Horatio

“ When we realize that the whole race is yet to be restored, we begin to see something of the unbounded love and wisdom that rule through all time and all eternity. Even the suffering of the present may be made conducive to our ultimate happiness and glory. A little farther on we may see that sin and suffering have been permitted for a time as an object lesson for all eternity. In view of such a possibility we feel like exclaiming, "O, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom, and knowledge of God! ”

“ I do not mean the revelling of mere fancy in the realm of the unthinkable or the impossible. I mean the vivid realization of facts that lie outside the ordinary rut of thought. So exercised, imagination is one of our noblest powers.
We need a devout, yet chastened, imagination in dealing with such themes as the one we are considering now. No wonder that Ruskin says that imagination is the greatest power of the soul. It is but reasonable to imagine, then, that God has disclosures of love, and wisdom, and power, to make in the next life, that far transcend our present thought. ”

“ Of course common sense and observation would recognize a marvellous difference in men as to their need of purification. It would be conceived that some would suffer but very slightly, or not at all; but their eyes would be opened to see truth of which they had never dreamed. Others might need a long and painful discipline to purge them of evil habits which they had contracted through long years. But equality would consist in the fact that all need to be purified in a greater or less degree, to fit them for a higher or lower place in the better world. ”

“ A man has a right to know what his church teaches. The man in the pew—the man even who is not in the pew but who might be—has a right to expect that the man in the pulpit not only believes what he preaches, but preaches what he believes. A religion made up of hidden folds and mental reservations, a creed marked by evasions and ambiguities, cannot reach and warm the heart of the world."
There is hardly a more vital truth known to us than the one I have tried to commend. For its candid consideration we need the illumination of the Holy Ghost. ”

“ Whether it be the theory of eternal torment or extinction or Restoration that is held, let us concede all honor and confidence to the men who hold it. The more of that spirit we really possess, the sooner will the divine light break upon our souls.
With regard to a basis on which conscientious men can really unite, is it well to go so much into detail? Mere creeds will never conserve the truth. Men will think, whether we will or no; and men will have diverse views. Do we not put a premium on dishonesty by constructing a creed for all details, and expecting men to subscribe to that creed? ”

“ The fact that unanimity of view may not be attainable at present is no good reason for treating such a momentous topic with silence. I reckon that he does a service to mankind if he contributes anything to the solution of this great question, even if by so doing he stirs up opposition. Surely at this late day we ought to be able to say something definite about men's eternal destiny.
The soul has naturally a strong affinity for truth. Hence there is nothing more demoralizing than any sustained attempt to believe that which does not commend itself to our most sacred convictions. ”

“ But such a mantle of charity is not available for certain orthodox ministers. They, too, forecast a final day of grace, and paint it in the most glorious colors. There appears to be nothing to mitigate their joy. But all the while they profess to believe in eternal torment. Their creed says that uncounted myriads of our fellow creatures are writhing in eternal fire, and that their torment will go on forever and ever, without any hope of mitigation. Surely, the very thought of such suffering would cast a pall of unspeakable gloom over the most glorious anticipation? ”

“ Will not the light that is in her be darkness? How can we expect to receive growing divine illuminations if we affect to believe what we are convinced is untrue? Would it not be wiser and safer to put all the orthodox Confessions on the shelf—yes, on the top shelf—and take instead such a simple creed as this: "We believe the Scripture to be the Word of God." Then, though we might differ, we would not be afraid to avow, our convictions, and we would not be accounted heretics. Let the dead past bury its dead. ”

“ It was a hint of the coming glory in which we may all shine by and by.
There is a divine sense of beauty implanted in every one of us. Have you never noticed how the beautiful things in the shop windows attract all the ragged urchins of the street? Yes, they may be ragged and dirty, but the divine instinct of beauty is in every one of them. Whatever is really beautiful—whether it be a beautiful face, or a beautiful sky, or even a beautiful ribbon in a window—is sure to attract and fascinate them. ”

“ Though I lay so much stress on the omnipotence of divine love, I do not forget that divine wrath must be reckoned with as well. "God is angry with sinners every day." "Tribulation, and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil." "Our God is consuming fire." But the essential thing is love. "God is love." It is a constituent of His character. That could not be said of wrath. It is but the dark shadow of love. In a state of innocence it could not exist. When sin is done away, wrath will be seen no more. ”

“ Such hardening of the heart raises a strong presumption that the doctrine is false.
Our highest idea of punishment is, that it is reformatory. But in endless torment there is no possibility, and no design, of reformation. A God of infinite love would surely use the highest method, with the highest intention. If suffering was of a limited duration and conduced to our final perfection, we could understand it, and adore the Author of it. But who can see any beneficent design in everlasting torment? ”

“ To be sure, there might be degrees of torment; and the man in a mild degree of suffering would not suffer so much as the man in an intense degree. But then, the suffering is to be for ever and ever. It is to be an eternity of suffering. In that case, the suffering might be reduced to the mildest form of discomfort; but as it is to be eternal in duration, the sum total of it would be infinite. Could any stretch of imagination conceive of such suffering being only a few stripes? It does seem to me that both the theory of extinction, and that of torment, utterly break down under that test. ”

