Geology.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. i, 1).
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit” (i, 11).
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth” (i, 20).
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things” (i, 24).
“And God said, Let us make man in our image” (i, 26).
“In six days the Lord made heaven and earth” (Ex. xx, 11).
According to the Bible, the earth was created in six days about six thousand years ago. Geology tells us that the earth was old six million years ago.
To make room for the earth’s development, theologians now contend that a vast period of time elapsed between the work recorded in the first verse and in those following. To this Bishop Colenso replies:
“We are plainly taught in the book of Genesis, according to the simple, straightforward meaning of the words, that Elohim created the heaven and the earth in the beginning of these six days—that is, taking into account the chronological data of the Bible, about six thousand years ago” (The Pentateuch, Part IV, p. 94).
Again, theologians claim that these six days were not six literal days, but six long epochs of time. The Rev. Moses Stuart, Professor of Sacred Literature in Andover Theological Seminary, one of the ablest Hebrew scholars, says:
“When the sacred writer in Genesis i says, the first day, the second day, etc., there can be no possible doubt—none.... What puts this beyond all question in philology is that the writer says specifically, the evening and the morning were the first day, the second day, etc. Now, is an evening and a morning a period of some thousands of years? Is it, in any sense, when so employed, an indefinite period? The answer is so plain and certain that I need not repeat it. If Moses has given us an erroneous account of the creation, so be it. Let it come out, and let us leave the whole. But do not let us turn aside his language to get rid of difficulties that we may have in our speculations.”
The Jewish scholar, Dr. Kalisch, not only rejects this interpretation of the word day, but admits that it would not reconcile Genesis with science if allowed. He says:
“The device that the days denote epochs is not only arbitrary, but ineffective, for the six epochs of the Mosaic creation correspond in no manner with the gradual formation of cosmos.”
According to Genesis the creation of organic life occupied but three of these six days. The order of creation for these three days, or periods, is as follows: 1. (3d day) Land plants; 2. (5th day) aquatic animals, birds; 3. (6th day) Mammals, reptiles, man.
Is this confirmed by science? Passing Lyell by, let us cite our more orthodox Dana. Dr. Dana, who professed to believe that the study of Geology tended “to strengthen faith in the Book of books,” gives the several geological ages, together with the successive appearances of organic life, as follows: 1. Archaean Age—Lowest marine life, if any; 2. Silurian Age—Invertebrates, marine plants; 3. Devonian Age—Fish, earliest appearance of land plants; 4. Carboniferous Age—Luxuriant vegetation, lowest forms of reptiles; 5. Reptilian Age—Highest forms of reptiles; 6. Tertiary Age—Birds, mammals; 7. Quaternary Age—Man.
Even Dana cannot reconcile Genesis with Geology. Genesis tells us that the earliest organic life was terrestrial vegetation; Geology tells us that ages of organic life passed before terrestrial plants appeared. Genesis tells us that fish and fowls were created at the same time; Geology tells us that the finny tribes existed ages before the feathered tribes appeared. Genesis tells us that mammals and reptiles were created at the same time; Geology tells us that while reptiles existed in the Carboniferous age, mammals did not appear until the close of the Reptilian age. Genesis tells us that birds appeared before reptiles; Geology tells us that reptiles existed first. Genesis tells us that life existed first upon the land; Geology tells us that the sea teemed with animal and vegetable life ages before it appeared upon the land.
The seven ages of Geology comprise twenty-five geological periods. Genesis recognizes but six periods in the creation of the entire universe; Geology recognizes twenty-five periods in the formation of earth’s crust alone. According to Bible chronology, the universe is less than six thousand years old; according to Geology, the mere existence of life upon earth’s crust, which is as but a day compared with the existence of the universe, is probably nearly fifty millions of years. Dr. Dana says:
“If time from the commencement of the Silurian included 48 millions of years, which some geologists would pronounce much too low an estimate, the Paleozoic part [Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous], according to the above ratio, would comprise 36 millions, the Mesozoic [Reptilian] 9 millions, and the Cenozoic [Tertiary and Quaternary] 3 millions” (Text Book of Geology, p. 329).
When Geology was in its infancy scientists attempted to reconcile its teachings with the teachings of the Bible. No scientist worthy of the name attempts to reconcile them now.
Writing over thirty years ago, Carl Vogt thus records the triumph of Geology over Genesis:
“It is hardly twenty years since I learned from Agassiz: transitional strata, palaeozoic formations—kingdom of fishes; there are no reptiles in this period, and cannot be any, because it would be contrary to the plan of creation; secondary formations (Trias, Jura, chalk)—kingdom of reptiles; there are no mammals and cannot be any, for the same reason; tertiary strata—kingdom of mammals; there are no men and cannot be any; present creation—kingdom of man. What is become of this plan of creation, with its exclusiveness? Reptiles in the Devonian strata, reptiles in the coal, reptiles in the Dyas. Farewell, kingdom of fish! Mammals in the Jura, mammals in Purbeck chalk, which some reckon as the lowest chalk formation; good-by, kingdom of reptiles! Men in the highest tertiary strata, men in the diluvial forms—au revoir, kingdom of mammals!”