,,the ,,christian ,,doctrine ,,of ,,hell
  ,by ,j4 ,m4 ,wheeler  #ahij4    ,,the 
,,christian ,,doctrine ,,of ,,hell  ,i  
,,would not willingly quit this world   
without having said my say upon the most
 terrible of all its superstitions1 the 
doctrine of eternal torments--which     
,archdeacon ,farrar describes as the    
hideous incubus of atrocious            
conceptions--and which1 in my own       
experience1 is the cause of appalling   
apprehensions and even insanity in the  
minds of the sensitive and weak-minded4 
,if there is a hell1 that is the most   
important fact in the universe4         
,compared with an eternity of torment1  
all that this little life has to offer  
is but as nothing4 ,if there is no hell1
 then1 it seems to me1 the faith in     
,jesus is vain1 for no such salvation as
 that offered by orthodox ,christianity 
is necessary4 ,not only is the doctrine 
of eternal torments clearly taught in   
,scripture1 but it is1 as ,i shall show1
 historically bound up with the creed of

 ,christendom4  ,it may be said1 why    
attack a superstition confessedly       
falling into decay8 ,satan1 that once   
excellent scapegoat for all misdeeds1 is
 superannuated4 ,hell is never mentioned
 to ears polite4 ,since ,freethought    
came into the world its temperature has 
considerably decreased4 ,the brimstone  
business threatens to become obsolete4  
,it is none the less the corner-stone of
 the whole system1 and when it finally  
collapses it will bring down other      
doctrines with it4 ,the ,salvationist1  
no less than the ,jesuit1 knows its     
power4 ,as the old beadle said1 ,a kirk 
without a hell is'na worth a damn4      
,upon the healthy-minded the doctrine of
 eternal torments will soon have no more
 effect than water upon a duck's back4  
,but mental health and strength are not 
the inheritance of all4 ,if the dogma   
was not taught until minds were mature  
enough to examine it1 it might safely be
 left2 but while it is continually      
taught to infancy1 to seek to eradicate 

it is the duty of those who regard it as
 a pernicious error4 ,to me it appears  
that the best way to do this is to show 
what the doctrine has actually been in  
the days when ,christianity was         
unquestioned4 ,christians are becoming  
ashamed of their hell--which they rarely
 realise as possibly the fate of        
themselves or their friends2 that way   
madness lies4 ,they cannot get rid of   
the definite statements in the ,new     
,testament1 but they avoid dwelling on  
them1 or attempt to construe them       
figuratively4 ,hell was hot enough when 
religion was powerful4 ,as it declines  
it is discovered that hell is not so    
terrible after all4  ,modern exegesis1  
striving to explain hell away1 only     
steps in when conscience and freethought
 have declared against it4 ,it is taught
 in the plainest terms4 ,take but the   
passage1 ,matt4 xxv4 #df1 ,these shall  
go away into everlasting punishment1 but
 the righteous into life eternal4 ,it is
 said everlasting does not mean lasting 

for ever1 and in some cases this might  
be granted1 but surely it is a different
 matter when eternal punishment is1     
without any limitation1 directly        
compared with eternal life1 and the same
 word is applied to both4 ,again1       
exactly the same expression which is    
used to signify the eternity of ,god1   
that of his being for ever and ever1 as 
in ,rev4 iv4 #i1 v4 #ad1 x4 #f1 and xv4 
#g1 is used of the torments of those in 
hell in ,rev4 xiv4 #aa4  ,in the        
explanation of the parable of the tares1
 ,jesus tells his prosaic disciples3    
,the enemy that sowed them is the devil2
 the harvest is the end of the world2   
and the reapers are the angels4 ,as     
therefore the tares are gathered and    
burned in the fire2 so shall it be in   
the end of this world 7,matt4 xiii4     
#ci-dj74 ,there we see the simile is    
used to illustrate hell2 not hell used  
as a simile to illustrate something     
else4 ,the early ,christians undoubtedly
 believed in a literal ,devil1 angels1  

