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THE POPULAR SCIENCE 1T0XTHLY. 



The progress of thought in the Church 

 is forcibly shown to be a result of the 

 progress of science outside the Church. 

 The distinction between religion and 

 theology is not new, but Mr. Beecher 

 shows that it is wide and deep, and 

 thai religion must unload theology or 

 sink witii it. The doctrine of evolution 

 is not only broadly accepted, but i:s 

 coming is hailed as the greatest event 

 of modern religions progress. It is des- 

 tined to do what nothing else could so 

 effectual!/ do to sweep out of the way 

 and into oblivion the crreat bodv of old 

 orthodox theological dogma, by which 

 the human mind has been perverted and 

 enslaved for ages. We quote two or 

 three passages, which will illustrate the 

 positions taken by Mr. Beecher. After 

 a brief but vivid statement of the work- 

 ing of the law of evolution upward 

 through the various spheres of natural 

 phenomena, until man and his higher 

 development are reached, Mr. Beecher 

 aays: 



this point there is a halt. It is perhaps 

 moat revolutionary tenet ever advanced. 

 It will be to theology what Newton's discov- 

 eries were to the old astronomy. The repug- 

 nance that men feel at descending along such 

 a road, and with such an ancestry, would 

 n and subside in a short time. It is not 

 the retrospect, but the prospect, which gi - 

 Bach almost universal hesitation to the mind 

 and imagination of mere scientific moralists. 

 Its admission would be fatal to the theory of 

 a 1 1 md verbal inspiration of the Bible 



-1 held by some. The first two chapters 

 : lenesiB have been a sword in the hands 

 of theologues of old with which to fight 

 r. :- rf modern astronomy. Xext 

 they were sharpened against the advent of 

 geology. In both conflicts God prevailed 

 and the truth was victorious. Now again, i 

 bat upon a more tremendous issue, theology J 

 resists evolution. It is an honest resistance. , 

 To admit :' truth of evolution is to yield up 

 the re:_ 3 - Log : it > to change the 

 whole notion of man's origin, his nature, the 

 problem of human life, the philosophy of j 

 morality, the theory : sin, the structure of : 

 mo: _ srnment - I ght in the dominant 

 theologies r >f the I .m world, the fall of ' 



man in Adam, the doctrine : original sin, 

 the nature f am, and the method of atoning 



for it. The d: en : s :-f God as sot forth in the 

 confession of faith, and the machinery sup- 

 posed to be set at work for man's redemption, 

 the very nature and disposition of God as 

 taught in the falsely called Pauline but really 

 Augustin i an theology, popularly, known as 

 C.'.vinistic must give WJ 



The dread of Darwinian views is sincere ; 

 ye: a secret fear prevails that thev mav be 

 true. But have men considered what a relief 

 I they will be from some of the most disgrace- 

 ful tenets of theology ? Are they content to 

 gnaid and defend a terrific scheme which 

 lies the honor, the yosti nd the love of 

 I God against a movement that will cleanse the 

 ' abomination and vindicate the ways of God 

 to man ' Even if the great truth of evolution 

 led to unbelief, it could not be so bad as that 

 impious and malignant representation of God 

 and hi- _ ~ . mment which underlies all me- 

 diaeval and most of modern theology. "We 

 shall quote from the Presbyterian Confession 

 of Faith the account given by the Church of 

 the origin of man and of his moral govern- 

 ment, in the light of which the scientific ac- 

 count of the origin of man and the nature 

 of sin is as health to sickness, as life to death. 

 Instead of dreading the prevalence of the sci- 

 entific doctrine, Christian men should rush 

 toward it with open arms and exultation as a 

 release from the hideous nightmare of aares. 

 The tendency of recent scientific re- 

 rches and disclosures respecting the mind 

 of man and his origin and nature will be far 

 more pronounced upon the theories of the- 

 ology than upon the institutions of religion. 

 Christian churches are legitimate organiza- 

 tions for the development of religious emo- 

 tion and for the application of truth to our 

 daily life. Those churches which are organ- 

 ized for devotion will be less disturbed than 

 academical churches which have hitherto 

 aimed only to expound and defend a creed. 

 But churches whe a : genius it is to develop 

 religious thou_ it, as distinguished from re- 

 ligious emotion, will gradually change, and 

 the devotional element will take the place 



largely of the the . _ I the ethical the 



place of the philosophical. 



"When the creeds of the past era have 

 passed away, vre shall enter upon the creeds 

 of a new era. These will differ not alone in 

 their contents fr:m frmer doctrinal stand- 

 ards, but they wiD differ in the very genius 

 and method of construction. Our reigning 

 creeds begin with God, with moral govern- 

 ment, with the - heme of the universe, with 

 the great, invisible realm beyond. These 

 are the weakest places in a creed, because 

 the matters they contain are least within the 



