“IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.”
By R. F. Cottrell
The Baptist Tidings has recently given us a little effusion upon this subject. He makes but slight allusions to the Scriptures, as also to the “inner consciousness of which heathens and old philosophers were susceptible.” This alone he does not think is full and sufficient proof of the doctrine; but in his mind doubtless, as well as in many others, it helps make up the deficiencies of direct revelation on the subject. His expression of it is, “There comes an inbred or unextinguishable voice from within that says, ‘Your whole being cannot die.’” The heathen, even, could not obliterate this voice, and so merged the truth it spoke into the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. Whence did man first get the idea that he could not die? The serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die.” On this Dr. A. Clarke remarks: “The tempter through the nachash, insinuates the impossibility of her dying, as if he had said, God has created thee immortal, thy death therefore is impossible; and God knows this, for as thou livest by the tree of life, so shalt thou get increase of wisdom by the tree of knowledge.” Had the spirit of inspiration given as clear an intimation of the immortality of the soul, there would be less necessity of appealing to the “inner consciousness” of the blind and deluded captives of the first deceiver, for the truth of the doctrine set forth in his first and fatal deception. In speaking of the text in which Paul says that Christ “hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” he claims that this life and immortality is something relating to man, that the soul “is to be taken for our essential being;” and then very coolly assumes the separate existence of the soul, and its natural immortality—the very points to be proved, and which languish for want of Bible support—and then infers that the immortality brought to light through the gospel is a glorious immortality, in contradistinction to the natural immortality which all possess independent of the gospel. That it may be seen that we have stated his argument fairly, we give his words: “This being [the soul] we take as capable of existence separate from the body, and irrespective of the moral quality or condition of that being while in the body. This we designate as natural immortality; that is, the simple power or fact of continued being. In another and still higher sense we speak of a glorious immortality;—this perpetuated existence purified, and glorified in the presence of God. It seems to be this “life and immortality,” and the way and means of fully attaining it, that is brought to light in the gospel.” Now are not all convinced? It is a fact that the gospel offers immortality to those who seek for it by patient continuance in well doing. It will doubtless be a glorious immortality. But since divine revelation contemplates no other immortality than a glorious one; it has entirely omitted the qualifying term. In the above our friend, instead of appealing to that revelation for proof, has done nothing but to supply its deficiencies. The Bible reveals no immortality to sin. His closing paragraph we give entire, as follows: “This natural immortality, as already explained, which some deny, is utterly antagonistic to the doctrine of soul-sleeping at death, and the doctrine of the immortality of only those who believe in Christ, or become Christians. This last doctrine is itself controverted by the previous one; for if all the souls of the dead sleep in the grave until the resurrection, then, for that length of time the souls of the righteous are dead, and consequently not immortal. While the sleep of the soul in the grave cannot be true of all, if it is of any, for there are some who never died; then what became of their souls? But Jesus declared the whole matter when he spoke of ‘the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,’ as the God not of the dead, but THE LIVING.” Soul-sleeping is an invidious term, invented by our opponents, found neither in the Bible nor Webster’s Unabridged. The soul, they seem to think, cannot sleep, and they sometimes say that we believe that the soul sleeps with the body in the grave. Does natural sleep affect only the body? Is the “immortal mind,” as it is called, entirely unaffected by it? We do not hold that the soul is an entity separate from the body, and that the one sleeps with the other. The most frequent use, perhaps, of the term soul in the Bible designates the entire person. If we say of a person, He sleeps, no one asks whether it is his mind or body that sleeps. That sleeps that might be awake. We do not say of a stone, It is asleep. By a very natural figure death is called a sleep. The righteous “sleep in Jesus.” Where do they sleep? From Dan. xii, 2, we learn that both the righteous and the wicked “sleep in the dust of the earth.” They shall “awake.” They “that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” Who believes that a person, or soul, becomes immortal on becoming a Christian? We know of no one that holds so. The Christian has the promise of immortality, the sinner has not. One of the ablest defenders of our faith teaches that “this mortal shall put on immortality” at the resurrection of those who “sleep.” 1 Cor. xv, 51–54. What became of the souls of those who “never died”?! We think from the fact that they never died that they are still alive. There is a slight difference, to say the least, between dying and being taken up alive to God, as Enoch and Elijah were. But since Jesus “cleared the whole matter” in his controversy with the Sadducees, let us notice his argument. They denied the resurrection of the dead; he affirmed. Taking Moses, in whom they professed faith, for his authority, he formed what we think was a logical argument. 1. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 2. He declared himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, after they were dead. 3. Therefore they shall live again. Our Lord was not so illogical as to set out to prove the resurrection of the dead and bring out the conclusion that they are now alive, and consequently need no resurrection. Those who never died need no resurrection. But our friend of the Tidings has “been disgusted with seeing an offer paraded before the public in secular and other papers, made by a very wise and benevolent man,” as he supposes, “of $20 for every passage of Scripture that mentions” the immortality of the soul. He is not positive as to the design of the person, whether it is benevolence, or “to let the world know that he knows that the Bible does not have such an expression in it.” We do not know who has made the offer alluded to; but we will suggest one more possible reason for making it. There are multitudes, who have the Bible upon their shelves, who, from the preaching that they hear, really believe that it abounds in such expressions as immortal souls, never-dying souls, and deathless spirits; and it might be the design of our unknown friend to get such persons to take down the Bible, brush off the dust, and read it for themselves. All lovers of the Bible must admit that this would be a benefit. And as the pocket nerve is extremely sensitive, in these days of the world’s dotage, the offer of $20 might excite some to search for that which they so confidently believe can be so easily found. And we may suppose as a reason for putting it in secular papers, that religious editors might be so disgusted with it, that they would rather let the people remain in ignorance of the Bible, than to publish it. The truth is, neither the expressions alluded to, nor their equivalents, nor the ideas and doctrines they represent in the popular mind, are to be found in the Scriptures. Would it not be well to read the Bible, believe its teachings, practice its precepts, and discard the fables and doctrines of men which have supplanted it in the public mind? This we are determined to do.
R. F. COTTRELL.