A new basis of belief in immortality / by John S. Farmer.

  • Farmer, John S.
Date:
1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new basis of belief in immortality / by John S. Farmer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the apparent possibilities of existence are not in reality, as they are seemingly, cut short by death and buried in the grave. IVIen ha\ e sought for evidence, but have sought in vain, until at length they have •wearied of the search, and a feeling of its utter hopelessness has forced itself upon them. And yet the highest hopes and the loftiest aspirations of the race have ever pointed towards the culmination of life on earth in a future state of being. Viewed theoretically, this is undoubtedly the only natural outcome of the capacities for culture and progression which have revealed themselves as part and parcel of human nature. Life here needs a fulfilment hereafter : the hopes of to-day, a fruition to- morrow ; present aspirations, a future attainment. This condition of passive unbelief has been mainly brought about and fostered by the materialistic teaching of Modern Science, which has also largely tinged with doubt and uncertainty the belief of the reli- gious world. It is needless to reiterate, but I must run the risk of repetition in pointing out that the spirit of inquiry which desires an absolute and solid foundation on fact for the theories of the past, which has been so largely developed during the present century—often upset- ting altogether, or modifying the dicta of times gone by—has, at last, forced its way into the religious world, and is inducing men to look more closely than before into the bases of their faith. Time-honoured and long-cherished beliefs are being sifted and examined by the sternly logical methods of phj'sical science, and in the process not a few vener- able articles of faith are, in the absence of evidence that appeals to the reason and senses, fading away. Thus tested, the expressed belief of the religious world in the doc- trine of the immortahty of the soul is found wanting. Why ? Because science, accustomed to deal first with facts and then with theories— logically formulating the latter upon the unyielding testimony of the former—has (through the inability of the teachers of divine things to practically demonstrate the central fact of Christ’s teaching) come to the conclusion that immoj’tality is a vain delusion born of human hope and fancy alone. To the science of to-day, the foundation truth of Christ’s teaching —the fact of immortality—is still an unsolved problem. And even within the circles of religious thought its influence on every-day life as a practical living faith is of the slenderest kind. A large proportion of the members of our churches and chapels view death only with fear and apprehension, and to their earnest though doubting souls no gleam of light appears to illumine the darkness of the future—no sympa- thetic voice comes in response to their yearning cry. I do not hesitate to affirm that materialistic ideas have obtained a greater hold upon the religious life of the day than is generally supposed. The fact of immortality may be accepted as part of one’s creed, but it is no exaggeration to say that but few have a clear realisa- tion of a life beyond the tomb, and fewer still receive it into their souls as an actual living power. T am by no means unmindful of the fact, that through Jesus im- mortality and life were brought to light, and that in His resurrection II