The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-04-24
HARD TO UNDERSTAND.
Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt Tai.
mage, D. D
some Of the Tough Bible Truths Ex.
plained-The Creation, the Deiuge
the Stopping OF the Sun and the
Whale Story - Wherein the
rnfidel Slunders

though Things in the Bible was the sub
feet Of DR.. Talmage's recent sermon at the
BrSoklyn Tabernacle, and his text II. Peter,
ii:l6: In which are some things hard to
be understood Following is the sermon:
The Bible is the most common sense book
in all the world. But there are many things
in it which require explanation. 1t all de-
pends on the mood il which you come to
this grand old book. You may take hold Of
the handle Of the sword or its sharp edge.
You may employ on its mysteries the rule
Of multiplication or substraction. There
are things. as nv text suggests, hard toOe
understood, but shall solve some Of them,
hoping to leave upon all hopest-rllnded peo-
pie the impression that if four or FIVE OF
them can be explained, perhaps they may
all be explained.
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 ton
million years if you want to. There is no
particular date given-no contest between
science and revelation. Though the world
millions of years, suddenly and quickly,
and in one week, it may have been fitted up
for mans residence. Just as great man
sion may have been many years in building,
and yet in one week it may be curtained
and chandeliered and cushioned and up
holstered for bride and groom.
You are not conn el!ed to believe that the
world was made IN our six days. It may
hor hoa do of tu,aD D<yyf
the day spoken Of in the first chapter; 1t
may have been God's day, and thousand
years with him are as one day. And the
evening and the mcrlins were the first
day''-God's day. And the evening and
the morning were the second day''-Goo's
day. And the evening cnj the morning
were the sixth day"-God's day. You and
living in the 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 thou
sands Of years. Can you tell me how a
man can get his mind and soul into such
blasphemous twist as to scof at that first
chapter OF Genesis, its verses pillows OF
light surging upfrom sapphire seas OF glory!
The Bible represents that light was created
on Monday and the sun was not created
until Thursday. Just think OF it! book
declaring that light was created three days
before the sun shoneI Why, don't you
know that heat and electricity emit light
independent of the SUM- Besides that,
when the earth was in process Of condensa-
ton, it wss surrounded by thick vapors and
the discharge Of many volcanoes IN the
primary period. and all this obscuratioa
may have hIndered the light OF the sun
from falling on the earth until that Thurs
day morning. Besides that David Brester
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 candlestics that
holds the light, phosphorescent at
mosphere floating around it and chang
ing, so it is not to be at all Won
dered at that not until that Thursday morn
ing its light fell on the earth. Besides that,
the rocks in cryssallization emit light. There
IS light from Thousand surfaces, the
a,kalies, for instance The metallic bases
emit light. There was time in the history
of the world when there were thousands OF
miles of liquid granite flaming with light.
Besides that, it has been found that there
are burned out volcanoes in ether worlds
which, when they were in explosion and
activity, must have cast forth an insuffer-
able light, throwing a glare all over our
earth Besides that there are the aurora
borea!is, and the aurora A;schalis. a book
on physical science says:
Captain Bonnycastle, coUaAg 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.
It was starlight night when suddenly the
sky became overcast. In the direction Of
the high land Of Cornwa!lis County an in
stantancous and intensely vivid light, re-
sembling the aurora, shot out on the hitherto
gloomy and dark sea on the lee bow that was
80 brilliant it lighted every thing distinctly,
even to the masthead. The lightspread over
the whole sea between the two shores, and
the waves, which before had been tranquil,
became agisated. Captain Bonnycastie de-
scribes the scene as that OF blazing
sheet Of a-ful 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 Intense
" obscure. Long, tortuous lines Of light
showed immense numbers OF large fish
darting about as if iu CONSERVATION. The
top-sa' | yard and mizzen boom were lighted
by the glare IS If gasichts had been burned
directly below them, and until just before
daybreak, at four O'Clock, the most minute
objects were distinctly visible" Ny hearers,
there are ten thousand sources Of light be-
sides the light of the sun.
Another hard thing: The story OF the
deluge and Ntah's ark. They say that from
the account there it must have raine6 eight
hundred feet Of water each Gay in order that
it might be fifteen cGbits above the hills.
They say that the ark could not have been
large enough 70 contain two Of every sort"
FOR there would have been hundreds of
thousands and hundreds Of thousands Of
creatures They say that these creatures
would have come from all lands and all
zones. They say there was only one small
window IN tie ark, and that would not have
given fresh air 10 keep the animals inside
the ark from suffocation. They say that the
ark Sually landed on mountain seventeen
thousand feet high. They say they do not
believe tie story Neither do l. There IS 10
such story in the Bible. will tell you what
the Bible story is. Iuust say that have
changed my mind in regard to some matters
which once were to me very mysterious.
They are no more mysterious. This IS the
KEY to the facts. Tais Is the story OF an eye
witness, Noah, his story Incorporated after
ward by Moses in the account Noah de-
scribed the scene just SIS it appeared to him.
He saw the food and he fathomed its depth.
AS far as eye could reach everything was
covered up, from horizon to horizon, or, as 1t
SAYS, svnder the whole heaven" He did
not refer to the Sierra Nevadas or to Mount
Washington, for America had not been dis
covered, or, If it had been discovered, he
Ea ;s o