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If it is to be cured, it must be faced
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It takes the form of a suppressed longing for the religious faith that is lost
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And this longing is wide-spread, though only expressed indirectly
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It is felt even by men of science
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But the longing seems fruitless
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This dejection is in fact shared by the believers
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And is even authoritatively recognised by Catholicism
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The great question for the world now, and the one on which its whole future depends, is, will the lost faith ever be recovered?
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The answer to this will probably have to be decisive, one way or the other
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CHAPTER IX.
THE LOGIC OF SCIENTIFIC NEGATION.
What gives the denials of positivism their general weight, is the impression that they represent reason
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They are supported by three kinds of arguments: physical, moral, and historical
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The two first bear upon all religion; the latter only on special revelations
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Natural religion is the belief in God, immortality, and the possibility of miracles generally
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Physical science prefers to destroy natural religion by its connection of mind with matter
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1st. Making conscious life a function of the brain. 2nd. Evolving the living organisms from lifeless matter. 3rd. Making this material evolution automatic
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Thus all external proofs of God are destroyed
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And also of the soul's immortality
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External proof is declared to be the test of reality
213
And therefore all religion is set down as a dream
215
But we believe that proof
is the test of reality, not because it is proved to be so, but because of the authority of those who tell us so
215
But it will be found that these men do not understand their own principle
216
And, that in what they consider their most important conclusions they emphatically disregard it
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One or other, therefore, of their opinions is worthless—their denial of religion or their affirmation of morality
219
But we shall see this more clearly in considering the question of consciousness and will
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We shall see that, as far as science can inform us, man is nothing but an automaton
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But the positive school are afraid to admit this
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And not daring to meet the question, they make a desperate effort to confuse it
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Two problems are involved in the matter: 1st. How is brain action connected with consciousness
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2nd. Is the consciousness that is connected with it something separable from, and independent of it
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The first of these problems has no bearing at all on any moral or religious question. It is insoluble. It leaves us not in doubt but in ignorance
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The doubt, and the religious question is connected solely with the second problem
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To which there are two alternative solutions
228
And modern science is so confused that it will accept neither
228
As Dr. Tyndall's treatment of the subject very forcibly shows us
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And Dr. Tyndall in this way is a perfect representative of the whole modern positive school
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Let us compare the molecules of the brain to the six moving billiard-balls
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The question is, are these movements due to the stroke of one cue or of two
233
The positive school profess to answer this question both ways
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But this profession is nonsense
236
What they really mean is, 1st. That the connection of consciousness with matter is a mystery; as to
that they
can give no answer. 2nd. That as to whether consciousness is wholly a material thing or no, they
will give no answer
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But why are they in this state of suspense?
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Though their system does not in the least require the hypothesis of an immaterial element in consciousness
239
They see that the moral value of life does
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The same reasons that will warrant their saying it
may exist, will constrain them to say it
must
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Physical science, with its proofs, can say nothing in the matter, either as to will, immortality, or God
242
But, on the other hand, it will force us, if we believe in will, to admit the reality of miracles
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So far as science goes, morality and religion are both on the same footing
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CHAPTER X.
MORALITY AND NATURAL THEISM.
Supposing science not to be inconsistent with theism, may not theism be inconsistent with morality?
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It seems to be so; but it is no more so than is morality with itself. Two difficulties common to both:—1st. The existence of evil; 2nd. Man's free will and God's free will
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James Mill's statement of the case represents the popular anti-religious arguments
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But his way of putting the case is full of distortion and exaggeration
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Though certain of the difficulties he pointed out were real
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And those we cannot explain away; but if we are to believe in our moral being at all, we must one and all accept
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We can escape from them by none of the rationalistic substitutes for religion
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A similar difficulty is the freedom of the will
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This belief is an intellectual impossibility
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But at the same time a moral necessity
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It is typical of all the difficulties attendant on an assent to our own moral nature
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The vaguer difficulties that appeal to the
moral imagination we must meet in the same way
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CHAPTER XI.
THE HUMAN RACE AND REVELATION.
Should the intellect of the world return to theism, will it ever again acknowledge a special revelation?
264
We can see that this is an urgent question
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By many general considerations
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Especially the career of Protestantism
267
Which is visibly evaporating into a mere natural theism
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And, as such, is losing all restraining power in the world
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Where then shall we look for a revelation? Not in any of the Eastern creeds
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The claims of the Roman Church are the only ones worth considering
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Her position is absolutely distinct from that of Protestantism, and she is not involved in its fall
277
In theory she is all that the enlightened world could require
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The only question is, is she so in practice? This brings us to difficulties
282
1st. The partial success of her revelation; and her supposed condemnation of the virtues of unbelievers. But her partial success is simply the old mystery of evil
282
And through her infinite charity, she does nothing to increase that difficulty
283
The value of orthodoxy is analogous to the value of true physical science
285
All should try to learn the truth who can; but we do not condemn others who cannot
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Even amongst Catholics generally no recondite theological knowledge is required
287
The facts of the Catholic
religion are simple. Theology is the complex scientific explanation of them
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Catholicism is misunderstood because the outside world confuses with its religion—1st. The complex explanations of it
289
2nd. Matters of discipline, and practical rules
290
3rd. The pious opinions, or the scientific errors of private persons, or particular epochs
291
None of which really are any integral part of the Church
293
Neither are the peculiar exaggerations of moral feeling that have been prevalent at different times
293
The Church theoretically is a living, growing, self-adapting organism
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She is, in fact, the growing, moral sense of mankind organised and developed under a supernatural tutelage
295
CHAPTER XII.
UNIVERSAL HISTORY AND THE CLAIMS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
We must now consider the Church in relation to history and external historical criticism
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1st. The history of Christianity; 2nd. The history of other religions
298
Criticism has robbed the Bible of nearly all the supposed internal evidences of its supernatural character
298
It has traced the chief Christian dogmas to non-Christian sources
300
It has shown that the histories of other religions are strangely analogous to the history of Christianity
300
And to Protestantism these discoveries are fatal
302
But they are not fatal to Catholicism, whose attitude to history is made utterly different by the doctrine of the perpetual infallibility of the Church
305
The Catholic Church teaches us to believe the Bible for her sake, not her for the Bible's
305
And even though her dogmas may have existed in some form elsewhere, they become new
revelations to us, by her supernatural selection of them
306
The Church is a living organism, for ever selecting and assimilating fresh nutriment
307
Even from amongst the wisdom of her bitterest enemies
309
All false revelations, in so far as they have professed to be infallible, are, from the Catholic standpoint, abortive Catholicisms
311
Catholicism has succeeded in the same attempt in which they have failed
313
CHAPTER XIII.
BELIEF AND WILL.
The aim of this book
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Has been to clear the great question as to man's nature, and the proper way of regarding him, from the confusion at present surrounding it
317
And to show that the answer will finally rest, not on outer evidence, but on himself, and on his own
will, if he have a will
319
NOTE.
In this book the words 'positive,' 'positivist,' and 'positivism' are of constant occurrence as applied to modern thought and thinkers. To avoid any chance of confusion or misconception, it will be well to say that these words as used by me have no special reference to the system of Comte or his disciples, but are applied to the common views and position of the whole scientific school, one of the most eminent members of which—I mean Professor Huxley—has been the most trenchant and contemptuous critic that 'positivism' in its narrower sense has met with. Over 'positivism' in this sense Professor Huxley and Mr. Frederic Harrison have had some public battles. Positivism in the sense in which it is used by
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