The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-01-18
Revealed Grub and Science.
Would-be Scientists Who Ridicue the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Exploded Decisions

! (Written for the Intermountain Catholic0
1t is unquestionably true that the
progress of the physical sciences in the
! last century has been brilliant, rapid
and unprecedented. Chemistry, by
Daltons atomic theory. and Faraday's
discoveries in electro magnetism; 20
ology by the genius and sagacity of
Cuvier and Agassiz; geology by the
labors of Buchlaud and Lyell; optics
by the researches of Young and Fres-
mel, and astronomy by establishing the
appreciable parallaX of some fixed
stars have reached degree of perfec-
ton to an extent which would have
been considered fabulous by former
generations.
According to men of unbelieving ten
denotes, all these sciences should be the
enemies of revealed truth as main
tanned by the Catholic church. Imbued
by the spirit of bigotry and hatred,
penetrated with the contempt OF God,
religion and revelation. these men
write articles in newspapers, period
icals and monthly magazines, in which
they ridicule the supernatural and at
tempt to force follies of imagination
upon the minds of their readers. Other
men little yersed in scientific pursuits,
with great credulity, adopt and believe
unscientific and preposterous theories
and reject with contempt the clearest
truths of religion. We see, therefore,
how dangerous it is to read books
written by one-sded cranks. who never
endeavOr and who never wish to find
out what others, equally bright, know
about these same subjects. Not long
ago l read pamphlet of German
would-be scientist, who wished by all
means to find out the exact location of
heaven and hell. Would it not have
been better for him to find out first the
means or reaching the former and es-
Gaping the latter?
Another German professor at last has
found out that all Christians are mis-
taken in believing that the darkness of
Coed Friday was caused by miracle.
1T was simply produced by sun
eclipse he says. l answer that it was
an extraordinary event, that it could
not have happened according to as
Economical laws.
F'irstly-Because it occurred at the
full moon, at which time a sun eclipse
is impossible. A sun eclipse is caused
by the interposition of the moon be-
tween the earth and the sun, and at
sun and the moon. That it was full
moon at that time we know from the
Passover of the Jews. This had to be
celebrated in the full moon of the
month called Nizzan. answering the
latter half of March and the former
half of April The Bible tells us that
King Herod was on Good Friday in
Jerusalem to celebrate his Jewish
Pasch.
Secondly-The darkness prevailed for
three hours; from the sixth to the
ninth hour. A central sun eclipse only
lasts seven minutes. after which the
rays of the sun escape over the Or
bicular disc of the moon.
Thirdly-The darkness covered the
entire world, whilst a regular sun
eclipse can only be seen in some por-
ton of the globe. which enters into the
shadow thrown by the moon.
That the darkness was experienced in
Greece, we read in the books of Denis
the beropagite who exclaimed, see
ing the extraordinary phenomenon:
Either the God of nature expires OF
the powers of heaven are moved.
1t is a. great delusion of modern m
fdels to imagine that their lnt1delity
is the product of modern scientific dis