Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-06-05
Science and Theology.

Science and Theology.
~ From an article BY Rev. T. T. Mum
ger, on .'Immorta1ity and Modern
Thought" in The Century for May,
we quote as follows: when chemis-
try put the key of the physical uni-
verse into the hand of science, it was
well enough to give up century to the
dazzling picture it revealed. A cep-
fury of concentrated and universal
gaze at the world out of whose dust
we are made, and whose forces play in.
the throbs of our hearts, is not too
much; but after having sat so long be-
fore the brilliant play of elemental
flames, and seen ourselves reduced to
simple gas and force under laws for
whose strength adamant is no measure,
we have become little FESTIVE and take
up again the old questions. Science
has not explained US to ourselves, nor
comprised us in Its retort. nor
measured us in it's law of continuity.
You have shown me of what I am
made, how put together, and linked
my action to the invariable energy of
the universe; now tell me what am;
explain to my consciousness, will,
thought, desire, love, generation. /
confess myself to be all YOU say, but /
know myself to be more; tell me what
that more is. Science, in it's early and
wisely narrow sense, could not respond
to these demands. But it has enlarged
its vocation under two impulses. 1t
has pushed its researches until it has
reached verges beyond which it can
not 90, yet sees forces and phenomena
that it cannot explain or even speak of
without using the nomenclature of
metaphysics In a recent able work
of science the word spirit is adopted
into the scientific vocabulary. Again,
physical science has yielded to the
necessity of allaying itself with other
demonstrating itself on their bor-
ders. Chemistry led up to biology,
and this in turn to psychology, and so
on to sociology and history and re-
ligion, and even to metaphysics, whose
tools it had used. with some disdain of
their source In short, it is found that
there is no. such thing as q specific
science, but that all sciences are parts
of one universal science. The broad
studies of Darwin and Herbert Spen-
Ger have done much toward establish
ing this conviction, which has brought
about what may be called a. comfy of
the sciences, or an era of good feeling.
The chemist sits down by metaphy-
sician and says, Tell me what you
know about consciousness. and the
theologian listens eagerly to. the story
Of evolution. Unless we greatly mis-
read the temper of recent science, it
is ready to- pass over certain phcno-
mena it has discovered and questions
it has raised to theology. And with
more confidence we may assert that
theology is parting with the conceit it
had assumed as queen of the Sciences
and clothing itself with it's proper
humility--is, ready to accept a. report
from any who can aid it IN it's exalted
studies.
This comfy between the sciences, or
rather necessary correlation, not only
leads to good feeling and mutual re-
spect,. but insures recognition Of
each others conclusions, Whatever
is. true in one must be true in all.
Whateyeri Unnecessary to the perfection
of one cannot be ruled out of another.
That which is true in mans spiritual
life must be true in his social life; and
whatever is true in social life must not
contradict anything in his physical
life. We might reverse tLis,. and say
that no true psychologist will define
the physical man SO as to exclude the
social man; nor will he so define the
social and political man as to- shut out
the spiritual man; nor will he so de-
fine the common, humanity as, to ex-
elude personality. He will leave 3
margin for other sciences whose claims
are as valid as those Of his own. If,
for example, Immortality is q neces-
sary coordinate of mans moral nature,
an evident part of its eontent,--the
chemist and: physiolo gist will not set
it aside because they find no report of
it in their fields. If it is q. part of spir-
itual and moral science. it cannot be
rejected because it is not found in ply
steal science. So much, at least, has
been gained by the new comfy in the
sclences,-that opinions arerespccted,
and questions that belong to other de-
partments are relegated to- them. in a.
scientific spirit.