The Church, the Schools and EvolutionConant, J. E. (Judson Eber)
Religion
The Church, the Schools and Evolution
Conant, J. E. (Judson Eber)
Evolution; Religion and science
Another classification which the scientific man makes is to distinguish
between the two kinds of truth in each respective realm, and to separate
that kind which may be demonstrated to the =experience= from that which
must be taken on =hearsay=. That is, in the natural realm, in the
department of chemistry, for example, the laws of chemical action can be
put to the laboratory test of experiment, while the history of the science
of chemistry must always be taken on hearsay. And, in the spiritual realm,
those truths stated in the spiritual Textbook which have to do with our
spiritual relations with God can be put to the laboratory test of the
experiment of faith, while all the rest must be taken on hearsay.
4. The =Primacy of Primary Truth= Must Be Maintained.
One thing more which the scientific man does is to accord primacy to that
realm of truth which is primary in importance. In order to do this, the
scientific spirit compels the one possessed by it to meet two requirements.
Recognizing that truth is an eternal unity, he will first determine to deal
with the facts in any given realm in such a way as to preserve harmony at
all times between them and all the known facts of all the other realms. For
only thus can he avoid destroying the unity of truth and heading himself
toward error and confusion.
He will then determine to maintain the primacy of primary truth by
=interpreting in its light the facts of all other realms=. That is, he will
make that realm whose truths are of transcendent importance the norm, or
standard, by which to interpret the facts of other realms, withholding
interpretations until the facts of any other given realm can be interpreted
in harmony with those primary truths which have been made forever secure by
being scientifically verified.
These requirements would seem so axiomatic as to need no emphasis, and yet,
strange as it may seem, right here is another place where the Church and
the Schools part company. For the Church is according primacy to one realm
of truth, and the Schools to another, making unity of final conclusions out
of the question.
If we are to be possessed by the scientific spirit and proceed with
scientific accuracy, however, we will be compelled, in the terms of our
present study, to accord that primacy to the =spiritual= realm over the
=natural= which its transcendent importance demands. For by as much as
truth about =God= is of more eternal value to sinful man than truth about
His =creation=, and by as much as truth by which we are =saved= is of more
transcendent importance than truth by which we are =informed=, by just that
much will the scientific spirit compel us to interpret every bit of
information that comes to us from the natural realm in harmony with, and in
the light of, the truths of the spiritual realm, for by this method alone
can we maintain the primacy of the spiritual realm over the natural.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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