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Show i Are Planets TnbaDited!: Camille Flammarion, one of the most distinguished astronomers of the present pres-ent day, believes that they are. He thinks that the earth is very small when compared with the aggregate of planets, not only of the solar system, Dut also of those that revolve around the myriads of stars that are visible, j and of the still greater number that I probably exist at still greater distances and are, therefore, invisible. Compared : with this Immense multitude of planeis. ' our earth i3 certainly very diminutive, ar.-l for this reason, inter alia, Flam-j Flam-j marion believes that God has not cre-; cre-; ated all other planets in vain; and that ; our notion of the infinite wisdom, in-j in-j finite power, and infinite glory' of God tallies bett?r with the more compre-I compre-I hensive scheme that, not . the earth ', alone, but all planets, are destined, to be inhabited. This opinion does - not ! clash with the account of the- creation ; of thb world as it is given in Genesis. ; It is there said that God created man an- placed him on the earth, but it. in ! i .-aid that He has debarred Himself fro. creating and peopling other worlds. For this reason, Flammarion's views cannot be condemned. - -To approve ap-prove of them is quite another matter. Scientists who believe that religion j cannot be reconciled with science argue ar-gue that the method peculiar to religion re-ligion is to teach dogmatically, whereas sciences are not taught, in that way. but they are demonstrated. Granting that such is the case, we should expect scientists, on all occasions, to demonstrate demon-strate all that they assert. They, however, how-ever, do nothing of the sort. There is in science a stock of information fully demonstrated and also fully accepted by the church. Besides this sure ground there is alo, in science, a vast area taken up by theories on subjects still imperfectly investigated.' - - This theoretical ground is anything but sold, so that the- edifices erected there are destined to crumble sooner or later, and probably at an early date. There is, for instance, the great evolution evolu-tion theory, according to which living vegetable matter was first evolved out of the chemical elements of the soil: from this living vegetable matter some rudimentary animal matter was evolved: evolv-ed: from that came the lower animals; j from them step by step came the higher animals, and finally from te ape-man was evolved. This theory is plausible enough, but its data, being unproved, i are unreliable; so that not the smallest j particle of any of these data can be I uph!d as scientifically demonstrated j truth. Such is the case with the evs-' evs-' lution thefy. As it now stands, it is I merely an opinion, a supposition, a guess, that may or may not be true. If j the evolution theory is ever proved to 1 be true it will then be time enough to I consider how it can be reconciled witn the statements contained in Genesis. Meanwhile the church holds the strictly scientific attitude of suspending its j judgment, while scientists hold the very unscientific attitude of arguing, like school boys ignorant of logic, and if the evolution theory were already proved to the hilt. So it is also with Flammarion's views about the habitation of the planets. His opinion is not . based on anything that Is definitely and finally proved It is a theory and nothing more. We cannot quarrel with men of science for propounding theories; indeed, we hold that theories play a very important part in the advancement of sciences. But in handling these theories we should not forget that they are theories. We must not mistake them for demonstrated demon-strated facts under .these circumstances. circum-stances. What we blame in Flammarion Flamma-rion is the dogmatic form of teaching which he adopts, as if, forgetting that he is an astronomer, he poses as an inspired in-spired prophet, or as a mystifying or- j acle. He forgets that, in science, dogmatic dog-matic teaching and oracular sayings are forbidden. He must set the oracular oracu-lar mode aside: and he must leave dogmatic dog-matic teaching to the church. . He must be content with demonstration: then and then alone will he really play the . part of a genuine savant whose i sayings are received with confidence. I Let him demonstrate wha.t he believes j to be th . truth, and all churchmen wjll eagerly adopt his views. But if instead of doing that, he assumes a lofty tons and preaches instead of demonstrating, we must remind him of. the saying, ne sutor ulra crepidam. Meanwhile no one can tax us with inability to grasp the profound teaching of modern " science, because we decline to accept Flammarion's Flamma-rion's views as demonstrated truth, |