The gospel in nature

Preface

Of late years there has been much investigation as to the source, authorship and authority of the Bible. Uncertainty, and sometimes doubt, have been raised in the minds of many. It has occurred to the author of this book that the question : "Are the doctrines and principles inculcated in the Scriptures true?" is, after all, far more important than any question which could be raised as to their origin, or even their inspiration. If it can be clearly shown that the Bible is true; that what it requires is right and wise ; that it simply reveals the truth and does not presume to create truth, then the important question is, not "Is the Bible inspired ?" but rather, "What truths does the Bible reveal?" If one will carefully study the Bible and compare its revelations with what one must see and know from every other possible source of knowledge, he will, I think, be forced to the conclusion that only inspired men could have written it. The Bible itself, if intelligently compared with all the dependable knowledge men have derived from other sources, is conclusive evidence of its inspiration and authority. It should be kept in mind that the Bible only reveals, and does not create truth. Every great principle inculcated in the Scriptures was true before the Bible was written, and would have been true if there had been no Bible. All the truth concerning God, man, and all the creation is coexistent with God and man and creation. The Bible comes in along through the centuries of the world's history and lays claim to be a revelation of certain of these great eternal truths. Now the line of thought, earnestly if imperfectly presented in the following pages, has confirmed the author's opinion that the Bible is justified in its claim.

If it should be regarded by some as presumption on his part for the author, who lays no particular claim to profound learning, to deal with certain questions brought forward, his reply is that they are matters which have been thrust upon him ; matters with which he, along with the great mass of ordinary people like himself, is compelled to deal. Personal accountability and responsibility should carry along with it the privilege of personal opinion and the right to express it. Human learning should be regarded as only human, and nothing which is only human is ultimate. Much of the learning of each generation is usually discarded by the succeeding one. We should not forget that we can no more invent truth in the realm of morals and religion than we can invent truth in physics. It has seemed to the author that men have been influenced by the "wish," which has become "father to the thought," to invent, from little or no real ground in facts, certain theories in the realm of morals and religion which have led them to attempt to promulgate theories of physical science which disregard plain facts which are observed in the workings of physical nature. I do not claim that these attempts have been consciously dishonest; they

PREFACE. 9

are rather what might be expected if one takes into consideration the inate depravity of the human heart. With some embarrassment, but with absolute conviction, the author commits this volume to the public in the hope that the matters herein presented may be energized by the Holy Spirit.

If there is a way by which the great truths, doctrines and principles revealed in the Bible, can be verified, to the perfect satisfaction of the ordinary mind, then to point out that way is a matter of supreme importance.

In the judgment of the author of this book, the physical creation was intended by the Creator to furnish simple, plain demonstrations of these truths, so that even the man of ordinary intellectual caliber, and of moderate literary attainments, may be confirmed in his faith. That the physical creation would probably teach us some things concerning its Maker, will, I suppose, be acknowledged by every one. That it is impossible to deny or escape the great facts which are inculcated by the physical creation, need not be argued.

Now presuming, for the time being, that God has given to men, in the Bible, a revelation of the great truths of His Kingdom pertaining to morality and religion, and that the life of man in this world is with special reference to the inculcation of these truths, it is not unreasonable to suppose that God would create the world upon such a plan as to contribute to that end. If, indeed, man was created a physical being, and placed in a physical world, which was intended to be a state of education and probation, and in which it was intended to make to him certain revelations of great spiritual truths, upon which would devolve his spiritual well-being in eternity, then the only rational conclusion is that the Creator, who devised such a plan, would so fit up man's physical abode as to contribute in every possible way to the making of such revelations. The contention of this work is that the Creator did this; that the physical creation was intended by its Maker to be not simply analogous to the great moral and spiritual truths revealed in the Bible, but the real demonstration of them; that that demonstration is just as cognizable as any demonstration of a mathematical problem placed in plain figures or diagrams before the eyes of a pupil. The Apostle Paul declares this to be a fact. In his great Epistle to the Romans (Romans 1:18-20), he says: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder (or hold) the truth in unrighteousness; because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. For the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse." The teaching of this passage is obvious. It is that the "invisible things," that is, the great intangible, spiritual truths of the Kingdom of God, "are clearly seen" — not vaguely apprehended ; not simply illustrated, but "clearly seen," "being perceived through the things that are made." That is, that that which is perceived — seen, understood, felt — in the things made, is not an illustration, or an analogous representation, as Bishop Butler

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contended, but the thing itself. In other words, the things that are made are the tangible demonstrations of the intangible truths of God's spiritual Kingdom. This obvious teaching of the great apostle is, then, the contention put forth in this book; that is, that the creation of the physical world is the demonstration of the truths of the spiritual world; that every great truth of God's spiritual Kingdom is worked out, as upon a blackboard, before the eyes of men, in God's physical creation.

