The Placer herald., 1856-05-10
SCIENCE AND REVELATION.


The history of our globe as given by geo
logists generally, from their Interpretation OF
the remains of animals and vegetables found
in the earths crust, has excited much con
troversy among men Of science-dlvlnes and
scholars during the past half century; and
the controversy is still carried on with no
small amount of vehemence. The main sub
ect of discussion is the account Of the Crea-
ton in the first chapter of the Bible. The
general belief entertained from the old, re-
earding the meaning of this chapter, is that
the acts Of distinct creations, described there
in, took place during days like those we now
cniov-of twentv-four hours duration; also,
that the period of time which has elapsed
since those grand events, amounts to about
six thousand years. Soon after geology
commenced to be studied as science, this
Interpretation of the acts of Creation began
to be disputed, by geologists asserting that
the rocks presented evidence of the far great
cr antiquity of the earth, and that the days
of Creation mentioned in Genesis meant
great epochs of tme-perhaps millions of
years. Fifty years since, Dir. Chalmers, com
batting the views of those who asserted that
I ItoIO0N luuGub IlliuCilLN, ooh t4ii' 10 90
false alarm: the writings of Moses do not fix
the antiquity Of the globe" Since then
great has been the number Of essays and
books which have issued from the press, dis
cussng the question pro and con. These
are too numerous for us to mention; our
present object is, principally, to notice two
of the most recent, viz the work of Taylor
Lewis, Prof Of Greek in Union College,
Schenectady N. Y, and an elaborate Review
of it in the last number of the Bibliotheco
.Sacra, by Prof Dana, Of Yale College.
Prof Lewis, who is stated to be deeply
learned in the Hebrew language admits that
the days mentioned in the first chapter Of
Genesis meant great epochs OF time but he
casts aspersons on geology, men OF science,
and science itself We admit that certain
theorisings of individuals, like the writings
Of Aristotle, may pass current for science;
but it is science falsely so called" Real
science is simple truths or facts arranged or
set in ORDER it is nothing more; Prof. Lewis
does not clearly make this distinction, and
Prof Dana has answered him correctly and
ably in defence Of science.
We will now endeavor to present the sub
stance of Prof Danas account of the history
of Creation, because it is the latest, c!earest'
and the best we have seen, and must be OF
interest to every son of Adam. lie states
that geology proves our earth to have been
at one time fiery ball in space; then dry
land and seas appeared, with tropical eli
mate over the whole globe At later
period, mountains began to enlarge, the dry
land to expand, a temperate climate to gather
about the poles, and tribes of animals became
more localised. Then, in the last age before
man, the continents take their full breadth;
rivers flow, everywhere valleys are formed;
the zones of climate become nearly like our
own, and every region of the globe has its
peculiar fauna "Finaly, the features, and
climates, and life, attain all their present
variety, as man appears to take his place at
the command of his Maker"
His ideas regarding the production OF
light are peculiar and as we have seen the
same views before, and now find them en-
dorsed by Prof Dana, we presume they are
accepted as the most correct theory OF light
by all who have paid any attention to the
subject. He says, without mutual molecu-
lar action, there could be neither light nor
heat. But let it be endowed with intense
attraction of different degrees or conditions,
and it would produce light as the first effect
of mutual action begun. The command,
Let light be- was the summons of activity
in matter" The plain meaning of this is
that the matter composing the earth was in
existence 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 effect
of thu low of orro atiOu
The records of the rocks, Prof Dana as
serts, declare that the creatures of the ami
NAL kingdoms come not forth all at once
but in long progression. There was an age
when shell-ish, such as cuttle-ish, coras
and trilobites, were dominant. The eartf
was then too warm, and the atmosphere to(
impure for more exalted forms. "This wa
the silurian age of geographical science.
The next age was when fishes filled the seas
which is the devonian of geology. Thel
followed another, when reptiles frogs ant
salamanders commenced. Land plants the
came forth, and were Of exuberant growth
to abstract carbonc gas from the atmospher
and purify the air. The vegetable product