Whales are fish: Biblical taxonomy

The Bible does not follow modern “Linnaean taxonomy” (rooted in the formulations of Carl Linnaeus in the 1700s). In ancient thought, classifications of creatures were grouped by movement and habitat rather than biology (e.g., sea vs. air vs. land; cf., for example, Genesis 1:28; Hosea 4:3). Consider this in regard to the modern classification of the bat as a mammal, while the Bible classifies bats with fowls of the air in Leviticus 11:13-19. Due to flight in the air, the bat is classified among the fowl of the air; due to swimming in the sea, the whale is classified among the fish of the sea. This seems to bother some modern folk. However, there is no reason for Christians to run away like frightened children just because the Bible uses its own classification system rather than following what has been developed by modern scientists. Why accept what men have said over what God has said?

---

Note: “Linnaean taxonomy is a hierarchical system for classifying and naming organisms developed by Carl Linnaeus. It organizes biological diversity into categories like kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.” The fear of the difficult drives some commentators to affirm odd, unresearched, and false statements. For example, the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges commentary states: “It is scarcely needful to note that there are no whales in the Mediterranean.” There are actually a number of whale species found in the Mediterranean Sea.

A Farmer’s Prayer

 

Origin of picture unknown

God leads us along

The hymn “God Lead Us Along” alludes to numerous places in scripture, beginning with Psalm 23:1. Led through the water and fire leads us to Isaiah 43:2 – as well as thinking of the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, and the three Hebrew children cast into the fiery furnace. God leads us wherever we go. He is strong, he is sure, he is trustworthy. “All things work together for good to them that love God…”

1. In shady green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Chorus:
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

2. Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

3. Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

4. Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternity’s day,
God leads His dear children along.

The above song (words and music) – most often titled God Leads Us Along – is credited to George A. Young or G. A. Young, 1903. Other than a name, this author is unknown. The song is some books is recorded as “Copyright 1903, Purity Publishing Company, C. F. Weigle, Owner.” (although some later books, such as Tabernacle Hymns, give the copyright in 1903 by G. A. Young). The 1904 Catalogue of Title Entries of Books and Other Articles seems to clear this up as one of a group of 26 songs copyrighted December 30, 1903 by Purity Publishing Company, Austin, Illinois (Catalogue of Title Entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Register of Copyrights, Volume 40, No. 4 Library of Congress, at Washington, D.C., First Quarter, 1904, Whole No. 661. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. 72-73).[i]

Purity Publishing Company was incorporated in 1904 in Chicago, Illinois, by S. Henry Bolton, Charles F. Weigle, and Clayton E. Ford. These men all seem to have been involved in the Holiness movement. In 1902, S. Henry Bolton was pastor of Austin Holiness Church, Austin, Illinois (being an area of Chicago Illinois). That same year, he was involved in incorporating the International Apostolic Holiness Union, based in Chicago. Clayton E. Ford is probably Clayton Ellsworth Ford, a building contractor and layman in the holiness movement. In 1907, his daughter Ida E. married Rev. James William Chaney at the Austin Full Gospel Tabernacle, Austin, Chicago, Illinois.

Charles Frederick Weigle (1871-1966) is the better-known of the three men. He was an evangelist and the author of the song, No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus. Weigle Avenue in Sebring, Florida is named in his honor. This hymn was supposedly written when his first wife left him. She was from a wealthy family; he became an itinerant evangelist.[ii] She did not want to live that way. He died at age 95 and is buried at the Pinecrest Cemetery in Sebring, Highlands County, Florida beside his second wife Carrie Hight Weigle. It appears that he was converted as a Methodist, then participated in the Holiness movement, and finally at some point became a Baptist.

The little bit of information we have about the author of God Leads Us Along (which is very little) has been passed on by Haldor Lillenas (1885-1959), the founder of the Lillenas Publishing Company. In the 1940s, Lillenas was able to locate the widow of George A. Young. According to his report of the story, George Young was a struggling carpenter and preacher. After many years of saving, around the beginning of the 20th-century he built a small home for his family. The joy and rest was short-lived. While he and his family were away from home at church services, rowdy hoodlums burned their home. The hymn “God Leads Us Along” was written with this event in on his mind.

---

[i] Austin, Illinois is an area on the west side of Chicago, and the company later designated as being in Chicago.
[ii] The fact that the song was not published until 1932 – after Weigle was already married to Carrie Hight – calls in question the “when” part of this story.