STEPPING-STONES OVER BIG DIFFICULTIES. ROUND ABOUT HELL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XV, Issue 25, 14 October 1887, Page 29

STEPPING-STONES OVER BIG DIFFICULTIES. ROUND ABOUT HELL.

Fathkb New

(By Rev. Cassidy, Plymouth.) (Continued.)

Fok a 9 long as the thunders peal aud lightnings flash, and foaming breakers beat uputi tbe shoie, as long as a flower blooms in the sunshine, or a biid sings iv the sulluess of the morning, as long as tbe bun bhines above us, or the glow-worm glimmers below, so long will God's infinite wisdom lie manifest and man's powerlessness to iundeiatand Him, and everyiuing will proclaim ita existence, as Her- , maaas told the Athiest, that the very feather with which he peuaed the words, there is no God nor auy proof of Hrn wisdom, refuted the audacious lie. Thus w heiever «egj we shall find God's wisdom displayed before us. and if in the present condition of the human race and its surroundings wj cannot easily reconcile its actual gloomy state and its iuture, gloomier still, with the actual wisdom and gooduess of God, still we must admit that God is always wise and God is always jußt, and if wrong, if evil, it sin, if misery prevail, God is not responsible, and that man, and that man only, is their cause and the fount u n of their origin. God bemg good, He must have made man lor a good purpose. He must bave made him for happiness. God being wise He must have made man wisely ; the endowmeuts He gave him then were right and goo.i, and if we cannot understand either the gifts or the Giver, we must shrink from judging the Judge, aud if man abused the gift 3 and scorned the Giver, he must confers he has done wiong. Gcd gave man liberty. What nobler gift could He give bim 1 God gave man reason to direct biahbeity and make that liberty always rational or concient'Oua Mau can and man ought to remam conscientious aud. rational. If he doe? not act according to bis conscience or reason, he ltelslhat he is going against firM; reason, he kuows that be is d bob-ying the changeless la*-, he kuowct that he is goinjf against the iusiincts of nature, he h going against the tide of moral gravitation; he knows that be is earning no reward but punishment for himself he knows that he is separating bim&elf from goodness and light, be knows that be v k-avirg the light and aiukingiutu tbe darkness, he f-cib thai, be is going from he ivou 10 hell. Hell, then, begins in tue human couiCßiiee, for tbe eSects of siu and iis puuiauniciit first mauitest themselves tbere. And hell is only an effect of fciu or its continuation in the luliest bense ; and as sin is only the creation of mao, bo hell, that is but iia consequence, is his work also.

