NO MORE HELL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 247, 18 October 1926, Page 16

NO MORE HELL.

(To the Editor.; Sir, —Your correspondent, Mr. Geo. M. Johnston, treats the subject of hell with a levity utterly unbecoming the theme, offensive to persons of religious sentiment, and without due regard for the feelings of those who properly regard this as a matter of utmost solemnity. In Matt. 25, 40, we read: "And these shall go away into eternal punishment." "Kolasiu aionion" are the Greek terms. Kolasiu signifies chastisement, punishment, which is not a state of insensi- j bility or of death, as some would have us to believe. And, even if it were regarded as a state of death, it is a gratuitous assumption to regard death as a condition of insensibility or extinction of conscious personality. To quote Old Testament passages to tbe contrary, or even to restrict oneself to Bible teaching, dn disregard of the progressive nature of revelation, is unsound exegesis. The term "aion." of which aionion is the accusative adjective, signifies duration, finite or infinite. In view of which fact it is unwise to be overly positive l thereon. The churches need not dread | tiie shaking of their creeds, for those | things which cannot be shaken will re- | main. Only dead and decaying dogmas, which have outlasted their usefulness, wiil fall to the ground. Because our knowledge of the nature of hell has advanced does not in- the least impair but rather confirms our knowledge of its reality.—l am, etc., J. G. HUGHES. (To the Editor.) Sir, —I was greatly interested in your leader on the Bishop of Liverpool's and K. Jerome's views on "Fear of Hell." I did not think in these days the teaching of the Bible was so misunderstood. Jesus plainly states "I judge no man," John viii. 15. Man judges himself. What his ruling love is decides his abode for all eternity. If a man loves evil, adultery, drinking, horse racing, gambling, etc, he will naturally select his abode with people who love the same thing. It may appear "hell" to the good people, but to the wicked it is a delightful place where he can indulge all his lusts of fighting and quarrelling. The fire of his ruling love is the Ire of hell referred to. God wills the happiness of everyone, the evil and the good. How- could I the evil be h-ppy in heaven; he can't] and won't love his neighbour. What his life has been here remains with him \ after death. So God allows the evil to select the place where they can be most happy. They could not breathe the atmosphere of heaven; God even cannot make them happy in the heaven of the good and pure. Even here, birds of a feather flock together. Material fire • would have no effect on a spirit as after it has consumed the body there is nothing more to burn. People cannot be reformed after death; this earth is the seminary of heaven or .. 11. If a good upright character is not formed here it cannot be made after death; if the eye, etc. is not formed before birth it cannot be made after. Everything is according to order. This seems to mc the teaching of the Bible and common sense. Anyone can see that to sweep away the Bible and the Ten Commandments would mean pandemonium and anarchy.—l am. etc., HEAVEN AND HELL. (To the Editor.) Sir, —Will Mr. Grant Cowen please answer these statements from Holy Writ ? Ps. ix., 17: "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Gen. xviii., 25: "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" Dent, xxxii., 4: "A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." Job. viii., 3: "Doth God pervert judgment?" etc. Job xxxiv., 12: "Yea, surely, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment." Does Mr. Cowen believe in the absolute Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and will Deity mislead? As to the place "Hell," what is the meaning of Luke viii., 20-31? Dean Alford's version of the New Testament is before mc with his footnote referring to "the deep," as "the abyss of Hell," and giving reference to "Rev. ix., 1, 2. 11, and Rev. xx., 1, 3, where the Greek word is the same." And if your readers will read the whole of Rev., xx. there is sufficiently plain information for anyone who wants to know as to the doom of Satan and all those who reject the plain statements of the Lord Jesus as to present grace or coming judgment. The late Dr. J. C. Ryle, Bishop of Liverpool, whose praise is in all the churches, in a sermon on this subject says, "Beware of new and strange doctrines about hell, and eternal punishment." "Beware of manufacturing a god of your own—a god who is all love but not holy—a god who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none. Such a god is an idol of your own." "He is not the God of the Bible, who says, 'Beside Mc there is no God,'" Isa. xliv., 6. The God who asks mc and every other poor fallen sinning man "Nay, but, o man, who art thou that replies against God" and when He who said, "I am the truth!" declares in Matt, xxv., 40, "These shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Alford). It requires that Mr. Cowen must cut out the Apostles' Creed from his service, for he cannot believe the "Judge" is coming. Said a man to mc in the tram, "I believe in a loving God!" to whom I p»t the question, "And how did a loving God show His love?" Was it not told us in John iii., 10, but alas! the man got out before I could tell him that this question must be settled in view of the Cross of Calvary. For if the very holiness of God demanded such a sacrifice to meet man's need, and if on the ground ot that infinite sacrifice God can righteously pardon the sinner who behoves and accepts that "one sacrifice tor sins," He can just as righteously carry out the "eternal judgments" which heaven's highest authority, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to tell 'us of and to save us from "the wrath to come. —I am, etc., [A number of other correspondents write on this topic, but the above are typical of the views expressed.—Ed.]