960. Whence comes the belief in future rewards and punishments which is found among all nations?

"It is a presentiment of the reality imparted to each man by the spirit incarnated in him. This internal voice does not speak to him without a purpose; he is wrong in giving so little heed to it. If he listened to it more often and more heedfully, it would be better for him."

961. What is the predominant sentiment at the moment of death? Is it doubt, fear, or hope?

"Doubt with the sceptical, fear with the guilty, hope with the good."

962. How is it that there are sceptics, since the soul imparts to each man the sentiment of spiritual things?

"There are fewer sceptics than you suppose. Many of those who, from pride, affect scepticism during life, are a good deal less sceptical when they come to die."

The doctrine of moral responsibility is a consequence of the belief in a future life. Reason and our sense of justice tell us that, in the apportionment of the happiness to which all men aspire, the good and the wicked could not be confounded together. God could not will that some men should obtain, without effort, blessings which others only obtain through persevering exertion.

Our conviction of the justice and goodness of God, as evidenced by the justice and goodness of His laws, forbids us to suppose that the good and the bad can occupy the same place in His sight, or to doubt that, sooner or later, the former will receive a reward, and the latter a chastisement, for the good and the evil they have done. And thus, from our innate sense of justice, we derive our intuition of the rewards and punishments of the future.