"Yes, father, I should like to start at the beginning, with Genesis."

The pastor looked at his son and noticed that his face was flushed with excitement. Still he made no comment about it, but answered, "very well Walter, if agreeable to mother, we will start with Genesis."

"Yes, James, I am satisfied to start anywhere that pleases Walter."

"As we are all in accord, I will start with chapter 1 of Genesis, and continue reading until we come to something that you do not understand.

Then you may stop me and I will explain. I think this will be an excellent way, don't you, Walter?"

"Yes, father, I think that will be the best way." The pastor started to read Genesis, chapter 1, and there was no interruption until he arrived at Genesis 1, 26.

Several times Walter was on the point of asking some question, but did not. Now he asked, "father, what is meant by that verse? I do not understand it clearly."

"I'll read it again for you," said the pastor. "Genesis, chapter 1, 26th verse. '_And G.o.d said, let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth_.' Do you understand it now?"

"Not yet. G.o.d is Spirit, is He not?"

"Certainly, why do you ask?"

"That verse says that G.o.d made man in His image and likeness, does that mean that man is spiritual?"

"Yes," answered the pastor. "Then my body must be spiritual."

"Oh, no, our bodies are not spiritual, it is only the soul that is in the body that is here spoken of as the image and likeness of G.o.d."

"Then G.o.d did not make our bodies, did He, father?"

"Why, certainly He did. Have you never read that G.o.d made all that was made?"

"It doesn't say anything in that verse about G.o.d's making a body does it father?"

"No but it says 'in His image and likeness,' that means just like Him,"

said the pastor.

"Then if I am just like Him, He in turn must be just like me, and in that case G.o.d would have a material body, and would not be wholly spirit."

"Why son, what queer ideas you have. As I said before this verse is only speaking of the soul; you will see farther on where He created the body. Now let us proceed."

"Father, what is meant by that part of this same verse, where it reads: '_And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air_,' etc.?"

"There has been considerable differences of opinion in regard to that pa.s.sage. Personally, I think it means that we will have this dominion after we die and enter the spirit world, for we certainly haven't dominion over the fish and fowl here."

"James, do you think there will be fish and fowl in heaven?" meekly asked his wife.

"That is a very absurd question. Everybody knows there will be no fish and fowl in heaven," said her husband.

"Then how can we have dominion over them if there are none there?"

asked his wife.

"It seems to me that you are both very dense this evening. Let us continue and these things will clear up as we proceed," said the pastor, a little nettled at his inability to answer their questions clearly.

Walter had several more questions he wanted to ask on this subject, but he thought best not to ask too many at one time.

There was no more interruption until the pastor reached Genesis 1, 31st verse--"_and G.o.d saw everything He had made, and behold it was very good, and the evening and the morning were the 6th day_." Here Walter interrupted with, "Then everything that G.o.d made was good."

"Yes, everything that G.o.d made was good," answered the pastor.

"If that be true, G.o.d could not have made me sick, for sickness is not good," said Walter.

"Walter, I believe you are right," said his mother.

The pastor looked from one to the other, then slowly laid the Bible down in his lap. He was surprised at the turn the conversation had taken, and he remembered that Walter had on a previous occasion said something similar. Just what would be the best answer to make he did not know, so thought he would ask Walter a few questions, and in this way find out what the boy had on his mind. So he asked, "What makes you so positive that G.o.d did not make you sick Walter?"

"Because G.o.d is good and just, and I am His child, and the Bible says He made everything good and He made everything that was made, so everything must be good. Besides, I cannot conceive of a just G.o.d making me suffer for a sin some one else committed, any more than I could think of you, father, punishing me for something that our neighbor's boy had done."

Like a flash the pastor saw now what the boy had meant when he spoke of sending him to jail because some one else had stolen some chickens.

The boy was only trying to ill.u.s.trate to him the injustice of punishing one person for the deeds of another. Then the thought came, "Shall man be more just than G.o.d?" There was something here he did not understand, and yet the Bible said G.o.d made everything that was made. If this be true, He was the author of all the sorrows and woes, as well as the joys, of the human race.

