
 And all shall see his face ; 
 All kindreds, tribes, and tongues shall own 
 Salvation is from God alone. 
 
 The gift of sov'reign grace. 
 
 Apostles, prophets, there we'll see, 
 A glorious white-robed company, 
 
 Their toils and sufl'rings o'er ; 
 They try to tell the depth and height 
 And length of goodness infinite. 
 
 And all its breadth explore. 
 
 Hark ! hark ! we hear the rapt'rous song 
 Of the redeem'd — a countless throng; 
 
 " Worthy the Lamb !" they sing, 
 " Who died our ruined race to save ; 
 Where is thy boasted vict'ry, grave 1 
 
 O death ! where is thy sting V 
 
 The Lord will then his table spread, 
 And all mankind, with Christ their head, 
 
 Shall to that feast sit down ; 
 The ocean of his pard'ning grace 
 Shall all their sins and griefs efface. 
 
 And their remembrance drown. 
 
 Oh ! blissful time ! oh ! glorious day ! 
 When all beneath love's boundless sway 
 
 O'erwhelm'd with bliss shall fall ; 
 Shall with united souls accord, 
 That Christ in God is sov'reign Lord, 
 
 And God is all in all. 
 
INDEX 
 
 TO COMPARISONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS WORK. 
 
 Page. 
 The folly of intolerance in regard to differences in religious opin- 
 ions, 30, 31 
 
 The way to reconcile apparent discrepances in a work of which 
 
 the author is known, 41 
 
 The injustice of holding a person to the consequences of a com- 
 pact, m wnich he was not a voluntary party, 58 
 
 The faithfulness of God, in his promises, is not dependant on the 
 
 faith of man, 66 
 
 Another illustration of the same point, 67 
 
 The law of God cannot be satisfied with what it does not require, 73 
 The divine law does not comprise penalties which are adapted to 
 
 defeat its own ends,. . .' < • • 74 
 
 The Creator would not have brought man into being, with the 
 
 foresight that he should be endlessly miserable, 76 
 
 And provided he had so created him, he would have been justly 
 
 chargeable with the consequences, 77 
 
 God's relation to men, as Creator, a ground for his pity toward 
 
 them, 78 
 
 Our unfilial conduct toward God does not change his relation to 
 
 us, as our Father, 86 
 
 The endurance of God's paternal love, 87 
 
 He will not abandon his offspring to infinite ruin, 88, 89 
 
 The character of a ruler inferrible from the condition of his sub- 
 jects, 90,91 
 
 A ruler is answerable for the avoidable evils which he wilfully 
 
 admits into his dominions, 91, 92 
 
 The folly of deferring the business of retribution, 94 
 
 How a report concerning hell, by an eye witness, would affect the 
 
 reputation of the sovereign of the universe, 96, 97 
 
 God is less excusable than earthly rulers, (on the supposition that 
 he inflicts endless suffering) for the miseries endured by the vic- 
 tims of his vengeance, 97, 98 
 
 The perseverance of the good shepherd in saving lost man, 113 
 
 All sentient existence must centre toward God, as its source, 117 
 
 A firm belief in endless misery is incompatible with a sincere love 
 
 to mankind, 134 
 
 And with the early experience of every christian, 125 
 
 Our eternal interests out of the range of our control, 133 
 
 Vol. I.— 2g2 377 
 
378 INDEX TO COMPARISONS AND ILLITSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 The use of religion if our future salvation is unconditional, 134 
 
 Our opponents do not themselves believe, that all men will be re- 
 warded in eternity according to their works in time, 136 
 
 Why universalists do not believe, that God has threatened end- 
 less misery, 148, 149 
 
 Sin, according to endless misery, only takes us the sooner to hea- 
 ven, 1 50 
 
 Bad society in heaven, ih. 
 
 According to endless misery there are many more rogues saved 
 
 than honest men, 151 
 
 The same doctrine furnishes motives to murder, 152 
 
 A peep into a universalian, and an endless hell futurity, 154, 155 
 
 Is the doctrine of universal salvation generally pleasing to wicked 
 
 men? 191 
 
 And displeasing to men of prayer 1 192 
 
 The supposed remoteness of a day of reckoning for deeds perform- 
 ed in the flesh, must tend to embolden men to sin, 198 
 
 It gives the priesthood an influence at the bed of death, which has 
 
 often been abused, 199 
 
 The best, as the worst of men, must needs be changed after death 
 
 in order to their admission to the realms of bliss, 234 
 
 The immutability of a law is no proof that its penalties are eter- 
 nal, 235 
 
 The divine Being is not subject to the difficulties which beset hu- 
 
 me.n legisktors, 236 
 
 God was not reduced to the alternative of creating some for mis- 
 ery, or not at all, 237 
 
 Forgiveness of sin does not (in the divine economy) imply ex- 
 emption from deserved punishment, 239 
 
 Another illustration of the same point, 240 
 
 The advantages of forgiveness on this scheme, ib. 
 
