THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Southland Times, Issue 25835, 21 November 1945, Page 3

THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Sir,—“Free Thinker” says: “I wonder if Dr Milne believes that the world is round. If so, he did not learn it out of the Bible, because it speaks of the earth as a flat surface.” But I think “Free Thinker” errs, not knowing the Scripture, because if he will turn to Isaiah, 40th chapter, verses 21-22, he will find these words: “Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers.” Now sir, that statement was made somewhere about B.C. 713, so that it took over 2000 years for man to come to a conclusion which corroborates the Bible. Evolution is only a theory, and just as full of magic and myths as the Bible is said to be by evolutionists and so-called free thinkers. Nor is it a modern theory. It originated in the pagan philosophies of ancient nations. These ancient philosophers did not have a knowledge of physics, chemistry or biology, such as even a High School student has today. But they had keen minds, and in their thinking they tried to find a way to explain the origin of the earth and its life. By the beginning of the 16th century the minds of men were beginning to turn to the wonders of natural science, and as men began to explore the rocks of the earth they found fossil shells and other remnants' of former life on the earth. Since simpler types were generally buried in lower- rocks, and larger ones nearer the surface, it came to be taught that long periods of time must have elapsed during which these animals lived, died and were buried. About the middle of the 18th century several scholars began to introduce ancient theories in order to explain the origin of the earth and life. Laplace, the French mathematician, invented the nebular hypothesis. He supposed that the sun was formed by the condensation of a gaseous mass. As it condensed, it became hot and, whirling rapidly, threw off portions which became planets. This was almost exactly what was taught centuries before Christ in ancient Greece. Another Frenchman, Buffon, taught that the rocks of the earth were laid down through long ages, and that the fossils represented the remains of creatures developed one after another. Instead of recognizing God as the Creator, men were trying to explain nature as running by its own power. And yet, according to the great scientist, T. Huxley, even science is largely a matter of faith. In his book, “Evolution and Ethics,” he says: “If there is anything in the world I do firmly believe in, it is the universal validity of the law of causation. But that universality cannot be proved by any amount of experience.” It is amusing to hear that the man who derides miracles believes in the self-creation of the world. He denies the soul of man, but maintains the soul of atoms and believes in the unconscious memory of molecules! He maintains the self-beginnings of life and denies the possibility of creation. What a paradox! Yet this is what they would teach our children—theories they cannot prove. I think they should stick to the three Rs and leave evolution out of the curriculum of schools until it is proven without doubt that evolution is right. Facts are what we want. TRUTH. [A second correspondent, “Believer,” has also drawn attention to the passage from Isaiah quoted in the above letter.]