SUNDAY EVENING LECTURES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXII, Issue 158, 2 July 1888, Page 2

SUNDAY EVENING LECTURES.

The Rev, Mr Oliver delivered the second lecture on the doctrine of tha immortality ef the soul in the Wesleyan Church, which was crowded to its utmost, last evening, In dealing with the physiological aspect of the subject, it was stated that the majority of materialists and those believing in conditional immortality regarded man as man, simply as a canning cast in day, having no existence apart from his material organism. (1) This position was contended for on the ground of analogy. If the lower animals in the chain were all mortal, why should man De aa exception? It was shown that man was in contrast in several respects : posture, speech, and moral sense being instanced. Man differed in these and other respects, because of. his soul's nature. (2) The close c«n» nection between , body and mind was made an argament against the belief in the coal. It did not hold good, however. Dr Johnston, Kant, Talleyrand, and many others caused this contention to be valuehes. Body and mind were often in contrast. (3.) It was taught that thought was secreted from the brain as bile from the liver, and due to nothing more than the material organism. Facts utterly refuted this position. Both in organs of speech and in proportion and dispesi'ion of brain the Oarang Out&ng formed a physical likenras to man and yet was speechless and tboughtJese, Th« claim that brain and mind were one was refuted by many well known cafes known to medical eoieno*. For instance, targe seotiops of the brain bad been found diseased without tbe losh of intelligence, The brain was •phosphate of lime only. Was it this only that read humanity in Shakspeare and sung in Milton ? Wondrous phosphate l that made ons man a mathematician, another a post, and a third an ass just as he bad or bad it not. The olaim 'of tbe materialist based on cases of mental aberratiom was refuted. Strong points were' made by the preacher on the existence in man. of a moral sense, in his longing for, and capacity for immortality, and also of the divine justice, Hero and Olaverhouae had committed the most shameful deeds, and according to the teaching of conditional immortality they would meet with no more severe penalty at the judgment seat than, the moral young ruler. This could not be unless God and justice fled the universe. It was intimated that next Sunday's lecture would be devoted, to a consideration of the future life, especially in its aspect of retribution.