The same great apostle in the same epistle (Romans 10:18) declares that ancient Israel heard the gospel in the physical creation. "But I say, Did they not hear?

Yea, verily, Their sound went out into all the earth,

And their words unto the ends of the world."

The apostle here quotes from the Nineteenth Psalm :

"The heavens declare the glory of God,

And the firmament showeth His handiwork.

Day unto day uttereth speech,

And night unto night showeth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language,

Their voice cannot be heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world."

Here reference is made solely to the physical creation, and the message proclaimed by the mute voice is the "glad tidings" — the gospel.

The fact that certain of the great truths found in the Bible, and in the Christian religion, are found, in more or less clearness, set forth in other religious systems, and by philosophers who certainly had no direct knowledge of the Bible, would seem to verify the contention of this book ; that is, that the physical creation is a demonstration of these matters. This source of information, with possible traditional sources, constitute the only explanation of these similarities of teaching.

Another thing: It is the judgment of the writer, that it is this perfect correspondence between what is called "Natural Religion," and the religion revealed in the Bible, which accounts in part for the progress of the Christian religion in the world, and the certainty of its final triumph over every other system. There is a certain agreement among all men that may be relied upon; that is, that God, whoever He is, created the world. It is also naturally considered that what one has made in a way reveals its maker. It is also true that one cannot escape the conviction of facts which are constantly held before the intellectual vision. Hence it is that sociologists rely so much upon environment for the development of human character, and the correction of the ills of human society. That which surrounds a man every day of his life exerts a most powerful influence upon his thinking, whether that influence be conscious or unconscious upon his part. So the Creator has so environed our earthly existence as to render life in His world impossible without the conviction of the truth of the great doctrines of His Word. Every man is compelled, by all the facts surrounding his earthly existence,

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to acknowledge the fundamental truths and doctrines revealed in God's Word. These truths are not always and altogether congenial. They may sometimes contravene one's notions of justice and equity, for the reason, no doubt, that one's limitations render him unable to grasp truth in all its relations; and yet he cannot escape their verity.

The writer holds that every sane person can be convinced of the truth of the great teachings of the Bible and the Christian religion, even though it may be in spite of him, as we say. He has to believe them. They are worked to a demonstration before his eyes. It is the purpose of the writer to point out these demonstrations, and to convince those who will follow him, that they do really believe all these things; that God, therefore, is just in holding all men accountable in the same way, and for the same things ; if not in degree, at least in kind, on the ground that they all know the same truths — have the same kind of light and knowledge — which render one accountable and guilty. To this task the writer sets his hand with a mental assurance born of absolute conviction. He holds that there is not a single, great fundamental truth in the Bible, from the existence of a Triune, personal God — the Creator, the first cause — free, absolute, independent, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, to the resurrection of the dead, which is not worked out to a demonstration before men's faces, in the physical creation of the Almighty. "So that they are without excuse."

There should be no objection to the plan of presentation proposed; that is, that the great invisible, spiritual truths, doctrines and principles revealed in the Bible, should be tested by the truths, doctrines and principles revealed in the physical creation. In the first place, the plan is a recognition of a plain law of teaching; that is, that the human mind is led to the recognition of great principles by their manifestation in, and application to, lower or simpler forms, to the recognition of them in higher and more complex forms. "Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural (physical) , then that which is spiritual" (1 Cor. 15:46).

"In the second place, the momentous interests involved would seem to imply that the Creator — presuming that He, in kindness and benevolence, seeks to make Himself, plainly cognizable to mankind — would place before men by a simple, tangible demonstration, if possible, the great truths involving their eternal spiritual destiny. So we take it that our contention will be regarded as altogether reasonable and probable. Any how, it is true that in the physical creation God demonstrates His truth in such a way as to compel its acceptance, at least to that extent that one who rejects it is guilty of arbitrarily closing his eyes.

