It is at the risk of being dubbed narrow-minded and unintelligent that a man in these latter days rejects certain findings of modern science relative to astronomy, geology, and evolution, and holds the Bible as his basis of belief. Some of the teachings to which we refer are mentioned in the following sentences from a paper entitled “The Century of Science,” contributed to the Congregationalist by Prof. A. E. Dolbear, of Tufts College. We quote:—
“Now we have it as near demonstration as possible that what we call the nebular theory gives us an account of the past history of the earth, the sun and moon, and they are, therefore, millions of years old, the sun is a huge magnetic bubble, and will cease to be serviceable as a source of heat to us in about ten millions of years.”
“The order of the rocks and their fossil contents help to complete the astronomic history of the earth—once too hot to permit life upon it, and at first only the simplest microscopic forms, these becoming more complex in structure and function until now, species and genera developing and then becoming extinct, the whole taking millions on millions of years.”
“The doctrine of descent, with modifications, and the survival of the fittest—what is called Darwinism—has won its way, including its applicability to mankind. It has no opposers save among such as have no knowledge of natural history, but its acceptance overthrows all that was thought to be true as to the history of living things held by the wisest and best men before this century. It is a nineteenth-century product—not an extension of older knowledge, but practically new science. Even the missing link between man and lower animals has been found, and that controversy is over. The anthropologists, the geologists, and the historians now agree that man has lived on the earth tens of thousands of years.”
It is plain to any one that this teaching is not at all in harmony with that of the Bible. It is wholly subversive of the Biblical records, and can only destroy faith in them if it is accepted. And the serious feature of the situation is that these doctrines of modern science, which we can call only by their right name—false—are commonly taught by the text-books of our schools and colleges, with the result,—millions of the rising generations are disbelievers in the validity of the Bible as the Word of God. These scientific fallacies have thus become powerful and direct foes to faith in the only salvation that saves from sin and its consequences.
Professor Dolbear mistakes when he asserts that there are no opposers to the theories advanced “save among such as have no knowledge of natural history.” We do not, and neither will any candid believer in the Scriptures as God’s revelation to man, disregard the facts discoverable by the microscope and the telescope and the labors of investigators in any branch of knowledge. But theories are not facts. A knowledge of natural history, or of astronomy, or of geology, by no means implies what so many would have it, namely, acceptance of the various theories deduced from the bare facts revealed.
Here is where the Bible becomes what it is intended to be,—the universal guide to correct conclusions. Accept the scriptural record of man’s history, of the temptation and fall, and the flood, and the facts brought to light by a study of rocks and earth and what is found therein, and the study of plants and animals, and there is no difficulty with the genesis of things. The discoveries serve—and this is one of their important purposes—to confirm the truthfulness of the record. Yes, professor, there are those who oppose the theories advanced in the quotations, who prize highly, and have an intense interest in, the facts of astronomy, and of geology, and of natural history. The so-called “missing” link does not prove evolution; if it reveals aught, it is that there is order and masterly design in creation, in harmony with the record of Genesis. And yet even believed facts must be weighed in their relation to the effects of sin upon the earth and upon the whole living creation.
Added to the inculcation of these pernicious doctrines by popular educational methods is the tremendous influence exerted in the same direction by a large portion of the pulpits. A recent editorial, by a minister, in one of the leading weeklies, makes the statement, “If the preacher assumes, in an argument or appeal, that the stories in Genesis of the creation of the world and of man, of the temptation and fall, and of the Deluge, give us historical events, then ‘the intelligent and scholarly portion of his congregation’ lose their respect for the pulpit.” Commenting on this in the New York Observer, Henry E. Dosker, D.D., very truly says: “As regards the demands of the critics that we relegate those portions of Genesis mentioned to the mythical rather than to the historical domain, is the author so sure that the preacher thereby saves himself? On the one hand, the authority of God, as expressed in revelation; on the other, that of men, who demand that we shall accept their so-called scientific findings, but who are hopelessly at variance among themselves, and who agree only in the negation of the traditional faith of the church.”
