P R E F A TOR Y R E M A R &S .

The object of t h e writ e r of the fol l o wing short E ssays is

t o pl a ce t he subj ect of Infidelity in so pl a in a n d c o n cis e a

fo rm before t h e minds of general r e aders as t o make it easy

,

fo r t hose who hav e not time n o r o pp o rtu n ity t o read b oo k s

on t h e subject of m o re extensive a n d el a b o ra te fo rm
,
.

If my design in this my first effort adds t o t h e d e fe n c e

, ,

o f Truth a gainst E rr o r and A t heism I wi ll fee l mys e lf highly

,

gra t ified that I hav e given a h e lping h a nd to t h e a c t iv e

minis t ers of t he G o spel , a n d friends of Divi n e truth
.

I have men tion e d some of t he a nci e n t Greek philosophers

on purpose to sho w th e differenc e and contrast betw e e n
th e m and modern Darw ini a n A gnos t ics and Positivist s o f th e
present t ime and t ha t the ancie n t Gr e eks w e re m e n of
,

higher and purer concep t i o n s o f t h o ught than the Fre e

thinkers of th e present day al t hough th e y lived in d a rker
,

ti me s
.
 E E E E & &E .

Tru e religion ca n n o t suffe r by its pri n ciples being thor

ou gt i n v e stigated and e nlig htene d conclusions are also
,

lik e ly to convince th e Sceptic The sta t e of religio n in the

.

present time is momentous and presses o n its a dvocat e to

,

Stand fast in the liber t y wh e rewith C hri s t h a th m a d e him

”
fre e and be n ot entan gled again with the y oke o f bondage
,
.

N atural philo sophy seems t o b e the machinery which t h e

Ma t e ri a lists A gnostics and A theists now e mpl o y to o v e r
,

throw the principles o f t h e C hristian re ligion a nd i n vo lve ,

t h e human race in w o rse t h a n A n t id e l u v ia n and Babylonian

d a rkness .

It is b e cause some men are without God and w ithout ,

”
hope in the w orld they wish to o bscure t h e a tmosph e re o f
,

tru t h a n d lea d men into the p a ths of liberti n ism in w hich

,

they th e mse l alk 5 or t o get a n a me a s in n ovat ing phil o

sophers who can l e ad the minds o f untaught men back int o
,

w o rs e than primeval dark n e ss A n d it is b e caus e these

.

phil o sophers have the magic of a n ame as discoverers o f ,

ph e nomena in the f a un a and fl ora of fore ign countries and ,

t h e geological strata of the globe that th e y m a y lead men

,

a stray They are naturalists bo t anists ge ologists & c a n d

.
, , ,
.
,

s e em wiser than other men and wish t o appea r so t o t h e

,

public that they may have blinded fo ll o w ers These may

, .

do infinite harm to simple and sincere believers in revelation .

 Th e disc o v e ri e s of N e wt o n a n d Her s chel and t h e writ ,

ing s o f Dick hav e d o n e much go od to the cau s e of t ru t h

,

a nd scienc e 5 but t h o se men w ere C hristians & t h e ir d is

co v e rie s
“
displ a y t h e gl o ry of God a n d sh ow for t h H is ,

h a n diwork They d e mo n s t rate t h e b e ing o f God a rid con

.
,

firm the b e li e v e r in his faith inthe Scriptures .

W hile the Darwins t h e S p en cers the C omp t es t h e

, .
, ,

Huxleys t h e Ty n d a l s & c o f m o d e rn times have by their

, , .
, , ,

v a i n phil o sophy c a used many to rest their faith on sec ond

,

caus e s a nd leave God the great First Cause out of t h e

, , ,

qu e stion .

The Materialism of the present day seems to raise an idol

o f its own and t o fall down a n d worship it
, The th e o ry .
,

o r ra th e r t h e h ypoth e si s of evolu t io n is most dec e ptive in

—
,

its t e n d e ncy ma n y of its surmises are unverified whil e

, ,

i ts a dvocates present it to the unlearn e d and cre dulous as

a system of tru e philos o phy But as lo n g as such philosophy
.

remai n s unverifi e d in a n y one p oin t it is vain a nd d e ceptiv e , ,

a n d can n o t b e accepted as established truth much less ca n ,

such b e r e ga rd e d a s a n e l e m e nt o f Christian fa i t h I t se e ms .

to b e wh a t the A postl e Paul warn s men against in his

E pis t l e s to t he E ph e sians and C o lossia n s ( p
E h v 6 ) . . .

L e t no m a n dec e ive y ou with vai n w o rds :fo r b e caus e

o f th e s e thi n gs c o m e th t h e wrath o f God up o n t h e childr e n

o f disob e di e n c e A gai n ( C o l ii 8 )
. B e wa r e l e st a n y m a n
. .

sp o il y o u throu gh phil o s ophy a n d vai n deceit aft e r the t ra ,

d it io n s of m e n aft e r the rudiments o f the w o rld and n o t

, ,

”
a ft e r C hrist .

In fin e ,
no evolution as set forth in Darwin s ’ “
O rigin ot
 Sp e cies o r his Desce n t of M a n can be acce pted by the ,

p e rs on w h o b e lieves in t h e a ging of a Goa with o ut d isb e ’

,

li e vi n g t h e word of r e v e l a ti on N or ca n he accept ev ol u t ion

.

in e thics as taugh t by H e rb e rt Sp e n cer and oth e rs of the

,
.

s a me class wi t hou t imp a iring his fa ith in th e exist e nce of

,

Go d for a l l those fo rms o f e vo luti o n a re o nly inventions of

,

A gnostic I n fid e lity and blind A th e ism E volution in E thics .

or Positivism has only fo r its purpos e the de n ial of God s ’

a g ing and t h e worship of human int e ll e ct as man improves

, , ,

me n tally from generati on to gen e ra t ion Therefore their

,
.
,

only objects o f adoration are and will be such m e n as

’

, ,

Homer V irgil Shak e sp e are Socrates Byron Plato A ristotle

, , , , , , ,

Charl e magne Milton Dan t e j ulius C aesar H y p ocra t e s

, , , , ,

&
P a ul L e ibnit z B a con David Hume & c Th e se a re cases
, , , .

of mental evolution a n d a ll such will be their o n ly gods of

,

t h e future - the m o dern m ythol o gy of the Positivists

,
From .

all such l e t all believers of C hristianity and the Bibl e turn

awa y .

N man need ever expect a U topia upon earth U pon

o .

earth to fin d th a t would b e i m possibl e while such views a re ,

held by men in matters of religion A l l man can do is to .

confo rm to t he gold e n rule as near as possible A strict , .

conformity to justic e a n d truth is n ecessary to consolidate

t h e mora l good o f huma n society The C hristian religion .

does n ot admit of pers e cution on acc o u n t of diffe rence in

the o pinions of m en & th e y may be l e ft to their own de

B a , S h a k e s p e a re , M ilt o n , 5O C , a re n o t h e r e m e n ti o n ed o r
c on &
.

cl a s se d a s P a g a n s o r S c e pt i c s , but be c a u se th e y a re s p e cim e n s o f
e v o l ve d i n t e ll e ct th e y a re cl a s sed by t h e P o sit i v i s t s a s c a se s o f m en t a l
e x c e ll e n c e , w o rth y o f the ir v e n e r a ti o n F o r t h e P o s itivi s t s h a v e n o
.

g o d but hum a n ity .

l u sion s ,
but let C hristi a ns of e ve ry shade of beli e f a v oid t h e
infidelity of t h e times For as in the times o f the Fre nch
.
,

R evolutio n infidelity was on e of the chi e f c a us e s t hat l e d

,

to such bloodsh e d throughou t E uro pe so let m e n cultiva t e

Scriptura l C hristi a nity a s it leads to peace and good-will in
all nations as well a s among men .

