Various theories 



of the formation of the Earth. 



The question What is our earth ? has interested huma- 

 nity from the very beginning of world history. We have 

 in the Bible undoubtedly the first indication of the origin 

 of the earth. We remember how in the book of Genesis 

 the creation of the world is described : In the first day 

 God created the world, i. e. vital matter, from which; 

 was afterwards formed all the rest ; in the second day 

 the firmament or visible heavens hence it is evident 

 that in the second day the earth already existed, in as- 

 much as the heavens appeared above it ; in the third 

 day God divided the waters from the dry land, and com- 

 manded the earth to bring forth grass and herb". 



Here then are three functional principles according: 

 to the Bible, furnishing the foundation of our earthly 

 globe: first, living matter; second, the mingling of the 

 elements in the heavens and the earth ; third, the pro- 

 ductive activity of the earth on the basis of cosmic law.. 



This third stage in the creation of the earth long re- 

 mained in human judgment ^the sole functional destiny 

 of our sphere. Men looked upon the productiveness ot 

 earth as on a divine gift, in which the favor of the 

 Creator was revealed and His holy will made known, in 

 mercy or in punishment for sin; and this view is still 

 prevalent amongst the uneducated classes. 



For a long long time, perhaps tens, perhaps hundreds, 

 of thousands of years, the earth appeared to man in the 



