The Churches and Modern Thought: An inquiry into the grounds of unbelief and an appeal for candourPhelips, Vivian
Religion
The Churches and Modern Thought: An inquiry into the grounds of unbelief and an appeal for candour
Phelips, Vivian
Rationalism
Now, it is, of course, quite true that there are schools of thought
opposed to Haeckel's. There is, for instance, the school which
considers that science has no business to concern herself with
theology; and there are the metaphysicians. But the point I wish
to make clear is that all these schools are heterodox. They do not
accept the Christian dogmas. It is so easy for false impressions
on such matters to get about, and, I regret to add, this does not
occur altogether by chance. When Haeckel, one of our greatest living
biologists, was caught tripping in his knowledge of theology by a
professor of that subject, the Church explained to the laity that
the great Dr. Loofs had shown that Haeckel had forfeited his claim
to consideration as a reliable man of science; and, on this basis,
his Riddle of the Universe was held up to obloquy and derision. The
Church, however, did not mention at the same time that Haeckel had
expressly said that he was not skilled in theology, and that it was
only in his own branch of knowledge that he spoke with authority. Nor
did the Church mention that their champion, the learned theologian,
Dr. Loofs, himself discredits the notion of the Virgin-birth, and
that the chief bone of contention between the two professors was
simply the question of the parentage of Jesus.
It is just because science and religion are in conflict that the
religious naturally wish to discredit science. They will, if they are
sufficiently ignorant, go so far as Lady Blount, [17] and hold that
the earth is flat and without motion. But such persons should note
that in the Church itself there are a few--the few best qualified
to form an opinion--who accept all the main facts of science, and
do not think, or pretend that they think, that there has been any
reconciliation. The Rev. P. N. Waggett is one of these. He is an
apologist of unusual scientific competence, and his new handbook
for the clergy, Religion and Science, simply bristles with problems
which he confesses have yet to be solved. However, he does not allow
himself to be disturbed. Conclusions adverse to theology are to
be resisted. In other words, we must possess our souls in patience
until we can see a way out of our difficulties. He remarks: "There
are conclusions which are to be dissolved, and conclusions which
are to be avoided; but there are also conclusions which have to be
resisted, held at bay--'held up,' I think some adventurous Western
people call it--until we can see our way to destroy them. Such a
resistance is not irrational." He personally prefers "the positive
or scientific treatment and pursuit of religion," and he goes on to
say that "this positive pursuit of the facts of the spirit must be
maintained in spite of difficulties. It must be maintained in spite
of outstanding discrepancies with science." To my mind, the position
here taken up by Mr. Waggett is the only possible one for a convinced
Christian who has a real knowledge of science. He avoids the snares
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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