USA > Ohio > Twenty-five years in the West > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
Soon after the discussion with Harper Hanna, spoken of in the preceding chapter, I had one in Lafayette with Mr. Jeffries of the Protestant Methodist church. It con- tinued four days. One of my principal proof-texts was Ist. Corinthians, 15th chapter. Spoke as follows: This is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. The apostle discourses on life and death, mortality and immortality, the earthy nature and the heavenly nature. The author makes two general statements: Ist. All die in Adam. 2d. All shall live in Christ.
Ist. " As in Adam all die." This does not say we die because a man did so and so, six thousand years ago. Adam is a Hebrew word, and signifies man. Job says, " Man that is born of awoman is of few days and full of trouble." In the original it reads, Adam, instead of man. That Adam simply means man, or mankind, is evident from the account of the creation of our race in Genesis. "Let us make man (Adam) in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion." Here the plural pronoun shows that the word Adam is employed collectively, meaning mankind. " And God created the man (the Adam) in his own image : in the image of God created he him ; male and female created he. them." Here both the application of " male and female " to the . Adam, and the plural pronoun at the end of the verse shows that the man is used generically, and that it is equivalent to the first of mankind. The word . Adam, then, was not a proper name, but an appellative noun for
125
In the West.
the human species ; its application to the first man, as his proper name, was subsequent and secondary. Hence when the apostle says, " As in Adam all die," he means, As in the Adamic nature, the earthy, corruptible, mortal nature, all die.
2d. The other statement is contained in the same verse -"Even so in Christ shall all be made alive." " Made alive in Christ," is contrasted with "die in Adam; " and as Adam means the earthy nature, so Christ means the heavenly nature. Here is universal death in the earthy nature, and universal life in the heaven- ly nature. But in our Adamic nature is the germ of the Christ-nature, as in the seed is the germ of the future stock - so teaches the apostle. " But some man will say, How are the dead raised up ? And with what body do they come ? " In answering these questions the apostle shows, that the germ of the heavenly man is in the earthy. " Thou fool! that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die." A seed is composed of two distinct parts, two grand divisions .. So is man. The body of the seed corresponds to our mortal body ; the germ to our spiritual nature. When the farmer or gard- ener puts seed in mother earth, death, germination and a resurrection take place. But what dies ? What germinates? What is raised? Is the body of the seed raised ? All know it is not. Dig to the roots and there is the old body, dead, decaying and returning to dust. So with our mortal body. It dies, decays and returns to dust. But when the body of the seed dies, the germ does not die. The germ does not share the fate of its body. But rather, when the body dies, the germ lives ; and what is death to the body is life to the germ. So with man. according to the apostle's illustration. This body dies,
I26
Twenty-Five Years
but the spirit does not die. The spirit does not share the fate of the body. But rather, when the body dies, the spirit lives, and what is death to the body is 'life to the indwelling spirit. How clear is the apostle's illustration and how instructive. The body of the seed corresponds to this mortal body. The germ corresponds to the in- ner man, made in God's immortal image. The death of that body corresponds to our physical death. The germ- ination of the germ corresponds to our resurrection from the dead, and that germ coming forth and clothing our fields, gardens and lawns in beauty and glory, cor- responds to our immortality when this mortal body shall be dead and gone.
It is supposed by some profound investigators and thinkers, that all material things are only emblems of the spiritual : that the physical universe is only an emblem of the spiritual universe. Whether that is so we may not now know, but according to the great apostle, the germ- ination of the seed is an emblem of our resurrection. It points to that great FACT of our future. Every flower in the garden, every blade of grass on the earth, every leaf in the forest, bids us see in our death a glorious res- urrection. But notwithstanding we are surrounded by so many guide-boards directing us heaven-ward, there are some who doubt a resurrection, doubt a future life. They have eyes but they see not ; ears but they hear not ; understanding, but understand not.
" So," says the apostle, referring to this instructive illus- tration, " is the resurrection of the dead"- all the dead, all who die in the earthy nature. In the words, "It is sown," the writer refers to the seed sown in the ground, still making it an emblem of man. Man sows in cor- ruption, dishonor, but is raised incorruptible, glorious.
127
In the West.
