The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-13
INSPIRATION AND IMMORTALITY.
First ofa Series of sermons by Rev.
II. A. Grant. B. ID.

Rev. II. A. Grant B. D., pastor of
the Howard Place African Methodist
Episcopal church. began a series of
sermon lectures last evening on In
spiration and immortality" choosing
as a text Psalm xvii: 81 will be
hold thy face in righteousness: | shall
be satisfied, when | awake, with thy
likeness" The speaker in part said:
In presenting these sermon lectures for
your consideration ! would remark that
/ have been governed somewhat by the
laws of sound and convenience i'm the
statement of the topic, and yet | trust
that the form | have employed is suit-
CetlY appropriate to indicate the sense,
if not To describe and define IT, My pur-
pose is to discuss under the general title
Of Immortality ana Inspiration the
doctrine of mans immortality and to eX-
hibit somewhat of the relation of TINS
doctrine to the question of technical reVo-
lation. To define a little more clearly, |
will say that | mean by immortality the
immortality of man, the notion and be-
lief that man continues TO exist after
that unknown event called death, has
taken place.
BY inspiration mean the Bible. regard
ed not as bool; of history of morals,
science. or even religion merely but re-
Eardcd as containing a revelation from
God. ana as being the word, witness or
testimony of God.
THE ONE QUESTION
Tho one question upon which desire to
fix attention is this: Does man live after
he has been removed from our sight and
hearing through the gateway of death?
Other subsidiary questions may arlSo
such as can he live disassociatcd from
the body? Can we form a conception OF
him in such n state? Is there any alb
Surdity, Self-cvidcnt or dcmonstrable in
supposng him to live after the body
cease to be animate? These, and similar
questions lead us to the position, trite and
familiar, that whatever involves no &b-
surdity may be proposed as an object of
belief, and may be accepted on its own
sufficient evidence.
No evidence, not even revelation, can
establish a proposition plainly contrary
to the dictates of reason. But We must
he very careful to admit all the evidence
that the subject presents; testing it, not
by our preiudCcs, but by our reason. II
we arbitrarily rule out all the evidence
| that does not suit our preiudcCs and thea
| decide the case with our feelings, we rob
ourselves of the light of truth by making
| ourselves superior to its claims. ! may
| ramark here also. that we should ap-
prOach this subject with no gloomy
| thoughts or feelings. 1t is. without doubt,
| the most interesting and most Cnnobling
| topic possible to human conception and
| faith.
The doctrine of immortality throws in
| comparable dignity upon all the move
| ments of man. As he accepts this doc
| trine and walks in the light of it, he is
| noble, grand and God-likc; as he ignores
! it, he Is brutal, sensual, devilish. The
| first step necessary to the opening of this
! great subject, is to get a fair definition
of man. If we are to affirm that the in
| Gividual, man, is to live after death, it is
well to settle beforehand the Davidic
| question, what is man?
MORE THAN MATERIAL
If man is a material organization, there
| is an end of the doctrine at once; and
| consequently all mere materialists must
| DENY Immortality. But, unless We are
| prepared to deny the existence of sorrow
| and Of joy, of love and of hate, of hope
! and despair. of ambition, pride, remorse
| and shame: or are prepared to declare
! these TO be qualities of matter we must
find man something moro than material
| organization. These qualities imply the
| existence of something totally distinct
| from matter and as they are so intimate
! ly connected with the personality. per-
/ haps il would not be going too far to say
that they are personal qualities; and that
! their sum total CXpresses all of the man
that We can know.
| The qualities mentioned with others OF
! similar character, may be regarded as III,
! mind; and with personality as it's cent ar
| mind constitutes the man.
-