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TORONTO, QNT.r JANUARY 13, 1922
Number It
A.^A
.-a - 1,
�ft-''
DITORIAL
SCIENCE AND RELIGION
X^*"^ of the t American Association for the
A^SyX?-r Advancement of Science; which met-in Toronto during the ^A^^ c^h^ Yet, as the
S;M-4i^jtor pacing thrjoiigh the heavens, leaves in its wake a blaze of light, ^^v^Kasthis convention of the most footed scientists of the western
left behind it7 glowing thoughts and the consciousness ^M^t'^d'eaoe.is^^dii^-'advati'cirig in its;Conquest of nature.
7^v%Afl one review^ the spirit of the sessions and the revelations of Jjthe papers read, one is impressed with the absence of all dogmatism Jmodern scientific research. Here was a body >A^;^ branch of scientific knowledge, '
^ < ^ ^^^^^^ Pryi^K V^ehind thy veil of nature in order "to-learn some of >v.;.)Kir'g^jet8. Their-efTorts are not hampered by the traditions of the ;i;V "Jj^tjj and their l^ahds arenot tied by prejudice and subjective attitudes ipf.\;^fe;riiind. "They are free spirits; pursuing a free enquiry. They Kave no dull axes inherited from the past to grind. They seek to PTPVC^^notJiing.: Their quest is for the truth, regardless of where it ^.'��'fy c^yr]ead or^hat idols of man's reyerence it mav^ shatter. Their V^\\ purpose is to give man the mastery over the forces of nature so that c^T^he^ihay use it to further human happiness. , What was most char-^^jicieHstic of the misfh-whosat in the convention was the eagerness�-^'^-fc y^hg^wlJ^� they displayed, to discover new ideas. � r^^^ey -l^Ied-.-^with; 'tiiumpban>-gladness � new discoveries, which dis-''-vi^u^fified/the- ol3 accepted and traditional ideas. /Theirs was the /^A^irit of jnen; who do not "know it all," and whose conclusions are [tferitativer- who stand like children before the mysteries of life, but �;; 1^V�Jconfidence iri the limitless capacities of the trained human mind" 'Vvif^-j^&^y&r^jid use theMaws of God, ^Theirs is^a world just beginning, '-iisViflf eyolv^g; for them God is a creative, progressive spirit ever ^ ^gj^e^titig anew. What optimism and vision must be theirs and 4nos^ like them who* have caught their spirit!
� It is true tfraf science has no church, nor is, it a cult or a ritual. ���[ But -as a religion it does have its laboratories and methods, its apostles and priests, arid its followers and believers are legion and ^con^t^|l^growing. , - . ' .
. - -To every honest mind must come the realization that the present age looks to the laboratories rather than to the pulpit for an ^explanation'of the how and the what and even the why qf.life. In : vlJ^e judgment of-the "average man," religion and" science are at loggerheads, -
This modern conflict between religion and science may bCsaid to have begun in the last century. The nineteenth century, more than any epoch in human jnisibry, witnessed an unusual development 'in methods of human communication and' of diffusion of knowledge, the discoveries of the potentialities of steam and electricity, the. opening up^ of the American' continent, mechanical inventions, , expansions of industry^ progress in popular control of government, .'s vast accumulation of scientific facts, and more -than, all these, the . formulation of the doctrine of evolution. These are the elements * wfcich have contributed to . make what w$ call-modern times. Aa a consequence of these conditions there has come about a complete change in mental attitude; all our thinking has been jfaot through with*'an idea of movement, development, and growth. Our former science of man, and our religion, our psychology, \ anthropology^philanthropy and ethics are undergoing a
transformation under the influence of this powerful ferment we call-evolution.
In the domain of religion* says the sceptic, evolution seemi to have wrought the greatest havoc, because modern biological^ archaeological and anthropological science have destroyed the cosmogonies of the Bible and thrown into the pale of doubt its' miracles, Men have abandoned religion altogether and -turned to science. In religion men do not seem to find the freedom and the scope that is theirs in science. Religion has the shackles of "thou must" and "thou must not." Its spirit is to them one of finality and dogmatism, The spirit of God has, by human beings like ourselves * who lived before us, been congealed into articles of faith and creeds. Its literature and history has the air of mustiness and of the past; nothing seems fresh. Its message is one of loyalty to traditions and its appeal is to the emotions. It seems to urge that the men of yore" were wiser than the men of to-day, therefore, theirs was the right to say "Thus saith the Lord." In the domain of religion the truth was handed down for all times and ages. It is one and the same, unyielding; and woe unto him who dares to suggest a change. The honest seeker and the sincere questioner are regarded as destroyers and not as guilders. "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.'-
It was this scepticism which led the Christian divines of the nineteenth century to hurl invective at modern thought, and to anathemize the doctrine of evolution as the work of the devil, and its followers as the ^assistants of Satan. Modern Biblical science fared no better at the hands of the orthodox theologians, because it was regarded as inspired by the spirit of modern evolution.
Yet the problem that we of to-day are facing is: Does true^ religion�religion that is stripped of its superstition and obscurantism �have anything to fear from science? Is the conflict a real or an imaginary one? We are fortunate to live in a day when the smoke of the early polemical battles has passed away, when the air, is clearing, and when we can say with the sincerest of convictions that science instead of being the enemy of religion, is in all truth the handmaid of religion. Religion has nothing to fear from science* for religion wishes to use the findings of science. Thus it has ever been in Judaism/ Philo endeavored to harmonize the Greek Bible (Septuagint) with Platonic philosophy, which was the science of his day. Saadyia Gaon, in the tenth century, endeavored to do likewise with the.teachings of Judaism and Arabic philosophy. Maimonides-, in the twelfth century, tried to make the To rah and the legalism of the Talmudic Rabbins square with' Aristotle. Spinoza was unfortunately excommunicated in the seventeenth century for endeavoring to do what his great predecessors had done under the spirit of the Renaissance and Humanism; and Zunz, in the last centuryrwas a true follower .of this spirit of harmonizing Torah and Chochma.
This was-in accordance with the Talmudic principle, "En lecho elo^shofet she beyomecho." (The teachers of every generation are the sole arbiters to decide for that generation what Judaism is.) t <
The truly cultured man to-day does not turn to the.Bible for scientific principles, and data; for guidance in t^is field he refers to the peat scientists of yesterday and to-day. To'the Bible hegpes for ethical and spiritual guidance. The Bible has stiH to be surpassecl as a standard in this domain.
It is also obvious to the truly cultured man to-day that reason can only fathom an insignificant segment of existence and that
V