Now that he had got to thinking on this subject, he did not like to admit even to himself that G.o.d was the creator of all the wickedness of the world. He decided he must have more time to think about this before he could answer the boy, so said, "We know that G.o.d is good and just, and some of the things that to us seem evil and unjust may still be for our good." He then picked up the Bible to proceed with his reading.

Walter noticed that his father was ill at ease and decided not to ask any more questions at present. The pastor then read Genesis 2, 1st verse: _"Thus the heavens and earth were finished and all the hosts of them."_ He now cast an anxious look over at Walter, expecting him to ask some question that would be as hard to answer as the previous ones, but Walter was sitting perfectly still listening attentively.

The pastor then read the next verse, Genesis 2, 2nd verse: _"And on the seventh day G.o.d ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made"_

"Is that all of creation, father?" asked Walter.

"Yes, G.o.d created everything in six days and on the seventh He rested; that is why we observe the Sabbath day as a day of rest."

There was no interruption in the next three verses, although Walter heard several things he would like to have asked about. But when it came to Genesis 2, 6th verse, _"But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground,"_ Walter asked, "What is meant by that _mist_, father?" The pastor tried to find some reasonable answer, but could not, so he replied, "I suppose it was something like the fogs we sometimes see rising from the ground." He had come to the conclusion that these Bible lessons were not going to be quite so easy and entertaining as he had antic.i.p.ated, and had determined that on the morrow he would go over the lesson by himself, and in this way be prepared for any and all questions that might be asked.

Walter knew what this _mist_ meant; he had read all about it, in "Science and Health," but still he did not think it policy to say anything more on the subject just then. The pastor continued his reading, Genesis 2, 7th verse. _"And the Lord G.o.d formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."_

"Will you please explain that verse to me, father?"

"With pleasure; this is the verse I spoke of a little while back, when I told you that in Genesis 1.26, G.o.d only made the soul or spirit of man, while here is a record of the creation of the body.

"You see, son, we get a better understanding as we proceed. It is like this, the soul or spirit is in the image and likeness of G.o.d, but the body is not, it being material, having been created of dust. Do you understand it better now?"

Walter did not answer at once, so his mother said, "That all seems very plain to me now, although I was somewhat confused before."

The pastor turned a smiling face to her and nodded his head approvingly; he was now quite at his ease again, and did not look for any further trouble. Then turning to Walter, he was a little surprised to see him looking flushed and excited, so said, "Well, Walter, what are you thinking about?"

The boy looked up and said, "I was trying to think, when G.o.d started His second creation, for He had finished His first one on the sixth day and rested from His work on the seventh day, and here seems to be a record of something He created after He had finished."

Had a bomb sh.e.l.l exploded in the room, it would not have surprised and shocked the pastor and his wife so much as that which they had just heard; and coming just at the time when the pastor thought he was making everything clear and plain, it confused him terribly, and in his ears kept ringing what Walter had said: "I was trying to think, when G.o.d started His second creation, for He had finished His first one on the sixth day and rested from His work which He had made, on the seventh day." What could this mean; where did Walter get these queer thoughts from; were they in reality queer? The idea of a second creation was absurd, yet the Bible said, Genesis 2. 1, _"thus the heavens and earth were finished and all the hosts of them."_ There it was plain enough, it spoke both of heaven and earth, _"and on the seventh day G.o.d ended His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made."_ Did G.o.d make a mistake in the first creation and so start in again to rectify His mistake? Impossible. G.o.d was, is, and always will be all-knowing; this precluded all chance of Deity making a mistake. Was the Bible wrong in this particular instance, if so, might it not all be wrong? This thought made the good man's heart stand still. No, no, it could not be; it must be some slight error in the translation or something of that kind--yes, it must be; how was it that he had never seen it before?

Then he became conscious that his wife was asking him some question.

"James," he heard her say, "are there really two creations, one spiritual and the other material?"