XVI. Ceylon’s Niles-Not “Natural Immortality” but “Resurrection” CFF2 931

Another angle is touched upon in faraway Ceylon, where Methodist superintendent DANIEL T. NILES denies that Christ’s resurrection was simply the persistence of His “natural immortality.” Niles speaks, in Living With the Gospel, appearing in the World Christian Books series, of some who “naively think of physical death as simply death of the body, and therefore think of the soul as automatically continuing to exist beyond death.” Because of this common misconception such are tempted “to understand the story of the resurrection [of Jesus] in terms of the natural immortality of Jesus.” ^{6969) Daniel T. Niles, Living With the Gospel (Association Press), p. 84.} But the resurrection of Christ was not, Niles holds, a “natural but a supernatural event.” Jesus came “back again among men.” Hear it: CFF2 931.4

“To us who so naively think of death as simply death of the physical body, and therefore think of the soul as automatically continuing to exist beyond death, the temptation is great to understand the story of the resurrection in terms of the natural immortality of Jesus. But what the Gospels assert is not simply that Jesus is alive, but that Jesus is here, back again among men.... CFF2 932.1

“There are some today who seek to restate the fact of the resurrection in terms that would fit in with our modern knowledge. They find that the story of the resurrection is told in words and ways of thinking which do not correspond to our normal ways of thinking. They forget that any attempt to restate the fact of the resurrection in this way must necessarily turn that fact into a natural event, that is, an event which could happen again and again in nature. But that is not at all what happened: only Jesus has risen; his resurrection is not something that has ever been repeated.” ^{7070) Ibid., pp. 84, 5. (Italics supplied.)} CFF2 932.2

And because He rose, we also shall be raised-if we are “in Christ.” CFF2 932.3

MAJOR 20TH CENTURY WITNESSES TO CONDITIONALISM—SECTION B CFF2 933

COVERAGE ATTESTED BY CHART B-MIDDLE PORTION OF CENTURY

1. In the middle period of the twentieth century America has the largest segment of witnesses-embracing the deans of Princeton, Drew, and a Moravian College. There are professors at Harvard, Princeton, Colgate, McCormick, Hamma, Boston, Butler, Union, and San Francisco Theological. Also a chaplain.

2. In Canada the provost of Trinity and a professor at Queen’s speak. And there is an authorized group statement, expressive of three religious bodies in Canada.

3. In the far-flung range there is a Lutheran Bishop in Sweden. In Switzerland a professor at Zurich, Prof. Cullmann at Basel, Prof. Brunner at Zurich, the director of an Institute, and a team of three scholars in a group reference work. In India a bishop speaks out. In Germany professors at Erlangen and Marburg hold to Conditionalism; and in Ceylon a Methodist superintendent is on record.

4. In England there is a Methodist professor, a librarian-professor at Cambridge, professors at the universities of London and Manchester. Also a prominent Keswick speaker, author, and pastor.

5. In denominational spread they embrace Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Evangelical, Reformed, Swiss Reformed, Church of Scotland, Disciples, Baptist, Quaker, Evangelical Reformed, Moravian, Seventh-day Adventist, and even Roman Catholic. In the widening geographical spread Asia is now included-a Church of Scotland bishop in India and a Methodist superintendent in Ceylon.

6. On the nature of man practically all declare, in variant phrasing, that man has no natural, inherent, innate immortality; no separate, independent, imperishable soul that persists; that man is a living unit or organism. They repudiate Greek Platonism. They hold that there is no eternal something, no independent persistence of discarnate souls. Man is mortal, but immortable or immortizable.

7. On the intermediate state the vast majority declare there is no independent, disembodied existence, that in death man is in unconscious sleep until the resurrection, when the death sleep ends in awakening-the whole man, a unified organism, responding.

8. Concerning the punishment of the wicked, there is ultimate, utter extinction, final annihilation for the unrepentant wicked. They are to be utterly consumed, resulting in excision of being. There is therefore no everlasting torment, no eternally burning hell, no endless suffering, but final, total destruction.

9. It is to be noted that these tabulations are confined to religious and educational leaders of prominence. But hundreds of thousands of laymen of intelligence and attainment are likewise involved. Entire congregations and whole denominations that are world wide in operation must not be overlooked. The present adoption of Conditionalism around the globe by men in all walks of life and professions represents the abiding gains of the Condi-tionalist concept. These must be added to this galaxy of ministerial pathfinders we have listed in those tables.

10. The extent of witness provided by Seventh-day Adventists alone is worthy of note, for in 1963 they numbered 1.4 million adult baptized members, led by 21,562 ministerial workers, all of whom (clergy and laity) are full-fledged Conditionalists. They are a world organization, and now conduct their work in 928 languages and dialects-228 with literature and 700 orally. And this is spread over 189 of the world’s 223 countries. Their accessions total more than 114,000 annually-all converts becoming Conditionalists. And there are other denominations that are similarly one hundred per cent Con-ditionalist.