The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-27
THE DISCUSSION OF IMMORTALITY.
Immortality, It's History, Phases and DIM
cuIties.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN--Sir: "Scholas-
| ticus" In THE Sun Of tho goth. says that
Plato. Socrates. Cicero and a host OF tho
brightest and best Of antiquity taught 1t
| Immortality without suggestions from the
| evangelists." This is rather u naive sugges-
ton. since the pagan philosophers were so far
! Independent Of the evangeists that they
anticipated them by hundreds OF years in
teaching the doctrine. They taught It so we'll
| that | will defy any Christian to ind from one
| end OF the New Testament to the other so full
| clear and simple statement OF the popular
| Christian doctrines OF soul. virtue, sim hell.
| purgatory and Heaven. and various man
| sions" OF Heaven. rs can be found in one or
| two pages OF Pato's "Phaeio." recitlng the
beautiful discourse Of Socrates to his disciples
| before his death. Let Christians read this.
| written over four hundred years before line
OF the Gospel was penned, and they will find
| that few good things originated outside OF
| Nazareth.
| Now. by the student OF religions. the Chris
| tians are to be regarded historically as only a
great sect OF the Jews, originating therefrom
| at time when the Jews were most surrounded.
| permeated and influenced by the so-caled
pagan races. Thus. the jews originally had no
| distinct belief as to the immortality of the soul
| and future rewards and punshments. whereas
the pagan races all around them. both long be-
| fore and during the time Of Christ, had the
most distinct beliefs on these points. The teach
| ings Of pagan philosophers and religious sects
prevailed all over the Roman EN- pire. Palestine
| included. before and at the time Of Christ. and
| particularly in Egypt and Asia Minor. from
which lands both Judaism and Christianity
| were 30 much influenced. Jewish sects and
| synaEogucs also tlourished more or less all
| over the Roman Empire. where their worship
| was perfectly free under the liberal laws OF
Tnln
| could not help but be influenced by the pagan
| teachings and the rise and progress OF tho
Christian sect from the Jews at that time is an
| emphatic instance Of this influence. for. az q
| matter OF philosophic and historic analysis. the
| Christian sect was and 10 nothing more than a
| compound Of paganlzed Judaism and Hebrew
| lied paganism. and, indeed. 1t took far more
| from the pagans than from the Jews.
Not only was the doctrine Of Immortality and
future rewards and punishments absorbed by
the Christian Jews from the pagan world. but
80 also was the remarkable doctrine of the
! literal resurrection OF the actual body. Modern
research shows that this latter doctrine pre-
! vailed In Egypt not only In ancient times. but
was common there at the time OF Christ and
the doctrines Of both the resurrection and i'm
mortality cannot now claim any special sane
ton or weight on the ground that they come
to US as special revelation. for they had been
taught much more clearly before this revea-
ton and Independent OF it-that is. much moro
| clearly in early pagan literature than In tho
later Christian Bible.
Now. my second point is that PIato's teach
ings on i'm m ortalty. to which 'SchoIasticus"
refers for support. are not OF the true CHI rstian
type at all. but are more nearly like those OF
buddhism, II not Identical with it. Platos doc
trne is practically an Immortality OF personal
extinction. or "Nirvana" which is about equal
to the imp ortality OF material philosophy or
modern ohemistry-that Ia. the indestruoti-
billy OF the ultimate atoms or elements which
enter into many compounds but always return
undestroyed to their Infinite Source from
which they cannot be separated. 'Scholastcus"
seems to be arguing along this line. but must
remind him that this 10 In the territory OF
Buddhism and also OF materaism and is not
Christian ground at all and l don't think he
intends to make out a case for Buddhism or
materialism. although his chemical argument
looks very like It. In Socrates, however we
find the true Christian type OF immortality.
which seems to have been a com mon belief in
the Greek-Roman world centuries before the
Gospel was heard OF.
NV third point concerns the scientific arRu-
ment OF "Scholastieus" for i'm I'm ortality OF the
soul. note he does not attempt to define or
explain what it 10 he means by the soul :" but
as he argues that the soul 10 immortal or
indestruetibls because matter is immortal or
indestructible. does he mean to infer that tho
soul is matter2 Perhaps he considers it a very
tlne form OF matter-an astral body"-such as
the Theosophsts talk about. He also seems to
call it sim pie substance which in chem
istry would moan an element Of matter. not a
compound. Now. We know that the clements Of
matter. chemical elements or atoms. are
indestructibls. but we also as clearly know that
compounds Of these elements or atoms are
quite destructible. The position OF Science
therefore. clearly is that while atoms and eIe-
ments are eternal and indestructible. all com
pounds are mortal and destructible Does he
mean to say, therefore. that the soul is Of the
nature OF chemical element or atom? II he
can show what tho soul 10 and that IL 10 like
chemical elements or atoms he may have
good case. but even then it seems to me il will
be moro Buddhist victory than a Christian
demonstration. But. per contra, may it
not be tho fact tlWt the living Great
ure, man or brute, Ia more like a chemical
compound. vital. existent and distinct when
the elements are assem- bled and com bined, but
really destroyed and non est when the elemsuts
are separated? Take the chemical INSTANCE he
refers to. for examp Pile. the CON pS>.nd sulphids
OF iron; does he really mean to say that the
actual suphids OF iron. or some ghost OF it, still
continues to exist somewhere or other after
fact rather. that the sulphide OF iron ia actually
and truly destroyed as soon as it's iron and
SULPHUR are separated?
would therefore finally say to our scholarly
and Christian friend that. while immortality in
the Christian sense is clearly and fully taught
by the pagan PHILOSOPHERS and religions. and
originated with them. is not clearly taught BY
modern philosophy nor by modern material
science. and think he will have to get a better
Christian or personal Immortality to general
satisfaction. and while shall certainly be glad
II no can lind such an argument. yet the burden
OF logical proof is still absolutely on his shout
ders CHAs. ~ HIGGINs.
BROOKLYN, Sept. %.
The Bible Our Onl Authority for hmm Or