The foll owm g lines will clearly describe th e effects of

both
A th e i s m p a ve s t h e w a y
’
F o r m o b ish rul e a n d D e sp o t s s w a y
B u t S criptur e truth s i n s pire t h e mi n d
W ith m o ti v e s ju st , fo r a cti o n s ki n d
.

& SI N C L A I R
.
,

'

M i n zst er .
 —
AN ESSAY TH
E PRI MEVAL STATE OF MAN ,

SHOW I N G THE D A N GE R A N D A B SU RDI TY OF

A THE I SM A N D A GN OS I I C I SM
’‘
.

It is possible and morally certain that man after his

, , ,

creation was i n a state of i n n o cence and purity & but after

, ,

his fall his mind was darkened by sin In this state it is

,
.
,

recorded that God left him to his o wn devic e s h e nc e fa llen

,

man h a d t o search out by ob s e rvation of his s e ns e s the

, ,

being and attribut e s of D e ity so till the time of Moses , ,

men were left to the darkness o f th e ir own im a ginatio n s ,

without a writt e n record The fl ood ca m e a n d a l l but eight

.

persons w e re swept from t h e face o f the e arth A ll history .

was tra diti ona l before the t ime of Mos e s who ga ve t h e first ,

reason a ble record of creation R easonable because it was

.
,

t h e only possible account or e xplanation of the truth as the

work o f an A lmighty h a nd or an om n isci e nt B e i n g who
,

has existed through t h e a g e s of eter n it y Before t h e ligh t .

of revelation men must h a ve been in a stat e of m e ntal and

mora l darkness c o n c e rn i n g th e ir own e xiste n c e and the ex ,

is t e n ce o f things a ro und th e m -the visibl e univ e rs e a n d

, ,

the o rigin o f all things and this darkn e ss of mind c o n t i n u e d

, ,

w ith t h e e xcep t i on of t h e J ewish n a tion till the times o f t he ,

R e deem e r wh o in t h e fu ll n e s s of time cam e and sh e d th e

'

, , ,

light of the G o sp e l o n the mi n ds of m en who were in the

regi ons of moral darkness t ill Hi s comi n g For instance .
,

let us gl a nc e at the opini on s of h e a then wise men and philo

s ophers befor e the c o mi n g o f Christ Tak e some of t h e .

wises t :Socrates and Plato “

they taught and be l ieved in
,
 —8

th e immorta lity of t h e soul a n d t he exis t e nce o f a suprem e

,

”
B e ing but th e ir id e a s on th e se subj e c t s w e re i n d e fi n i t e &y e t
,

they a re c a lled t h e wise s t of the he a th e n phil o s o ph e rs .

S o crat e s di e d 40 0 y e a rs be fo re C h ri s t a n d Plato 3 48 y e a rs
,

b e for e C hrist H o m e r t h e grea t e st po e t o f t h e a n ci e n t s

.
, ,

b e l i e v e d that w a t e r wa s t h e o rigi n of all thi n gs h e di e d

9 0
7 y e a rs befor e C h rist Thal
. e s o n e of t h e wis e m e n o f
,

Greece l oo k e d up on wat e r a lso as t h e o rigin o f a l l t hi n gs 3

,

he died 548 y e ars b e fore C hrist A n e xim a n d e r consid e red.

that the earth was fo rm e d in t h e sh a pe of a cyli n d e r and ,

taught that m e n were b o rn of t h e earth and wa t e r mixed

toge ther a n d he a ted by t h e bea ms o f t h e s u n 5 he con
,

s id e re d t h e s u n a circl e o f fire lik e a whe e l ab o ut 2 8 tim e s ,

bigge r th a n t h e e a r t h h e d i e d 54 7 y e a rs b e fo r e C hrist .

A n a x im in e s a Gr e e k philos o ph e r s a id
, th a t t h e a i r w a s the
,

cau s e or first b e gi nn i n g o f ev e ry cr e a t e d b e ing a n d wa s a ,

s e lf e xist e n t divi n ity a n d th a t t h e su n moo n a n d s ta rs h a d

-
, ,

b e e n m a d e fro m t h e e a rth H e con s id e r e d t hat t h e e a r t h

.

a n d t h e h e a v e n s w e r e a solid figur e o n w hich the stars w e re

'

&

fixed lik e n a ils h e d i e d 50 4 ye a rs befo re Christ Leucippu s .

first i n v e nt e d t h e hypoth e si s o f at o ms a n d a va cuum & h e

died 4 2 8 y e ars b e fo re C hrist .

Lucr e tius a R oman po e t and philos o ph e r t a ught in his

, ,

gr e a t p oe m ( D e R e rum N atura ) th a t th e r e is no Go d and

, ,

d e n ied als o t h e immorta lity o f t h e s o ul and d e clared tha t all ,

thi n gs w e r e at first fo rmed from t h e f ort n zzns con cou rse o f

'

a t om s me e ti n g a n d striking in empty sp a ce ( va cuum ) a n d ,

fo rmi n g all thi n g s animat e and in a nimate in the u n ivers e

h e di e d by his o wn h a n d in t h e 44t h y e ar of his a ge 5 1
, , ,

som e say 54— yea rs befo r e C hrist .

Th e bl e ssi n gs C hristia n ity co n fe rred on m a nki n d sinc e

‘

the d a ys o f h e athen darkn e ss have pass e d away are n ow ,

menaced by a new sect called A gnostics and as t h e term , ,

s ig nifi e s th e y profe ss t o k now n ot /zing but wh a t is e vid ent
,

t o t h e ir s e n ses a n d wh a t s e ems m o s t stra n g e t hey pr o fe ss

, ,

t o k n o w t h a t m e n a t fir s t w er e d e s c e nd e d fro m mo n k e ys
C h a rles D a rwi n a m o dern n a turalis t writes th a t men c a me
, ,

a t first fr o m monk e ys in t h e fo l l owing pr o c e ss v iz Fro m

, , .

a c l o t o f slime in the depths of t he s e a which becam e a , .

pro t o plasm or first mould which produc e d a m oeba which

, , ,

produc e d sp on ge s which in t h e cours e of a n e xt e nt o f time

, , ,

fi
zea / y i n n it e b e cam e t a iled a pes or monkeys whenc e
'

p r a ct { , ,

m a n was fi n ally g e nerat e d a n d thr o ugh n o n use o f the t ail , ,

-
,

m a n a pe
( ) lost the tail d u ring t h e Mioc e n e p e riod o f geol
”
o gy . A s i n gul a r a n n ounc e m e nt by M r D a rwin wh o pro .
,
'

fe s s e s to be a n A g n os t ic (a k n ow n o t h i n g ) but t h e truth o f ,

this re d icu l ou s hy p othesis h a s never be e n pro v e d nor ca n ,

b e sho w n .

