The Christian Foundation, Or, Scientific and Religious Journal, Volume I, No. 9. September, 1880

In Short

This journal is a mid-Victorian artifact of the intensifying conflict between theological tradition and the rising tide of secular science. It functions as a platform for apologists to debate materialists, evolutionists, and deists, asserting that the Bible is the ultimate source of both morality and origin. It has endured as a primary-source specimen of how religious thinkers in the 1880s navigated the intellectual anxieties of their age, attempting to reconcile their worldview with the burgeoning findings of biology and physics.

The Story

The journal begins by positioning Christianity as a religion whose divinity is implicitly conceded even by its most vocal enemies. It surveys historical figures like Voltaire and modern skeptics like Gregg and Strauss, arguing that even these critics, when pushed to account for the "superior character" of Christ, are forced to attribute his existence to a divine designer. The argument proceeds by examining the origins of the universe, setting up a "council" of skeptics to engage with a representative Christian defender. This debate challenges the notion that nature is self-explanatory, asserting instead that scientific findings—specifically regarding molecular structure—actually confirm the Genesis account of a created world.

As the journal progresses, the focus shifts to the psychological and historical nature of religious experience. One contributor, George Herbert Curties, analyzes the history of Methodism and the emotional "hysteria" that often accompanies rapid conversion, tracing these phenomena back to historical persecution and the human nervous system. This exploration serves a specific purpose: to distinguish genuine spiritual conviction from mere emotional volatility. The narrative then moves into a direct confrontation with the "evolutionists," particularly the followers of Haeckel, Darwin, and Huxley. The authors here adopt a combative tone, dismissing the theory of spontaneous generation as scientifically unfounded and morally corrosive. They argue that if life and mind began to exist, they must have been created, as dead matter cannot produce consciousness.

The arc reaches its conclusion by pivoting toward the cultural and moral legacy of the Bible. It defends the Hebrews as the essential architects of modern civilization and morality, contrasting their enduring influence with the "perishable" monuments of Greece and Egypt. The journal ultimately rejects the claims of secular humanists and infidels, such as Colonel Ingersoll, by reclaiming figures like Benjamin Franklin as proponents of a belief in the afterlife. It ends by insisting that the inner self must harmonize with outward actions, labeling the denial of religious truth as a form of hypocrisy. The overarching message is one of intellectual defiance: that despite the "tornado" of skeptical logic, Christianity remains the only foundation capable of sustaining the human heart and explaining the reality of existence.

How It Unfolds

The concession of the enemy The text opens by listing admissions from famous skeptics who, despite their atheism or deism, find themselves forced to admire the purity and unique moral authority of the life of Jesus.

The debate with reason A structured dialogue occurs between a "Christian" and a personified "Reason," where the latter is forced to admit that nature cannot explain its own birth or provide a history of its own origin.

The investigation of molecular evidence The journal invokes the work of physicists like Prof. Maxwell to claim that molecules exhibit signs of being "manufactured" items, thereby providing scientific backing for the Mosaic cosmogony.

The critique of evolution The authors launch an aggressive assault on the "monistic materialism" of Haeckel and Darwin, arguing that evolutionists lack evidence for spontaneous generation and are merely guessing at the origins of life.

The defense of the Hebrew legacy The argument concludes by asserting that the Jewish people and their scriptures are the indispensable foundation of all Western morality, art, and civil government.

The People

The journal features a cast of voices that represent the ideological spectrum of the era. The Christian apologists act as the primary protagonists; they are confident, sharp-tongued, and eager to use the tools of logic to "trap" their opponents. They see themselves as protectors of a truth that is being attacked by the "ignorant" and the "dishonest."

Opposing them are the Skeptics, represented by figures like the Deist Gregg, the Pantheist Strauss, and the evolutionist Huxley. These figures are portrayed as brilliant but ultimately misguided; the authors grant them intelligence but argue that their rejection of a personal God leads them into "logical tornadoes" and moral despair.

John Wesley serves as a focal point for the discussion on religious history, portrayed as a man whose own mission was transformed by the "fervid piety" of Moravians. Finally, the Hebrew people are treated as a collective historical figure, championed by the authors as the long-suffering and unappreciated parents of modern civilization. The reader watches these figures move from intellectual positions of arrogance to, in the authors' view, a state of being "rescued" or "confounded" by the weight of evidence for the divine.

In Its Own Voice

"There is not a book, not a medal, not a bas-relief, not an inscription, in which Juno, Minerva, Neptune, Mars, or any of the other deities, is spoken of as a creating being, the sovereign of all nature."

Voltaire is quoted to demonstrate that even ancient pagan thinkers acknowledged a single, supreme Creator.

"If you leave the Bible, to what will you go? Are all things hard to believe in the Bible? Does a man's believing power rest upon flowery beds of ease in the teaching of infidelity?"

The author challenges skeptics to account for their own complex and difficult-to-prove theories of the universe.

"Matter is eternal; it did not begin to be. Mind is not eternal; it began to be; Therefore, mind is not matter."

This syllogism is presented as a definitive logical refutation of the materialist position that mind is merely a product of physical matter.

What It's Really About

At its core, this journal is about the necessity of a "first cause." It is obsessed with the idea that effects (like human morality, consciousness, and the existence of the universe) must have adequate causes. The authors argue that if you remove God from the equation, you are left with "spontaneous generation" and "evolution," which they view as unscientific guesses that offer no comfort to the grieving human heart. It is also an argument about the nature of intellectual honesty; the writers believe that true scholarship, when conducted without prejudice, must inevitably lead back to theism. They are battling the idea that science and religion are separate spheres, insisting instead that the Bible is the foundational document of all human progress.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy intellectual history will find this volume fascinating, as it offers a front-row seat to the 19th-century "culture wars" that mirror many contemporary debates. It provides an unfiltered look at how Victorian religious thinkers processed the arrival of Darwinism, using the language of their time to defend a literalist and moralistic interpretation of the world.

However, the reading experience can be challenging. The prose is dense, marked by the florid, polemical style common to 1880s religious periodicals, and the tone is frequently condescending toward "infidels." You will encounter the casual, period-specific prejudices regarding other religions and the "superiority" of the West. The authors are not interested in nuanced compromise; they are in the middle of a fight, and their language reflects that intensity. If you are looking for a dispassionate history of ideas, you will find this too partisan. But if you want to understand the fire, the anxiety, and the defiant logic of an era that felt the ground shifting beneath its feet, this journal is a remarkable, if occasionally frustrating, primary document. It stays with you as a reminder that the tension between secular inquiry and spiritual certainty has deep, long-standing roots.