Ebook A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life Classic Reprint William Rounseville Alger 9780266730538 Books
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Excerpt from A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life
When the printing of this volume was nearly completed, and I had in some instances made more references than may now seem needful, the thought occurred to me that a full list of' the books published up to the present time on the subject of a future life, arranged according to their definite topics and in chronological order, would greatly enrich the work and could not fail often to be of vast service. Accordingly, upon solicitation, a valued friend Mr. Ezra Abbot, Jr., a gentleman remarkable for his varied and accurate scholarship - undertook that laborious task for me and he has accomplished it in the most admirable manner. N 0 reader, however learned, but may find much important information in the bibliographical appendix which I am thus enabled to add to this volume. Every student who henceforth wishes to investi gate any branch of the historical or philosophical doctrine of the immortality of the soul, or of a future life in general, may thank Mr. Abbot for an invaluable aid.
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Ebook A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life Classic Reprint William Rounseville Alger 9780266730538 Books
"William Rounseville Alger (1822-1905) was a Unitarian minister and abolitionist in Roxbury, Massachusetts, as well as other cities. He also wrote books such as The theory of a personal devil / William R. Alger,The Friendships of Women, etc. He explained in the Preface to this 1867 book, "The present work is, in a sense, an epitome of the thought of mankind on the destiny of man. I have striven to add value to it by comprehensiveness of plan... by carefulness of arrangement... I have herein written nothing as a bigoted partisan, nothing in a spirit of opinionativeness, but have intended every thought for the furtherance of truth, the honor of God, the good of man." (Pg. iv-vi)
The book is divided into chapters such as, "Theories of the Soul's Origin"; "Egyptian Doctrine of a Future Life"; "Rabbinical Doctrine of a Future Life"; "Doctrine of a Future Life in the Apocalypse"; "Christ's Teachings Concerning the Future Life"; "Medieval Doctrine of a Future Life"; "Metempsychosis; or, Transmigration of Souls"; "Critical History of the Idea of a Hell"; "Morality of the Doctrine of a Future Life," etc.
He states, "The theory of the pre-existence of the soul merely removes the mystery one stage further back, and there leaves the problem of our origin as hopelessly obscure as before." (Pg. 8) He contends, "the Hebrews, during the time covered by their sacred records, had no conception of a retributive life beyond the present." (Pg. 157)
He concludes, "the conviction that the evidence of the witnesses for the resurrection of Jesus is worthy of credence." (Pg. 351) He adds, "The one essential thing is not that Jesus appeared alive in the flesh after his physical death, the revealer of superhuman power and possessor of infallibility, but that he divinely lives now, the forerunner and type of our immortality." (Pg. 373)
He asserts, "The Universalist formula---every soul created by God shall sooner or later be saved from sin and woe and inherit everlasting happiness---has been publicly defended in every age of the Christian Church." (Pg. 429) He adds, "Instruction, reformation, progress, are the final aims of punishment. Aspiration is the concomitant of consciousness, and the authentic voice of God. Surely, sooner or later... every creature capable of intelligence, allied to the moral law, drawing life from the Infinite, must begin to travel the ascending path of virtue and blessedness, and never retrograde again." (Pg. 435)
He insists, "A Hell of fire and brimstone has been, perhaps still is, the most terrible of the superstitions of the world." (Pg. 508) He argues, "The doctrine of Christ's descent to hell underlies the New Testament. We are told that after his death 'he went and preached to the spirits in prison.' [I Pet 3:19] And again we read that 'the gospel was preached also to them that are dead.' [I Pet 4:6] This New Testament idea was unquestionably a vital and important feature in the apostolic and in the early Christian belief. It necessarily implies that there is probation, and that there may be salvation, after death. It is fatal to the horrid dogma which commands all who enter hell to abandon every gleam of hope, utterly and forever... The book which teaches that Christ went even into hell itself, to seek and save that which was lost, does not teach that from the instant of death the fate of the wicked is irredeemably fixed." (Pg. 527-528)
He points out, "if the doctrine [of hell] be true, then all unnecessary worldly enterprises, labor, and studies should at once cease... What have men who are in imminent peril... of being eternally damned the next instant---what have they to do with science, literature, art, social ambition, or commerce? Away with them all!" (Pg. 543) He also adds soberly, "Could the saved be happy and passive in heaven when the muffled shreiks of their brethren, faint from the distance, fell on their ears?... they would plead with God to pardon and free the lost." (Pg. 549)
Although nearly 150 years old, the thoroughness of this detailed study still make it of considerable interest to anyone studying religious attitudes about life after death."
