10 



VAC C SCIENCE MONTHLY 



great and saving truths of r ,inii, as 

 they are revealed in the Be iptures, 

 and cherished in the hearts nelh v- 

 ers, and conserved by t! living 

 Church. Sor is there any cause for 

 misgiving in respect to anything that 

 science may hereafter deinonstntt — 

 for tin plane of its operations and that 

 of the supernatural truth i 'ion 



are not the same, and by no pox ble 

 extension can the former ■ - ■ into 

 collision with the latter. The high- 

 way of faith is all its own ; the eagle's 

 eye has not seen nor the lion's \\h Ip 

 trod it . 



The worst so vice Hint can be done 

 for religion, in this business, is that 

 rendered by its incompet< nl would-be 

 defender-, who, with more zeal than 

 discretion, rush into the contest against 

 more expert antagonists, either to be 

 discomfited in attempting to defend 

 what is not true, or to give sWay their 

 cause by false concessions. A large 

 ■hare of the discussions of these mat- 

 ters, heard from the pulpit or found in 

 the newspapers, come within rang ■ of 

 this criticism. Only those thoroughly 

 learned in the points at issue can dis- 

 cuss them in thepulpit, except to he- 

 tray the cause they would defend. 

 and the lies! learned will not 

 be apt t" bring them there at all. 

 There is reasons to believe that this 

 folly is not much less in fashion than 

 it was a few years ago. 



The history of ecclesiastical proceed- 

 ing in respect to the finding of science 



is not altogether an honorable one, as 

 may be seen in such cases as that of 

 Galileo. The literalistic theory of bib- 

 lieu! interpretation which controlled 

 the thinking mind of Christendom 

 from a very early age of the Church 

 down to the immediate past — and is 

 still powerful to mislead — has com- 

 pelled the Church, first to antagonize 

 the progress of science, and then tore- 

 treat before it. So it fought theCoper- 

 tiican system, but was compelled ai 

 last to yield the j oint : and .-o, for a 

 long time, it held on longer. Perhaps 

 it has not yet fully given it, up. Bui 

 a better method of thinking is now al- 

 most universally accepted by those 

 wdio must dictate the opinions of tie 

 Church of the future, which demands 

 that spiritual Christianity shall not be 

 subjected to scientific test of modes of 

 thought. Such subjects as the methods 

 of creation, the age of the world, He? 

 genesis of living things, and the devel- 

 opment of speeies, all belong to the 

 same class with the laws of gravitation, 

 the motion of the heavenly bodies, and 

 the precession of the equinoxes ; and 

 none of them fall within the sphere of 

 theology. They are all of the earth 

 earthy, and should be left lor .secular 

 men to deal with. "We have a more 

 sure word of prophecy." 



Society of Natural History Meetings 

 in February. 



Feb.6. — The Society net at the Li- 

 brary rooms at 7 :30p. ni. Dr. Bowers, 

 the president in the chair. The min 



