Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-07-22
SPIRIT AND MATTER.

zine upon the subject Of healing By |
faith. in which the writer endeayored
20 explain what is called mental heal
ing. referring particularly to so
clety that has gained great many |
followers In consequence OF heallngs |
when nave attended It without the use
Of medicine. In. response to some AMI
madyersions upon that body, one OF It's |
exnonents has also an article In thal |
magazine. in which he endeavors TO |
defend the theory that mind is every
thing. matter Is nothing That Is to
say.
oThere Is no life, truth, intelligence |
or substance in matter All II minute |
mind and its infinite manifestation, for |
God "A All In All Spirit Is immortal |
truth. matter ii mortal error. Spirit II
the real and eternal; matter Is the un.,
renl and temporal. Spirit IL God. ana |
man IL His image and likeness hence |
nan is spiritual and not material
In support OF this notion the writer
ssys Matter and spirit cannot beth
b, eternal and ludestructible In the |
slime universe" Attacking the atomic
theory which he says, Has long beei
useful as a working hypothesis, but Is
now going the way Of the stage
coach" he cites the following from
Or. wilhelm Mueller, a German sclent-
let.
OF the atom Is indlyl.lble II cannot
occupy any space for everything lhut
fills space no matter how small can
be thought dlyisible and must De az
visible ad innnitum. hut, on the otner
hand II the atom Is really indlVisiDle
and does, therefore, occupy no space, II
can never be n part however small OF
matter. o plus O plus O plus
10 inhnitv win always be equal to o.
The total Is equal TO the sum of lts
conponenta. lnasmuch as the total, IN
this case matter. occupies space, that
quality must essentially pertain to eV-
erv part however small, of the whole.
Tho logical deduction would be thar
matter " composed Of parts which are
rot matter. q theory which Is obviously
uns0und.'
The champion OF the nothlngness OF
matter quotes this grayely, Gas though
Il were put forth seriously IN sup
port OF his theory, while II really Is In
tended as a sort OF logic puzzle. and II
1t demonstrates anything, II Is that ev-
cry particle Of matter is something ana
occupies space. It is true that the ar
guinent starts out with the statement
that "If the atom Is ndiylshle Il can
not occupy any space" But this Is an
assumption without proof, and which
Is controyerted in the argument Itself
For. It is admitted that the total OF
material body occupies space, and THAI
this quality pertains to every part OF
e. no matter how small.
II is also argued, that nothing, no
matter how many times repeated, viii
never be something; therefore, whether
we assume the infinite divlslbility or
indivislbllity Of matter It is composed OF
parts each Of which Is substance and
OCCUPIES space "Out Of nothing, moth
ing comes" That Is an adage readily
comprehended. BY the same reasoning
that which is something, cannot be dis
solved into nothing.
The German scientist says Every
thing that fills space. no matter how
small, can be thought dlylsible.' and
then jumps TO the conclusion that It
must be Invisible ad inhntum." Why
must Il be so? Because II can be
Thought so? Wonderful reasoning
that! We may imagine many things, or
perceive their possibility. and yet theS
may be- as in this case, untrue and con-
trary TO both reason and experience.
The writer Of the article in the maya
zine also assumes much that is unten-
able. and upon II constructs arguments
and reaches conclusions which. OF
course. are erroneous. For instance. he
asserts; Matter and spirit cannot both
be eternal aud indestructble in the
same universe" How does he know
this? Matter and spirit both exist now
In TIE same universe. Why IL Il i'm.
possible that they both always existed
and ever will exist? II II Is admitted
that there Is such a thing as matter to-
DAY il IL possible that 1t win continue
10 exist forever.
Notwithstanding the assertion he
makes 10 the contrary. man II both
spirituai and material. The fact OF his
material existence Is so patent "a
every sane person, that to deny II
IS tantamount to denying existence
n;:ogether. There are some people
who disbelleve in the spiritual because
Il is not evident 20 their senses; hut
everybody has 10 act with n View TO the
actual existence OF the body ana Of the
material universe. Even those p r. MS
who in theory strive 20 maintain the
notion that matter Is unreal are
compelled In the very nature Of things
20 act ON the truth that matter is sub
stantial and real.
IL all is mind or spirit, and matter Is
nothing. why do they not live entirely
ON mind or spirit? Why eat food. Or
wsar clothlng. or breathe the material
air. or try Ia get money or treat ma
terial things as realities? The fact that
sometimes we are deceived through the
medium Of our senses, because We op-
tain but partial information or incom-
plete perception, is no argument that
all we see and hear and taste and nan
die is unreal Such mistakes are eA'
oeptions and we would not know that