The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-04-04
PROBLEMS THAT PUZZLE.
SOme Tough Things That Are FOun
in The f,ible.

come to this. grand old book. You ma,
take hold of the handle Of the sword or its
sharp edge. You may employ on its mys
teries the rnle Of multiplication or sub
traction. There are things, as my text
suggests, hard to be understood, but
I stall solve some of them, hoping to leave
upon all honest minded people the impress
sion that if four or five of them can be
explained, perhaps they may all be ex
planned.
Hard thing the first: The Bible says
the world was created in six days, while
| geology says it was hundreds of thousands
of years in process of building. 'In the
beginning, God created the heaven and the
earth" ''In the beginning. There you
can roll in ten million years if you want
to. There is no particular date given-no
contest between science and revelation.
Though the world may have been in pro-
cess of creation for millions of years, sud-
denly and quickly, and in one week. it may
have been fitted up for mans residence.
Just as a great mansion may have been
many years tin building, and yet in one
week it may be curtailed and chandeliered
and cushioned and upholstered for bride
and groom.
| You are not compelled to believe that
the world was made in our six days. 1t
may not have been day Of twenty four
hours. the day spoken of in. the first chap
| ter: it may have been Gods day. and a
thousand years with Him are as one day.
s'And the evening and the morning were
| the first day''-God's day. "And the even
ing and the morning we're the sixth day
Gods day. You and living in the
4 seventh day, the sabbath of the world. the
day of gospel redemption, the grandest
day of all the week, in which each day may
have been made up of thousands of years.
| Canyon tell me how a man can get his
mind and soul into such blasphemous
| twist as to scott at that first chapter of
| Genesis, its verses pillows of light surging
| up from sapphire seas of glory
| The Bible represents that light was Gre
ated on Monday, and the sun was not ere.
ated until Thursday. just think at it a
| bookdeclaring that light was created three
days before the sun shone. Why, don't
| you know that heat and electricity emit
| light independent Of the sun ? Beside that
When the earth was in process of conden-
satiea. it was surrounded by thick vapors
and The discharge of many volcanoes in the
primary period, and all this observation
NAV have hindered the light Of the sun
| from falling on the earth until that Thurs
day morning. Besides that David Brews-
ter and Herschel. the astronomer, and all
the modern men of their class. agree in the
fact that the sun is not light. that it is an
opaque mass. that it is only the candlestick
that holds the light. phosphol eseent
atmosphere floating around it, changing
and changing. so it IS not to be at all won
dered lat that not until that Thursday
] morning its light fell on the earth. Be-
side that, the rocks in crystallization emit
light. There is light from thousand
surfaces, the alkalies, for instance. The
metallic bases emit light. There was a
time in the history of the world when
there were thousands of miles OF liquid
granite flaming with light. Beside that,
it has been found there are burned out
volcanoes in other words which, when
they were in explosion and activity, must
have cast forth;an insufferable light throw
ing glare all over our earth Beside that,
there are the aurora borealis end the aus
rora anchalis. A book on physical science
says:
s.Gapt. Bonnycastle, coming up the Gulf
Of st. Lawrence on the 18th of September.
1926, was aroused by the mate OF the vessel
in great alarm from an unusual appearance.
1t was starlight plight, when suddenly
the sky became overcast. In the direction
of theshigh land of CORVALLIS county an
instantaneous and intensely vivid light,
resembling the aurora, shot ont On the
hitherto gloomy and dark sea On the lee
bowthat was so brilliant it lighted every
thing distinctly. even to the masthead.
The light spread over the whole sea be-
tween the two shores, and the waves,
which before had been tranquil, became
agitated. Capt. Bonnycastle describes
the scene as that of blazing sheet of
awful and most brilliant light-a long and
vivid line of light that showed the face of
the high frowning land abreast. The sky
became lowering and more intensely OBJ
scure. Long, tortuous lines of light
showed immense numbers of large fish
darling about as if Consideration. The top
sail yard and mizzen boom were lighted
by the glare, as if gaslights had been
burned directly below them, and until just
before daybrsak, at 4 o'clock, the most
minute objects were distinctly visible. !"
My hearers there are ten thousand sources
of light beside the light of the sun.
Another hard thing The story of the
deluge and Noah's ark. They say that
from the account that it must have rained
eight hundred feet of water each day in
order that it might be fifteen cubits above
the hills. They say that the ark could not
have been large enough to contain 1.-TWO OF
| every Sort for there would have been
hundreds of thousands and hundreds OF
thousands of creatures. They say that
these creatures would haye come from al
Ianns and all zones. They say that there
was only one small window in the ark, and
i that would not have given fresh air tt
! keep the animals inside the ark from suf
| location. They say that the ark fina lily
| landed on mountain seventeen thousand
feet high They say they do not believe
tase story. Neitherdo ]. There is no sucf
thing in the Bible. l will tell you wha
the Bible story is. must say have
banged my mind in regard TO some mat
rs which once were to me very mystic
:. o. They are no more mysterious. Thi'
- = key to the facts. This is the stor.
= ~ eye witness. Noah, his story incor
= =" afterward by Moses in the &C
Noah described the scene just al
:. u to him, He saw the flood ant
~ is depth. AS far as eye coult
49, onorn tbiag was covered up. from
=, 10 III IA, or. IS it says. 'unde
c. >hijdren Cry for