The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-03-01
Danyille, III,
"
MINOR TALLY.
An Important Matter Discussed in n Con
servative and Easy style.

To THE II. i. G. CLUB-Immortslity-
what lie it? A priceless jewel, a realm OF
bliss, or woe; the dream of a visionist or
a solid fact? Ia it 10 be gained by loss, by
pain. by tears and long waiting or lost for
the teeting rapture OF the wine cup; the
iliusory CLEAN OF gold, the touch of the
red.lpped siren? Was II a creation svo-
onymous with the higher life. or did
Adams sin make of II an extra creation?
Who knows or who can say? And yet
what groans and travail and years OF dark
night thought some men have given TO il
and how little thought at times do other
men give to it.
Ia all classes and in all ages of the world
man has theorized upon immortality.
The savage by his stick fire and ia his
cave dwelling dreampt Of his dead friends
lie saw them ss he saw them in lite,
laughing, crying, eating and hunting
And he built his theory forthwith. that
thsv live beyond the grave. and in the
spiritual state live much as they lived
while here. And he hands down to pos
terity the belief that food and drink are
required in the spiritual world. Hence
comes the superstition OF placing meat
grain and cooking utensils upon, or
in the grave Man, rising higher in
the intellectual, OF civilized scale
still invests eternity with the material
conditions OF this liie but now it is loves
and hatred. wars and gods of wars, jealous
aud partial. narrow and cruel ne hands
down TO posteritv. Rising vet higher in
the scale of civilization aud intellectual
ity, beginning TO understand not only
himself aud his needs better. but to un-
dcrstand mankind at large better we see
again how his ideas OF God and immortal
ity follow in tho wake He now is a God
o. mercy, of love, Of greatness. Still high
ar man comes, and he leaves off guessing
what kiud of Il person God is. He begins TO
understand that Unite being can have but
little conception of an infinite, aud that no
difference what God and immortality may
be- ne himself was placed here or q pur-
pose. And instead of wasting his short
time trying To find ont Gods attributes
and meanings, he bad better set TO work
TO know himself and make himself aud
the world better for mis- beng IN il. The
d-time preacher told OF the Rloriss of
Immortality, but some wav the meaning
given of these gloriee was one long shout
and song of rapture and an eternal stand
still.
Today's preachers claim not TO know of
eternitv's occupation, but gives you q
will be no standatiil work, aud of kind
that in time must grow irksome from lite
very sameness. With our today's preacher
the future is progression. And in this he
reasons the finite and eternal, from his
knowledge of the infinite, and who has
ought else to judge from here?
Ask the earth to give up 10 you her
secret of immortality and she answars:
have nothing to tell YOU. | can only tell
YOU OF myself How IN long ages of evOiu-
ton, amid dire sinkinga and caiamities.
seeming, | came from state OF atoms to
my present state. l can show you the life
evolved with, or from me from its lowest
form TO its highest, yourself But Lie is
not immortality. All so far of life
that know exists only by the death OF
something else, and down to death newt
ably it, zoo, must 20 in it's appointed time.
This mortality you speak of cannot
see it. Ii has not the tanRibility OF the
wind even for | cannot feelit. All that
know or can tell you is that | am not i'm
mortal" And we turn dumblv away
from earth and seek the book. seek rove
lation. Here we find the hops of immor-
tality set forth. Christ simply says: In
| my Fathers house are many mansions.
| go to prepare place Tor you, DC. We
| must be satisfied with this from the
great standpoint Paul says: Now we
! see through glass dRrkly; then face to
face" Still no better explanation.
No telling where or what We must expect
ami so much depending on this knowledge
at that We turn to John, here we 20
q little further Here we get descr ption
| OF the heaveny city. 1t is made up OF
material things OF this life-trees, gold,
| Jewels. But, says our modern scholars
do not know where to place this descrip-
! ton. John only tells things as be surely
| knew of them here.
He hiss described his heavenly CITY as
John only knew cities TO be in his time
with walls. with gates. Jewish cities
| needed these things Tor defense. Heaven
needs no defense. Our modern cities are
not walled In a vision would We see
| them this wayP And our modern scholar
takes but little more comfort in Johns
| long ago vision than the one Mrs. Wood
worth gave a descrptio of last night.
| And vet no description SO beautiful az
this in the apocalypse.
Cur good old brother gets up in class
meeting and asks Whittier ara we going.
| Whittier are we tending" and his further
words imply that this world is not to be
taken into consideration at all. IL Ia only
q stopping place. The ether world is The
| one we should live Tor, strive Tor, and
this brother. perhaps. is right. And per
! haps is little way wrong also. IL is
needful that we should live right here to
the better enjoyment of eternity. 1t is
right that we should to a certain extent
keep death aud eternity before us. but il
| is wrong and setish that We should be-
| little this world and our real work and
| purpose in il. We were not
/ put here TO crinRe and fawn
before our acting God. never Nor to
run away from an implacable devil.
believe that healthy belief in the devil
and his torments has made some men
forgo evil But do not think il has kept
the bulk of mankind from evil at all, not
by any means. You muet deal with the
majority OF mankind some other way
than by fear.
Then there is always the elluring hope
| held forth that after years of sin the
Saviour's mercy will cancel this SIN, even
though it be At the last moment
This has been "rung and sung" from
pulpit aud camp stood so long tha'