_Answer_. God made us, and he has therefore the right to do with us as he pleases. Justice demands that he should damn all of us, and the few that he will save will be saved through mercy and without the slightest respect to anything they may have done themselves. Such is the justice of God, that those in hell will have no right to complain, and those in heaven will have no right to be there. Hell is justice, and salvation is charity. 415 _Question_. Do you consider it possible for a law to be jusdy satisfied by the punishment of an innocent person? _Answer_. Such is the scheme of the atonement. As man is held responsible for the sin of Adam, so he will be credited with the virtues of Christ; and you can readily see that one is exactly as reasonable as the other. _Question_. Suppose a man honestly reads the New Testament, and honestly concludes that it is not an inspired book; suppose he honestly makes up his mind that the miracles are not true; that the devil never really carried Christ to the pinnacle of the temple; that devils were really never cast out of a man and allowed to take refuge in swine;--I say, suppose that he is honestly convinced that these things are not true, what ought he to say? _Answer_. He ought to say nothing. _Question_. Suppose that the same man should read the Koran, and come to the conclusion that it is not an inspired book; what ought he to say? _Answer_. He ought to say that it is not inspired; his fellow-men are entitled to his honest opinion, and it is his duty to do what he can do to destroy a per- nicious superstition. 416 _Question_. Suppose then, that a reader of the Bible, having become convinced that it is not inspired-- honestly convinced--says nothing--keeps his con- clusion absolutely to himself, and suppose he dies in that belief, can he be saved? _Answer_. Certainly not. _Question_. Has the honesty of his belief anything to do with his future condition? _Answer_. Nothing whatever., _Question_. Suppose that he tried to believe, that he hated to disagree with his friends, and with his parents, but that in spite of himself he was forced to the conclusion that the Bible is not the inspired word of God, would he then deserve eternal punishment? _Answer_. Certainly he would. _Question_. Can a man control his belief? _Answer_. He cannot--except as to the Bible. _Question_. Do you consider it just in God to create a man who cannot believe the Bible, and then damn him because he does not? _Answer_. Such is my belief. _Question_. Is it your candid opinion that a man who does not believe the Bible should keep his belief a secret from his fellow-men? _Answer_. It is. 417 _Question_. How do I know that you believe the Bible? You have told me that if you did not be- lieve it, you would not tell me? _Answer_. There is no way for you to ascertain, except by taking my word for it. _Question_. What will be the fate of a man who does not believe it, and yet pretends to believe it?