Page:The church, the schools and evolution.djvu/88

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first paragraph in the book and you will find that the falsity of the pantheistic theory was assumed but not proved. Its falsity was assumed on grounds that have come to light as the argument has proceeded, and that might easily be turned to account now as conclusive proofs. For example, to refer to one of them, the self-evident distinction between the realm which contains the Creator and that which contains His creation science proves to be a real divergence in kind by being compelled to cease investigation with scientific apparatus the moment the boundary line of the spiritual realm is reached. And if there is as real a distinction between God and His creation as this indicates, the doctrines of pantheism are impossible.

But the theory of evolution fosters a doctrine of the "immanence of God" which is nothing but a modern form of pantheism. For example, Prof. Josiah Royce, of Harvard, has said:

God is the spirit animating nature, the universal force which takes the myriad forms, heat, light, gravitation, electricity, and the like.

And Prof. George B. Foster said:

God is a symbol to designate the universe in its ideal achieving capacity.

This is pantheism, pure and simple, for God and His created universe are not distinguished from each other. And this blots out the distinction between the natural and the spiritual realms.

Realizing, therefore, that no matter how perfect a course of reasoning may be or how inevitable the