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 A CONTRIBUTION TO RELIGIOUS NON-SCIENCE.

By ANNIE BESANT.

"Avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so-called."—1 Tim. vi., 20.

these later days, when science is carrying devastation into the land of faith, and godless education is everywhere offering the fruit of the tree of knowledge to the children of men, it behoves those who still cling to the faith once delivered to the saints to offer such small aid as they may in defending the citadel of Christianity, the Holy Bible, against its foes. And above all things is it necessary to know thoroughly what is in the Bible, so that those who "turn the Bread of Life into stones to cast against their enemies" may not suddenly shoot one out of an unsuspected catapult. Let us search the Scriptures, as did the noble Bereans, and we shall be rewarded by discovering therein biological facts that we shall never find if we confine ourselves to works written by mere uninspired scientific men.

And, first, let us reject with indignation the idea that the Bible is not written to teach us science. All that is in the Bible is written "for our learning" (Rom. xv., 4), and if scientific statements are made therein they must be made for our instruction. It is not conceivable that when "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter i., 21) they spake wrong. The very thought is blasphemy, and must be at once rejected by every reverent mind. How should we be able to trust the Bible in its revelations about heaven if we refuse to credit its revelations about earth? If it is worthy our faith in celestial matters, surely we may believe it in matters terrestrial. If it is to be our guide to eternal, much more must it be our guide to temporal, truths. Surely no one