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“I Am
The
The Truth, and
The Life."
The Origin of Things as Revealed in
Genesis.
By DR. A. C. DIXON.
ll.—Light and Life.
Spontaneous generation is a thing unknown.
Only life can produce life. God, the Author of life,
introduces vegetable life during the second period
of the world’s development. In the first period the
law of evaporation is at work lifting the water above
the earth, and dividing 4 ‘ the waters under the firma
ment from the waters above the firmament.” This
law of evaporation overcomes the law of gravitation
only in the case of water, but vegetable life not only
lifts water, but earth, and weaves both with light
into fabrics of beauty in plant, tree and flower. Dur
ing the fifth period, God introduces animal life,
filling the water with fish and the air with fowl.
Vegetable life could lift inert matter, but it gave
no motion. Now comes the life that swims and flies.
In the sixth period is introduced the life that re
mains on the earth’s surface, walking and creeping.
Man, in his physical nature, belongs to this class.
With man, however, God introduces mental, moral
and spiritual life, which He intends “shall have do
minion” over all other life.
The perfect product seems to appear first. God
said. “Let the earth bring forth grass and herb
yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after
its kind, whose seed is in itself.” God does not say,
“Let the earth bring forth the seed yielding grass,
or the fruit yielding trees”; but by one creative
act the perfect product is first made, and then repro
duction is a natural process. This is economy of
miracle. If the fruit had been created before the
tree or the egg before the hen, every step in the pro
cess of development would have required a miracle
of divine intervention without the fostering care of
motherhood. Germinal life never reproduces itself.
Fruit does not bear fruit. Babies do not have ba
bies. Acorns never yield acorns. Eggs never hatch
eggs. Apples do not grow upon apples. Even in
the lower order of animals that multiply by articu
lation, it is only the mature product that reproduces
itself. The Bible and science agree in teaching
that only the mature product is capable of reproduc
tion.
We are plainly told that God created man in His
own image, and the. fancies of scientists contradict
the facts when they assert that primitive man was
a savage. The weight of evidence sustains the scrip
tural teaching’ that the savage is the wreck of primi
tive man. Redemption is a work of restoration.
It is interesting to note that the trend of all things
in the first chapter of Genesis is from evening to
morning. “The evening and the morning were the
first day.” Every period ends with a morning. The
first period closes with a morning of light; the sec
ond ends with a morning of better order caused by
the law of evaporation; the third period ends with a
morning of vegetable life and beauty; the fourth
• period ends with a morning of sunlight filling the
sky by day, the moon and stars ruling the night;
the fifth period ends with a morning of animal life
in water and air; the sixth period ends with the
morning of man’s creation in the image of God.
Every period is brighter than the preceding one. It
; s God’s way to work from the evening to the morn
ing. He delights in leading His people from the
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The Golden Age for May 17, 1906.
shadows into the light. To all who are in harmony
with God’s will and way it is always “day-break
everywhere. ’ ’
A glance through these periods of development
will still further reveal God’s methods of work.
Light is His agent. The first word He speaks is,
“Let there be light.” And the first thing He says
to a darkened soul is, “Let there be light.” As
through the periods of natural development, so light
does its work through all periods of our spiritual
development. There comes into the soul a law like
that of evaporation which overcomes our dowmward
gravitation and lifts upward. There comes from
God the life that both lifts up and builds up in godly
character, and the life that lifts up and builds up
also makes us active and sends us about doing good.
It is not written, “The evening and the morning
were the seventh day,” because the seventh period
has not yet ended. We are living in it, and God
continues the work from the evening to the morning.
This seventh period will close with the morning of
Christ’s appearing in glory and before its bright
ness all shadows shall flee away. Then will come
the morning without an evening.
The Chattanooga Convention.
Over two thousand Baptists, messengers and vis
itors, “took” Chattanooga last week. Such a
gathering of the leaders of a great and powerful
denomination of Christian workers would be notable
anywhere, but especially so in Chattanooga, where
so much of historic and scenic interest blend in their
daily voice of local inspiration.
