The Early Narratives of Genesis 97 world, and destruction of human and animal life as the Bible represents. I t would be well if those who speak thus con- fidently would study the accumulated evidence which distin- guished scientific men have brought forward, that such a catas- trophe as Genesis describes is not only possible, but has actually taken place since the advent of man. My attention was first drawn to this subject by an interesting lecture by the late Duke of Argyle given in Glasgow, and the same view has been advocated by other eminent geological specialists on glacial and post-glacial times, as Prestwich, Dawson, Ho- worth, Dr. Wright, etc. The universal terms employed need not be read as extending beyond the regions inhabited by man. There seems to be no substantial reason for doubting that in the flood of Noah we have an actual historical oc- currence of which traditions appear to have survived in most regions of the world. In conclusion, it is clear that the narratives of Creation, the Fall, the Flood, are not myths, but narratives enshrining the knowledge or memory of real transactions. The creation of the world was certainly not a myth, but a fact, and the representation of the stages of creation dealt likewise with facts. The language used was not that of modern science, but, under divine guidance, the sacred writer gives a broad, general picture which conveys a true idea of the order of the divine working in creation. Man’s fall was likewise a tre- mendous fact, with universal consequences in sin and death to the race. Man’s origin can only be explained through an ex- ercise of direct creative activity, whatever subordinate factors evolution may have contributed. The flood was an historical fact, and the preservation of Noah and his family is one of the best and most widely attested of human traditions. In these narratives in Genesis and the facts which they embody are really laid the foundation of all else in the Bible.' The unity of revelation binds them up with the Christian Gospel.
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker