National Republican., 1880-12-25
DO THEY CONFLICT?
THE SCRIPTURES AND SCIENCE.
The Insirumenialiilrs, Processes, aud Results Of
bcicnce-1he intlquity OF Nan-Secrsts OF
Twenty.nre Centuries Reyeaied-Re.
lgion aud the Bible.
~ PROFESSOR OTIS 4. MASON,
OyltJuyUJ1ql TnftggS1lD

two worlds, the spiritual aud the material; be.
meath us the earthly, above us the heavenly. Just
as the plant strikes root In the soil and develops
foliage, flowers, and fruit in the atmosphere, nour-
ished and transformed by each, so we, having
our origin In the dust, bear our blossoms and
golden harvest in the medium Of spirits, being at
every moment Of our lives the resultant of dual
set of forces.
So far as we know, there is no other company of
Gods creatures adapted TO comprehend and to op.
prccnte these two classes of phenomena. The
sun, moon, and stars move In blind obedience to
the simplest mechanical laws the elementary
bodies of our planet and of the stellar world urc
governed by physico chemical forces and nninties
80 wonderful that TIacCkel bcholds them en-.
dowed with Ntom-,Ouls; plants are Invested with
sclfperpotuating life, but they are both nscnsiblc
and inScntlcnt; animal, are scntlcnt, and even
possess the germs Of reason but they all obey the
law they cannot understand.
on the other hand stands the spirit world with
It's gradations ofimmaterial bcngs. The cherubim
arc those that occupy the lowest grade Of spiritual
life. Above them are angels, thrones, principalil
ties, powers, nrchnngcls semphn, and the sons of
cod beneath them, in that lone land of dark
despair" are the devil and his angels
We. however, look out OH both these worlds
nay more, We arcnot mere spectators, but are part
and parcel Of them both, nmcnabc TO their laws
this middle station. The tiny spear of grass owly
and shallow, and the lony tree, sublime and deep
rooted alike In this regard, that they are fixed
In this double environment of earth aud air
Likewise the humblcst laborer and the profound
est philosopher pass their mortal lives between the
seen and the unseen world.
Standing, as we do, upon this commanding lOcu.
ton, we are IN position 10 compare the two
scenes that lie before us the heavens shedding
their light upon the earth. and the earth rejecting
its rainbow tnts upon the sky what Is dark in
one being Illuminated by what Is light in the
other.
Continued improvement In the knowledge of
the processes of nature leads to the conviction that
always aud everywhere God rules the world by
law, For the sidcral Kingdom aud all masses of
matter small or great exist the laws of inertia and
grayitoton discovered by Newton and Keplcr
for the mineral kingdom, I'm addition TO the laws
ofEcwton and kcpler, are the laws of atomic mo.
tions, co.ordln0tcd by Juulc and Sir Humphrey
Davy, aud of the homogeneolsness of the matter
of the universe discovered by Kirckhoil and Bun.
sen; for the vegetable Kingdom the law of life Is
added 10 and predominatcs over the laws of gravl.
tation Inertia, aud ethcrodynnmics; for the AMI.
NAL kingdom exists the law of voluntary move.
mcnts. appended TO and largely sublccting the
sidercal mineral and vegetable laws finally, in
the human kingdom are witnessed all the laws of
the kingdoms below IL superintended by au intel
lectual and moral nature that Is alternately their
slave aud master,
In nature, then. there Is hierarchy of hierar.
chics in which the operations of each set Of laws
are n miracle to those below them.
We are brought again TO the boundaries Of the
spirit world and our nquisivc spirits ask: Can 1t
be that all wise and bencRCcnt jehovah arrangcs
and governs that which isevanoSGcnt by the strict
est rules and leaves that which Is above 1t, indc
structibe and 50 like himself, to obey the buffet.
ings of purposeless fate? am sure we have no
such conception of the Being whom our souls be-
lieve In aud love.
"That God which ever live, AMI loves,
one God, one law, one element,
And one lar off, divine event.
To which the whole creation moves"
FROM these preliminary observations you are
prepared 10 appreciate the assertion that the Bible
also occupies u position between the same two
worlds. 1t is a message to our souls, about their
origin and exalted relationship. about their laws
and nurture, and about their destiny. 1t is also,
In O narrower sense, q message TO our bodies.
couchcd in material imagery and filled with ref
crenccs to the world Of sense.
Restricting our vision to single book of the
Scriptures the one above all Others occupying this
double environment and around which has been
heard so much noisy controversy Is Genesis II
behoovcs us therefore, TO ask what light has fallen
the nineteenth century.
Before taking UP the lessons, however, in their
order, beg your indulgence while l attempt to
give definition of science
In studying any subject II Is necessary to ask the
questions, igh0, irhd, hOC, and Why, or. moro min
u;ely to ask for the agent, the material, the in.
strumcnt, the process and the result.
Flrst-Who, then. are they that have right to en-.
ter this sacred temple? Ianswer promptly every in
I..R.
bacon, Just rs they were logical before Aristotle
There Is no hierarchy of science amy more than
there IS in Protestant Christianity a priesthood
holding mems Consccnces and locking up the
Word of God. Nay, moro; in my estimation all
Christians are os much bound TO read the laws OF
God written on their hearts and In the nature OF
things as they are to study them in the Old and
the New Testament.
Again, what arc the materials upon which sci
entihc work may be done? What is the object
matter OF science? There Is an attempt on the
part of some to limit the operations of science to
the underworld, the world Of sense But, logic
ally, It's object Is both sublcc,-objcct and object
object. Its investigations must he unfeltcrcd. II
must be allowed to range the field of conscious
ness well as the field of sense to observe, col
late and classify the phepomcna of both worlds
into which the human spirit may prolong It,.
vision.
Thirdly-The instrumcnlalitics Of science are not
only the five senses and the untutOrcd eye of the
mind, but all the ingenious devices, called instru
ments of precision, the microscope, telescope
spcctroscOpe, weights measures, and calculating
engines, by which the vision of this imperlec,
body of ours may extend to the immcasurably fai
and small and Its nervous records perfected.
Add to these the accumulated experience and the
inherited aptitldcs of the hryan race, together
with the written and unwritten history of crea
tion and civilization inscribed In straticd rock,
and on monuments and ruins throught the
world.
Fourthly-Thc processes Of science are the natu
raj methods by which mankind have been attain
ing ccrltudc In all the affair, Of life over since the
dawn of intelligence. The steps nro four in NUM-
ber: l. Observation, collection of facts; ?. Dis
crlminalun, or the discernment of the marks by
which the objects viewed differ one from another
q. Classification, or the arrangement of natural
phenomena into groups called kingdoms. branches
orders and families, genera and species. In such u
manner as to enable Us TO affirm universal prOro.
sitons and L. Deduction, or the inference OF sucl,
general laws or principles that the student may
predict the consequences of reality and expert.
mcnt or bring the results of former general2ntious
under higher law or Into more comprehensive
class,
Finally, the results of science, AZ any period are
not simply the specimens In our museums the
tabulated records of millions of observations In
every field of research, and the thousands OF
volumes of transactions and proceedings Of learned
societies, They comprehend, also, the multiplied
ton of the material comforts of life the knowledge
of the laws of our own Being, and the means by
which We may capture and utilize the forces oI
nature In scEprcseryptlnn, the pOpul0rilaton Of
brilliant discoveries, stimulating the laty to in
crease their encouragement Of research, and the
dovotccs of science TO become teachers Of natures
revelation. All these scattered lights of science
seem to the eye OF faith TO converge along the
avenue of time toward one brlllan, centre.
Let us now proceed with the lessons in order:
Lesson Ito the simple grandeur of the first
Yar.a IN Genoss no scienrn cnn add lustre. II NAV