1878 THE ECLIPSE OF FAITH 83 



sophy, a system sufficient to account for all things in 

 heaven, in earth, and under the earth. And German 

 criticism seemed to many to be rapidly destroying 

 the credibility of the early documents of Christianity. 



Many a noble soul made shipwreck of its faith, 

 nor is this disaster wonderful. For popular theology 

 had made many unwise, many untenable claims, and 

 the ground had to be cleared before the battle could 

 be fought out on its real issues. There were some 

 who, amidst all the strife of tongues, kept their heads, 

 remembered bygone storms, and did not lose their 

 courage, their whole-heartedness, but they were few, 

 and were not over much heard or heeded. 1 For the 

 most part, those on the Christian side adopted the 

 line taken by the Bishop of Oxford in his review of 

 Mr. Darwin's ' Origin of Species ' in the ' Quarterly 

 Review,' and in his famous speech at Oxford during 

 the British Association of 1860. 



Certainly the outlook now is more encouraging 

 than it was twenty years ago. 



It has been well and eloquently said by one than 

 whom none is more qualified to speak on this subject : 2 

 ' It is quite certain that this scientific obstacle has 

 been, in the main, removed. In part, it has been 

 through the theologians abandoning false claims, and 

 learning, if somewhat unwillingly, that they have no 

 " Bible revelation " in matters of science ; in part, it 

 has been through its becoming continually more 

 apparent, that the limits of scientific "explanation " of 

 nature are soon reached; that the ultimate causes, 

 forces, conditions of nature are as unexplained as 



1 Cf. ' Life and Letters of Dean Church,' p. 154. 



2 ' Buying up the Opportunity,' a sermon by the Eev. C. Gore, 

 preached before the University of Oxford, and published by the S.P.C.K. 



a 2 



