The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-04-30
BooK,..SorrCEs.
LOGIC OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES, by G..
Frederick Wright, Andover. Pub
/. lished by Warren Il. Dranar.

Frederick Wright, Andover. Pub
lished by Warren #. Draper.
At time when the attitude of science
toward Christianity is misunderstood
and misrepresented by both opponents
and defenders of revealed religion, and
especially when the friends of religion
are too apt to become bewildered and
dismayed by the confident and appar-
emily imposing strength of the demon
strations made against the existence of
personal and moral First Cause by
superficial and one-sided exponents Of
modern science, this book comes 10
Christians as welcome aid. The au-
thor is Congregational clergyman,
the pastor of a church in Andover,
Mass, rare scholar In many different
fields, a profound thinker, and lucid
and pleasing writer, whose contribu-
tions, many of them upon scientific and
especially geological subjects, we have
noticed in the periodical press and in
pamphlet form. 'till
This work does not profess TO be All
original treatise on the application of
correct methods of reasoning in
strengthening the Christians position,
nor an extended examination of the facts
and principles which furnish the mat
ter of such reasoning This ground
has been traversed and fought over
from the times of the early Christian
fathers till to-day, and thousands of
ponderous volumes replete with learn
ing. and bristling with syllogisms attest
that the day for anything new in this
ield. has passed. The Christian of to-
day has only to profit by the Iabors of
the past, except only in SO far as the re-
searches of scientific explorers Of the
present time may add to the already
ample mass of evidences corroborating
Old Testament history. But there has
oeen no work that we are aware of
which not only gives in compact and
easily accessible form, so.called eviden.
ces OF Christianity, but shows how all
the essential doctrines of Christianity
follow conclusively from these
from these evidences in the same man.
ncr and in the same sense that the es-
tablished and universally accepted tbeo-
rles of science are the logical seouencc
OF what may be called their evidences.
Such is the scope of this work. II
opens with an examination of the na.
ture of logical induction. showing
)how scientific belief is arrived at. fnllv
explained by illustrations drawn from n
The student, and the earnest seeker
after truth will find this inquiry yalua-
BILE and instructive, while it is by no
means too abstruse for those who NAV
read merely for the interest it affords. "a
The second part is devoted TO show
ing by strict application of the logical
methods explained in the first part. that
the First Cause is person. infinitely
wise and good; and after q thoroughly
satisfactory statement of the position Of
the thcist in explaining the existence
and the facts of nature, and mans place
therein, the subject of the Immortality
of the soul, the relations of man to his
Maker, the need and reasonablcness of
miraculous revelation supported by
miraculous testimony, and the attendant
subjects, are taken up and treated in n
manner no less convincing than in
structivc. The author draws his mate
rlals from the best sources and welds
them INTO clear and compact argyll
ment which can be easily grasped.
This is by no means the least of the
merits of the work, for to most reason-
able and unprejudiccd minds a mere
statement of the arguments of Christian
ity, II properly and clearly presented.
| IS sufficient to secure their intellectual
assent, since it is fact that very large
proportion of the so-called unbelief
among the Christian nations arises
simply from ignorance or prejudice.
The third and last part of the work is
condensed review of the specific evil
dences of Christianity, including the tes-
tlmonles of the carly Christian writers
which are of most Importance. together
win the internal evidences derived
from an examination of the gospel mar
rativcs, the extraordinary character of
Cnrist, and the history and progress of
Christianity. In this part the substance
OF volumes is condensed into the COM
pass OF hundred and thirty pages.
Ihe work may have its faults. Its
logical treatment as q whole is rigorous
and exact. But it may be doubted if
the application of The famous claw of
parslinony," on page Ill, as a logical
principle, is of valuein the demonstra-
tlon OF the theistic cause of nature.
The law of parsimony is properly only
"a formula, or statement of one of the
conditions of belief and while its ap-
pllcation in tie manner adverted to is
not source of error, it is not logically
correct, any more than it, would be
proper to say that a thing is true be-
cause | believe 1t to be so. i'i iiir
On page l2S we find the following:
;" The view which argues human immortality
from the conceivable existence Of an Immortal
principle in the lower and lowest forms of life
may he SAID to poise the pyramid on its apex.
anu the apex upon logical fallacy. For the en-
tire conception that brute animals may posi-
bly be endowed with an, immortal or immaterial
c.epnon OF such a principle in ourselves; and so
the reasoning referred to is only one of the ingen
ious ways OF reasoning in circle"
The logical connection of this with
what prccedes it is not clear, and in
itself such an argument, however inter-
esting as a mental exercitation, is too
puerile to deserve insertion in q work
whose marked characteristic ia its Sc
we're exclusion of all useless or irrcle-
want matter.
But though two or three insignificant
points like these may be noted, Mr..
Wrights work is very little amenable
to adverse criticism. 1t shows large
broad range of reading and
study, the results of which it presents
in condensed and accessible form, it is
intended to meet the difficulties of
Christians of to-day, which differ sub
stantially from those to which older
works on Christian evidences are adj
dressed, and its literary execution is
excellent. 1t deserves place in the
library of every Christian who wishes
to bc able to give reason for his faith.
IL is not too abstruse for the study of
young men and women who arc earnest
ly seeking the truth, and in fact de-
serves place as Christian text book.
AS such it might profitably replace old
er and dryer works which are now used
in the Monday morning lessons in some
of our colleges.
The book is well printed on good pa
fper, and substantially bound in cloth,
'orming handsome duodecimo OF
some over three hundred pages.