Si a is a free and deliberate act or thought by which man dots or desires what be ought not to do or desire, and from which follows the conscientiousness of his being in a state that he ought not to be in, and a knowledge that he has no similiavicy of nature or feeling with God, aid that God can have no friendship for him in consequence. If this conviction and this feeling become permanent, then we have the permanent separation from, and the permanent loss of God, then we bave hell in its simplest yet most terrible aspect. Man cannot enjoy the friendship or a union with God unless he resembles God, unless he loves what God loves and hates what God hates, and it can happen that mm may so disarrange his nature as to attain a peimanent desire to hate what God lovee, and to love what God bates; and thus can man continue to feel and be for ever unlike God in life, and separated from him in consequence : unlike God in death, and separated from him till the abyss is bridged over that never then can be bridged. For death does not interfere with the feelings of the soul, it does not annihilate them, it does not change its nature, it does not give it anything it has not already, it does not take from it any feeling or disposition it may have acquired in life, and if the soul leaves the body at death ia a state of dissimilarity and separation from God, death only widens the breach and confirms the separation. To think of an essential reformation taking place in the soul'a feelings and character when it passes the mysterious frontier, and a new career of experiences dawns before it ; to believe that the higher illumination coming direct from the divine Majesty will transform it* nature, and give it a supreme love of what it h^ted till then, as Eome think, is to assert and believe what cannot be. There is illumination sufficient in life to move the darkest natures to love aud obey God. Will the soul receive more illumination when it crosses the gloomy ferry than it has received while here, and if ie does, will it use it 1 Both one and the other hypothesis rest on the merest probability, and if the law of moral gravitation works like the law of physical gravitation, both one and the other will be an impossibility, for where the tree falls under the laws of physical gravitation it lies fallen under that same law and lies for ever fallen. So under the law of moral gravitation in whatever state man dies in that state he remains. " Bind his bands and feet, cast him into the exterior darknsss ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." No liberty, no illumination here to depend oa or hope for. But Origen, Emmerson and many others will tell us, tnwever, that the will is free in eternity, and that it is unnatural to suppose that the will will fall into final dissimilarity of foe ling with God, or lose all desire to be holy, or will not choose the right when greater light comes. But will greater light come? and will it show God more amiable than in life ? May we not reasonably believe that the greater light, if greater light there will be, will only show the sinner hia defilement, his unworlhiness, his ingratitude, his moral deformities as they are visible to the divine Mind, and may we not conclude that the majestic beauty of God will be completely shrouded from one so unworthy of seeing it, and that the knowledge of being at variance with God will intensify the soul's hatred of itselt and Him. The other life is not oue of trial, everything tells us it is not, and even if it were, there is no reason to believe that, there acroßS the mysterious silent frontier, and lost on the extern il darkness that envelope* in gloom tbe rebels of God's goodness, those who cursed and hated Him, those who opposed His will and scorned His love, should turn suddenly in their downward flight, and, rilled with feel : ngsof sublime adoratiou and enthusiastic love, would cherish and bles9 Him with all the fervour of the seraphs. This world is the theatre where we muse play our part, right or wrong ; when the curtain falls there only remains for us the groan of scorn and disappointment or the outburst of applause and jubilee, If the permission of sin presents a mystery, ita punishment certainly exhibits none. If sin were not punished, it would be the greatest of all mysteries, since reason, common sense, experience, history, science, every movement of life, every law of nature, every throb of creation, every breath and every sorrow, every ray of light, every sunny hour and every stormy one, every sigh or snrle tell us that he who goes against nature, he who disobeys the higher power, he who opposes the tide that moves majestically on to the One who made it, he who briDgs confusion into God's creatiou, must sufrVr confusion, and must be expelled from the eujoyments of perfect peace and love. Wrong tnußt be opposed and punished as loug as wrong is wrong ; even science, if true to its princip c*, must confess the same, for it must acknowledge that it finds in nature and the universe an universal law that tends heavenwards, whose violation must be repaired or repented of. Many, however, of the baby scientists of the day, forgetting that Hell or Heaven is completely beyond the limit of their jurisdiction, would have us believe that eternal punishment is an impossibility, and must be considered only as the remnant of a barbaric creed fast fading away. With the light and brilliancy of the century, with the help of geology and astronomy, with the stiides of electric discoveries, everything in their minds h is changed, and to believe in a place of punishment beyond this life is to turn again to the dark ages, to fall back into paganism, or to become insane. But these are mere sayings, and nothing more. For what has science done to c^plan the problem of life 1 Nothing but further to confound the alrendy confounded. What can science say about Heaven or Hell 1 Nothing. Or what light can astronomy throw on the dark mysteries that surround us 1 Noue. It can only force more vividly upon us the conviction that in the Heavens G-od has declared His glory, that He is beautiful and good, and infinitely wise und great. From the day Adam first beheld the settrng suu, when the mysterious darkness gathered over the f«ce of nature, shrouding the earth from his astomsned g-izs, and the stars br.gntdned into splendour one by one ; evtr since that first day aud that fi st memorable night, the human aiind ha* ai.xiously struggled t ) understand the mysteries that dwvll in those bngot oros and to wandvr ovsr toe boundless fi\j,d of mysteiy they preßeut. On the hill tops of Eden watched tnat first astrouomer ; generation after generation hay« since ihen r>)led away, enlarging by tuai<" co;itnbuUods the stream of celestial discovery, uuravelhng the mysterious movements of the worlds, weighing their immensity, computing their reciprocal influences, and. tracing their complex wanderings, bat lost