Mr Da rw in must hav e und e rst oo d th a t arguments t a ken

.
,

fro m an a logy a re often v e ry de ceptiv e fo r it do e s n o t fo ll o w ,

t ha t because he finds that fro gs a nd m o nk e ys have fo ur li m b s

th a t b e ar a resemb l ance t o t he ha n ds a n d fe e t o f m a n t h a t , ,

t h e refore he is a de sce n d e n t o f e i t h e r
, H e migh t a s w ell .

c o n clude that man is a dist a nt re la t i v e of t h e caym a n o f t h e

W e st Indi e s or t h e cro codil e o f t h e N il e

, .

Professor Huxl e y says

So
long as a single link is wa n ti n g in D a rwin s O rigin
’ ‘

o f Spec i es &c h i s hypo t h e sis c a n n o t b e r e g a rd e d

’
, .
, a s e s ~

”
t a b h s h e d truth .

A nd this opinion is in a mere sci e ntific point of vi e w , ,

wha t can C hristiani t y say in a gosp e l se n s e ? Mr Darw i n .

m a y have contribut e d to scienc e by some of his w ri t i n gs ,

but h a s overstepped the lin e in his O rigi n of Speci e s ”

a nd Descent of Man His Hypothesis on this subj e ct .

more re sembles the incoherent language of the monoman ‘

(2 )
iac th an t h e la nguage of a phil o sopher Here the .

broke n a n d the l a n guage o f P op e will a pply

,

F
r o m N a ture s ch a i n , w h a t e v e r li n k y ou s trik e
’
,

Te n th o r t e n t h o u sa n t h br e a k s t h e ch a i n a lik e
, ,

Th e l e a st c o n fu s i o n but in o n e n o t a l l ,

Th a t sy st e m on ly but t h e w h o l e mu s t fa ll .

A s e xpr e ssed by Bishop Lewi s

Truly A gnosticism is a con t ra diction of term s It a s
, .

s erts that we can n ot k n ow a ny t hi n g a n d yet a ssumes t o ,

kno w that we c a n no t kn o w A s a pplied to Go d it is a .

,

cowardly n a m e fo r A theism In its negation it becom e s .

l u d icu ro u sl y a ffirm a tiv e wh ile d enyi n g God it a ffirms t h e

”
deity o f m a tter .

If there b e in Darwin s Hyp o thesis a ny semblance of ’

truth why do not m e n come ina similar wa y fro m m onkeys

,

still ? I t is a false system to build men up in u nbelief and ,

t o encourage t h e c o mmissi o n of s in a n d c rime .

Th e men of the a n t id e l u v ia n a g e of the world w e r e m o v e d . .

in a simil a r wa y to d e n y Go d with o ut fe a r So did the m e n

, .

after t h e fl ood at Bab e l wh e n th e y wer e dispers e d at t h e

, ,

co n fusi o n of l a n guag es W i t h such a th eory o f beli e f m e n

.
,

would r e laps e in to primeval darkne s s Th e vain a n d de .

ce p t iv e i n g e nuity (n o t philosophy ) of C harles Darwin will

nev e r overturn the fa ith of reaso n ing men in t h e absolute ,

existenc e of a w is e g rea t and om n ipot en t Goa wh o rules

, ,
’
,

the universe whose attribut e s a re made so obvious to t h e

,

hu m a n mind by t he m arks of infinite wisdom and wi se

,

d e sign in the works of creati on W e ll d id t h e gr e a t Sage

,
.
,

C a rlyle declare that

,
D a rwm I S a man o f very l it t le
,

intel l e ct .

If Darwi n s O rigin of S p eci e s w e re beli e ved a n d in

’ “
,

c u l ca t e d amo n g m e n and becom e t h e order of the d a y i n

,

s o cie t y it would destroy all m or a l resp on s i bil ity and degrade

’

, ,
 — I I

man to a lowe r plac e in the scal e of crea t ion a n d é eing than ,

did e ve r t he d a rk e st th e ories of h e athen philosophers for ,

s om e of t hem professed to believe in one Grea t B eing and ,

in t h e i m m ort a l ity of the s ou l & but Darwin seems to b e lieve

in no Go d but m a t ter and th is matter a cc ording to his
, ,

b e li e f must have creat e d i t self or is eternal —two great

, , ,

a bsurdi t ies accordi n g t o man s ideas of ca u s e a nd e fiect and

'
’
,

fi na l ca u ses or the evid

,
e nces of design in the works of

creatio n .

A man may acquire fame as a philosopher in classifyin g ,

the f a u n a a n d fl or a of the differe n t regions of the earth and ,

studying its ge o logica l structure and when a fter all that he , ,

m a y have discovered he turns around and says to the men

,

“
of t he w o rld These are all the results of chance or th e
, ,
”
op e ra tio n s of blind inert matter He the n acts as a de
,
.

stroyer o f man s hop e b e yo n d the grave a n d a p ollut e r of

’

human socie t y and a m o ral e n e my t o his country Such i s

, .

“
t h e t e nd e n cy o f Darwin s O rigin of Species and Desc e n t
’

”
of M a n . The outcome of all this is Soci a lism Commun ,

ism and N ihilism in more monstrous form s than in t h e days

.

of the French R evolution .

Thomas Carlyle the Sage of C helsea says , ,

I have known three ge nerations of the Darwins—grand

fath e r fa ther a n d son & A th e ists all The bro ther of the
, , .

present fa mous naturalist a quiet m a n who lives not fa r, ,

fro m h e r e told m e that amo n g his grandfa ther s effe cts he

,
’

found a se a l e n gra v e n with this l e gend O m n ia ex con cnis , ,

’

e v e ry thi n g fro m a cl a m sh e ll I saw t he naturalist not man y

.

mon t hs a go 5 t o ld him I h a d r e a d his O rigi n o f Species ‘

,
’

a n d oth e r b o oks that he h a d by no m e ans s a tisfi e d me that

m e n w e r e d e sc e nd e d from monk e ys but had gone fa r t o w a rds ,

persu a di n g me th a t he and his so called sci e n tific br e thr e n -

h a d bro u ght the pr e se n t ge n e ration of E nglish men ver y

n ear to monkeys A good sort of man is this Darwin and
.
,
w e ll meaning but of v ery l it t l e in t el l ect A h &it is a sad
, .

thing a n d t e rrible t o s e e n ig h a w h ol e na t i o n o f m e n a n d
w o m e n profe ssi n g t o be cultiva te d l o oki n g arou n d m a pur
, ,

blind fashion a n d fi nding n o God in t h e u n ive r s e I sup

, .

pose it is a re a cti o n from the re ign o f cant a n d h oll o w

pretenc e profe s sing to beli e v e wha t in fa ct th e y d o n o t
, , ,

b e li e v e A ll this is what we h a ve go t to A l l t hi n gs fro m

. .

frog spawns —the go spel o f dirt t h e order of t h e d a y The

-

older I grow—a n d now I stand o n t h e bri n k o f e terni t y

, .

the more comes back t o me t h e s e n t e nce in t h e C a techism

which I learned whe n a child a n d t h e fuller a n d d e ep er its ,

m e an i n g bec o m e s : W h a t is t h e grea t end of m a n ? To

g lorify God and nj y H im for e ve r N o g o sp e l of dirt
’
e o .

te a ching that men have desc e nded from frogs through

monk e ys will ever set that aside .
”

G e n e sis i 2 6 H e re it is record e d th a t Go d afte r mak

. .
,

in g t h e infe ri o r a nim a ls mad em a n a s a sp e cial and disti n ct

,

b e i ng quit e dis t i n ct from o th e r bei n gs of i n fe rior rank giv

, ,

ing him the i n t e l l e ct and p o w er t o rul e ov e r a ll t his m a n , , ,

in all his sta te s h a s succ e e de d in d oi n g

, .

