The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-02-06
THE SUPERNATURAL IN THE Ma
TURAL.

supernatural. we eHOW6u GHdI Tue
absolute rejection of the superna-
tural led to atheism. But there are
many who do not absolutely reject
the supernatural; that is, they do not
eliminate God from the universe, but
they hold that he acts only through
the laws of the universe. They hold
that God is immanent in nature and
is constantly acting through the laws
of nature, but reject every such
thing as special creation or special
manifestation of power outside of or
in addition to the observed order. The
theory is something like this:
Far away back in the unknown
deons there was nebula or star dust.
Out of this nebula the solar system
was evolved. Our earth is part of
this system and so lineal descend
ant of this nebula or star dust. This
earth has passed through great
many changes until it has reached
its present condition. Plants and
animals and all that thereon is, have
been evolved from this earth. The
earth is the mother of all that is, man
and beast as we'll as plant and flower
have grown out of her bosom. Some
way in that far distant star dust were
deposited the possibilities of all that
is. AS the evolution proceeded these
possibilities we're realized, first in the
earth as a moulton mass, then in its
cooling and shrinking until the dry
land appeared, then in the vegetable
and animal kingdoms, and finally in
man as the browning wonder of this
wonderful process. Ali through this
process God has worked, but not out
side of it, or in addition to it. Evolu-
ton has done it all. 1t may be ad-
mitted that God deposited the germs
of all that is in the beginning, but
since that time he has done nothing
but energize the law of evolution,
turn the crank of this great evolu-
tionary process. He has never shown
his hand, never revealed himself in
nature or in human history 80 that
we know that he is; he has only re-
vealed himself in this long, continu-
GUS, and to most of us, blind process
of evolution. God never wrought
miracle, never added a new element
to nature or impulse to human his
tory, in fact he never did anything
except by evolution. In that far dis
tant nebula he sowed the seeds of our
earth and all that it contains and
those seeds have produced all that
now is or ever has been. God is in
nature and works through nature but
never outside of, above or beyond ma
ture. All of his ways are natural;
none of them are supernatural. Such
is essentially the theory of those who
reject the supernatural in nature and
human history. They admit the
supernatural, but it is supernatural
that always lives and works through
the natural; in fine, supernatural
that works in and through evolution.
Now will this theory hold water?
Is it true that God works only in the
natural? Does the present state of
our knowledge justify this affirma-
ton? Admit that all things came by
a process that we call evolution,
which we think is very likely true,
does the present state of our know
ledge justify the affirmation that no
where in this long process is there any
sign of the Divine hand, any indica-
ton of creative energy, any manifes-
tation of supernatural power? Let
us see. Science establishes two facts.
First that there was time when
there was no life on this earth; no life
of any kind, either vegetable or ami
NAL; and, second, that there is no life
without previous life. Life must ex-
list before there is any evolution or
propagation of life. But life is.
Whence came it? Do you say, from
life existing before the time specified?
But there was no life there. Prior
to the period specified there was no
life on the earth, as all admit. There
fore, life could not have come from
thence.
But do you say that it came from
germs existing in the earth? But
there were nc such germs. Science
assures us that no germs of life could
have gone through the primitive
fires. Life, therefore, could not have
come from thence. Or do you say
that life is the result of spontaneous
generations But spontaneous gen.
Grafton is a myth. Science assures
us that there is no such thing. All
life from life is fundamental doc
trine of biology. Life, therefore, did
not come from thence. Whence, then,
did it comet We are shut up to just
one answer Life came from God.
1t originates in the supernatural. 1t
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