Smyrna times., 1882-09-13
Rev.E.S .Stubbs in Smyrna.

Rev. .E.Stu DDS in SMYRNA.
The announcement that Rev. EnOch
Stubbs would preach in the NJ. +.
Church on Sunday morning last, called
out very large audience, as was cX-
pected, being the first time he has
! preached i'll the house since finishing
his pastoratc, foUF and a-half years ago.
In the pulpit with him, in addition to
| the pastor, was his father, who followed
the first hymn with an earnest and
comprehensive prayer. The text was
from Psalms VIII chapter, 34 verses
"When | consider thy heavens, the
work of thy fingers the moon and the
stars, which thou hast ordained: What
is man that thou art mindful of him or
the son of man that thou visitest him p
The subject was one that could be
expanded into a wide range of thought q,
or the more usual one of pulpit treat
ment, of mans littleness and insignfi-
cancc. The reverend gentleman chose
the former, and for more than an hour
. held the closest attention Of the audi
ence rs he laid down before them the
line of thought dividing the skcptiC
and christian thinkers, and presenting
in his usual graphic manner the more
intelligent claims and blissful prospects
of those who lire in eXempliiicatiOn OF
the christian faith.
, He said this was an age as no other
f had been, of inquiry, and this inquiry
; must be satisfied. The battle between
9 infidelity and religion had been fought
/, over and over again, and nOtwithstand-
/. ing the latter had won the victory in
, every conflict, the strife is renewed ol
= a wider field and in n more diffusivC
c manner in our literature. The scien
/ tist believes nothing that he cannot eX
r plain by science. The Positivists'
1 believe in nothing but what they Sc,
i and know; the materialists belicv,
/ that matter is external and by certain
!. laws Of its own, regulates the universe
and that man fills and ends his eXistcnc
here as any thing else in the order O
creation. The doctrine of God ant
revelation are sought to be overthrow
V by scientific discoveries that they sa,
t, confutes the bible theory. 1t was her
II the speaker laid the strongest claim
IS of the truths of the bible: it did not
d when rightfully interpreted cOntradiC
l. science. All other books in treating c
le science have found their theories en-
le tircly at fault in the light of the late
d developments of the telescope, spectre
r scope and geological investigations
,r The declaration to Abraham that hi
'e descendants should be as the sands upO
1T the sea-shore and as the stars in tn
le heavens, was given as an instance
es Before the recent discoveries of tn
rs powerful telescope that resolves nebl
H. lous matter and small stars into SUI
ly and vast systems reaching into til
es farthest space containing countle
ce numbers of heavenly bodies, the sta
IN were computed at 1000. The doubtt
IS. could take up handful of sand fro
of the sea-shOre and say, see the bib
es compares the stars with the sand upC
lis the sea-shore and here | have in II
n hand as many grains of sand as the
on are stars in the heavens, but the rev
o. lations of science have proven that Il
on bible was right, and the arrogant di
wv believers conception entirely at fau
on The reason why the bible does not co
he tradict itself was that its author w
a the same as the author of nature, WI
always worked wisely. If the bib
did not harmOniZe with the works
ad creation, it would, he said, be worth
las more than the other books that h;
ar fallen into discredit because erroneoU
ew 1t taught the value Of life, of Ii
tut earthly and heavenly. The skept
I'd, represented by the "clod" theor
lot taught that when a mound was erect
he over man, that was the last of hi
en What nobler incentive had such mi
en than the maxim, "let us eat and drii
me for tomorrow we die?" The natui
of tendency of such teachings was
ng beastly materialism, while the bill
in taught that the bliss of the human IN
for was in living pure life here, to eni
ese the more glorious life beyond.
r n In elucidating mans relationship
md his creator, the theme led natural
lut into the subject of creation. He not
do the different theories, especially tn
ies matter was originally II vapOr, then
)ne incandescent fiery mass, which by sol
ort process was set revolving, thus in
ght plastic state throwing off rings Il
my globularized into planets, revolvi
rec around a common centre, the whI
on. cooling in the long ages into rocks Il
ich in turn disintegrated by the process;
zed of nature until the earth became fit
II a. 4