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PREFATORY NOTE. -^ ed „po„ „y i„f J^ " -ay be read by Student, who have "guments advanced asainT tT^- *" P™P" '° state that th^ ^'"'^^ in the Class-room het'™'™ ""« delivered tl/ --..y developed ^J^:^;^::^ --< .espl^t ;^r'-,et;^z-'r™:t:r''j^"--"^''-p'- P«"fons before assumed ° "'"""'°" ^^ «f the fundam" m^ MATERIALISM. vho have that the dmsufi- respects e within imental Materialism is ba«ed on the assumption that no aatisfuctory or conoIuiiv« proof can bo oflFored of tho exi,«tcni'o of mind. This is tho old Sadducean doo- trine, but its modern advocates put it forward in tho form of discovery, as a nnr thing, and profess to establish it upon the ruins of all other systems of mental Science and Theology. It was taught in substanco by Epicurus long befovc its appearance in Germany as tho offspring of Hegelian Philosophy. It was promoted, unintentionally no doubt, by Locke in his attempt to aoootiDt for the orgin of all our idoas through Sensation and Refloction. And r»- oently John Stuart Mill in his theory of Association, Prof. Bain by tracing our thoughts and oven our moral approhen.sions very rauoh to our bodily organisira, Horbort Spencer by his Evolution theory, and Prof. Huxley is his discussion of I'rotoplasn or the physical basis of life, have lent powerful aid to Materialism. Aion:^ with those and other popular wi iters may bfi classed certain divines who profess to have read extensively in Scienoo and Theology withoui finding any proof of tho independent and continued existenso of the human soul, or of spirit. On tho contrary they coniideatly appeal to God's Word and to Philosophy to show that at death what is ^popularly called the soul becomes instantly and utterly extinct. You can easily see how sucli opinions aro fitted to make havoc of Theology and to set aside our most cherished hopes for time and eternity. If there is no soul to be sa'-od or lost then manifestly tho activities of the Christian world have been hitherto misdirected and worse than useless. Tho record of the gospel cannot be accepted as anything more than a romance and its fundamental doc- trines as to sin, atonement, eternal glory, or eter.ial punishment must be treated as empty delusions. If man is an animal and nothing more, destined to bo utterlj annihilated at death, then why tho restraints of morality, why this struggle to escape the tyranny of what is coarse and base and unholy ? Nothing can bo un- holy. There is neither right nor wrong. The best thing for man is to gratify bin desires in all respects,—" to eat, drink and be merry,"— to give loose rein to all hia passions. If there exists no independent, Creative Spirit apart from matter how aro wo to account for the phenomena of tho universe ? Wo must ascrib) to blind " molecular force, " tho forethought, the wisdom and tho power usually attributed to God in producing his innumerable and marvellous works. Our whole religious vocabulary must bo changed ; we must learn to speak of a good, a wise, a holy, and a powerful " force," and cease to apply such torme to an Infinite, Intelligent Spirit. But it may be asked, is our o.)untry being in- yadedby such opinions as these? Most assuredly. They come to us from European and American sources. Any false science, or Theological opinion, which be- comes dominant in tho Old World is sure gradually to reach our homes and cor- rupt our faith ; and already riuch that is unsafe and positively injurious is in^ free circulation among the reading classes of our people. I propose, therefore, io itate and oritioiBe a few of tho positions of modern Materialists. Tho limits M- signed to my remarks oblige me to acleut only a fow iim lamontyl utteran.^ei irom the.oo authors ; but lot thoin speak for thomsolvos. llmu urn their word* ; •' The brain secrete? thought as the liver socrotos bile." " Thoii;jlit stands ia the same relation to the brain as bile to tho liver." To the same clfout arc tli« worda of BUcliner in iiis book on " force nnd matter." " The soul is the product vi a peculiar combination of matter." " I-i the same manner as tho stoam en- gine produces motion so docs the organic combination of foroo-ondowod material producp in the animal body a sum of olTccts so interwoven as to benome a unit, and is then by us called spirit." * * " Mental activity id a fain-tion of the cer- ebral substance." " It is omitted by tho brain as sounds are by tho moutli, as music by the organ." Along with llieso .statements may bo taken otho.'s of similar import by Dain and Iluxloy. The former says : " Tho