The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-09-21
is DEATH The END? FINAL
LECTURE OF THE SERIES
ON MODERN oouer DELIVERED
sr GEORGE n. VENDING
was STIRRING and Remarkably. Con-
esss'on TO . Most Interesting
and helpful Ssriss.


on Modern Doubt. the Hon. Georr. r
vending last evening IN the Ftrs
fresoytsrtan church delivered nj
famous discourse on the subject II
Death the Fndr- The i~ctur. Wa,
very eloquent and was followed Wit
profound interest on the part OF tn.
vast audience
The series OF lecture. was delivered
under the auspices OF the Younr
Mems Christian Association. and prov.
Cd success from every standpoint
Each number was larreiy attended.
The anal lecture was in brief as fol-
lows:
NO one from Plato 10 Ralph wsid-
emerson has ever written an argu-
rnent In behalf OF Immortality that 4.
convincins TO person not In SYM
patty with the purpose Of the writer
Would your hearts be sladdened II
could made you share my faith IN a
NE oeyondg Follow me then and
snail give you my reasons for this
faith that IL In me. II not. then one
OF the avenues by which conviction
may be produced Is closed AGAINST
me And nrst let us ask what Is
man. and then what Is death one cf
the greatest 90 ancient orators said.
There In "A natural body and there IL
spiritual body" OF the natural body
every sense gives us ample cogni-
rance. but Is there I'm truth a spiritual
BODY? There are more things than
many OF us have dreampt OF In the
phiisophy OF that sentence: there Is a
spiritual body" In all the wide and
rich domain OF science there can ne
found no conclusive evidence OF the
souls Immortality. for the sirnple sea-
son that UEtii science can arrest and
analyze spirit. and subject that
spirit TO all the processes Of scientific
investigation science cannot speak to
us upon this theme.
is there a spiritual body. Do you
not know that there is a determining
power within you that even looks up
on your mind. and directs the line OF
your thoughis7 Are you not consci-
Gus OF an inner Spirit which resists
and overcor1es your fears. your ang-
or. and your desires? That determin-
ing power we call a spiritual body.
II controls the organism. IL exacts
obedience. IL suppresses revolt against
Its own DEGREES. IL II an imperial au-
tocrat or the physical organism: when
/ flesh and blood rebel that spiritual
power conquers the rebellion. and as
serts the sup enlary % the spiritual
In an ancient book is this sentence:
Then shat, the dust return TO the
return unto God who gave IL" and
what a mood OF light pOurs upon that
sentence as we perceive how distin =
our physical organism t. from the
power tia. directs and controls It.
But granting that the spirit OF man is
distinctive and superior In its relat-
ions to the physical organism. how
does IL follow that the spirit does not
, die with the body? How can We be-
1arHZ -
from the fate OF the natural body?
We can believe II because we have no
evidence that the spirit falls within
the influence and operation OF death
upon the physical organism. In other
words. ami n decisive word, before
you can ack II the spirit OF man II
INN lrtal you must show that that
spirit lies within the line and limit q
mortality. Before you can ask
whether II lives again you must show
that q dies In the absence Of proof
there cannot be found n single ana
logy OF presumption OF its death.
Around the great fact that no ar
gument can ever show that death has
dominion oNe r the spirit Of man. let
us now place other considerations.
And FIRST. while the deductions Of
science furnish no proof Of immor-
tally. the great scientific truth that
Au'Te IS no fufn i1lNg s~ annlhlldtlpn
is % Immense importance in regard
To this question. With that universal
law above and around and benea.h
US. cannot. will not believe that
the solitary exception 10 that law. tn,
one and onl,- thing that shall he com
pletelv and forever b1otted out. IL
that very greatest Of the AlmiRhfy's
handiwork. the spirit 81 man. Again.
" there 10 n Just God man must live
/ g 4
r. as universal as the faith 20 i'm
mortality Itself. Many Of tho basest
souls live Icing years ~ delight and
ease. while beside them are spirits
pure and gentle and almost holy. suf-
ferinR n lifetime 81 sorrow and
wretchless and shame. The divine
integrity therefore demands n future
for the human race. And again. man
shall live again because there is no
such thing IN nature ~ failure. and
unless man has another life he IL a
failure.
Nature succeeds IN al her operat-
ions. for while Individual specimens
do fall hy the way. yet the species al
ways accomplishes its end. but let us
repeat that unless man lives again ne
is an absolute failure. Would YOU be-
come n mercantile prince Ninety
five out % every hundred ls the per
reufnHe - uuEuccfHefuI merchants
I j. 90 military glory that you seek =
Napoiean cleo ~ -. Helena with n
broken heart and on the heights u
Mount NcCregbr General Grant wen'
20 his death broken IN fortune and
broken IN spirit IL % literary repu-
tation that YOU wish n ~ doubtful
n I'm tho last fftv wears i've author
have appeared whose books VIII DC
read MY Years hence would you
found school ~ philosophy No
English philc sopher in tho last fw1
centuries has had 20 great n number
Of followers as Herbert spencer. but
spcnrrrs influence is waning today IN
educated circl,s IN both Europe and
America. Man failure. can that
be- oh no. Man standing o. the
summit ~ heir ~ an tho age. no
the Almighty has not written the Wori
failure on tho forehead ~ euch "a bc-
inr. and somewhere and somehow mlr
must ana viii push up and on ~ r.
career worthy ~ creature made M Tho
ve-v imare % the Infinite one hi.a-
self.
apply % an ares ana al conditions ~
mem MAY not this one DO too imna-
turc and that one too dccrepit this
ono be- too Immature and that one ZOO
fr~renif this one too ignorant and
That ono toes degraded. FOR immortal
ffv~ so history shows thar The spirit
/ ~ man dlsrcFarfe al these limitations