The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1878-03-12
Written for The Spirit of Democracy
EVOLUTION:
REV. W. II. RIDER, A. NJ.
The Scriptural Side.
ARTICLE VIII,

not eternal.
Gen..1. 1 is all the geology there is in
the Bible; and geologists may have as
much time as they please for the expan-
sion of the ages. But before passing
we wish to say that they are not to be
called fools who say God could have
produced the world : in more limited
time, and without the agency of natural
causes. Did he pluck the grapes and
express the wine at the marriage in Cana
Of Gallilee2 He spake and it was done.
His power is infinite, his will supreme.
Hence the Scriptural position: God either
directly creates, or produces through The
agency of materials and forces of has o,on
creation There is room here for theory
of evolution, but no different from the
evolution of to-day which is known and
demonstrated.
"In the beginning God created the
heaven AND the EARTH" We cannot quote
another verse of the chapter without
leaving geology out of the question
for subsequent verses do not refer to
the creation of the world, but to the
successive creative acts by which God
furnished it. Biologists have tried to
fit the seven geological periods into the
seven days of Genesis, but no two OF
them agree, and no one ever succeeded.
Good and great men have tried this in
order TO reconcile the Mosaic and geo.
logical account, and, though honest,
they have published their failures, for
want of better Interpretation. There
is no inharmony in the two accounts,
and the following is the true doctrine :
Give the first verse to geology,
and the "earth" is created, and the
.'heaven" Tor sun, moon and stars CON-
prising the solar system. How much
more, if any, it is nobody's business to
say, for they do not and cannot know.
Leaving the first verse Of the chapter
we come to new history-subsequent
in time-different in work. After the
geological period the earth was found
to be in super induced state Of DESC
lation-not naturally or originally so,
but superinduced. sand the earth was
(ha.yah, came to be) without form and
void, and darkness, was (ha-yah, came
to be) upon the face of the deep" The
surface was fuid-nut chaotic mass.
And the darkness was superinduced. II
was not always go. There had been
days of beautiful sunrise and sunset
long before that. But the temporal
darkness-the darkness which "came to
be"-was owing to the darkening va
porary mists rising from the condition
in which the earth was at this time when
Moses takes up the account.
"And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters" So the refor.
native power at this time was not hatu-
raj causes but the "Spirit of God" And
God said, .sLet there be light" Or, let
| the vapory mists obscuring the Suns
rays disappear "And God called the
light day." Was this polarized, non
lpolarized, or phosphorescent light2 No
it was just old-fashioned daylight. "Was
not the Sun created on the fourth day
and if so, how could Sunlight exist pre-
yiously to the fourth day?" The Bible
does not say so. The text does say tina
on the fourth day God made two grea
lights for the following purposes: th'
one to rule the day,and the other to rul'
the night. But in the beginning Coz
ereattd them.
"And the evening and the morning
was the first day" Not period, bu
| (yom) a day, measured by evening ant
morning. Some revert to Gen, 2, A t.
prove "day" aperiod. But here etsot
is in the plue perfect. SO that we Nigh
correctly translate, "IE the day that tn
Lord God had made or completed" re
ferring to the sixth day.
| The successive creative acts OF plan
anG animal life occurred on up to mar
Geologists want millions of years.
They may have them! Moses does nc
dispute this, and does not say anythin
about it, for the simple reason that h
did not know anything about it, and
was not his purpose to discuss it, Nose
does say, "God created man." and tn
evolutionists say man could not hav
sprung. from God as creation. So W
understand each other. Man is her,
and he is either the result OF blind d,
velopment or the product of highe
intelligence. We have disproved tt
, former and are pleased to accept tt
latter.
God being, and we being created /
I him, in his image, who can rob US (
our conception of him. God being il
finite, can reach US. We then can kno
= him. Man has 8 religious nature, Il
brute has not. God can reach this n
ture, and does as we verify know.
CONCLUSION.
All the facts imaginary and real fs
to support the deveiopmental hypoth
Sis 1t is fine tower Of conjecture
but owing to a mistaken idea for fou
dation, and consequent loose and TO
tering superstructure, like that Of Bah
there gathers around it confusion
tongues, and facts scatter its presumt
Gus sins in every direction from tt
truth.