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SECTION I.-God judging the world under the Old Dispensation 246

SECT. II.-Judgment of the world by Christ under the New Dis-

pensation: 1. Time and place of Judgment-When
the Judgment day began; II. The Judgment
spiritual, by the word of truth, and not literal or
in person; III. The end of the Judgment Day,
and the results of the Judgment - Opinions of
Ancient Universalists.....

SECT. III-The Judgment after Death, Heb. ix. 27.................

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273

SECTION I.-The Rewards of Righteousness....

SECT. II.-The Punishments of Sin-The Law and its Penalties:
1. The design of the Law; II. The design of the
Penalty

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SECT. III.-The Remedial Nature of Punishment-Testimony of
the Scriptures- The teaching of Ancient Univer-
salism

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CHAPTER IX.-REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS IN RELA-
TION TO PUNISHMENT AND SALVATION.

313

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INTRODUCTORY.

All religions are founded upon a belief in a Deity, of some kind, superior in nature, or in power, to man. The moral force and value of any religion, in its influence on the believer, is in proportion to the degree of perfection which it ascribes to the Deity. Aristotle has somewhere said, in substance, that excellency in man depends on his acquaintance with something higher and better than himself; and the whole course of religious history illustrates the truth of the observation.

Where the religion is really believed, and exercises its legitimate influence on the believer, the moral and social results correspond to the character of the theology. "If the divinities," says a judicious writer, "are represented as virtuous and noble, a corresponding excellence and greatness of soul, will be produced among the people, and this in proportion to their reverence for the objects of their adoration. But wherever the gods are imperfect or base, imperfection or baseness will belong to the worshippers.'

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No other result can be looked for where the faith of the people is a living force in them, and acts directly on their feelings, character, and conduct. Hence it has been justly affirmed, that "religion will not be

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