&

The savage a s w e ll as the e n lighte n ed has by his in v e n ,

ti ons o v e rco m e t h e fi e rc e st a n ima ls which d e monstrat e t hat

, ,

he was cre a te d a qui t e diffe r e n t order o f b e i n g .

A Profe ssor in a lecture ,

on the subj e c t of E volu t i on ,

says
Man in his e a rli e st E urop e an adve n t wa s the equ a l of
, ,

m od e rn m a n N o r d o we find a n y w h e r e any link g ra d u a t

.

in g fro m m a n to wa rds t h e rank o f t h e bru t e s Th e a p e s .

h a v e a g e n e ologica l tr ee N e tra c e th e m b a ck t o t h e b e gin

V
.

n i n g of the terti a ry times M a n has n o ge n e o l o gica l tr e e he

.

sta n ds apart as if he h a d b ee n t h e product o f a n ind e

pend e nt organi za tio n H ow e ver thi s m a y b e he is m o st
.
,

cl o s e ly related in pla n of o rgani z ation to th e oth e r ki n gdom .

The fa cts in short a re such th a t we may with W a l a ce h o ld

, , , ,

to t h e e v o luti o n o f t h e o th er anim a ls and yet not embrac e ,

”
- P r o es s or W in c/cel l
the d o ctrine of the evolution of man f . .

T h e w rite r h e re d e c la re s h is d i sb e li e f in e v o luti o n so c a ll ed .
N ENU RI AL L I NES O H
N T E BEI NGOF G
OD .

Cre a ti v e p o we r in God a ll s e e i n g ,

Firs t c a u se d m a tter t o h a v e a b e i n g
T w a s th a t S pir i t t h e m ighty thre e
’
, ,

M a d e o rd e r a nd s p e ci e s firSt t o b e
The n t o fin is h t h e m i g ht y p l a n
, ,
”
Go d s a i d , L e t u s m a ke m a n .

I t is m a d e pl a i n by n a tura l l a w s ,
’
E ffe ct s c a n t e x i st w ith o ut a c a u se &
T h e e ffe ct it se l f d i s pl a y s d e s ig n ,
I n t e llig e n c e of A lm ighty m i n d
’

W ith o ut a c a u se ca n b e n o n o ti o n
O f t h e p h e n o m e n a o f m o ti o n .

W h a t c a u sed t h e st a rs t o ru n th e ir ra c e ,
I n o rbit s tru e , thro ugh b o u n d l e s s s p a c e ?
G l o be s i n e rt m a tt e r w o ul d e v e r st a nd
’

U n l es s pr op e lle d by a mig hty h a n d

M a ki n g p e r fe ct m ot i on in t h e ir s ph e re s,
M e a suri n g tru e b oth tim e s a n d y e a r s

M a ki n g it pl a i n t o hum a n re a so n ,
T o c a lcul a t e t h e t im e a n d s ea s o n .

I ne rt m a tte r w o ul d e v e r st a nd
E x c e pt pro pe ll e d by a mighty h a nd .

T w a s thi s wh ich ca u sed t h e fix d re l a ti o n

’ ’

B e t wee n m a tt e r s re st a n d gra vit a ti o n

’

W hich l a w s u s pe nd s, in o rbic r a c e ,
T h e pl a ne t s thro ugh o ut i n fin it e s p a c e .

B e h o l d th o se pl a n et s , a s th e y ru n
I n pe rfe ct o rbit r ou nd t h e su n &
A r o u n d t h e s u n the se m o vi n g s p he re s
P e rfo rm the i r c o ur se in d iv e r s y e a r s,

Y m o ve w ith reg ul a rity pr ofo u nd

et , ,

The y e ve r p a ss in o rbit s ro und .

L e t m e n s ur v e y e a rth s v a ri e d fa ne s
’
,

A n d sa y bli n d ch a n ce h a s r a i se d th o se t o w e r s
A s w e ll might e a rth &u a k e s d o t h e s a m e ,

A nd w re ck s o f fl ood s bui l d fl e e t s o f p o w e r s
 A nd w h a t a re fl ee t s o f e v e ry n a ti on
C o mp a r e d t o w o rk s o f Go d s cre a ti o n
’

’
C a stl e s c a n t r a i se th e m se l ve s e r e ct ,
W ith o ut d e s ig n o f a rc hit e ct
’ ’
A n d w h a t s in m a n s ex p e ri e n c e gre a t e r
Th e re c a n t b e l a w s w i t h o ut a l e gi s l a t o r
’
.

The se l a w s of God , in sp a ce p rofo u n d ,

P ro pe l t h e t
s a rs in o rbi t s r o u nd &
F or e v e r s i n gi n g a s th e y s hi n e ,

Th e h a n d th a t m a d e u s is d ivi ne
“

Th e mi n d of m a n a nd a n im a l i n st i n ct
, , s h ow
Th e o m n is ci e n t Go d cre a t e d a l l b e l ow &
’
W it h o ut thi s fa ith the re c a n t b e tr ue c o nje cture
A b o ut t h e U n iv e r s e s g l o ri ou s a rchi t e c t ure
’
.

Th e se fa ct s pr o cl a im t o m e n o f se n se
T h e w i s d o m of o m n ip o ten c e
L ucre tiu s D a rw i n V o lt a ire P a y n e é
, , , ,
‘
c. ,

Ha v e w r t t e n the ir t h o ugh t s b o th b a se
.
, a nd va i n ,

B u t t h e tru t h GO D i s w i ll st ill re m a i n .

A lea rne d writer sa y s

fter careful stud y of all the theori e s p ropo sed inde
A ,

p e nd e ntly of r e ve l ati o n we co nclu de that the first constitu e nt

,

a t o m s o f the e a r t h must h a v e b e e n created by some pow e r

o r fo rce not i n h e r e nt in m a t t e r
, and that these par t icl e s
,

ca m e into b e i ng a s si m p le e lements all at the s a m e t im e, ,

fo rming a c onfused and sh a p eles s m ass But a mi x t ure o f .

n e w created el e m e nt s w o u ld n o t l o n g re m ain qui e sc e n t o r

a t rest as t hey were e nd owed with chemical qualities a n d

,

a ffinities producing m otion a nd combusti o n rapidly so a s

, ,

to produce light This must have been the light of t h e firs t

.

“
d a y o f c reatio n when God said Let there be light as the ’
, , ,

s u n moon and st a rs did not app e ar till the fourth day

, Th e .

o rigin of all things is ascribed to God It is reitera ted that .

 _ 1 5_

God c o mmanded God saw God created and approved , , , .

The cre a ti o n of the world had been d e legated to no inferior 5

s o t oo t h e creative work wa s performed in a manner worthy
, ,

of the Supreme Bei n g I t was accomplished with infinite

.

”
e ase . Let there be light said the Cre a tor and instantly
, ,

the universe was illuminated _ I t was an invisible energy .

that permeated the world of ato ms and developed fi s hes , ,

fowls and quadrup eds and adapted them t o move in their

, ,

several spheres W hile other nations believed in their im a g

.

ina ry gods the j e ws though surrounded by idol a tors were

, , ,

thus e ffectually taught to beli e ve in on e great power above

all else Man s humble origin from the dust of the groun d
.
’

wa s fitted to t e ach him lessons of depend e nce whe n re fl ect ,

ing upo n his rela t i o ns to t he D e ity while his high endow ,

”
ments of mind showed his superi o rity over the brute animal .

