The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-12-10

are not clearly understood or the
words not rightly interpreted.
They Misread the Bible.
When astronomy first challenged the
world with discoveries there were
champions of Christianity that were
ready to fight it, because they believed
that it contradicted the Bible, but a
more thorough examination sufficed to
show they had simply misread the
Bible.
When geology entered the arena
there was more commotion and ire
pidation and evaporation, for geology
affirmed and seemed to prove that the
earth was older by many tens of thou
sands of years than the Bible had
given us to understand. But by and
by it came to be known that only
Archbishop Usher's figuring had been
wiped out while the Bible statement
remained untouched, that: In the be-
ginning whenever that was) God Gre
ated the heavens and the EARTH
And as to the hypothesis of evolu-
ton, which, according to the con-
fession of even it's foremost advocates,
is nothing more than a plausible hy-
pothesiS as yet, if it ever should be
proved beyond all doubt, it would not
contradict a single sentence of the
Bible or obviate the necessity for a
great First Cause. Evolution accounts
a method of proceeding, and back of
the method of proceeding there must
be somebody to proceed, and so we
settle down on the adamantine
foundation, I'm the beginning Cod"
Let not the humble Christian then
distress his soul over the discoveries
of science, nor sit like Eli trembling
in the gate, but let him be sure that
every new truth when rightly under
stood will buttress all the old truth
that he accounts so precious. Let all
the light of all the sciences be focused
on the Book of Books. Let us welcome
the light from whatever quarter it
comes. Let us study the works of God
in the light of the word of God and
the word of God in the light of the
works of God, and in His light we shall
see light. And thus instructed our
selves, we shall be able to instruct
others and commend Christianity, not
only to the consciences but also to the
intellects of men like the Magi, who
are honestly seeking to know the truth
and the right.
Antagonize Christianity
It is great mistake for the de-
voices of science to antagonize Chris
tianity. Many of the foremost scien-
fists in every department of human
research have been devout believers in
the word of God, so that it must not be
imagined for a moment that all be-
levers are fools or ignoramuses.
But we cannot deny the melancholy
fact that a very large proportion of
the so-called foremost scientists of to-
day are infidels or public agnostics,
who if they deal with Christianity at
all are accustomed to do it in a
patronizing way or iii-disguised con-
tempt. Some of the causes are not far
to seek, Many of these scientists are
70 10,
anything Enthusiastically taught in the
Scriptures it is that the carnal mind
is enmity against God, and is not sub
ject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be-. The unregenerate man does
not like to retain God in his thoughts
and would gladly cipher him out-of ex-
istence If his mathematics were only
equal to the task. The scientific mind
is one that is presumably absolutely
Tree from prejudice, but in the case
of the carnal mind, there being no
truly scientific mind, there can be no
purely scientific method.
Another cause contributes and that
is the fact that Christianity insist
upon humility and docility-upon alb
solute remuneration of ones individual
merit and absolute reliance upon the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. And
this is not easy for the man who by
the toilsome steps of the scientific
method has climbed away above his
fellows. For him the offense Of the
cross is an insuperable barrier against
his acceptance of the scheme of re-
demption. Welded as he is apt to be
TO the hypothesis of evolution, he in
sits upon it that man must be saved
! by character, and that character re-
quires q long time for its develop
ment- Such q thing as the radical
transformation of human being in
a single moment as wrought in re-
generation by the supernatural grace