ost? No. That blood speaks better things. May we not
estimate civil government and religion both by the blood they have cost?

Unbelievers are very industrious in keeping before us the disagreements
among Protestants. They say, Look! they can't agree among themselves.
Well, is there any better agreement among politicians, or in civil
governments? Is there any agreement among unbelievers which would serve
as a model for us poor souls to imitate? I confess that the way is open
for improvement among Protestants in this respect, but is it not just as
open for a similar improvement among unbelievers in the scientific field
of thought? There we find Atheists, Pantheists, Deists, Polytheists and
Theists. In their history will be found an immense mass of contradictory
opinions.

Man is imperfect in many of his attainments. A few men are more perfect
than others, but all are liable to mistakes. Errors are found in all the
histories of humanity; shall we therefore discard science and civil
government? or shall we turn misanthropists? No; we will do neither. We
are in a progressive age. We were capacitated for progression. We would
not be men without this capacity. Let us ever remember that man is,
after all his mistakes, the noblest creature of God, having God-like
attributes. Do you doubt this? Then tell us why it is that a falsehood
is always detestible to the mind. Why do men strenuously avoid
contradictory propositions? The God-like in man is the great secret of
his progression. He is a progressive being. Shall we on this account
condemn all that in which man has and does progress? Shall we condemn
Christianity on account of man's failures? Shall we discourage his
honest efforts by keeping those failures always before him? Have men
made no mistakes in science? Shall we repudiate on account of mistakes?
Then there will be no end to repudiations. Let us remember and talk of
the many mistakes that have been made in both science and religion, like
the man "who visits the shadows in the deep ravines, in order that he
may more fully realize the fact that the sun shines;" that is to say,
let us talk of old, effete dogmas in science and in religion only to
more fully realize the fact that the sunlight of truth is shining. Yes!
Man has progressed. "Science and religion both stand true to their God."
Man alone deviates. How often do we hear men say, "Science is
progressive?" Scientific truth is always the same. Man is not always the
s