and end of the world1 and with equal    
certainty in a literal hell and material
 fire4 ,yet we are now asked to believe 
that when ,jesus spoke of hell1 where   
the worm dieth not and the fire is not  
quenched 7,mark ix4 #df71 since there is
 no fire it cannot require quenching4   
,jesus relates1 in the most             
matter-of-fact way 7,luke xvi471 that a 
certain rich man died1 and in hell1     
being in torments1 he lifted up his eyes
 and beheld ,lazarus in ,abraham's      
bosom4 ,he cried for a drop of water to 
cool his tongue1 for ,i am tormented in 
this flame4 ,the man had committed no   
other recorded offence than faring      
sumptuously1 yet he was met with the    
stern response1 between us and you there
 is a great gulf fixed4 ,he then asks   
that his brethren may be warned of his  
fate1 and this1 too1 is denied4 ,the    
voice of humanity cried from hell1 and  
heaven answered with inhumanity4 ,if    
this picture of heaven and hell is true1
 ,god and his saints are monsters of    

infamy4 ,if false1 what other revealed  
doctrine can be credited1 since this is 
so devised for the benefit of those who 
trade in terrorism8 ,if hell is a       
metaphor1 of which there is no          
indication in the narrative1 so also is 
heaven4 ,give up material fire and      
brimstone1 you must resign the bodily   
resurrection1 the visible coming of     
,christ1 and the ,new ,jerusalem4       
,allegorise hell1 you make heaven       
unreal4 ,a figurative ,devil suggests a 
figment ,god4  ,the ,revelation of ,st4 
,john expressly speaks of the           
worshippers of the beast1 or enemies of 
,god1 being tormented with fire and     
brimstone in the presence of the holy   
angels1 and in the presence of the      
,lamb4 ,and the smoke of their torment  
ascendeth up for ever and ever 7xiv4    
#aj-aa74 ,nice enjoyment1 this1 for the 
elect4 ,fancy parents regarding the     
eternal anguish of their children6      
,converted wives looking on while their 
unbelieving husbands are tormented and  

have no rest day nor night in the lake  
that burneth with fire and brimstone6   
,picture it1 think of it1 ,christian1   
and then offer praises to your ,god for 
having provided this place of eternal   
torture for some other than yourself4   
,who go to hell8 ,according to the      
,bible and the creeds the immense       
majority of mankind4 ,strait is the     
gate1 and narrow is the way1 which      
leadeth unto life1 and few there be that
 find it 7,matt4 vii4 #ad74 ,many are   
called but few chosen2 and there is no  
other name under heaven1 save that of   
,jesus1 whereby men can be saved4 ,the  
proportion of those who lived before    
,christ must be1 even according to      
,bible chronology1 immensely larger than
 all who have lived since1 and of these 
now1 after eighteen centuries of the    
divine religion1 not more than a third  
of the world's inhabitants are even     
nominal ,christians4 ,when we consider  
how few ,christians are really          
believers1 and how scarcely any of them 

attempt to carry out the precepts of    
their ,master1 it must be allowed that  
the population of hell is out of all    
proportion to that of heaven4  ,the     
doctrine of the church has been ,he that
 believeth and is baptised shall be     
saved1 and he that believeth not shall  
be damned4 ,the idea of this text has   
probably done more harm to humanity than
 it has benefited from the rest of the  
gospel1 for it has countenanced all the 
ill-will and persecution that has       
everywhere followed in the train of     
,christianity4 ,i know it will be said  
that this passage1 indeed the whole of  
the sixteenth of ,mark from the ninth   
verse to the end1 is wanting in some of 
the ancient manuscripts2 but while the  
,authorised version is circulated as the
 word of ,god1 it is properly cited4    
,and indeed if this doctrine is         
discarded there is much else that must  
go with it4  ,freethought having        
discredited the doctrine of eternal     
torments as absurd and dishonoring to   

