The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-07-22
as TO Bible Stories.

/ GAS " GAbAN SSSAASSs
Editor The Washington Herald:
ReconciIIng ancient legends with mod
ern knowledge is an impossible task
These patchwork guesses would be IN
worthy Of attention were 1t not for the
fact that the great mass OF people have
been educated to believe that the Bible
Ia necessarily true, and It only requires
the proper explanation to make it har-
monious with all other accepted truth
Religious zealots are so sure Of this that
IN defiance Of the Constitution they seek
to push it into the public schools as a
textbook
How it would serve as such can be
measurably realized when we note how
It's believers variously interpret it. One
draws from il the doctrine that hell is in
the sun; another that hell is under the
earth; another that the whole concep-
ton of hell as a place Of torment IS 'un-
scripturaI ard satanic and thus it goes
through babel OF conflicting doctrines
Mr. L. Pinney is satisfied he can fur
nish reasonable explanations Of ap-
parent Bible Inconsistencies" and pro
vides US with a few samples II does
not occur to him that there can be no
reasonable explanation" Of a miracle
or a NEUROLOGICAL story. The only ''rea-
sonable explanation" Of walking. talk
ling serpents and donkeys IS that they are
the fancy productions OF ancient nature
takers"
A thing to be reasonable must be nat
ural No human being ever beheld a YER
tebrate animal lose It's legs by virtue Of
a curse. and no naturalist ever proved
that any animal could live on dust"
Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy
life" In ancient times, when people were
ignorant, Il was common belief that
the serpent lived on dust As an explana-
ton Of the origin Of evil the whole story
is childish. Death. thorns. thistles, and
crawling serpents existed on this earth
millions Of years before the advent OF
man. as geology attests. The teacher
who could now conscientiously teach such
trash would prove himself incompetent
TO teach. How long will it take people
TO learn that the Bible but reflects the
/ CrIdiJies of the times IN which its several
books We're written? When the Book Of
Leviticus tells US that the camel does
not divide the hoof that the cOney and
hare chew the cud; that the swine Is
| cloven-fo0ted, and that the grasshopper
/ has hut four feet. 1t shows ancient ig-
/ norance of the facts Of natural history.
That naturalness is the test OF reason
ableness IS seen in Mr.. Pinneys effort to
make the story Of the sun standing still
| TO further the cause Of barbarous slaugh-
/ ter a possible occurrence. our trans
lators. we are told. were In error, and
the Hebrew should have been rendered
The sun was made dumb" meaning
/ that a cloud obscured p, and from the
cloud hailstones fell that destroyed the
enemy. ObscuTing the sun by a cloud
from which hailstones fell IS a very nat
ural occurrence, but hsilstones that know
enough 10 single out friends from foes are
very cunning products, indeed
The explanation does not wholly elm
mate the miraculous. for which il was in
vented. and, unfortunately. does violence
10 the text. for we are further informed:
so the sun stood stin In the midst OF
/ the heaven and hasted not 20 go down
about "a whole day Astronomy has ut
/ Terry ufSpENhtu TINS FtiudffCrt HrUCt lLt
necessity for a new explanation"
To save Noah from the disgrace of
drunkenness. Mr.. Pinney does not hest
tate TO invent a new atmosphere for the
antedilUvian. A little more knowledge
might have saved him this necessity,
which would not bear a moments consid-
Grafton with the facts. The rains of pre-
/ Adamite times have left their imprints
oa the rocks, and the results of microbic
/ life are also registered there. The Eek
PLANTATION" explains at the wrong place.
/ The fermentation of wine is not produced
/ by anything derived from the air. but the
/ fermentive principle is in the juice, of the
grape itself God put it there Better
invent a new grape for the anCients. Per-
haps. after all, Noah did not look upon
/ it as a disgrace, but thought with Solo
mon. that wine should be given Ito those
of heavy heart, that they might remem-
/ Der their misery no more"
So much for explanations" The whole
story OF the deluge is an exploded nursery
I tale. DAVID ECCLES.
! Washington. D. c.