Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 25.djvu/333

Rh pre-eminence to any form of faith, and tests the validity and the sufficiency of a faith by the salvation it secures and the activity it inspires. With the Old it accepts all Scripture given by inspiration as divine, and interprets Scripture by Scripture, but it holds in abeyance all biblical utterances which seem unreasonable, and rejects all which are in conflict with the nature of things or the course of Providence, and aims to understand and to corroborate the written word by the works of Nature; and it maintains that no portion of the Scripture can be a revelation of God to man except to the extent that it is understood and conforms to the laws of being.

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the New Theology is its respect for science, indicated by its effort to put all its statements on a scientific basis and submit them in a scientific method, and to question the value or utility of any doctrine which does not come under some general and harmonious law, or which can not be scientifically presented; and, were this the only claim of the New Theology, it would entitle it to a respectful hearing, as well as put it in striking contrast with the Old. It does not insist that any of the great doctrines derived from the Bible could have been discovered by scientific investigation, but, being disclosed by divine inspiration, as claimed, they are, when philosophically considered, recognized as reasonable and essential, and to be in accord with the constitution of things. It contends that the dogmatic teachings with respect to the trinity of the Godhead, the divinity of Christ, the atonement or human redemption in Christ, the inspiration of the Scriptures, the immortality of the soul, salvation by faith, the operations of the Holy Spirit, human probation, the eternity of divine rewards and punishments, and other biblical doctrines, are no longer to be announced as abstract truths to be received by a stultified credulity and denied at the peril of the soul, but are illumined under the light of philosophy as natural and essential, and can be as rationally believed as any other inexplicable statements of experience or observation.

As a corollary to this respect for science the New Theology has an antipathy to authority, and insists on personal freedom in investigation, and personal responsibility for conviction. It concedes that authority is necessary as a guide in immaturity, and that most of the knowledge acquired by individuals is derived, but holds that no ipse dixit is final, and that all communication is to be received tentatively and subject to amendment or rejection; that authority is merely mechanical in its action and in its effect, and that they who submit to it without question are mere machinery propelled like an engine by steam, capable of valuable service for a season, but neither develop nor improve, and are deprived of all the pleasures of progress and of increasing vigor and usefulness. It goes further, and charges that commanding authority dwarfs growth and weakens ability, and is, therefore, largely responsible for the general inability to distinguish