A Victorian’s Religious Beliefs

THE CONDITIONS OF THE FUTURE LIFE

If the Inhabitants of this world are destined to continue their existence in a future world their life must be attended by certain conditions, and as mystery surrounds the great question – we must not be too bold, but reasonable, in forming our opinions. Knowledge, and experiences of this life, must be our guide.

It seems reasonable to say that the future world, for us, will be one located world only, for all conditions of beings – exactly in harmony with the plan, and facts, of the present world.

Each one of the countless millions of beings will retain his special Individuality. This is essential to a continuation of our personal future existence.

All beings will enter the future world with their various, and special, spirit characteristics, exactly as they possessed them before leaving this world.

And all these varied types of Spirit-beings, more or less good, and evil, and wise, and unwise, will be divided by the same type of influences that divide them here - There will be no other division. The members of every type have as sure tendency to gather together and form a community in this world, and in the future world, and in all worlds of conscious beings.

On this universal principle there will be a separation of the wise from the unwise, and of the good from the evil in the future world – partly, as it regards locality, but more so as it regards character – as in this world.

These God arranged divisions in the spirit-world give satisfaction to all, to the evil as will as the good. In all worlds, each being is drawn towards, and desires to be among, his own community, until he develops and grows fit for one that is higher, and better!

In the Spirit-world, as in this, often the line separating those termed evil and good is so fine as not to be seen. Some from the “left hand” are continually moving to the “right hand” and those on the “right hand” are ever moving forward and upward. ALL are rising higher. There is no going downward, in that blessed and “better country”.

Some Facts are in favour of the future world being a better world than the present one it – for `All’ beings. Even this solid Earth is progressive in its own processes and conditions, and especially in its old and new abundant supplies of every single thing and privilege that can satisfy the desires of all mankind.

And human life itself, as it has existed on this earth in its continuous development of wondrous genus, has so progressed that man now is master of the Earth and all her forces and countless riches. And he commands the winds, and even the very fires of heaven, and they obey his will. And the supposed privileges of the “favoured few” in this world, more and more have been, and more and more will be, distributed among the many – for the living “God is no respecter of persons”. This is eternal progress working within men. It would be philosophy to say that “This is the Lord’s doing”. He works unceasingly in men’s very spirits, causing them to “work out their own salvation” from everything that can hinder their everlasting progress in this world, and in the future world.

For the above facts, it is reasonable to conclude that the future world is a better world than this – For ALL beings. It is the “better Country – that is, a heavenly world”.

George Burgess – April 1899