The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-09
JONAH AND THE WHALE.
Rev. A. j. Smith Backs His Belief in
the Bible Story by Argument.

the bible Story by Argument.
The third of the series of lectures on the
Bible was delivered at the Georgia State
Industrial College by Rev.Arthur J.Smith,
pastor of the First Presbyterian church.
His subject was Jonah and the Whale.
Rev. MIR. Smith began by mentioning
the fact that some ministers and many
so-called higher critics claim that the
statement in the Bible that Jonah was in
the belly of a whale for three days and
three nights is not a historical fact, but
that the story is either myth, satire or
allegory. He gave their grounds for the
claim; principally, that it is impossible
for man to go down through the throat
OF whale; that a man could not be three
days in whales belly and be thrown up
alive
He answered these assertions by saying
that the whole occurrence was a miracle
wrought by God. If he said, I'VE be-
lieve God is all powerful and created a
world; that he saved the three Hebrew
children from burning furnace; that he
raised Christ from the grave after he had
been dead three days. was it not possible
Tor him to put Jonah in a whales belly
and keep him there three days?"
This was the tenor of Mr.. Smiths rebuff
tai of the non-believing arguments.
But while he believed the occurrence
wholly a miracle, Mr.. Smith gave in
stances of men having been in the bellies
OF certain sea animals, and having re-
manned there some time. He said that the
Jonah-fsh was not a whale but a huge
fish. There are fish to-day, he said, capa-
BILE of swallowing a man. He mentioned
man, now being in Brooklyn, N. Y, that
had actually been swallowed by a sea
monster
But" he said, why do 1 believe that
Jonah was really swallowed? For these
reasons: First, because Jonah, himself,
believed it; second, because the Ninevites
believed it; third. because the Christian
church believes it; fourth, because Jesus
Christ believed it,"
AS TO the first, the fact that Jonah
makes the record himself seemed to the
speaker sufficient to warrant belief in its
reality. AS to the second, it is said that
Jonah was seen by some people when he
was thrown upon land. They told 1t 10
others, and the story was carried, perhaps,
to Nineveh. At any rate, when Jonah
went to Nineveh all the people in that
wicked city turned away from their own
gods and followed the God of Jonah. Also.
one of the gods of the Ninevites was
fish god, the name of which, when trans
lated, means John or Jonah.
AS to the third reason, Mr. Smith gave
OF the Christian church who believe as
he does in the historical authenticity of
the Jonah story. AS to the fourth, he
said that the fact that Christ, in Matthe w
Il, chapter XI, verse said: For as Jonah
vas three days and three nights in the
whales belly, so shall the Son of Man
be three days and three nights in The
heart of the earth,' was sufficient proof
to warrant belief; for Christ so coupled
his resurrection with this event in Jo-
nah's life that to blot out Jonahs state
ment was to blot out Christs resurrec-
ton; and to blot out Christ's resurrec-
ton is to render our religion vain.
In conclusion, Mr.. Smith said: 1--WE can
not expect to understand all things in the
Bible. We must take some things on
faith. We cannot explain all the powers
of nature Though science has made and
is making progress, and new wonders are
constantly coming to light. no one knows
all of natures laws. We see the flower
growing, but we cannot understand or ex-
plain the life of it. If our knowledge
cannot comprehend all things temporal,
then we cannot expect to know all of
Gods laws"
The next lecture will be delivered next
Friday by Rev. w. A. Nisbet, on THE
Old Testament; Its Nature, Uses, Etc"