The second body is more glorious than the first, as the rose is more beautiful than the seed. These citations show what the apostle means by the words, "made alive in Christ;" and remember, that all who die in the Adamic nature are thus to be made alive.
"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father," etc. (See verses 24-28.) Here we learn what is to be destroyed. I. "All rule." 2. "All authority." 3. " All power." 4. "Death." And mark you, death is the LAST enemy. My friend asserts, death is NOT the last enemy, but be- yond death, and IN HELL, there are legions of enemies to be the everlasting tormentors of countless millions of mankind. If the gentleman is correct, death is not the last enemy, but rather the first real enemy, and opens the door to the fires, furies, and demons of perdition, which will burn and lash their victims world without end. Let it also be noted, that the last enemy is to be DESTROYED. The apostle continues his statements con- cerning the subjugation of all things to God thus : " And when all things shall be subdued to God, then shall the Son himself be subject to him, that put all things under him that God may be all in all." 'This is THE END -the end of Christ's reign - the end of sin, error, suffering and death, when mankind shall be subdued to God, and God ALL IN ALL. The sum of this chapter, then, is this - all mankind are mortal, cor- ruptible, and must die : death is destruction to the body, but life to the soul ; glory, honor and immortality, are the rich inheritance of mankind.
" The apostle," replied Mr. J., "teaches the resurrec- tion of the body, not of the spirit, and I admit he teaches the resurrection of all the dead, and when that shall be
I28
Twenty-Five Years
effected the absent spirits will claim their long lost bodies."
I rejoined: The gentleman tells us, this chapter teaches the resurrection of the bodies of all the dead. If he is correct, God will raise the bodies of saints and sinners, Jews and Gentiles, incorruptible, glorious, heav- enly, and then unlock hell, and take the deformed, cor- rupt, wretched spirits, that have been imprisoned in that foul dungeon for thousands of years, and perhaps mil- lions of ages, and put them into some of those beautiful, glorious, heavenly bodies. That would be a union of perfect purity with total depravity, a marriage of heaven and hell, and two bodies so totally unlike would fly asun- der like fire and water. The truth is, the apostle speaks, not of the resurrection of this mortal body, these bones and muscles, this flesh and blood, but of the man- the inner, spiritual, real man. This body is necessary, while we are denizens of earth. By means of it the spirit is connected with the outer world, but when we shall be dwellers of the spirit land, we shall have no use for these mortal tabernacles.
In his first speech on the proposition relating to end- less punishment, Mr. Jeffries boasted he should make short work of me and my faith. "I have," said he, " one text to quote, and one question to ask. The text is Matt. xii. 31, 32. 'Wherefore I say unto you, All man- ner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.' And this is the question : If the sin
129
In the West.
against the Holy Ghost is not forgiven in this world or in the world to come, where will it be forgiven? I once had a debate with Jonathan Kidwell, and I read this verse, and asked this question, and the discussion closed, ,for Mr. Kidwell could neither answer the question nor explain the passage so as to save Universalism from total destruction. The debate was to continue four days, but it lasted twenty minutes."
I responded as follows: The gentleman pretends he once "used up " a man by one question, and one text, and he expects to demolish me in the same easy and summary manner; but the sequel may show he is over sanguine.
I. If " this world and the world to come " means this life and the life to come, as my friend asserts, then, all sin, save the one sin against the Holy Ghost, may be for- given in the future state. The passage reads, " All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." The parallel passage (Mark iii. 28) reads, " All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and [all] blasphemies wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme." It is clear as daylight, from these passages, that all sins, except the one specified, can be forgiven "in this world or the world to come." If the gentleman is right in his application of the passage, all sins but one may be for- given in the future state of being, and his creed is consequently false, for it asserts God will not permit a sin to be forgiven on the other side of the river, but every stain that darkens our character when we shuffle off this mortal coil, SHALL be retained forever and ever. He must either abandon his text or his unforgiving creed.
