The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1913-06-13

original family; and Prof Huxly, speak
ing from the standpoint Of anatomy,
says precisely the same thing. The
human family has evidently branched
out by some means from common
parental stock into the various races,
the lowest Of which approaches rather
dangerously close, IN a general way,
TO the highest branch Of the ape family.
Aud had these lower branches OF the
human and higher branches Of the ape
family drawn really very close to each
other, naturalists, doubtless, would have
made the great blunder Of connecting
them Immediately in descent. But The
Creator, as il to preclude any such
blunder, has left the gap unusually
wide between man and the anthropoid
apes. Asitis, however, somenaturalists
supply Hypothetical missing link OF
two, and make precisely that blunder.
II the ape is not man progenitor, they
assert, he is mans first causing, both
having developed from the same stock.
But still the connection is missing. And
so it is, that by bridging all breaks and
chasms with coniectures, infercnccs and
suggestions, they blunder on through
the whole animal kingdom, uniting
the divergent branches Of the separate
species by hypothetical thread OF
descent, making it kind Of stem from
which, they suppose, branch out the
different species and orders; and thus Of
the entire animal kingdom they form
a kind Of enormous tree with powerful
branches atthe top, a very slender trunk,
tapering downward and rootedin little
original protoplasm, churned up from
the bottom Of somewhere - perhaps
Gehenna, used unexpectedly by bliud
casualty, in the accidental dawn Of
creation.
And thus do the apostles Of evolution
trace out an absurd line Of descent, or
heredity, reaching in an unbroken chain
from the cell animalcuIe or larva tad
pole TO the man; SO, developing the
ridiculous theory OF evolution, and max
ing the oracular and repulsive announce
ment that man is in reality only fully
developed animalcule or tadpole. Had
all the animalcules and tadpoles been
destroyed in their incipiency, therefore,
man could never have existed The
larva is mans very early progenitor. II
is very fortunate indeed that there was
no barefoot boy with paddle playing
around the mud puddle wherein the
first tadpole was Matched out, or Eve
aud Adam would have never seen the
light. How careful we should be to
protect the venerable tadpole or nimble
little fish, for who knows but either
OF them may develop into sapient
Shakespeare or inspired Charles Darwin
II we know that that is impossible now,
Why, in the absence Of any proof what
ever, should we believe that it has ever
been possible in the past? No other
than mind that has turned itself en-
tirely away from Deity and abandoned
itself TO the misguiding and degrading
influences OF maserialism, could make,
II seems to me, such unreasonable and
debasing deductions about the origin Of
so noble being as man.
The eyolutionists seem very sure on
their ground, yet, at the same time,
they acknowledge to-day that they have
no we'll formulated or plausible theory
Of evolution. The apostles Of develop
ment almost to man, have repudiated
the original Darwinian bible Of eyolu-
ton, as being uncanonicaI, uninspired
and untenabIe. And now without chart
or compass, they are drifting here and
there on the wide sea Of scientific specu-
lations, casting about for safe landing
place around tho forbidding coast Of the
barren continent Of materialism. like
souls wandering dissatisfied IN and
down the shores OF the dark Cocytrs
River, waiting ON the pleasure of old
Sharon. But out in the wide and rest.
less ocean Of human life and human
thought, there is but one sure and SAFE
anchoring place for the soul 81 man.
passing from time TO eternity, and that
Is the inlpregnable rock 81 the Holy
Scriptures.
Science can Illuminate many dark and
hidden places in the world and nature.
being in the way Of great temporal
utility to man, but being born 81 man
only, il is necessarily finite and limited
IN its scope; hence, its light cannot
reach beyond the bourn Oh earth. 81
il Is perfectly natural that those who
acknowledge and follow science only
should see nothing beyond The grave
upon which to rest the hope OF The Soul.
But that old book. the Bible, being