The agreement between science and religion / by Orlando J. Smith.

  • Smith, Orlando J. (Orlando Jay), 1842-1908.
Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The agreement between science and religion / by Orlando J. Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    in more highly developed form among the enlightened. And we should seek for it finally in the harmony of belief in the great religious organizations now in existence; for they must contain, in the natural order of growth, that which is worthy of survival in the religious faith that has preceded them. The Belief That the Soul Is Accountable for , Its Actions “I entertain a good hope,” says Socrates, “that some- thing awaits those who die, and that, as was said long since, it will be far better for the good than the evil.” The belief in a judgment after death is very old. Man has been so impressed usually by his accountability for his sins—by “the dread of something after death”— that he has sought means of escape from it as he would from wild beasts, from flood or from fire. What is the inner significance of this conviction? The knowledge of primitive man begins, as all knowl- edge begins and continues, with consequences. He dis- covers that water quenches thirst, game is found under certain conditions, a cave gives shelter, friction brings fire, the sun yields heat and light, some plants are poison- ous, frost withers, lightning kills. The first lesson learned by the infant is the lesson of consequences. The mother is the source of food, pro- tection and tenderness. Later the child learns that through effort it can walk; that some things are hurtful