which them from modifying those statements, especially give offence, if they can conscientiously do so. As I have to deal with the relations of religion to science I have spoken only of those grounds of religious belief which are commonly thought to be rational and argumentative. No doubt as a matter of fact religious belief is brought about and modified by many other influences, and the study of such influences and their effects may be of high interest and have its place in the domain of science. But it is not contemplated here. I have treated only of the intellectual grounds of religious belief. They may not hitherto have been the common grounds of such belief, but it may, I think, be assumed that they will become so more and more. As knowledge and the diffusion of knowledge advance, men will be less and less ready to rest their convictions as to the most important of all subjects upon authority, tradition, mere feeling, or a supposed practical necessity. These last are the guides of the pupilage, not of the maturity of our race. |