Catholic Apologetics Online

Choose a topic from Vol 2:

God

Man

Religion

The Religion of the Bible

The Christian Faith

A Definite Christian Faith

The Protestant Reformation

The Truth of Catholicism

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The Church and Her Moral Teachings

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Comparative Study of Non-Catholic Denominations

To and From Rome

Immortality of man's soul

31. Are you sure that, though the body must die, the soul will live on?

Yes, quite sure.

32. If only the fear that death might end all could be replaced by a firm conviction of a future life, many peoplewould be made happy.

That is true. But it is also true that many would be rendered unhappy. There are two classes of people. Some fear that death might be the end of all. Some fear that it might not. Man cannot get away from his moral consciousness. Evil carries with it a sense of impending retribution, and those given to evil are rendered uneasy, not by the thought that death ends all, but by the thought that it might not. They have no desire to meet a just and omnipotent God.

33. What proof is there that the soul will live on?

We have the certainty of God's revelation. Christ said very definitely, "I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am you also may be." Jn. XIV., 3. That you have a prospect of eternal happiness means that you will survive. Again, Christ tells us that He will judge all mankind. Souls will have to be present for that judgment.

34. If a man believed in God, but did not believe in revelation, would not the question of immortality be unaffected?

Even apart from revelation such a man would have to admit immortality. God is wise. He made man the highest form of creation in this world, and endowed him with reason. Man alone can know his Maker. And as love follows the knowledge of what is good, man can love his Maker. It would be an insult to the wisdom of God to suggest that He made such a being to live but a few years and then to end like a tree or a dog. And God is not only wise; He is just. If there is no future life, what of justice? Good and evil are not balanced in this life. Good people often suffer; the evil often do well. In fact, if there is no future life, there is no true morality, for there is no sufficient sanction. Rob, lie, murder - only be careful! If there be immortality, we can understand God reserving the full manifestation of justice for the next life. But if there be no immortality, then there is no God at all. For the dreadful doctrine that there is no immortality, the proofs should be pretty strong. But what proofs are there? There are none. Moreover, God is good. If you could save the life of a good man you would be glad to do it. Will you admit a God who allows good people to die for justice despite His ability to save them from death? The martyrs went to their death blessing and loving God. Would He let them do that knowing that He had nothing in store for them save the death of dogs? Believe me, the human soul is immortal.

35. How will the soul know anything when separatedfrom the body? When unconscious through an injury to the brain, manknows nothing.

The soul does not depend upon the body for its existence. Butfor the operation of thought it does need the use of that bodilyorgan we call the brain, so long as it exists in our presentcomposite state. By the body the soul is linked with this materialworld. And at present, material impressions drawn from physicalexperience provide the foundation for thought. Strictly speaking,thought is independent of the brain. There is no real proportion betweenthought-activity and brain-activity. Whilst the soul remains unitedto the body, an affectation of the brain can cripple thethought-activities of the soul; even as a broken instrument canhinder the operations of an expert worker. But, when separated fromthe body, the soul will be in totally differentconditions-conditions adapted entirely to its spiritual character,and independent of material limitations.

36. Psychologically, what will be the nature of a separated soul\'s experiences?

They will consist in the intellectual vision of purely spiritual realities, and a power to appreciate them. The soul does not see these realities now, because it is immersed in the body, and hindered from seeing in another light. Its proper spiritual light fades before sensitive experience. The light of the sun does not help us to see the stars. It obscures them. Yet the light of the sun is really dim compared with that of the stars. It is merely the nearest light. So death will be but a \"revealing night.\" It will give spiritual freedom to the soul,emancipating it from the chains of mere matter. Then the soul will be immediately conscious of itself and of other beings invisible to us now. It will enter into its own world. It will be conscious of all other spiritual beings, and above all, of God. Here below, we gain fragmentary ideas of God by the study of His work in the whole of creation. After death has released the soul from the body, the soul will come into immediate contact with God as He is in Himself, provided it has deserved to do so. At any rate, God is meant to be the terminus of the soul\'s journey, so that life will carry us back to the Source of all life. Serious and unrepented sin can alone hinder its doing so, the result then being the disastrous wreckage in hell of all hopes and aspirations.

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MORE FROM VOLUME 2

• About the Author
• Introduction
  - Rev. Charles Mortimer Carty
• Preface
  - John Gregory Murray
  Archbishop of Saint Paul
• Forward
  - Dr Leslie Rumble, MSC

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