,god1 stress is now laid upon passages  
indicating a more hopeful doctrine4 ,to 
one who looks at the general tenor of   
,scripture1 these are of no weight in   
opposition to the clear and emphatic    
declarations ,i have cited4 ,there is no
 express statement that punishment      
hereafter will be terminable4 ,on the   
contrary1 the evident teaching is that  
as the tree falls so it must lie4 ,no   
hope is extended to the rich man in     
hell4  ,that the current belief in the  
time of ,jesus was in the eternity of   
punishments1 we have the testimony of   
,josephus1 who declares this both of the
 ,pharisees and the ,essenes499 ,we have
 also the testimony of the ,fathers4    
,clement1 the apostolic father1 said to 
be the fellow laborer of ,paul1         
mentioned in ,philip iv4 #c1 says in his
 ,second ,epistle1 chap4 viii41 ,once   
cast into the furnace of fire there is  
no longer any help for it4 ,for after we
 have gone out of the world no further  
power of confessing or repenting will   

belong to us4 ,polycarp1 when threatened
 with martyrdom1 is said to have made   
answer 7,ep4 to ,philippians1 xi471     
,thou threatenest me with fire which    
burneth for an hour1 and after a little 
is extinguished1 but art ignorant of the
 fire of the coming judgment and of     
eternal punishment reserved for the     
ungodly4 ,ignatius too speaks of the    
unquenchable fire 7,ep4 to ,ephesians1  
#af74       99,antiq4 xviii4 #a-c2 ,wars
 ii1 #h1 #aa-ad4  ,all the early        
,fathers considered the fire of hell as 
a real material fire4 ,justin ,martyr1  
who wrote before the collection of the  
,gospels1 said in his first ,apology1   
chap4 xxi41 ,we believe that those who  
live wickedly and do not repent are     
punished in everlasting fire4 ,in       
numerous other passages he refers to    
punishment in eternal fire2 and says    
7,first ,apol41 chap4 hi71 then shall   
they repent1 when it profits them not4  
,athenagoras1 too 7chap4 xxxvi471       
declares that the body which has        

ministered to the irrational impulses of
 the soul1 and to its desires1 will be  
punished along with it4  ,st4 ,irenus1  
the first of the ,fathers who definitely
 alludes to the four ,gospels1 says1 in 
his work against heresies 7bk4 ii41     
chap4 #bh1  #g71 ,that eternal fire is  
prepared for sinners1 both the ,lord has
 plainly declared1 and the rest of the  
,scriptures demonstrate4 ,and that ,god 
foreknew that this would happen1 the    
,scriptures do in like manner           
demonstrate1 since ,he prepared eternal 
fire from the beginning for those who   
were afterwards to transgress ,his      
commandments4 ,what a blessed thing is  
,christianity to reveal such a nice     
loving ,father as this6  ,so ,bishop    
,hippolytus1 in his ,refutation of all  
,heresies1 bk4 x4 chap4 #cj1 speaks of  
the boiling flood of hell's eternal lake
 of fire1 and the eye ever fixed in     
menacing glare of wicked angels chained 
in ,tartarus as punishment for their    
sins4  ,tertullian1 in his treatise on  

the ,resurrection of the ,flesh1 chap4  
xxxv41 declares ,the fire of hell is    
eternal--expressly announced as an      
everlasting penalty1 and he asks1 whence
 shall come the weeping and gnashing of 
teeth if not from eyes and teeth8 ,in   
his treatise1 ,de ,anima1 chap4 vii41 he
 thus alludes to the story of ,dives4   
,do you suppose that this end of the    
blessed poor man and the miserable rich 
man is only imaginary8 ,then why the    
name of ,lazarus in this narrative1 if  
the circumstance is not in the category 
of a real occurrence8 ,this ,christian  
,father absolutely gloats over the      
prospect of witnessing these            
torments3--,which sight gives me ,joy8  
which rouses me to exultation8--as ,i   
see so many illustrious monarchs1 whose 
reception into the heavens was publicly 
announced1 groaning now in the lowest   
darkness with great ,jove himself1 and  
those1 too1 who bore witness of their   
exaltation2 governors of provinces1 too1
 who persecuted the ,christian name1 in 

