Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1871-07-19

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,nlarge the knowledge Of man.
There are four or FIVE points with re-
'pect to which Scripture and science are
by some to be at variance, viz,
he days Of creation, the revolution of the
sarth upon its axis, the coming in Of death
with mans transgressiOn, the univcrsali-
y of the deluge, and the antiquity of man.
We are inclined to think that the want Of
harmony is imaginary, and the idea oft
springs from want Of knowledge of the
real subject. Let US briefly examine these
points:
First. The days of creation could not
have been our days-periOds of twenty
four hours, as we divide time-lo- it was
not until the fourth yOm, or day, that the
sun appeared TO constitute manifestly any
such days; though, as the earth revolved
upon its axis, and around the sun, such
days did exist from the beginning, subor-
dinate to solar years included in the days
of the Mosaic cosmogony. The days Of
Genesis undoubtedly were cons, long ages,
each of which involved an exact space Of
time, was complete cycle Of existence
in itself, aDd terminated, according to the
formative law of the Creator, only give
birth to another, different, but not less
wonderful. The seventh con Is now pass
ing. 1t is the day in which, as was finely
said by Hugh Miller, God rested from
His work Of creation, to undertake that
of redemption. The eighth eon is to come,
and We trust will be the day 81 peace to
all.
Second. The revolution of the earth
upon its axis is distinctly affirmed by Job,
when he says, xviii. II, according to
the correct rendering of the Hebrew, at
turneth, round" as we showed at leugth
in previous article.
Third. The death referred to in Gen.
esis, aui commented upon by St. Paul, is
spiritual death, not physical, as every
scholar onght to know, and therefore does
not come into the category. Physical
death marked the close Of every con, and
will mark the close of the current one
Spiritual death, according to history, en-
tered with the first traDsgrcssion, on the
seventh con it is the death which CON-
mentators say will exist when physical
death shall be no more. Hence Scripture
and science are not at war on this point
Fourth The delugc was universal fol
man. 1t destroyed the human race, save
Noah and his family. That was all thai
was necessary and all that the history o.
the event demands A comparison of the
Mosaic account with other portions of thu
Bible will show, in perfect agreement witt
the facts Of geology. that submerging o
the entire globe need not be inferred tt
have taken place at the time of the Noa
chain deluge. In conformity, science
proves that the deluge was local.
FJth. The antiquity Of man. Th'
probability that the common chronology
placing the creation of man about fv'
thousand eight hundred and seventy-foul
years ago, will turn out to be erroneous
need not alarm any one. The truth o
the revelation of Christ, running from tn,
promise of the Redeemer, contained il
Genesis i'll, to the last chapter of Reve
lation does not depend upon the correct
ness of the estimated chronology of thu
Bible as ordinarily stated by Usher anc
others. The creation of man may hav,
been of great antiquity, Indeed as tn,
Duke Of Argyll remarks, the more remote
you make it, the more strength on ration
al grounds do you give to the declaration
of Moses that all mankind sprung from
one original pair, declaration reaffirmet
by St. Paul, when he says that God mad
all men of "one flesh" The probabi!it,
is that man is very ancient. We reat
that he became fearfully corrupted, ant
was swept from the earth by deluge
Some Of his remains may possibly b.
left. Subsequently, the family of Noal
repcoped che earth. As they multiplied
and spread abroad, and receded far from
the centre of creation, they declined int
barbarism, from which state many tribe
never arose. Those who remained nea
the centre advanced in civilization. Ma
tions grew up and passed away, like th'
people who Inhabited the plateau of Asia
the Cushites of Arabia, and others. unit
the time arrived when recorded history
from its first faint lines in the rocks til
its tul development, preserved the stor.
of mans life on earth. Now, not par
tlcle of all this is opposed to revelation
only it does not concur with the vulga
chronology. which is only certain 50 ia
as it can be astronomicallY verified. ...