Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-06-15

The EpisCOpalian clergy have ALWAYS h .en
so noted for their caution and conservatism
that some recent utteranceS on the subject of
Immortality by the Rev. DIR. Shipman rector
OF Christ Church, in Fifth avenue, rather sur
prise us. Everybody knows how strongly GER
tain scientific men OF the present era lean to
ward the opinion that there is no life beyond
the grave, ard that when a man dies he dies
a Ogethtr The Christian doctrine of futu e
rrSuIre CtlOn Is rejected by them as Irrational
and UHf Tnded, and the arguments by which
il is L, ual y defended are, il must Ue confessed
far f.Om possessing the cnnciuSiyeneSS of a
SCitnTiIc demonstration. Hence, most Chris
rian preachers prefer To present the doctrine as
q matter of revelation. and to ask acceptance
fer il - an act of faith, DR.. Shpman, how
ever. boldly adopts he hypothesis advanced bv
a distir guiShed nationalist of this country
John Ti>ke-that there may be a future state
OF eNi teTce, so disSimIlaT to this Of which we
are 81 present conscious, that we can hly, no
conception of II, and that in some yet uncOm-
pretended mode our souls will go OH living
after tie freshly tabernacleS which they now
inhabit are dissolved In working out this as
Sump. ion, DIR. ShIpman further adopts the
SwrdenbOTgian belief that the spiritual wOrId
i Intimately connected with this world and
he~ w!thiu andabOut it. In a sermon delivered
IL sunday, after explicitly referring to Mr..
FSke as his authority, he went Oh to express
himS' II i'm these words:
Il believe that the spiritual world is a world
OF substance just as truly as this world is, but
thar the world so differs in substance from
this that between the TWO there can be neither
distance on the one hand nor possibility of
Gu IisOn on the other. We cannot say that the
sp ritual world is above this or below il the
two worlds simply belong to two different
orders of existence. The spiritual world, SD
far as ii concerns our ability TO form any con
ceplOn OF II. Is TO us. constituted as We are
Ow- reclSely what the material world would
be to a man deprived of all the five SENSES. A
man in this would deprived 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 no. there
Tut simply because our spiritual senses are
closed by this material inveStiture. So be
HfVe that spiritual universe of incunceiv-
able spiendOr is all around u.s."
The application which he makes of this
idea to the doctrine of Immortality is this:
u ant that spirit and not that which We
call mat er is the permanent substance that
the Splri ual world is real word; hat the
tOdy Is real body, and from the
question of our survival beyond the grave al!
dlfncUlty, all appearance of difficulty YlnSnas
like morning mist before the sun. For my
own part | hold this belief as among my deep
est and most cherished convictions an
thank God for it. / thank him for the com
Tort that II brings to Borrowing hearts. / be
heYe In the spiritual world as really as | be
heVe in the world in which | stand. | believe
tha IN that world We all are even now, though
10 mole conscious OF the fact than the unhatch
ed bird Is conscious of the blue skies through
v hiCb it Is soon 10 soar and sing. I believe
that when at death these masks of clay shall
fall We shall find ourselves face to face will
OUT any lOurneying through space with eterna!
things"
Whether talk OF this kind is or is not con
Slstent with orthodoxy, We leave for the cbn
StItuted authorities to decide. Bur we cannO.
fOTbtar calling at entiOn to il as remarkable
Indication OF the manner in which Old fash
lmned methods OF treating Christian truth have
gwen way TO IN Jdern nOyeltieS.-[N. J.