La Place, in his solution of how our planet was made, supposed that the
cooling, and consequently contracting rings of the fire cloud planet,
earth, did not break up into pieces, but retained their continuity; but,
in opposition to all experience and reason, he supposed that the cooling
rings kept contracting and widening out at the same time. According to
the nebular hypothesis--_or guess_--the fire mist was cooling and
shrinking up, while the rings of the same heat and material were cooling
_faster_ and widening out from it: a piece of disorder equal to a
miracle, for it can not be duplicated among solids or fluids in heaven
or earth, or under the earth; for everything narrows down upon
cooling--_contracts_!
* * * * *
THE INFIDEL'S OFFSET.--An unbeliever once said to a man who advocated
the doctrine of total depravity: "The ground for my rejection of all
responsibility for belief is the acknowledged necessitated nature of
belief. Show me," said he, "that it is not necessitated, and I am
answered. When you show me that it is controlled by a will, equally
necessitated, I am not answered. If a necessitated faculty or operation
can not be responsible, then neither will nor volition can be
responsible. You," said the infidel, "go through the whole circle of
mental faculties, and find necessity everywhere and responsibility
nowhere."
* * * * *
Through the kindness of Brother J. M. Mathes we are in possession of a
copy of the life of Brother Elijah Goodwin. It has the merit of being
mainly Brother Goodwin's own production. His many friends will regard it
as a grand "keepsake." It is neatly bound in cloth, contains 314 pages,
and is in beautiful type. Send $1.50 by postoffice order to Elder J. M.
Mathes, Bedford, Lawrence county, Indiana, and receive a copy in return.