An Essay on the Scriptural Doctrine of Immortality

James Challis was an eminent Victorian astronomer and mathematician who also happened to be an Anglican clergyman. In this rigorous 19th-century examination, he turns his analytical mind to one of theology's most profound questions: what does Scripture actually teach about immortality? Rather than assuming the answer, Challis begins with a striking observation, the word "immortality" appears far less frequently in the Bible than one might expect. He then traces how Old and New Testaments address death, resurrection, and the promise of eternal life, carefully distinguishing between divine revelation and philosophical speculation. Challis contrasts the rationalist's abstract notion of the soul's endless existence with what he sees as Scripture's more nuanced covenantal vision, one rooted in righteousness, divine relationship, and the hope of resurrection rather than the inherent indestructibility of the human spirit. Written at a moment when scientific advance and biblical criticism were unsettling traditional certainties, this essay represents a serious mind wrestling honestly with faith's deepest questions. For readers interested in Victorian theology, the history of biblical interpretation, or the dialogue between science and religion.