What is the matter? Why do I personally know to this day some of our academicians and professors who are deeply religious, religious people? Why do not all scientists reject religion, but only a part of them, close to Haeckel in their mentality?

Because this part believes only in material things, completely rejecting everything spiritual, does not recognize any afterlife, does not recognize the immortality of the soul, and, of course, does not recognize the Resurrection of the dead. They say that science achieves everything, that there are no secrets of nature that science will not reveal. What shall we say about this?

Let us say: yes, you are quite right; We dare not set limits to the research of the deep human mind that tests nature. We know that although science today knows only a small part of what it should know about nature, the possibilities of science are enormous, limitless. They are right, we do not dispute this. What do we dispute, why, like them, do we not reject religion as inconsistent and incompatible with the conclusions of scientific knowledge? Only because we believe in the existence of the spiritual world, we believe with all our hearts, we are deeply convinced that in addition to the material world, there is an infinite, immeasurably higher spiritual world. We believe in the existence of spiritual beings who are much more endowed with reason than we humans. We believe with all our hearts that above this entire spiritual world, as well as over the physical world, stands the Great and Almighty God.

If we dispute anything with science, it is only its right to reject the spiritual, only its accessibility to the investigation of the spiritual world, for the spiritual world cannot be investigated by scientific methods, with which we investigate material nature. These methods are completely unsuitable for the study of the spiritual world.

How do we know about the spiritual world? Who said about him? If those who value Divine Revelation ask us so, let us say to them: "The heart has told us this." For there are two ways of knowing: the one that Haeckel used in science is the way of knowing material nature; but there is another way that science does not want to know, which stands immeasurably higher than knowledge by the mind; there is another cognition, cognition with the heart. Our heart is not only the central organ of blood circulation, it is the organ of higher knowledge, the knowledge that opens up to us the spiritual world, the knowledge that gives us the ability to enter into communion with God, with the higher world. But this is where our divergence from science lies.

Paying tribute to the great achievements of science, without in the least trying to dispute them, without trying to set limits to scientific knowledge, we only say: "You cannot explore the spiritual world, but we can, we cognize it, we investigate it with our hearts."

There are many inexplicable, mysterious, but at the same time absolutely certain facts (as certain as any of the physicochemical facts) that belong to the spiritual world. There are phenomena that, of course, science will never explain, for which its methods are not suitable.

Let science explain how the great prophecies about the Messiah came into being, which were fully fulfilled. Let them explain how the great prophet Isaiah for 700 years with complete clarity predicted all the most important things about the Lord Jesus Christ and deserved the name of the Old Testament evangelist. Let them explain to us the indubitable facts of the enlightenment of the saints. Let them explain to us by what physical forces, by what natural methods, this property of clairvoyance, penetration into the hearts of people, into the thoughts of people whom the saints saw for the first time, whom they did not know. And when they saw them for the first time, they called them by name; Without waiting for a question, they gave an answer to everything that people came to them with. Let them explain it. Let them explain how the saints predicted great historical events that came true according to their prophecy. Let them explain the indubitable facts of the appearance of the dead and their communion with the living.

They will never explain, because they are extremely far from the basis of religion – from faith. If you read the books of scholars who think to refute religion, you will be struck by the extreme superficiality of their judgments; You will see that they do not understand the most important thing in religion, they judge what they do not understand at all. They do not criticize what constitutes the most precious and greatest thing in religion, not the very essence of religion, but only the forms, rites, and manifestations of religious feeling. They do not understand the essence of religion at all. Why do they not understand its essence? Because the Lord Jesus said: "No man can come to me, except the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44),

We need to be drawn by the Heavenly Father, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts, our minds. It is necessary that by means of this illumination the Spirit of God dwell in our hearts, in our minds, it is necessary that he who has been vouchsafed this gift acquire the love of Christ, fulfilling His commandments. Only those who have acquired the Spirit of Christ, into whose hearts He Himself dwelt with the Father, and made His abode with them (John 14:23) — only these blessed ones understand the essence of religion. And those who are external do not understand at all.

Let us listen to the words with which the French philosopher Bouggle concludes his criticism of Haeckel: "Haeckel attacks formulas rather than essence, and he takes these formulas in such a narrow and material sense that they are unacceptable even to very many religious people. Thus Haeckel's refutation of religion did not really take on a single religious principle."

Here is the trial of Haeckel's book "World Riddles", which to this day remains the "gospel" of all those who criticize religion and deny it; all those who find that religion is incompatible with science. You see how pitiful these reasons are, do not be dismayed if these arguments reach your ears; Do not be embarrassed to know that those who do not understand the very essence of religion are criticizing. And all of you, simple people, not experienced in scientific research, not experienced in philosophy, remember the firm, clear and simple as the sun principle that guided the ancient Christians: they considered unhappy the one who knew all the mysteries of science, but did not know God, and considered blessed the one who knew God, even though he knew nothing else. Guard this great truth, keep it as the greatest treasure of your heart, and do not look around. Do not be embarrassed by the attacks that you hear. Keep your faith, keep it as eternal and undoubted truth. Amen.

The spirit does not die, but lives forever