The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1856-03-29
Science and Revelation.


Prof. Dana, of Yale college, it being the the
ory of very learned aud pious man, on the
history of the creation Of the world, and the
latest, clearest and best I'VE have seen. He.
states that geology proves our earth to have
been at one time fiery ball in space then
dry land and seas appeared, with tropical
climate over the whole globe. At ID later
period, mountains began TO enlarge, the dry
land to expand, temperate climate to gath
er about the poles, and tribes of animals be-
came more localized. Then, in the last age
before man, the continents take their full
bccadth; rivers flow, every where valleys
are formed the zones of climate become
'arly like our own, and every region OF the
globe has its peculiar fauna. Finally, the
features and climates and life attain all their
present variety, as man appears TO take his
place at the command Of his Maker"
He says, "withou. mutual molecular &C
ton. there could be neither light nor heat.
But let it be endowed with intense attraction
of different degrees or conditions, and 1t
would produce light as the first effect of mu-
tual action begun. The command, let there
be light was the summons to activity IN
matter" The plain meaning OF this Is, that
the matter composing the earth was in exls-
tence before the law of gravity, and that
when it (matter) was endowed with gravity,
the mutual action resulting therefrom pro-
duced light; in other words, light is an eff
feet of the law of gravitation.
The records of the rocks, Prof. Dana as
serts. declare that the creations of the ami
NAL kingdoms came not forth all a once, but
in long progression. There was an age when
shel-fish, such as cutie fish, corals, and tril-
obites, were dominant. The earth was then
too warm, and the atmosphere too impure
for more exalted forms. "This was the silu-
rian age of geological science" The next age
was when fishes filled the seas, which is the
devonian of geology. Then followed another,
when reptiles, frogs and sa!amanders COM
menced. Land plants then came forth, and
were of such exuberant growth as to abstract
the carbonic gas from the atmosphere and
purify the air. The vegetable products Of
that age are now found in our coal fields
After this came the repilian age when
there were reptiles larger than whales in the
water; leviathan reptiles on land, and flying
REPTILES in the air. In each of these ages
there were distinct creations succeeding to
determinations of previously existing life.
Through the siluran, devonian, carbonif-
erous and reptilian ages in America, fifteen
times at least the seas were swept of their
s)ec S, and in the succeeding epoch not a
)ecleS OF the former occurS' All lIlS oC-
Cured during the Gfth day of Genesis, accor-
ding to geoogists, which may have occupied
u period of more than million of years.
The next epoch, the sirth day, was the ad-
vent Of man, and the more perfect mammals,
and Prof Dana asserts with other geologists,
that " the whole plan Of creation had evident
reference to man, as the end and crown OF
The animal kingdom" and science has no ev-
id.nce that any living species have beer Gre
ated since his appearance on this globe.
There is no dispute whatever in regard to
the order of creation; geologists assert that
The orders of creation described in Genesis,
exactly accord with geological science, and
the records of the rocks and scripture are in
perfect harmony. The only subject of dis
pute, then, is in reference to the question OF
time; there is not, and cannot be, any con-