The Irish standard., 1907-03-16

Biblical theology, instead of remaining
in his own field, that of astronomy.
The Church could not allow him to
interpret the Bible as he thought fit.
She told him to keep his hands off the
Bible, but he refused to listen to her
words Of warning.
The cry that the Catholic Church il
opposed to science does not, we are
happy to state, come from the great
leaders of scientific thought. 1t is
rather the camp followers and hang
ers-on who make the noise,' and, as
someone has pointedly said, if you
place a few frogs in your fish pond,
these few frogs will make more noise
than all the fish put together. Not
all statements made by men. who call
themselves scientists are really scien-
tific, for, according to a recent scien-
tific writer, in some of our popular
magazines assertions found under the
head Of "science" have really strayed,
by the mistake either of the printer
or of the writer, into the wrong de-
partment, and should be put back
where they belong, under the head OF
fiction"
The vast majority Of the great
scientific thinkers have seen no oppo-
,it hat ;r;1 nd
Listen to what the distinguished sci
enlist, Lord Kelvin. says about the
theory of evolution: "The fortuitous
concurrence of atoms is not an inap-
propriate description of the formation
Of a crystal but it is utterly absurd
when applied to living beings. Here
scientific thought is compelled to ac-
cept the idea of creative power.
Forty years ago." continues Lord
Kelvin, while strolling with Liebig in
the country lanes, 1 asked him if he
believed that the grasses and flowers
around about US could grow by mere
chemical forces. His answer was: NO
more do I believe that than'I believe
that a book of botany, describing the
nature Of these same grasses and
flowers, could grow by mere chemical
froces.'"
We might not inappropriately call
our age the age of electricity, and it is
to devout Catholics, firm believers in
the supernatural that we are indebted
| for the wonderful strides that scienc.
has taken in the evolution of this
mighty power. Aloysius Galvani, from
whom the galvanic battery takes its
name, was a fervent Catholic and a
member of the Third Order of St
Francis. Volta, whose name is recalled
every time We hear or speak of the
electric volt" was so earnest in his
Catholicity that he taught catechisn
publicly to little children. Ampere
though he passed through period Of
doubt, was practical Catholic.
| III all other fields of science, as well
as in the domain Of electricity Cat1o.
lies have won many Of the highest
honors. Father Peter Secchi, an Italian
Jesuit, has done more than any other
scientist to compel the sun to come
forth from it's abode Of dazzling ligh1
and write its autobiography for our in.
struction. Anthony Lawrence Lavois.
ier, a sincere Catholic, is rightly called
the Father of Modern Chemistry
Andrew Caesalpinus, another Catholic
was the first to construct a system o!
botany, and the name of the Catholic
Pasteur is on every ones lips. In fact
the catalogue of world-famous Cath
olic scientists and the list Of thei1
writings would fill volumes.
How, then, is it possible that, in face
of all these facts and very many more
which can be easily verified, there are
still found some who claim to have
brains, and yet who cling to the ole
calumny that the Catholic Church is
opposed to scientific knowledge? Theil
| I5iOl dllCS IL lHGlI Ollly eACuSS. liz
half-educated man." it has been truly
said, who is borne to the place O.
business, as it Were on the wings o.
electricity; who, from his Office or hi.
home, converses by means of a thir
wire with his friend miles away, may
affirm flippantly that modern scienc.
has given the deathblow to super,
natural religion; but the fact is tha
the Intellectual giants who made mod
ern science reality were devout be-
lievers in revealed religion, and tina
they bowed their heads not only t.
science. but. with deep personal love
to the God of SCIENCE
4 -.-----.----
| A Little Ambiguous.