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History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science
History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science Author:John William Draper Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER 111. CONFLICT RESPECTING THE DOCTRINE OF THE UNITY OF GOD.—THE FIRST OR SOUTHERN REFORMATION. The Egyptians insist on the introduction of the worsh... more »ip of the Virgin Mary.—They are resisted by Nestor, the Patriarch of Constantinople, but eventually, through their influence with the emperor, cause Nestor's exile and the dispersion of his followers. Prelude to the Southern Reformation.—The Persian attack; its moral effects. The Arabian Reformation.—Mohammed is brought in contact with the Nestorians.— II, adopts and extends their principles, rejecting the worship of the Virgin, the doctrine of the Trinity, and every thing in opposition to the unity of Ood.—He extinguishes idolatry in Arabia, by force, and prepares to make war on the Roman Empire.—His- successors conquer Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, North Africa, Spain, and invade France. As the result of this conflict, the doctrine of the unity of God was established in the greater part of the Roman Empire.— The cultivation of science was restored, and Christendom lost many of her most illustrious capitals, us Alexandria, Carthage, and, above all, Jerusalem. The policy of the Byzantine court had given to primitive Christianity a paganized form, which it had spread over all the idolatrous populations constituting the empire. There had been an amalgamation of the two parties. Christianity had modified paganism, paganism had modified Christianity. The limits of this adulterated religion were the confines of the Roman Empire. With this great extension there had come to the ECCLESIASTICAL DISPUTES. 69 -Christian party political influence and wealth. No insignificant portion of the vast public revenues found their way into the treasuries of the Church. As under such circumstances must ever be the case, there ...« less