28 THE PROBLEM OF EVOLUTION 



from His being) call into existence all -finite being 

 which, through its accidental and limited character, 

 could not have in itself the reason of its own exist- 

 ence. This is the true theistic conception of God. 



2. The theistic theory of the world involves 

 the idea of creation. I grant that this presents 

 a difficulty to our imagination. We cannot picture 

 to ourselves by means of our fancy how anything, 

 that previously did not exist, can come into exist- 

 ence and be produced out of nothing. It would be 

 impossible unless an infinitely perfect Being ex- 

 isted, virtually containing beforehand the finite 

 being in Himself. 



This harmonises with the theistic conception 

 of God, and so the idea of creation offers no internal 

 philosophical contradiction. 



3. Further, the theistic view, taken in conjunc- 

 tion with that of the creation of matter, lays down 

 as its foundation the subjection to law of the whole 

 cosmic evolution and of the entire evolution of the 

 inorganic world, asserting that the first combination 

 of atoms or electrons contained the definite material 

 disposition from which, in the course of the succeed- 

 ing millions of years, all the various constellations 

 of atoms were to result by way of natural evolution. 1 



Thus we have a sufficient foundation and a suffi- 

 cient primary cause for the further natural evolution 



1 This does not exclude the possibility of adaptation and selection in the 

 organisms, for the inorganic constellations of atoms in the organisms afford 

 the most varied dispositions as a foundation for the vital processes. 



