The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1873-03-02

mission Of miracle at the very com.
mepcement Of mans history, We have
the sad sight Of naturalist trying to
trace the human pedigree, To his own
satisfaction, from the tadpole. like of.
spring Of the ancient ascidians aud
their larvie, etc., THROUGH fishes, an
phibians, reptiles, and the lower man.
mails to the monkeys Of the old world /;
and from thence, through long series
of unfound forms, to man. He per-
suades himself Il at man was devel-
oped up through the series Of extinct
forms that he talks SO much about.
His premises, from his own showing,
are merely hypothetical. He fails to
verify even the facts on which he
claims to base his hypothesis, but
blandy talks Of "a series Of forms,
none of which survive, graduating in
sensibly from some ape-like creature
to man as he now exists" Yet, not
so much as single fossil remain has
as yet been found anywhere, to which
this scientist or any Of his friends can
refer, as proving the truth Of his by.
pothess in any of its features and it
is indisputable, that no such develop.
ments are now occurring, it they ever
did take place, which has not been
proved as yet. The theory Of evolu-
tion looks better on paper than in prac-
tice for no facts are given by Oar
win or anybody that prove even the
possibility Of such an evolution up.
ward. Sterility curses the creatures
produced in contradiction, to Nature,
rendering snch beings unable to prop
agate their kind which shows that
the evolutioual theory must be false,
since it teaches the development of one
species from another.
This very evolutionsl theory is the
ablest effort yet made 10 avoid the neces-
, sity for O miracle In mans own case.
Could any miracle Of the Bible (make
your choice--Joshua and the sun, Jonah
and the whale, etc, be half so unreason.
able, Ms ths evolution of man from tad
pole? Besides, where did that tsdpole
come from, and how did it obtain, preserve
and communicate life? DR.. Denton got
puzzled about that and tried, MS You rec
ollect, to make capitalization the basis of
lite. But can capitalization make u tad
pole, or d it evei? Moreover, what
made things to be crystaliized ?--crystalli-
cation beng mere effect, and not un ope-
rating cause ut oil. Every msn who I'M
derstands geology or chemical lava will
tell you thatso far from capitalization be-
ing the basis OF life, the metainorphic
rocks which are usually crystalline, con.
tam no traces of fossils; and when dark
limestone, replete with shells and corals, is
converted into white crystalline marbles,
every sign of an orgsnic body becomes ot-
liberated. Now, either Doctor Denton WAS
aware of this, or he was not; and in either
case, you may draw your own conclusions,
| rs l have arawn mine.
1. does seem that every theory of exis.
tencc, viewed from any standpoint what.
ever, must involve the recognition Of n
miracle ut the beginning; which simply
proves Ms clearly as the nature Of any
problem can be proved, the reasonab eners
of miracles. And ms for those who would
Ind the basis in civilization, they nigh; do
well 10 remember Lots wife
| 4ue Ettht truIps Ol TcuRiCti
hot only indicate the reasobablene,s OF
miracles, but shows the unresson Ablene.s
Of any argument sgainst such things. lu
making this statement, l do il with my
eyes open TO the capital which in fcels m n y
Iry to d rive from II. The variety Of ab
surdness in the name OF religion, which
men have heartily embraced and practiced
has been welded us n strong weapon in
the hsnd. OF the skepiic. Instead of see.
ing, in these Instances of folly and de.
Ia ion, that mankind are SO constituted
that some kind OF religion is u moral ne.
cessity, 50 that If the true religion be re.
moved a false one will come in it's place
the skeptic draws the random and unscien.
tifc conclusion that all religions are
equally spurious. Stewart did not reason
| thus He reasoned IN this wise:
"The more strange the contradictions,
and the more ludicrous the ceremonies, to
which the pride Of human reason has been
reconciled, the stronger 10 our evidence
that religion has foundation in the ma.
ture of man"
HIS argument is unanswerable, and IL
involves another great truth Of moment
Society is elevated by the cultivation,
never by eradication, Of faculties funda.
mental TO hannah nature; therefore hder
whatever light presented, every indiscrim-
mate attack upon religion, as SUCH Is q vir.
tual retardment Of human progress, since
history and philosophy are alike conciu.
sive in showing that come kind OF relig.
ion will influence mankind. And more.
over, that false ono will come when the
true one Is removed, can be as plainly
shown although 1t does not come within
the proving OF my present lecture TO dis
close the fact under the associated rela.
tions Of testimony and tradition.
These religious recognitions of the soul
are the primary, not the secondly, princi.
piles Of our very nature-the great de-
narration lines to distinguish humanity
from brutehood-which a. shown by all
science and history, must be cultivated
and developed, to bring the other powers
| Of man TO their relative perfection and
it cannot be denied, that whatever a rever.
sion and q debssement of the religious
nature occur, all the other powers become
sadly and fearfully dwsrfed and injured,
just in the same ratio.
If man, therefore, has the nsture which
we know that he has, miracles are the
most perfect, consequently the most rea-
sonablo basis upon which to construct the
argument for any doctrine of religion
and what we thus infer from the nature Of
the case, Ia fully confirmed by every APP
peal to experience concerning the matter.
To these considerations, l might add
some others of equal potency, ~ere it at all
necessary 70 do so. The subject has not
Laa, a haustad hv nm W rpaaps Hnuever