s. As the Presbyterian Church
has only been able to induce one-fifth of one per cent. of the
people to even call themselves Presbyterians, about how long will
it take, at this rate, to convert mankind? The fact is, there
seems to be a general lull along the entire line, and just at
present very little is being done by the orthodox people to keep
their fellow-citizens out of hell.

_Question_. Do you really think that the orthodox people now
believe in the old doctrine of eternal punishment, and that they
really think there is a kind of hell that our ancestors so carefully
described?

_Answer_. I am afraid that the old idea is dying out, and that
many Christians are slowly giving up the consolations naturally
springing from the old belief. Another terrible blow to the old
infamy is the fact that in the revised New Testament the word Hades
has been substituted. As nobody knows exactly what Hades means,
it will not be quite so easy to frighten people at revivals by
threatening them with something that they don't clearly understand.
After this, when the impassioned orator cries out that all the
unconverted will be sent to Hades, the poor sinners, instead of
getting frightened, will begin to ask each other what and where
that is. It will take many years of preaching to clothe that word
in all the terrors and horrors, pains, and penalties and pangs of
hell. Hades is a compromise. It is a concession to the philosophy
of our day. It is a graceful acknowledgment to the growing spirit
of investigation, that hell, after all, is a barbaric mistake.
Hades is the death of revivals. It cannot be used in song. It
won't rhyme with anything with the same force that hell does. It
is altogether more shadowy than hot. It is not associated with
brimstone and flame. It sounds somewhat indistinct, somewhat
lonesome, a little desolate, but not altogether uncomfortable.
For revival purposes, Hades is simply useless, and few conversions
will be made in the old way under the revised Testament.

_Question_. Do you really think that the church is losing ground?

_Answer_. I am not, as you probably know, connected with any
orthodox organization, and consequently have to rely upon them for
my information. If they can be believed, the church is certainly
in an extremely bad condition. I find that the Rev. Dr. Cuyler,
only a few days ago, speaking of the religious condition of Brooklyn
--and Brooklyn, you know, has been called t