EDITOR'S TABLE, 



367 



might be twisted into any sucli con- 

 struction. It is the theological teachers, 

 the editors of religious newspapers, that 

 thrust the question forward; and they 

 treat it in a way that will entitle them, 

 in our opinion, to rank among the most 

 efficient propagators of atheism. The 

 Kev. Mr. Talmage is an authorized 

 teacher of religion, and, as he is followed 

 by nmltituiles, it is presumable that his 

 statements have weight with them. 

 He tells them that the Ameeioan Cy- 

 clopedia is a propagator of atheism, 

 because it states in three lines the sci- 

 entific principle that matter is inde- 

 structible. Atheism is here put as 

 the necessary consequence of a demon- 

 strated truth — rather suicidal theology, 

 we should say — but who is the real 

 propagator of atheism, he who simply 

 states the truth, or he who construes 

 it as atheistic ? An established princi- 

 ple of science is taken up and subject- 

 ed to a little theological fumbling, with 

 the result — no God! — let the fumbler 

 take the responsibility. We throw back 

 this charge of propagating atheism 

 where it belongs, upon those who seek 

 every occasion to declare that tlie ques- 

 tion of the existence of God is depend- 

 ent upon what is going on in the field 

 of scientific research. It was those re- 

 ligious teachers who aflSrmed that, if the 

 earth is in motion, or was not created 

 in six days, there is no God ; and it is 

 these who now say that if evolution, or 

 spontaneous generation, or the doctrine 

 of the correlation of physical and men- 

 tal forces be true, there is an end to all 

 religion ; or, if matter is indestructible, 

 atheism is the consequence — it is these 

 that are sowing the seeds of doubt in 

 the community, and doing more than 

 any other parties to familiarize the 

 general mind with the question of 

 theism in its aspects of assumed uncer- 

 tainty. We smile at the religious pro- 

 ceedings of tlie heathen who, after 

 praying to his god for rain until he 

 loses patience, takes him down and 

 thrashes, kicks, and variously mal- 



treats him for neglecting his duties. 

 Yet, after all, how nmch worse is this 

 than the habit of taking down the idea 

 of God, and profanely battering it about 

 like a foot- ball in the logical arena? 

 We have preachers who make the pul- 

 pit a kind of conjurer's platform, where 

 the conception of the Deity is manipu- 

 lated by syllogistic legerdemain, appear- 

 ing here and vanishing there, now under 

 this hat, and now under that, to the due 

 astonishment of all beholders. Of the 

 pagan referred to, one thing must in 

 justice be said, that, although he pum- 

 mels his god with great irreverence, he 

 never doubts him. Some of our own the- 

 ologians, on the contrary, seem to be 

 more possessed with the idea of doubt 

 in regard to the existence of the Deity, 

 than any thing else. They treat it as an 

 open question, and are forever dwell- 

 ing upon its contingencies, and showing 

 how if this, that, or the other tiling be 

 true, then there is no God at all, and 

 every thing like religion is given over 

 to destruction. We are constantly told 

 that there is an alarming spread of dis- 

 belief in these days ; what else can be 

 expected under such inculcations ? Let 

 it be accredited to its chief source — the 

 audacity and folly of those who use sci- 

 ence to unsettle faith by forever insist- 

 ing upon their antagonism ; for religion 

 has no enemies so dangerous as those 

 who insist upon staking its truth upon 

 any conditions or results into which it 

 is the legitimate business of Science to 

 inquire. 



THE SOCIAL SCIEN-CE ASSOCIATION 



The American Social Science Asso- 

 ciation held its May session in New 

 York, and its proceedings have been 

 made familiar to the public through 

 the newspapers. They were of an in- 

 teresting character, embracing able pa- 

 pers and discussions on a wide range 

 of topics — education, labor, civil ser- 

 vice, finance, sanitary subjects, etc. 

 The earnest consideration of these 



