Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-16
Religious Questions

O. have read what you have to say
about evolution and God. Is 1t your
idea that God created the anthropoid
ape with metabasic powers, enabling the
ape to develop into rational being?
A. Man was never an anthropoid ape,
and an anthropoid ape never became a
man. II you let A, B, c, d, E, etc,
represent the evolutionary series, sci
ence does not teach that A became"
3. or that B was once wholly present
in A. All that can be held is that A
was a necessary precedent factor in
the process by which B appeared later,
A is not B, and B Is not A. Neverthe-
less, but for A there would be no B.
We can understand the relation only
as we assume a third fact, which by
producing A makes possible in due time
the production of B. This third TACT Is
God, the power underlying A and b,
operating in them and with them, re-
vealing Himself more fully in later than
in earlier forms of life. The theory that
everything was potentially present IN
the original germ" is metaphysically
unintelligible. =.
Creation is the process OF the self
activity and self-revelation OF God, and
the theory of evolution is simply mans
attempt to state the method OF Inc
process.
@. do not understand your attitude
toward the Bible.
You speak of some Of its parts as
not being of divine authority, and sug-
gest that we consider these particular
parts just as we would any great litera-
ture and as the writings of wise men
of olden days who were human beings
and not actually inspired.
Are any parts OF the Book divinely
inspired, and how can we determine just
which parts are Gods words and winch
are the words of men?
A. I have answered similar questions
before, but the frequency with winch
they occur shows that many people are
deeply perplexed on the matter you
raise. am quite sure that in the prac-
teal use Of the Bible you discriminate
between its various parts Some pas
sagss you rarely, If ever, read; others
you read continually. Why is this? II
, is because you believe that you get more
help from your favorite portions.
Which would you choose among those
favorite portions? Probably Psalm
xiii, Isaiah. Iii; Micah, vi.6-8; tn,
Beatitudes, the Parallels of the Coco
! Samaritan and of the Prodigal Son;
/ Romans, xii, and l Corinthians, Kill
mean far more for you than the gen
!
rules for ceremonial cleansing in Levitt
| Gus, or the crude stories in Judges. VIII,
! 50? Because in them you hear God
voice as you do not in the other selec
tons
Obviously then not all parts of the
Bible are of equal value. BY whai
( principle must We judge them? Is i
| not by that truth about God which
we believe has come to us In Jesui
! Christ?
We have TO distinguish between tht
historical and moral values of thu
Bible The scholar needs all its part!
10 get the complete story of Gods self
revelation. But his children have re
peatedly failed to understand that rev
elation. Only very slowly did the.
come to right knowledge of Him
The Bible records everything - men
failures as we'll as their asuccesses
Why should we insist that TIE failure
are not failures Just because they ar
recorded IN the Bible? The Old Tesla
n1ent said, An eye for an eye" Jesu