The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-06
THE RESURRECTION A MYTH.

LILLE hESUhhECI1UN a MYTH.
In the services at Lyric Hall. yesterday, the pas
tor, Mr. rockingham, said The lesson OF the
resurrection Is the lesson which has SO many read
ings, and which is to be learned in so many moods
Of mind. The Easter morning comes In the spring
time The first preacher Of resurrection IS Nature;
she breaches 1t in the newly-born world, In the
tenderer light from the skies, In the breeze in the
ground in the young grass, in the bud tina: breaks
the dark, hard bark Of the tree and sits upon the
twig like the prophet OF new age, and the white
rose, and the superb magnolia, and the Asia hya-
cnthe, all OF which cothe the earth in resurrection
robes as often as the year comes round 1t Is the
old lesson, and generations OF men have
read it from time immemorial. We copy it
from the ancient men. The spring has always
taught resurrection Nature revives in the spring
time ana we celebrate now the festival which
was celebrated ages and ages ago. before there
was Christendom or a Christ; before there was
Moses or Lord; when the first glimpse OF the
divine beauty OF nature broke upon men who were
shut up in a long and hard winter. But we must
remember that the resurrection
DOES NOT COME IN A DAY.
Resurrection is process, not an event. The
spring does not come in q day, as we know too
well. 1t does not appear when we think it should.
The Sun ftully CLEANS through the frosty air, and
ever and anon we are tempted out with the prom.
ise OF new summer, ana we lay by our heavy
wearing garments and step OF in the blithe air ;
and then comes the chill wind and the frost
and the gusty day and the storm OF dust
and the furry OF snow, and we are driven
back again, and the hope OF the year
is postponed. And yet we are sure of the resur-
rection. 1t may not be to-day or tomorrow; but
it viii come as inevitably as the earth revolves
an incident. There are those who contend that in
the legend of Jesus the resurrection was process,
and not an event. A brilliant writer OF the Swe-
denborglan school represents this with singular
beauty and force, his idea being that there was
first incarnation OF the spirit in the nesh; the
resurrection was process Of excarnation-of
emergence OF the spirit out OF the hesh-and this
process OF excavation, lie contends, began with
the very first day that the Son OF Man
appeared. His first struggles were with
THE LIMITATIONS THAT BEsEr HIM.
his wrestDgs with himself, his efforts to put
aside the olden thoughts that chung to him from
the traditions OF his people These we're the en-
deavors OF a great spirit to cast of the 1eshly
part OF the 1esn and emancipate itself from the
thraldom Of the body. But as the years went by
month after month stripped of some more Of
these cerements, and granted the spirit power to
emerge into greater and more visible beauty; so
that even the organs OF man could see the ascen-
sion every day, new light in the eye every day,
new tone OF sweetness in the voice, new grace
in the demeanor, new delcacy in the touch
work behind this mask when would at last throw w
1t of; and the legend goes on to say that there
were times OF singular transport and exaltation,
when IL seemed to those who were the companions
OF. the Son OF Man that the veil was visbly lifted,
the very raiment was TRANSPORTED, the lace snone
with heavenly splendor, rays OF light lowered
about the person, he seemed to be communing
with invisible forms OF the dead, and 1t was as II
oe e 70 te ae aa
would drop again. the curtain would FALL the WIS.,
ion would disappear, and they would see only this
one OF themselves.
BUT AS THE END DREW NEAR
the mask became more and more thin, the splen-
dor broke through 1t more and more, until when
the violent touch was laid upon It, 1t fell away all
the burden OF the cross was too much for the frame
to carry that once could pass whole nights on the
mountain tops in the midnight dews and
when the spirit OF death touched 1t upon
days the figure was seen iashiug about ike the
lantern OF the traveller through dense wood,
glimmerng between the trunks OF trees, now
then disappearing again for time, then, anon,
flashing out once more bnt always more and more
distant, until at last 1t Is gone.
1T is FANCY,
and yet 1t Is fancy as nearly accordant with the
the IN Tie New are coD
fused aud doubtful and hard to discriminate and
separate. There Is no single, consistent presen-
tatOn OF the resurrection or Jesus In the New Tes
lament; and II there were, the evidence Is
altogether too slight to be trusted. We cannot
believe stupcndous wonder on the testimony
OF men whom we cannot cross-questton. There
was time when eminent priests said that the
resurrection OF Christ rested upon evidence that
would stand IN any court OF justice; but those
priests were Episcopaans, and the evidence never
was produced before court OF law, and 1t has long
since ceased to be valid in q court OF literature.
But one thing Is certain q characteristic thing
In the New Testament, which must never be ior-
g0tten-and IT always 1s-the great preacher Of
the resurrection, Paul, brought into prominence
one great thought, which is, or should be, live
thought to-day, the central thought or every doc
1t was this THAT the Son Of Man rose In Himself
before He rose In the body; that He was o risen
being from first to last;
THE soN.OP MAN WIS PURELY HUMAN.
He was humanity; He was without limitations Of
passions, feebleness OF WILL crudeness OF DISPOSE
ton, malignity OF temper; untrammelled In His
purposes ana affections, being who moved free
VINO was already In His nature emancipated from
the corporeal, terrestrial and bestal element tnat
drag others down. He was, said Paul land this
was the whole OF Paul's doctrine, the very soul of
it), slness man, and the sinless man, said Paul,
cannot die the sinless man Is immortal; eternal
bars, he Will emerge. And with this thought he
caught hold OF the tradition that he had emerged,
and that Justified the aith that He was the spirit
ual man and, says Paul. the spiritual man alone
Ia raised from the dead the resurrection is not OF
everybody's body, 1t Is
THE RESURRECTION OF THE SOUL;
the resurrection OF the Son OF Man. and none
those that are Cbrist's. At his coming Paul never