44. ASTRONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
stars whose distances have been computed; and of those who enjoy that precious information, how many have found it of practical value in their daily lives?
One of the very latest achievements of astronomy has been (or at least we are so informed) the determination of the orbit of an invisible satellite of the planet Jupiter. Assuming the existence of the satellite and the correctness of this determination, we would ask how those who obtain possession of this information are to weave it into the fabric of their "religious experience"?
We need not, however, confine ourselves in this inquiry to the astronomical discoveries of recent years. We may go back to what is regarded as the very beginning of astronomical science, namely to the time when the Ptolemaic theory of the universe was replaced by the Copernican-Newtonian theory. If we ask what spiritual advantage is enjoyed by the man of to-day over those who regarded the earth as the centre of the universe, and the heavenly bodies as its attendants, it will be impossible to discover any.
Surely it is needless to consider further the discoveries and teachings of the science of astronomy, in order to show the emptiness and miserable deceit of those who seek to turn men aside from the Word of God by the pretence that upon "the foundations laid by modern science" they may build a vaster and nobler fabric of religious faith. The grandest discoveries of the sublime science of the stars are pitifully and absurdly inadequate to serve for any such purpose.
Astronomy may indeed reveal something of the grandeur and magnificence of God's creation; but it can tell us nothing of His love and compassion for sinners. It may trace the course of the Milky Way; but it cannot show to perishing souls the way of eternal life. It may tell men how far the earth is from the sun; but it cannot tell the believing sinner how far God puts his transgressions from him. It may calculate the orbits of comets and the magnitudes of the heavenly bodies; but it cannot explore or reveal the unsearchable riches of Christ, or tell us aught of the rising of the Bright and Morning Star.
In view of these things, it is not too much to say that the annals of heathen superstition and idolatry contain nothing more egregiously superstitions or more grossly idolatrous than the modern man's worship of Science as a religious teacher superior to the Word of the living God.
CHEMISTRY
Let us turn now to another field of scientific investigation, where great activity has been displayed, and where many practical and highly interesting discoveries have been made in recent years; and let us inquire whether, among all these results of modern chemistry, there are any contributions to the sum of human
PROGRESS IN CHEMISTRY knowledge of spiritual matters, or any which have a spiritual value or application. Although we have failed with the telescope of the astronomer to discover, in the domain of his science, any spiritual facts, or anything which men could weave into the fabric of their religious experience, we may perhaps be more fortunate with the microscope of the physicist.
So diligently and so effectively has chemical research been pursued during the past fifty years, that, within that period, its text-books have been entirely rewritten. This science has, within that period, been put upon an entirely new basis, under the revolutionary influence of what is known as the "atomic theory." During the same period a great mass of facts regarding the properties of matter, and in particular regarding the actions of various substances upon each other, has been accumulated. Many new reactions have been discovered; and out of all this have come numerous new and useful commodities and many new industrial processes.
But if the atomic theory be capable of serving as the basis of a new chemistry, the very slightest acquaintance with it will suffice to show that it could not by any possibility serve as the basis of a new theology. Indeed, it may be regarded as fortunate that one's faith has not rested for its support upon the atomic theory, since that theory seems to have had its day, and is apparently about to give way to a brand new theory of "ions" or "electrons." For the current teaching of advanced chemistry is that the hypothetical "atom," so far from being the ultimate particle of matter, as was until now held as the basic fact of chemical science, is itself composed of a countless multitude of "electrons," all of them in excessively rapid motion.
From this and from similar incidents we may learn that, if the foundations of a human science be destroyed, it is no great matter; for that science may be built anew upon other foundations, and may stand with apparent solidity and permanence until these in turn give way. But if the foundations of faith be destroyed, there is nothing for the righteous to do. If Christ be not raised from the dead, their faith is vain, they are yet in their sins; and, moreover, they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. It would be the end of hope as well as the end of faith. For if in this life only we have hope, if Jesus Christ be not entered with another life into the holy place, and if we have not this hope as an anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast, then are we of all men most miserable.