Chapter I. The Existence Of A Personal God

The Question Stated With Two Views Contrasted.

It is proposed to show that, given the physical creation which is about us, with the certain intuitive knowledge which every sane person has, one is forced to believe in the existence of a personal God, who is the Creator and Designer of the physical universe.

1. Everyone knows that every effect must have had an adequate cause. In the very nature of the case, every effect must have had a cause. The meaning of the word "effect" is, "that produced by an agent or cause."

2. Everyone knows that anything which bears the impress of a design which it could not have itself conceived, had a designer outside of itself, and is, therefore, an effect. This must be true at least in so far as the design is concerned.

3. Everyone knows that that which bears the impress of a purpose and design beyond its own power to conceive and project, had a beginning, since the designer must have existed before that which he designed. This is self-evident. That which bears the impress of a foreordination and adaptation which it of itself could not have conceived and projected, had a beginning, was foreordained, that is, predestinated, which implies that it was thought out before it came into existence.

4. Everyone knows that only a person, that is, a being capable of thinking, willing and acting, can predestinate, foreordain and adapt a multiplicity of parts to the accomplishment of an intelligent single end or purpose. That is, when one sees that in the construction of a thing, several different elements, or parts, have been brought together, each several part contributing its share toward the accomplishment of an intelligent end or purpose, all adjusted and related according to a definite plan, that that thing had, back of it, a being capable of thinking it out; determining to construct it, and of putting the plan thought out, and the determination to accomplish it, into operation. All this implies thinking, willing and acting, which are the attributes of a person.

5. Everyone knows that there is in the physical creation about us ample evidence that it is an effect ; that it bears the impress of a design in its different parts, which it could not have conceived within itself; that, as it was designed, it therefore had a beginning, and that only a person, that is, a being capable of thinking, willing and acting, could have conceived and constructed the physical universe. Of course it is recognized that in these latter statements some of the main points it is proposed to illustrate and prove, throughout this work, are stated.

With slight variations, and with varying points of special emphasis, we may say that there are two, and only two, main theories now held, as to the origin of the physical universe in its present cosmic condition. One is that the whole system came into existence — was created — a cosmos, that is, an harmonious system, in the main answering to what we now observe it to be. That the processes of development have gone on from the creation, and will continue; but these processes have been only the development of natural forces and things, and not causative. That everything was invested, at the time of its creation, with a fixed nature which has not changed, and probably will not change ; that while in many instances there have been improvement and progress, in many others there have been decline and retrogression. That where there has been great change or advance in physical nature, there is conelusive evidence of outside interposition adding some new force. That between the individualism of creation there are, always have been, and probably always will be, distinct impassable lines ; that all development and progress have been parallel with these lines, and nowhere have they been crossed. That, so far as inherent greatness or excellence are concerned, the first tree, plant or animal, for instance, might have been of as excellent a type as any later one, since in all nature the principles of progress, growth and development, and those of decay, decline and retrogression, seem to work side by side. That while the Cerator may have brought the universe along the course of its existence, through long processes of development, bringing the planets to their ideal state, when the earth was finished, and ready to receive and sustain life, the Creator introduced here certain kinds of plant and animal life, which have remained in all essential respects precisely the same through all the years of their existence, just as though the shop of creation were closed, and the Creator gone out of business, in the sense of causation, creatively. That while the human race, as a whole, for instance, has made progress, the race in all its essential aspects is precisely the same as in the beginning. Each succeeding generation has been able to begin its work of discovery* standing upon the results of the work of all preceding generations, as upon a pedestal, and has therefore been able to make advancement. Not that men are different in their essential, inherent natures, but they have differed in circumstances, in environment. Plato, or Moses, for instance, may have been as great as, or greater, in inherent ability, than some of our public school teachers, or some of the lawyers of our day; but on account of the environment of our generation, almost any of our public school teachers know many things that Plato never dreamed of, and many an ordinary lawyer understands many matters of which the great lawgiver of ancient Israel was ignorant.

