SCIENCE AND RELIGION.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6778, 9 February 1884, Page 4

SCIENCE AND RELIGION.

The following extract from Dr Samuel Kinn's work, " Moses and Geology," is published by request : — " Having thus brought to a close the arguments and facts' in my endeavor to prove that all the event's of creation were given to Moses in their" right order, I think it would be as well here to recapitulaie them, that you may recall the contents of each chapter, and decide upon the proofs of the patriarch's inspiration. " In the sublime opening, announcing that 'in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,' we notice there is a statement that there was a commencement of all material things, and that sunß and worlds had not existed from alleternity ; but how long ago it was since this beginning took place neither words nor figures can express. Year by year, as • science advances, we are obliged to go back farther and farther and farther. At first mankind thought that the starting - point was only thousands of years ago ; then it was found they must be numbered by millions; ' now, not a few philosophers think that scons of ages will not satisfy the re- , quirements ; and therefore we must be content to know that, whenever that farback period was, Gtod planned the whole scheme of the universe, and then ordained that the present combinations and infinite variations in the arrangements of atoms should be brought about by long, yet well-arranged processes, of which the following is the order : — "Primarily, matter existed in a highlyattenuated condition as non-luminous sether. "I. Astronomical facts go to prove that other worlds were formed before our solar system, and therefore Moses was quite right at starting by placing the heavens first. " 11. Darkness existed throughout the fathomless abyss until the edict went forth, 'Let there be light !'_ when the laws of gravitation and chemical affinity coming into operation, the aether became condensed, and luminous nebulae were the result. On further condensation of these nebulas, spherical bodies possessing intense heat were formed, lighting up the whole of space with ten thousand times ten thousand suns and stars. "111. Then, in the case of the. earth, after the nebulous condensations had diminished, and there was but little accession of heat from the downpour of meteoric bodies, it gradually cooled, and the fiery mass in time was covered over by a thin rocky coating : this thickened sufficiently to confine the intense heat beneath the incrustation, and the hydrogen and oxygen which had united to form vaporous gas became condensed, and descending upon all sides of the earth completely encased it with water, forming a universal ocean ; as the Psalmist says, " O Lord my God, Thou art very great. . . Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not bo removed for ever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment." The atmosphere also at this time separated the waters that were benoath the expanse from those that were above it. " IV. Ages upon ages rolled on, and the Laurentian, the Cambrian, and the Silurian rocks were gradually formed, for the most part probably under water ; and then came a mighty upheaval of the earth's crust, and mountain-chains were raised up above tho primeval waters, carrying with them to their summits animals which lived at the bottom of the seas, thereby affording us the means of accurately telling the period when those fearful convulsions took place, and rising above tho waters, they formed separate oceans and seas, and caused dry land to appear. But not only did thoso mountainchiiins rise out of the water by violent upheavals, but. continents and islands were formed by the gradual subsidence of some parts at>d the elevation of others. Even the tiny polyps played an important part in these changes of tho earth's surface. "V. Now from tho ground there sprouted forth a low class of Cryptogams, Buch as lichens and fungi (Thallogens), corresponding with the Algea, which existed in the seas long before, and afterwards a higher order of Cryptogams (Acrogens) covered the earth, composed of club mosses, equisetaceae, tree ferns, lycopods, and lepidodendra, which were 1 flowerless, and propagated by spores, not by seeds, and therefore seeds are not mentioned. "VI. Then there was a further advance of vegetation, of a low order of Phsenogams or flowering plants, composed of conifers, &c, having naked seeds, that is, not covered as in true fruits, and having a woody tissue of simple structure. "VII. Afterwards a higher class of Phsenogams appeared, with nut-like seeds in fleshy envelopes, bearing a low order of fruit, perhaps allied to the edible Ginkgo of Japan. " During all this time the earth was surrounded with dense vapours, which, to a great extent, hid the direct rays of the eun, and but one climate, a warm and moist one, pervaded the whole globe. " These ferns and conifers were buried up in vast quantities, to form our Coal Measures ; but notwithstanding the excessive pressure, and the chemical changes consequent thereupon, many vestiges have been wonderfully— yea, providentially — preserved, to tell the story of all their beauty and greatness, and to furnish us with a history of what the world was like in ages long gone by. VIII. "In time the globe still further cooled, . and being covered with much carbonic acid, which is a bad conductor of heat, the vaporous clouds cleared away, and then the sun and moon were appointed for signs and for seasons. " I have before noticed that the Hebrew word 'asah should not in this place have been translated ' made,' but ' appointed,' for it has hitherto conveyed to men's minds the idea that the sun and , moon were not created until the fourth period, and therefore after the planets — an hypothesis quite contrary to science, and even to common sense. (The translators of our Bible evidently knew that 'asah meant appointed a& well as made, , for we find that in the 104 th Psalm, 19th verse, they have to translate it : 'He appointed the moon for seasons, and the aun knoweth his going down.') The ' proof I have given that this period was .the commencement of seasons, I think, makes the whole subject most clear and , intelligible. Touchingly beautiful also is vthe expression, c Me made the stars also ;' as though it were said, 'Do not think that the sun and moon, which warm and illuminate the earth, are the only heavenly bodies made by the Great Creator." " Those bright, those glorious orbs of light were also Hia handiwork, and the solar system, with all its magnificence, is but a tiny speck in His universe. Suns and worlds, in countless numbers and of endless beauty, fill yonder space and proclaim His glory, His Majesty, and Hia power. " IX. Now that the sun shone directly upon the earth, a great change was manifested, and there is evidence in the Permean, Oolitic, Trias, and Lias periods, > that Bach direct rays produced a cbnsider- " able alteration in the appearance both of 5 sea and land — the former bringing forth ; an' abundance of animals that sported in "its" waters ; . numerous species of beautiful 'ammonites rising to the surf ace to bask in the sun's rays, and descending again i-to their watery home j millions of belemnites swimming to and fro ; the vegetation also indicating the existence of sunshine. "K. The air also teemed with life, for winged fowl now. for the first time appeared; and that we might learn how accurately Moses described ; the, order of creation, they left behind them footprints too well defined to be mistaken. ; "XI. Noiy .mark, tKat ; after the birds great sea , monsters , appeared, and tHe> iottb^o^uja^^aW^lekiioßauxua reign.e£