 If punishment is for our benefit, should we sin the more, in order 
 
 to incur the more 1 241 
 
 The penalty of death for murder does not operate to prevent it — 
 
 Why? 242 
 
 Difference between positive and moral punishments,. 244, 245 
 
 The modes of punishment, 247, 248 
 
 But when conscience becomes seared, how then 1 249 
 
 A consideration of that punishment which is natural to sin, (and 
 therefore unavoidable) can alone permanently restrain from 
 
 crime, 250, 251 
 
 Except sin continue eternally, punishment, of a moral kind, can- 
 not, 252, 253 
 
 Neither can that which is physical, 253 
 
 The very consequences of an evil tend to effect its removal, 254 
 
 But why may not sin continue to eternity ? 255 
 
 Exemplary punishment cannot be needed in the future state,. . . 256 
 The goodness of God is itself a ground for supposing that the 
 
 punishment of sin is present, 257, 258 
 
INDEX TO COMPARISONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 379 
 
 Page. 
 According to endless misery punishment is both disproportionate 
 
 and uncertain, 261, 262 
 
 The probable origin of hell, 278, 279 
 
 The foreknowledge of events, prove also their foreappointment,.282, 283 
 If sin is of God's appointment, I will commit as much of it as I 
 
 please, 283 
 
 No rational ground betwixt foreknowledge and foreordination,..285, 286 
 The foreappointment of ends implies also a foreappointment of 
 
 means, 287, 288 
 
 I am a free agent, for I can do as I please, 290 
 
 God controls us by the agency of our will, not against it, 294 
 
 Why is one a christian, and another not ? 295 
 
 Why suffer we for sin if it is unavoidable 1 297 
 
 Facts prove that our advantages over others are not of our own 
 
 making, 298 
 
 Election does not necessarily imply reprobation, 303, 304 
 
 It were partiality in God to pardon some who are as guilty as 
 
 others whom he executes, 309 
 
 Why are means necessary for bringing about a result which is 
 
 unchangeably foreordained 1 310 
 
 God is as accountable for what he permits, as for what he ordains, 313 
 If we say that the scriptural terms rendered forever, everlasting, 
 etc., radically signify eternity, how will we get along with the 
 
 Jew] 315 
 
 We cannot form an adequate conception of eternity, 319 
 
 Our happiness is increased by contrast, 326 
 
 If even there be no punishment in eternity, men may be advan- 
 taged according to their advancement in moral improvement in 
 life, 332 
 
INDEX 
 
 TO THE SCRIPTURE TEXTS COMMENTED ON IN THIS WORK, WHICH ARE 
 USUALLY URGED AGAINST THE UNIVERSALIAN FAITH. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Prov. i. 26. I also will laugh at your calamity, etc 54 
 
 John xvii. 9. I pray not for the world, 110, 111 
 
 Jude, verse 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities ahout 
 them, in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, 
 and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suf- 
 fering the vengeance of eternal fire, 114, 115 
 
 Rom. ix. 1 — 3. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience 
 also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great 
 heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish 
 that mysetf were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my 
 kinsmen according to the flesh, 115, 116 
 
 Rom. X. 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for 
 
 Israelis, that they might be saved, 116 
 
 Ezek. xviii. 4. The soul that sinneth, it shall die, 135 
 
 Mark xvi. 16. He that believeth not shall be damned, ib. 
 
 Gal. vi. 8. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap 
 corruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit 
 reap life everlasting, ib. 
 
 2 Cor. V. 10. For we must all appear before the judgment-seat 
 of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his 
 body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or 
 bad, 136 
 
 Matt. xix. 16. What good thing shall I do, that I may inherit 
 
 eternal Ufe, 137—187 
 
 Matt. vii. 13. Enter ye in at the strait gate : for wide is the gate, 
 and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many 
 there be which go in thereat, 140, 141 
 
 Heb. xii. 14. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord,. . . . 142 
 
 Matt. XXV. 31, 46. When the Son of man shall come in his 
 glory, etc., and all others pertaining to Christ's coming to judge 
 and reward men according to their works, 157 — 187 
 
 Mai. iv. 1 — 6. Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, 
 
 etc., 162, 163 
 
 Matt, viii, 11, 12. Ye shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and 
 all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves shall 
 be thrust out, 165 
 
 Luke xvi. 19 — 31. The rich man and Lazarus,. . . . 167, 168, 184, 187 
 381 
 
382 INDEX TO SCRIPTURE TEXTS COMMENTED UPON. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Matt. XXV. 1—12. The ten virgins, 169 
 
 Matt. xxii. 1 1. And when the king came in to see the guests, he 
 
 saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment, 186 
 
 Matt. xiii. 24 — 30. The tares and wheat, 170, 171 
 
 Matt. xiii. 47, 48. The net cast into the sea, ib. 
 
