Page:Gods Glory in the Heavens.djvu/360

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THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS.

the Scripture doctrine, which regards Christ as the second Adam, it being essential to the work of redemption that there should be an identity of nature between the Saviour and the sinner. Sir David Brewster, in his work, "More Worlds than One," holds the same view as Chalmers, but in a more positive manner. It is not with him a surmise that other worlds have fallen, but a fair analogical deduction. This world has sinned, therefore it is probable that other worlds have sinned. This is stretching the analogical argument too far; for sin is an accident, not an essential element of the constitution of man. Having extended sin to other worlds, the direct benefit of Christ's death is also extended to them. The argument is this—If the benefit of Christ's death extends to distant isles of the sea, why should it not extend as well to the globes floating in space? If the earth were to split in two, like Biela's comet, would not the benefit of Christ's death belong to the one half as well as to the other? Why should not this benefit extend to different worlds, as well as to different halves of the same world? This argument, however, overlooks the fact that redemption has to do, not with the matter of the globe, but with mankind—not with the identity of worlds, but of race. If the earth were to split in halves, two distant worlds would be formed, but the race would still be the same. The guilty nature, needing salvation, would, notwithstanding the terrestrial disruption, remain the same. The case is not