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Untitled Article
ttteti . S $ nee he dhas given a display af * lvis eternal power and Godliead " in the grand theatre of nature , which forms the subject of scientific investigation , it was , surely , never intended , and it would ill comport with reverence for its adorable Author , that
such magnificent displays of his power , wisdom and ^ beneficence , as the material universe exhibits , should be treated , by his intelligent offspring , with indifference or neglect . It becomes us to comtemplate , with adoring
gratitude , every ray of our Creator ' s glory , whether as emanating from the light of revelation , or as reflected from the scenery of nature around us , or from those regions Where stars unnumbered shine , and planets and comets run their solemn rounds . Instead
of contrasting the one with the other , our duty is to derive from both as much information and instruction as they are calculated to afford ; to mark the harmony of the revelations they
respectively unfold ; and to use the revelations of nature for the purpose of confirming and amplifying and carrying . forward our views of the revelation contained in the Sacred
Scriptures * Having made these preliminary remarks , suggested by the circumstance of frequently hearing the vague assertion above-stated , from the pulpits both of Presbyterians and Independents , I proceed to the principal object of this paper , viz . to shew the
utility of science in reference to religion , and its relation to a future state . It may here , be remarked , in the first place , in general , that divine revelation is chiefly intended to instruct us in the knowledge of those truths which interest us as subjects of the moral administration of the
Governor of ttie world . Its grand object is to develop the openings and bearings of the plan of Divine mercy ; to counteract those evil propensities and passions which sin hath introduced ; to inculcate those fooly principles and moral laws which tend to unite
mankind in harmony and love ; and to ? produce those amiable tempers and dispositions of mind which alone can jfit u » for enjoying happiness in this world , and in the world to come . For fttfaie * eaao » i , doubtless , it is , that the
< m 9 rdt * akttib * ktea of Deity are brought * m # r 6 prominently into view ia the # aored volume , fhan hwnatttral per
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fections ; and , that those special arrangements of his providence whieli regard the moral renovation of our species , are particularly detailed , ; while the immense extent of his universal kingdom , the existence of other worlds , and their moral economy , ar ^ e
but slightly hinted at or veiled in obscurity * Of such a revelation we stood in need ; and , had it chiefly embraced subjects of a very different nature , it would not have supplied the remedies requisite for correcting the disorders of mankind . But surely it was never intended , even in a
religious point of view , that the powers of the human mind , in their contemplations and researches , were to be bounded by the range of subjects contained in that revelation , which is purely or chiefly of a moral nature j
since the Almighty has exhibited such a magnificent spectacle in the universe around us , and endowed us with faculties adequate to the survey of a considerable portion of its structure , and capable of deducing from it the most noble and sublime results . To
walk in the midst of this " wide extended theatre / ' and to overlook or to gaze with indifference on those striking marks of divine omnipotence and skill which every where appear , is to overlook the Creator himself , and to contemn the most illustrious displays
he has given of his eternal power and glory . That man ' s religious devotions arc much to be suspected , whatever show of piety he may affect , who derives no assistance in attempting to form some adequate conceptions of the object of his worship , from th £ sublime discoveries of astronomical
science * from those myriads of suns and systems which form but a small portion of the Creator ' s immense empire ! The professing . Christian , whose devotional exercises are not invigorated , and whose conceptions of the Deity are not expanded by a
contemplation of the magnitude and variety of his works , may be consi dered as equally a stranger to the more elevated strai n ** of piety , and to the noble emotions excited i > y a perception of the beautiful and the sublime .
But I remark more particularly , in the next place , that scientific knowledge may frequently serve as a guide to the true interpretation of Scripture * ft may be laid < tavrn & »
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On Ike Comiwcion of Science with Religion and a future State . 483
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1818, page 483, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2479/page/11/
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