Preach that God loves only the righteous, and you please all who trust that they are righteous. Preach that God will torment the wicked forever, and you gratify every malignant spirit on earth. But preach Universalism and all such as seek an exclusive heaven are presently offended, and the preacher is denounced as a friend of publicans and sinners!

3. "Can any one believe that under the preaching of these glad tidings some should tremble;' others, 'pricked to the heart,' cry out, Men and brethren, what must we do? and others fall prostrate at their feet, and say, Sirs, what must we do to be saved?" In reply, I ask Mr. Remington if he is prepared to prove that Felix trembled, or the Jews cried out, "Men and brethren, what must we do?" or the jailer, "What must I do to be saved?" from the preaching of the doctrine of "the future and endless punishment of the wicked?" I know you are not; and you know that neither in the preaching of Peter or of Paul, on the occasions alluded to, or indeed on any other occasion, is there the least intimation of the doctrine in question! You look in vain into the Scriptures for any instances of the modern kind of self-styled evangelical or orthodox preaching. Paul reasoned before Felix, "of righteousness and temperance and a judgment to come," or about to come, and Felix trembled, i. e. was afraid; not, says Dr. Bloomfield, with a trembling terror, nor merely with an uneasy feeling, but he was in fear. "The thing," says Bishop Sanderson, quoted by Bloomfield with approbation, "that made Felix tremble, was that Paul's discourse fell upon those special vices, wherein he was notably faulty, and were then clapped in close upon him." Peter, on the day of Pentecost, preached before the multitude in Jerusalem. "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly," said he, "that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" But nothing was said of endless misery. And in the case of the poor jailer, stupidity itself cannot set up such a pretension. It was introduced here merely for effect, for my Reverend friend cannot

be so ignorant as not to know that there is some difference between an earthquake and the preaching of endless torments!

The conclusion to which you come seems to be, that if Universalism is true, the apostles were fools for suffering in its promulgation-that the people acted very strangely in persecuting those who preached these glad tidings, and that there is no accounting for any expressions of penitence or sorrow or anxiety in those who heard the gospel! It is astonishing to you that a corrupt and licentious Felix should have trembled under the apostle's reasoning; that the Jews, the very men who were instrumental in nailing their Messiah Lord to the cross, should have been pricked to the heart and said, What must we do? and that a jailer awaked out of his sleep by an earthquake that shook the prison-house to its very foundations, should have cried out, What must I do to be saved? If Universalism be true, how are all these marvels to be explained. Poor man; is there nothing in the universe of God that can help us to account for these things but the dogma of endless misery? Powerful, I am willing to acknowledge that dogma is, but worthless would the gospel be if it must rely on that glaring absurdity for its spirit and efficacy. It would no longer be "the power of God unto salvation." Well was it said by the apostle, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

With respect, yours, &c.

THOMAS J. SAWYER.

LETTER XX.

Dear Sir-Your ninth objection to Universalism lies in the assumed fact that it encourages sin." To make out this very questionable assertion, you introduce another, still more startling, viz: that "if Universalism be true, the more sin the better, because thereby our admittance into heaven will be hastened." The way in which all this is "proved" is curious, and the conclusion overwhelming. In the first place, you say that Universalists must admit that the wicked antediluvians and the Sodomites, Judas Iscariot, &c. entered heaven long before righteous Noah, Lot, and the apostles. The wicked, because of their wickedness, rested in heaven, while the righteous, because they were righteous, were left many years longer in this world of sin and suffering. "What an encouragement," you exclaim, "to sin! Only sin to such an extent as to provoke the Almighty to cut you off by death, and then he will take you immediately to heaven; or if this course does not suit you, you have a still shorter way of getting there; you can take your choice, the rope, the razor, the pistol, the river, or the poisonous drug. By either of these you can end all your sufferings, and be in heaven in a few moments whenever you may choose. And if this were true, how could it be wrong for you to do so?"

Unfortunately for this beautiful philosophy, mankind has always been so ignorant and perverse as to regard a violent and, premature death inflicted for crime, a punishment. Legislators, and even the Almighty, have countenanced and encouraged such an opinion; and the consequence is that most men, even Methodists themselves, are not very anxious to be hung, even though they might thereby hasten their entrance into heaven. It is now but a few years since a Methodist minister was tried for his life, and you are not ignorant of the great efforts made, and the large sums of money expended, to save him from such a mercy! It is now generally believed

that public justice was, in that case, foiled by the influence and wealth of a great religious sect; and I remember no single circumstance which could lead any one to conclude that either the accused or his brethren at large were particularly anxious that he should swing from the gallows to heaven! Was it because they believed him guilty? or did they fear that his title to the better world was too questionable to risk the consequences? Cases are not wanting, I presume, in every religious sect, and among those of no sect, in which men are prompted to sin; but there never was perhaps a single instance of an individual's sinning for the purpose of hastening his admittance into heaven. Your objection, therefore, though very acute, is utterly groundless.

But I have not yet done. You think that if Universalists do not like to provoke the Almighty to cut them off by death, they ought at least to commit suicide; and you are kind enough to prescribe several methods by which this can be very expeditiously done.

Now if this objection is valid against Universalists, it is obvious that were it not for your faith in endless misery, you would at once seek some means of speedily reaching heaven. The only consideration that keeps you from suicide is the fear of the endless torments of hell. Only banish this apprehension, and you remain no longer "in this world of sin and suffering." Let us examine this doctrine a little. In the first place, you acknowledge yourself a slave, living in fear, and of course, destitute of love. In the second place, you virtually accuse God of so forming and conditioning man that life in this world is a curse; or at least that he is not infinitely wise and good in continuing him here! I do not envy the spirit that dictates such sentiments. It is not christianity;—it is not the spirit of child-like love and gratitude and confidence toward God that the christian must feel. Pardon me for speaking freely, but sir, if these are your real sentiments, let me tell you, what your own conscience must have told you long ago, your pretensions to christianity are utterly false. What, you profess to be a disciple of Christ and to preach the gospel, and yet avow that were it not for the fear of hell, you

would either perpetrate some capital crime, or else commit suicide! May God in his infinite mercy deliver his church from such teachers.

I believe in the final holiness and happiness of all mankind. I have no fears of endless misery, either for myself or one of the human race. Such a result I hold to be absolutely impossible in the government of Almighty God. It is not enough to say that it is untrue; it is absurd and blasphemous! And yet I was never tempted to commit suicide. Before I knew God and his Son Jesus Christ, the instinctive love of life which I held in common with the rest of mankind, preserved me from such a danger; and since God saw fit to bless me with the participation of his grace, there have been other and mightier influences operating for my safety. I love God and would honor and obey him. I know that he is my Father, and that he loves me better than any human parent ever loved. I know, too, that he is most intimately acquainted with all my circumstances and wants, and with all that is best for me. He knows what blessings I need, and what trials and sufferings will contribute to my improvement. I am in his hands, and at his disposal for time and for eternity; and such confidence do I feel in his wisdom and goodness, that I would not for worlds, even were it possible, break myself away from his control; for I know that now all things shall work together for good. "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of the isles be glad." Truly can I say with the psalmist "Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." I look forward to heaven with hope and joy. I know that my inheritance is there, and I anticipate its future possession; but still I am willing to run with patience the race that is set before me.

You will perceive there is some difference between us. ~would not commit suicide, because I love God, and confide in his infinite wisdom; you would commit suicide were it not for the fear of endless misery! Let us represent our respective denominations, and you will see the difference between Universalist and orthodox piety! There is an equal difference in