, 1873-02-17
TYNDALL,s PRAYER TEST.
Sermon by Professor Swing, Delivered
at MoVioker's Theatre,
Sunday, Feb. 9.
Toxt: Tho Lords Prayer.

Several months havo now elapsed slpco tho !
Evangelical Church sustained shook III tho
proposition called "Tyndall'e Tost OF Prayer"
The suggestion that m experiment DO mado IN |
order to determine whothor God Ia affoctod ny |
human surpllcatiou, foil upon tho Christian
heayt ae form Of impioty, trlfing with tho
character Of tho Almighty.
1t was suggested by friend Of Mr.. Tynd"i'.
that in cortain hospital certain number OF
sick be made not only tho patients OF tho nost
medical science, but also subjects OF special
prayer by tho Christian Church, and TINT q cor
tain number Of sick DO attended only by tho
medical art; that for them no prayer bo offered.
and then, othor things bolng oqunl, tho world
waa to noto whether the ward prayed for ahonid
reveal any less mortality, or any moro rapld
conYalesconco. Through Mr.. Tyndall this nng-
gostion at onco found Its way into tho public
print.
ence of great name, thoro has boon suddenly
sprung upon tho dofoudera Of religion ques-
ton Of very great difficulty. uso tho word ro-
rlision designedly, for prayer not hong o tenet
or practice of tho Christian religion nlone, but
boine q cardihal Idea Of natural religion under q
hundred nnu1es, tho question does not ohor
diflcultloB or bring embarrassment to man "a q
Ohristian, so much 80 to man "a . reuGaoua
boing. Seneca says, sour first petition to tho
Almighty should be for good conscience, our
second for health Of mind, our last for health Of
body" It having been the philosophy and Gus
tom Of ali tho 1oadlng minds Of the past to re-
aort to AprayorS wo need not ns Christians as
sumo thst tho burden OF defoneo rests wholly
upon our shouldora howavor strong or willing
they may be. Tho test ia submitted not so much
to church as TO humanity ana nonss a,,a, npr pI,t
not speak to-day IN tho na"e u ,a e,ass, ~, ua'
rather in the ,namo OF religion on Its wtdest sig
nlt3cauco. !.
Anu " su4s - WV ;, a1,soat;,r, nv, In
tnat no crushing aneNet ~ o;a IT,. .r;,, raaaor
brought up-nothing can ba SAID TINT WILL fenoot
ano ~ aost aadncoa % that " viii nrayent tho d1l.
can DO aaducoa .nas VII pt''eus .as,, 'uu =, "n ~
cult question from coming nacA " ua
In the hour when such questions ariso, It Ia
neoeBaary for US to restato tho best arguments
M roaaeae. and thon to 1oave tho cloud Of mys-
tory to o7erhang tho world after n1r. T'yndall
Tore. "a we caine into its confines.
It seems evident that tho groat ecientist was
not guilty Of any nllcousnoss Or inancority his
g3aPson on.a In y nvoa hsFs f oafs n61nE s
siways follows long devotion to inquiry into
Tho devoted scientist spends his waking and
dreaming hours amid demonstrations that leave
Chat the milky-way is atar-duat not yet rolled up
into globular forms, tho theory however good
only HakeB him labor tito moro at a telescope
FL dust s aSd learn BY actnal survey tho value Of
tho theory, Tho glaas ia at last made, and lol
the etar-dust is discovered to be suns, Ike our
own, scattered like pearls through inanity, at
such distances from each other that light can
not cross the abyss between them il ton thou
.anndyenra. II Il il suggested that light be-
comes Visible only by ho1p Of the dust held in
iii atmoaphorSs below Or above, the theory is
not sufficient. A glass tube is arranged 40 that
q beam OF, li9ht pours through its whole length.
Hested ti1en until ali thiB dust ia burnt out Of
tho Imprisoned ali, the beam pours through It no
spend lie amid auch er1olal tests, to give then,
ope'g Thought and Iova, IN y bull, 1,r asaenta1
habit tnar Gdmita Of no evtdonoo but q demon
ntration, and Of no, faith but that which Gomez
By sight. Such bolp has been afforded this claaa
OF minds in tho diacoycry OF tho spectrum ana
lysis, md in improved apparatus OF AZ kinds
that the devotion to actual denomination has
=. been nurtured by its. own succssa into full
Rrovn powerful paaHion..
.Outaide- Of science, thoro is also powerful
rationalism everywhere TINT has rendered MI
thinking mon Ill at ease among theories Tho
frauds Of which humanity has boeu
tue. aufering md forlorn victim in all
history have nado the Intelligent world
very Sensitive upon tho subject Of proof. and as
never before, insist upon a close partnership DO.
tween dogma and evidence. II, therefore, In
t1m6B ouch ali these ID general, md from the
field OF scientific research, in Particular there
comes forward great name; asking that i, test
be made as to whether the Creator is influenced
by prayer, 1t is nos necessary that this great
Or malice. but TINT 1t 10 confessed to DO the
slave Of lts positive system It believes IN
nothing. apart from evidonce, and from such oy.
,idence as sensual pAenonneaa only can afford.
1T has been Btatod by many clergymen since
this question was submitted to the world, that
OF course tho Infinite ono would not pay any re.
gard to such "tost" Us WAS proposed God
will not be driven as it were, into CORNER, and
be compelled. to dofond Ills praying children.
This Is true. The "teat' is indeed foolish, but
what ia It which Mr. Tyndall would set at reat by
the hospital experiment Tho question whethor
God. ever has answered tho prayers Of men in
the long past, or would probably answer them in
the future Granted that tho method OF "test.
"a.