CHAPTER X.
Moved to Terre Haute—Lectured in Fort Wayne—A Discussion There—Dr. Thompson—Visited Illinois—Opposition—Discussion in Charleston—Prayed For—Called Infidel—Debate in Green Castle—Conditions of Salvation—God’s Will—All are Spirits—Form of the Teacher Changed—J. Burt and J. H. Jordan, Editors—Oliver Cromwell—Foundation of Character—In Many Places—A Celebration—Meeting in the Rain—Fourth of July Celebration—Debate in Martinsville.
Moved to Terre Haute—Lectured in Fort Wayne—A Discussion There—Dr. Thompson—Visited Illinois—Opposition—Discussion in Charleston—Prayed For—Called Infidel—Debate in Green Castle—Conditions of Salvation—God’s Will—All are Spirits—Form of the Teacher Changed—J. Burt and J. H. Jordan, Editors—Oliver Cromwell—Foundation of Character—In Many Places—A Celebration—Meeting in the Rain—Fourth of July Celebration—Debate in Martinsville.
In 1843, I moved theTeacherto Terre Haute, ninety miles down the Wabash river, as I deemed that place a better location than Lafayette for its publication. Also made that town my head-quarters. The country north and west of Lafayette, in those days, was thinly settled, but in the southern portion of the state, there was a denser population, hence a better field in which to circulate theTeacher. I still continued my monthly circuit on both sides of the Wabash river, from Terre Haute to Lafayette, preaching in twenty different places. B. F. Foster was pastor of the Terre Haute society, and a meeting-house was being erected in that place. But soon my services were so urgently demanded west and south of Terre Haute, that I dropped some of the places on the circuit, and supplied the wants of friends elsewhere. I did so with much reluctance, as there was no one to take my place. There were then thirteen societies within that circuit where there was not one when I first visited that region, and one meeting-house was finished, and two being built.
At the earnest solicitation of Dr. Thompson, of Fort Wayne, I visited that place, and delivered a series of discourses. These were the first sermons on the Restitution ever delivered in that town, andthey caused much excitement. An Episcopal clergyman proposed debating with me, and we accordingly spent two days in discussion. The assemblies were large, and, I trust, much good was effected. Dr. Thompson was a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne, and an intellectual and christian man. Three years after, while a candidate for Congress, he died, lamented universally where he was known. While on that journey, I preached in Huntington, Wabash, Peru, and several other places, where Universalism was hardly ever heard of before.
I took a trip westward into Illinois, and preached in Elbridge, Paris, Grand View, Brewetts’ Creek, Bloomfield, Oakland, Charleston, Shelbyville, Cold Springs, Marshall and Greenup. In not one of these places had the people heard a discourse in defense of “the restitution of all things,” and, of course, my preaching was a great curiosity. In Paris, a minister lifted up his warning voice, but would not let me occupy his house to reply. He wanted his people to hear his side only. I, however, made anexposeof his sermon in the Court-house, to a large assembly, and obtained a large number of subscribers for theTeacher. In Oakland, I found some excellent friends, and subsequently preached there monthly for two years. In Charleston, the meetings stirred up sectarianism to its depths, and a preacher by the name of Tichner dared me to debate with him. Not being badly frightened by his bluster, I agreed to debate with him four days. The first proposition was, “Immortal blessedness is conditional!”
In my first speech in the morning, I showed the result of the position, that immortal blessedness is conditional in the sense Mr. Tichner intended. If he is correct, I remarked, but a small portion of mankind will ever partake of that blessedness. 1. All children, dying in childhood, are lost, as they comply, in this world, with no conditions. 2. Idiots neitherbelieve nor obey the gospel in this world—comply with no conditions here—and will never, consequently, partake of immortal blessedness. 3. All who lived and died before Christ’s advent, complied with no gospel condition, hence all those countless millions are lost—forever lost. 4. Pagans, Jews, Mahometans, since Christ’s day, have all gone down to their graves, without faith in Christ or the gospel, and therefore they are all lost beyond redemption. My friend is a Campbellite, and will not admit that any comply with gospel conditions, who are not immersed in water—down then goes Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, yea, all who are not immersed. If he is correct, only one here and there will be saved, while the mass of mankind, nearly all, will be doomed to suffer immortal agony, for one of his propositions affirms the endless punishment of the unsaved. The gentleman may not believe all this—I cannot say how that is—but I am dealing with his proposition; and it involves the ruin of nearly all mankind. I once heard him deliver a sermon on the conditions of salvation, and in that discourse he did not intimate that one could be saved without immersion. His creed unchurches all but his little sect, and sends all to perdition but his party.