arf^uments for tho two subfitaucos, laind and matter, have, wo believe, now entirely lost thoir furoe. Thc}' are no longer com- patible with ascertained science and clear thinking. The one substance with t\i'o iots of properties two sides — the jihysioal .sido and mcn'al side — a doublo faced unity, would appear to comply with all tho exigenoios of the case." Tho words of Tluxley aro ; " It may seem a small thing to admit that the dull vital actions of a fnngus, or a foraminifor, aro tho properties of their proto- plasm, and are tho direct results of tho nature of tho matter of which they arv composed. But if, as I have endeavored to provo to you, their protoplasm is essentially identical with, and most readily converted into, that of any animal, 1 can discover no logical halting place between tho admission that such is tha uase and tho further conce-sion that uU vital action may, with equal pro- priety, bo said to be tho result of tiio molecular forces of tlio protoplasm which displays it. And if so, it must bo true, in the same sense, and to the same ex- tent, tliiit the tliouglits to which I am now giving utterance, and your thoughts regarding ihem are the expression of molecular changes in that matter of lifo which is tho source of our other vital phenomenA." With respect to the criticism which those propositions are likely to evoke, IIux* ley adds ; " They will bo condemned by many zealous persons, and perhaps by so:ne few of the wise and thoughtful." " I should not wonder if gross and bru- tal materialism were the mildest ])hraso ajiplicd to thora in certain quarters. And most undoubtedly tho terms of tho propositions are distinctly materialii'tio. Nevctheless two things are cortnin; tho one, tliat I hold the statements to bo fubstantially true ; the other, that I, iidividually, am no materialist, but on the contrary, bolievo ni;iteri:ilism to involve gravo pliilosojjhical error." There is surely inconsistency hero if not something worse. It seems like ififling •fVith our eonimou sense for IIu.-'ilcj- to ask us to regard him as "No materialist." v?hilo ho professedly uses p;n|i().sition3 distinctly materialistic, which ho declares to bo " substantially true." IIo does, indeed, seok to explain tho uso of " Matoriali.^tic terminology as consistent, with the repudiation of aviteriulistio philosophy." But how are wo to know a man's moaning except by his words? Tho propositions of his creed, if honest- ly held, determine the class to which ho belongs — Tho faot is, a.i has been veil said, that " Huxley is a Ilumist, and bolievoj neither in mind nor matter at substances." But tho jiroof of this u not to bo found in any very fran!-: ir oategor- ioal indorsation of Ilume's doctrine, but rather in the eulog'eg pronounoed by iiiaxlay upon bis favorite .luthor. For examplej "II ^^me cftllfld bimeelf » soeptie," 5 but wo are fty»uniJ that ho was notliing of tho sort, — " tho narao, witli Ha etmt- in(? implications, du03 him grosa injustice." " Tlio fiinilamontiil tl>i.'.trinoH r>l' Materialism like thoso of Spiritualism and most otl-or " isms,'" lio outsiUo tlin Umita of Philosophical inc[uiry, and David Ilnmo's groat sarvico to hunuinitjr is his irrefragable demonstration of what tiioso limits aro." And so, in other pas- •ag?h which celchrato tho praises of tho .Scottish seoplic and his views. But auj)- poso wo allow Ilu.xley to call himself what ho pleases ; tho vital point to bo do- torminedis this, is hia doctrino truo ? Assuredly not. In his theory of " tha physical basis of life," ho reasons in a circle, and this alone, I need not say, is fa- tal to all bis labors in the nuittor. ''No known nlant,," ho says, " can live upon the uncompoundcd elements of protoplasm." And after illustrating this fully, be adds, " An animal cannot make protoplasm, but must take it ready-made from lome other animal, or some ])lant — th" animal's highest feat of constructive chemistry boing to convert dead protoplasm into th;it living matter of life which is appropriate to itself. Thoref()re,in seeking tor the origin of protoplasm, wo must «veutually turn to tho vegotuble worl 1." That is to say, the plant cannot liv« without protoplasm ; and honco protoplasm must exist before ihu pi (xnt '\n or - dor to sustain its existence ; but then, on tho other hand, the plant aiono ma- nufactures protoplasm ; and hence iho plant must e,xist before thin mysterioui and moxt cirvcnlftnt Hubxtmicc, protoplasm. Thoro is thus no starting point, no First Cauf-o for that which is advanced to account for all mental as well as physic- al activity. And here precisely is the grand difficulty which attaches to all tho theories of the men of this school. They do not seem to bo willing frankly to say that there is no Great First Cause possessed of iniinito intelligence and power, but they certainly fail to recognize such in any intelligible manner in their doctrine. Atheism in some form is at tho foundation of all scepticism. But lot mo defer further criticism until v/a hear these men more fully. Take now what tias been designated, " a more refined, but not Ic.