Lookout Mountain, “The Battle Above the
Clouds,” Joseph E. Johnston, Wm. T. Sherman,
Chicamaugua, Missionary Ridge, the soldiers in
Gray and the soldiers in Blue—these stirring mem
ories were speaking to many a gray haired veteran
who was there, while their sons and daughters about
them heard again the oft told story of
“* * * battles and sieges and glory’s red
wreath.”
It was only natural that speakers and hearers
alike should respond to such an atmosphere of
martial heroism.
Brooks, of Texas.
The first speech I heard was from President S.
B. Brooks, of Baylor University, Waco, Texas. He
spoke on the necessity of study as well as activity
on the part of young people. His message was
novel, original, striking, powerful!
S. P. Brooks is a self-made man, growing to pow
er in the atmosphere of Baylor University—then
in the field bringing other students to drink in the
blessing and the inspiration he had received—then
several years in the faculty until his well-proven
qualities of leadership placed him in the President’s
chair, where he now walks with the stalwart step
of a kingly life, leading a thousand students in the
Lone Star Empire to Christian culture for the
work of God.
Poteat and Gambrell.
Two giants in one night’s service—that is what
a packed and overflowing audience saw and heard
when President Poteat of Wake Forest, N. C., and
Dr. J. B. Gambrell of Texas spoke on Thursday
night.
Wake Forest has away of growing great men—
men who really startle, mold and bless the world,
and in this great young president whom she has
grown and fashioned for her own self she compla
cently rejoices in the leadership of an intellectual
colossus, the hidden springs of whose culture and
power are touched by the Hand Divine. He talked
of the ways and means of Christian Education and
the problems of the Christian college until the
subject shone with new and engaging splendor un
der the masterly handling of a scientist, a scholar
and a leader of consecrated common sense.
Dr. Gambrell, grand and gray, came easily into
his own in discussing the “Meaning of the Baptist
College to Civic Life.”
The readiness of his wit, the refreshing charm
of his mannerism and the abounding plentitude of
his “home-made” philosophy caught, held and stir
red his audience. He straightened and strengthen
ed the “backbone” of every man before him until
every one with a mind to measure and a heart to
feel was ready to invest more love, more money
and more life in that strategic and saving agency,
the denominational college.
Speeches and Speeches.
Addresses of welcome and the responses thereto
are not always the best, but the convention this
time had a “make ready” feast.
Mayor Frierson, a “Blue-stocking Presbyterian,”
introduced in words of wisdom and of grace, Dr.
Luther Freeman, pastor of the First M. E. Church,
who met the occasion, every inch of it, in his ad
dress of welcome, and then the response—pardon
me—but it was “out o’ sight.”
Porter, a Canadian by birth and a Oklahoman by
recent adoption, made it.
Stephens for President.
President Stephens of Missouri, was honored with
the presidency again and he honored the office in
turn. Not a preacher, but a wise business man
who loves the Lord and His cause, from the state
of that other Christian layman, Governor Jos. W.
Folk.
E. W. Stephens looks grand enough himself to
be either Governor or President.
Great Year for the Missionary Effort.
Three hundred and fifteen thousand dollars for
preaching the gospel in foreign lands and one hun
dred and forty-five thousand for the work of the
Home Mission Board! Everybody was happy and
resolved that next year will be “better yet.” The
faces of R. J. Willingham and B. D. Gray shone
with a light that was not of earth—but beneath
the light there was the lurking shadow out of which
they cried, “0 God, it ought to have been more!”
The great mass meeting in behalf of larger evan
gelism had already received its tone, scope and
spirit from the report and triumphant speech of
Dr. L. G. Broughton on Friday night when he took
hold of the convention at a late hour and swept it
and melted and molded it as few men have ever
done. And then on Sunday came Truett and Mc-
Connell and Pickard and Hunt and Broughton
again and Heaven, they say, bent down to kiss that
wondrous hour.
All things were thus ready and the resolutiof
to put $25,000.00 a year in the work of evangeliza
tion in the Southern States was passed.
“The Entrance
of
Thy Words
\Givetb Light."„
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