Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 198

174

TWO KINDS OF SCIENCE

§ 49.

[Div. II

such a church, stands for the most part under those same constellations, it is very natural that in most cases he will not come into any such conflict, but will arrive at the same Then, however, there is no comconclusions as his church. pulsion

no bonds are employed

;

serious,

;

but the agreement

is

The danger would be more

unconstrained and necessary.

the whole church in the earth had only one form

if

would be

alike for all parts of the world, so that the placet

everywhere the same

;

and indeed the existence

of this dan-

ger of the loss of liberty could not entirely be denied during the Middle Ages, nor can

be denied to-day in those

it

countries which are entirely uniform religiously. in the instituted church this unity

more forms

is

But

broken, so that

since

now

church organizations, in which almost every possible type has come to an organization of its own, it is almost inconceivable that in the domain of palin-

there are ten or

of

genesis a scientific investigation would ever lead to a result

which would not accord with the placet of one of these churches on the contested points. And if, in case a conflict cannot be avoided, one is impelled by love of truth and by a sense of honor to change his relations from one church to the other,

it is

as little of a hindrance to the liberty of the

spiritual sciences, as

when one

compelled by the results of

is

investigation on political grounds to seek refuge from Russia in freer

England or America.

Finally, concerning the last objection,

main

of

— that

in the do-

palingenesis there can be no science, because

results are predetermined^

inaccurate,

and that

be said that this

let it

as far as it

to naturalistic science.

partly untrue.

—

As

is

it

accurate,

it

stands, this

is

its

partly

applies equally

proposition

In general one understands by

it,

is

that in

the ecclesiastical Creed or in the Holy Scriptures the results are already given.

If a conflict arises

between the result

of

our investigation and our ecclesiastical creed, it may render our ecclesiastical position untenable, but it cannot affect the

maintenance of our Bible,

what

it is

is

scientific results.

And

as for the

Holy

ever the province and duty of science to verify

inferred from

it.

Yet

after the subtraction of these

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