The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-07-16
L. Man Immortal


the most cosmopolitan religious journal in the
world. 1t treats all subjects in an unsectarian
spirit, for which it has been abundantly ap-
plauded if not aattered. But in this regard
we have done nothing more than our duty
according to the measure Of our ability and as
we conceive the interests of religion and hui
manity demand. Our editorial comments on
social and religious topics have frequently
called forth responses from our readers, which
we are always glad to receive, whether they
coincide with our views or not. We want 1t
to be understood that we are not against truth
in any form, but for it, and if we have some
times severely censured opinions and religious
doymas it was because we believed them o
be opposed to truth, not only as that truth ap-
pears 10 us in Revelation, but as it is in nature
also. And in this spirit we have criticised the
teachings of the Free Reli gion Association and
the utterances of its apologists, for which we
have been very kindly and gently called to
account by a correspondent, who pertinently
raises the question which we have placed at
the head of this article, and which, by the way,
has been repeatedly raised before, whether or
not man is immortal. Our correspondent has
looked through the scriptural references which
we made in an editorial in our issue of June
25 and is satisfied that there is not a single
declaration of the souls Immortality among
them We admit there is no such declaration
in words in any part of the Bible. But when
facts are stated which presuppose and which
rest upon the immortality of the soul, we can
not see what additional force verbal declara-
ton would give to them. For instance, St.
Paul, in his great argument to prove
the resurrection Ct. Corinthians, XVI, as
sumes all through that man is immortal, and
in verse forty-four he makes an assertion
which has very little force upon any other
hypothesis than that of an Independent
existence Of the soul: So also in H. CORN
thiaus, ", he speaks of the dissolution of the
body as an introduction into the presence Of
Christ, being confident, as he says, that
whilst we are at home in the body we are
absent from the Lord, implying, as we con-
ceive, the reverse, that when absent from the
the body he should be present with the Lord.
In his letter to the Philippians, H., %, Paul
declares that he is Sin strait betwixt two,
having desire to depart and be with Christ,
which was far better" for himself, and ''to
abide in the flesh" which was more needful
for them. The inference can hardly be palmer
that death would have been to him the open
ing of better life rather than an unconscious
sleep for ages until the last trumpet shall
sound. There are many other passages in
which this apostle bases either an argument
or an aspiration and hope upon the assumed
fact Of tae souls Immortality and its inc de-
pendent existence. But two are as good as
twenty,
The Apostle Peter, in his first epistle, ill.,,
Is, 90, and w., 6, makes a deliberate state
ment which amounts almost to blasphemy
upon any other assumption than that of the
souls immortality and consequent Independent
existence st. Matthew's Gospel, xviii, con-
| tains an account of the TRANSPORTATION of the
Saviour, on which occasion Moses, who had
| been dead for one thousand four hundred and
seventy years, and Elias or Elijah, who had
been translated to heaven more than nine hun
dred and twenty years before, appeared with
| Jesus. We assumed, in our reference on a
| former occasion, that the fact of their appear
| ing at this time was evidence enou Oh of their
existence during the interim without decla-
| ration thereof in words. The same fact Is
substantially declared of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob by the Saviour, who in Mark xiii, 81,
quotes from Moses thereby implying that the
Old Testament scriptures, as well as the
New, teach the doctrine of the souls immor-
tally. And another of our correspondents
claims that this doctrine is peculiarly Jewish
rather than Christian, which we readily
admit. Luke Xxx, 80, is but repetition of
the preceding reference, and, as we have
stated before, the book of Revelations is writ
ten as if this truth was universally admitted.
And if it can be successfully denied very
much of what mankind now believes and has
for ages believed must be cast aside as worse
than worthless-as positively mischevous.
So much, in brief, for our Scripture proofs
of the Immortality of man. We agree with
our correspondent that the teaching of Paul on
this subject is the teaching of the Word OF
God from Genesis to Revelations. And if, as
our correspondent declares, Plato and Socra-
ties and other heather writer's taught this doc
trine, the fact has no force against its belief
now, but rather shows that it is not q pecu-
larly Christian dogma, but is, as we contend il
is, as universal as the race. And we find it
so at the present time as well as in past ages.
But our correspondent, very properly, does
not content himself with disposing summarly
of our references. He presents some in sup
port of bis own assertion that imam in his
present state is purely mortal, with nothing
within or about him that is not perishable"
He quotes Ecclesiastes ill.,, 10, 20, wherein