PREFACE. THE substance of the following work was delivered at Blackburn, on the 13th March, 1865, in the form of a Lecture to the Sunday School Union. An earnest wish was expressed at the meeting that I should publish the Lecture, and at a future time that I should be requested to meet all Sunday School Teachers and Members of Young Men's Associations, to hold a Conversazione on the subject (see Preston Guardian's Report, 18th March, 1865.) A similar request had been made before by the friends of Science and Revelation, and has been made since, again and again. Having incorporated some of my notes on Genesis chaps. i. ii., 1-4, into the body of the Lecture, that the subject might be presented in as complete a form as the limits of the work would allow, I venture to offer it in this form to the public: hoping that it may, in some measure, tend to strengthen the faith of thinking young men in the Bible, and to induce many of them to study more and more both the Works and Word of God, and praying that this humble service may be accepted by Him, who is our common Lord and Master, EVAN LEWIS. Accrington, May 18th, 1865. y. The Argument. SECTION 1.-INTRODUCTION. 1.-The Death of two Children-their affection. 2.Power of disinterested love. 3.-Disinterestedness of Sunday School Teachers-Their self-sacrifices. Sympathy with them. 4. SECTION II.-SCIENCE AND REVELATION. 5.-The Bible the Sunday School Text-book-Importance of intelligent faith. 6.-Long war between Science and Bible believers-Galileo. 7.-Science invincible. 8.Early cries against Geology. 9.-Opposition to Science the means of propagating Infidelity and Rationalism. 10. Originating in personal conceit. 11. - Human knowledge necessarily limited-absolute certainty not possible. SECTION III.-FALSE ASSUMPTIONS. a-ON GOOD BOOKS BESIDES THE BIBLE. 13.-Superior worth of the Bible. 14.-Evils flowing from the assumption that it contains all the good there is. b-ON UNDERSTANDING ALL THE BIBLE. 15.-The doubts of Knowledge, and the audacity of ignorance. --- c-ON PRAYER AS MEANS OF STUDY. 16.- "Taught of the Spirit "-Truth not discoverable by Prayer. 17.— Augustine. 18.-Whitfield's plan and its results. 19. -Wesley opposed to Whitfield. 20.—The great fallacy -right use of Prayer. SECTION IV.-POSTULATES. a-THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF NATURE. b-THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF MIND. sciousness-Axioms. 22.-Definition. 23.-Reason-Con vi. -THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF SCRIPTURES. 24.-Harmony of Nature, Reason, and Revelation. SECTION V.-ANALYSIS OF THE MOSAIC NARRATIVE. a-WORK DONE BEFORE THE SIX DAYS. 25.-Heaven and earth-Water. b-WORK DONE DURING THE SIX DAYS. 26.-LightAtmosphere-Land-Vegetation-Luminaries-Fish and Fowl. 27.-Cattle and Beasts-Man-Food for man and animals. C-DEDUCTIONS FROM THE FOREGOING ANALYSIS. 28. The Universe not made in six days-Absence of lifeEach day complete-Plants of the Coal Measures all excluded-Also, Forest Trees and Medicinal PlantsAll Carnivora excluded from the Mosaic Narrative. SECTION VI.-THE FACTS OF SCIENCE WHICH BEAR ON THIS SUBJECT. a -THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH'S CRUST. 29.-Temperature-Substances contract in coolingWater and Bismuth-Exceptions-The Earth not a fused mass, encased. 30.-Rocks in Strata-Fossils in all Rocks-Eozoon Canadense. 31.-Creation, progressive. 32.-Division of Rocks, purely conventional-Life on Earth never ceased since first introduced-Origin of existing Species. b-THE STRATA OF THE EARTH CLASSIFIED. 33.-Posttertiary Period. 34.-Origin of Man-Rosaceœ-Appearance of Sheep, Camels, &c. 35.-The Tertiary. 36.-Mammals and Birds—Cotyledonous Plants— Cereals. 37.-Secondary Rocks. 38.-Saurians-First appearance of Cycloids and Ctenoids-Changes among Fish. 39.-Primary. 40.-Coal-Devonian FishLaurentian Fossils. vii. SECTION VII.-THEORIES OF RECONCILIATION. a-THE FIRST THEORY DEFINED. 41.-Definition. 42. -Modifications. 43.-Fossils created. 44.-Fossils deposited since Adam-Objections. b-THE SECOND THEORY DEFINED. 45.-Definition. 46.-Adopted by Chalmers and Buckland. 47.-The Punctists and Christian Fathers, on Genesis i. 2. 48.-Destruction of all at the close of the Tertiary. 49.Geology on this point-Existing creation dates back to the Eocene. 50.-Poetic exaggeration. 51.-Tohu Vabohu. 52.-"Without form.' 53.-"Void." 54. -Objections. C-THE THIRD THEORY DEFINED. 56.-Definition. 57 65.-Exposition. 66.-A day 1,000 years. OBJECTIONS TO THE PERIOD THEORY. 67.-It assumes the days to be unequal periods-Dr. McCaul's hypothesis. 69.-It makes the day long. 70-72.-The Scripture use of the word day. 73. It assumes the existence of plants before animals--paleontology. 74.-Dr. McAusland's modification. 75.-On the word "moved." Genesis i. 2. 77.-Fourth objection. 78.-Origin of coal. 79.-Plants of the coal measures. 80. The most important plants not in the coal. 81.-Number and classification of coal plants. 82-85.-The plants of Genesis. 86. On the word "grass. 88-89. On the word "herb." 90.-Fifth objection. 91.-On "great whales "-On "fowls." 92.-Inconsistency of Scripture statement when viewed on this Theory-Birds of the Tertiary. 93.-Sixth objection. 94.-On "cattle." 95.-On "creeping things.' 96.-On "beasts." 98.Summary. 66 d-THE FOURTH THEORY DEFINED. 99.-Definition. 100.-Dr. Pye Smith. 101.-Estimate of his Theory. 102.-Objections-On "heaven and earth." 103.Local darkness. 104. The local absence of life. e.-THE FIFTH THEORY DEFINED. 105.-Definition. 106.-The Bible, a book for man, and refers to the origin of man, not of all things. 108.-Unity of Genesis i. & ii., 1-4-The host of heaven-On the word "heaven." 109.-On the word"earth." 110.-Use of eretz in Scripture. 111.-On the word "bara," created. 112.- 66 SECTION VIII.-THE METHOD OF REVELATION. 116.-Genesis a compilation. 117.-The first section was -Hebrew superlative. 125.-"God said." 133.-On 140. The first day's work-Light. 141.-The atmosphere cleared. 142.-Land, rivers, and plants formed. 143.-Heavenly bodies appear. 144.— |