Show A REMAR remarkable KABkE DOCTRINAL DEPARTURE THE ce case of the rev bev mr merriman which was lately examined by a tribunal of the congregational church at somerville massachusetts proves that a great change is coming over the religious views of that denomination mr merriman Is a very able and learned minister and was for some time president of ripun college his opinions on several doctrines established by y long and undisputed consent as fundamental tenets of the congregationalists were well known to be very if not entirely heretical and hib his fitness for the po position altion of a congregational pastor was the subject of investigation before the tribunal of the sect held at somerville when questioned ag to his views concerning the lords lorda supper the atonement and other doctrines he 9 gave a replies lies wh which ch showed that he di red materially a rielly from the orthodox creed and when the subject of the condition of unbelievers believers un after death and the whole question of the interregnum between death and the judgment were brought up he uttered sentiments which would have startled whitfield into horror and amazement and have caused calvin to consign him to the doom of the heretic the doctrine that probation ends at beath death aud and that the fate of the sinner la Is fixed for ever when he leaves this wor world rid tid hag haa been a settled principle of protestantism since the reformation C calvinism alvini gm too is a distinctive feature of congregationalism the eternal condition of mankind according to that creed was fore ordained and nothing that anyone can cau do will alter his tined fate if he is not one of the elect he will be everlastingly da damned enned and if be is one of the fa fored few ho he will be saved in spite of himself but mr hir merriman takes no stock in io these old oid fashioned and absurd ideas he appeals appears to think that salvation will eventually come to ali all but bat on the doctrine of probation he ia is clearly clearl yand and definitely heterodox and talks as sensibly about it aa as a lat ter day saint here is what he said on the bub sub subject eject aa christ was born and died for all ill men so all men will have a christian probation all are dear to christ and are to have the offer of the great salvation but there are many who hyve no probation whatever thib this bide aide of the grave they lieve nou not exen even a moral probation much less lesa a christian one oae I 1 do not believe that the scriptures necessitate thet the theory that death ia Is the limit of human probation I 1 believe that all oili oily I 1 before they como come to the judgment a seat beat asat of christ will jiava a christian probation 3 Ir hUi BO so far as it goes is mormon fA lormon isan P ure and simple it wasT was oseph joseph iriti the prophet who first in this fhe fee bu orations clearly laid down the yoc hoc hochrine doctrine trIne pt jho the declaration of the gospel to the dead as well aa as the lyl jiving ivl ng HP he received it by revelation n froin fro m god and understood it by seeing in vaaloa the conditions of all the inhabitants of tho the earth in the world to come he made plain the scripture references to the preaching of jesus christ to the spirits in prison on which the doctrine of baptism for I 1 or the dead is based and c sli sti showed owed that all people will have the tile opportunity of hearing and bind obeying the gospel oither cither in the body or out of df the body and why should it not bo be go 60 Is 18 there anything unreasonable in the 4 idea that the gospel may bo be preached to mankind out of the body as well as in the body all christendom professes professes esses to believe that the spirit bees dees when the body diw dies and that it is still a sentient being capable JS pj Ign knowing owins owing and nc of 0 huf Euf eu ferin flerin and rejoicing why should not a departed spirit receive instruction not imparted to it when in the flesh and why should the ins instructed spirit not be abid ablo to believe repent and seek unto god for sni eal salvation these are questions questions that are not answered in le the christian sects except by the dogmatism of preachers who know no more about the subject than their hearers they declare that death ends probation and shuts off all opportunities for repentance and thus limit the power of god and narrow the sphere of tho the angel of mer merey mercy s while they create doubt in the mind ag to the justlee justice of the great jehovah and end to the truth of the christian religion thus BO so shameful ly 17 perverted while mr merriman und and others who think for themselves have been able to perceive the error of the common theology on these points they are still in the dark on many things connected therewith if all people are to hear christs gospel what Is the condition of mankind after death the generally accepted doctrine la Is that men and women either go to heaven or hell w when hen they die what is their position do they all go to the same place are there many mansions prepared for the dead can the gospel ordinances be received there Is there any difference between the of gospel preaching in the spirit world and in the material world are there sects and churches there do the spirits who the gospel dwell in tb the e same sphere as those who receive it not do people who have rejected it in in the flesh hear it again in the tho spirit cana can a disembodied spirit reject the truth and if so what are the consequences these are a few of the considerations growing out of the v lows views which have dawned upon the 1 mind of the congregationalist tried for his fitness to the ministry but on which he has no definite knowledge and cannot have without receiving the revelations of god given in modern times when pressed for fur further th er explanations mr air merriman said the line of probation is tho the final judgment between death and then there might bo be redemptive progress s evil did not exist and may be terminated mina inina ted and the everlasting applied to punishment does not necessitate the theory of illimitable evil cr er suffering nothing in scripture prevents prayers for w the e dead it is not wonderful that tho the gentleman should entertain views of this kind but it Is aston amton shing that the ecclesiastical tribunal which heard hla hia express expressions ious should have held him fit to occupy a Con grega dional pulpit mr merriman was formally accepted and approved as a pastor and thus the council virtually endorsed what a few years ago would have been denounced as the rankest heresy the believer in h stood no chance for salvation to say eay nothing of his hid qualifications as a teacher of religion we have no fault to find with the men or the body that accepted the courage courageous ous oui preacher who had the sense to perceive the fallacy of the commonly accepted doctrine and the boldness to oppose it but it is a strange thing to see tho the represent representatives i of a sect holding positive dos doz luve articles of fa falth faith 1 ethl accepting a mini minister ater who dissents from some somo of the cheif tenets of its creed and pr preaches eaches caches sentiments that are as antagonist antagonistic io to it as truth is to error one ono thing is very clear to those who watch the growth of religious ideas in the world and that is that the preaching of the elders of this church though denounced by the various sects and opposed by the ex poun dera of modern christendom have had a powerful effect upon the religious mind and have modified to a ver very y large extent the religious views of a vast number of ot people in every country where free thong thought ht I 1 prevails |