The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-29

| him to show IL he can any tex
from the Old Testament containing the doc
trine referred to as clearly ns that in Plato.
"Phedo." 400 d. c.. already cited by me. The
! only thing. however. that "Scholasticus" ha.
| given us Is 4 text from one OF the later Hebrew
books. Ecclesiastes Kill. z. written 200 years
later than Plato's "Ph9do." and so vague in It's
nature that it will f1t the Buddhistic or tbs
| Nihilistic conception Just as well as the Chris.
tian. Again. the Invocation OF the dead.
the valley OF the sons OF Hinnon." and the
idea OF the 'patriarchs being gathered to theiI
fathers" &c. which ''Scholasticus" citos. are al
very vague ideas OF future existence held By
| the Hebrews. entirely unlike the clenr. unms.
taxable idea. found in pagan writings.
| For example. in the work OF Charles II. 9
Davies on the Egyptian Book OF the Dead.
| on page 49, this early and vague belief OF the
Hebrew IL explained as follows: Before thoy
the jews had become acquainted in the Dap
tlvity with the Zoroastrian doctrine OF a resur-
reetion. they conceived OF the grave as u place
in which the souls OF the dead reposs in a
state OF inactivity and Inconsistencies. The
sublime description OF Isaiah in which the
dead are raised up to meet tho King OF Baby
Ion is framed on the supposition that they are
ordinarily in a state Of Inconsistencies.
This certainly does not look much like a con
! scious personal immortality such as the
Egyptians and Greeks believed in hundreds
and thousands OF years before the Christians
borrowed It from them.
Inasmuoh as I have already proved my frat
point by the lack OF any clear evidence In tho
literature OF the Jews themselves OF tho doc
trine OF conscious personal immortality and by
an overplus OF evidence in the literature OF the
pagans long before the time OF Christ. the
burden Is now on "Scholasticus" to retute this
proof II he can. And will remind him that il
he 10 particularly anxious for any further
pagan proof as good as Pato's "PhRdo." If not
better. can readily obIiRe him with 1t from
the Egyptian Book Of the Dead" which
shows that the Christian doctrines were
taught not only few hundred years before
Christ, but few thousand years before
My second point 10 proved by the fact that
the Jewish literature Is found to contain no
clear evidence OF the doctrine Of Immortality.
as already pointed out. com bined with the
other fact that the pagan literature is full Of it,
and by the additional facts that the Jews were
repeatedly carried into captivity by pagan races
who ultimately ruled over them and DESTROYED
their nationally. and that at period when the
Jews were more Influenced by the pagan races
than at any other time, viz, at the birth OF
Christ. sect OF the Jews appeared which
taught the doctrine Of the immortality Of Il Q
soul. resurrection Of the body. and spiritual
ahodes OF probation. and future rewards
and punshments. Now. none Of these doctrines
can be clearly found prevailing among the
Jews or in Jewish literature. but they did exist
most conspicuously in the beliefs and liter
ature OF the pagan races. viz. the Persians and
Hindoos. to the east OF the J eWs. the Egyptians
south OF them. and the Greeks and Romans
north and west Of them and all around them.
But what "Scholasticus" asks us to believe is
this: That this Jewish sect. called the Chris
tians got these doctrines by a divine revola-
tion from Heaven. and not in a purely natural
way from their nciGhbors. To believe this
would have to take 1t on pure faith or mere
say So" which as a nationalist cannot do as
should regard It as both immoral and IRA
tional to do this. when the evidence" clearly
sesms to be that the Christian sect got It In a
much simpler and easier way from their next
door neighbors and rulers. tho Persians.
Egyptians. Greeks and Romans who sub
merged them at one time and who were satu-
rated with these doctrines. II "Scholastieus."
therefore. wants proof or evidence. 1t seems
to me he can find all he cares to handle right
here. He may perhaps remem Der that it was
not jewish dign!taries that were specially in
terested in Christ at his birth or sought him
out to do him honor. but that 1: was wise
men from the East" viz. the "Magi"
or Persians: and Persian and Oriental in
doctrines OF Christianity and may have been
more than even Subdivisions" has ever imag-
ined. Again. he will remember that Christ
and His family lived some time In Egypt and
that Egypt has always been the home Of the
most elaborate doctrines OF personal immor-
tally. resurrection Of the body and future
rewards and punishments. and that il a Jew
residing there did not get knowledge Of these
doctrines. he would have had to be very iso-
lated. very indifferent or very stupid. II any
Jews were so obtuse as to be abc to live in
such countries as Egypt or Greece or Rome.
saturated with belief in immortality without
getting the doctrine into their heads. they
surely must have actually needed a miracle OF
revelation to put it there. ]. for ono. however.
prefer to hold more lattering theory OF tho
original Christians and credit them with an or
dInary natural receptive intelligence ablo to
grasp new thought and absorb it In a natural
way when they found it at hand. rather than
the scholastic theory that they were SO STUPID
that only an omnipotent act could put any idea
in their heads. Your readers. however. can
Judge which theory is the more rational and on
which side the proof Of evidence los.
As to my third point l need FAY no more at
all. Tho onus 10 on 'schoasticus" eutirely
He has had plenty Of time to find some text In
the New Testament which could show or con-
tain the prevailing orthodox doctrine Of the
Christian Church in a better way than tie one
quoted from Plato's ''Phndo." but am afraid
he could not find it or he would have shown It
to US ere this. My challenge is therefore still
unanswered on this point. II he cannot meet
it. l respectfully ask for his surrender.
Indeed. l already SEQ signs OF his early
or ultimate surrender. for he now says;
But let US admit that Socrates TAUGHT the
Christian doctrine Of immortahty." But my
friend "Seholasticus' must admit this or h. IS
no Christian. for is a literary aud philosophic
fact; and the greatest sin in the Christian
calendar Is to "impn0n the knorcn ruth." which
/ do not for moment imagine he could be
guilty OF.
"scholastcus" now seems to grasp at straws"
when he attempts to argue that there is no such
thing as Socratic scripture because Socrates
never wrote anything himself. but the writing
was done by his pupils, Xenophon and Plato.
&c. OF course. any tyro knows this. but it
would DO Just MS reasonable to say tina. there
was no Christian Scripture because Christ never
wrote anything himself. This only shows that
Christ followed Sooratess example in method