2. The gentleman relies on the word, shall- the sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven. That
130
Twenty-Five Years
word occurs twice in the passage, and I wish to call his special attention to where it occurs the second time. ALL SINS SHALL BE FORGIVEN. If shall is to be under- stood in the absolute sense in one place, it must in the other, and then the passage means, that all sin, except that one against the Holy Ghost, SHALL be forgiven some- where-either in this world or in the world to come. The passage, then, instead of blasting our blissful hope that all sin and wrong will ultimately end, strikes a death- blow at the gentleman's creed concerning the immortality of wickedness of every name and grade.
3. It is by no means certain, that " this world and the world to come," means this life and the life to come. The most learned of all schools tell us, the passage should be translated, this age and the age to come, mean- ing the Jewish age or dispensation, and Christian age or dispensation. Dr. Adam Clarke takes this view of the words: "Though I follow the common translation, yet I am FULLY SATISFIED the meaning of the words is, neither in this dispensation, viz., the Jewish, nor in that which is to come, viz., the Christian. Olam ha-bo, the world to come, is a constant phrase for the times of the Messiah, in the Jewish writings." Bishop Pearce says, "Rather, neither in this age, nor in the age to come; " meaning the Jewish and Christian dispensations.
" Ah!" said he, in his next speech, " if the sin against the Holy Ghost was not to be forgiven in the Jewish age or Christian age, when was it to be forgiven? Now, I have got you as I did Kidwell. The Jewish age com- menced in the days of Moses and ended when Christ was crucified; the Christian age commenced then, and will not end till death shall be swallowed up in victory.
131
In the West.
When and where can that sin be forgiven ? Will Mr Manford answer? "
Reply. The Jewish and Christian ages belong to this stage of existence, and when the Jordan of death is passed, man is not living in the Jewish age or Christian age, but in the Spirit age, Spirit world, and the passage does not intimate that either that or any other sin cannot be forgiven there. The truth is, the wisdom, the light, the glory of the spirit world will finally transform every soul into its image. When the sun crosses the equator on the twentieth of March, how dead the vegetable kingdom lies- horror then wide extends his desolate domain. But the sun soon begins to impart his reno- vating grace to root and seed, resulting in a general res- urrection on hill, plain and dale. Nothing can resist his influence ; all vegetation comes forth to newness of life. So, the wisdom and love of heaven, corresponding to the light and heat of the sun of this world, will illuminate and warm every soul, and quicken each and all into newness of life. Say not, then, that sin cannot be put away on the other side of the river. We should not cheat ourselves by deferring Christian living till middle age, or we enter the spirit land; but in the words of Dr. Watts,
" While the lamp holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return."
The lamp of life will burn forever. The time or place will never be known, where and when, the sinner cannot return to truth, to virtue-to God. Every tree and shrub is invigorated and developed by the sun's life-giv- ing beams, so the great spiritual Sun does not shine in vain ; every soul will be blessed by his divine emanations. In the language of the Bible, " All nations whom thou
132
Twenty-Five Years
hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord, and glorify thy name."
" You forget," said my opponent, in his last speech on the above passage, " that those who committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, were in danger of eternal dam- nation."
No, sir, I have not forgotten that ; neither have I for- gotten, that if the sin named is absolutely never to be for- given, the person who commits it is not in danger of suffering damnation, but is sure of suffering it - just as- sure as he has sinned. There is no remedy ; his doom is sealed. The passage, then, clearly implies, that the punishment named may be arrested, and hence not un- pardonable. This is an important consideration. Again, the word, eternal is from the same Greek term that world" in the passage is, and Dr. Clarke, as we have seen, says it means age, and learned men of all denominations ad- mit it, signifies age, time, life-time. I have now noticed every point the gentleman made on this noted passage, and it is evident that it affords the dogma of immortal wretchedness no support.
Delivered several lectures on the Tippecanoe battle ground, and became acquainted with many persons, who have ever since been my steadfast friends. This famous. spot is six miles north of Lafayette. There is a marsh on one side, and a small stream, with a narrow bottom, covered with thick woods, on the other. The distance from the swamp to the stream is about three hundred yards; and on this narrow belt of ground General Harri- son's army was encamped, and the battle fought. No military man, I suppose, would deem that a safe camp- ing-ground amid hostile Indians. But Harrison did not expect the savages would fight, but rather treat for
133
In the West.
peace ; but he should have been more cautious. He re- pelled the attack with heavy loss to his army; but if he had been defeated, he would have suffered sorely, for the Wabash river was in his rear, only one mile distant, and that without bridge or boats.
