POLLY OP OVERLOOKING RELIGION. 



seminaries, as subjects which demand particular 

 attention. Thus the Deity is carefully kept out 

 of view, and banished, as it were, from his own 

 creation ; and the susceptible mind of the youth 

 ful student prevented from feeling those impres 

 sions of awe and reverence, of love and gratitude, 

 which the study of the material world, when 

 properly conducted, is calculated to produce. 



The same principles and defects are percepti 

 ble in the instructions communicated in most of 

 the Mechanics Institutions, which have been 

 lately formed for the improvement of the middle 

 and lower classes of society. It has been public 

 ly announced, in the speeches of gentlemen of 

 science and erudition, who, with a laudable zeal, 

 took a part in the organization of these institu 

 tions, -and the announcement has been re-echo 

 ed in every similar association, and transcribed 

 into every literary journal, that, &quot; Hencefor 

 ward the discussions of science are to be complete 

 ly separated from religion. 1 &quot; I do not mean to 

 accuse the highly respectable characters alluded 

 to, as being hostile either to natural or revealed 

 religion, from the circumstance of their having 

 made this announcement ; as I presume they 

 only intended by it to jet rid of those sectarian 

 disputes about unimportant points in theology, 

 which have so long disturbed the peace of the 

 church and of the world. But, when I consider 

 the use that will be made of it by certain cha 

 racters and societies, and the bearing it may have 

 on the mode of communicating scientific know 

 ledge, I am constrained to pronounce the decla 

 ration as no less unphilotophical, than it is impi 

 ous and immoral in its general tendency. It is 

 unphilotophical ; for science, when properly 

 considered in relation to its higher and ultimate 

 objects, is nothing else than an investigation of 

 the power, wisdom, benevolence, and superin 

 tending providence of the Almighty, as displayed 

 in the structure and movements of the universe, 

 of the relation in which we stand to this Great 

 Being, and of the duties which we owe him. 

 To overlook such objects, is evidently contrary 

 to the plainest dictates of reason and philosophy. 

 Is it possible that an intelligent mind can contem 

 plate the admirable and astonishing displays of 

 divine perfection and munificence, throughout 

 every part of creation, and not be excited to the 

 exercise of love, and gratitude, and reverential 

 adoration? Such feelings and emotions lie at 

 the foundation of all true religion, and the man 

 who can walk through the magnificent scene of 

 the universe, without feeling the least emotion of 

 reverence and adoration, or of gratitude for the 

 wise and benevolent arrangements of nature, 

 may be pronounce^ unworthy of enjoying the 

 beneficence of his Creator. It was doubtless for 

 this end. among others, that the Almighty open 

 ed to our view such a magnificent spectacle as 

 the universe displays, and bestowed upon us 

 fitculf ios capable of investigating its structure, 



that we might acquire, from the contemplation 

 of it, enlarged conceptions of the attributes of hi* 

 nature, and the arrangements of his providence, 

 and be excited to &quot; give unto nim the glory due 

 to his name.&quot; And, if we derive such impres 

 sions from our investigations of the material 

 system, shall it be considered as inconsistent 

 with the spirit of true philosophy, to endea 

 vour to communicate the same impressions to 

 the minds of those whom we are appointed to 

 instruct? There can be little doubt, that the 

 practice of setting aside all references to the cha 

 racter and perfections of the Deity, in physical 

 discussions, has tended to foster a spirit of irreli- 

 gion in youthful minds, and to accelerate their 

 progress towards the gulf of infidelity and scep 

 ticism. 



Again, philosophy, as well as religion, re 

 quires that the phenomena of nature be traced 

 up to their first cause. There are no causes 

 cognizable by the senses, which will account for 

 the origin of the universe, and the multifarious 

 phenomena it exhibits ; and therefore we must 

 ascend in our investigations to the existence of 

 an invisible and eternal Cause, altogether impal 

 pable to the organs of sense, in order to account 

 for the existence and movements of the material 

 world. To attempt to account for the harmony 

 and order, and the nice adaptations which appear 

 throughout creation, merely from the physical 

 properties of matter, and the laws of motion, is 

 to act on the principles of atheism ; and is clearly 

 repugnant to every dictate of reason, which de 

 clares, that to every effect we must assign an 

 adequate cause. And, if in our physical inves 

 tigations, we are necessarily led to the admission 

 of a self-existent and eternal Being, the original 

 source of life and motion, it must be deeply in 

 teresting to every one of us to acquire as much 

 information as possible respecting his perfec 

 tions, and the character of his moral government. 

 From Him we derived our existence, n Him 

 we depend every moment &quot; for life, and breath, 

 and all things.&quot; Our happiness or misery is in 

 his hands, and our eternal de-)tiny, whether con 

 nected with annihilation or with a state of con 

 scious existence, must be the result of his sove 

 reign and eternal arrangements. Our comfort in 

 the present life, and our hopes and prospects in 

 relation to futurity, are therefore essentially con 

 nected with the conceptions we form of the at 

 tributes of Him who made and who governs the 

 universe ; and, consequently, that philosophy 

 which either overlooks or discards such views 

 and considerations, is unworthy of the name, 13 

 inconsistent with the plainest deductions of rea 

 son, and, wherever it is promulgated, must prove 

 inimical to the best interests of mankind. To 

 regard science merely in its applications to the 

 arts of life, and to overlook its deductions in re 

 ference to the Supreme Disposer of events, is 

 preposterous and absurd, and unworthy of the 



