GROUND OF FAITH by R. F. C.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 25, 1879

GROUND OF FAITH.

By R. F. C.

The following, which I take from an old paper, may be of use to the readers of the REVIEW. Preceding the extract the writer describes the formation of the eye, and then comments and reasons as follows. R. F. C.

There are, then, four transparent media through which the rays of light must pass before they can reach the retina, and, consequently, before an object can be perceived by the mind.

1. The cornea. 2. The aqueous humor. 3. The crystalline humor or lens; and 4. The vitreous humor.

These substances are of equal transparency, but differ much in density; and, consequently, the rays, in passing from one to the other, undergo corresponding refractions.

Now, to say nothing of the choroid and its appendages, the sclerotica, etc.; the veins, the arteries, the nerves, and the muscles; this organ is one of the most wonderful pieces of mechanism. But when we consider that the retina, on which the images are drawn, is only about one half of an inch in diameter, and that, under favorable circumstances for an extensive prospect, many thousands of images are distinctly painted on it; how do convictions of the existence of a Supreme Intelligence crowd upon our minds! But when we examine this matter still farther, and find that, by nervous transition, all these images are capable of producing corresponding motions in the brain, and of giving rise to so many thoughts, and, indeed, to so many associations of ideas; we are forced on to the conclusion, that the eye was made for the mind. How perfect the adaptation of the reflection, and refractive qualities of different substances to light—the light to the eye—the eye to light, and the whole affair to the mind of man! The man who cannot discover knowledge, contrivance, and design in all this, resembles more the ox which knows his owner, or the ass his master's crib, than a rational being.

But when we have an eye, wonderful as it is, we have only a very small portion of a man. We can imagine only five objects of sense, in the material universe, and for each of these man has a distinct organ. Every person knows how impossible it is for us to hear colors, to feel odors, to smell sound, to taste tactility, or to see flavors.

It will not do to pass this matter off, and say that there is no design manifest in an eye, because we are all born with eyes; for the first man was not born, but created, or made. That there was a first pair of human beings, a male and a female, can be proved in the following way. Let us lay down one axiom to start with.

AXIOM 1.

There cannot be a SECOND without a FIRST to precede it. With respect to my father, I am second. Therefore with respect to me, he is first. Now if he was not really the first man who existed, he must have been second, with respect to some other man, in relation to whom I am third. Now as there cannot be a second without a first, so neither can there be a third without a second. And as the existence of a second is proof of the existence of a first, so the existence of a third is proof of the existence of a second. Because,

AXIOM 2.

There cannot be a THIRD without a SECOND to precede it. A first is no proof of a second, but a second is incontestable proof of a first. Neither is a second proof of a third, but a third is positive proof of a second, and also of a first. For,

AXIOM 3.

There cannot be a THIRD without both a FIRST and SECOND to precede it. There is therefore, without proceeding any farther, twice as many proofs of the existence of a first as of a second. Because a second not only proves the existence of a first, but a third also proves the existence of a first, as conclusively as it proves the existence of a second. For as there cannot be a third without a second, nor a second without a first, so neither can there be a third without a first. If this course of reasoning be pursued to a one-thousandth, or to any higher number, it will hold equally good; and in case it be carried to a one-thousandth, there would be nine hundred and ninety-nine positive proofs of the existence of a first.

Now this order does exist among mankind, and that, too, from a necessity in nature. And if the order exists, it is proof positive that there was a first man.

There was, then, a first man, who was the father of all the generations of human kind, himself not generated, but created. He is, in his generations, a standing miracle, in which intelligence, design, and power are most astonishingly displayed. And,

1. Intelligence. An unintelligent being could never have conceived the noble thought of creating, much less the thought of creating one thing with special reference to numerous other things. Man is created with special reference to all chemical affinities; therefore the being who created him must have had a perfect knowledge of that wonderful science. If man had been created without this reference, one single day might have reduced him to the elementary principles of which he is compounded; or he might have evaporated in the hands of his Creator. He was also created with reference to the philosophy of light and vision, or he would have been, physically, as blind as atheists are morally. But he sees, and therefore the Being who made him must have perfectly understood the philosophy of light and vision. The philosophy of light and vision were both consulted, so to speak, in the formation of an eye. We find, too, in this singular formation, different chemical combinations in the various substances of which this organ is composed. So that if one of the laws of light, vision, or chemistry, which has a relation to the science of optics, had been violated, the organ would have been very imperfect, if it had not entirely failed to answer the end for which it was intended.

But man can not only see; he can hear also. The Being who made him, must, therefore, have been acquainted, not only with the chemical affinities, the laws of light, and of vision; but also with the philosophy of sound. The density and other properties of the atmosphere were taken into account in forming an ear, and the tympanum constructed accordingly.

Man not only sees and hears, but he tastes, he smells, and he feels. How wise must that Being be who invented one set of nerves for touch, another for taste, and another for scent! These organs are not only adapted to their various objects, but they are also adapted to mental operations. Here are five worlds, in miniature, thrown open to the mind of man, and he is invited to examine, compare, reason, and adore.

2. Design is proved by every act of intelligence. The very fact that man was formed capable of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling, proves it to have been the design of his Creator that he should see, hear, taste, smell, and feel; especially as we not only find the necessary organs, but also the appropriate objects of these organs. Passing, without notice, the bones, the muscles, the veins, the arteries, the various members and parts of the body—their adaptation to intended actions—the two chemical machines called the stomach and lungs—together with all the other thousands of wonders which constitute man a most wonderful creature; we have enough to prove that intelligence and design were both connected with man's miraculous origin. And,

3. As to the power which co-operated with the intelligence and design there can be no dispute. It is not our design to prove the extent of power put forth in the creation of man (for this is impossible), but simply to show that the three very necessary requisites of a Creator, viz., Intelligence, design, and power, are all shown to have existed in that conscious Being by whom he was created. How blind must be that philosophy which knows nothing of a God! And how shameful that destruction of moral principle, and that violence done to reason, which will permit a man to entertain the least doubt of the existence of a Supreme Being. It is to sink deeper into ignorance than did the idolatrous nations of antiquity! It is to degrade one's self to the level of brutal existence! How perfectly inapposite to such a man is the name, “philosopher!” For a man to say that he knows no more of God than the horse which draws him, or the swine on which he feeds, is frankly to acknowledge himself so devoid of all moral feeling that he cares not whether a God exists, and, therefore, he will not inquire. It is the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God.”