The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1878-02-02
,sSUnpTrONs OF SCIENCE
i"A AND OF THEOLOGY.
rCon,,u,.sd from First Page

3itsreuces OF Color u,Liu.,,
18th of these ethereal waves. ih'Ety
nire thousand waves OF red i'Sh' mems,
n.n !, Is said, an inch, while III P'oiet 10
49, came space there IRE hity seven
tHe FIVE hundred. Again, hight
49,. at the rate OF u hundred ana
~, thousand miles per second
~, raauce this 70 inches, and multiply
- ~, 6nv seven thousand five hundred
=, ives AS product a numoer
tbst would battle our powers OF hu'
,oorn,ion. And We! if these laws Oh mo-
ION are correct this product wou.u o@,
go tbe number of waves tnat Oes.
P ~ the re,ina Of the eye each second
~ looking upon q violet color. IheSe
tocts ard cures that Cypress even
60 imsrlcstroa. And yet these WIN
hers az the NEST interesting Fa-
bore for their essentia. tolEds.lon
t"lU' o,epmption-that is, OF the ex-
,.smeIv elnstic snd impaIpa6'e ether.
I,is,be as um?tjoh OF the ex'stehce ana
af these properties Of this that Is '""s !,
~, scientists to day 70 account !oF sii
-, marvellous phenomena. Now We
bsve no disposition 10 speak aisre5p ec'-
GO Of thu: assumption shy moro than
.Soo other. Still it Is TN assumption, re-
rsrtad and pronounced such BY tne best
Chemists. Prot Cooke says CT II: Il
csnnot scree with those who regs'd Inc
~.va.tbeorv of light as an established
rrincin,e of science. That 1t is theory
r. The very highest value, freely admit;
"a ,hst il h.s been able 10
nredict the phases of unknown pho
pcmens. which experiment has subsa-
cnentIv brought to light, Is we'll
snown fact. Ali this is true; but then,
on the other side, the theory requires q
cnmbjDation of qualities in the ether Of
.nsce which | And it difficult 10 believe
or actually realize"
We might notice other Assumptions OF
Science. but for our purpose here II Is
ne. necessary. We have dweIt thus
long, however, upon these which we have
noticed, ard dealt Us fully as we hSve
done in illustrations Of them, fer the
purpose of showing the warrant that we
have for framing the following cGnonS:
First, True Science does not reject,
but on the contrary greatly relies upon
Assumptions.
Secc,,d. When she has inside an As
sumption that explains Sli the phe-
nomena that are already discovered, she
retains it as true and valid until other
phenomena in the same field are discov-
cred that it cannot eNplAin. The facts
and illustrations that we have adduced
have been sufficiently numerous and
releva mt to give these all the force OF
csnons of pure induction.
Let as now carry what we have gained
into the sphere OF theology, and see how
il will apply there. 1t Is frequently
charged against theology that It Is not u,
all an inductive science; that 1t is essen
TALLY nj a priori system, IS is the great bur
den of its teachings, sad that It will rot
and canuot submit TO the csnors and tests
@! induction. Now, while we ere not
prepared 20 20 the entire lcnCth - which
some of our popular scientists go n de-
nounclng the a priori method-wLilo we
believe that there are intultive and self
evident truths, truths fully recognized
and acted upon which Eave not been
gathered by experience, we are yot FREQ
10 saw that we do think that theology
has been too much represented by its
friends in an priOTi light. DOgmatlsm
has played IN their bands too powerful a
part, and the spirit of investigation ard
the pursuit of the lines of the eXperieG-
tIsl and the experimental have been too
strongly discouraged and irowncd
down. And so theology has not
unirequently been wounded in the
house of her friends. We may admit all
this; vet who has not male mistakes?
We sometimes, too, make the object OF
our ardent affections appear much less
strong and able to resist attacks than 1t
really Is by our very jealousy. Whether,
however, theology ia or is not purely
iniuctive science, it has come to this to-
day, that she must evinCe Ler power to
be- tested by tho CanOns o! induction,
else she will be rejected by many of the
deepest aud broadest minds OF our ago
Induction is the order of the day. The
BacOnlan method has the field. Assump.
tons are made and tested, and when
found unveritable are thrown aside. An
men who are in the habit OF pursuing
this method and Of seeing It producing
SO vast and rich crops of knOwlcdgeln Ala
other fields need scarcely 6e expected 70
accept willingly and readily An opposite,
and to them artsgonlstlC method IN this.
Now, in order that We may get upon
some common platform and INTO
some sympathy with the scientist,
suppose we admit that God is an
Assumption. Apply the csnons which
we have induCtiv"ly formed and 1t must
be admitted according 10 the first that
we have the right to make this as
sumption. And If it does no, very clear
ly appear that theology has actually
made this assumption acccdlng TO the
inductive method, it may be very easily
shown, think, that she can tnus make
il. The scientlst--many thanks 70 HIM
reveals to US tact upon fact, phenom-
ens after phenomena of the physical
world. In his searching and wide an
slyses he takes us back along tho line Of
experimental evidence, reducing noun
tsins to pebbles, and resolving masses the
most complex into their component parts,
until ut last he conducts US into the pres
ence of the very atoms. But he Caa
carry us no further. By his own con.
fcSsion be cannot snslyze or resolve into
parts or lees size the atom. There he
and We stand upon the very extremes
edge OF phenomena; and when | pee
over and cut, and ask him what H
there, he cannot answer. His last ss
sumption, that ofthe atom has been mStt3
aud the terminus of his experiencing
Journey has been reached. How have
these atoms been produced? We arg
driven by the very laws of our being u
ask this question; we csnnot, if We would,
ignore IT, But he has no answer. There
Is = Chasm there which he cannot bridge,
Now, If at this juncture, We put to him
the question, may there not be mind OUT
there2 And may not that mind have
produced these atoms? Can he SAY that
We are unscientifc2 Would not ms ow:
atoms condemn his unislrness? AM
now | take with my scientific friend thB
position, that the assumption hos bees
made that God exists, and that lie made