History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in ChristendomWhite, Andrew Dickson
Religion
History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom
White, Andrew Dickson
Religion and science -- History
In opposition to all such attempts we may put a noble utterance by
a clergyman who has probably done more to save what is essential in
Christianity among English-speaking people than any other ecclesiastic
of his time. The late Dean of Westminster, Dr. Arthur Stanley, was
widely known and beloved on both continents. In his memorial sermon
after the funeral of Sir Charles Lyell he said: "It is now clear to
diligent students of the Bible that the first and second chapters of
Genesis contain two narratives of the creation side by side, differing
from each other in almost every particular of time and place and order.
It is well known that, when the science of geology first arose, it was
involved in endless schemes of attempted reconciliation with the
letter of Scripture. There were, there are perhaps still, two modes of
reconciliation of Scripture and science, which have been each in their
day attempted, AND EACH HAS TOTALLY AND DESERVEDLY FAILED. One is the
endeavour to wrest the words of the Bible from their natural meaning and
FORCE IT TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE." And again, speaking of the
earliest known example, which was the interpolation of the word "not"
in Leviticus xi, 6, he continues: "This is the earliest instance of THE
FALSIFICATION OF SCRIPTURE TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF SCIENCE; and it has
been followed in later times by the various efforts which have been
made to twist the earlier chapters of the book of Genesis into APPARENT
agreement with the last results of geology--representing days not to be
days, morning and evening not to be morning and evening, the Deluge not
to be the Deluge, and the ark not to be the ark."
After a statement like this we may fitly ask, Which is the more likely
to strengthen Christianity for its work in the twentieth century which
we are now about to enter--a large, manly, honest, fearless utterance
like this of Arthur Stanley, or hair-splitting sophistries, bearing
in their every line the germs of failure, like those attempted by Mr.
Gladstone?
The world is finding that the scientific revelation of creation is ever
more and more in accordance with worthy conceptions of that great Power
working in and through the universe. More and more it is seen that
inspiration has never ceased, and that its prophets and priests are not
those who work to fit the letter of its older literature to the needs
of dogmas and sects, but those, above all others, who patiently,
fearlessly, and reverently devote themselves to the search for truth as
truth, in the faith that there is a Power in the universe wise enough
to make truth-seeking safe and good enough to make truth-telling
useful.(181)
(181) For the Huxley-Gladstone controversy, see The Nineteenth Century
for 1885-'86. For Canon Driver, see his article, The Cosmogony of
Genesis, in The Expositor for January, 1886.
CHAPTER VI. THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN EGYPTOLOGY, AND ASSYRIOLOGY.
I. THE SACRED CHRONOLOGY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account