FACTS AND FANCIES
IN
MODERN SCIENCE:

STUDIES OF THE RELATIONS OF SCIENCE TOPREVALENT SPECULATIONS ANDRELIGIOUS BELIEF.

BEING THE LECTURES ON THE SAMUEL A.CROZER FOUNDATION IN CONNECTION WITH THE CROZER THEOLOGICALSEMINARY, FOR 1881.

BY
J. W. DAWSON, LL.D., F.R.S. Etc.

PHILADELPHIA:
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,
1420 CHESTNUT STREET.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by the
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Westcott & Thomson,
Stereotypers and Electrotypers, Philada.

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PREFACE.

The object before the mind of the authorin preparing these Lectures was to presenta distinct and rational view of the presentrelation of scientific thought to the religiousbeliefs of men, and especially to the Christianrevelation.

The attempt to make science, or speculationsbased on science, supersede religion isone of the prevalent fancies of our time, andpervades much of the popular literature ofthe day. That such attempts can succeed theauthor does not believe. They have hithertogiven birth only to such abortions as Positivism,Nihilism, and Pessimism.

There is, however, a necessary relation andparallelism of all truths, physical and spiritual;and it is useful to clear away the apparentantagonisms which proceed from partial andimperfect views, and to point out the harmony[6]which exists between the natural and the spiritual—betweenwhat man can learn from thephysical creation, and what has been revealedto him by the Spirit of God. To do this withas much fairness as possible, and with dueregard to the present state of knowledge andto the most important difficulties that are likelyto be met with by honest inquirers, is thepurpose of the following pages.

It is proper to add that, in order to give completenessto the discussion, it has been necessaryto introduce, in some of the lectures, topicspreviously treated of by the author, in a similarmanner, in publications bearing his name.

J. W. D.

April, 1882.

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CONTENTS.