Milford chronicle., 1905-10-27
THE FUTURE LIFE.
theories of One Age DO Not Satisfy
Succeeding Ages.

theories of One Age Do NOt Satisfy
Succeeding Ages.
We know nothing whatever about
the next world. Even those who ac
cept the Christian revelation mos
heartily and most completely must ad
NIT with st. John that "it doth not We
appear what we shall be-" Chris
taught, and his disciples believed, tina
the soul of man is eternal and does no
die with the body. St. Paul summed
up Christs teachings on the subject
Immortality when he said that he hao
"abolished death" Against this ig
Dorance man has forever chafed- Upoi
the dark background of the future tht
religious imagination, helped by The
inner light Of conscience, throws beau
tiful and terrible pictures. But witt
each succeeding age the pictures dis
solve and change. knowledc, cannot
pierce the visible darkness which di
vides this world from the next. A
the years grow ON we gain wisdom
but not certainty:
wisdom-that becoming wise meant max
ing slow and sure advance
From a knowledge proved in error TO ae-
knowledged ignorance
All popular ideas Of heaven and hel
are just now fading away. The con.
ventionaI heavens fail to satisfy the as.
pirations of man, and all conceptions
Of the everlasting tortures Of the damn
ed fade before new consistency oil
thought which cannot reconcile eterna!
7,uuishnent with sthe knowledge and
love Of God"
Our forefathers looked forward in
some moods to everlasting rest and
never ending worship, in others TO
happy and prosperous life in perfect
" governed and perfectly healthy city.
At times, inspired by the love Of ma
lure, they Christianized the classic pic
ture Of the Elysian fields. Today the
normal man does not desire rest when
he asks himself what life he would
choose. Rest suggests death, and we
desire more abundant life. To most
healthy bodies and healthy minds effort
is in itself delightful. If men do not
need to make an effort for their living
they will do it for their pleasure. Sue
cessful effort brings more happiness
than anything else, taking life as a
whole. The thought Of everlasting wor
ship satisfies fewer and fewer people
today. It belongs to an age when men
thought of God as a kind of king who
took perpetual pleasure in homage. We
still sing of sweet fields beyond the
swelling flood" and find refreshment
in the thought, but no one desires to
live forever wandering amid the beau
ties of nature. The thought Of an ideal
civic life is still attractive, but the
heavenly Jerusalem brings thoughts Of
Utopia now rather than Of the everlast-
ing.
We still pray against everlasting
damnation" and desire to get rid Of the
worm Of remorse that dieth not, but
our prayers, however earnest, no longer
bring visions Of the burning pit Such
visions would be called up nowadays
rather by the divine comedy than by
the church service Other hopes charm
us today, and other fears restrain.
These again will change their form in
the next generation. The conditions of
this life after and consequently the
conceptions of that life to which we
instinctively look for consolation and
explanation, reward and retribution
change also. Nevertheless these pious
opinions of the past, the outcome as
they are of n spiritual preoccupation
more concentrated than anything of
which the present age is capable, are
not without their value. Imaginary
they may have been, but
God is also in sleep, and dreams advise,
Which he hath sent propitious, some
great good presaging.
We smile reverently as we look back.
Crowns and cities, feasts and sweet
fields, all melt away together Still,
the words of Christ which cannot pass
away while human nature remains,
sound in our hearts, 1T is the spirit
that quickeneth; the flesh profteth
nothing"
That men will cease to dream Of
what they cannot know we do not for
a moment suppose. Every age will
embody its hopes in a new description
Of heaven. Every description viii be
worth study in order
That in these masks and shadows we
may see thy sacred way
And by those hid ascents climb to that
day
Which breaks from thee.
Who art in all things, though invisibly.
london Spectator.