Show THE BIBLE AND THE SCIENCES AL reply to colonel gersell Jo Ja BY J al 8 another attack upon religion in general ud and christianity and the bible in particular has been made by colonel ingersoll Inger in an article headed beaded the divided household of falta which appears in the north american review for august this year the article abounds in statements so unreasonable aud and so much at variance with well established dished facts that it is a wonder the colonel would risk his reputation by stamping his name upon them for instance imi tance he says you will find in our sacred books the astronomy the geology the philosophy and the morality of the ancient barbarians 11 page at last ite came evident to the intelligent world that the inspired writings liter ally translated did not con contain t ain the truth page if any anything hing can be established by analogy and reason man has existed upon the earth for many millions of ages page the inspired writers know knew nothing of or the sciences science knew nothing of the he origin of the earth nothing of the origin of mon in other words nothing of any particular value s aluc to the human rave rae 11 page Ille hebrews brews might steal from any othor other race or treed creed page 1 these are only a few specimens ot of the numerous groundless assertions of the author like the evil spirits in the demoniac they are legion because they are many 11 and as there is not one vestige of truth in them I 1 must deny them in toto to understand colonel engersoll Ins ersoll correctly his mode ot of reasoning must be carefully noted he exhibits the self ish nees the hypocrisy the bigotry the stupidity ity and the rascality ignorance and arrogance ro gance of the pseudo churches of the world so far ae he is right but no BO farther if he be would confine him self belt to chastising the nuj millions lions of af fools who pretend to be christians he would be entitled to the applause of every e man in the world he mi ht earn ass ferke himself the surname of sarell kierkegaard gaard the second but bat he be goes too far lie he attacks the bible and god in heaven asif as if these were responsible for the sins of men this is the great fault of our author in his bis eagerness to rid the garden of the weeds he tramples down everything his method of war is mere vandalism he might witti propriety adopt the motto of those Is lington rioters who had inscribed upon their ilag flag down with everything every think for this seems to be the chief characteristic of his bis colem it is not possible within the limits of tifis article to expose the fallacy of each of our authors assertions separately but by examining the chief points I 1 think it will be sufficiently clear to the honest reader that the bible is safe and that our author has not been more successful than any of his predecessors in proving the word of god to be a fraud judging judgil from the outward appearance you would think that one shot from the Coo colonels nels big gun would blow the bible into small atoms but this is only appearance as I 1 hope to be able to show THE MARGE CHARGE our author informs us that the church bas 14 disputed every step denied every tact fact resorted to every device that cunning could suggest p in order to defeat the various sciences and that she has now been compelled substantially to abandon first I 1 tae the astro astronomy noray of the sacred scriptures second tile the geology third the account of the origin of man fourth tu tun e doctrine of original sin the fall of the human I face ace bithe i ithe mathematical ina contradiction known as the trinity sixth sinh the atonement seventh that the miraculous is either the misunderstood or the impossible eight that the bible is nut not inspired in its morality tv aud ninth the divinity of christ 11 page IGO 19 this is the charge and contains in ia deed in pai vo it will be observed that nat our author has been in such a hurry iu drawing up this charge that he be has even forgotten the simplest rules of english grammar for when he be tells us that the church has been compelled to abandon I 1 that chat the miraculous is either tie misunderstood or the impossible or abandon that the bible is not inspired in its morality 11 he evidently means exactly the contrary of what he be says I 1 po point at t this is out merely to indicate the g general reliability of our author BIBLE ASTRONOMY so the church has now been compelled to abandon the astronomy of the sacred scriptures it is hard to know what the term the astronomy of the sacred scriptures I 1 means for in reality there never was such a thing as vie tie astronomy of the scriptures the bible ves oes not teach astronomy it advocates no peculiar theody y of the origin of tte the bea heavenly venly bodies bodied or br of their relation t to each other beyond ascribing every everything both in the heavens and the earth acl god as the creator and preserver of things but altho although uh the bible does n u 1 treat on astronomy strictly speaking eakins sp y at t the earth the sun and the stars are olten often referred to in connection with other subjects the question therefore to be discussed is does the bible refer to these bodies in such a way as to indicate that the author knew them or are they referred to in such terms as to warrant an infidel