The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-03-22
THE PULPIT AND PEW.
NEWS ExTRACTs OF INTEREST TO
CHURCH PEOPLE.
The Witness of Science to Religion-Indhf-
ference to Religion Has Passed Into Re-
lIrIous Excitement, sane or Morbid, But
Almost Universal.

ference TO Religion Has Passed Into Re
lIcious Excitement, Sane or Morbid. But
Almost Universal.
II is an age Of deep spiritual unrest. Indh-
ference % religion, as the Able de lamennals
observed il slxty-ive years ago. has passed
into religious excitement. sane or morbid. but
almost universal The stupendous discoveries
and inventions which are drawing mankind
together. practically fulfilling that once i'm
possible dream Of annihilating time and
space. have. by the same stroke rolled ont
before Us immea ,urable prospects in the
starry heavens ard put back the fancied be
cinnings. whether of our race or our planet
until il might seem that we were looking on
infintude face % face. In the conflux OF two
eternities. in the meeting Of immensties, We
stand M every moment but now. 80 keen Is
the apprehension Of these things which
knowledge has hestwed on minds not other
wise Of extraordinary compass, that we
touch the overwhelming fact a. with our
hand. The open secret, from TINS point or
view is a constant vision. And science holds
the glass through which we study and take II
ill., Microscope telescope, spectrOscope-
these and their ike are the woodworking
instruments which II they have not thrust
back the threshold Of sensiDlity.' nor diS-
closed new senses have at all events. brought
rs closer than the human spirit ever stood be.
fore 10 the boundaries If matter. The veil
which hangs between seen and unseen may
still be impenetrable. but n T. becoming
translucent. Our heightened senses perceive
light where there WAS only darkness. The
rind of the commonplace grows thinner. Ma
terialisn itself is on It's knees before the
mystery which. with stammering lips and %
double tongue. II calls the lnkuOwable.' 80
intoxicated are men with the wine Of this be-
wlldcrug science that the formerly dead
seeming thing known as Mature has become
to them living miracle. and lotZe and Her
bert Spencer. he tran"eni"ntallst ana the az
nOstic, agree IN declaring that llfe rather
than matter Is tine rOot-word. the Alpha and
Omega of all Jour knowledge. There Is he-
ginning 10 bee an induc'lye, thoroughly a,cer
tanned experimental science OF life Modern
biology proceeds not on Lealsay nor traul-
ton. not by porting over lnoth-caten recipes
for curing cont los snake-stone. and for mix
ing nauseous compounds on the principle that
what j. abnormal must needs be ehoacloUs
but 10y letting the phenomena tell their own
story without fear or favor. "hypothe,rs
non hngo" said the great Newton. con-
tent 10 dismiss cycle and eplcycle.
- look M the facts and allow them
20 suggest the meaning that was M them
Newton. indeed. WIS far from unwilling %
he called q guess, % provisional HYPOTHESIS
But II must be provisional. not dogmatlc
The world Of life is q wonder and mystery
Int II IS not "A contradiction, not an ln,oiuile
enigma without q meaning. Were tie mind
of man foreign 90 u. then we should feel per
petullv baked as We tried 20 measure rs
contents and scan their laws. But science
te,tincs that ouI mind ]. al home everywhere
i'm nature onion and the nehuld. when
cr0es-cxamiued 10y the -pec'r0,cop" utter
language 20. uutelligihle 10 the astronomer as
that which tine flame ~ % eteariue candle utiere
To the chemist. IN lump ot coal there Is no
less strange and familiar "a story than ma tie
metcorites which fall upon our earth from we
know not whence. The stars IN their course
obey the law Of gravItAtIon. which. as q mathe-
matcal formula, IS not more prtter-human.
however astonishing IN height amt depth,
than the multiplication table learned by
child If six years old Mans mind Is part Of
nature. Science. 1t will be granted on all
hands. is the revelation. not complete nor
adequate. vet effectively valid, OF universe
which exists and has existed. IT IS not merely
an ordered dream, for lis predictions may be
verified rs they constantly are. The guaran-
tee of It's possessing the known and not simply
the imagined i, that it foretels future which
by due experiment we can at once make the
present If facts so asccrtaned We're not
knowledge but a delUson. the whole mind Of
men would be unhinged. reason would be
thrown of rs balance. and absolute sclf-dc-
yourng skeptcsm would reign over the mental
chaos On ,his now universal admission |
take my stand. am firm Deliver IN the OBJ
iectiye validity of that kind Of knowledge
termed science. which Is founded, ! repeat
neither on hearsay nor on the ma
nipuation of abstract formulas. but
on observation, experiment, and reasoning
verified by these And seeing the progress
which has followed our dealing with matter
and life in obedience 10 such methods. ] ask
myself. Is It not possible 10 deal with religion
in q similar way; There Is an inductye basis
Of astronomy geology. chemistry. dynamlcs.
biology. l. there an inductiye basis oi re-
hgiou: Can We prove the immortality Of the
soul the law Of righteousness. the existence of
God. AS Newton proved the law of graytatlon,
or rs Pasteur has shown that spontaneous
generation does not take place; Have We any
good reason for supposing the truths OF
natural religion 70 be of So utterly different
texture from these truths that the universe.
searched into cXperimentally, will furnish no
token Of them. / cannot believe that the
mind has been thus strangely constructed.
Logic is one. not divided against itself, and
where there is reality comprehensive 10 the
intellect there may De inducton.-Rey. VIM.
Barry, III the Catholic World for March.