The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-06-19
The Latest Theory Of Immortal.
fly,

The Episcopalian clergy have always
been 80 noted for their caution and con-
servatism, that some recent n%tterances on
the subject OF immortality by Rev. DR..
shipman, rector OF Christ Church, in
Fifth avenue, rather surprise us. Every.
body knows how strongly certain scien'
tic men Of the present era lean TO the
doctrine that there Is no life beyond the
grave, and that when a man dies he dies
altogether. The Christian doctrine OF q
future resurrection is rejected by them as
irrational and u~niounded, and the argu:
ments by which 1t is usually defended
are, 1t must be confessed, far from pos.
sessing the conclusiyeness oil a scientific
demonstration. Hence, most Christian
preachers prefer to present the doctrine
as a matter OF revelation, and to AK &C
ceptance for II as an act OF faith. Dr..
Shipman, however, boldly adopts the by:
pothesis advanced by = distinguished
nationalist Of this country-John tiske
that there may be u future state OF ex'
~istence, so dissimilar 10 this Of which we
Gre at present conscious, that we can have
no conception Of it, and that in some yet
uncomprehended mode our souls will go
on living after the aeshly tabernacles
which they now inhabit are dissolved.
In working out this assumption, DR..
Shipman further adopts the swedenbor.
gian belief that the spiritual world Ia IN:
timately connected with this world, and
lies within and about Il. In q sermon
delivered last Sunday, after explicitly re.
ferring to Mr.. Fiske as his authority, he
went on to express himself IN these
words:
at believe that the spiritual world 70
a world Of substance Just as truly as this
world Is, but that the world so differs in
substance from this that between the two
there can be neither distance on the one
hand nor possibility Of collision on the
other. We cannot say that the spiritual
world is above this or below II; the two
worlds are simply two different orders Of
existence. The spiritual world, 40 far as
II concerns our ability 10 form any con.
ception Of 1t, Is to us, constituted as we
are now, precisely what the material
world would be to a man deprived Of all
the five senses. A man In this world de.
priyed OF all the FIVE senses would not
know that he was in this world. And we
do not know that we are in the spiritual
world, not because We are not there, but
simply because our spiritual senses are
closed by this material inyestiture. So !
believe that a spiritual universe Of In.
conceivable splendor is all around u.s.
The application which he makes Of this
idea to the doctrine Of Immortality IL
this:
GGrant that spirit and not that sub
stance which We call matter is the per.
manent substance; that the spiritual
world Is a real world; that the human
soul Ia u real entity; that the spiritual
body lisa real body,and from the question
Of our survival beyond the grave all dif'
6culty, all appearance Of difficulty van
ishes like morning mist before the sun.
For my own part / holdthis belief among
my deepest and most cherished conyie'
tions, and ! thank God for II. thank
him Tor the comfort that Il brings to sor,
rowing hearts, l believe in the spiritual