LIFE AND DEATH.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 177, 30 June 1925, Page 9

LIFE AND DEATH.

REPLY- TCLREV. MURRAY. (To the Editor.) Sir.—Tn last week’s report of sermons in the “Standard” you very generously reported Rev. Murray’s sermon on the above matter and T would compliment you on the very fine leporls we have been getting of late on religious matters. May I crave the right of a few words in reply as one of those whom Mr Murray critices in his speech. Air Murray seeks to show first that between death and the Resurrection Christians are in conscious existence with their Lord und sinners in hell. He does not give a single passuge that proves that directly, or by inference. It is true he takes us to the statement concerning the rich man and Lazarus, but he knows as well as anyone knows that to use it to show that the conditions in the parable are the conditions now in existence in Hades is not fair. He knows that the statement is made on the highest authority that the illustration used by our Lord is a Jewish parable, and that the Lord simply used it to put to shame the men who were condemning Him for His attitude towards the poor, und the sinful. Other writers hold it is a picture of the post resurrection state. Indeed, there are a hundred interpretations that do not have behind them the boliet that the unsaved go to a bell of torment immediately at death, there to remain as long as God himself exists, a belief that might well be found in the pages of heathen mythology, but certainly not in the Scriptures of truth. Our friend’s interpretation of 2 Cor. 5 is no better—that the "I” is the “soul of the believer that goes to be with Christ.” Paul ever looked forward to the day when the body of our_ humiliation should be fashioned like unto the body of our risen Lord, and be knew quite well that that -would take place at the Resurrection and said so. The preacher then takes his hearers to Rev 6, where we read of “souls under the altar.” That does not help liirn one bit in my judgment, for the passage seems quite clear to belong to the millennial ago and the time of martyrs under the reign of the man of sin. Certainly, it ’has no bearing on the subject of the conscious existence of the saint or sinner between death und the Resurrection. The great Luther and Tyndale with muny others protested against this teaching. The second part of the rev. gentleman’s uddress is an attempt to show that those who hold the doctrine of “life only in Christ” arc teaching false doctrine. Let us see—Life and Immortality have always existed. That is true. Tile question is: Is the Almighty God 'the One in whom this dwells or is it as Mr Murray contends, dwelling in all men ? 1 put it to Mr Murray if I, apart altogether from grace, um an immoitul being, then I have ulwuys existed and always must exist, and if that is not pure pantheism I should like to know what it is,

Dealing with what are known as “Conditioualists” (that is those who believe that all beings are mortal and that eternal life is the gift to those who accept Jesus as their personal Saviour, und that those who reject Him after judgment and sentence will perish). Air Murray seeks to show that, because the words perish and lost und destruction are used in passages that do not mean that, therefore when God says “the wicked shall perish,” or Paul says “they shall be destroyed” they cannot mean that they shall cease to be. Let us look at his proof.

“The bottles perished,” “The sheep are lost and found again.” “Does this mean extinction or annihilation,” says Mr Murray. Don’t mix false coir with good, it may pass, but again it may not, and to use the word “annihilation” is not tendering good coin. The word means the destruction of particles and the general meaning of the word destruction is that the thing is no longer for its original purpose. Let the preacher show that the lost boy was still in his Pather's bouse, that the lost piece of silver was still in the woman’s purse, that the marred or perished bottles would still hold wine, and that the lost sheep of the House of Israel were saved, Mr Murray claims he speaks with some authority. Ho will need to, He certainly will not have to ask men to reason this "thing out. Such thinking as the above is about as bad as it can be. I fear, sir, my few words are running into many. To show that destruction really means preservation, the speaker quotes Rev. 19, and tells us that the Beast was east into the lake of fire und a thosuand years after was still there. If your readers will take the trouble, and I believe there are many who will do so, thay will find that this argument is built upon a word that is not in the original. If space permitted I would be prepared to submit the strongest evidence that, instead of the word “are” the words should be “were cast.” Mr Murray goes buck again to the theory that “the soul is the man and that it is a distinct, entity from the body.” Mill he give a single passage from the Divine word that makes the latter statement; further, he says “it has endless existence.” Then when Satan told Adam and .Eve thut they would not die, though God told them they would, Satan was actually speaking the truth. When God says “the soul that sinneth it shall die,” “The wages of sin is death,” “Pear not them which kill the body, but cannot kill the soul (but fear Him who can destroy both soul und body in Hell,” He really does not mean what He says and he should have said they would have “eternal existence.”

We now come to the passages dealing with death and the first passage utterly clstroys the whole of the gentleman’s reasoning. He says “Death is the cessation of life in the physical body.” To whom did God speak, Mr Alurray? Who was it that came from the dust? and was told lie would go to the dust ? Was it not Adam ? And though his physical body lived, and lie lived after in spiritual communion with God, lie was a dying man from the day of his sentence. Certainly the word is used in a symbolical sense in other passages, and men are rightly spoken of as “dead in trespasses and sins,” but they can no more be spiritually alive and physically dead than black can be white. . Mr Alurray is anxious no doubt t,o stand fast for what be believes to be true, but many of us, who have given as close and as careful study to this subject as he lias, believe that this doctrine of natural immortality is not of Christ, but is paganism. Leaders in most of the churches have rejected this doctrine long ago, not; because they were traitors or ignorant, but because they believed eternal torture to be a blasphemous conception of God and utterly contrary to His teaching. AYe just believe the passage tho preacher closes his statement with: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he tfiat believeth not in the Soil shall not see life but tile wrath of God abideth on Him.” —Yours, etc. DISCIPLE.