He had another speech to make before adjournment, and he occupied only half of his allotted time, but said not a word about what I had shown to be the result of his proposition. In my reply, I called attention to my former speech, and to the fact that no attempt had been made to refute it, and remarked, that the gentleman must either show that my deductions are false, or abandon his proposition. He must do one or the other. He dared me to debate with him, boasted that he would annihilate my faith the first day before noon, and many of his friends are here to see him do it. We adjourned till two o’clock in the afternoon. Met according to adjournment.Mr. Tichner and his friends were in trouble. They knew not what to do. They saw that I had their man in my grasp, and meant to hold him. I looked on, but said nothing. Finally, one of his brethren came to me, and admitted that I had the advantage of brother Tichner, and wished me to release him. The preacher looked blue; he did not know which way to turn. I pitied him, and proposed that we drop the first proposition, which we were to debate two days, and take up the second proposition—“Will all mankind enjoy immortal blessedness?” He readily consented, and the discussion then went on. Mr. Tichner and his friends were much mortified at the result of the debate. He soon ceased preaching, went to California, and made shipwreck of his faith and character.
I lectured in Greenup; and while there, a preacher prayed the Lord, either to convert the Universalists, or send them to hell, and he did not seem to care which disposition was made of them. A Presbyterian minister in Grand View, delivered a labored sermon against “Infidelity in all its forms,” and, of course, “the grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men,” was one of its worst “forms.” “That phase of infidelity,” said he, “is the best baited of the whole batch. Read not their books, their papers, theirTeacher—hear not their preachers, talk not on that subject with any of the believers in that damnable system. Pray for them, but don’t talk with them. It is a heresy hot from hell, and have nothing to do with it.” A Methodist divine in Shelbyville, gave notice that he would, the Lord permitting, preach a sermon against Universalism, the next Sunday. But notwithstanding this opposition, I thanked God and took courage. Many rejoiced in the testimony they heard, and resolved that their lives should correspond with the purity of their new faith.
Being in Green Castle, Ind., I heard a discourse byJames Mathes, concerning the conditions of salvation, and at its close, I delivered, at his request, a short sermon. Without controverting any of his positions, I attempted to show, that all mankind would finally comply with gospel conditions of salvation. When I got through, he proposed a debate on the subject of my discourse. In due time we met in Green Castle, and devoted two days to the investigation of that subject. Mr. Mathes was, and still is, a prominent man in his denomination. He said in the discussion, “There are three conditions of salvation: 1st, Faith; 2d, Baptism; 3d, Repentance. He, and he only, who complies with these conditions, is entitled to salvation.”
I answered, If the gentleman on the other side is correct, but a small squad of mankind will be saved, for he earnestly denies, that any one can comply with one of the conditions named, in the other world. We must believe, repent, be immersed in this world, or be lost forever; no opportunity for salvation will be granted beyond the grave; God’s mercy is confined to this life, but his vengeance will extend through eternity; his mercy is only the evanescent spark of a flint, but his wrath will burn forever; this life is only the infancy of our existence, but his creed makes it the hinge on which our destiny turns; now, man is a moral agent, but death will destroy that agency, and he will be compelled to lie down in sin and darkness through the eternal ages; death bounds God’s mercy—beyond it, the righteous will need no mercy, and the wicked will be allowed none. I cannot subscribe to such a partial, malignant and cruel creed. I believe in conditions of salvation, and that a soul will never be deprived of complying with those conditions. The conditions, in sum and substance, are, knowledge of the truth, and love to God, and love to man; and no one can be saved in this world or in the next world without that knowledge and love. That is the straitand narrow way; there is no other way to be saved in time or eternity. True, all do not possess that knowledge, or exercise that love in this world, but as the light and heat of the sun are not confined to this world, but extend to all the worlds in the solar system, so God’s mercy is not exhausted on earth, but extends to all time, and to all worlds.