But of every class of teachers and promoters of these erroneous doctrines, classed by the apostle Peter as “scoffers,” the Word takes cognizance. Its prediction is that they shall be heard in the “last days,” and it adds, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished; but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Why is the willing ignorance manifested?—O, because the “same Word” speaks of a day of judgment and a day of fire awaiting the present cosmos! A denial of the “Word” in one record denies it in the other also.
And it is denied, as the theories of this portion of present-day science show. This reveals the core of the evil. The world is being deceived; present conditions are not interpreted as they are in their solemn reality, and millions are looking to a future as unreal as the mirage of the desert. The day of God is coming upon such as unsuspected as the thief in the night. Shall not a mighty note of warning be sounded? L. A. P.
Question Corner
1105. N. B. The “four living creatures” (it never ought to be “beasts”) represent the church, the people, the nations, the kingdoms of earth, all of which God is guiding to His own glory. Study Ezekiel 1 and 10. We have not space in this department to develop such a subject.
1106. Moses and Elijah.—Evidently both Moses and Elijah were on the mount of transfiguration, Moses as a type of those who will be raised from the dead to everlasting life, Elijah, a type of those who will be translated without seeing death. The whole scene was a miniature representation of Christ’s second coming. A vision simply means “a seeing.” It may be real.
1107. Eph. 5:26.—The Christian will oftentimes be indignant against sin. Wickedness and oppression will stir his soul; but do not sin. Remember vengeance belongs unto God. Do not confound the sinner with his sin.
1108. Adventists—Their Number.—We do not know. It is not for us to number Israel. Of those who profess to be Seventh-day Adventists there are all the way from 50,000 to 75,000. Other Adventist bodies number probably 30,000. The exact number is known only to God.
1109. When the Bible says that God repents, it is considering the thing from what at present appears. Looking at the condition of the earth at the time of the flood, seeing human wickedness, knowing how few were righteous, the whole plan of human salvation was a failure. God’s great heart grieved at man’s sins and self-destruction. But God’s plan takes in eternity, and when it is finished it will be a glorious success.
1110. Children in the New Earth.—A part of the new earth—its capital city—is the New Jerusalem. In that the redeemed host will enter at the beginning of the thousand years, when Christ comes. Some of these will be little children. They will be in that part of the new earth until grown up.
1111. Around the World.—“Does a man in traveling around the world lose a day?” This depends upon the man and the way he is traveling. Many men have traveled around the world but are in perfect harmony with their fellows. If one goes with the sun, westward across the Pacific Ocean, he adds a day to his reckoning. If he goes eastward, he drops a day. But he has had as much time as any one else, after all.
Indemnities and Christianity in China
A MEMBER of the American Board of Foreign Missions has made a trip through certain districts in China where missionaries or native Christians had been killed, and has compelled the Chinese to pay considerable sums of money as indemnity for the acts of the Boxers. He has compelled the Chinese to pay $150 for each murder of a Christian, and to pay full price for all property destroyed. He reports that the Catholics are compelling the payment of $250 for each Catholic killed, and are demanding head for head. This means that 680 Chinese shall be killed in the province of Wenchiu, and that $170,000 be paid as indemnity. When such a thing is done under the name of Christianity, it is not hard to understand the slow progress of real Christianity in China, or the ordinary Chinese hatred of foreigners, especially in view of the fact that the member of the American Board above referred to approves and advocates the harsher methods in dealing with the Chinese.
THE formal demands of the powers have been signed by all the representatives of the powers in China, and the joint demand presented to the representatives of the Chinese Government. These demands are substantially as outlined some time ago. Several weeks are expected to elapse before anything definite is received from the Chinese Government in reference to the demands. An army of 2,000 Chinese reformers was recently trapped in a city on the Yang-tse River by the governor of the province, and twenty leaders of this new reform movement (not the Boxers) were beheaded, and 1,500 of the reform army were slaughtered before they could get out of the city.
