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
