Evening star., 1925-08-02
ADVENT|STS START
EVOLUTION FIGHT
Pastor Answers Questions
DarroW Put to Bryan
in Dayton.

Inc seventh Lay adventist QenOms
lnation yesterday inaugurated a ma
tlon.wide campaign for fundamental
ism at its headquarters in Takoma
Park with a sermon by Rev. Charles
A. Longacre in which he replied to
the questions put to William Jen-
nings Bryan by Clarence Darrow at
the Dayton trial.
Mr.. Longacre approached the prob
lem from the viewpoint of a Bible
scholar. He was at Dayton during
the trial
The Adventist drive against ''evolu-
| tion." he said, Will be on the grounds
that, since 1t can be made philosophy
OF life, Its followers constitute a relig-
ious sect and that any effort they
make to force its teaching into the
public schools is an attempt to make
the "eVoiutionist religion" that OF the
state. The denomination would be
just as much opposed, he said, to hav-
Ing the Bible taught In public schools
He dwelt particularly on the efforts
or Mr.. Darrow to mix up the witness
on dates in ancient history.
Fixes Flood Date.
The flood" said Mr.. Longacre, "oc-
CURED approximately 4,50o years ago,
and at that time all life, except that
in the sea and that gathered by Noah
in the Ark was destroyed. Now Mr.
barrow tried to make Mr.. Bryan ad-
/ NIT that the Egyptian and Babylonian
civilizations could be traced back more
than $500 years, and hence antedated
the flood. The arguments he used
will not hold up. There is absolutely
no authentic record Of human civili-
zation which extends back to the date
| of the flood as 1t is stated %-~ the Bible
New discoveries every day are bearing
this out and confounded the alleged
scientists. In fact, for ] 600 years
after the flood there is no certain his
tory Of the human race. The oldest
| data we have is obtained from the
works of Ptolemy in Egypt, and he
goes back only $500 years.
Scientists have been misled BY
! false records on stones excavated in
| the Near East. The facts are that the
various lines of kings of the three
great ancient empires. Egypt, Baby
lonia and Assyria, all wanted to claim
the credit of having the Oldest empire.
So they ordered their historians 10
change dates shamelessly. There has
| recently been dug up an Egyptian
tablet, the original data on which was
covered over with plaster and new
data carved over 1t. When this plaster
was Clipped away we found the name
| or the sculptor and a copy of his
orders to change the dates It is on
such nimsy evidence that the alleged
scientists try to dispute the word OF
God.
Church Aids Study.
The Adventist Church does all IL
can TO aid excavations in the Near
East and we certainly keep in close
touch with them. More and more
they furnish evidence bearing out the
literal words of the Bible. cities
mentioned in the Scripture, which the
sclentists told US never existed, have
been uncovered.
Religion always has been ahead
or science. The opinions of scfentific
school after scientific school have be-
come mockery. but the word of God
stands. Religion always has held that
the earth was round and that IL re-.
volved around the sun. There Is not
| q word In the Bible which disputes
this. But religion never held that
the earth was fat, that It was held up
on the back of an elephant who him
sen stood on the back of turtle. and
fthat when the elephant shook him
self there was an earthquake. That
was conclusion of science which re-.
ligton had TO fight
The prophet Amos speaks of the
spheres in the Heavens Amos lived
a long time before the scientific as
tronomers began to arrive at some
such conclusion. The book OF Job.
probably the first written of the
BIBLICAL books, speaks of God sitting
on the circle of the earth and He
rolleth the earth to the SUM- Thar
was centuries before scientists began
to proclaim that the earth was spin
ming about.
Answers Sun" Query.
MIR. Darrow tried TO make Mr
Bryan ridiculous by questions as 10
whether he believed Josiah made the
sun stand still and said that the globe
| would have been made a molten mass
almost instantly. Unless all belief Is
thrown aside, we must admit that
God created the earth. The man who
| invented the automobile can make II
stand still. Who would deny that
God can do likewise with machinery
which he created
"As to the fish which swallowed
Jonah, the fact remains that there
| are whales today with mouths large
enough to swallow a man. But there
| Is better argument than that. The
so-called Christian evolutionists pre-
| tend to admit the divinity of Christ
Now Christ used the Jonah story l..
| his preaching. If IL was not trxus
Christ lied. If Christ lied he was not
divine. To deny that the whale swaI
loWeQ Jonah Is TO deny Him.
Christ also mentions the food. To
deny the truth of that is to deny
Him. The Christian evolutfonists
must give up evolution or give up
Christianity.
II would object to having my chill
dren taught adventism in the schools
/ certainly object to having then,
taught this other religion, or philos-
ophy of living"
The campaign will be conducted by
the distribution OF thousands OF
pamphlets throughout the. country
| and by lectures by Adventists leaders.