Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1907-02-02
poses FOR which the Bible was given as
a guide to us through this world to the

familiar with the story Oh Ills lile' liz
was not the first inventor OF The tele-
scope, but he was without doubt the
first intelligent user Of It. He focused
his eyes upon the heavens and began
TO follow the movements of the heav-
enly bodies. He went on In his inves-
ti9ations until at last he found out
that the earth moved around the sun.
"Absurd! Absurdw cried the Church
of Rome. 1.-THE earth does not move
about the sun; the sun moves around
the earth. Does not the Bible tell US
that Joshua halted the sun above CID
con and the moon In the valley OK
Aialon? Away with the hereto! Away,
awayw Then the so called literailst
nrests placed the heavy hand or the
law upon Galilei and would have tor
tured him to death had he not slgneu
this humiliatlng recantation: WIN
s,ncere heart and unfeigned faith 1
obiure curse and detest the said er-
rors and heresles (viz, that the eartn
moves. etc). swear that Will never
IN the future say or assert anything
verbally or In writing which may give
rise TO a similar suspicion against me.
7 GalIlei have abjured as above WIN
my own hand"
Now. was there ever such unmiugat-
al non.ense az that act Of the church!
II was the setting up Of claim tnat
n hook written to teach morality ana
religion should be an authority on SCI
ence also. 1t was as II one should in-
sist on taking an incidental reference
~ n nhysicIan on a question OF music
aa an authority superior to the dictum
os q musician. Tho Bible writer's, In
font ON teaching men how to i've In
this world so as to be happy In tne
noxt harmed In the things OF COD, Dut
unlaarned In the crude science OF their
times. accepted the Ideas current az
the period and passed on to their ap-
pointed topic. But Galilei was oeciar,
cd a hereto on such testimony ana
} saved his life only by recantation. Lex
} No no careful lest we demand OF the BiDie
moro than II was ever intended to teacn'
More Bisotsd Stupidity.
Tho same bigoted stupidity OF the
mediaeyal church we can find In the
church of the eighteenth ana niue
teenth centuries. The scientists wen.
I ON IN their investigations, ana they
proved that this old planet was NOT
created 5000 or 5000 years ago. II
< has been developing during thousands
+ mon thousands and hundreds OF tnou'
sands of years. The Bible, by the way
I does not fix q date for the creation,
II merely says, I'm the oeginnihs
6 rTbe dates on the margin are those o'
t Archbishop USHER. who lived IN tn'
n sixteenth century A. d. The geoio
4 n,sts wont on In their investigations
e and found eras and epochs and ages
4, nerhans a million years apart. NO
y onlv did science prove the immehs'
g. ooo ~ the earth. but that the develop
IT ment was a slow process OF ages. Inc.
Re brought these facts to the cnurch III an'
1t said "Come and see and study LII
a. church threw up its hands In horror
r. "yyhot will become OF our blDles
N YOU prove those statements true' 'ne
ID acclaimed Does not the Bible oe
o. cIare that God made the earth ana III
lie heavens In six daysl No more an
ID No less" But" said the scientlnc Tue
ry ologians, perhaps the day OF Iou
10 creation meant an era, not Gay 9
IN twentv.four hours" Absurd! erie
To- Tho church. Absurd! A day means
od day of twenty-four hours and nothin
bo olsen So the church fought the II
70 vestieations of science. They fougl
49, tbom on and fought them on. III
Dir theologians said to the church hen
an bers. III you believe this heresy yo
" ore not n Christian" The result WI
" the church continued to read the Ut
cbonter of Genesis as literal hlstol
until It made itself absolutely ridic
.us lous. They overlooked the esseh''
vo- fact that the "day" Of the creation
to not a day Of twenty-four hours. vi
'ir- day is with the Lord as a tnouSai
ing vears and a thousand years as o.
nd day" QI Peter Ill, 81.
wn Now. there Is the same disposition
I dow as there was In the mediaeV
i'd, church and in the church OF ne nil
,lo- teenth century. Some church mempe
1gs TODAY are trying to stir up intern
tia strife by reading the letter OF the BIZ
old instead of the spirit Of the Biole: 1n
ons are irving to take certain Bipie p'
ing sooes and twist them out Of all sc
pei. blance of their true meaning Iney
and this with the assumed air OF gre
ne snir,tuaI erudition and gospel sanctl
sus When they quote these passages, u
ter look at us in a very condescendl
he wov AS much as to say: Have you
forgotten such and such passa'
no YOU not wish you knew as mi
about the Bible as I doT'
o, The Spirit Of the Bible.
mon We should read the spirit Of the
ore. bIe More than that, we should ne
pute trv TO solve the unsolyable mysteI
'ute, ~ Cod and his work, which can ne
'ish' be solved this side of the grave. N
d n Il Ia a wise man who Is willing 10
oonize the fact that there are cert
, limitations to his mental and spirit
they faculties. It Is q wise man VINO
willing to confess that there are
bend tain things he does not know and
ls Di,or or will be able to know this side
heaven. When you and l come TO
being glorious condition Of mind and 8
,,,dv we shall open our minds and heart
a ~ the full enjoyment Of the gospel
not And, my brother. never want 20
, oro sit at the feet of any religious tea
tho,r unless be Is first willing to confess
thot In his gospel Investigations there
,rord certain mysteries so high that be
thot never scale them, so deep that ne
had never fathom them, so wide tna'
, tho can never cross them.
and We come to our pastors and III
, ,ha and ask lust the same kind OF fo