IN THE CREATION STORY OF GENESIS. 



89 



some of His thoughts in enabling us in modern times to see how 

 those properties with which he endowed matter have worked 

 together to produce the sum total of results. There is a great deal 

 of what the first speaker said with which I heartily agree. Of 

 course I cannot pretend to touch on what he said on the Hebrew 

 side of the question. I am not a Hebraist, but I gladly accept the 

 strong support given to my contention from that quarter.* I have 

 taken the revised version of that chapter in the Revised Version of 

 the Bible as sufficient for my purpose in dealing with the subject- 

 matter. There is no doubt much might be said and has been said, 

 and seems to be well said on that point, but I do contend that • 

 evolution includes the immanence of Divine power. I do not believe that 

 God wound up the universe like a clock which runs down. In the ' 

 nature of things, if God creates. His will and energy manifests 

 itself; and evolution expresses that idea, when made to include 

 directivity. It is difficult to explain in a sentence the word 

 evolution, but I think we may fairly maintain that it may include 

 that. If we believe in the existence of creative power at all, it is 

 reasonable to include in our idea of evolution directive influence, 

 which is identical with the genetic principle of nature. I see no 

 reason why creative power, once acting, should cease acting ; and 

 you see that life was given not once for all, but is still given 

 mediately for individual existence, as the continual manifestation of 

 Divine volition ; and so far I maintain we are fairly on harmonious 

 grounds with the Bible revelation, when we talk of evolution. On 

 this point Mr. Woods Smyth and Professor Orchard are mutually 

 destructive. Some of the former's most sweeping remarks involve 

 petitio principii, and his reference to St. J ohn i, involves an anachronism. 



This planet has been itself a product of evolution, as dissipation 

 of energy has proceeded. 



In reply to Professor Orchard, I can only say that he seems to 

 have failed to catch the drift or aim of my humble attempt to 

 harmonise in the light of the teaching of the " New Geology " ; and I 

 I absolutely decline to accept the late Dr. Samuel Kinns as a / 



More especially the use of the iiii})erfect (continuous) tense in the 

 Hebrew, which comes out so strongly in the Greek imperf. indie, as 

 distinguished from the aorist. Thus, "God was creating"; "God was 

 saying." — A. I. 



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