A new basis of belief in immortality / by John S. Farmer.

  • Farmer, John S.
Date:
1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new basis of belief in immortality / by John S. Farmer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    63 ledge of man’s iiltimate happiness; that though some remain but a short time in this state of misery, others remain for ages before they can break through the chains of darkness which sin has forged for them while passing through time. But, sooner or later, the spirit gathers up the tangled threads of its former life, and works out its own salvation. MAN. Man, though finite, is the type of nature, and, as a spark of Deity, never dies. He is progressive, and lives in the future, a masterpiece of Deity, and as an individuality, must remain such for ever. His duty is summed up as Progress, Culture, Purity, Charity, and Lovingkind- ness; and that, as he fulfils or neglects these characteristics of his being, so is he happy, or the reverse. SPIRITS. In speaking of themselves as spirits, they say they are God’s mes- sengers or servants—that they are taught of God, and are the medium of God’s will to man—in fact, the spirits of men developed. They are our guardians and instructors, and the promoters of all the good that we have. They are ever progressing and ever learning, and become more happy as they impart happiness. They are not perfect, for they must progress, as endless progression is a law of the Most High. RELIOION. They teach that all men, whether Christians, Jews, or Pagans, are the children of God, and according to their works, taking their know- ledge into account, shall they be happy or otherwise. God looks not to a man’s faith, but to his life and motives. Religion does not consist in dogmas, laid down by priests or popes, but in feeling and doing unto others as we would wish they should feel and do unto us. JESUS. They hold up Jesus as our great pattern, whose steps we are to follow, and whose actions we are to imitate. They show us Jesus as the most perfect manifestation of God in the llesh the world has ever seen. They say He was a perfect man and a wonderful medium, and that the wonders He wrought were done by the power of God mani- fested through Him, as similar performances are done at the present day. They point to the words of Jesus—“ Greater works than these shall ye do”—to show that even His mighty deeds may be excelled. They point to the complete abnegation of self in Jesus, and how ready He was to do good to others, urging us to take pattern thereby. And now, they say. He is at the head of a vast throng in eternity, of all nations, and kindreds, and tongues, who are progressing with Him onward and upward for ever. EVIL, They also teach that by and by, when we get into some of the higher circles of angels, we shall then see clearly, and perceive that a great deal of what we now call evil has been a necessity for the good of the world. They urge upon us to learn to be Christ-like, to deem ourselves