Biology versus Theology. The Bible: irreconcilable with Science, Experience, and even its own statementsJulian
Religion
Biology versus Theology. The Bible: irreconcilable with Science, Experience, and even its own statements
Julian
Bible and science
[2 Chronicles, xiv., 8.] Asa, grandson of Rehoboam, King of Judah, had
300,000 heavy-armed troops, and 280,000 light-armed, nearly 600,000, and
“all mighty men of valour!!”
[2 Chronicles, xvii., 14–18.] Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, had an army of
1,160,000 soldiers, “all mighty men of valour!”
[2 Chronicles, xxv., 5, 6.] Amaziah, King of Judah, had 300,000 “choice
men, handling spear and shield, above 20 years old,” and a mercenary
contingent of 100,000 Israelites, which he hired for 100 talents of
silver (£34,200).
[2 Chronicles, xxvi., 12–13.] Uzziah’s army consisted of 307,500 trained
soldiers “under 2,600 chief officers.”
No such armies as these correspond with our experience. Compare the
armies of Europe with those of these petty princes, and see how wholly
irreconcilable are these statements to the plain unvarnished statements
of dry facts.
We have given one instance of slaughter under Abijah, king of Judah, and
will now add one example of Pekah, king of Israel.
[2 Chronicles, xxviii., 6, 8.] Pekah is said to have slain in one day
120,000 valiant men of Judah, and to have carried away captive 200,000
souls, with much spoil.
Mr. Cardwell proposes to raise our army to 108,000 men. “This,” says
_The Times_, “is more than twice as large as the largest army ever taken
into battle by Wellington, and three times as large as [the English
contingent of] that with which he conquered at Waterloo.” What would
_The Times_ say of the armies of Judah and Israel?
Where there is no motive for exaggeration the numbers are much more
modest. Thus the army of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, no doubt, was
very formidable, but it dwindles to nothing compared to the gigantic
armies of Judah and Israel. The army of the “great king” amounted only
to 185,000 men (2 Kings, xix., 35); if Judah could muster its million or
even half million of valiant men, all in the prime of life, there was no
need of a miracle to lay the invaders in the dust.
We will conclude this part of our subject with a few examples of
incredible statements, which cannot be classed under the foregoing heads.
(4.) _Incredible Marvels or Statements_.
Joshua, vi., 20.
A procession of priests is said to have walked round the fortifications
of Jericho, and when they blew with their trumpets “the walls fell down
flat.”
Judges, iii., 31.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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