fires more fierce than those which in   
the days of their pride they raged      
against the followers of ,christ6 ,he   
exultingly continues3 ,i shall have a   
better opportunity then of hearing the  
tragedians1 louder-voiced in their own  
calamity2 of viewing the play-actors    
much more 'dissolute' in the dissolving 
flame2 of looking upon the charioteer1  
all glowing in his chariot of fire2 of  
witnessing the wrestlers1 not in their  
gymnasia1 but tossing in the fiery      
billows499 ,an echo of this famous      
passage may be traced in ,cardinal      
,newman's sermon ,on ,neglect of ,divine
 ,calls and ,warnings4  ,st4 ,cyprian1  
in his address to ,demetrianus1 says3   
,we are rendered patient by our security
 of a vindication to come4 ,the innocent
 give place to the guilty2 the guileless
 acquiesce in their punishments and     
tortures1 certain and assured that      
anything we suffer will not remain      
unavenged4444 ,what joy for the         
believers1 what sorrow for the          

faithless2 to have refused to believe   
here1 and now be unable to return in    
order that they may believe6 ,hell ever 
burning will consume the accursed1 and a
 devouring punishment of lively flames2 
nor will there be that from whence their
 torments can ever receive either repose
 or end4 ,souls with their bodies will  
be saved unto suffering in tortures     
infinite4 ,there that man will be seen  
by us for ever1 who made us his         
spectacle here for a season2 what brief 
enjoyment those cruel eyes received from
 the persecutions wrought upon us will  
be balanced against a spectacle eternal4
 ,and the savage saint backs up his     
pleasant prospect with ,holy ,scripture4
       99 ,de ,spectaculis1 c4 #cj4 ,i  
have quoted the rendering in the        
orthodox ,ante-,nicene ,christian       
,library1 vol4 xi41 pp4 #cd-ce4         
,gibbon's version is more forcible4     
,lactantius1 in his ,divine ,institutes1
 bk4 vi41 chap4 #c1 contrasts the       
immortality promised to the righteous   

with everlasting punishment threatened  
to the unrighteous4 ,in bk4 vii4 chap4  
#ba1 he says1 because they have         
committed sins in their bodies1 they    
will again be clothed with flesh that   
they may make atonement in their bodies2
 and yet it will not be that flesh with 
which ,god clothed man1 like this our   
earthly body1 but indestructible and    
abiding for ever1 that it may be able to
 hold out against tortures and          
everlasting fire4  ,st4 ,chrysostom     
represents the torments of the damned in
 a variety of horrid pictures4 ,he says3
 ,but if you are speaking against       
luxury1 and introduce discourse by the  
way concerning hell1 the thing will     
cheer you and beget much pleasure4 ,let 
us not then avoid discourses concerning 
hell1 that we may avoid hell4 ,let us   
not banish the remembrance of           
punishment1 that we may escape          
punishment4 ,if the rich man had        
reflected upon that fire1 he would not  
have sinned2 but because he never was   

mindful of it1 therefore he fell into   
it499       99 ,homily on #b ,thess4 i41
 #a-b4  ,in ,homily on #b ,thess4 i41   
#i-aj1 ,it is not only not milder1 but  
much more terrible than is threatened4  
,hear the golden-mouthed ,father        
7,homily on ,heb4 i41 #a-b73 ,let us    
then consider how great a misery it must
 be to be for ever burning1 and to be in
 darkness1 and to utter unnumbered      
groanings1 and to gnash the teeth and   
not even to be heard4444 ,think what it 
is when we are burning with all the     
murderers of the whole world neither    
seeing1 nor being seen4444 ,wherefore ,i
 entreat you1 continues the saint1 to be
 ever revolving these things with       
yourselves1 and to submit to the pain of
 the words1 that we may not have the    
things to undergo as our punishment4    
,again he says 7,hom4 ,heb4 xi4 #cg-ch71
 ,why1 what are ten thousand years to   
ages boundless and without end8 ,not so 
much as one drop to the boundless       
ocean4444 ,were it not well to be cut by

