"WHALE FEED" V. MIRACLES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 539, 21 June 1909, Page 4

"WHALE FEED" V. MIRACLES.

Sir,—Will you allow a part of your valuable space for v a fewwords on tho meeting of tho Wellington Philosophical.. Society on Thursday .last, whon Professor H. 13. Kirk —ui : a statement oh the.nature of ; "whalo feed"—said some authorities state this same '!whale, feed", was tho agency- that caused 1 tho waters of the' River ±Nilo to appear like blood :in the days of Pharoah and Moses? How'strango it, seems that men of the intellectual - calibre of Professor Kirk can analyse tho .whale' feed, 'and'put'-it.-under the mioroseopo; in fact, tell us its whole history. It is all so natural. But when it comes to.a miracle performed by tho samo creator — who made tho whale feed—because ho' is'not in a position to analyse that, and .put it undor bis microscope, ho gets out of it, by telling us that-some one else has oxplainotl and accounted for tho exploded idea that the waters of tho Nile wore turned into blood at tho command of God to Moses. _ Please bear yfith me for a space whilb I—in my ignoranco—analyse matters.. . '.'■ : I take it,the professor,admits there was a' something that covered tho'• waters of the Nile in tho time of: that particular Pharoah "who know not Joseph." That the "something" caused tho waters to appear like "blood." I presumo, also,, ho sides with the idea that it was"whalo fc«U" ; Has tho pro-' fossor over analysed the thing? Gan ho bring any ovidenco from natural law or his-' tory tbat,■ "whale feed" is,in tho habit of getting away from the sea, away: inland up rivors liko the NiloP But; 'we, are told that all tho water becamo poisoned,' so that on© of tho staplo food supplies of tlio-Egyp-tians—fish—was cut off. Also that tho water becamo unfit for human consumption, and, the people tried to dig wells to,get water thorcfrom. Does" tho whalo feed oh the surfaco of the sea havo any deleterious effect on tho : water below it: and the' fish, living therein? It is a wonder it,does not upset tho whalos when they take so much of it in. They must' bo as tough as. some of the learned professors. ~ But wp nro also.led to believo.that these ten miracle: plagues of Egypt were each a direct blow at. the lending gods tho Egyptians worshipped, especially this one noyiiiist'tlio sacred waters (if the Nile. Well,: suppose (liis first 'fine is exploded'hy natural lav:.' Then'what becomes of the last'? Can seienco or university- education account', for tho sprinkling of Wood u]>on the doorposts mid lintels, and a destroying angel after midnight passing over the land, missing every dwelling marked with "t)ie blood," and striking terror into every other, not,so marked by'slaying 1 the firsUwirn ?. . Tlio belief; in this great supernatural tragedy and deliverance lias lip. Rome a part of tho very nature of all Israelites since that time, and 1 of all who believo 1 in Christ to-day. Can anything—tho professor or any of tho learned professions say— upYoot from our natures the belief in this salvation typified so wonderfully on "that night?": - '

I npolociso for anv seeminK impertinence; God; forbid that I should despiso education, bnt'whonit seeks to cut away the foundation of my faith in » miracle-working God (who

"still working them daily), then I say, 'Como and soo my zeal for tho Lord ol Hosts. But lam sorry to say this endeavour to explain away the supernatural from tho "Word of God" is not confined to tho universities, for it is rathor remarkable tliat mi the very samo night succeeding the day tho report of tho prolessor's lecture appeared that 1 should have hoard it stated by one of our most gifted Gospel prcachcrß that tho earthquake which liberated all the prisoners in the l'hillipian gaol and oponod all tho doora was just a visitation from an ordinary shako from which that part of the country was used to. (I supposo tlje one at Messina tho other day'was another of them?) But how accommodating these natural earthquakes must bo. Fancy a shako that could uncemont all tho bolts in tho walls of a Btrong Roman prison and throw open all tho massive doors, yet do no othor damage, not even, throw the walls down or break tho crockery in the gaoler's housol Nobody was hurt, bocauso they were "all there," and tho water Bupply docs not seem to have been interfered with, for, tho jailor washed the wounds on tha prisoners' backs, theft went in and bad a comfortablo supper. \ Does all this, harmonise with the class of earthquake that generally wrought such terrible havoc in, tho region ol that earthquake zone. . . ... i Why should theso preachers bo at so much pains to tell of a salvation full of tho supernatural from start to finish, yet'go out of their way to account for.a supernatural [earthquake by natural means? Is not the spiritual world full of the supernatural tKat cannpt be explained away by any wisdom of man? Why will these learned men continue truth of God down to tho level of sceptical modern thought? Is this the teaching of tho spirit? No I but an undoing with one hand what they try to do with th« other.—l amj otc., ..:■.-"- . /-V :<■■■ H. 8 ,;