Parallax

“ As the light in a lantern shines most brightly in the darkest places, so would the Moon’s self-luminous surface be most intense in the deepest part of the Earth’s shadow. It is thus rendered undeniable that a Lunar Eclipse does not and could not arise from a shadow of the Earth! As a Solar Eclipse occurs from the Moon passing over the Sun; so from the evidence it is clear that a Lunar Eclipse can only arise from a similar cause—a body semi-transparent and well-defined passing before the Moon, or between her surface and the observer on the surface of the Earth. ”

“ Again, if the Moon is a sphere, which it is declared to be, how can its surface reflect the light of the Sun? If her surface was a mass of polished silver, it could not reflect from more than a mere point! Let a silvered glass ball or globe of considerable size be held before a lamp or fire of any magnitude, and it will be seen that instead of the whole surface reflecting light, there will be a very small portion only illuminated. But the Moon’s whole surface is brilliantly illuminated! a condition or effect utterly impossible if it be spherical. ”

“ It is geometrically demonstrable [181] that all the visible luminaries in the firmament are within a distance of a few thousand miles, not more than the space which stretches between the North Pole and the Cape of Good Hope; and the principle of measurement—that of plane triangulation—which demonstrates this important fact, is one which no mathematician, demanding to be considered a master in the science, dare for a moment deny. All these luminaries then, and the Sun itself, being so near to us, cannot be other than very small as compared with the Earth we inhabit. ”

“ The Earth or the Sun moves. Our senses tell us, and the scriptures declare that the Earth is fixed and that it is the Sun which moves above and around it; but a theory, which is absolutely false in its groundwork, and ridiculously illogical in its details, demands that the Earth is round and moves upon axes, and in several other and various directions; and that these motions are sufficient to account for certain phenomena without supposing that the Sun moves, therefore the Sun is a fixed body, and his motion is only apparent! ”

“ If we now consider the fact that when we travel by land or sea, and from any part of the known world, in a direction towards the North polar star, we shall arrive at one and the same point, we are forced to the conclusion that what has hitherto been called the North Polar region, is really the Centre of the Earth. That [21] from this northern centre the land diverges and stretches out, of necessity, towards a circumference, which must now be called the Southern Region: which is a vast circle, and not a pole or centre. That there is One Centre—the North, and One Circumference—the South. ”

“ If the Moon is only a reflector, the moment the Sun becomes black her surface will be blackened also, and not remain [209] as blood, while the Sun is dark and black as sackcloth of hair!
Again: the modern system of astronomy teaches that this earth cannot possibly receive light from the Stars, because of their supposed great distance from it: that the fixed Stars are only burning spheres, or Sun’s to their own systems of planets and satellites: and that their light terminates, or no longer produces an active luminosity at the distance of nearly two thousand millions of miles. ”

“ It is well known that persons looking at the rough bark of a tree, or at the irregular lines or veins in certain kinds of marble and stone, or gazing at the red embers in a dull fire, will, according to the degree of activity of the imagination, be able to see different forms, even the outlines of animals and human faces. It is in this way that persons may fancy that the Moon’s surface is broken up into hills and valleys and other arrangements such as are found on earth. But that anything really similar to the surface of our own world is anywhere visible upon the Moon is altogether fallacious. ”

“ The Sun’s light when concentrated by a number of mirrors, or a large burning lens, produces a focus which is entirely non-luminous, but in which the heat is so great that metallic and alkaline substances are quickly fused; earthy and mineral compounds almost immediately vitrified; and all animal and vegetable structures in a few seconds burned up and destroyed. But the Moon’s light so concentrated produces a brilliant focus, so luminous that it is difficult to look upon it; and yet there is no increase of temperature! ”

“ Where is the true and unchangeable “palace of God?” In what direction is Heaven to be found? Where is the liberated human soul to find its home—its refuge from change and motion, from uncertainty and danger? ”

“ Should such an action commence, knowing, as we do, that the rocks and minerals of the earth are but oxides of inflammable bases, and that the affinities of these bases are greatly weakened and almost suspended in the presence of highly heated carbon, we see clearly that such chemical action or fire would quickly extend and increase in intensity until the whole earth with everything entering into its composition, would rapidly decompose, volatilise, and burst into one vast indescribable, annihilating conflagration! ”

“ Thereby the mind becomes fixed, established upon an eternal [215] foundation, and no longer subject to those waverings and changes, those oscillations and fluctuations which are ever the result of falsehood. To know the truth and to embody it in our lives and purposes our progress must be safe and rapid, and almost unlimited in extent. None can say to what it may lead or where it may culminate. Who shall dare to set bounds to the capabilities of the mind, or to fix a limit to human progress? Whatever may be the destiny of the human race truth alone will help and secure its realisation. ”

“ This is a plain, simple, and in every respect demonstrable philosophy, agreeing with the evidence of our senses, borne out by every fairly instituted experiment, and never requiring a violation of those principles of investigation which the human mind has ever recognized, and depended upon in its every day life. The modern, or Newtonian Astronomy, has none of these characteristics. The whole system taken together constitutes a most monstrous absurdity. ”

“ John Wesley, in his journal, writes as follows:—“The more I consider them the more I doubt of all systems of astronomy. I doubt whether we can with certainty know either the distance or magnitude of any star in the firmament; else why do astronomers so immensely differ, even with regard to the distance of the Sun from the Earth? Some affirming it to be only three and others ninety millions of miles.” ”

“ Allow us, without proof, the existence of two universal forces—centrifugal and centripetal, or attraction and repulsion, and we will construct a system which shall explain all the leading mysteries of nature. An apple falling from a tree, or a stone rolling downwards, and a pail of water tied to a string set in rapid motion were assumed to be types of the relations existing among all the bodies in the universe. ”

