Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1849-12-27
Reason and Faith.

is philosophical discussion Of the claims and con-
Hicts of these great principles. We commend it to
the careful reading Of every wavcrng Christian, and
especially TO every sceptic. 1t cannot but do much
to establish the faith Of the former, and to unsete
the credulty of the latter. We give an extract
| from its close.
"Most absurdly premature is it to raise
a pecan over the fall OF Christianity, upon
every new attack upon it, when it has al
ready survived SO many. This, in fact, is
tone which, though every age renews
it, should long since have been rebuked by
the constant Justification Of similar proph- |
ecies, from the time OF Julian to the
time Of Bolingbroke, and from the time of
Rolingbroke to the time Of Strauss. AS
Addison, we think, humorously tells the
Atheist, that ne is hasty in his logic when
he infers that If there be no God, immor-
tality must be delusion, since, if chance
has actually found him place in this bad
world, it may, perchance, hereafter find
him another place in a worse,-so we say,
that il Christianity be delusion, since it
is delusion which has been proof against
SO much of bitter opposition, and has i'm
posed upon such hosts of mighty intellects,
there is nothing to show that it will not do
so still, in spite of the efforts either of a
Proudhon or Strauss. Such tone was,
perhaps, never so triumphant as during
the heat Of the Deistical controversy in
our own country, and to which Butler al
ludes with so much characteristic but deep
ly sa,irical simplicity, in the preface 10 his
great work:-'lt is come, says he, Il know
not how, to be taken for granted by many
persons that Christianity Is not SO much
a subject Of inquiry, but that it is now at
length discovered to he fictitious.
On the contrary, thus much at least will
here be found, not taken for granted, but
proved, that any reasonable man, who will
thoroughly consider the matter, may be
as much assured as he is Of his own being,
that 1t is not, houerer, so clear that there is
nothing in it, The Christian, we con-
ceive, may now say the same to the
Froudes, and Foxtons, and to much more
formidable adversaries Of the present day.
Christianity, we doubt not, will still live,
when they and their works, and the re-
futations Of their works, are alike for
gotten; and new series Of attacks and de-
fences shall have occupied for while Gas
SO many others have done the attention of
the world. Christianity, like Rome, has
had both the Gaul and Hannibal at her
gates: But as the Eternal City in the
latter case calmly offered for sale, and
sold, at an undepreciated price, the very
ground on which the Carthagenian had
fixed his camp, with equal calmness may
Christianity initiate her example of mag.
nanimity. She may feel assured that, as
in so many past instances Of premature
triumph Oil the part Of her enemies, the
Asssasd ahssxs mi } az enc DAY bs il
own; that the very discoveries, apparently
hostile, OF science and philosophy, will be
ultimately found elements of her strength.
Thus has ii been 10 great extent with
! the discoveries in chronology and history;
and thus will it be. we are confident, and
to certain exten! has been already, } with
those in geology. Tha, science has done
much, not only to render the old theories
Of Atheism untenable, and 10 famliarise
the minds Of men to the idea Of miracles,
by that of successive creations, but TO
confirm the Scriptural statement Of the
comparatively recent orr gin Of our race.
Only the men OF science and the men OF
theology must alike guard against the be-
setting iallacy of their kind, -that OF too
hastily taking for granted that they already
know the whole of their respective scien-
ces, and of forgetting the declaration Of the
Apostle, equally true of all mans attain
ments, whether in one department Of sci
ence or another, FIVE know but in part,
and we prophesy but in part
Though Socrates perhaps expressed
himself too absolutely when he said that
he only knew that he knew nothing, yet
a tinge the same SPIRIT deep convic-
ton OF the profound ignorance Of the hu-
man mind, even at its best-has ever been
characteristic Of the most comprehensive
, genius. 1t has been topic on which it
has been fond of mournfully dilating. 1t
is thus with Socrates, with Plato, with
Bacon (even amidst all his magnificent as
pirations and bold predic,ions,) with
Newton, with Pascal, and especially with
Butler, in whom, If in any, the sentiment
is carried to excess. We need not say
that it is seldom found in the writings OF
those modern spectators who rush, in the
hardihood of their adventurous logic, on a
solution Of the problems Of the Absolute
and the Infinite, and resolve in delightful.
, ly brief demonstrations the mlghtiesi pro.
b.ems of the unverse-th those great enig.
mas, from which true philosophy shrinks,
not Lecause il has never ventured to think
of them, but because it has thought ofthem
enough to know that it is in vain to at.
, tempt their solution. To know the limit,
! of human philosophy is the better part o
, all philosophy; and though the conviction
!: of our ignorance is hnmiliating, il is, ik'
y every true conviction, salutary. Amids
!. this nigh, of the soul, bright stars--fa
, distant fountains of illuminAtion--a on
to steal out, which shine not while the i'm
r asined Sun of reason is above the horizon
and it is in that night, as in the darkness
Of outward nature. that we gain our onl
h true ideas of the illimitable dimensions c
y the universe, and of our true position i
. it.
i Meanwhile we conclude that God ha
=. created two great lights, the create
9 light to rule mans busy day-and that
>, Reason; and the lesser TO rule his conten