The Washington herald., 1908-02-03
Immortality of the Soul.


Elitor TIE Washington Herald.
I have been 50 much exposed TO the
contagion OF the Immortality OF the soul
by being a constant reader Of The Wash
ington Herald that have finally become
infected ard must break out" What "a
person believes must be the summing up
of what they have learned and expert
enced. II one has read but one book. the
Bible. or has taken that as hts chart
to steer by. 1t is hard 10 tell where he
viii land in the different harbors OF be-
liefs.
I notice your correspondents, pro and
/ con. use the Bible to back up their argu-
menrS A person cannot believe what
he wants TO, but must believe that which
he cannot deny discredit. or disprove.
I care not what any one book may say
about Immortality, or anything else. A
subject or an object must he viewed from
its many sides. and a maHy-sided view
Of Immortality does not assure me that il
/ is a fact; and knowledge without assur-
auce is not a sure knowledge
The egoists and egotists can easily cod
die themselves into believing that they
are n special creation. and one to enjoy
/ immortal life. but some of Us mortals
who are not so stuck on ourselves fail to
/ see just why, when everything else in ma
ture undergoes change, man would re-
main the thing he is, and enjoy immortal
life To me, q Knockout blow to the
arguments in favor Of the immortal
life is that the immortal life plan carries
the good? How many would go 70
heaven and the bad to hell. Who are
the good? How many would 90 10
heaven?
a person must be conceit personifed 10
imagine himself good and fitted for a
life Of spIendor and ease throughout the
eternal ages. such as one in heaven is
pictured to be- Heaven would be a lone
some place. and the great sport there
would be looking down into hell and see
inc all ones friends, relatives, and &C
or 4intances writing in torment Wouldn't
f. be Jolly? II would be more thrilling
taau a football game, at all events.
IL we can acquire knowledge from any
source. and all sources. from nature. OBJ
servation, the sciences, philosophy sc.
the paramount thing we learn is that
chemical change is the law OF the uni
ysTsa Whilst there is no destruction of
matter tho matter OF to-day becomes a
different kind Of matter tomorrow. No
one denies that the physical part of man
undergoes chemical change and becomes
something else, Why isn't this Just as
true Of the soul as Of the body? In chem
istry we have solids. fluids. and gases.
The soul is neither solid nor fluid. but
must be classified as a gas. if classified
at all. gas is more quickly susceptible
70 chemical change than a fluid OF solid,
and II contend that the solid body of a
man viii undergo complete chemical
change within "a short time, and the SOUL
a gaseous body, none az all throughout
eternity. is 20 contend that white Is black
and that black is no color at ell. or even
tho absence Of light
7 can believe there is q soul. OF soul
stun; that il is gaseous, and that it IS
indestructib!e. in the same way that all
other matter is. but I cannot believe that
individual souls retain separate existences
when liberated from the body by death
and do not undergo chemical change or
are not merged into something else-per-
haps other souls in process Of formation
I do not believe the soul (or mind Of the
man who wrote Shakespeare was ami
hilated. or exists in an Individual form
either In heaven or in he'll, but that It
was dissipated, or, better yet, utilized