_Answer_. These questions are the natural fruit of the carnal mind, and can be accounted for only by the doctrine of total depravity. Nothing has given the church more trouble than just such questions. Unholy curiosity, a disposition to pry into the divine mysteries, a desire to know, to investigate, to explain --in short, to understand, are all evidences of a re- probate mind. _Question_. How can we account for the fact that Matthew alone speaks of the wise men of the East coming with gifts to the infant Christ; that he alone speaks of the little babes being killed by Herod? Is it possible that the other writers never heard of these things? _Answer_. Nobody can get any good out of the Bible by reading it in a critical spirit. The contra- 410 dictions and discrepancies are only apparent, and melt away before the light of faith. That which in other books would be absolute and palpable contradiction, is, in the Bible, when spiritually discerned, a perfect and beautiful harmony. My own opinion is, that seeming contradictions are in the Bible for the pur- pose of testing and strengthening the faith of Chris- tians, and for the further purpose of ensnaring infidels, "that they might believe a lie and be damned." _Question_. Is it possible that a good God would take pains to deceive his children? _Answer_. The Bible is filled with instances of that kind, and all orthodox ministers now know that fossil animals--that is, representations of animals in stone, were placed in the rocks on purpose to mis- lead men like Darwin and Humboldt, Huxley and Tyndall. It is also now known that God, for the purpose of misleading the so-called men of science, had hairy elephants preserved in ice, made stomachs for them, and allowed twigs of trees to be found in these stomachs, when, as a matter of fact, no such elephants ever lived or ever died. These men who are endeavoring to overturn the Scriptures with the lever of science will find that they have been de- ceived. Through all eternity they will regret their 411 philosophy. They will wish, in the next world, that they had thrown away geology and physiology and all other "ologies" except theology. The time is coming when Jehovah will "mock at their fears and "laugh at their calamity." _Question_. If Joseph was not the father of Christ, why was his genealogy given to show that Christ was of the blood of David; why would not the genealogy of any other Jew have done as well? _Answer_. That objection was raised and answered hundreds of years ago. _Question_. If they wanted to show that Christ was of the blood of David, why did they not give the gene- alogy of his mother if Joseph was not his father? _Answer_. That objection was answered hundreds of years ago. _Question_. How was it answered? _Answer_. When Voltaire was dying, he sent for a priest. _Question_. How does it happen that the two gene- alogies given do not agree? _Answer_. Perhaps they were written by different persons.