78 EVIDENCES AND LIMITATIONS 



spontaneous generation there is no trace in nature; 

 and carefully conducted experiments have compelled 

 scientists to reject that theory, — commonly called abio- 

 genesis/ The theory of natural evolution is the only 

 remaining alternative that has thus far been discovered ; 

 and if it agrees with the facts, it ought to be accepted 

 until a better explanation is forthcoming. It should 

 be remembered that our acceptance of it neither mili- 

 tates against belief in creation by the will of God nor 

 commits us to a mechanical explanation of the origin 

 of Hfe, mind, and moral sense. The theory of evolu- 

 tion merely describes the physical history of organic 

 life, and in its scientific form does not profess to account 

 for what is superphysical. 



2. From the facts of variation and heredity we turn 

 to the similarity of structure and organic functioning 

 which is found to characterize the species in each 

 general group of species in the organic world. These 

 groups are not numerous, and if there has been a natural 

 evolution of species this fact seems to indicate that 

 such evolution originated in a very few primitive types, 

 each corresponding to one of the larger groups of 



1 See F. R. Tennant, in Expository Times, May, 1908, pp. 352- 

 355, for an account of attempts to prove abiogenesis. Also O. Lodge, 

 Life and Matter, esp. ch. x; the author's Being and Attributes of God, 

 pp. 267, 268, where other references are given. If abiogenesis were 

 proved, this would not disprove a divine creation of life, but would 

 show a different method of the creation than the existing state of 

 evidence establishes. A. Weismann, Evolution Theory, Lee. xxxvi, 

 urges that abiogenesis cannot be disproved because, if it does occur, 

 the minuteness of its results makes them lie beyond observation by 

 the most powerful microscope. 



