The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1894-12-14
The Agnostic and Christian.

New York Herald.
When this mortal shall have put on immor-
tality.-l Cor xv., 81.
There is one subject on which the
Christian and the agnostic are as far
apart as Arcturus and the earth
namely, that of the day after death.
To the agnostic death Is the des-
troyer of the race-rapacious, inexOr-
able, relentless. For three score years
or more we play the role of gods, and
our lives are grand and impressive as
themusic of a cathedral organ. Then
we are dissolved by the cruel chemis-
try Of disease, or disintegrated by the
wear and tear Of time, and that is the
end. Thought, and imagination, and
hope, and morality, and religion are
other names for PHOSPHORUS, and
what we rashly cali the soul is moth
ing more than curious concourse of
particles whose accidental juxtaposi-
tion makes this man a philosopher,
that man poet and another clown.
When the heart ceases to beat there
is nothing left ofclown or philosopher
or poet except handful of ashes,
whose highest servicefs to fructfy
patch of corn or enrich a bed of aspar-
agus.
For a little while this wondrous
piece of mechanism which we call a
king or a peasant thr0bs with aspira-
tions that soar to the stars, with
longings that can neither be limited
nor repressed, and then Death smites
him with the apology of unconscious
ness and he never recovers from the
blow.
Viewed from such standpoint man
is the product of the most cruel crea-
tive processes. He is rocked in the
cradle of despair in his infancy and in
his old age Is hurled into the abyss of
annihilation. If chance had hap
pened to make him dog or vulturc,
without the ability to dream glori-
Gus dream Of immortality, he might
have been happy. But chance was
Indignantly intelligent enough to en-.
dow him with an irresistible faith In
future only to disappoint him when
the time comes to realize it.
In making our comparison of this
view with that of the Christian it is
not our purpose to deal in argument
as TO the truth or falsity Of either
theory. 1t may be that the agDOstE
is correct and the Christian incorrect
in his statcments-tllat Is n matter
with which we have nothing to do for
the moment. We simply declare that
for all the practical purposes Of con-
tented life, for the production of that
calm endurance under af1iiction which
enables us to part with loved ones In
the hope Of a reunion somewhere IN
the realm Of space and at last to face
the conqueror Of conquerers, not like
one wraps the drapery Of his couch
about him and lies down to pleasant
sleep, Christianity Is rs much better
than doubt, as healthy food Is better
than deadly poison.
Let us illustrate. Two people love
each other-husband and wife, mother
and child, or it may be lovers who are
looking forward to a home. True 1t
Is that love is sometimes capriciOus
and evanescent, but true 1t also Is
that life IL sometimes irradiated by a
kind of leye which will last forever
unless Omnipotence extinguishes It.
Souls united by such bonds are as nec-
essary to each other rs two halves are
necessary to a whole. Each gives
everything to the other and finds
everything In the other. They
journey side by side through summer
and winter weather, and 60 far from
losing It's lustrc this love becomes
brighter, purer, trucr and more emo