Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-10-17
TELLS WHY EDISON
DOES NOT BELIEVE
IN IMMORTALITY
Orange Pastor in Sermon Says
Wizard Doubts Because He
Cannot See Soul.

The alleged disbelief of Thomas A.
Edison, the electrical wizard, In the
Immortality of the soul was the sermon
theme of the Rev. Adolph Roeder, pas
tor of the New Church, orange, yester-
day morning. He said Edison doubted
for one reason because he could not
see the soul In part Mr.. Roeder said;
There is one interesting Incident among
others In the interview. published recently
on our West Orange neighbors unDenei III
Immortality which deserves close attention..
He admitted that when he went TO a pie
of ore and selected pieces of 1t with MS
eyes open the result was that the ore a.
saved at 20 per cent. II he did so with ms
eyes closed 1t assayed at II per cent. inns
latter percentage was that determined by
the non-selective power of the machine
The former was az TINS sha pe zT,eard sbd ni" ont
when he shut his eyes? He shut out the
thing he does not believe Ia, or thinks ne
does not believe In, and the closing OF lne
eyes in this instance was ALMOST slgnltleant
action. That unconscious selecttve ability
which the open eye added to the, picking
up of the ore is contributed by that part
OF the Wizard which has done all the
wonderful things. which he has contributed
to the comfort, the commerce, the enter
tainment, the utility and the convenience
of thousands and thousands of people.
1t would, In continuance OF this subject
however, be entirely unfair to Mr.. Edison
to consider his statement as an individnal
statement, OF his uuDtlitl Ill Al toies
as IN individual matter. For he is one OF
the many. His mind Is a type of n multi
tude OF minds, all shaped and bent In the
same direction, and fairness would demand
that we consider this entire class OF minds
and not confine ourselves to any one indt-
Vidual. And In the consideration Of this
type of mind at may be well to lay down
two or three broad principles on which 10
base any deduction we may choose to make.
No sane thinker denies that the brain Is
a machine. But neither will he deny that
antecedent to- he brain Is the personality
performing on that machine. The phono-
But If there had been no Mr.. Edison or
some genius like him there would have been
no photograph. Personality always comes
first. do what we will.
The difficulty of imagining the soul and
consequently the Immortality of the soul
with most people, genius and ordinary, Is It's
invisibility. Here Is a force driving a ma
chine and 1t is invisible. We have never
seen 1t. We only see its operations. But
is not all force invisible? Who ever saw
gravltation, or electricity, or magnetism. or
steam. Hold on, hold on, says someone,
I've seen steam and I've seen electricity"
yapor, not steam; and you have seen su-
perheated particles In the path of invisible
electricity raised to the light-giving point.
But you have never seen electricity, or
magnetism, or steam, or, In fact, any force.
They are all invisible. And they all have
identity.
The continuity, the invisibility and the
identity of force Is too we'll known to need
further argument. But II a lower force has
these three attributes, why should they be
denied a higher form OF force?