Biola Broadcaster - 1962-04

their supposed ancestors have ever been discovered in the paleontological rec­ ord. The earliest fossils of these exhi­ bit, fully developed, all the features that distinguish the group to which they belong. Were the theory true, innumerable intermediate forms would inevitably have been found. As a mat­ ter of fact, the transitional forms ought not to consist of species at all, but simply of individual forms, shading into each other like the colors of the spectrum, but this is not the case. The fact that not a single fossil has been found of any of these hypotheti­ cal intermediaries, yields almost cer­ tain fact that such intermediaries have never existed. It is interesting to compare Dar­ win’s prediction with that of the per­ iodic law of chemical elements. More than seventy years ago, Darwin confi­ dently predicted that the rocks would yield fossils of half-formed men and whales, etc., but such remains have never been discovered although the search for them has been carried on and greatly intensified over almost the entire surface of the earth. On the oth­ er hand, the formulators of the period­ ic law of chemical elements were able to specify the properties and approxi­ mate atomic weights of elements which were then unknown, but nearly all of which have since been discovered. Darwin’s prophecy has never been ful­ filled, but during the past fifty years the predictions made in regard to the periodic law have been vindicated in every instance. True science and the Bible certainly do agree. About thirty years ago Dr. George Nutall, of Cambridge University, con­ ducted a series of experiments, the re­ sults of which were supposed to have shown by means of a blood precipita­ tion test, that certain species were close­ ly related to each other and that in these relationships there was to be found confirmation of the evolutionary hypothesis. In regard to these tests, however, it is to be noted that they could not be accepted as a test of genet­ ic relationship for the blood serum alone was used in conducting the ex- 4

EVOLUTION (continued) higher forms from the lower forms. God created a living substance first. This leaves one in a precarious posi­ tion in admitting one or two thirds of such a theory. If one accepts the sec­ ond stage of evolution as true, then logically the other stages must follow. The only tenable position to hold would be that of accepting all three or none of them. True science and the Bible do not stand in need of being reconciled; they are in agreement. The problem arises when religious leaders or teachers try to reason away Biblical fact to meet the fancies of what the Apostle Paul defines as “science falsely so called” -— (I Timothy 6:20). The theory of evolution — and Web­ ster correctly defines a theory as “spec­ ulation” or even “a guess” — states that things are progressively building up. But how can true facts be avoided? It is known that the higher elements, such as radium, are continually break­ ing down to form lower ones by a pro­ cess of disintegration. The reverse pro­ cess of synthesizing, or building up of higher elements from combination of lower ones, does not occur in nature as far as is known. It is interesting to note at this point the evidence of modern surgery in re­ gard to the theory of recapitulation in evolution. Prof. Rendel Short, noted British surgeon of Bristol University, states that “the surgery of deformities lends no support to the theory of de­ scent from ape or monkey. One would expect that there would be frequent ‘throw backs,’ recalling the character­ istics of an ancestor. What are the com­ mon congenital defects? Harelip, cleft palate, webbed fingers, club feet, six toes, yet none of these are characteris­ tic of apes. We never see the afore­ said projecting muzzle, the thumblike great toe, nor the huge canine teeth, nor the absence of chin. The human embryo is never ape-like.” Moreover, no intermediate or tran­ sitional forms between the highly pe­ culiar species such as whales, seals, sea-cows, t u r t l e s , bats, etc., a n d

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