A Baccalaureate Sermon 197
declared by Job that “there is a spirit in man, and the in-
spiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding” ; and
the clear logic is that since the human spirit exists, and is
what it is, it will remain.
Again, the will is a creative force and originates motion;
and the annihilation of this spiritual force is contrary to all
probability. Rev. Dr. Momerie says: “There is no law in
science more fundamental, no law which has been supported
by a greater variety of experiences, or tested by more search-
ing experiments, than the law of the conservation of energy.
The sum of all the energies in the universe is a constant
quantity; in other words, forces are never destroyed. If
one may extend this law to the psychical sphere—and there
is nothing to show that we may not—the soul with its
power of volition cannot be annihilated. Were the soul to
go out of existence on the dissolution of the body, a force
would have been lost, the sum of the energies in the uni-
verse would be a changing quantity, the law of the conserva-
tion of energy would be false.”
The existence of man’s self-conscious spirit, using matter
but not produced by it, indicates a purpose and a logic
working through nature and producing a being clearly above
nature; and the irresistible inference is that this human
spirit is designed to survive the body, which is its temporary
servant. But when we turn from this reasoning to our
knowledge of God, to our trust in Him and our convictions
concerning His love, we have impregnable assurance that
He will not create the finite spirit and then annihilate it;
that He will not give us hearts and then destroy us; that
He will not call men to suffer for righteousness’ sake and
then not ordain a future life where righteousness will be
vindicated and come to triumph more fully than upon the
earth. Christianity assumes the mere fact of immortality,