Eternal Life Not Inherent

During those years before radio and television, a popular way to express one's viewpoint was to write and distribute pamphlets. About 1835, Grew penned an important pamphlet that exposed the teachings of the immorality of the soul and hellfire as unscriptual. He felt that these doctrines blasphemed God.

This pamphlet was to have far - reaching effects. In 1837, 40 year-old George Storrs found a copy on a train. Storrs was a native of Lebanon, New Hampshire, residing by this time in Utica, New York.

He was a highly respected minister in the Methodist - Episcopal Church. Upon reading the pamphlet, he was impressed that such a strong argument could be made against these basic teachings of Christendom, which he had never before doubted. He did not know who the author was, and it was not until some years later, at least by 1844, that he met Henry Grew while both were residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. However, Storrs studied the matter on his own for three years, speaking only with other ministers about it.

Finally, since no one could refute the things he was learning, George Storrs decided that he could not be faithful to God if he remained in the Methodist Church. He resigned in 1840 and move to Albany, New York. In the early spring of 1842, Storrs gave a series of six lectures in six weeks on the subject "An Inquiry - Are the Wicked Immortal?" The interest was so great that he revised it for publication, and over the next 40 years, it reached a circulation of 200,000 in the United States and Great Briain. Storrs and Grew collaborated in debates against the immortal soul doctrine. Grew continued zealously preaching until his death on August 8, 1862, in Philadelphia.

Shortly after Storrs presented the six lectures just mentioned, he became interested in the preaching Of William Miller, who was expecting the visible return of Christ in 1843. For about two years, Storrs was actively involved in preaching this message throughout the Northeastern United States. After 1844, he would no longer go along with setting any date for Christ's return, yet he did not object if others wanted to investigate chronology. Storrs believed that Christ's return was near and that it was important for Christians to keep awake and spiritually alert, ready for the day of inspection. But he parted company with Miller's group because they accepted unscriptural doctrines, such as the immortality of the soul, the burning of the world, and the absence of any hope of everlasting life for those who die in ignorance.