Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-02-19
DOES DEATH END ALL ?


the central figures in official circles
entering into all the plans of his gov
eminent with respect TO its foreign and
domestic policies, while today his name
is only matter of history, and he has
fulfilled the destiny Of humanity as
contained in the declaration, ut is APP
pointed unto man once to die" So
with ex.President Hayes, Bishop
Brooks, Justice Lamar aud countless
Others who are each moment quitting
the activities of the earth life. In view
of the fact that it is a mere matter of
time before each one now living shall
pass into the experience Of the grave,
the question as to whether death ends
all is of great interest and always
touches a responsive chord in the
human breast. Is the mind of Mr..
Blaine, or any of those who have
passed from this life, forever palsied
and inactive because Of the decay of
the physical environment through
which it communicated with other
minds? Or is the mind, with all of its
intricate powers of thought, merely
the finer operation of matter, to be
destroyed with its destruction, to die
in its death? The answer to the ques-
ton from the Scriptural standpoint is
unhesitatingly in favor of the continu-
ance OF mental activity. The immor-
tality of the human spirit is uniyer-
sally accepted as one of the cardinal
doctrines of the Bible. The light on
the subject apart from inspiration is
not SO dogmatic, and perhaps not so
conclusive, but nevertheless points in
the same direction. The predicate Of
science ends with the statement that
matter is indestructible, and in dissolu-
ton does not cease to be, but enters
into other combinations and relives in
other forms Of activity. But since
those who believe in the identity Of
mind and matter are few, the discus
sion Of the subject on the ground
Of nationality finds its principal af-
firmative argument in the almost
universal belief of the human mind
in the souls immortality. Outside
the statements of revelation, Socrates
and Plato reached the highest flights
of rational argument on the subject,
and deduced the doctrine of immor-
tally as being of sound philosophic
worth, while on the side of mere belief
without the aid Of logical reasoning,
the lowest forms of mental power found
in the most debased branches of the
human family alike reach the same
conclusion, the universal human mind,
whether at its highest reach of devel-
opment or poorest show of strength or
Imagination, believing that the soul
has an eternal playground in which to
work out its destiny.
The question going hand in hand
with that of immortality relates TO the
condition Of the soul in its future state
Is it one of misery or gladness? Are
the broken threads of the earth life
gathered together and woven into the
conditions Of the new existence with
its different environment, or is every
thing new and strange, with mere
identity of soul preserved? Or, if there
be any connection between the future
and the present, how far does the one
influence the other? On the surface
the Bible appears to give plain answer
to the question as TO the souls futur,
condition, and yet, since so many oft
students differ in their Interpretation o
its language, the lay mind is left but t,
conclude that the question is an opel
one. The inference is that the Biblica
declaration is comprehended in tn
majesty of law, obedience to which
constructive, and disobedience, d,
structive. By analogy, the argumer
is in favor of progress. The history ,
the race is that Of advancement. HI
manity, savage or civilized, believes n,
only in a future state, but that th
future state is an improvement on ii
present. The possibilities of future a
tainments in growth and developmef
may be lessened by disobedience to tn
laws of the present life, as the possibil
ties Of manhood or womanhood are il
creased or diminished by the neglect {
industry of the boy or girl, but nor
the less, the decree Of nature and
God is that each succeeding stage ,
condition of life, throughout time an
eternity, is an improvement on Its pre-
ecessor.