My article was devoted chiefly to these last, particularly a wrong use
of the Greek article, and the rejection of an important word, when it
conflicted with their views, though they often employ it at other
times.
I say with the fullest confidence that the doctrine of eternal
punishment is not in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. It came into the
church chiefly with converts who had believed it before their
conversion, and continued to believe it by a misconstruction of the
Scriptures.
THE SON OF GOD.
By not paying particular attention to what I said, my critic has
misrepresented me in an important particular; and has repeated the
idea a number of times, namely, that I deny the sonship of Jesus
Christ. I simply refer to some passages to show the importance of the
Greek article, and some of these have the expression, "the Son of
God," when they ought to have been rendered "a Son of God," or "a Son
of a God" not only because the article is omitted in the Greek, but it
is the language of Satan, and of the heathen, and therefore more
characteristic than the words _the_ Son of God. The sonship of our
Lord has evidence enough, without that of Satan and the heathen,
especially as the evangelists have represented them as giving no such
testimony.
The reference in my article to insanity and suicide was incidental;
and whether strictly correct or not, the thousand that have been
ruined in this way is a picture sufficiently frightful, and shows that
the Christian religion has been greatly misapprehended; for in its
purity, it never has, and never can, produce a single case of either
insanity or suicide.
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
Of the six theological seminaries, which I referred to, on the
authority of Dr. Edward Beecher, as existing in the early days of the
church, I find on further reading that two were not theological
seminaries, but "schools of thought," as the doctor afterwards calls
them. One of these was in Asia Minor; and there, the annihilation of
the wicked was believed and taught. The other was in North Africa; and
here, endless punishment was the prevailing belief on the subject of
future destiny. The four others were real seminaries, in which the
doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of all intelligent
beings, after future disciplinary punishment, was inculcated by men as
much distinguished for piety and virtue and missionary zeal, as any in
the whole church.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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