The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-10

Socrates and Plato and Jesus and Isaiah,
and the less we harmonize our religion
with 1t the better for our religion, and
decidedly the better for ourselves. This,
too, Is worth considering, VIZ, that 10
say that the best religion must be in har-
mony with established science, does not
by any means imply that the state of re-
ligion at the pesent time is very similar to
that OF Adam in the old miracle play,
where he was represented going across the
stage-going to be created. 1t is going to
be re-created, but 1t was created long ago
and long since was qaite as substantial
as the man impersonating Adam In the
play. What mean is that we haven t
| got to wait for last word of science, or
even for the next word, before we may
dare TO be religious, dare to feel that we
have religion, in which our right is in
defeasible. Ihoreau has told us that
| formerly on Cape Cod the ministers used
to get their salaries in part from the
whales cast up in storms long the shore
and he has pictured the unhappy minister
| peering out TO sea. with nor'-
easter blowing in his face. in the hope
| OF seeing whale with his salary, like
another Jonah, i'm its belly, coming in
helplessly with the wind and tide, and
he says that he would rather trust to the
deep sea for his sslary than to many a
New England congregation. But i am
sure OF this, that / would much rather
wait for the back Of Cape Cod for my
salary in whale bone and sperm oil than
to wait, as good many people In our
time seem to think that we must do, for
Science TO get In all its facts in order that
we may begin to have something that we
can cali religion. Religion is not the pros
| pective daughter of Science. Rather Is Sci
ence the historic daughter OF religion. 1t
is no enemy of Science who has said this
and confirmed the truth of his afiirma-
/ fion with N bupdaut ilIu IL IL no
less man than Herbert Spencer. Mathe-
matics and astronomy, the earliest
! Sciences, he tells US were brought into
existence by Science in order that they
| might fix her sacred festivals for her with
mete and bound. Never at time in the
| worlds history has the amount OF reli-
gion or even of good religion in the
world been coexi ensive with the amount
OF Science, or even of good Science. For
| the great fountain OF religion has been
| the common knowledge of mankind, the
knowledge which is incapable of the ex-
act provision of Science, that which
comes to him simply as men looking
abroad upon the earth about him and
with the fair and ofen lace OF heaven,
and into he deeper depths OF their own
minds and hearts. Professor Nj. James
has recently been scouting natural reii-
gion. That Is because he leaves man out
of nature, which is much as If one should
of Shakespeare But form man and the
external world, and II Science had been
dumb so far, or should straightway fall
silent, we should have no mean religion
because we should have the heavens and
the earth as they appeal to eye and ear, to
the imagination of the heart, and because
| We should have man with his intellect
and his conscience and his affections and
| there can be no negation OF Science 80
| wise and serious and important as the
| Affirmation of the unscientific mind that
| there must be power somehow, some
where adequate to the production OF the
| things, a power before which we must
| bow our heads in awe and reverence and
| alteration, thanks and Praise. These
| things are sound and true, but so Is this
also; that our common knowledge has
| been vastly reinforced by the discoveries
of Science, SO that the world in which
We live daily, and therefore actually, is
a much grander world than that of the
| unscientific mind and demands much
more reasonable worship" than the cru
dities of our common knowledg', how
ever helpful and inspiring these have
| been and are.
Not only ought we to demand that the
| religion which expects our intelligence's
assent and the devotion of our hearts
shall be in harmony with established sci
ence, but we ought also to demand that
| scientific movement and research. Unless
We, too, believe that IL will make many
| changes in the creed, enter into many
| new mysteries, make many new discover
| les and the religion that is to be deserv-
ing of our respect and admiration of our
loyalty and service, must throw no OH
| stacies In its way, must not PREJUDICE it's
methods and results Men do not cease
| to be men when they become scientists
| or theologians and there have heen many
scientists with the theologic temper. One
| of them You will remember said $50
much the worse for the rock" when he
| found they didn't favor his water theory
whit as theological as IL he had said, as
| many have said, $50 much the worse for
! the texts,o when they haven't favored
their water theory OF salvation. Only the
rocks in the last analysis proved more
unmanageable than the texts. The right
attitude for both theologjans and scien-
| fists Is that which asks "Does any doc
trine agree with the truth" and adds, "if
1t does not will try to make II do so. :"
| But the more com on attitude is that
which esks, "Does the truth agree with
my doctrine?' and adds, tacitly, Of
course, "If it does not / will be bound 1t
shall" There is great deal of sentiment
| going about cslling itself the love Of
truth which had its prototype in Marcis-
sus In love with mis- own shadow in he
| pool and in the German student who was
| found luxuriating on his sofa and when
asked what he was doing, answered: ~
am adoring myself" Unouestionably
| there has been much mere of this tenn
| per among the tbeologians than among
| The scientific men, but there has been
| enough of IL among the latter to prevent
| their gloryipg above measure. Sympathy
with chanReful science- that is the right
attitude for religion: Anxiety only to
find ont something more OF truth, assured
that in so doing we are finding out so
much more of God.
But 1t goes without saying, as you
know we'll enoug1, that the general attl-
tude of orthodox theology towards sci
ence has been very different from this. Ii
stood out against Copernicus and Galileo
until IL had not leg TO stand on any
longer IL stood out sgiinst Newton as
substituting the attraction OF gravity for
the dire ct action of the Almig nty. And
I'm our own times what strange things we
have seen. Every step which science has
taken TO enlarge the process Ivy which the
world and man have arrived at their pres
ent stages OF development has heen op-
posed With heat and anger and vitupera-
tion. The Book of Genesis has teen
I