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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE REASONS WHICH, IN THE PRESENT ASPECTS OF THOUGHT, RENDER NECESSARY

A CAREFUL INQUIRY INTO THE TRUTH OF THE COMMONLY ACCEPTED THEORIES

RESPECTING FUTURE RETRIBUTION.

The awful character of these theories, and the obstacles which they interpose to the

acceptance of Christianity as a Divine Revelation, 1—3.--These theories briefly stated:

(1) The theory which affirms that the belief in certain abstract dogmas respecting the

ontology of Deity is necessary for salvation, 3—6. (2) The Predestinarian theory, and

its different modifications, 6-8. (3) The Baptismal theory, 8-10. (4) The popular

theory, 10-12. (5) The doctrine of Purgatory, 12. (6) The theories of life in Christ, of

universal salvation, and of the late Professor Maurice, 13-14.—Eternal damnation :

the awful character of the idea which it involves, 15, 16.--Statements of popular

theology respecting it, 16-19.

CHAPTER II.

HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY VIEWED IN RELATION TO THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES OF

JUSTICE, HOLINess, and BenevOLENCE, AS THEY ARE AFFIRMED BY REASON

AND ENUNCIATED BY REVELATION.

The invalidity of the theories which affirm that, because God is infinite and man finite,

it is impossible to obtain any knowledge of God as He actually is, and therefore that

the Divine attributes may differ widely from our human conceptions of them, examined

and considered, 20-24.- -The Divine attributes of justice, holiness, and benevolence

correspond to our human conceptions of them, the only difference being that these

qualities exist in man in an imperfect state, but in God they are perfect, 24—26.-

Objections answered, 26-28.--Points of character, and the actions consequent on

them for which men are either irresponsible or possess only a modified responsibility

28-31.-Objections considered, 31-34.

CHAPTER III.

THE SAME SUBJECT AS SET FORTH IN THE SCRIPTURES OF THE OLD AND NEW

TESTAMENTS.

The imperfect character of the Revelations of which the Old Testament is the record,

35—38.—Its elevated utterances respecting the Divine character and perfections, 38—

44.—Those which ascribe to Him the imperfections of man, 44-45.—The imper-

fections of its moral teaching, and its accommodation to the low and imperfect ideas of

morality of those to whom its precepts were addressed, 45-49.-The imperfection of

portions of its moral teaching not only affirmed by our Lord and His apostles, but

recognised by several of the more enlightened prophets, 49-55.—The practice in these

early ages to ascribe everything to God's immediate agency, and the contrast in this

respect between the Old and the New Testament, 55-58.—The nature of the prophetic

utterances, 58-63.-The affirmations of the New Testament, and those of the

enlightened conscience and moral sense, constitute our only guide as to the principles on

which God will judge men hereafter in their individual capacity, 63-64.

CHAPTER IV.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE REASONS WHICH WE POSSESS, INDEPENDENTLY OF A

REVELATION, FOR BELIEVING THAT MAN WILL SURVIVE THE STROKE OF

DEATII, AND THAT HIS CONDUCT HERE WILL AFFECT HIS CONDITION HERE-

AFTER.

Reasonings based on our supposed knowledge of the metaphysical nature of the sou

unsatisfactory, 65-66.—The argument founded on the all but universal belief that

there is something in man which will survive the stroke of death, 66-68.-The

argument from the greatness of man's intellectual and moral powers, and the imperfect

scope which this life affords for their development, 68-69.—That derived from their

survival in full vigour up to the moment of dissolution, 69-72.-The moral argu-

ment, 72—74.——Altruistic morality destitute of the requisite spiritual and moral power

to enforce its teachings on the masses of mankind, 74-78.—If there be no God, and

no hereafter, the impossibility of proving that self-sacrifice for the good of others is a

duty, 78-80.The value of the above reasoning as affording proof that man will

survive the stroke of death, 81.-The unsatisfactory character of the reasonings of the

ancient philosophers on this subject, 81-83.-The above reasonings only valid to

prove that the personality will survive the dissolution of the body, but inadequate to

prove absolute immortality, the proof of which rests on the will, character, and purposes

of God, 83-85.

CHAPTER V.

THE IMPERFECTION OF THE LIGHT WHICH THE SCRIPTURES OF THE OLD TESTA-

MENT THROW ON THE CONDITION OF MAN AFTER DEATH.

The absence in the Pentateuch of any reference to a state of future retribution beyond

the grave, its sanctions being based on considerations derived from the present life alone,

86-90. The same true of the historical books, 90-91.- -The popular ideas

respecting Hades, 91-93.-The narrative of the Witch of Endor, 93-96.-The

Book of Psalms: Their striking character as a record of the religious experiences of

their respective authors, 96-97.-The nature of their testimony as to the belief

respecting man's future condition after death, 97-103.-General conclusions re-

specting the views of the Psalmists on this subject, 103-105.-The affirmations of the

prophet Isaiah on this subject: What they were calculated to suggest to his contem-

poraries, 105-112.-The prophets, though earnest preachers of righteousness, never

appeal to considerations derived from a future state of retribution, either as an en-

couragement to holiness or as a deterrent from sin, 112-115.-The remaining books

of the Hagiographa contain only two positive affirmations and one uncertain one, that a

state of retribution awaits man after death, 115-120.-General conclusions, 120-122.

CHAPTER VI.

THE CURRENT THEORIES RESPECTING RETRIBUTION CONTRASTED

WITH

THE

AFFIRMATIONS OF REASON AND REVELATION RESPECTING THE DIVINE

CHARACTER AND PERFECTIONS.

