The Newtown bee., 1907-02-08
HOME NEWS.
WHY STUDY MORE SCIENCE
BY RALPH E. DANFoRrH.

leaving the active ministry for a term of years am ren0uncing the ministry altogether, but such has never been my intention. During the long sum- mer vacations plan to preach as sum- mer supply, and during term time there will be endless opportunities to .exert 8 Christian influence on numer- Ous young students who are preparing to become powerful influences in the life of our nation. A thriving univer sity draws thousands of the brightest young minds from many portions of the country.
 But the reason why l take oppOrtu nifty to study advanced courses of sci ence for period of years, is that l may be fitted to do my share in ad- vancing civilization in this age of sci ence. The great complaint among ministers to-day is that the we'll edu- cated progressive business men do not attend the churches located in the communities in which they dwell. Many ministers complain that the large numbers of these influential men which are absenting themselves from the churches indicates 8, decadence of the spiritual life of the nation.
 lam inclined to be less harsh in my judgment of the spiritual life of the nation. While the average minister in the larger churches may be as we'll educated in some lines as his educated parishioners and perhaps better edu- cated in a few subjects than they are, yet in this age of science the scientific education. of the majority of ministers is sadly deficient. There are of course some brilliant exceptions to this rule and these are the men who, other things being equal, are sought out by the ' men of influence, and their churches are thronged with eager lis teners and thirsty seekers after the truth. The education in science which < I~n 1{ofA {vn ing through High school and college and seminary amounts to only gen. eral lsmattering of physics, chemistry and biology of the most elementary nature. These prescribed courses in science are never more than one college year in length, and frequently less. After our wouldbe minister has fin- ished them, there are in all of our first class colleges, electives" in sciences which are more thorough-going in their nature, but our student finds his time full enough with other studies completing the prescribed elementary courses which have aroused scarcely more than 8 passing interest Tn his mind. Then he finishes his college course of literature, language, history, and philosophy; and his seminary homie tics, etc, goes into the ministry, where he shows the result of much careful thought and study, and may | also show an earnest spirit, but as the the whole range of human life and activity, and as science is now found active in every sphere of activity where there is progress, our minister | unwittingly makes frequent state mentS which are scientifically incOr. rect, and repeatedly draws conclusions which are absurdIy unscientific: Ii | fhoro chanca tn he in thA anAioncH some business men the nature O1 EwhoSe life work requires the constant and accurate application of certain scientific knowledge, they respect the Eclergyman's good intentions, but dt not care for the incorrect statement, ferences which are drawn. Thus it if that many men, who in general way may not be better educated than the
 minister, are absenting themselve'
 from church and losing the reverence for the ministry which their fatheri
 felt. The day has passed when edu
 cated and thoughtful Americans will accept fine-sounding schoolboy decla nations as sermons even though the.
 may contain a judicious blending o both pathos and humor.- Neither it amusement which people now seel in church, as have heard some min
 isters declare to be the case. It is
 fact that the American people do wan
 amusement and entertainment, but i
 is not toward the church that the
 look for it. Be the minister ever &
 sensational or entertaining, the churc
 will never come within gunshot o
 being as amusing as the ,theater, tn
 circus, the hippodrUme, the sea-beact
 the golf-links, or the concert. Sensi
 ble people do not look to the churc
 for amusement, although they have
 right to require brilliant animatio
 and intellectual sparkle in the sermon
 to.which they listen, if the preache
 a ten-thousand-dollar salary. Bu . what they want and must have
 meat, real solid spiritual meat, backe
 up by some sound knowledge, accurat
 scientific and correct. They have F right to have it, but the man wi a possesses such high qualities Of heal v and broad general Knowledge is ral
 indeed. He must be both saint an
 genius, and either of these withol
 the other is not very common.
 , AS for poor me, am neither; wOu ,, that I were both! One thing I (
 know, and that is that I do not kno
 half enough. Although I took tf s required course in science in colleI A and :then elected sciences, and ha S since then, in spare moments, bet N studying science, I am only at u X threshold of modern scientific know ~ edge. So l plan to take at least fo G years for exclusively scientific stu, X in large, up-to-date universit E where the professors, the laboratori
 and eOninmonfl the HhrQrv incty