The scientific evidences of revealed religion ..

Front matter

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^ PRINCETON, N. J. ^

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Preface

The literary form of the following papers has been predetermined by the occasion for which they were prepared, as Lectures in the Chapel of the General Theological Seminary.

In the first two Lectures it became necessary to touch upon some current questions of biblical criticism so far as they are involved in the relations of Science and the Bible. As these questions could not be thoroughly discussed within such limits, I have added several essays designed to unfold more fully the special topics to which they refer.

The lecture on " Bishop Butler's Contribution to the Christian Evidences " would naturally serve as an historical introduction to the whole course of lectures. It was originally delivered in the Theological Seminary of Virginia and afterward repeated in the General Theological Seminary in New York. The article on " The Alleged Scientific Errors of the Bible " is here reproduced by permission from the Century Magazine. The other papers have not before been published.

It should be added that occasionally arguments and expressions have been taken from the second volume of my Philosophia Ultima in anticipation of a revision and completion of that work.

On the basis of the principles premised, I have en-

X PREFACE

deavored in this volume to collect evidences in favor of revealed religion from the sciences of astronomy, geology, and anthropology. Similar portions of evidence should yet be collected from the sciences of psychology, sociology, comparative religion, and from the philosophical sciences, in order to complete the whole body of the Scientific Evidence. The materials for this remaining task have already been gathered for future publication.

Chaeles W. Shields.

Prustcbton University, October, 1900.

Contents

I

The Logical Natuee of the Scientific Evidence 1

The Christian religion, now assailed in the name of science. ^-Present state of parties. — Duty of uniting the old and new schools of biblical study in defence of the Faith, on scientific ground. — Historical origin of the Scientific Evidence. — Its logical premises — Theism, Revelation, the Canon. — Popular fallacies now hindering its due appreciation : First, " The Bible was designed to teach nothing but religion and morals " — False in its premise, in its process, and in its product — The Bible in its scope inclusive of Science as well as Religion. — Second Fallacy, "The Bible contains scientific errors " — Based on a questionable theory of inspiration — Proves too little, or too much, when consistently applied. — The so-called errors are approximate truths and partial revelations. — Unfortunate use of the word "error" in connection with the sacred writings. — The Bible neither teaches science nor anything contrary to science.

II The Logical Value of the Scientific Evidence 24

Third Fallacy : " The Bible is literature to be studied like other books" — New literary interest in the Bible — Superficial resemblances between literature and Scripture — The one fundamental difference — Prophets and apostles not mere poets and philosophers. — Their personal errancy outside of their inspired writings — Their personal freedom as organs of the Holy Spirit— The Divine unity of the Scriptures. — Other requisites of biblical study besides the literary : 1. Logical — Mere higher criticism not fully applicable to inspired writings ; 2. Scientific problems not to be solved by mere literary methods — The Higher Criticism becoming too unscientific — Its barren

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results; 3. Spiritual discernment more important than literary taste. — Irreverence and rationalism of the Radical School of higher critics. — The reverent conservative school to be distinguished from them and welcomed on the basis of the foregoing principles of the Scientific Evidence. — High qualities of the Scientific Evidence. — Its four sources and forms: Evidence of scientific authorities, scientific facts, scientific theories, and scientific marvels. — Its value in relation to the other Christian Evidences; to the scientist himself ; and to the interests of civilization.

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1. Historical growth of the astronomical evidence. — The testimony of astronomers. — 2. Perfect agreement of astronomical facts and revealed truths. — -Astronomical literature Ulustrative of the Divine attributes. — 3. Provisional agreement of astronomical hypotheses and revealed doctrines. — Series of nebulas, suns, and planets. — The constancy or the evolution of cosmic types in relation to the doctrine of creation. — The habitability or unhabitabUity of planets in relation to the doctrine of angels. — A permanent cosmos or a final chaos in relation to the doctrine of new heavens and earth. — Overwhelming problems of astronomy. — 4. Astronomical miracles. — Standing Still of the Sun, Dial of Ahaz, Star of the Nativity, made credible by marvels of modern science. — Remaining difficulties of faith. — The apparent insignificance of Earth and Man in the astronomical universe.

IV

Its historical growth. — Testimony of geologists. — Geological facts and revealed truths. — Rich geological literature illustrating the divine wisdom and goodness. — The nebulous earth and the biblical chaos. — The Catastrophists and the Uniformitarians in relation to the Six Creative days.— Exegetical questions. — The human and Divine Sabbath. — Critical questions.— The stability or the dissolution of the globe in relation to the New Earth. — Geological miracles : The Deluge, Burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Exodus, etc. — Comparative strength of the geological evidence. — Difficulty of conceiving geological time. — Biblical predictions of geological events and their spiritual lessons.

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The Evidence feom Anthropology 107

Definition of anthropology as the chief biological science, embracing ethnology, philology, and archeeology. — Early stage of its evidence. — Testimony of biologists and physiologists. — Revealed truths in anthropology. — Its religious literature. — The constancy of the human species or the evolution of animal into human species as advocated by ethnologists, philologists, and archseologists. — Relation of these speculations to the First Adam. — The unity or plurality of races in reference to the Fall of Adam. — Exegetical questions. — Critical questions. — The physical corruptibility or perfectibility of the species in relation to the Second Adam. — Miracles of the Ark, Tower of Babel, Gift of Tongues, etc., in the light of modern science. — Problems of anthropology as connected with geology and angelology. — The theory of human evolution not irreconcilable with revealed religion. — Difficulty of reconciling pain and death in inanimate nature with the divine benevolence. — Beautiful adaptation of external nature to the aesthetical faculty of man, as shown by the three physical sciences which have been reviewed.

VI Bishop Butler's Contribution to the Christian Evidences 140

The personality of Butler. — The Epoch of Butler.— His Literary Deficiencies.— Alleged Logical Deficiencies. — Metaphysical Deficiencies. — Religious Deficiencies. — His positive contributions. — His valuation of Christian Evidence.— His use of Inductive Logic or Scientific Analogy. His statement of the Problems of Scientific Evidence. — Consequent Principles of the New Scientific Evidence.

VII The Alleged Scientific Errors of the Bible . 188

Admitted Literary Imperfections. — Some Historiographical Defects. — Textual Glosses as in all literature, but no Scientific Errors strictly so called. — The Physical teaching of the Bible distinguished and summarized.

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It is never described in Scripture as erroneous. — It is not separable from the spiritual, with which it is implicated. — Both the phy.sical and the spiritual teaching are non-scientific in form. — The one no more reconcilable with popular fallacies than the error. — Both have a permanent and universal import as well as local reference. — The physical teaching adapted to our intellectual wants and capacities. — Its relative importance. — Its evidential value. — Its metaphysical value in complimenting empirical science. Its philosophical value in consummating the Science of Sciences. — The impending battle for the truth of Holy Writ. — At first, an unequal Contest. — Duty of all friends of Humanity to unite with Christian believers in defence of revealed truth.

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The Mythical Theory of Revealed Religion . 217

The latest and most subtle form of unbelief. — Plausibility of the Mythical Theory. — Ite logical consistency. — Its philosophical origin in German philosophy, and biblical criticism. — Definition of the myth. — Criteria for distinguishing philosophical or historic myths, as defined by Strauss. — Negative marks. — Positive marks. — Illustration from the Annunciation. — Arguments for the theory. — Their Refutation.