The Scriptures given by God to man were not to teach

him philosophy bu t to explain the simple ph e nomena of the
,

universe as th e y appeared to his senses A bstract science

,
.

was left by t h e C reator to man s intelligence with which ’

,

God endowed him when He gave A dam the intuitive menta l

power 7 of giving names to the di fferent species of animals
9
.

( Gen ii 1. . But this intuitive power of intellec t was

,

intended by the Creator to be enlarged in man s experience ’

and observation So there was ample scope to A dam and

.

his posterity fo r t h e exercise of th e ir mental powers which ,

was not given to the inferi o r part of crea t ion Hence .

,

phi lo sophy and science are perfe ctly j ustifiable in the eye s
o f God so fa r as they minist e r t o the lory of God and the
, g ,

w ell being of man 5 bu t t h e philosopher is not to us e science

- &

to dishonour God or debase t h e h uma n race 5 for this would

,

be to turn the world i n to a p a ndemonium .

But when man dire cts his mind to t h e study of science it

ought to b e fo r the promotion of truth o f virtu e and the , ,

glory o f God Such were the motives o f Bacon wh e n he

.

discovered a n d explained his m ethod of inductive p h il o so

 -1 6

phy practised by N ewton which led to the fi n d i ng out of

, ,

the law of gravitation —a law whic h holds the hea ve nly

bodies the plane ts , & c in their courses or orbits a s they
, .
,

revolve thro ugh infinite space Such adds to t h e glory of .

the C rea tor and shows the wisdom and immensity of His
,

power But fo r Charles Darwin to trace the desce nt of man

.

from a clot of s lime in the depths of the sea is a d eg re d a t ion

of human thought only to be deprecated and rejected as a
,

monstrous absurdity .

Lord Bacon in his essay says , ,

A littl e philosophy inclin e th a m an s mind to A theism

‘ ’
,

but dep t h in philos o phy bringeth man s mind ab o ut t o re ’

l ig io n fo r whil e the mind looketh upon s e cond ca uses scat

,

t e re d it may r e s t in them a n d go n o farth e r 5 but wh e n it

,

b e holdeth the chain of them c o nfe derated and linked to

gether i t mu st needs fl y to Provide n c e and Deity
, .

Pope say s
Ho p e pri n g s e te rn a l in t h e h um a n bre a st
s

M a n n e ve r i s but a l w a y t o b e bl e st 5
,

T h e s o ul u n e a s y a n d c o n fin e d a t h o m e
, ,

R e st s a n d e x p a ti a t e s o n a li fe t o c o m e :
B u t t a k e thi s h o p e a w a y o f b e i n g h e a ve n s, h e ir ’
, ,

M a n d i e s in d o ubt bl a ck d a rk n e ss a n d d e spa ir 5
, ,
“ ”
B u t h a l l o we d t h o u g h t s th a t o n t h e R o ck of A ge s re st
:
,

D i s p e l a l l gl o o my fe a r s fr o m t h e be li e v e r s b re a st I
’”
 A THE I S M A N D D E I S M R E F U TE D .

The words of a learned divine are the fo l lowing

Of all the fals e doctri n es a nd foolish op i n 1ons which ever
infested the mind of man nothing can possibly equal t hat
,

of A theism which is such a monstrous contra diction of all

,

evid e nce to all the po w ers of unde rstanding and the

, ,

dictates of c o mmon sense that it may be well questioned

,

whether any man can reall y fall into it by a deliberate use of

”
his j udgment .

I t is impossible for t he mind to conceive even a plausible ,

conjecture how the universe came into existence without the

,

infinite power and intelligen ce of the Supreme Being who ,

gave the things that are t heir first existenc e Blind inert .
,

matter could not create itself much less could i t give ex ,

is t e nce to the mind Could the clod of th e valley cre ate the
.

mind of the philosopher the divine the mechanic or the

, , ,

farmer ? Impossible & The existence of th e human mind

could have no possible cause but that of Deity from which it ,

emanated or received its first being with all its powers of ,

thought and wll l Matter alone could never have produced

,

an inf erior a n im a l with its instincts its wond e rful aptitudes

, ,

in providing for its young and the continuation of it s kind

, .

Mere matt e r could n e ver have creat e d such bei n gs with such
aptitudes capabilities and power of thought and con t riv
, ,

ance in building th e ir n e sts providing for and preserving

,

their young— therefo re no man with reason or power of

, ,

thinking can den y the e x istence of a great po w erful and

, ,

all-wise Go d whose intelligence and almighty hand formed

,

the universe If this be granted —and it cannot be r e ason

ab l denied—the same great Being could inspire his servants
.

‘y
,

(4)
 prophet s a n d apostle s to do miracles and p rop h e s y
th e , , , to
convince man of his power to overrule t h e opposition of

wick e d m e n in the early ages of the world .

By this step o f reaso n we co m e to spea k of the inspira

,

ti o n of the Bible and the m iracl es re corded in t h e O l d a n d

,

N e w Tes t a ments Having prove d t hat there is an a ll -po we r&

.

ful a n d om n i scl e n t God who crea t ed and g a v e l a w s to bo t h

,

m a t t er and m in a can it be possible that this same God coul d

’
,

not inspire men to perform miracle s a n d give a faithfu l ,

history of such facts in the t im e s i n which the y were

performed
Take the miracles performed by Moses and A aron i n
E gypt . Here we h a ve the hi story o f a people held in bond
age by a heathen tyrant for a long series of time 5 — there
appeared t o be n o hope that the tyrant would let them free .

Hence we fin d it r e corded tha t the God of I srael s ent Moses

,

and A aron before this t y rant a n d enabled them to perform

,

miracles which overawed Pharaoh and h is people so that t h e

r uler of E gypt let t h e childre n of I srael free Here was a .

whol e na t ion made fre e by t h e mani festation of miracles ,

wrought by t he power which God gave t o M o ses and A aron ,

in the sight of both E g y pti a ns and Israelites yet neither ,

people could deny the public facts Then if the history of .

,

those facts could n o t be denied and were not denied at the ,

time of their p e rformance it is plain that they could not b e

,

denied as the E gypti a ns themselves were so convinced tha t

,

they were true miracles tha t Pharaoh and his pe o ple let their
captives the children of I srael free A l l saw the miracles
, , .
,

y et none could prove them to be false as they were done ,

in the presence of all men in opposition to the E gyptian

,

m agician s .

A gain M oses and A aron led the people of Israel to t h e

,

R e d Sea 5 here they had to halt in their march as the ocean

pr evented them from maki ng a single step in advan ce .

Pharoah with his host in quick p e rsu it when all hum a n

, ,

m ea n s of escape s e emed to the children of Isra e l im p o ss i

, ,

ble when t h e word of t h e Lord came to Mos e s ( E x xiv )

,
. .

The history of this miracle if it could be proved t o be a ,

fiction a t the time would not so me of them have said at t h e

,

time or after the time of the miracle that such a miracle

, ,

never took place ? But no such denial or even doub t of ,

t h e miracle was ever expressed by the Israelites 5 thoug h all

,

witnessed it none could deny t h a t i t was don e by the po we r

,
'

o f God .

H ere were men women and children in the , ,

e xercise of their senses looking on the miracl e of crossi n g

,

t h e R e d Sea and no one could or did ca l l in question t h a t

,

miracle although the Israelites w e re i n clin ed befo re they

, ,

s aw the miracle to murmur aga inst M oses ( E x xiv 1 0

,
. . .

