The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1871-06-09
The aAarietta Sullrnal.
Marietta, Georgia, June 9, 1871.
WHAT BEECHER THINKS OF
GAINS WIFE

ship or wedding. However inter"
esting to the parties themselves it is
of no interest to us, except upon the
supposition that the account in Gen
esis of the creation of Adam was de-
signed to exclude the supposition
that any people had been created.
If Adam and Eve were the sole pro-
genitors ofthe race, Cain and Abel,
it is Inferred, must have married
their own slsters--a connection
which is shocking to the sensibilities
of the whole race, at subsequent
stage of development
But many of the fathers of the
church denied that Adam and Eve
and their children were the only
people on the globe. They affirm
ed that the text in Genesis very
plainly implies that there were other
inhabitants besides Adams family.
They allege that verse IA, chapter
4, of Genesis plainly implies that the
world was already widely populated.
For when God declared that Cain
should be driven from his family,
and made vagabond in the earth,
Cain deprecated the sentence and
replied that "every one that fndeth
me shall Stay me-" 1t was plainly
not his family connections that he
feared, for he desired not to be
driven forth from them. 1t was the
people that he should. meet when a
wandererin the earth. Who, then,
were the people that Cain should
fear to meet when he should have
gone forth into the earth ?
1t is also reasoned by scholars
that the most natural method of
soothing his fears would have been
to tell him "there are no other poo
pie on the earth except your faith
er's children" Instead of that, the
Lord is represented as falling in
with Gains impression respecting
the population of the world, and that
He set mark on Cain, lest any one
finding him should slay him. (Gen.
iv. 15) Still further, it is said that
Cain, separating himself from his
kindred, went to the land of Nod,
east of Eden, Che built city, and
called the name of the city after the
name of his son Enoch." The faith
ers very pertinently asked, Where
did the people come from that live
in the city ? That would be an ex-
traordinary state of things that
would have enabled Cain to fill up a
city, however small, with his own
children And it is inferred, there,
fore, there were other people in the
land beside the immediate post Gritty
of Adam. If Adam was the only
progenitor, Cain must have married
his sister. If there were lines of
people, other Adams as it were,
might have married into another
stock.
We do not express any Judgment
in the matter. We give our cores
pondent opinions that have been
held in the early days Ofthe church,
but with the statement that almost
all modern Christian writers have
rejected them.
But as the origin Of races has in
our day assumed an important sci
entifc development, and as very
many able scientists held to a varie-
ty of original stocks, it is interesting
to know that those views have been
held before, and upon supposed
Biblical grounds.
But are there no more questions
about CainY Does nobody wish to
know what the mark was which the
Lord affixed to Cain. Does no one
wish to know how Cain died p
Questions must be scarce to leave
such points untouched. If Cain is
to be raised, he surely ought to be
thoroughly dealt with.