Agnosticism and Religion
Being an Examination of Spencer's Religion of the Unknowable; Preceded by a History of Agnosticism (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Agnosticism and Religion: Being an Examination of Spencer's Religion of the Unknowable; Preceded by a History of Agnosticism<br><br>Physical Science has come in like a giant to revolutionize the present race of men. The changes its wonderful discoveries have effected, have come like a new apocalypse of Nature. This no one will feel inclined to call in question. On the bearing of the new discoveries on Religion, however, we have not the same unanimous voice. The great majority of the scientific names believe that Religion is not impaired but ennobled by the Evolutionary Hypothesis. They believe that the Law of Evolution is not only not incompatible with an Infinite Mind, but that the concept of the Deity working by Evolution, is far more exalted than the theory of Special Creations, and that Religion is thereby elevated in the same proportion and degree. There are some scientists, however, who maintain that the proof of Evolution is the disproof of God. They regard Religion as the enemy of Science, and proclaim that Science has been, all along the way, impeded on her onward march by Religion, and that now that she has triumphed, as they say, she has given to Religion her death-blow. This form of scientific faith has been preached and is being preached, on either continent, on platforms and in multitudinous essays, pamphlets and books, by brilliant but not always profound representatives of the anti-theistic camp. As a result, this anti-theistic spirit is in the air, it has spread among the masses, a George Eliot writes it, a Swinburne, a Leconte de Lisle sings it. This new Time-Spirit ("Zeit-Geist")has grown so strong in England, that an eminent writer tells us that at the universities, it is the predominant creed among the undergraduates and the younger dons, and that it is sometimes heard in drawing-rooms from women's lips. And in this country, all statistics agree, that an alarming percentage of our people are non-Church goers.<br><br>This revolutionary spirit has been swelled to its, I may say, oceanic vastness by two main causes.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.