Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1910-04-01
AN EASTER
DISCOURSE
Notes Taken From the
Sermon at Methodist
Church


Easter sermon on 1.-The one question of
humanity, eff man die, shall he live
again?"
This he designated as the greatest
question Of the age, beside which all
social and political questions pale in in
significance. The pastor made it plain
that this question has been asked by all
classes and by all ages, and dwelt upon
the answers that have been given to it.
He spoke of Emerson answer, 'Why
need we trouble ourselves to answer the
question at all? immortality we shall
have it if we deserve it. He supposed
that Emerson meant by this answer that
if we are not immortal, all the argu-
ments in the world cannot make us so !;
and, on the other hand, il we are, all
the materalism that ever has been or
ever Will be, can never rob us of the
life that God has given US.
He also dwelt on the answer given by
John Stuart Mill, which he spoke of as
subtle philosophy which was not helpful
to us, stating that it matters great
deal whether we believe in the doctrine
of immortality or not, for our lives and
our actions must be more or less the
result OF what we believe, and spoke of
the doctrine of immortality as a very
important doctrine, and the keystone of
christianity
He said the doctrine of the souls i'm
mortality is peculiar to christianity; yet
it has engaged the thoughts and the at
tentions of the wisest men in all ages,
and gave several short illustrations
showing that the most ignorant races be-
lieve in life beyond the grave, and
make preparation for it.
He spoke of man S nature CRYING out
for Immortality, and of Jobs question,
as very human question, stating that
the soul longs for Immortality, and
shudders at the thought of humiliation,
Of going down to the grave, and being
forgotten for evermore.
He dmelt on the negative answer to
the question: the answer OF atheism
The atheist stands up before the world
and says, there is no God, and there
can be no Immortality, and showed
plainly that an atheist is no more than
an animal, no better than heap of or
gained dust, a machine, body without
a soul. The preacher endeavored to
show that the man who has no God, and
no hope of Immortality is to be pitied
that he sees his loved ones one after
another loeWred into the grave, and has
no hope of ever seeing them again, for
TO ham there is no other life.
Rev. Nicholas dWelt upon another,
class of answers from those who en-
deavOr to stand neutral, who say: ave
don + know, and it matters not, nobody
ever came back from the grave to tell
me, have never seen God, how do !
know that there is such Being; How
do know that Jesus Christ was the son
of God? And all this talk of God and
of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit of sin
and of holiness; of eternal death and
eternal life, of rewards and punish
ments in future state of existence may
be nothing more than an invention of
the priesthood.
He dwelt in these answers. and
showed that it does matter; that we cam
not help thinking about it, and being
greatly interested in it and then spoke
of christianity as giving the best answer
to this great question, that christianity
answers this question in the affirmative
Christ said al am the resurrection and
the lfe''
The preacher said that we must not
look in the grave for that which is not
here What we deposit in the grave
is only the oovering-the kshell or the
house in which our friend lived.
The bible tells us that there will be a
resurrection, but it is to be a resurrec-
tion OF the spiritual body, we are told
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
Kingdom OF God.
He stated that the apostle likened the
resurrection TO a seed sown. The seed
is put into the ground it decomposes,
the old shell passes away, but the prin-
cipal of life remains; in short time it
appears above the ground with green
leaves, The preacher stated that there
may not be single atom of the grain
of corn in the new plant, yet the seed
has not persisted, there it is again, the
same, yet not he same. The principal
of life has according to some mysterious