Bisbee daily review., 1909-07-03
LECTURE ON SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE GIVEN Rev. A. D. Shaw Handles Weighty Subject Before
 Douglas '. N. C. A.

"A. ID. Snaw, pastor oi tne rifst paP tist church. delivered lecture deal ing with Science and the Bible. Mir Shaw said in part:
 Genesis lst chapter and 1st verse affirms that Tn the beginning Goa created the heaven and the earth. Thus the book of God opens with thu announcement of a truth which n' process of reasoning could hay' reached, and with declaration of ; fact that no philosophy could eyel have unveiled. This case stands a! a distinct and independent sentence and by it the Holy Spirit affirms thai the heavens and the earth were "cre ated' or primarily originated by God not from elements previously exist ing. but from nothing. Here is as serted the absolute origination of th' materials composing the universe The earth and the heavens, then, ha. d ''negin1sag"---a truth which taS unaided wisdom of man failed to dIs cover or syeai conceive. The aE ciept scho.,s of philosophy, withoai an exception. neiu that matter was eternal. Nor has this doctrine of tho ancients been without its adyocatei in modern times, some of whom have maintained. not only that the globe itself has been eternal. but that there have existed upon 1t an eternal series of men, beasts and birds. But the history of Genesis (yerse n affirms that the earth and all things therein were created by God. and had a be ginning. And to a beginning, indeed all things around us, above us, be meath us. obv 'ously carry us back That the earth. it's vegetation and Ewing inhabitants have not always been-have not existed from eterni ty-is proved by this general argu ment: Order. design and adaptation of means to ends. therefore the earth and it's productions must be the work of an intelligent being. and con seauently must have had a begin ming.
 The sacred historian. in passing from the event in the first verse: Tn the beginning God created the heav. en and the earth"-to the state of things described in the second verse: And the earth was without form and void. and darkness was upon the face of the deep" passes over period Of indefinite and perhaps incalculable length
 Of re condition of our planet dur. ing ,Hat period. what changes or rev oIutions it underwent. nothing Is said: the second verse simply de -scribes to us it's condition immedt tely before the commencement of the Adamic creation. the history of which begins with the third verse: And God said, let there be light, and there was light
 And it will be proper 10 state here that this is DO new mode or ln- depreciation. or a suggestion of mod ern geology to harmonize it's marvel. ous discoveries with holy writ. The sacred text was thus understood by the early fathers Of the church. They arrived at this view Of the inspired narrative solely on Biblical grounds. and now the revelations of geology pn to prove that the interpretation they gave is correct
 The scripture nowhere undertakes to inform us when this globe was brought into existence; it simply states the gJand and important fact, that "in tte beginning" whenever that was, God created the heaven and the earth" Between that begin ming and the creation of man. mil Hons of years, or even millions or ages may have elapsed. during which all the physical changes and opera. tions described by geology were go- ing on.
 As the scripture arcount Of crea' ton does not inform us at what time so neither does it inform what form the earth was at first created. The origin of our globe is involved in great obscurity. which the powers of the most gifted have not been able 10 penetrate.
 Amazing era. "In the beginning. The words carry back the mind, ayed with reverence. to that un. measurably distant and dateless per iod. when all that we now behold and all that now exists were not when no sun illuminated the voids of space, no moon relieved the dark ness of the night, nor a star tinkled in the heavens
 The scenes, awful and sublime point US to the Supreme Being. direct ing every revolution of the vast ere alton.
 Tn the geological survey we discoy CT both a proof and an illustration oi the declaration "known unto God are all His works from the beginning. Tn the Divine mind existed the uni verse. in all its magnitude and minu tiae, eternal ages before the utter ance of the first fiat of creation. Ir His book, all its parts. and periods and motions were written. when a: yet there was none of them. And His plan was perfect; it neither need ed nor received the shadow of g change in the course of its execution The contriver and builder of the world foresaw all the revolutions which the course of ages would produce, and the mighty work ever advanced infal Iibly and without interruption. Looh at 1t when He would, He found Il arrived at the stage where thou sand ages before He foresaw it would be. And look forward to what dis tant age He might, He beheld it ir anticipation. already there arrived No plan. no purpose of God. can fai in it's accomplishment.
 Tn these scenes of ancient creation we behold a striking display of the all-comprehend:ne wisdom and mi yersal agency of God Here we wit ness "all things working together. through the course of the ages. tt further and accomplish His purpose From the beginning. the earth wal designed to be a habitation for man and to fit and furnish 1t for him. all the revolutions our planet exper oil A. x~ff frwx1