It is certainly God’s will that all shall be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. ii. 4.) The gentleman, though, denies that truth in toto. True, he admits, that it is God’s will that you, and I, and all who now live on earth, shall be saved, but he contends that all the sons of error and sin, as soon as they leave this world, are deprived of all power, of all opportunity, to reform their lives, and must lie down in sin and error eternally. But mark the text, “God will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.” It is God’s will now that all shall be saved. God is unchangeable; he is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. Men may change their will, purpose, but his will, his purpose, is the same through all time, through all eternity. It was God’s will six thousand years ago, that all should be saved; it is God’s will now that all shall be saved; it will be God’s will six thousand years hence, yea, through the eternal ages, that all men shall be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. As it is God’s will now, that all shall be saved, all are now capable of salvation—none are reprobated, none are cast away; and as it always will be God’s will that all shall be saved, all ever will be capable of salvation—none will be reprobated, none cast away. What is true of God’s nature, character, and will now, ever will be true of God’s nature, character and will, hence the golden gates of salvation ever will be open to mankind. We read that the heavenly city has gates all around it, on the east, west, north and south, and that they are never shut by day or by night.
I know it is a very common notion, and Mr. Mathes preaches it, that the ignorant and vicious will have no opportunity to become wiser or better in the other world; that as they breathe their last breath, and heave their last sigh, they will be compelled to remain forever. And to prove this monstrous dogma, I have heard persons repeat such home-made texts as these: “As the tree falls so it shall lie;” “As death leaves us, so judgment finds us;” “If you die in your sins, where I go ye cannot come.” I need not inform you, that these are all spurious texts. Perhaps it will be asked, does not the Bible say, “There is no repentance in the grave?” Nothing of the kind is in the Good Book. And even if it were there it would not contradict my position. What is in the grave? Nothing but the body, and that cannot repent, in the grave or out of it, dead or alive. Where is the spirit when the body is mouldering in the grave? The wise man informs us, “Dust returns to dust as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” This is the destiny ofall. The body is from the earth, the spirit from God, and when the copartnership between the body and the spirit are dissolved, the body descends, and the spirit ascends; the one to its mother-earth, and the other to its Father-God. Man is a spirit; Christ and the apostles talked to spirits; I am addressing spirits; all revelation—its precepts and promises—are addressed to spirits; and when the great Gentile apostle said, “God will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth,” he was speaking of all spirits, whether in this world or in the eternal world, whether in the body, or in the house not made with hands. I repeat, wherever a spirit existsunsaved, it is God’s will that he shall be saved, and God will even work in all to will and to do his pleasure.
Mr. Mathes admits, that it is God’s will that sinners shall be saved while they are in this world, buthe contends that it is his will that sinners in the spirit world shallnotbe saved. Now why this difference? Why is it God’s will that I shall now be saved, and at the same time his will that I shall not be saved beyond the grave, if I should there need salvation? Is not reformation of character a good thing any where and every where? I take it, that God’s government is the same in all worlds, and at all times. It is perfect, and therefore uniform and unchangeable. He now requires all, and ever will require all, to learn the truth, and walk in the ways of life, and therefore he never willcompela soul to lie down in sin, darkness and death, one moment, in time or eternity.
When the third volume of theTeachercommenced, it was changed to a quarto form, and issued semi-monthly, instead of monthly; and James Burt and J. H. Jordan, became associate editors. Mr. Burt was recently from the East, where he had preached several years. He was a good writer, and a worthy man. He was connected with the paper one year, when his name, at his request, was dropped, and he ceased preaching. Mr. Jordan was not a minister, but a school teacher. He subsequently became a physician, and at the present time, is editor and publisher of the Indianapolis (Ind.)Gazette, a daily and weekly paper, conducted with vigor and ability. He wields a strong pen, and is an influential writer. For several years, Dr. Jordan assisted me in issuing theTeacher, and his contributions were always perused with much interest.