 scourging times out of number1 to be   
slain1 to be burned1 to undergo ten     
thousand deaths1 to endure everything   
whatsoever that is dreadful both in word
 and deed899  ,origen1 for considering  
that the punishment of the wicked       
consisted in separation from ,god1 was  
condemned as heretical by the ,council  
of ,carthage1 ,a4,d4 #cih1 and          
afterwards by other ,councils4  ,st4    
,augustine 7,city of ,god1 bk1 xxi4     
chap4 #ag7 censures ,origen for his     
merciful view1 and says the ,church1 not
 without reason1 condemned him for this 
and other errors4 ,in the same book     
7chap4 #bc7 this great father declares  
that everlasting is used by ,jesus      
7,matt4 xxv4 #da7 as meaning for ever   
and nothing else than endless duration4 
,he argues1 with ingenious varieties of 
reasoning1 to show how the material     
bodies of the damned may withstand      
annihilation in everlasting fire4 ,he   
held that hell was in the centre of the 
earth1 and that ,god supplied the       

central fire with earth by a miracle4   
,jerome and the other orthodox ,fathers 
no less held to a material hell4  ,in   
the middle ages ,christian literature   
was mainly composed of the legendary    
visions of saints1 in which views across
 the gulf had a large share4  ,the      
,devil was represented bound by red-hot 
chains1 on a burning gridiron in the    
centre of hell4 ,the screams of his     
never-ending agony made its rafters to  
resound2 but his hands were free1 and   
with these he seized the lost souls1    
crushed them like grapes against his    
teeth1 and then drew them by his breath 
down the fiery cavern of his throat4    
,demons with hooks of red-hot iron      
plunged souls alternately into fire and 
sea4 ,some of the lost were hung up by  
their tongues1 others were sawn asunder1
 others gnawed by serpents1 others      
beaten together on an anvil and welded  
into a single mass1 others boiled and   
then strained through a cloth1 others   
twined in the embrace of demons whose   

limbs were of flame49999       99       
,library of the ,fathers1 pp4 #ae-af4   
99 ,lecky1 ,history of ,european        
,morals1 vol4 ii41 p4 #bbb4  ,is it     
strange that the ages when ,christian   
barbarism overcame ,pagan civilisation  
were known as the ,dark ,ages8 ,george  
,eliot well says that where the         
tremendous alternative of everlasting   
torments is believed in--believed in so 
that it becomes a motive determining the
 life--not only persecution1 but every  
other form of severity and gloom are the
 legitimate consequences4  ,grandly     
horrible is the reflection in ,dante's  
,inferno of the doctrine of hell1 held  
in the palmiest days of ,christianity4  
,the gloom of that poem is relieved by a
 few touches of compunction at the doom 
of noble heathen and of tenderness for  
those who sinned through love2 proving  
the poet superior to his creed4 ,yet    
consider the punishment of heretics1    
buried in burning sepulchres while from 
their furnace tombs rise endless wails4 