Those who are enraptured with the doings of this scientific era may bestow upon the discoveries of chemistry all the admiration whereof they deem them worthy, and to that we should offer no objection. But when simple-minded people, easily overawed by
WHAT CHEMISTRY CANNOT DO long words and imposing names, and who have no facilities for investigating the statements made to them, are told by their religious instructors that the modern sciences have displaced the old foundations of faith, and have replaced them with other and more enduring foundations, upon which is rising a vaster and nobler fabric of faith than the world has ever before known, we do most earnestly protest against such utterances as mischievous and soul-destroying falsehoods.
Modern chemistry may have given us better soap, but it has discovered no means for cleansing the heart from sin. It may have transformed the art of tanning leather, and supplied many new dye-stuffs for our textile fabrics; but it can furnish no oil of joy for mourning, and no garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. It may produce illuminating devices for dispelling the darkness of nature, and high explosives for destroying life and removing mountains; but it cannot give light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, or blow up the barrier that sin has placed between man and a thrice-holy God. It may even fill men's bodies with drugs and medicines; but it cannot fill their hearts with joy and peace.
GEOLOGY
Very briefly we look at another interesting field of scientific research. Geology is comparatively an infant among the family of sciences, and (like other infants) it has much to learn. But (and again like other infants) it has assumed to teach, often with great positiveness, in regard to matters whereof it is but just beginning to get hold of the facts. Hence a supposed conflict which made considerable noise a few decades ago (but of which we now hear very little) between the teachings of Geology and those of Genesis, touching certain events in the long-past history of the earth.
Geology concerns itself with the study of the earth's crust; and the investigations of men in that interesting field have resulted in the accumulation of much fragmentary information concerning the constitution of the upper part of the crust of the earth upon which we live: but the information thus far accumulated is relatively meagre. Geology has, in addition to facts of the nature indicated above, furnished a large and varied assortment of guesses concerning the method of formation of the earth's crust, the sequence and remoteness in time of the several layers whereof it is composed, the nature of certain catastrophes which have left their marks upon and under the earth's surface, the condition of the earth's interior, and the like. All this is interesting, no doubt, and, in its place, may be highly important. Furthermore, all studies of nature are profitable to the reverent mind, which sees everywhere in nature the evidences of the manifold
DEFICIENCIES OF GEOLOGY wisdom of God. "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all" (Ps. civ. 24). "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein" (Ps. cxi. 2).
But we shall search in vain among the facts and theories of geology for anything which is of religious value, or which has any bearing whatever upon the relation of the soul of man to the Creator and to the universe.
Geology may make known to us something of the riches which God has stored in the mine; but it cannot help us to know the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, or the fulness of Him in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. It may impart some measure of information concerning the formation of the earth's crust during ages past; but it can tell nothing of God's eternal purposes which are to be fulfilled in the ages to come. It can show us, in the fossiliferous rocks, the graves of once-living creatures, over which death has established its awful power; but it can tell us nothing about the resurrection from the dead, and the restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
This consideration of the three active sciences of the day will surely suffice to expose the emptiness and deceit of such statements as that "Science is supplying the facts which the New Theology is weaving into the texture of religious experience." Yet the frequency with which one meets such utterances, and the astounding disposition of the mass of people to accept them without challenge or scrutiny, justifies the most thorough investigation of this particular form of idolatry. We have not yet got to the bottom of it, and so we pursue the subject a little further.
WHAT IS "SCIENCE"? THE QUEST OF AN ANXIOUS SOUL FOR ITS TEACHINGS.
We are now in a position to ask, Who, or what, after all, is "Science"? Where is its shrine? Who is its accredited mouthpiece? Suppose that some poor ignorant stumbler in the darkness of this world has heard, in an eloquent sermon delivered by some "eminent divine," that a great goddess called "Science" has visited the earth charged with the glorious mission of dispelling its gloom, and releasing the poor captives who have long been held in the grievous bondage of ignorance and superstition. He may not know just what these phrases mean; but they sound good, and he does know the burden of his own heart, and realizes fully that he is in sore trouble and need. So great, in fact, is his sense of need that he catches eagerly at any offer of deliverance. So he sets himself
THE QUEST FOR "SCIENCE"
to ascertain just what Science has to say about his case, and to learn what remedy she can furnish to cure the sickness of his soul, and to bring peace to his troubled conscience. To whom shall he go for this information, and for the particular facts which are needful to be woven into the fabric of his religious experience? This is the practical test of all the systems of New Theology, Modernism, and the like; and its application at once reveals the fact already stated, that there is no such thing as Science. It is an abstraction, an idol, a creature of the human imagination, which men have set up, and to which they have attributed real existence and superhuman powers. It has no more to say for the guidance of the human soul than the crudest idol to which the most ignorant savages address their worship.
