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TIIE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA FEBRUARY 1, 1930 Scientific Findings Back Church’s Position on Flood Excavations in Mesopotamia Prove Fact of Flood, Father Husslein of St. Louis University Declares Over Radio. Other Recent Discoveries Prove Scriptures Veracious (By N. C. W. C. News Service) ST. LOUIS. — The Catholic posi tion on the subject of the Flood and the Ark are by no means grotesque or impossible, but square completely with common sense and scientific findings, it was shown by the Rev. Joseph Husslein. S. J., Ph.D., Direc tor of the Sociological Department of St. Louis University, in a radio address recently over WEW, the University Station. Father Huss- lein’s subject was “How Was the Earth First Peopled?” In addition, he outlined the man ner in which mankind probably spread graduallyy over the earth, through the migration not only of those who escaped the Flood with Noah, but also of those branches of Adam's offspring who were not in volved in the great deluge. CHARLOTTE COUNCIL NO. 770. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS CHARLOTTE. N. C. Meets First and Third Tuesday. T. E. Clarke, Grand Knight E. L. Pennell, Fin. Sec'y. PIGGLY WIGGlY 1229 Main St. 1701 Main St. COLUMBIA. S. C. Thos. G. Brittingham CONTRACTOR PLUMBING. HEATING and DRAINAGE 651 BROAD STREET AUGUSTA, GA. BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE BELMONT, N. C. Established in I878 Boarding School fer Boy? and Young Men High School Preparatory Classical and Scientific Course* Prepare for Any College Fully Recognized by the Slate Board of Education JUNIOR COLLEGE Two Years or Pre-Law, Pre-Medical, Lead to Bachelor of Arts or Professions APPROVED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF N. C. AND STATE BOARD New Athletic Field, cne of the- Finest in the South, Suitable fer All Out- Door Sports For further information apply re THE REV. RECTOR. • Belmont Abbey College Belmont, N. C. AWNTfOM ADVERTISERS Pictum^idfeHincj Pirn) lOecaiiauppliiaiwiltim (i jfan&radeF{orki./gbeli. m letterheadi (met |) fiooklet tMintmtiom ' to Oil Pamtinqa Modern excavations in Mesopo tamia make it clear beyond doubt, said the speaker, that a great flood did occur in the regions described by the Bible. The story of it more over, he pointed out, has come down to us not only through Holy Writ, but also through the imperceft writ ings in other early epics. FLOOD NOT UNIVERSAL Father Husslein eotninued, in part: “No one at the present day, and ih the > light of scientific knowledge, would think of maintain .-.g the ge- ograprical universality of the Deluge. The important question now is whether the Biblical account is to be understood as restricted to that portion of the earth over which ex tended the civilization of the de scendants of Seth and Cain, whose intermarriage brought about that corruption of all flesh which result ed in the Deluge, and in particular: whether other races of men, con ceived as then living in remote parts of the earth, remained untouched by it. * * -■ ;s “The Biblical reference to the de struction of all life, whether of ani mals or men, must evidently be read with a proper understanding of the Oriental usage of speech, according to which such terms do not neces sarily imply absolute universal” Even in our own cold western mode of expression we do not hesitate to say that ‘all the world knows,’ or ‘everybody does it,’ when perhaps we allude to but a very small circle in which we ourselves move. Simi larly the tradition of the Deluge, as handed down by Noah, could read ily refer in universal terms to what embraced the entire horizon of the narrator, the entire world that alone was here in question, the world of the Sethite and Cainite. Now the Scripture account of the civilization preceding the Deluge deals exclusively with the descend ants of Seth and Cain, and yet we know with certainty that Adam, during his long life, also begot other sons after these. * * * * * to tell us the history of these other sons, and of their progeny, which at the time of the Deluge may well have been exceedingly great, was evident ly not included in the purpose of the Sacred Scriptures, which must not by any means be confounded with a world history. “The Bible in its antediluvian nar rative deals with two branches only of Adam's family. The first consists of the descendants of the devout Seth, whom God had given in place of Abel, and from whose blood the Redeemer was to be born. The sec ond embraces the progeny of Cain, who was indeed to prosper material ly, but whose corrupt. civilization, through intermarriage witn the Seth- ites. infected tne latter as well and so brought about the combined de struction of both as their punish ment from God. This therefore is the mankind which, with the excep tion of Noah and his family, perish ed entirely in the FIool. In refer ence to this civilization the Deluge was universal. In reference to it God had said: ‘Behold I will bring the waters ci a great flood upen the earth, to destrov all flesh, wherein is the breath cf life, under heaven. All things that are in the earth shall be consumed! (Gen. IX, 17.) “The earth, namely, referred to here, is not, as we have seen, ge ographically the entire earth; nor were all alimals having within them the ‘breath of life’ to be over whelmed in that Deluge, as again every cne understands. Consequent ly neither are we obliged to assume a more complete universality in re- | gard to the destruction of mankind. | Once more ail Catholic authorities | agree that this latter opinion, too, is 1 not to be condemned. 