There are several insuperable objections to this theory:
First.—It is inconceivable that a man could be endowed with the power to produce spermatozoä before he is born; nor could a woman produce ova before her birth; nor is it possible to endow a fertilized ovum with the power to produce a man or woman before it is formed. When Adam’s spermatozoä and Eve’s ova were made the men and women to be produced from them had not come into being; and it was impossible for even the Creator to endow them, at that time, with the power to produce spermatozoä and ova. Intellect, memory, will-power, force and motion were necessary to group the atoms and cells of which the bodies of these new men and women were to be composed, into the necessary chemical combinations and mechanical arrangements in order to construct their bodies. Neither the spermatozoä, the ova nor the germ-cells produced from them, had intellect, memory, will-power nor the necessary force. Therefore it was impossible for Adam’s spermatozoä and Eve’s ova, or germ-cell, resulting from their fusion, to produce Adam and Eve’s children, automatically.
Secondly.—Neither the children of Adam and Eve nor of any other man or woman ever had the power to generate spermatozoä and ova, voluntarily. It is inconceivable that the blind unthinking genital organs of Adam’s children or of any other man or woman ever produced spermatozoä and ova spontaneously and automatically. We are compelled to believe that the Creator always generates, guides and controls the forces and motions which assemble and group the atoms into the form of the spermatozoä and ova; and that he directly and specially endows each spermatozoön and ovum with such properties and potentialities as it may possess.
Thirdly.—Life is not a property of matter. If it were, there would be no such thing as death; for matter and all its attributes and properties are eternal. The atoms, of which a man’s body is composed, are as old as the earth. But during his life, they are grouped together; and this group of atoms is endowed with the properties and potentials of a living being. The human body has identically the same physical properties, whether it be living or dead. Thus, it has the same weight, length, breadth and thickness after death that it had while living, until disintegration sets in. Apparently, the living human body is similar to a piece of iron, when charged with electricity or magnetism. Neither of these adds anything to the weight of the iron; nor do they change its structure, form, size, nor its appearance. When they leave the iron it remains as it was before it was charged with them. So it is with the human body for a time after life leaves it.
Life not being a property of matter, it must be directly and specially conferred, by a supernatural creative force, upon the body in which it resides.
It is agreed by all biologists that there is no such thing as spontaneous generation of animals, nor of plants at this time. As Huxley puts it: “Omne vivum ex vivo,” “all life comes of life.” (Encyc. Brit. (9 ed.) 8, p. 746.)
Now, if there be no such thing as spontaneous generation of animals, nor of plants, why should there be spontaneous generation of life? Neither the spermatozoön, nor the ovum can live alone. But when united and fused together, under proper conditions, this combination takes on the manifestations of life; and these manifestations continue until death.
Any good chemist can analyze a fertilized ovum and learn, exactly, the chemical elements of which it is composed, and the proportions in which they are combined. He could then make a new combination of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen in the same proportions, in which these substances were combined in the fertilized ovum; and if life were a property of that combination of atoms, this new chemical compound, ought to become a living creature. But no such thing could ever happen.
As already remarked, neither the spermatozoön nor the ovum can live alone. But when fused together, the combination becomes a living creature. The atoms in the combination are identically the same that were in the spermatozoön and ovum before the fusion occurred. Why should the combination live when the two component parts of it could not?
It is clear that no man can, voluntarily nor involuntarily endow a spermatozoön with the power to develop, alone, into a human being; for every one of them dies in a day, or within a few days, after it matures; unless it be so fortunate as to unite and fuse with an ovum. It is equally clear that no woman can endow an ovum with the power to become a human being. Every ovum soon dies, unless it unite and fuse with a spermatozoön under conditions favorable to growth. Haeckel says: “there are calculated to be 72,000 [ova] in the sexually mature maiden.” (Evolution of Man, p. 347.) The number of spermatozoä, generated in the sexual organs of a man greatly exceeds the number of ova produced by a woman. It follows that countless trillions of spermatozoä and ova die daily, and disintegrate.