While the Creator may have seen fit to pursue long processes of development in certain phases of creation, covering, it may be, millions of years ; accomplishing much by antecedents which were, in a way, causes of that which came after, still there is evidence that these antecedents did not, without outside interference, constitute the sum of causation.

As we observe, all development describes a short circuit, as we may say. That circuit is described by seed-time, growth, harvest; and then begins another revolution, not an evolution: Birth, life, death — an ever-revolving short circuit, is the teaching as to God's present order, so far as we observe it on our planet, and nothing changes in its inherent nature and kind.

That the Creator is a free being, apart from, having acted upon, the physical universe, whether creating or ordering things by a process of development, or by direct and immediate interposition and change or addition; that matter itself had a beginning, since upon matter, whether considered in its totality or by individual atoms or particles ; whether possessing in itself all the potentiality expressed in the cosmos, or being possessed of a constantly communicated activity, there is upon it the impress of a design which it could not have conceived and projected of itself; therefore, matter had a beginning — was, or is, acted upon by a free being outside of itself, and independent of itself. That the manner of this action upon matter can only be known by the results; and the results plainly show two things: First, that all material things have a fixed nature; second, that all development is parallel with all the lines of this fixed nature, which differentiate things, never crossing them. These two facts in physical nature are the axiomatic, fundamental facts which make all science possible and its conclusions dependable. If there were working in physical nature any causative force, which would probably bring into existence new facts and principles concerning the physical creation respecting the nature of things, then no science could be relied upon, and all men would be compelled to look upon the whole physical creation, so far as dependable knowledge is concerned, as utterly chaotic. That the Creator's plan for the universe, so far as our planet is concerned, is, that it should furnish mankind a schoolhouse in which God reveals Himself to men, and by direct interposition lifts them to a higher plane; while man, in turn, by direct interposition, lifts physical things to a higher plane.

The other view is that the matter, of which the physical universe is composed, is eternal, that is, it always existed. That there is, gripping matter, a law called Evolution which accounts for the present cosmic universe. That through this power the stars, the suns with their systems, were built and organized from a "primitive nebulosity" — a fire-mist, which, having received an impulse from some unaccounted, if not unaccountable source, was set in motion, and invested with a nature and a tendency to develop, or change, from the simple to the complex, and from the complex to the more complex, and so on. That this power brought forth our earth from a chaotic, nebulous condition to its present cosmical state. That all forms of plant and animal life upon the earth were developed from a very few, perhaps from one, primordial germ. That the source of that germ may or may not be accounted for. That from this primordial protoplasm evolution brought forth a plant, which in turn became a sort of semi-animal ; which in turn became an animal with the mere rudimentary organs of a perfect specimen; which in turn became a still more complex being; which in turn, and finally, became man. That all the institutions now existing among men, social, civil and religious, were brought forth by a similar process, from the lowest barbarism to the highest civilization. The term for this mighty force is "Evolution J' Herbert Spencer, who is considered equal to the highest authority on the subject, defines it thus: "Evolution is an integration of matter and concomitant dissipation of motion, during which the matter passes from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite, coherent heterogeneity, and during which the retained motion undergoes a parallel transformation." That this force operates not only along parallel lines with the individualism of things, plants and animals, but overleaps those lines of differentiation, and produces new kinds and species, becoming, so far, at least, a primary causal power. That this power operates by three methods or forces, "spontaneous generation," "natural selection," and the "survival of the fittest," by which is meant, not only the survival of the strongest, but also the best — the highest. That these principles of spontaneous generation of life, natural selection of a higher type, and the survival of the fittest, that is the strongest, the best, the highest, produces — is the cause of — a general trend or tendency upward, in all the physical creation. It should be said that if these three laws or principles, as inhering in physical nature, can be disproven, then the whole theory of modern evolution falls to the ground.

The theory seems to be defective. It starts out predicating the eternity of matter, which may be said to be at least questionable. If we consider matter in its final and last analysis, it certainly bears the impress of a design, a predestination and /oreordination, which it seems utterly impossible for it to have conceived and given to itself. If matter be reduced to a "dead level," as we say, still, if it is anything at all, it was certainly intended to be the foundation of the material cosmos, as we observe it. And in so far as it was itself designed and predestinated, it had a beginning; and further, that if thus designed and predestinated, a being who was at least capable of thinking, willing and acting, designed and predestinated it. It is clear that if matter is eternal and has always been endowed with all the activity, quality, properties, and so on, which it now possesses; and if the cosmic universe is the result of the action of this matter, independent of outside interference, then it follows that either all things have been describing a ceaseless circle; and all that is transpiring now in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, has transpired an infinite number of times before; or, what is transpiring now is a part of an everlasting procession, both ends of which are unknown and unknowable.

