The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1911-07-13
COMMONER'S LECTURE.
Continued from page 2D


snail not connect me with your fam
lily tree without more evidence
than has yet been produced. |
pDJect to the theory for several re-
sons. First 1t is dangerous the
)ory. If man thinks himself in the
generations with the monkey, it
! tnen becomes an important ques-
tion whether he is going toward him
or coming from him-and have
seen them going in both directions.
40 not know of any argument
that can be used to prove that man
Is an improved monkey that may not
De used just as well to
prove that the monkey is a degen-
crate man, and the latter theory is
more plausible than the former.
IL Is true that man, in some ply
steal characteristics resembles the
Deast, but man has a mind as well
as a Dody, and soul as we'll as a
MIND. The mind is greater than
the body and the soul is greater
than the mind, and l object to hav-
ing mans pedigree traced on one
thlrd OF him only-and that the
lowest third. Fairburn, in his
philosophy of Christianity. laws
down second proposition when he
says that 1T is not sufficient to ex-
plain man in history - and the
Darwinian theory does not do this.
The ape, according to this theory. is
oder than man and yet the ape is
stlll an ape while man is the au-
thor of the marvellous civilization
which we see about us.
One does not escape from mys-
terry, however, by accepting this
theory, for it does not explain the
origin of life. When the follower
OF Darwin has traced the germ of
life back to the lowest form in
mnlcn IL appears = and to follow
MS one must exercise more faith
than religion calls for - he finds
that scientists differ. Those who
reject the idea of creation are di-
Vided into two schools, some be-
heVlng that the first germ of life
came from another planet and 9th
ers holding that it was the result
OF spontaneous generation Each
school answers the arguments ad-
Vanced by the other, and as they
cannot agree with each other, am
not compelled to agree with either.
l were compelled to accpte one
OF these theories l would prefer the
1lrst, for If we can chase the germ
OF life OF this planet and get it out
INTO space we can guess the rest of
the way and no one can contradict
Us, but II we accept the doctrine of
spontaneous generation we cannot
explain why spontaneous generation
cease to act after the first germ was
created.
Go back as far as we may, we
cannot escape from the creative act
and 1t is just as easy for me to he,
lieye that God created man as he is
as TO believe that, millions of years
ago, He created germ of life and
endowed 1t with power to deyelop
iuto all that we see to-day. OBJ
Ject to the Darwinian theory. until
more conclusive proof is produced.
because l fear we shall lose the
consciousness of God presence in
our daily life, if we must accept
Tue Iheory that through all the
ages no spiritual force has touched
the life Of man or shaped the des-
tiny of nations.
But there is another objection.
Inc Darwinian theory represents
man as reaching his present per
iectlon by the operation of the law
or hate - the merciless law by
which the strong crowd out and
XIII off the weak. If this is the
law OF our development then, if
there is any logic that can bind
the human mind we shall turn back
ward toward the beast in propor-
ton as we substitute the law of
love. l prefer to believe that love
rather than hatred is the law of de-
Eelopment. How can hatred be the
law OF development when nations
nave advanced in proportion as
they have departed from that law
and adopted the law of love?
BUT, l repeat, while | do not ac-
cept the Darwinian theory | shall
not quarrel with you about it; |.
fn 20
IL does not solve the mystery of life
or explain human progress. / fear
that some have accepted it in the
nope of escaping from the miracle,
put why should the miracle fright
en- US? And yet l am inclined to
think that it is one of the test oues
lions with the Christian.
Christ cannot be separated from
the miraculous; His birth, His
mlnlstrations, and his resurrection,
all involve the miraculous, and the
change which His religion works in
the human heart is continuing
miracle. Eliminate the miracles
and Christ becomes merely a hu-
man being and His gospel is stript
of divine authority.
The miracle raises two ques-
tions: Can God perform a mira
cle?" and, Would He want tor"
The first is easy to answer. A God
who can make a world can do any
thing He wants to with it. The
power to perform miracles is neces-
sarily implied in the power to Gre
ate. But would God want to per-
form a miracle? - this is the
question which has given most of
the trouble. The more / have con-
sidered it the less inclined I am to
answer in the negative. To say
that God would not perform a mir
acle is to assume a more intimate
knowledge of Gods plans and pur-