THE SOUL by R. M. Kilgore

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 6, 1877

THE SOUL.

By R. M. Kilgore

Bro. A.—I have come, Parson C., to inquire of you concerning the soul. I have just been hearing Rev. H. preach on its condition after the body dies. He does not believe it goes to purgatory, and stoutly denies that it existed prior to the formation of the body. As to its return to this earth to converse with the living, he is not fully prepared to adopt that view; but he ridicules the doctrine held by those who believe that it remains unconscious between death and the resurrection. He gave a very glowing description of that land “beyond the bounds of time and space,” and of the enjoyment which awaits our souls if we are only prepared to die. He also presented a horrible picture of that place where the souls of the wicked are cast when they die, where the fire is not quenched, and the soul does not die, for there they have to suffer eternally and “die that death that never dies.”

Now, Parson, I would like to have you tell me what the soul is; and if it goes off to happiness or torment when the body dies, what is the object of a day of general Judgment, about which the minister talked, when the soul and body will be again united?

Parson.—The soul is an immaterial, invisible, immortal substance, that was given to man at his creation. It is deathless in its nature, and therefore cannot die; and as to the object of bringing the souls of the righteous out of their place of happiness, and those of the wicked out of torment at the day of Judgment, that is prying into the mysteries of God, which I think, Bro. A., we had better let alone, and interest ourselves about the salvation of our own immortal souls from that spiritual, temporal, and eternal death which never dies.

Bro. B.—Pardon me for speaking. Your conversation brings to my mind what once occurred at a meeting of a philosophical association in Paris. A question something like this came up for solution: What is the reason why a tub of water containing a fish which weighs ten pounds, will not weigh more than it would without the fish? After a great deal of time and thought had been spent in order to furnish a good reason for it, one of their number, who had been silent during the discussion, arose and said, “Gentlemen, is that thing so?” This led them to test it by weighing, when they found that the tub weighed just ten pounds more with the fish in it, than it did without the fish.

I have been listening to your talk about that immortal, immaterial, and deathless soul that survives the death of the body. Now, I would most respectfully inquire, Is it a fact that we have an immortal, undying, entity, which you call the soul, that lives in a conscious, intelligent state after the body is dead? And if it does, what use can there be of a resurrection?

Bro. A.—Perhaps it would be better for us to prove, indeed, that we have a soul that lives after we are dead, that can enjoy happiness or suffer torment without the body.

Let those who talk, pray, and sing so flippantly about the “immortal,” “deathless,” and “never-dying” soul that can live, think, act, and enjoy the bliss of Heaven or suffer the pains of hell without the body, first put their theory on the scales of eternal truth, and discover whether in fact they are in possession of any such entity, and whether, without Christ, they will ever have immortal life. R. M. KILGORE.