The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-05-12
Pastor Outlines Nine Ways by
Which World May Meet
Destruction.
SEES NO NEED FOR ALARM
Mans Life On Planet Likely to Be
100000 Years, According to Science
Mo immediate Cause for
Alarm. =.


It's way to destruction at the rate Of
100000 miles day, so the Rev.
George T. Cullen Of the West Grand
Boulevard NJ. d. church believes. That
was sure thing, he declared, and
further he said there are at least eight
other ways in which the old world may
come to Its end before the fatal ending
of the death Journey"
First, he declared, the axis Of the
earth might decide to shift about
few degrees, with the result that, the
oceans would sweep over the dry lands
and destroy all life before an ark
could be built. If that fails to occur
there might be failure Of internal
fires and the crust Of the earth would
absorb all the water and the air. The
death Of our planet might, on the
other hand, be brought about by the
heat Of the sun dying out and leaving
the earth mass of ice. There was
just possibility that we might all be
asphyxiated by the earth passing
through the tail of comet, or this
planet might collide with another world
wandering through space.
Another Way.
And the end might be brought about
by the slowing down or the speeding
up Of the rate of the earth's rotation
on its own axis. The rotation at
present is just sufficient to counter
act the centripetal force of the sun
and If it were slowed down the earth
would fly into the sun, starting at the
rate Of LOO miles an hour and be
consumed. If the rate of rotation
were accelerated the earth would fly
out into space into temperature Of
400 degrees below zero and the oceans
would be frozen to their utmost
depths. M
Other ways by which Mr.. Cullen
could see the world come to it's end
were the closing up Of all volcanoes
and other vents for gases, the newt
able result of which would be terrific
explosion that would shatter the world
or bring part Of the atmosphere to
such heat that the oxygen and
nitrogen would unite and cause a
combustion Of the atmosphere.
That such disasters were not impos-
sible was shown, he said, by the spec
troscope, by means of which man
could read the life history Of the
planets. He added:
1.-THE spectroscOpe shows that one
planet is in state of white heat, that
another showing yellow is on the down
grade, that Mars is dying, that the
moon is dead, while Jupiter is just get
ting ready for sentient life. This world
is on its way to death, for it Is travel
ing straight toward Hercules 100000
miles a day, and while the distance is
immense it is not infinite"
The Great Danger.
But the greatest danger that Mr..
Cullen thinks confronts the earth is
a collision with dead star. Such a
star would be invisible until it came
within the range Of the suns rays
which would he when it was five times
as far away DIS Neptune. It could then
be seen in the telescope. In twenty
five years more 1t would be visible to
the naked eye. In five years more 1t
would pass Neptune and In 145 days
from that time If it kept straight on
It would strike the earth. That would
give us thirty-two years and 145 days
of warning from the time the dead
world was first picked up by the tele-
scope.
Science tells US the end is coming,
the preacher went on more reassuring-
ly, but It does not believe the end is
near. It estimates that God took
ninety million years to make the world
habitable by man and that mans life
on 1t is perhaps 100000 years.
His comparatively optimistic COM
ment at the finish was:
"Why could God spend all that time
in making a world II 1t is to be de-
stroyed so soon? God wastes neither
space. material nor time. He is too
busy. He is continually making new
worlds. but He does not destroy them
nc soon as thew are made"