Year: 1875

teenth century-came the doctrine OF
the great antiquity of the earth; while
the accommodating evidences of its exist
ence for millions of years, gathered by
the then young science of geology, com
pelled all clear-minded and well inform
ed persons to reject the popular idea.
which we inherited from the Mosaic the
ology, that the whole earth was scarcely
5000 years old, and was made in six
days. As the evidence of the rocks
proved that millions upon millions of
years have elapsed during its transform
alton from highly heated globe to its
present condition, the better informed
theologians did not combat the scientific
conclusion; but the less informed priests,
not worthy of the name of theologians,
attempted some show of resistance to
this phase of progress. But the time Of
persecution had passed, and priestly in
1uence had been curtailed; so that this
opposition was comparatively feeble, and
utterly unable to stay the diffusion of the
truth.


Still the idea that at least the human
race was only about 5000 years old was
adhered to, and theologians made kind
of armistice, surrendering the theory of
the ix'days of creation, and admitting
the possibility of a creation and develop
ment lasting for millions of years, while
still maintaining that 6 600 years was the
antiquity of the human race. Unfortu-
nately for them, about fifty years ago
facts commenced to accumulate, proving
that man has existed at least 100000
years. The discovery that glacial ep-
och took place at this time and the re-
lation of this grand and important event
to the human race, and the accumulat-
ing proofs of mans existence Immediate
iy after, and even perhaps during or be-
fore the glacial period, are sufficient to
settle this point; and society no longer
heeds the opinions of theologians who
deny these demonstrated facts.


But the most serious blow to Jewish
and Christian orthodox conservatism is
the modern theory concerning the prim-
tive condition of man. All the geologi-
cal records fonnd tend to show, more
and more. that the first existing men. in
stead of having fallen from perfect con-
dition, had improved from the lowest
state, and that the first man was a per-
feet savage, such as we find nowadays in
some of the isolated islands of the Aus
tralian archipelago, where, for want of
conflict, there was no cause for progress,
the inferior men not being exterminated
by the superior, destructive process to
which much human improvement is due
Progressive Science teaches that the
modern civilized and enlightened society
has slowly been developed from primi-
tive savage and igno rant condition.


The final strife of the present day.
closely allied to the last mentioned the
ory OF the continual improvement of
mankind, is the evolution theory, now
carried to its furthest extent It ascribes
the origin of man not only to an inferior
human race, but to still lower types, now
extinguished; nay, even ascribes the ori-
gin of all living beings to single origi-
nal type or even cell 1t does not teach
that man descends from a monkey, as
the enemies of progress falsely accuse
the evolutionists of maintaining, but
that man is closely allied to the whole
animal creation, as proved by compara-
tive anatomy, by embryology, by the ge-
illogical record, and even by psychologist
al and ontological researches, and studies
of the mind and instinct Of animals,
coming thus to the conclusion that the
past man may have as well been evolved
from lower prototype as have been Gre
ated out of dirt. Human pride is per-
haps generally at the bottom OF the op-
position to this doctrine. as the proof of
mans origin among lower beings tends,
in a certain sense, to abate his arrogance;
but on the other hand, man may be
proud Of what his race has accomplished
in short period of time, if in the begin
ming he sprung from a condition so low.