The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1888-02-10

Darwin interest In natural science.
No skopticlsm abont religion seems to
have influenced him. only his bent
toward studies that he and his friends
felt TO be more congenial TO hIs tastes
and abilities.
For many years he seems to have
continued TO be believer In orthodox
Christianity. He never appears TO
have had any inward religious expert
once. even when he was studying to be
Clergyman, but he had that unqucs-
tioning intellectual belief IN tho Bible
and its teachings that is usual among
men brought up under religious In
flucncos. When he began tho course
Of speculation and investigation as to
the origin of species. which resulted In
the publication of the theory now uni
versally known rs Darwinism. the ten
dcncy OF these speculations was to
undermine his religious beliefs. These
had all along been traditional rather
than personal, and TO under
mine them was perhaps no
hard thing. He did not give
w ONhtt
than scientific subjects. and when his
opinion was asked on religious ques-
tons he gave IL with modesty, as that
Of one who was no authority. But.
nevertheless. no did give 1t TO many
persons, and mt some length.
1t may be said, in word. that dur
ing his later years Darwin wavercd
between theism and agnosticism. AT
times one form of belief was upper
most, and again the other would al
most convince his judgment. 1t was
purely n mental process with him. u
balancing Of probabilities with can
did and truth-loving spirit-but with
u mind that had never been influenced
by personal faith IN Jesus. The
one consideration that always
staggered him and kept him
from total abandonment Of religion
was, to uso his own words. 'the OK
treme difficulty. or rather impossible
ty, of conceiving this immense and
wonderful universe. including man.
with his wonderful capacity of look
ing far backwards and far into futuri-
ty. as the result of blind chance or
necessity. "When thus rejecting" he
adds. II feel compelled to look TO First
Cause. having an Intelligent mind IN
some degree analogous TO that OF
man; and / deserve TO be called q
theist."
II this was the conclusion OF mind
In ito ttannI NunpE lima Of In al
did and colorless. absolutely with
out bias in favor of religion.
and strongly biased against IL
by his scientific beliefs, may
it not be confidently assumed that
the same consideration will have an
even greater weight with men for
all time to come? The argument Is
indeed unanswerable, irresistible. and
must compel the surrender Of minds
that are open TO conviction. Mr..
John Stuart Mil. in his posthumous
Essays on Religion. advises thcologi-
ans to stick to tho argument from de-
sign. And though Darwinism has
been hailed In some quarters rs de-
structivo to theology, the case Of OAR
win himself shows concusivcly that
such is far from being true.
1t is. indeed. impossible TO believe
that men with sound intellects will
ever come to tho point where they are
able honestly To accept tho theory that
the universe Is the work Of blind
chance. To assume that the prlmordial
matter and force from which all
things (by the theory have been
developed, contained within them.
selves the promise and potency of all
that Is or IL 10 be. is only To push tho
difficulty back step. Tho fundamen-
tai assumption Of science Is that every
effect must have an adequate cause.
and The cause OF mind can not be
any thing inferior to mind. This con-
viction can not loose its hold on man
kind with the advance OF knowledge.
for II IL n conviction that is closely
bound up with tho validity of all
knowledge. II out faculties are to be
trusted on any point II we really know
any thing with certainty, we may be
certain to precisely that degree that
there IL FIRST Cause of all existing
things. The valuo for others OF the
fluctuations in belief experienced by
man like Darwin IL In tho emphasis
that they lay on this. M y Exam
liner