A fter this miracle they all joined Moses in si n ging t h e so n g

,

o f triumph The horse and his rider hath H e t h ro w n in t o

”
the sea .
( E x xv ) . .

The many miracles recorded by Moses will bear the sa me

test a s the cro ssing of the R e d Sea .

Since that time all Jewish records us a g e s and customs

, , ,

with the whole Jewish polit y confirm the same both in , ,

ecclesias t ical and national history togeth er wi t h their cere ,

~

m onies in forms of w orship till this da y , .

i
The same kind of argument ar d proof can be us e d to
prove the authenticity of the miracles wro ugh t by our Lord
and Saviour j esus C hrist as He performed them in the ,

presence of the Jewish people at the time of His ministry

‘

among m e n 5 and they believed and many were convinced ,

that His miracles were the manifestation of Divine po wer .

N either j e w nor heathen could confute them at the t ime the y

 _ 2 0_

were performed by C hrist 5 a n d only since t hat time D e ists , , ,

A theists and I n fid e l s have m o cked His miracles b u t co u ld

, ,

not disprove them .

A gain the fulfilment of prophesy proves the authenticity

,

of the Scriptures Take the 53 ch apter of Isaiah fulfill e d

.
,

in the sufferings and death of t h e Saviour on Calva r y s cross ’

,

where it says H e was wounded for our transgres s ions He ,

was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of ou r peace

”
was upon Him 5 and w ith H is stripes we are healed A n d .

aga in in the same chapter ot h verse : He made His grave ,

with the wicked 5 and last clause of the 1 2 t h v e rse

A n d H e was n umbered with the tra n sgressors 5 a n d H e
bare the sin of many and m ade inte rcession for the tran s
’

,
”
g resso rs Such. direct la n guage could n o t have b e en used

by the Prophet to express the su ffe rings and atonement of

C hrist u n less the Spirit of the most High God had inspired
,

him . Isaiah liv e d about 7 60 years before C hrist .

The Pr o phet here describes the suffe rin gs of C hrist almost

as if he were looki n g u pon th e d yi n g Saviour in His a gony
on Calvary N o &e w can explain this chapter away as it
.
,

bears so e xactly o n t h e a t on e ment of Christ and H is suffe r

' '

ings for m en wh o will rep e n t of th eir sins .

A ga in the proph esies of Christ co n cerning the d e s t ruc

, ,

tion of Jerusalem h a d their fulfilme n t in the des t ruction of

,

that city in t h e tim e s of t h e E mpero rs V espasi a n a n d

, ,

Titus when Jerusal e m was t aken by the R om a ns and all

, ,

were taken ca p t iv e or pu t t o dea t h V espasia n was t h e first .

of t h e R o man E mp e rors wh o di ed a n a tural d e ath and was ,

also the first of the E mperors who was succeeded b y his

own son on the thrown Christ s prophesy in t h e 2 4t h .
’
,

chapter of Matthew was literally fulfilled in the d e structi on

, , ,

of Jerusalem The ins t itution of the Lord s supper was

.
’
 — 21

appointed by the Saviour before His dea th on the cross a n d ,

h a s be e n obs e rved by all C hris t ians si n c e t h e d ays of His

mini s try am on g men and will be observ e d till the end of
,

time in commemoration of His sufferi n gs and death Si n ce

, .

that tim e His go spel has prevailed in oppositi o n to the de

vices of th e wicked though only at first proclaimed by t he
,

poor illiterate fishe rmen of Ga ll il ee

,
Th e A t h e ist an d .

Deist may mock but their mockings are in va in Since t he

,
.

time of Christ science civili z ation a n d power h a ve increa sed

, , , ,

and light and knowledge both temporal a n d spiritual have , ,

made many of the nations of the ear t h great and happy .

These results can only be ascribed t o the i n fl uence of the

gospel of truth which elevates the human mind in the hope
,

of happiness beyond the grave 5 while the unb eli e v e r a n d

A theist are without hope and without God in the world .

The B ibl e exceeds every other book for its antiqui ty and ,

is vastly superior to the time fro m which it spru ng in its ,

lit e rature in its comprehensiveness a n d impor t ance

, .

Sir I saac N e wto n said Th e Scripture is the most sublime

philosophy .

Sir W m . Jones said 0

I am of opinio n t h at the Holy Scriptures independent ,

of their divin e origin co n ta in more true s ublimity m o re

, ,

exqu i site b e a u t y more impor ta nt and fi n e r stra i n s o f both

,

po e t ry and e loquence tha n could be collected fro m any other

,
”
book s
The great astronomer Sir John Herschel says , ,

A ll disc o v e ries se e m t o be made only for t h e purpos e of

co n firm i n g m o re and more strongly the truth s c ontained in
the H o ly Scr i ptur e s .
”

This seems to b e a true observation from the following

texts (Job xxvi
, H e stretcheth the nor t h over the
.
 2

empty space (vacuum ) and hang e th the earth upon nothing , .

A proph e sy it w o uld s e em c o ncerning t h e l a w of g ra V 1t a

, ,

ti on A ga in ( D a niel xii 4 ) Many shall run t o and fro

’

.
.
, ,
”
and k n owledg e shall be increa s ed This seems to refer to .

trav e lling by ste a m a nd the propagation of the go spel T h e .

sp 1 r1t of inspiration could only h a ve predicted in th e se words

the facts of the present t i me .

In fin e the Bible gives a more enlightened account of

,

creatio n of the origin of life of min d of matt e r of the

, , , ,

univers e and of a l l things that exist than a n y other book

, ,

or cre e d in t he world A t neist s P os it i v ist s and M a t eri a l is t s

.
, ,

have no gro und to reason from but inert matter which has ,

no po w er to creat e its e lf nor to give life to a n im a ls much , ,

l e ss t o give l if e a n d m in a t o man L if e and m in a a re phe

’
.
’

nominal e x ist e nces w hich o nly can b e accounted for by the

,

beli e f in t h e bei n g o f an a ll w is e and om n ipot en t God whose -

,

“
attributes a re bey o n d m an s comprehension and whose ’
,

ways a re p a st fi n di n g out H e nc e the Genesis and Biogenesis

.

given by the C re at o r to Mos e s is the only true and even ,

plausible account th a t t h e minds of reasonable men can

,

acc e pt or C hristi a ns ca n believe A l l the h y p ot h ica l non .

sens e devised by Sceptics and A theist have totally fa i led

from absenc e of proo f T h e most mi n ute spores or semina
.
, ,

o r in fu s iora havi n g the germs of life or vitality owe their ,

vital existence to God as directly as does the whale of the

,

ocean or the elepha nt of the plain If there be any e v ol u

, .

tion it does not change t h e species or genera of cre ated

,

things 5 all t hings a re as they were from the begi n n i ng .