'PROBABLY LIMITED AREA | “What all unite in holding is that i the earth or land, with its inhabi- : tants, which was then destroyed, was j at least the earth included within the horizon of the Biblical narrator, the earth of that Sethite and Coin- ite civilization where all flesh had corrupted its ways and where there fore all flesh was to perish. To this Noah, is handing down the Flood tradition to all future ages, would naturally have simply referred to ‘the earth’ or ‘the land.’ The Scrip ture, in fact, does not itself use the expression ‘the whole’ earth. * * * * ’ “Since, then, we know cjefihitely, from the Sacred Scriptures that dur ing the eight hundred years of Adam’s life, following the birth of Cain and Seth, he still ‘begot sons and daughters,’ the question natur ally arises: ‘What, then, became of these most probably numerous chil dren, in whom God’s Providence was without any doubt profoundly interested, but with whom the Bible story, since tney lay outside its own most specific scope, was simply not concerned?’ “Cain, we read in the sacred nar rative, went apart towards ‘the east side of Eden,’ and finallv built his own settlement in the primitive way ! in which we can readily conceive of it now. So, too, it is most likelv that some at least of those unnamed sons of Adam survived and, sooner or' later, departed from the central human community. For their own progenies, too, must now nave grown larger and larger until they might fill, not one onlv. but many settle ments with their huts built of branches and cemented with clay. “In "their departure, if I may thus cotninue my conjecture, each would naturally take his own direction, leaving when the spirit prompted him or the exigency demanded. Armenia, which I have previously described as in all probability the cradle land of the human race, and where also the ark rested after the Deluke, is providentially located in just such a geographical position as to offer the most remarkable oppor tunity for peopling the entire earth from this center. Thence mankind could, therefore easily have radiated in many directions, and this may have begun as soon as once the dif ferent families had grown into dis tinct populations and real migra tions could be set on foot. In view of the long life which men then en- poyed, these various progenies would naturally have grown most rapidly, owing to the comparatively small death rate. LONG YEARS OF PATRIARCHS “And here it may be mentioned in passing that the views which re gards the Scripture years of the antediluvian Patriarch as merely signifying montns is entirely unten able, although still often advanced. The reason for stating this so posi tively can be made plain at a glance since on such a calculation some of the Patriarchs would have begotten children when they themselves were only nine, eight, six or even five years old. I need but instance Mal- aleel and Henoch, whose age would then habe been given years anti some montfis. “As ■ for this longevity itself, it really presents no difficulty since it is as easy for God to grant the span of a thousand as of a hu.idred years to human life. The later shortening of man’s term of life -tight quite naturally have been brought about I without any miracle, through purely I climatic changes. That many such i changes have taken place we know I on geological grounds. The ration alism of our time, and not the Scrip- I ture account, is here irrational j & * * * « “Did these ‘other sons’ of Adam, j then, and their. progeny, not enter I into contact with Sethite history? If not, must it not most prebabiy have been because they had migrat ed to distant lands on cotninents? The Georgia State Savings Assn, BULL and YORK STREETS—SAVANNAH, GA Established Resources Over Chartered 1890 Banking and Trust $5,000,000.00 1909 4V 2 %Z£r. &h% On Time Certificates Out-of-Town Checks 'Accepted'.0.1 Deposit at Par. UNDER STATE SUPERVISION ! “Were, then, the men whose early 1 fossil relics we now find in Europe • the progeny of some of those ‘other I softs’ of Adam, whose descendants } might thus have migrated into Eu rope, at various periods, partly by way of Asia, partly through North ern Africa? FRUITS OF EDUCATION WITHOUT RELIGION i “Education without religion,” ex- | | claims; Cardinal Luccn, Archbishop of R.heims, in his latest pastoral, “will give us generations without