"Pious Frauds."

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4720, 22 February 1884, Page 3

"Pious Frauds."

Mr E. H. Taylor lectured at the Oddfellows Hall, Shortland, last evening, on

the above subject. There was a good at-

tendance, the hall being nearly full. The lecturer commenced by saying that the subject- of "Pious Frauds" was one which was engaging the attention of all thinking men of the present day.bntthey must net. consider' Winds' tLose who wpre teaching.false doctrine in ignorance, but must endearor to draw a line between the men themselves and the doctrines they held. It was strange4bit in these excited religious times -the old Gospel of , the grace of God and. the kingdom of Christ was not enough'for the preachers, - and they had, in order to make their teachings acceptable with the people, to bring in «motion to their aid, and work upon their feelings. He would divide l;is subject into three frauds j—l, Immortal soul; 2, sendiDg a good soul to heaven at death ;and 3, sending a bad soul to hell .at death. The first was without foundation in the Scriptures, for Paul said, in Ist Timothy—6th eh, 16th v.—"Who (God) only hath immorality," so it was impossible for man to possess it. He quoted a number of other passages in support of this, and said that to base the teaching of man having an immortal soul on the Scriptures was one of the most fraudulent things that had ever been handed down by a priesthood. It was on this basis also that the frauds of Mahometanism, Mormonism, Spiritualism, and others were , built up. Ibe summary despatching of good-souls to heaven and bad ones to hell at death waß a fraud; he would even go further; and say that to base such beliefs on the Bible was blasphemy. They might say, as had been done, " All you at the front are.going to heaven, and you at the back to hell," but they had no founda-

'tion in the Bible for making such a state- - ment, and he would give £10 to any man :>i^rho could find in,the Bible one single ; J ; Apromisetnaunan in spirit form went to tiea- ' ren at death. Men did not desire death, . and those who were so sure of heaven at death, were the very ones who would • drink bucketsful of medicine to keep ' 'them out of glory. He quoted Talmage's description of the horrors of hell, which bad been quite as vividly pourtrayed on the Thames lately, saying it was. a fraud to tack that on to the Scriptures, and a shame, that the ministers of the present day did not explain the meanings of the words Tartarus, Hades and Gehenna, which were all translated hell in the old version, though they tad very different meanings. * The way in which preachers claimed to convert their fellow men was another fraud ; ai man might come up to the penitent form and howl for three hours, and then under the influence of excitement cry out " Hallelujah! Glory !" but unless the ■ spirit of God had laid hold on him the 1 - conversion would be in vain. God never said a man could be converted one day, sanctified the next, and then live wholly free from sin ; no, His work, as exemplified in nature, was slow and sure. The lecture was delivered in a forcible and -fluent manner, and it. was attentively listened to throughout.