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The Fundamentals But notwithstanding such great odds, the victory is cer tain. The enemies of the Bible have indeed filled the country. Yet, they shall all pass away; but the Word of the Lord shall not pass away. Again, in more recent times, a book of man was put forth, and was hailed as a work which would quickly destroy the credibility of Scripture and put an end to its authority and influence. This was Charles Darwin’s “Descent of Man,” a book whose influence has been greater, doubtless; than any other that has made its appearance during a century past. The main feature of this work was that it set forth an ex planation of the origin of living beings, including man, rad ically different from that of Genesis, and propounded a the ory of propagation of living species directly contrary to the great and immutable law declared nine times over in the first chapter of the Bible in the brief but significant expression, “after his kind.” The delight which Darwin’s book caused among the en emies of the Bible, and the spirit in which its appearance was welcomed, are well illustrated by the title bestowed upon it by the eminent naturalist Haeckel, who called it the “Anti- Genesis,” declaring that by a single stroke Darwin had anni hilated the dogma of Creation. But it was not because of its supposed contribution to truth that Darwin’s book was so widely and cordially received, and his utterly unproved hypoth esis so readily accepted as an “assured result of science.” Its vogue was largely due to the fact that it struck at the very foundation of Scripture. It is useless to pretend that Darwin’s theory might be true, and the Bible nevertheless en titled to respect. *The Lord Jesus said to a learned man of His day, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?” (John 3:12). If 'th e Bible does not give us a truthful account of the events of the six days recorded in its first chapter, it is not to be trusted as to any of its statements.
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