The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-03-17
What is Presbyterianism 4?
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.

OF several ancient nations have given le-
gendary or mythical accounts of the crea-
ton of the world Many of these had
been obtained in Christian nations from
the writings of men who hourished, either
some years before or after the Christian
era. They had access to works of authors
Of previous years, which have now been
lost to the literary world, though it is
possible as in the case of other very an
cient writings, supposed for centuries to
exist no longer, some of these may vet
come to light. Sanchoniathon of the era
OF the Trojan war, Manetho an Egyptian,
and Berosus a Babylonian, living three
or four hundred years before Christ, are
mainly the authorities to which reference
has been made. The last named, Berosus,
stated that his information had been de-
rived from writings, Libraries" as he
called them, existing, at his day in Baby
lon. Researches in the long buried ruins
of Babylon and Nineveh which have been
made, mostly during this century, have
brought to light numerous inscriptions,
made in what were long unknown char
acters. These inscriptions have been at
last sufficiently decyphered to become in
tellIglble to antiquarian scholars With
out detailing the process by which this
has been done, and the farther protracted
and laborious efforts by which the Ian
guage thus brought to light has been
formulated in grammars and illustrated
IN Lexicons it is sufficient here to state.
that thousands of such inscriptions, entire
or In fragments, have been gathered in
the museums of Great Britain and the
continent; many have been translated
and bring to our knowledge the records
OF an age dating back centuries before the
most ancient histories hitherto known.
These furnish us the accounts above men
toned, and though they contain more
fabulous and legendary, than credible
statements in their tales of the origin of
the world, of man, of his original happy
condition, and of his fallen state, vet all
recognize, not only beginning of matter,
OF mans existing, and the existence of
lower animal and vegetable life, in forms
nowSknown among US, but also refer the
production OF all to the agency of the
being or beings they recognized as gods.
They give no support to the modern scien-
tlhc theories of pre- Adamite creation,
or the evolution of organized beings, ra-
honal or irrational, from ooze and tad
poles or monkeys. They further give
accounts of garden like that of Eden
present representations of a man and
woman partaking of the fruit of tree,
by which they sit, while the figure of
serpent is In the background of the scene.
Then there are various accounts of flood.
sent on the world by the gods for mans
sin; and while these accounts vary from
each other, and by the mixture of fable
and the recognition Of false gods, idols
and their worship, of course vary from
Moses history, they still altogether pre-
sent the chief matters of interest, as the
order to build the ark, its measurement,
the dimensions, (much exaggerated), the
entering of the persons to be saved, and
representations of all kinds of animals
the total submerging Of the world, the
sending out of birds and their return.
the sacrifice, and the leaving of the ark.
Now it Is hardly probable that many diff
terent nations woHld have all presented
such accounts, if there was not some one
true account, the basis of all others; and
1t appears that those now found in the
ruins of the cities on the Tigris and Eu-
PM Cues oil approximate more nearly TO
the Biblical record than those which have
been found handed down by tradition, in
nations remote from the scene of this
awful and destructive miracle
The Mosaic history of the creation, as
cribes the origin of the world to the sew
eral persons of the Trinity, united as one
God. The Scriptures however, in vari-
GUS places, recognize the creation as the
work of each Of the Father, Cor viii
6, of the Son. John i 8, and of the HOLY
Spirit, Job XVI Is, Ia, and these three
are thus identified as one in work, as in
attributes and perfections. The Comics
sion of Faith does not, of course, enter
into speculations and theories. 1t does
not discuss whether the days were of
"A hours duration or periods of longer
duration Nor need this explanation of
Presbyterianism take such questions into
consideration Some strong advocates of
interpreting days to be periods. each
marked by limits, till the seventh held
by them, not yet closed, insist that the
reasons for this view derived from science.
do not furnish grounds for rejecting the
divine origin and authority of the Holy
Scriptures. Meanwhile two remarks are
proper: CD The allegations based on the
facts OF science nom ascertained, man be