“Do you believe in conversion?”
“Yes; conversion from error to truth, from sin to holiness, from depravity to purity, from a disloyal to a loyal life. But this conversion begins, progresses and is consummated in perfect harmony with the laws of the mind. It is as natural a process as is the growth of the body.”
“Do you believe in a hell?”
“The word hell in the Bible has several distinct signification. 1st. It often means the grave. 2d. Temporal destruction. 3d. Moral degradation. 4th. The state of the dead. But hell in no sense is endless in duration.”
“Do you believe in a general judgment?”
“In a general and everlasting judgment. All are now judged by the eternal laws of God, and we rise or fall, are happy or miserable, as we obey or disobey them. This judgment is also everlasting. Through all time, and through all eternity, happiness will result from obeying the laws of God, and misery from disobeying them. Entering the spirit world, will not change our natures, and the laws of the Creator are the same there as here.”
“But do you not believe in a day of judgment?”
“Yes; in a day and in days of judgment. Judgment commenced six thousand years ago, and it is not yet closed. ‘All God’s ways are judgment,’ the Bible teaches us. Particular calamities befalling nations and cities, are called judgment days. The gospel dispensation is termed a judgment day.”
“But do you not believe in a judgment day at the end of time, when the immortal destiny of each of Adam’s race will be immutably fixed for eternal weal or woe?”
“No, sir; I can find no reason, or philosophy, or scripture for such a notion. The destiny of each individual will not be determined at the end of time, but it was determined in the purpose of God from all eternity. Man is immortal, and is destined to become more and more Godlike, intellectually and morally, as the eternal ages roll along.”