“ Although the Sun is at all times above and parallel to the Earth’s surface, he appears to ascend the firmament from morning until noon, and to descend and sink below the horizon at evening. This arises from a simple and everywhere visible law of perspective. A flock of birds, when passing over a flat or marshy country, always appears to descend as it recedes; and if the flock is extensive, the first bird appears lower, or nearer to the horizon than the last. When a balloon sails from an observer without increasing or decreasing its altitude, it appears gradually to approach the horizon. ”

“ If the Earth were a globe, it is evident that everywhere the water of its surface, the seas, lakes, oceans, and rivers, must be sustained the land, the Earth must be under the water; but if the land and the waters are distinct, and the Earth is “founded upon the seas,” then everywhere the sea must sustain the land as it does a ship or any other floating mass, and there is water below the earth. ”

“ The irreligious philosopher can no longer obtrude his theories as things proved wherewith to test the teachings of scripture. He must now himself be tested. He must be forced to demonstrate his premises, a thing which he has never yet attempted; and if he fails in this respect his impious vanity, self-conceit and utter disregard of justice, will become so clearly apparent that his presence in the ranks of science will no longer be tolerated. All theory must be put aside, and the questions at issue must be decided by independent and practical evidence. ”

“ The real state of things escapes our observation; or, if it presents itself to us, we are apt either to reject it [4] wholly as fiction, or, by new efforts of a vain ingenuity to interweave it with our own conceits, and labour to make it tally with our favourite schemes. Thus, by blending together parts so ill-suited, the whole comes forth an absurd composition of truth and error. * * These have not done near so much harm as that pride and ambition which has led philosophers to think it beneath them to offer anything less to the world than a complete and finished system of nature ”

“ Newtonian and all other “systems of nature” are little better than the “hypothesis of the terrestrial motion” of Copernicus. The foundations or premises are always unproved; no proof is ever attempted; the necessity for it is denied; it is considered sufficient that the assumptions shall seem to explain the phenomena selected. In this way it is that one theory supplants another; that system gives way to system as one failure after another compels opinions to change. This will ever be so; there will always exist in the mind a degree of uncertainty ”

“ From the above it will be seen that God’s promises to his people could no more be broken than could the height of heaven, or the depths of the Earth’s foundations be searched out. The fathomless deep beneath—upon which the Earth is founded, and the infinitude of heaven above, are here given as emblems of the boundlessness of God’s power, and of the certainty that all his ordinances will be fulfilled. ”

“ As the earth is a globe, and as all its vast collections of water—its oceans, lakes, &c., are sustained by the earthy crust beneath them, and as beneath this ‘crust of the earth’ everything is in a red-hot molten condition to what place could the excess of waters retire which are said in the scriptures to have overwhelmed the whole world? ”

“ The doctrine of the Earth’s rotundity and motion is now shown to be unconditionally false; and therefore the scriptures which assert the contrary, are, in their philosophical teachings at least, literally true. In practical science therefore, atheism and denial of scriptural authority have no foundation. If human theories are cast aside, and the facts of nature, and legitimate reasoning alone depended upon, it will be seen that religion and true philosophy are not antagonistic, and that the hopes which both encourage may be fully relied upon. ”

“ The moon was assumed to have a tendency to fall towards the Earth, and the Earth and Moon together towards the Sun. The same relation was assumed to exist between all the smaller and larger luminaries in the firmament; and it soon became necessary to extend this assumption to infinity. The universe was parcelled out into systems—co-existent and illimitable. Suns, Planets, Satellites, and Comets were assumed to exist, infinite in number and boundless in extent ”

“ They had often in charge to command, suspend, revert, and otherwise interfere with the course and laws of nature, and were never daunted to speak out the truth before the most mighty potentates on earth, much less would they be overawed by the vox populi.” To say that the Scriptures were not intended to teach science truthfully, is in substance to declare that God himself has stated, and commissioned His prophets to teach things which are utterly false! Those Newtonian philosophers who still hold that the sacred volume is the Word of God, are thus placed in a fearful dilemma. ”

“ For if after so many ages of mental struggling, of speculation and trial, and change and counterchange, we have at length discovered that all astronomical theories are false, that the Earth is a plane, and motionless, and that the various luminaries above it are lights only and not worlds ”

“ It is not proved that the Moon is eclipsed by a shadow. It is not proved that the Earth moves in an orbit, and therefore takes different positions. It is not proved that the Moon receives her light from the Sun, and that therefore her surface is darkened by the Earth intercepting the Sun’s light. It will be shown in the proper place that the Earth has no motion in space or on axes; that it is not a shadow which eclipses the Moon; that the Moon is not a reflector of the Sun’s light, but is self-luminous ”

“ We impress a peculiar motion on the pendulum in setting it a going. The Earth is at the same time carrying the pendulum eastward, but at the pole the one motion will not interfere with the other. The only action of the Earth on the pendulum there is that of attracting it towards its own (the Earth’s) centre. But this attraction is exactly in the plane of vibration and merely tends to continue the oscillatory motion without disturbing it. It is otherwise if the experiment is made at some other point, say 20 degrees distant from the pole. ”

“ If the most delicate thermometer be exposed to the full light of the Moon, shining with its greatest lustre, the mercury is not elevated a hair’s breadth, neither would it be if exposed in the focus of her rays concentrated by the most powerful lenses. ”

“ The Earth a Globe, and it is necessarily demanded that it has a diurnal and an annual and various other motions; for a globular world without motion would be useless—day and night, winter and summer, the half year’s light and darkness at the “North Pole,” and other phenomena could not be explained by the supposition of rotundity without the assumption also of rapid and constant motion. Hence it is assumed that the Earth and Moon, and all the Planets [180] and their Satellites move in relation to each other, and that the whole move together in different planes round the Sun. ”