seems every effort, and despair at success or certitude still hangs over •11 the supposed tnunph ihit human genim might here have won. k2 aat efforts, what pfuesses, what errors do we not meet with all Mtorough the cheque •ed history of the worlds that roll and shine r around m. Through the long centuries of antediluvian life, human eyes have constantly gazed and watched far up into the bright blue sky. After the delude had swwpt the wicked from the world, when the storm was hushed to rest, and heaven was gemmed again in its pristine beauty, f r« ax the summits of lofty mountains astrmomera took up their vigils. In Bablyon they kept a sacred watch, and the Egyptian priests ionpired a thirst for the sacred mysteries of the ■tare. The plains of Shiuar, the temples of lidia, the Pyramids of JBgypt were in turn their watching spots. When science fled to Greece, astronomy grew strong amid the schools of her philosophers} and when darkness covered over the world the burning desarta of Arabia became the theatre of her observations. When brighter days dawned in Europe, we find the astronomer toiling with Copernicus, and Galileo watching with Tycbo and triumphing with Kepler Six thousand years have passed away since the first great observation commenced : we stand at the terminus of this vast period and, looking through the long vista of departed years, we notice many changes.but what Buccess or triumphs in discovering can we count upon. None whatever, everything is still a mystery, and everything is but guess work. The nearest of the planets or stars are yet nnknown to us, and to attempt to say with accuracy what is farther on is absurd. We know far out in the dim realms of space music is there— the deep and solemn harmony of the Spheres. We know poetry is there, breathing to worlds of brightness and written on the sable garments of tke night. We know that architecture is there, the majestic structure of sun and system, of clustre and universal architraves and archways ghostly from infinitude. We know that eloquence is there, deep and solemn, surging through revolving worlds all overpowering the mind in its attempts to scab those rugged steeps, yet shedding the light of encouragement and hope along the sublime and mysterious pathway. But that is all, we can here only guess or dream, and all the lesson astronomy can tell us is that God is great and majestic, that He ia all holy, all powerful and sublime. As it is in astronomy so it is in geologj.only that in this branch of science there is still more diversity , uncertainty and speculation. The different schools hold different theories, but even amongst these every independentjinquirer entertains different views and deductions. And the principal fact that many of tne schools or the individuals mike an effort to agree about is about something that may seemingly ctosh with revelation and tha Mosaic account of creation. Mosc of them want no God. no virtue, no sin, no redemption ; looking on beasts as their venerable companions, and in this ignoble fraternity they overlook tha natural dignity of man and his prerogative common sense. Geological Don Quixotes nude desperate efforts with the fossilised jawbone of an ass to burst up Creation, they hope with a piece of broken earthenware dug up from Borne entombed village, to scratch out the history of mankind and tear to pieces the Bacred writings, or with a pointed old adzo of tha Indians of the Ked Kiver to historically tomahawk, Moses and tha Prophets and the martyr testimony of the true Church. They believe by tne rule of three or by the spear of the savage they will sink the Ark of Koah, and overthrow the tower of Sion, or with a hindful of mud taken from their craniums, they will blind all the nations of the earth, their gorilla brothers included, and they will insist on us giving them credit for profound learning and brilliant discovery, and ask us to prefer their geological crotcnets to universally established facts The •' Andnas Scheuchzerii" of the Swiss naturalist may be taken as a fair sample of geological accuracy. We know the sensation the learned Dr. Sheuchzer produced when he found the fossil skeleton by the Lake of Constanz, and certified it to be the remains of a man, calling it the " homo diluvii testit." It was soon discovered however, that this " homt diluvii testis " was nothing but tke skeleton of a Salamander, living specimens of which, may be seen in several of the Zoological Gardens of the world. Is it such and similar foundations that we are to rest our faith upon ? Or is the whole history of man, his hope in eternal life to be blotted out by salamander Bkelet ds or the mental freaks of their thick-headed discoveries ? Where, then, is the presumptuous;folly,fand where, we might ask, is the common sense ? Where is the il.usion and where is the naked fact 7 Where is the descent to the mud and its progeny, and where is the excelsior _ movement and the progress heavenwards? Are we to Jean on the instincts of the ape, or on the love and wisdom of oar Father who is heaven ? Common sense will tell us that true faith cannot be affected by true science, and that no science can be true that d»es not stand the test of revealed religion and the Scriptures truly interpreted, God cannot contzadict Himself, light cannot diminish or darken light, truth cannot overthrow truth, and so we can only trust science when it agrees with faith, and is conformable to the teachings of the true Church. We must trust God more than man we must follow the light of His countenance and listen to His voice, and if we do not we are like the blind following the blind, for geology, astronomy, and every other science will only show us our utter helplessness, our ignorauce, and convince us of the necessity of believing in a higher science, the Bcience of the Saints. In our thoughts on the land of weeping and gnashing of teeth, we must feel convinced that science cannot offer any tangible obstacle to our faith, but on the contrary mmst agree wnh it, and that on it alone we must depend for the true solution of the great questions of right and wrong, of human responsibility and future punishment or reward. Jn th« Church of Gci we will find every science encouraged, and every germ of humau .lucovery tended and cared for. In that Church we will find rare fiowirs of genius blooming, nourished by the centre of life and drinking from the fountain of Heaven. We shall find warbleis ihere without number, ribing gloriously into the far off blue, and BODgsters in humble plumiue, ever touching the highest chords ot cdootuil liaiuiony .md cheering on wnh holy hope the bickly ;iud sii iv the Silent night of th^ir affl'dion. Outside of the Church, 'us, true, we will find genius aud kiudnesa dud kne, but being luitlicr lemoved from the umue source of light and tiuth, everything is more Blunted

and everything is pining away. The outside climate is neither warm nor congenial, and no germ will bud to full perfection, and no flower spring up but will lack the rich brightness and purity of the Jivine fire. Grand imtellects will sometimes rise outside her, and noble hearts will appear, but they will be lonely and without kin irai companioa9, wandering throngn the gloomy wilderness aad pinin* away. Their theme and song may be sublimely touching, they will bj admired because they fill be rare, tkey will br welomed bisausa they will ba pensive lonely ones, exiled away from thftir kindred and their home, To intellectual souls, yearning for the steaiy li*ht to guide their footsteps, outgide the Church of God all is a dreary waste, with nothing to follow but th« unsteady cone of thi z>iitcal lights of a departed or still hidden sun, or a phantom light of ths desert, shifting and fleeting at the momemt of bsing grasps 1. It is in the light of the true faith we are too see this great question) as it ia ia its true sense revealed by God.

(To he continued.)