The Denver Jewish news., 1925-07-16

Editors Note:-The Western Asso-
citation of Jewish Ministers was the
only Jewish body in the United States
which took a stand on the anti-evolu-
tion trial in Tennessee, expressing the
views held on the subject by the lib
eral wing of Judaism. Rabbi Cof-
Zee, prominent member Of this asso-
citation, goes into the matter from
this standpoint.
One Of the great lessons of mod
ern times is that glorious victories
won, can later be lost. Progress is
not steady and continuing through
the ages. Although the Revolution
ary War won us independence, and
the World War was to make this uni
verse safe for democracy, the citizens
of this great land can easily throw
away their independence and can, to-
morrow, by improper acts, lose the
remarkable gains of democracy. In
similar way, the magnificent strides
which have been made in the domain
of science in the past century, are by
no means securely achieved. Thomas
Huxley, whose centenary we cele-
brated last month, thought, and so
did his friends, that he had complete
ly demolished the arguments against
evolution. Nevertheless, in our own
day, wave of narrow prejudice
sweeps our country, and among other
sinister influences, seeks to enthrone
narrow and ignorant Bible criticism
as our highest court of scientific ap-
peal. 1t is very sad that the Bible,
the most wonderful book ever writ
ten, should be used to hold hack the
hSsds of pro,ssess. ~
Nevertheless, it has ever been thus.
Christopher Columbus, seeking to dis
cover a western passage to the In
des, was bitterly, and for years sue
cessfully, opposed by theologians who
quoted the Bible which says in the
sublime Nature Psalm, God stretched
out the heavens like a curtain" and
founded the earth upon her bases
that it should not be moved to all
eternity" (Civ: 2, 81. That the writer
of these verses was quoting inspired
poetry never entered the minds of
those bigoted theologians. They
made such words their sole basis of
decision in all matters of geography.
Harvey, in 1898, proclaimed his
epoch-making discovery of the circu
lation of the blood. For this, he was
most bitterly attacked by the church
people, who could not imagine blood,
which was to them the very soul of
the body, circulating through the
veins Thus the modern, as well as
the ancient mind, thinking about ana
tony, used the Bible as its final ap-
peal even in the eighteenth century,
Because the Bible discusses slavery
and arranged most humane laws for
safe guarding those in servitude, cler-
gymen for centuries regarded slavery
as of divine origin. Today, no sane
man would support such a thesis. A
few years ago Oregon voted on the
question of capital punishment, and
because the Bible specifies four ways
in which criminal may be put to
utdllls dlNHbhBll was llbl pht
of them, many ministers defended
this cruel procedure of hanging by
saying God favored it. In truth, sell
dom if ever was capital punishment
inflicted in ancient Israel Yet try to-
day to abolish this law and see how
thousands of small minds will rally
to its defense. In 1898 Jenner made
the remarkable discovery of vaccina-
ton as a defense against smallpox
Immediately the Bible was improper
ly used to attack this scientific ad.
vance. Was not man made "in the
image of Cod? (Gen. led. We
dare not, therefore, scratch the image
or disfgure it. Absurd as this may
appear, as late as 1887, this very ar
gument was used during smallpox
epidemic in Montreal, Canada. Prac-
/ tically all the cases We're confined to
/ one section of the city where the
priests absolutely refused to urge
vaccination. A similar case is illus
trated by the discovery of chloro-
| form and ether, anesthetics which
| have saved the world untold misery
| and pain. 1t seems difficult for the
modern mind to believe, yet theolog-
| ians actually objected, less than a
hundred years ago, to the use Of
these anaesthetics with expectant
mothers because of the curse Gin
pain shalt thou bring forth children.
. (Gen. III:l6).
At this very moment the Bible is
likewise being misapplied to argue
against birth control. Because Gene
sis I:2S says "be fruitful and multiply
and fill the earth" when only Adam
and Eve wore supposed To be dwelling