DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL?

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3838, 18 April 1881, Page 2

DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL?

(To the Editor of the Evening Star.)

Sia, —I think in a controversy through the public journals Iwj things ought to be attended to. One is, the real name of the parties ought to be known ; and the other is, they ought to stick to the subject in band, and not wander from it. Neither Of these conditions has your correspondent " Truth Seeker " fulfilled. We are not discussing how many p.rclibishops or learned men are on each eide, nor yet about whether Samuel was uncomfortable or not in rising out of the er.rib ; but the subject in baud is, does the Bible teach theimacortality of the £oal ? o:*, in other words, does the spirit or soul of man exlat after death ? X have already brought forward passages of Scripture to prove that they do, and my opponent has no, ye': refuted them; and the only way to attempt to do to is by trying to make it out that they do rot mean wh.it they say. This is strange froii a man that says that the Bible is the word of G~d; and if :t is so, way did God not say what he meant? Surely he could have done so. Which ever side he takes with regard to Samuel, he is in a dflemma. If Samuel did exist after death, and talked to Saul, then that one case proves my point; ad if he says that Samuel was. not there, and does not exist, then hd denies God's holy word. And so it is with regard to the transfiguration on the mount. The Bible says that Moses, Jesus, and Elias were there, t id, if so, then the Bible teaches that the spirit or soul of mau..is_ia.existence after dedth; and if he says they were" not there, then he denies God's word. The Bible says that John saw a great number that no man could number. Your correspondent says they were not there at all;. therefore he denies God's word. la John vi., 50, it is said, "This is the bread which cometh dowa from heavea, that a man may eat thereof and not die." But " Truth Seeker " says that they do die, and are not alive after death until the resurrection. If immortality means anything, it must mean -a continuation of life ; but jf it ceases at death that cannot be a continuation of life, and, therefore, not eternal. I think that most of your readers will see that your correspondent is jammed inn. a corner that he can-..:;., escape froai. I should -like you to take great notice how he attempts to get out of it. It' he has anything more to s.ay oi this subject, let him come out of the bush aud fight like a man that believes that he has the truth. If not, I must charge him with "being a sneaking coward, and tint he knows what he says is not reasoning, but quibbling. He may be seeking ati;er tiuth, bni I am sure he has not found it. I do not brmz Spiritualism to prove the immortality of the soul, but fo confirm it, and what we know all will know la the future.—l am, &c, J. Hoen .