54 THE PROBLEM OF EVOLUTION 



What follows then with regard to evolution 

 applied to man as a whole ? 



It follows that man as a whole cannot, as such, 

 have been produced from any animal form, by 

 way of purely natural development. We have 

 still to consider the subsidiary question : * Is 

 man with respect to his body related to the animal 

 kingdom by way of descent ? ' 



Before discussing this question from a scientific 

 point of view, we must refer shortly to the theolo- 

 gical side of the problem. 



It is well known to you all that the Mosaic and 

 the Christian religions, following the biblical account 

 of the Creation, teach that God created man in a 

 way peculiar to man. We read that ' God formed 

 man of the slime of the earth, and breathed into his 

 face the breath of life.' It is plain that ' breathing 

 in the soul' is only a symbolical expression for 

 creating the soul of man. What are we to say 

 about the formation of the human body from earth ? 

 The Church has not promulgated any definite 

 decision as to the nature of the substance employed 

 by God in the creation of man. Theologians, how- 

 ever, following constant tradition and the opinions 

 of the ordinary teaching authority in the Church, 

 have consistently maintained that the human body 

 was formed of inanimate matter. Perhaps this 

 is all that need be said on the theological side of 

 the question. 



Let us pass now to the scientific side of it and 



