Science vs. Religion by Wm. C. Gage.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 24, 1874

Science vs. Religion.

By Wm. C. Gage.

The religious world is just now in a state of considerable excitement, not to say positive alarm, at the latest encroachments of science on the domain of religion, as manifested in the addresses of Professors Huxley and Tyndall, in which the so-called fundamental principles of religion are boldly assailed.

The religious press have had “their say” in repelling these attacks, and, it appears to us, have but weakly parried the thrusts of these eminent scientists. The larger number of “evangelical” editors who have noticed the subject have contended with much warmth that these Professors are out of their place in leaving their own legitimate sphere of labor, and trenching on the grounds of theology, and have quoted to them the familiar maxim, “Shoemaker, stick to thy last.” While these strictures may be just, and the position now taken by them may be the correct one, we cannot forget the readiness with which the theological world have yielded inch by inch, or perhaps more properly, ell by ell, to the claims of “science, falsely so called,” in its encroachments upon the revealed word of God.

The Mosaic account of creation has been made to give way to the deductions of science in establishing a pre-Adamic and pre-historic age of the world. The Bible record of the flood has been belittled to a local affair of small magnitude, and one after another of the historical records of the Scriptures has been compelled to yield its claims to credence, as “science” has boldly challenged their authenticity and reliability.

We are reminded of the fable of the camel, who wished at first to get only his nose into his master’s tent, and having accomplished so much, finally succeeded in obtruding his entire body, and driving out the rightful occupant. In like manner, faith in the Bible has yielded to the false claims of science, until the latter has nearly supplanted that confidence in the word of God which is so essential to vital godliness.

If this alarm, which thus seizes upon the religious world at so late a day, shall teach them a lesson, it might be well. But such a result seems hardly probable. And as we view the matter, their terror comes not so much at having to give up the truth to the claims of so-called science; for this they have all along been doing at a fearful rate. The real difficulty consists in the fact that the gist of Profs. Tyndall and Huxley’s attacks is summed up in an assault upon the popular doctrines of immortality and immateriality. True, these men are opposers of revealed religion; but this fact has given the popular religious world but little anxiety until they declare, as does Prof. Huxley: “I find that matter can generate mind.” This is horrible! They may pronounce against the reliability of the Scriptures, they may question the efficacy of prayer, and their words pass comparatively unnoticed; but when they tell us that mind is dependent on matter, then they are out of their domain! On the point when they do really accord with the tenor of the Scriptures, they must be attacked and repelled, and driven from the territory of religion.

Prof. Huxley is a materialist, and believes that mind is dependent on matter. So was David, who declared that in the very day when a man dies his thoughts (mind) perish. So was Solomon, so was Job, and so was St. Paul. The latter declared that unless the dead have a resurrection those who are sleeping in Christ have perished; showing conclusively that he believed in the necessity of matter for the exercise of mind.

How singular that the theological world should be so willing to yield the truth, without a struggle or complaint, and so valiantly contend when their errors are assailed. WM. C. GAGE.

Walpole, N. H.