CHAPTER XXXI 

 EVOLUTION 



433. Doctrine of Special Creation. In the time of 

 Linnaeus, the "father of botany/' men believed that the 

 seven "days" of creation left the world substantially as 

 we now find it. The stars and planets, mountains and 

 oceans, plants and animals were created once and for all, 

 and continued without important change until the present. 

 In the beginning, as now, there were the same oceans and 

 hills, the same kinds of plants, and the same kinds of 

 animals. Nor, it was believed, are any fundamental 

 changes now in progress. Creation was not continuous; 

 it took place within a brief period (seven "days"), and 

 then ceased; after that the Creator merely watched over 

 the objects of his handiwork. 



434. Meaning of Evolution. Evolution means gradual 

 change. Applied to the natural world the theory of 

 evolution is the direct opposite of the doctrine of special 

 creation. It teaches that things were not in the beginning 

 as we now find them, but that there has been constant 

 though gradual change. Creation is regarded, not as 

 having taken place once and for all, but as being a con- 

 tinuous process operating from the beginning without 

 ceasing and still in progress. 



435. The Course of Evolution. The theory teaches 

 that the gradual changes have been from relatively 

 simple conditions to those more complex. The com- 



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