between the publication of the eighth and of the tenth edition of his
work, neither was there any change in his knowledge of those facts. All
the facts relied upon by evolutionists, have long been familiar to
scientific men. The whole change is a subjective one. One year the
veteran geologist thinks the facts teach one thing, another year he
thinks they teach another. It is now the fact, and it is feared it will
continue to be a fact, that scientific men give the name of science to
their explanations as well as to the facts. Nay, they are often, and
naturally, more zealous for their explanations than they are for the
facts. The facts are God's, the explanations are their own.
The third cause of the alienation between religion and science, is the
bearing of scientific men towards the men of culture who do not belong
to their own class. When we, in such connections, speak of scientific
men, we do not mean men of science as such, but those only who avow or
manifest their hostility to religion. There is an assumption of
superiority, and often a manifestation of contempt. Those who call their
logic or their conjectures into question, are stigmatized as
narrow-minded, bigots, old women, Bible worshippers, etc.
Professor Huxley's advice to metaphysicians and theologians is, to let
science alone. This is his Irenicum. But do he and his associates let
metaphysics and religion alone? They tell the metaphysician that his
vocation is gone; there is no such thing as mind, and of course no
mental laws to be established. Metaphysics are merged into physics.
Professor Huxley tells the religious world that there is over-whelming
and crushing evidence (scientific evidence, of course) that no event has
ever occurred on this earth which was not the effect of natural causes.
Hence there have been no miracles, and Christ is not risen.[44] He says
that the doctrine that belief in a personal God is necessary to any
religion worthy of the name, is a mere matter of opinion. Tyndall,
Carpenter, and Henry Thompson, teach that prayer is a superstitious
absurdity; Herbert Spencer, whom they call their "great philosopher,"
_i. e._, the man who does their thinking, labors to prove that there
cannot be a personal God, or human soul or self; that moral laws are
mere "generalizations of utility," or, as Carl Vogt says, that self
respect, and not the will of God, is the ground and rule of moral
obligation. If any protest be made against such doctrines, we are told
that scientific truth cannot be put down by denunciation (or as Vogt
says, by barking). So doubtless the Pharisees, when our blessed Lord
called them hypocrites and a generation of vipers, and said: "Ye compass
sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him
twofold more the child of hell than yourselves," doubtless thought that
that was a poor way to refute their theory, that holiness and salvation
were to be secured by church-membership and church-rites. Nevertheless,
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