Show THE ORIGIN AND DESTINY OF MAN THE general assembly of the southern presbyterian church not long ago found it necessary to wrestle with the evolution theory which had bad been adopted by slew a few of the ministers minister and sand college professors within its jurisdiction A resolution was adopted that was understood to express the views and declare the doctrine of the presbyterian church at large on the subject of the creation it was passed by a vote of against is 13 as follows the church remains at this time sincerely y convinced that the scriptures as truly and authoritatively expounded in our confession ot of taita and catechism teach that adam and eve were created body and soul by immediate acts of almighty power thereby preserving a perfect race unity so that adams body was directed and fashioned by almighty god without a natural animal parentage of any kind out ot of matter previously create created d of nothing and that any dod doctrine trine at variance therewith is a dangerous error inasmuch as by methods of interpreting scripture whid which it must demaud demand and in consequence which by fair it will involve it will lead to denial of doctrines fundamental to faith it is remarkable that learned professors of 0 various soi so i ailed balled christian sects persist in their advocacy of so o irrational a doctrine as the proa act 0 a of the universe out aubol of nothing and that they urge this ats an the teaching of scrip lure aud and enforce it upon preachers and hearers bearers as an essential dogma one of the most potent causes of infidelity is ia the attempt of religious teachers to cram down the public such notions as are contained in the above resolution as integral constituents of the Curl tian faith the fundamental doctrines doctrin ea of the christianity taught by christ and his apostles see are not affected in any way by tta belief in or rejection ot of the orthodox theory concerning ahe origin of the universe A man may be a sincere believer and what is far better a consistent user of the precepts ts of the savior and yet repudiate the notion that something can be produced out of nothing common sense supported by the in vesti i 0 0 ol 01 science e n revolts at the y t r in a creation r e a ti nonsense and careful reil study t d y 0 of fth the e scriptures without the green spectacles of orthodoxy shows that no such declaration us as that in ia the presbyterian resolution and embodied in the creeds of different sects can oe found either in we the old or the now maw testament nowhere in holy writ to is it set forth that god created adams body out of nothing nowhere it is proclaimed that the earth or anything la in the heavens was fashioned out of nonentity la in genesis we are told that god formed man out of the dust of tae earth this act creation the same word IS ia used in regard to the production of the earth if creation means organization out oat of preexistent pre existent material in the case of man it means the same in regard to other beings and things thus the ibe earth and all things therein as well as other worlds that bat move in their allotted spheres and are spoken of in the mosaic revelation were created or organized out of matter that previously existed as the dust of the earth existed before adams body was fashioned by the power of the eternal whatever meaning may be specially ally att attached ached by theologians t to 0 t the term create the fact remains that it is used in scripture in adams case to mean formation out of something and aad not out ol of nothing andthil and this annihilates the Presy presbyterian terian 1 dogma which is as rash wn an extreme in one direction as the modern evolution theory is in the other the new testament heb xi 3 8 informs us that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear in other words that things which are now visible were produced from things that were invisible this is very simple before the earth rolled in its orbit framed into a world designed tor for the habitation of man iab elements were ip a gaseous condition tion as its atmosphere is now to mortal feyes eyes there is nothing in the statement which indicates or implies the formation of bom something ething out of nothing on the contrary the intimation i is that things which are not sien seen were framed into things which can be seen a process that tins has been continued from the beginning and which is now going on as chemistry demonstrates even to much huch of the supposed authoritative tive teachings ot of Nezip ture against which kae science leuce and sound reason protest is nothing more luere than the dog dogmatism matisin of human theology it hab ban been imposed upon that part of the world balleu as pro fes sedly divine while neither the al guity U or either vf of his appoint d has ever presented it for the tt acceptance c c 1 l of mankind the alleged allek co conflict u glat between science and rell belito JoU is really between science and that which passes lor for it and the unauthorized teachings and notions actions ol of man maa made creeds all kinds of truth harmonize toe the god of revelation Is the god of nature the laws which govern in spiritual and in natural things pro aeed from the same source and n d it ta a the lolly folly of men not the wisdom isdo m 0 of i god 0 d which brings about the col elisions that occur between scientific developments and theological assertions in the ID inspired utterance of joseph the seer the latter later day saints have the sure word of prophecy on this subject as well as many other matters of dispute in the nineteenth century most if not all the controversies which have taken place between the church men en and the skeptics in modern times s are ure solved and aud settled in the revelations to the prophet of the last jast dispensation pensa tion the word of the lord through him is the elements are eternal out of nothing nothing comes the hand baud of omnipotence fashions and forms innumerable shapes sad and makes combinations of beauty and utility that transcend the power of man to comprehend in their wonderful diversity bud and adaptation to the multifarious wants of a universe of life and progress but not the smallest mote springs from empty space nether neither can an atom of matter be dissolved juto into nothingness changes way may go on for ever but anni anal is an impossibility and for t the he same reason creation from nothing is nothing but an absurdity the whole story of adams origin is not told in the brief sketch of this earths formation recounted in the opening chapters of genesis the genealogy ol 01 oleada desus given in luke iii makes adam a son of god that he was not an evolution from lower forms forma of animal life is as cert cerr to tain luas as that he was not originated ont oat of nothing both notions are equally unscientific and equally repugnant to revelation and common sense man is of a royal race a divine line a noble par parentage re he has been made lower than the angels that ne he might rise above the angels and pursue a career of glory and po ner er that eternity only can alse disclose loSe As jesus followed the father so his brethren may follow jesus and all things may become theirs if they take lake the course which he marks out not from the plodding quadruped the aqueous fish the crawling reptile we ue jellied cell or the floating boating slime sprang ina man the lord and ruler of thu creatures of this lower earth re he came from above as the offspring of deity and his proper sphere when he proves himself worthy and tit fit for his bis glorious Ob stiny is among amone the sons of god in the ei eternal day in harmony with the mighty who sway away the sceptre over unnumbered worlds and are like unto auto the almighty father who Is over all ali forever |