The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1912-03-15

AND BENEVOLENT DESIGN LIE
AROUND Us. and If ever perpleyities,
whether metaphysical or scientific,
! turn us away from them for time.
they COME BACK UPON US WITH
IRRESISTIBLE FORCE. showing to
us through Nature the influence of a
FREE WILL. and teaching us that
ALL LIVING THINGS DEPEND on
oNn EVERLASTING CREATOR AND
RULER"
Now then. when man like Lord
Kelvin speaks in this manner. a man
who had very likely more brains in
one OF his finger nails than a charac-
ter of the stamp of observer" ever
did possess or ever will possess. it is
the opinion conseientiously expressed
by this scribe that Christianity need
have no fears that small fray OF his
calibre will ever upset or destroy the
fundamentals of the religion of Christ.
Perhaps there is nothing more sug-
gestiye or pathetic inthe history of
modern science, as illustrating the ef-
feet of MaterialIstic doctrine. and of
the habit of mental absorption In pure
lg physical questions, than the grad
ual decay and loss of the higher tastes
and of the religious faculty in the
Naturalist Darwin as described by
himself in his autobiography. Dis
belief" says Darwin. crept over me
at a very slow rate. but was at last
complete. 1t may be truly said that
| am like a man who has become color
blind Though once capable Of Won
der. admiration. and devotion in the
presence of the works of God now
nat even the grandest scenes could
cause any such convictions and feel
ings to rise in my mind Ceasing to
believe in a future existence. aban-
doned faith in religion. For myself
do not believe that there ever has
been any revelation
As was said in my former article,
the foregoing confession shows how
the spiritual side of mans nature
may become atrophied or paralyzed,
even beyond recovery, as was the re
suit with Darwin.
On the other hand We have in the
life of George Romanes, the friend of
Mr. Darwin, and whom Darwin so high
ly esteemed as to turn over to him
all his manuscripts relating to psyco-
logical subjects with the request that
he would publish any parts he chose
in his works on Mental Evolution. Ro-
names, in his early life, had become
perverted by the influence of Mater
ialiste science from religious faith.
and published work entitled a Can
did Examination of Theism." Later
on. in his ripper years. he wrote Sc
quel to it, which he called "A Candid
of Religion While the
former work was decidedly anti-re-
ligious. the latter was not only relig-
ions but emphatically Christian In
this case the pendulum which had
passed the Point of rest returned in
its necessary search of il II is absO-
Iutely true. as one has said. that. the
law of moral graYitation cannot be |
nocked or ignored And there is a
grayitation Of the soul Godward. which |
must in the end prevail over Material |
sic speculation. providing thar mys-
terious line Of demarration be not
srossed. over which. il one once passes
here is no return. as in the case Of
.harles Darwin.
Romanes Was for years a devoted |
With Darwin in his Nat
iralisiic researches. and seconded him |
a an his utterances regarding the
,rigin Of species. in fact the whole |
evolutionary system, This man has
given his confessions in his celebrated |
rork "A Candid Examination Of Re
igion. The bearing Of this, Romanes
asst work. on the reactionary move |
nent IN the world OF scientific thought |
S of such importance as to justify a |
somewhat extended notice of the same, |
and OF the conclusions TO which he
points. lie begins his Candid Exam