Domestication care of man ahd change of place and cir

, ,

cu m s t a n ce may have improved the species of in ferior

,

animals but has not changed their nature

, The wild .

elephant and tiger of India are still the same fierce animals
from the earliest times .
 _ 2 3_

S o me animals have become extinct as the moa and dodo,

of N e w &e al a n d and the p e nguin or great awk e v e n re

, ,

c en t l y
. These facts o nly show that sp e cies of animals have
a n d a re becoming e x t inct . But we do n o t k n ow or re ad o f
.
.

any n e w sp e cies coming into e xist e nce by t h e supposed

process of e volution Th e m ajority of geologists conclude
.

th a t fo ur or fiv e dista n t e pochs of destruction and re n e wal :

may have tak e n pla ce a n d can be traced in the organic

,

remains contained in the different strata & in other words ,

that whole groups have been swept at once from existence

by some powerfu l catastrophe and their places supplied by
,

other races called into existence by the crea t ing en erg y of

,

the A l m ig lzty This would imply tha t t he ny pot /zes is of

.

ev ol u t ion is a mere figm e nt inve n ted by the Scep t ic t o ev a rl e

,

“
the t r u t li that God created and gave or d er t o all things in
”
the universe .
 THE A B S U R D I TY OF M A TE R I A L I S M .

Of all forms of human belief none could possibly be m o re

,

unmeaning than to thi nk that mere matter could f orm or

rod u ce all things which exist in the universe without the
p
in t erv e ntion of mind 5 and th a t mi n d must have been both
omniscient and omnipo tent for all things animate displa y
,

both power and wisdom U nconscious matter a l on e could

.

never have produced a n i m a l l if e and t /i oug lzt B etween .

p u rely v i t a l and p u rely p /z

y s i ca l action not the faintest
,

analogy has ever been shown to exist The living world is .

absolutel y distinct from the non -living world or matter com , ,

p ared with the antiquity of matter Probably the phenomena

.
,

of life may have been very rece n t and an addition to it not

, ,

of a refined kind of mate rial force but a transcendent energy

, ,

conferred on matter which controls and regulates both

matter and its forces according it m a y be t o l a ws but not
, , ,

the laws of inert matter Matter may have existed before

.

life even a very ind e finite time Before the Creator caused
, .

life to exist matter may have existed millions of years in

,

the formation of our globe & as the r e s e arches of geology

may have made plain to thinking minds Hence &the phe
.

m omena of life is a very dis t inct pri n ciple from matter and ,

can only be explained in t /i is w a y v iz That the C reator

, .

gave t ha t living principle a s a r u l ing a g en t in c onnection

with and after the rude elements of ma tt e r were bro u ght
into being .

Materialism which leads to A theism has been l i a lf a c

, ,
’
cep t ea by hundreds of persons duri n g t ne l a st f ew y ea rs .

The writings of Darwin and other modern Sceptics h ave ,

( 5)
 —6
2

l ed man y into this error Th e Materialis t i c doctrines se e m

.

to accept as a truth that t h e n on l i v ing a n d l i v ing are on e

, ,
-

and the same a n d that every livi n g thing is j ust as much a

,

machine as a watch a wi n dmill or hydraulic apparatus

, , .

A ccording to material co n te n ti o n e verythi n g ow e s l t s exist ,

ence to p rop ert ies of the m a t er i a l out of which it is con

s tructed . But i s it n o t stra n g e t h a t it n ev e r s ee ms to hav e
.

occu re d to the Materia l istic d e votee that n e i t her the w a t eti , ,

the st ea m eng in e the w in d m il l the ny d ra u l ic a pp a ra t u s

, , ,

nor any other m a cnin e known to or made by any individual , ,

in this world is d ep en d en t for its con st r u ct ion upon the pro

,

rt ie s of the material particl e s of the matter out of which

p e

its several parts have been constructed ? Th e simple truth

is that the essential phenomena of all living beings cannot
,

be e x p lained without r e course to some hypothesis of power

to t al l y different from any of t h e k n o wn fo rms of power o r
m o d e s of mech a n ica l e n ergy p e culi a r to ma tt e r Materiali s m .

may be call e d a chief e l em e n t in the A th e istic cre ed b u m ,

vi tal energy which sustains and giv e s action t o mind in the

s rt gg es t iv e oper a t i on of thoug ht must differ widely from any
,

quality in m a tter 5 t h e mat e rialism the n of the Sceptic , , ,

becomes a chimera of t he h uman brai n It is because the .

A theist can n ot d e ny the existe n ce o f matt e r he d e ifie s it a s

matter of n e cessity for he might as well de n y his own exist:
,

ence a s t h e exis t ence of matter .

David Hume once made an attem pt to d eny t h e e xist en c

of matt e r by r e aso n i n g from Bishop Berkley s T/zeory of
’
,

I d ea s as t hat writer said in h is

, P r i n cip l es of Hu m a n
”
& n ow l edg e that what are called m aterial o bj e cts are n othing
,

more than impressions on t h e mind or wh a t we would ca ll ,

ideas 5 therefore i t is only the idea we reason from that we

, .

can know the existence of external obj ects so Hum e dre w ,

his conclusions fr om this theory of Bishop B e rkle y Thi s .

e ffort of Hume to dec e iv e m e n a bout t h e reality of matter
wa s a piece of the m o st ab s urd s o phistry I t shows what .

m e n w h o a re in fi d e l s wi l l d o t o dec e ive o th e rs a n d gain

fo ll ow ers a n d dup e s Bu t n e i t her t h e phi losophical tran
.

s ce nd e n t a l is m
—
of B e rkley n or t h e palp a ble scept i ci sm of
,

H ume will in any w a y e ffe ct or d e stroy man s belief in his

, , ,
’

o wn materi a l pers o nality n or his b e lief in the substantial

,

existence o f ma t e ri a l o bj e cts around him The obj e ct of .

t h e A theist and I n fid e l is to d e stroy a l l gr ound of the

C hristian s hope and l e av e n o th i n g in its plac e

’
,
.

B ut all efforts of t h e wicked have been in vain to a e com s

p l is h t his end To blot t h e idea of an all w ise God from the

.
-

m inds of m e n has be en t h e fi x ed inten t i o n of all i n fidel

writers since t h e beginni n g of tim e But t h e religion of .

C hrist the Saviour of men has re s i s ted all the ir e ffo rts
, , .

W hile the pantheism of Gre e ce a n d R om e have van ish e d

from the world the supers t i t ious forms of re ligion in heathen
,

lands a re yielding to the t ru t hs of C hristia ni t y and the clouds ,

of error are b e ing dispell e d by t h e light o f the gosp e l The .

C hristian s hope gives pe a ce to m a n lzere and elevates his

’
.

mind t o contemplate t h e gl o ries a n d happiness of heaven

beyond the grave while all o t h e r forms of religion l e av e him
,

in doubt darkness and despair

,
.

The Lucretian system of infidelity wa s that the uni ve rse ,

was a t first formed by a concours e of i n fi n ite a t oms p a ssi n g

through i n finite a nd empty space a nd striki n g a gainst one , ,

a n o t h e r formed the worlds

,
.

