The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-04
us. but it is not scientifically correct; 1 t Is not the fruth.
Does Not Explain.

According to the chronological order or | the Bible, this event Is said to have oc- 1 cured about 6000 years ago But we 1 know that briars. weeds and thorns have l been here on this earth millions of years. Pain has been here as long as sentiency l has been here. Man has been here at 1 least two or three hundred thousand years, and pain, moral evil, dissatisfac- l ton and death have been here as long as man has been here.
 "In the next place, even if 1t were ] true it is unworthy of the character of God and hopless for man. Not one-third of the human race has ever even heard of the story and not one+thrd of the most intelligent ones of those who have heard
 of it believe 1t. Think of the justice of
 a God who would bring man into exist ence, and not be able or wise enough, or good enough to save man from such stupendons catastrophe as the fall of
 man has brought upon the whole human race.
 Tn the third place, there is no no evidence that such a thing ever took
 place than there Is that the feats myth ically reported of Hercules ever took
 place. or that Ulysses descended into the Odessy.
 Tn the fourth place, there is an alto gether different theory of creation which is not speculation, not guess work, not q story. myth, a legend, not folk lore. It is a demonstrated, scientific fact. and is as much proven to he q fact as is the Copernican system of astronomy EYolu- ton today is admitted by every scientific and philosophie scholar worthy the name of scholar to be the truth of the origin and growth of worlds, of life and of man, l and all the conditions of this world, The evolutionists know it is no guess work
 with them that the Bible story of the ere ation and fall of man is q myth that no such thing ever took place. Instead or man having been here only coco years, 1 he has been here at least 200,000 years. Instead of man having been originally
 created perfect he began life low down on the borders of the animal world Instead of mans having started perfect and hay ing fallen away from this perfect state he began life as an immoral being, and climbed into intellectual and moral and 1 religious consciousness. Through the 1 ages, along pathway of dust, tears and l blood, he has been climbing towards his present high stage of civilization. There
 never has been time in the history l of mankind when there was so much
 civilization, progress, intelligence, moral- ] ity, religion, love and sympathy as there 1 is today.
 Account of Goodness.
 Instead of accounting for the origin of l evil, it is goodness that we have to ac-
 count for. Kneen-eyed. demonstrated
 science accounts for the so-called evils ! of life upon a basis worthy of reason, of i the character of God, and hopeful for 1 man. There could be no joy where there i is no pain. Sentiency requires feeling in l both directions. It is also given us as 1 a protector and preserver of the human ] If iS nf tba finest factors of pH-
 ucation. Pain is not a curse, an inflc- 1 ton. Pain is always reformatory and ] benefcient. Moral evil so called, is only i meant to be an educative process through ] which We are to pass to develop soul
 growth. Strength of character can be at
 tained only through temptation and trial.
 Evil Is only good in the making. "Dissatisfactions in life are the strong est incentives to progress and improve
 ment physically, intellectually, socially,
 morally. financially, every way.
 We know that death was not brought 1 in consequence of the fall of man, for death has been on the earth ever since life has been on the earth. Death is not an after consideration God was not out
 wltted by the devil. who through his ma 1 chinations and deceptions of Adam and l Eve, brought death into the world Death
 was in the original plan, and since God Is l US dulHOI It IS a DeneHGltnCe ana llOl
 a curse. It is the divine gate opener into
 Il higher plane of existence, and an en- 1 trance upon grander views and nobler op- 1 portunlties. Death is as natural as birth l It is indeed but a higher birth into a l finer stage of life and opportunity.
 Must Accept Conditions.
 Some of my friends sometimes say to
 me it is no use to make so much of
 this fall of man story, since nobody of
 broad intelligence any longer believes 1t. 1 want to remark in the first place. I make
 much of it because 1t Is necessary for
 us Unitarans to educate ourselves, and to l let the world know what we stand for l and to give a reason for the hope that l is in us. In the next place, if the preach
 CTS in Birmingham should agree with me
 and stand up in their pulpts and say sc l there might not be so much necessity for l devoting so much attention to 1t. But they l dare not do SD. If they were to do SC | they would be cited immediately to trial l for heresy and would be thrown out oi
 their pulpits. And finally, if they have l individually and privately repudiated the | doctrine, they have not publicly done SO l Every timo one of their ministers is 1 ordained he is solemnly obligated to hold l and preach the doctrine. Every time a l lay member is confirmed in the church ht | Is either directly or indirectly made tC l say he believes the doctrine. Only re- l gently there has been storm of criticism 1 in the Episcopal church in the case Of l Cropsel and in the Baptist church in the
 case of Schmidt oyer what has been the
 mldest kind of heresy with the Uni
 tarans for thirty-five years.
 l Besides, there is not one of the funda- l mental doctrines of the traditional, his | toric Christian churches, properly found ed. if the doctrine of the Fall of Mar were not there.
 | Consequence of Fall.
 l "1. Mans total moral depravity is ir
 consequence of this fall of man. His In | tellectual inability to find Gods laws by means of his own mind and brain came 1 also in consequence of the fall.
 "2. His moral depravity makes neces l sary a special miraculous. supernatural | infallible book of revelation, called tht 1 Bible. Man could not find out for him. | self and so God must send book by means of which man must find out. l "S The stupendous story of the atone
 ment made by Jesus as the Christ Is ir 1 consequence of the fall of man. Jesu.
 begotten by the Holy Ghost, born of tn, | Virgin Mary, His miracles, His cruel
 fixion upon the cross, His death His
 descent into hell, His physical resurrec | tion, all came because of the curse en | tailed upon man by the Adamic transgres l sion.
 "A. Miraculous commission and super natural salvation escape from hell ant | entrance into heaven, must be sought ant l obtained, because the sin of Adam makes 1 it wholly impossible for us to make reli- l zion a natural thing and salvation char.