history what we call death intervenes, and we are
left wondering as to whether that is the end of all, or whether the soul
persists and continues its advance unhindered by bodily limitations.
That death is the end of the body, in its present form, no one doubts;
but whether the relations of the soul to the body are so intimate and
enduring that what vitally affects one affects the other is a subject
concerning which there has been eager and constant inquiry, and but
little real knowledge. Job's question, "If a man die shall he live
again?" is the common question of humanity. The importance of the
subject is attested by the prominence which it has always had in human
thought. Philosophers have given it foremost place in their
speculations. Science, while seeking to explore every part of the
physical universe, never escapes from the fascination of this question.
Is the death of the body the end of the spirit? Or, if we have not
sufficient material for a positive statement, is there enough to make a
strong affirmation of probability? We are facing the deepest mystery
which is ever presented to thinking men. Heretofore we have been trying
to follow a history clearly marked in the progress of humanity; now we
can only balance probabilities. But all that has been learned concerning
the nature and development of the spirit of man not only warrants, but
compels, the belief that death is not the end of the soul; and that to
assert that it is, is to deny the revelations of the universe, and to
insist that there is nothing but irony and mockery where there ought to
be reason and wisdom. In treating this subject I can but repeat thoughts
which have been emphasized again and again; but it is so vital, and so
near to the welfare of all, that old arguments become new, and interest
in them increases, the more frequently they are emphasized.

On what do we base our faith that the soul exists after death? That it
does is clearly the faith not only of religious teachers but of many of
the latest and most eminent scientists. Many expounders of evolutionary
philosophy unite in telling us that "the cosmic process" having reached
man, a spiritual being, can go no further in the physical order; that
evolution will never produce a higher being than a spirit, but that the
"cosmic" force will still persist and be utilized in the expansion and
perfection of spirits.

In treating this subject little attention will be given to the
scriptural argum