The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-02-07

quakes,S but not just the kind Italy
had last week, IL literal earthquakes
were the .yisitations OF Gods wrath,
theologians would now have hard
nut to crack For Italy iss,thei only
considerable nation in Europe that is
not engaged in slaughter and murder
On such q wholesale fashion that even
this earthquake is quite insignificant.
Now, If God wanted to make a display
of His wrath on account OF Europe's
SIN, why did He pass by all the war.
ring nations, responsible for a mil
lion murders and ten million broken
hearts, and select the one lone nation
that has refraincd from this who1e-
sale Slaughter and sing / am glad
we don't have to interpret 1t thus. i
do; not mention John Wesley in this
connection to bring him into reprpach
but TO show the great progress tlheol-
ogy has made. Theology is one OF
our most progressive sciences. Theo-
logical books twenty-five years old are
badly out Of date. God and Christ are
the same yesterday, today and for
ever, but our understanding and In
depreciation changes in rapid order.
No wonder the theologies are out ot
date that were written thirty years
ago, when they imprisoned for debt
and hung witches and believed that
earthquakes are the visitation OF
Gods wrath. IN
From Whencel s;s
From whence then came earth.
quakes? Evidently from natural
causes. For there are causes The
earth was once a ball Of fire perhaps
thrown pf by the sun. All its pres
ent substances including water, was
in q molten state. Because Of the
heated state the water would rise In
to the air as vapor like water OF, a
hot stove. Then when enough went
up to become dense and heavy. it fell
back as rain, alternating in yapor and
rain and helping in the cooling pro.
cess, until the fires on the surface
were put out, but were left bllrninr
within. AS earth's fires have receded
from the surface the water has follow.
ed in close order. Now an earthuuake
or volcanic eruption is simply an ex.
plosion caused blythe presence of fire
and water under the earths surface
These occur on the same principal on
which a boiler is blown up. When
the water in the boiler gets too nos.
and the steam turns to gas and sie-
mites, therelis an explosion. when
This same thing occurs underline
earth's surface we feel the shock and
damage done, in proportion to sever.
ity of the explosion. Volcanoes are
simply safety valves in. an. earthquake
belt. But why did God create mar
until these explosions should subside:
To have held him back would have
missed the youth of the world and
the problems Of the earths, age will
be greater than those OF its youth.
Why Such Catastropbiesl
But you stu ask. "why such catas.
trophies 2? Yet. It become us to asl
why And we are asking why NOR,
than ever. Why the Iri.uois theatel
disaster? A Chicago grand Jury ask
ed about that. Why did the Titanic
go down? The j government asket
about that, We are becoming NOR,
linquisltive about these things and ",
ought to be. Why does the pestilencs
rage2 u yellow Fever, perhaps be
cause of mosquitoes. better drain tn,
swamps and kill them. II typhoid
probably because of Nth or watel
supply: OF smallpox. better yaccinat,
and Quarantine; II tuberculosis. bet
ter sun your bedrooms and raise YOU
windows.
d We are getting things a little bet
ter connected up now than formerly
"A hunter who liked to indulge Ia bit
fisn stories, told on return from. i
hunting excursion, that he had slio
/ q deer through the ear and hindfoo
at one shot When II was doubted
ne called his cclored man whom 81