tween the angel and the man—between the life hereafter and the life here.
Therefore, according to the New doctrine, going to heaven is no obscure or mystical phrase, but one perfectly intelligible to the most ordinary understanding. For if heaven is not a place but a state, it is obvious that entrance into it can be had only by such as enter into the heavenly state. To long and labor and strive for heaven, therefore, is to long and labor and strive for that state of life which is heaven. And that state is one of love to the Lord and the neighbor—the very opposite of man's natural or hereditary state, which is one of supreme self-love. To seek heaven, therefore, is to seek the complete subjugation of our natural love of self and the world, and the exaltation or establishment of the Lord's own love and life in place of it. And this is to lose the old hereditary life, and to find a new life that is far higher and better. "He that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it," saith the Lord.
And now compare the two doctrines—the Old and the New. Which is most rational and which most Scriptural? If this seems doubtful to any mind, we hope in subsequent chapters to remove such doubt. Then look at the two as to their practical tendency—their obvious influence upon life and character. Which is most wholesome, most stimulating, most benign and potent in its operation upon the receiver's mind and heart?
