The True and False Theory of Evolution. Chauncey 1813-1893 Giles

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       Chauncey Giles

      The True and False Theory of Evolution

      Published by Good Press, 2020

       [email protected]

      EAN 4064066414368

Table of Contents

       Introduction

       Lecture I: The True And The False Theory Of Evolution

       Lecture II: The Origin And Nature Of Life

       Lecture III: The Descent Of Man

       Lecture IV: Heredity

       Lecture V: Environment

       Lecture VI: Degrees And Correspondence

      Introduction

       Table of Contents

      The interest which Evolution has awakened in the minds of the most acute and profound thinkers in the scientific and religious world, shows its intimate connection with the growing tendency to regard all things as connected, and related, and moving on in the paths of an immutable order. It is the effect of this intelligent, scientific spirit brooding over the chaotic theories of creation, causing a deeper penetration into its mysteries, and a more determined effort to solve the enigmas of the universe. That great good must result from this more extensive and accurate knowledge of the material world, and its relations to man and all the forms of life which exist in it, is evident to every one who is acquainted with the history of human progress in the knowledge of nature and man.

      But the first effect of this awakened interest in, the laws and processes of creation seems to be injurious to religion and the belief in the existence of a supreme, intelligent, and personal Creator who controls and guides all things to effect the purposes of His love, according to the methods of His wisdom. The scientist gets so near to nature, and becomes so absorbed in watching the complex but orderly processes by which all things are created and sustained, that he has no thought of anything above and beyond what is cognizable by his senses. The causes he discovers are so powerful and specific in their application that they seem to him to be adequate to the effects. He sees law, order, the immutable relation of cause and effect existing in everything around him. He finds abundant evidence of the slow but gradual changes which have been constantly going on in the material world; he can trace the natural connection between one thing and another, and he concludes that he has discovered all the substances that exist, and all the forces that operate in the creation.

      He sees that every step in the ascent from lower to higher forms, in the production of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and in the development of human intelligence, has been taken by means of a preceding one. Why should he admit that this universe was created in a moment of time by a spoken word? He sees a chain of living creatures, with but few missing links, running through the creation from the lowest to the highest forms of life; he has abundant testimony that the lowest was first created, and he naturally concludes that each link in the chain was formed from it. The scientist has all the appearances of nature in his favor All his senses testify to the truth of his theory. He can count the factors; he can see the process of creation. Why should he admit the existence of an unknown factor? Reasoning from these premises, he sees no need of interference with natural laws to produce any of the results which are manifest to human intelligence. Consequently, he rejects the idea of a special creation, and, consequently, of an intelligent personal Creator. That is one reason why he seeks to disprove the doctrine of distinct species, and to show that plants, animals, and men are all evolved from one substance by forces inherent in that substance. But he does not escape from the necessity of a Creator in this way. An intelligent Creator is as essential to the product of a given effect which is reached through a long chain of causes and effects as by one act. The more numerous .and complicated the factors, the louder the demand for a guiding and controlling intelligence. Every round in the ladder of ascent, from the primordial cell to man, is a distinct step, a special creation, and demands a Creator. A complicated machine that works with precision, and every movement of which conduces to the ultimate effect, is a far more conclusive proof of an intelligent inventor than the simple implement of the savage. Every wheel and spring was a special formation, though shaped in all its particulars with direct reference to the use it is to perform, and the co-operation it is to give, to every other part of the machine. We grant that the universal presence of law and order, of cause and effect, and the gradual creation and perfection of all forms of life, are conclusive evidence that the universe of material objects and living beings was not created in a moment by an Almighty fiat. But these facts do not abolish the necessity for an omnipotent and infinite Creator who provides the instrumentalities and constantly uses them. They are His ways of accomplishing His purposes. And when those purposes are correctly understood, it will be seen that they immeasurably increase the demand for one.

      It seems to be taken for granted by many Christian scientists that we must adhere to the commonly-received doctrine that the material universe was created out of nothing by a spoken word, by the fiat of omnipotent power, or give up the idea that it is the product of an intelligent, personal, Divine Being. This is the reason why the doctrines of Evolution are regarded with so much suspicion, and are so strenuously opposed by theologians. They cannot surrender the idea of a personal and omnipotent Creator. This would banish the Lord from the universe and practically deny His existence. They acknowledge that the scientist reasons logically from his premises; but they deny the premises. This is a fatal mistake. They would be in a much better position to discover the truth, if they accepted his premises and his facts, but denied his conclusions. The scientist arms himself with a vast number of familiar and indisputable facts. He traces the progress of creation from step to step; he shows the agency of natural causes in the products of life and the development of living beings. He sees no need of an intelligent Creator, and, therefore; he rules Him out of the universe and denies His existence. His fatal mistake consists in taking a part of the premises for the whole. He draws his conclusions from the appearances disclosed to the senses whose testimony is known to be unsafe and illusory in the most common things.

      The Christian can accept all the facts of the scientist. He could do it if there were no " missing links" in the chain of natural causes and effects from the lowest plane of creation to the highest, and find increasing confirmation at every step of the presence of a Divine power and the guiding hand of a Divine wisdom. There is no ground for conflict between a true science and a true theology. They are the essential parts of a true knowledge of God and His works. They are a light to each other, which is essential to a correct understanding of both. Science without God is but half of the truth. It is a body without a soul; and God, without a true knowledge of the functions of nature and of human life is but a formless, substanceless abstraction. Science needs theology to lift it above the low level and the narrow limits of the material world, the theatre of natural causes and effects. Theology needs the aid of science to bring it down from the abstract and formless to, the concrete, and give it body, form, substance, conceivable qualities and relations. Science ought to be the handmaid of theology, and it is due to the misconceptions or ignorance of both scientist and theologian that she is not. The facts of Evolution which science has discovered and brought to general notice, when correctly understood and divested