,think of the terrible inscription1     
,lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate4 
,remember that ,dante placed in this    
hell his political opponents1 and how he
 depicts himself as striking the faces  
and pulling the hair of the tormented2  
then answer1 is not this great poem a   
lasting monument of ,christian          
barbarity8  ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas1 the  
angelic doctor1 treats of the punishment
 of hell under the title ,poena         
,damnatorum199 and teaches 7#a7 that the
 damned will suffer other punishments   
besides that of fire2 7#b7 that the     
undying worm is remorse of conscience2  
7#c7 that the darkness of hell is       
physical darkness1 only so much light   
being admitted as will allow the lost to
 see and apprehend the punishments of   
the place2 7#d7 that as both body and   
soul are punished1 the fire of hell will
 be a material fire1 of the same nature 
as ordinary fire but with different     
properties2 and the place of punishment1
 though not certainly known1 is probably

 under the earth4  ,hagenbach1 in his   
,history of ,doctrines1 #bji1 note      
cliv41 says of the blessed1 ,they       
witness the suffering of the damned     
without being seen by the latter1 and   
refers to ,peter ,lombard and ,thomas   
,aquinas4  ,even the mystic ,suso       
expressed himself as follows3--  ',give 
us a millstone1' say the damned1 'as    
large as the whole earth1 and so wide in
 circumference as to touch the sky all  
around and let a little bird come once  
in a hundred thousand years and pick off
 a small particle of the stone1 not     
larger than the tenth part of a grain of
 millet1 and after another hundred      
thousand years let him come again1 so   
that in ten hundred thousand years he   
would pick off as much as a grain of    
millet1 we wretched sinners would desire
 nothing but that the stone might have  
an end1 and thus our pains also2 yet    
even that cannot be4'9999       99 ,summ
 ,suppl4 qu #ig4       9999 ,quoted in  
,hagenbach's ,history of ,doctrines1    

#baj1 vol4      ii41 p4 #aeb  ,the work 
of ,father ,pinamonti1 entitled ,hell   
,opened to ,christians1 has been for    
over two hundred years one of the most  
popular among ,catholic ,christians4 ,it
 has also circulated among ,protestants4
 ,an ,english version1 with horrible    
pictures of the torments of the damned1 
has gone through many editions4 ,we     
recommend its purchase to those who     
complain of the illustrations in the    
,freethinker1 or who desire to see how  
savage the ,christian religion is at    
bottom4 ,the ,christian ,father of      
course accepts the literal meaning of   
hell fire4 ,he says 7p4 #bh73 ,every one
 that is damned will be like a lighted  
furnace1 which has its own flames in    
itself2 all the filthy blood will boil  
in the veins1 the brains in the skull1  
the heart in the breast1 the bowels     
within the unfortunate body1 surrounded 
with an abyss of' fire out of which it  
cannot escape4  ,the ,sight of ,hell1 by
 the ,rev4 ,j4 ,fumiss1 ,c4,s4,s4,r41 is

 another popular work issued permissu   
superiorum among ,books for ,children   
and ,young ,persons4 ,a more atrocious  
composition it is difficult to conceive4
 ,the agony is piled on as though the   
imagination of the writer revelled in   
the description of torture4 ,one        
specimen1 a mild one1 will suffice3--   
,perhaps at this moment1 seven o'clock  
in the evening1 a child is just going   
into ,hell4 ,to-morrow evening at seven 
o'clock1 go and knock at the gates of   
,hell and ask what the child is doing4  
,the devils will go and look4 ,then they
 will come back again and say1 the child
 is burning6 ,go in a week and ask what 
the child is doing2 you will get the    
same answer--it is burning6 ,go in a    
year and ask1 the same answer comes--it 
is burning6 ,go in a million of years   
and ask the same question2 the answer is
 just the same--it is burning6 ,so if   
you go for ever and ever1 you will      
always get the same answer--it is       
burning in the fire6  ,i declare ,i     

would rather put into the hands of any  
young child ,boccaccio's ,decameron1 or 
any of the works put on the ,roman      
,index ,librorum ,prohibitorum1 with    
which ,i am acquainted1 than this pious 
work by a ,christian ,father4           
,protestantism did nothing to lighten   
the realm of outer darkness4 ,rather1 by
 its repudiation of the priest-serving  
doctrine of purgatory1 it rendered more 
glaring the contrast between the        
condition of the saved and that of the  
non-elect4 ,calvin asks3 ,how is it that
 the fall of ,adam involves so many     
nations1 with their infant children1 to 
eternal death without remedy1 unless    
that it so seemed meet to ,god8 ,the    
same holy ,christian says of the damned3
 ,for ever harassed with a dreadful     
tempest1 they shall feel themselves torn
 asunder by an angry ,god1 and          
transfixed and penetrated by mortal     
stings1 terrified by the thunderbolts of
 ,god1 and broken by the weight of his  
hand1 so that to sink into any gulf     

