2. HOLDING SACRED THAT WHICH IS NOT SACRED

2. Holding Sacred that which is not Sacred ~ 79 ~ physical reach and our sphere of functioning. He is beyond the heavens, through which man cannot pass. The material objects which are considered holy, fall, on the other hand, within the sphere of human action. And whenever these things have been surrounded with an aura of holy mystery, they have assumed too exalted a status to be subjected to scientific investigation. It is precisely in making an intellectual conquest of these things that science has had its beginnings. All things other than God are mere creatures. These are generally known as natural phenomena. It is these phenomena, which provide the groundwork for science. To study them and to conquer and control them is what is meant by scientific procedure. From ancient times the phenomena of nature had universally been considered sacred; as such, far from being objects of conquest, they all became objects of worship. It was this intellectual distortion, which prevented scientific action for thousands of years in the past. The door to progress opened only