I also spoke in Monticello, and was replied to by a Methodist minister. My text was, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that be- lieveth not shall be damned." The gospel, I said, com- prises the theological and moral doctrines of Jesus. He taught that God is the Father of the spirits of all flesh ; that the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant, the black and the white, the slave and his mas- ter, are alike the children of God, and belong to, and com- pose one family ; that the inexhaustable bounties of God's storehouse are accessible to all, and that the Master of the feast invites all to partake of them freely and live. He dooms none, and never will doom any to eternal star- vation. " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and ye that have no money, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." If we are wise and partake of this feast of fat things, we live divinely, are blessed with salvation, and the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, joy and peace in the holy spirit, reigns in the soul. But if we shun the rich provisions of the Father's board, walk on the other side, choose darkness, error and sin, rather than light, truth and vir- tue, woe be to us. Every heavenly principle, every law of God condemns us till we set our faces heavenward, and turn our steps upward.
" There was not, " said the preacher, "one particle of gospel in that sermon. Mankind were lost and ruined
I34
Twenty-Five Years
by the fall of Adam. The seal of eternal damnation was burnt deep into the hearts of all by Adam's aposta- sy, and God became incarnate to make it possible for man to be saved. Those who believe in the incarnate God are saved from hell, from the wrath of God, and the curse of the fall. Those who reject the crucified Jesus are lost beyond redemption, and the seal of damnation will burn deeper and deeper into their immortal souls. They will justly be abandoned by God, Christ, angels, and all the saints will say amen."
He was one of the most orthodox of preachers. When in the pulpit, he was always harping on the mysterious jargons of his creed, with his face elongated, and a coun- tenance bordering on despair ; but out of the pulpit he was a boy, and a foolish boy too. When preaching in Logansport, shortly after General Tipton died, a noted citizen of that place, he cried, " There, General Tipton, that old sinner, is dead and in hell." A son of Mr. Tip- ton, soon after gave him a pretty hard thrashing for talk- ing thus of his father. He begged for mercy, and prom- ised to talk in that style no more.
During the first two years of my residence in Lafay- ette, I seldom met a minister of my faith. There were two others in Indiana, but being aged men did not preach much; but after that time I had more ministerial asso- ciates. D. Vines, of Frankfort spoke some in public. His intentions were good, but his qualifications meagre. Subsequently he became a Swedenborgian, or Spiritua- list, and I have lost sight of him. Samuel Oyler of Jef- ferson also entered the ministry. He preached only three or four years, and then came out a lawyer, and, 1 understand, succeeds well in that profession. I. M. Westfall of Thornton left the Methodist church, of which
135
In the West.
he was a lay-member, and commenced preaching with- out any preparation, save strong faith and ardent zeal. He has good ability, and soon became a popular speaker. He remained in Indiana about one year, and then moved to Iowa City, Iowa. At the present time he resides in Minnesota, and is still engaged in the good work. At Perrysville, where I had preached monthly for two years, a meeting-house was erected, and a church organized. Being in Oxford, Ohio, I met with B. F. Foster, a young man, who had just commenced preach- ing, and prevailed on him to move to Perrysville, and take charge of the church in that place. He, however, soon left P. and located in Terre Haute, where our friends were building a fine meeting-house.
An Association, embracing the country from Terre Haute to Lafayette, called the Wabash Valley Associa- tion, was organized. The meeting that organized it was held in Perrysville, and it was an enthusiastic gathering. Seven or eight churches were represented, all recently formed. Many went on horseback, in wagons and car- riages, thirty, forty, and fifty miles. Our friends were alive with zeal, and did not mind traveling fifty miles to a good meeting.
The United Brethren held a noisy meeting in Warren county, and to warm themselves up for the work at hand would all sing as loud as they could scream,
The devil is mad, And I am glad, Glory, O hallelujah.
The devil may pout, But I will shout, Glory, O hallelujah
I noticed this meeting, and published this hymn, in The Teacher, which made the Brethren very indignant.
