No other period in the history of mankind has witnessed so great expansion of the so-called physical sciences as the last quarter century. Under the stimulation of expanding industry the physical sciences, hand in hand with modern invention, have unfolded many secrets which have brought results so marvelous as to challenge credulity. In physics proper, in chemistry, both organic and synthetic, in astronomy, in biology, in fact in all branches of science usually denominated as physical, has this unprecedented development gone forward. It has challenged the old order in many directions, and in none more directly than in the accepted theological beliefs usually described as orthodoxy. The conflict thus drawn has been sharp, and still rages; for there seems to be little prospect of reconciling points of view which, because of fundamental differences, seem irreconcilable.
The strife as to the origin of mankind, and also as to the process by which humanity has arrived at its present state of development, is still unsettled, and there is little prospect of an early arrival on the part of the contestants at a common ground where agreement may be reached.
The student of Christian Science has great reason to rejoice in that a solution has been given him to the problem which so deeply stirs men of science, theologians, and the public in general. A problem which, when viewed from a material standpoint, has come to be regarded as impossible of solution, is completely solved when the spiritual aspect of creation supplants belief in a material universe, in which are involved myriads of complex conditions and antagonistic relations. How great is the need to keep the vision clear, in order that the true perspective may be held to!