would be more tolerable than to stand   
for a moment in these terrors4          
,according to the ,westminster          
,confession1 ch4 xxxiii43 ,the wicked   
who know not ,god and obey not the      
gospel of ,jesus ,christ1 shall be cast 
into eternal torments4 ,and the ,larger 
,catechism1 ,a4 #bi1 declares3 ,the     
punishments of sin in the world to come 
are everlasting separation from the     
comfortable presence of ,god1 and most  
grievous torments in soul and body1     
without intermission1 in hell fire      
forever4 ,they that have done good shall
 go into life everlasting2 and they that
 have done evil into everlasting fire1  
is the doctrine of the ,book of ,common 
,prayer4  ,bishop ,jeremy ,taylor1 the  
prose poet of the ,church of ,england1  
says in his discourse on the ,pains of  
,hell993 ,we are amazed at the          
inhumanity of ,phalaris1 who roasted men
 in his brazen bull3 this was joy in    
respect of that fire of hell which      
penetrates the very entrails without    

consuming them4 ,husbands shall see     
their wives1 parents shall see their    
children1 tormented before their eyes4  
,picture it1 think of it1 ,christian1   
and then give praises to your demon     
,god4 ,the good1 really good1 bishop    
tells us the bodies of the damned shall 
be crowded together in hell like grapes 
in a wine press1 which press one another
 till they burst4 ,every distinct sense 
and organ shall be assailed with its own
 appropriate and most exquisite         
sufferings4 ,surely the creed is        
accursed which led so worthy a man as   
,taylor to paint with unction this      
description of the ,pains of ,hell4     
99 ,contemplation of the ,state of ,man1
 ch4 #fh4  ,our own ,milton1 liberal in 
theology though he was1 adheres to the  
,biblical idea of       ,regions of     
,sorrow6 doleful          ,shades6 where
      ,peace ,and ,rest can never dwell2
          ,hope never comes1      ,that 
comes to all3 but          ,torture     
without ,end      ,still urges1 and a   

fiery          ,deluge fed      ,with   
ever-burning sulphur unconsum'd4        
,bishop ,hall says3 ,what1 oh1 what is  
it to conceive of lying in a fire more  
intense than nature can kindle1 for     
hundreds1 thousands1 millions1 yea      
millions of millions of years1 which1   
after all1 are only a minute of time    
compared with eternity4  ,dr4 ,barrow   
asserts that our bodies will be         
afflicted continually by a sulphurous   
flame piercing the inmost smews4 ,wesley
 says3       ,eternity and deep despair 
,on every flame is written there4       
,again he says3 ,from the moment wherein
 they are plunged into the lake of fire1
 burning with brimstone1 their torments 
are not only without intermission1 but  
likewise without end4  ,the sight of the
 torments of the damned in hell will    
increase the ecstacy of the saints in   
heaven4 ,this is the doctrine of ,st4   
,john1 and it has been repeated by      
orthodox ,christian preachers times     
without number4 ,and though orthodox    

