Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/39

 Words like  these,  when  uttered  by  youthful lips, fill  us  truly  with  horror  and  pity. But how is it  possible  to  speak  in  this  way? Simply because, in  the  case  of  those  who  thus  express themselves, the  belief  in  one  of  the  fundamental truths of  all  religion,  the  belief  in  the  immortality of the  soul,  has  been  destroyed.

Since you,  dear  reader,  must  go  forth  into  life and be  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  unbelief,  it  is of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  conviction that "death  is  not  annihilation"  should  be deeply  rooted  in  your  heart;  wherefore,  ponder carefully the  principal  grounds  upon  which  this conviction is  based.

2. Death  is  not  annihilation,  but  the  soul  lives on after  the  death  of  the  body. It is  immortal. The very  nature  of  the  soul  proves  this;  it  is  a simple,  indivisible  being;  it  can  not  be  separated into parts,  of  destroyed.

Now, however,  the  unbelievers,  the  so-called materialists, appear  upon  the  scene,  and  say "Man does  not  possess  a  soul  independent  of the  body,  a  soul  which  has  its  own  separate existence." And as  proof  (?)  of  this  they  assert that since  a  violent  blow  upon  the  head  destroys consciousness, the  power  of  thought  is  therefore dependent upon  the  brain;  the  brain  being  the cause of  thought,  no  spiritual  soul  is  needed  for this purpose.

This conclusion  certainly  appears  plausible, but it  contains  a  grievous  fallacy. In a  similar manner I  could  "prove"  that  there  is  no  sun! Just tell  me  whether,  if  you  close  the  shutters of your  room,  the  light  does  not  disappear  from it; but  in  proportion  as  you  re-open  them,  the light streams  in  again  more  or  less  brightly. Therefore the  light  in  the  room  depends  upon