The Darwinia n syst e m of infid e li t y repre sents t o t h e m e n

of the world of the p resen t t im e that men wer e at firs t
, ,

desc e nded from a clot of slime in the d e pths of the s e a and , ,

after passi n g through various change s became monk e ys and ,

then men This hypothesis seems to be as absurd a m yth

.
a s the of V en u s fro m t he f rot l z of the sea or the
na t i v ity ,

birt /z o f &Min er v a from the bra in of Jupiter 5 a most re d icu l o u s

element of agnostic belief
Mr Darwin s hypothesis that man was at first ev ol v ed
.
’

from a clot of slime in the depths of t he sea will appear ,

quite absurd from t h e following argumen t : E vol u t ion of a

l i v ing being ca n not be conc e ived or pr e dicat e d of inert mat
ter for it requires a n i m a l l if e t o exis t either in embrio or in
, ,

addition to matt e r b e fore life can exist in matter 5 for all

,

form s of animal and vegetable lif e or vitality are quite di s

tinct from inert matter & to sp eak of sp on t a nie t y of life in
mere matter is a bsolute nonsense , .

rs t The mos t min ute sp ores or sem en a or inf u soria owe

.
,

their vital existence to God d irect as the Giver of all life as , ,

certa inly a s does the zo/za l e of the ocea n or the el ep /za n t of ,

t h e p l a in t h r ough t heir species which was at first brought

, ,

in t o b e i n g by H is creative power .

zu d i t a l moti on is quite di fferent from mechan ica l

. V
m o t i o n 5 t h e fo rmer is s e lf movi n g t he la tt e r is mov e d by
-
,

som e p ow e r ext e r n al t o i t s e l f .

3 rd m o d e s of life
. A ll a nd motio n are e n t irely distinct
from i n e r t matt e r .

4t h .modes of a ction and motion of inert matter are

A ll
either p r o duced by vital o r mecha n ical forces .

st h M a tter being unconscious is desti t ute of m ercy and

.
, ,

e a n d dev o id of r ea son and i n t el l i gen ce - could form no

j u s t ic , ,

law s o f Providen ce such a s are s e en in t he ad a pta t ion of ‘

m e an s to c e rtain ends which a re conspicuou s in the works

,

of creation .

The h yp oth e sis of the Lu cre t i a n M aterialist that all ,

th in gs havi n g life and life itself have been caused at first b y

, ,
cosmic n e bulosit y and the gyrations of in finite everla stin g
,

atoms p a ssi n g through i n fini t e space a n d striki n g agains t

each other and formi n g gl o b e s and worlds are but the in
, ,

v e n t io n s of A theism a nd materi a listic fo ll y .

A s to Da rwin s hypothesis that man was first evolve d

’
,

from a clot of slime in the s ea will a ppear quite ab surd as ,

.

life is a very di ffe rent phenom e non from inert matter To .

speak of s p ont a n ie t y o f li fe in mere m a tter is absolute non

sense I f any living bei n g could evolve from mere matter ,
.

then inert matter might become the copious fountain of

animate beings without living prog e nitors But the per .

sisten cy of sp ecies in both animal and vegeta ble beings

the world sh ows plainly that evo lution is a mere chimera of
,

the brain of the man who wishes to eliminate God from

the universe E very livi n g being from man to the low e st
.
,

anim a l must have a p a ren t a g e or t hey cannot come into life

, ,

wi t h o ut an anim a te cause E very b e i n g both a nimal and

. ,

vegetable must bring fort h a ft e r its kind

, .

A ll rem a of m a n which are found in the tertiary strata

in s
of t h e globe hav e t h e ir living re presen t ative s in the present
,

rac e o f livi n g m e n a n d these remains are o nly found in very

,

rece n t d e posits and di s t inct fro m o th e r animal fossils which

, ,

are t he remai n s of i n fe rior animals which h a ve lo n g passed

a w a y 5 sh o wi n g m a n to b e t h e l a st of God s crea t ion and
’

provi n g that t he Mos a ic acco unt is auth e n t ic a n d re a son a ble .

In conclusion it is evid e nt tha t evo luti o n as h e ld and

,
“

taught by mo de rn fre e think e rs is a figme n t of A th e ism which

,

has fo r its o bj e c t t h e change o f human thought a n d belief to

palpable absurdi t y v iz : To ascribe the cr e a ti o n of all
, .

a n im a l being s to inert matter Th e se mo d ern Sc e ptic s .

would hav e men t o b e liev e this a b s urdity i n ste a d of the

B ible The Mosaic acc ou n t of cre ation is to be s wept out
.
of exi s t e nce a nd t h e guesses o f two ath e istic philosophers
,

a re t o be substi t ute d ins t e ad of Scriptur e tr u th If such a .

revo lutio n o f fa ith sh o uld ta ke plac e g e n e rally in s o ci e ty

{
,

then we might bid a dieu to justi ce and order amo n g m e n .

I t is evid e nt th a t so far a s A theism prevails oaths in courts

“

, ,

of j u s tic e can be of n o u se .

Dr P a ley s a ys
.

R m o v e onc e out of h e a ven God who rules the universe

e , ,

a n d th e r e will n e v e r b e a n y Go d up o n e a r t h If m a n s ’
.

n a tur e h a d n o t som e thing o f subj e ction in it to a Supr e me

Bei n g and i n h e r e n t pri n cipl e s o bligi n g him how to beh a v e

,

hims e lf t owa rds Go d a n d to wards the rest of the world

, ,

go ve rn m e n t co uld n e v e r h a v e b e en introduc e d or th o ught of .

N o r ca n t h e r e b e the l e a s t mutual s e curity be t w e e n gov e rnor s

and go v e rn e d wh e r e n o Go d is admitt e d For it is t h e a c
.

k n o wl e dgi n g of God in H is supre m e j udgment o ve r t h e

w o rld t h a t is t h e g ro und o f a n oa t h _
, a n d upon which the
,
”
v a lidity of h um a n e n ga g e m e n t s d e p e nds .

It must b e plai n to ev e ry san e mind, that the Giver of all

life at t h e begi n ning of tim e mus t h a ve be e n one inde p endent
B e ing or Divine en e rgy which ga ve all things their existence
, ,

at first .

Th e hum a n mind is in capabl e of forming any othe ridea or

belie f Man s imagi nation may wi n g its fl ight to the regi o ns
.
’

of imm e nsity and within t h e compass of huma n th o ught he

, ,

ca n fi n d no obj ect to rest upon but the omnisc ient et e rn a l , ,

and s e lf e x istin g J e h o vah wh o a l o n e ga ve li fe t o all b e i n g s

-
,

o n the g lob e a n d fix e d the g en er a

,
a n d all s ecies all a nim a t e
p
thi n gs 5 the re fore t h e new d o ctrine of e voluti on is fa lse a n d
,

l e av e s no gro u n d o f r ea son t o t h e Dar wini a n A gnostic on

which to build his s upp osed theory of nis so ca ll ed evolu t ion
-
.

&S
A . SI N C LA I R .
 H
I ON OF T
P L ANAT
E& H
E P L AN OF T ESE SH
ORTESSAY S .

The object of the writer is to mak e the subj e ct as plain

to the common reader as it possibly can be .

Bible C hristianity of all denomina t ions without d ist in c

,
=

ti on is one side of the subject a n d Infid e lit y and A theis m

, ,

the other W hile the want of sound reas o n or a foundation

.
,

of human belief on the part of the A th e ist is clearly shown

, , ,

the Bible C h ristian o f wh a tev e r denomi n ati o n he m a y b e

,

lo n g has both the scriptura l and phil o sophic a l a rgum e nts

,

made pl a in t o h is understan ding Th e a rguments here are

.

sh o rt a n d dire c t so t h a t t hey will be e asily compreh e n d e d by

,

the current r e ad e r .

Hoping th a t this humble e ffort may aid in the spre a d of

C hris t i a n k n owl e dge when the d a rk n e ss of A theis m and
,

A gnos t icism are n o w making stro n g e fforts to b e n igh t the

mi n ds o f m e n b y unsou n d reason i ng and philos o phy fa lsel y
,

s o called .

This littl e work as a short treatise may give some ligh t

, ,

where it is now wanti n g .