,christian preachers dare not preach it 
now1 it is the legitimate outcome of    
their belief4 ,in heaven the angels see 
all1 and must therefore witness the     
torments of the damned2 and these do not
 diminish their happiness1 though the   
damned be their own parents or their own
 children4  ,jonathan ,edwards1 one of  
the most consistent ,christians that    
ever breathed1 devoted a work to the    
subject4 ,the ,thirteenth ,sermon of his
 ,works is entitled ,the ,end of the    
,wicked contemplated by the ,righteous1 
and is particularly devoted to the      
illustration of the doctrine that the   
sight of hell torments will exalt the   
happiness of the saints forever4 ,it    
will1 he continues1 not only make them  
more sensible of the greatness and      
freeness of the grace of ,god in their  
happiness1 but it really makes their    
happiness the greater1 as it will make  
them more sensible of their own         
happiness4 ,it will give them a more    
lively relish of it2 it will make them  

prize it more4 ,when they see others who
 were of the same nature1 and born under
 the same circumstances1 plunged in such
 misery1 and they so distinguished1 it  
will make them the more sensible how    
happy they are499 ,in his direful poem  
on the ,last ,day1 the once popular ,dr4
 ,young makes one of ,god's victims     
vainly ask3       ,this one1 this       
slender1 almost no request3      ,when  
,i have wept a thousand lives away1     
,when torment is grown weary of its     
prey1      ,when ,i have ran of         
anguish'd years in fire      ,ten       
thousand thousands1 let me then expire4 
,the pious ,dr4 ,samuel ,hopkins thus   
displays the ,divine character and      
illustrates the loving kindness of the  
blessed ,scripture promises3 ,the smoke 
of their torment shall ascend up in the 
sight of the blessed for ever and ever1 
and serve1 as a most clear glass before 
their eyes1 to give them a bright and   
most effective view4 ,this display of   
the ,divine character will be most      

entertaining to all who love ,god1 will 
give them the highest and most ineffable
 pleasure4 ,should the fire of this     
eternal punishment cease1 it would in a 
great measure obscure the light of      
heaven and put an end to a great part of
 the happiness and glory of the blessed4
  ,contrast with this holy utterance of 
the pious ,christian1 the burning words 
of the ,atheist poet1 ,james ,thomson3  
,if any human soul at all      ,must die
 the second death1 must fall      ,into 
that gulph of quenchless flame          
,which keeps its victims still the same1
      ,unpurified as unconsumed1        
,to everlasting torments doomed2        
,then ,i give ,god my scorn and hate1   
,and turning back from ,heaven's gate   
7,suppose me got there67 bow1 ,adieu6   
,almighty ,devil1 damn me too49999      
,baxter1 in his ,saint's ,everlasting   
,best1 declares3 ,the principal author  
of hell torments is ,god himself4 ,as it
 was no less than ,god whom the sinner  
had offended1 so it is no less than ,god

 who will punish them for their         
offences4 ,he has prepared those        
torments for his enemies4444 ,the       
everlasting flames of hell will not be  
thought too hot for the rebellious2 and 
when they have burnt there for millions 
of ages1 he will not repent him of the  
evil which is befallen them4       99   
,the ,eternity of ,hell ,torments1 p4   
#be 7,london4 #aghi74       9999 ,vane's
 ,story4  ,was not ,shelley right when  
he described the ,christian ,god3--     
,a vengeful1 pitiless and almighty      
fiend1      ,whose mercy is a nick-name 
for the rage      ,of tameless tigers   
hungering for blood4  ,it would be easy 
to multiply citations4 ,spurgeon1 among 
living divines1 has preached hell as hot
 as anybody4 ,but the doctrine is       
decaying together with real faith in    
,christianity4  ,walter ,savage ,landor 
well says3 ,the priesthood in all       
religions sings the same anthem4 ,first1
 the abuses are stoutly defended1 but   
when the ground is no longer tenable1   

then these abuses are to be             
distinguished and separated from the    
true faith4 ,but what are we to think of
 the sudden conversion of a church that 
has taught falsity so long8 ,if it did  
not know the truth on this important    
point1 how can it be credited with      
knowing it upon any other matter8 ,the  
rejection of hell cuts the ground from  
under the gospel4 ,salvation supposes a 
prior damnation4 ,if there is no hell no
 ,savior is needed4 ,christianity is all
 of a piece1 and1 its main prop gone it 
must fall like a house of cards4