136
Twenty-Five Years
One of the preachers took the matter up the next Sunday, and said, " That little Universalist preacher that lives in Lafayette, and prints that paper, is mad because we sing about his daddy."
I attended, on a dark and gloomy night, a fanatical camp-meeting of the Methodists, near Ladoga. It was held in a dense forest. When a mile from the ground, heard the noise of the nocturnal worshipers. Arriving at the camp, the scene that opened to the vision, beg- gared description. The whole camp was in an uproar Preachers were preaching, exhorters exhorting, singers singing, shouters shouting, and jumpers were jumping. Some seemed to be suffering intense agony, others happy as clams at high water. Some kept their seats, while others were hopping, skipping and jumping like chickens with their heads cut off. One man ran past me with- out looking to the right or left. "Where are you go- ing? " said I. "To glory." A preacher screamed, " The devil is in the camp, and must be driven out. Get the horn, form in line, march round, the ground three times, blow the horn, the devil must be driven out, the walls of Jericho shall fall." The procession was formed, the horn blown, and the march made. Whether satan was driven out, and the walls fell at this demonstration, the mas- ter of the ceremony did not see fit to inform us. I left the ground about midnight, when the excitement was under full headway, seriously reflecting : Is this the proper way to worship God ? Does he require us to make fools of ourselves, and act like bedlamites ? Is religion fanaticism ? Is regeneration an hallucination ? I will not believe a word of it. Religion consists in love to God and man. Noise, uproar, fanaticism, are not worship, are not religion. God speaks to the soul with the still small voice of inspiration
137
In the West.
and intuition, and the truly pious make but little out- ward demonstration. Empty wagons make much noise, heavy laden ones pass our streets without hardly being heard. But then I do not wonder at the noise, lamen- tation, agonizing, and every other extravagance, of these people. They think God is frowning on the world, that his wrath is kindled to its hottest pitch, that he has al- ready banished most of the dead to the infernal regions, and that during every moment of time crowds are driven from earth to hell, and that all stand on the very brink of a bottomless pit. No wonder the victims of this ter- rible belief are nearly insane. Strange they are not all raving mad. O God, enlighten their minds concerning Thee, whom to know is life eternal.
I visited Michigan City, by request, and delivered four discourses. An Episcopal clergyman took the trouble to go about town, and destroy all the printed notices of the meetings, and tell the people to keep away. But large congregations attended, and all seemed much in- terested.
The distance from Lafayette to Michigan City is about one hundred miles, and for fifteen miles on each side of the Kankakee river, there was not in those days a house. It commenced raining on my way to Michigan City, when I had reached the south margin of that wilderness of prairie, and poured down in torrents till I made the first house, thirty miles distant. It was swamp nearly all the way, and the flood of that day made the road almost impassable. I sometimes thought I should have to re- turn ; but about ten at night reached a cabin, drenched with rain, covered with mud, and hungry as a bear.
A Presbyterian elder by the name of Smith being eager for a debate, we had a little brush at Dayton in his
138
Twenty-Five Years
meeting-house, and the elder did one pretty hard day's work. The poor man was frightened out of his wits, and his nerves were so agitated he could not hold his Bible steady enough to read his texts. I pitied him, but dealt blows as hard as I could strike. He was disgusted with himself, and proposed, a few weeks after, to try again, hoping to do better. We spent two more days in discussion at Rossville, near his home; he then willingly retired.
A few days after this affair, had a four days' discus- sion with Mr. Coon, a Scotch Presbyterian, and Calvin- istic " up to the hub." He was a prominent man in his church, intelligent, and well educated. He subsequent- ly published a book of three or four hundred pages, against the doctrine of the Restitution, and in defense of eternal punishment. The discussion was held in Jef- ferson; and though the weather was intensely cold, a large number attended. Mr. Coon being a strong man all were anxious to hear. He had thoroughly prepared himself for the work. It took two or three men to carry the books he used on the occasion, to and from the meeting-house. I had my Bible, and perhaps two or three other books. He talked English, and Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. Mr. Taylor, a Presbyterian minis- ter, who had just closed an eight days' debate with John O'Kane, of the Disciple church, was one of the modera- tors, and he begged the Lord to help Mr. Coon on that important occasion.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.