p. 157 | Geology and the Bible by G.

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 17, 1865

Geology and the Bible.

By G.

THE present age is notorious for its bare-faced skepticism and unbelief. The most specious sophistry is used to undermine the Christian's faith in revealed religion. In this, Spiritualism and Infidelity seem to coalesce. And the united efforts of the various free-thinkers are seen in their unmasked war against the Bible. If they can shake the faith of society in the Scriptures, their accursed end is gained. To this end they attempt to oppose science against revelation, and foremost in this comes the dreamy, incoherent utterances of geologists. Geology, say they, proves that the pentateuch is a fable, and that the earth was created millions of years since, and thus the faith of some is overthrown. But, thank Heaven! truth will stand firm, though puny man may mock at his Maker, and decry against his word.

How much believers in the Holy Scriptures have to fear from the infant science of geology, may be inferred from the following paragraph in the Comprehensive Commentary, on Gen. i, 2. It is from the pen of Mr. Turner, and that well-known geographer, Malte-Brun.

"The silence of the Mosaic record on the particular history of our geological construction, allows free latitude to every speculation, and repels no philosophical investigator. It merely presents a few points and outlines, which nothing has yet occurred to disprove, although much has been observed, which it requires great talents, enlarged reasoning, and further knowledge to reconcile to them with precision, and to explain what may seem inconsistent. This, however, additional researches may be expected to effect; for it is probable that that theory will be found the truest, the most scientific, and the most satisfactory, which is the most coincident with the Hebrew document." Turner. How little the Mosaic account has to fear at present from the infant science of geology, may be learned from the words of an eminent geographer. "The pretended science of speculative geology, promises no certain results, since it oversteps the evidence of facts. The portion of the globe known to us, does not constitute, at the very utmost, the thousandth part of its entire mass. Our excavations do little more than scratch the surface of the earth; our geologists have surveyed with attention scarcely the half of Europe, or the tenth part of America and Asia; the observations which have been made are extremely few; and yet unbounded scope has been given to speculation. In the vast and unexplored recesses of the globe, it is possible that there may lie, concealed, agents so active and so powerful, that to them the various revolutions which the earth has undergone, may have been the work only of so many moments. As long as the interior of the globe remains unknown to us, the conclusion we may draw from facts observed on the surface, can be no more than probable in reference to these facts; but whenever we attempt to combine the conclusions, in order to form a general system, their uncertainty will clearly appear; for, opposite to a finite sum of probabilities, however strong we may suppose them, there shall arise an infinite sum of unknown terms, of which one alone may perhaps be sufficient to counterbalance all our probabilities." Malte-Brun.