The New York herald., 1872-10-06


tion the scientific truthfuiness OF the history o
creation, a. given In the Book of Genesis, discus
sion OF the subject In the Sunday HERALD, by the
light OF scientific truth. will doubtless be interesting
TO many OF your readers. Being one OF those
readers, will take the liberty to suggest that your
correspondents on this subject should evlnce q
becoming respect for the geological truth that the
earth land II the EARTH then all similar bodies e
matter) was formed by precipitation OF such
matter from solution, and, therefore, could not
have been molten mass while undergoing the
process OF formation; moreover chemistry develops
the fact that such solution of matter could have
been none other than gaseous vap0r from
which it is not reasonable to suppose that
solar and planetary bodies could have been
formed except by process OF separation, condensa
tion and precipitation. Admitting the probable
was gaseous vapor we cannot conceive the pos
sibility OF any other force being developed by IL
than pressure. Pressure being Of necessity insep-
arabic from matter, and therefore c0existant with
It, we must admit that pressure is the primary
force OF matter, to the action of which force all
other forces owe their development. Therefore II
we would put forward reasonable speculation as
to the nnod,s Operundt OF the formation Of worlds
and their Inhabitants we should first answer the
inquiry, What effect should pressure produce when
applied to boundless mass OF all the known, and,
II please unknown, gases when held In COM
mon solution OF gaseous vaporY
Supposing that the sluggish kinds OF gases
would evince their susceptibility OF pressure by
their contraction only, and that the ChOlcrC gases
would evnce their susceptibility OF pressure by be-
coming heated as well as contracted, and that some
OF the gases are greatly expanded by the action OF
heat which expansion would correspondingy In,
crease the pressure, except SO far as 1t would
be neutralized by the contraction Of other
gases, we shall readily perceive that pres.
would necessitate their separation from the gen.
eral mass, and their concentration In innumerable
Of the By ey
susceptibility Those gases which evince their sus
ceptibty OF pressure by becoming heated as well
as compressed by its action would naturally
assume the character and position OF solar bodies
or suns and planets would be formed OF those gases
which evince their susceptibility of pressure by
their contraction only Those gases which do not
appear to be In any way effected by pressure would
remain fixed In their primary position, and would
IN which the planets are suspended. The gases OF
which this matter is composed would naturally be
concentrated around the solar centres In the order
Of their susceptibility Of heat those which are the
least susceptible would be the most dense, and
would therefore form the inner strata.
cG oens Pc tS WorR
from gaseous vapOr could begin until such vap0r
had been condensed into space but little greater
may reasonably suppose that the final work of
creation should not necessarily have taken more
time than is given in the ''stOry of Noses" And
his statement that animal as well as vegetable life
was primarily spontaneous production OF the
earth being scientific truth. will refer you to the
book OF Genesis for scientific information on that
part of the subject. l will however, suggest the
explanation that man, so far as we know Is the
only created being in whom the intelligent prin-
ciple Is so developed that he is enabled not only to
comprehend the law of matter and thereby to con-
troll the forces OF nature and make them his Obedi
ent servants. but also to design and construct
forms which do not exist In nature and which his
necessities do not demand. Therefore this intelli-
gent principle Is a creative power, analogous to
that which we see in the works of nature by which
We live, move and have being. II this intelligent
principle is God then ''all may know God from the
least to the greatest; for man Is made In the image
a m a tfAr knn n nj 10 mi nd fhnn
we can have no intelligent knowledge OF the being
of a God.
Plain Talk for Intelligent Readers About
the Bible, &c.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
Starting out with the proposition that belief, sure
and steadfast, Is too important and sacred thing
to fix upon any other than absolute scientific EVIL
dence and positive demonstration, allow me to
present to an indugent public starting point
from which all, both old and young, can reason out
the philosophy of life and true theory of doing
and reward and wrong-doing and punishment,
which in the man Is easily stated in theory, but
which in particular application has to be wrought
out in the lie OF each individual to be truly under.
Stood
First even a Child can see the truth OF this
proposition, that it Is beyond the possibility of any
power in the universe mot excepting God Himself)
to make true circle that shall have ends,
or what call straight line that shall have less
than two ends. This is In the same sense that as
the Bible informs u.s. 'It is impossible for God to
lie." Some things, then, are impossible even with
God Now, We cannot go astray If we start out
upon our Investigations with this statement. Rob-
berry is not right under any circumstances; and
The 'iving and true Cod" the great Spirit OF the
never has commanded one man to rob
another. This must be as 1t Is that II is i'm
possible for God to do wrong For the very idea ofa
God Is that OF an infinitely pure and holy being
incapable Of doing encouraging wrong. II He
ever did this we have the most incontestble
being, or that the witness who testides
to Gods completely In wrong-dOing Is an
unfaithml witness, and not worthy OF belief
on our part. But we read in Exodus that
God commanded the Israeltes to 'bOrrOw" all their
neighbors' jewelry; that He gave the people favor
in the eyes of the Egyptians, that is, made it easy
to do the borrowing, and that they spoiled" (or
robbed) "the Egy ptians." Now, as we cannot ac-
cept the statement that God could have lent His aid
to wrongdoing for 1.-TWO wrongs cannot make one
right'o, we are compelled to accept the alternative
that it is Hence the Bible contains
When consider that the testimony In the
above case is furnished by cruel old priest, who
was capable or doing what is recorded OF him i'll
Numbers XXI, where 1t says his band of ma
rauders, after pillaging the country OF his wifes
father-Midian, the land OF Jethro-ruthlessy
murdered in cold blood, by his command,
over !, hundred thousand , by fair
and also kept $4,000 young women tthirtytwo OF
whom were for his own personal use) for fate
infinitely worse than that OF their mothers and
infant brothers and sisters, we cannot fail to have
grave doubts as to the Inspiration and authority OF
the Bible
What makes the incredible slaughter of Num-
bers XXI. so much more barefaced an exaggera-
tion than any OF Baron Munchausen's stories
which were never printed or told for truth, Is the
following consideration
According to the Pentateuch lsee Exodus, vi, 90
Numbers XVI, So and ]. Chronicles, vi, l, 10y,
Moses was the son OF J0chebed, the sister
OF Kohath, who himself was one OF the
seventy that went into Egypt in the famine.
Hence Moses was born in the next generation
after the lsraetes went into Egypt. (1hese facts
are more reliable for argument than the mere dates
OF 430 or 2l5 years, both OF which quite uncer.
tain and apt to mislead.) Now, when any Of our
learned divines can tell us how 'this Mosesi' could
lead out 603, $50 warriors, in addition to women.
children and strangers" or about three millions
or people see Numbers, i), when each OF Jacobs
twelve sons had only about four children on an
average, and where he afterwards mustered the
II, 900 warriors even who performed the above
herculean task without the loss Of a man (sus-
then and not till then, shall we take the
Bible as a better book than the Koran, and i'm