X PREFACE 



acceptance among competent investigators. Nor do 

 we acknowledge that the naturalistic philosophy, which 

 is often associated w^ith the evolutionary hypothesis, 

 and which determines the theological implications 

 which many detect in the evolutionary theory, has any 

 scientific validity. It is purely speculative and to be 

 rejected. 



The impression prevails among many natural scien- 

 tists and theological writers that belief in the natural 

 evolution of man's physical organism is fatal to a con- 

 tinued maintenance of the ancient Christian doctrine 

 of the origin of sin. An attempt has been made in 

 these lectures to show that this impression is erroneous 

 — at least so far as the catholic doctrine is concerned. 

 To show this it has been necessary to distinguish 

 between truly ecumenical doctrine and certain specu- 

 lative accretions that are often confused therewith — 

 especially those discoverable in Augustinian and Cal- 

 vinistic literature. 



The lecturer has endeavoured to avoid unnecessary 

 polemical references to the arguments of individual 

 theological writers; but he has felt constrained to notice 

 some of the more important arguments of Dr. F. R. 

 Tennant, contained in his Origin of Sin, and in his 

 Sources of the Doctrines of the Fall and Original Sin. 

 These works contain the most important argument on 

 the theological side for the position which is here re- 

 jected — that the evolutionary origin of man requires 

 an abandonment of the ancient doctrines of man's 

 primitive state and of original sin. It has seemed 