 Matt. XXV. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punish- 
 ment : but the righteous into life eternal, 174, 175, 186, 187 
 
 Matt. XXV. 45. The devil and his angels, 180, 181 
 
 Matt. xi. 21, 22. Woe unto thee, Chorazin, etc. It shall be 
 more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than 
 for thee 202, 203 
 
 Acts xvii. 30, 31. Because he hath appointed a day, in the which 
 
 he will judge the world in righteousness, etc., 204, 205 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 7 — 13. But the heavens and the earth which are now, 
 
 are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, etc.,. . . .205 — 207 
 
 2 Thess. i. 6 — 10. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to re- 
 compense tribulation to them that trouble you ; and to you 
 who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be 
 revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire 
 taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey 
 not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : who shall be punished 
 with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
 from the glory of his power ; when he shall come to be glori- 
 fied in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe 
 (because our testimony among you was believed) in that 
 day, 207—2 1 1 
 
 Heb. ix. 27. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this 
 
 the judgment, 211—213 
 
 Rev. XX. 11 — 15. And I saw a great white throne, and him that 
 sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; 
 and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, 
 small and great, stand before God : and the books were opened ; 
 and another book was opened, which is the book of life : and 
 the dead were judged out of those things which were written 
 in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up 
 the dead which were in it ; and death and hell delivered up the 
 dead which were in them : and they were judged every man 
 according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the 
 lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was 
 not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of 
 fire. (And its parallel text in Daniel,) 213—217 
 
 Matt. xvi. 26. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the 
 whole world, and lose his own soul 1 or what shall a man give 
 in exchange for his soul? 218 
 
 Eccles. viii. 11. Because sentence against an evil work is not 
 executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully 
 set in them to do evil, 219 
 
 Dan. xii. 2. And many of them that sleep in thp, dust of the cai ih 
 shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and 
 everlasting contempt, 22 1 , 222 
 
INDEX TO SCRIPTURE TEXTS COMMENTED UPON. 383 
 
 John V. 28, 29. Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in ^^'S^- 
 the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and 
 shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrec- 
 tion of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrec- 
 tion of damnation, 223, 224 
 
 John viii. 21. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, 
 and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go, 
 ye cannot come, 225, 226 
 
 Matt. xii. 31, 32. But whosoever speaketh against the Holy 
 Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nei- 
 ther in the world to come, 227, 228 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 24. But woe unto that man by whom the Son of 
 man is betrayed ! it had been good for that man if he had not 
 been born. (And all the texts pertaining to Judas,) 229 — 231 
 
 John iii. 3. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the king- 
 dom of God, 232 
 
 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not in- 
 herit the kingdom of God ! Be not deceived : neither fornica- 
 tors, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of 
 themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunk- 
 ards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of 
 God, 232—234 
 
 Gen. ii. 17. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely 
 
 die, 244 
 
 Eccles. ix. 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
 might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor 
 wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest, 265 
 
 Ps. ix. 17. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the na- 
 tions that forget God, 266 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 22. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall 
 burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her 
 increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains,. . . . 268 
 
 Mark ix. 43 — 48. If thy hand offend thee, cut it off"; it is bet- 
 ter for thee to enter into life maimed, than having too hands to 
 go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched ; where 
 their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if 
 thy foot offend thee, cut it off": it is better for thee to enter halt 
 into life, than having too feet to be cast into hell, into the fire 
 that never shall be quenched ; where their worm dieth not, 
 and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, 
 pluck it out : it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of 
 God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell- 
 fire ; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quench- 
 ed, 271—273 
 
 Matt, xxiii. 33. How can ye escape the damnation of belli. . . . 274 
 
 Mark ix. 43 — 48. And the fire is not quenched — never shall be 
 
 quenched, etc., 274, 275 
 
 Luke xii. 4, 5. Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after 
 that, have no more that they can do : but fear him, which after 
 he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell, 276, 277 
 
384 INDEX TO SCRIPTURE TEXTS COMMENTED UPON. 
 
 Page. 
 
 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that 
 are lost : in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds 
 of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel 
 of Christ who is the image of God, should shine unto them,.. 306, 307 
 
 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12. God shall send them strong delusion, that 
 they should believe a lie ; that they all might be damned who 
 believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, . . . ib. 
 
 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee ; 
 but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever, 318, 319 
 
 Rev. XX. 14. The lake of fire and second death, 321—323 
 
 Rev. xxi. The Millennium, or Christ's latter reign on the earth, . 324, 325 
 
Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Libra 
 
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