-is dangerous form of materialism," iIMcCush,) as taught by Dr. Maudesloy of tho Manchester Roy- al Lunatic Hospital. The surroundings and occupation of this physician seem to determine tho fundamental principles of his philosophy. Being led by professional duties to makn many observationi on tho induonce of a diseased brain on tho operations of the mind, and to witnos^ mrny forms of mental ab- erration, ho naturally glides to tho startling conclusions that the soul is not a unit, e.vcopt in the same sense as a houso or a troo being formed of n.n aggre- gate of constitnant elements ; and that absolute voracity is not tho distinguish- ing characteristic of our consciousnoss. These positions boing accepted, it is c asy to see why in his estimation, "mental science to bo truly inductive must b« studiod objc itively." This has been Jlaadcsloy's method ; and here, in his own words, is the extraorainary result at which ho arrives. " Is it not s'.premely absurd that while wo cannot trust consciousness, as to whether we aro hot or cold, wo should be content to roly entirely on its evidence, in tho complex phen- omena of our highest mental activity ?" Allow mo to say in passing, that I fail to see how this is " a more roiinod form of materialism" than that of the other authors referred to. It is certainly most reckjoss and untenable. It makes a clean sweep of all knowledge. Tho dissolution of " brain colls " at death, according to tho Doctor, makes an end of what wo aro accustomed to oall the "oul. It is then separated into its par u. But more than this, as we Bhoil show when we eom« to the general dicoaeeion o In other words, tho most oom|ilioato(l spiritual experience through which a man van pass may be explained by the state of his brain. — If ."o there is no need of prc'dicatiiig the existence of spirit or soul. Take an example. Suppose a mau thoroughly godless, regardless of tho Uiblo and eternity, freely obeying his wicked passions. He como'! to this church next sabbath — listens to the mes- ago of life through Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God comes down upon his soul and he is saved. On Mon4ny ho passes out into tiio world and is sorely templ- ed to abandon princii)lo and truth, lie falls upon his knees and cries to God for help — pours out his soul in intense prayer. — God grants him grace and de- liverance. What a vnried and intiicito experience. Yet all this is to be ex- plained by a certain molecular condition of tiij brain ! Tho very statement of ■ uch a doctrine seems to be a sutlijient refutation of it. Here I must terminate my recital of materialistic op'nions and proceed t« indicate generally what may be said in icfututiunof theui. It has been hinted already that no true HijttK:iii of vioralt can be deduced from Tn'(tcriulu)u, How is this V 1 can ansM'er only in a few words and without illustratin;; my views on this whole ^ubjec'.. It must be oonooded by all that there is an ct.irnal ri.;ht, tho basis of which is found in the Divine nature. In tho Sciipturus and in the cliaraoler of Jesus Christ wc have this standard of right distinctly exhibited, or UoJ's nature revealed. Virtue consist.'j in con- formity to this standard. Man possesses the power of cognizing right and wrong, this is the olUco of conscience. These propositions, I believe, can be shown to bo incontrovertible. But materialism ignores them altogether. JJy the abne- gation of soul or spirit uU the facts of our moral nature are set aside, and yet let us not forget that these are more truly distinctive-of man than mental phe- nomena which may be regarded as particijjated in by tho lower animals. If destitute of a soul how can we have the idea of right and wrong ? There is nothing right or wrong in mere sensation, in a " certain molecular condition of the brain" or any other part of uur physical organism. The pain, for examj)le, which you suffer on hav.'ng a wound intlicted upon your person, or in undergoing a surgi- cal operation, is neither right nor wrong, it merely indicates a certain state of body. If