The Arena, Volume 18, No. 93, August, 1897 — John Shaqi
The Arena, Volume 18, No. 93, August, 1897Various
Philosophy
The Arena, Volume 18, No. 93, August, 1897
Various
American literature -- Periodicals
It seems to me that it is not true that "Evolution is a new religion,
the religion of the future." There are many definitions to religion, but
evolution does not fit any of them. It is no more a religion than
gravitation is. One may imagine that some enthusiastic follower of
Newton may, for the first time, have seen the majestic order of the
solar system, may have felt how futile was the old notion of guiding
angels, one for each planet to hold it up in space. He may have received
his first clear vision of the simple relations of the planets, each
forever falling toward the sun and toward each other, each one by the
same force forever preserved from collision. Such a man might have
exclaimed, "Great is gravitation; it is the new religion, the religion
of the future!" In such manner, men trained in dead traditions, once
brought to a clear insight of the noble simplicity and adequacy of the
theory of evolution, may have exclaimed, "Great is evolution; it is the
new religion, the religion of the future!"
But evolution is religion in the same sense that every truth of the
physical universe must be religion. That which is true is the truest
thing in the world, and the recognition of the infinite soundness at the
heart of the universe is an inseparable part of any worthy religion.
But, whether religion or not, the truths of evolution must be their own
witness. They can be neither strengthened nor controverted by any
authority which may speak in the name of philosophy or of theology or of
religion. "_Roma locuta est; causa finita est_" is not a dictum which
science can regard. Her causes are never finished. No power on earth can
give beforehand the answer to her questions. Her only court of appeal is
the experience of man.
HAS WEALTH A LIMITATION?
BY ROBERT N. REEVES.
There is in the government of human affairs one order that is best for
all. What that order is and how it is to be attained should be the great
problem for all who have at heart the betterment of the human race.
Never in the history of our country were the people confronted with
greater social problems than they are to-day. The strikes, boycotts, and
general discontent of late years prove conclusively that there is yet
much room for improvement in our social order. What mean the great
outcry and muttering of the masses? What means the cry from the vast
army of discontented which wells up from the very heart of the nation,
_unless_ it signifies the rumbling which is often heard before the
storm? Gloss it over as we will, the fact stands out as prominent as
ever, that there is something radically wrong with our present
economical system.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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