THE Boer invasion of Cape Colony has resulted in stirring up the spirit of rebellion among the Cape Colony Dutch, and there have been considerable accessions to the ranks of the burghers. Lord Kitchener is planning to surround and capture the invaders. De Wet's bold dash with his force thru the English lines to escape capture has stirred the admiration of England. A despatch of December 25 states that a battle was then in progress near De Aar. On account of the renewed activity of the Boers, railway traffic has been practically suspended in the colony. England is sending more troops to South Africa, and has invited Australia and New Zealand to send further contingents.
THE Senate, by a vote of 55 to 18, ratified the Hay-Pauncefote canal treaty on December 20, after having made certain important amendments. The treaty as amended supersedes the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, and permits the United States so to control the canal as to guard its own interests. The clause has also been stricken out which invited other powers to become parties to the convention.
THE HUSBAND AND FATHER AS A COMPANION.
By M. C. DuBois
To be happily mated is truly a blessed state; but, alas, how much uncongeniality is seen in married life! A man may be called a good man by those outside his own home. He may also be a “good provider,” but as a companion for wife or child, we may find him sadly wanting in sociality, not at all companionable to her who is to walk life's journey with him.
The word “companion” suggests a nearness to and for each other that is frequently overlooked. How often a merry-hearted, social, loving girl weds a man, to find him cold, glum, and unsocial, having no idea of the heart-wants of the one he calls wife! Having provided for her temporal needs, he feels that his duty is done. But as the divinely-appointed head of the family, he has social duties which he ought not to ignore.
Let me put before the reader a pen picture from real life: A bright, social, sunny woman marries a man to all appearance as cheerful and social as herself; but she soon finds that she was sadly mistaken. The husband turns out to be a very different man from the wooer. The prize won, he appears in his real nature,—a cold, silent, unsocial man, who will sit for hours absorbed in book or paper, without a word to wife or child. But a neighbor calls, and what a change! He is now all smiles and pleasant words; for he is really a fine conversationalist when he feels it worth while to be agreeable; but with his own family he feels no responsibility to be entertaining. Is it any wonder that the wife is lonely, and that the children wish they might have company all the while, papa is so pleasant?
Every father ought to find a little time each day to spend with his children, interesting himself in their studies, their amusements, their work. It will not hurt him, no matter what his position, to romp and play with the little ones for a few minutes. Have a kiss, a smile, a pleasant word for the children, as you pass out to the business or labor of the day.
One of the bright pictures of my early childhood is an evening scene, the open-mouthed fireplace sending out light and warmth, while our father played blind man's buff with us children. How we would dodge, here, there, anywhere, to keep out of his reach! What fun, and how we did enjoy it! Sometimes mother would join in the fun, and then was our happiness complete. But when father said, “All now be quiet,” we obeyed without any words; for we knew father meant it, and we were willing to obey him. And when our bedtime came, we were ready, and went to sleep with happy hearts.
Some fathers seem to think that any degree of sociality on their part with their children will lessen their power to enforce obedience. I do not think so. A child will obey thru fear, but obedience which comes from love and true respect is much better.
There ought to be perfect confidence between father and child, especially between the father and his boy. Boys as a general thing seem afraid of father, and if they have a request to make of him, they proffer it thru their mother; and too often this is true also in the case of the daughter. The children ought never to be afraid of their father. They should have confidence to approach him with love, and not in a spirit of fear.
When this confidence is lacking, it is certain evidence to the father of a serious lack in his treatment of his children. A father should study the disposition of his child; but many a father can tell the fine points of the yearling colt in his pasture much better than he can tell the leading characteristics of his ten-year-old boy. Strange, isn't it? By not being companionable with their children and taking an interest in them, fathers let them drift away from the home moorings, out upon the streets, into evil company and sin, and never seem to realize that they have anything to do in the matter.
O fathers, awake to a sense of the responsibility resting upon you! If you have been in the habit of leaving wife and children alone evening after evening, when you could be with them, do so no more. Try to make the evenings at home pleasant. Interest your family, if possible, in entertaining lines of study; sing with them; pray with them; yes, and now and then devote an evening to some innocent amusement; join with them; be one with them. Provide suitable books and periodicals for your family; read with them. Be not so engrossed in business or pleasure that you have no time left to devote to wife and little ones. Make home happy.