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Tags : A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life (Classic Reprint) [William Rounseville Alger] on . Excerpt from A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life When the printing of this volume was nearly completed,William Rounseville Alger,A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life (Classic Reprint),Forgotten Books,0266730531,RELIGION / Christianity / General
A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life Classic Reprint William Rounseville Alger 9780266730538 Books Reviews :
A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life Classic Reprint William Rounseville Alger 9780266730538 Books Reviews
- William Rounseville Alger (1822-1905) was a Unitarian minister and abolitionist in Roxbury, Massachusetts, as well as other cities. He also wrote books such as The theory of a personal devil / William R. Alger,The Friendships of Women, etc. He explained in the Preface to this 1867 book, "The present work is, in a sense, an epitome of the thought of mankind on the destiny of man. I have striven to add value to it by comprehensiveness of plan... by carefulness of arrangement... I have herein written nothing as a bigoted partisan, nothing in a spirit of opinionativeness, but have intended every thought for the furtherance of truth, the honor of God, the good of man." (Pg. iv-vi)
The book is divided into chapters such as, "Theories of the Soul's Origin"; "Egyptian Doctrine of a Future Life"; "Rabbinical Doctrine of a Future Life"; "Doctrine of a Future Life in the Apocalypse"; "Christ's Teachings Concerning the Future Life"; "Medieval Doctrine of a Future Life"; "Metempsychosis; or, Transmigration of Souls"; "Critical History of the Idea of a Hell"; "Morality of the Doctrine of a Future Life," etc.
He states, "The theory of the pre-existence of the soul merely removes the mystery one stage further back, and there leaves the problem of our origin as hopelessly obscure as before." (Pg. 8) He contends, "the Hebrews, during the time covered by their sacred records, had no conception of a retributive life beyond the present." (Pg. 157)
He concludes, "the conviction that the evidence of the witnesses for the resurrection of Jesus is worthy of credence." (Pg. 351) He adds, "The one essential thing is not that Jesus appeared alive in the flesh after his physical death, the revealer of superhuman power and possessor of infallibility, but that he divinely lives now, the forerunner and type of our immortality." (Pg. 373)
He asserts, "The Universalist formula---every soul created by God shall sooner or later be saved from sin and woe and inherit everlasting happiness---has been publicly defended in every age of the Christian Church." (Pg. 429) He adds, "Instruction, reformation, progress, are the final aims of punishment. Aspiration is the concomitant of consciousness, and the authentic voice of God. Surely, sooner or later... every creature capable of intelligence, allied to the moral law, drawing life from the Infinite, must begin to travel the ascending path of virtue and blessedness, and never retrograde again." (Pg. 435)
He insists, "A Hell of fire and brimstone has been, perhaps still is, the most terrible of the superstitions of the world." (Pg. 508) He argues, "The doctrine of Christ's descent to hell underlies the New Testament. We are told that after his death 'he went and preached to the spirits in prison.' [I Pet 319] And again we read that 'the gospel was preached also to them that are dead.' [I Pet 46] This New Testament idea was unquestionably a vital and important feature in the apostolic and in the early Christian belief. It necessarily implies that there is probation, and that there may be salvation, after death. It is fatal to the horrid dogma which commands all who enter hell to abandon every gleam of hope, utterly and forever... The book which teaches that Christ went even into hell itself, to seek and save that which was lost, does not teach that from the instant of death the fate of the wicked is irredeemably fixed." (Pg. 527-528)
He points out, "if the doctrine [of hell] be true, then all unnecessary worldly enterprises, labor, and studies should at once cease... What have men who are in imminent peril... of being eternally damned the next instant---what have they to do with science, literature, art, social ambition, or commerce? Away with them all!" (Pg. 543) He also adds soberly, "Could the saved be happy and passive in heaven when the muffled shreiks of their brethren, faint from the distance, fell on their ears?... they would plead with God to pardon and free the lost." (Pg. 549)
Although nearly 150 years old, the thoroughness of this detailed study still make it of considerable interest to anyone studying religious attitudes about life after death.