“ But my thought has been that there was such infinite sympathy between them that the Father actually suffered as much as the Son. If a child is sick, does not the mother suffer as much as the child? And do we not all suffer if our children are in pain? Now, we inherit as much of the Divine nature as is possible to be communicated to human nature. The root of such suffering is love. ”

“ Apart from this theory, those who are saved we think must have everlasting regret that friends whom they have known and loved are not with them. Suppose those friends are annihilated. Will not the knowledge of that fact be an everlasting pang to the friends who have attained eternal joy? To think that those who were so dear to them were worthy of no better fate! To think of the honor and glory which might have been eternally theirs, which now they have forever missed! ”

“ May not all suffering be ordained as a necessary safeguard of innocence to all eternity? I mean this: We have to recognize the possibility of falling; for the angels fell. We must remember that we are not machines, but moral beings. Now may not sin have been permitted, and the suffering in consequence of it, in order to furnish us with a warning against sin to all eternity? And as we are of such diverse mental and moral calibre, may not our suffering be individually of that kind and degree that it will be exactly what we need as a warning against sin, and so safeguard our innocence for ever? ”

“ And if in our best moods we have any hesitation in consigning millions of men to eternal torment, the thought will suggest itself—-Has not God more reluctance? Then when we think of Him being everlasting love; and moreover, when we think of Him as possessing the resources of infinite wisdom and power, we begin to see that there must be some other alternative.
Extinction would be one alternative. But would not extinction be a frustration of the divine intention, and unworthy of God? Would it not have been better and wiser never to create those millions of men than to extinguish them? ”

“ Those ferocious representations are the very contrary of the truth. To get the truest conceptions of God, we have to think of man at his highest; and even then we are as far below the reality as the earth is below the stars. We are made in the image of God, however, and are a human transcript of the divine. But we are finite at our best, while God is infinite. ”

“ For what is it that mainly keeps so many men, especially working men, from the Church? There may be many causes; but one undoubtedly is, an undefined idea that there is no eternal torment, and that ministers know it, but are not candid enough to say so. These men may not have studied the theology of the case, but they cannot think of God—when they think of Him at all—as casting innumerable people, and pretty good people—into everlasting fire. They have an idea that that doctrine is in the orthodox creed; and so many have an impression that the whole system of religion is a melancholy farce. ”

“ And what do our highest thoughts of divine love, and power, and purpose say? Are not our best ideas of fitness in accord with the view that Atonement and Salvation are co-extensive? When we once receive the idea that divine love and power have no petty restrictions of place or time, will we not accept the larger theory? And this one conception will transform and transfigure all our thoughts of redemption. ”

“ If we can only realize that by faithful missionary effort the heathen will require a pruning and development when they pass out of this life, will not that be an effective and worthy incentive to the best efforts of which we are capable?
It may be thought by some that the old doctrine of endless torment would be more effective as an incentive. At the first glance it may appear so. What could be more effective than the warning that men will drop into an endless hell if they do not receive the offers of grace before they die? ”

“ Will not infinite wisdom find a way? If there is any difficulty left, calling for the exercise of infinite power, surely, it is not beyond Him whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting? Is it not thus reasonable to believe that all possible difficulties will yet be solved? The infinite One who rules all worlds is from everlasting to everlasting. His government may require time to evolve His gracious designs; but He will do all His pleasure. Therefore, we believe the day will come when sin and suffering shall be entirely done away. ”

“ Now, since by an invention of man our sight has been so marvellously quickened, it is surely easy to believe that it will be quickened in a far greater degree when all the powers of this natural body are renewed and immortalized. So then, while the eye of the spiritual body may sweep the far fields of glory, it may also discover worlds of beauty in dew drop, and leaf and flower. ”

“ But how overwhelming is our conviction when we see infinite love joined with infinite wisdom and infinite power! What will not this triumvirate of infinites accomplish?
We may be told that sin is an infinite evil, and that even infinite love cannot conquer it. We refuse to believe it. God is omnipotent in the moral, as well as in the material realm. Surely His infinite love will incline Him, His infinite wisdom will show Him how, and His infinite power will accomplish His desire.
Now again: The advocates of eternal torment will freely grant that God loves every soul that He has made. ”

“ How much better, and how much more in keeping with the divine character, and the divine revelation to say, without any halting or doubt, that God loves every man whom He has made; that He has provided for every man's salvation; that if men do not accept the provision they will suffer; but that God will triumph in the end, and that divine love will win. Surely, that would be a Gospel indeed for our poor sin-stricken world! ”

“ Yet this passed for orthodoxy! Is it not a marvel that men ever believed it, or tried to believe it? Only think of infinite love, infinite power, and infinite wisdom, combining to accomplish such a result! It is almost beyond belief that men of ordinary feeling, and with the Bible in their hands, ever tried to believe it. For the truth must commend itself to the heart as well as to the mind. ”

“ Eternity alone will tell how often a course of sin was arrested, and the penitent wooed to a better life by the memory of a sainted friend. I regard these holy memories as God's guardian angels. They follow us with tender ministries of love; they often raise us when we fall; they lift us above the dull level of the world; they nourish in us higher ideals of purity and blessedness; they foster a more vivid faith in the world unseen. ”