The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-09-25
Tic End of the World,

In denying the resurrection of the
material body, MIR. MacQueary, the
Episcopal hereto, undoubtedly is in
accord with the drift of Protestant opin-
ion of the day. That leads to the belief
that the body returns 10 earth and the
soul alone passes into the future state.
Such is not the opinion of the Rev. J.
S. Vaughan, who discusses the great
question in the Dublin Review. His
theory is that the resurrection of the
body solves the problem of the final
destiny of the earth, and he bases it on
"the teaching of sound theologians" aud
the ;.saccepted truths of scieace.n In
brief, it is that when the archangel sounds
the last trump and summons the dead to
erise from their graves and come to judg.
ment, the whole of this planet will vanish
with them, for their bodies will comprise
all the matter of which it is composed.
Mr.. Vaughan reaches this novel and
very interesting conclusion by the aid of
statistics of the growth of population and
scientific calculations of the weight of
the earth. He goes down to hard facts,
and proceeds with the GOODNESS of the
arithmetician to defend his thesis.
His first point is that the tendency of
science is to reduce the number of the
substances regarded as elementary, so
that the time is likely to come when
when only one universal elemental sub
stance will be recognized. Next he
refers to "the scientific fact that the
absolute amount of matter, or, in other
words, the sum total of all that exists in
the material universe, is ever a constant
quantity Nothing. new, he argues, is
created except human souls, and they
are put in earthly tabernacles kneaded
together from existing matter," and sub
iect to the laws of matter.
That is the starting point, and from
it he proceeds to make his remarkable
calculations and deductions. The weight
of the earth, according to the scales of
science, lis 5000, 600, 900, 600, ,O00, 600, 900
tons. Mr.. Vaughan estima tes that by
the year 5000 the population of the
earth at the present rate of increase will
beabout S2O, 900, ,000,O 900, 100000. Unless
every one of these people returned his
body to the earth, as he truly remarks,
bueT6 MUulu U6 d SloauS y duO luCOufou-
lent diminution of its bulk." As the
ages go on and the dead multiply, the
whole of ofexistiDg matter will be absorb
ed BY sheir bodies. There will be moth
ing except the earthly tabernacles of
souls. Hence when the last man dies,
and on the final day the archangel sends
forth the command to "arise and come to
Judgment ye that dwell in the dust" the
earth must disappear with the dead.
asWhen every soul of man that has ever
lived, from Adam to the final crack of
doom, has claimed his body" asks MIR.
Vaughan, will there be anything. at all
left Of the present little orb on which we
dwell."'
The only answer is nothing, absolutely
nothing. IF the whole world, all matter,
is made up Of dead bodies, take them
away and yscuity remains. The exact
time of the dag of judgment would there
fore seem to be computable, if Mr..
Vaughan's argument is sound. Il will
come when so many persons shall have
lived from the beginning, that, on re-
claiming their bodies, the whole substance
of the earth will be utilized in nesting
the demand."-Nea0 York Sun.