in the ocean. I must again call your attention to the words v And God created great whales ;" nob evolved, but by a. special exerciae of His power brought at once these monsters into existence ; and when their mission was done, whatever it might have been, they were alt destroyed; leaving, however, many vestiges that we might read in the stony records their greatness and their power. "XII. Then Moses tells us that God • 'made the least of the earth.' I have in the ninth chapter described tho^ mon- '■ sters which roamed over the earth in the 'secondary and tertiary periods, which : wete indeed • great beasts,' and such as would' appal us now. The dinotheriura, niegatnerium, mastodon, and mammoth, looked jnore formidable than WKyxeali? were, feeding as they did upojtTtbe prolific and spontaneous vegetation. But the carnivorous megalosaurus, the fierce lions', bears, and hyaenas of those periods mustf have been fearful creatures indeed. . " XIII. Though sortftf of the .bovine tribes lived contemporaneously with the mammoth, &c , I have shown that other great beasts preceded them, and at was not until just before man that sheep :m ad e their appearance. " XIV. Science says that the principal flowers and fruit trees appeared pnly » short time before man, which corresponds with the Lord God planting a garden. "XV. And then comes the crowning and finishing stroke of the Almighty power and wisdom, when ' God created Man. 7 . i " Most emphatically I must again call your attention to the word barn, 'created,' being mentioned for the third time in that wonderful narrative. " Man was not evolved or descended from any other animal, or from a series of animals, but formed in the image of his Maker, of earthy elements, jet endowed with that spark of divinity which raised him above all other species, and placed him in a position to adore and glorify his God whilst here, and to enjoy communion and intercourse with Rim hereafter. " Finally, ' God ended His worfc which He had made.'' "

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