The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-09-16
TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 1s. 1918.
THE FUTURE LIFE.

THE FUTURE LIFE.
II a mar die, shall he live again!
Priest. and poets, philosophers and
scientists have tried to answer the
question, and some have found an m
swer that satisfies them. but year after
wear and age after age, h same
question arises to perplex new genera
ton. Of people. and each mus find
the answer for himself or allow the
question to remain an unsolved riddle
until death.
There is inherent in most OF us
what accounts to a consciousness OF
Immortality. Sometimes there is a be-
lief, sometimes a conviction, but al
most always a feeling that there is be-
yond what We call death a continue
ton of the consciousness which we
have here on earth. Ingersoll. the
great agnostic. aptly expressed the
sentiment Of thousands of those who
have tried to apply scientific tests to
this question when he said that in
answer reason answers no. hope
whispers perhaps"
We cannot well reason about a state
of mind which originated without the
application Of reason, and which per-
sists in spite Of it. And in the main
the belief in a future life rests on
something which is outside the realm
OF scientific proof. There are certain
known facts which can apply to the
consideration Of the questions which
deal with material things. We have
the evidence Of our senses and certain
physical and mathematical truisms by
means Of which We may arrive at ex-
act conclusions. In relation to the
things that pertain to the spirit these
are altogether wanting.
There are those who hold not only
that the soul continues its conscious
existence after death. but that the
souls Of the departed can and do COM
rnunicate with persons here on earth.
and do So in a manner which can DO
understood. In the whole realm Of
human experience there is probably
no subject in connection with which
there has been such an incongruous
mixture Of reverence. and deep re-
kgious feeling, and humbug. fraud and
arrant nonsense as there has been in
connection with attempts to comnnuni-
cate with those who have passed into
the beyond.
Men and women, sincere, unselish
and wholly in earnest. have devoted
their lives to the effort to unlock the
door Of communication with the un-
known, and takers and charlatans Of
both sexes and all stations in life have
practices upon the credulity Of these
seekers after truth, and have depriv-
I'd them Of property, Of reason and Of
life itself in order to enrich them
selves, while the subject, which. II
approached at all. has been paraded
before gaping crowds Of wonder-chas-
ers 1t so much per head. and the
shade Of a man who was once among
the great Of earth has been invited
10 perform for the amusement Of a
D0l0 AuOlSNCC, ike d .lId1IlCQ UOX UT u
Jugsier.
All Of this has tended to bring the
search for the link between this life
and the next into disrepute. There
are. however, very eminent men en-
gagged in the search. OF these one Of
the best known Is Sir Oliver Lodge,
whose recent statement Of the hope
that q clear communication may yet
be established between the two worlds
has attracted much attention and wide
comment. Sir oliver is a man who
has . respectable standing in the
world Of science, and he has attempted
to approach this subject in the scien-
tihc spirit. He has written much
about It, and he has himself carried on
conversations which he IL convinced
were with the souls Of friends long
sinee departed.
There are two things especially
which stand in the way Of the gem
eral. acceptance Of the conclusions Of
such n as Sir oliver. First. in spite
Of al the care which they have taken
to prevent imposition. there 10 always
the possibility that they have been
impcsed upon. Second. among all
the communications which have been
given to the public a. coming from
men we'll known in the worlds history,
there 10 not one which rises above the
level OF the trivial and inconsequen-
tial. These things necessarily make
the general public chary Of accept
Ing evidences" however apparently
we'll authenticated. Of q conscious life
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