CHAPTER XVII. 

 SCIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY. 



Increasing opposition between modern science and Christian 

 theology. The old and the new faith. Defence of rational 

 science against the attacks of Christian superstition, especially 

 against Catholicism. Four periods in the evolution of Chris- 

 tianity : I. Primitive Christianity (the first three centuries). The 

 four canonical Gospels. The epistles of Paul. II. The papacy 

 (ultramontane Christianity). Ketrogression of civilization in the 

 Middle Ages. Ultramontane falsification of history. The papacy 

 and science. The papacy and Christianity. III. The Keforma- 

 tion. Luther and Calvin. The year of emancipation. IV. The 

 pseudo-Christianity of the nineteenth century. The papal 

 declaration of war against reason and science : (a) Infallibility, 

 (b) The Encyclica, (c) The Immaculate Conception. 



One of the most distinctive features of the expiring 

 century is the increasing vehemence of the opposition 

 between science and Christianity. That is both 

 natural and inevitable. In the same proportion in 

 which the victorious progress of modern science has 

 surpassed all the scientific achievements of earlier 

 ages has the untenability been proved of those mystic 

 views which would subdue reason under the yoke of 

 an alleged revelation; and the Christian religion 

 belongs to that group. The more solidly modern 

 astronomy, physics, and chemistry have established 

 the sole dominion of inflexible natural laws in^ the 

 universe at large, and modern botany, zoology,*and 

 anthropology have proved the validity of those laws in 



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