Faith and without law, who will wish neither j God nor master.” And he con cludes, as quoted in the Christian Brothers Buleltin at Amendale. Ind.: “We need schools where the child’s soul is formed to good morals by a wise education based on belief in God and the principles of the Gospel. “We need schools where children are taught, in the sight of God, love of duty and of work, the spirit of discipline and of sacrifice, the love of one’s neighbor and respect for all forms of right. “We need schools which will inspire children with love of country, respect for authority, devotion to the public good, and readiness to offer serice to society, each one according to his ability. “We need schools which will culti vate in the hearts of our children lof tiness of thought, nobility of senti ment, generosity of heart, and loyalty of character. “And because we are Catholics, and because we believe that religious edu cation is tlie most efficacious means of obtaining these happy results, we wish schools which will give our children a Catholic education.” Fv. Kenny Preparing Spring Hill History (By N. C. W. C. News Service) MOBILE, Ala.—The Rev. Michael J. Kenny, S. J., professor of senior phi losophy at Spring Hill Collegers-writ ing a history of the college for pub lication before the event of its centen ary, which will be ; celebrated next May. through the arrival of later settlers from remote parts. The fact is that the former supposition of a univer sal tradition regarding the Flood, has been greatly shaken by fuller investigation. There are various na tions of antiquity among whom no such traditions have been found, while it is most vividly impressed upon other nations who may agree even upon many minor details. Fin ally, there are ( those races among whom the tradition is not original, but was taken over from Jewish- Christian sources. All this, there fore, would strengthen the opinion of those who hold that the Flood did not extend to all mankind, but was universal for that one anl only civ ilization with which the Bible deals at this point, the Sethite and the Cainite. “The suppositions I have here set forth are not presented as facts, nor as a thesis I am defending, but are developed merely as indicating a legitimate manner in which the find ings of archeology, ethnology and kindred sciences can be explained in full conformity with the Scrip ture account.” Crescent Laundry Company Up-to-Date Laundry Work, Dry Cleaning and Dyeing 519 Second St. Phones 16-1? MACON, GA. Out-of-town work done on short notice. R. A. MAGILL (BEAN & MAGILL) 8514 MARIETTA ST., N. W. ATLANTA, GA. BLANK BOOKS, LOOSl LEAF DEVICES Stationery—Pamphlets Publications PRINTING-BINDING Pat J. Bloomfield Catholic Funeral Director Secretary, Sam Greenberg & Co. 95 Forrest Avenue, N. E. Atlanta, Ga. DANNENBERG’S MACON’S COMPLETE DEPARTMENT STORE DANIEL HOGAN CO. DRY GOODS, RUGS, DRAPERIES SAVANNAH. GA. L. SYLVESTER & SONS Established Over Half a Century Outfitters for the Family Agents for Kuppenheimer and Society Brand Clothes 816 BROAD STREET AUGUSTA, GA. THOS. S. GRAY President UOWDRE P. PHINIZY Vice-President R. M. R1EEY Cashier. UNION SAVINGS BANK Augusta, Georgia COMMERCIAL AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS SOLICITED. 3V 2 PER CENT INTEREST “If so. they would-' strictly ! have been men of the Stone Age. ) Much even of their original culture j might have been lost to them in ’ certain instances, as under stress of | difficulties and amid overwhelming j glacial conditions that retarded j (hem. We might thus have descend- | ants of a stagnant or even retrograte j stock, such as possibly were the • Neanderthals, and others again of progressive tvpe. such as Aurigna- cian man. the Cro-Magnon hunters arid artists of Central Europe in Paleolithic days. STONE AGE ACCOUNTED FOR j “Similar conditions might have ob- ! tained in other continents, for even j the descendants of the same family I might have separated into different groups, like Abraham and Lot. With one section wandering towards the east and another towards the south, each separated migrations might possibly have met again in Europe, not recognizing each other, and yet bringing with them identical tradi tions. So, then, all the various phases of the Paleolithic or Old Slone, Age could readily be account ed for. Inventions and discoveries made in the Asiatic cradle lanci and the center of the earliest human civ ilization might reach them only af ter thousands of years. Such, for instance, might be the invention of metals. * * * * * “Not merely might they have been untouched by the Deluge, but even the traditions of this might not have reached them except possibly Southern Finance Corporation REAL ESTATE AND RENTING GENERAL INSURANCE MORTGAGE BONDS AND LOANS AUTOMOBILE FINANCING Southern Finance Corporation Building AUGUSTA, GEORGIA Prices $15.00 and up. A RADIANT GAS ROOM HEATER Will make your home more cozy arnd livable this winter. Georgia Public Utilities Company AUGUSTA, GA.