Again, the three laws, principles or methods by and through which it is claimed evolution has wrought out all this transformation, are utterly untenable, being the exact antithesis, or opposite, of every observation of Nature's working, so far as our planet is concerned. "Spontaneous generation of life," "natural selection," and the "survival of the fittest," meaning the best — the highest, as principles or laws in physical nature — are exactly contrary to all our observation. And every sane person on earth acts every day of his life, upon the principle that the very opposite of this contention is true.

Everyone knows that if he depends upon

"spontaneous generation," "natural selection," and the "survival of the fittest" for the development of any plant or animal with which he has to do, he "leans upon a broken stick," as we say. In every instance a farmer knows that he himself must select his seed corn, or the crop may degrade itself. Every man knows that any useful thing in the physical creation, left to itself, will degenerate. Turn out all your useful plants, and leave them to the workings of nature, and the noxious weeds will overcome and destroy them. The fact is, the bad is voluntary in physical nature, whereas the good and useful are involuntary; and the trend everywhere, and in every respect, is downward, not upward. The struggle of man from the dawn of his existence to the present day has been to arrest this downward tendency.

What constitutes the "struggle for existence," a term so often used by the advocates of the theory of modern evolution ? Why, plainly, it is this very serious fact, that in all physical nature the tendencies to degradation and death are forever tugging at every living and useful thing. And, in every instance, that good thing which is left to itself, degenerates and dies. Every sane person knows this is true. If farmers turn out their cattle, for instance, they know that they will degenerate. And this is true for the reason that there is no "natural selection" and no "survival of the fittest" in nature, if left alone, that would tend toward higher types and better and more useful forms.

Compare a herd of the original Texas breed of cattle with a herd of Herefords exhibited at our Royal Stock Show, from year to year, in Kansas City. The one is the production of "natural selection," which we have been asked to believe produces a higher type, and we have been asked to believe means the best — the highest. The other is the result of extra outside selection, selection by an intelligent human being, and of long years, it may be, of the most assiduous effort on the part of some man to arrest the natural downward tendency in cattle-life. The same thing is true of all useful animals, and of plants. All the toil of the farmer is made necessary on account of this universal fact in physical nature, that is, that the bad is voluntary, while the good is involuntary; and hence, the whole trend and tendency of nature is downward, not upward. This is all perfectly reasonable and philosophical.

Everyone knows that no effect can rise above the level of its cause, and since there is a principle in nature which forbids anything to remain stationary, the only way for anything which is an effect, left to itself, to go, is downward. A cause must necessarily be greater than that which it causes, unless it completely exhaust itself in that which is caused, and even then that which is caused cannot possibly be greater than that which caused it. That we see certain effects which seem to rise higher than their immediate cause, does not, in any way, affect this position, for the reason that it is plain that if an effect rises higher than its immediate cause, we are sure that there are other secondary causes which supplement the immediate cause, and which must be reckoned in the sum of causation. So that the very necessary philosophy inolved teaches us plainly that all physical nature, left to itself, would have to exhaust itself in causation, in order to maintain an equilibrium; and in case it did not exhaust itself, all sequence would necessarily be on the down grade. So, as Nature does not exhaust herself in causation, her sequences are therefore tending downward, not upward. So we conclude that all observation of Nature's workings, and all sound reasoning, dispute the contention of modern evolutionists, and establish, beyond question, the very antithesis, or opposite, as to the truth concerning the workings of physical nature. It ought to be said that the position here shown to be the correct one concerning physical nature, is exactly that which is set forth in the Scriptures. "Cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee" (Genesis 3:17, 18). This curse is pronounced upon the ground for man's sake. How for man's sake? For one thing at least; that is, that it might not be a good place for man to live in, and at the same time deny the doctrine of the Bible, which teaches us that depravity, moral blight and imperfection, the tendency to moral degradation and eternal death, rests on his spirit, as well as his body.