Leaving God Out by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 21, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 41.

Leaving God Out.

By Editor

In a note on a recently published brochure, entitled, "The Pharaoh of the Exodus," by Dr. Edward Mahler, of Vienna, in which he attempts to fix the exact dates of the Exodus, the Christian Work remarks:—

“Here we may note two points mentioned by Professor Harmer as bearing upon Professor Mahler’s conclusions. The year in question [B.C. 1335] presented an eclipse that might well be the cause of the darkness that might be felt.”

Now if the record of the darkness in Egypt is to be believed at all, why not believe the whole of it? A total eclipse of the moon may last an hour and a half; of the sun, about four minutes. But the record of Egyptian darkness reads: “And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days.” Ex. 10 : 22, 23. If the fact of the darkness is to be believed, why not believe its duration? The object seems to be to leave God and the miraculous out of the question. Now if it is not true that there were three days’ darkness, how do we know that there was any darkness at all? To believe of the Word only that which agrees with our theories is to not believe it at all.