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of realization, appetites and desires that are not satisfied in this life, yearnings and aspirations
that are disappointed. Now it is argued that God would not have conferred upon men such
abilities and talents, only to make them fail in their achievements, would not have filled the
heart with such desires and aspirations, only to disappoint them. He must have provided a
future existence, in which human life will come to fruition.
4. THE MORAL ARGUMENT.
The human conscience testifies to the existence of a moral Ruler of
the universe who will exercise justice. Yet the demands of justice are not met in this present
life. There is a very unequal and seemingly unjust distribution of good and evil. The wicked
often prosper, increase in riches, and have an abundant share of the joys of life, while the pious
frequently live in poverty, meet with painful and humiliating reverses, and suffer many
afflictions. Hence there must be a future state of existence, in which justice will reign supreme,
and the inequalities of the present will be adjusted.
C. TESTIMONY OF SPECIAL REVELATION TO THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.
The historical and philosophical proofs for the survival of the soul are not absolutely
demonstrative, and therefore do not compel belief. For greater assurance in this matter, it is
necessary to direct the eye of faith to Scripture. Here, too, we must rely on the voice of
authority. Now the position of Scripture with respect to this matter may at first seem
somewhat dubious. It speaks of God as the only one who hath immortality (I Tim. 6:15), and
never predicates this of man. There is no explicit mention of the immortality of the soul, and
much less any attempt to prove it in a formal way. Hence the Russellites or Millennial Dawnists
often challenge theologians to point to a single passage in which the Bible teaches that the soul
of man is immortal. But even if the Bible does not explicitly state that the soul of man is
immortal, and does not seek to prove this in a formal way, any more than it seeks to present
formal proof for the existence of God, this does not mean that Scripture denies or contradicts
or even ignores it. It clearly assumes in many passages that man continues his conscious
existence after death. In fact, it treats the truth of the immortality of man very much as it does
that of the existence of God, that is, it assumes this as an undisputed postulate.
1. THE DOCTRINE OF IMMORTALITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
The assertion has been made
repeatedly that the Old Testament, and particularly the Pentateuch, does not teach in any way
the immortality of the soul. Now it is perfectly true that this great truth is revealed less clearly
in the Old than in the New Testament; but the facts in the case do not warrant the assertion
that it is absent from the Old Testament altogether. It is a well-known and generally recognized
fact that God’s revelation in Scripture is progressive and gradually increases in clearness; and it
stands to reason that the doctrine of immortality in the sense of a blessed eternal life, could
only be revealed in all its bearings after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who “brought life and