The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 02 (of 12): Dresden Edition—Lectures — John Shaqi
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 02 (of 12): Dresden Edition—LecturesIngersoll, Robert Green
Religion
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 02 (of 12): Dresden Edition—Lectures
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Free thought
According to the sacred records God created, on the first day, the
heaven and the earth, "moved upon the face of the waters," and made
the light. On the second day he made the firmament or the "expanse" and
divided the waters. On the third day he gathered the waters into seas,
let the dry land appear and caused the earth to bring forth grass, herbs
and fruit trees, and on the fourth day he made the sun, moon and stars
and set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth.
This division of labor is very striking. The work of the other days is
as nothing when compared with that of the fourth. Is it possible that
it required the same time and labor to make the grass, herbs and fruit
trees, that it did to fill with countless constellations the infinite
expanse of space?
XI. FRIDAY.
We are then told that on the next day "God the moving creatures that hath
life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of
heaven. And God created great whales and every living creature which the
waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged
fowl after his kind, and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them,
saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and
let fowl multiply in the earth."
Is it true that while the dry land was covered with grass, and herbs,
and trees bearing fruit, the ocean was absolutely devoid of life, and so
remained for millions of years?
If Moses meant twenty-four hours by the word day, then it would make but
little difference on which of the six days animals were made; but if the
word said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly day was used to express
millions of ages, during which life was slowly evolved from monad up to
man, then the account becomes infinitely absurd, puerile and foolish.
There is not a scientist of high standing who will say that in his
judgment the earth was covered with fruit-bearing trees before the
moners, the ancestors it may be of the human race, felt in Laurentian
seas the first faint throb of life. Nor is there one who will declare
that there was a single spire of grass before the sun had poured upon
the world his flood of gold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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