With these words from the pen of Mrs. E. G. White, I close this article:—
There is no danger of belittling the mind by giving due attention to the little things of life. It is of great importance to give attention to acts of politeness. There should be no neglect of speaking soft, peaceable, and encouraging words in the family circle. The habits of the home life stamp an impression upon the character; and if they are after a Christlike order, they will lead those who possess them to speak words that will be like fragrance, and ascend as precious incense to the throne of God. Where this is not the case, the presence of the angels is not felt in the home.
MRS. M. C. DuBois.
Grand Ledge, Mich.
MOTHER NATURE’S CHILDREN.
By Mrs. L. Wilcox
The Plea of the Stomach.
“I’m so perplexed,” exclaimed Mother Nature, “I don’t know what to do. My children have all refused to obey me. The child I have always put so much dependence upon, my own little Stomach, has utterly refused to act in a normal way. She seems sour and morose, and I heard her tell her sister Heart (tho she did not know I was aware of it) that she was tired of being a slave to her little sister Palate. She had been imposed upon so many years she was just wearing out, and could not supply me with the actual necessities of life, much as she loved me and felt the responsibility of filial duty to her parent.”
“She said that if Mother Nature would only control her little sister Palate, she felt certain a load would be lifted from her. And I must confess I have indulged little Palate in many ways (but she has always been a wilful child), till I am at my wits’ end often enough. I appealed to my stronger son, the Mind, to help me carry on my work and assist in the government of little Palate, and have handed the reins to him, and perhaps with the aid I can give, we may keep a little tighter rein on her, till poor Stomach is rested a little from her burdens.”
“I took her into my confidence, and, like a dutiful daughter, she told me all that troubled her. As a near relative, I had felt for some time the effects of her burden; but I had not the least idea of the extent of the evil. She told me she had always been a faithful child, and had always tried to be neat and tidy; but little Palate had sent her so much grease that she could hardly keep her walls in respectable appearance; and, try hard as she could, her brother, Gastric Juice, often found things out of order, and scolded her till she ached.”
“‘But, dear Mother Nature,’ she said, ‘what was I to do, when Mind just humored Palate in everything, because she was a little nearer by? She played with all sorts of sweets and pastry; and, will you believe it? she actually sent me some pieces of dead pig. I was so shocked, but Gastric came in and poured on some fluid, and we managed to get rid of it before decomposition set in very badly. I told him I believed little Palate must have thought my house was a burying-ground.’”
“‘But this was not all. She played with all sorts of things, as I said, till she was tired of them, and then threw them all into my little house for me to pick up and take care of. Like a dutiful sister, I have done the best I could for years; but I had used up so much energy in trying to keep tidy and not have Gastric scold because things got all mixed up, that I began to feel faint. This pained my brother, Mind, and he said I was to blame for it. And, as if I had not had enough to do before, he sent me some awful stuff in little round shells. Palate laughed over them, but she only saw the outside, and I had to undo them. They almost made me sick, and were bitter too.’”
“‘I asked Mind what he had given me, and he said, ‘Only a little sugar-coated pill.’ The pills were recommended to be perfectly harmless, and were highly advertised. I don’t11know what advertised means, but Cousin Eye said she saw him reading an almanac, and Cousin Brain said something about Dr. Nostrum. But, dear mother, we got along for years without that bitter stuff, and I never heard you say that pills were included in the first bill of fare. God gave Adam beautiful things, I’ve heard you say; but they were called fruits, were they not? I seem to have a different bill of fare altogether.’”
“‘Last spring I was so tired I could hardly move about, and Mind, in brotherly love for his poor sister, sent Miss Sarsaparilla to help me. We got along pretty well after the first day, and she helped me quite a good deal in my work. But Cousin Ear said he heard you rebuke Mind, and tell him Miss Sarsaparilla was a frivolous thing, and mostly alcohol, any way. So, after we all seemed rested, she left off coming; and then it was we felt the effects of her absence (or, rather, her presence). We were all so very tired; I sometimes think I have never gotten rested. But don’t let Dr. Nostrum hear I said so, or he will send me some more of his stuff, and I know I could hardly live through another such scolding as Gastric (who lives in the same house with me, on generally pleasant terms) gave me when I opened those other little white shells.’”
