Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1878-12-25
WHOLE NO, 1896
ReiIplon In these Days.

W w h"s WV" ""''"B W." P""' W."
years, The answer which science pre-
sumes 10 give, when II presumes to
give any Is not one which pleases or 10
any way satisfies itself 'Dust thou
art and unto dust shalt thou return"
Matter and force have manifested
themselves 10 man, 10 form and phe-
nomena, and tho matter and force
which have made man shall at last all
be refunded into the common stock,
to be used over and over aud over =.
gain, in other forms and phenomena.
There isa body, but there is no such
thing as mind, independent Of body,
The dualism Of constitution in which
we have believed, and which lies at
tho basis Of all our religion and phil
oscphy, Is delusion. Out Of all the
enormous expenditure Of ingenuity, or
Of what appears to be, or seems like.
ingenuity nothing is saved. The
great field ofstar.mist out OF which our
solar system was made has been hard.
ened into planets, set in motion and
filed with life, TO go on tor untold
ages, and then TO come TO an end
possibly TO become field Of star mist
again and nothing is to be saved out
Of the common fund of matter and
force that can 90 on in an independ.
snt, immortal life. Man is simply
higher form of animal God AZ u per.
sonalty does not exist. Immortality
is dream, and the Christian religion,
Of course, is o delusion
These conclusions seem to be the
best that science can give US. Science
believes nothing that it cannot prove.
There may be personal God, who
takes cognizancc Of the personal affairs
OF men, but science cannot prove II;
therefore belief in a personal God u
'unsc'enti6c..' There may be such a
thing as the human soul-a spirit that
has life, or the possibilities of a life,
independent Of the body but it can
not be proved. Indeed, it seems to be
proved that all the phenomena of what
we call mind are attributable to chang
es that take place among the molecules
Of the brain. Therefore, = belief in the
human soul is unscentifc. OF course,
If there is no humar soul, there is moth
ing to save, and If there is nothing to
save, Christ was, consciously or uncon.
sciously, an imposter; and the hopes
and expectations of all Christendom
are vain. And this is the highest con.
clusion to which science seems able to
lead us. Can anything be imagined
to be more lame and impo:ent? We
should think that every laboratory and
every scientific school, and every
library and study OF man of science,
would seem like a tomb!
That this attitude OF prominent men
of science, toward the great questions
that relate to God. Immortality, the
nature of the human soul and the
Christian religion, has sadly shaken
the faith of a great multitude, there il
no doubt. Society is honeycombed
with ip6dehty. Men stagger in their
pulpits with the burden of difficulties
and doubts The theological semi
naries have become shaky places, and
faith has taken its flight from an un.
counted number of souls, leaving them
in q dakness and sadness that no
words can describe. All this is true.
It's so true that tears may well ming.
lie in ones ink as he writes it; but,
after all, we have every thing left that
we have ever possessed. Nothing is
proved against our faith. Science has
never proved that there is no personal
God, ne soul, no immortality, no
Christ, and these are matters that we
have always taken on faith. Not only
this, but there are matters which
science is utterly incompetent to hand.
1e. They are outside the DOMAIN OF
science. Science can no more touch
them than it can touch anything thatit
confesses to be "unknowable. ~ g.
Holand;; Saibner for January.
A fellow would rather be unhealthy