therefore, in our philosophy, wo are to be limited to the body or to what is material, wo must give up tho distinction between right and wrong, or virtue and vice. But further, tho consL'ousness of free agenc_, which is pos- sessed by all men, and which ia indispensable in order to our being praise wor- thy or blamo-wortLy, virtuous or vicious, is thoroughly ignored by .Materialism. Kor is this surprising, for how can wo bo free if all vital and mental pheno- mena are to be absoribed to oertaiu ohentical foroei ? Tbege foroes act absolutely^ and benoe we have no more froodom than the stream if the St. Lawrence an it de- •eondi in its Channel to the Ocean. But our con^ciuusnoss protcHtx ag linnt suob • doctrine. Every man, good or bad, kntiwtj thnt he is a free agent an 1 nil the arguments that niny bo nocumulntrd by Mntoiiniiht.- (iml ithors will not convince him of the contrary. Lot this suffice on the first isfue niiiicd, and let OB take up another ])OEition, viz. that the theory iro ore votubniini/ foilt !• aeeoutil fnr ihr urd knuirn jihrnotnenn ct' cur h^ itunl nature. Wniving for a momonr the que.Mtion of tho origin of thout^ht, look at some of tiio most manifest results of our being able to think. These are everywhere appai out. Wosoo tha world filled with ctimmcrce and industy, books and puintiiigs and soulp- tures,— tho highest creations of genius. Are all those to bo ascribeJ to " mole- enlar force ?" And can wo, as intimaled at tho outset, by n|iperling to tlic same aeoondary cause, dispence with a Wise, Designing and All-powerful Spirit to •reate, adorn and rule the heavens and tho earth ? On the contrary tiie fact i« that gocondary causes have no efliciency when ontirly separated from the Great First Cause. But let us take the specitic case submitted, the very origin of thought. It is said that bile and thought are manufactured in tho same way. But what are tho f.icts ? In the one case we have the liver coming in ccmtact with certain substances and from these and itself it produces another substanoo ealled bile. In other words, you have a crucible you throw certain things into it, they are dissolved, and tho result is a certain j)roduct named bile. In the other ca^e you have a ' soft pulpy substance" named brain. It contains no thought, neither in its constituent elements nor in all theso united. Supposo rejected, whil the ojiposito can be fully established, and forces itself upon our accetpanco. And noAv, in bringing mv discussions to a close, let mo shcAv, briefly, that th' re»n(ln thus arrived at ■^tidoaoijhiadly are fvUy sustained lii) the teachinys of Scri'jitare, This argument, which to many minds is ijy far tho most satisfactory, might bo extended to groat length, but I must limit myself for tho present to a few passages. It is scarcely necessary to remind you that the view presented of God us the Great First Cause, as absolutely independent of what is material, as tho Intelligent Author an 1 Ruler of all things, is tho uniform doctrine of the Bible. The very opening words in the volume are decisive in this respect. " In the begin- ning God created the heavens and the earth.*" Here the two, the Creating fcipirit and tho things created are clearly distinguished from each ether. And, I believe, that just as in consciousness we apprehend soul and body so with equal certainty do we cognize God as tho Supreme, tJ only Cnuso of our being. " In him we live, and move, and have our being'' (Acts xvii28) And if this be ■0, you may see, in passing, that demonstrations or logical proofs of the being of God add nothing to the cor(;unty of our belief in this fundamental doctrine. On the contrary a logical process admits of error and thus far may unsettle our creed while tho very semblance of error is totally excluded from the pure deli- verance of consciousness. ^ Need I remind you, too, that tho propositions laid down as furnishing a basis for a true system of morals aro fully recognized in the Bible ? No ono can have any hesitation in saying that it most emphatically declares that there 10 :8 an eternal distinction between right and wrong, that there is a standard of _ right, and that its ba^is is in the divine nature. " None is good, save one, that is God." (Luke xviii 1.9). Then as to the spiritual element in our nature it is both assumed and asserted throughouf. revelation. It is incredible that God •would have done ail ho is represented as having accomplished for the salvation i L souls if there were uj souls to redeem. He would not have given his Son, delivered Him up to suffering and -[loath, or sent