“‘Only last night little Palate called for some queer stuff at the table. Cousin Ear said it was beer. Of course the humored child got what she called for, but tired of it in a moment, and sent it to me. I was foaming with rage in a moment when I saw what it was; but it kept coming down in torrents like great waves lashed to a foam, until I thought we had all tumbled into a sea of beer.’”
“‘I felt deathly sick, but Mind refused to listen to me when I asked him about it. Cousin Brain, he said, was very dizzy and stupid, and he was going to put him to bed; and so I was left to work on alone, as usual; and no doubt that is the reason I am so sour and morose to-day, as you have already said, dear Mother Nature.’”
“‘But that is not half my troubles. Only last week, when my life companion, the Body, took a brisk walk, my sister, Heart (who has always been so faithful to me in furnishing me that life-giving fluid called blood), gave a start, thumped, sputtered, and stopped, and then thumped again, until the pericardium fairly ached. Our distant cousin, the Pulse, took it up, and sent the shock to the arteries. I felt rather faint, but did not call to my brother Mind for a stimulant, for I remembered only too well my experience with Miss Sarsaparilla last spring.’”
“‘Cousin Ear told me Mind had called in Dr. Rational Treatment, and the doctor said that you, dear Mother Nature, were imposed upon, and had been for generations, till we were a dying race. I thought of you then, and how many, many years you had suffered, only becoming a little more languid and frail and having less resistive power. You have made so little fuss that folks do not generally know of it, while I have not ceased to complain, till they call me dyspeptic, and have for years, and I have felt ashamed to confess my inmost thoughts even to you, my dear Mother Nature.’”
Mrs. L. Wilcox.
(Concluded next week.)
THE NEW YEAR.
By Floyd D. Raze
How many hearts will mourn to know thou'rt here,
New year!
To some thou dost appear a threatening cloud—
Thy presence usherest in a funeral shroud.
How many wait beside some dear one's bed,
To hear at midnight thy low whisper, “Dead”!
How slow the hours will drag till thou art here,
New year!
All thru the old year's last and ling'ring night,
How many tear-dimmed eyes will watch the flight
Of time! And as the coming days roll on,
Each wrings a tear in memory of the gone.
Yet many hearts will joy to know thou'rt here,
New year.
To some thou dost appear a joyous time;
Thy presence usherest in a wedding chime.
How many hearts await expectantly
The hour that brings so much in bringing thee!
The poor await thee, glad to know thou'rt here,
New year.
Thou bringest them a hope of better time;
Their destiny seems ringing in thy chime.
The old is past, and with renewing strength
In happiness their lot seems cast at length.
Would God all hearts with joy might greet thee here,
New year!
Would that the tearful eye and aching heart
Might at thy coming suddenly depart,
And hope on every tongue the watchword be,
While we wait, O coming year, for thee!
FLOYD D. RAZE.
Where Bacteria Cease from Troublin’
“I WANT a chance to eat a meal without a ‘microbe’
yell,
To breathe a little atmosphere without a microbe cell.
I long for that bright country of the peaceful and the
blest,
Where bacteria cease from troublin’ an’ the microbes
are at rest.”
ESSENTIALS OF THE HOME LIFE.
By Bert Russel
NOTHING works greater disaster to the unity of home life than impatience; for like a fire in dry stubble, it spreads quickly, and almost before you are aware, the ruin of home happiness is accomplished.
Impatience is inherent in the child from infancy, so the first lessons in self-control must begin with the little child. But the grace of patience should continue to be cultivated as the child grows to manhood or womanhood.
