The Shadow On The Dial, and Other Essays: 1909Bierce, Ambrose
Philosophy
The Shadow On The Dial, and Other Essays: 1909
Bierce, Ambrose
Essays
Believing the things that he did believe, Mr. Sheldon was entirely right
in thinking that the main purpose of a newspaper should be the salvation
of souls. If his religious belief is true that should be the main
purpose, not only of a newspaper, but of everything that has a purpose,
or can be given one. If we have immortal souls and the consequences of
our deeds in the body reach over into another life in another world,
determining there our eternal state of happiness or pain, that is the
most momentous fact conceivable. It is the only momentous fact; all
others are chaff and rags. A man who, believing it to be a fact, does
not make it the one purpose of his life to save his soul and the souls
of others that are willing to be saved is a fool and a rogue. If he
think that any part of this only needful work can be done by turning a
newspaper into a gruelpot he ought to do so or (preferably) perish in
the attempt.
The talk of degrading the sacred name, and all that, is mostly nonsense.
If one may not test his conduct in this life by reference to the highest
standard that his religion affords it is not easy to see how religion
is to be made anything but a mere body of doctrine. I do not think the
Christian religion will ever be seriously discredited by an attempt to
determine, even with too dim a light, what under given circumstances,
the man miscalled its "founder" would do. What else is his great example
good for? But it is not always enough to ask oneself, "How would Christ
do this?" One should first consider whether Christ would do it. It is
conceivable that certain of his thrifty contemporaries may have asked
him how he would change money in the Temple.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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