Besides, if we could realize that every heathen who does not hear and
accept the Gospel is doomed to eternal fire, the thought would drive us
to frenzy. We cannot bear the thought of a person, though he were an
enemy, being even burned to death. In such a case, there would be a
crowd of ardent sympathizers, though it were known that their sympathy
would be unavailing. Failing all relief, there would be sighs, and
groans, and prayers on every hand. It is not possible to witness unmoved
such a scene of suffering. And it lasts but a short time. But the
supposed case of the heathen is endless agony; and it does not move us.
The only conclusion is that it is not really believed. We may think we
believe it; we may count it orthodox to believe it; but if we did really
believe it, it would drive us to insanity.
A QUASI ENTHUSIASM.
Therefore any argument drawn from the supposed damnation of the heathen
is unreal. We may stir up a quasi enthusiasm; we may be moved for the
time; but we are not by any means moved to the level of the fate which
we deplore. If we really believed it, as so many profess, we would spend
our last dollar, and make all but superhuman efforts, to take the Gospel
to the heathen. But instead of that, we are content to hear at long
intervals a few points of information from the minister, take up a
collection for Foreign Missions, to which perhaps we contribute a few
cents or dollars, and then dismiss the whole matter from our minds.
Some time ago I was present at a ministers' Monday morning meeting. A
brother read a paper on Foreign Missions. He and his congregation are
noted for their enthusiasm and liberality in that sphere. When he was
making his plea for increased liberality and enterprise, he pictured the
heathen dropping into eternal torment one by one--I think at the average
rate of one every minute. When he had done there was a period of
profound silence on the part of the brethren who were present. I saw
that many of them were confused. They could not in their hearts endorse
the brother's argument; and it would be unorthodox to contravene it.
COULD NOT REST IN THEIR BEDS.
It will thus be seen that the church is in a very unsettled position on
this question. Good men are trying to believe what in their hearts they
repudiate. They think it a sign of soundness in the faith to believe in
the doctrine of eternal torment. If they really believed it they could
not rest in their beds at night, nor follow their usual avocations by
day. But happily they do not really believe it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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