his Spirit, or set on foot the whole economy of Redemption for the sake of an ev-nescent breath. If the soul were not something, essentially distinct from the body, having an indeperdent existence, why do the Scriptures tell us that we are dwelling in houses of clay ? Peter says, *' I think it meet as long as I am in tliis tabernacle to «tir you up by putting you in romeinbrance.'' But if soul and body are identical, one substance with two faces as Prof. Bail thinlis, how cf»n Peter speak of dwelling in the body as a tabernacle ? Wo are t(dd that we sliall bo rewarded " according to the deeds done in the body;" and we are enjoined to "cleanse ourselves from all fdthiness of fiesh and spirit." We are warned against " fleslily lusta that war against the soul "; and Paul speaks of being " absent from the body and present with the Lord." Expressions whiah are uniiitoUigiblo on any other doctrine than that soul and body now ex'st as united, and can exist in a state of sop n ration from each other. And this doctrine is placed beyond doubt by certain matters of fact related by Jesus Christ as well as by his direct teaching. You all know that He denounced the doctrine of the Saddurocs, who denied the existonco of the soul and of angels, as utterly erro- neous. And you remember his representation regarding the rich man who "died and was buried" — this burial disposed of one part of his nature, his body — but after this was done, his conscious existence was continued — for " in liell he lifted up his eyes being in torments." And let us not imagine that we get quit of the force of this proof by declaring tliat the Saviour merely relates a parable ; granting this to be the case, no parable does violence to matters of fact. You recollect, too, the record in connection with the resurrection of Jairus' daughter — " her spirit Ctiuie again and she arose straightway." The meaning ig obvious, her spirit was away,abs j/ both soul and body in hell." This and kindred texts have been employed by materialists to teach the doctrine of annihilation. They assert that "to destroy" moans to annihilate, and that death and annihilation are ulentical. They bring forward in support of this position such passages as these — " the end of the wicked is destruction," " Vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." "When the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever." " If any man defile the temnlo of God him shall God destroy." "Broad is the way tliat leadeth to destruction." All these, an,d many similar passages are hold to teach that " to destroy " and " destruction " are precisely the same thing as to annihilalc and annihilation. But what is completely fat.il to this view is the fact thai; the Saviour himself omj'iys the very same wi^rd in the Greek which is translated "to destroy" or "destruction," in cases where the idea cf annihilation is utterly absurd and impossible. Thus ho scuds his disciples to the n "lost shoop oi'thc house of Israel.'' Literally tlif' destroyed sheep, or as ma- terialists wish us to tianplato it, the annihilated sheep of the house of Israel. And, Christ himself came to " seek and to save the lost," literally the de- itrmjtd, or the an.uhilated. What follows? That Jesus sent his disciples to preach to annihilated persons, and that ho himself came to save those who had no existence. But it is alleged that death and annihilation are identical. What follows in this case ? If death bo annihilatitn tiiero can bo neither enjoyment nor suf- fering after death, or, after what is said to be its equivalent, annihilntion. If a^man is annihilated he can be neither happy nor miserable thereafter ■but the i3iblo uniformly places very much of the blessedness of the ciaints and themisoryof the wicked after death. " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea saith the spirit th at they may rest from their labors ; and their works uo follow them" (Rev. xiv 13.) And the Saviour closes his account of the tinal judgment in these words, which describe what is to take place after death and the resurrection, and cover the case of godly and ungodly men. "An these shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into I'fo eternal " J conclude thci'efore,that death is not anniliilation. In fact annihilation is to mo something inconceivable, unthinkable, alike opposed to common sense, sci- ence and revelation. The truth is, that nothing perishes in this sense ; and man cannot become utterly extinct. " The dust shall return to the earth as ic was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."