Patience is a necessary concomitant of all the Christian virtues mentioned in the Bible. Christ recognized its importance, and Peter includes it in his rule of addition, where it follows temperance. And temperance has a wider significance than many people think, for it extends to excesses of every kind. An intemperate man is not a patient man, because his natural emotions are not kept under the rein of self-control.
We must lead or be led. Either the man must be the master of himself, or he will be a slave to his habits.
Fretfulness is a needless waste of mental energy. It will repair no mistake of life, either small or great, and it often indicates the absence of another important virtue, faith.
Patience is appropriately called the ballast of the soul, which keeps it steady on the sea of life. It enables one to toil on faithfully against every obstacle, and this is a mark of nobility, or strength of character.
A true home is the nursery of virtue, and its influence goes out with us to beautify our life-work.
We shall not regret in after years that we have been patient with all men, and especially with those we love best. BERT RUSSEL.
HOW WHISKY IS MADE.
THE following from the Union Signal will tell its own story:—
DEAR Union Signal: I see in a recent issue some good things on the whisky of to-day and the saloon. I consider you can not take up a subject of more importance to the general public. Before the ’60’s whisky was made by all the country distilleries from rye and sold for twenty-five cents a gallon. After Mr. Lincoln got into the White House, he found the treasury in such a condition he had to tax everything taxable, and one thing was whisky. That went up to $2.00 a gallon. The saloon-keeper was at his wits’ end; he couldn’t sell a glass of whisky for the old price and pay that tax. But the druggists came to his relief. I was then a traveling man, my route being from Chicago to Omaha by the Rock Island. At one town I stopped at the depot and the agent told me he had received a package in his office one afternoon for a saloon-keeper in that town from a druggist in Chicago, and that it was in very bad condition, looked as if it had been opened. Upon investigation he had found it to contain four packages of powders, all labeled “Poison.” The bill of cost was $6.00, and attached to the bill was a foot-note in which the druggist said, “If you will put these four powders into your whisky barrel and fill it full of water, I will guarantee you as good a barrel of whisky as you ever had in your house.” And I was told a few days ago that the saloon-keeper makes all his own whisky nowadays.
Respectfully, F. PAGE.
Austin, Ill.
Small Kindnesses and Courtesies
By M. A. Kelly
SMALL kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practised in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character than the display of great talents and accomplishments.—M. A. Kelly.
Adversity and Self-Knowledge
HE that has never known adversity is but half acquainted with others, or with himself. Constant success shows us but one side of the world.—Colton.
C. H. Tyrrell
By C. H. Tyrrell
Barred Plymouth Rocks, Black Langshans, Fancy White Wyandottes—three best breeds, Poultry Extra Quality. Prices reasonable, satisfaction guaranteed, circular free.
C. H. Tyrrell
SIOUX RAPIDS, IOWA
Santa Fe Route
Only line with its own tracks from San Francisco to Chicago. Through Pullman Palace and Tourist Cars leave every morning at nine o’clock.
PERSONALLY CONDUCTED Tourist Excursions every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, in Vestibuled Tourist Cars.
The service on these Personally Conducted Excursions, in all that counts for comfort and convenience, is equal to the Palace Cars, and for elegance in finish and interior furnishings they are very pleasing. The wood-work is finished in imitation of mahogany, the seats are upholstered with clean, cool rattan with extension backs, as in the Palace Cars. A porter is in charge of each car to attend the wants of passengers. Clean linen and bedding, the proper lavatory and toilet accommodations are provided. These cars are built on the same plan as the Palace Cars and in the day the beds become comfortable seats. The aisles are carpeted and the windows double, to keep out the dust, and wide to allow an unobstructed view of the scenery en route.
Full information regarding the Santa Fe Route, with handsome folder and correct map of the section through which it runs, may be had at the Company’s offices. Call or write
1118 Broadway, Oakland
641 Market Street, San Francisco
FLY SHUTTLE CARPET LOOM
The best, handiest, easiest running, cheapest, and most durable
FLY SHUTTLE CARPET LOOM
In the world,—100 yards a day. Catalogue free.
EUREKA LOOM CO., 5018 Main St., Battle Creek, Mich.
When you write, please mention the SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
