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feeefr $ from theit latiips * whfca the i&-tervemog « aH ; h prevents the solar rays from illuminatii ^ g our atmosphere , with , great pOTfctoacity m&intakL ., that 4 fce sun is the ara / tfeor of light . This is tiotaasOTei opinion , as froni what we <* an collect from historyy it seems to
have been , an opinion of ancient date ^ and tiience the sua became the object of general adoration . Now this latter tenet owed its rise to an observation of the most obvious appearance of the universe ; but bow Moses should be -conceived to bave -derived his ophik > ii
from tfws source seems to » ae luaaccouataMe . This very opinion , th a * light existed before the sun > which in&st have shocked the worshipers of tins Imuaimary in former times * and
whidh is considered as absurd by roo * . cterti philosophers * is a strong pfoof , that Moses did noft derive his opinions fr ^ m the source at tributed to him by Mr . Belsham ; and ffl it is not allowed to as to refer the airforrmtion of Moses
an tfeis subject * as I most willingly do * to the pure ligjhrt of revelation ^ stiU it appears to * ne to be most preposterous to conceive him to have made up a history of the 'oreation , from the most obvious appearances of the univerare * and the vulgar ncftioaas current ih 'the days of the writer *
The more I contemplate this universe , the more am I struck with the beauty of < the Mosaical account of the creation . This universe has been o » pen to the contemplation of the wise of all times , yet what a tissue of absurdity is
contained in the cosmogonies of all ancient nations , except in fchis record preserved to us by the chosen people of God ! Wttaenee comes this superiority > We who a / re favoured with the information communicated to us , may perceive how considterit it is with ob * .
vious appearances ; but that we should ever have arrived at tbe same conclusion by the study of these obvious ap * - peaTances , is to me not merely improbable , but absolutely impossible . Rrfit our system is represented t © have been in a chaotic state , whence
emerged , ^ first , the light , second , the sir , third , the water was separated from the dry land . Thus the fow elements « f J % ht , air , water and earth had their Respective regions assigned to them . When ihe earth , as we now perceive rt » vvas thu » formed , then and not till tfoen , did the solar tots penetrate the
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atmosphere , and the sun and the m © on became th ^ defcenniners of our seasons , our days , our months , our years . Had Moses reasoned , as Mr . BeLsham pretends , from obvious appear ances , would he not naturally have made the sun the author of Hght ^ Would he have subjected idaJseB" tQ the scafFs and soeefe of unbelievers ?
For we may be assured that the philosophers of Ws < iays w ^ re j ust as likely to make this account their standing jest &s those of our own times . But , as I said before * the anore I contemplate i&atnre * the more convinced t am of the truth of die Mosaieal account i of
a ^ d the better £ h # natuFe light is understood , the more ^ evident mil it appear ^ , fthat that pure substance was Cke first thing that emerged from the chaos , and ihe sim is merely an iastm ~ raeftt * by which it is put in motion , and tbe rays strike that part of the earth which is exposed to their
influence . I ^ iiould take up too much of your pages if I entered into similar coafutation of tbe mirepresentations given by Mr . Belslmm of the Meeaicai narrative ; but 1 cannot refrain from
-expressi » g tny surprise , that he should have taken lip with such a strange conoeit * as tkat @f Moses believing that there was such a thing as a firnaameifct , a -soiid a ^ pch ^ which separated the waters above from : the waters below . Had Mr . BeLsham < 5 on » ii < lted the Hebrew Bible , be mwst bave rfcnown , that no stich idea ever ^ eiater-ed the mind of
Moses . He ne whe » e speaks of a solid arch , nor was any saach thing the work of the second dray . But Mr . Belshara was led astray by the wenpd firmament in Uhe vullgar traaslation ; win A was adopted by the trans latc ^ rs ; , if tthey < may be so called , of oiwr Bible , from the
Ijtitinfirmamentwrn ; and this wofd ^ f mameritum was made use of by the Latins ^ because they translated originaily from ihe Greek , where is a word of similar import , < nr * peoi > f * sx .. Upon this slender fabric Mr . Belsham has
erected his ^ ohd arch , and palmed it upon his oreaders , as if erected by Moses . But the slightest knowledge of the Hebrew language ^ hews the absurdity < rf this opdnion ^ and the phil o ^ sophy of Moses is in no danger when attacked . by auch weak assertions . W , l ^ REND .
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The Mosaical AvZmtnt of the Cr&Mten vindkwtetl , by Mr . Frend . € 47
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1821, page 647, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2506/page/15/
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