If the seeker listens to the voices of those who assume to speak for Science, he hears a perfect Babel of contradictory utterances, no two in agreement on any matter connected with the mysteries of the soul, and none of them even assuming to give him the help he needs.
If he continues the search, determined to ascertain just what reality there is to which the name of "Science" could be attached, what he shall find is (1) a few men, mortals and sinners like himself, and just as much in need of Divine aid, who are devoting part of their time to the observation, each as best he may and in the manner he deems most effective, of some tiny portion of the visible universe; and (2) a great many large books, containing a vast number of statements and conjectures, for the most part quite unintelligible to the ordinary reader, and quite unprofitable to the few who are able to grasp their meaning, a large part of the contents of these books being devoted to disputing, questioning, or pouring contempt upon, the assertions of other like books. Such is the "state of Science" in this enlightened century; and it is well to bear in mind what has been already said, that it is not from true men of science that the statements we are considering proceed.
It is very important for us to understand that there is no one who has either the authority or the ability to speak for Science, and that it is quite impossible to ascertain what is the authoritative teaching of Science on any matter of real importance. On the other hand, those who receive instruction on the authority of the Bible can readily ascertain whether or not the teaching be scriptural.
It is also well for all to understand that the matters regarding the physical universe and the physical life of creatures therein, which have been definitely settled as the result of human investigations, are very few in number, and that among them is nothing that could furnish any spiritual information or moral aid to a human being.
We do not stop to consider the contributions which
COMPLEXITIES OF MODERN LIFE 321 the discoveries of men have made to the physical comforts and conveniences of life; for these things do not lie within the scope of our inquiry. It may be conceded that the ingenuity and industry of the modern man have brought into existence, as new social factors, many devices, machines, engines, processes, and appliances, which have made the existence of human beings in the mortal body a very different thing from what it was a few generations ago, and which incidentally have also added much to the complexities, anxieties, and dangers of life. Whether humanity as a whole is really any better off for these things, is a question as to which there are radical differences of opinion; but since that is a question which concerns the world only and those who are of it, we shall not spend time upon it. What is important for those who are in the world but not of it, is to grasp clearly the fact that, in respect of instruction or light upon spiritual matters, mankind owes absolutely nothing, and less than nothing, to that abstraction which is adored under the name of "Science." On the contrary, this abstraction is the cover for an enemy, and a formidable one, since it is being used to blind mankind to the only true Light, and to divert perishing sinners from the only Way of life.
If one would learn from an eminent man of science just what the latter has to offer as a basis of faith, or a religious support, he could not do better than to read a book, lately published, entitled *The Substance of Faith Allied with Science*, by Sir Oliver Lodge, who stands well to the front among living men of science. This is a very serious work, written by a man of naturally reverential mind and religious temperament; and in it he attempts (quoting his own words) "to lay a sound foundation such as can stand scientific scrutiny and reasonable rationalistic attack." This is probably the best attempt that has yet been made to put before men, in the name of Science, something which may be substituted for the Word of God as the basis of faith. Yet it is in no spirit of cavilling, or of disrespect for the eminent author, that the present writer declares the book to be utterly void of anything that could be called the "substance of faith." It contains merely a string of insipidities, inspiring no confidence, imparting no conviction, containing absolutely no message for the heart and mind, and leaving even the curiosity unsatisfied.
It is not in the nature of what is called "Science" to reveal spiritual certainties or to impart conviction. The inquiring soul never obtained, as the result of a scientific quest for spiritual information, however diligently pursued, anything better than a conjecture. No other result is attainable in that way. Of the sources of information available to mankind, the Word of God is alone capable of imparting absolute conviction to the human heart and mind. To this end is it given, that the