I opened a new field about this time, in the southern part of Indiana. Lectured in Bowling Green. Oliver Cromwell resided there—a descendant of England’s great Protector. He was an aged man, intelligent, and an ardent defender of the liberal faith. He said the Protector was his great-great grandfather.
A zealous Methodist class leader tried to reply toone of my sermons. “If your faith is correct, why all this labor? Why form societies, build meeting-houses, support ministers, or try to serve the Lord in any way?” I answered thus:
I understand from the gentleman’s remarks, that he supposes that the fear of hell, and the hope of heaven, are the only reasons why we should attend to the duties of life; and according to the confession of sectarians generally, these are the moving causes of all their christian efforts; hence their first and last objection to Universalism is, that it removes all inducements to live a virtuous life. This degrading objection is in the mouth of nearly all, from the doctor of divinity to the most humble member. If we take them at their word, they organize churches, build meeting-houses, employ ministers, send missionaries to the heathen, to escape hell and reach heaven; they pray, preach, attend meetings, go among the heathen, to escape hell and reach heaven; they deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God, to escape hell and reach heaven. According to their own confession, these are the only motives that urge them onward in their christian course. Now, this is all wrong; they build on a false, dangerous foundation; they build on the sand; they are influenced, governed solely by selfish considerations. They work for pay, and pay they will have or turn rebels. Piety with them is a ticket past hell into heaven. Now, this is a wretched foundation for a christian life. In truth, character built on such a basis, is hay, wood and stubble, and liable to be consumed at any moment, hence so much back-sliding among Orthodox church members. They stand on slippery places.
Universalism lays a better foundation, presents better motives for living a christian life. It makes areasonableappeal to man’s hopes and fears, but its strong foundation is inprinciple. It teaches that we should revere the truth, and practice righteousness, becausewe love truth and righteousness; should love God and man because of the goodness of God and the goodness in man; be truthful because we love the truth, and deal justly with our fellow men because we love justice and righteousness. When character is built on such a foundation, it is as permanent as the everlasting hills. It takes time to form character of this kind, but when the work is done, it is well done. Such persons do not need conversion at every camp-meeting in their county.
Lectured in Spencer, Gosport, Bloomington, Martinsville, Morgantown, Franklin, Columbus and Nashville. In all these places the liberal faith had not before been preached. But I found in most of them an elect few who had long cherished it amid all sorts of opposition. Faithful souls! They were true to their convictions, though standing alone, targets for bigots to shoot at. In Bloomington I lectured several times, and a minister tried to point out my errors, as he termed the noblest and most glorious of truths. Mr. Labertew, a merchant, and zealous friend, resided there. He subsequently built a meeting-house at his own expense; but there not being sufficient number of believers to act with him in keeping up meetings, he sold it. Held a meeting in Gosport; the house was full, and several hundred were out of doors; and although the rain poured down in torrents, they remained through the services. Here I subsequently had many conflicts with those of the partial faith. Near Nashville I attended a Fourth-of-July celebration. After the dinner was over, and the patriotic speeches made, I gave the people a sermon. Lectured in Martinsville in the Court-house; a clergyman replied, and arrangements were made for me to have a debate in that place with Mr. Scott, a Methodist presiding elder. It was to continue four days. He had recently debated with J. Mathes, and coming out of it victorious, all were sure he would make shortwork of me, and my faith. But they were disappointed. Mr. Scott got mad, and left the rostrum, declaring that he would discuss no more with me. But the moderators persuaded him to continue the allotted time. After he got through, another minister tried his hand at the work, but many thought he fared worse than his predecessor. Weighing about two hundred and fifty pounds, and as fat as butter, he kept in good humor. Lectured in Columbus and Franklin. In both places I soon after had discussions. This was a laborious journey, for it was war, war, from the beginning to the end of it.