The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-11-24
DOESDEATHENO
ALL?SUBJECTOF
AGOODSERMON
DOUBT As TO WHAT ANSWER TO
MAKE TO THIS AGE-LoNe
QUESTION HAS cREPT OVER
SYSTEMS OF THOUGHT OF
PRESENT DAY.

Rev. Eugene r. Pendleton, in his
sermon at the First Baptist church
last night, preached to good congre-
CATION. his theme being Does Death
End It All? This is rather an an
swer TO ''Russellism," and many forms
OF iuf1delity Of the present day. The
sermon which was followed closely by
the large assemblage, was as follows:
Sermon at First Baptist.
Text: .If Man Die, Shall He Live
Again." Job 14:14.
The picture OF death with grim and
gTuesome appearance Of skeleton
with q long sickle, greedily watching
for the hour to strike down the chill
dren or men Is rather more pagan than
7 Christian and &c man is immortal, it
- travesty upon our faItf In his
place ought to appear a. young and
handsome angel, clothed with immortal
youth, with a key In his hand. q SYM
Dol or emancipation
Hearses instead of being draped in
1ugubrfous trappings OF woe should be
srotlessly white and there would be
little need Of widows weeds, or of
the waste of costly marble, but in their
places should be heavenly strains of
1ubi1atfon, and the burying places
marked with simple emb.ems of our
faith.
The shadow of doubt as to what an
gWer to make this age-long question
has crept over all our systems of
thought. In Christ theology there are
certain sects that, like the Jewish sea-
in Chrfst's time, believe neither in
spirit nor angel nor future life A
growing horror at the thought of the
wicked being tormented forever has
driven the old idea of hell into the
the theory that at least the wicked
win be annihilated, and only the saved
raised up.
These Are Not New Ideas
These are not new ideas, and all of
them are found wanting when tried by
life and immortality to life. and taught
plainly that man is immortal. and
must come into Judgment after death
81 am the resurrection and the life,
he that beieveth on me shall never
die" This mortal must put on inn
mortality These shall go away into
eternal punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life" Natural immortal
ity then is the answer to Job. and
whatever the character of that future
punishment, whether unthinkable, or
whether human imagination has dis
tOrted what God says or not, 1t Is the
deep fact OF life that man Is I'M
mortal. There are for the wicked ''the
many stripes and the few stripes"
according to desertss God will take
care or that. But IL the wicked are
simply TO be annihilated then why all
OF God? Why al the warnings OF the
word? Why all the martyrs for the
faith once delivered to the saints? Who
would care to spend a life time OF self
denial If there is no wrath to come,
but only sweet oblivion It Is a. doc
trine to 1ull the senses but does not
satisfy the deep instincts OF the soul.
Some reasons why man is deeply con-
scious OF Immortality:
Death In Nature.
/. Death In nature is the shadow
where death is simply renewing Hfe
The chrysalis dies to give birth to the
butterfly, the egg to the winged song
ster. Each autumnal forest but pre-
cedes the vernaI glory OF new life
Life is abundant and cannot be de-
stroyed. Seed win catch on rocks and
attach roots to mountain cliffs. Death
is made to serve life. Death must be
a benefit for it Is universal, and I'M
red In tooth and claw" is neverthe-
less q kind mother. The crab claw is
replaced, and the wound is healed over.
Rapine is followed closely in every in
stance by narcotic, auesthetic or salve
for the wound. So death in this view
loses much OF it's terror. Hell was
made fox. the devil and his angels. not
beIlion that consigns men to IT.
2. The universal instinct Of immor-
Eaziky makes q weighfy argument. In
dams had their happy hunting
grounds Egyptians buried relics for
the use OF the dead. No tribe or ma
ton fs without it's embsems and forms
OF Worship which are in themselves
Ia dncurabls religious. When Ptolemy