The Bossier banner., 1893-01-12
NUMBER As.

text comes in with its idea of man
SON of many stories: 'It is He that
ajuildeth His stories in the heaven Is
1t possible that we who live on the
ground-foor of this many-storied build
ing are the only tenants, and that the
larger rooms and the more gorgeously
upholstered rooms and the more bril-
liantly chandeliered rooms above it are
uninhabited? Besides this, we are pos
itively told in the Bible that
two other worlds are Inhabited
the world angelic and the world
diabolic. Those two worlds, added to
our own, make it positive that three
worlds are inhabited. Why, then, stop
with three worlds of living beings
when there are not only millions but
billions of worlds? Are they all stand
ing like expensively furnished houses
in time of financial panic marked ITO
Let and no one to take them? All
around US in this world we see economy
of Omnipotence, If Christ was going
to feed the hungry seven thousand in
the wilderness He made use of the boys
Ave loaves and two fishes, expending
no more of creative power than was
needed. Waste not" God hath writ
ten all over this world.
And do you suppose that God would
waste world material in our solar sys-
tenn to the amount of what has been
estimated as seven hundred trillion
miles of solid contents, and that only
small part as compared with other sys-
TENS which go to make up this many
storied mansion of the text, where it
says: 1T is He that buildeth His stories
in the heaven" Did Prof. Herschel
and his sister, Catherine, in finding
worlds find only worlds uninhabited and
a waste? Is Ceres, which Piozzi discov-
cred in 1901, wasted? Is Vesta, that
| Olbers discovered in 1907, wasted? Is
Proserpine, which Prof. Luther discov-
cred in 1885, wasted? Is Urania, which
Prof. Hind discovered in 1854, wasted?
| Is Pandora, discovered in 1855 by Prof.
Searle, wasted? Are the fifteen thous-
and stars recorded in one year in the
observatory at Washington, wasted?
Is all except the billionth part of the
universe wasted? My hearers, is it
possible that God would run such
splendid passenger train of parlor cars
through the heavens, and keep it run
ming, if there were no passengers?
Judging from the extent of the
universe, do you think God
would put all His family on such
limits as this world marks? If king
have palace of one hundred rooms will
he put all his princes and princesses in
one comparatively small room? AS the
highest happiness is in making others
happy, is it not certain that God would
occupy larger places than our small
earth with beings capable of happi-
ness? What is the use of light If there
are no eyes of inha bitants to enjoy and
employ that light? / admit that scien-
tific exploration has discovered that
around many worlds there is an
atmosphere in which lungs like
ours could not breathe, and
there are heats or colds that physique
like ours could not endure. But do
you suppose that we have the only
kind of lungs that God can make? Do
our bodies exhaust Divine ingenuity,
and must He make all intelligent
creatures with our respiration or pulsa-
|
tude or not make them at all? Be-
cause organisms like ours can not live
in Mercury or Saturn or Jupiter or the
sun, we have no right to conclude that
those globes are lifeless. Without any
telescope and without any observatory
and without any astronomical calcula-
ton, know that the other worlds are
inhabited because my Bible and my
common-sense tell me SO. 1t has been
estimated that in the worlds belong
ing to our solar system there is
room for at least twenty-five tril-
lion of population. And | believe it
is all occupied, or will be occupied by
intelligent beings. God will not fll
them with brutes. He would certainly
: put into those worlds beings intelligent
enough to appreciate the architecture.
the coloring, the grandeur, the beauty,
the harmony of their surroundings.
Yea, the inhabitants of those worlds
, have capacity of locomotion like ours.
J for they would not have had such spa
cious opportunity for movement If they
had not lowers of motion. Yea. they
, have sight, else why the light, and
hearing, else how get on with necessary
language and how clear themselves
from advancing perils. Yea, as God
made our human race in His own inn
age, He probably made the inhabitants
. of other worlds in His own image; in
| other words, 1t is as near demonstra-
| tion as care to have it that while the
{ inhabitants of other world have adap-
t tations of bodily structure to the par
/ | ticular climate in which they dwell
there is yet similarity of mental and
spiritual characterics among all the in
habitants of the universe of God, anc
e made in His image they are made won
e derfully alike.
: Now what should be the practical re
suit of this discussion founded on Scrip
f ture and common sense? It is first o
e all to enlarge our ideas of God and 81
n intensity our admiration and worship
z Under such consideration how mucl
: more graphic the Bible question whicl
4 seems to roll back the sleeve of the Al
e mighty and say: "Hast thou an arm
! 1;I-a TrLa 49,, = i... -,