inn del in saying say ing thu the as of the bible is tk tha aslTon astronomy oiny of the ancient barbarians A few facts will suffice to vindicate the truth rhe me ancient barbar barbarians lanill had very peculiar ideas in greek and litin latin philosophy the heavens were a solid vault over the earth a firm or ste reoma a sphere studded with stars as aristotle called them the sages of egypt belu beld that the world was formed by the motion of air and the upward course ot of flause plato seems seem s to think that the earth was an intelligent being baic empedocles aavo bated the existence of two suns in philosophy the earth is represented resented as a flat triangle composed ased of seven stories the whole resting ing on elephants which when they shake themselves cause caude earthquakes but the aut authors liorA of the bible bibie speak of the earth as an orb suspended on nothing no thins it is lie that upon the circle literally globe of the earth and the inhabitants are arc as grasshoppers ll 11 lea isa XI 22 lie he cheth out the north over abe ety empty place and hanseth the earth upon not nothing aing 11 job 7 when they speak of the stars they declare them to be inumerable and yet dependent material obedient bodies lift up your eyes eves on high and behold who hath created these things that bring eth elb out their host by number lie calleta bliem all by names isa ira al 28 11 As the stars ot ol heaven and as the sand which is ie upon the seashore sea shore gen shii 17 this last comparison would be non sen sep seif tile the stars were not inumerable but the author knew itna it and hadnot bad not learned it from the ancient barbarians either for Hip counted no BO more than 1022 and ptolemy only 1020 1026 stars in all toe tae author of genesis was evidently familiar with the fact so beautifully expressed by sir john herschel after he be had surveyed the heavens with its stars sad and ne nebula bulte god has scattered them like dust through the immensity of space but I 1 feel that the expression in joshua 1013 will be pointed out as contradicting science the sun sto stood od still at least this expression was formerly thought sufficient to kill the whole bible that is before the discovery was made that the sun really is moving as well as the earth when it once had been established that the sun is moving too the supposition became very probable that the arrest of the course of the sun was the primary cause of the arrest of the course of the earth eart band and joshuaa Jos huas expression was seen to be correct it is remarkable that the arrest of the course of the moon is expressly noted in that passage as an ind indication I 1 think tb that at the inspired author the true conace tion between these bodies the sun the earth and the moon As soon as the fact had bad been discovered that the sun was a moving body efforts were madeko made to find the central point of its course and alcyone a star in tue pleiades has been pointed out as this centrum now in the book of job 31 the question la ir put canet thou bina bind th sweet influences of pleiades and oriental scholars inform us that the word used for pleiades is derived from aroot the meaning of which is an mck axle round which something turns the very words used in the bible are evidences of their divine origin from these few facts which could be largely multiplied the reader can judge how bow false is the assertion that the astronomy of the bible must be baior bior has been abandoned BIBLE GEOLOGY in speaking of geology ecology one fact must be remembered which seems to have escaped the notice of col inger soil namely that geology is yet a science in infancy it has not yet spoken its last word the geologists are chiefly gathering facts aud and trying to arrange them aguy theories have aready already been advanced and aad again abandoned and many more will meet the same fate bhore before ultimate conclusions can be reaU reached hed but bat it if geology ecology is ia summoned as a witness in the present case its testimony is for not against t the bib a 0 one n e of its clearest cF earest lessons ar ische lie recentness of the lost last great geol geological cical change the present state of the globe cannot date much farther back than years in this i assertion I 1 am supported by cuvier and de luc i when our author speaks of the 11 geology ta of the scriptures he means I 1 appi apparently of the creation as given by moses this ac count is not true he be says let us then compare this account with the now extensively accepted theory of the origin of el our earth Scie science jace supposes that matter existed previous to our solar system a as aither witti without ont form farmland land non lumin ous moses and the earth was without form and aad void and darkness was upon the face of the deep out oat of this aether the worlds were formed and other worlds were one to our solar system moses in the beg beginning begia aning ning G god od the heavens and the earth placing the creation or the formation of the stars before the earth the first appearance of organized matter was in the form of 0 luminous nebulae which further condensed into suns anus and planets moses and god said let there be light As the earth cooled some serne of the surrounding gases combined and formed vie the air and water 1 moses alases