Immortality and Heathenism: Debating the Future Life by John Norton Loughborough

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 18, 1873

Immortality and Heathenism: Debating the Future Life

By John Norton Loughborough

Immortality—Heathenism.

When people fail in fair reasoning, they sometimes resort to calling hard names, which, of course, with candid, reflecting minds, is but a poor substitute for argument. A sister in this place a few days since, being requested to state her views of the future life, was showing that she had no hope of life except through Christ and the resurrection; and as none but those who had faith in Christ and obeyed God were to have eternal life, therefore the wicked, when raised, could not live eternally. A third party, the wife of a minister, said, “That is heathenish doctrine; you don’t believe that.” The sister remarked, that it was Bible doctrine, and she must believe the Bible, if people did call it heathenism.

But, candidly, what is heathenism upon this question? Sometimes it is the immortality of the soul, and an eternal existence for all, and sometimes it is nonentity, and blank silence after death to all men, to all eternity.

Mr. McClay, who was twelve years a missionary to China, says, “The far greater part of the Chinese believe in no future state of existence whatever.” If we judge of the belief of others of the Chinese, the followers of Confucius’ doctrine in this country by their actions, we shall find it nearer spiritualism than it is to the Adventist’s doctrine of life only through Christ.

Within the past year, a noted Chinaman by the name of Ah Quong was brutally assaulted in the streets of Sacramento, was carried into a police station-house, and died there. His brother, a wealthy Chinaman, made a great funeral, employing (according to the report in a Sacramento daily) a large portion of the hacks of Sacramento, to carry the invited guests to the funeral. When the long procession was passing with the corpse of the murdered Chinaman through the streets, the brother ordered a halt in front of the station-house where his brother died. He went up to the keeper of the station-house, accosting him in these words: “Mr. Fred, I want see my brudder.” It was difficult for the man to know what was wanted. Perceiving, however, from the Chinaman’s looks and actions that he wished to go into the station-house, the keeper let him in. There he went through various prayers, gestures, incantations, and invitations to some imaginary being. Finally, with a smile of satisfaction, he went out to join the procession. Being interrogated as to the meaning of all this, he informed them that he had been to invite the spirit of his murdered brother to attend the funeral, and witness the proceedings and display.

Chinamen constitute over one quarter of the human race, and are perhaps a fair specimen of the heathenism of the world, but, if the far greater portion of the Chinese believe in “no future state,” and the rest believe in existence while dead, and a species of spiritualism, as shown above, it does not look much like the Adventist’s doctrine of “life only through Christ.”

In Siam they believe in a thousand years of suffering only to the worst of men, and that then all will be saved, so that is not the heathenism that agrees with Advent faith. Where is it? Where is the heathen nation or sect that believes in “life only through Christ;” that all will be raised from the dead, and that the wicked, after receiving an amount of suffering adequate to their guilt, will be cut off, while the righteous shall receive the gift of eternal life, and the whole universe of God shall be clear from sin and sinners?

The simple facts are, that no such class or nation of heathens is to be found. If there is such a class, we would like to know where they live, and to know more of their peculiar doctrines; for, certainly, if they hold the sentiments of Seventh day Adventists on this question, there would be great hope that such a nation of heathens, acknowledging God’s Son as the only source of hope of eternal life, might be brought more easily to truly worshiping him than those who bow to stocks and stones. Till this proof concerning such a heathen nation is presented, let none be turned from the doctrine of the Bible by slurs, such as, “Your doctrine is heathenism.”

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

Oakland, Cal., Oct., 1873.