The affirmations of the New Testament respecting the Divine character: God is just,

God is holy, God is merciful, God is love. He will therefore judge each individual man

in conformity with these attributes, 123–125.— -The various theories of systematic and

popular theology considered in relation to these attributes: (1) The ontological theory,

125. (2) Those theories which affirm that men will be punished hereafter on account

of sins and tendencies to evil in the causation of which they, as individuals, had nothing

to do, 125-127. (3) The Predestinarian theories and their modifications, 127-129.

(4) The Baptismal theory, 129-131. (5) The theory of Professor Drummond and the

popular theories, 131-136.—God will judge individual men in conformity with that

character of which Jesus Christ is the image and likeness, 136-139.

CHAPTER VII.

THE ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN, AS NARRATED IN THE

SECOND AND THIRD CHAPTERS OF GENESIS, IN ITS BEARING ON THE QUESTION

OF HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE VALIDITY OF THE VARIOUS THEORIES

WHICH HAVE BEEN ERECTED ON IT, EXAMINED AND CONSIDERED.

Reasons for considering this subject, 140.—The total absence of any reference to what
is designated "the doctrine of the fall" in the remaining books of the Old Testament,
and in the teaching of our Lord, 141–143.—Also in seventeen out of the twenty-three
books which compose the remaining writings of the New Testament, 143-144.-The
references to the third chapter of Genesis in St. Paul's four remaining epistles examined
and considered, 144–149.- -The narrative in Genesis: its statements on the assump-
tion that it is intended to be a narrative of actual occurrences, 149–153.- -The
inferences which, on this assumption, may be deduced from it, 153-157.—Its
silences, 157-159.—The reasons which have induced eminent theologians in all ages
of the Church to view the narrative as allegorical, 159-165.-General conclusions,
165-166.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE GENERAL POSITIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT RESPECTING A FUTURE STATE.

The definiteness of its statements respecting a future state of retribution contrasted with

the absence of them in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, 167-169.-Its affirma-

tions respecting the condition of the personality between death and the resurrection, 169

-175. The small amount of information which it gives respecting the secrets of

the unseen world, 175-177.—The hopes and aspirations of the holy concentrated

not on a disembodied condition of the personality, but on a future resurrection, when

it will be again re-united to a material organism, 177-179.-The contrast between

its positions, and those of the philosophic schools, respecting the superiority of the

embodied to the disembodied condition of the personality, 179-181.-Its affirmations

respecting the nature of the resurrection body, 181–184.

CHAPTER IX.

THE TERMINOLOGY, OR THE MEANING OF THE LANGUAGE EMPLOYED BY THE

WRITERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT RESPECTING FUTURE RETRIBUTION.

The terminology of the New Testament not technical but popular, 185.—The Greek in

which it is written such as was in popular use in the different Christian communities,

to whom its writers assumed that it would be intelligible, 185-187.-The meaning of

its terminology not scientific or technical, but such as it bore in the Greek which was

habitually spoken by the members of the apostolic Churches, 187-189.-Impossible to

erect a scientific psychology of man on its use of the words πνευμα, ψυχή, σῶμα

(spirit, soul, and body), 189–190.-IIvêvua, spirit; the various meanings which it

bears in the New Testament examined, 190-194.- -Yox, soul; its various senses

examined and considered, 194-202.--Zua, body; its usage by the apostolic

writers, 202-204.---Aiwv, age, or dispensation; oi aiwves, the ages; oi aiwves tŵv

aiovor, the ages of ages; and aivios, age-long, denote periods not of unlimited

but of limited duration, 204-208.- -Inaccurately rendered, world, world without end,

for ever, or, for ever and ever, 208-209.--The meanings which these words bear in

the New Testament considered and examined, 209-216.- -Capable of denoting dura-

tion without limits when united with a negative particle, 216-217.—Their meaning

indefinite when used to express duration, 217-218.-Zwń, life, and @ávaros, death

the usage of these terms by the apostolic writers, 218-224.-Theories erected on

the assumption of their being used not in their popular but in a technical sense un-

sound, 224-227.-The meaning which the remaining words used in the New Testa-

ment in connection with future retribution conveyed to the Greek-speaking Christians

in the apostolic Churches, 227-234.

CHAPTER X.

THE TEACHING OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS, AND OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES,

RESPECTING THE NATURE OF FUTURE RETRIBUTION.

The reasons for considering these separately from the other writings of the New Testa-

ment, 235.--The idea of the kingdom of heaven is that which permeates their teach-

ing, 235-237.--The conception denoted by it, 237-239.-The teaching of John the

Baptist respecting retribution, 239-240.-Gehenna, our Lord's utterances respecting

it, 210-247. The meaning which the word àwλeta (destruction) and other kindred

terms, when used to denote the penalty denounced against sin, would have conveyed to a

Greek-speaking Christian, 247-248.—The metaphors of the creditor and the debtor,

248-249.- -That of the unfaithful steward, 250.- -The parables of the wheat and the

tares, the drag-net, and the marriage feast, 250-254.-Blasphemy against the Holy

Spirit, 254-256.-The parables of Dives and Lazarus, the ten virgins, the ten talents

and the minas, 256-262.-That of the sheep and the goats, 262-268.-The refer-

ences to future retribution in the Acts of the Apostles, 268-271.-General conclusions

271.

CHAPTER XI.

THE SAME SUBJECT AS SET FORTH IN THE GOSPEL AND IN THE EPISTLES OF

ST. JOHN.

The use of technical terms peculiar to the writings of this Apostle, 272.-The ex-
pression, aivios Son, eternal or age-long life, used to denote a condition of man's
moral and spiritual being, not as a future but a present possession, 272-278.——A