American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-02-22
The Age OF the world.

a question OF great importance with d. |
vines and men Of science at the preset day, |
is that of the age of our planet, and the |
different changes which have taken place |
upon it. as related in Genesis. One class |
contend that the different acts Of creation |
took place exactly as described in the first
chapter of Genesis, in six solar DAYS, and |
that all things were made out of nothing
in that time. Another class believe thai |
our planet was in existence for thousands |
Of years prior to the first act recorded in |
Genesis, that it had undergone vast chan |
ges, and that it had been long in confus- |
ion, and was bereft of live, when the COM
mand went forth "Let there be light."-I
This class also believed that the success
i've acts described in Genesis took place in
six common days, furnishing the world
with the exact orders of creation as there
described. Another class believe that the
successive acts of creation mentioned in
Genesis, took place in the exact or
der there described, but that instead
of the days there mentioned being
solar days, they were indefinite periods Of
time-some of them OF great length-per-
haps sixty thousand years. This latter
class embrace the greatestnumbero oflearned
| geologists and dlvines. In the last num-
Der of the Bi6iiotheca SocrQ, the Rev.
John 0. Means, Of East Medway, Mass.
presents his views at great length on this
subject, and takes the latter view of the
question, namely, that the days mentioned
in the first chapter of Genesis, if interpret
ed to mean indefinite periods Of time would
reconcile both science and the Scriptures
in every particular. He employs some
strong arguments in favor of this view of
the question. Thus, the sun, moon, and
; stars, are said to be created on the third
day, therefore, the two previous days
could not be one of our solar days, en-
bracing one revolution of the earth on its
axis in twenty -four hours, with the sun to
rule the day and the moon to rule the night
This argument is incontrovertible. But
what was dhe cause of the light before the
sun was created. He sees no difficulty in
: this. He says, "the material universe is
full Of light, ready 10 be worked at word
can follow,Ts taking place every moment, &
I, floods of light are poured forths Combus-
ton is attended with light as wellas heat" "
s at may sound strange" he again says,
"to say that the most intense light isto be
found not on the earth, but in it. The
: whole of the suns rays which reach the
earth gathered tie focus, would not be SC
> intensely light as the centre of the globe
S 1t seems pretty certain that within the
= crust of the earth, is globe Of fire, a
least two thousand miles in diameter."-
@ This opinion costs neither him nor any
man of science anything whether it be true
:, or false, but he departs from reason ant
d logic, by endeavoring to establish one hy
IS pothesis by setting up another. There arr
l. no positive proofs of the earth being
g crusted ball of fire. We are not depend
e ent on the sun for light, as he has clearl,
e stated, but he does not seem to understand
r its true theory. 1t is produced by the vi
Is brations of subtle medium difuset
N throughout space. Our planet is self lu
a minous, butin degree less so than tn
n sun, for there is one glory of the sun. an
n other of the moon. and another of tn
I'd earth. Mans eyes are constructed to Sc
In objects only by agreat quantity of intens
light; but some beasts and fowls have thei
=, eyes constructed to range the forest an,
~ field by night as freely as man does dur
Oe ing day, while during sunlight they ca
scarcely see at all. A tribe of Africans al
IT. so-the Bosjesman--remain in their cave
or during day; and search for their food dul
ing night. From habit, we presume, the
ne have become nocturnal alroamers-men-ow
'ty thus showing that natural light belong
ay to our planet; the unceasing throbbings {
ice its particles produce continual light; tn
N, was the way, no doubt, that light was pre-
duced in the early days of the carth.-
o:y Hugh Miller brings forward some stron
us argument in favor of the great age of OF
'ut planet, and mentions number of geolog
lot cal changes requiring tens of thousands (
rs, years to accomplish, which could not ha,
III taken place in the short period of six thol
Ier sand years, as is believed by those who AZ
here to the solar six days Interpretation
the Genesis narrative of the creation. S
of Charles Lyell believes that it must ha'
!, II taken67 900 years to form the delta of Il
sto Ih Missippi, and 35, 900 yearsfor the Niaga
a. a. river, to form its present channel from Il
u S Falls to queenstown. Nearly all theemine
Nv nu geologists believe this, and they consid
ly, they have facts to prove it, so strong, tn
H;y5 they cannot be gainsayed. Mr.. Mea
~ IL reasons strongly 10 provethat the meaniI
''i a., of the word day in the first chapter
.ha 'hu Genesis is an indefinite period of time, al
.nd I makes out very strong case in favor
~ luU the world being perhaps amillion years
H., age, accordingto the Mosaic account
30" n"i creation. Scientific american.
nrr ~ EARLY P1ErY.-It is storied of Har