The Story of Creation as Told By Theology and By ScienceAckland, T. S. (Thomas Suter)
Religion
The Story of Creation as Told By Theology and By Science
Ackland, T. S. (Thomas Suter)
Bible and science; Creation; Religion and science
"And God said, 'Let light be' and light was." It has already been
pointed out that these words differ from those used in describing
any other creative act. They are the only ones which seem to imply
an instantaneous fulfilment of the command. Another matter which
has long since been observed, is their exact harmony with what
science teaches us respecting the nature of light. Light is not a
material substance, but a "mode of motion." It consists of very
small undulations propagated with inconceivable velocity. Hence of
it, and of it alone, it could not be correctly said that it was
created. To say that God made light would be inexact. The words
which are used exactly suit the circumstances of the case. But the
discovery of the correlation of forces has given to these words a
much more extended significance, while at the same time it
furnishes a satisfactory reason for their occurrence at this
particular point. So long as they were supposed to refer to light
simply, they seemed out of place. Light was not apparently needed
till there were organisms to whose existence it was essential. But
we now know that to call forth light, was to call force in all its
modifications into action. It has been seen that matter and force
are the two elements out of which everything that is discernible
by our senses is built up. The formation of matter has already
been described in the original act of creation. But till force
also was evolved, matter must of necessity remain in that chaotic
state to which verse 2 refers. To matter is now added that which
was required to enable the progressive work of Creation to be
carried on. The first result of this would probably be that the
force of gravitation would begin to act, while, from what the
telescope reveals to us, we may conjecture, that at the same time
the whole incoherent mass would be permeated with light and heat,
and some, at all events, of those elementary substances with which
chemistry makes us acquainted would be developed, and the whole
mass, acted upon by the mutual attraction of its several
particles, would begin to move towards, and accumulate about its
centre of gravity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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