Charles Darwin and Other English Thinkers; With Reference to Their Religious and Ethical Value (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1911. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... PREFACE THESE lectures were delivered under the auspices of The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences during the months of November and December, 1910. At the kindly suggestion of Professor Franklin W. Hooper, the Secretary of the Institute, they have been prepared for the press. While they remain substantially as they were given, they have been revised with the view of rendering them more serviceable to ministers and laymen alike. I shall feel abundantly rewarded if the volume stimulates the reader to further research concerning the men and the subjects with which it deals. It has not been an easy task faithfully to convey the exact meanings and points of difference in the close reasoning of these scientific and philosophical writers; hence I have thought it wise to allow them to speak for themselves whenever possible. It will probably be said that many facts of prime importance have been omitted, and some others misinterpreted. This is more than likely; and if so, I must be held wholly responsible for it. But I sincerely hope that I have been able to give a little direction in that path which leads to a more complete apprehension of the Truth. I am profoundly convinced that science and philosophy and ethics, however they may appear on the surface, are the friends and not the foes of religion. And I believe that a new day has dawned for the Christian Church, in which she can fearlessly and yet reverently utilize their newer conceptions for the enrichment of her message to the generation she seeks to serve. It has not been my aim to write a constructive work along these lines, but simply to place in the most favorable light consistent with accuracy a group of thinkers whose teachings have been sometimes supposed to stand in ir...