and ind isaid let there lie be I 1 an expansion sevirina sV irina is not the correct rendering of the hebrew ba ara kiah it means what is expanded when the earth f urther farther cooled great convulsions took place which abic h heaved up the rooks and raised them above the aaa afi forming mountains islands and contingents contin tints moses aed add god said let the dry laud appear app I 1 soon forms of vegetable life appeared appealed followed follow d by ito flowering plants with naked L OP pi ds such a as 8 conifers and also by plants bearing a low order of fruit moses and god idLet sald sa Let the earth bring forth grass literally sprout 1 and the herb yield ng se edland the fruit tree yielding fruit up till this time tim e the earth had bad been surrounded with vapor and the climate was equal over the whole surface but now DOW tue mists subside and the rays of the sun the moon and the stars appear ui to rek regulate times and seasons moses and god said let there be lights in the firmament of heaven aud and let them be for signs sius and for seasons after this s great event many fresh species of marine animals appeared and the ocean swarmed with life and birdge traces of which are first found in new lied sandstone moses and god said let the waters bring forth abundantly and fowl that may fly above the earth in the abe succeeding strata of liss lias ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus are found mose and god created great whales 11 sea monsters next appear eno enormous rinous beasts such as din moses and god made the beasts of the earth after his kind cattle come next and appeared be f fore ore man in the post pliocene period moses and cattle after their ki kind ad according to agassiz the principal flowers fl fruit trees and cereals appeared only shortly before man IT t the bl highest biest and last created form of animal hiim life moses and god created man As far as our present know knowledge legge goes no fresh species of plants or animas animals have been create created datter after man moses god ended his work which C h he had made 11 this tais subject has been discussed ver very ably by dr samuel kinns in a bori work entitled the of the bible with science va from which the above is eonden condensed tied it will be seeh clearly by this that moses follows very strictly the order which eminent geologists now maintain to be the correct one if the there re still are points on which the bible and science seem to disagree such points will be cleared up when science bas gathered more facts and when we know now better the real meaning of the bible the word of go god d all and d 8 science ciance will not dio disagree agree except as a 96 misunderstanding w this remark applies particularly to the word day hebrew jom in the account of the creation that it often any period of time whether lung long or short is certain but in what sense moses used it in this amount account remains yet to be ascertained and when it has been ascertained the abe diali cult culty will he be solved aen when we note bow moses in every particular follows the correct order of citation tation cn cr how bow he be distinguishes between unorganized matter and the formation of the earth describing heaven as boundless space or eion n as prior ent of the sun gives to the wate waters above an importance which modern science alone can appreciate we must admit that the account is inspired by god aothia nothing less leas can explain the kno knowledge aled e of moses ORIGIN OF MAN on this subject the colonel seems to le e confused he says the church cannot and dare not give up the account of creation of adam from the dust of the earth and eve from the rib of the man the church cannot give iv tip ap the story of the garden of ade eden u the serpent the fall and the expulsion these must be defended because they are vital page but although the church I 1 cannot and dare I 1 not give up these yet on pap page we are re informed formed that the church within a f few e years has been compelled substantially ly to abandon these very doctrines this is couf confusion the objection of the colonel is that the bible doets doea not allow man sufficient time for MR existence here upon the earth man has existed upon the earth tor for many millions of ages we know now that people not only existed before adam but that they existed in a highly civilized state pase page not no sirl sir we do not know knew any s uch ning the scriptures give to man a very recent ongie and their accuracy in this respect is i by the ascertained state of the earths surface and by the monuments of antiquity joseph ang angus many learned men have already written v volumes upon the important and deeply interesting tere te subject of mans advent they differ however greatly from one another it would therefore be presumptuous tor for any anyous one at present to told hold or enunciate dogmatic opinions in reference to it samuel kinns this is exactly what we know we know that we as yet knofe nothing upon this subject beyond the account ot ahe be bible and the I presumptuous assertions of those who know everything but bat it seems that any sugg suggestion is ia by the colonel exalted vj i the dignity disunity of certainty provided it can be turned against the bible whether this is lipi lesty frilot or aoi the reader |