The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-04-10
HUMAN IMMORTALITY.
BY REV. J. L. KEEHART, D. D.
From the Christian Observer.

Man is part Of the Cosmos. He
has much in common with other
natural existences. His material Or
ganism bears striking similarity to
that of other animals. He lives,
breathes, eats, grows, sleeps, dies,
and his body decomposes the same as
the body of dog or toad.
But beyond this, as even the most
extreme materialist will at once admit,
man is endowed with intuitions and
powers Of thought, hopes, fears, as
pirations, capacities for improvement,
for enjoyment and suffering, that rem.
der him superior to any other animal
known to belong to the earth.
The recognition Of this fact, to-
gether with the belief and the intense
desire that it might be SO, has led to.
a solicitous inquiry upon the part OF
the intelligent Of all ages for q demon
stration of the doctrine Of human i'm
mortality.
Intuitively man believes the doc
trine, just as he intuitively distin-
guishes between right and wrong.
The belief is as really part Of his
nature as the instinct that directs in
the building of his dam and hut are q
part of the beavers nature. And
this intuition is a strong presumption
in favor of the doctrine; but it does
not amount to demonstration of its
correctness.
Thus far the realm of nature has
failed to furnish demonstrative proof
of human Immortality. On the other
hand it does not disprove the doctrine.
To the contrary, there are facts and
processes in nature so evident and far
reaching in the direction Of proof that
the living agent is indestructible, that
they almost amount to demonstra-
tion.
Everything in nature suffers change;
but change is not annihilation. These
facts are demonstrated in the chemist 8
laboratory and in the realm of physics.
Matter and force are only changed,
never annihilated. A unit of heat
may be transformed into unit of
electricity, but there exists precisely
the same amount of force as before.
This is not matter of faith, but Of
knowledge fact ascertained by
actual measurement.
The human body may die, as We
say that is, it may decompose, change
into the original elements, and these
in turn may combine and form other
liquids and solids; but there is pre-
cisely the same amount Of matter lett
as before.
Well, the human body, when alive.
is possessed of certain force (call
it 'life,'' ''mind," Intelligence,
"soul'' or what you please) which con-
stitutes its individuality OF person
ality. When the body dies, what be-
comes of that force !? That is the
question which has puzzled the phil
osophers of all ages, and to which
nature and physical science still fail
to give a satisfactory answer in the
absolute. It is certainly not ami
hilated. Of this much nature assures
us.
It is true that no physicist has ever
captured that force as it left the body
of dying man, but it is scarcely pos
sible that nature should make an ex-
ception here to fundamental law Of
the universe. This much is readily
conceded by the most staunch agnos-
tic scientist.
But when we come to inquire of
nature as to what becomes of the Life
force that so mysteriously escapes the
body at death, she gives US no answer.
he who rejects revelation may hope
for an anthropomorphic heaven, but
that is all. He would doubtless like
very much to enjoy such heaven,
but he notices that nature cares moth
| ing for his likes or dislikes. A fly is
Just as sacred to her as man. And
vet he would like above all things else
to have his individuality preserved
after death Greed from the idiosyn-
orasies of the body and enter bliss
full immortality, where he would meet
his departed friends and dwell in a
happy recognition forever. Nothing
short of this can satisfy the thirsts Of
his being, but Of this nature gives
him no direct, positive assurance.
But when we turn to certaig well
known facts in nature, we readily find
in them prophecies, which, to the can
did, reasoning mind, amount to an
overwhelming presumption that the
soul lives forever and retains it's pow
ers and personality. Take, for exam
pie, the universally conceded PROPOSE
ton that the existence Of a peculiar
organism or appetency demonstrates
the existence Of a corresponding ele-
ment. All scientists admit the cor
rectness of conclusions drawn from
such premises. The existence Of eyes
predicts with absolute certainty the
existence Of light. The existence Of
lungs predicts, and even necessitates,
the existence Of air. The existence of
the fms and gills of fishes predicts and
necessitates the existence Of water.
And in exact accord with this legiti-
mate method of reasoning, it is per-
fectly logical to- conclude that the
universal belief in, and desire fCt,
human Immortality, predict and neces-
state it's reality.
The universally of this belief can
not be successfully denied. 1t is
coeval with the race. Sir j. William
Dawson, the distinguished scientist,
declares that it was present in the
peoples Of the stone age, and has been
handed down to every race Of men.
Cicero declared that all antiquity
affirmed human Immortality. Said he:
"Man's unceasing care is for the
future, and thus silently proclaims his
Immortality. None ever encountered
death for country but under firm
persuasion of life beyond the grave.
Thenistocles might have lived in
quiet, and SO might Epaminondas !;
but somehow there clings to the human
mind certain presage Of future ages.
Death does not occasion extinction Of
being, but only change of abode. The
world could not have been made with
out God neither could Archimedes,
the astronomer, have initiated the
works of God had he not possessed a
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