Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1843-05-03

more enlightened and rational of them
have latter!y had their views greatly
changed. The former notions, drawn
from the Bible. were, that, about 5000
years ago, the Almighty crested the world
out Of nothing, in the space Of six days of
twenty four hours each. The present
views. founded on examination are, that
numberless ages were occupied in bring
ing the earth into the condition in which
it existed 5000 years ago. These views
are known to be entertained by the most
intelligent of the priesthood. That so
many of them entertain these views, and
yet suppress them from the people who
look 10 them for instruction, can account
for in no other wav but to attribute it 10 The
corrupting tendency of their calling. De-
ception is part OF the work which the
system imposes upon them.
The moral obliquit;es into which the
system of popular theology leads, are
most admirably exempIi6ed in the attempt
that is made 10 put construction upon
the Bible account, contrary to the former
notions honestly received f:om its plain
Intentions. Ia obedience to the des2otc
dlclaton of theology, which requires i'm
plicit assent to the inlalIibiity of all the
record which the church brings to US
notwithstanding their perpetual alterations
OF it extended down 10 our own time-lt
is now undertaken 10 make the six days
Of creation have allus;on to a definite or
indefinite number OF periods Of time, COM
prising countless ages, anterior to the
5000 years embraced in the Bible reckon
ing and record. Now does an individual
rational being believe that such thought
Was in tie mind Of the writer Of the Bible
account2 And what reason is assigned
for so believing2 have never seen one,
and cannot possibly conceive of good
one to be produced, II is plain to my
mind that the writer's of that account were
as ignorant of geology as they were of as
tronomy ;--,hal they believed God, by a
special and arbitrary act, created the world
GU, Of nothing, in six days. oftwenty- four
hours each. just as they believed the earth
to be stationary, and TO be the principal
and centre, with the sun, moon and stars
moving around it as satellites. The at
| tempt 10 put new construction on the
language pertaining TO the time employed
in creation, is Theological shnff1ing and
chicanery to hide the nakedness Of the
writers, comPilers and transformers of the
record. 1t would have been better frank
| " to have owned the truth.
But hoto Vas man created? Was he
brought into existence by a special, arbi-
trary act2 Or by the working of gener-
al, certain laws2 The present admission
Of The more enlightened theoIogians, as TO
The manner Of the formation o! the earth,
goes TO destroy the theological notion as to
the formation Of man. For when it is ad,
mitted that the former was created by the
operations of general laws, what ground
is Ief for denying that the latter was so
created If the writer's of the record
kept and Transmitted by the church, were
mistaken in regard to the one, why could
they not have been mistaken ia regard to
the other! Of-on their own ground,
! aside from my view as to any mistake
! If theology may allow itself to be driven
by geology TO put a new construction in
the one case, why not in the other ?
Why should it be thought more sacrile,
gious or unreasonable to put different
construction upon the lang age which
describes the formation Of man from the
dust Of the ground. than upon the Ian
gGage which describes the formation oil
| The ground itsel7 Whoever takes partic-
u!ar notice will perceive at once that, so
far as the letter ofthe language is concern.
ed, there is less in the way Of a Construc-
lion allowing man to have been formed
by general laws, than Of such conslruc.
ton in regard 10 the formation oflhe earth.
For there was the "dust of the ground' 10
form man from. But as TO what there
was to form the ground itself from, the
! record does not so well infJrm Us. ....
Now take it for granted that W hen