Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-06-08
Science and the Bible.

That the grand truths OF geology are In
conflict with the generally received theo-
logical aceeptations of the statements made
in the first chapter of Genesis, there can
be no doubt. The infdel jumps to the
conclusion that the Bible is an untrue
record, because it does not tally with the
observed and ascertained facts of geology ;
and it is humiliating to be obliged to ac-
knowledge that many of our teachers and
preachers of Christianity have rendered
| great service to the cause of inidelitys by
insisting on a literal Interpretation of the
said first chapter in the Old Testament.
On the contrary, the liberal-minded Chris
tian sees no necessity for either discredit-
ing the evidence of his own senses, or for
throwing the Bible overheard. He con-
cludes that there is a mistake somewhere,
and is warranted in believing that'the mis-
take lies in the heads of those who, first
of all, make up their minds that the Bible
selves so strongly IN those prejudices. that
- they willnot believe, though one rose
from the dead - to show them their error.
The time has come for wiping out these
prejudices, and asserting the truth. The
man of science (the knower) is the better
Christian of the two, and must not longer
rest under the ban of infdelity. He
studies the Author Of Nature in His works
not through the fanciful crudities of the
mere theologiau, who simply thinks what
the Creator ought to be and to have done,
and then judges the world from that in
significant standpoint The time has gone
by when one could be applauded for ex-
claiming, So much the worse for the
-. u - Il -
not agree with his theery. The time is
coming, yea, now is, when that theory
alone will be accepted which is based on
wide consideration of known facts and
this is in accordance with Scripture in
junction to prove all things"
1t Is noteworthy that the most persistent
opponents Of the science of geology are
terribly inconsistent. Probably not one
of the whole number believes that the sun
goes round the earth daily. Yet there is
as much warrant for this belief in the
book of Joshua as there is in Genesis for
a creation in one hundred and forty -four
hours The Bible is full of allusions to
the earth as the center of the visible uni
verse but no one now believes that to be
fact, nor feels, that in accepting the
Copernican theory. one is bound to dis
credit the authority of the Holy Scrip
lures We might answer these cavilers in
their own way, and claim that the Bible
was never intended to teach science, but
that in doing 1t We should be equally cul- |
pable with them IN assuming to limit its
usefulness and circumscribe its meaning. |
However, it is pardonable to say that the
Bible nowhere claims to be a scientific |
textbook, though we do find its uses de- |
fined. ST. Paul tells Timothy that the |
Scripture 4" is profitable for doctrine, for
reproOf, for correction, atd for instruction /
in hriGanss the man of God I
ss is in the Re-
8 vAYhen5 ZIP examined the
eSaicf, preparatory to blptism. he asked
no test-questions even as 70 the authentic
ity of any portion of the Scriptures except
the prophecies; and, by the By, those are
the only portions on which the Scriptures
themselves forbid us to put private in
We do not know the number of years
and days which have elapsed since the
first form of life appeared on our planet;
we shall probably never know, and it is
not important that we should. But we
can trace out the history of hundreds of
of years craven in the solid
rock, and It was evidently intended that
we should read these historic sketches,
since we possess the power of doing so.
We know that the book of nature was
written by Him who created all things,
and if we believe the Bible to be of equal
Iy divine origin, we need not entertain any
fear in regard to studying the two volumes
together Truth is always consistent with
itself, and if two truths appear to be in
we may be as certain that 1t is
our own fault, as we are that the sun is
not responsible for the fact that blind
man cannot see him.-American Builder.