November 1925
475
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Satans Triangle: Evolution, Philosophy and Criticism S. J. Bole, ■Professor of Biology, Wheaton College, Illinois Chapter 7 THE EVIDENCE FROM CLASSIFICATION Aristotle was the first to have worked on classification. He named and described about five hundred animals. The descrip “Hypothetical forms” or “missing links” are much used these days to prove evolution. But the fact that they are “missing” would indicate that they have not yet been found, which is proof against and not for evolution.
INCE, the time of Dar win, Romanes,1'Huxley, and Spencer, writers on organic evolution have
tions of these were arranged in an alphabetical order similar to that still used in making chil
in general used the same; arguments to establish the faith of men in the evolutionary hypothesis. At present evolu tionists have nothing new in way of proof except perhaps the “blood test” and a few hypothetical connecting links. Strange Claims Hide Behind Learned Phrases The historical arguments are classification, homology, rudimentary structures, embryology, historical geology, and geographical distribution. To the reader who has never studied geology and the natural sciences, this list of topics looks formidable. Because technical terms savor of learned things, many strange and hypothetical claims are hidden behind learned phrases. An illustration of this is one of the favorite statements of William Jennings Bryan. He says that if Darwin’s hypothesis had been called what it is, a guess, it would not have lived a year. We shall try to state the claims of the evolutionists in such a way that the ordinary reader can understand. In the first place, such subjects as classification, embryol ogy, historical geology, and geographical distribution are important subjects in science which can be studied and understood without a belief in evolution. It is of interest, also, to know that these subjects originated' at a time when scientists were believers in special creation. To the student of science, therefore, these topics furnish very interesting ideas and very legitimate fields for investigation, provided the investigation is made in the right spirit; and this depends largely upon the point of view with which one starts. . Since the time of Darwin and Huxley, these subjects have been bent and twisted in such a way as to argue for organic evolution. If one begins by accepting Darwin’s hypothesis (or “guess” as it might better be called), he will accept evidence which he would reject as absurd if he began with the Mosaic account of man’s creation. If one believes that all the present forms of life have come by gradual change from one or a few invisible germs of life, he will accept the best evidence he could find, no matter how poor that evidence might be, to prove his case. On the other hand, if he begins with faith in God and believes that man was made by a separate act of creation, he will reject all unreasonable evidence pointing toward evolution. Believing that a God who can create at all can create anything that He likes and put it where He pleases, one can readily explain geographical distribution or embry ology without organic evolution. At present atheistic or agnostic evolutionists have to assume the origin of life. On these assumptions as a foundation they continue to build by further assumptions and guesses. On the other hand, when one believes in a First Great Cause sufficient for all things, he is relieved of the necessity of having to imagine or bridge over impassable gulfs. History of Classification of Species A brief statement concerning the historical development of classification will better enable the reader to understand this phase of the subject.
dren’s alphabetical picture books of animals. John Ray of England, late in the seventeenth century, was the first writer to formulate a dignified table of animal life. Shaking off the traditions of Aristotle, Ray formu lated his species on persistence of shape and appearance and inability to cross with other species. Linnaeus of Sweden, a century later, built upon the work of Ray and became the real founder of classification. “Species were, in his mind, the units of direct Creation; each species bore -the impression of the thought of the Creator, not only in external form but in its anatomical structure” (Osborn, “From the Greeks to Darwin,’.’ p. 128). He believed that the species Created in pairs by God mul tiplied by hybridization or crossing until there were several or many species in a genus. Linnaeus gave us what; is termed thé “binomial nomen clature.” This located each animal or plant by a double name, that of its genus and species. Latin names or names with Latin endings are always used. The name of the com mon house cat is Felis domesticata. When there is a sub division within a species three names are used. The wild strawberry of Illinois, being a little different from the one in New England, is called Fragaria Virginiana Illioensis. As an army may be divided into brigades, regiments, battalions and companies, so Linnaeus divided life into, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. Modern Systems of Classification The modern systems of classification are all similar to the one worked out by Linnaeus. The largest division among plants or animals is called “phylum.” An example of this is the “chordata” which includes birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and several lower forms. The common characteristic here is the presence of a backbone or noto chord. Scientists do not agree as to the number of phyla, some giving nine and some as high as eighteen. Next to this major division is the “class.” Individuals in a class are supposed to agree in certain general points of organization, such as number of legs, and the presence of hair, feathers, or scales. Scientists do not agree as to the boundaries of a class. Sub-classes are used in an effort to harmonize these differences. An example of this is the mammalia, which includes seven thousand kinds of living and several thousand fossil mammals, the common trait being the presence of glands that secrete milk for nursing the young. The next smaller division below the class is the. “order.” Here again several groups are seen to fall together and go to make up the order. ■'An example is that of the “carr nivora” which includes, cats, civets, dogs, bears, weasels and other forms. The characteristic here is the tendency of the group to live on flesh. “ Family” is the next smaller division. The various members of the group possess “family traits” which are more or less external to the animal such as limbs, wings, (Continued on page 514)
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